In which I throw words at my dozen favorite albums from the past year.
12) The Hives, The Death of Randy Fitzsimmons – On their first studio album since 2012, Swedish post-punk revival darlings The Hives sound, well, a lot like they did in 2012. There’s something very rewarding about hearing a great band come back and nail their sound once again. If you were a fan of The Hives when they first come out, you’ll love their latest.
11) Queens of the Stone Age, In Times New Roman… – Speaking of sweet nostalgia, QOTSA’s eighth studio album stays true to their dark desert rock roots and doesn’t veer too far from that successful formula. Hearing Josh Homme’s ominous falsetto crooning over fuzzy ZZ Top-inspired riffs brings me back to my formative years of following music, and that’s a welcome feeling of comfort.
10) Brandee Younger, Brand New Life – The pairing of Brandee Younger’s harp with the silky jazz-soul grooves throughout her latest (with an assist from producer Makaya McCraven) is such a great blend, and the more overtly hip-hop elements kick really hard, as well. Everything is marinated in a warm reverb, which creates an enveloping listening experience.
9) Sampha, Lahai – Each track is intricately constructed with sounds that are dexterously layered while maintaining pristine clarity, and Sampha is very conscious of the rhythmic and registral interplay in his writing and production. There’s also a propulsive drum-and-bass energy to several tracks that add nice balance to the intimate R&B balladry that defines Sampha’s sound.
8) Bushman’S Revenge, All the Better for Seeing You – This Norwegian guitar/bass/drums trio sumptuously fuses jazz with modern prog rock. Their music is built around groove and melody, but it also bristles with jazz phrasing, ample virtuosity, and rich layers of sounds and colors.
7) Butcher Brown, Solar Music – Butcher Brown isn’t so much a fusion of jazz and hip-hop as it is a full-speed, head-on collision of the two. Emcee and multi-instrumentalist Marcus Tinney raps on a majority of the tracks, and the pairing of his vocals with Butcher Brown’s tight rhythm section is certainly indebted to The Roots. But several of the tracks are purely neo-soul/jazz instrumentals that cook just as much as the vocal tracks. Most importantly, they flow impressively back-and-forth while still staying true to their unique identities, which makes for a rewarding aural adventure.
6) Sleepy Kitty, Blessing/Curse – The duality implied in title of Sleepy Kitty’s latest is befitting of the duo’s musical depth, which melds homespun post-punk with 90’s alternative sounds and Broadway melodicism. Paige Brubeck’s vocals are powerful yet personable, and her exploration of pitch registers and the full gamut of the spoken-sung spectrum is equally indebted to Debbie Harry and Karen O.
https://sleepykitty.bandcamp.com/track/out-of-my-mind
5) Black Pumas, Chronicles of a Diamond –Black Puma’s distinctive retro soul sound merges elements of rock and funk with fuzzy production vibes, but it’s Eric Burton’s emotive vocals that gives the band their true identity. His wide, Bobby Womack-esque vibrato lends an intimate warmth to the music, and the ample hooks found throughout the album compliment his intensity well.
4) GoGo Penguin, Everything Is Going to Be OK – The breadth of sounds that this jazz trio (piano/bass/drums) achieves is truly astounding, and their sonic palette is as rich and vibrant as a winter sunset. Blending the cavernous sounds of neo-psychedelic bands like The War on Drugs and The Amazing with the propulsive exploration of modern jazz trios like The Bad Plus, GoGo Penguin sound unlike anything else, which is a genuine feat in today’s music scene. Their latest embraces a bit more glammy synth textures, which fold in nicely with their well-honed sound world.
3) Gorillaz, Cracker Island – Damon Albarn and Jamie Hewlett’s postmodern animated collective returned in 2023 with their best album in years. Cracker Island is packed with glitzy pop-disco jams, but it is also balanced with stylistic diversity. And while the guest artist roster is likely the greatest ever for a Gorillaz project (Thundercat, Tame Impala, Bad Bunny, Beck, and Stevie Nicks, among others, all fold in their musical personalities seamlessly), Albarn’s vocals take more of a front seat than is typical for a Gorillaz album, which helps the album stick out from within their catalog.
2) Darcy James Argue’s Secret Society, Dynamic Maximum Tension – At nearly two hours (and featuring the Ellington homage suite “Tensile Curves” that, on its own, runs 35 minutes), DMT is a massive undertaking, but it is also maximally rewarding. Through his trademark fusion of jazz, rock, and rhythmic, angular counterpoint, DJA has crafted a masterpiece of an ode to the malleability of the jazz big band. The music is delightfully scattershot, with consecutive tracks sounding like prog-metal staples Tool (“Ferromagnetic”) and a demonic boogie-woogie (“Single-Cell Jitterbug”). Embrace the tension.
1) Allison Miller, Rivers In Our Veins – A loose concept album on the vitality of waterways in our lives, Rivers is a remarkably diverse and balanced creation. The amount of musical geography covered in the opening two-track suite “Of Two Rivers” alone is more than most artists explore in their entire careers. Featuring influences ranging from jazz (both modern and traditional), Americana, rock, Latin, and funk, and showcasing sounds that include contra-alto clarinet and a tap dance troupe, this album is an all-encompassing tribute to the American spirit and its widespread grandeur. Miller – who has drummed with an impressive roster artists including jazz super-group Artemis and Natalie Merchant – writes and plays with an eclecticism that adds great dimension to her music. It’s refreshing and inspiring to hear a concept explored so richly and creatively.