Staff Picks: The Best CDs & Vinyl of 2023 – Part 1

I’m Mark, the Music & Film Specialist at Wellington City Libraries. Every month this year my colleagues Sam, Neil and I reviewed some new material for the music collection at Te Awe Brandon Street Library. The list below is the Top 10 picks from each us for 2023, the albums we enjoyed listening to most over the course of the year. Some of these titles featured on various critics’ Best of 2023 lists, but others are just albums that struck us as being unique and interesting.

Mark’s Picks:

Sleepwalker / Post, Louise
One of the most successful female fronted ‘Alt-Rock’ bands of the 1990s, whose influence still features prominently in a lot of contemporary bands, Veruca Salt‘s original line-up split acrimoniously after 2 full length albums and an EP, as founding members Louise Post & Nina Gordon went their own ways. Post continued with a couple more heavier albums & EPs under the ‘Veruca Salt’ moniker, while Gordon delivered a couple of much more commercial sounding solo albums. Hatches were apparently buried in 2013 when the bands original line-up, like a lot of other bands of that era, reunited to tour and eventually released a 2015 reunion album. Post & Gordon collaborated with Skating Polly on a 2017 EP, but following some touring in 2018 the band had been dormant. However Louise Post’s return to music was one of the surprising releases of last year, with her first solo album Sleepwalker. Apparently arising, like a lot of material, out of the Covid lockdowns she whittled down 50 or so tracks to the 11 that make up the album. As perhaps to be expected of someone her age, it’s a darker-tinged adult oriented ‘album’, rather than a set of singles. She really digs into mature stories of the domestic comfort/discomfort of long term relationships, alongside more upbeat tracks that work as homages to her own pop past. What’s perhaps the most surprising is how great it all sounds, as she works in a lot of genres and different instrumentation, but never loses focus on investing each track with a hooky, melodic line, disproving the long-held theory that it was Gordon who brought the ‘pop’ voice to Veruca Salt’s original albums. Her immediately distinctive voice is in great shape, and the sympathetic production puts it above the mix, so there is a real clarity to the album & it’s sound.

Rat saw God / Wednesday (Musical group)
Wednesday are a US alt-rock band from North Carolina and ‘Rat Saw God’ (a nice Veronica Mars homage), is their 5th album and first on the prominent indie label Dead Oceans, was hailed as a career breakthrough and ended up on a lot of the Best of 2023 lists last year. Helmed by singer-guitarist-songwriter Karly Hartzman the band takes it’s name from cult UK 90s band ‘The Sundays’. They fuse the vocal stylings of that band’s indie pop with the shoegazy rock of Swirlies, 90s grunge, the noise-pop of Sub Pop bands like Velocity Girl or Spinanes, as well as some alt-Country influences akin to Mojave 3. The twangy distortion creates a dirty/clean sonic aesthetic, and the combined – seemingly disparate – musical elements deliver something that, while obviously trading on past styles, still feels new & fresh. It’s an album of character studies, biting lyrics, and narratives of pain and suffering that reflect both the messy and euphoric moments of the protagonists. While they have been around for a while, there is a real sense of ‘next big new band buzz’ with this album.

Mermaidens / Mermaidens
Mermaidens returned with their fourth full length in 2023. Gone are the, sometimes, obtuse post-punk/psyche-rock overtones of their previous work for a slicker more pop sound, that harks back to the fizzy ‘Alt-Pop’ that ran through bands like Pixies, The Breeders & Belly, with dashes of 80s shoegaze & punk. With Samuel Scott Flynn (Phoenix Foundation) at the helm as producer, there is a real sense of arrival with this album. Every musical element is cleanly locked in place, the song-writing is more immediate & catchy, with plenty of pop hooks, along with more harmonies and shimmery, hypnotic, grooves. Perhaps their best album yet, and clearly one headed for the top in the next local music awards. (VINYL here for Mermaidens).

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January’s New Music for Te Awe


via GIPHY

Statler: Well, it was good.
Waldorf: Ah, it was very bad.
Statler: Well, it was average.
Waldorf: Ah, it was in the middle there.
Statler: Ah, it wasn’t that great.
Waldorf: I kind of liked it.”
-‘The Muppet Show’.

I’m Mark, the Music & Film Specialist at Wellington City Libraries. I buy music for the CD & Vinyl collections, and also run the Libraries’ Wellington Music Facebook page). My Music Specialist colleague Sam, and Fiction Specialist (and avid music fan) Neil, join me every month to cast an eye over the new material we have been buying for the music collection at our CBD Te Awe library. We pick out some interesting titles across a range of music genres, and try to limit our reviews to a few lines only. Can we encapsulate an entire album in just a couple of lines? [Ed. This is probably unlikely at this point]. Do we actually know anything about new music? Or, are we just too old to understand what most of this is banging on about? [Ed. This is more than likely]. Read on to find out…

Come around and love me / Ngonda, Jalen
Mark Says: The debut album from this London-based Washington DC singer is fully steeped in vintage soul influences, with his falsetto floating over a pulsing Motown styled groove of bass, conga’s, orchestral strings and sax flourishes. Released on the Daptone label, it’s smooth sound & romanticism harks back to The Delfonics & The Impressions but, like a lot of the music in this ‘Retro-soul’ genre, it perhaps checks a little too many boxes along the way. A great voice, though.
Neil says: Jalen Ngonda’s debut album is a deep and heartfelt sonic love-letter to the music he grew up with, and which formed him as a musician. It is a vibrant, smooth and sophisticated album, deeply immersed in the R&B and soul music of the late sixties and early seventies. His self-professed love of the Beatles and Beach Boys makes very occasional appearances to. What really makes the album soar is his charismatic, truly fabulous voice, which is in places reminiscent of the legendary Marvin Gaye.

