Narrowing down the list of best songs released in a year into a nice round number of 10 is a seriously difficult task.
This year, it was a group effort from the Music Team that includes Music Director Kari Hedlund, MN Music Producer Malachy Koons and Volunteer Coordinator & DJ, Dan Gannon (aka DJ Dang). Three people who all have very different tastes in music. And somehow, we were able to find consensus within our lists, even some crossover!
10. Emily King: "Special Occasion"
The title track from King's 2023 spring release, Special Occasion, is one of those songs that makes you want to ride your bike in the summertime while grooving your shoulders back and forth, close your eyes a little and feel the sun on your skin. And that, my friend, is exactly what I did about 248 times this year. Tying in themes from the whole album, "Special Occasion" is funky, tender, and celebratory all at the same time. - Kari Hedlund
Album: Special Occasion on ATO Records
9. Saltwater Hank: "'Nii Wila Waalt"
A Ts’msyen musician from Prince Rupert, British Columbia, singing in the Ts’msyen language of Sm’algyax. This grungy and bluesy trackmight be my favorite guitar riff of the year. The song is inspired by the traditional Tsy’msyen harvesting order of seaweed before cedar bark, giving the seaweed time to dry before the rainy season. – Malachy Koons
Album: G̱a̱l'üünx Wil Lu Holtga Liimi on 5361969 Records DK2
8. Nat Myers: "Yellow Peril"
A new voice onto the scene this year, Nat Myers authentically captures a pre-war folk/blues sound that's distinctly his. The title song from his debut ties in his Kentucky roots while addressing the heightened racism he encountered during the pandemic. It bounces, it's gritty, and it's worth a close listen. - Kari Hedlund
Album: Yellow Peril on Easy Eye Sound
7. Baaba Maal: "Yerimayo Celebration"
Senegalese musician and legend, Baaba Maal, continues to make music that makes you stop what you are doing. "Yerimayo Celebration" was one of the first singles released from the 2023 album, Being. Although he took a different life path, Maal wrote this song about being born into a family of fishermen. The strong connection they have to the land, the balance of the natural world, and of course, the impacts of climate change. The song goes hard with a sense of urgency in its celebration. - Kari Hedlund
Album: Being on Marathon Artists
6. Brandy Clark: "She Smoked in the House"
One of the strongest Americana releases in 2023, Brandy Clark's self-titled album, produced by Brandi Carlile, is nominated for 6 Grammys. Among the personal collection of songs, she wrote one about her grandparents. but was having a hard time getting it to connect. As she told me during our conversation at AmericanaFest in Nashville, switching the narrative to be about just her grandma cleared the song up immediately. "She Smoked in the House" connects the listener to that former time and place so clearly, you feel like you're a kid again, sitting at the kitchen table with your grandparents getting cookies and sucking on sugar cubes. - Kari Hedlund
Album: Brandy Clark on Warner
5. Margo Price: "Been to the Mountain"
Holy guacamole did she out do herself here. 4 + minutes of, in her own words, "a search for freedom in a society gone mad". "I'm an alchemist, teacher, I'm a sinner, I'm a preacher..." Go on Miss Price and tell it like it is!! - Dan Gannon
Album: Strays on Loma Vista Records
4. Genesis Owusu: "Leaving the Light"
Ghana-born and Australia-raised Genesis Owusu gives us a heart-attacking new wave punky beatwith lyrics calling into question fear-driven faiths. – Dan Gannon
Album: Struggler on Ourness Records
3. WITCH: "Unimvwesha Shuga" (featuring Theresa Ng'ambi, Hanna Tembo)
Psychedelic, polyrhythmic, and oh so funky. The Zamrock pioneers added two show-stealing vocalists in Ng’ambi and Tembo on this triumphant return to music. - Malachy Koons
Album: Zango on Desert Daze Sound
2. Big Thief: "Vampire Empire"
In March, Big Thief played a song on Stephen Colbert's Late Show that was new. Their first song since 2022's Dragon New Warm Mountain I Believe In You, and the internet was abuzz. What was this song? Are they releasing a new album? "Vampire Empire" was officially released several months later, and we've been digging into and repeating it ever since. - Kari Hedlund
Single on 4AD
1. LAAMAR: "Home to My Baby"
The everyday events that, depending on the color of your skin, are mundane and innocuous or harrowing, traumatizing and potentially life-ending. The way the message grows in your mind after the melody and production lure you in. Can’t get enough of this song. – Malachy Koons
The sweetest li'l love song couched in real world fear of police violence, this song has an unexpected catchiness that keeps me returning. – Dan Gannon
Album: Flowers on Holy Mountain
Honorable Mentions
Allison Russell - "The Returner" (The Returner)
Paul Spring - "Losin Control" (Always Almost Home)
Kassa Overall - "So Happy (feat. Laura Mvula, Francis & The Lights)" (Animals)
Margo Cilker - "I Remember Carolina" (Valley of Heart's Delight)
Shakey Graves - "Ready or Not (feat. Sierra Ferrell)" (Movie of the Week)
Little Simz - "Gorilla" (No Thank You)
John R. Miller - "Harper's Ferry Moon" (Heat Comes Down)
Elisapie - "Taimangalimaaq (Time After Time)" (Inuktitut)
Black Pumas - "Gemini Sun" (Chronicles of a Diamond)
Total Refreshment Centre - "Eloquence (feat. Miryam Solomon, MATTERS UNKNOWN)" (Transmissions from Total Refreshment Centre)
Check out the full playlist of KAXE's Top Songs of 2023 here!
