Tag: new albums

I’d be lying if I said that 2023 didn’t feel like a super quick blur, even though I had some pretty excellent adventures in the last 12 months. I got out and explored Tampa Bay more extensively, I made plans to move to the mountains by a certain year, and in terms of full-fledged adventures, I’d need a third hand to collectively count how many times I found myself at Tampa International Airport this year.

Through it all, there was plenty of hype in the new music scene, but this year, there were bigger comebacks on the list than I had seen since probably 2016.

Within a month of each other, Taylor Swift, The Rolling Stones, and *checks notes* The Beatles all released brand-new material. If you take Time Magazine’s Person of the Year out of the scenario, this hasn’t happened since 1969, with the respective releases of Abbey Road and Let It Bleed. But those aren’t my only three favorites, and I hate to say it, but even with one of the names mentioned making my annual top 12 list, I feel like I snubbed so much when writing it out. 

Obviously, both Taylor’s Versions that came out were brilliant, and I already own both of them on wax. But Graham Nash’s Now was on repeat on my drives to Tampa in the fall. Willie Nelson’s I Don’t Know A Thing About Love—made up entirely of Harlan Howard songs—dropped on the same day I saw him live for the first time at the Florida Strawberry Festival. Ed Sheeran’s – (minus) made me tear up while I was waiting in line at Magic Kingdom’s Seven Dwarfs Mine Train, And Meet Me @ The Altar’s debut album Past // Present // Future? Loved it. I blasted it all the way to St. Pete Pride and back.

I’ve also been a fan of The Zombies since high school, and I heard a few tracks from their new Different Game album at a gig in Clearwater in the spring of 2022. I enjoyed what I heard, but I gotta admit that I still haven’t sat down and listened to the full album yet. I still need to check out boygenius’ The Album, and (don’t hate me) the new Foo Fighters album. I’m reading Dave Grohl’s book right now, so maybe that’ll give me a push in the New Year. It looks like Yusuf/Cat Stevens has a new one out too, and I’m more open to giving that one a shot than stomaching The Steve Howe Band—I mean, err, Yes’ Mirror To The Sky.

I can honestly say that I didn’t listen to the vast majority of these until a few months after they were released, as I mainly stuck to my own playlists in 2023. But considering the situations we endure these days, let some new artists in our streaming queues be the scariest change we ever face. It won’t be, but I can dream, right?

Happy New Year, friends. As always, be strong, love big, and don’t back down.

January: We Are Scientists – Lobes

With the deaths of Jeff Beck, Lisa Marie Presley, and David Crosby within a week of each other, it was looking to be a pretty grim year at first. But if there’s anything I’ve learned about We Are Scientists—an indie-rock trio from California—it’s that whatever follows its act is bound to be unforgettable (read: Innings Festival 2022). The band’s eighth album Lobes adds to the trend of reviving ‘80s music, and takes on the sounds of Ultravox and Pet Shop Boys, with plenty of lyrics about expectations, honesty, and even a shout-out to math rock. Hope to see these guys headline Jannus Live at some point in the future.

February: Gracie Abrams – Good Riddance

While I wouldn’t say that J.J. Abrams’ daughter would be a great fit to soundtrack, say, another “Star Trek” film, Gracie Abrams’ sad-girl-indie debut album is surely the kickoff to an illustrious career that already has “opening for Taylor Swift” under its belt. Good Riddance has the minimalism of an early Joni Mitchell record and the lyrical catharsis of a Lana Del Rey record, and should Gracie toy around with other genres on her next album, she might end up starting up one of the biggest followings—be it cult or mainstream—of the decade.

March: Lana Del Rey – Did you know that there’s a tunnel under Ocean Blvd.

After waiting very patiently since my freshman year of high school, I finally got to see Lana Del Rey perform live in Tampa on September 25, and the show was part of a quick run promoting this latest album of hers. Lana has come such a long way since she dropped Born To Die 11 years ago (!), and the collaborations with Jon Batiste and Father John Misty—just to name a few—aren’t even what sticks out about Tunnel. Lana’s life story and beginnings are kept pretty cryptic, but it’s been said that the album—her best one as a whole since Honeymoon, in my opinion—is her most personal. She messes around with gospel, psychedelic, and of course, her standard orchestra-backed laments, all with a little production help from Jack Antonoff and his unmatched studio skills. It’s currently nominated for Album of the Year at the Grammys, and while I’m personally good no matter who wins, it’s about time Miss Lana takes home a Grammy, yeah?

