2023 Year In Review

2023 Year in Review

The musical year of 2023 is in the books. It was a bit of a letdown after the explosion of post-COVID releases last year, but that was to be expected. However, that led to new opportunities for discovery, and there were many. Some legacy acts pulled it together for some great output as well. Below is my personal recap of the musical year, featuring some of my favorite albums, songs, and a few other odds and ends from 2023.

I didn't do a written analysis of my top songs this year. I started with that last year and really got rabbit-holed in it. I wanted to get this year's list out earlier so I just compiled my favorite 55 (or so) songs in this playlist. I was intentional with the order of the first 50 songs and after that, I kept songs I really loved or added new songs at the end (I reserve the right to keep adding to it and/or editing it!).

For clarification's sake, Jason Isbell's "Cast Iron Skillet" was my favorite song of the year, followed by Bonnie Doon's "Crooked Creek" and so on. You can certainly listen to it in order, but I've also been putting it on shuffle these past few weeks and must say, it's really good! Despite it being somewhat of a "down year," this playlist brings me a lot of joy when I listen to it.

On to the list! 

A few music-related things I really enjoyed this year...

Steven Hyden

As I described to my buddy Casey, “Steven Hyden is one of us.” He’s around our age, is as passionate about music as us, and a lot of our favorite bands are his favorite bands. He also writes about a lot of bands that I don't know that I end up really liking. I read his book about Pearl Jam last year. As a super fan of the band for their entire existence, I wasn’t sure there was much for me to learn from it. But Hyden does so much more than just tell the story. He’s really good at placing it in the cultural context of what life was like when these things were happening. 

I read his book about Radiohead’s Kid A this year and had a similar experience. That was such a seminal album at a seminal time in the internet’s history. This book really helped me reflect on how rapidly things have evolved since this album was released, which isn’t always easy to do when you are constantly trying to keep pace with the technological current.

His monthly list of new music he likes on UPROXX is even more diverse and eclectic and is a must-read for me each month. It reaffirms a lot of things I like, but is almost always 75% new stuff that I don’t know, but usually really like. As mentioned, he’s one of us.

Live Albums

Three great live albums came out late this year. The first was a show that I had the opportunity to attend at Chicago’s Thalia Hall - Neal Francis’ Francis Comes Alive. This show was a full-on celebratory party atmosphere, complete with costumes and an 11-piece band, including a mini-choir and a horns section. His music is so much fun and really…ahem….comes alive in this setting. He had a lot of fun with the rollout of the album as well, including a premiere of the concert film at the Music Box Theater (I’m sure he was inspired by Think Tank Comedy’s premiere there a few years back!).

Instrumental guitar virtuoso William Tyler also released a career-spanning live set in March, Secret Stratosphere. His song “Highway Anxiety” remains track #1 on my playlist for when I’m having anxiety, and he puts some cool delay effects on this live version that makes it even more surreal. This set closes out with a thrashing “Area Code 601,” which is the heaviest I’ve heard the usually mellow Tyler get, and the result is AWESOME. 

Tyler describes this closer as a “Hawkwind meets Charlie Daniels number,” which sent me down a Hawkwind rabbit hole (I had previously never heard of them). They were a revolving cast of characters that included Lemmy (from Motorhead), Ginger Baker (the iconic drummer from Cream and other bands), and many more stellar musicians. They are credited as co-founders of Space Rock. This rabbit hole just became a black hole! 

Another live release is from MJ Lenderman, which is a burner, full of perfect guitar tones and slacker rock anthems. It includes two new songs (“Knockin” and “Rudolph”) that he has only recently released as singles to date. His album from last year (which made this list) is also heavily featured with a boozy, barroom vibe that loosens these songs even more. 

Finally, as a bonus add-on, Willie Nelson just released a live recording of his 90th birthday party, Long Story Short. This marathon set features dozens of epic guests, from Snoop Dogg to Bob Weir, with Keith Richards, Beck, Neil Young, Margo Price, and many more. It's a celebration of an American icon, featuring many peers (the ones who are still with us) as well as many artists who were influenced by his epic career.

A History of Rock Music in 500 Songs Podcast

Jeff Tweedy turned me onto this podcast through his Starship Casual Substack email subscription. You can sign up for a free version of Tweedy's Starship Casual to receive a ~weekly email from himwith musings from the road, updates on what’s inspiring him, Wilco gear talk, and more (there’s a paid version as well, where Tweedy shares many unreleased demos and solo acoustic versions of songs as well…but the free version does it for me). 

Back to this podcast though - it is awesome. It begins with the songs and genres that were the earliest influences on Rock ‘n’ Roll and then delves into the early most influential songs from the Rock 'n' Roll canon. It’s like an endless rabbit hole of Rock ‘n’ Roll that will lead you down many other paths as well. The early episodes range from 30 to 60 minutes, but once he gets to the more Golden Era of Rock, he extends them out, sometimes beyond two hours (as of this writing, he is currently on episode 170, which is about Van Morrison’s “Astral Weeks”). 

