Quad-City Times’ writer lists his favorite 2023 albums

It’s better than any playoff or rivalry game because it’s the one day where we get to focus on the future, not the past. The draft in any sport is about answering the question of “what’s next?”

As a music fan, I love that question. I’m eager to find a new artist or album to fixate on. And so I listen, and listen, and listen some more. 

That perennial quest for the horizon keeps me from wallowing music nostalgia — though I indulge in that quite a bit, too. 

This year, I listened to more new albums than there are picks in the NFL Draft (259) and NBA Draft (60) combined. If I ever surpass the MLB Draft threshold (614) in a given year, check on my mental well-being. 

While obsessively discovering is great, I do know that there is also value in reflection. I also know that unlike sports, music is not a competition. 

So a disclaimer before I dive into this column: The goal of a “Best Of …” music list is not superiority, but rather curation.

I sincerely hope that you can take something from this list that you haven’t heard yet, and find the same fulfillment in it that I have. If you enjoy it, I hope you can share a record with me in return.

Music is all about the exchange of perspectives and understanding. Through each of these columns, I hope you can know me better, and vice versa. 

So as much as I loved it when my favorite basketball team picked a future All-Pro in 2015, finding new music feels better.

Here are my favorite albums of 2023.

I’ve listened to records from almost every state in the United States this year. My favorite one from Iowa is Miss Christine’s “Bittersweet,” and my favorite record from Illinois is Harrison Gordon’s “The Yuppies Are Winning.” 

The emo rocker from the college town of Bloomington-Normal is endlessly relatable on this record. As a musician, relatability isn’t always enough. But luckily, Gordon knows how to write shredding guitar riffs and catchy guitar hooks, too.

He manages to squeeze self-deprecative lyrics between Dragon Ball Z and Super Smash Bros. references on the headbanger “Kirby Down B.” And as proof of Gordon’s musical range, there’s also the acoustic-sarcastic “i am happy,” which easily transcends its one-minute runtime.

I’ve listened to plenty of emo records this year, and this one is my favorite. 

Growing up, there was a dirt lot down the street from my house where I traversed over broken bottles and Gushers wrappers to build a sand hill with my friends. “Rat Saw God” feels like the walk home afterward. My hands are muddy. My hair is sweaty and matted. And I’m silently grateful that I’ll see my friends again tomorrow. 

Call it countrygaze. Call it bubblegrunge. Either way, “Rat Saw God” is the opus of the new wave of country-tinged indie rock. It has moments of gravelly catharsis on “Bull Believer” and “Quarry.” But it’s also full of earnestness, a product of the chemistry between guitarist MJ Lenderman and vocalist Karly Hartzman. It is Wednesday’s year, and they deserve it.

Petey is not just a flash in the pan. He’s not a gimmick or a TikTok artist, either. The Detroit-born comedian-turned-indie-rocker has a huge social media following for his absurdist sketch comedy. And on “USA,” he flips that humor on its head to deliver crushing lyrical blows.

It’s like seeing Adam Sandler in “Punch Drunk Love” or Will Ferrell in “Everything Must Go.” Hearing your usual comic relief in the midst of existential crisis makes every line land that much harder. Petey’s already made my list of favorite artists with prior tracks like “Don’t Tell The Boys” and “Little Habits,” but “USA” is his most complete album yet. 

“Living Like This,” “I’ll Wait” and “Family of Six” are my personal favorites on the track list. 

For 18 years growing up in a small town, I thought if I just lived in a big city, everything would be OK. I regret to inform you that is not the case. 

“Walking through the city, has it always been so ugly?” sings Pynch frontman Spencer Enock on “The City (Part 2),” a pivotal song on the British band’s stellar debut record, “Howling at A Concrete Moon.”

Sonically, Pynch has elements of The Cure, LCD Soundsystem and The Postal Service, with its blend of catchy indie rock and danceable synthesizers.

Don’t pay attention to the words, and “Howling at A Concrete Moon” sounds like the promise of a glistening city skyline. But look below the glitz and glam of whirring guitars and electronic pulse, and you’ll find a heavier underbelly. It’s a brilliantly self-analytic record, and on every song, you can hear Enock getting closer and closer to figuring it all out. 

I vividly remember being sat down at probably 8 years old and being told by my dad, “Stop being so arrogant.” He reminded me that in an effort to stick my nose up at my elementary bullies, I had become one myself. 

I remember dwelling on my decisions after that wake-up call, mentally putting each thing I say and do in the binary buckets of “good” and “bad.” And I’ve been fixating on that distinction ever since. 

At its heart, “Everything I Lack” is a record about trying to be good. Through her candid, quotable writing, Seattle songwriter Elliott Green builds an entire world within this record. Seriously, Green’s delicate lyricism is right up there with modern masters like David Bazan, Andy Hull and Julien Baker. 

Green’s poetry is amplified by her razor-sharp vocals, reverberating guitar plucks and clamorous epiphanies. This album means more to me than I could put into words in this column. At my heart, I’m still trying my hardest to be good, too.  

Importantly, I’m not just a music fan, but also a journalist!

One of the most fulfilling stories I’ve written this year came in November, when I talked to friends and family of Polyrhythms co-founder Nate Lawrence. 

Lawrence passed away unexpectedly in August, and the organization has done an inspiring job of keeping on. Their holiday special Third Sunday Jazz Series is this Sunday at the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of the Quad Cities, located at 3707 Eastern Ave. in Davenport.

The show is headlined by the Polyrhythms Trio, featuring special guests Manuel Lopez III and James Culver. It starts at 5 p.m., and admission is $15. 

Lastly, I’ll leave you with a look back on country superstar Kacey Musgraves’ visit to Daytrotter Studios. My favorite genre to dive into this year has been country, a music corner I long overlooked. 

What I’ve learned pretty rapidly is that Musgraves is one of the most talented writers the genre has to offer. That skill comes across on her Daytrotter rendition of “Fine,” an already poetic country ballad made perfect by its harmonizing slide guitar. 

While I dove headfirst into country, the records listed above and much more this year, I’m sure I’ll find something new in 2024. I hope you do, too.