Curious what notable personalities in the scene think was great this year? So is TGEFM! So we reached out to some of our favorite luminaries ranging from musicians, label personnel, and more for their “Best of 2023” lists. Now, listen: TGEFM is not a taskmistress. Contributors can write these out however they want. So if it doesn’t actually look or read like a list… and sometimes it really is just a list with no other observations! Who cares?
After making us wait eleven years for last year’s Life Got In The Way, Omaha’s beach punks Young Hasselhoffs made a quick return with the new record, Dear Departed on Mom’s Basement Records (order here). The legends of their scene compiled a list of their top 10 albums of 2023.
Jason from the Young Hasselhoffs here. Just want to share some of my favorite releases from the past year. This list was made in conversation with Phil so it represents a bit of a cross-section of our musical taste. Matt however doesn’t listen to contemporary music, so his input was pretty much useless. He kept going on and on about The Platters.
These are not in any particular order. Away we go!
The Menzingers – Some of it Was True
These guys never fail to disappoint. Clearly an ode to American rockers like Springsteen and Petty, I feel like their voice gets lost a little bit in the shuffle. But the songs are still so good that I don’t get too hung up on it. Not quite as introspective as their last two records, but it seems like that is an intentional choice that they are making. The record is very cohesive and has a lot of very memorable moments. Highlights include “ there’s no place in this world for me,” “ ultraviolet,” and “high low.”
Tightwire – Head Full Of Snakes
I was a big fan of 2018’s Six Feet Deep, so I was pretty excited for this one. As good as the first record was, this one’s even better. From the songwriting to the production, this record basically sounds exactly like it’s supposed to. I don’t know how else to say it. This is what melodic punk should sound like. For fans of Dear Landlord and Teenage Bottle Rocket. It’s very short and very sweet. If anything, it leaves you wanting two or three more, which is better than outstaying your welcome. A complete front-to-backer. Highlights include “smoke machine,” “one foot in the grave,” and “bad decisions.”
Loma Prieta – Last
Phil sums this record up nicely. “Hot damn, this thing smokes! Reminds me of Fucked Up, (although that may be because Fucked Up is the only hardcore band I listen to on the regular). Awesome dynamics, lots of interesting twists and turns, and a strong sense of melody under all of the aggression.” Spot on analysis. Don’t be turned off if you hear the opening bars of “Sunlight” and think “this isn’t for me.” It is. Give it a shot. This record does it all. And it does it all at 11; the whole album is blown out. It sounds like the greatest boombox recording of all time. Highlights include “sunlight,” “fire in black and white,” and “glare.”
Jeff Rosenstock – HELLMODE
Speaking of twists and turns, this record does so many things well, it’s hard to know where to start. Upon first listening to this record, I remember describing it to a friend as being “genuinely exciting.” That I think is the highest praise possible for a contemporary punk rock record. But if that surprises you, then you haven’t been paying attention to Jeff Rosenstock‘s career to this point. He’s making up his own rules and breaking them as he goes along. Borderline chaotic while still being total sing-alongs, HELLMODE is the perfect soundtrack to a very confusing historical moment. Highlights include “WILL U STILL U,” “LIKED YOU BETTER,” “HEALMODE.”
Spanish Love Songs – No Joy
The title just about sums it up. If you can get past just how utterly bleak this record is, there’s actually a lot to enjoy. To me, it sounds like the love child of the Killers and Alkaline Trio. (But that’s possibly just because they covered a song from each of those bands prior to putting this out.) In any case, the synth is a nice addition, and a bit of a departure from the heavier guitar-driven sound of “Brave Faces Everyone.” I feel like this record might fade a little bit towards the end of the B-side, but the first half is strong enough to make this one of the best records of the year in my opinion. Highlights include “Lifers,” “Haunted,” and “Clean-Up Crew.”
