Welcome to all my new subscribers - and thank you for being here! Much appreciation, too, to Josh Terry for the shoutout. If this is your first post…it’s a doozy!
This Sisyphean task was accompanied not by a raptor pecking at my liver but by the cold sweat that would break out each time I thought I had forgot an important release. But it was that kind of year in this rather broad category, just release after release that demanded my attention. Indeed, my Top 25 featured 15 or 16 albums that could have credibly fit in this realm - and which are not to be missed if this is your sweet spot. Rather than editorializing about the status of various genres, I’ll simply let the robust nature of what follows speak for itself.
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As always, previously covered releases will come first followed by new reviews. Click PLAY on the playlist to listen along while you read.
Record Roundup: 2023 First Quarter Report, Pt. 1
Josephine Odhil - Volatile
“…Odhil’s debut also finds her singing with greater confidence and naturalism - and it’s a sweet sound indeed.”
Hiss Golden Messenger - A Midsummer Night's Dream: Live at EartH Hackney
“…the last five songs…are a masterclass in pacing and dynamics, with solos that sparkle, crackle, and soar in equal measure.”
Record Roundup: 2023: First Quarter Report Pt. 3
UNI and The Urchins - Simulator
“Combining sweeping strings, chunky synths, and electronic rhythms for a blend of futuristic and classic is the perfect framework for their cult-movie songwriting.”
Tropical Fuck Storm - Submersive Behavior
“While nothing will ever equal Hendrix’s questing creation, their version is not only fully credible, but reveals the solid structure of his conception.”
Yo La Tengo - This Stupid World
“Hypnotic rhythms, fuzzed out guitars, serpentine melodies - it’s all here and in more sustained fashion than their other 21st century releases.”
Bobbie Lovesong - On The Wind
“…a richly imaginative production for songs that breeze by, but not without leaving a lingering scent of heightened emotions.”
Hotspit - Memory Of A Mirror Image
“… a strikingly assured and dynamic indie rock sound to limn the passionate songs and sweet voice of Avery Fogarty.”
King Tuff - Smalltown Stardust
“Tuneful, heartfelt, great sound.”
Pearla - Oh, Glistening Onion, The Nighttime Is Coming
“The production, with arrangements by the great Trey Pollard, surrounds [the songs] with deft touches, giving each just what it seems to need…”
Jenny O. - Spectra
“Jenny has for too long been a best-kept secret in the wider world that lavishes praise on far less talented artists.”
Holly Miranda - Virtual Funeral
“Several of these songs were included on my playlist, The Eye Knee Experience…And the songs are so good I put the playlist on my Top 25 for 2021!”
Mui Zyu - Rotten Bun For An Eggless Century
“…a coming out party for an artist who employs sophisticated, almost theatrical, songwriting and lush, modern production to explore issues of identity.”
Ulrika Spacek - Compact Trauma
“There has been evolution, however, with keyboards taking a more prominent role and their trebly guitar weave that much more precise.”
Rozi Plane - Prize
”Her reflective tunes provide the comforts of old but also feel resolutely modern.”
Shalom - Sublimation
“The variety in the sounds is matched by the broad emotional palette, offering anger, consolation, inspiration, and joy in a heartfelt debut that promises even more in the future.”
Record Roundup: Guitar (Usually) And Pen
Yours Are The Only Ears - We Know The Sky
“… an exquisitely crafted set of songs, with the perfect frames, including chiming guitars, gentle strings, sparkling keyboards, and the occasional woodwind, setting off her brook-clear voice…”
Hand Habits - Sugar The Bruise
“That last song is one of Duffy’s crowning achievements, but there is much here of which they can be exceedingly proud.”
Them Airs - Viper Island
“…both improves their production values and increases the extremity between poles of sugary-sweet melody and metallic crunch.”
Foyer Red - Yarn The Hours Away
“It’s quite a trick how Foyer Red’s sound seems to assemble in real time, with the listener the final binding force holding it all together.”
Lifeguard - Dressed In Trenches
“…these five songs find their deployment of noise, melody, and rhythm more confident and even thrilling…”
Claud - Supermodels
“Claud has delivered another exceedingly tuneful and heartfelt collection of upbeat pop.”
Jeffrey Silverstein - Western Sky Music
“With the sweet afterburn of Barry Walker, Jr.’s pedal steel as extra propulsion, Silverstein seems to float just inside the atmosphere of a starry desert night.”
