Fifty Favorite Albums of 2023, Part 3
A can't-miss lineup of Jessie Ware, Dan Horne, patchnotes, Rose City Band, Deer Tick, Caroline Polachek, Open Mike Eagle, Palehound, Duane Betts, and Crosses!
This batch of albums on the year-end countdown is a unique lineup with a few rare (for the newsletter) major label appearances, but I’m including a self-release and a niche genre tape label to balance them out.
I found it interesting that according to Apple Music (yes, I’m here for the hi-rez lossless audio quality), my most listened-to album this year was Caroline Polachek’s Desire, I Want to Turn Into You. This is probably due to it being released early in 2023, so I had a lot of time to spend with it, but it’s outside the top ten looking in. It's partly because it was that tough to pick a top ten this year but also because Polachek is receiving plenty of accolades, and I’ve got much smaller releases to celebrate.
Alright, let’s dive into the next round of my favorite records of 2023!
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Jessie Ware - That! Feels! Good!
Jessie Ware hit my radar a few years ago with the excellent What’s Your Pleasure? and follows up here with That! Feels! Good!. Continuing to explore disco, Ware leaves behind much of the electronic flair from her last record for straight-up neo-disco. Returning with Pleasure producer James Ford, Stuart Price joins Ware on half of the songs to lend some of the mixing board magic from his outings with Dua Lipa. Pure disco pop bliss, That! Feels! Good! was one of the summer’s best albums. For everyone complaining there wasn’t a “song of the summer,” Ms. Jessie Ware was here the entire time with ten blissed-out songs.
That! Feels! Good! is available on EMI.
Dan Horne - Count The Clouds
What I said in my review: For a musician usually dealing in instrumental tunes, it’s a welcomed turn to include some pop-structured choruses for the first part of ‘Count the Clouds.’ “Leave the Light On” opens the album with a Heartbreakers-esque run at FM radio rock (is that some tasteful autotune I hear?), while “Dontcha Know” sounds like a David Gilmour led Pink Floyd number if Pink Floyd ever lightened up and had some fun. After the hazy recollections of “Hedgehog’s Song,” things move back to Horne’s area of expertise with “Hedgehog’s Dream,” a kaleidoscopic jam that shows off all the tools in the mind-altering shed.
Count the Clouds is self-released on Liberty Hair Farm Records.
patchnotes - Endless Surrender
Editor’s note: patchnotes is now performing under the name limerence, and I’m looking forward to their new album in early 2024!
From my interview with patchnotes: With ‘Golden Hour,’ patchnotes excelled at creating a particular listening experience simply by molding an atmosphere and including a few vocal samples. ‘Endless Surrender’ does an even better job of this, as the primarily wordless instrumental album conveys the emotion in the music, allowing the listener to experience patchnotes’s pain and grief without lyrics. Few in the chillwave scene convey as much emotion without words as patchnotes. There are once again plenty of chopped vocal samples, but including poet Kayla Hall on “Exhale” kicks things off with refreshing ideas. Patchnotes’s increased interest in spoken word is also present, and songs like “Reminiscent” and “Still” include pieces they wrote for the album.
Endless Surrender is available on Pacific Plaza Records.
Rose City Band - Garden Party
What I said in my review: There’s no better way to describe Rose City Band, and this new record especially, as the tightest, most enjoyable first set the Grateful Dead would perform in the late 70s - one in which we’re treated to the best freeform guitar interplay that’s still reigned in before the sun sets on a second set full of surprises. “Porch Boogie” invites the dirt churners to groove as Paul Hasenburg’s keys work (phenomenal throughout the album) fills the gaps of Johnson’s psychedelic solos.
Elsewhere, “Saturday’s Gone” embraces a gentle atmosphere with Walker’s washes that lays the groundwork for “Mariposa,” which opens up into the lushest version of the band yet, with a notable jazzy second half. “Moonlight” comfortably jogs along to a “Not Fade Away”-esque rhythm that journeys into unexpected territory with Johnson’s partner and Moon Duo bandmate Sanae Yamada adding synth textures before segueing into “El Rio” in classic jam band fashion. It’s a steady way to end ‘Garden Party,’ as Rose City Band embraces their distinct live sound for what is the most definitive version of the project yet.
Garden Party is available on Thrill Jockey Records.
Deer Tick - Emotional Contracts
What I said in my review: I’m hit or miss on the Providence, Rhode Island heroes, Deer Tick, but their latest record, ‘Emotional Contracts,’ fires on all cylinders. “Forgiving Ties” sounds like Tom Petty and Paul Westerberg dueting over an outtake from The Beach Boys’ 1985 self-titled record (good, not fantastic if you’ve never listened. Much better than anything that came after, though), so if you’re a regular reader, you know this is my idea of a good time. The entire record is solid, but stick around for the closer, “The Real Thing,” a nine-minute cathartic release via chunky power chords.
Emotional Contracts is available on ATO.
