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Craig Reptile: Your Sunday Sonic Sundowner writesCHIRP Radio’s Best of 2023: Craig Reptile
Throughout December, CHIRP Radio presents its volunteers’ top albums of 2023. Our next list is from DJ and Assistant Music Director Craig Reptile.
#1 Sit Down for Dinner by Blonde Redhead (Section 1)
For my assessment of this album, read my preview of their October 31 st show here.
#2 Integrated Tech Solutions by Aesop Rock (Rhymesayers)
Largely self-produced, the “Shakespeare of hip-hop’s” newest is lean and innovative, pairing a psychedelic production style with his usual masterclass lyricism, and it includes features from billy woods (4), Hanni El Khatib (6), Lealani Teano (11), Rob Sonic (14, recommended), and Nikki Jean (18). Check out the deft way Aesop Rock spits his rhymes across a sinuous bass line on “Pigeonometry” (5), “100 Feet Tall” (7) tells the story of meeting Mr. T in a restaurant when he was younger. “Time Moves Differently Here” (9) is essentially a catalogue of food and condiments, but it’s done in such a riveting way that you can’t help but salivate. “All City Nerve Map” (13) might be my favorite, as Rock rhymes rapid fire over a laughter sample—it shouldn’t work, but it does, perhaps from the sheer force of his will. Track through this and just try to stop your head from bobbing. Damn, this shit is dope. Skip the short “The ITS Way” (1) as it’s just an introductory track explaining the concept of the album and “On Failure,” a spoken word rumination on Van Gogh.
#3 Vestige and Vigil by The Bellwether Syndicate (Sett)
It’s time immerse yourself in the black eyeliner and big (purple) hair of your goth youth, for The Bellwether Syndicate have released a “new” album and it traffics in the best gothic tropes in all the best ways. Anchored by the husband and wife duo of William Faith (also guitarist for English “anarcho-punk stalwarts” Conflict and bassist for The March Violets, formerly a founding member of Faith and The Muse, the “goth-punk” band Wreckage, as well as “anarcho- punk collective” Anima Mundi and formerly of Christian Death) and (DJ) Scary Lady Sarah (host of Nocturna at Metro), after an earlier EP, this is their first full-length, including five singles released over the past few years. Expect dark perspectives, howling, echo-laden vocals and dark, minor chords that could summon the dead. “We All Rise” (4) is the punkiest rock screamer here, fifth single “Golden Age” (10) the most introspective. “Clarion” (6) features Sarah on lead vocals, her delivery is serviceable, echoey, and the tune is compelling, but it’s an outlier, as Faith sings lead on the rest. Track 11 plods a bit, “Vestige” (1) and “Voltarine” (12) are merely instrumental bookends, but everything else here is dynamite.
#4 Glow In The Dark Flowers by Glow In The Dark Flowers (Born Yesterday)
The rural downstate duo (New Douglas, Illinois) of Jessee Rose Crane and Philip Jerome Lesicko were formerly known as The Funs of Chicago. They moved south to save on expenses and now live in an abandoned funeral home they’ve christened Rose Raft, an artist residency and analog recording studio (where this album was recorded live), so that may explain what inflects their space rock/pop approach with a mournful wail and a hollow, echoey sound. Their self-titled debut begins with the single, “Growing Cosmos,” (1) a leisurely, bass-panning stroll that brings to mind Mazzy Star. The next cut, “Still Close To Me” (2), picks up the pace significantly; it’s a breathless rocker that elicits memories of Lilys and Motorhome, with lyrics that seem to refer to being close to a ghost, or the ghost of a relationship, and it climaxes in a guitar-driven drone— a favorite. Crane’s alto vocals are at their most dramatic on the wide open space exploration of “Cleome’s Perfume” (4). They sound like Arson Garden meets Sonic Youth on “On the Marble” (9). Tracks 3 and 8 are brief interstitials, and the atypical, percussion-less cut 10 doesn’t stand on its own, but otherwise everything here is a winner. The lengthy conclusion (11) was originally composed for a performance by the artist Lise Haller Baggesen.
