The Top 100 Albums Of 2023
100. Yeule - Softscars
Yuele made a splash a few years ago with Glitch Princess and had some promising singles leading up to this album. While a transition into the sounds of shoegaze doesn't go over quite as well as I hoped I think they still proved to be a unique force within the ever-expanding world of difficult-to-define internet music.
Listen To: dazies, inferno
99. Matmos - Return To Archive
While I do feel like this effort is an improvement upon what Matmos did last year it once again feels like more impressive as a concept than in execution. At the very least this album manages to hit its stride right of the gate in a way that never failed to grab me quickly.
Listen To: Injection Basic Sound, Mud-Dauber Wasp
98. Slayyyter - STARFUCKER
I think it's safe to say that Slayyyter hasn't quite found her footing yet as a conventional pop star. When this album tries to leave the club it typically stumbles into some awkward territory. Thankfully Slayyyter is still leaps and bounds above her contemporaries when it comes to making raunchy, hard-hitting, electro-pop bangers.
Listen To: Purr, Plastic
97. Tennis - Pollen
Even though I've ragged on Tennis albums for always falling short of the potential of their singles, which this one absolutely does, I still think this is one of their better efforts. The slinky novel pop stylings throughout the album make even its more dull moments at least pleasant and provide an excellent springboard for some of their best work yet.
Listen To: Forbidden Doors, Let's Make A Mistake Tonight
96. Hannah Diamond - Perfect Picture
My own expectations for this album may have come from an inflated sense of importance I placed on it in the wake of PC Music ending this year. But ultimately, I still think this is a solid release from Hannah Diamond that does her glistening synthetic pop star of the future aesthetic better than her last full-length and was at least marginally closer to being a fitting send-off for her PC Music career.
Listen To: Affirmations, Poster Girl
95. Paul Simon - Seven Psalms
This album was just as much of a surprise to me as it seemed to be to the critical audience at large. At this point in his career,, I didn't really expect Paul Simon to embark on something that's even hypothetically ambitious but the one-track listening experience of Seven Psalms serves up slices of his compelling songwriting consecutively.
Listen To: It's literally all one song
94. Doja Cat - Scarlet
On Doja Cat's best album yet she's still wildly inconsistent in terms of quality. But among the deep cuts on Scarlet she finally manages to at least serve up an ambition and creativity that matches her singles. Thankfully a lot of of the experiments pay off and result in some of her most unique songs to date.
Listen To: Paint The Town Red, Agora Hills
93. Lost Girls - Selvutsletter
Jenny Hval keeps her fans fed and even if this is one of her weaker outings in recent years I'm still pretty happy with it. Gone are the most experimental urges of the first Lost Girls album and the hookier pop songwriting that's replaced that is welcome more often than it's not.
Listen To: With The Other Hand, Ruins
92. The C.I.A - Surgery Channel
This was another one of the biggest surprises of the year for me. I covered this Ty Segall side-project very early on in the year and would visit every once in a while. The churning rock riffs and impressively soaring highs continued to click with me throughout the year and has me looking forward to whatever Segall does in 2024.
Listen To: Impersonator, Better
91. Sigur Ros - ATTA
Sigur Ros returned this year with a shift to something that feels epic but manages to be surprisingly intimate. Or maybe it feels intimate but manages to be surprisingly epic. The grand orchestral take on what is effectively still ambient music is fascinating enough on its own. But when they take it to some of the most thoughtfully paced and textured conclusions it's a real treat.
Listen To; Blooberg, Gold
90. Avey Tare - 7s
While I won't say this is necessarily a continuation of the Animal Collective hot streak dating back to last year, it is a solid record. After kicking off with a lead single I liked quite a bit much of the rest of the record settled into some familiar watery psychedelic tones. Even without the same dynamic form, the group has achieved as a whole I like this.
Listen To: The Musical, Invisible Darlings
89. boygenius - The Record
The first "pitchforks and torches" entry on the list arrives here. I thought this record was decent but I think it suffers in similar ways to many of the individual artists material. Thankfully though, there are a few truly soaring highlights on the album and Lucy Dacus is continuing her trending artistic ascent across the record.
Listen To: Not Strong Enough, $20
88. Pupil Slicer - Blossom
One of the most interesting metal outfits of the past few years I think once again fell a bit short of their true potential. The fusions of metal, electronica, and pop are consistently interesting but don't often pay it off completely. Thankfully when they dyear's homerun it creates some moments that are both soaring and pummeling.
Listen To: Momentary Actuality, Blossom
87. Raye - My 21st Century Blues
Raye's long-awaited debut album finally beat the whirlpool of label nonsense and she was rewarded with quite a bit of praise from fans and critics alike. That included me as I was impressed by how much variety and versatility she shows off. Even if this is closer to a proof of concept than a final destination. I still appreciate it a lot.
Listen To: The Thrill Is Gone, Escapism
86. Hopeurokay - You Are Killing Our Relationship: Uncomfortable Endings Produce Our Happiness
HOPEUROKAY didn't take long following up last year's hyperpop and pop-punk fusion with a new album. This project is sadder, cloudier, and even more self-reflective than their previous outing and the details that emerge are compelling. Both members of the group emerge from this record as more distinct emotional entities and their music is all the better for it.
Listen To: cutthroat, falling leaves
85. William Basinski - The Clocktower On The Beach
This year, William Basinski shared an old archival ambient project that proved he's always had the knack for masterful synth loops. Even this novel approach to releasing older subject matter still left Basinski among the best ambient projects of the year. Even if the record can reach a somewhat predictable stride it was always enjoyable to put on.
Listen To: The Clocktower On The Beach
84. Explosions In The Sky - END
Like many of the albums in the back quarter of the list END isn't breathtakingly new or original. The record sounds very familiar for the legendary post-rock band at this point in their career but that isn't necessarily a bad thing. With the mixes that make room for every instrumental stroke but remain impressively intimate to the dazzling emotional high points this album is still impressively strong-willed.
