Farce the Music: Brennen Leigh

Jan 3, 2024

Farce the Music's 30 Favorite Albums of 2023

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1. Jason Isbell & the 400 Unit - Weathervanes

I haven’t “loved” a Jason Isbell album since Southeastern, and didn’t really expect to feel that way about one again. Sure, almost everything he and the group have released has been critically beloved and well executed, it just hasn't affected me the same. That said, I love Weathervanes. Everything feels more natural and unforced than the previous few records; right in the pocket you might say. Every song has its own personality, yet fits right into place in the collection. The highs are stratospheric, and the lows aren’t lows - just letting off the gas a little. For the politically sensitive, any supposed ideologies only color the stories this time. There’s no telling, just showing - and that’s always hit me a lot harder than any expression of opinions could ever do. Weathervanes is damn near perfect, and for me, a welcome “comeback.” Favorite tracks: King of Oklahoma, Cast Iron Skillet, When We Were Close, Miles.

2. Lucero - Should’ve Learned by Now

3. William Prince - Stand in the Joy

4. Gabe Lee - Drink the River

5. Deer Tick - Emotional Contracts

6. Bully - Lucky for You

7. Ruston Kelly - The Weakness

8. Charles Wesley Godwin - Family Ties

9. Margo Cilker - Valley of Heart’s Delight

10. Pony Bradshaw - North Georgia Rounder

11. Lori McKenna - 1988

12. JD Clayton - Long Way From Home

13. Turnpike Troubadours - A Cat in the Rain

14. Whitney Rose - Rosie

15. Drayton Farley - Twenty on High

16. Amanda Fields - What, When and Without

17. Willie Tea Taylor - The Great Western Hangover

18. The Steel Woods - On Your Time

19. The War & Treaty - Lover’s Game

20. Jason Hawk Harris - Thin Places

21. Brent Cobb - Southern Star

22. Sundy Best - Feel Good Country

23. Brit Taylor - Kentucky Blue

24. Jake Stringer - Just Happy to Be Here

25. Shaker Hymns - The Highway & The Boulevard

26. Brennen Leigh - Ain’t Through Honky Tonkin’ Yet

27. Jeffrey Martin - Thank God We Left the Garden

28. Colby Acuff - Western White Pines

29. Colter Wall - Little Songs

30. Jaime Wyatt - Feel Good

Tied for #31

Joe Stamm Band - Wild Man, Muscadine Bloodline - Teenage Dixie, Will Johnson - No Ordinary Crown, Ritch Henderson - Fallacies & Four-Letter Words, Treaty Oak Revival - Have a Nice Day, Joy Oladukun - Proof of Life, The Wilder Blue - Super Natural, Country Westerns - Forgive the City, Vincent Neil Emerson - The Golden Crystal Kingdom, Bella White - Among Other Things, Low Water Bridge Band - Back to the Valley, John R. Miller - Heat Comes Down, Nicholas Jamerson - Peace Mountain, Meg McRee - Is It Just Me?, Jake Worthington - s/t, Jason Eady - Mississippi, Jamie Harris - Boomerang Town, Tyler Childers - Rustin’ in the Rain, The Band of Heathens - Simple Things, Killer Mike - Michael, Metallica - 72 Seasons, Lance Roark - Better Man, Van Plating - Orange Blossom Child, Slaid Cleaves - Together Through the Dark, Brandy Clark - s/t, John Baumann - Border Radio, Ashley McBryde - The Devil I Know, Mason and the Gin Line - Sangre, The Pandhandlers - Tough Country, Dallas Moore - No God in Juarez, Del Barber - Almanac, Summer Dean - The Biggest Life, Marty Stuart - Altitude, Erin Enderlin - Bar Room Mirrors, Margo Price - Strays, Zach Bryan - s/t, Will Payne Harrison - Tioga Titan, Jessye DeSilva - Renovations, Channing Wilson - Dead Man, White Reaper - Asking for a Ride, and like 20 other albums.