The 50 best albums of 2023
Once again, we find ourselves in December, a month of reflection that seems to come around a little quicker each year. Although 2023 has whizzed by at lightning speed, it has borne witness to some truly memorable music from an ever-expanding galaxy of genres. A lot can be said about the modern music industry; it’s more fraught than it has ever been, but it is certainly not lacking in range, perhaps even as a result of the current instability.
It has also sadly been a year of loss. 2023 has thrust upon us reluctant and teary farewells to some of our cherished legends, including David Crosby, Andy Rourke, Sixto Rodriguez, Sinéad O’Connor, Jeff Beck and Shane MacGowan. While these artists can never be replaced, their example endures, lighting the paths for rising talent.
At Far Out Magazine, we celebrate music from all corners of the globe across a broad spectrum of styles with a focus on all things bold, innovative and inspiring. This year has seen several acts, such as Bar Italia, Benefits and Mandy, Indiana, emerge with stellar debut albums. Alongside such releases, the likes of Yo La Tengo, Yves Tumor and even the old Zamrock stalwarts Witch have added compelling evidence to respective cases of supreme consistency.
We take our round-ups seriously and endeavour to present an aggregate of our collective taste in the year’s offerings. As ever, it hasn’t been a walk in the park, but the same can be said for the efforts of these 50 extraordinary artists. Above all else, we merit original, affecting concepts, humbling musicianship, and depth worthy of eternal relistens. Thankfully, we’ve been graced with plenty at a time when musicians struggle for their fair dues.
Without further ado, we rank the 50 greatest albums of 2023 in order of greatness.
The 50 best albums of 2023:
50. Zango – Witch
Release Date: 02 June | Producer: Jacco Gardener | Label: Partisan Records
For almost half a century, Zamrock seemed like a genre tragically fated to be a relic of the past. What originated as a cultural explosion arriving from the confluence of independence and the liberating pulse of psychedelic rock that coincided with it was quickly blighted by a HIV epidemic that decimated bands who birthed the scene. Alas, it was a movement spawned by a union, and that same premise has rebirthed it in style with Zango.
The album might sport the name of Zamrock stalwarts Witch, but the surviving members of the band graciously opened their record up to a slew of collaborators. In doing so, they showcase the extent of the legacy that they first set in motion. Contemporary artists like Sampa The Great and Theresa Ng’ambi not only bring a freshness to proceedings but also illustrate how the genre reverberated beyond its tragic ruins in a manner that proves emotional throughout the record. With Jacco Garnder on production duties, Zango also retains the haziness of old anthems like ‘Lazy Bones’, ensuring that the hi-fi engineering doesn’t denigrate the rough and ready enthusiasm that always pulsed in Witch.
49. Every Loser – Iggy Pop
Release Date: 6 January | Producer: Andrew Watt | Label: Atlantic Records
While you could still grate cheese on Iggy Pop’s abs if you wanted to create a truly despicable sandwich, there are obvious question marks about whether there’s such a thing as a relevant 76-year-old punk. Well, Mr Pop answers those critics in frenetic style with a record that is more than happy to young below its years. The voice of the shirtless frontman, who still sports luscious locks absolutely indecipherable from Jennifer Aniston’s haircut, has mellowed to a hue that seems lived-in, so when he grumbles ‘Strong Out Johnny’, it imbued with the weight of his years in the business.
This experience has also allowed him the fortune of being able to surround himself with ridiculous levels of musicianship that shine throughout Every Loser with great aplomb. Everything is tonally mastered to almost mask the musical mastery with a raucous dazzle, but sounding this effortlessly frantic takes enormous effort and skill. While you could’ve relied on Iggy for energy even in his pensionable years before even hearing the album, it’s the melodies that land the heftiest punch. Groove and grit are in equal measure on Every Loser as Pop keeps the punk pulse defibrillated with yet another volley of songs to quit your job to.
48. Medicine – Goat
Release Date: 13 October | Producer: GÅS | Label: Rocket Recordings
The forest-dwelling masked Swedish psych rock troupe, Goat, delivered a mellower affair with their look at medicine in all of its guises. This seems like a fitting record for the band to deliver after the pandemic prompted us all to indulge in introspection. And it is in this psychic picnic where the record triumphs. Its swirling welter of sounds makes idle moments like waiting for the kettle to boil all the more lucid, turns dips in the bath into deeper meditation, and shopping with headphones on has never been more Lynchian.
Vitally, however, it is free of daft crystal skull energy, and rather than wallowing in mysticism, the mellowing retains Goat’s inherent weirdness. Freakouts and bouts of Black Sabbath incursions are commonplace. These more raucous moments serve not to disrupt the reverie of the rest of the album but rather to add poignancy to Goat’s mission this time out, differentiating it from a mere soundscape and delivering a balm that envelopes you with constant dynamic changes. It might not be traditional medicine, but it does make the world a more colourful place, and it doesn’t ask for much from the listener in return.