Anastasia Coope - Tough Sun / Seemeely
“…combines her layered vocals and circular guitar picking into a blissfully mesmeric sound.” Note: see also Cheshire Carol.
Big Blood - First Aid Kit
A “…rough-hewn sound, which seems to bring Bauhaus and Link Wray together in a dark union…”
Lucinda Williams - Stories From A Rock N Roll Heart
“…her voice has regained much of its flexibility and float, leaving her sounding relaxed and confident, connecting easily with sorrow and joy as each song requires.”
A Song For Friday: Hotline TNT
Hotline TNT - Cartwheel
“Anderson recorded most of the album himself, painstakingly layering guitars of differing textures to achieve a sound somewhere at the intersection of shoegaze and Glenn Branca’s electric orchestrations.”
A Song For Friday: Nancy McArthur
Nancy McArthur - I Would I Were Thy Bird
“It’s an album with a mood that seems to deepen as you listen, with McArthur’s delicate voice given structure by a certain toughness, like an Appalachian Nico by way of Long Island City.”
The Rock & Roll Globe Top 40 Albums of 2023
Wilco - Cousin
“But all of the colorful sounds on Cousin can’t hide the melancholy and reflective mood of Tweedy’s songs here, perhaps best summed up by the third verse of “Meant To Be”: “Each day is longer than the one before/Fewer left, less and less, I need you more.” Life only leads in one direction, after all, and we can count ourselves lucky to have Wilco on the journey with us.”
New Reviews
Folk and Americana Adjacent
Julie Byrne - The Greater Wings In 2017, I called Byrne’s Not Even Happiness, “A special album, indeed,” and this third release is equally beautiful. The six year wait was at least partly due to personal tragedy, with the death of her longtime collaborator and friend Eric Littman stopping her in her tracks with the record half finished. Now a tribute to him and their vision for her music, with synths, strings, and harp surrounding her voice and acoustic guitar, The Greater Wings is a demonstration of resilience and the need to keep going. As Byrne sings in the final track, “Let the sun go down/I don't want to feel anything but the moving ground/Death is the diamond.”
Hiss Golden Messenger - Jump For Joy One of the most consistently great artists of our time nearly did it again - made a perfect album, that is - with this uplifting, deeply felt collection of expertly assembled tracks. The musicians M.C. Taylor is working with now are some of the best in the country, on stage or in the studio, and this polished but still human album should find a place on whatever remains of radio, like where they play Jason Isbell and stuff like that. It sounds stupid, but the only reason this album wasn’t on my Top 25 was due to a production choice on the Shinbone, a synth sound that seemed borrowed from Burning Down The House and which makes me cringe every time I hear it. The body doesn’t lie. But otherwise, Jump For Joy is just fantastic. I especially love Feeling Eternal, a chrome-plated, supercharged southern rocker that makes me feel more alive than before I played it. And for more of that feeling check out the extraordinary live album also mentioned above.
Iron & Wine - Who Can See Forever This live album - and soundtrack to a documentary - features a career-spanning selection of songs recorded at the Haw River Ballroom. With new arrangements sensitively played by a four-piece band, the differences between how some of these songs were originally recorded are flattened, revealing the extraordinary consistency and beauty of Sam Beam’s two-decade project. His last studio album, 2017’s Beast Epic, was one I admired more than loved so perhaps most enlightening is how great the songs included here sound in this context.
Mitski - The Land Is Inhospitable And So Are We It’s rare these days for an artist to completely take me by surprise deep into their career, but that’s exactly what Mitski did on her seventh album. Tapping into a vein of American song that seems to go back to Stephen Foster and creating acoustic surrounds, sometimes featuring a chorus (arranged by her) and/or strings (arranged by the great Drew Erickson), this is her least self-conscious, most connected album yet.
Sam Burton - Dear Departed On his fourth album, Burton ascends to the forefront of American singer-songwriters, with a set of classic songs that draw from a deep well of emotion. Some of the team from Angel Olsen’s extraordinary Big Time is here, including producer Jonathan Wilson, who also plays other instruments, including drums, Drew Erickson (those strings!), and bassist Jake Blanton, creating the absolutely captivating settings these songs deserve. Melancholy for sure, but a triumphant achievement.
