All right, not quite before the end of June, but we’re getting May out in early July. We’re catching up to real time! But catching up on what, you ask? Well, we’re on a journey to find the 23 best albums of 2023 by listening to new albums as they come out each month and sorting them into “yes” and “maybe”. Join us!

Okay, you say. I’m intrigued. But how did this come about? In 2021, in a quest to get familiar with newer music, I listened to the critics choices for the best albums of the 2010s, and picked my own favorites. I did the same for 2020, picking my top 20. And I started off listening to new releases each month, eventually finding the 21 best albums of 2021. I had so much fun in the process that I decided to do it again in 2022, listening each month and discovering the 22 best albums of 2022.

There are links to the 2021 and 2022 albums in the posts, but if you’d like a one-stop playlist, I’ve set that up on Spotify:

• 2021 top 21
• 2022 top 22

And if you need to catch up our voyage through 2023, the earlier posts for this year are here:

( January/February/March April )

Did I mention “yes” and “maybe” above? I did! As I listen to the new releases for each month, I sort the ones that are in contention for best of the year into two categories:

Yes– This represents the albums that, upon first listen, I think could definitely be in running for best of the year.

Maybe– These albums have something to recommend them, but also something that gives me pause. I put them in their own category, because I’ve found “maybes” sometimes linger and eventually become “yeses”.

Got it? Good. Now let’s get on with my picks for the most promising albums from the 105 May new releases I listened to!

Alice Longyu Gao, Let’s Hope Heteros Fail, Learn and Retire– The title lets you know there’s a point of view, which is great. But even better is the mix of energetic, wacky, and experimental on display here as it combines electronic, sing-song, noise rock, and high-octane dance music. This Chinese-born American singer, songwriter, DJ, and performance artist has it going on! (Note this is not actually a May release, it’s from Pitchfork’s Spring list of “33 albums you might have missed”. As you know, we miss NOTHING.)

Arlo Parks, My Soft Machine– Her album Collapsed in Sunbeams was in my top 21 list for 2021. Compared to that, this album smoother in some ways due to a lusher more pop-oriented production. But lyrically it’s more directly personal and the vocals often have an uncloaked sense of vulnerability. So, its strengths are different, but she is no less powerful here for it.

Charlotte Cornfield, Could Have Done Anything– One of my picks for 2021 honorable mention was her album Highs in the Minuses, and it remains a sentimental favorite of mine. This has the same plain-spoken honesty of lyrics and vocals, warm presence, and music with an acoustic base but enough production polish and melody that moves it along nicely.

Dave Matthews Band, Walk Around the Moon– Nobody is more surprised than me to find myself liking this! After the freshness of his initial intro in the 90s Dave Matthews has been, well, very Dave Matthews. Reliably, dependably, relentlessly Dave Matthews. This, however, finds him in a darker and more pensive mood, and a musically rich one- there are hints of grunge, 60s psychedelic pop, and various other soundscapes along the way, and a less sunny, more interior dive than we have come to expect from him.

Foyer Red, Yarn the Hours Away– A weird nervy, jerky, rock, multi-layered, sing-songy, with gonzo synths. If more people were as inventive with pop rock as this Brooklyn band, it would be a grand world!

Galen Ayers/Paul Simonon, Can We Do Tomorrow Another Day?– In a way, it is no surprise to have a member of the Clash on a musical venture that mixes up ska, Latin, and retro-rock influences. Former Clash bassist Simonon worked out these songs while riding out COVID in Spain. He has actually mostly been creating as a well-regarded painter in recent decades, but the experience of street playing got him interested in his first musical venture in five years. When he returned to London after the pandemic receded, he partnered with singer/songwriter Galen Ayers to bring his new songs out as this album. It legitimately delights, retaining the feeling of warmth and relaxed spontaneity from the set’s origin.

