Two things prevented me from really exploring new releases of 2023: working on my own music and discovering the work of Brian Fennell, id est SYML.
My iPod Touch has a playlist of unreleased Observant Records tracks that at one point lasted 2 hours. I have an EP, a reissue and a number of singles ready to unleash over the next two years. So I’ve been working in my own monkey house for a while, which means I’m probably losing perspective on how good this work may be.
Back in 2019, SYML released his debut album and showed up on a number of my social media feeds. My reaction: Oh, he’s cute. When he showed up again in 2023, I decided to listen to The Day My Father Died. I’ve since gone back and listened to his back catalog and also the albums he recorded with the band Barcelona.
So it’s just been me and Brian Fennell for most of 2023.
SYML, The Day My Father Died
When I first put The Day My Father Died on the half-year list, I hadn’t yet explored SYML’s self-titled debut. Now that I have, I actually like that album a bit more, but it didn’t stop The Day My Father Died from consistently getting multiple plays on my media players. Fennell has a great voice, and he’s a great songwriter. But his songs are so well-suited for his voice, it’s hard to imagine someone else covering his work. Still, it makes for some engrossing listening.
Kelela, Raven
My first play of the album was underwhelming, but I gave it another few spins, and before I knew it, the album had seeped into my consciousness. Nothing on this album stands out as a chart-topper, but in its entirety, Raven has a seductive quietude.
Eluvium, (whirring Marvels in) Consensus Reality
Eluvium albums tend to be more meditative, but this one goes for epic gestures. And it’s a welcome change.
Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit, Weathervanes
Jason Isbell is similar to Emmylou Harris in how they both don’t really make bad albums. But Weathervanes made me rethink just how much I liked the albums preceding it. Both The Nashville Sound and Reunions had reached the year-end favorite list, but Weathervanes has an emotional core about as raw and vulnerable as Southeastern, his breakthrough album that turned 10 in 2023. It’s probably his best album since Southeastern.
Everything But the Girl, Fuse
Do I like this album more than Walking Wounded, Amplified Heart or Temperamental? No. But Ben and Tracey reuniting is just the balm we need for the start of the 2020s.
Kesha, Gag Order
I love it when pop stars have genuine axes to grind, and Kesha comes out swinging.
Soundtrack, BLEACH: THE BLOOD WARFARE I
BLEACH: Thousand Year Blood War is the only scripted television show I watch, and I have been enjoying the conclusion of the BLEACH storyline immensely. A lot of the music on the soundtrack is familiar to anyone who’s watched the show for any length of time, but the stakes raised in the story means the score has to rise to the occasion. So real orchestra players come in where synthesizers held court, and Sagisu Shiro’s score gets more intense as a result.
Danish String Quartet, Prism V
Over the course of five albums, Danish String Quartet explored the connections between Beethoven and Bach on composers that came centuries in their wake. In this final edition, the quartet pairs Beethoven’s Op. 135 quartet with a quartet by Anton Webern written before Arnold Schoenberg’s influence would take a strong hold. As such, the Webern link to Beethoven and Bach is clearer than the ones the Danish drew with Bela Bartok, Dmitri Shostakovich or Alfred Schnittke.
Vagaon, Sorry I Haven’t Called
If you liked Vagabon’s self-titled album , this album doesn’t disappoint. Lætitia Tamko occupies that nebulous space between pop and indie rock navigated by the likes of Solange, Jamila Woods and Sampha (the latter who also released albums in 2023.)
The Drums, Jonny
The singles preceding this album’s release were some of Jonathan Pierce’s catchiest, and the rest of the album is no slouch. Plus, the album cover is quite … honest. I like it.
More favorites:
Olivia Rodrigo, GUTS: I’m not the target audience for Rodrigo’s lyrics, but man she sure gives us olds that big rock sound.
NUMBER GIRL, Mujo no Hi: Yes, “Toumei Shoujou” shows up four times on this live set, and yes, each iteration sounds as vital as the one before it.
Troye Sivan, Something to Give Each Other: I like the cover of this album too.
Jamila Woods, Water Made Us: Did you like Legacy! Legacy!? This one is good too.
Queens of the Stone Age, In Times New Roman …: Recommended if you like … Like Clockwork.
Thomas Frank featuring Airplane Mode, “Burn the Sails”
I don’t usually pay attention to singles, and Thomas Frank is more known for his YouTube videos about productivity and the web app Notion than for music. But Frank, who previously released guitar instrumentals, took singing lessons and applied them to this single. And it’s impressive. I hope he has the gumption for an EP, at least.