Cian Nugent - She Brings Me Back To The Land Of The Living At times on this follow up to the brilliant, questing Night Fiction (2016), Nugent sounds a little more settled, perhaps seeking comfort after a family health crisis. Several songs with pedal steel guitar and gentle tempos certainly deliver that, but there are also cathartic, winding guitar solos that threaten to scorch the earth. His lived-in voice and fine songwriting are constants throughout. Welcome back.
Babitha - A Brighter Shade Of Blue This excellent example of Aussie-Americana opens with Only Fair, a twang-filled track so strong you may have to play it three or four times before being able to move on. But move on you must, as this debut album is almost shockingly assured, with one finely crafted song following another. Great production, too, with pulsating rhythms and sparkling guitars.
Shana Cleveland - Manzanita Gotta give credit where it’s due: I was dimly aware of La Luz, the “surf noir” band Cleveland co-founded a decade ago, but had never heard Cleveland’s name before listening to Episode 48 of What Am I Making, which had host (and friend of the Substack) Matty Carlson interviewing his daughter, Maddie, about her favorite music of 2023. Since I noted she was also a Leal Neale fan, I was primed to find at least one new thing to love - and this third solo album by Cleveland more than fit the bill. Be forewarned: Nothing I’ve heard from La Luz would have prepared me for this striking collection of psych/chamber folk-rock, which grazes the playful side of Syd Barrett and the more songful side of Popol Vuh (yes, really). The songs are deeply considered and the arrangements are filled with atmospheric touches that make each into a little diorama of sound. All is grounded in her expert fingerpicking and lovely voice. Get to this STAT - and see the light.
Grian Chatten - Chaos For The Fly While I quite liked the second album by Fontaines D.C., the Irish band for which Chatten sings and writes, the third outing left me cold. Which meant I was very late to this solo debut, but damn is it good! Every song seems to take a different approach, from the arresting, windswept folk rock of The Score to the 60’s pop of Bob’s Casino, complete with horns, strings, and backing vocals. Not only does Fontaines only hint at Chatten’s depth as a writer, Chaos also reveals a voice versatile enough to realize his expansive vision. Thanks to my daughter for buying the vinyl and forcing this reluctant horse to drink some stunning and unexpected waters.
Maria B.C. - Spike Field My curiosity was piqued when I heard Maria B.C.’s voice on Distant Intervals, the sublimely immersive album by cellist-composer-producer MIZU. That interest was more than repaid by this hypnotic, dark-hued collection, with spacious arrangements allowing their singing to shine.
Historian - Glass On The Sea I’ve been listening to Chris Karman’s project for a decade and you should be jealous of the front-row seat I’ve had to his development. He’s come a long way since the “hazy bedroom electro-psych-pop” of his debut, 2013’s Shelf Life, while still remaining true to his musical mission. On this latest album, he leavens his core electro-folk trio with beautiful strings and layers of keyboards and beats to present gently moving songs that make a virtue of acknowledging the uncertainties of life. Don’t wait for the historians to tell you about this artist, get to it now and start here.
Hannah Telle - Waking Up To Tomorrow As an actress (she voiced Max in the Life Is Strange video games) and neuroscientist (USC, 2022), Telle must be exquisitely aware of the mood she wants to create with her voice and music. Either way, if she aimed to have this third album transport the listener to a place above painful earthly concerns, she succeeds. Colors, which soars on a bed of propulsive guitars, and Lavender Daydream, with the heavenly inevitability of its melody, are perfect examples. Overall, this collection feels lighter than air, a sensation that is delightfully contagious.
Amb. Parsley - Dear Carlos Six of these songs appeared on my 2021 Top 25 as part of The Eye Knee Experience, a playlist featuring all the singles released by Parsley and her label-mates Holly Miranda and Chris Maxwell. The four more recent songs are just as fine - fun, heartfelt, perfectly crafted tunes produced to a fare-thee-well. The only question I have for one of our finest singer-songwriters is why she didn’t include Kindness Of Strangers, a song that will ring through the lives of all who hear it, making the world a better place, one listener at a time.
Mikaela Davis - And Southern Star With a lovely voice and harp playing to match, I couldn’t quite figure out what was missing from Delivery, Davis’ 2018 debut. But now I know: her touring band. Having worked together on the road for over a decade, this album finally puts them in the studio for a stellar collection of starlit country-folk with a sweet scent of psych wafting through the proceedings. The interplay between Davis and the band is often jaw-dropping, too, as when her harp blends with Kurt Johnson’s pedal steel on Home In The Country. Her next project reunites her with “disco cosmonauts” Circles Around The Sun and is already promising to be a highlight of 2024.
