#fredagain

I did a much better job of connecting with new music releases this year. So much so that I can identify my top albums of the year. That doesn’t happen every year. I won’t rank these since they are so different from each other. Instead, here they are in order of release date with a little bit of added commentary as to why each rose to the top for me.

Tim Kasher - Middling Age (4/15/22)

This is the Cursive front man’s submission to middle age. Made of mostly beautiful acoustic songs of self-reflection and about growing older, this is a touching album by one of my favorite niche alt-rock legends. As someone facing his mid-50s this album really speaks to me. But come on Tim Kasher, you’re only 48 years young! 

The Smile - A Light for Attracting Attention (5/13/22)

I was a bit skeptical when I heard that Thom Yorke and Jonny Greenwood were going to release an album under a new band name called The Smile. This showed more evidence that maybe Radiohead are done as a band and the thought of that makes me sad. 

That all changed after just a couple of listens. What a fantastic album with unimaginable hooks and progressions. If you enjoyed any of Radiohead’s sounds, you need to give this a proper listen. Seeing The Smile live in Dallas with my son Jonathan in early December only adds to my appreciation of this new musical direction for two of my favorite individual artists. 

Kevin Morby - This is a Photograph (5/13/22)

This appears to be Kevin Morby exercising some demons in Memphis, Tennessee where This is a Photograph was recorded. Songs about childhood memories and our collective mortalities echo throughout. Many with a side of strings and horns. It all fits so well. Kudos to the kid from Blue Valley, KS. 

Flume - Palaces (5/13/22)

“Future Bass.” That’s how Spotify and others label Flume’s sound genre. That makes sense to me because this album sounds like the year 2040. My son Jonathan gingerly walked me into modern EDM a few years ago when he was in college. I’m glad he did because it has opened my ears to a whole different world of music I would have never discovered otherwise. 

Fred Again - Actual Life 3 (10/28/22)

I found this EDM album late in 2022. Fred Again is a 29 year old singer/producer from London. He gained worldwide popularity after a video of his show at the famed Boiler Room in London went viral in July receiving over 5 million views in just one week. My son introduced this album to me in November while listening to music at our place. I try to fight the notion that you shouldn’t be into certain types of music at an older age by being open to new artists and genres. Jonathan has helped me to find new artists like Fred Again and that is a gift.

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