2023: Top 5 New Albums

Here we are with my annual tradition of top-5 albums.

A reminder about methodology: Top 5 albums were released in 2022 or 2023 (I sometimes don't buy music fast enough, OK?) . Then I rank 5 best new-to-me albums I encountered in the past year, and 5 miscellaneous songs that don't fit in the first two top-5 lists.

5. Built to Spill - When the Wind Forgets Your Name

Sub Pop, 09/2022

This was heavily promoted when it came out. I saw targeted facebook ads, silly youtube spots, etc. It's Built to Spill's 12th-ish album. Took me a bit to pick it up (I'd say the cover art is a bit off-putting). It's ... okay. It's the okayest Built to Spill album. They haven't made a bad album (although I don't really dig their Daniel Johnston collab too much). It's just that lately, every album seems a bit... less. 

In the mid-2000s, Built to Spill had settled into a stable 5-piece lineup: Martsch/Roth/Nelson/Netson/Plouf. Their live shows sounded fantastic. Live versions of old songs seemed perfect. Doug Martsch teased that the 5 of them had written songs as a group and they were great, but they were working through Doug Martsch solo compositions, and the next album would be a group effort. Then, the next one wasn't (more old songs), but the next one... and these songs never materialized. (I also remember similar rumors in the early 2000s about a 4th Halo Benders album. 

Then, lineup changes, pandemic, politics... and only Doug remains. I have a friend who insists the new 3-piece lineup of Built to Spill is the tightest, best yet. I skipped the show, so I couldn't say.

I will say that an OK Built to Spill album beats out some other bands at their peak. That's the amount of love I have for Built to Spill. (And I always think Idahoans, not Koreans, when someone mentions BTS.)

 

 

4. Brainiac - The Predator Nominate EP

 

Touch and Go Records, 05/2022

Tim Taylor died in 1997, leaving behind a band that was so far ahead of its time, we could dig up a cassette demo 25 years later and it would sound fresh. This is not peak Brainiac, it's about 8 not-fleshed-out song ideas, but it's great. For a while there, the Brainiac documentary was free to watch on Youtube. Sadly, no longer, although you may have luck on Tubi or Pluto for free.

3. Eyelids - A Colossal Waste of Light

 

Jealous Butcher Records, 03/2023

Portland's own Eyelids are on a hot streak. All their music is fantastic. Their live shows rip. They collaborate with everyone across the indie world (This album has Peter Buck from R.E.M. recording and playing on it). I can't say enough great things about Eyelids. They've shown up in this list before.

Why is this album not #1? Maybe because they set such a high bar with their previous albums? Maybe because two of the best songs on this album were released on a 7" a year before, so I'm less excited about them? I don't know. Prediction for 2023, though: their 2-LP singles collection "No Jigsaw" is due out in March, and I bet it's tops.

2. Casey Neill and the Norway Rats - Sending Up Flares

Fluff and Gravy Records, 09/2023

Casey Neill apparently started his career playing irish folk music. Any stray into indie pop was purely coincidental. Now, Casey Neill is a veteran, has an established combo filled with talented Portlanders (including a Decemberist), and makes world weary, Springsteenian (is that a word?) catchy musical stories about interesting characters. This is a solid album and good listen start to finish. My only complaint is that it doesn't have "Siphoners" on it, which has been stuck in my head since 2018.

1. The Van Pelt - Artisans and Merchants

 

La Castanya Records, 03/2023

WARNING: not as good as The Van Pelt's two classic 1990s albums. Somehow, those two albums have remained timeless. "Talk Rock" still sounds as vital in the 2020s as it did back then.

BUT... this is still pretty cool stuff from those same kids, now very much adults. There's some fun 90s reminiscence underpinning "Punk House" and "Grid", and there's something so catchy about shouting "Incredible Kegstands!" along with the music. But there's also some growth. Several songs ("We Gotta Leave", "Love Is Brutal") shed the talk-rock entirely for mellow, lightly-sung, less high-strung narrative. And it's great. take a listen.