Caroline Polachek - Desire, I Want to Turn Into You
What I said in my review: Five of the twelve songs on ‘Desire, I Want to Turn Into You’ are now singles, but here’s the thing: everything on here could easily be a hit. The most apparent song that isn’t already a single is also the first to include features for Polachek with Grimes and turn-of-the-millennium hook machine, Dido. “Fly To You” is a throwback rave ballad that wouldn’t sound out of place on Madonna’s ‘Ray of Light’ record, and these three women pair wonderfully for something that recalls the early aughts with a contemporary twist thanks to the production from Grimes. It’s not the only tune indebted to that William Orbit/’Ray of Light’ sound, as “I Believe” features some wicked pads thrown over a classic house beat, while “Smoke” takes a gentler approach.
Desire, I Want to Turn Into You is available on Perpetual Novice via Sony Music.
Open Mike Eagle - another triumph of ghetto engineering
I’ll admit that I haven’t connected with most hip-hop albums this year (I’ve got another one coming up on Friday’s list), which makes me kinda sad, but damn if I’m not going to include my favorite wordsmith in this year-end. Open Mike Eagle continues his streak of straight fire with another triumph of ghetto engineering, a breezy set of nine songs full of great leftfield beats and confessional lyrics. Eagle gets some great assists from Quelle Chris, Child Actor, Kenny Segal, Eshu Tune (Hannibal Burress), and frequent collaborator Video Dave. Here are a few of my favorite lyrics from this one:
“In daydreams I battle Ewoks, but in the night I’m quarterbacking verse Seattle Seahawks.”
“I wore a hat like a sailor boy, at Soundset my eyes got bigger than Anya Taylor-Joy’s”
“Fridays got the bread but Thursdays got the energy, particles move shit but waves got the energy, Pinky can get it crackin' but Brain's got the memory, Fridays got the bread but Thursdays got the energy.”
Anyway, Open Mike Eagle continues to lowkey be the best, while the mags and social media focus on every one of Drake’s bowel movements. I also caught OME and Video Dave earlier this year, and if they come to your town, don’t miss out.
another triumph of ghetto engineering is available on Auto Reverse Records.
Palehound - Eye on the Bat
What I said: Palehound returned with ‘Eye on the Bat,’ their first since 2019’s excellent ‘Black Friday.’ Setting out to make a record closer to their live shows, ‘Eye on the Bat’ is 29 minutes of self-deprecating indie rock that is over way too soon.
Eye on the Bat is available on Polyvinyl Records.
Duane Betts - Wild & Precious Life
What I said: If the name Duane Betts rings a bell, you’re a Southern jam rock fan, and you cannot miss out on his debut record, ‘Wild & Precious Life.’ The son of Allman Brothers legend Dickie Betts and named after the late Duane Allman, Betts has been involved in a bunch of projects over the years, whether Allman-related (Allman Betts Band) or not (Whitestarr, Jamtown, Duane Allman and the Pistoleers). ‘Wild & Precious Life’ is a true celebration of a record, a belated debut that steps out of the shadows of Betts’ roots to carve his own path. There’s no denying that blazing guitar work is in his DNA. Still, the album also functions seriously as a singer-songwriter album that just so happens to have someone who can absolutely shred between the choruses. Betts’ supporting band is equally great, with fellow Allman Betts bros Johnny Stachela and Berry Duane Oakley, John Ginty (Robert Randolph, Neal Casal, Santana), and Tedeschi Trucks Band’s drummer Tyler Greenwell - Derek Trucks guests on the song “Stare at the Sun” as well. I’ve shared this record with a ton of people over the past week, as I think you’d be hard-pressed to find someone who doesn’t enjoy the jamboree that Betts creates on ‘Wild & Precious Life.’
Wild & Precious Life is available on Royal Potato Family.
Crosses - Goodnight, God Bless, I Love U, Delete.
What I said in my review: Deftones will always be my one exception to the late nineties nu-metal scene; otherwise, I have a hard time drumming up nostalgia. That’s thanks to leader Chino Mareno, who, from their earliest records, pushed the band into more experimental territory. The lineups may change, but Deftones continues to release new albums that never fail to surprise, and I often find myself loving them more with each one.
Mareno has a few other outlets for his more electronic work, like the self-titled classic one-off from Team Sleep in 2005. ††† (Crosses) is Marino’s other project with Far’s Shaun Lopez, and they dropped ‘Goodnight, God Bless, I Love U, Delete.,’ their first album in nine years last week. While I wasn’t wild about their debut (which I may need to revisit), this new one is an electronic beauty that flirts with industrial and includes features from El-P and The Cure’s Robert Smith. Neat!
It’s worth dropping all of your Deftones pre-conceptions and giving it a listen - “Runner” is an excellent example of Mareno’s diversity!
Goodnight, God Bless, I Love U, Delete. is available on Warner Bros. Records.
Have you heard any of these records? Are any of them that are new to you that pique your interest? Let me know in the comments!