The Maxies Part Two
Artist of the Year, Album of the Year, and Album of the Year (Oops, sorry!!)
And we’re back! My long awaited (72 hours) part two and conclusion of The Maxies. In Part Two we’re hitting the big three awards. Artist, Album, and Album of the year. The music that really meant the most to me this past year.
I needed all three of these winners at different points throughout the year, and so grateful for what they gave me. I hope you’ll indulge me a little and enjoy these mini-essays.
In Part One I did name you all winners for being the best subscribers to my newsletter, and that hasn’t changed. I simply must brag once more.
Once more, in 2023, between the newsletter and the compilation, we paid out nearly $1,200 to special and deserving artists!!!!! Incredible.
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So truly, your money is supporting incredible artists and helping to get more music out into the world. It’s an incredibly important and unique role to play and I’m grateful for all of you.
Paid subscribers get special paywalled newsletters - interviews, performances, guest essays, and more. The MMM world is ever evolving and I hope you’ll trust me with a few more dollars this year.
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And now… it’s time.
FINALLY! ARTIST OF THE YEAR, ALBUM OF THE YEAR, AND ALBUM OF THE YEAR.
The first letter of all three artists’ names just so happens to be M… Hmmmm M-M-M on M-M-M…. something is happening here. Or it’s just a coincidence IDK! Anyways, I should not force someone who has read this far to read something as dumb as that, I am sorry. This year, I cherished so much music, but three projects stood above the rest in my brain, my heart, and my soul. And I’m so excited to gush about them now. Buckle up.
Artist of the Year Goes To….. Medium Build!!!!
Man oh man, where do we even begin. It’ll be no surprise to any reader to see this name as Artist of the Year. It’s been a long time coming (like a year or so lol). Yet my love for his music has only deepened and I feel so lucky to have music like this, music that has this effect on me, that offers this home for me, in my life.
When I see him perform, I see a version of myself. Not in looks or attitudes or anything, but as a human being finding the right ways to articulate emotions that have been hard to pin down. Someone making sense of memories and experiences - even with different backgrounds - their meanings leaving lasting impacts on us all in such similar ways.
And clearly I’m not the only one who feels like this - his shows are packed and everyone is singing and screaming along. In Medium Build’s music we get the chance to feel more ourselves. The permission to be rough around the edges, to be mad, to be sad, to be figuring it the fuck out. I think we’ve all had a “there’s gotta be better shit to give a shit about” moment or two this past year. And my GOD is it fucking cathartic to hear that screamed in a room full of a couple hundred people.
The year kicked off with his Health EP. Four new ones tacked on to ‘22’s Rage and Never Learned to Dance. And the new ones were all hits. Having seen him a couple times to end 2022 it felt like “OK fiiiinally all my favorite songs are out now”.
I rinsed that shit endlessly to star the year. The songs all meant a lot to me then, but it was March that sealed the damn deal. “Yeehaw” I yelled (said in my head to no one) as I boarded my flight to ol’ SXSW. It was my first time going, and I loved it, but for different reasons than I thought. What made it so special was the chance to share these shows, these songs with people I love from all over the world. My friends, Grace and Adam, and I took turns dragging each other to our favorite bands’ performances. And Medium Build was a central pillar of the schedule. We saw him three times. The first a rainy noon show, cold and wet under a tent, a timid crowd soaking in every last word. The second was a special one, midnight show at the bear bar, we dragged every friend and coworker we could, knowing how fun a show it’d be. And it sure was. The three of us ending our night with a hug, Especially Me, hitting too close to home for us.
A song about wanting your friends to know just how much you love them, and for me personally, realizing how rare it is to say so, and how bad I want to say it more. That song makes me cry, even before the sad parts, just for the friendship and love shared there that night.
In April I saw him live again at The Moroccan Lounge back here in LA. I went alone, but never felt it. The sold out room feeling so warm and welcome. I felt so myself, so free, so seen. I talked to a lot of people that night - and we all felt it too. Something really special happening in that room and in the world created by these songs. He teased a new song, Friend for Life with X Ambassadors, and again felt so connected to old friends. His perfect specifics sending me back to my childhood and to the friends around me then. It’s fucked!!! So so good.
In May he dropped the breeeeeezy little Say Hi. So cute. A journal entry song, recounting a past crush, using their return as a chance to reflect on what’s changed and what hasn’t. And hope, just a little, that the crush might still come to be something - even if it’s just a night. Even if it will lead to to heartbreak…. Another perfect tune.
