numbers 50 through 26
ahh, the cornfields turbine fields in the midst of a road trip of a ranking. wanna play i Spy? does anyone even look at the middle? “i love to see what landed three-fifths of the way down the ranking!” while this might not be a sentiment that anyone has ever uttered, at its core is something to take seriously.
i’ve come to recognize that the middle is where i spend the most time deliberating on the rank of individual albums versus the clusters of albums that have already been placed. ranking the albums in the bottom third— i won’t say it’s easy, but it at least feels as though there are lower stakes. place this one over that one over this one, fine. there are still 75 ahead of all three of them either way. and ranking the top 25 may be the tough part— painstaking at times, even— but you’re also reveling in the records that have been exciting you most. there’s an energy that comes with overthinking the things that you’ve been loving.
it’s the middle where everything gets muddy. where sounds start to blend without any one note standing out above the rest. you could take this whole section of the list, shuffle it, invert it, maybe reverse-alphabetize it, and most likely than not it would fall into an order that i could be okay with. yes, i would immediately get back to poring over the arrangement and making my own changes— but ~in spirit~ i could be okay with it.
let’s browse what i did come up with after such intense scrutiny.
50. Ooh Rap i Ya — George Clanton
notable track(s): Everything i Want; Punching Down; Ooh Rap i Ya
49. STRUGGLER — Genesis Owusu
notable track(s): Leaving the Light; See Ya There; Tied Up!; That’s Life (A Swamp); Stuck to the Fan
48. i’ve Got Me — Joanna Sternberg
notable track(s): i’ve Got Me; i’ll Make You Mine; The Human Magnet Song
47. A River Running to Your Heart — Fruit Bats
notable track(s): Rushin’ River Valley; See the World By Night; it All Comes Back; The Deep Well
46. The Art of Forgetting — Caroline Rose
Carolines are running my life. it couldn’t be better for me. we’ll get to one of the other Carolines later, and i wouldn’t dream of passing up the chance to go on about this one. this particular release took a few plays to really click, but it was seeing Caroline perform in my favorite phila venue earlier this year that elevated the record. a human pouring out every ounce of heartbreak and agony onto the stage to reveal the resilience that remains, the durability that allows us to wake up each morning and do our best to feel the way we want. yes, i cried during “Miami.” yes, i am tearing up recollecting it now. they’re a force on stage, owning every inch of the venue— not just dominating downstage for 90+ minutes and breaking out “Getting To Me”(!!!) off of LONER, but then closing the show by sailing along, outstretched atop the arms of the crowd (the author’s arms included, brag) before being beamed back up into space (as far as i remember). a standout show by a gem of a performer delivering high-energy pop and a record full of queer heartbreak.
notable track(s): Everywhere i Go i Bring The Rain; The Doldrums; Stockholm Syndrome; Love Song For Myself
45. Javelin — Sufjan Stevens
notable track(s): A Running Start; Everything That Rises
44. Volcano — Jungle
ok ok, i see what you’re able to see. and i accept the raising of the question. how can you list an album in the latter half of the ranking while simultaneously listing 8 of the albums 14 tracks as “notable,” therefore directly acknowledging what can only be a high level of individual enjoyment? it’s a valid question, it strikes right to the heart of the issue. and yet, to attempt to answer would be to attempt to grasp the winds. it may be that Volcano serves as a complete encapsulation of the difficulty of the middle rankings. here is an album with energy, you could start a day with it and it will keep you coming back for more. and yet, i couldn’t find a way to place it any higher. in the end, my intent with this whole project is to endorse everything i hear. it’s just how i feel about these as i listen: there is something in here for everyone. and there is something in everything worth celebrating— maybe not everything (see number 80 as one of a limited example on this list)— so i will gladly recommend any album listed regardless of its numerical rank. is this album ranked at 44? yes. does that mean it can only be? take a listen, and let me know.
notable track(s): Us Against the World; Dominoes; Back on 74; Coming Back; Don’t Play; Problemz; Palm Trees; Pretty Little Thing
43. Could Have Done Anything — Charlotte Cornfield
notable track(s): Gentle Like the Drugs; in From the Rain; Nowhere; Walking With Rachael
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42. Red Moon in Venus — Kali Uchis
notable track(s): i Wish you Roses; All Mine; Como Te Quiero Yo; Not Too Late (interlude); Moonlight
41. Jump For Joy — Hiss Golden Messenger
notable track(s): 20 Years and a Nickel; Shinbone; Jesus is Bored; Nu-Grape; Jump for Joy; The Wondering
40. Time Ain’t Accidental — Jess Williamson
this may be a “fuck lawns” household, but damn if i don’t love me some bluegrass. and there’s something in the modern bluegrass scene that has been emerging more and more lately; put simply, it is variety. in a Billy “mf” Strings there are new levels to the depths of the deepest jam, the flyingest of fingers across the neck of guitars, mandolins, fiddles, banjos… whatever stringed instrument you can imagine. in a Lindsay Lou is the pure heart of plaintive songwriting and the delicate mirroring of nature in song. What Jess Williamson has bottled with Time Ain’t Accidental is what i am deeming to be “popgrass,” bouncy and glimmering like the sunlight through the tree’s branches, deep and introspective like the roots of the old live oak itself. in the way that the oak finds itself the benefactor of the sun’s rays, bluegrass is uplifted by this infusion of pop production, and its blend of synth and strum allows for easy and fluid two-step-ability. bluegrass deserves every iteration that folks out there can dream up, it is a corner of music known to have fun— often at its own expense— using expansive instrumentation and jaunting narratives,while still being lavish with heart and loss and siren’s notes. as a rule, bringing new takes and layering them onto the old foundation allows a sum greater than any of its individual parts to be built. so, here’s to more jamgrass, greengrass, popgrass, and whatever else could be coming next.