A Flourishing Chicago Music Scene  

One thing I wish I had done a better job of while living in Chicago was tapping into the local music scene. There weren’t a lot of bands to emerge from Chicago during my time there (Twin Peaks, Whitney, Chance the Rapper, and the Smith Westerns all come to mind), but the indie scene there is currently on a heater. Dehd has been around for a few years now and has released a couple of great albums. Same with Neal Francis. There’s a new wave on the rise that includes Ratboys (who released a top album for me in 2023, keep reading to find out where it lands), Horsegirl, Deeper, Kara Jackson, Lifeguard, and Friko (whose 2024 release is at the top of my most anticipated albums of 2024 list). I’d love to see any of these bands at a classic Chicago smaller venue - Empty Bottle, Subterranean, Schubas, etc. Let's go!

Album of the Year - Radiohead, In Rainbows*

You might immediately be wondering how In Rainbows, Radiohead’s album from 2006 is the 2023 Album of the Year. It wasn’t even reissued, so it’s not like some new version came out that could provide an asterisked victory. This is actually a plug for the Dissect podcast, which did a track-by-track breakdown of In Rainbows. 

This podcast is, quite simply, one of the most brilliant things I have ever listened to. It made me a better Radiohead fan, a better In Rainbows fan, a better music fan, a better musician, and more appreciative of music and art in general. It shines a spotlight on what makes Radiohead so brilliant, technically and emotionally. 

They delve into Radiohead’s history, their process, the instruments that make the many sounds and layers on the album, and explore bigger themes happening in and around the album. Episode 8 (about the song “Reckoner,” which previously hadn’t done much for me) is one of the most provocative analyses of art I have ever heard. The same can be said for the episode about album closer “Videotape.” Listen to this podcast, and tell me that In Rainbows doesn’t feel like a brand new album (and the best new album you’ve heard this year). 

*Don’t worry, I have a top album that’s actually from this year, keep reading to get there.

Honorable Mention Albums

Rolling Stones, Hackney Diamonds

The Stones released their best album since....the '70s? There are some incredible songs on this album. The lead single, “Angry,” was a banger. “Sweet Sounds of Heaven” is an all-time great song, period (I hope it becomes the new official song of Hell’s Angels’ funerals). The acoustic country honk-ified “Dreamy Skies” sounds like it’s pulled from one of their peak albums of the ’70s. The highlight for me though is “Depending on You.” It just has such a great yearning, especially in the vocal (HOW does Mick still sound the exact same at the age of 80?!? He’s amazing here and his back and forth with Lady Gaga in “SSoH” is blissful).

There are some duds, but hey, one of the worst songs features Paul McCartney….a freaking Beatle!!! With the Stones!!!!! They close it out with a minimalist blues cover of “Rolling Stone Blues,” which is where they got their name. This move seems to telegraph or at least wonder if this could be their last album. I’m sure the recent death of Charlie Watt was a time of reflection and reckoning for the band. Of course, the Stones will live forever, but if this album is any indication, I'd love to hear a few more new albums before they hang it up.

Wunderkind producer Andrew Watt was at the helm for this album, and he’s done it again. He has worked with everyone from Post Malone to Ozzie Osbourne, to Eddie Vedder, to Paul McCartney to Stevie Wonder….I could go on. He’s also producing Pearl Jam’s next album which has me really excited for 2024. 

Sunny War, Anarchist Gospel - I really liked this album, especially the lead single, “No Reason.” It’s solid across the board and features collaborators that include Jim James, David Rawlings, and Allison Russell. Definitely worth a listen, and keep an eye on her output in the future.

Top 15 Albums of 2023

15. Sufjan Stevens - Javelin

This is a really heavy offering in every regard. Sometimes, Sufjan just can’t catch a break. He dedicated this album to his partner who passed away earlier this year. As if that wouldn’t be heart-wrenching enough, he later revealed that he’s suffering from Guillain-Barré syndrome—a rare auto-immune disorder. At first when the debut single dropped and was titled, “Will Anyone Ever Love Me?,” I thought, “Really?!?” But in the context above, such a sentiment feels warranted. 

The last time Sufjan suffered from a similarly debilitating illness, he gave us the Age of Adz. This album plays more like a cross between Illinois and Age of Adz. There are tranquil, melodic moments, and full-on electronic freakouts. It’s a wild ride that I’m honestly still unpacking (Age of Adz took months, this one may take longer). Also, the album-closing cover of Neil Young’s Harvest deep cut is equally beautiful due to Sufjan’s lush soundscapes he creates, but also in how it showcases the simplicity and beauty of the lyrics.

14. Wednesday - Rat Saw God

I love the soaring guitars and musical prowess of the band. The lyrics and vocals don’t always do it for me though. This is more likely on me than them, being a 43-year-old dude doesn’t always lend itself to listening to lyrics about watching someone play Mortal Combat. Unlike MJ Lenderman (who is also a guitarist in this band), the lyrics often focus on the mundane, but don’t drive home bigger picture issues when you dig into them. This doesn’t read as a super positive review, but it was still one of the best things I heard this year. “Chosen to Deserve” and “Quarry” absolutely rule.

Sometimes I am reluctant to recommend this band to people because the vocals can get a little emo-y and/or whiney, and sometimes downright sound like Mindy Tindle (with all due respect to Mindy). The good here far outweighs the bad though.

13. Colter Wall - Little Songs

This is Wall’s best album since his debut. I’ve described his voice as sounding like Johnny Cash’s grandpa, and that hasn’t changed. There are so many great songs here and he sounds very comfortable and self-assured on this outing. Early singles “Little Songs” and “Corraling the Blues” are among his best. 