Daniel Donato - Reflector There’s a sense of world-beating joy right out of the gate on this second album from the burgeoning guitar hero, a sense of undeniability that’s infectious. From the soaring riffs of the opener to the ridiculous fun of Sugar Leg Rag, a high-flying instrumental that would stop Dickie Betts in his tracks, Reflector just seems to say, “I’ve arrived! Join me!” And I’m glad I did. Now if I could just catch this man and his band in concert the picture would be complete.
Eddie Dixon - Make The Motherfuckers Kill You My Friend There’s been a lot going on in the “cosmic Americana/country” realm over the last few years, but Dixon is one of the few carrying the torch for a more “maverick Americana” sound a la Tom Waits, Little Feat, and Glenn Phillips. Lately, he’s been throwing in a dash (OK, sometimes a ladleful) of Elvis Costello’s more recent, more raucous stuff and voila! Good shit, with funky keyboards, gravelly vocals, groovy rhythms, ripping guitars, and songs that come at common experiences from uncommon angles with choruses that stick to your ribs. Stay true, Eddie, stay true.
Skyway Man - Flight Of The Long Distance Healer Perhaps more true to the ideals of the Beatlesque than that “final song” that also came out last year, Flight features lush, detailed arrangements, multilayered songs, and a backstory that is wiggier but maybe more coherent than the story of Sgt. Pepper, et al. But you don’t need to know about the lost caché of letters that “spoke of a spiritual practice centered around aliens…and the coming of a new era for the planet” to enjoy this rich feast of music.
Sister. - Abundance The Mutual Benefit show at Rough Trade turned out to be a gateway to more goodness when I met Hannah Pruzinski, who was singing with Jordan Lee and co., and heard about their various projects, including solo work as H. Pruz (new album coming soon) and this trio, with Ceci Sturman and James Chrisman. They are also part of the constellation surrounding Florist and their drummer, Felix Walworth, is here, adding emotionally acute percussion to these expansive but rough-hewn songs about friendship, love, and other elemental emotions. Some feel like moods put to tape, others are more tightly constructed, but it all adds up to an arresting debut. Pruzinski and Sturman also run the Gunk universe, which includes a newsletter with detailed concert listings and smart essays and a benefit compilation, For Palestine, featuring over 50 tracks by artists in their orbit.
Dandelioness - Scorpio Ballads Anything Richard Aufrichtig listens to is worth checking out so when I saw he was booking Chloe Grace Caemmerer’s singer-songwriter project for his Taos concert series, I tuned in - and was immediately enraptured. The way she’s sequenced this debut seems to designed to do just that, too, with a slow build from the almost spectral folk of Timpani to the psych-rock of Girl With No Shadow to the heavy grind of Chaos. If you let these “ballads” grab you, they won’t let go until the album is over…and even then you’ll be in their grip.
Indie-Rockist
Dead Gowns - How (Vmp Edition) Led by the distinctive voice and songwriting of Genevieve Beaudoin, this band has been gaining momentum since the original version of this EP was released in 2022, leading to their adoption by Vinyl Me Please for their Rising series. Three new songs show that attention has been repaid by artistic development, with tighter integration between Beaudoin’s gutsy vocals and Luke Kalloch’s explosive guitar on Kid 1 and a more assured dreaminess to Kid 2. Keep an eye on this Maine band - I’m expecting even bigger and bolder things in the future.
DAZY - OTHERBODY I’ve been hooked by this band ever since experiencing a “delightful blast of tune-laden distortion” when seeing them in concert in 2022. Happy to say they show no signs of running out of gas with this EP - and have even added some new tricks to their arsenal, like the psych-garage of ESTAO.
Versing - Tape II Albums one and two sustained the interest I had from seeing them in concert and even built on it. This latest EP finds further developments, with a new expansiveness to their dry indie-post-punk, such as on the aptly titled Float, a strummy midtempo track with guitars that stretch out towards infinity.
