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.
Yes, they did it again. Five months after releasing their third album in four years, Big Thief are back with yet another record that might even surpass its predecessor. Can’t wait to see what the future brings for them. Plus: new tracks by Twain, Bonnie “Prince” Billy, Vetiver, Michael Nau, Pat Hull, Illiterate Light, BODEGA, Caribou, Girl Ray, Nilüfer Yanya, Kim Gordon, Girl Band, Lightning Bolt, Angélica Salvi, Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds, Eric Bachmann, The Delines, Jason James, Elijah Ocean, Theo Lawrence, and Sharaya Summers.
One of the worst nightmares of a music festival – especially one that boasts as one of its highlights the stunning greenery of the park where its grounds are located – is having twelve hours of non-stop rain as its headliner. Saturday, June 9th, the third and last day of a sold-out NOS Primavera Sound, was blessed with a late autumnal weather that might have ruined the day for some, but ultimately enhanced the experience for most. We’re talking about the stoic vast majority of festival goers who endured the most annoying of elements for what it seemed like forever to witness a rare local apparition of the biggest headliner of the circuit, one of the least divisive big acts of the scene, the constant top performer while most big names go through phases.