BMMH Best of 23

Written By Colin LaVaute

While the mediums of television and film operated in a space of limbo due to strikes this past year, music artists in 2023 helped fill the pop cultural void with a plethora of eclectic releases. As we head into 2024, let’s take a look back at the songs and albums that made a mark on The Big Muddy Music Hour.

Songs:

  • “Pull Me Through” - Royal Blood: From the menacing opening piano notes, one might wonder if this track could come from England’s well-known Stoner Rock duo. However, once the chorus hits, Pull Me Through feels right at home with the rest of Royal Blood’s discography while offering textures and tones not heard from them before. What remains is pitch-perfect rock performance jostles as much as it coddles. 

  • “Death Wish” - Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit: While many songs from Isbell’s 2023 album Weathervanes showcase his penchant for heartfelt threads with lyrics that cut, Death Wish is a standout. Even Jack White couldn’t help but do his own take on the track.

  • “We’re Gonna Get There in The End” - Noel Gallagher’s Flying Birds: Ever since Oasis’ Gallagher brothers disbanded to forge their solo careers, it has been clear that Noel is, and has always been, the stronger of the pair when it comes to songwriting. With this cut, Gallagher crafts a song that is reminiscent of Oasis’ best while creating something fresh and timeless.

  • “Lady Vagabond” - Grace Potter: This song is an absolute banger and a must for any road trip playlist. From the spaghetti western opening to the moment that the funky horn section enters the scene, Potter fills the canvas with a rich tapestry that she travels with the same ease she displays while shredding guitar on stage.

“Bending Hectic” - The Smile:

What will become of Radiohead? Who is to say? What is clear is that Thom Yorke and Johnny Greenwood have zero inclination to slow down as they dropped this eight-minute opus ahead of a short tour of theaters in North America. Come for Yorke’s cooing over his trademark spooky piano melodies, and stay for the fuzzy psych rock freakout at the end. 

Photo by Colin LaVaute | Tom Yorke and Johnny Greenwood of The Smile performing at The Midland in Kansas City, MO. July 19th, 2023

  • “Your Side of Town” - The Killers: Brandon Flowers and Company did not release a full-length album this year, but this single (which was dropped near the beginning of the Summer) features every component of the pop-rock perfection we have come to expect from The Killers. One wonders if this song had ended up on one of their early albums if it would be just as ubiquitous as their other classics. 

  • “New York Proud” - Kyren Penrose: Columbia, Missouri singer-songwriter extraordinaire released this single early in the year and I knew at that point that it would make it on this list. I used to say that Penrose was “wise beyond his years.” Given his penchant for continually releasing world-class alternative folk tunes, it is clear I need to retire that phrase and simply praise this young talent for being an artist that makes CoMo proud.

  • “Albatross” - Penny Marvel: Another Columbia artist enters the fold as this song features a veritable supergroup of backing musicians including Molly Healey, John Galbraith, Spencer Tweedy, and Macie Stewart. The nucleus of the song, and the project known as Penny Marvel, is none other than Wil Reeves, a multi-instrumentalist who spent years with Mid-MO indie rock act Bockman. He is perhaps best known as the owner and sound engineer at Centro Cellar Studios in Columbia. Again choosing to siphon out releases via single and not album, Reeves has great success here creating an alt-rock sound that is both tinged with the best elements of midwestern sounds while recalling the inherent pleasure of do-wop ditties from another time. 

  • “Waffle House” - The Jonas Brothers: I never thought I’d give The Jonas Brothers any semblance of recognition, but here we are. Ever since seeing their inspired performance of this song on SNL, I have been hooked on this particular track. I’d be lying if I didn’t say that the themes of the strength of family bonds didn’t resonate with me. At the end of the day, this is a perfectly crafted pop song that has been played many times over in the LaVaute household. 

  • “Rigor Mortis Radio” - The Hives: Another thing I never thought I’d write… The Hives are BACK, baby! In hindsight, it was easy to write off this band and their success to the ever-present garage rock craze of the early aughts. Their 2023 release The Death of Randy Fitzsimmons proved otherwise as it was chockful of gleeful punk bangers, the best of which was this slice of anarchic power chord perfection. 