12. Doug Paisley - Say What You Like

Paisley has been putting out some great singer/songwriter albums for years now. He popped on my radar when opening for Dr. Dog on a tour, and his song “Drinking with a Friend” is a beautiful love letter to just that (seriously, if you don’t drink, I wouldn’t listen to this song, because it will make you want to…with a friend). 

For this album, he rounds out his sound a bit for a little bit of a J.J. Cale spooky sound. Sidenote: You may not think you know J.J. Cale, but trust me, you do. A quick glance at his catalog may make you think he loved covering Clapton songs, but then you realize that he actually wrote “Cocaine” and “After Midnight,” among other classics like “Call Me the Breeze”. Beyond that, he, along with Leon Russell and a few others, is credited with being a founder of the “Tulsa Sound.” 

I digress. Back to Doug Paisley, I hope he continues to pursue this vibe because when he does so on this album, it truly shines. 

11. Animal Collective - Isn’t It Now? 

This is Animal Collective’s best release since their masterpiece, Merriweather Post Pavilion. It features so many fun moments and great payoffs. AC is at its best when songs feel more fully collaborative, and those pieces really shine here. AC will try your patience at times, but there is almost always a worthy payoff, like the climax of “Genies Open,” which lifts off into a bouncy, blissful ride amongst the clouds. Even the 22-minute “Defeat” offers an incredibly catchy mid-section (it churns to life around the 9-minute mark) that will get stuck in your head for days before it drifts off into underwater oblivion.

10. Rose City Band - Garden Party

If you blend some bouncy Grateful Dead vibes with some pedal steel, and some meandering guitar jams, you’re probably going to make this list. Ripley Johnson is at it again with Rose City Band (one of his three awesome bands, I’ve written extensively about him before, but also check out Wooden Shjips and Moon Duo if you haven’t already). The album opener sums up the vibe of this one really well. It kicks off with a bouncing, happy ditty before it shifts and drifts off into an expansive landscape with a guitar/pedal steel breakdown to close it out. 

The ironically titled “Slow Burn” (there are many much slower burns on this album) and “Porch Boogie” keep the tempo moving early on, and he opens up the landscape and song lengths later in the album, closing it out with three straight 6+ minute jams. “Mariposa” might be the highlight of the entire album, a seven-and-a-half-minute jam that builds and builds to glory. I’m well aware that I used the word “landscape" multiple times here, and that was intentional. This was a perfect soundtrack for Liz and my road trip across the Great American West this summer. 

9. Peter Gabriel - i/0

This was a late addition that I’m still processing. Gabriel released a song on each full moon of 2023, but the full album didn’t come to fruition until November. That being said, upon the first listen, I knew it was one of the best things I heard in 2023. And it should be, it’s rumored that Gabriel has been working on this album for 28 years (!!!). “Panopticon” and “Road to Joy” were immediate standouts. “Olive Tree” features a huge pop chorus that will catch you quickly, and remind you of Gabriel’s 80’s heyday. What struck me about the songs in between was the tenderness in many of them. A good example is the album’s title track, which is so simple, humble, and vulnerable in its message. 

I was never much of a Gabriel/Genesis fan growing up. Sadly, my musical consciousness of Genesis came to be around the silly “I Can’t Dance” era, long after Gabriel had left the band (I do remember his Sledgehammer video from when I was a very young child and being mesmerized by it. It was quintessential Mtv at the time). Just like it’s never too late to release a brilliant album (even 28 years later), it’s never too late to find a window into a brilliant artist’s late-career masterpiece. I’m excited to dig deeper into his previous work now as well.

My only knock here is that he did the dumb thing where he released three versions of the album all at once (much like Tyler Childers last year). Unlike Childers, who only offered a triple version of the album on vinyl, Gabriel offers a single version on wax. But still, just give us one version of the album upfront, and then release the other mixes later.

8. Lana Del Ray - Did you know that there’s a tunnel under Ocean Blvd

Lana is great but has never really hit me before this album. This is an expansive (maybe bloated at times) outing, but the highs more than make up for the lows. She transcends genre and classification, going from straightforward piano ballads to whatever genre you want to call “Peppers.” There are so many incredible moments and dynamics happening here that you can forgive her for including a 4:36 minute snippet of a sermon from mega-church pastor, Judah Smith. No one else is making music like this. I don’t know if it’s the future, but it couldn’t possibly feel more like the present. 

7. Joanna Sternberg - I’ve Got Me

This album feels like a cross between Daniel Johnston and Carole King. Sternberg grew up in NYC in an artist conclave and self-describes themselves as “autistic and A.D.H.D.” There is a stark vulnerability and simplicity to these songs, and what may first appear as childlike innocence reveals itself to be heavy, self-deprecating, and questioning of some big (and fundamental) topics. 

This one isn’t for everyone (it’ll definitely hit for empathy junkies like me out there), but listen to the title track and “People are Toys to You” and you’ll know pretty quickly whether it is or not. Whether you love the performance or not, I think you be able to appreciate the incredible hooks and bounciness of these sometimes spiteful, bubblegum anthems. 

I feel like 10 years from now, there will be a tribute album to this album where a bunch of huge indie artists cover these songs, and we’ll all celebrate their incredible, simplistic beauty. I’m just trying to enjoy it in the meantime as well.

*Bonus points for the album artwork here. Sternberg hand-draws all of the album artwork, including a large foldout of the lyrics.