Continue reading “January’s New Music for Te Awe”

December’s New Music for Te Awe


via GIPHY

Statler: Well, it was good.
Waldorf: Ah, it was very bad.
Statler: Well, it was average.
Waldorf: Ah, it was in the middle there.
Statler: Ah, it wasn’t that great.
Waldorf: I kind of liked it.”
-‘The Muppet Show’.

I’m Mark, the Music & Film Specialist at Wellington City Libraries. I buy music for the CD & Vinyl collections, and also run the Libraries’ Wellington Music Facebook page). My Music Specialist colleague Sam, and Fiction Specialist (and avid music fan) Neil, join me every month to cast an eye over the new material we have been buying for the music collection at our CBD Te Awe library. We pick out some interesting titles across a range of music genres, and try to limit our reviews to a few lines only. Can we encapsulate an entire album in just a couple of lines? [Ed. This is probably unlikely at this point]. Do we actually know anything about new music? Or, are we just too old to understand what most of this is banging on about? [Ed. This is more than likely]. Read on to find out…

My 21st century blues / RAYE
Mark Says: Debut full-length studio album from English artist Raye, who gained recognition as a songwriter-producer for other artists after she was signed to Polydor at age 17. A mini-album & series of EPs saw her nominated for a BRIT award 4 times, and and become one of the most streamed (2.3 billion) artists in the world. In 2019 she was awarded the BMI Impact Award in recognition of her ‘ground-breaking artistry, creative vision and impact on the future of music’. However after revealing that Polydor has been sitting on her debut for several years she split acrimoniously with the label and became an independent artist, releasing ‘My 21st century blues’ at the beginning of 2023 to universal acclaim. A darkly tinged musical journey through funky soul, hip hop vibes and many other genres, full of emotionally charged writing and unfiltered emotions it digs into various themes with candour, including experiences around alcohol & drug addiction, body dysmorphia, and sexual assault.
Sam Says: Rachel Agatha Keen (known professionally as Raye) is a singer/songwriter from the UK. Having released several EPs over the space of a near decade, in 2023 she has come forth with a debut full-length album entitled My 21st Century Blues. Fusing pop, dance, and R&B, with (true to the title) a notable blues flavour, the music bubbles with vigour and immediacy, the various musical styles fusing together in a way that enables the album to continue to feel fresh and exciting over its full forty-five-minute course. Raye’s vocals are equally energetic and emotive, providing a kaleidoscope of moods to the already colourful music. Overall, ‘My 21st Century Blues’ is a modern pop gem.

Continue reading “December’s New Music for Te Awe”

Staff Picks CDs for December…

CDs on a grainy sand beach background

To round off the year, here are some Staff Picks of new & old CDs from the Library collection that out Staff have been enjoying.

Martin’s Picks:

Guts / Rodrigo, Olivia
Not a CD that needs much boosting from WCL, of course, but it surprised me by just how good a mainstream album created by a 20 year old can be. Wise and sharply witty, Rodrigo takes a wry look at her teen years, with droll lyrics and a musical nod to the pop/rock sounds of the 90s. Try ‘Bad Idea Right?‘ ‘Get Him Back!’ or the opener, ‘All American Bitch’.

The Leo Kottke anthology / Kottke, Leo
Born the same year that WW2 ended, Kottke released his first album in 1969 and his most recent in 2020. A master of the 12-string guitar as well as a self-effacing vocalist (who described his own voice as sounding like “geese farts on a muggy day”), this selection of instrumental and vocal tracks covers the first 15 years of his career. It has some of the best of his instrumental offerings, including ‘Mona Ray’ ‘Vaseline Machine Gun’ and ‘Airproofing’, all of which amply justify his place in the 12-string pantheon.

Begin to hope / Spektor, Regina
This 2006 album is a great introduction to the work of the idiosyncratic Russian/American songsmith. Her sideways view of the world and flawless ear for a hook are on display throughout. Check out ‘Fidelity’, ‘Better’ or ‘On the Radio’.

Bring it on / Gomez
My vote for ‘Greatest Band That Everyone’s Forgotten About’ goes to this lot from Southport in England. Blessed with four songwriters and three distinctive vocalists, there was almost too much talent for one band. This is their debut, and it won the Mercury Prize in 1998, beating out Massive Attack, Pulp and The Verve. Sadly – and despite a couple of equally excellent follow-ups – the band slowly slid from view over the following couple of decades. Check out the video for album single Whippin’ Piccadily to see legendary screen and TV actor Toby Jones fooling around on an escalator.