Listen To: Moving On, It's Never Going To Stop
83. Drake - For All The Dogs
Drake is always going to be a contentious artist and him dropping an album that's at least 5 songs too long every time doesn't help. At the very least I'll say that this is his best solo outing in quite a while and sees him taking more artistic risks than I expected to hear. The second half of the record isn't perfect but it's one of the most impressive runs of newly released Drake music in the decade so far.
Listen To: Rich Baby Daddy, Slime You Out
82. Nicole Dollanganger - Married In Mount Airy
It's been basically a full year since this album dropped and I almost forgot how its girlish slowcore style could inflict such a vivid grip on me. It has an eeriness to it that is completely unflinching and yet never feels deliberate. It's the gentle touch that guides everything on the record which makes its airy demeanor and presentation feel so spellbinding.
Listen To: Gold Satin Dream, Nymphs Finding The Head Of Orpheus
81. Armand Hammer - We Buy Diabetic Test Strips
While this wasn't the peak addition to the billy woods cinematic universe this year, stay tuned, I did find it to be the most adventurous. He and Elucid continue to slip their bounds of the more reserved styles of underground rap and explore something that is far more ambitious. Alongside some fantastic collaborators, they cook up some major highlights.
Listen To The Gods Must Be Crazy, Don't Lose Your Job
80. Yaeji - With A Hammer
Yaeji's debut album grew on me quite a bit as the year went on and I began to see what she was going for with some of the quieter and more nuanced moments. Even though it's still some of the bolder tracks that left a stronger impression on me With A Hammer is no doubt a strong and long-awaited studio debut.
Listen To: For Granted, Done
79. Foo Fighters - But Here We Are
If you're not a big music fan you're probably surprised to even see this on the list, I was pretty surprised at first too. But shockingly Dave Grohl and company return with their most thoughtful and exciting album in years dabbling in expansive compositional palettes and grinding instrumental palettes that go above and beyond expectations for a group at this point in their career.
Listen To; Rescued, The Teacher
78. Vyva Melinkolya - Unbecoming
If you like dark shoegaze and patient slowcore then this album will feel very familiar to you but that isn't a bad thing. It's a continuation of some very strong and long-running genre ties but I think Vyva Melinkolya conjures her own lane within it. Even with moments where I wish she would really kick it up a notch, this is a pretty promising display of what could be coming next.
Listen To: Doomer GF Song, I65
77. Narrow Head - Moments Of Clarity
This was a sleeper album for me. While I did like the record when I first heard it, throughout the year I just continued to return to its punchy shoegaze riffs and hazy hooks. At the end of the day, I think the songwriting is what prevails here. While I heard other albums this year that sound like Narrow Head, nothing hit the same way as Moments Of Clarity
Listen To: The Real, Caroline
76. PinkPantheress - Heaven Knows
The little debut album that could finally turned me into a PinkPantheress fan following a full year of skepticism that her short TikTok pop songs could ever translate into truly compelling sonic fusions. Heaven Knows is full of her scant principles as a songwriter with a big step in the right direction towards fleshing them out into a more satisfying package.
Listen To: Mosquito, Boys a liar Pt. 2
75. Ellie Goulding - Higher Than Heaven
This album feels like vindication for sticking with Ellie Goulding across the previous decade when it seemed like most Americans didn't want to. Transitioning from her most vulnerable and personal album to date back to an absolutely all killer no filler series of boppy dance-pop numbers was a decision that paid off massively and resulted in a handful of her best songs in years.
Listen To: Cure For Love, By The End Of The Night
74. DJ Sabrina The Teenage DJ - Destiny
If you're already familiar with DJ Sabrina's whimsical sample-heavy dance music then Destiny isn't likely to present you with anything new. However on the flip side, if you love that dynamic the album has a LOT of brand new material to offer you. While it suffers from the kinds of inconsistencies you'd expect from such a long project the high points are as high as they come emotionally.
Listen To: Get Over It, Something New
73. Blake Mills - Jelly Road
I always kind of assumed that when Blake Mills inevitably broke through with a solo album that I liked as much as his production and arranging for other artists it would be in a similarly ornate style. That's why it was so exciting and surprising to hear him really shine on a stripped-down and often quite rough around-the-edges folk outing. The album isn't afraid to show you the cracks in its foundation but it adds a character that helps Blake stand out from the pack.
Listen To: Skeleton Is Walking, Highway Bright
72. Frost Children - Hearth Room
Earlier this year I once again failed to land as positively on a new Frost Children album as many others. But when they followed it up with their second new album of the year things finally clicked for me. In a more emotive and stripped-back presentation and performances and songwriting feel like they soar much higher and the vibrant personality I've always heard about from the music project finally began to show.
Listen To: Lethal, Stare At The Sun
71. Swans - The Beggar
If this really does turn out to be the final Swans album I think the underground rock legends went out on a pretty decent note. It feels right that the album is nostalgic and self-referential in its most intimate moments while outwardly expanding into massive sonic and compositional space in between. What results is an album that's not winning any awards for optimization but certainly provides a robust emotional experience.
Listen To: The Parasite, Paradise Is Mine
70. The Tallest Man On Earth - Henry St.
I went back and forth on this album as I tried to unpack the space it occupied within the Tallest Man On Earth discography. But realizing the long-awaited return can be really easily viewed as an effort to get back to basics in a meaningful way made even some of its slippier moments feel well thought out. For old fans of the project that have become disillusioned since its critical darling days, this is still certainly an album worth hearing.
Listen To: Every Little Heart, Henry St.
69. Travis Scott - UTOPIA
Like For All The Dogs this one is likely to be controversial as it contains a wide variety of content including a pair of Scott's worth songs to date. But in between Travis continues to be an innovative producer and may be better than ever before at recognizing and assembling talented artists around each other and finding ways to lead them in compelling new directions.
Listen To: Lost Forever, Til Further Notice
68. The Mountain Goats - Jenny From Thebes
There's a spot on the back half of the albums list reserved for The Mountain Goats basically every year. This time around the band served up an album that's exactly as mythological and folklore-ish as you'd expect but it's really the tight songwriting that pushes it over the edge. Following in line with their return to rambunctious indie rock last year this record politely rocks its way through some irresistible hooks and riffs throughout.
