The 30 Best Albums of 2023 So Far
From Arbor Labor Union to Wednesday, here’s what’s in regular rotation this year according to some guy in Chicago.
It’s not that I’m late to write a roundup of the best music of the year so far, it’s that all of the major publications were early publishing theirs. The midpoint of the year is Sunday, July 2 which is why I’m posting the No Expectations 2023 So Far list today. This blog tackles my favorite new albums but it’s not supposed to be a comprehensive take on everything that came out of this year. You can read Pitchfork or Stereogum for that. Instead, it’s just one guy who lives in Chicago’s opinion. It’s a diary of the stuff I dug that got me through a pretty transitional year and a reflection of just one freelance music journalist’s tastes.
Because No Expectations is a regular newsletter with a section documenting what I listened to each week, most of these LPs have already been covered on the Substack. Still, I hope there are a few you haven’t heard and like enough to consider buying the album on Bandcamp or at least seeing the band live. Most of these acts aren’t really on the indie superstar level where they’re selling out arenas or even saving for retirement but they all undoubtedly make music that’s deserving of your support. There will always be more great bands than I could write about but I hope that this blog has helped you find some worthwhile music in 2023. Thanks for subscribing and sticking around as I figure out how to run a blog.
Back to regularly scheduled programming next week. Send mailbag questions to noexpectationsnewsletter@gmail.com. Note: an asterisk affixed next to an LP means that I wrote the press bio for the album.
Check out my running list of 2023 songs here.
Arbor Labor Union
Yonder
So many former hardcore and punk kids eventually become Americana guys but Atlanta’s Arbor Labor Union made the leap as seamlessly as possible. The band, which used to go by Pinecones and made some sick and scuzzy garage rock, has chilled out since 2020 and their latest, Yonder is knotty, jammy, and always a little left field. The title track was an early favorite but I’ve been playing “Remember To Water Your Head” more than anything else lately. At a lean 32 minutes and 12 tracks, this locked-in album zooms by. For Deadheads.
Bonny Doon
Let There Be Music
I was ready to call Detroit’s Bonny Doon one of the Best American Rock Bands ever since their 2017 debut self-titled LP. Seeing their growth from 2018’s classic Longwave, their work as Waxahatchee’s backing band on St. Cloud, and now with this year’s Let There Be Music has only further entrenched my Pure Michigan homerism. This album, the band’s first with ANTI-, is Bonny Doon’s breeziest and most accessible yet. It’s not as introspective as Longwave nor as much of a hungover bummer as the debut, but it still boasts many lyrical moments of resonance from songwriters Bill Lennox and Bobby Colombo that sneak up and stun you.
Charlie Hill
Chuck Pond
Chuck Pond, from Nashville via Vermont artist Charlie Hill, is such a satisfying, out-of-time listen that you could show it to anyone and they’d probably dig it. He used to be in a frenetic post-punk outfit called Bison but now he’s an affable, laid-back folk singer. That he can occupy both lanes so effortlessly hints at how slyly curious and open his songs are. It’s tough to do a cliche-free song about Los Angeles but “L.A. Fever” is one of my favorite songs of the year. The other single, “Dive In” soars too.
Crosslegged
Another Blue
As Crosslegged, New York’s Keba Robinson has one of the strongest albums of the year in Another Blue. It’s a beguiling LP full of atmospheric folk textures and Robinson’s rich voice, which practically makes every song float. It doesn’t sound quite like anything else that’s come out recently. Single “Only In The” broadcasts Robinson’s growth since her last full-length release 2015’s quiet and searching Speck for a tangible groove and a more expansive arrangement. I’m shocked this album isn’t on more lists.
Cusp
You Can Do It All
Even though they spent most of their time as a band in Rochester, NY, once you move to this city, you’re a Chicago band. (You’re also a Chicago band if you got your start here and moved elsewhere—I don’t make the rules). Cusp is a Chicago band and one of the better ones lately. You Can Do It All, their new LP, is pretty stellar indie rock that reminds me of bands like Warehouse, Mothers, Finom, and Ovlov. It’s for folks who like their guitars twinkling mixed in with inviting vocal melodies and the occasional Dinosaur Jr.-evoking fuzz. Even though it sounds like the sort of indie rock I’d love in 2013, that doesn’t make it a throwback or a retread. This is just a great band drawing from a well of underappreciated guitar rock bands and making it their own thing. I can’t wait to see this live.
