Wolf's Week will return to its regular format next week. But for today's extremely late installment, welcome to the Wolfies, the award show celebrating the world's biggest idiot: me.
We'll kick things off with the best albums I couldn't cram into this year's metal list. I didn't think too hard about these rankings and you shouldn't either. Let's keep this one short, sloppy, and nonsensical: my specialty.
Best Music
50. Drift Lab - Moonlight (self-released)
From: Italy
Genre: fusion
Italian fusion quartet starring the shredder stud of the moment, Matteo Mancuso, on guitar, although everyone else comes to play on Moonlight, too. An extremely "me" album that won't land for everyone; I've been hunting for a successor to Greg Howe's Extraction for a bit, and this is it.
49. Flesh Produce - Couch Slime IV (Three One G)
From: Seattle, WA
Genre: ???
This duo from Seattle is like a modern The Locust diving headfirst into hyperpop. Overly-caffeinated hip-hop, the screams of a computer on its deathbed, and mini DMT trips where everything dissolves into the void.
48. The Heavy Hitters - The Heavy Hitters (La Reserve Records)
From: New York, NY
Genre: jazz
The name ain't pompous. This jazz sextet of New York stars slay nine new bop compositions delivered with such assurance that I initially mistook them for standards.
47. Caitlin Canty - Quiet Flame (Tone Tree Music)
From: Nashville, TN
Genre: folk / country
Canty's voice is a reservoir of humanity and empathy, the type of person who asks you how you're doing and actually listens. Fittingly, the graceful folk/country of Quiet Flame hones in on the small moments of people's lives that often end up meaning the most to them.
46. Erik Hall - Canto Ostinato (Simeon ten Holt) (Western Vinyl)
From: Michigan, USA
Genre: modern classical
Originally written for four pianos, Erik Hall reinterprets Simeon ten Holt's Canto Ostinato for grand pianos, electric piano, and organ. The result sparkles with the layered minimalism of Steve Reich.
45. Kareem Ali - Godson of House: The Album/Rise of a Black Planet (CosmoFlux)
From: Tucson, AZ
Genre: house
The multi-instrumentalist pays homage to Frankie Knuckles with two albums that honor the godfather of house music's experimental streak and immersive sound. The pedal steel on "Success" is indeed that, and if it doesn't usher in an age of cosmic house country, what are we even doing?
44. Adi Oasis - Lotus Glow (Unity Records)
From: New York, USA
Genre: R&B / soul
As I recently wrote, Prince would've loved Lotus Glow. Bassist Adi Oasis takes elements of funk, R&B, and rock and molds them into vibrant, hook-laden jams that embody the depth of neo soul while smoldering with the intractable dance floor pull of party starters.
43. Thin Edge New Music Collective & Linda Catlin Smith - Dark Flower (Redshift Music)
From: Toronto, Canada
Genre: modern classical
Thin Edge New Music Collective continues its long-running association with composer Linda Catlin Smith, performing six pieces, four of which are receiving their recording debut. Somewhat reminiscent of the slowly unfolding near-silence of later Morton Feldman, Dark Flower is exquisitely somber, recommended to anyone who finds solace in music's darker timbres.
42. Chief Adjuah - Bark Out Thunder Roar Out Lightning (Ropeadope)
From: New Orleans, LA
Genre: jazz / fusion
Chief Xian aTunde Adjuah has continually evolved the jazz/fusion found on his 2015 album Stretch Music. Bark Out Thunder Roar Out Lightning showcases the musician "marrying the folkloric styles, ceremonial and ritual practices of the Maroon and Afro-Indigenous Chiefdoms, and culture of New Orleans," resulting in this multifaceted album that's as rich and complex as the human condition.
41. Dorotheo - Nada Escrito (Half Shell Records)
From: Guadalajara, Mexico
Genre: psych
A solid followup to 2021's excellent Como Es, Nada Escrito expands upon Dorotheo's arid, wind-blown psych rock by introducing new contributors and additional tonalities. Aligning more closely with the band's Stereolab set of influences, Nada Escrito demands repeated listens to unravel its layers.
