1. Billy Woods & Kenny Segal – “Maps” (2023)
As I have been doing a lot lately, I tune into NPR’s All Songs Considered on Fridays to discover what new releases were not on my radar. My old way of impulsively picking albums at random proved to be a bit unsuccessful and really needed some guidance as to know where the good stuff is. Among the titles that were the most attractive was this second collaboration from Billy Woods and Kenny Segal. The track that ultimately won me over came when the rappers did a whole number about how they wouldn’t be at sound check. It’s a novel premise where the song slowly deteriorates as the professionalism of its artists starts shortcutting details. The cleverness disappears and suddenly it’s this odd little number about how an artist giving up on their dreams is painfully noticeable to those just showing up for a good time.
This is one of the albums that I’ve been keeping in regular rotation since it premiered. I can’t say that hip-hop is a genre I’m well-versed in, so latching onto an album is often difficult and thankfully this one continues to surprise me in new ways. It’s an album about life on tour, where the duo contemplates their life choices while on airplane flights and bus drives cross country. It’s melancholic, sometimes cynical, but captures a road life story where you feel like you’re eavesdropping on some personal conversations as the band sits around laughing about the last stop. It more often than not is amusing even when there’s an intrinsic loneliness somewhere in the background, realizing how disconnected the journey can make them.
I love the direction of the album and how it ultimately ends with self-reflection. After all of the trials and tribulations that these men have gone through, a simple contemplation at a playground makes them realize what future they’re leaving behind for others. Again, there’s more to this record than the story. It’s got some great grooves and the rhymes are continually exciting. I love the way a song will do puns that recontextualizes the obvious and makes you notice their world in more vivid ways. It’s storytelling and jokes keep on coming. There’s philosophy and truth buried somewhere inside, and it’s compacted enough to make a map of where their life has taken them. Are they happy with it? Given that the best creativity comes from struggle, it’s hard to say no.
2. Various Artists – “Camelot” (2023)
And now I must make a full-on confession that will shock and maybe cause some of you to ridicule me. As I listened to a lot of soundtracks for the upcoming Tony-nominated shows, I found myself coming back to one in particular. Sure, Kimberly Akimbo and Parade are masterpieces that I am sure will linger as modern classic records. However, I have also been adding one show in particular to the rotation and finding it giving my life so much joy. The 2023 revival of Camelot may not come across as the quintessential musical of the year, but after a few listens I have to admit one thing: it’s pretty damn catchy.
I’m sure one can argue that its gender politics are dated and half of the numbers are cornier than Shucked. Alas, it’s still one of those shows where I swoon, wanting to sit there and gaze at these lovely performers sing about their magnificent quests. Something about their earnestness just really gets me. I love how passionate Phillipa Soo especially is and committed to making these jaunty numbers pop. I love the use of nature imagery and even how there are gleeful melodies about murder. Maybe I love it because it’s basically a romantic comedy epic that allows me to escape into fantasy, to imagine a world that will not be forgot. I know, I know… it’s what all musicals do. It’s just that this one feels different.
Maybe there’s reasoning in that I am an admirer of Lerner & Loewe’s better known My Fair Lady and recognize how it builds character through wordplay. It’s all on display here with an inferior songbook, but one that nonetheless delivers on something grander. It at times comes across as a very naïve show that doesn’t have a lot to say in 2023, but I still want to believe that there’s something to hearing King Arthur sing about being scared and paranoid about the villagers. It’s comical, but it also makes him human, deconstructing the myth of his machismo. Behind the stories, these are just people. They just happen to have great voices (and songs) that make you envious of their endless confidence. Lerner & Loewe’s ability to poke holes in that logic while never deflating them only adds to the wonder that is this show.
3. Indigo De Souza – “All of This Will End” (2023)
In the quest for great bedroom pop, 2023 has had plenty of good records but none that have really gotten to the next level. Some other artists I’ve enjoyed include Miya Folick, Blondshell, Lael Neale, and Alex Lahey. However, there is one artist who has connected with me in the ways that I wanted. I’ve been listening to Indigo De Souza’s songs as they have come out and find her to be endlessly charming. However, there’s more than that. She is the type of songwriter whose self-effacing nature makes her someone in the vein of Courtney Barnett, where you’re as mesmerized by the catchy production as you are by the confessional lyrics that find this young woman traveling through Southern California and reflecting on her life.
