Greetings and salutations! We’re glad you’re here for the latest TNB/TTW shenanigans! As we plummet towards the end of the year like pilots ejected from planes and hoping for a safe landing, we thought we’d send you some of our favorite albums from what was a surprisingly(?) solid year for music! Please click below as you like!

Only 51 more weeks until 2025! We might do a few more of these before then… #bogmonstermusic

We’d be remiss if we didn’t document some of this awesomeness with the YT list!

Dan’s Notes

Favorites from 2023

First a note on SO MANY GREAT REISSUES!

On top of all of the great new releases in 2023 we got some pretty awesome reissues! One that I know both Matt and I got very excited about was the 3xLP boxed set collecting all of the albums, splits and other releases by the great Shotmaker, but I haven’t also shout out the great Supreme Echo Records for their LP reissue of the sole demo by Victoria’s Jonas, a band I missed out on seeing live during their brief run in the mid 90’s, “Patterns Of Dominance”. Jonas were a band I heard so much praise for when I moved to the west coast so I was stoked to check out their sole recording of awesome hardcore-meets-grindcore, with the shrieking abrasive vocals of Hadji Bakara maybe coming as a little bit of a surprise to fans of his later work as part of Montreal indie rockers Wolf Parade. Also it was so great to finally have De La Soul’s catalogue freed from sample-clearance limbo back in March, even if it all came to pass just a little too late for group cofounder Dave Jolicoeur to see in full as he passed away not long before the group’s albums were finally made available on streaming and for purchase again in March of this year. Also notable on the rerelease front was SS Decontrol’s “The Kids Will Have Their Say” LP which finally saw a proper non-bootleg vinyl pressing (with all kinds of positive thoughts going out to SSD guitarist Al Barile during his recovery from cancer surgery recently) of the raging debut album from the Boston hardcore stalwarts available once more after being out of print for decades. There was also a really cool coffee table book of archival photos and interviews of SSD in their heyday published this year, assembled by Nancy Barile and Philin Phlash and called “How Much Art Can You Take” that is definitely worth tracking down for the punk rock history fans out there as well. As one more point of reissue-related interest, the 1986 demo by Italian anarcho-punks Contropotere “E Arrivato Ah Pook” received a really sweet looking gatefold LP reissue by FOAD Records just a couple of weeks ago that is for sure something I plan on picking up in the new year as well, as their “Solo Selvaggi” EP is one of my favorite records in a particular lane of arty crust-punk with its occasional piano and operatic vocal interludes, a band I could for sure see as an influence on later artists like Submission Hold and Antiproduct. Oh yeah, and The Replacements also had something out too you may have heard this year as well (which Matt will also go into greater detail on in his notes). So much great stuff becoming available again!

Fiddlehead – Death Is Nothing To Us

I wasn’t really a big fan of Pat Flynn’s old band Have Heart when they were ruling the sXe hardcore scene in the 00’s, just one of those “not the style I was into at the time” sorts of things, but over their past couple of albums especially I have really been enjoying his more recent project Fiddlehead a bunch, especially their newest record “Death Is Nothing To Us”. The Massachusetts-based band plays melodic post-hardcore that could be pulled in under the “emo” bandwagon that I would probably best compare to the more robust Chuck Ragan-era Hot Water Music works.  Flynn’s lyrics deal heavily with balancing grief and working through personal mental health challenges with the joy and heartache of fatherhood, as Flynn’s becoming a parent has been a major source of inspiration over the last couple of Fiddlehead releases (a major influence on 2021’s “Between The Richness” especially). Since it’s release in late August of this year, this new Fiddlehead has been in pretty regular rotation around my way and definitely worth checking out if it sounds like your sort of thing.