47. The Girl is Crying in Her Latte – Sparks
Release Date: 26 May | Producer: Mael Brothers | Label: Island Records
You would be forgiven for thinking that Sparks might be looking to call it a day soon, with the duo both in their mid-to-late-70s and having released 26 studio albums since their inception in 1970. On the contrary, the tireless twosome released the fantastic The Girl is Crying in Her Latte this year, a late-career highlight for the pop-rock group. No strangers to exploring new sounds and influences, this record features some radical electronic noise experiments on the title track and yet retains that signature Sparks sound. Ron Mael’s songwriting talent is as strong on this album as it has ever been, and his brother Russell’s voice remains firmly intact.
The album signals the band’s return to Island Records, who released some of their most popular offerings in the 1970s, but Sparks are certainly not attempting to repackage their glam-era hits. While tracks like ‘Nothing Is As Good As They Say It Is’ are more akin to some of the classic Sparks tunes we all know and love, other songs such as ‘We Go Dancing’ sound stunningly original. This record proves Sparks’ ability to constantly adapt to new influences and always remain current – something which cannot be easy for a band who have been around for upwards of 50 years.
46. Yard – Slow Pulp
Release Date: 29 September | Producer: Henry Stoehr | Label: ANTI
This has been a big year for catchy indie pop, and Slow Pulp stood out as something special. Delivering their sophomore album, Yard is everything good about the genre. Prioritising a more lyric-focused sound on this album, at times, Yard is stripped back to the point of drawing reference more towards Phoebe Bridgers than a rock band. Vocalist Emily Massey shines throughout, with this album sure to set her in the lineage of great modern voices in the indie genre. With her husky, honest tones, Massey imbues the record with feeling, angst and attitude in abundance, allowing her lyrical and sonic vulnerability to set the band apart from the current coterie.
Slow Pulp toe the line between crowd-pleasers and reflective singularity well. Taking notes from the neighbouring genres of punk, pop and classic rock, the band’s own indie brand feels at once both totally familiar and fresh. Making for an extremely listenable experience that drives lyrics home with ease for a bedroom singalong, the catchy melodies are unexpected earworms. Everything a fan could want from the indie genre, Slow Pulp deliver the sounds, the lyrics, the attitude and the intrigue.
45. Haunted Mountain – Buck Meek
Release Date: 25 August | Producer: Buck Meek & Mat Davidson | Label: 4AD
The Big Thief guitarist Buck Meek has turned a new corner with Haunted Mountain, creating an ode to the act of being lost, and in doing so, they have made their most complete-sounding solo project yet. The themes touched upon in the album almost sound like they come from a reformed nihilist. Tracks like ‘Cyclades’ highlight how many memories we make over our lives, to the point it’s impossible to keep hold of them. However, it doesn’t then look at creating memories as pointless; instead, it stares at them in a sense of poetic wonder. It’s a very sweet sentiment and a testament to Meeks’ songwriting.
The angular guitarist straddles a fine line on which he is deeply personal while not revealing anything confidential. It’s a talent that many songwriters envy, as he manages to create a sound that becomes easy to connect with while maintaining an element of privacy and mystery in his life. The 42-minute masterpiece touches upon memory, philosophy and how the complexity of life only adds to its beauty. Suffice to say, Haunted Mountain is a must-listen.
44. Tracy Denim – Bar Italia
Release Date: 19 May | Producer: Bar Italia | Label: Matador
Nina Cristante, Jezmi Tarik Fehmi and Sam Fenton formed Bar Italia three years ago amid Covid-19 lockdown restrictions and busied themselves with live performances when the law permitted. After stirring up a small but strong following, they released a debut EP and several singles on Dean Blunt’s World Music label. In March, the zany London trio announced a profitable new deal with Matador Records, celebrating the occasion with ‘Nurse!’. This lead single brought a fresh alt-rock sound and Nina Cristante’s absorbing vocals to the masses with ample radio airtime, promising greatness to come.
On May 19th, Bar Italia released their full debut album, Tracey Denim. The 15-track release swaggered deftly on a line somewhere between shoegaze, grunge and post-punk. Through a ubiquitous air of macabre intensity, Bar Italia brought balance in shared vocal duties, dynamic tempo and textural changes within and between the tracks. Beyond the towering lead singles, highlight tracks include ‘punkt’, ‘Guard’ and ‘Friends’. Taking no time to dwell on their breakout success, Bar Italia entered a dense touring campaign through the summer and released a follow-up album, The Twits, in November.
43. The Greater Wings – Julie Byrne
Release Date: 7 July | Producer: Alex Somers | Label: Ghostly International
The alternative scene has always been about paving the way towards something new every time one voyages into the recording booth. Since there’s an open canvas in the studio, the artist is front and centre with their thoughts, looking to pour over their innermost feelings when they step up to the microphone. Even though Julie Byrne may have approached her recent album, The Greater Wings, through retro instrumentation, the inventive songwriting has held up as one of the most awe-inspiring feats of this year.