40. Ni - Fol Naïs (Dur et Doux)
From: Bourg En Bresse, France
Genre: math rock
Riffs, riffs, riffs, riffs, riffs, "like if Loincloth got into This Heat," I wrote a few editions back. The epitome of a great driving album, Fol Naïs basically schedules the road trip for you.
39. Oxbow - Love's Holiday (Ipecac Recordings)
From: San Francisco, CA
Genre: noise rock
Still one of the best bands walking the land fronted by one of rock's finest writers. Love's Holiday, a rocker compared to 2017's Thin Black Duke, is Oxbow through and through despite sounding unlike anything else in its discography.
38. PoiL Ueda - PoiL Ueda/Yoshitsune (Dur et Doux)
From: Lyon, France
Genre: prog / noise rock
The unexpected alliance between French prog eccentrics PoiL and Japanese singer/satsuma-biwa player Junko Ueda yielded two enchantingly unusual experimental rock albums. Picture Magma fusing with Ruins and the resulting supergroup chucking its typical concepts aside in favor of 13th-century Japanese tales.
37. Pedro Martins - Rádio Mistério (Heartcore Records)
From: Los Angeles, CA
Genre: rock / fusion
The Brazilian guitar god gets a few assists on Rádio Mistério from several notable features, including the similarly inclined shredders Kurt Rosenwinkel (who also co-produced the album), Thundercat, and Daryl Johns. Exuding a distinct Brazilian essence, the album also embodies a contemporary LA sound, seamlessly blending jazz, fusion, soft rock, and synth pop. Martins collaboration with Daniel Santiago is also stunning, but I heard it too late to include it in this list.
36. Minhwi Lee - 미래의 고향 Hometown to Come (만수청)
From: Seoul, South Korea
Genre: folk
An album for overcast days made even more stirring by the gorgeous string arrangements, 미래의 고향 Hometown to Come, Minhwi Lee's second LP, explores "how people who have lost their hometown can return." Songs like "귀향 Returning" also have an appealing jazziness that subtly shows off the versatility of Lee's voice.
35. The Ironsides - Changing Light (Colemine Records)
From: San Francisco, CA
Genre: soul / jazz
"If you've been fiending for songs that sound like David Axelrod playing a bunch of lost Lalo Schifrin scores, here's your album," I wrote recently. Changing Light is definitely one of those albums that make your surroundings seem more cinematic.
34. Miki Yamanaka - Shades Of Rainbow (La Reserve Records)
From: Brooklyn, NY
Genre: jazz
It's painfully obvious I'm not a jazz writer, so let's trot out some tried and trve metal terminology: this quartet rips. Whenever pianist Miki Yamanaka and bassist Tyrone Allen's fingers are flying, it's worthy of a "whoa."
33. Polymoon - Chrysalis (Robotor Records)
From: Tampere, Finland
Genre: prog / psych
Polymoon's previous album, 2020's Caterpillars of Creation, came out of nowhere and put me on my ass with crunchy prog that was like a more rockin' Kairon; IRSE! or Motorpsycho. Chrysalis keeps the quintet firmly on that trajectory, cranking up the gazey Swervedriver guitars for good measure.
32. Motorbike - Motorbike (Feel It Records)
From: Cincinnati, OH
Genre: rock
In an era bereft of outstanding rock records, the five-piece with members of The Drin cut a doozy. Imagine if a Brit pop band muscled up and sold their souls to MC5.
31. Mikaela Davis - And Southern Star (Kill Rock Stars)
From: Catskill, NY
Genre: folk / rock / country
And Southern Star is like curling up in a soft blanket while you watch the best '70s movie you've never seen before. Part of that is Mikaela Davis's voice, an enveloping aural aurora that whisks you away to the scenes of these songs, while the other part is the gorgeous arrangements that make harp and pedal steel sound like the most natural pairing in the world.