6. Bully - Lucky for You

A couple of singles (“Lose You” ft. Soccer Mommy and “Days Move Slow”) from this one that got a heavy rotation on Sirius XMU really put this band on my radar. This one has some serious ’90s alternative anthemic leanings, with epic guitar tones and awesome angsty lyrics and vocals. My pal Corey introduced me to their previous catalog as well, which really stacks up. 

5. Ratboys - The Window

While Wednesday garnered a lot of (mostly deserved) hype this year, there was another female-led indie band that really settled in for me - Chicago’s own Ratboys! I first heard of this band on one of Steven Hyden’s monthly lists when he shared the 8-minute-plus epic, “Black Earth, WI.” This song is so awesome. Any time a meandering guitar solo can settle in on a riff and drive it home until it becomes a full-on sing-along chorus, I’m going to be on board. 

Beyond that epic, song-of-the-year-worthy beast, there are many other juicy guitar rock songs here. “Morning Zoo” features a glistening guitar lead line over a more mid-tempo churn. “Crossed That Line” is two minutes of driven frantic bliss with a couple of scorching guitar solos, and “It’s Alive” is a single-ready ballad with a soaring chorus. I love the haunted guitar lines that appear in the musical interludes and solos as well. “Black Earth, WI” remains the highlight though, and is worth every second of its build once that guitar solo hits the sweet spot. After that, there’s no turning back.

4. Young Fathers - Heavy Heavy

This one has been on my list all year long and was probably my favorite album of the year until about the midway point. It’s primal and frantic at times, and hypnotic at others. Lead single “I Saw” caught me earlier, and is definitely in the former category, and album opener “Rice” (in the latter category) might be just as good. “Tell Somebody” seems destined to be a show opener (or intro music as they walk on) and “Geronimo” is another highlight.

I am eager to see these guys live (check out their full KEXP performance here or a full set at a festival here). They are currently opening for Depeche Mode, but have a headlining show at the Vic in Chicago on April 11th. Who’s coming with me??

3. Cory Hanson - Western…

I’ll start this off by saying that I hate this album title (I omitted part of it here) and album cover. It was so dumb that I refused to buy the vinyl copy of it. That being said, the riff-heavy guitar rock on this one made it a top-three album of the year for me. So many great road rock jams. Hanson has shifted gears a few times on previous albums, but I hope he stays in this vein a bit longer (and chooses better album titles moving forward). Thanks to fellow C-ville-ian, Justin Cotton for turning me on to this scorching rock 'n' roll album.

2. Bonny Doon - Let There Be Music

My pal Casey put these guys on my radar after they were the backing band for Waxahatchee’s masterpiece, Saint Cloud. This is a smooth offering full of great songs from top to bottom. It kind of has a Kurt Vile on uppers vibe, slacker folk rock with some pretty great lyrics when you dig in. Highlights include “Crooked Creek” and “Let There Be Music,” but it’s all so dang good. There's not a ton to say here, just really good vibes all around.

1. Jason Isbell - Weathervanes

Before the release of Weathervanes, I had been up and down on Isbell. Every album he has released has been great, but I was kind of tired of it, both the studio and live shows. However, he just had an epic year, maybe the most epic of his prolific career. HBO released a revealing and raw documentary about the making of his previous album - directed by Sam Jones, who has made a pretty good rock doc or two before. He also STARRED in a Scorsese instant classic, Killers of the Flower Moon (when I heard he was in it, I presumed it was a bit part in it as a bandmember or something, but he was a major player, even squaring off against Leonardo DiCaprio in one gripping scene). 

That would be a pretty prolific year for most artists, especially when stepping away from the microphone and guitar to step in front of the camera. But, not Isbell apparently. He went ahead and also released what may be the best album of his career…yes, it may be better than THAT album. Oh yeah, Isbell also released a deluxe reissue of THAT album for its 10th anniversary. 

Weathervanes is a dense ride. It opens with a tale about a suicidal partner and continues with more tales of opioid addiction, women who got away, and school shootings. That’s all in its first half. But Isbell’s writing is at its best, and the band is better than they’ve ever been (in studio and live, more on the latter…later). 

The album opener, “Deathwish,” is an incredible way to kick things off (although Jack White’s solo acoustic version of this song may be even better…it sounds like he wrote it). There is some really cool percussion happening on this one and throughout the album as well. Isbell's vocals have rarely sounded more confident than on “Middle of the Morning,” which was unintentionally my most-played song this year. 

There are many other highlights including rocker “When We Were Close” which recaps Isbell’s friendship with the gone-way-too-soon Justin Townes Earle (check out this clip of Townes on Letterman…you may recognize that guitar player on the left). This song features one of Isbell’s most anthemic choruses, something that’s sometimes lacking in his catalog (“Be Afraid” and “Cumberland Gap” had big rocking choruses, but I don’t find myself wanting to sing along to them). 

The most stunning song here is "Cast Iron Skillet." Upon my first few listens, I presumed it was all one story. But after more listens and reading a few interviews, I realized that each section is its own sad story. Isbell has stated that as a kid he was basically told that you never, under any circumstances wash a cast-iron skillet, but later in life, he realized it's ok to do so (some may still disagree!).

This song takes that small lesson, and turns it into a metaphor for the many things we are told when we are young that may instead be local folklore or "the way things are around here." It's soul-crushing, and it was soul-crushing before I even knew the full meaning. I saw him play this song this summer and full-on cried the entire time in front of my 10 or so friends who joined me that day. I didn't even care. It was that damn good.

