Musing

2023 made it easier to break out the tiers as I've done in the past.  I also need to close the loop on the ones I mentioned last year that I didn't get around to - nothing terribly special there.  There's one hold over that I didn't know had finally been released as it had been delayed a few times and that's the Fort Frances album below, but I learned about it this fall, so I've had time to think about it.  I didn't know about Half Moon Run's "Salt" until just a couple of days ago, so I'm not ready to weigh in on that yet.   Great albums:   The Veils, ...And Out of the Void Came Love Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds, Council Skies City and Colour, The Love Still Held Me Near The National, First Two Pages of Frankenstein Andrew Bird, Outside Problems Fort Frances, Look At What Tomorrow Brought Us    Meh albums:   Bell X1, Merciful Hour Local Natives, Time Will Wait For No One   WTF? albums:   The National, Laugh Track Dave Matthews ...

2022 almost got it right.  A grand total of 21 new releases - one short of perfect - crossed my desk last year.  It was enough that I couldn't even get to all of them.  So with apologies to Turnover, Jaws of Love, Richard Edwards, Trampled by Turtles, and Beirut, their albums aren't going to feature in this post in any other capacity.  I've probably heard half of the Turnover album already just because they released so many singles, but I haven't found the right moment to sit down with this one and all of the other mentioned. The full list of eligible albums is:   Florence + the Machine Dance Fever Glen Phillips There Is So Much Here Collective Soul Vibrating Charlie Winston As I Am Death Cab for Cutie Asphalt Meadows Muse Will of the People Embrace How To Be A Person Like Other People Hanson RGB Liam Gallagher C'mon You Know Andrew Bird Inside Problems Shearwater The Great Awakening The Smile A Light for Attracting Attention Bear's Den Blue Hours Arcade Fire WE...