The EP stayed in rotation throughout, these songs all solidifying important memories and thoughts and feelings and I just couldn’t get enough (obviously no surprise to see GMBS, Especially Me, & Say Hi in my top 5 most played this year…) but that wasn’t enough for ol’ mr. build. He came back with a vengeance in September. Another reflective heartbreaker, about life and seeing the ones we love grow, even from afar. As someone who left a lot of dear friends behind as I’ve moved, this one HIT. The second verse is just as juicy, “Bitch you don’t even know” reallllllly speaks to me. The way it feels to see that friend again, to feel that love again, it’s so fucking important and no one has expressed it quite this well. I’m crying right now!!! This guy!!!! It erupts into a beautiful climax, another fun one, what can I say.
In October, my partner and I got to spend some time in London, using two Medium Build shows as reason to stick around much longer than we had any business doing. Night one was an intimate (mostly) seated show in a church and it ruined. As I wrote to Adam and Grace that night, “Cried three times! Rabbit (never made me cry before), cuz of u (of course), and a new one called In My Room that FUCKED me up”. Night two was the full club show, a bit louder and rowdier but just as special. Ugh. Won’t forget it.
Soon after we got the Live EP, capturing some of that live show magic across these songs that have soundtracked my year. We're spoiled! I really really recommend these live cuts, you can almost hear the crowd screaming around you.
Before he’s capped off the year, releasing that new one mentioned above, In My Room, a childhood bedroom reflection, that’s funny as hell and yet, tugs those heart strings and makes me want to hug a young version of me who was trying his darnedest. Got so much love for that version of me, and for this song for building that bridge again.
Being a musician, hell being anything, is incredibly hard when you live like Medium Build does. A life committed to feeling, to taking on and processing all our shit. It’s scary and it’s so brave. So when it’s shared, whether through music or anything else, it’s one of the most generous things someone can do. In his little end of the year recap post on IG, he’s really candid about it all. I’m just so grateful for it, for someone else who is lighting the path, helping me live the same way. Striving to be the best person we can be, the truest to ourselves as possible, leaning into our feelings and coming out better for it. I feel so lucky to have these songs, and to use his work to help find myself through it. Congrats Medium Build ily!!!!
Album of the Year Goes To….. Mali Velasquez!!!!
This thing struck me so hard, I knew from the early moments that Maxies voters (me) would be clamoring over this thing. Shove was the first song I heard, begging Monday to come quicker because I couldn’t wait to post about it. Such a well realized execution, like I’d come to find on the rest of the record.
The debut from this Texas-born, Nashville-based artist is so damn good. I mean obviously, it won the dang Maxie but I feel like I had to start there. After Shove had my attention, I dug into the other singles, Bobby and Medicine.
Bobby, which would go on to be the album opener, is a feat. The first chord we hear ringing out with dissonance, everything feeling a little off, but falling into place right after. Tension and resolution in two chords, it’s all they needed. True pros. And then what a crazy opening lyric -
You were older
Older than me
Sucking in a sponge as your cancerous lungs tried to breathe
Hello!!!! I am sold. Devastating, beautiful, an entirely new way to express these ideas. The same way I find the beauty in other artists distinct vocabulary, finding ways to deploy sucking, sponge, even cancerous, Velasquez telling her own stories in her own way. It’s genuinely thrilling. I love the chorus, Bobby’s coming with you, even though she says your mean. Candid and blunt, beautiful none the less. This heartwrenching portrait of grief, before, during, and after someone’s passing. Seeing their pain, their swollen feet, reckoning with loving someone even if they aren’t perfect, that instrumental break after the 3 min mark a stunning swirling encapsulation of it all. Chaos, confusion, trying to hold on to the love. When I tried to memorize all the words you said and the way that you said them still knocking around my head through it all.
It spills into Shove, a perfect transition and perfect second song. I’ve already said a lot about this song, and stand by it all. WHAT a tune. Pain and grief and regret in a totally different kind of relationship.
We dial it back with Decider, this intimate acoustic intro with Velasquez’s voice on full display. Her tone is so unbearably good, the way it rolls like waves just trying to hold on to the melody. Desperate to get it out but gentle in how it does. A 90-second meditation on a past-tense moment of suicidal thoughts. The heaviness everywhere, looking to someone else to help get through.
A much needed lightness grows from that piece, Tore chugging along, drums driving the way from the first moment. Maybe my favorite chorus on the record - today at least. Especially the second time around, another moment of exploring all sides of our selves, good and bad. This one just rocks.
I listened to this record on repeat from the moment it came out. A lot of that was while I was traveling. This record, and this song in particular will always be tied to Ireland for me. Cold, wet, but sunny mornings. The sun offering protection, these songs offering the same. It was a hard trip at times, but leaning deeper into these songs offered so much peace. Someone else’s vulnerability on full display. These scenes and stories feeling so true, so specific, so small, but so impactful. I love this tune so damn much my goodness.
