The Metal Dad

I started putting this annual list together several years ago when I was freelance writing for the Hartford Courant. I loved putting this article together because it kept me on my toes and forced me to continually search out new music from my home state throughout the year. (Not that I needed much prodding.) While the Courant’s freelance budget dwindled my love for putting together this annual list did not.

I will caution the reader now though that I don’t consider this a “best of” list necessarily. I’m not qualified to tell you what the “best” records are, but I can tell you what my favorites were from the last year. This was another banner year in Connecticut music and whittling this down to my usual twenty selections was brutally difficult, hence why you’ll see even more honorable mentions this year than in previous years. With that said, I once again focused solely on full-length albums. If I included EPs this list would get entirely unruly. If you think I missed an album feel free to drop a link in the comments. Without further ado, here are my top Connecticut albums of 2023 (in pseudo-alphabetical order):

 

The 50×50’s – Brews
I’ve been a fan of CT rapper Sketch tha Cataclysm for a long time now. His newest project alongside fellow rapper Deto-22 was easily one of the best hip-hop records from Connecticut this year. The album is positioned as a conversation between two friends over a coffee and/or a beer about their shared experiences, some good and others not so much. This conversational feel gives the album a familiar vibe, and immediately pulls you in like the proverbial fly on the wall. It makes the whole thing a fascinating listen.
https://fakefour.bandcamp.com/album/brews

 

Cemetery Moon – Cemetery Moon
Fans of The Metal Dad Radio Show, and the year-end metal list we did, will already be familiar with black metal act Cemetery Moon. As I wrote on that previous post: “Cemetery Moon play black metal in the ways of old, reminiscent of all the great lo-fi second wave releases from the early to mid-’90s. At times raw and entirely unrelenting, and at other points dabbling in goth rock and dungeon synth aesthetics, Cemetery Moon craft and album that seemingly offers something new at every listen. Fans of the long, dark winter ahead should have this album at the ready.”
https://cemeterymoon.bandcamp.com/album/cemetery-moon

 

Charlie Diamond – A New Poet In Town
Fitting title for this album as Charlie Diamond wasn’t anywhere on my radar prior to his debut full-length dropping back in January. But it turned out to be the first great release of the year and one that put Diamond on a lot of radars. Channeling all the great hippie folk from the 1960s, Diamond is a class act storyteller mixing Dylan-like aesthetics with twists of Americana and beatnik sensibilities. This album caught me off-guard in the best way possible and I found myself revisiting it often this year. I’ll be planning on revisiting it more in the future.
https://charliediamond.bandcamp.com/album/a-new-poet-in-town

 

Eave – Fervor
Eave was another CT metal band to make my year-end top 40 metal albums list. Combining black metal with post-metal and shoegaze elements Eave delivered a truly emotive record. As I wrote in my previous review: “Eave delivered an album that throws off the dull paint-by-numbers aesthetics of so many of their peers. The pieces are still there – frost bitten blast beats and tremolo picking, harried vocals, and atmospheric breaks – but Eave is able to create a puzzle that is less reliant on the pieces themselves and more so the vision in creates.
https://eave.bandcamp.com/album/fervor

 

Entierro – The Gates of Hell
I’ve always loved when a band is clearly evolving their sound from album to album, and Entierro is a perfect example of taking what works for them and expanding it into new and interesting realms. Entierro takes traditional heavy metal and runs it through a prism of hard rock and stoner/doom influences to create a truly unique take on the trad metal sound. The Gates of Hell is their most ambitious release yet and one that should be on the turntables of both longtime fans and those looking for a gateway band into the metal world.
https://entierro.bandcamp.com/album/the-gates-of-hell

 

Fires in the Distance – Air Not Meant For Us
This was not only a top ten metal record from Connecticut, but I had it my top ten in the entire metal world this year. As I wrote on a previous post: “Mixing majestic melodies with a gothic aesthetic this album was one of the most gripping and engaging records of the year, genre be damned. I don’t throw the term “epic” around very often because I think my fellow bloggers and scribes overused it into oblivion, but if I were to bestow one album with that title in 2023, this would be it. This band writes truly epic songs that build up, crash down, and wrap the listener in a blanket made of the finest melodic tapestry. I cannot wait to see how this band continues to grow and evolve in the future.”
https://firesinthedistance.bandcamp.com/album/air-not-meant-for-us

 

Fjord Pony – Brights On
Fjord Pony play a brand of indie/alt rock that isn’t afraid to get a little heavy, but seems to always maintain its melodic sensibilities. From exceptional power ballads to spunky rockers, this album gave me big ’90s alt rock vibes, hearkening back to a time when the genre was at its creative peak and unafraid to really spread its wings for inspiration. I love when a band I’m only marginally familiar with blows my doors off, and this Fjord Pony record fits the bill.
https://fjordpony.bandcamp.com/album/brights-on