30. salute - Shield (Technicolour)
From: Manchester, UK
Genre: house / UK garage
It's hard for me to hear salute as just music these days since I use the producer's discography for one of my editing playlists. Of course, there's a reason why I recognized its utility for allaying the immense psychic pain of editing my putrid copy: The buoyant music carries a listener along, flooding their brain with endorphins.
29. R.M.F.C. - Club Hits (Urge Records/Anti Fade)
From: Sydney, Australia
Genre: garage rock / punk
Buz Clatworthy, R.M.F.C.'s sole proprietor, makes music that sounds like a born power-popper stumbled upon Wire and couldn't resist rushing to the garage to immortalize their newfound revelations. Complete with chiming guitars and insistent drums, Club Hits strips these songs down to their essence, and the result rocks.
28. Temple of Angels - Endless Pursuit (Run For Cover Records)
From: Los Angeles, CA
Genre: post-punk / goth
The dream of many gothy, dream poppy, post-punk bands must be finding someone who can really sing. Bre Morell is that dream, infusing this quartet's entrancingly melancholic and yet peppy songs with a shimmering beauty and strength that, in a similar contradictory fashion, recalls both Cocteau Twins and Wye Oak.
27. Stress Positions - Harsh Reality (Three One G)
From: Chicago, IL
Genre: hardcore
Here's me from a couple weeks back: "The basic formula on Harsh Reality, the quartet's full-length debut, is something like Cro-Mags plus Charles Bronson, taking the air-raid guitars and vicious screams of the former and applying them to the fast tempos and equally quick shifts of the latter." Needless to say, Harsh Reality rips, as vicious as reality can be.
26. Brian Blade & The Fellowship Band - Kings Highway (Stoner Hill Records and Press)
From: USA
Genre: jazz
I listened to Kings Highway during the ride home from so many shows, if that's any indication of its vibe. Drummer/composer Brian Blade once again assembles a crack ensemble of jazz virtuosos, including Kurt Rosenwinkel on guitar, for The Fellowship Band, an outfit combining "jazz, gospel, and folk."
25. Fabiano do Nascimento with Arthur Verocai and Vittor Santos’ Orquestra - Lendas (Now-Again Records)
From: Los Angeles, CA
Genre: folk / bossa nova
Pitched as a conversation between guitar and orchestra, Lendas goes much deeper, possessing the familiarity and intimacy of a long-time relationship. Fabiano do Nascimento's playing is not just skillful but effusive, and when augmented by legendary arrangers like Vittor Santos and Arthur Verocai, the material soars.
24. Muireann Bradley - I Kept These Old Blues (Tompkins Square)
From: Ireland
Genre: blues
Bradley's age is not astonishing; it's her mastery of the material. With an easy-going energy, she delivers reverent renditions of country blues that showcase a command beyond her years, transcending age and capturing a timelessness that the material deserves.
23. Elijah McLaughlin Ensemble - III (Astral Spirits)
From: Chicago, IL
Genre: folk
Elijah McLaughlin has found a neat way to freshen up old folk forms by improvising via different techniques. III pushes things even further, maintaining a delicate balance between modern exploration and the ancient essence of traditional songs.
22. Tim Hecker - No Highs (kranky)
From: Los Angeles, CA
Genre: ambient
It's wild that I've been listening to Hecker do his thing since Jetone; the ambient artist is so far away from the clicks & cuts, fuzzy radio static days. No Highs is a bit of a fib if the title is wryly remarking on its quality: It is a definite high in Hecker's discography, where the master plumbs the depths of the downer side of the human experience.
21. Jeromes Dream - The Gray In Between (Iodine Recordings)
From: San Francisco, CA
Genre: screamo
The rare comeback return-to-form, The Gray In Between not only did right by this band's legacy but might be its finest top-to-bottom LP. At the very least, it's nice hearing Jeff Smith screaming his lungs out again.
