BEST OF 2023
Beach House was one of the first 'indie' bands I can remember really getting into in high school, although those memories seems to get hazier as time goes by. Some combination of Sufjan Stevens, The National, and Beach House sent me hurtling down this rabbit hole, and I couldn't thank them more for it.
What I do distinctly remember is sitting in my childhood bedroom and listening to 'Walk in the Park' off Teen Dream for the first time and having it blow my mind. What the hell is this? Where can I get more? I have to get more. I started digging into Beach House's discography and Sub Pop's roster, leading me to artists like Washed Out and the Shins, and it was all so mind-blowing on first listen and sounded so different than anything I had heard before.
Bloom came out soon after I discovered Beach House in the last few months of my senior year of high school. 'Myth' and 'Other People' carried me into my freshman year of college, where I remember falling asleep in my tiny single dorm to Devotion in the dead of winter as a heavy snow fell quietly outside my window during that first semester.
Depression Cherry was announced just prior to the start of my senior year of college, and it was a great full circle moment as I realized how I had grown over those four years since I first played Teen Dream. Along with this album came the long awaited Union Transfer show in March of 2016, which I was finally able to snag tickets to. I used to dream about seeing them live, satiated only by grainy YouTube videos of their old duo shows, my favorite of which was in the First Unitarian sanctuary. Finally, after years of waiting, I got to see them in my favorite venue with some of my closest friends.
It seemed like life could only get better. I had just been accepted to medical school, was seeing some of my favorite bands live, and had a future ahead of me in Philly. B-Sides and Rarities came out during the summer between my first and second year of med school, and I could finally listen to the fully mastered versions of songs like 'Wherever You Go' and 'I Do Not Care for the Winter Sun,' songs that I had only found crappy copies of on YouTube playlists during college. 2018 brought the release of 7, with an accompanying world tour that I drove down to D.C. for. The walls of sound on 'Drunk in LA' to a crowd of thousands screaming was breathtaking.
Everything seemed to hit the fast forward button toward the end of medical school, and another four years slipped by as I neared the end of my residency. The 10 year anniversary of my 'discovery' of Beach House drifted by uncelebrated, and I barely noticed when Once Twice Melody was released in early 2022, listening to a few of the songs here and there when I could get a chance. Life was picking up speed, and the feelings I had tied to these songs and moments became less and less palpable.
Then early this December, seemingly out of the blue, Johnny Brenda's announced a surprise show. Victoria Legrand and Alex Scally playing as a duo; Beach House stripped back to it's core in a venue that stands 250 people max, with a 'surprise opener' to boot. There was no way I was going to get tickets - I knew it'd sell out in less than a second and figured many of the tickets were already accounted for. Yet somehow, at 10:00:01 on the morning of the show, I got through the site and was able to get two tickets. Two tickets to a band 10 years ago I only dreamed of seeing, here in the best, most intimate venue in Philly. As expected, the show sold out within seconds and the online fallout drama was about what you'd expect. But I was going.
Everyone lined up on Girard street that night as the bouncers checked ID's against tickets and told everyone to turn their phones off - none would be allowed out at the show by request of the band. By the time we got inside, it was basically packed to the back wall. I could still see behind the stage enough to see the giant mop of hair emerge from backstage when the lights dimmed for the opener - and Kurt Vile took the stage solo. Apparently him and Victoria were pretty tight dating back to the early 2000's, and he had even given her a copy of Constant Hitmaker when it was just a ripped CD of demos. His acoustic renditions of 'Ghost Town,' 'Runner Ups,' and 'Speed of the Sound of Loneliness' were beautiful against the pin-drop silence of the venue - it felt like we were all hanging out in his living room. After a shoutout to Victoria's mom who was up on the balcony, he closed out his set with 'Pretty Pimpin' and left the stage along with his 4 guitars.
The lights completely dimmed down to almost pitch black as Legrand and Scally took the tiny stage. As soon as they jumped into 'Saltwater,' I was 18 again staring at the ceiling of my college dorm room. Every emotion I had tied to their songs came pouring back, memories I didn't even realize were still there after time had started to chip away at them. I, along with everyone else, closed my eyes and bathed in those feelings for 2 hours, and for just a moment I was a young kid with the whole world ahead of me again. That's not to say there isn't so much more to come, but it was so cleansing to let that nostalgia wash over me as they dug deep into their discography. See the rest of their setlist below, and after that, a look at what I loved in 2023. Happy new year!
Saltwater
She's So Lovely (First performance since 2016)
Pay No Mind
Devil's Pool
D.A.R.L.I.N.G (First performance since 2016)
Bluebird
Childhood (First performance since 2007!!!)
The Traveller
Master of None
Rough Song
Turtle Island (First performance since 2016)
Wildflower
Auburn and Ivory (First performance since 2012)
Many Nights
Gila
Wherever You Go
The Bells
Somewhere Tonight
Encore:
On the Sea
A very fuzzy old iPhone photo from the 2016 show
Victoria Legrand, The Anthem
1 - Ratboys - The Window
Best known for their hit 'Elvis is in the Freezer' off 2017's GN, Chicago 4-piece Ratboys were already on the map as a rising indie-rock group, but none of their work was as cohesive as The Window. A driving force from front to back, frontwoman Julia Steiner's vocals shine through ex-Death Cab member Chris Walla's production. Let this one spin completely through. As an aside - I got to see them tour this album from the front of Johnny Brenda's second floor balcony. Talk about a treat!