Microwave – Much Love (Anniversary Edition)
So I’m exploiting a loophole here to include the very best thing I discovered all year. Microwave’s Much Love, which originally debuted in 2016. I’m not sure why they’re celebrating the seventh anniversary of this record, but I’m glad they put it out this year so I could include it on my top 10 list. I can’t stop kicking myself for spending the last seven years of my life not listening to this record. It does absolutely everything I love. Thoughtful, searching lyrics that are playful, self-deprecating, melancholy, hopeful, and heartbreaking. Quiet moments with delicate harmonies. Dynamic, earnest vocals. Songs that build to raucous crescendos. Everything has a raw edge to it. Lots of string squeaks And feedback squeals. I feel like I could listen to this record three times a day for the rest of my life and never get tired of it. Highlights include “Dull,” “Lighterless,” and “Whimper,” which is possibly the saddest love song I’ve ever heard.
Ben Folds – What Matters Most
I got to this one late. As in, like, within the last week. But it has made such an impression in a short time that I felt compelled to include it. Ben Folds has no contemporaries in my opinion. He is a uniquely talented island of a songwriter. While I have to admit, I’m not too familiar with this entire catalog, this record seems to be a bit more autobiographical than some of the things of his I’ve heard in the past. (Although, in the folk-song tradition it’s never quite possible to discern the line between truth and fiction). He is definitely taking this opportunity to reflect on his fame, his regrets, as well as commenting on the concerns of the day. Somehow he manages to do this in a compassionate way that is most entirely free of judgment. It makes for an experience that simultaneously challenges and forgives the listener as he’s holding up a mirror up while whispering a prayer in your ear and holding your hand. This is such a beautiful collection of thought-provoking songs, stories told from a perspective that you only earn after living half your life. As with all his music, it has personality, often witty, conversational and playful. It’s humorous at times without ever being silly or vulgar. It’s quite an accomplishment that achieves what its title implies. He is inviting us to reconsider what truly matters. Highlights include “Exhausting Lover,” Back to Anonymous,” and “Fragile.”
Jagger Holly – Rivoltella
This record cooks! It basically puts Banner Pilot, the Riverdales, and Teenage Bottlerocket, in a blender. The songs are varied, but still cohesive, featuring great melodies, hooks, harmonies and choruses. That said, at 29 songs, and 61 minutes, might be the longest record in the genre. It might be 10 minutes too long. That’s not to say all the songs aren’t great. Just that there might be a few too many of them for a straight-through listen. It starts to run together a bit. This would be three Tightwire albums. Highlights include “Don’t Bore Us,” “Live Forever” (“I don’t want to get old and look like Tom Waits sounds” is a fucking great line!), and “Can’t Stop.”
New Green Day singles
Another loophole. Hopefully Saviors will be on my “Best of 2024” list, but in case these are the only three good songs on it I’m gonna go ahead and include it here. I don’t think I’ve ever heard Green Day rock harder than they do on “Dilemma.” The guitars on the chorus are huge and driving. “The American Dream is Killing Me” sounds like a throwback to “American iIdiot.” And “Look Ma, No Brains” has a killer energy (and is already a Taco Bell commercial!). I’ve been a GD apologist my entire life, and I see no reason to stop now. Highlights here would be redundant.
Thrice – The Artist in the Ambulance-Revisited
It might say something about my age that two of the albums on my top 10 are anniversary editions, but this record holds a pretty special place in my heart. I’ve been a fan of Thrice since 1999. So it’s fair to say that we have grown up together. Hearing these 20-year-old songs performed by the musicians they are now sort of collapses the last two decades in a really interesting and profound way for me personally. Add that to the fact that this record dropped completely unannounced on a Wednesday in February…it was one of the highlights of my year. Re-recording an album that is special to a lot of people is risky, but they pulled it off. It almost completely replaces the original version (which, it turns out was mixed without their input, producing a commercial product that they were never completely proud of). In my opinion, this version is superior in every way. It feels like an incredibly polished live album. It’s raw, energetic, aggressive, and includes some subtle flourishes that are the result of 20 years of refinement, breathing new life into a record I’ve been living with for 2 decades.
(I had the privilege of seeing them perform this album straight through in Denver back in May, on the same day that the Golden Nuggets won their first ever NBA title a few blocks away. After the show, my wife and I walked out of the Fillmore into a city-wide celebration. It was total chaos. I’ll never forget it.)
Highlights include “Hoods on Peregrine,” “Silhouette,” “The Melting Point of Wax.”
