Top Albums for Nathan
Honestly, I thought about foregoing a year-end list this year. I mean, if you read our site, you know what we love. But, list making can be fun, especially if you really really love music. My criteria was simple, and not based on what I think is “best,” but rather looking at the stuff I listened to the most, and eventually bought (or was gifted). Popular locals for my Nathan Wrapped have me living on an island in between San Francisco and Australia; label of the year would be Trouble in Mind (congrats to Bill and family!); genre would be: most awesome. Again, this is one man’s personal tastes, take it for what its worth.
You’d think in a short coverage week, we’d have few tunes, but there was so much great stuff last week, that we couldn’t help but to try and cover as much as we loved. Personally, I fawned over new Lachlan Denton, Cor de Luxand Tiny Ruins, plus continued my support for Spice World as Album of the Year. I also hit up the Austin scene with new stuff from Bayonne, Dorio, Fantastic Purple Spotsand Rad Gnar. RayRay loved that new Pile tune to death and premiered a new Strawberry Fuzz jam you can find lurking in here too. If we missed something super cool, let us know, otherwise, here’s a way to pass an hour of your day, happily.
I know there are tons of great releases spread out through 2023 already, but I’ve already got There’s No I In Spice World penciled into my Top Ten of the year, and it’s only the 3rd week of January. To be fair, I’d put it there on the back of my favorite tune “Mountain Pony 20” alone, which I’m pretty sure I’ve played nearly 1000 times already. The band manage to walk this line between weary pop and energetic jangling pop. “Useless Feeling” offers that more upbeat churn you’ve come to expect from the current crop of Aussie outfits; the chorus is sublime tossing the steady beat into this joyous dual-vocal euphoria. You’ll find more explorative tracks like “Snake Oil” or “What a Pity What a Shame,” but regardless, you’ve got to stick out ’til the end to play “Dying to Go” at least a handful of times with a smile on your face. 
There’s something in Australia’s water that makes the heartfelt songwriting just tug at your heart strings, something that just feels so utterly human and relatable. Such is the latest track from 
It’s hard not to get overly excited when you hear the immediate infectiousness from Australia’s