Fifty Favorite Albums of 2023, Part 4
Here's a smokin' set of this year's best records from Harp, Strange Magic, Sofia Kourtesis, Triptides, Molly Burch, MJ Lenderman, Daniel Donato, George Clanton, and Slaughter Beach, Dog!
We’ve got the last call on the 50% sale to subscribe to Check This Out! next year, the sale will end on Monday with my top ten records of the year. Since I rarely place articles behind a paywall, I genuinely appreciate everyone who has taken advantage of this deal. I don’t like to toot my own horn, but some of the notes readers are providing mean so much to me that I want to share a few:
"One of my favorite music ‘stacks, Kiley is consistently bringing great music to my attention and I’m always looking forward to the next entry of Check This Out!"
"Why is it so hard to find good new music. Well it's not anymore! Thanks for your wide-ranging, move to the groove, semi-eclectic taste, and perfect descriptions!"
Right on!
Harp - Albion
If an album with a December release date is thrown into my year-end at the last minute, it’s for a damn good reason. Not only is Harp’s Albion a phenomenal record, but the story behind it is one of perseverance. Harp is the recording name for Tim Smith, who, early aughts indie fans may recall, was the leader of Midlake. After releasing a few records, the band dropped the stone-cold genre classic, The Trials of Van Occupanther, which shared Smith’s wonderful world of harmonies and songs about living a life one hundred years ago. The excellent The Courage of Others followed, but Smith left the band soon after to work on a solo career. He made a website, and then… nothing. For a decade, Midlake fans wondered if Harp would ever come to fruition before Albion arrived a few weeks ago. As much as I’ve enjoyed the two Midlake records without Smith, Albion is a triumph that serves as a reminder of how powerful a songwriter he is. Taking the best parts of Midlake and combining them with The Cure’s Faith-era gothic root for atmosphere, Smith has found new life in Harp, and Albion is the celebration.
Albion is available on Bella Union.
Strange Magic - Zugzwang Alakazam
Bringing things to the local level, I want to get Strange Magic on your radar. The Albuquerque recording project for Javier Romero, Strange Magic, is nothing short of underrated in the scene. Giving himself a goal to write and record a song each week over a year, Romero released his fifty-two songs over four records this year, giving Guided By Voices and Ty Segall a run for their money. All four records are fantastic, with their own mood for each, but Zugzwang Alakazam is the one I keep returning to. Here, Romero’s Strange Magic sounds like Elvis Costello fronting a reeled-in Dinosaur Jr., and I’m here for it. There’s plenty of indie-pop goodness, like opener “Irish Goodby in Reverse” and “Is It Any Wonder,” but there’s also plenty of sludgy moments like “Rabbit Foot Keychain,” where Romero’s guitar bleeds like a grunge-era band’s demo tape. “The Incredible Wanderlust” is one of the best songs of the year, and even more impressive, Romero plays all the instruments to give Strange Magic its distinctive vibe.
Zugzwang Alakazam and the other three records are available on Bandcamp.
Sofia Kourtesis - Madres
What I said in my review: As fantastic as most of ‘Madres’ is, it’s the final three songs that leave a lasting impression. “Estación Esperanza” is wonderfully percussive and features the legendary Manu Chao, before the album highlight “Cecilia” will have you wondering if you ever need to hear Simon and Garfunkel’s song of the same name again1, as ethereal vocals and grounded piano accents fill it with life. Finally, “El Carmen” ends things on a solid note, bringing Madres back to Peru.
Madres is available on Ninja Tune.
Triptides - Starlight
What I said in my review: From their surf rock beginnings to last year’s laidback Laurel Canyon-leaning ‘So Many Days,’ Triptides are never one to keep the same sound. With that in mind, it’s still surprising how much the Glenn Brigman and Stephen Burns duo switch things up on their latest for Curation Records, ‘Starlight.’ No longer wanting to be labeled “psychedelic,” Triptides are now describing their music as “interdimensional,” and I couldn’t agree more with songs like “Lattitudes,” “Broken Lens,” and “Reactor” that operate in their own realm. Pulling from a dream team of influences like Stereolab (“As You Can See”) and Steely Dan (listen to the Donald Fagen tones on “Unwound” or the yacht rockness of “Cassis,” complete with a jazzy Walter Becker-kinda solo), ‘Starlight’ excels at creating the master template for how a band can grow and change, while still satisfying long haul fans.
Starlight is available on Curation Records.