Car Seat Headrest - Faces From The Masquerade Considering Will Toledo’s band is one of the best concert acts of the 21st century, this second live album is no mere indulgence. In fact, you can learn a lot about about their journey by listening to 2019’s Commit Yourself Completely, which put a bow on the indie-rock of the early albums with epic, floor-shaking performances, and then this one, which further solidifies the artier, synth-heavy direction they took on 2020’s Making A Door Less Open. Both approaches are equally valid - and equally thrilling - ways to present the angst-ridden marvels of Toledo’s songwriting and wry, confessional voice, which will always be at the heart of everything he does.
Wednesday - Rat Saw God I’ve gone back and forth on this earthy indie-punk album, one of the most acclaimed of last year, with standout song Chosen To Deserve always bringing me back when I was ready to give up. Now I’ve come to acceptance that singer-songwriter-guitarist (and force of nature) Karly Hartzman is only partially served by the blandishments of her collaborator (and partner) MJ Lenderman, whose sloppy solo work demonstrates how easily he could have sunk the whole thing. But the trio of Xandy Chelmis (lap steel), Margo Schultz (bass), and Alan Miller (drums) are more than up to the challenge of keeping the focus of Hartzman, with Chelmis also crucial to the album’s unique, raw-boned sound. Cathartic stuff - and where they go from here is anybody’s guess.
Self Defense Family - Law Of Karma Live: Fake Shit Wins But Not Tonight While I’ve dubbed them “masters of the short-form collection,” this sprawling live album, recorded over three nights in 2019, shows them at their best - thorny, dark, explosive, with implacable rhythms, grinding guitars, and Patrick Kindlon’s unmistakable wounded howl of a voice - in a full length experience. Feel free to start here if you’re still unfamiliar.
Arty Facts And Fictions
Public Image Ltd. - End Of World I’ve often said that after his scabrous wit John Lydon’s super-power is his empathy. There are several songs here - Walls and Hawaii, most noticeably, where that compassion and humanity shine through, beacons against despair. But he’s also having fun, reveling in his deepening voice on Penge, the take-no-prisoners track that opens the album, or chanting “You're all liars, fakes, cheats and frauds” on LFCF. All the signatures of PiL’s sound are here, too, with no loss of focus: booming dance beats, deep bass, guitars that sparkle or scythe, and synths for atmosphere. If one or two songs seem a bit half-baked, End Of World is unequivocally my favorite - and the best - PiL album since The Flowers Of Romance. What a remarkable accomplishment all these years later.
Sweeping Promises - Good Living Is Coming For You Taut bass lines, angular guitars, stop/start rhythms, vocals that cajole or shout…will I ever get tired of these signposts of post punk? Not if people like Lira Mondal (bass, vocals) and Caufield Schnug (guitar, drums) keep churning out glories like their second album. Another great tip from Tracy Wilson at Courtesy Desk!
Lonnie Holley - Oh Me, Oh My Like some journey into collective musical memory, this sixth album from sculptor, painter, and author Holley blends jazz, funk, dub, gospel, rock, and folk to investigate his roots in the Jim Crow south and his connections to the universe, humanity, and the future. Deep stuff, in other words, both in the sounds and the thoughts. Not surprisingly, Justin Vernon and Moor Mother, among other collaborators, fit right in. What is surprising is that Holley seems to have found a supremely sympathetic collaborator in pop producer Jacknife Lee, most known for work with everyone from U2 to Taylor Swift, who acquits himself masterfully here on all manner of instruments and sonics. The wonders of music never cease to amaze.
Aksak Maboul - Une Aventure de VV (Songspiel) Led by Marc Hollander, this Belgian art-rock collective with roots in the late 70s made a mostly stunning - and very unexpected return - in 2020. Now they’ve come back even stronger, with an an album-length work that combines contemporary chamber, Reichian minimalism, and what can only be called Aksak Maboul music, with krautrock, electronic, European pop, and jazz all in the mix. Even without knowing what Véronique Vincent’s text is all about, I’m hanging on for every twist and turn.
Sunwatchers - Music Is Victory Over Time Occasionally intersecting with The Doors at their most ritualistic and the MC5 at their most abstract, this art-rock-jazz-undefined band has made their most accessible album yet. The title hints at the triumphant sound of much of the album - time never had a chance against this music! Sax/keyboard man Jeff Tobias also showed a more reflective side of his work with Music From The Milky Way Underground, the soundtrack for a YA fiction podcast.
