It’s that time of the year again! After writing about 100 albums in 2022, the bar was way too high in 2023. So I didn’t, and ended up not publishing it at all. So let’s not do that anymore. Here’s my top five, plus 95 of my other favorites in no particular order.
Other than a vague idea of how her debut album sounded like, we knew almost nothing about Jess Williamson the moment we walked into the dark backroom of a Nijmegen venue to listen to her songs. Or at least try to, as the audience seemed to be more interested in catching up with their buddies before Kevin Morby took the stage. That being said, our most vivid image of that night is staring at the stage as Williamson played the broodingly gorgeous “Heart Song” off her forthcoming album. We had to go up and tell her we could get her to play a few shows back in Portugal. That never happened, but 100% of her future albums ended up being featured here. Of course they were. “Sorcerer” is the latest instalment in a perfect streak of stellar records. It’s out now.
Plus: new tracks by Josiah Johnson, Tommy Alexander, Sumbuck, The Jayhawks, Rose City Band, Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit, Chris Maier, Owen, Silverbacks, Crack Cloud, Hanni El Khatib, Khruangbin, SINEAD O’BRIEN, KATE NV, Jim White and Marisa Anderson music, neubauten.org, I Break Horses, Phoebe Bridgers, Nicole Atkins, Perfume Genius, LA PRIEST, Charli XCX, Happyness, and Lily Hayes.
You know Spring has arrived whenever there’s a new Damien Jurado album to marvel at. The prolific American singer-songwriter is probably the most featured artist in our playlist since we started five years ago, and he doesn’t seem like he’s slowing down any time soon. We’re not complaining. Plus: new tracks by Lavinia BlackwAll, Alasdair Roberts, Johanna Warren, Talitha Ferri, Big Thief, Andy Jenkins, Courtney Marie Andrews, Christian Lee Hutson, Langhorne Slim, Zachary Cale, Rose City Band, Car Seat Headrest, Man Man, BC Camplight, Chicano Batman, American Aquarium, Grutera, João Pais Filipe, neubauten.org, Protomartyr, Fantastic Explosion, and Diet Cig.