April: Smokey Robinson – Gasms

I know, I know: We’re lucky to still have this national treasure with us. I’m not ungrateful for a second. But there’s just something slightly distressing about an 83-year-old man singing about sex, or more specifically, eyegasms. I don’t know how much ol’ Smokey watched Chef-era “South Park” while making this record—his first of original material since the late aughts—but at the very least, the latter half is slightly more wholesome, pertaining more to wanting to spend the rest of his days with someone, rather than exclusively thinking about, err, gasming. Luckily, I discovered this one a little later in the year, rather than in its month of release, in which I had my bottom two wisdom teeth removed and finally reunited with my best friend for the first time in five years, for the sake of seeing The Eras Tour.

May: Paul Simon – Seven Psalms

I had Seven Psalms up against Graham Nash’s Now for May, and my struggle to pick between the two is why you’re probably reading this in 2024. In the end, I went with Paul Simon’s thoughts about mortality, which came about after a post-farewell tour dream he had. His vocals have gotten a bit more quivery, but for what it’s worth, his acoustic guitar bits are just as solid and masterful as always. If you try and stream the 7-track album, it’s one giant, half-hour epic, rather than being chopped down to its septet of songs. As much as I’d want to add “Wait” to every playlist I have, perhaps that’s how Paul intended to execute it, so who the hell am I to question my all-time favorite songwriter? Well, about anything other than why on God’s green earth he, a New York kid of over 80 years, decided to move to Texas recently. I’m not expecting a tour behind this album (he said recently that he’d play some shows to bump Psalms, had it not been for COVID-related hearing loss), but if any gigs come about, look out for a review.

June: Rufus Wainwright – Folkocracy

My first man-crush duetting with Chaka Khan on a heavily slowed-down “Cotton-Eyed Joe” was not on my 2023 bingo card, but hey: Now I can confuse the hell out of karaoke bar regulars when I say how great Wainwright’s version is, just to realize that they have no idea who the hell I’m talking about until I mention “Shrek.” Rufus is continually giving the Wainwright clan an exceptional name with the way he can write operas and hypnotize his audiences without any sort of band behind him. It was fascinating but not shocking to see him take on some traditional folk semi-standards with some of the names he deserves to be A-list with (Brandi Carlile, John Legend), as well as a version of Van Dyke Parks’ “Black Gold,” with the guy who co-wrote The Beach Boys’ Smile right beside him. I think that a duet with Joni Mitchell is the only thing that would have made Folkocracy better than it already is, because what gay tenor doesn’t want to work with Joni?

July: Lukas Nelson & Promise of the Real – Sticks and Stones

In a post-Million Dollar Quartet (Elvis, Johnny Cash, Carl Perkins, Jerry Lee Lewis) world, amid an era featuring Jason Aldean and Morgan Wallen, it’s refreshing to see some country music that isn’t heavily manufactured. Alcohol is a recurring theme on Lukas’ eighth studio album (and I have to say, I don’t think I’ve laughed uglier than when I heard the intro to “Alcohallelujah”), but the melodies are catchy, the guitar work is clean, and honestly, it’d be no shock if Lukas spent time with his dad’s besties, The Highwaymen as a kid. He would have utterly exploded in the outlaw country scene during its heyday, had he been around for it. Also, did you know that Promise of the Real was Neil Young’s backing band for a time? Man, what a gig that would have been.

August: Quavo – Rocket Power

I took a listen to this one—the first Migos solo project to emerge after the murder of Takeoff last year—while working on a preview for a Quavo gig to happen at Tampa’s Armature Works. It basically takes you through his navigation process of mourning his bandmate-slash-nephew (who actually appears on this record) and also features guest spots from Young Thug and Future. I’m not gonna pretend that this is wholly my scene, but there’s no doubt in my mind that Migos had to have done a killer concert. Hopefully, there’ll be some unreleased material out soon, or maybe some unreleased Takeoff demos that Quavo and Offset could work on together to morph into new Migos material.