Dari Bay
The Longest Day of the Year
My most-played album of 2023. Dari Bay is the recording project of Burlington, Vermont’s Zack James who makes locked-in tunes that skirt the lines between no-frills ‘90s alt-rock, ambling twang, and slowcore. This is well-trodden genre territory but James manages to make it fresh and essential, especially on songs like the rollicking “Walk On Down” and the tone-setting opener “Wait For You.” James played drums on No Expectations favorite Greg Freeman’s I Looked Out and it’s been such a joy to hear all the new music from this tight-knit community up in VT. Every time I listen, I find a new wrinkle in the recording or a new song that wasn’t an instant favorite but clicks even more now.
Defprez
It’s Always A Time Like This
Defprez is the collaborative project between Chicago rappers Defcee and CRASHprez, along with producer knowsthetime. Their second LP It’s Always A Time Like This is standout, unfussy rap that’s always tasteful and impressive. These songs are deeply reverent of the past and broadcast all three artists’ crate-digging sensibilities. “Endless” impressively swirls over a looped guitar and piano riff while “Paper” features CRASHprez catching himself midthought, saying, “(That’s too much rappin’ ‘bout rappin’...).” There’s not a dud on this LP and it’s a joy to hear two students of the genre get into a zone together.
Feeble Little Horse
Girl with Fish*
Pittsburgh’s Feeble Little Horse seemingly came out fully formed with their debut Hayday, a charming LP that introduced their glitchy, chaotic, and pop-minded sound in songs like their breakout single “Chores.” That release captured the attention of Saddle Creek, who put out their latest Best New Music-winning Girl With Fish this spring. I wrote the press bio for that record and I was so impressed with how intentional, intelligent, and open the band is about their songs and their obvious love for each other. I’m rooting for them. This LP is a blast: feels like a breath of fresh air that’s going to inspire some adventurous acts. While not a single, “Paces” seems like the highlight to me.
Fog Lake
Midnight Society
The comedian Joe Pera used Fog Lake’s “Serotonin” as the soundtrack for a video showcasing bean arches fans of his show Joe Pera Talks With You made following its season two. The pairing makes sense: Pera is a gentle comedian who made a TV show about appreciating the quieter moments in life while Fog Lake, the recording project of Newfoundland artist Aaron Powell accomplishes the same thing in their intimate folk songs. Ever since Powell surprise released Midnight Society in May, I haven’t been able to stop playing it. The LP is his most confident yet evoking artists like Grandaddy, Broken Social Scene, and Spencer Radcliffe. While there are quiet, vulnerable moments like the opener “Bandaid Heart,” the album really comes alive on peppier tracks like “Hot Knives” and “Motorcade.”
Free Range
Practice
Sofia Jensen is a perceptive and supremely talented songwriter from Chicago who performs as Free Range. On Practice, they enlist bassist Bailey Minzenberger (Friko) and drummer and producer Jack Henry to flesh out gentle folk songs about fleeting moments of connection. Jensen’s writing comes from an unguarded and nostalgic place where each track searches for meaning and some understanding between two people. Jensen began work on this record when they were 15 so the lyrics mostly deal with growing up, finding yourself, and figuring out what you want. It’s so clear to me that this band has a ton of great albums in them.
Gia Margaret
Romantic Piano
When Gia Margaret released her masterful 2018 debut There’s Always Glimmer, I figured the Chicago artist would keep making gorgeous and intimate folk songs for years to come. But her musical output has taken surprising and more interesting turns since then. In 2020 she put out the ambient collection Mia Gargaret and now she’s back with a stunning collection of mostly instrumental piano tunes in Romantic Piano. While her voice is missed in these compositions, they’re still evocative, dreamy, and fully satisfying. “Hinoki Wood” is stunning while “City Song,” one of the only tracks with vocals, took my breath away the first time I heard it.
Hazel City
Old Friend
![FRESH ALBUM] Hazel City - Old Friend (Clay Frankel of Twin Peaks and Grapetooth) : r/indieheads](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F8ab831d5-13dd-43bd-ba7e-28b299e1e9f7_640x640.jpeg "FRESH ALBUM] Hazel City - Old Friend (Clay Frankel of Twin Peaks and Grapetooth) : r/indieheads")
Hazel City is the solo recording project of Twin Peaks and Grapetooth’s Clay Frankel, who’s been tinkering with this material since 2020 before surprise-releasing it on the 23rd. Compared to his other bands, Hazel City is much more subdued and twangy: think Alex G by way of Townes Van Zandt. This is Frankel’s most vulnerable and emotionally resonant songwriting yet: songs like “Root” and “Gorgeous” are full of yearning and regret. Frankel’s been playing these tunes over the past couple of years, either as a solo act or as a bandleader opening for acts like Bonny Doon, and they shine in each context. I’m happy it’s finally out and it’s great to hear this more chilled-out and introspective side of Frankel.