notable track(s): Time Ain’t Accidental; Hunter; Topanga Two Step; Something’s in the Way
39. Rustin’ in the Rain — Tyler Childers
notable track(s): Rustin’ in the Rain; Percheron Mules
38. i Hope You Can Forgive Me — Madison McFerrin
notable track(s): Testify; Run; God Herself; (Please Don’t) Leave Me Now; Utah
37. Water Made Us — Jamila Woods
notable track(s): Tiny Garden; Practice; Wolfsheep; Backburner; Boomerang; Still; Headfirst
36. Something to Give Each Other — Troye Sivan
notable track(s): What’s the Time Where You Are?; One Of Your Girls; Silly
35. Lucky For You — Bully
notable track(s): Days Move Slow; Hard to Love; Change Your Mind; How Will i Know; Lose You; Ms. America
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34. Fine Tune — Terrace Martin
Terrace Martin is a force. Fine Tune is one of six album releases for Martin since 2020— plus a remix release of the first album from his collective, Dinner Party— and his second appearance on this list (editor’s note: Enigmatic Society, by Dinner Party, is ranked at no. 56). his artistry consists of a wide expanse of sound. this approach is led first and foremost by jazz. Martin has noted influence from Miles and Bird, Herbie Hancock and Grover Washington, Jr.; and, while, in my assessment, they each have their individual flares present on this project, there is even more to be heard within this album. “Degnan Dreams” feels like a lost track from Hancock’s Head Hunters, complete with the boings and sproings so prominently featured on the original record. “Traffic” coasts with the smoothness typically associated with Washington, Jr.’s work; while the groove of “Too Late,” along with its vocal tracks, presents an intense familiarity to releases by The Internet, including the incorporation of the iPhone’s email notification sound as the track begins to wind down. “Final Thought,” featuring— among others— the undeniable Kamasi Washington, brings the absolutely chaotic yet incredibly fluid nature of jazz in the ‘40s and ‘50s into modernity. as Wynton Marsalis noted in a blogpost 15 years ago, “jazz is life music,” and this release certainly keeps that idea close at heart.
notable track(s): Degnan Dreams; Too Late; 3am Traffic; The Island; Final Thought
33. Tomorrow’s Fire — Squirrel Flower
notable track(s): Full Time Job; Alley Light; Stick; intheskatepark
32. Anarchist Gospel — Sunny War
notable track(s): Love’s Death Bed; No Reason; i Got No Fight; Swear to Gawd; New Day; His Love
31. Movie of the Week — Shakey Graves
notable track(s): Limbo; Ready Or Not; Playing Along; Was Here; Heartstopper
30. Smalltown Stardust — King Tuff
notable track(s): How i Love; Portrait Of God; Tell Me; Rock River
29. Outside Problems — Andrew Bird
notable track(s): Mancey; Festivus
28. WOW — Kate NV
Kate NV, as an artist overall, was a 2023 discovery for me. i believe it was thanks to the other Caroline we have still yet to get to, who included a track by NV on her spotify playlist “IF U PLZ”, which led me to further exploration into the discography and made adding this release to the ranking a joy. this feels like a release by an artist’s artist, so it doesn’t surprise me that Caroline Polachek is aware of NV (to plug that Polachek playlist for a minute, there are a number of experimental artists represented and some songs that really challenge what song structure is or should be, and its depth is worth exploring. but, i realize i may not truly be the one to ask, since the prospect of a 36-hour playlist gets me physically turned on, so… do what you will). this album is a soundscape, communicating through layers of texture in order to paint a scene and allow the receiver to fill the subsequent action as they see fit. trying to fall asleep? you will dream amongst rolling 8-bit hills and blocky sheep. play this while you do chores, and you’re instantly a character in a Miyazaki film. if you’re walking somewhere, it will cause the destination to begin moving towards where you are. it’s unpredictable and peppery. my friend (who likes The Maine) didn’t like this album, it was abandoned mid-listen. i found this to be a shame, because i think it’s very harmless, a plunking of background fodder that— even if disliked (which is fine!)— could be left to play out to its natural end. but i’ll digress, as i’m sure to be on thin enough ice already for having discussed this friend re: The Maine. oops!
notable track(s): oni (they); confessions at the dinner table; slon (elephant); asleep; d d don’t
27. Norm — Andy Shauf
notable track(s): Wasted On You; Telephone; Paradise Cinema; Halloween Store; Sunset
26. Bunny — Beach Fossils
notable track(s): Run To the Moon; Don’t Fade Away; Anything is Anything; Tough Love; Waterfall
so, there’s the Midwest. we’ve reached the base of the Rockies in the westerly road trip analogy that this ranking discussion has become. we’ll be ascending our way through the Top 25 in the next article, before cresting the Golden Coast that is the Top 10 and concluding the series in the following.
while working my way through the compiling of this article— over four months after completing the ranking itself— i am seeing several ways in which the eventual reranking of this order will do some of the albums in this section a lot of good. as i listen back through my 2023's best playlist, there are certain projects showing themselves to be elevated in my consciousness, i find myself fixated on particular tracks and returning to sections of a record that will scratch that itch. and there are too, of course, the tracks that have lost their touch. i find myself looking past them to what is queued next, or almost begrudgingly allowing them to play out. everything that is ranked now is placed where it is with good reason, and has been ranked using the maximum amount of information available at the time. but the rerank is meant to judge staying power, and there are a number of albums here who already are showing that off. it is, after all, the muddiest area of the ranking. check back later in the year if you’re interested in seeing how things have shaken out.
until then, you can find the next stage of the ranking— those previously mentioned “Rockies Mountains”— coming next week.