#5 Upside Down In Heaven by Crocodiles (Lollipop)
San Diego-born scuzz rock veterans Brandon Welchez and Charles Rowell (both formerly of noise-punks The Plot To Blow Up The Eiffel Tower) are back for their eighth release, with a record that sounds kind of like The Cramps meet Ramones. It kicks off with the single “Love Beyond the Grave,” (1) and it’s easy to imagine the duo (joined on this release by Atef Aouadhi and Diego Dal Bon on bass and drums) cruising graveyards looking for ghosts to make their moves on. If you “just allow your eyes to adjust to the darkness,” as they sing, you’ll understand the vein they’re mining here. Crocodiles bite off maximum overdrive Ramones on “Dead Beat” (2) on which the bridge is a series of “uh huh, huh, uh huhs” culminating in a ridiculously blazing guitar solo before it cuts out cold. Early single “Degeneration” (3) is so much of a rip-off of / homage to The Who’s “My Generation,” you almost expect them to start stuttering on the lyrics. The Who meets Buzzcocks on “I’ve Become The Thing That I Fear Most” (5), which explores every rocker’s nightmare, becoming “the man.” About the title cut and third single (10), Rowell says maybe he “was chasing that elusive Stiff records sound or simply trying something that would make [Paul] Westerberg smile.” Recorded and produced by Maxime Smadja (Rixe, Boss) in France in fall 2021. Crocodiles now live in Los Angeles.
#6 I Don't Know A Thing About Love: The Songs Of Harlan Howard by Willie Nelson (Legacy)
This is the 73rd solo studio album by living legend Willie Nelson, released just before his 90 th birthday. The album is a tribute to the songwriter Harlan Howard, who gave Nelson his first job as a songwriter, and was released on March 3, 2023, the 21st anniversary of Howard's death. Throughout, the “red headed stranger” remains faithful to the source material, but makes these songs his own at the same time, with his signature weathered tenor front and center. Howard is the person that coined the phrase “Three Chords and the Truth” when defining a country song, and is perhaps best known today for co-writing “I Fall To Pieces,” recorded by Patsy Cline. Although that song does not appear here (he released a version of it with Ray Price on the 1980 album San Antonio Rose), his earworm “She Called Me Baby” (8) does, which was recorded by Cline and Candi Staton, and was later a number one country and western hit for Charlie Rich. The first single from this record was "Busted” (7), originally a hit for both Ray Charles and Johnny Cash and later for John Conlee. There’s killer harmonica work from Mickey Raphael throughout the album, but it’s most prominent on “Busted” and on the intro to “Beautiful Annabel Lee” (10), which is also accented by some lovely steel guitar work by Mike Johnson. The kick-off cut, “Tiger By The Tail” (1) is one of two here co-written and originally recorded by Buck Owens, his biggest hit. The other, “Excuse Me, I Think I’ve Got a Heartache” (3), also features Johnson’s steel guitar, as well as a charming (and brief) solo from Nelson’s acoustic guitar, nicknamed Trigger. In 1969, Joe Simon had a number one R&B chart hit with "The Chokin' Kind" (2), which sold a million copies. In 1961 alone, according to Wikipedia, Howard had fifteen of his compositions on the country music charts, earning him ten BMI awards. He was inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1973, and into the Country Music Hall of Fame and the Songwriters Hall of Fame, both in 1997. But if you knew nothing about Howard (which I didn’t, upon my first listen), you would hear this for what it is, a fantastic album by Willie Nelson, with no duds (so explore freely)—I’m burying the lede, but my favorite is the title cut (5). Produced by Buddy Cannon, the record features cover art by Nelson's son, Micah.
#7 Keep Your Courage by Natalie Merchant (Nonesuch)
Although best known as the former lead singer of 10,000 Maniacs (whose critical apex was 1987’s In My Tribe and popular apex was 1992’s Our Time In Eden), Natalie Merchant (who just turned 60) has been a solo artist for much longer, and produced nine solo records, including this year’s Keep Your Courage. Fans will recognize that her alto, once wan and minimal, has grown into a powerful instrument on its own. This record is richly orchestrated, using strings in the meditative moments (such as on Ian Lynch’s (of Irish band Lankum) “Hunting The Wren” (5)) and horns on the more upbeat tracks (like the single, “Come On Aphrodite” (2), one of two duets with Abena Koomson-Davis of Resistance Revival Chorus). Keep Your Courage also includes contributions from the Celtic folk group Lúnasa, Syrian virtuoso clarinetist Kinan Azmeh, and horn arrangements by jazz trombonist Steve Davis. Seven different composers contribute orchestrations including: Gabriel Kahane, Stephen Barber, Colin Jacobsen, David Spear and Megan Gould, and Merchant herself produced.
