My Top Ten Albums of 2023

23 words describing each of my Top Ten albums of 2023. Because I use far too many words the rest of the year...

10. Whitehorse - I'm Not Crying, You're Crying

Husband and wife Luke Doucet and Melissa McClelland join forces for their 8th album, venturing further into Canadian Americana territory than ever before.  

I went down division five local RCMP to file a missing persons report.

Well, they looked me up and down then their eyes went to the ground

They burst out laughing and they showed me the door

Said, "We ain't never seen nobody so lost before."

Whitehorse - Division 5

9. Robert Forster - The Candle & The Flame

A tender tribute to his wife's fight against cancer and a touching rumination on the aging process. His most personal album to date?

Feel changes in my mind

I’m walkin’ to school in ‘69

The next day I’m 35

Robert Forster - I Don't Do Drugs, I Do Time

8. Emily Breeze - Rapture

It's taken her a long time to break through... but the wisdom of bitter experience gives Emily an edge over her younger rivals.

One day you will find yourself at a friends 40th birthday party

Wondering how the days turned into decades and if anyone still does drugs

And you will dance, dance off the minutes and the moments

And magic and the misery and the miracles and monotony

As you unfurl into infinity among the solar systems and galaxies

A dopamine driven pinball machine studded with hair and nails and teeth

Hard wired with desire and fear and dreams hosted by the ghost of a memory

of a memory, of a memory, of a memory of a memory

There's nothing wrong with an ordinary life

Emily Breeze - Ordinary Life

7. LYR - The Ultraviolet Age

Poet Laureate Simon Armitage's latest band might come with the subtitle "For English Teachers Only"... but they deserve wider recognition. Poetry in emotion.

She said she liked

the flowers I sent

but wondered why

they had no scent,

and why the food

had lost its taste,

and why the nurse

had covered her face?

And why the gates of the park were shut?

And why the shops were boarded up?

And why the swings were tied in knots?

And the music... why had the music stopped?

LYR - The Song Thrush And The Mountain Ash

6. Laura Cantrell - Just Like A Rose: The Anniversary Sessions

Back after 9 years, and better than ever, with an ear for lyrical detail and a joyful tune... the First Lady of Americana?

Angry white man, you'd have me believe

You're beset and besieged

Your reputation is aggrieved

Climbed your way up to the tallest high chair

Do you feel safer up there?

I see you're loaded for bear ...

Angry white man

My favorite part

Is saying "bless your heart, 

Bless your heart"

Laura Cantrell - AWM - Bless

5. Jim Bob - Thanks For Reaching Out

Jim Bob's self-proclaimed masterpiece. Beware the hype, JB - cynical miserablists like me will expect too much. Great record, just not your best.

This is my mixtape, my romantic gesture

A dozen red roses left on your doorstep

This is my balcony scene, my drunken tattoo

My heart-shaped balloon, my graffiti on a factory wall

This is my Taj Mahal, my Albert Memorial

My Hanging Gardens of Babylon

This is my Long and Winding Road, my God Only Knows

My Up the Junction

Typed out on a bus and sent from my iPhone

Jim Bob - Thanks For Reaching Out

4. Ben Folds - What Matters Most

A slow-burner, with only one track representing his piano-stomping past; otherwise this is a reflective post-fame record to be relished by middle-aged musos. 

But it's a big world with un-famous people

Who deserve the grand applause

And they quietly carry on

I'd like to think that I could be that strong

Daydreaming on the bus, that's all

Now it's back to anonymous

Ben Folds - Back To Anonymous

3. Jason Isbell & The 400 Unit - Weathervanes

Just another great Jason Isbell record. The quality never dips. If Laura is the First Lady of Americana, this guy is the President...

Are you looking for something easy?

Do you need to feel alive?

Do you crave a love that tears through your life like a Category Five?

My momma spent every day alone

In a house of noise and names

She got so tired of putting out fires

She just laid down in the flames

We're running out of options

I've told you all my jokes

If you insist on being lonely

Can you leave a couple smokes?

2. BC Camplight - The Last Rotation Of The Earth

Supposedly his final record (let’s hope not!), this sees Brian waiting for the Tesco man and dreading the future. Brutally honest and life-affirming.

"Oh, what a bеautiful morning"

I say to the Tesco guy

"I've seen my fair sharе

But there's something about this one"

He goes, "Are you okay?"

I look him in the eye

We both smile

1. Jenny Lewis - Joy'all

Wry melancholia, world-weary romance, exuberant self-sufficiency... it’s another flawless set from the former Rilo Kiley chanteuse - like the Carpenters but more kick-ass! 

My forties are kicking my ass

And handing 'em to me in a margarita glass

I was infatuated with an older man

And then I dated a psychopath

So I'm 44 in 2020 and thank God I saved up some money

Time to ruminate like, "What the fuck was that?"

Like a shot of good luck

I got a puppy and a truck

If you feel like giving up

Shut up

Get a puppy and a truck