2023: Top 5 New Discoveries

(5 favorite albums from 2021 or prior that I discovered this year)

5. Sugar - Copper Blue

Rykodisc, 09/1992

2023: The year Alex re-discovers the 90s! No, I remember reading about Copper Blue when it came out in some magazine or other (Probably Spin. Let's call it Spin.), but in the 90s, you couldn't just hear the music you wanted to, particularly if US radio refused to play it. This was 1992 album of the year for the N.M.E. in England. Anyway, I saw this CD's bluish case in the record store a time or two, but never shelled out the $$ to hear it. I wish I had. This is top-notch 90s pop. Maybe not as anthemic as Husker Du's "New Day Rising", but smoother and more radio friendly. Which again, makes me wonder why they didn't play this on the radio.

 

4. Smashing Pumpkins - Adore

   

Virgin Records, 06/1998

OK don't kill me. For some unusual personal circumstances, I had never heard this album until 2023. Pre-Adore, I was a Smashing Pumpkins fan. I didn't pony up the insane amount for "The Aeroplane Flies High", but if you have a friend who does, skip Pistachio Medley and the A-sides, it makes an insanely good 100-minute cassette.

I have even heard Ava Adore on the radio, but for reasons, I didn't get Adore when it was released. Soon, the general opinion was that it was OK, not great, and the world moved on from Smashing Pumpkins. Billy Corgan slowly morphed into Uncle Fester, and eventually broke up the band.

...And a few years later, I heard "Zeitgeist" when it came out, and that was bad; so I just never felt the need to revisit Adore.

Turns out, it's a pretty good album. I also heard Machina for the first time this year. It's a good-but-not-quite-great album. Maybe 2024 will bring Machina II and Judas Ø to my ears. who knows?

3. The Breeders - All Nerve

   

4AD Records, 03/2018

Good morning!

More 90s. Yay for the Breeders. Everything the Breeders do sounds good, but one of the problems with their later-period albums was that most of the songs sounded like half-a-song-idea that wasn't really fleshed out. This album fixes that. These are good songs that deserve to be spun alongside Last Splash and Safari and Pod.

2. The Cranberries - Something Else

 

BMG, 03/2017

An irish band, rereleasing mellower versions of their old catalog. Sound familiar? It could be argued that this record, which came out in 2017, was the Cranberries running out of ideas. It's 10 chamber-pop rerecordings of songs from their first 4 albums plus 3 new chamber-pop songs that fit right in. In hindsight, given the problems that Dolores O'Riordan was having, it's a miracle we get to hear these anyway. I find myself a bit saddened with the realization that I will never get to see the Cranberries live. 

So why is this album so good, and U2's Songs of Surrender so bad? (trust me, it's not good) For one, personal taste. Also, Dolores and the Cranberries seem genuinely into these versions. The songs are road-worn and comfortable. The new songs fit in pretty well, and the string section floats effortlessly through the whole thing. There was love and care and effort in the recording. The U2 project was mostly the Edge during the pandemic, going stir-crazy and recording mellow keyboard versions of songs that didn't need reinventing, with little input from the rest of the band.

Anyway, if you're a Cranberries fan, check this album out. It's growing on me each time I listen to it.

  1. Shellac - The End of Radio

 

Touch and Go Records, 06/2019

Radio One! Play the drums!

 A 12-track, 2-LP collection of two Peel Sessions Shellac did in 1994 and 2004. These have been floating around for some time (particularly the 1994 session), but in this format, they sound FANTASTIC. Shellac has always been about good sound, and in some ways, their music sounds like what the platonic ideal of what rock and roll guitar, bass, drums, and vocals should sound like. A bit dirty, a bit angry, but perfect.

This record encompasses all there is to love about Shellac. This is now Shellac's best album. These songs sound fantastic. Live, they stretch out and breathe. Sure, you could argue with the tracklisting. We don't need Canada twice. It really could use Copper and Wingwalker (and Didn't We Deserve, if you like punishment). But this record is perfect sound. Hear it on LP. It's stunning.

(buy on LP from Touch and Go Records here)

2023: Top 5 Miscellaneous Songs

 (The best five songs not on the other two lists. Either new in 2023, or new to me.)

5. Royal Blood - Boilermaker

from "Typhoons"

Warner, 04/2021

I was dragged to a Royal Blood show and had a great time. I didn't really know this band beforehand, but I'll be paying closer attention now. Recommended if you like your stripes white, your keys black, and your duo-jets flat.

