23 Albums for 2023
Dan Wilmer, Jersey City, NJ
Best Remaster / Reissue
1. The Replacements – Tim (Let It Bleed Edition). The vastly improved mix is like a time machine back to an alternate reality. I am smiling ear-to-ear.
Best Indie Rock / Alternative Rock
2. Nation of Language – Strange Disciple. Channeling New Order, OMD, and other 80’s synth-pop outfits, Nation of Language is my new favorite band.
3. Ratboys – The Window. Great new album, despite the terrible band name. Wish I could catch them at Solid Sound this year.
4. The Reds, Pinks, and Purples – The Town that Cursed Your Name. Heavy Smiths / Morrissey influence on this brilliant album.
5. The National – Laugh Track. Might be my favorite of theirs since 2010’s High Violet.
6. Blur – The Ballad of Darren. This and Council Skies had me listening to old Blur and Oasis records for the first time in years.
7. Noel Gallagher’s High-Flying Birds – Council Skies.
8. Yo La Tengo – This Stupid World. An excellent Yo La Tengo album, playing to all their strengths.
9. Beach Fossils – Bunny. Another really nice surprise. Next-level guitar work reminiscent of the band Ride.
10. The Hold Steady – The Price of Progress. Adds another four memorable anthems to The Hold Steady’s teeming canon.
11. Spoon – Memory Dust EP. I played these three songs on repeat in 2023. Love these guys.
Best Alt Country / Americana / Folk Rock
12. Bonny Doon – Let There Be Music. Backing band for Waxahatchee releases a tuneful album in the style of another former backing band, The Band.
13. Fruit Bats – A River Running to Your Heart. Lovely 70’s features here with elements of Supertramp, The Bee Gees, and more.
14. Bob Dylan – Shadow Kingdom. Dylan re-recorded a few of his oldest songs for the movie of the same name. The new arrangements really work.
15. Jenny Lewis – Joy’All. Love everything that Jenny does. Psychos and Puppy and a Truck are top-notch.
16. Wilco – Cousin. More solid songcraft from Jeff Tweedy with Evicted as the standout. Also love the “The Bear” reference.
17. Molly Tuttle – City of Gold. Another nice album from the first woman to win the International Bluegrass Music Association’s Guitarist of the Year.
Best Guitar Rock
18. The Hives – The Death of Randy Fitzsimmons. Saw these guys as openers at MSG eons ago and they killed. This record is straight punk rock TNT – too much fun.
19. Marie Stern – The Comeback Kid. An insane maelstrom of a record with soaring guitar leads and banshee-like vocals.
Best Baroque Pop / Ambient
20. Beirut – Hadsel. A hypnotic, indie Balkan folk record. Wonderful.
21. Sufjan Stevens – Javelin. I’ve been a mostly Michigan-Seven Swans-Illinois Sufjan fan but I’m enjoying this one.
22. Slowdive – Everything is Alive. English shoegazers release another rock-solid eight tracks.
23. Woods – Perennial. Super-talented Brooklyn band doing their low-fi, folk, ambient thing.