Eluvium, (whirring marvels in) Consensus Reality
The last few Eluvium albums felt like they could be interchangeable, but this one? Not so much. Matthew Cooper has expanded his sonic vocabulary to include bona fide string arrangements. This albums feels uncharacteristic of the Eluvium M.O., but in very welcome ways.
SYML, The Day My Father Died
When I was younger, I would spend more time with albums, playing them weeks on end, even the ones for which I felt ambivalence. I don’t do that any more. So it’s rare that an album dominates my media devices the way this album has. Brian Fennell has a gorgeous voice, but he also knows how to tailor his songs for his voice. And they’re really good songs. They kept playing in my head long after the playback stopped. I can’t remember the last time an artist did that for me.
Natalie Merchant, Keep Your Courage
I think Merchant took her own advice with this album title because I don’t think I’ve heard her so confident.
NUMBER GIRL, Mujo no Hi
I didn’t realize NUMBER GIRL’s influence would have enough staying power to bring the band back together for fans who never saw them live in the first place. It was weird enough coming across a video of ASIAN KUNG-FU GENERATION covering “Toumei Shoujo,” which NUMBER GIRL played four times on this final concert of their reunion tour. And they sound every bit as fierce as they did nearly 20 years ago. Paint me a little disappointed that a new album didn’t result from this reunion, but I’m glad the newer generations of fans got to see NUMBER GIRL in their element.
Kesha, Gag Order
Good on Kesha. Drag them.
Danish String Quartet, Prism V
Danish String Quartet’s Prism series paired works of Beethoven and Bach with composers who came in their wake, ranging from Felix Mendelssohn to Alfred Schnittke. Do I totally buy the connections Danish sees between the two B’s and Bartok or Shostakovich? I like the fact the Danish even tried to forge one. The final installment of this series pairs an early string quartet by Anton Webern with Beethoven’s String Quartet No. 16, Op. 135. The Webern quartet is a post-Romantic work with an unstable tonality but still fairly lush compared to the austerity his later works took on. Here, the connection with Beethoven is much more apparent.
Sufjan Stevens / Timo Andres / Conor Hanick, Reflections
I read user reviews complaining this album as nothing but modern classical garbage, so I took a listen myself, and no, it’s not garbage. But it is definitely modern classical, perhaps even post-modern. I have a few of Stevens’ indie rock albums, and I find them unoffensive. But this side of Stevens? I can get behind it.
Jake Shears, Last Man Dancing
Shears’ solo debut left not a single impression with me. But this follow-up is — what is that term the youngs use today? Oh, yes: FIRE.
Sugababes, Angels with Dirty Faces
I remember not having enough savvy about pop music to give this album an ambivalent review when it came out. Now that I’ve had a number of decades to reflect on this album and its predecessor One Touch, I have to say it’s a solid work. And it’s an essential album for anyone who wants to get a sense of Sugababes at their finest.
The Donnas, Early Singles 1995-1999
I learned of the Donnas right on the cusp of their signing to Atlantic Records, so I was unaware of their punk bonafides, which these early singles definitively establish.
I’m old enough now that I can no longer be mistaken for someone remotely connected to the zeitgeist. A phrase I would often employ was, “I know of them, but I’ve not heard from them.” These days, the first part of that phrase is a stretch.
That said, I’m surprised by the number of R&B titles that have crept into my playlist rotation. I’m still a rockist at heart, but rock is loosening its grip on my attention.
Sturgill Simpson, Sound & Fury: How was Sturgill Simpson ever going to top A Sailor’s Guide to Earth? He didn’t. He veered so drastically in a different direction that the albums can’t be compared. None of his albums can be compared to each other.
Torche, Admission: Torche can be found under the metal section of most music stores, but when I play their albums, I hear post-rock.
Weezer, Weezer (Teal Album): It’s a karaoke album, but a painstakingly created one.
Jeremy Denk, c.1300-c.2000: It’s a tall order to compile eight centuries of music into a single program.
John Luther Adams, Become Desert: It was also stirring to hear this piece live.
Cocco, Star Shank: We hear hints of clouds covering the sunniness of Cocco’s later work.
BBMAK, Powerstation: I will not lie — I’ve anticipating this album for most of the year, and I do not care who knows.
Shiina Ringo, Sandokushi: This album is a glorious mess.
Solange, When I Get Home: Similar to Sound and Fury, this album is confounding and fascinating at the same time. There’s nothing on here that matches the tunefulness of A Seat at the Table, and it would be too disruptive to the album’s flow if there were.
Jamila Woods, Legacy! Legacy!: “Basquiat” was playing on the in-store system at Sonic Boom, and it pretty much clinched my decision to get this album.