I mentioned this album is dense, but it’s also deep with some of its best tracks on the back half. "Vestavia Hills'" spare arrangement leaves plenty of room for the guitars to breathe throughout its slow burn. The last two songs on the album, “This Ain’t It” and “Miles” were absolute highlights of his live set in Indy this summer. His band has expanded, with Will Johnson (Centro-matic, Monsters of Folk, New Multitudes, and more) playing multiple instruments, including a second drum kit on “Miles” and others. It was the most invigorating Isbell set I've ever seen.

This album is a new tent-pole in the Isbell oeuvre - a high point in his career that comes close to being his greatest of all time (Southeastern, aka THAT album is tough to top for so many reasons). It may take another 10 years to figure out if this is his best, but there's no doubt that this was my album of the year, and that it was the most prolific year of Isbell's incredible career. 

P.S. I bought that Cory Hanson album on vinyl. It’s just too damn good. No regerts! 🤪

Top Albums of 2022

Alright, another year in the books, and it was a fantastic one for music. Below is my list of the top albums of 2023. While it's fun to rank things based on my own personal preferences, the ultimate point here is to hopefully expose some people to some new albums that they will like or to help someone look at an album in a fresh way. Happy reading, and more importantly, happy listening!

Honorable Mention with a one-sentence review for each (in alphabetical order by artist):

Animal Collective, Time Skiffs - Their best album since Merriweather Post Pavilion.
Black Thought/Danger Mouse - I love everything that Black Thought does (he has another new one coming out in 2023) and this is a great match for Danger Mouse’s stylings.
Cate Le Bon - Pompeii - She creates a lot of interesting, angular ear worms, I love everything she does.
Dehd, Blue Skies - I love this minimalist, primal Chicago trio, still dying to see them live in a small club.
Deslondes, Ways & Means - Great folky band with some amazing voices here, I’m especially drawn to the songs by Riley Downing, but it’s all awesome.
Hermanos Gutierrez - Dan Auerbach produced this new ambient offering from this acoustic duo who paint pastoral landscapes with (mostly) just two guitars.
Plains, I Walked With You a Ways - Waxahatchee’s hot streak continues with this folky collaboration with Jess Williamson.
Trampled By Turtles, Alpenglow - TbT return with one of their best albums, and it even includes a cover of a Wilco song from their album that came out this year as well.
Vieux Farka Toure/Khruangbin, Ali - Khruangbin’s record of amazing collaborations only grows stronger as they partner with the son of legendary Malian guitarist, Ali Farka Toure.
Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Cool It Down - It’s so good to have this band back as they add some modern cinematic touches to their bombastic sound (despite only being 8 songs after a 9 year hiatus).

10. Alex G, God Save the Animals
This was a late bloomer for me. I’ve been on the periphery of this band for a long while, as they tend to own a space between straightforward folk and freakout folk. This album fits that bill as well. There are some stunningly gorgeous songs here, and some stunningly weird ones. But, it’s always interesting and anchor tracks like “Runner,” “Mission,” and “Miracles” help to tie down the weird that comes between. Despite its meanderings, I never grew tired of this album, and I’ve liked it more with every single listen.

9. Tyler Childers, Can I Take My Hounds to Heaven?
I was honestly pretty annoyed when this album was released. At first, i thought, “Holy hell, a triple album from one of the best up-and-comers in the alt-country scene?!?” (or as SiriusXM recently labeled a channel focusing on this genre - Y’allternative). But then I read the details and realized it was actually three different versions of the same album. I would have been more cool with it had he offered a single album vinyl version of any of the versions, but no, a fan would have to shell out $50+ for the triple vinyl if they wanted to own it.

I’m still annoyed by it, but by golly, this album is so damn good, it honestly overcomes that potentially pretentious move. Childers dives head-first into straight up gospel on this one and his incredibly polished band delivers. While in a gospel framework, they touch on everything from Appalachia to funk, oftentimes strutting like the Band (like on the title track among others). The instrumentals are strong here as well, and while they may start on the folky or gospel side, by the end they have locked into a groove with more modern electric flourishes.

When I first dove into this one, I thought I might be able to build the best version of the album by plucking songs from the different versions. Honestly, without listening to different versions back-to-back, it’s sometimes hard to tell the difference, with the exception being Disc 3, which deconstructs each song, almost like Wilco’s recent reissue of Yankee Hotel Foxtrot does with outtakes and weird versions of songs from their masterpiece. I would have preferred if Childers had gone this route and included these versions on a deluxe version or a future reissue. This album is definitely worth the ride, just maybe not worth the triple vinyl version ride. That being said, if I see it onsale someday, I may not be able to resist.

8. Wilco, Cruel Country
The New York Times may have stated it best on this album, calling it an “Understated Magnum Opus.” This album is as expansive as the American West, as sprawling as Manifest Destiny, and as complex as the country today. It’s primary fault may be that it’s too sprawling. I had to force feed myself to fully digest it. Not to say that any of it is painful, but clocking in at 77 minutes, these 21 songs are a lot to take in at once. I honestly do wish they would have chopped it down a bit, but, I honestly can’t pick which songs I would exclude.

