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.