Madeline Kenney - A New Reality Mind Recording mostly alone in her basement after a breakup, Kenney surrounds her brave, sad songs with all manner of glitter and grace, expertly blending electronic and acoustic textures with an R&B heartbeat running underneath. Her voice can summon up an interiority or issue a clarion call to get on with life. And if there was any question about the quality of the songwriting, on The Same Again: ANRM (Tiny Telephone Session) she re-recorded the whole album on piano with gorgeous results. Kenney has been putting out music for almost a decade but it seems her time has truly come.
Laura Wolf - Shelf Life With her breathy, high voice to the fore and a backing of mostly her inventively assembled electronics and cello, these offbeat tunes - and they are very melodic and catchy - almost come off as a chill take on hyperpop…hypopop? Either way, this brief album simply oozes charm.
Aunt Katrina - Hot This debut EP by a new project started by Ryan Walchonski of Feeble Little Horse sounds like an outtake from their wonderful Girl With Fish - and blissfully so. The rest goes wonderfully off the map into sketchbook territory, revealing Walchonski and his cohort as musical bricoleurs par excellence.
100 Gecs - 10,000 Gecs With each exponentially bigger release, it’s becoming more obvious that the duo of Dylan Brady and Laura Les are an AI creation inspired by the prompt, “What if Eddie Van Halen and David Lee Roth had been teenagers in the laptop era?” And few acts have been as reliable at delivering the best kind of stupid fun since those two came to a parting of the ways. Bring on the arena tours!
Model/Actriz - Dogsbody It wasn’t until that night in Queens, when this band of “post-punk art terrorists” turned Knockdown Center into a place of “dark ritual” that I fully clued into what they were doing. I still feel that the live show is the ideal place to experience their chthonic power, but maybe I just need to play this excellent album louder.
Heavy Duty
Buice - One Day You’ll See The Sun I missed the first album from these Atlanta-based extremists, who deliver fire and fury like Killing Joke if they were a jam band, but I’ll be damned if I miss the third. Jeez, they must be great in concert.
Metallica - 72 Seasons After the betrayal of St. Anger (2003), the Rick-Rubinized near return to form of Death Magnetic (2008), an album I still rate pretty highly, and the genius of Lulu (2011), their collaboration with Lou Reed, I was surprised to feel “meh” about the next one. Hardwired…To Self-Destruct (2016) just seemed like a return to the needlessly complicated songs of …And Justice For All, which is my least favorite Metallica album after St. Anger. When this one came out, I took a quick look at the overall length, spotted Inamorata at the end (at 11 minutes their longest song to date) and figured it would be more of the same. I gave it a half-assed listen, decided they’d missed again and gave it little thought until the end of the year. But I am a fan, after all, so I gave it another try and actually got involved, finally deciding it kicks righteous ass. Rather than a display of virtuosity, 72 Seasons may be the most spontaneous Metallica album yet, with Kirk Hammett’s leads especially sounding ripped off the dome rather than carefully plotted out. Lars Ulrich’s drumming has regained its swing, sluicing down grooves like a bullet through a barrel, and bassist Robert Trujillo, the newest member, finally sounds like he’s doing more than just what he’s told by the elder statesmen in the band. As for James Hetfield, he’s in fine voice, sounding more flexible than he did on the last one. When a band has given as much as Metallica has, I’m always ready to give them another chance and I’m glad I did.
Soen - Memorial It’s always a little odd coming in on a band in midstream, but my son played some older albums by this Swedish prog-metal band on a couple of road trips and I got into them. Seems there’s a question in the metal universe as to how prog they are on this sixth album, but that’s the kind of minutiae I try to avoid, preferring to hear things for what they are. And what I hear here is a band in total control of their vision, whether pummeling their way through a series of riffs or soaring on the wings of golden melodies. It might be reductive to say they remind me of a sleeker Tool but it’s hard to ignore the lineage. Looking forward to getting to know the back catalog better.
Baroness - Stone (Deluxe) After nearly putting their last album, 2019’s Gold & Gray, on my Top 25, I found myself circling this new one warily. Was I growing away from the band…were they growing away from me? I put it aside for a while but then the deluxe version set me to rights, with the blazing, nearly ridiculous virtuosity of the six live songs tacked on the end reminding me of all I always loved about this most American of prog-metal bands. The dense headlong rush of the concert material helped me gain an appreciation for the more spacious sections of the album. Baroness forever.