20. Genevieve Artadi - Forever Forever (Brainfeeder)
From: Los Angeles, CA
Genre: pop / fusion / jazz
Mastering Forever Forever requires putting in the reps, as the album, though sweet on the surface, conceals a complex web of prog and jazz bonkers moments beneath its hooks. This intricate work is a musical labyrinth filled with spicy elements that could be the subject of a year-long study at a music school. Wild.
19. Barker - Unfixed (Smalltown Supersound)
From: Berlin, Germany
Genre: techno
The simple summary is that previous recordings didn't have a kick drum and Unfixed does. But, if you've ever listened to Barker, you know there's so much more to it than that, kind of like how the musician turns anything into brain-engaging marvels.
18. Lankum - False Lankum (Rough Trade Recordings)
From: Dublin, Ireland
Genre: folk / drone
"…would've been a shoo-in for the Nurse With Wound list, like the Pogues collaborating with Scott Walker, as others have pointed out," I wrote earlier this year. True, but Lankum transcends even that tortured description, displaying a fascinating duality of looking back and forward. However, whatever, it's all about the feelings anyway: "Go Dig My Grave" gave me chills.
17. KNOWER - KNOWER FOREVER (self-released)
From: Los Angeles, CA
Genre: pop / fusion
For those in the, ahem, know, KNOWER FOREVER is, as I wrote a few weeks back, "like a composite of [Louis] Cole's Quality Over Opinion and Artadi's Forever Forever, just with an unselfconscious bedroom-style production." Needless to say, it's a blast and weird enough to keep the music dorks interested now that the duo has become an all-star group.
16. GracieHorse - L.A. Shit (Wharf Cat Records)
From: Los Angeles, CA
Genre: country / rock
I'm not above saying I listen to some albums because they make me feel cool. That's L.A. Shit, a cool-ass album that's country but filtered through an LA soft rock aesthetic. Not only can Gracie wail, but the Bandcamp bio has one of the better couplets of the year: "I drive fast cars and I eat fast foods/ I contain multitudes."
15. Mindvac - Mindvac (self-released)
From: Charlotte, NC
Genre: post-hardcore / rock
Riffs. You bet the three people behind Mindvac have a knack for progressive post-hardcore riffs, reminding me of the glory days of journey-prone bangers like Haste's "Death of Stars Like the Sun." I won't rest until this band is big.
14. Rozi Plain - Prize (Memphis Industries)
From: Bristol, UK
Genre: folk
Rozi Plain's rhythmic-centric folk is one of my favorite things in music right now and one of the first things I turn to if I need to calm my mind. That said, it's not like Plain is, well, plain; the fact that she did such a good job capturing the spirit of Sun Ra on 2019's What a Boost should tell you everything.
13. Jeffrey Silverstein - Western Sky Music (Arrowhawk Records)
From: Portland, OR
Genre: country / rock
Sometimes, the kids land on a good turn of phrase: Western Sky Music is a vibe. "Clear Cut" is not only the finest cosmic country cuts of the year, its soulful drift is the only thing I want to hear while I stare at clouds.
12. The Necks - Travel (Northern Spy Records)
From: Australia
Genre: jazz
I mean, it's The Necks, a jazz trio that has been pushing the bounds of improvisation for decades. Yet, Travel still brings some unvarnished, straight-to-tape rawness to their longform tracks, proving that this band still has more trails to blaze.
11. Flooding - Silhouette Machine (The Ghost Is Clear Records/Manor Records/Static Hold Records)
From: Kansas City, MO
Genre: slowcore / emo
A stunning album reminding me of hearing Slint with fresh ears. "Run" and "Muzzle" will go down as one of those great openings that showcases everything this trio is about: the quiet, the loud, and the turbulent emotions in between.
10. Álvaro Domene - Rapid Influx (Iluso Records)
From: Kingston, NY
Genre: ???
Rapid Influx is as if Autechre commandeered Botch and forced Dave Knudson to make a jazz record. Needless to say, no one else is making music like this.