Listen To: Murder At The 18th St. Garage, Jenny III
67. Geese - 3D Country
One of the hottest breakthrough acts in the indie world this year. Geese are a completely impossible-to-define rock band by design. They have the swagger of Foxygen and the same willingness to incorporate classic rock stylings but Geese take them in a much more tainted direction that only occasionally crosses paths with conventionally catchy songwriting. What remains is a more challenging but also incredibly unpredictable tailspin indie, alternative, and underground rock album that has something new to throw at you every minute.
Listen To: 3D Country, Mysterious Love
66. Full Of Hell & Primitive Man - Suffocating Hallucination
In the underrated gems portion of the list, lend your ears to this impressive crossover between well-respected bands in the extreme metal and doom metal scenes. The sound the pair blend together feels absolutely massive but so detailed. The sounds are deeply textured with grinding, grueling noise that makes the highest highs of the record absolutely erupt out of any speaker. If you skipped this project from some prolific metal vets, do yourself a favor and double back around.
Listen To: Tunnels To God, Trepanation For Future Joys
65. Tamagotchi Massacre - i guess i'm a woman now...
Tamagotchi Massacre isn't the first one to ever turn transitioning into a concept album but she might do the best job I've ever heard at really capturing the journey. Sometimes that comes in an achingly practical sense but more often than not it's a translation of feelings. Her understanding of the unpredictable ebbs and flows that completely supersede the perceived linearity of the process adds a depth of feeling and understanding to the record that very few of her contemporaries can match.
Listen To: hermit crab, heartsore/heartsoar
64. Feist - Multitudes
Another one of the best surprises of 2023 was Feist returning and continuing to push the envelope even this deep into her career. Not only does she have the skill to set herself apart from her indie folk and singer-songwriter contemporaries with songwriting alone but she pushes it even further with a creative and occasionally even somewhat challenging sonic palette. What feels like a following in the footsteps of artists like Fiona Apple and Laura Marling also manages to be an entirely unique path for Feist.
Listen To: In Lightning, Love Who We Are Meant To
63. Kali Uchis - Red Moon In Venus
Admittedly I understand why to many people this album felt like an attempt to remake Isolation without the same spark. Though I see where they're coming from I continued to find a surprising amount of joy in both the deep cuts and the biggest hits of this record. Kali is still an immense vocal talent who elevates songs on sheer presence alone and it doesn't help that one of the best and most purely blissful R&B anthems of the year also turns up here.
Listen To: Moonlight, Endlessly
62. Gel - Only Constant
Easily the most anticipated debut in the world of pure hardcore this year managed to impress me even though I kind of knew exactly what to expect. Typically I'm more into this style when it ventures somewhere more in the realm of fusion with other styles. But even I can't deny how much this record just rips and it fits the short format of briefly unfolding ragers perfectly.
Listen To: Honed Blade, Attainable
61. Peso Pluma - Genesis
Rare is the trend that starts on the Hot 100 before reaching music critics at large. But at the start of this year, the regional Mexican music trend took over the American charts. Though it was led by acts like Fuerza Regida and Groupo Frontero it eventually became synonymous with Peso Pluma. That's because he crystalized his series of hits with a strong new album full of fun collaborations and earworm hooks.
Listen To: LADY GAGA, TULUM
60. Earl Sweatshirt & The Alchemist - Voir Dire
When this album originally dropped exclusively on an NFT-based streaming service I maybe didn't treat it with the level of seriousness I should have. But when a full version eventually dropped on streaming a few months later I guess I gave it a more honest shot and a lot of the record started to click that hadn't before. There's something about how casual both artists are in their presentation that heightens their abilities together and crafts a pretty irresistible listening experience.
Listen To: Sirius Blac, Mancala
59. Carly Rae Jepsen - The Loveliest Time
For somebody whose songs come packaged with so much implicit emotion, Carly Rae Jepsen is a machine. After releasing her first album in a decade that didn't feel like a methodically buttoned-up pop masterpiece last year, she turned around immediately with a brighter, hookier companion album. Though this project may lack some of the transcendent highs of her best work, it sees her returning to a level of consistency that is absolutely unmatched.
Listen To: Shy Boy, Psychedelic Switch
58. Beach Fossils - Bunny
Speaking of consistency, Beach Fossil hasn't lost a step in their years away. The band returned with the same infectious dreaminess they left off with and may even build on the catchy principles of some of its songwriting. What results is a simple and sweet dream pop outing whose blissful guitars and boyish vocals blend together to craft something unflinchingly adorable.
Listen To: Dare Me, Don't Fade Away
57. Squid - O Monolith
On their sophomore album, Squid don't completely abandon the brash punk instincts of their debut but they shift to a sound that is heavier and darker. While it shaves the edge off of some of the high points they extract details from quieter moments in a more compelling way than ever before. The result is an album with more replay value even if it isn't quite the same level of excitement.
Listen To: Swing, The Blades
56. M83 - Fantasy
M83's new album felt like not just a return from their previous studio outing in 2016, but a return all the way to the dramatic neon peaks of their 2011 masterpiece. The album is full of truly cinematic moments with shimmering layers of synths and vocal harmonies that erupt into distant space. It's a stunning brightness that occupies an expanse that's nowhere near as cold as it feels like it should be. Rarely does an album this grand also feel this personal.
Listen To: Laura, Oceans Niagara
55. Nas - Magic 3
I'm well aware of just how much I'm on an island with this one. I wasn't even planning on reviewing this album after how disappointing I found Magic 2 but I'm glad I gave it a fair shake. On their final full-length collaboration, Nas and Hit-Boy return to the fundamental similarities that connected them in the first place. This isn't going to blow anybody away with ambition or experimentation but it's sure to remind you why these two legends have the reputation they do.
Listen To: Never Die, Based On True Events
54. Yo La Tengo - This Stupid World
Yo La Tengo digging up a musical muscle they haven't displayed in years and putting it towards these winding circular compositions was not on my 2023 bingo card. But I'm pretty happy with the results they serve up here across an album whose longest and most indulgent moments are by far its most satisfying. If you've forgotten about this early-year release in the months since then it's definitely worth another try.