SONG OF THE YEAR:
“Will Anybody Ever Love Me?” - Sufjan Stevens: No other song touched my soul in the way that this song did this past year. Stevens is magnificent in every release he has graced us with throughout his illustrious career, but at times he is more accessible than others. “Will Anybody Ever Love Me” is not only accessible, but it is a downright gorgeous piece of work that transcends genre to achieve the status of timelessness.

Honorable Mentions: 

Albums:

  • Barbie The Album: Not since Black Panther, have I included a soundtrack on my Albums of the Year list. Produced by Mark Ronson, this particular soundtrack does more than be a suitable companion piece to the worldwide phenomena of the biggest movie of the year. The album itself has its arc as it weaves in world-class collaborations with the likes of Dua Lipa, Tame Impala, and HAIM. The sum of its parts is more than “Kenough” to place itself on this list.

  • Sam Smith - Gloria: Sam Smith’s Gloria is a testament to the career of a pop star who has traditionally hewn to the middle of the road when it came to his approach. That approach generally left this music lover with a middling taste, but all of that is long forgotten with this flamboyant and assertive piece. 

Ben Folds - What Matters Most: BMMH alum Ben Folds returns with his first album in many years and it was worth the wait. All of his normal characteristics from past efforts are still intact, from his sardonic wit to his emotive metaphors that go for the jugular at times. 

Photo by Colin LaVaute | Ben Folds performing at The Stifel Theater in St. Louis, MO. June 28th, 2023

  • St. Paul and the Broken Bones - Angels in Science Fiction: BMMH alums St. Paul and the Broken Bones have had a busy past couple of years. After their spacy departure on 2022’s The Alien Coast the funky alternative brass band returned only months later with Angels in Science Fiction. Lead singer Paul Janeway’s soaring vocals are the rug that ties a beautifully ethereal sonic room together. 

Photo by Colin LaVaute | St. Paul and The Broken Bones performing at The Blue Note. January 30th, 2023

  • Jason Isbell and 400 Unit - Weathervanes: Isbell and his 400 Unit return with a devastatingly gorgeous record that ranks among their best. Always centering on the relevant plight of surviving modern society, Isbell’s meditations on such themes as racism, school shootings, and drug addiction hit harder than ever. 

  • Foo Fighters - But Here We Are: Dave Grohl and his Fighters of Foo return with one of their best albums to date after coping with multiple deaths within their circle (drummer Taylor Hawkins and Grohl’s mother). What came about as a result of what must have felt like some form of therapeutic catharsis is Foo Fighter’s most cohesive work since The Colour and the Shape. 

  • Devon Gilfillian - Love You Anyway: BMMH alum Devon Gilfillian avoids the sophomore slump in a big way with this bombastically beautiful alternative second effort. Gilfillian still displays his penchant for Marvin Gaye-like grooves that converge with eclectic psychedelia to great success. 

  • Gorillaz - Cracker Island: Damon Albarn’s cartoonish monkey clan makes their way to a new island. Not surprisingly they find a cornucopia of grooving beats and endless collaborations with the likes of Bad Bunny, Beck, Tame Impala, Stevie Nicks, and more. Cracker Island is Gorillaz's most successful outing since Demon Days.

  • Black Bear Boxer - Tranquilizer: Columbia, Missouri’s Derrick Cowan serves as the ringleader of this highly collaborative rock concept album. Tranquilizer is another impressive album released this year in which mourning loved ones served as a muse of sorts. The effect is a deeply textural, contemplative, and expansive record that features searing performances from Mid-MO’s best rock musicians. 

  • Sufjan Stevens - Javelin: Yet another album created in the wake of a loved one’s death. Sufjan Stevens let it be known after the album’s release that it was made in tribute to his late partner Evan Richardson. This was the first time that Stevens acknowledged his homosexuality publicly. The result is a monumental musical effigy to the love of his life. 

ALBUM OF THE YEAR:
boygenius - the record: Phoebe Bridgers, Lucy Dacus, and Julien Baker are all outstanding in their own right as singer/songwriters, but when they combine forces as boygenius they endeavored to create the best album of 2023. How their voices combine would lead one to believe they are related as even blood harmonies rarely blend this well. All three of these ladies lend their own trademark stamp to each song while creating something wholly unique and splendid at every turn.

Honorable Mentions:

Colin LaVaute
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