Kassa Overall, Animals– “Equally adept as a jazz drummer, rapper, and producer, Seattle’s Kassa Overall makes records whose approach to musical modernism is informed amply by beat consciousness.” That’s the description, and it’s a great mix! Wildly variable jazz, experimental electronic, left field hip hop all at once.

Kesha, Gag Order– Wow! I did not know a lot about Kesha beyond some vague sense she was dance-related. Which she is, but also raw, ragged, angry, powerful, spiritual, musically varied, and given to unusual production choices. Compelling all the way through!

Olivia Jean, Raving Ghost– Olivia Jean is the lead of the “garage goth” band the Black Belles and, somewhere incidentally along the way, Jack White’s newest wife. I mention those only because both factors, maybe, give you a clue to what her musical POV is. Swinging, retro, and vaguely sinister on the first track, slightly punky power pop new wave on the second, a metal feeling on the third. And later, there is the version of “Orinoco Flow” that turns it into a girl-group/punk number. It may all be a little formulaic, but damn it’s a good formula- Olivia Jean is a cool rocking righteous chick, and I am here for it!

Peter One, Come Back to Me– A good story: The U.S. debut at age 67 of a Nashville musician from Côte d’Ivoire who found fame in Africa as a folk musician in the 90s before emigrating to the U.S. in the 90s and doing just regular life for decades. Even better: It’s a lovely album that delivers an intriguing hybrid of acoustic Afro-pop, jazz, blues, and American folk. From these disparate parts comes a unique whole. And how often these days do you hear something that doesn’t sound like anything but itself?

Rosa Pistola, Cumbiaton Total– Well this was delightful! Such lively, varied, and over the top hip-hop and dance music glee. Per Bandcamp: “Cumbiaton Total is a headfirst dive into Mexico City’s raw and unique take on the reggaeton sound, and its rising recognition. Compiled by NTS with Rosa Pistola (a central figure at the heart of the scene), the release coincides with a mini-documentary that explores the community spirit around the scene, with interviews and footage of the artists that feature on the release.”  It is entirely in Spanish, but so fun I don’t care that I can barely understand a single lyric. (Note this is not actually a May release, it’s from Pitchfork’s Spring list of “33 albums you might have missed”. As you know, we miss NOTHING.)

Seán Barna, An Evening at Macri Park– I really like this! Singer/songwriter Barna bases this cycle of songs around Macri Park, a local bar that is a historical anchor for the Queer community in Brooklyn. So, we’ve got that going in for concept, and then new wave/Bowiesque arty melodrama, vivid literary storytelling, and a strong feeling for 70s chords and melodies to top it off.

Maybe

• Alex Lahey, The Answer Is Always Yes– This is snarky, a little nervy, with just the right edge of power pop 90s and noisier rock. It’s not the newest, freshest thing ever, and is designedly simple and straightforward musically. But darned if this Australian singer-songwriter isn’t doing a classic sound well!
  
  
• bar italia, Tracy Denim– A guitar-driven post-punk sound, redolent of the Cure, Siouxsie, Echo & the Bunnymen, the Church, et al, but also with a hint of the 90s to come. The sound is in all wise a little dated and derivative, but darn is it sincere and well done.
  
  
• billy woods & Kenny Segal, Maps– Billy Woods has made several albums that caught my attention in the last few years, but this collaboration with LA producer Segal takes that to a whole other level. It sounds and feels very DIY and is so delightfully varied in terms of the mix. The flow is a little more low key, and it sometimes feels a little incoherent because of it’s very variety, but I can’t fault it for that. Much.
  
  
• Brandy Clark, Brandy Clark– It begins with a murder song, delivered so plain and simply vocally you can’t help but love it, and on the musical side it goes from spare to rocking. There are a variety of musical approaches and subject matter that follow, all informed by the same spare story-telling with just the right dose of pop refrains. It may play a little too conventionally sometimes, and pacing/speed is an issue, but for this strong songwriter I will give another listen.
  