Listen To: Sinatra Drive Breakdown, Tonight's Episode
53. Sprain - The Lamb As Effigy
I wasn't exactly early to Sprain but thankfully I caught the band before they broke up a few months ago. Their dizzying combination of massive compositional expanse and frenetic brutal performances makes for a fascinating journey on The Lamb. It's a shame the sonic potential won't ever be realized on later projects, but this is far from a bad note to leave off on.
Listen To; Privilege Of Being, Man Proposes God Disposes
52. Tinashe - BB/ANG3L
This year amid plenty of news stories for great things she said and did Tinashe also released a short set of tracks that feel like R&B's immediate future. She continues to flood her songs with irresistible charm and with her past two records leaning more and more into a unique and punchy vision of R&B is only making them all sound better. Don't underestimate this album because of its length, it packs quite a bit of punch.
Listen To: Talk To Me Nice, Uh Huh
51. Shame - Food For Worms
Shame's second album REALLY clicked with me in 2021. While they're lean into fist-pumping pub rock hooks and thicker chugging guitar riffs didn't blow me away at first I was decently surprised by how much longevity it had. After hearing some of the songs absolutely rip in a live setting I revisited the record and some hidden favorites started to emerge. Even though the band isn't at their very best here this is still a brooding post-punk album worth hearing.
Listen To: Alibis, Fingers Of Steel
50. Lil Yachty - Let's Start Here
The shock of the start of 2023 was Lil Yachty surprise dropping a new album that saw him wandering into the world of psychedelic rock. While the album was justifiably acclaimed for its ambition, people did seem to fall back down to Earth on it as the year went on. But even agreeing with that sentiment there's still a lot about this album I find quite impressive and it pays off some of its most ambitious undertakings at the start and end of the tracklist.
Listen To: Reach The Sunshine, The Black Seminole
49. Kara Jackson - Why Does The Earth Give Us People To Love?
One of the most compelling debut albums of the year saw Kara Jackson supplementing her earnest poetry with incredibly impressive, ambitious, and challenging folk music. The album leans into its ambition wherever the writing takes it which makes for compelling moments at both its most stripped-down and its most elaborate. Jackson is already undertaking the ambitions of a much more experienced artist and have plenty of reason to look forward to what she has coming next.
Listen To: brain, dickhead blues
48. John Cale - MERCY
Leave it to one of the great experimenters in musical history to continue innovating and exploring this deep into his career. With a collection of surprising collaborators, John Cale weaves a dark and often eerily synthetic world around his songwriting muses. It's a strikingly unique sound that he pulls off incredibly well, sounding the best he has in a very long time.
Listen To: EVERLASTING DAYS, THE LEGAL STATUS OF ICE
47. Arooj Aftab, Vijay Iver & Shahzad Ismaily - Love In Exile
This is definitely one of the most out-there albums I really enjoyed this year. The trio of musicians explore sparse and spacious jazz music that intricately weaves in and out of moments of distinct personality and chilling isolation. The result is an album that doesn't compromise on any of its most unsettling sonic ambitions and crafts a very unique beauty in its wake.
Listen To: Shadow Forces, To Remain/To Return
46. George Clanton - Ooh Rap I Ya
Not pouring out unequivocal love for George Clanton's Slide still sits wrong with some of the people who have been reading my blog for years and even know me in real life. Something tells me this won't exactly make up for it but I do see a lot of improvement here. On Ooh Rap's best moments, the fusions of vintage shoegaze and faux-vintage vaporwave really come to fruition. Those thick electronic expanses are easy to get lost in and I was always happy to indulge in what Clanton served up.
Listen To: Justify Your Life, I Been Young
45. Billy Woods & Kenny Segal - Maps
On their second collaboration billy woods and Kenny Segal meet in the middle of their two styles even better than before. The increased understanding of each other's artistry has resulted in one palette after another for billy and his collaborators to craft compelling, introspective and occasionally quite narratively impressive moments.
Listen To: FaceTime, Babylon By Bus
44. Forest Swords - Bolted
In a year packed full of long-awaited comebacks Forest Swords' return to muttering dark pseudo-electronic ambient music felt particularly inviting. Inviting in the sense that I was excited to indulge with it at least because the music here can often feel like watching a technological apocalypse happen while stuck at the bottom of a well. That's the best angle I have at describing it as a professional music critic which should tell you a lot about just how surreal and challenging the record can be.
Listen To: Butterfly Effect, Night Sculpture
43. PJ Harvey - I Inside The Old Year Dying
I'm not surprised that acclaim for this album wasn't quite as wide-reaching as you'd expect for a PJ Harvey project. It's a wintry, isolated, and challenging listen but one that makes particularly great use of the album format. More than any of her projects before these songs reinforce each other really well and build to something enticingly sparse. This record won't be for everyone but if you find yourself craving a lonely walk through a snow-capped forest this might be the closest thing you can get sonically.
Listen To: I Inside The Old I Dying, The Nether-Edge
42. Wednesday - Rat Saw God
Among the biggest critical breakthroughs of 2023 in the indie world is Asheville folk-parallel outfit Wednesday. The primary reason seems to be an expansion of both their sound and their vision on this record and the development of a truly distinct identity. From the most surreal and spacious moments in the record's quiet nooks to the harshest and sharpest edges of its loudest blasts the entire album establishes Wednesday as an uncompromising musical entity.
Listen To: TV In The Gas Pump, Bull Believer
41. Oneohtrix Point Never - Again
There are definitely moments on this album that I found easy to criticize. OPN is far from at his best when he's crafting whimsical prog rock. But even those moments started to click with me more when I gave myself to the whimsical shifts and evolutions of this album. It feels like a journey, conceptual in, a more narrative way than OPN has ever indulged in before. The litany of compelling textures, masterful mixes, and genuine surprises on the record made it one of the most compelling to return to over and over this year.