By taking the raw, essential elements of the mix and amplifying them, the listener often feels like they are right there in the room listening to Byrne offer these quiet discussions about her life, whether that’s the spacey sounds of ‘Portrait of a Clear Day’ or the sublime string arrangements brought together for the song ‘Summer Glass’. Unlike most artists trying their best to create a story in the listener’s mind, this is the closest that Byrne has ever come to showing her audience what the inside of her heart actually sounds like. It might not be easy to hear, but sometimes those emotions must be felt.
42. Synthesised Sudan – Jantra
Release Date: 16 June | Producer: Vik Sohonie & Janto Koite | Label: Ostinato Records
Amid a war-torn Sudan lives a man of bold defiance who scurries away from the skirmishes that besiege his land and fishes celestial sounds from the floating firmament via a synth honed and reconstructed in the Fashaga underground to beguile ravers with a smattering of cosmic escapism. Jantra may well never know that he has crafted one of the year’s most electric albums because he is firmly off the grid by virtue not only of the forces of circumstance but also his own humble disposition. Nevertheless, it is a certainty that his efforts offer a profound listening experience worthy of your interest.
There is a side street somewhere in Sudan where his instruments are crafted in something like a chop shop for synths. It is here where custom ethereal tones are affixed. Mixing the percussive folk style of the area with something rather more trance-like, he has harnessed a sound that provides a complex backdrop of euphoric escapism from the war waging a few fields over. Then, with the help of Vik Sohonie and Janto Koite at Ostinato Records, his live freestyles were painstakingly pieced into something resembling a regular record. It’s a feat full of joy and defiance.
41. Long Rattle – Dream Sitch
Release Date: 6 October | Producer: Michael Nau & Seth Kauffman | Label: Airloom
Michael Nau and Floating Action first started releasing music as Dream Sitch in 2020. Their debut had luscious cuts like the buoyant hook of ‘Soft Stars, Hard Thunder’, and while the catchy hooks remain, the floaty side of things has been chopped up and rendered angular and experimental. The sounds on their innovative new release incorporate elements of jazz, dub, and avant-garde electro, but this busy-sounding environment is always neatly composed to constitute sweet songs in the old pop sense of the word.
It’s a strange and impressive feat for the seamlessness of traditional songwriting structures to court dissonance and have listeners not pleading for the racket to cease in favour of simplicity. Somehow, the duo manage to make a busy world of sound and effects a welcoming space with familiar friends like choruses and sweet, memorable lyrics. Rarely does such stark innovation and inventiveness have the comfortable appeal of something that you can continually return to and toss on in the background, and that is meant in the best possible way.
40. Ax Ox – Gnoomes
Release Date: 3 March | Producer: Kate NV | Label:Rough Trade
Kosmiche Muzik usually explores the realms beyond earthly realities. However, with their potent blend of psychedelia and the kitchen sink, Gnoomes tackle the tragedy of the war their Russian homeland is waging. Ax Ox offers a unique account of experiences the world knows so little of, adding a voice to the disenfranchised youth who grew up amid the struggles of post-Soviet Russia. It’s a unique voice blessed with an equally unique wail, bold enough not to care about making itself relatable to the masses.
It pounds away like an anxious jackhammer, layering words that seem to be spat out while pacing and stabbing guitar lines in such a way that the frantic need for the band to express something is expertly converted. It sounds like living inside David Bowie’s Low and emerging just before utter derangement got the better of you and quickly crafting an album in your bewildered state. Haunted and scarred one minute and exultant the next, the album waxes and wanes on a deeply original whim, capturing a sense of sincerity with its understandable mood swings, making for a deeply affecting listen, like a sonic equivalent to an Andrei Tarkovsky film.
39. Javelin – Sufjan Stevens
Release Date: 6 October | Producer: Sufjan Stevens | Label: Asthmatic Kitty
Sufjan Stevens has remained the indie rock Renaissance man since he first picked up his banjo. Going through every single one of his projects, Stevens has been looking to stretch beyond the traditional realm of songwriting, taking cues from his heroes to paint pictures of entire cities in Illinois or heart-wrenching pain on Carrie and Lowell. After wrapping up his Convocations project, Stevens’ next studio venture sees him as emotionally potent as he was at the start of the decade.
For all of the decent tracks on The Ascension from 2020, Javelin feels like Stevens is stripping all the fat off his sound and coming up with something closer to a singer-songwriter record than anything he’s put out in years. Even after decades in the game, Stevens has been able to create a science out of blending eclectic instrumentation and beautiful melodies into a song that has the potential to break your heart or make you smile, depending on the day you’ve been having. Parts of his earlier works are hidden here, but Stevens is more interested in warping his past sounds to reflect where he is today.
