It's that wonderful time of year again, no not the holidays, it's list season! Some folks get burned out from all the lists but I personally love it. More the lists from your average music enthusiast and less from the major publication sites (which tend to have the same albums). You can discover so much that you missed out from these countdowns. My hope is I can do the same with my awards! This is my second year doing these awards, which I found more fun then doing a top 10 list. Since having a kid, I found that I listened to individual songs more then albums (less time in the day) so I also made a playlist of my top songs here. Hope you enjoy and cheers to making it through 2023!
The pop-punk's not dead award: Wilmette- Hyperfocused
Sure, you can say Blink-182 getting the band back together this year was the thing propelling pop-punk forward. However, their album was another standard Blink-182 album and I want to hear something fresh that gets me excited for the batch of new bands in the scene. Wilmette would be that band! Since I discovered them it's been in constant rotation, especially when I want something bouncy and high energy. Hyperfocused has excellent pop-punk tunes from start to finish and makes me excited for this genre's future!
Best run of 3 songs award: Short Fictions-Oblivion Will Own Me and Death Alone Will Love Me (Void Filler)
By far, my favorite run of 3 songs was songs 2-4 in Short Fiction's album Oblivion Will Own Me and Death Alone Will Love Me (Void Filler). The run of songs start with the melancholy "Reno Nevada, January 2020", then has a beautiful transition to the long titled "I Cannot Possibly Perceive the Least Kinship Now Between the Dead Girl and Myself Which Makes Most of My Days Inevitably Dreary", which has a sound clip from the TV show Freaks and Geeks. Then it goes to my favorite song of the album "Wasting", to cap it off. This whole album is fantastic and worth the 23 min journey (what do you have to loss?).
The Ian Cohen recommendation award: Del Paxton-Auto Locator
This is an award I'm bringing back from the first album awards in 2022. That's because Ian deserves the praise for mentioning this band within his podcast Indiecast. I've done a blogpost on Del Paxton before and I frikin love them. Without Ian's recommendation I may have not know, or right away, that they released new material (after 6 years). To be honest, I wasn't sure if Del Paxton would release another album so this news made my day. I recall pausing the podcast, immediately listening to the new album, and being so unbelievably happy with how good it was. There's heavy Into It.Over It. vibes, instead of the Third Eye Blind vibes from the last record, and I'm here for it.
When the band goes Super Saiyan award: Bully-Lucky For You
Bully is a band that I associated with the 90s alternative rock revival scene (which is a sound I'm an absolute a sucker for). They were in this lane that that suited them well and I thought they would continue with. Then Lucky For You came out this year and it completely blew my preconceptions out of the water! They best way I can describe it is that they evolved (or went Super Saiyan if you will). That 90s sound is still there but it's an ingredient now, instead of being the main dish. This album sounds timeless, in that it stands on its own and is just an awesome rock record. You can read more about my thoughts here.
Came for the album art but stayed for the music award: Scarlet Street-Scarlet Street
I was scrolling through a playlist called Emo Census of 2023 and clicked on this album because of the artwork within the thumbnail. It's a person walking along a boardwalk, while a crash of water is dramatically rising behind them. The sky is dreary looking and adds to the mood that it evokes. So does the music sound like the art that I just described? Ya I can definitely see the person listening to this while reflecting on the state of their life and/or the world. The songs are anthemic and the type you shout into the void with. It was a fun indulgence that I tried in a "dramatic" like walk and recommend it! This kind of music can be cringy if done poorly and cathartic if done right, Scarlet Street was able to find that right balance.
The album that can best ride the emo waves award: Home Is Where-The Whaler
If anyone can navigate the ferocious 5 waves of emo, it would for sure be a whaler! That cheesy enough for you? I actually put a lot of thought into this award title sadly. Seriously though, this album is a pioneer of 5th wave emo and Home Is Where are leading the charge in stride! I have much more to say in this post but I will add that there was no hesitation giving an award to The Whaler.
The reincarnation of MOBO award: Saturdays At Your Place-Always Cloudy
Modern Baseball (MOBO) have been disbanded for 6 years now but I still see posts about people desperately hoping they will return. Ya that would be cool, I wouldn't lie, but in the meantime there's a band that very much carries the spirit of MOBO, Saturdays At Your Place. Everything from their relatable and earnest lyrics to the members charming and quirky attitude harkens to the best parts of MOBO. These collection of 6 songs have me excited to see where Saturdays At Your Place go from here!
Best new musical project (after the band broke up) award: Talking Kind-It Did Bring Me Down
*Other nominees: Superviolet-Infinite Spring (former band The Sidekicks) and Fiddlehead-Death Is Nothing To Us (former bands Have Heart and Basement)*
Here's an award I made to cheat (can one cheat in their own blog?) by being able to mention three bands in one go! Talking Kind was created from Pat Graham, a former member of The Swellers which is a super underrated band you can read about here. This is much different from The Swellers though. Talking Down was described as "imagine a cross between MJ Lenderman, Slaughter Beach Dog, and Barenaked Ladies" from Taylor Grimes, of the website Swim Into The Sound, and that is a perfect comparison. I also recommend listening to the other nominees, as this was very stiff competition. I love how well these artists were able to create new musical projects, from utilizing the skills and experience learned from their previous bands!
When the hype was not disappointing award: Awakebutstillinbed-Chaos Takes The Wheel and I Am A Passenger
It seems like the number 6 is popular this year because it's been 6 (long) years since we got a record from Awakebutstillinbed. I've (publicly) been mentioning my excitement for this album since 2021 man! As the award title will allude to, the hype was thankfully worth it. I was actually worried I build this project up too much in my head and would have been disappointed if it was anything but A tier material. Not only is this not the case, but my expectation were actually exceeded! I chose not to do a ranking list but if I did, this would be in the number 1 slot. Here's a link to a post I created for this album.
The honorary Gami Gang spot award: Origami Angel-The Brightest Days
I should just accept that anytime Origami Angel, or gami gang if you're fan, release an album (sorry a mixtape, in their words) it will end up on my year end list. I did actually consider leaving them off because I always add them to my lists. Then again who is actually keeping track, besides me? When I look back at what I kept coming back to, it was this mixtape. The gami gang guys just have a knack for writing catchy tunes, in unique ways that you don't see other bands doing. Like who does an acoustic song with a breakdown?! So congrats Origami Angel, you deserve this award named after you!
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