9. Cinder Well - Cadence (Free Dirt Records)
From: California, USA
Genre: folk
Cinder Well blew me away with last year's Jim Ghedi collaboration, I Am a Youth that's Inclined to Ramble. Cadence takes that same doom folk and adds a beautiful Laurel Canyon lushness, letting the darkness mingle with the light. Still, it's Cinder Well's voice more than anything for me, a key that unlocks a part of myself I thought was lost.
8. Tyshawn Sorey Trio - Continuing (Pi Recordings)
From: New York, NY
Genre: jazz
More adventurous album than last year's marvelous Mesmerism, although the main component parts, such as this trio putting its own spin on "classic" jazz, remain. This is an ideal trio, too: Sorey is, of course, a killer drummer, one whose boundless talents are equaled by pianist Aaron Diehl and bassist Matt Brewer.
7. Fever Ray - Radical Romantics (Mute)
From: Stockholm, Sweden
Genre: pop
It's hard not to get lost in Radical Romantics' sonics, the ingeniously alien sound design and off-kilter rhythms that recall imperial period Timbaland. But below the whiz-bang and pitch-shifted vocals is just a set of great pop songs.
6. Weegee - Primitive Thrill (self-released)
From: Brooklyn, NY
Genre: rock / no-wave / punk
Primitive Thrill is indeed that for anyone who wish Sonic Youth turned into The Cramps. Grinding no-wave meets spill-your-guts rock.
5. Citric Dummies - Zen and the Arcade of Beating Your Ass (Feel It Records)
From: Minneapolis, MN
Genre: punk
Ah, the first entry from the lost debut Wolf's Week. If someone took the melodic acuity of The Damned and dumped it into a cranked-off-its-ass '80s hardcore band, that might get you close to Zen and the Arcade of Beating Your Ass. This trio is the best band that has never been on a Killed By Death comp.
4. Nuovo Testamento - Love Lines (Discoteca Italia)
From: Los Angeles, CA
Genre: pop
"Lost Madonna album meets Moroder" encapsulates this fusion of freestyle and Italo disco. One Bandcamp comment hit the nail on the head, declaring it would have been a standout release even back in the '80s.
3. Lukah - Permanently Blackface (The 1st Expression) (Raw Materials)
From: Memphis, TN
Genre: hip hop
There's no better vocal ID in modern hip hop than Lukah's "uh huh;" as soon as you hear that, you know you're in for a story and some linguistic pyrotechnics. On this mixtape, the MC once again navigates grimy boom bap with a Memphis flow tempered by '90s NYC-level wordplay.
2. Sunny Kim, Vardan Ovsepian, Ben Monder - Liminal Silence (Earshift Music)
From: Melbourne, Australia
Genre: jazz
Don't even bother reading this blurb; just listen to it. A vocal jazz album unlike few I've heard, one that is as obsessed with searching for new sounds as I am hearing them.
1. Cosey Mueller - Irrational Habits (self-released)
From: Berlin, Germany
Genre: coldwave / post-punk
Sometimes, you know from the jump when a record will take over your life. Cosey Mueller's Irrational Habits was that album for me in 2023. Part coldwave, part Grauzone, part proto-techno crafted on the fly in a dingy '80s club in the heart of Berlin. It triggered one of those rare epiphanies: "Oh, if I made music again, it would be this." And so I listened to it to understand its rhythms, drive, and melodies, all in an effort to appreciate its power over me. But more than anything, I listened to it to feel something during this terrible year. Thanks for being a ray of light.
Find me on Bandcamp until Ampwall goes live.
Best Reading
I didn't get to read much this year for reasons I don't care to enumerate. Longform.org, you are still missed dearly. But bangers abound, and these killer pieces found me.
…
"The Summer of Barbenheimer" by Ian Cory, Lamniformes Cuneiform
You know the Barbenheimer essay will be a good one when it starts with a section on Russian composer Dmitri Shostakovich.
"When Trucks Fly" by Zach Helfand, The New Yorker
Everything you ever wanted to know about monster trucks and the delightfully bonkers drivers behind the wheels.
"How Samuel R. Delany Reimagined Sci-Fi, Sex, and the City" by Julian Lucas, The New Yorker
Delany is one of the more colorful characters in sci-fi, and this great profile does him justice and highlights his essential contributions to lit fic.