38. London Ko – Fatoumata Diawra
Release Date: 12 May | Producer: Damon Albarn | Label: Rough Trade
“For me, London Ko means opening your mind,” explains Malian musician Fatoumata Diawara, whose fourth studio album is one of the year’s most electrifying and joyous releases. London Ko is a celebration of identity and community, with Diawara bringing in collaborators from across the world, such as the British songwriter Damon Albarn of Gorillaz and Blur fame, Cuban pianist Roberto Fonseca and Ghanaian rapper Manifest. As “the first female solo electric guitar player in Mali,” as she told Guitar World, Diawara demonstrates her incredible skills on London Ko, particularly within the track ‘Yada’. She encourages listeners to dance from the very first song, ‘Nsera’, featuring Albarn, who co-produced the record with Diawara.
Elsewhere, Diawara proves that she isn’t just an incredibly skilled singer and musician – she also lays down some poignant lyrics, exploring themes such as family, feminism and cultural identity. The singer doesn’t shy away from difficult topics, such as FGM on ‘Sete’, which is accompanied by the Brooklyn Youth Chorus, elevating the track to even more emotive heights. Diawara also chooses to sing in various languages on London Ko, including English, French, and Bambara – a conscious decision to celebrate the different facets of her identity that make her whole.
37. Silver – Say She She
Release Date: 29 September | Producer: Sergio Rios | Label: Rough Trade
After the years of interminable and everlasting drudgery that has been the entry into the 2020s, for some, it feels good to once again be enjoying the world for all its delights. The nights are once again filled with the laughter and lap-slapping dancing of a generation once cooped up in their homes. If one band personifies this joyful reconnection with the dancefloors of the country, then it has to be Say She She, a group so endlessly devoted to the swaying bounce of the nightclub that one might think of them as Chic in disguise
The group’s message may be a politically charged and, ultimately, a very welcome one. But the music they shroud their strong voices in is glistening with a gorgeous tone that it is impossible to refuse. And, speaking of voices, the group also possess some of the tightest harmonies of the year. The 70-minute LP may land slightly on the wrong side of long, but there’s something beguiling about a group so in control of themselves that they simply don’t care if you’ve had too much of a good thing.
36. Fast Trakk – Supervisjón
Release Date: 14 March | Producer: Supervisjón | Label: Tutl Records
It’s rare that you’ll hear something you’ve definitely never heard the likes of before. It’s even rarer that it turns out to be good. And rarer still that it comes from an island of 53,000. Beyond that triumvirate of rarities, Faroese electronic music Lasse Jæger has created something that seems important. He’s sliced and spliced snippets of everyday conversation and occasionally viral clips into a glitching blitzkrieg of sounds. At once, this world is both mildly maddening but utterly captivating, like an MC Esher of sound.
The sampled voices bring a humanity to this world. Snippets of banalities about bubble wrap and current loan rates typically have no place in the world of noise experimentation, but by utilising them, the Supervisjón project brings these abstract genres back down to earth. Why does sonic experimentation have to ignore reality and pretend we’re not in love with our computers? After all, they are the birthplace of the genre itself. While Fast Trakk raises all of this and more, the key point is that the whirlwind of sound itself is intoxicating and unique, eviscerating the same reality it does so well to uphold a semblance of.
35. Angel Numbers – Hamish Hawk
Release Date: 3 February | Producer: Rod Jones | Label: Post Electric
Just as the singer-songwriter archetype seemed like it was beginning to fade, Hamish Hawk re-emerged with a new album. With a remarkably strong collection of 12 tracks oscillating between power pop and heartfelt ballads, Hawk fulfilled the potential shown in his previous release, 2021’s Heavy Elevator. Expanding on the polished sound of his last album, Angel Numbers showcased Hamish’s creation of more dynamic songs, elevating his vocal delivery, lyricism, and overall songwriting skills to new heights. Much credit is also due to his band, whose brilliance also shines consistently throughout the album.
Although his style of almost-crooning vocals might require some adjustment for certain listeners, it serves as the perfect vehicle for him to enchant us with a variety of captivating and surreal narratives. These tales include encounters like Bill Callahan visiting him in a dream (‘Bill’), observing Elvis Presley on The Ed Sullivan Show (‘Elvis Lookalike Shadows’), and envisioning the future as a factory of animosity (‘Think Of Us Kissing’). These lyrical embellishments, coupled with the displayed musical talent, position Hawk as a contemporary counterpart to Neil Hannon of The Divine Comedy — a comparison inevitable but far from bad. This comprehensive album, unafraid to express raw emotions, saw Hawk enter a new chapter of much-deserved prominence.
34. Being – Baaba Maal
Release Date: 31 March | Producer: John Leckie & Damon Albarn | Label: Marathon Records
2016 was the last time we heard from the Sengalese maestro Baaba Maal, but he didn’t disappoint when he rose from comparative obscurity (still working with Damon Albarn and providing songs for Black Panther in the background) to give us one of the year’s most essential records. Naturally, the album comes out the blocks with a pulsating push with ‘Yerimayo Celebration’, and he rarely takes his foot off the gas thereafter.