Top Songs:
The Window
It's Alive
Break
2 - George Clanton - Ooh Rap I Ya
From the absolute wall of sound that hits you on 'Everything I Want,' George Clanton's first full release since his hit 2018 album Slide goes above and beyond, sonically and lyrically. Heavier than his past work, this album makes you want to dance and scream along with the strange king of vaporwave. I got to see him at Union Transfer touring this album - the pit smelled like a literal armpit, if that says anything about his fans.
Favorite Tracks:
Ooh Rap I Ya
I Been Young
Justify Your Life
3 - Wednesday - Rat Saw God
Wednesday had been big on my radar since 2021's Twin Plagues, which was on my top 10 albums of that year for hits like 'Handsome Man' and 'Cody's Only.' This was a release I was really looking forward to, and it absolutely blew up. Topping pretty much everyone's end of year lists, this indie-country album conjures images of a growing up in a dark, shitty Appalachian town watching your friends try not to destroy their lives on the daily.
Top Tracks
Chosen To Deserve
Quarry
Turkey Vultures
4 - Youth Lagoon - Heaven is a Junkyard
Continuing on the theme of growing up in a small town - Trevor Power's evolution from early 2010's icon The Year of Hibernation to Heaven is a Junkyard shows how his life has changed and how life has changed him. From the wistful, lightly nostalgic 'Posters' from Year of Hibernation to the haunting lyrics of 'Prizefighter' against his beautiful piano orchestration, Heaven is a Junkyard finds him digging even deeper into his Idaho roots. 'Jesus, take my pain - I'm ready to jump if your angel can catch me.'
Tracks:
Rabbit
Prizefighter
Trapeze Artist
5 - Hotline TNT - Cartwheel
Being completely honest, I had no idea who Hotline TNT was before this album. I had seen their name around and thought it was some cult zoomer group like 100 gecs. Luckily I popped into Repo Records the day after this album dropped and heard 'Protocol' blaring over the speakers, prompting me to immediately Shazam it and run home to listen. With three guitarists, this is some of the heaviest, lushest shoegaze you'll listen to this year (and it's a big year for shoegaze).
Tracks:
I Thought You'd Change
BMX
Out of Town
6 - Wild Nothing - Hold
His most recent release since 2020's EP Laughing Gas, Hold is the first album that Jack Tatum has fully produced himself since 2010's Gemini, which holds its place in peak Captured Tracks era fame. Hold hears his exponential maturation in production while tweaking his sound to a more 80's, dance-filled mood - but in keeping with this year, 'Alex' is one of his best tracks of all time IMO.
Tracks:
Alex
Headlights On
Dial Tone
7 - feeble little horse - Girl with Fish
I hadn't heard of this group despite the waves they made with their 2021 album Hayday, and it was a late comer to my top of 2023 as I kept seeing it on 2023 top lists. It's rare for me to dive this deep into an album so quickly, but as soon as I heard 'Tin Man' I was sold. Blowing up huge on Saddle Creek, get lost in the fuzzy noise-pop and Lydia Slocum's haunting voice.
Tracks:
Tin Man
Sweet
Freak
8 - Slowdive - Everything is Alive
As if 2017's Slowdive resurgence wasn't enough to freak out every shoegaze geek (it was also assumed this would be the last from them) - the announcement that they were releasing another record basically blew everyone's mind. The world tour they co-announced sold out almost immediately, but not before I grabbed a ticket to their Union Transfer show after 6 years of regret for not seeing them tour Slowdive. It was well worth it - one of the best shows I've ever seen at UT, with some of the craziest visuals I've ever seen at any show. As for the album - it's Slowdive. Need I say more?
Tracks:
kisses
the slab
shanty
Kurt Vile - Back to Moon Beach
Now technically this is an EP - but it's 52 minutes long. That's enough to count as an album to me. Kurt dropped this one as a surprise pretty late in 2023, and he really is a constant hitmaker. Lay back and think about the Mt. Airy woods while you listen to 'Another Good year for the Roses' and 'Passenger Side.' Also - add his cover of 'Must Be Santa' to your Christmas playlists for years to come.
Tracks:
Another Good Year for the Roses
Passenger Side
Must Be Santa
10 - Beach Fossils - Bunny
Despite a long hiatus from material after 2017's Somersault, Beach Fossils remain one of the strongest from Captured Track's lineup, carrying on their jangly sound throughout this new release. Although maybe not groundbreaking, there were some great jams on here and their show at Franklin Music Hall this year really sealed the deal. Again - keeping with this year's theme - check out 'Numb' for a shoegaze ripper.
Tracks:
Sleeping on My Own
Numb
Dare Me
Shows!
See below for some of my favorite shows of the year - and links to their setlists on Spotify!
Death Cab for Cutie / Postal Service at the Mann
Youth Lagoon at First Unitarian
Japanese Breakfast at The Fillmore
Wild Nothing at World Cafe Live
Beach Fossils at Franklin Music Hall
Again, it was another amazing year for music and shows in Philly - by far one of the best on record for me. Stay tuned for next year, and keep rocking out!