#8 Nowhere To Go But Up by Guided By Voices (GBV Inc.)
Robert Pollard and company are back for their third album of 2023 (and thirty-ninth overall), continuing his penchant for “songwriting diarrhea,” as critic Jim DeRogatis called it. But what comes out feels so good, Jim, even the “onion flavored coffee on the run (6).” Unlike many of their previous records, there are no real duds, but the strongest tracks follow the Guided By Voices formula of The Who-strong power chords and Pollard’s psychedelic, other-worldly, stream-of-consciousness lyrics. Expect their trademark guitar-propelled rock that at times saunters and basks in its brilliance (2, 7, 9) and at other times rockets along like the Dayton, Ohio quintet is late for a bus (4, 5, 11). Out of an embarrassment of riches, my favorite moment is “Love Set” (6), which builds for ninety seconds and then takes an abrupt left turn on red. “For The Home” (9) was the first single. GBV are known for their brief songs, but three of these eleven exceed four minutes (4, 9, 11)! In addition to Pollard, GBV has had the same lineup since 2016: Doug Gillard (guitar), Kevin March (drums), Mark Shue (bass) and Bobby Bare Jr. (guitar), all contributing backing vocals.
#9 Liberated Gesture by Yuhan Su (Sunnyside)
New York-based vibraphonist Yuhan Su, a Taiwanese native, formed the Liberated Gesture quintet in 2021, also including alto saxophonist Caroline Davis, pianist Matt Mitchell, bassist Marty Kenney and drummer Dan Weiss. This is her second release for Sunnyside (and fourth album overall), her first recording since 2018’s City Animals. On this new set of original jazz compositions, Su weaves her vibraphone seamlessly with the other instruments, creating a busy but not impenetrable tapestry of meditative jazz sounds. Having said that, there are a few moments where there is almost too much going on. Su wrote half of the repertoire in 2019 during a six-month residency at Cité Internationale des Arts in Paris, and the rest during the pandemic in Taiwan and New York. Given the genre, it’s not a surprise that most of these pieces are lengthy workouts, the shortest being over five minutes long, and the longest, “She Goes To A Silent War” (5) is prefaced by a poem Su wrote in Mandarin, translated into English by Jiaowei Hu and read by Davis. Movements 2-4 of “Liberated Gesture,” a suite inspired by abstract expressionist painter Hans Hartung are included: “Arc” (7) is slow and meditative, “Tightrope” (8) has some more giddy-up to it in terms of tempo and intensity, and “Hartung’s Light” (9) merges both approaches.
#10 Called Upon EP by Neptune’s Core (Side Hustle)
Composed of two sets of teenage sisters, if you’re late to this movie, after two self-released albums, this EP is their third proper release, and their first via Side Hustle. Sofie Richter sings and plays guitar, Hannah Richter plays bass, Jackie Cywinski contributes guitar and vocals and Kaitlin Cywinski drums; they all are North Center residents. Called Upon begins with the meditative “Bunga” (so named just because too many songs are already called “Help”) and builds into a crashing climax. It’s followed by the stellar first single “Inside,” penned by Sofie after a storm swept through the neighborhood, triggering a tornado warning. “Broken, why am I so broken?,” it begins, then roars into a guitar-driven frenzy as she delivers the words, “Tell me, when does it get better?” The inclusion of the brief instrumental “Mermaid Song” is one exhibit in the band’s argument that it has come to embrace experimentalism as opposed to straightforward instrumentation. The highlight is the blazing climax of the “Unloved”(4) single, but if you’re looking for a lovely ballad, check out “Why”(5) or the brief conclusion, “A Widow’s Song” (6).
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