Sitting on the airwaves as an intoxicating hybrid of traditional African rhythms and modern studio developments, Maal provides not only a view of an artist still clearly in their prime, but of a changing Africa. It’s another innovative release and yet another reason that the world should not have to wait another six years for the next LP. Being roars with a vitality that is rare, but this booming energy is honed to an entrancing degree of danceable control that typifies Maal as a masterful master of ceremonies.
33. Rides On – Nude Party
Release Date: 10 March | Producer: The Nude Party | Label: New West Records
No stranger to country-infused psychedelic folk, the new album from The Nude Party takes their already established sound and elevates it. It provides the listener with an element of warmth the minute it begins playing, coming across as nostalgic but very much like a 2023 album simultaneously. Influences such as Mott The Hoople and Lou Reed can be heard in every chord, yet the finished production is original and exciting and proves rock ‘n’ roll will always be relevant.
This is the most calculated the band has ever been. Predominantly a live act, their earlier projects have come with an aura of improvisation to them, but Rides On has had more thought put into it, and that consideration shines through. In an interview, singer and guitarist Patton Magee commented on the new approach, saying, “You really kind of challenge your brain to route itself in a different path with how to approach the song, like what tone to use on it. Does it need an electric guitar at all? If it does, does it really need a pentatonic solo? Maybe it doesn’t, maybe it actually just needs some weird reverb slide thing that’s very subtle.” It’s those subtleties that really make the record shine, along with witty lyrics and superb imagery.
32. My Back Was A Bridge For You To Cross – ANOHNI and The Johnsons
Release Date: 7 July | Producer: Jimmy Hogarth, ANOHNI | Label: Secretly Canadian
ANOHNI has always been a vital voice. Starting out as part of Lou Reed’s incredible legacy, standing as a kind of heir to the singer, ANOHNI’s talent was spotlighted by the Velvet Underground leader early on. In the years since then, ANOHNI’s output has been a pioneering light, singing about the queer experience in the most beautiful way. On their 2023 album, My Back Was A Bridge For You To Cross, their lyrical prowess seemed to get even sharper and more brilliant.
With the cover graced by the face of trans activist Marsha P Johnson, a prominent figure during the Stonewall gay rights riots, the entire album is dedicated to the people who came before ANOHNI and the world they’ll leave after. Dealing with prejudice, hate and continued societal injustice on ‘It Must Change’, environmentalism on ‘There Wasn’t Enough’ and even their last conversation with Lou Reed on the beautiful ‘Sliver of Ice’, My Back Was A Bridge For You To Cross is dense and rich with feeling. Nowhere is it more beautiful than on the haunting ballad ‘Why Am I Alive Now?’. From start to finish, the record feels at once both incredibly bold yet tender, a deeply feeling and revealing body of work; ANOHNI maintains a poignant position as a voice this world needs.
31. Hard Light – Drop Nineteens
Release Date: 3 November | Producer: Greg Ackell, Steve Zimmerman | Label: Wharf Cat Records
While so many bands produce disappointment after such a long time away, the same cannot be said for Drop Nineteens on Hard Light. Their first album in 30 years, following 1993’s National Coma, the record sees the quintet return to their roots as a mature force. The world-experienced individuals, who, as Greg Ackell tells Far Out, are “much more prepared for each other” – not like the kids who acrimoniously left the band all those years ago – pour wisdom into the works. Something of a spiritual successor to the band’s debut, Delaware, Hard Light is unequivocally the group’s most distilled offering yet.
Boasting the rousing throwback of ‘Scapa Flow’, a hair-raising title track, and the glistening shoegaze mastery of closer ‘T’, the band have come back as different musicians and have a wider collection of places to look for inspiration. While they are more willing to let other elements enter the smelting process and push themselves in new directions now, they are still led by the visionary Ackell, meaning they haven’t lost sight of what made the band so important in the first place. This counterbalance has primed the band for the contemporary context, and Hard Light serves as an exemplary tale for all groups looking to return after such a long time away.
30. Amatssou – Tinariwen
Release Date: 19 May | Producer: Daniel Lanois | Label: Wedge Records
After decades of leading the Saharan blues charge, Tinariwen emboldened their sound by welcoming an array of American influences, thanks to the work of producer Daniel Lanois and a string of seasoned musicians. The result feels like something vital. Of course, the instrumentation is scintillating, but that is subsumed by a deeper meaning. The band hails from a region that has always been under threat, but now climate change risks destroying their culture entirely and propagating a refugee crisis that could soon engulf the globe.
But there is reason to rejoice found in Amatssou. The album might embrace foreign influences, but the cultural tenets of Tinariwen are seemingly only emboldened by this marriage. This keeps the voice of the Taureg people roaring with its typical shimmering guitar work and glistening arpeggios in a fitting analogy for a culture defiantly keeping itself aflame and embracing change. For the listener, this is not only a reaffirming thing to listen to, but it also offers up a snippet of spiritualism that breaks up dull days with an assegai of the bigger picture, which packs a punch of profundity.