home is where
the whaler*
Florida’s home is where make ambitious, heart-pounding, and anxiety-filled songs that take as many cues from Bob Dylan as American Football. Their debut, I Became Birds, solidified them as one of the most exciting bands in a misunderstood genre but their latest, the whaler, cements their status as the future of emo. There’s nothing wrong with a band subtly tweaking its formula from LP1 to LP2 but it’s admirable when a band takes risks and swings for the fences on their sophomore effort. Talking to frontwoman Brandon McDonald and guitarist Tilley Komorny for the pres bio interview, I was struck by how much the whole band put of themselves into this record. It’s a lot of work to be in a band already but it’s even more taxing to be in one with so much niche hype with such self-lacerating and dark lyrics.
Indigo De Souza
All of This Will End*
Over just three albums, Indigo De Souza has already amassed what feels like a Greatest Hits collection of untouchable songs. All of This Will End, her latest, surpasses the heights of her breakout 2021 LP Any Shape You Take with self-assured about following your own arrow and being kind to the mistakes you made when you were younger. I don’t think I’ve ever interviewed an artist for a bio who is so confident in their own vision for their music—most artists second guess themselves and couch their answers to interview qs with qualifiers and self-deprecation. Not Indigo. When you go through her discography, it’s such a breath of fresh air. There’s a lot of really essential music coming out of Asheville, North Carolina lately.
JD Clayton
Long Way From Home
Hailing from Arkansas, Americana songwriter JD Clayton is an undeniable talent. His new album Long Way From Home could’ve come out 40 years ago but still feels fresh now. It’s the sort of swampy country rock that I always tend to enjoy but Clayton’s version of it hits the sweet spot better than most. Sometimes the songs are so good you have to google if they’re covers—not because they’re derivative but for the fact they already feel like you’ve always known them. “Goldmine,” the title track, and “Midnight Special” are all great and if you’re a fan of the Jason Isbells, the Tyler Childerses, and the Sturgill Simpsons of the world, give Clayton a chance.
Jess Williamson
Time Ain’t Accidental
Almost 10 years ago, Texas songwriter Jess Williamson put out a song called “Seventh Song” off her album Native State. It’s a tune about waiting for life to begin and feeling unmoored in how things are going, which is exactly the sort of relatable affirmation an aspiring early twenties music journalist needed to hear while scraping by to make $500 rent. Since then, Williamson has amassed a wonderful catalog that finds her growing and expanding with each release from confessional folk to confident country. This year’s Time Ain’t Accidental feels like the culmination of a lot of soul-searching and hard work. It’s the kind of triumphant release that can only come from a personal period of transformation and upheaval. With each listen, you’ll feel drawn to a new tune. Right now, it’s “Topanga Two Step” for me.
Kara Jackson
Why Does the Earth Give Us People to Love?
Oak Park native Kara Jackson has long been an unmissable talent, first as a young poet and now as a songwriter. In 2019, she released her first EP A Song For Every Chamber of the Heart, a raw but strong collection of folk songs, but her debut album Why Does the Earth Give Us People to Love? is a basically perfect introduction to an essential local artist. Between Jackson’s voice, her evocative lyrics, and her unorthodox arrangements, no artist is doing quite what she is. It feels like being in the ‘70s and hearing Joni Mitchell or Karen Dalton for the first time. While the LP has been universally acclaimed this year, it somehow still feels underrated.
Liquid Mike
S/T
Sometimes you check out a band solely because of where they’re from. As someone who gets a ton of emails about bands, my eyes tend to glaze over when I hear about something from LA, New York, Nashville or Philly because, well, that’s where a lot of bands are already. But hearing about Liquid Mike, a punk band from Marquette, Michigan, instantly piqued my interest because who doesn’t want to hear what the music scene in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula is like? They rule too. Over 11 songs packed into 18 minutes, their album S/T is dense, anthemic, and hooky punk that takes cues from Fountains of Wayne, PUP, Rozwell Kid, and the ‘90s. Even if you don’t like punk music, you’ll have fun with this album.
McKinley Dixon
Beloved! Paradise! Jazz!?