Psych Out
Frankie and the Witch Fingers - Data Doom Album seven from these L.A.-based psychonauts find them at their most manic, with nearly every song taken at a breathless tempo. But what thrills most is the amount of detail and variety of textures they put into these crazed, labyrinthine songs.
Melody Fields - 1901 and 1991 After a five-year wait, fans of this Swedish band’s first album (like me) were rewarded with not one, but two new albums. They call 1901 the “primary” album and it is certainly the more focused of the two, with powerhouse songs like Jesus given widescreen recordings that only amplify their architectural inevitability. That means layers of guitars, steady rhythms, and washes of transporting vocal harmonies. Interludes featuring fat synths churning away like the soundtrack to a 1980s car chase hint at what to expect from 1991, with its spaced out dance grooves, droning chants and remixes of Jesus, one of the standout tracks on 1901. I won’t complain about another long wait if they keep up this level of inventiveness.
Like A Doll - Like A Doll My old friend Andy Gilchrist (you can hear his guitar on the 1984 recordings I use as bumpers on my podcast) introduced me to the music of Emma Stacher, a former guitar student of his, who leads this whimsical project. She must have graduated from his program with honors as her playing is not only precise but extremely characterful, full of a gracefully dissociative shimmer. Add that to songs that Syd Barrett would vibe to and the results are quite intoxicating, playful, yes, but with a certain malevolence that only makes you want to listen more.
Poptones
En Attendant Ana - Principia Sweetly tuneful and 60s-inflected songs - like a less dense Stereolab - make this Parisian band’s third album a consistent delight.
Zooey Celeste - Restless Thoughts Dense, almost ornate tracks - built by some of the same players behind Lil Yachty’s Let’s Start Here - give Celeste’s flamboyant baritone plenty to work with, creating an approach to art pop that incorporates influences from new wave, glam, and goth.
Art Feynman - Be Good The Crazy Boys I’m in the midst of doing a complete 180 in my opinion of Luke Temple, from his work with Hand Habits on their wonderful EP (see above) to this album, released under an alias that seems to have freed him up to be more intricately rhythmic and angular than the more twee sounds of Here We Go Magic, his older band. Like a cross-pollination of mid-period Talking Heads and latter day Donald Fagen, this is wry, danceable stuff that gets under your skin in a most pleasurable fashion.
Hannah Jadagu - Aperture I wouldn’t claim to be a full-blown synesthete, but I often put colors to music in my mind…and with Jadagu I see a confetti rainbow. Her sweet, clear voice dances through bright landscapes of chorused guitars, pillowy keyboards, and sharp beats. This debut - made when Jadagu was just 19 - is a record you can inhabit, like a Red Grooms exhibit exploring faith, love, and family. And when I’m back outside I find myself appreciating the day anew - and looking forward to my next visit.
Ian Sweet - Sucker This is the fourth album Jillian Medford has issued under this name since 2021 and by all reports the most polished. But songwriting this tight doesn’t appear out of nowhere so I can’t wait to circle back to the beginning. Produced with Alex Craig, who has also worked with Claud, the album is a perfect example of pop’s ability to transform complex emotional experiences, like the breakup that inspired Emergency Contact, into neat packages for you to sing and dance along with while transmitting those feelings directly to your core. Sweet does this on song after song on this terrific album.
The Drums - Jonny On his sixth LP as The Drums (and first since 2019’s Brutalism), Jonny Pierce goes it alone - writing, performing, and producing every note - and proves himself a true pop savant. Working on his own means a bit more electronics in the mix, but that matches his bright, shiny musical sensibility while providing foil for the introspective lyrics. But on a stunner like Green Grass, all Pierce needs are some guitar arpeggios, some synthy clouds, and his voice to put across a beautiful love song. And if Obvious wasn’t so clearly sincere you could almost accuse him of showing off by embodying all four members of The Smiths. These days, Morrissey AND Marr would kill for a song as good as that!
Alice Phoebe Lou - Shelter After the “breezy” Child’s Play and the “sultry” Glow (both 2021), Lou stretches her seemingly effortless talents for singing and songwriting into 50s malt-shop pop (Angel) and 70s Laurel Canyon folk rock (Halo), creating an album you can sink into, becoming the friend who’s always there when everyone has abandoned you. Though that may be as much an illusion as how easy she makes everything seem, it’s one that is brilliantly constructed with deeply human results.