29. Theatre of the Absurd Presents C’est La Vie – Madness
Release Date: 17 November | Producer: Matt Glasbey | Label: BMG
Theatre of the Absurd Presents C’est La Vie is an album that feels like the frankest roundup of the year’s most challenging moments – only set to the syncopated jaunt of ska. With theatrical flair and Martin Freeman’s narration, Madness dismantle the chaos and cruelty of the times we’re living through, somehow making dismal lyrics danceable in true two-tone tradition. The fact that ska rose to prominence in a time of massive social upheaval but still feels politically relevant today is not only a testament to Madness’ timeless beat but also a damning reflection of the era we’re living in.
Suggs sings about them knowingly, sometimes forlorn, but always with a wit and humour that means the album doesn’t feel as bleak as it maybe should. The 14-track offering is a ray of light, littered with classics that nod to their previous efforts but don’t feel like a nostalgia tour. We even get a revamped version of ‘Our House’ with ‘In My Street’, just as catchy as its predecessor and perhaps more politically driven. What’s staggering is that it’s Madness’ 13th album and yet their first-ever number one in the UK, which is as good a testament as any to how slick, sharp and vital the record is.
28. Nails – Benefits
Release Date: 21 April | Producer: Benefits | Label: Invada
In April, the Teesside trio Benefits released their highly-anticipated debut album, Nails. Having drummed up an early following with stellar live shows and a string of captivating singles, Benefits truly delivered in this ten-track LP. Driven by frontman Kingsley Hall’s subversive, uncompromising vocals, the album conveys messages of frightful realism, shining a light on the gritty truths of modern life in the neglected corners of Britain. Hall’s infectious contempt ebbs and flows through pulses of intensity, somehow extracting beauty from the dark and unsightly.
Musically, Nails is just what it says on the tin: metallic, unyielding and industrial. Hard as nails, this group shows their teeth to the establishment but also channels anarchistic energy into fruitful creation. The music falls somewhere between avant-garde electro and UK hip-hop, maintaining an eerie atmosphere of desperation throughout with simmering synths and discordant drum patterns. With such a variety of tracks on the album, it’s worth a front-to-back listen, but key highlights include the propellant punk rap of ‘Warhorse’ and the industrial clamour of ‘Empire’. It’s not an album for everyone, but that might just be to their credit.
27. Mercy – John Cale
Release Date: 20 January | Producer: John Cale, Nita Scott | Label: Double Six Records
John Cale has come a long way since his formative years as Lou Reed’s partner in crime and multi-instrumentalist of The Velvet Underground. Back in January, the legendary Welsh composer released Mercy, one of his most audacious yet appealing works in several years. Beyond his characteristically ghoulish vocals, a macabre atmosphere and avant-garde edge familiarise this remarkably contemporary work with Cale’s kaleidoscopic back-catalogue. To ensure the album’s success, Cale collaborated with a fine and varied selection of current artists, namely Tony Allen, Laurel Halo, Weyes Blood, Tei Shi, Animal Collective’s Avey Tare and Panda Bear, Dev Hynes, Sylvan Esso, Actress, and Fat White Family.
Thematically, the album drew much of its inspiration from recent socio-political stressors, including Donald Trump’s presidency, Brexit, the Covid-19 pandemic and climate change. The dystopian candour is punctuated in places by biographical tracks, including ‘Night Crawling’ and ‘Moonstruck (Nico’s Song)’. The former was the lead single that harkens back to nights out in New York City with David Bowie in the 1970s, while the latter honours the beauty and talent of Cale’s late friend and collaborator, Nico. In all, Mercy is a musical bludgeon that injected Cale’s DNA into a modern organism, providing a crucial platform for collaboration.
26. Is It? – Ben Howard
Release Date: 16 June | Producer: Bullion | Label: Island Records
Ben Howard‘s much-needed summer masterpiece Is it? saw the singer enter a fresh phase – a more resonant and rhythmic one compared to his previous work – supported by a feeling of artistic freedom that empowered him to move forward confidently. This essence permeated the album due to the impactful event that sparked its creation: Howard’s stroke.
The musicology swirls like a mirage across the fluctuating album, scattered with tracks perfect for sun-kissed moments and experimental collages like ‘Total Eclipse’. Recorded over ten days of creative immersion at Le Manoir de Léon studios, nestled amid the hills between Bordeaux and Biarritz in the south of France, Howard and his band crafted this musical journey in an evident state of joy. This album also signified a significant milestone for producer Nathan Jenkins, who is recognised as Bullion in the industry. It builds upon the distinctive sound he crafted in Orlando Weeks’ impressive Hop Up, solidifying his position as a leading creator of uplifting euphoria in music production, essentially claiming the title of the foremost creator of indie summer vibes at this moment in time.
