Since this year’s favorite album post got a bit wordy, I’ll try to keep my intro here short but I do want to comment on a couple things. When I compiled this songs list, I noticed it was dominated by indie-rock and country, unlike my favorite albums list which had more diversity than usual. Part of any difference in the lists is a bi-product of my self-defined rule that I can’t highlight any artists on this songs list that were already covered in my favorite albums. But I think this particular difference may be a reflection of my personal listening habits and what I look for in albums versus songs. I still listen to most of my music in album form, selecting something and listening from Track 1 to the end. These albums are like meals for me, and I look for something that’s complex and has layers, that fit a mood or complete a setting. Individual songs though, they are like pieces of candy. I put them in a playlist like an assortment of varied chocolates (cue the obligatory Forest Gump quote) and often pick whatever strikes my fancy at a given moment, looking for some kind of immediate “fix.” Because of personal biases honed from the music of my formative years, I think these familiar genres of indie-rock, punk, (alt)country, and folk are where I’m more likely to look for that quick, easy, “candy” rush.
So, to wrap up my end of year review, I hope you find something sweet in this assortment of songs and I wish you plenty of musical nourishment in 2024.
1. “Doing It” by Wimps
I loved the new album from this insanely charming Seattle based punk trio and came very close to listing it in my top 20. The entire album is full of simple takes on middle aged life, delivered with dry wit. This is what “grown up punk” sounds like and this is the song I kept going to most – an anthem for all of us (or maybe just me?) who are improvising (faking?) our way through adulthood.
2. “Keep It On a Burner” by Margo Cilker
Cilker hails from the rural outreaches of the Columbia Gorge but Portland serves as a kind of secondary hometown and I saw her perform at a small venue there for the final night of two sold-out shows celebrating her album release. The genuine, heartfelt nature of her music was obvious and certainly infected everyone in the crowd. On that night, the sing-along nature of the chorus in this country slow-groove had everyone swept up in full voice and I think the recorded version gives a wonderful peak into the magic she has.
3. “fuck george lucas” by Steel Tipped Dove & alaska_atoms
It’s not easy to figure out who the rapper Alaska (a.k.a. alaska_atoms) is. I had no idea when I first heard his music. But I wasn’t surprised to learn of his association with a hip-hop collective called Atoms Family and through that his connection to folks like Vast Aire, Vordul Mega, Cryptic One, El-P, and Aesop Rock. Alaska channels a very similar ethos and in this track he lays down a scathing rebuke of our culture’s over romanticized notions of self importance. And it ends with what I’d vote for as the best closing line of any song in 2023.
4. “Kristine From the 7th Grade” by Ben Folds
In his late twenties and early thirties, Ben Folds brought his lyrical talent to bear on charismatic nerd-rock that spoke very directly to the young me. Now in his 50’s, he delivers this beautifully constructed piece as if he could be the heir to Randy Newman. The picture he creates through this message to a character from his past is one that precisely captures an all-to-well known phenomenon specific to our current time and the social media shit-storm we live in. While that may have a certain gratification on it’s own, what makes this song work so well is how Folds points out the brutal faults of his subject while also showing understanding and compassion – a combination that takes what could have felt snarky or cold, and instead makes it earnest and warm.
5. “Love Is a Place” by Jaime Wyatt
I loved Wyatt’s 2020 album Neon Cross and had been anticipating her second release ever since. When it finally came this year it was immediately clear her music had evolved and I think it’s wonderfully captured in this standout track. Still country, but her sound has shifted from 70’s honkytonk twang to 70’s Muscle Shoals soul. Lyrically, there’s still some heartbreak (cause ya can’t have country music without it) but it’s now balanced with some love and redemption.
6. “Puppy and a Truck” by Jenny Lewis
I’ll admit I had momentary doubts based on the Jimmy Buffet-esque vibe (including margarita reference), but this song quite likely has the most charming opening verse of any song in 2023 – and yes, some very sage life advice as well.
7. “In Your Love” by Tyler Childers
I might be initially biased towards any album whose artwork has the artist posing with a mule, but once again Childers delivers (“like a team of mules”) with relatively simple, earnest song writing. Oh, and in classic Childers fashion he makes sure to blow open the cultural norms of what might otherwise be looked at as conventional country music – this time with the associated music video.
8. “When You Say” by FACS
Relentless drum groove, growling guitar riff. If you were a character in a movie and you heard the first few bars of this song drop (‘cause that’s how it works if you’re a character in a movie, right? The soundtrack is plays from magical speakers overhead in whatever world the characters are in, right?) you know some bad shit’s about to happen. (By the way, this is one of the songs that directly influenced my recent decision to buy a drum set.)
9. “TWO DAYS” by Killer Mike
Killer Mike is a viciously smart rapper whose power is served best when paired with sardonic humor (a la the deft touch of El-P) or in this case a soulful 70’s-era groove via Ty Dolla $ign.
10: “Gotoku Lemon” by TEKE::TEKE
I’d never heard of TEKE::TEKE until I was stage-side in Idaho at a Treefort outdoor amphitheater. Here was this seven piece, psychedelic fusion band from Japan (with a lead flute!) playing on a freezing cold evening in early spring. I looked out at the audience standing on a field of mud and ice, a biting wind swirling about, and every face wore a smile, every booty was moving to the music.
11. “Topography” by Libby Rodenbough
This track shows why decisions in composition and production should not be taken for granted. A sparse opening, just Rodenbough’s voice and piano. Her vocals are recorded naturally and so close they sound as if she’s crooning into your ear. The piano muffled as if from the opposite side of a large room, yet somehow simultaneously clear enough we can hear the hammers and inner workings of the instrument itself. More than half way in, a simple horn sound joins from far down the hallway. With the final verse, strings swell to fill the space in between. Then as Rodenbough utters the final word of the piece, “Stay…” the composition pieces die away. A masterclass for showing how intelligently choosing less can make for so much more.
12. “Eraser” by Sweeping Promises
Discordant anthem from a punk duo based out of Kansas but sounding more like something heard out of 1970’s era CBGB.
13. “Codependent Heart” by Ryan Curtis
I’m sorry about whatever amount of smoking, hard drinking, and/or harsh living Ryan Curtis went through that resulted in his thrashed vocal cords, but damn – you mix that gravely voice with some country twang and a bit of heartbreak and I’m sold. (Also worth a special note, Curtis hails from Boise so look for him playing events around the PNW.)
14. “Harmless Activity” by R.M.F.C.
There should be a subgenre of music called Speeding Ticket Rock (other examples being “The House That Heaven Built” by Japandroids, “S.T.H.D.” by Ladyhawk, “I Can’t Drive 55” by Sammy Hagar). With the beat of the drum groove sitting just behind the rhythmic guitar riff, this song generates a sense of drive, a sense of forward momentum, that makes my gas foot immediately push for the floor. (Have I mentioned that some of these songs forced me to buy a drum set?)
15. “Amy Timers” by Gaadge
Every time I hear this song start up I think I’m listening to a 90’s Sebadoah album.
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