"What Is It Like to Be a Man?" by Phil Christman, Hedgehog Review
There were quite a few essays about the faux masculinity crisis this year, including a great one from Eugene Robinson, but this was the one I couldn't stop thinking about.
"This Is What You'll Pay For" / "The Last Recording Artist" by Jamie Brooks, The Seat of Loss
Brooks wrote five essays for his Substack, all of them bangers, all offering great insight into the state of the modern music industry. These two were the bangeriest.
"Brandon Sanderson Is Your God" by Jason Kehe, WIRED
A fun profile in which both the writer and the subject try to figure out why the writer hates the subject so much.
"The Limits of the Billionaire Imagination Are Everyone's Problem" by David Roth, Defector
Boy, is it ever.
"Theory Will Take You Only So Far" by Brian Phillips, The Ringer
Phillips is one of my favorite writers right now, and this piece on Oppenheimer demonstrates why. Phillips takes Christopher Nolan's penchant for disjointed storytelling and turns it on its head in an essay I enjoyed far more than the film its critiquing.
Best Shows
10. Thantifaxath, 10/13/2023 at Knucklehead Bar
So, turns out Thanntifaxath has a sense of humor. The slit-wrist-serious black metal band soundchecked with a Nirvana song and closed with a Creed song fed through so many effects that it sounded like something from Today Is the Day's nightmares. In between, the outfit crushed the songs from its new album, Hive Mind Narcosis, while bewildered bar patrons started a pushpit that ended up with two lovers making out in the middle. Chaos.
9. Caitlin Canty, 11/19/2023 at McCabe's Guitar Shop
In a room covered with guitars that often serenaded her with rich harmonics, Caitlin Canty shined. With percussionist Joachim Cooder lending a hand, giving the previously strings-only material a pulse, Canty imbued her already heartfelt compositions with even greater warmth. "Caitlin Canty's voice is as entrancing live as it is on record," I wrote. "It's wistful and wounded, caring and creased by life's trials, all at once. When Canty points her attention at a song's subject, you feel an outpouring of empathy. And hey, it doesn't hurt that the songs are good, too."
8. Flooding, 10/25/2023 at Permanent Records Roadhouse
One of those times when I was like, "Holy heck. I'm never seeing this band in a bar this small again." I know writing this is the Wolf Curse™, but Flooding is going to be huge. In front of a few fortunate souls, Flooding crushed it, playing most of Silhouette Machine with an urgency that foretells this band's assured ascent. And, goddamn, was it loud, making the trio's dynamics crackle with Mogwaian power.
7. Cirith Ungol, 10/20/2023 at The Roxy
Hell of a way to say farewell to some legends. While the epic heavy doomers are planning shows in 2024, this is probably the last time I'll see them. But, man, did it make some memories. The first set made me realize that the new album, Dark Parade, is good. The second set of classics and crowd pleasers strengthened my belief that Cirith Ungol is one of the great American trad bands. Look for me on the DVD.
6. Rozi Plain, 11/4/2023 at South Pasadena Masonic Lodge
Backed by This is the Kit and her touring band, Plain played a slightly more psychedelic set than I expected, leaning into the improvisational possibilities of having a full band. That added an additional layer to her rhythmically inventive work, making it all the more immersive. And, yeah, all this happened in a Masonic lodge, maybe my favorite venue that I went to this year. There's nothing like listening to music next to murals featuring the watchful gaze of George Washington.
5. The Kids, 12/15/2023 at Zebulon
The Kids, who, yes, are no longer kids, were great, ripping through their catalog of hard rockin' punk with an energy that younger bands would be hard-pressed to muster. But I'll remember this set for the crowd that sang and swayed along to bangers like "No Monarchy" and a version of Wire's "12XU" that buzzed like a downed power line. When The Kids closed with "Do You Love the Nazis," it was total bedlam, with people headwalking for a punk band that released its debut album 45 years ago. In case anyone from Substack HQ is reading this, the answer to "Do You Love the Nazis" is "Oh no, oh no, oh no." Y'all might want to take some pointers on that one.
