Dec 12, 2023 —

What a year for indie music! We lived, we laughed, we loved. And it’s been my pleasure to share it with you on The Dean’s List, Mondays 3-5pm on NCPR. You can find the most recent show here. And you can listen to interviews there, too, including one with T.C. Boyle! He stopped by The Dean’s List back in October and we shared some laughs and great music. And in case you’ve already forgotten after reading that, WORLD RENOWNED AUTHOR T.C. BOYLE STOPPED BY THE DEAN’S LIST! Everything else was gravy. Delicious gravy.

So get out your XL ladle and get ready for the tasty musical gravy! And just a quick note here, surely you’ll notice the artist names are hot-linked. That’s so that you, the lover of indie music that you are, can be an indie music hero and support the artists who make the stuff. Without them there is no list.

#10 Being Dead – “Last Living Buffalo”

You know those “Keep Austin Weird” bumper stickers ? Well, as long as the Austin, TX trio Being Dead stick around, they’re certainly doing their part to keep things weird. Each song on their latest release When Horses Would Run is like a film – a very quirky super 8 film. And that’s exactly what makes it great. Thre’s a moment at the end of “Last Living Buffalo” that insists we feel the animal dying and we do. I have to sometimes avoid this moment, truth be told. But there’s another moment I want to point out too. Forty five seconds into this mini opera there’s a chuggy little jam that sounds almost like a TV theme, it reappears later in the song with vocals, another special moment. But I swear i could play this chuggy little guitar part on a loop until I hit the grave and I’d be a happy man. Maybe they’re onto something. Being Dead means you can enjoy these moments even when you’re in the box.

#9 Elisapie – “Uummati Attanarsimat (Heart of Glass)”

The project Inuktitut would be important and special even if the end result wasn’t incredibly beautiful. It’s a cover album, but it’s much more than that. Montreal based multi-disciplinary artist Elisapie Isaac found herself listening to songs from her childhood and young adulthood during the pandemic and they brought back powerful memories. She translated the lyrics to songs by Led Zeppelin, The Rolling Stones, Pink Floyd and others into Inuktitut. Her bandcamp page says it best: “through this act of cultural reappropriation, she tells her story, offers these songs as a gift to her community, and makes her language and culture resonate beyond the Inuit territory.”  I found her cover of “Heart of Glass” to be particularly moving. Also check out her 2018 release The Ballad of the Runaway Girl. Earlier this fall she did an interview with Northern Light co-host Monica Sandrezcki.

#8 Goo – “Outlaw”

I guess the best tunes offer something new every time you hear them. Seems impossible, right? How about one that gets better every time you hear it? Well, that’s what “Outlaw” by the NYC-based band Goo is for me. Beck Zegans and friends cook up their own special flavor of sweet psychedelic folk. Torch songs, sure, but there’s something interesting going on here. There’s a balance that’s just right. You find yourself returning to a favorite restaurant or a favorite coffee shop because they get it right. Goo gets it right on “Outlaw” and I keep coming back.

#7 Tiny Ruins – “Out of Phase”

While you’re taking your sweet little psych trip why not shoot over to Auckland, New Zealand and catch up with Tiny Ruins? The very best songs create their own world. Done and done. I feel like I’m in another place, on another planet, even, when I hear “Out of Phase.” Textured strings, brushy drums, a subtle groove and the graceful delivery by snger Holly Fullbrook that can’t be matched. They’ve been releasing music since 2010 or so. Now there’s a back catalog I need to dig into!

#6 Jeff Tweedy – “Filled With Wonder Once Again”

The uncles of indie-music, Wilco, delivered a nice new record early this fall called Cousin. After last year’s straight forward country rock jaunt (Cruel Country), they’re back to some studio hijinx working with fellow musician/producer Cate Le Bon. I’ve enjoyed sharing “Ten Dead” and “Evicted”(with its “Raspberry Beret”-esque verse) but the standout Jeff Tweedy recording from this year his solo cover of the Bill Fay song “Filled with Wonder Once Again.” Fay celebrates his 80th birthday this year and is enjoying some overdue attention as Jeff Tweedy, Kevin Morby, Julia Jacklin, Hiss Golden Messenger, and others cover his music. It’s a fairly straight-forward romp. Tweedy is so good at making it interesting and making it look effortless. It’s like breathing to him. Electronic blips and tones float above the acoustic guitar, bass, drums, and keys. It’s a genuine, sweet statement, a gift from Tweedy to Fay, and one that we also get to enjoy. Check out the original, too, it’s not so shabby!

#5 The Tubs – “Wretched Lie”

A Welsh band based in London, The Tubs nod to 80’s power pop songwriting and guitar heros like Husker Du’s Bob Mould and R.E.M.’s Peter Buck. They’ve got the jangle, they’ve got the power with Owen ‘O’ Williams’ Richard Thompson-esque pipes, they’ve got the voice. The tune I’ve featured here is “Wretched Lie,” with one eye on the 2020’s and the contemporary nuerosies of our era and another peeking in the rearview mirror, it’s a concoction for the whole family. “Dead Meat,” the album’s title track was my go-to, but it’s “Wretched Lie” that cycles through my brain when I’m in a resting state. There’s a spinoff group of note here too, check out Ex-Void. Essentially everything you just read but put some great male/female harmonies in the mix.