 

4. Jason Isbell - Death Wish

 

From "Weathervanes"
Southeastern Records, 06/2023

Less capital-C Country, and more ... uhh.. Springsteenian (there's that word again!) storytelling from mister Isbell. I'm assuming that by 2023 almost everybody knows who Jason Isbell is. He seems like a champion of the downtrodden and underrepresented in real life, too... which makes him cooler than 30-50 feral hogs in my book.

3. They Might Be Giants - Alphabet of Nations [Extended Version]

 

From the deluxe edition (only) of "No!"
Idlewild Recordings 6/2012

I didn't think this song had a chance against the other good songs in this list... until I played it loud. These guys are REALLY selling it. They're into it. just listen. Technically, this is a re-recording, as the song also appears (in a shorter, more muted version) on 2004's "Here Come the ABCs", but John and John are so EXUBERANT! Really singing the hell out of this one. They sound excited about Oman and Pakistan, and, heck. Maybe they're right. We should all be so excited. I think my next vacation will be to West Xylophone.

2. Jimmy Eat World - Firestarter

From the "Last Christmas" 7"
Better Looking Records, 12/2001

Recorded in the Bleed American sessions, yes, it's THAT Firestarter. In hindsight, this doesn't seem long enough after The Prodigy came out for a cover. I don't have enough of the original song in my head-- It's just that creepy-eyed english bloke with the bad haircut shouting "Twisted Firestarter" and some keyboard sound effects, and the dude brushing the bugs out of his hair:

Yeah, that's it. 

Anyway, this is a cool cover, because it sounds like peak Jimmy Eat World. And I love whatever noise/drone is going on in the background. Adds to the tension of the song.

  1. Landing - Awake

From the Awake / Gravitational X Digital Single

Vast Arc Hues, 10/2023

A one-off single from Landing late in the year, and one of the catchiest songs they've ever written. This one just hits all the right notes for me. I don't know if it works for anybody else, but this I dig. It conjures sunshine, driving with the windows down, and this drifting out of the car windows.

2022: Top 5 New Albums

I'm now 10 years into doing this. Why stop now?

5. Pony Camp

 

self-released,10/28/2022

So, I believe the story goes something like this (although I could be wrong) -- Early in the pandemic, The Lowest Pair (aka Kendl Winter and Palmer Lee) went up into the mountains to camp and work on some songs with some friends-- a perfectly healthy, pandemic-friendly activity. Yet, because so many others had the same idea, the only place they could get to camp was a HORSE CAMP. And thus was their project named. As they were working on their HORSE CAMP songs, Kendl was also working on an electronic side-project with one of those friends, Adam Roszkewicz, and since it was a side project, it became PONY camp. At least that's what I think it is.

Anyway, it's fun to hear Kendl's songs outside of their normal banjo-tastic trappings. It's strange and fun to hear autotune on her vocals (Passwords), but I'd say this was one of those projects that works a little better on paper than it does in real life. Don't get me wrong, I enjoy this tape, but it's not as good as a Lowest Pair album.

 

4. Codeine - Dessau

   

The Numero Group, 09/02/2022

So, this should have been Codeine's 2nd album, "The White Birch". In fact, the artwork on the cover is named "The White Birch", which is the namesake and should have been the album cover for "The White Birch". Confusing enough?

Anyway, well through the sessions for this album, bassist Stephen Immerwahr kept hearing high-frequency noise (which may or may not actually be there) on the tracks, and scrapped the album for good.

Most of these songs ended up on "Barely Real" or "The White Birch". But this is the missing link. I love listening to the power of these songs.

3. The Lowest Pair and Small Town Therapy - Horse Camp

   

self-released 10/26/2022 

Like I said earlier, HORSE CAMP. Anyways, this is Palmer and Kendl with a full band -- generally guit/fiddle/mandolin/banjo that doesn't sound too far out from what Lowest Pair usually sounds like.

In fact, that's my best and worst thing I can say about this record. It's good. It doesn't sound too far from what a Lowest Pair record should sound like (which is amazing, don't get me wrong), but there's nothing too ambitious or different here. In fact, I would steer newcomers to the Lowest Pair to Perfect Plan or 36 cents. Nevertheless, this is a fine addition to the canon.