September: Bruce Springsteen – September 3, 2023, East Rutherford, NJ

I very nearly went with Stephen Sanchez’s Angel Face for September. Olivia Rodrigo’s Guts was great too, of course. But September 3, 2023 was a night I’ll never forget. I flew to New Jersey the day before, just so I could see The Boss in his homestate. It’s like seeing the Pope speak at the Vatican or seeing one of The Beatles perform in Liverpool. I caught Springsteen in Tampa, on opening night of his 2023 tour, and I guess the power of the E Street Band put me in such a frenzy that I was planning my fall venture a few weeks later. And as it turned out, I was right to attend the last date of a three-night stint at MetLife Stadium. I thought I’d have to chase “Jungleland” for years, but sure enough, Bruce’s encore kicked off with just that. “Lonesome Day” was a surprisingly epic opener, and “Spirit In The Night” has to be my favorite pre-Little Steven song of Bruce’s. You can’t find this on streaming services, but if you’re jonesing for some quintessential live Springsteen, do yourself a favor and just spend the $15 on nugs.net. As a guy who has been to nearly 500 live gigs, this was the best one I’ve ever seen, and probably ever will see.

October: The Rolling Stones – Hackney Diamonds

I’m still sad that I never got to see Charlie Watts live (I did buy Stones tickets right before the world shut down in 2020, though), but it’s comforting to know that one of his two contributions to Hackney Diamonds—believed to be his final recordings—happened to be with original bassist Bill Wyman, reuniting the band’s original rhythm section for the first time since 1989’s Steel Wheels. Steve Jordan does a great job on drums both live and on this album—the Stones’ best in decades, in my opinion—and I really admire how Mick, Keith, and Ronnie still manage to maintain their original sound and avoid taking the KISS route, relying solely on merchandise sales and lip-syncing on their fourth farewell tour. Ronnie Wood is now the only long-tenured Stone who has yet to pass his 80th birthday, but considering how solid of a rock album his now-octogenarian friends can make in 2023, something tells me that we haven’t heard the last of the mighty Rolling Stones.

November: Dolly Parton – Rockstar

“Now And Then” wasn’t the only new Beatles lore we got in November, you know. Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr—with Peter Frampton and Mick Fleetwood—were featured on Dolly Parton’s version of “Let It Be,” off of her long-promised, long-awaited rock album, which came about as a result of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame ignoring her request to not be inducted in 2022. Generally, when an artist releases an all-covers rock album, you start to feel like the downhill descent has commenced. But ol’ Dolly’s 30-track collection made up of mostly covers is a hardcore exception to that rule. The songs she chose to tackle for this album were recorded with both original artists (i.e: “Keep On Lovin’ You” with REO Speedwagon’s Kevin Cronin, “Every Breath You Take” with Sting, etc.), or other A-list musicians also willing to pay tribute. She couldn’t get the now-retired Bob Seger, so Chris Stapleton guest stars on “Night Moves,” and instead of a sick guitar section from Jimmy Page on “Stairway To Heaven,” Lizzo plays flute behind Dolly’s vocals. Truthfully, I never thought Dolly would turn to rock, but if you can get Steve Perry to return to the studio, reunite the remaining Beatles, and put respective collaborations with Kid Rock and Stevie Nicks on the same album, why hide away your talents?

December: Peter Gabriel – i/o (In-Side Mix)

Genesis may not have needed Peter Gabriel for its final bow in 2022, but the band’s ex-frontman is finally back after what felt like an eternal hiatus. As it turns out, i/o has been in the works since before I was born and was even partially recorded while he was on tour with Sting in 2016. It’s difficult to dive deep into simple terms regarding this record’s eclectic, modernized sound, but at a point in his life where some artists his age are only revisiting old material and pathetically trying to stay relevant with half-assed new songs (I said “some,” not “all”), Gabriel’s lyrics about struggling with quintessential loss and making peace with how short life is could win him a Grammy in 2025. Oh, and considering the success behind his tour promoting i/o last fall, I’m thinking that a second U.S. leg is going to go down in 2024. This man has never been to Tampa, so the mental preparation for TicketMaster’s verified fan program has officially started on my end.