 

Head With Wings – Without Intervention
Connecticut has had their share of prog and prog-infused rock bands over the years, but possibly none as creative in their output as Head With Wings. If my math is correct, Without Intervention is the band’s first full-length album in five years, and a lot has passed over us as a society during that time. It’s been a time of growth and introspection and this album seems to reflect that both lyrically and musically for this band. The ethereal brand of progressive rock found here encompasses both the technical prowess the genre is known for with an innovative spirit for advancing their sound into something wholly unique.
https://headwithwings.bandcamp.com/album/without-intervention

 

The Hempsteadys – On The Undercard
New London’s The Hempsteadys have never been your average ska band and their third full-length album On The Undercard hammers that point home. Taking their ska roots and blasting it through an indie rock prism, this record at times could only be considered ska in name. According to their Bandcamp page each track of the album is inspired by a different theme from the history of cinema, and after one listen that makes so much sense. The sounds and influences here really are as varied as the history of cinema and all its myriad of genres. Yet through it all this is unmistakably a Hempsteadys album – large in production, larger in execution, and a helluva lot of fun.
https://thehempsteadys.bandcamp.com/album/on-the-undercard

 

Indigo Seven – Portals
Fronted by trumpeter and composer Nick Di Maria, Indigo Seven is a quintet that dwells in the acidic realm where funk and jazz lovingly collide. Portals is a sequel album to the project’s 2021 self-titled offering. Filled with ambient soundscapes and spoken word interludes, combined with more traditional modal jazz compositions, it’s a fitting aural display for the science fiction themes that the project attests to dotting the album. It all feels extremely contemplative and transformative by the time you reach the end of the record. Easily one of the best jazz albums of the year, and one of the better ones to emerge from Connecticut so far this decade.
https://nickdimaria.bandcamp.com/album/indigo-seven-presents-portals

 

Jeff Burnham & The Insiders – State of Mind
If you are a regular listener to my Wrong Side of the Tracks show on Cygnus Radio you’ve probably heard at least one track off the newest Jeff Burnham & The Insiders record. Since its release at the beginning of June this record has been in pretty constant rotation for me personally. Mixing Americana with an indie rock aesthetic, Burnham writes songs that feel homey and familiar without ever feeling stale or tired. Drawing inspiration from acts like Tom Petty and a trio of Johns – Hiatt, Prine, and Mellencamp, State of Mind is an album that belongs on the shelves of fans of any of those legends.
https://jeffburnham.bandcamp.com/album/state-of-mind

 

Johnny Mainstream – Come Back East
I’ve been a pretty big Johnny Mainstream fan for at least a decade now, specifically since 2013’s Ghost Broadway album. So imagine how pleasantly surprised I was when they popped up in May with their first full-length album since 2015. (Spoiler alert: Very.) To say that Come Back East might be their best record yet would not be an exaggeration. From production to songwriting to lyrical content this album feels next level for this band at every turn, and those are pretty high bars to crest to begin with. Fans of punk and indie-infused rock ‘n’ roll should be all over this record.
https://johnnymainstream.bandcamp.com/album/come-back-east 

 

Kerri Powers – Love Is Why
I don’t rate these albums in numerical order like I do with my yearly metal albums list, but if I did the newest Kerri Powers record would be somewhere near the top. Powers has been one of Connecticut’s best songwriters and performers for quite some time and with 2018’s Starseeds album she seemingly took her craft to an entirely different level. Love Is Why continues to build on her blues-tinged Americana as Powers showcases her powerful voice and penchant for writing songs that make you just stop and listen. There’s a case to be made that this is Powers’ best record yet, which was an extremely high bar to match, let alone exceed. Powers is a force to be reckoned with and this album is an essential own for anyone who digs music from anywhere along the Americana pantheon.
https://kerripowers.bandcamp.com/album/love-is-why

 

Killer Kin – Killer Kin
There are few bands in the entire world, let alone our little state of Connecticut, that are as unabashedly rock ‘n’ roll as New Haven’s Killer Kin. Killer Kin stirs in punk rock aesthetics, vicious riffs, and brazen sexual energy to create a rock brew that anyone with a pulse can get drunk from. This is a record that seems to purposely push the hands of time back to the 1970s when everything about the underground rock ‘n’ roll scene felt dirty and dangerous. Fans of bands as varied as MC5, The Stooges, The New York Dolls, and T.S.O.L. will find a lot to love on this record.
https://killerkin.bandcamp.com/album/killer-kin