Listen To: A Barely Lit Path, Locrian Midwest
40. 100 Gecs - 10,000 Gecs
In the years since Gecs made their hectic debut the landscape of hyperpop has changed in their image. But rather than feel the onus of their influence, they enter their new album with the same ambitions as their first. They aren't taking themselves too seriously instead opting to make silly, bombastic bangers that are absolutely overflowing with personality. Arguably this album reaches some even goofier moments than its predecessor, but it all feels so welcome and familiar from Dylan and Laura.
Listen To: Dumbest Girl Alive, Doritos & Fritos
39. Timber Timbre - Lovage
This is the most I've liked a Timber Timbre record in a LONG time. I never expected that a rekindled love for the band would follow an album where they embraced (slightly) brighter and poppier sounds. But that bubbly appearance is always on the surface with the bands' creeping darkness shifting constantly underneath. When it's once again combined with a series of slowly unfolding but impossibly catchy choruses I found Lovage to be an irresistible spell.
Listen To: Ask The Community, Stops
38. Animal Collective - Isn't It Now?
After a big 2022 for the AnCo boys I think they followed it up pretty substantially in 2023. On Isn't It Now? they bounce between some of their jammiest instincts and some of their most simple satisfying pop virtues. Surprisingly the two sides of the coin work well together and the album's shifting runtime is an absolute breeze of psychedelic folk bliss as a result. This is far from just a glorified B-sides collection or sister album.
Listen To: Defeat, Gem And I
37. Matana Roberts - Coin Coin Chapter Five: In The Garden
Matana Roberts may never get the admiration she deserves. In some sense, the conceptuality and uncompromising sonic palette of her Coin Coin series asks more of a listener than many are willing to give. Even I took my time getting thoughts out on the album after fully planning on covering it immediately. But once things really did start to click with me they began to soar. This album bubbles with the same tension as her best work and the eruptions that result are just as satisfying. If you want a jazz album to really knock you on your ass this year it won't get any better than this.
Listen To: different rings, shake my bones
36. Jeff Rosenstock - HELLMODE
Ask me what I think about this album in 6 months and I have legitimately NO idea what I'll say, that's how back and forth of an experience this album is. Right now I'm choosing to judge it at its peak where Jeff's emotional songwriting and vulnerability explodes out of these DIY punk anthems as loud as ever. Even if it may not feel like his sharpest critiques or observations emerge on this album it's an undeniably raucous experience that I always enjoyed listening to even as I critiqued it.
Listen To: DOUBT, 3 SUMMERS
35. Jeromes Dream - The Gray In Between
The screamo moment of the year in 2023 was the return of Jeromes Dream who seemingly came out of nowhere with their second album since reforming, first in five years, and in my opinion their best yet. The short project absolutely smashes through every single wall in its path blasting you with chaotic noise and slicing screams that feel like being bullied into submission in the best way. This is yet another album that I already liked and began to appreciate even more after hearing it live, go see this band.
Listen To: South By Isolation, Conversations: In Time On Mute
34. Chris Stapleton - Higher
Chris Stapleton is a cheat code. Though someone may have entered country music this year with even higher critical ambitions and potential, Chris proved that he still has plenty of the market share. Across this album, he plays it a little straighter than his previous effort but the earnest songwriting and touching instrumental palettes haven't changed a bit. He's still one of the best vocalists and lyricists in country music and that's on display all over Higher.
Listen To: It Takes A Woman, White Horse
33. Thantifaxath - Hive Mind Narcosis
The mysterious Canadian black metal outfit Thantifaxath returned this year with an album that lived up to both the most visceral and experimental expectations I had. They continue to sound immediate and uncompromising moment to moment but if you take a look at the bigger picture you'll start to see how expansive they go with it. What results is an album that reveals more and more of itself with each listen all while building upon the intrigue that comes with the group responsible. On their first new album in 6 years, feel they didn't skip a beat.
Listen To: Solar Witch, Burning Kingdom Of Now
32. Xiu Xiu - Ignore Grief
Despite some stiff competition, Xiu Xiu retook their throne as the darkest band in all of music with the definitive hoe-scaring album of 2023. In contrast to some of their previous efforts which shocked in the loudest and most brash moments, Ignore Grief is full of paralyzing space. The silent, isolating moments across the album's runtime are truly some of the darkest things I heard anywhere this year. In combination with the often unpredictable compositions which leave you on edge to expect the unexpected, I love how scared I feel, listening to Ignore Grief.
Listen To: Maebae Baeby, The Real Chaos Cha Cha Cha
31. Slowdive - Everything Is Alive
In Slowdive's brightest moment in their early days they found a sound that perfectly encapsulated the dreamy directionlessness of youth and provided an essential template for the emotional peaks of shoegaze. 30 years later they are showing their age in the best way possible. Somehow it was by getting quieter that they managed to make the shoegaze sound they pioneered sound deeper and more mature. The album comes with all the weight of those decades of lessons learned but it doesn't demand that you also bear it in order to listen. The result is one of the most dreamy and blissful albums I heard anywhere this year.
Listen To: Skin In The Game, Shanty
30. Eartheater - Powders
After Eartheater blew me away with the lead single from this album Pure Smile Snake Venom I was pretty excited to hear the newest development in her mystical fusions of pop and electronica. What she delivered was easily her most mystical record yet that finds its most beauty and elegance in its most detached moments. With a combination of instrumental beauty and airy spacious production, the project finds a way to be blissful in both the most literal and most perceptually nebulous sense of the word.
Listen To: Pure Smile Snake Venom, Crushing
29. Danny Brown - Quaranta
When I first heard Quaranta I didn't think I would grow to like it as much as I do. I won't say Danny is robbed of his eccentricities but in a quieter and more reflective environment, he's compelling for far different reasons than ever before. I love seeing him dig into his own personal nostalgia and extract meaningful moments out of it. But even when he aims his pen outward at the world around him he has an impressive amount to say. This album didn't just impress me, it expanded what I even realized Danny was capable of.