Arlo Parks - My Soft Machine Perhaps aided and abetted by her new collaborators, most notably Paul Epworth (Adele, Florence & The Machine, etc.), Parks has shifted a bit from the lighter-than-air R&B of her 2021 debut to a more directly pop sensibility, with the occasional oomph of massed guitars for some drama. But her tuneful songs, personal and well-crafted, could work in any number of contexts and sound just as addictive.
Yeule - Softscars If we continue the mythology of 2022’s Glitch Princess, the more organic, pop-rock sound here could be seen as evidence of an upgrade into a more naturalistic skin for the earlier album’s titular cyborg. There’s also more collaboration on Softscars, with Kin Leonn contributing more to realize Yeule’s vision. However they got here, this is an artist now firmly established as a creative force - the sky is the limit.
Video Age - Away From The Castle Centered around multi-instrumentalists Ross Farbe and Ray Micarelli, this band has been seeking dance-pop nirvana since 2016. But I didn’t clue into them until they helped turn back the humidity at 2023’s edition of IndiePlaza with their ultra-cool keyboards, pulsating bass lines, and clever, catchy tunes. The fully produced version here is even better than what I heard on stage, with their aspirational disco and new wave moves getting even closer to the real thing. In this context, a little artifice only adds spice!
Nation Of Language - Strange Disciple Also heard first at IndiePlaza, with the central duo of Ian Devaney and Aidan Noell (rock’s cutest couple) turning in such an exuberant and fun performance that I became an instant devotee. While the album is a little more studied without the live energy, it’s also almost impossibly catchy, with each song loaded with hooks, expertly built from layers of keyboards, with peppy rhythms and guitar licks driving everything home as Devaney delivers telegraphic lyrics in his warm tenor. By making synth-pop that’s better than most of the original practitioners, Nation Of Language prove some maxim yet TBD about commercially calculated pop culture only reaching its artistic potential when it returns in artisanal form. TL/DR: it’s a fun, beautifully made album.
The Last Word
Richard Aufrichtig - One More Cup There’s never truly a last word on any Bob Dylan song. After all, even after Jimi Hendrix sent it into the stratosphere, people covered All Along The Watchtower - and had some success with it (Dave Mason, for one). But Hendrix’s take is still the one by which all others must be judged and the same must be said about Aufrichtig’s utterly original and newly devastating interpretation(s) of One More Cup Of Coffee. The only serious competition comes from Dylan himself, driving the song deeper into the valley night after night on the Rolling Thunder Revue tour. This quixotic, monomaniacal EP features five versions of Aufrichtig’s take, perfectly mirroring my own obsession with the song. The basic track frames the song’s indelible melody with synth patterns that remove any trace of sentimentality from the tune, providing a skeletal underpinning for Aufrichtig’s masterful vocal, in which the understated opening verse sets the stage for the heightening drama to come. It’s simply astonishing. A landmark in a career of incredible music. And then we get three remixes, by Erik Blood, Ethan Woods, and Cyberattack (Ivan Anderson), each of which expands on Aufrichtig’s vision. Finally, we get a voice memo version, recorded on an iPhone 7, which finds Aufrichtig feeling his way through the song with raw emotion. He also released the Boat School EP featuring another fine Dylan cover (It Takes A Lot To Laugh, It Takes A Train To Cry) alongside others by Townes Van Zandt, Hank Williams, and (yes) Gnarls Barkley, with triple-tracked harmonies and acoustic guitar. But it’s with One More Cup that Aufrichtig’s genius truly shines. All others, attempt the song at your peril. Dylan hasn’t played it live since 2009 and it’s unlikely he would try it again after hearing this!
Have I introduced you to anything new? And before you think I’ve missed something super-obvious, check out the archive playlist for hundreds (literally) more where this came from. Follow this playlist to keep up with what’s to come in 2024.
From the archives:
Best Of 2022: Rock, Folk, Etc.
Best Of 2021: Rock, Folk, Etc.
Best Of 2020: Rock, Folk, Etc.
Best Of 2019: Rock, Folk, Etc.
Best Of 2018: Rock, Folk, Etc.
Best Of 2017: Rock, Folk, Etc.
Best Of 2016: Rock, Folk, Etc.