Like a lot of the artists mentioned, she has a knack for really honing in on a moment and making you feel every detail. It’s the type that gives you a faint smile as she comes in with a toe tapping chorus that finds grand revelations blossoming through upbeat harmonies. Stops at gas stations or driving through smog work as brilliant metaphors for what her life is like. She’s trying to look back on decisions and relationships she’s made and determining that while she was younger and dumber, it means she is now older and smarter. She’s capable of so much change and potential that the record ultimately ends with a sense of optimism.
I love the journey that De Souza takes the listener on. In a sea of good records about being in your Mid-20s and wondering what a future of uncertainty looks like, this one stands out as something extra special. She paints pictures of a modern world that is increasingly online and at times impersonal. The quest for greater meaning remains at the heart of her lyrics and she’s often yearning for something more. It’s the road trip in record form that may make this upcoming summer vacation all the more pleasant. While the title may have a nihilistic undertone, the journey is anything but. Somewhere in the desolation of our lives, there are chances to be happy. “All of This Will End” is about the misery that came before that sigh of relief. I can only hope the encore is just as sweet.
4. Panchiko – “Failed At Math(s)”
There was something about this record that made me curious to check it out. Unlike most which I’ve mentioned, I came to this blindly. That’s the beauty of records under 30 minutes. If you’re willing to hear someone out, they could either be a forgettable half hour, or it will change your life. Panchiko is closer to the middle. The value of a good biography definitely elevated their potential by claiming that they had an early 2000s record called “Death Metal” that had become obscured until an online user debunked who Panchiko was. Apparently, this was their follow-up almost two decades later, and I figured with a wide array of influences that something of interest would pop up. By some miracle, it has ended up becoming one of my go-to records for when I need something short to get work done to.
“Failed At Math(s)” isn’t necessarily a favorite record. I think it’s extremely messy and there are tracks that don’t fully land for me. However, it’s one of those experimentations that surprises you from moment to moment. There’s songs full of longing and sadness mixed with distortion. Others have great instrumentals that feel like trippy club hits on downers. During its best moments, it reminds me of early 2000s pop punk in how the harmonies shift from verse to chorus, emphasizing these random emotions in an oversimplified language that’s in itself ingenious when you break it down. I think there’s something to how this is craft that makes its understated approach very charming. It’s not a tragic record by any matter, but it’s a nice little downbeat that has brilliant momentum to keep you moving.
I still haven’t heard “Death Metal” and I’m nervous to know if it’s anywhere as good as “Failed At Math(s).” It has to be as a cult record, especially since this one is probably more self-conscious in its meticulous craftsmanship. Even then, to take half of these songs as individual works, I would say it’s some of my favorite music of the year. I love how it’s a soundscape through a functional depression, finding inspiration in the hazy corners that manage to convey so much desire for life. Also, as someone who is not the best at math, I really appreciate the title a whole lot. Adding everything up in my life is just as hard, and Panchiko covers the bases nicely.
5. Kesha – “Gag Order” (2023)
One of the greatest career reinventions of the late 2010s, for me, has been Kesha. While I used to write her off as vapid, trashy pop about partying, I now am on track to consider her one of my favorites. “Rainbow” is one of those perfect records for me that finds her using that vengeful personality to explore her independence while also recognizing the pain she has experienced throughout life. It’s a solid record made better by the confidence on display. If nothing else, I am still petitioning to have “Godzilla” featured in a film at some point.
Whereas that record blurred the line between her strengths and weaknesses, “Gag Order” is one that feels steeped in vulnerability. The experimentation at times recalls hyperpop and other points have her declaring “I want to be reincarnated as a cat.” It’s silly, confusing, but the most satisfying thing is how this doesn’t feel like a record designed to please everyone, or anyone actually. What’s here is a display of her emotional scars, trying to make sense of them through a vivid soundscape that is always curious in its decision-making. There are catchy songs here, but Top 40 hits are not on Kesha’s agenda. This is the type of record for people who have a dark side, needing to find self-acceptance before reincarnating as your best self.
I’ve only heard two of Kesha’s records and they’re both among the best pop music that I’ve heard this past decade. “Gag Order” may not be as accessible as “Rainbow,” but it’s still destined to be one of my favorites of 2023. It’s got the familiar snarl that makes her so infectious, but it feels so personal at times that it seeks to be embarrassing. Even then, it’s the type of esoteric achievement that I think all artists should do at some point in their careers. Putting aside expectations of a judgmental public to make art for yourself is important. I don’t know if this will ever be her best ranked work, but for me, it’s another reason I respect her and hope that she’s able to find justice in her many personal conflicts both alluded to on the album and otherwise.
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