Top Ten 2023

This is the music, in no particular order, that I've most enjoyed listening to in 2023:

Bruce Cockburn - O Sun O Moon: "O Sun O Moon is a surprise turn away from political and social satire or commentary to a more personal, and also seemingly more straightforward, blues and folk based music, where texture and arrangement are the focus. It’s subtle, enticing music that isn’t afraid to remain stripped back but also welcomes clarinet, upright bass, accordion, glockenspiel, saxophones and marimba into the mix as and when required. Cockburn sounds relaxed and slightly gruff vocally throughout, quiet and contemplative, whilst the album sounds as though it was recorded next door. It’s warm and enticing, with love – be that romantic, spiritual or sexual – often posed as not only the answer but a command from above."

Pissabed Prophet - Pissabed Prophet: "This album mixes the colourful and riotously explosive Britpop psychedelic influences of the Small Faces and Beatles with the melodiousness and carefully-observed lyrics of the Kinks... Like a prophet, Simpkins is reporting back from within the bell jar of cancer treatment to share a renewed zest for life as he refuses to mourn a dream and resolves to let life and love flow... Zany in parts, moving in others, you’ll be hard pressed to find a more unusual, inspired and profound album this year. ‘Pissabed Prophet’ will thrill, intrigue, amuse and inspire." Equally good is Apple, the EP that followed.

Corinne Baily Rae - Black Rainbows: "Bailey Rae takes us on a journey from the rock hewn churches of Ethiopia, to the journeys of Black Pioneers Westward, from Miss New York Transit 1957, to how the sunset appears from Harriet Jacobs' loophole, in order to explore Black femininity, Spell Work, Inner Space/Outer Space, time collapse and ancestors, the erasure of Black childhood and music as a vessel for transcendence. Yet, 'Before the Throne of the Invisible God' is where her energised and empathetic, wracked and anguished, celebratory and creative journey through Black history and the continuing legacy of racism finds its resolution. In a place not of simple submission, but of living the questions raised by a capacious faith where responses to prayer are both the actions of life and also the explorations found on this album."

Dave Gaham & Soulsavers - Angels & Demons: "With Depeche Mode, frontman Dave Gahan‘s haunting baritone often provides the human touch within songwriter Martin Gore’s icy electronic tableaus. With Soulsavers — a British production duo known for its gospel-inflected, organic sound — the singer has room to grow into something more. Angels & Ghosts is the second album Gahan has recorded with the group, after 2012’s dark, bluesy The Light the Dead See. Prior to that, the producers worked with a who’s who of underground heroes — husky-voiced grunge vet Mark Lanegan, vocal contortionist Mike Patton and sensitive folk singer Will Oldham, among others — but they stumbled on a unique foil with the Depeche Mode singer. And while The Light the Dead See was very much a transitional record, this album is where Soulsavers and Gahan hit their stride."

J Lind - The Land of Canaan: "J Lind’s sophomore album, "The Land of Canaan" (2021), is the next chapter in an increasingly deep and diverse body of work. The production conjures other-worldly soundscapes reminiscent of Peter Gabriel and Brian Eno while the thoughtful lyric draws on those of Leonard Cohen, Randy Newman, and Dawes. Laced with religious allegory and existential unrest, Lind’s second album grapples with the destabilizing effect of our ever-shifting values and the ephemeral nature of our private promised lands."

The Mercy Seat - The Mercy Seat: "Truly, the whole band is amazing and shines with virtuosity. Bassist Patrice Moran features very prominently here, and her lines really help to preserve the gospel tone of the record. Gano and drummer Fernando Menendez push the music much more into the Dead Kennedys or Butthole Surfers end of the spectrum. Singer/bombshell Zena Von Heppinstall is the major creative force here, penning four of the songs and carrying the music with her fabulous voice. Highlights are "Don't Forget About Me," the bluesy "He Said," and the "Let the Church Roll On/I Won't Be Back" medley."

Victoria Williams & the Loose Band - Town Hall 1995: "Victoria Williams is truly one of a kind. Town Hall is a perfect introduction to her eccentric talents." "'You R Loved' is anchored by slapdash percussion, pedal steel accents and prickly piano. A mid-tempo rocker it pivots on dense harmonies and flange-y guitar. This is Vic at her most spiritual, giving herself up to a higher power exemplified by 'lines of poetry, revealing mysteries.' Insisting Jesus’ love is universal, her impassioned ardor makes believers of even the most aporetic."

Mary Gauthier - Mercy Now: "Darkness. Lightness. Adulthood. Youth. Knowledge. Ignorance. Despair. Redemption. All reside in Mercy Now. As the last line quivers from Mary Gauthier’s pursed lips,'Every single one of us could use some mercy now', the listener is exposed to an emotion the artist has painstakingly painted into every note and vocal. Humility….something else we could us now. Thank you, Mary."

Ruthie Foster - Healing Time: "an album that gives off an overwhelming feeling of love and freedom. Foster has one of the best voices in American music today and she uses it as a healing tonic for our struggling world. Fans have always found healing qualities in Ruthie’s music but this new song cycle operates on a fresh, higher level. Her tones, lyrics, and ideas seem designed to comfort all of the displaced souls of the last few years. In many ways, this is the record that many of us need to hear right now. If you are dragging through endless lost and broken days, spin this and let Ruthie lead you to the light."

Bob Dylan - Fragments: "... seems to have been jilted by all that he once saw as his lover; the poetry and the musical backdrop are of a man at the very end of his tether. And yet it is not dark yet and Dylan still sees glimpses, tiny and all as they are... there are still inklings of hope and indeed maybe the candle of the Born Again late 70s and early 80s still flickers - I know the mercy of God must be near (Standing In The Doorway)- But I know that God is my shield/ and he won't lead me astray(Til I Fell In Love With You)... If faith kicks in as a refuge in times of trouble perhaps this is a more truely Biblical work than saved."

Worth checking out is Right by Her Roots: Americana Women and Their Songs by Jewly Hight which has influenced some of these choices.

My previous Top Ten's can be found here - 2022, 2021, 2020, 2019, 2018, 2017, 2016, 2015, 2014, 2013 and 2012.

My co-authored book ‘The Secret Chord’ is an impassioned study of the role of music in cultural life written through the prism of Christian belief. Order a copy from here.

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Pissabed Prophet - Night Prayer.