Militarie Gun – Life Under The Gun

Has it really only been like three years now that Ian Shelton and co have been purveying their blend of post-hardcore, indie rock and as time goes on just more and more straight up catchy pop-rock vibes? After their collection of EPs “All Roads Lead To The Gun” last year, it was nice to get a cohesive debut album from this California band who have been working their way into my regular music rotation steadily since their first couple of EP’s and with each new release you can see Shelton moving away from the more gruff barked vocals of their earlier releases to more of a raspy melodic sound. Apparently Shelton was considering quitting music (he had previously been in the much faster and heavier Regional Justice Center) before starting MG and I’m glad he gave his new project a chance. Do I occasionally shake my head a little bit when I hear a band interviewed and they seem to think they are inventing the very idea of adding melody and catchy hooks to a sound that started under the hardcore punk umbrella on the spot? Yes, but when the band in question puts out a great melodic punk album like Life Under The Gun in the process I will for sure cut them a bit of slack. ive been listening to them to the point that I sometimes catching myself mimicking their signature “ooh ooh” ad lib to myself that gets thrown around in their songs where a “whoah” might go in another band, which you will know what I meant if you know it (or listen to a couple of their songs). Plus goddamn if “My Friends Are Having A Hard Time” isn’t secretly a “This Is A Long Drive…”-era Modest Mouse b-side (in a complimentary way). 

Scowl – Psychic Dance Routine EP

Okay so this band is pretty well known at this point after their debut “How Flowers Grow” from a couple of years back and getting picked by Fred Durst to be the opening act on a recent Limp Bizkit comeback tour, and have had the misfortune of being that band people dismiss as industry plants or generally engage in various low key sexist questionings of their “cred” on the whole, especially given the slight change in direction their sound has begun on this EP from spring 2023. On this newest record the band has started to work in more of a mid-tempo alt rock influence along with their more straight ahead punk sounds which is something that kind of picks up from where “….Flowers…” mid-album melodic punk standout track “Seeds To Sow” left off. I feel like some online chatter came off shocked at them starting to work in influences from classic woman-fronted 90’s alt-rock artists like Hole and Veruca Salt but it feels like a band starting to grow and explore new influences rather than just cashing in on trends. This is one of those records that found its way into regular rotation for me back in late spring and has stayed there ever since. I know I am an old timer trying to catch the music of today’s youths and all, but at one point this year I was even entertaining plans to go see them live with a few other bands (which ultimately didn’t happen but ah well). Still, while they may end up being that more accessible band that helps introduce new kids to “the scene” in the current era, that is a totally fine and needed place to occupy in the world, they’ve been making some pretty great tunes in the process.

Danny Brown – Quaranta

Danny Brown got sober this year, went to rehab and therapy, celebrated his 40th birthday and dropped two killer albums – all within 2023. I talked about his excellent collaboration with JPEGmafia, Scaring The Hoes, on a previous episode and have to give kudos to his second album of the year, Quaranta, as well in our favourites of the year list. It’s a sequel of sorts to his breakthrough 2013 album XXX, which really solidified the jittery, nasal, pilled out trap banger sound than ran through a lot of his workof the previous decade. This newest release is more filled with dark boom bap and nervous jazzy rhythms with less of the higher pitched voice (what is it with Detroit rappers and slipping into high pitched nasal voices when they what to rap about getting all fucked up?). Lyrically Brown uses the album to document the changes he has been going through, whether working on sobriety and mental health concerns or relocating to Austin Texas after spending his life in Detroit while detailing the heavy gentrification that has affected his home city (on the standout “Jenn’s Terrific Vacation”). In a year where Andre 3000 ruminated as to whether anyone wants to hear rappers talk about aging, Brown does a pretty good job at letting us know how it can be done well and how stories of growth and change can be just as engaging as his old party tales. All in all Danny has had a pretty great and prolific year on top of all of the change as I have really enjoyed both of his big albums from either end of the year. Also I need more from BruiserWolf as well ASAP  as his guest verse on “YBP” is an album highlight.

Home Front – Games Of Power

Probably my favorite Canadian release of 2023, this is best anthemic post-punk-meets-new-wave-meets-street-punk band of the 1980’s to actually be from four decades after that. Home Front are an Edmonton-based studio duo with a wild resume of previous bands including oi stalwarts The Wednesday Night Heroes and 00’s indie dance groovers Shout Out Out Out Out, and who also include members of No Problem and Rhythm Of Cruelty in their live formation. Their sound mixes catchy new wave melodies and more driving post punk like later BLITZ when they got into listening to the Factory Records catalogue. In my mind Home Front are basically the greatest 1980’s new wave band to not actually exist in the 80’s. I really enjoyed their debut EP so I was super excited to hear their full length Games Of Power on La Vida Es Un Mus Records back in the spring of this year and it did not disappoint at all. “Faded State” might be one of my absolute favorite songs of the year.