4. Suffocation, 11/26/2023 at 1720
I will never forget being carried by a tsunami of humans from stage right to stage left as soon as "Catatonia"'s churn kicked in. In my experience, LA crowds are notorious for not moving, but this show went OFF, tickling my lizard brain with long-dormant, modernity-suppressed concerns like, "Oh, damn, am I going to die?" Highlight: Feeling my consciousness ascend during "Pierced From Within," the keystone on the album that has been AOTY for nearly 30 years. Other highlight: Bridget Lynch from Stabbing coming out to growl the breakdown during "Liege of Inveracity."
3. Mean Mistreater, 8/12/2023 at Pour House
A set so good that it not only got me back into going to shows but forced me to write an intro about the Austin, Texas, quintet despite them having only released one song. As my friend Andrew put it, there's something so soul-nourishing about seeing good heavy metal in the flesh. Thanks for the tune-up, Mean Mistreater.
2. Botch, 12/7/2023 at The Fonda
Saying you've been waiting 21 years to see a band is a hell of a way to set yourself up for disappointment, but Botch somehow exceeded expectations on the first set of a two-night blitzkrieg of Los Angeles. The quartet seemed in good spirits, too, with Dave Verellen asking to be heckled between songs and getting burned to a crisp with a yell of "play the hits!" Botch obliged, digging into We Are the Romans and American Nervoso, with the latter's "Thank God for Worker Bees" turning the crowd into a tornado of frenzied fans stoked to be living this moment again decades later.
1. Chrome Ghost, 10/22/2023 at Transplants Brewing Company
Sometimes, you catch the right band at the right time, and for the duration of its set, reality snaps into focus, burning through the languorous baggage heaped on us by our day-to-day. You're completely present, living within the music. That was me during Chrome Ghost, salvaging one of the worst weeks of the year with music so heartfelt that it jump-started my ticker. No longer numb, I was bowled over by selections from House of Falling Ash and, in a surprise, "The Diving Bell," a song the trio admitted they hadn't played in years. That Chrome Ghost delivered my set of 2023 in front of 20 people is a testament to its power, particularly Jake Kilgore's screaming guitars and cathartically aching vocals. I never do this post-show, but I listened to House of Falling Ash twice on the ride home. I just needed to hear more Chrome Ghost, like the feeling would be lost if I wasn't always swimming in it. Incredible. See this band.
Hocking My Wares
The best stuff I've published this year:
5. Is Nyia’s Time Now?
The reason I'm not a successful writer, apart from not being good, is that I'm eternally led by my curiosity instead of what might actually get some clicks. And thus, here's an interview with Wojciech Szymański, a drummer who has been in a bunch of bands that never made it in America but I've been obsessed with for eons.
4. Molly Daisy Scarpine Is A Screamer
Is there a connection between metal and video game voice acting? Yes, of course there is.
3. “Black Sabbath” By Black Sabbath From Black Sabbath: Exploring Metal’s History With The Band Name/Song Title/Album Title Trifecta
If I'm remembered for anything, let it be standardizing certain terms in the heavy metal lexicon. This intro took about a year to put together.
2. You’ve Heard Lucian Blaque (You Just Don’t Know Where)
Three of my beats come colliding together: 'who is that random band in this old movie,' 'you won't believe how these things are related,' and a classic heavy metal underdog story.
1. They’ll Both Shorten Your Lifespan: Inside Heavy Metal’s Football Fandom
No one wants to talk to me about music, everyone wants to talk to me about football. This one reminded me that writing is fun.
Some quickie news: The first installment of the Plague Rages EOY coverage is up. There's no way I'm finishing that before the end of the year, haha.
And that's a wrap on Wolf's Week 2023. Sorry this is late. My brain decided to take a vacation this week and the words weren't invited. Thanks for subscribing and see you next year.
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Love the NYIA piece.