2. Afghan Whigs - How Do You Burn?

 

Royal Cream, 09/09/2022

Dulli's hair is going gray (so's mine!) and we're all getting older. Yet, this is a fun new Afghan Whigs album. There are lots of good and listenable songs on here. This is apparently Mark Lanegan's last recorded output, but he's unfortunately relegated to blink-and-you-miss-em background vocals, so no Gutter Twins II here. Also notable is "Domino and Jimmy", featuring Marcy Mays (lead singer of Scrawl, probably best known for her wicked vocals on Afghan Whigs' "My Curse" from 1993). This one's a fun duet. Check out some of the other bangers on this album like "Jyja" and "A Line of Shots".

1. Pohgoh - Du und Ich

 

Spartan Records 11/4/2022

Spartan Records has been on a roll the last few years. And Pohgoh? Breaking up in '97 only to release super amazing records 20 years later? Oh yes.

So this is Pohgoh's 3rd album. Solid rock and roll, great dynamics, perfect sound forever. And I love Susie's lyrics. She sings the things that are important to her-- not typical rock-and-roll, but a slice of her life and all the more important for it. A few of the songs are about her struggles with MS, but so many of the songs are about things we all go through--"Now I Know", quitting a job. "Heavy", struggles with self-image. She may say "Words are Harder", but somehow they sound effortless. Thanks, Pohgoh.

2022: Top 5 New Discoveries

(5 favorite albums from 2020 or prior that I discovered this year)

5. Cocteau Twins - Blue Bell Knoll

 

4AD Records, 09/1988

Ahh, a Cocteau Twins record. Early this year, I found myself planning a trip to the wilds of Southern Utah, and falling down a wikipedia rabbit hole, I discovered that the Cocteau Twins named an album after someplace I was visiting. So, with a very valid excuse, I tracked down this album and bought it as a soundtrack to a very fun road trip. 

I can't say enough good things about this classic Cocteau Twins album. Pretty melodies, alien words, silly song titles like "A Kissed-out Red Floatboat", and "For Phoebe Still a Baby". I need to pick up more classic Cocteau Twins, and this time I don't need a roadtrip as an excuse.

 

4. Codeine - Barely Real

   

Sub Pop Records, 11/1992

This is my year for Codeine. I was unaware this brilliant 6-song EP even existed. This has some powerful tunes. It may even be my favorite Codeine release. (don't hold me to that, I love them all)

3. Cat Power - Speaking for Trees

   

Matador Records

CD/DVD released 10/2004 

So, I remember when this came out. I remember reading reviews of it, and it sounded boring: One long (loooooooong) static shot of Chan Marshall playing outdoors. Nothing else.

I stumbled into this on Youtube, looking for something to listen to during my workday. I loved it. I realized that the visual isn't the point. This is great music. And the music is only half of it. The music is overwhelmed by the sound of high summer-- the insects and the wind. 

 This is from the same era of the one and only time I saw Cat Power live. She cycles through some of her songs, some covers, and mashes some covers and some of her songs together. She plays the same series of songs over as many as 3 or 4 times.

There's also a second audio CD with an 18 minute version of Willie, which got cut down to song-length for her next album The Greatest.

This is a fun listen, and this is peak Cat Power.

2. Verse en Coma - Rialto

 

Robotic Empire, 2008

It took me one listen through one song to order this EP. (It's available on 10"/CD on Bandcamp for a reasonable price). This is driving, intense, lyrical music. Many of the songs reference the Olympic Peninsula in the lyrics (which is my favorite place in the world). Soaring choruses, driving guitars. I love this so very much.

So these guys were apparently also in City of Caterpillar. I checked out their stuff this year and also liked it, but maybe not quite as much as I love this Verse en Coma record.

  1. Soul Coughing - Ruby Vroom

 

Slash/Warner Bros Records, 09/1994

It strikes me as odd that I've gone so long without hearing this album. I own "Irresistible Bliss", their 1996 follow up. I was just under the mistaken impression that I only needed one Soul Coughing album in my life. This album is the epitome of cool. Most of the time I don't even know what's going on with all the samples/upright bass/jazz drumming/nonsense words, but I know it's cooler than I'll ever be. My good friend David has been a Soul Coughing freak for years, yet somehow I let this one slip until now. That has been corrected.

2022: Top 5 Miscellaneous Songs

(The best five songs not on the other two lists. Either new in 2022, or new to me.)