Listen To: Jen's Terrific Vacation, Bass Jam
28. Olivia Rodrigo - GUTS
A few years ago Olivia really impressed me with her debut album. SOUR saw her leaning into her artistic versatility and punctuating it with an acting ability that allowed her to disappear into the character of her songs. Absolutely every ounce of what I loved about that album is expanded and improved upon on GUTS. With even punchier songwriting and more compelling character, Olivia took a massive step towards the respect of a pop auteur, the likes of which she is increasingly looking to lead the next generation in.
Listen To: bad idea right?, pretty isn't pretty
27. Zach Bryan - Zach Bryan
Another mainstream hit album that I liked a lot this year was the self-titled Zach Bryan project. He impressed me quite a bit with some of his breakthrough singles last year but I had no idea he was going to follow it up so quickly with something so great. This album reaches a blend of the flare of vintage country and the demeanor of singer-songwriter folk that so many have strived for in recent years. With his distinct detail-oriented songwriting and gruff textured vocals there was nobody else in country music I wanted to hear more this year than Zach.
Listen To: Hey Driver, East Side Of Sorrow
26. Jess Williamson - Time Ain't Accidental
Speaking of breakthroughs that came quicker than I anticipated, enter Jess Williamson. She teamed up with Waxahatchee as Plains for a great album last year that had me looking forward to whatever she did next. That came pretty quickly and on the back of a collection of singles that could go toe-to-toe with anybody not named Underscores this year. The resulting album which sees Jess reflecting on years of love lost both for better and for worse feels like the musing of a songwriter well beyond her years and yet it remains so down to earth throughout.
Listen To: Hunter, Time Ain't Accidental
25. Parannoul - After The Magic
I feel bad about comparing this record to the last Parannoul album so much. While it still doesn't affect me the same way as the transcendently great eruption of angst and self-doubt that, preceded it, After The Magic is beautiful in entirely its own right. This album is much more content to lull you into bliss than blast you into submission but many of those lulls are setups for eruptions that are just as satisfying. The best songs on this album use their quieter moments to craft incredibly memorable highs that completely transcend the boxes many put on Parannoul after their breakthrough album.
Listen To: We Shive At Night, Arrival
24. Caroline Polachek - Desire, I Want To Turn Into You
On her sophomore solo album Caroline Polachek turned me from a skeptic into a believer. Okay, maybe some of the singles had already done a LOT of the heavy lifting but the deep cuts helped push it over the edge. She and producer Danny L Harle craft a series of bubbly magnetic art pop gems that span an impressive variety of styles. But they also span an impressive variety of moods as Caroline proves just as adept at assembling intimate and meaningful moments as she does soaring pop bliss.
Listening To: Bunny is A Rider, Blood And Butter
23. Noname - Sundial
In the wake of the controversy surrounding Jay Electronica's inclusion on this album and the response Noname gave that indicated she may not even want most people to like it in the first place, underrating this album was basically the easiest thing on Earth. That's why I'm pretty happy to have been ahead of the curve in acknowledging that Noname continues to be in her bag artistically across this album. She is absolutely still one of the best and most unique lyricists in all of rap music and her demeanor continues to sound so impressively casual even as she weaves together extremely technical verses. Nobody is capable of doing it like Noname and she once again proved it this year.
Listen To: Namesake, Hold Me Down
22. Colin Stetson - When We Were That What Wept For The Sea
This one is almost unfair. When Colin Stetson gears up and focuses he is easily the most compelling saxophone soloist in all of music right now. His experimental compositions are sometimes even scary in their isolation and yet I find them so spellbinding. The album is indulgent, packed full of what is essentially long sax monologues occasionally separated by compelling guest vocalists. And yet it was never a chore to listen to as each magnetic shift and dynamic pull of its sound feels so compelling. Among the multiple experimental jazz records on this list, Stetson delivered the best of the bunch.
Listen To: When We Were That What Wept For The Sea, The Surface And The Light
21. McKinley Dixon - Beloved! Paradise! Jazz!?
In a year where hip-hop didn't have as many dazzling high-end releases as usual McKinley Dixon got the chance to absolutely shine. His immense talent as a lyricist and performer makes so many of the verses on this album utterly irresistible and still worth breaking down in every detail. But between McKinley and many of his stunning guest performers, this album also has the kind of hooks that most warm vintage jazz projects can only dream of. The result is the very definition of a breakout, though that's no reason not to dive into Dixon's previous outings because they're damn good too.
Listen To: Run Run Run, Beloved! Paradise! Jazz!?
20. Blur - The Ballad Of Darren
This is just me fighting off the instinct to put this album even higher. For the first time since I started this blog, I got to cover one of my favorite bands of all time and they didn't disappoint. This mellow and sentimental approach to their style sees the band getting reflective on their years in the limelight which couldn't be a bigger treat for somebody who came up as a fan. But even to the outside observer the catchy songwriting bursting out of this dreary sonic palette should be an instantly compelling dynamic. Kicking off the top 20 is somehow a compromise for one of the best bands to ever do it.
Listen To: The Narcissist, Avalon
19. Kelela - Raven
When Kelela dropped singles like the drum and bass-flavored Happy Ending I assumed this album would sound similarly ambitious to the previous outing that made me first fall in love with Kelala 6 years ago. But when Raven actually arrived I found an album much more reserved and expansive than I was anticipating. The murky production runs throughout giving the album an impressive cohesion even as it leaps stylistically around the world of darker R&B. Kelela herself is the rock that holds steady throughout it all assembling a cohesive and compelling outing that feels worth the wait.
Listen To: Happy Ending, Missed Call
18. Fever Ray - Radical Romantics
The first half of 2023 was defined by some great horny records and this was firmly among them. The album is such an impressively unique portrayal of sensuality which follows its sensuality through uncompromising whims. In addition to what Karin brings in the fascinating thematic end, their brother serves up pinpoint production. Radical Romantics sees them both cooking together in a way they haven't truly achieved in a long time even as The Knife. Don't miss this one.