25. Life Under the Gun – Militarie Gun
Release Date: 23 June | Producer: Ian Shelton, Taylor Young | Label: Loma Vista
On their long-awaited debut album, Life Under the Gun, Ian Shelton’s outfit resoundingly confirmed why there has been a growing buzz around them in hardcore circles for some time. A departure from the visceral, hate-filled power-violence of Shelton’s other band, Regional Justice Center, Militarie Gun take from punk, hardcore, alternative rock and maybe a pinch of indie and melt them into a distinctive sound, which occasionally produces the frontman’s signature call – “Ooh Ooh”, and a volley of infectious singles.
Life Under the Gun was a stellar way for the Los Angeles band to introduce themselves to a wider audience, brimming with anthemic choruses, hooky riffs, fury, and a touch of introspection every now and then. None of the songs mess around, getting straight to the point, and after just one listen, you can understand why they are now rising at pace. Undoubtedly one of the most crucial guitar bands around right now, powered by the mastery of Drug Church lead guitarist Nick Cogan, in pulling from such an eclectic mix of influences, Life Under the Gun has the ability to appeal to a wide berth of listeners and begs the question of where they will go next.
24. Approach to Anima – Maya Ongaku
Release Date: 26 May | Producer: Maya Ongaku | Label: Guruguru Brain
With their debut album, Maya Ongaku created an absolute must-listen for any experimental and psychedelic-folk music fans. The songs sound like they have been discovered rather than written, as earthy tones undercut every track, Approach to Anima doubles up as a fantastic album and a white noise machine. It’s a record for people looking to escape but unsure where they want to go, with a sound that comes across as almost vulnerable in its unrelenting beauty. Extended intros, outros, and elongated periods of sonic minimalism all sound natural on the blistering debut; nothing comes across as dragged out, and the record stands as a testament to the corner of the Earth on which it was made.
Maya Ongaku is a trio from seaside communities around Enoshima, a small island about 30 miles southwest of Tokyo. After already gaining a lot of traction through touring, this album cements them as an act to keep an eye on. If Approach to Anima is anything to go by, with its pristine and intricate production, Maya Ongaku have barrels of potential, and it’s exciting to see where they might go next. The debut album might not be immediate, but is a rewarding listen for anyone who gives it time.
23. I Don’t Know – Bdrmm
Release Date: 30 June | Producer: Alex Greaves | Label: Rock Action Records
As an established shoegaze band, it’s perhaps a bold move to open your second album with a pounding beat that would sound more at home on an electronic record, but Bdrmm aren’t worried about alienating their fans. Rather, the Yorkshire-based band relishes in experimentation, and on their sophomore album, I Don’t Know, they expand their musical palette to include a wider selection of influences to sit among their pre-existing bread and butter of reverb-heavy, shimmering guitars. Inspired by the work of Thom Yorke and Aphex Twin, the beginning of the album asks listeners to subvert their expectations and strap in for an astounding mixture of electronica, ambient, shoegaze and indie rock sounds.
On ‘Be Careful’, undoubtedly an album standout, the band create a calm and steady build-up as lead vocalist Ryan Smith sings about “realising how we can all act when we’re not in our right minds. You know, it can unleash stuff, and it’s not always nice”. The record has equal moments of abrasion and tranquillity, often within individual songs, such as ‘It’s Just A Bit of Blood’, which moves between punctuating potent guitar riffs and slower, hazy sections. Despite the title of the album, Bdrmm sound more sure of their identity than ever, creating some modern shoegaze classics, such as ‘Pulling Stitches’, in the process.
22. Norm – Andy Shauf
Release Date: 10 February | Producer: Andy Shauf | Label: Anti-
Since his debut in 2009, Andy Shauf has established himself as one of the modern era’s premiere songwriters. His latest effort seems him take on an unreliable narrator role. The titular Norm is an important character to consider in the current climate. He is, in essence, a stalker, so deeply enveloped in his own world, devoid of reality, that he sees his pursuits as purely romantic and fails to be self-aware enough to realise that he’s a sinister creep.
In order to paint this tale with fitting postmodern prose, rather than cast Norm in a scathing and cynical light, he empathetically places him in a world of sound so sweet and serene it could lull a can of Red Bull to sleep. Impressively, amid this conceptual album – one that features Kurt Vonnegut-like flourishes of Shauf stepping out from the background to try and shake the delusions of his protagonist – there are still a smattering of single-worthy songs like ‘Wasted on You’ and ‘Halloween Store’. Thus, with great seamless melodies, Shauf looks to find the human in the inhumane, and unlike a lot of troubling faux true crime today, he presents a crook who could do with a bit more empathy shown his way, too.