5. Sparta - Until the Kingdom Comes

 

from Sparta's self-titled fifth album

Dine Alone, 10/2022

A dearly-missed friend turned me on to Sparta a few years ago. Jim Ward is a former member of At the Drive In, and he makes melodic, driving post-hardcore music. Jim recently (like 2019?) took back up the Sparta mantle, and this is the result.

I would no longer classify this as post-hardcore (not that labels really matter anyway), but this is BIG music. This occupies the same strata as big rock albums. It's a Weezer Blue. It's an Achtung Baby. This is Music for the Masses in the best way possible. Have a listen and see for yourself.

 

4. Typhoon - No One Will Dance

   

From the "Underground Complex No.1" EP
Roll Call Records, 04/2022 

It must be hard to be a member of Typhoon. Even middling indie success probably won't pay the bills when split 13 ways. I've been following Typhoon for at least 15 years, and they peaked at 13 members once or twice. Now I think they're down to 6 or 7 and that's sort of sad. Less is sometimes more, but not at a Typhoon concert.  Typhoon's power has always been derived from the number of kids on stage pouring their hearts into the music.

In more recent years, as their numbers have dwindled, the bright sparks on Typhoon's records have come fewer and farther between. Nevertheless, there are some great songs on this EP, and this song is one of them. Also, I got to see them in Monmouth, Oregon for a one-off show this December, and several former bandmembers guested. The player count was temporarily up to 8, and the show was quite good. 

They didn't play this song at the show, which was a shame. I love the moment in this song where Kyle sings the line "a song that no one will dance to...", and the rhythm immediately switches to an amorphous waltz time that is... impossible to dance to. Perfect.

3. The Decemberists - Better Not Wake the Baby

   

From the album "What a Terrible World, What a Wonderful World"
Capitol Records, 01/2015

2022 was Year of the Decemberists in our house. Our 13-year-old decided that The Decemberists were his favorite band. As a result, we added several Decemberists albums to the collection, and saw them in concert.

This song is 1:44 of classic Decemberists. Folky instrumentation, catchy tune, slightly old-fashioned and wordy sounding, with some borderline-ridiculous lyrics. Light, fun, and silly. Yeah, sounds a bit like The Wellerman, but who's counting?

2. The Arcade Fire - The Lightning I/II

 

From the album "We"
Columbia Records, 05/2022

I'm a sucker for two-parter songs. This is a fun one. A great performance on SNL this year, too. I'm not a big Arcade Fire guy, but this song is a banger.

To mention the current unsavory allegations against Win Butler-- we're certainly in an age where we can separate art from the artist. That being said, I think this sort of allegation would be better proven or disproven in a court of law. As it stands, I tend to disbelieve anything Pitchfork publishes, especially about bands that Pitchfork singlehandedly put on a pedestal.

  1. Tom Jones and The Cardigans - Burning Down the House

 

From Sir Tom Jones' "Reload" album
Gut/V2 Records, 09/1999

Wh..what just happened? Was that The Cardigans, fresh off their international superhit Lovefool, doing a classic Talking Heads cover with Sir Tom Jones (AKA "Theme Song Guy!")?

This would've been a fun, interesting cover with the Cardigans OR Tom Jones. Getting both at the same time feels like.. cheating. It's like somebody pushed up up down down left right left right BA start, and reality gave us Tom Jones, the Cardigans, and Talking Heads.

Top 5 New Albums 2021

Even through two years of plague, I'm still making my top lists for the year. Methodology is the same as it's been for the last few years: 

• Top 5 albums released 2020/21
  
• Top 5 albums I discovered older than that
  
• Top 5 songs not contained in the top 5 elsewhere

I'm glad to have largely avoided the live-over-zoom fad for this list. Lack of access to shows and record stores means that I didn't listen to very much new material this year, but the competition for old stuff was a little more heated. Anyway... to the lists:

5. Caithlin DeMarrais - What Will You Do Then?

Skeletal Lightning Records, 02/2021

Caithlin of Rainer Maria's 3rd solo LP.

This album sounds really modern and spacey. Even if I haven't kept up with the times, Caithlin has. These are some great songs. My favorite is "Good Luck Come Back" which was on last year's split 7" with Pohgoh. Worth a trip with headphones.

