The Top 10 Albums by New Jersey Indie Artists, according to Makin Waves:
1. Jackson Pines, Pine Barrens, Volume One. With Makin Waves Album of the Year Award-winning Pine Barrens, Volume One, Jackson Pines concentrates on the traditional music of the Jersey Pinelands dating as far back as 1700. However, their full-on live energy remains intact.
2. Renee Maskin, Shimmer. Shimmer is the 2023 Makin Waves Female Artist of the Year Award winner’s masterpiece. The Mint 400 recording artist added a lot of hyphens to her singer-songwriter-guitarist tag, including producer and multi-instrumentalist.
3. Bruce Tunkel, sixtyandthensome. Bruce Tunkel has released 10 solo LPs, the latest of which may be his best. I said that about him before, but while Bruce may be getting older, he’s also getting even better as a singer, songwriter, musician, and producer with sixtyandthensome.
4. Fake Pockets, Reverie. Another Mint 400 recording act, Fake Pockets’ penchant for power-pop continues on the six-song Reverie, the 2023 Makin Waves Award winner for Best EP in an expressive but edgy mash up of Natalie Merchant, The Pixies, and Weezer.
5. Cranston Dean, Northern Town. Fans of classic and roots rock will love all six of Cranston’s albums, but Northern Town may be his best yet. Whether mining a New Orleans vibe or compassionately waxing political, Northern Town is a great place to visit.
6. The Well Wish, Promises. Featuring Makin Waves Best Vocalist Award Winner Anya Angeloni, The Well Wish’s long-awaited EP is a five-song affair of the heart that chronicles a promise of one kind or another, as well as the complicated intricacies of relationships.
7. Dogs in a Pile, Bloom. Fans of 311, O.A.R., and Slightly Stoopid will dig the reggae-tinged jam ‘n’ groove of Dogs in a Pile’s sophomore LP, just as the Dog Pound delighted in a maturation of songwriting and harmonies that lived up to the LP’s title and matched the 2023 Makin Waves Band of the Year’s stellar musicianship.
8. Juliana Frangella, Intrusive Thoughts. If Taylor Swift was haunted by the ghost of Warren Zevon, it might sound like the empathetic reliability, witty wordplay, and skewering sarcasm of this 10-song full-length debut masterfully crafted by Makin Waves Producer of the Year Mike Montrey.
9. San Tropez, Maybe Tomorrow. This full-length Mint 400 debut from a local supergroup featuring members of some of New Brunswick’s best nineties bands is the epitome of why artists never should give up on their art. The 10-song Maybe Tomorrow, which converges the San Tropez’s roots in shoegaze, dream pop, and indie rock, was reissued this summer by Shore Dive Records.
10. The Vaughns, Egg Everything. On the eve of their 10th anniversary as a band, The Vaughns released their full-length debut for Equal Vision Records. Egg Everything follows the 2021 EP, rom-coms + take-out, their first venture for the Albany-based indie, home to Coheed and Cambria.
The Top 10 Songs by New Jersey Indie Artists, according to Makin Waves:
1. The Azures, “Lust of the Night.” The Makin Waves Song of the Year is a haunting, mystifying ode to evening pleasures and the bluesedelicgroovy-doomin’ musical equivalent of chocolate mushroom trip.
2. Cranston Dean, “The Root.” With a sad beauty, this soulful song looks at how the foundation of America’s freedoms and ideals are crumbling from the decay of ignorance, apathy and greed.
3. Bruce Tunkel, “I’m Slowing Down.” A contemplation of relevance in the face of aging. The line, “You become invisible once your story’s been told,” makes it one of the most powerful local songs of the year.
4. Jackson Pines, “Hammer.” The 2023 Makin Waves Best Live Band fused their Pine Barrens folk roots with their Asbury Park R&B roots on this Springsteen-esque father-son gem fueled by saxophonist Scott Grimaldi.
5. The Vaughns, “Day by Day.” A sad but uplifting song about a family battling the curse of cancer right before a blessed occasion featuring the lyrical and guitar debut of co-founding drummer Ryan Kenter.
6. Renee Maskin, “Scrimshaw.” My favorite song from Renee Maskin’s“Shimmer” masterpiece and the Makin Waves Video of the Year by John Decker.
7. Renee Maskin, “Horses.” This song is perhaps the best proof that Renee can hold her own with such Old West-inspired songstresses as Eilen Jewell and Antje Duvekot.
8. Alexander Simone (feat. Supa Dragg), “Grateful.” The grandson of Nina Simone continues her High Priestess of Soul tradition with another nugget of goodness to follow last year’s Makin Waves Song of the Year nod.
9. Colossal Street Jam, “No Way to Live.” The first single and title track from the forthcoming Fretbar Records LP reissue chronicles the hardships Colossal had to overcome to initially release the album on their own.
10. LATEWAVES, “Frog.” From the self-titled label debut for Richmond, Virginia-based indie Open Your Eyes Records comes this fun and charming song from this Asbury Park-based trio that made for an even better video.
Bob Makin has produced Makin Waves since 1988. Follow Makin Waves on Facebook and contact Bob at makinwaves64@yahoo.com.