MSPaint – Post-American

Love a bunch of small town weirdos with their own take on a given genre, especially when it’s driving and passionate hardcore with a dash of abrasive hip hop a la Death Grips that just happens to not bother with adding the traditional six string guitar part of things and instead concocting fiery anthems with bass, drums, keyboards and vocals. As I mentioned when I talked about them on the show previously, I got turned onto their demo via praise on a couple of different podcasts and was so excited to hear they finally had more music besides those four great songs from 2020 that I had been playing to death up to that point. Post American did not disappoint and it’s one of the three big albums on the year I can’t help but heap praises on to anyone who may be of interest when given the chance (the others being the previous next on my list, respectively). It’s been a year for some really strong debut full length albums from a crop of young bands trying to do their own things within genre conventions, and their “what if a bunch of great Revolution Summer-era Dischord bands, Check Your Head-era Beastie Boys and MC Ride all did the Steven Universe fusion dance”  sound has really kept me going through the ever spicy times of our modern era. There are even some great guest cameos on the album by band mentors Pierce from Soul Glo and Ian Shelton from Militarie Gun. They are seriously one of my very favourite bands to come out over the past few years and I have played this album TO DEATH and will most likely continue to do so into 2024 and beyond.

ZULU – A New Tomorrow

Another band I’ve talked about previously but whose debut full length made such an impression that it took up most of the top positions all over my Spotify Wrapped for the year (and i may or may not have ended up with copies on both green and yellow vinyl), that being Los Angeles’ ZULU and their album “A New Tomorrow”. They play a mix of heavy modern moshy hardcore and powerviolence with interludes of jazz, hip hop, and even a bit of spoken word poetry and the whole thing is just so great and passionate and exciting, you know? The band is at the forefront of the past few years waves of bands really working to make punk and hardcore a more diverse and interesting place, and make some great music in the process. They tend to stick to heavier and chuggier side of hardcore mixed with blastbeats and breakdowns but it’s the other genre nods woven in and the whole passion and energy of it all that really takes them to the next level for me. Hell, they even made a faithful recreation of A Tribe Called Quest’s “Scenario” music video for the song “Where I’m From”. Everything from the album art to the music videos they’ve created for some of the songs to the snippets of other beloved Black artists between some of the songs all just creates such a great exciting package and I am looking forward to seeing more from the band in 2024 for sure.

Honorable Mentions

Some of my other favorite albums from 2023 that we’ve talked about in recent episodes, and some honorable mentions :

Matt’s Notes

Being that this is almost by definition a contemporary episode… I’m not gonna let myself feel too badly about the complete lack of representation of non-rock artists, or more significantly, no works here by any female artists… namely because if this were about our favorite albums of the year… that weren’t put out this year… that would be another thing entirely! But still… in the interests of “tracking” our coverage of artists across the life of this show, I’ve THIS VERY NIGHT at least BEGUN to tag artists in the WP post… so… we’ll at least have further analytics and data… to do WHATEVER with…

It’s been a year and then some, amiright?

Samiam Stowaway

At this point, I’ve been awake 24 hours and I’m not totally sure what else I can say about this record that I haven’t said already. I feel like I’ve been talking about this album on this podcast a whole bunch of times! And… moreover… I made an “unofficial lyric video” which whoever reps them on FB did NOT ask me to take down. I’ve got a bunch of their records, give or take, and I’m just glad that 2023 saw them put out one of their best LP’s… at least so far as I’ve heard!

Lucero Should’ve Learned by Now

Much as with the Samiam record, I feel like I’ve been talking about this one all year… and I keep throwing it on! When I have money for vinyl again, I am going after the 20 year re-issue of That Much Farther West… one of the best of the punk band doing a country band thing… or is it the other way around?… ever!

It’s hard to think of a time over the past 12 or more years that I haven’t been listening to Lucero reguarly.