Originally from Maryland, rapper McKinley Dixon made a mark on Richmond’s vibrant music community before settling in Chicago. Beloved! Paradise! Jazz!?, his first album as a local artist and his fourth total, broadcasts what feels like a generational talent. These hyper-literate, winding, and personal songs boast live band arrangements and Dixon’s nimble flow dancing over the arrangements. Standouts like the horn-laden “Live From The Kitchen Table” interrogates Dixon’s childhood and family while “Tyler Forever” grapples with grief and mortality. If there’s any knock on this album, it’s that it’s too short. Dixon has a masterpiece in him.
Núria Graham
Cyclamen
Irish-Catalan artist Núria Graham has been making ornate and adventurous folk music for over a decade but on Cyclamen, she does her most mesmerizing work to date. The 13 songs on this LP feel like self-contained worlds. There are little moments of surprise in the arrangements like a harp flourish or a horn section or delicate strings that color in these songs. But even without all these lush textures and layers of instrumentation, Graham’s songs are strong at their barest bones. “The Catalyst” is one of the year’s best songs and “Yes, It’s Me The Goldfish” psychedelically swirls. The album came out in January but I’m still coming back to it in June.
Rachel Baiman
Common Nation of Sorrow
Nashville’s Rachel Baiman originally hails from Oak Park and was raised by parents who were immersed in radical politics. That sensibility carries on in her rootsy and inviting folk songs, which have tackled abortion, income inequality, and class politics over a few stellar LPs. Common Nation of Sorrow, Baiman’s third, isn’t a reinvention so much as an affirmation of what she does so well: making timeless-sounding tunes with a big heart and a firm sense of justice. Erin Rae guests on the excellent “Annie” while Baiman reinterprets John Hartford’s “Self Made Man” to make it her own. Common Nation of Sorrow is as much of a rewarding listen as it is an easy one.
Shalom
Sublimation*
Once a mainstay in New Brunswick’s DIY scene when she attend Rutgers, Shalom Obisie-Orlu quietly released a collection of her own music to Bandcamp which caught the attention of Saddle Creek Records. Shalom’s tunes are direct and unflinching, a document of emotional clarity and of an adept artist at writing effective hooks. When I first heard Sublimation, I was floored especially with songs like “Happenstance” and “Concrete,” which is one of the first songs she ever wrote. She collaborated with Ryan Hemsworth on this album, which still stands among the year’s best. We hit it off when I conducted the album bio interview and she’s on Substack now too. I’ll be rooting for her with whatever she does next.
Sluice
Radial Gate
Few albums have been so transportive and affecting as Sluice’s Radial Gate this year. Justin Morris vividly writes songs about spiritual revelation, floating in a body of water, and losing yourself to moments of bliss, friendship, and existential crises. There’s a lifetime's worth of pathos in these songs that often feel like vignettes. There’s a tune about sharing snacks with Jesus, another about seeing your loved ones get married, and about feeling like “a cartoon Callahan.” The world is big and scary but sometimes everything feels right when you’re drinking a beer in an innertube somewhere in North Carolina. Perfect vibes here.
Sharp Pins
Turtle Rock
Kai Slater’s other band Lifeguard is the Matador-signed Chicago noise-rock outfit that’s making waves. While they undeniably rip, I’m coming back to his Nuggets-inspired solo project Sharp Pins even more in 2023. Compared to the caustic and harsh tunes from Lifeguard, Turtle Rock takes a more pop-oriented approach. Sure, Slater gets loud on songs like “Still a Straw Man” but all of the 13 tracks here have a memorable hook or a riff that gets stuck in your head. Earworm “Bye Bye Basil” is one of my favorite songs of the year. There are four or five others that come in close second.
Shawnee Dez
MOODY UMBRA
Chicago’s Shawnee Dez makes adventurous and future-forward R&B that often soars throughout MOODY UMBRA. While the songs are exciting and uniformly well-produced, the LP gets into a mesmerizing, meditative zone as you make it through the tracklist. That’s a good thing because you get to immerse yourself into these palpable grooves and Dez’s falsetto. There are syrupy hooks and hypnotic instrumental loops in songs like “Rinky” and “Purify.” It’s incredible how there’s so much talent in this city.