Molly Burch - Daydreamer
I can’t say I was one hundred percent on Romantic Images, the last record from Molly Burch, and I found this year’s Wild Nothing offering, Hold, to be solid but not extraordinary. Daydreamer breaks this cycle, though, as Burch teaming up with Wild Nothing’s Jack Tatum turns out to be an absolute indie pop dream team. Burch supplies the teenage diary confessional lyrics, while Tatum gives Daydreamer its hazy eighties feel that any Wild Nothing fan will recognize, like on “Physical.” Burch’s peak moment on the record comes with “Heartburn,” a song filled with emotive horn hooks, and it has to be one of my most streamed songs of the year. Now, let me go back to daydreaming about this wonderful album.
Daydreamer is available on Captured Tracks.
MJ Lenderman - And the Wind (Live and Loose!)
MJ Lenderman is always a buzzy name I see pop up here and there, but I haven’t been able to get into his scrappy home demos work, nor the studio debut, Boat Songs. There’s always chatter about how great his live work is with his sometimes massive band, so when And the Wind (Live and Loose!) dropped last month, I thought I’d give that version of Lenderman a spin. I’m so glad I did because this aptly titled set is an absolute ripper that has me appreciating those older songs in a new light. This version of Lenderman’s live band sounds like a Rust Never Sleeps-era Crazy Horse in a honky-tonk, as their jams and quick-witted lyrics don’t slow down for its hour run time. I’ve never considered a live record in my previous year-end lists, but this baby is too good of an intro not to spread the word.
And The Wind (Live and Loose) is available on ANTI-.
Daniel Donato - Reflector
What I said in my review: Bringing along his band, the aptly named Cosmic Country, and producing powerhouse Vance Powell (White Stripes, Sturgill Simpson, Arctic Monkeys), Donato’s vision is focused on ‘Reflector,’ as he not only explores country jams but also Southern rock and bluegrass. The journey may be extended to fifteen original songs and a little over an hour of running time, but it’s always worth it. “Lose Your Mind” is straight out of the Neal Casal songbook, while “Dance in the Desert” showcases how much talent pulses through Donato and his band with some upstroking funk. “Double Exposure” is a fresh take on disco-era Dead, and “Halfway (In Between)” would have been massive on the country charts of yore, which says plenty about the current state of the commercial branch of the genre.
Reflector is available on Retrace Music.
George Clanton - Ooh Rap I Ya
What I said in my review: Now that it’s here, it’s safe to say that ‘Ooh Rap I Ya’ meets the moment and then some. The album builds upon ‘Slide,’ which saw Clanton experimenting with moving beyond vaporwave’s clichés. Clanton was always well ahead of the nineties revival, but this record hits that authentic nostalgia for trip-hop and the baggy Madchester scene unlike anything else we’ve heard.
Ooh Rap I Ya is available on 100% Electronica.
Slaughter Beach, Dog - Crying, Laughing, Waving, Smiling
What I said in my review: As someone that played the hell out of the three Modern Baseball albums as they burned fast and bright last decade, Ewald surprised me with ‘Birdie,’ the Slaughter Beach, Dog record that came out around the same time as Modern Baseball’s infinite hiatus. 2019’s ‘Safe and Also No Fear’ was even better, as Ewald grew with each release, and until this last week, it was my favorite album from the project. But ‘Crying, Laughing, Waving, Smiling’ is Ewald and Co.’s best and most complete album yet. Count me in on doing everything in the album’s title when they roll through town in January. I can’t wait to hear these songs live.
Crying, Laughing, Waving, Smiling is available on Lame-O Records.
The Nude Party - Rides On
What I said in my review: This is the first album with The Nude Party self-producing at their upstate barn, like The Band at Big Pink, and it might be why ‘Rides On’ is more relaxed and playful than their previous work. Things are much bluesier this time, like the barroom tack and harmonica on “Polly Anne” and the closer, “Red Rocket Ride.” We even have a magnificently greasy cover of Dr. John’s “Somebody Tryin’ to Hoodoo Me” for one of the record’s best moments. The press for Rides On notes that the sessions produced around twenty songs, including forays into electro-pop. Kudos to The Nude Party for including one of these selections with “Sold out of Love,” a song that sounds unlike anything in their catalog previously.
Right On is available on New West 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!
That Harp album came in a little late for my AOTY list this year but I’m almost positive it’ll be one of my “2023 Misses” a year from now when I’m pulling together my 2024 AOTY list. That Molly Burch album is fantastic and only just missed out on my top 50 this year.
Also, I’ll have to check out the live MJ Lenderman. I did really love Boat Songs, and his playing with Wednesday, who are getting loads of accolades this year. It’s the rare standout live album so I’m glad you found it stellar.