  
• Conway the Machine, Won’t He Do It– There’s a glower and a swagger to this, as well as a muscular mix. If the subject matter isn’t the freshest ever, the flow and personality are strong.
  
  
• Cusp, You Can Do It All– The hushed opening gave me pause, but I liked the slightly-off guitar rhythm and phrasing of the second track. It goes from there to a fuzzy 90s kind of sound, but retains being slightly off kilter, mixed with sweet melodies. In parts familiar, in parts feeling fresh.
  
  
• Graham Day & the Gaolers, Reflections in the Glass– Now that’s some good old-fashioned 60s garage rock! It’s not the most original sound in the world, but Graham’s been plying this trade, both in a variety of UK bands and solo, since the 80s, and as a result, it feels like an original example of it. Too fun and well done not to consider!
  
  
• Immaterial Possession, Mercy of the Crane Folk– Nervy music, jangly and unnerving. There are hints of post-punk, the Doors, the medieval trippy bazaar side of psychedelia, and horror aspects of goth and industrial. It doesn’t sound totally coherent, sometimes the flow is a little off, but this Georgia quartet has something interesting going on!
  
  
• Jonas Brothers, The Album– I semi-despise myself for even doing this, but I think it’s a gosh-darn maybe! The thing is, I listened through to the end, because each song had enough charm and 2020s peak pop perfection to keep me going. A little pre-packaged? Yes. But a package with a powerfully efficient design!
  
  
• Masego, Masego– His mix of soul, house, hip-hop, and jazz is winning. It’s musically and vocally interesting, and if not lyrically profound, what’s going on fits the sunny mellow whole. I’m not sure it comes together as an album with enough energy to sustain it, but worth another listen. (Note this is not actually a May release, it’s from Pitchfork’s Spring list of “33 albums you might have missed”. As you know, we miss NOTHING.)
  
  
• Panic Pocket, Mad Half Hour– This London duo lands somewhere between heavy crunching guitar and poppy melody, with multi-layered female-lead vocals, i.e. it could have come straight from the 90s. The references and concerns are thoroughly contemporary though, and tilt toward a welcome snarky feminism even if the lyrics are sometimes a little too on the nose.
  
  
• Radiator Hospital, Can’t Make Any Promises– This Detroit by way of Michigan indie rock band is somewhere between 80s jangle rock, 90s lo-fi, and 00s garage. Not groundbreaking, but sounds I love and so very solidly done.
  
  
• Rhoda Dakar, Version Girl– I know her from being a key figure in the 70s/80s U.K. ska scene, and singing one of the most harrowing songs I have ever heard, “The Boiler”. So, she’s coming in here with a lot of credibility, and this is a covers album, which always tickles my fancy. And indeed these are great versions, delivered in relaxed and easy ska.
  
  
• Rodney Crowell, The Chicago Sessions– In 2020, Rodney Crowell happened to meet Jeff Tweedy of Wilco at a festival they were both playing at, and Tweedy suggested Crowell should come to Chicago sometime and record at Wilco’s rehearsal space and private studio there. The result is this album, and it’s a great example of fit between the sensibilities of artist and producer. If it’s not the newest sound in the world, darn is it a good one.
  
  
• RP Boo, Legacy Volume 2– The spare excellence, stuttered pop culture sampling, and driving repetition of these DJ mixes reminds me of the 90s heyday of this kind of music. And indeed, Kavain Space, aka RP Boo, had gotten his start DJing in the Chicago house music scene of the 90s and was already legendary for developing the “footwork” style before he began finally publicly releasing his mixes in the 2010s. This sample collects mixes from the 00s, but it’s new to us. And excellent!
  
  
• The Murlocs, Calm Ya Farm– An exuberant sound with country and southern rock flavors. Weirdly for the very American sound they are channeling, they’re from Melbourne. It’s not the most original formulation ever, but a thoroughly enjoyable one.

And there you have the May review, out in the first week of July! Can we get June out before the end of the month? Stay tuned…