Back to the devastating grief, after a death, we find ourselves just trying to make it through with Clovers. I try not to think of you, so I don’t think at all. A perfect partner to Mitski’s So, yeah, I blast music loud (see below). The song bubbles, the darkness under it all almost reaching a boil through the first couple of minutes. Getting closer and closer to that climax as the song goes, would you finally stop thinking of yourself? And you can feel Mali’s anger mimicked in the music, the band right there by her side. A gorgeous production move as we fall into that chorus, the whole band rolling through it and it’s nasty and gorgeous. Just beyond 3 mins, that electric guitar threatening to solo, the band welcoming it with open arms (that are rocking tf out). By the time we hit the chorus again, my whole body is compelled to move with this groove. All encompassing. It’s a mesmerizing and powerful end to side A.
We start the second half of the record, with birds chirping, weatherman talking, noise of life surrounding us as Velasquez gets back on the mic. Turn Red has a worrisome feel to start, asking/demanding that someone doesn’t turn red, turn blue, we see the danger ahead of us. As the second verse starts, the production seems to drop us into a new scene, moving us through time to keep up with the story. And the story is brutal - I drive you to the ER / But don’t feel old enough. This is fucking devastating, that one lyric filled with so much humanity, so many emotions, you can feel that pain. The “this can’t be happening” the regrets and pain unfolding in real time, life being life - these massive moments never come with any ceremony, they just happen. Banjo picks through as Velasquez starts to age in real time, stepping up to what life is demanding right now. It falls back to that first moment - what feels nostalgic now, feels like playing with your parent as a kid, just asking them never to die because how could they anyway? This eeriness as the production warms and twists, this beautiful and playful moment now tinted by the truth we know is coming. Like an abandoned circus, the banjo slowly descends. We land back among the birds, and as that car approaches my heart races one more time.
Track 7 is back to Medicine, another single, familiarity just when I needed it. I know you’re delicate, but so am I. What more do you need to know. The ethos of this record, in so many ways. Life is brutal and forces us to deal with so much, even when we need that help most. One of my favorite lyrics of the record comes soon after “I wanted to say to you, but I fucking forgot”. One of the few times (only??) Velasquez swears on the record and it has power. The depths of that regret. But she’s not done yet, that pain realized when And your mom seems so proud of you / while mine’s in the ground. COME ON. </3 !!!!! Life is fucking brutal and it’s so generous for Velasquez to share these moments and feelings. Ok she does curse again in the outro, but that one hits too. Reeling in this song’s massive feelings.
Horse Trough was an early favorite. Another perfect lyric - I hold my breath / in the horse trough / you’ve always been good / at pissing me off. Again the vocabulary in the MV universe is so distinct and delightful. The bass swirls a stanza later, Velasquez starting to soar. The song feels warm and full, giving the next verse so much sting. How could something like this feel bad?? A touching end, almost a lullaby of a tribute to a relationship ended.
You gotta love a 6min closer. On a record like this, I hate to see we’re on the last song, but at least we have some time. This through line of cancer and smoking persists, the Camels showing up here. It’s a devastating chorus, again, Velasquez has a way of this. But clearly this relationship is strained and painful. Someone who has been around you your whole life, this image of Velasquez unable to reach the keys feels so childlike, and yet no matter how close they ever were these two are like strangers now. It’s still over too soon, the song never lingering, always thrilling.
And it’s over. My album of the year. It was exciting, surprising, honest, and alive. Cohesive themes and sounds from start to finish, but each song feels fresh and never repetitive. It caught me and didn’t let go, and the more I leaned in the more it gave me back. I love these songs, and can’t wait to savor them more and more. Please give it a listen and please give Mali Velasquez a big thank you next time you two see each other.
And last but certainly not least, Album of the Year Goes To….. Mitski!!!!
editor’s note - Mitski also takes home the Maxies for ‘You MF’er, Don’t Do This To Me Again, But Also Thank God You Did’ for I Don’t Like My Mind and ‘Best First Track on An Album’ for Bug Like An Angel.
Mitski is one of the greats, there’s no way around it. Back again in 2023 with her 7th Album, The Land Is Inhospitable and So Are We. And it’s a damn triumph. The 7th Album in an artists’ catalog is a hard milestone to reach. But for those who do, it’s an important one. Elton John’s LP7 is a cornerstone of his legacy. U2’s Achtung Baby revives them from a perilous moment, new momentum to last a career. Beyonce LP7 is Renaissance, a statement of skill and confidence. For many, a pivotal moment. And let’s cut to the chase, Mitski nails it.