Listen To: Shiver, Carbon Dioxide
17. JPEGMAFIA & Danny Brown - SCARING THE HOES
At the opposite end of the spectrum from Danny's own solo outing this year we have his collaboration with Peggy. All across this album, they serve up some of the most insane, bombastic and unflinchingly weird hip-hop music I've ever heard. They don't just treat scaring the hoes as a literal objective, but a rallying cry to follow any ambition they can possibly think to undertake no matter how strange. Even though I may not love this record as much as some music critics out there, I still found it to be one of the freshest things I heard in rap music all year with some of the most incredible highs.
Listen To: Kingdom Hearts Key, God Loves You
16. Model/Actriz - Dogsbody
Let's revisit that whole theory about how honry the first half of this year was with the album that broke the dam of kinky sex playlist additions. But that somehow still feels like selling the best debut album of the year short. Model/Actriz translate industrial music into pure visceral sexuality in a way that seems to directly continue on from the genre's origin. With grinding metallic industrial sounds and absolutely lethal intimate sung-spoken vocals that feel like whispering in your ear, there's an utterly overwhelming cognitive dissonance to this entire album that I find mesmerizing. There was no other album this year that came even CLOSE to matching the sheer physicality of Dogsbody.
Listen To: Amaranth, Mosquito
15. El Michels Affair & Black Thought - Glorious Game
When Black Thought announced yet another new album this year with neo-soul outfit El Michels Affair all I was hoping for was that he would keep up the hot streak he's been on in the past few years. What I couldn't have possibly imagined is that he would hone in on his formula for success so specifically that he'd emerge with one of his best projects to date. There isn't really much to analyze here, Black Thought is a master storyteller who hits it out of the park time and time again across this record. The wonderful vocal guests and dazzling instrumentals feel like perfect supplements to his displays of excellence. This isn't a glamorous pick, but it's an execution of absolute rap mastery that I couldn't ignore.
Listen To: I'm Still Somehow, Protocol
14. James Blake - Playing Robots Into Heaven
James Blake albums being high on my year-end list is basically the free space on your Lav's Music Corner Year End Bingo Card. There is no single artist I've dished out more praise for on this blog than James and he proves me right every single time. Across this album where he elevates the energy of his previous outing while returning to some of the more experimental electronic musings of his early days, he manages to hit a home run with both ambitions. Nobody else has the combination of perfectly placed vocals and masterful control of sonic space and texture. James Blake is a cheat code.
Listen To: Loading, Tell Me
13. The Drums - Jonny
This album is amazing, I'm in awe of it. That's not because it reaches any sonic or conceptual place that I have trouble even fathoming. In fact, it dabbles almost exactly in the sun-kissed indie pop the band has been working in for much of their career. What amazes me is the consistency with which Jonny Pierce is able to craft the catchiest imaginable refrains on song, after song, after song. Not only do all of these tracks have utterly magnetizing hooks but Jonny feels like the perfect vocalist to perform them as his sweet singing consistently phases out into shimmering landscapes with absolute ease. Though its ambitions may be simple, I can't think of any single album this year that more consistently deights than Jonny.
Listen To: Obvious, The Flowers
12. Lana Del Rey - Did you know that there's a tunnel under Ocean Blvd
On the opposite end of the consistency scale, we have a lengthy and indulgent new album from Lana Del Rey. The tracklist here sports some underwhelming cuts, seemingly unnecessary interludes, delights, and even a track that I claimed at the time was my least favorite Lana track to date. But what kept me coming back to this album over and over and over was the 80% of it that is sheer Lana brilliance. The high points on this album are as high as I've ever heard from her which is wild because she's one of my favorite artists of all time and I've been praising her constantly on this blog for years. Even though she could of shaved the record down a bit and made it even more perfect I can't help but confess that I utterly adore it regardless.
Listen To: A&W, The Grants
11. Tim Hecker - No Highs
I've mentioned "cheat code" artists at a few points on this list already but Tim Hecker honestly puts them all to shame. He has such a potent knack for compelling ambient music that you can almost just draw a line under everything else when he drops a new record. That was even more the case on No Highs my favorite new album of his in years where he spun an even more dense array of sounds than usual into his characteristically cloudy landscapes. It's an extremely entrancing series of minimalist compositions that have so much sonic detail and texture worth exploring. Even by the standards of compellingly hazy ambient music Hecker always manages to elevate himself above all his contemporaries.
Listen To: Anxiety, Lotus Light
10. Sufjan Stevens - Javelin
Describing Sufjan Stevens as an emotional songwriter comes with all the observational wit as describing the sky as blue. But the range of emotions that he's capable of capturing with such heartfelt majesty and pure intensity of feeling is stunning. That's important across Javelin as Sufjan processes the extremely complicated feelings of mourning his late lover. That manifests in more meaningful moments per song than any other album I heard this year as Sufjan turns his precise emotional pen towards processing some extremely challenging real-life trauma. And yet in the wake of all of that, he manages to emerge with something that feels like a cohesive journey and one well prepared to take the audience along for the ride. Combine that with the vision of electronically tinged folk music that he first explored on Age Of Adz but with a decade to grow and muse on it and you've got easily one of the best albums of the year.
Listen To: Will Anybody Ever Love Me?, Shit Talk
9. Julie Byrne - The Greater Wings
Julie Byrne returning after a long absence with her best album to date was one of the best things that happened this year. Her touching, gentle singer-songwriter style is something that exists out there in spades but is so rarely done just right. All across Wings Julie delivers that sound with the poise and nuance it deserves and the results are absolutely delightful. Even better though, the songs do a magnificent job of reinforcing each other both sonically and thematically and building to something greater than the sum of its parts. This feels like the best-case scenario for new music from Julie and the fact that she managed to hit it is something I'll be thankful for for a very long time.
Listen To: Summer Glass, The Greater Wings
8. Susanne Sundfor - blomi
The tripling down on singer-songwriter and indie folk parallel artists isn't something I intended but here we are. In my defense, Susanne hasn't been in that category until her past few projects when she slipped the bounds of some of the electronic music that used to define her and leaned into much more sparse and acoustic sounds. That's the case even more on blomi whose swelling moments of dramatic bliss are built primarily on piano crescendos and glittery strings. Though she may not be leaning into writing as personal narratives as some of her contemporaries on this list that doesn't mean that her lyrical game is weaker. In fact, some of the most mystical and enticing lyrical displays I heard anywhere this year came from the dynamic deep cuts that make up this album. And they come in between utterly remarkable ballads that see Susanne continuing her majestic dominance of styles both new and old.