Continue reading “Staff Picks CDs for December…”

October’s New Music for Te Awe


via GIPHY

Statler: Well, it was good.
Waldorf: Ah, it was very bad.
Statler: Well, it was average.
Waldorf: Ah, it was in the middle there.
Statler: Ah, it wasn’t that great.
Waldorf: I kind of liked it.”
-‘The Muppet Show’.

I’m Mark, the Music & Film Specialist at Wellington City Libraries. I buy music for the CD & Vinyl collections, and also run the Libraries’ Wellington Music Facebook page). My Music Specialist colleague Sam, and Fiction Specialist (and avid music fan) Neil, join me every month to cast an eye over the new material we have been buying for the music collection at our CBD Te Awe library. We pick out some interesting titles across a range of music genres, and try to limit our reviews to a few lines only. Can we encapsulate an entire album in just a couple of lines? [Ed. This is probably unlikely at this point]. Do we actually know anything about new music? Or, are we just too old to understand what most of this is banging on about? [Ed. This is more than likely]. Read on to find out…

Messy / Dean, Olivia
Mark Says: ‘Messy’ is the debut album from East London’s Olivia Dean, another graduate of the famed Brit School. The hazy bedroom pop of vocoder opener ‘UFO’, perhaps gives the album a bit of a lo-fi expectation, but the rest of the album is very polished production wise, perhaps a little too much in places. Shades of Motown, the retro soul of Joss Stone, and the production & vocal techniques that reference a lot of 2010’s Neo-Soul, with some smokey Jazz touches. She has a great voice, and it’s mature-confessional-pop of the highest order. Some dead spots may mean it works better as a long EP than a full album.
Sam Says: ‘Messy’ may be Olivia Dean’s first full-length offering, however it displays a sense of musical versatility and vision that could easily be attributed to a more experienced artist. Released earlier this year, the album has already made waves in the UK scene and has even been shortlisted for the 2023 Mercury Prize. Musically, it is firmly rooted in the stylings of neo-soul, with a highly tangible sense of mainstream appeal. In saying that, Dean’s boldly creative approach comfortably sets her apart from many of her contemporaries. Containing twelve tracks over a mere thirty-five minutes, despite its title, ‘Messy’ is a neat and concise affair, with little room for filler. It will be interesting to see where Dean leads as her career develops.

Continue reading “October’s New Music for Te Awe”

September’s New Music for Te Awe: Part 2

Here is part two of our new music picks for August. You can catch up with Part 1 here. Do we actually know anything about new music? Or, are we just too old to understand what most of this is banging on about? Read on to find out…

The returner / Russell, Allison
Mark says: Allison Russell is a member of Our Native Daughters (along with Rhiannon Giddens, Leyla McCalla, and Amythyst Kiah), but it was her critically acclaimed debut solo album 2021’s Outside child that raised her profile, receiving 3 Grammy nominations and winning several other awards. New album ‘The Returner’ expands her style of Folk into a a much broader scope, not Americana so much as ‘American’ music, as the album seems to touch on everything from Folk to R&B, rock, gospel, blues & funky pop/dance rhythms. A larger stylistic canvas gives a wider scope for her themes of blackness and triumph over adversity. Full of dense and rich lyrical stories that reveal new details with each listen.

Sam says: 4x Grammy-nominated singer/songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and activist Allison Russell’s sophomore album ‘The Returner’ is an album of many facets. Stylistically fluid with a wide array of instruments, there is a lot to take in here, but the concise and catchy compositions brim with immediacy and are easy to get absorbed in. The recording features additions from the “Rainbow Coalition” band, a collective of all women musicians to great effect, their contributions adding much colour to the songs. Also well-regarded as a poet, Russell’s lyrics here are cathartic and captivating, perfectly complimenting the compelling and dynamic tone of the music. Overall, ‘The Returner’ is a powerful and grandiose effort.

The ones ahead / Glenn-Copeland, Beverly
Mark says: Rediscovered after decades of obscurity due to a Japanese collector’s request for copies of his 1986 album Keyboard Fantasies, the transgender Black Canadian artist became the subject of a a documentary in 2019, [Ed. IMDB] and has gone on to a late career resurgence. New album ‘The ones ahead’ is his first album of original material in 20 years. His voice is beautiful, resonant and lush, but it’s his message that shines through; a future-facing vision of unity, connection & love.

Neil says: In 1986 Beverly Glenn-Copeland released ‘Keyboard Fantasies’, an album that on its re release was hailed as one of the best ambient electronica albums of its time. On first listen to ‘The ones ahead’ there isn’t much that link the two, but closer inspection shows the same aims of healing and restoration running throughout music. The album starts of with ‘Africa calling’ where the African musical influences are obvious, but all the subsequent tracks take on a much more personal and unique character. The album could very loosely be called ambient Avant Garde jazz, with folk touches. And, as that description amply demonstrates, it is rather unique. His voice can sound like Billie Holiday or even Frank Sinatra, or any point in-between, and throughout the album he uses his voice and the supporting musical settings to spread his message of, love, inclusion, acceptance and peace.

Continue reading “September’s New Music for Te Awe: Part 2”