 

The Lost Tribe – Back To The Source (A New Compilation)
Hartford’s The Lost Tribe play music that reaches back to the traditions of the African diaspora, and plays music deeply rooted in West African rhythms and jazz/funk aesthetics. Led by drummer/songwriter Jocelyn Pleasant, drumming is at the center of The Lost Tribe’s sound and is equally prevalent on their newest album Back To The Source. This is a compilation album featuring studio and live tracks dating as far back as 2017. It’s a record that expertly captures the vibe and musicianship of one of the best live acts in the entire state. Essential listening for anyone with interest in funk, traditional West African music, and Afrobeat.
https://thelosttribect.bandcamp.com/album/back-to-the-source-a-new-compilation

 

Low Ceilings – Dig That Hole Again
The last great album of the year just dropped on December 15 and I’ve personally spent the last two weeks listening to it on endless repeat. Low Ceilings play a folksy brand of indie rock complete with extremely relatable lyrics and melodic hooks that are pretty much guaranteed to get lodged in your brain. Dig That Hole Again comes only about a year and a half since their last album, 2022’s Catch The Apathy (which also made this list last year). This album, more so than it’s predecessor, feels like it leans a little harder into the folk rock elements that help separate this band from its peers. However you want to categorize or quantify it, Low Ceilings is currently one of the most unique and exciting indie rock bands in the state.
https://lowceilingsmusic.bandcamp.com/album/dig-that-hole-again

 

The Meadows Brothers – Play It Right
One of my all-time favorite acts from my home state is The Meadows Brothers. Anyone who knows me knows my love of real-deal alt/outlaw country and various aspects of the Americana spectrum. The Meadows Brothers encompass so much of what I love about those genres, and they’ve written several albums worth of material that I often revisit. Apparently they wanted to revisit some of it as well. Play It Right is an album made up of previous released material and live favorites re-recorded in a way that somehow improved upon each track, taking them from exceptional to untouchable. Featuring a phenomenal backing band and pristine production, this is the quintessential Meadows Brothers release (at least until their next great record).
https://themeadowsbrothers.bandcamp.com/album/play-it-right

 

Mother Juniper – Write the Soil Lightly
How robust is the Connecticut music scene? Well, every year there is at least one artist that I’m not familiar with at the beginning of the year and by year’s end I’m obsessed with them. This year that honor belongs to New Haven’s Mother Juniper. Write the Soil Lightly is the type of record that immediately grabs your attention, not because of massive production or in-your-face songwriting. Quite the opposite. The minimalist indie folk on this record has a dark aesthetic to it that gives it a mysterious, alluring quality that draws you and really never lets go. The entire thing feels like watching a sunrise on some private, forbidden beach somewhere. You know that you both belong there and don’t all at the same time.
https://motherjuniper.bandcamp.com/album/write-the-soil-lighter

 

Nervous City – Fangs
Taking elements of punk, new wave, and indie rock and combining it into something that sounds fresh and exciting is a lot harder these days than it sounds. But there are a handful of acts making it work and Nervous City sits firmly at the top of that heap. Fangs is filled with catchy, memorable tunes that will have you humming them literally hours after the record stops spinning. Absolutely cracking debut album from this group of scene vets.
https://nervouscity.bandcamp.com/album/fangs

 

Riley Johnson – Running Behind
Here’s a fun fact for you. For several years my family ran in the same homeschooling circles as CT musician Riley Johnson. Me as a parent, and him as a little kid. Fast forward about two decades and Johnson pops up in my social media feeds with his debut album. Small world. Running Behind is a fantastic mixture of hippie folk and Americana, reminiscent of influences like the Dead’s Workingman’s Dead era, Dylan’s Nashville Skyline, or some of Gram Parsons’ solo work. Johnson might be the youngest artist on this list, and his debut album shows immense promise as a songwriter and lyricist. This is a kid with a big musical future ahead of him.
https://open.spotify.com/album/0C2sf9NfcGhHvRcoxQiDjK?autoplay=true

 

Honorable Mentions:
A.F. Chimes – Stab Love
Bronson Rock – Alligator Shoes
Cheem – Guilty Pleasure
EGG! – Catch
Functional Mushrooms – Unblinking
Hollyhocks – Whirlwind
James Burke – Here, Right Now
Justin Chan & The Vices – Mixed Signals
Laini and the Wildfire – Hold On To Your Soul
O’K and the Night Crew – Zen and the Art of Rock and Roll Maintenance
The Terrible Fates – The Terrible Fates
Zaaqqara – Impasto