Top Concerts of 2023
- Unwound (Primavera Sound, Porto)
- The Hold Steady (Electric Ballroom; Colours Hoxton, London)
- Chat Pile (013, Roadburn Festival, Tilburg)
- PUP (Primavera Sound, Porto; Metropolis, Rotterdam)
- Les Savy Fav (Festival Paredes de Coura)
- Wilco (Festival Paredes de Coura; TivoliVredenburg, Utrecht)
- Richard Dawson (Jacobikerk, Le Guess Who, Utrecht)
- The Beths (EKKO, Utrecht; Primavera Sound, Porto; Valkhof Festival, Nijmegen)
- Caitlin Rose (Paradiso, Amsterdam)
- Margaret Glaspy (Omeara, London)
Top Albums of 2023
The Hold Steady The Price of Progress | By the time they get to their ninth album – if they stay together that long – most rock bands are scraping the bottom of the barrel. The Hold Steady’s latest offering is not only their most interesting since their heyday. It’s the poster child for the rewards you can reap from having your main songwriter taking some time off the band in order to pursue a solo career. The Price of Progress can be best described as stories from Craig Finn’s solo work’s characters narrated through proper Hold Steady energy. It’s probably also the only album of 2023 with a song about a botched attempt at getting the bag by playing a show for some obscure regime.
Wednesday Rat Saw God | Wednesday keeps making country rock palatable to “indie sensibilities” (whatever that means this decade) with their best album yet. Also, “Chosen to Deserve” was my favorite (and most played) track of 2023.
Margaret Glaspy Echo the Diamond | Glaspy’s third album delves into rockier territory than R&B-tinged Devotion. It succeeds.
Ratboys The Window | Ratboys’ new album is the answer to somebody who listened to Rat Saw God and prayed very hard for another great album in that vein to be released right now.
Jeff Rosenstock HELLMODE | Honestly, I’m negatively impressed by the almost inexistent attention devoted to this album by indie-positive publications. HELLMODE is undoubtedly the catchiest guitar album of the year and we need more, not fewer anthemic punk rock bangers.
Caroline Polachek Desire, I Want To Turn Into You
Fever Ray Radical Romantics
Rita Vian SENSOREAL
100 gecs 10,000 gecs
Emahoy Tsege Mariam Gebru Jerusalem |
jaimie branch Fly or Die Fly or Die Fly or Die ((world war)) |
Mary Lattimore Goodbye, Hotel Arkada |
Titanic Vidrio |
Esther Rose Safe to Run |
Margo Cilker Valley Of Heart’s Delight |
Anna St. Louis In the Air |
Allegra Krieger I Keep My Feet on the Fragile Plane |
Dougie Poole The Rainbow Wheel of Death |
Sufjan Stevens Javelin |
Wilco Cousin |
Fran Leaving |
Cian Nugent She Brings Me Back To The Land Of The Living |
Buck Meek Haunted Mountain |
The Tubs Dead Meat |
Max Bien Kahn When I Cross It Off |
1 The Hold Steady, The Price of Progress
2 Caroline Polachek, Desire, I Want To Turn Into You
3 Wednesday, Rat Saw God
4 Jeff Rosenstock, HELLMODE
5 Emahoy Tsege Mariam Gebru, Jerusalem
6 Esther Rose, Safe to Run
7 Margaret Glaspy, Echo The Diamond
8 Buck Meek, Haunted Mountain
9 Dougie Poole, The Rainbow Wheel of Death
10 Ratboys, The Window
11 Margo Cilker, Valley Of Heart’s Delight
12 Mary Lattimore, Goodbye, Hotel Arkada
13 jaimie branch, Fly or Die Fly or Die Fly or Die ((world war))
14 Allegra Krieger, I Keep My Feet on the Fragile Plane
15 Max Bien Kahn, When I Cross It Off
16 Cian Nugent, She Brings Me Back To The Land Of The Living
17 Fran, Leaving
18 The Tubs, Dead Meat
19 100 gecs, 10,000 gecs
20 Sufjan Stevens, Javelin
21 Wilco, Cousin
22 Anna St. Louis, In The Air
23 Fever Ray, Radical Romantics
24 Rita Vian, SENSOREAL
25 Titanic, Vidrio