Listen To: Alyosha, Blomi
7. Jessie Ware - That! Feels! Good!
What another stroke of sheer pop excellence from Jessie Ware. Permanently rendering the allegations of her previous efforts being a fluke completely wrong with another batch of songs that are more immediate than ornate and yet satisfy all the same. From the punchier moments of slick sensuality to the absolutely stunning belts of vocal bliss, Jessie is still so versatile and operating with better writing and production than any of her pop peers. Across a new album that avoids misses for nearly its entire runtime, she serves up one reason after another as to why she should be the one wearing pop's crown and shouldn't have to give it up any time soon.
Listen To; Pearls, Free Yourself
6. Sampha - LAHAI
On LAHAI I hope that Sampha gave us a glimpse into R&B's future. I can only speculate because he's s far ahead of his contemporaries that it's unclear if the genre will ever catch up. We already knew that he has a control of his vocals that fringes on mastery and is able to take his stunning talents to a myriad of emotionally potent places. But on LAHAI he blended that with cloudy, impressionistic songwriting and airy blissful sonic palettes that elevated everything to another stratosphere. The level of execution is so high that it's sometimes even easy to forget that Sampha is just a person and the moments where his vulnerability shines somehow strike an even more refreshing tone for an already stunning album. I've used the word "mystifying" a few times on this list but I can't think of anything this year, or maybe ever, that left me more purely mystified.
Listen To: Suspended, Only
5. Reverend Kristin Michael Hayter - SAVED!
From the mystifying to the terrifying. Kristin Hayter may have left behind the expansive crushing darkness of her Lingua Ignota project but what she arrived at leaves me just as deeply unsettled. This record is a combination adaptation and imitation of the style of vintage religious songs and hymns that Hayter captures perfectly. Often leaning into the more horrifying fire & brimstone instincts of uncompromising religious values the record features a prophetic darkness in nearly every single song. All of it wrapped around Kristin's still utterly harrowing and paralyzing vocal performances which are capable of adding layers of fear to every single moment. There was no album I was happier to let scare me over and over this year than SAVED!.
Listen To: I WILL BE WITH YOU ALWAYS, I KNOW HIS BLOOD CAN MAKE ME WHOLE
4. Liturgy - 93696
In experimental metal music this year there was Liturgy, and then there was everyone else. Inviting Steve Albini on for production duties was the single best personal decision I heard any artist make in 2023. His brash and uncompromisingly raw style gives these songs a grit that feels like having your face dragged across concrete. Using that to contrast Raveena Hunt-Hendrix's soaring philosophical songwriting and unending conceptual advances works flawlessly. This isn't just the most epic undertaking yet from a band already well known for their ambition, but one whose brutal sound manages to also keep it grounded. Between guttural churning lows and piercing angelic highs, this album delivered everything I could possibly want from a Liturgy album.
Listen To: Before I Knew The Truth, Djenneration
3. underscores - Wallsocket
This year two hyperpop and internet music parallel artists that I liked in the past graduated to sheer masters of their craft. The more ambitious and dizzying of the pair was underscores who served up this absolutely irresistible slice of girlish and dramatic small-town living. With an inescapably bubbly demeanor, bombastic frenetic production, and hooks on top of hooks on top of hooks this album is the most irresistible thing I heard all year. It's all held together by an underlying concept that has absolutely all the answers and even expands into a full-on ARG online. At the start of 2023 I thought underscores was a decent artist with potential and 12 months later I'm, utterly obsessed. Every single reason why is present within the tracklist of Wallsocket.
Listen To: Locals, Cops And Robbers
2. Jane Remover - Census Designated
On the other side of the highly regional, hyperpop parallel, trans artist, concept album masterpiece coin, we have Jane Remover. After a change in name, she returned with a sound and style that is much louder, spacier, and more patient than ever before. The shift into pure space and expanse allows her to follow her artistic muses much MUCH further. To indulge in the biggest cliche of music critic history, the real treat isn't the destination but the lessons learned along the way. Where Wallsocket was one of my favorite albums of the year the moment I heard it, Census Designated took a lot longer to reach those same highs. That's because unpacking the detail of every single moment of the album, while compelling at first, wasn't the right way to process it. Once I realized that the journeys Jane writes about in her stories mimic the journey she takes listeners on everything clicked. Track after track on this album isn't just masterfully assembled from a sonic perspective, but brilliantly dynamic emotionally as well. Give yourself to Census Designated, it will reward you.
Listen To: Census Designated, Video
1. ANOHNI - My Back Was A Bridge For You To Cross
There were moments where everything in my top 4 felt like it could possibly be my favorite album of the year. But I have to fall back on my instincts. The first time I finished this album I couldn't imagine hearing a record better than this in 2023 and at the end of the day, I didn't. ANOHNI is continuing to sound like one of the most incredible songwriters in all of music weaving detailed observations on the world around her with meditations and reflections on her own place within it and feelings about it. Those musings are arranged into many of the most purely beautiful sonic statements of the year. From the most anxious and desperate moments of the album where ANOHNI processes survivors guilt and impending destruction to the sweetest most inviting visions of genuine optimism, she is prepared to meet every single moment. My Back Was A Bridge is truly the kind of once-in-a-generation protest album with such a grip on the problems, solutions, and impending march of feelings that it feels like it speaks for everyone collectively and each individual person all at once. Nothing this year met such thematic brilliance with the pure musical mastery of talented veteran musicians and as a result, there wasn't a single project that did more justice to the very idea of an album than this. ANOHNI's best work yet is also the best thing I heard anywhere in 2023 serving up one masterpiece after another that pleases on the surface and continues to indulge no matter how deep you dig. It's sheer excellence.
Listen To: It Must Change, It's My Fault
Thanks for reading <3