WHAT an introduction. Over intimate acoustic strumming, Mitski is BACK baby!!! Her perfect songwriting, so detailed and unexpected. I learned I’m a drinker / sometimes a drink feels like family is a truly wreck ur life mitski lyric, only to be immediately showed up by the biggest rug-pull, blow your mind, choir singing out from the mountain tops that I’ve heard since the first listen of track one off Vampire Weekend’s FOTB. It sets the tone for a spectacular record, full of twists and turns, bold choices, and exciting songs. The haunting bounces of When Memories Show, The Deal’s climatic end. Mitski is truly a genius. Like Sabrina Song mentioned in our interview - it just plays like a record we’ll be listening to for the rest of our lives. An album I always wanted more of, more and more with every listen.
Buffalo Replaced and Heaven work so well as further introductions. BR a straight-ahead chugging little country tune, the drums giving the western flair to align with the gorgeous writing. After two beautiful minutes, the piano rains down, Mitski goes ethereal. It’s a delightful moment of levity, you can picture the band up there. Sliding down that lap steel for the beautiful Heaven. A beautiful song, trying so hard to hold love and cherish it. As I sip on the rest / of the coffee you left / a kiss left of you / heaven. Hoping it is always like this, hoping to remember this so deeply now that the feeling never leaves. Then the song blossoms anew, the string arrangement a perfect orchestra, a perfect addition. As we roll to the end of the song, we once again take a new path, the drums dissipating, the atmosphere enveloping us. You can feel the imagery the memory fading away, the strings caressing us back to life from this daydream.
I Don’t Like My Mind is my personal favorite song, the one that has hit me hardest and stuck with me most. This gorgeous dust-in-the-wind western sound, Mitski singing from a smokey dive while the sunsets. An opening lyric for the ages I don’t like my mind, I don’t like being left around in a room. Fighting through pain and emotion, cranking the music, dissociating through work, and eating a whole cake on christmas. It’s devastating and stunning, the classic Mitski Combo. She has this one-of-a-kind way of delivering these nasty, visceral lyrics with such grace, it’s remarkable. Never has And then I get sick and throw up sounded so beautiful. Once more, doing it with a particular vocabulary (skull, bone, whole, inconvenient) that gives it this musty dark tone, it’s just masterful. Interesting for me to feel how powerful and important that has been across so many of my favorite artists and projects this year… hmm something to investigate more.
We fade to Deal, a modern day devil went down to georgia, Mitski willingly giving it all up for anything in return. It’s massive swing from little story to epic saga with the production is such a masterful move. A captivating song, winning you over so well the surprising and seemingly out of place drums feel right at home.
When Memories Snow is a treat. Mitski bellowing out from the jump, no time to waste with less than 2 mins. This almost avoidant relationship with memories, moving them aside, noticing but not engaging with them in the front half. The second half feels more whimsical, Mitski at the center of the circus, reaching for these memories and wondering if they’ll help when nothing else will. It’s an interesting line of thinking and told so wonderfully here.
With 300+ Million plays (editor’s note - I wrote this a few weeks ago and now it’s over 460mil…), it’s safe to say My Love Mine All Mine has cemented itself in the Mitski Pantheon, and it rocks to see another generation (lol) falling for her magic. The second verse is a damn tear jerker, really a beautiful song <3 Just spin it and love it. What can be said about a song this good.
The Frost finds us back in the country swing, seeing frost as apocalyptic, feeling the heaviness of loneliness as the same. You’re my best friend / now I’ve no one to tell / how i lost my best friend. Yeah that’s gonna chill ya to your bones!! Like the frost!!!
Star continues on. This cinematic rumble rising like the sun, with such gentle keys above them. Maybe a happier view of similar pain, exploring how love sticks around even after it might be gone. As it climaxes it’s almost overwhelming, the feelings big and messy and hazy but marching forward. The production and arrangements impressing me time and time again. Songs unafraid to find new form.
I’m Your Man is my other favorite track here. The rumbling drums, this hot, sweltering, heaviness as the guitar chugs. You believe me like a God / I destroy you like I am. Fuck off!!! That is so damn good omg. This gnarly regret held near as she feels unworthy and like a bad person. It’s a dark one. It’s hard to write more about this one, I find myself lost in it each time I try. Then the dogs start howling after the 2:10 mark, the soundscape emerging almost a bookend of the opening track’s choir. Masterful!!!!!!
We close on I Love Me After You. The song arriving already wild, the vocals sound so so so cool, alien almost. Ropes me in one more time. A soul-filling finale, I’m hearing Mitski leave this past love behind in favor of themselves. Moving through their routine and their life, with themself as king. Ugh, love it.
I love this record, hard not to, gotta give it up for an icon DELIVERING.
Thank you again for reading. I hope these words draw you into these musical worlds and hope the music can mean to you, what it’s meant to me.
If you enjoyed this, and know someone else who revels in vulnerable songs, please send this their way too.
See you Monday for some new music discoveries.
Max