#4 Hak Baker – “Windrush Baby”

According to The Guardian, Hak Baker first picked up a guitar in prison. He told the British paper that it was a time when he could reflect on his life and his roots. Since then he’s created a dynamic body of work that deals with the politics of our time, be they personal or national. This tune “Windrush Baby” is my favorite, it’s got an amazing flow and an understated power. Phrasing is everything, his vocals on this track are spot on. The bouncy bass, acoustic guitar, tasteful backing vocals add up to a complete and captivating statement. And the story behind the HMT Windrush is an interesting one. Also check out 2020’s “Venezuelan Riddim,” it’s another Baker standout.

#3 The Bug Club – “Short and Round”

How’s ’bout this little ear worm from the Welsh trio The Bug Club ? If you can listen to this all the way through and not sing this later, then you win. But at a cost. It means you have no love in your heart. No soul. You’re dead inside. Rare Birds: Hour of Song dropped in October. “Short and Round” preceeded it by a couple of months. It’s a fun bouncy rumble through a handful of chords and an exploration of the lyrical possibilities of the title. A rockin’ guitar solo rounds things out (NCPR’s Radio Bob popped into the control room while it was on the air and said “Hey, I like that guitar!”) What else could you want? As XTC proclaimed back in 1978, this is pop!

#2 Cowboyy – “Gmaps”

Here’s another tune that I just can’t quit. It clocks in at a very fit two minutes and seventeen seconds. It’s a Google maps tune, which we’ll officially call a genre now. “Gmaps” is a quirky attack on the senses: jittery guitar, frenetic drums, electronic swirls and dashes, it’s lovely. Have a listen to vocalist Stanley Powell’s double-time auctioneering in the song’s second verse. I will never not seek this out as a source of pleasure.

#1 Gena Rose Bruce – “Harsh Light”

The above are all amazing and 2023 would not have been the same without them, but nothing sustained my wonder quite like “Harsh Light” by Melbourne, Australia’s Gena Rose Bruce. Every time I listen, it’s like I’m hearing it for the first time. Is this how you measure great music? Maybe. It starts out like a fun little punchy pop song and then we lift into the sky during that bridge and every time I’m surprised when we climb the scale. Who writes like that?! It’s a short little ditty but it’s packed with adventure. This one, too, clocks in a 2:17. It was released back in January, a big mistake if you’re strategizing year end “best of” lists. Well, this one stuck with me. And for bonus points she’s made a wonderful EP (Lighting Up) which consists of orchestral versions of some of the tunes from the LP Deep is the Way.

Speaking of Bonus, there’s more! A couple of amazing instrumental records dropped this year. Maine-based surf (don’t call them surf) trio Kioea put out a fantastic collection of tunes this summer. On Stand Tall guitarist Carand Burnett swings her mighty axe through a dozen tunes. Remember when Hephaestus split Zeus’s head to free Athena when she’s born? Sure you do. Well, imagine that happening while a solid rhythm section chugs along, and you’ve got Kioea.

Philadelphia’s reigning kings of indie rock instrumentals I Think Like Midnight released another stellar collection of textured, cinematic tunes. Electronics and keys blip around the scene but on Microtonal Honkeytonk the band is back to its rockin’ life as an adept guitar-based quartet. Check out “Young Dust,” you’ll think you’re cruising down the highway, even if you’re just sitting there eating a bowl of Cheerios looking out the window as the snowflakes fall. And hey, you can hear my conversation with Andrew Chalfen of ITLM.

And of course, there’s a throwback!

#0 Hot Club de Paris “Free the Pterdactyl 3”

Named for the Django Reinhart tune? Maybe. I fell in love with this band in early 2023. Where have they been all my life?! They even cover The Minutemen! Stunning harmonies, quirky song writing, hooky off-kilter guitar lines, irreverent lyrics are the cherry on top. Check out the amazing body of work this trio from Liverpool created between 2004-12! Timeless? Perhaps. All I know is I keep coming back for more.

Here’s the part where I feel bad that it’s a top ten and not a top 50. I also love love loved in 2023: Petite League, Novelty Island, Deeper, Square, Cut Worms, 7ebra, Melenas, Rebecca Marceyes, Sunfruits, The Clientele, Wednesday, Langkamer, Muma Ganoush, Golden Apples, Girl and Girl, Graciehorse, Tele Novella, En Attendant Ana, Wunderhorse (class of 2022), Ratboys, Mikaela Davis, Holm, Feeble Little Horse, Oracle Sisters, Half Stack, Me Rex, Valley Queen, Sanspok  (I know, just stop, ok tune in Mondays and you’ll hear it all)

I’m not a jumping up and down fan of Spotify, but it’s here and a lot of bands use it. I add three new tunes every week to a playlist called The Dean’s List Threekly. And hey, you made it this far, you must have really enjoyed this list. You can support endeavors such as this, great music all week, fun digital stuff, regional reporting and more right here. And thanks.