The above may not sound like a ringing endorsement, but this album sneakily contains some of Wilco’s best and most expansive songs in years. This is an album to play on a Sunday around the house, or to listen to at work in the background, or to throw on for a long drive. These settings will let certain songs emerge, and others to sink in slowly. It may be understated, but that doesn’t mean it’s an underachievement. Like many of Wilco’s best albums, it demands multiple listens and a steady unfurling to crack the code of these 21 songs. I was recently diving back into Damien Jurado’s brilliant Maraqopa trilogy of albums, and it struck me that many of these Wilco songs could live in that universe as well.

I could go on, but this album feels like more of a personal journey. In the words of Tweedy himself (on a previous album), “Either you will, or you won’t.”

7. Wet Leg, Wet Leg
This was the best debut album I heard this year. And I tried really hard to not like a band called Wet Leg, but one single at a time on Sirius slowly wore me down. It was the album closer, “Too Late Now,” that first really hit me. It starts off like a slow building Yeah Yeah Yeah’s song, and the vocals could even be mistaken for a tame Karen O. But the part where it really gets interesting is around the 1:42 mark. Just when it sounds like it’s going to take off to the stratosphere, the “chorus” turns into a second-guessing, self-doubting psyche deep dive that ends in a bubble bath. After this reset the intense building that you would have expected earlier continues and ends on an amazingly effective note. Call it an ode to anxiety or Karen O at her most insecure self, but it RIPS.

While this album is as cohesive as a full unit, other single-worthy songs like “Chaise Longue” (which Pearl Jam covered?!?), “Angelica,” “Wet Dream” (I also tried really hard to not like a song called “Wet Dream,” but this may be the most infectious song on the album), and the absolutely hysterical “Ur Mum,” provide enough of a backbone to carry through any other inconsistencies in flow. Upon a deeper dive listening, there are actually no misses on the album, it just didn’t flow as well for me at first.

6. Peter Matthew Bauer, Flowers
This dude released the lead single from this album, “Knife Fighter,” very early in the year. From first listen, it absolutely enchanted me. I hoped for a full album of this captivating sound, and when I finally got my hands on it, it was a bit disorienting that the album was so diverse. Bauer cut his teeth playing bass in the mid-aughts buzz-band the Walkmen. He has released a couple of solo albums since they announced their “extreme hiatus” (which just ended!!!). I knew nothing of any of this when I heard the lead single, I just knew that the song was going to stick with me for a long time.

When I finally got the album much later, as mentioned, its diverse sounds were a bit jarring. There were full on Walkmen rockers (he recorded this with their drummer, so the rhythm backbone of the original band is intact). There are moments that sound like early War on Drugs (“Flowers”), moments that sound like the best of Bon Iver (“Miracles”) and moments that sound like a carnival band playing as the ship sinks underwater (“21st Century Station”), and more enchanting songs along teh way. The closer builds to a massive driven explosion, and amazing conclusion to an amazing album. Hopefully a sign of what’s to come as well! (Speaking of what’s to come, the Walkmen did announce a few shows for 2023, wouldn’t be pissed if they released some new music as well after their self-proclaimed “extreme hiatus.”

5. MJ Lenderman, Boat Songs
I have said it before, but it’s really hard to write good songs that also make people chuckle. John Prine was among the best at it, and many older country greats could also pull it off, but it’s such a rare gift, especially when you can take those light moments and make them part of something bigger that hits you over the head with an epiphany (Prine was the absolute best at this).

Somehow, 20-something MJ Lenderman has already picked up this skill as well. His songs are full of pop culture references from Michael Jordan to Dan Marino to Table/Ladder/Chairs WWE matches. As light as these references may sound, by the end of each song that references, you’re left with a deeper abstract nugget to think about. For example, “TLC Cagematch” starts off as a Stones-y honky tonk jam about how wrestlers sacrificed their bodies for our entertainment. But he concludes it with the following stanza:

That's why we do what we gotta do
To get through
And I know life will make us crazy
I do

And I know why we get fucked up
Yeah, I know why we get so fucked up
I know why we get so fucked up
I do

It's hard to see you fall so flat
From so high up, hard down on the mat
In this battle royale cage match
Where all things go

Suddenly the self-sacrifice and things that wrestlers have to do to keep going are about us as well. Who knew that pro wrestling could serve as such a strong metaphor for our day to day struggles? This kid, apparently.

Now, the nice thing is, if you’re not into thinking when listening to music (especially to the level of analysis that these reviews reach), these songs are perfect for that as well. They are ready-made for a road trip, a dive bar juke box, a Saturday night party, or as the album title suggests, cruising on a boat. It takes many listens to even care what he’s saying (beyond the obvious pop culture references) because the songs are so damn catchy and good.

Lenderman is actually also a member of an upcoming buzz-band called Wednesday that is due to release an album in 2023. I recently read an interview with him done by my favorite rock ‘n’ roll critic, Steve Hyden, who named this album his album of the year. (Hyden also wrote a remarkable book about Pearl Jam’s evolution as a band this year, and another incredible book about Radiohead’s Kid A). In it, Lenderman sounded exhausted by the whirlwind of the success of the album running right into Wednesday’s forthcoming release. I worry that something has to give, but I hope it’s not his solo work, because I absolutely need more of it!

4. Kevin Morby, This Is a Photograph
Morby’s indie masterpiece hot streak continues. I’d argue this streak started with City Music, but others may go further back. There are no real misses in his ever budding career, and no matter how you slice it, this one is a high point.