And for the amount of walking I do… and at one point running… I don’t drive, at this point I’m confident in saying I’m NEVER going to drive…

So when I’m getting where I need to go in the cold, rain, heat, snow, and whatnot… there’s a good chance I’ll be listening to Lucero. Which is to say a lot.

Dave Hause Drive it Like it’s Stolen

This came out of left field for me! I became aware of this record while I was in the midst of dating a woman in Kelowna in the spring. There was an aura of doom hanging over the thing… I had been unemployed for a year… and so on and so forth!

ANYWAY

I think it was something like Brian Fallon tagged him on Instagram or something… and then it turns out he’s done all kinds of cool things from his home in Philadelphia for many, many years…

I enjoyed the shit out of his Bury Me in Philly album. That was the one I had on repeat for a while in Kelowna while hanging out near the Marriott… near somewhere… and then his new one came out! And I bought it! And I enjoyed it! And I still do!

AND

My girlfriend here in Saint John said at one point: “This is the best of your music that you’ve played for me so far”.

That, friends, is some high praise.

The Replacements Tim (Let it Bleed Edition)

I think I’m going to have to make a resolution to shut up about the Replacements in 2024, unless they either get back together (0% probability) or do another super-deluxe re-issue (50/50 odds, surprisingly). It boggles the mind what they could do with All Shook Down!

Anyway, at one point over beer this fall… late at night… and I was playing this amazingly rad re-issue, and my friend Mike said: “Matt, I can’t think of the Replacements without thinking about you”. It wasn’t a cool thing. It was a resigned thing. And I know what he meant. I think.

Sorry, Mike!

Shotmaker: A Moment in Time

Three months ago I knew a shitload less about Shotmaker. Pardon my French.

Then my social media blew it open. A meta app owned by a billionaire alerted me to this.

And, they have an IG handle…

I am forty-five and I have never been less culturally relevant. I don’t know the slang. I never knew the slang.

And that’s fine!

Emo is officially a nostalgia industry, and has been for awhile… and in that regard, it’s never been more relevant… for geezers like me!

Every aspect of my 18-21 year old self jumps out when I hear this stuff. It was unlike music I’d heard, and to this day I can listen to it at virtually anytime. I missed seeing them live, but ultimately it’s so awesome just to have a well-designed, thoughtfully curated set. I can’t imagine what else could have been done… this actually sets a really high bar for other 90’s h/c and associated bands who still have significant audiences…

The clips that have managed to make to YouTube give us a lot to appreciate, such it is!

And Also…

Tommy Stinson’s Cowboys in the Campfire Wronger. At this point there is literally nothing Tommy S can do besides be himself… and it’s worked out great for most of his career! This record was long-gestating… like… an elephant… or a sperm whale! It’s great to hear him and his conspirator Chip Roberts having a blast and leaning deep into slightly weird Americana terrain…

Lektron S/T. This was again a case of having the money that now I don’t. It’s simple, really. Did I buy both the pink and blue variants of this limited run 12″ single from Asian Man Records even though I am generally not a fan of said format? Maybe. These songs do rock like murder, leastways.

Quicksand Slip (reissue). I was in the last throes of my “still having money” phase of life… not so long ago! And during such, I got this from Iodine Records… and I’ve been listening to it on the regular… sometimes more than once. I am DEEPLY hoping the universe and I can somehow make tickets to see them with Hot Water Music next spring in Toronto where in all likelihood HWM will be touring the album they just finished recording!

Heroin Discography. I loved the shit out of this band when I got the 1997 Heroin CD. I copied the CD cover and put it on a shirt. It made me have all the feelings when I found this ACTUALLY IN THE SHELVES at Barnacle Records in Kamloops, BC on Record Store Day.

Northcote Wholeheart. I went about this, somewhat, when it came out! It is 100% worth your time, for your mellower introspective nighttime self… more likely than not!

Dead Bob Life Like. John Wright— old AF, let’s be real—of NoMeansNo!! This coincides with some NMN reissue moves by Alternative Tentacles. This one smokes the expensive stuff!

Did you ever know that you’re our hero? And everything we would like to be? That last part is actually not true, but still… we appreciate you!

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Filed under: Uncategorized - @ January 5, 2024 11:44 pm