Editor's note: Check out my podcast discussion with Jay Breitling about our favorite music of '23 on Completely Conspicuous (here's parts 1 and 2).
Being a music fan has never been easier, even as being a musician has never been more difficult. Not so much the making music part; that's simple thanks to digital technology. You can record an album in an hour and have it available for streaming the same day. But if you want to make a living as a musician? Now THAT'S challenging.
Unless you're one of the few true current superstars like Taylor Swift, Beyonce or Olivia Rodrigo or an established legacy act with a large and well-known catalog, you've got a long, hard road to travel to make money consistently. Music has become incidental, easy to find whenever you want, wherever you want through services like Spotify, Apple Music, YouTube, etc. But even if you're an artist with a song that's getting millions of streams, that doesn't necessarily translate into a lot of money. Except for those aforementioned superstars, nobody's selling a lot of physical albums anymore. Touring can generate revenue, but after ticket agencies and venues get their cut, there's not much left.
All that said, artists are still making great music and that's what I'm focusing on here. Here's my top 15 of 2023.
15. Eldridge Rodriguez - Atrophy: Cameron Keiber and crew are back with another excellent album, following up 2020’s standout Slightest of Treason. As urgent as that record was, ER’s new release stretches out as the band explores some different sounds and styles. A few of these songs (“Megalodon,” “Scars in the Vein” with Thalia Zedek, “Have I Gone Too Far”) were released over the past couple of years as singles, but they lose none of their potency as part of this collection. On Atrophy, ER retains their slashing guitar sound, but explores more mid-tempo territory with satisfying results. Having seen the band live twice in the last four months, I can say the songs sound even better in the live setting. Choice tracks: Scars in the Vein, Casual Jesus, A Feeling That Won’t Go Away.
14. Model/Actriz - Dogsbody: An audacious debut led by singer Cole Haden that leads the listener through dangerous back alleys to witness various acts of lust and who knows what else. The band goes from 0 to 90 in an instant depending on Haden’s exhortations. The album throbs with intensity on songs like “Mosquito” and “Donkey Show,” building up from almost spoken word sections to thrashing fury. There’s echoes of bands like !!! and Nine Inch Nails. Pretty great stuff. Choice tracks: Mosquito, Donkey Show, Crossing Guard.
13. Yves Tumor - Praise a God Who Chews But Which Does Not Consume: Brilliant melding of shoegaze, alt-rock and funk. Production help from Alan Moulder helps bring some 90s guitar edge to Tumor’s din. Obvious Prince influence but there’s a lot of originality that makes them one of the most exciting and interesting acts around. Choice tracks: Echolalia, Meteora Blues, Ebony Eye.
12. Speedy Ortiz - Rabbit Rabbit: For a decade-plus, Sadie Dupuis has led Speedy Ortiz, one of the most reliably excellent indie-rock acts around. Dupuis is the only original member left, but on their fourth full length, the band’s identifying characteristics remain: Sadie’s vocals and clever lyrics, surrounded by slashing guitars. The album was recorded at the legendary Rancho de la Luna studio in Joshua Tree, California, where many classic acts have recorded including Kyuss, Fu Manchu and Queens of the Stone Age. While Speedy Ortiz didn’t turn into a stoner rock act, the guitars have a little more bite than on the last few releases. Choice tracks: You SO2, Scabs, Ghostwriter.
11. Bully - Lucky For You: Much like Speedy Ortiz, Bully has been powered for the last decade by a woman: Alicia Bognanno. When the other members of the band left after the second album in 2017, Bognanno decided to soldier on as a solo act but kept the name Bully. This album finds singer-guitarist Bognanno playing all the instruments and exploring some poppier elements but still keeping the driving, anthemic indie sound Bully is known for. Fellow Nashville resident Soccer Mommy makes an appearance on “Lose You,” which has a late ‘90s vibe, while “Ms. America” is a stripped-down meditation on the state of the nation that leads into the pissed-off rager “All This Noise,” which ends the album with a punchy bang. Choice tracks: Days Move Slow, Lose You, Hard to Love.
10. Yo La Tengo - This Stupid World: YLT’s been around a long time and it would be easy for them to release a typically decent collection of atmospheric noodlings. But on this their 17th studio album, they show that they can still bring the heat. The opening track is the 7-minute tour de force “Sinatra Drive Breakdown,” which finds the band locking into a Krautrock beat while Ira Kaplan wrings feedback out of his guitar. It’s awesome. Lyrically, they’re dealing with the awfulness of the world, but musically, they’re steeling up to keep on keeping on. Choice tracks: Sinatra Drive Breakdown, Fallout, Brain Capers.
