I posted my list of favorite from the first half of 2023 back in June (here). Rather than replicate that list for my full year review, consider this a continuation — the best songs from the second half of the year.
Whatever Helps You Sleep, Abby Hamilton (from the Blue Gown Records release #1 Zookeeper (of the San Diego Zoo))
A slice of pure pop perfection from – and a welcome introduction to – Kentucky’s Hamilton.
Toothache, Lydia Loveless (from the Bloodshot Records release Nothing’s Gonna Stand In My Way Again)
“A minor inconvenience or a catastrophe,” sings Loveless at the start of this urgent ode to heartbreak, one that is propelled by a relenting rhythm and fervent electric guitars.
Am I Ok, Jerry Joseph (from the Cosmo Sex School Records release Baby, You’re the Man Who Would Be King)
An ambling melody and arrangement do nothing to hide the irritation and anguish of the lyrics. “Well I’m down here in the darkness, throw some fuckin light my way,” Joseph beseeches at the end of the song.
Requiem, Allison Russell (from the Fantasy Records release The Returner)
Against an entrancing musical background, Russell offers words of encouragement to a young child growing up in troubling times:
So it is yours to sing
My child, my wild brightling
With the love born in the cradle of time
And fight and fight and fight
In the dying light
For all lost and gone forever clementines
Come Back Around, Terra Lightfoot (from the Sonic Unyon Records release Healing Power)
Lightfoot takes someone to task in this insistent – and damn good – blast of rock and roll.
Tornado and the Trailer Park, James Maddock (from the Songs of Avenue C release Night Work)
Maddock’s raspy voice adds to an already sorrowful tale of heartbreak.
A trucker pulls off the road to cry, cleans his mirrors and wipes his eyes
he makes his money the good ol’ fashioned way
She’s not even thinking ‘bout him any more as someone buys her another shot
You’re the tornado, he’s the trailer park
Walk With Me, Diane and the Gentle Men (from the Velvet Elk Records release The Bad and the Beautiful)
Alejandro Escovedo joins Diane Gentile for this invigorating song of encouragement.
Faded Love, Restos (from the self-released Ain’t Dead Yet)
An upbeat song about a romantic break-up? Yup, and a good one, too. “Faded love feels like giving up, when did all our trust run out,” sings Graham Weber (with accompanying vocals from Jaimee Harris) as the band rocks out with abandon.
When We Were Close, Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit (from the Southeastern Records release Weathervanes)
I like it when Isbell brings the rock. In that vein, I had a tough time choosing between “This Ain’t It”, “Cast Iron Skillet”, and “When We Were Close”. They share a common thread in that the guitar interplay between Isbell and 400 Unit guitarist Sadler Vaden give the songs a nasty edge. “When We Were Close”, Isbell’s tribute to his late friend Justin Townes Earle, gets the call. At least for today.
Grand Old Feeling, William Matheny (from the Hickman Holler/Thirty Tigers release That Grand, Old Feeling)
A song worthy of its title. Matheny shares a stately rocker about trying to make one’s way in the world.
I’ve been looking for that grand, old feeling
The burning candle on the mantle of my soul
On the highways and the hedges and the darkened midnight exits
I’ve been searching everywhere that I go
Beggar For Your Love, Margo Cilker (from the Fluff & Gravy Records release Valley of Heart’s Delight)
“It takes two to tie up a line only sometimes,” sings Cilker on this moving tale of a one-sided break-up. The emotion in her voice, paired with the rootsy piano-driven arrangement, makes the song especially alluring.
Tattooed Tear, Buddy and Julie Miller (from the New West Records release In The Throes)
Few can mine the raw depths of emotion better than Buddy and Julie Miller.
No one is responsible but me
I’ve been told about love’s treachery
But I haven’t learned yet
I still jump without a net
So go your way my dear
Never worry, never fear
It’s nothing but a tattooed tear
Without You, Shadwick Wilde (from the Sofaburn Records release Forever Home)
Shadwick Wilde reflects on love and mortality in a song that is as musically shimmering as it is brooding.
Flat Tire, Jeff Plankenhorn (from the Blue Corn Music release Alone at Sea)
Jeff Plankenhorn showcases his prowess with a lap steel guitar in this amusing tale of a truck driver who seems to find misfortune at every turn.
After All This Time, Heather Lynne Horton (from the Pauper Sky Records release Get Me to a Nunnery)
Don’t let the anthemic nature of this song fool you, Horton mines the depths of feeling along in a relationship.
I Wanna Dance With Somebody, Joshua Ray Walker (from the Soundly Music release What Is It Even?)
Walker turns the Whitney Houston classic into one hell of a rave-up.
Maybe There Are Angels, My Sister, My Brother (from the self-released My Sister, My Brother II)
A beautiful ballad – enriched by the harmonies of singers Sean McConnell and Garrison Starr – about being in awe of one’s own life and discovering the inherent grace in others.
Maybe they’re people
Maybe they don’t have wings
They’re up the steeple
And down in the broken things
Think I’ve figured out that faith and doubt are the same just different angles
And maybe there are angels
Taken For a Ride, Nathan Mongol Wells (from the State Fair Records release From a Dark Corner)
Nathan Mongol Wells shares a plaintive country ballad of the tear-jerker kind. The song’s protagonist reflects on mistakes and shortcomings, resigned to the situation that’s been created.
I’m a coward, I’m a loser, I’m a serial abuser
Of the thoughts and of the feelings that you try so hard to hide
If I knew some way to tell you some thing that might compel you
To believe me when I say
I didn’t take you for a ride
Pretend to Forget, Lauren Calve (from the self-released Shift)
There’s nothing like a good kiss-off song. We’re never quite clear what happened – in this case with a family member – but Calve makes her point clear.
What Is Not to Love About a Flower, Jeremy Moses Curtis (from the Blueblade Records release Midlife Chrysler)
This song may not really be about flowers but it doesn’t make it any less potent.
Suffering Well, Jonah Tolchin (from the Clover Music Group release Dockside)
Tolchin’s raw and bluesy “Suffering Well” – which features album co-producer Luther Dickinson on guitar – was inspired by the Buddhist notion that suffering is inevitable so one should approach it with mindfulness and compassion.
About the author: Mild-mannered corporate executive by day, excitable Twangville denizen by night.