The opening (and title) track comes surging out of the gates, serving as a thesis statement for the album. It’s followed up by “Random Act of Kindness,” which is one of my favorite Morby songs ever. It would have served as a great album opener as well (more on that later). From there, Morby slips into “Bittersweet, TN,” a duet with Erin Rae that is stunningly gorgeous, especially when it takes off with Rae’s voice leading the way for the orchestral swell at the 3:37 mark. Bliss.

Morby wrote much of this album in a hotel room in Memphis, and the city’s fingerprints are all over this album. This includes a mini-suite Jeff Buckley tribute in the middle of the album with “Disappearing” > “Coat of Butterflies.” (Buckley tragically died swimming in the Mississippi River while in Memphis and had also applied for a job as a butterfly keeper at the Memphis Zoo before his passing). Talk about hipster indie rock street cred!

“Rock Bottom” is a straightforward rocker that interestingly features a few recorded giggles in the bridge from Tim Heidecker (of Tim & Eric fame). Things get a bit dark with “Five Easy Pieces” (based on a Jack Nicholson movie from the ‘70’s with the same title), but Morby backs that up with a gorgeous ode to his longtime girlfriend, Katy Crutchfield (aka Waxahatchee). He closes it out with two more beauties - “Now It’s Over” and the wistful, yet hopeful, “Goodbye to the Good Times.”

This album is near perfect and it may be a masterpiece. I do have one major beef with it though, and it really bugs me: Why in the hell didn’t he open the album with “Random Act of Kindness”?!?!? That song is an ultimate album opener and sets such a great tone. I get that “This is a Photograph” serves as kind of a thesis statement for the album, but it’s already the album title track. Isn’t that enough? Also, his last album (Sundowner) was inspired by sunsets and the glow that follows. “Random Act of Kindness” peaks with the line, “SUN CAME UUUUP.” What a perfect segue. I know this shouldn’t be as big of a deal as I’m making it, but I think the album does suffer due to this choice. (Rant OVER haha.)

If you’re interested in learning more about this album, I plucked much of the above from an excellent track-by-track interview Morby did with Vulture.

3. The Smile, A Light for Attracting Attention

Headline: “Radiohead” Releases Best Radiohead Album in 15 Years!!!

First and foremost, it’s impossible for me to believe that Radiohead released In Rainbows 15 years ago. Second of all (and more importantly for this writing’s purpose), The Smile’s new album is a damn near masterpiece, and resides as not only the greatest Radiohead side project (I do still have a soft spot for Thom Yorke’s Eraser on a rainy day), but near the top tier of Radiohead releases period.


It’s got everything you’ve ever loved about Radiohead. The menacing opener that serves as a Siren of what’s to come. The angsty, antagonistic guitar rocker (“..Television Again”). The haunting apocalyptic yet somehow still hopeful yearner (“Free in the Knowledge,”), the sexy smooth “I could probably make out to this song if it didn’t make me think so much” song (“The Smoke”). The anthemic manic guitar masher (“We Don’t Know What Tomorrow Brings”). The acerbic political takedown of one of the worst humans in the history of the planet (“A Hairdryer”). The mid-tempo kind of weird ones that you’ll end up loving on your 97th listen (I’m still not to my 97th listen yet). And the dreamy album closing send off, “Skrting on the Surface.”


Another fun game for this one is trying to figure out which Radiohead album each of these songs would fit best on, because almost every album is represented perfectly here. Oh…but noooooo….it’s definitely not a Radiohead album. Right. Got it.

2. Big Thief, Dragon New Warm Mountain I Believe in You
In the summer of '21, my friend Kevin (aka Pugs) and I went and saw Big Thief at an outdoor parking lot in Indy (the HiFi Annex). We were both fans, but talked on the way how there were basically 5 or 6 songs we wanted to definitely catch, and, if they played them all early in the set, maybe we could sneak off to catch Phoebe Bridgers at another venue. Big Thief came out and pretty much played those 5-6 songs in the first quarter of the show. It was spellbinding so we decided to give it some more time. Rumors of a pending sprawling masterpiece of an album were already starting to spread.

They proceeded to play much of this new album, with some songs fully fleshed out and others still a massive work in progress. One that stood up was a massive electric rock version of the album’s title track, which ended up as more of a dreamy meditation when they cut it in the studio (HERE’s a link to a video of a similar version to what we witnessed). There was NO WAY we were leaving that concert. We had to stay so we could go tell others what was coming and keep spreading those rumors of a forthcoming sprawling masterpiece…because they were absolutely true.

This album is a bit all over the place. It's like a folky "White Album" in that it doesn't all naturally fit together, but it somehow all fits together. There are rubber band boings (you'll know it when you hear it), fiddles, some electronic beats, folky ditties, dark and dingy road-weary meanderers, and more. It's all anchored by Adrienne Lenker's incredible songwriting, her empathy, and, her pain and how she sorts through it. I had an epiphany earlier this year that I really long music that has a yearning or longing to it. Lenker is a master at creating songs with this factor.

While Lenker is clearly the center of the band's solar system, another thing that stood out to Kevin (aka Burger Boi) and I, was the cohesiveness of the band. That cohesion shines through on this album as well. The band actually recorded this album in four different settings across the country and it's easy to imagine them as a folky collective holing up in various cabins and studios to create this album. 

Despite the expanse of this insanely vast landscape, I’m honestly somewhat surprised that this incredibly prolific band didn’t release another album this year. There were many cuts they played live that didn’t make the cut (including this lovely John Prine-esque ditty) and they haven’t been shy about an abundant release schedule in the past. That’s not to say I’m disappointed, I’m definitely still unraveling this one. 