Loveless casts a big enough shadow over My Bloody Valentine’s work that it made me hesitant to explore the remainder of the band’s catalog, lest it fail to live up. That is not the case with Isn’t Anything, and I regret not ordering the remastered vinyl when I picked up Loveless a year ago.
Rick Springfield, Tao
A five-disc bargain box set of Rick Springfield albums got a discount on Amazon Prime Day, and I fully succumbed to FOMO when I bought it. I’ve always liked “Celebrate the Youth”, but it turns out Tao is Springfield’s most ambitious album of his 80s work. If you must own a second Springfield album — the first being Working Class Dog — Tao would be the one.
NUMBER GIRL, Kanden no Kioku
I hate to admit it, but … I’ve listened to the four studio albums of NUMBER GIRL enough times to want more variety from the live albums. Still, NUMBER GIRL is that rare band where their live albums are hotter than their studio work.
Janet Jackson, Control: The Remixes
I didn’t realize how much I prefer the remixed version of “Let’s Wait a While” till I heard it on this reissued compilation. I’m also reminded of how awesome “The Pleasure Principle” is.
Missy Elliott, Da Real World
I’ve read a number of lukewarm reviews for this album, and compared the work preceding and following it, I could see how it might seem not up-to-snuff. But that’s not saying much. It’s still a solid album and light years ahead of The Cookbook.
Re-Flex, The Politics of Dancing (Revised Expanded Edition)
I’m not sure how this album has been relegated to the vinyl dollar bin. It’s damn awesome and ripe for rediscovery.
Band of Susans, The Word and the Flesh
I remember reading about Band of Susans in Pulse! magazine and wondering if I would ever encounter any of their albums out in the wild. It took 30 years, but it happened.
One new song out of a 52-track career retrospective? I think I’m fine.
The Replacements, Dead Man’s Pop, Sept. 27
Don’t Tell a Soul was the first album I bought from the Replacements, so I’m interested to hear this period of the band’s history expanded on this boxed set.
Cocco, Star Shank, Oct. 2
Three years is pretty much the average gap between Cocco albums these days, now that she’s diversified into fashion, films, stage acting and literature. So she’s right on schedule.
Vinyl
Explosions in the Sky, The Rescue, Aug. 16 Explosions in the Sky, How Strange Innocence, Aug. 16
Explosions in the Sky wrote and recorded The Rescue in two weeks, and it’s a surprisingly tight album given its self-imposed constraints. Previously available only at the band’s shows, it gets a vinyl reissue for the band’s 20th anniversary.
Pinback, Summer in Abaddon (15th Anniversary Edition), Sept. 27
During my days as a record store employee, I got the impression Pinback was a fairly mellow band. So when I found this album at the thrift store, I was taken aback by how boisterous it was.
NUMBER GIRL, Kanden no Kioku, Nov. 3 NUMBER GIRL, DESTRUCTION BABY, Nov. 3
Just as Universal was starting to neglect NUMBER GIRL’s albums, the band reunites and gives the label a reason to dig into the archives. Oh, thank goodness.
Midnight Oil, Breathe Tour 97, Nov. 29
I’m unclear about whether this album was actually released on Record Store Day 2019. It showed up on the list, only to disappear as the April date approached. But it’s up on Discogs, so … where was it available? And is this reissue vaporware?
![[SYML - The Day My Father Died]](https://musicwhore.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/SYMLTheDayMyFatherDied315445R6T8_f.jpg)
![[Thomas Frank - Burn the Sails]](https://musicwhore.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/ThomasFrankAirplaneMode311716F3GX_f.jpg)
![[MF DOOM - MM..FOOD]](https://musicwhore.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/MFDOOMMMFOOD2007281316_f.jpg)
![[Sturgill Simpson - Sound and Fury]](https://musicwhore.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/SturgillSimpsonSoundandF22161304K7_f-300x300.jpg)
![[Ornette Coleman - Dancing In Your Head]](https://musicwhore.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/OrnetteColemanDancingInYourHead-300x300.jpg)
![[Rick Springfield - Tao]](https://musicwhore.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/RickSpringfieldTao-300x300.jpg)
![[Sleater-Kinney - The Center Won't Hold]](https://musicwhore.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/SleaterKinneyTheCenterWo219433XS48_f-300x300.jpg)
![[NUMBER GIRL - DESTRUCTION BABY]](https://musicwhore.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/NumberGirlDestructionBaby-300x300.jpg)
![[NUMBER GIRL - Kanden no Kioku]](https://musicwhore.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/NumberGirlKandenNoKioku-300x300.jpg)