Stuck
Freak Frequency
Freak Frequency is the best Chicago post-punk album of the year so far. So many of bandleader Greg Obis’ songs are about the struggle to say afloat as the world gets crueler and more impersonal. After all, Stuck’s first album was called Change Is Bad, which serves as a sort of mission statement for the sputtering and nervy rock tunes the band makes. Throughout, the band’s sophomore LP is a thrilling listen. “Fools Idol” feels like the most cathartic track here while “Time Out” deals with phone-based anxiety. Obis is a dynamic and versatile frontman: he feels like one part David Byrne and Devo with the other taking cues from locals Meat Wave and Deeper.
Superviolet
Infinite Spring
Steve Ciolek’s former band the Sidekicks was one of my most formative groups of the past 15 years—their growth from a great punk band to a great power pop/indie rock band was such a rewarding transformation. But with Superviolet, Ciolek lets his proclivity to write an amazing hook run wild. His debut album with the project Infinite Spring gets its name from the few days of the year when the weather’s finally great and everything feels possible and the songs here match that ineffable period perfectly. On first listen, it’s an instant classic but it’s a grower in the way that you’ll pick up on a genius lyric for the first time or notice a flourish buried in the mix you missed. There is not a single dud on the entire tracklist. It’s easy to see this being Top 5 for me by the end of 2023.
Villagerrr
Like Leaves
Columbus songwriter Mark Allen Scott has managed to stay remarkably consistent throughout his surprisingly prolific career as Villagerrr. Like Leaves stretches out over 50 minutes but never overstays its welcome thanks to Scott’s charm as a writer. These are gentle and memorable indie rock songs that rarely get louder than a whisper but when they do hit in volume, the noise is always affecting and effective. While his other project Cantuckee has a great new LP called Sounds this is the best introduction to his rewarding catalog. This and the Song of the Year contender “barn burnerrr” that’s going to appear on another LP he already has in the tank.
Warm Human
Hometown Hero
Meredith Johnston has been making really smart and imaginative synth-pop songs as Warm Human in Chicago for the better part of a decade. On Hometown Hero she hit a stride by picking up a guitar and indulging her indie rock impulses. “Daylight Savings” showcases how Johnston excels as a writer: conversational lyrics that soften the blow for uncompromising introspection. When Johnston gets dark, it’s dark but her tasteful melodies make these emotional gut-punches even more powerful. There’s heartbreak on “Better Than Who?” and anger on the explosive “Do It” but there’s also some acceptance on “D.O.A” when she sings, “Don’t hold me back now.” Johnston makes resilient pop music for the miserable (check out The Bummer Album) but she always has a way of making things seem better with songs as well done as these.
Wednesday
Rat Saw God
You’ve probably heard of Wednesday thanks to Rat Saw God being one of the most acclaimed albums of the year and band member MJ Lenderman having one of 2022’s most acclaimed LPs of his own with Boat Songs. They deserve every nice thing said about them because I can’t think of a newer group that’s so in my wheelhouse as these North Carolinans. 2021’s Twin Plagues floored me the first time I heard it and it’s been so sick to see them win new fans and build upon the compelling mix of indie twang and Dinosaur Jr.-inspired guitar theatrics. “Bull Believer” is such a phenomenal and massive tune but “Quarry” and “Bath Country” are up there too.
Honorable mentions:
Noah Kesey, Guitar Music // Foyer Red, Yarn the Hours Away* // Lia Kohl, The Ceiling Reposes // Youth Lagoon, Heaven Is a Junkyard // The Drin, Today My Friend You Drunk The Venon // Fran, Leaving // Deer Tick, Emotional Contracts // Jason Isbell, Weathervanes // Jimmy Whispers, The Search For God // Dougie Poole, The Rainbow Wheel of Death // Oozing Wound, We Cater To Cowards // El Dorodo, Unincorporated // Charlotte Cornfield, Could Have Done Anything // waveform*, Antarctica // Fishplate, Next Time I Won’t Cry // Jana Horn, The Window Is The Dream // Water From Your Eyes, Everyone’s Crushed // King Tuff, Smalltown Stardust // Smushie, Doofus Casanova // Shame, Food For Worms // Cantuckee, Sounds // MSPAINT, Post-American // The Dirty Nil, Free Rein To Passions // Miliartie Gun, Life Under the Gun // Greg Mendez, Greg Mendez
Had to subscribe after this. Appreciate your writing and your perspective, and you being a fellow Chicagoan doesn't hurt. Most of this is brand new to me and the Arbor Labor Union and Cusp records are already favorites. Thanks for doing the work on this and sharing!
Great, eclectic list! I had to wait a little longer since 6/30 was yet another "new music Friday," LOL.