For instance, my good buddy Corey more recently revealed the beauty of deep album cut “12,000 Lines.” It’s so deep in the album that I don’t make it there every time, but man, what a vibe. This one will continue to reveal itself, and I cannot wait to see what this band does next, because they've proven they can literally do anything. 

1. Spoon, Lucifer on the Sofa
The week this album came out in February, my wife Liz jokingly asked if this was going to be my album of the year. At the time, I said, “This isn’t even the best album to come out this week!” because the much anticipated Big Thief album had just dropped on the same day. Big Thief held the top spot in my mind for a while, before Spoon eventually took over for the summer. I presumed once the weather turned cooler, I’d dig back into Big Thief’s sprawling epic, and it would eventually prevail (these are the mental "battles" that happen in mind 😂).

And, while Big Thief did make a comeback in the fall, the damage was done and there was no turning back. Spoon had released a masterpiece. I heard WXRT’s Marty Lennarts comment that somehow, every album this band releases is better than the last one. I wholeheartedly agree, especially this run of their last three albums (They Want My Soul > Hot Thoughts > Lucifer).

This album is so freaking perfect. It has all of the elements of a spectacular album - Amazing opener; an incredible Song of the Year worthy (and winning!) single; other single-worthy tunes to back it up; deep tracks that you warm up to months later; and a great send off of a closer.

It all starts with an almost unrecognizable cover of Bill Callahan’s side project, Smog’s, song “Held.” When I first heard it, I did think, “These are really interesting lyrics for Britt Daniel to write,” before I figured out it was in fact written by Callahan. This version struts and flexes Spoon’s sinister side and is filllllthy. (Dear Spoon, while you are at it, can you just cover the entire Smog album? It’s one of my favorite lo-fi albums ever, and before you recorded this cover, this wasn’t even one of my favorite songs on it!)

It then rips into the aptly titled “Hardest Cut,” before seguing into sleek and once again strutting “Devil and Mr. Jones” (one of those mid-tempo numbers that really hits you many listens later). After that we get to the best song of the year: “Wild.” Before we get to that, back to the “Devil and Mr. Jones,” real quick….its fits of starting and stopping almost make it seem like the perfect prelude to “Wild.” That transition between the two is FLAWLESS.

And “Wild.” This was my song of the year. I wrote about it more on my year-end songs list, which you can find HERE.

How could they possibly follow up the best song of the year and likely their career? With the stunningly perfect, “My Babe.” It doesn’t come close to the career-defining “Wild,” but holds its own as one of the best singles of their career. It’ll also have all the couples in the crowd holding each other close and singing to each other.

Spoon then follows that double-whammy up with the back-to-back of single-worthy “Feels Alright” and “On the Radio.” These could be two of the best songs on most other albums this year. Or two of the best songs on any Spoon album. The much softer “Astral Jacket” follows and might be a chance to catch your breath, but is by no means filler. It flows perfectly into the shimmering and driving “Satellite,” which is a deep secret weapon that continues to reveal the depth of this masterpiece. The album-closing title track is smoky and sexy and a perfect send-off into the night.

Before a Spoon show in Chicago this spring, my good friend Mary (Paul’s better half) said that Spoon may be the best indie rock band around. At the time I could certainly think of a couple of others who may qualify, but looking at Spoon’s body of work after this album, they may be one of the greatest ROCK BANDS of the last 20 years. The herd is actually pretty thin. One could also easily argue the Black Keys, or Jack White/Stripes. The Strokes are certainly bigger, but their catalog during this time isn't as rock solid as Spoon's.

I could certainly be convinced of the Keys, as they are like a modern-day Rolling Stones hit machine and their influence has spread through collaborations and producing others’ albums as well. Jack White is a similar institution, and both of these entities have a much bigger following than Spoon. Another worthy challenger is obviously Radiohead.

But, just as an exercise, let’s stack Spoon’s last-20-year-catalog (Kill the Moonlight through Lucifer on the Sofa) up against Radiohead’s (Hail to the Thief > In Rainbows > King of Limbs > A Moon Shaped Pool). Radiohead certainly started the double-decade off strong, but it’s been a steady decline since In Rainbows (UNLESS you count the new Smile album…which…once again, is NOT a Radiohead album 😁). Meanwhile, Spoon’s arrow points up with almost every subsequent release without a dud album in that time span (Transference may be an aberration, but it certainly doesn’t suck...and it won't put you to sleep like A Moon Shaped Pool).

Aaaaand…if we’re talking about 20 year runs of American rock bands…maybe, just maybe, Spoon is secretly one of the greatest American rock bands ever?? Certainly of my lifetime and most certainly of the past 20 years. How many American bands have a better 20-year run in them? The Dead….Bruce & the E Street Band….Aerosmith (it’s easy to knock Aerosmith at this point that they've basically become a parody of themselves, but in the mid-90’s, one could have made the case of them being the greatest American rock n roll band, and their 20 year run from the release of the song “Dream On” to the album Get A Grip is about as epic as any).

I can’t say any band from the grunge era had that long of a near-flawless run of records, and I have an extreme bias for that era.. All food for thought, but at the very least I think we need to reconsider Spoon’s place in the rock n roll pantheon. Chew on it and let me know what you think. Orrrrr....just go bliss out while listening to this year’s best album.