9. Protomartyr - Formal Growth in the Desert: Another moody classic from Detroit’s Protomartyr with their first post-pandemic album. Joe Casey combines his typically cynical observations about humanity with remembrances of his late mother and realizations about deserving love (he recently got married). Meanwhile, the band expands its post-punk sound with pedal steel, synths and more orchestral shadings. Choice tracks: For Tomorrow, Polacrilex Kid, We Know the Rats.
8. The Hives - The Death of Randy Fitzsimmons: The Swedish band’s sixth album and first in 11 years finds them still ripping shit up with good-time garage punk. They’ve been around since the mid-90s and have lost nothing in terms of energy or inspiration. Randy Fitzsimmons was supposed to be the sixth Hive who wrote all the music, discovered and managed the band and died under mysterious circumstances; in reality, it’s the pseudonym for guitarist Nicholaus Arson. On the new album, the band does what it always has: short, punchy and super hooky riff rockers, sung with tongue firmly in cheek by frontman Howlin’ Pelle Almqvist. Tailor made to make you drive faster or pick up the pace on the treadmill. Choice tracks: Bogus Operandi, Countdown to Shutdown, What Did I Ever Do to You?
7. Boygenius - The Record: Supergroup featuring Phoebe Bridgers, Lucy Dacus and Julian Baker releases debut with the confidence of three indie vets who have perfected their craft over the last several years. Unlike many supergroups, the members of Boygenius are able to seamlessly incorporate their strengths into this project and sound like they’ve been playing together for a decade instead of a few years. The album alternates between delicate musings and out-and-out rockers. Very satisfying. Choice tracks: $20, Satanist, Emily I’m Sorry.
6. QOTSA - In Times New Roman: After a six-year break, QOTSA returns with an angry, heavier album that encapsulates frontman Josh Homme’s messy divorce, a cancer scare, loss of friends (Mark Lanegan, Anthony Bourdain, among others) and battles with depression. It’s a return to the raw sound the band favored 15 years ago and is a no-frills affair, avoiding the guest stars who have appeared on previous records and avoiding the dancier sound of 2017’s Villains. Catharsis through rock is the best therapy. Choice tracks: Emotion Sickness, Paper Machete, Made to Parade.
5. Pardoner - Peace Loving People: Bay Area slack rockers continue the momentum from 2021’s Came Down Different with a short album of guitar rippers. They combine plenty of influences that run the gamut from the last 50 years of rock, with Malkmusian vocals that indicate a sense of humor but avoid jokiness. It’s an album that leaves you wanting to listen to it again, which is a sign of excellence in my book. Choice cuts: Deadbeat, Dreaming’s Free, Are You Free Tonight.
4. Eyelids - A Colossal Waste of Light: Sparkling set of indie power pop from supergroup featuring former members of GBV, Decemberists, Camper Van Beethoven. They wear their influences on their sleeves, whether it’s R.E.M. (the album is produced by Peter Buck, and he played with them on selected tour dates so that makes sense), XTC or their former bands. It all combines to create an impeccable set of songs with sharp riffs, hooks upon hooks, and memorable choruses. Choice tracks: They Said So, Runaway, Yeah; I Can’t Be Told.
3. Sweeping Promises - Good Living is Coming For You: The Kansas-by-way-of-Boston duo returns with a compact and blistering album of lo-fi indie post-punk that threatens to implode your ear buds. Singer Lira Mondal belts out impassioned vocals that wouldn’t be out of place on a B-52s album while Caufield Schnug provides lacerating guitars and gritty drumming that propel the songs along. Relentlessly catchy and all-too-brief (30 minutes), but immensely satisfying. Choice tracks: Eraser, You Shatter, Throw of the Dice.
2. Guardian Singles - Feed Me to the Doves: Straight outta Auckland, NZ, deliver an exciting collection of concise post-punk blasts that hits you right between the ears. Tackling topics including climate change denial, amoral marketing techniques, conspiracy theories, Guardian Singles wraps them in urgent guitar riffing, hot solos and pogo-worthy rhythms. Another short album that’s over before you know it and demanding a replay. Choice tracks: Chad and Stacey, Pit Viper, Com Trans.
1. Jeff Rosenstock - Hellmode: Rosenstock has been one of the most consistent purveyors of indie rock of the latter half of the 2010s, with now six excellent solo albums since 2015. His typical mode is anthemic pop punk tinged with some ska, but on Hellmode, he dials down the fury a little with some tender moments as he examines life in his 40s, self-doubt, and his apprehension at the state of the world. There are the trademark Rosenstock sped-up tempos, shouted gang vocals, and liberal use of f-bombs, but there’s also a quieter second half of the album that relies on acoustic guitar and softer melodies on songs like “Healmode” and “Life Admin.” He then closes with the epic 7-minute “3 Summers,” ruminating on dealing with his guilt about his impact on the world. As with all Rosenstock releases, it’s chock full of fun, catharsis and self-realization. Choice cuts: 3 Summers, Head, Future is Dumb.
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