 

4. The Hold Out - Won't Be Leaving Here Today

Self-Released 12/2021
 

Rock solid rock and roll from Portland rock and rollers. Every album Andi and company have put out in the last few years has made this top-5 list, and this one is no exception. I'm especially a fan of "Non Grata" where guitar player Aaron steps up to the mic to vocally spar with Andi Camp's soaring lead vocals.

I feel like I'm not writing enough words about this band. It's tough, because I just want you to listen to them and rock out.

In fact, this is one of the bands I'm most looking forward to seeing again post-covid. Here's hoping.

 

3. Radiohead - Kid Amnesiae

Self-Released, 11/2021
 

2001's Amnesiac album was (at the time) billed as leftovers from 2000's Kid A. Now, 20 years later, we get a slight LP with leftovers from the two.

...Not that I'm complaining. First, I liked Amnesiac better than Kid A. Thought the songs were better. Second, it's just more of a good thing. This maybe should've been a triple album all along.

That being said, Kid Amnesiae has a lot of filler. There are some early versions (Fog, Fast-Track, Morning Bell, and another beautiful version of Like Spinning Plates), some weird instrumental interludes that sound like they're stitched out of other pieces of Kid A and Amnesiac,

There's the two completely new songs that Radiohead teased us with: Follow Me Around and If You Say the Word -- both are decent Radiohead songs. The world has room for more decent Radiohead songs.

 ...and then...

...and then...

An alternate version of Pulk/Pull with True Love Waits sung over the top. Pulk/Pull IS True Love Waits!!! 

(And if you're not a Radiohead fan, this doesn't make any sense. If you are, it's like saying "Revolution #9" was a jammed-out version of "Revolution" ... except I think everybody knows that already.)

 

2. Modest Mouse - The Golden Casket

Epic Records, 06/21

I keep waiting for Modest Mouse to make a bad album. They haven't.

Sure, I think this one and 2015's Strangers to Ourselves aren't quite in the same league as their earlier stuff, but this is still good, fun, listenable rock. I saw them live at an outdoor concert in August. Going among so many people was probably ill-advised, and there were too darn many people there-- it set off my fear of crowds something awful. Nevertheless, it was a killer show. 

I haven't seen Modest Mouse in concert (apparently) since 2004. What I didn't realize is that in the intervening years, they got popular. Well, I kinda knew they got popular, but I didn't realize that theirs is a certain type of popularity-- the kind that makes 30-and 40-something drunk women go absolutely nuts when they hear "Float On". (Similar reactions can be seen with "Baby Got Back", and maybe Bon Jovi with a slightly older crowd)

Despite the crowd reaction, it was a good concert, and the new stuff held up well. There seems to be a consistent theme with the songs-- "We Are Between", "Back to the Middle" -- a longing for less extremism and more focus on common ground. I can get behind that. After all, we're somewhere between dust and the stars.

 

1. Low - Hey What

Sub Pop Records, 09/2021
 

A companion piece to 2019's Double Negative, Hey What sees Low, almost 30 years into their career, breaking new ground and making new sounds. Nothing sounds like Hey What. Nothing.

Where Double Negative was 100% blown out and distorted, the sound of a band deconstructing their own sound, Hey What takes that distortion-- still heavy, but spares the vocals. Instead, the vocals are up front and clear-- some of Low's most elegant harmonies over a harsh, distorted soundscape that makes the vocals sound more porcelain and pristine by comparison.

The album's centerpiece (and Hit) is "Days Like These". I can't explain what's going on with the instrumentation on this song. It's almost a capella. The vocals hold up on their own-- but when Mimi sings her parts, loud, distorted instruments peek through. It's some weird side-chain limiter stuff. It makes it almost sound like a broken vocoder or talk box. You should listen to it. 

8 years ago, I was convinced that Low was entering their Dad-rock, late-career downward coasting slope of their career arc. Instead, Low have put out their two most challenging records and are still making music that doesn't sound like anything else. That's high praise.

These songs seem to alternate between the domestic ("Don't Walk Away", "All Night") and the universal ("Days Like These", "Disappearing"). It's a rollercoaster of a listen, ending with the epic "The Price You Pay (It Must Be Wearing Off)". 

Give this one a listen. It's pretty great.