21. That! Feels Good! – Jessie Ware
Release Date: 28 April | Producer: James Ford, Stuart Price | Label: EMI
Jessie Ware‘s reinvention over the last few years has been a joy to behold. She’s embraced her inner disco queen and waved goodbye to melancholy ballads, finding her true calling. Ware first headed down this sonic avenue with 2020’s What’s Your Pleasure? before ramping up the volume on her latest infectious ode to lust. From start to finish, That! Feels Good! is a non-stop party tailor-made for a wine-fuelled kitchen disco. The pulsating album offers up escapism from the everyday mundanity of life and temporarily allows listeners to get caught up in the magic.
Stand-out tracks ‘Free Yourself’ and ‘Freak Me Now’ epitomise the joyful message of the record. Ware has taken ownership of herself as an artist, proudly embracing her dancefloor demon. On the one hand, she hosts a successful food-related podcast with her mother and is happily married with children. Nevertheless, Ware is a multi-faceted character, as she explains in ‘Pearls’: “I’m so 9-5, I’m a lady, I’m a lover, a freak and a mother, Walking on the line, it’s in my human nature, I crave a little danger.” Everybody craves a little danger, and on That! Feels! Good! Ware taps into that part of the human psyche wired for temptation.
20. I Am Not There Anymore – The Clientele
Release Date: 28 July | Producer: The Clientele | Label: Merge
Ah, uniqueness. The ultimate compliment in the modern world of music is that, with over 70 years of rock ‘n’ roll under our belts, a band can produce something that feels completely original. The Clientele did that with effortless ease on I Am Not There Anymore. Poised as a conduit between the flowery age and something even more drenched in baroque beauty, the record is wonderfully eclectic and essentially beautiful.
‘Fables of the Silverink’ provides the perfect gateway to an album so densely rich in variety; with a glitching backbeat violin and ethereal backing vocals, it serves as a showcase of what is to come. The trio have outdone themselves with the range of sonic structures they use to craft their tracks. It’s an hour of music that will float by with the same intrigue and interest that one would find taking in a floating art exhibition drifting down the river as you sip cocktails on the banks. It’s an abstract world, but a lilting backbone makes I Am Not There Anymore easy to take in and enjoy.
19. I’ve Seen a Way – Mandy, Indiana
Release Date: 19 May | Producer: Scott Fair | Label: Fire Talk
Manchester quartet Mandy, Indiana have been stunning audiences since the release of …EP in 2022. This year saw the release of their debut, I’ve Seen a Way, and it is everything that fans of the group hoped it would be. A violent menagerie of sound, the album blends together dance beats, eerie electronic howls, and fantastic noise-rock influences. It is difficult, if not impossible, to pin the album down to one specific genre, and yet it doesn’t feel like it is simply conflating influences in search of originality, but rather a buffet celebrating everything the band loves, making it a sonic assault on the senses.
Stand-out tracks ‘Pinking Sheers’ and ‘Peach Fuzz’ are the group at their best. The infectious energy of the intense, sometimes frightening, soundtrack is only improved by the tones of frontwoman Valentine Caulfield. The French-speaking vocalist acts as a guide through the album, but in contrast to some of their earlier work, her singing on this record is much angrier and rising in intensity. Make no mistake, though, Caulfield is still very much in charge. As anybody who has had the pleasure of seeing the group perform will attest, her hold over audiences is unmatched, and after even the first track, they are in the palm of her hand on record, too.
18. Gigi’s Recovery – The Murder Capital
Release Date: 20 January | Producer: John Congleton | Label: Human Season Records
The Dublin quintet, The Murder Capital delighted the early part of 2023 with a brutal return to the airwaves with Gigi’s Recovery. Releasing a post-punk record these days isn’t a particularly innovative notion, but there’s something particularly potent about this release. Not only does it avoid so much of the spoken-word nonsense that seems to litter the speakers of every university campus in the land, but it is not afraid of using melody to deliver its message.
A natural arc seemed to be laid out in front of the Murder Capital with their debut LP. Endlessly connected to the success of their compatriots, Fontaines D.C., the group could have released noisy and abrasive sounds for the rest of their careers and been moderately happy. However, their sophomore effort has far more layered texture than anyone could have expected. Flecked with trip-hop, jazz and much, much more. There are many moments of genuine brilliance on Gigi’s Recovery, and ‘Ethel’, ‘Return My Head’ and ‘The Lie Becomes The Self’ serve as prime examples; they roll forth with growing confidence and originality that nod to a band just starting to open the taps.
17. When Horses Would Run – Being Dead
Release Date: 14 July | Producer: Jim Vollentine | Label: Bayonet Records
Filled to the brim with friendship and fun, the first full-length offering from Texas-born Being Dead almost feels like a breath of fresh air. Scuzzy guitars borrow from surf and garage, forming a stellar soundtrack for summers spent by the sand and the sea. Though their tone often imitates a shrug, slacker in energy, the joint vocalists mirror that nostalgic rush of ‘80s synth with playful energy in their harmonies, pacey melodies and warm words. “We are Being Dead, we’re having a good time, we hope you’re having a good time too,” they introduce themselves politely.
Between the cutesy vocals and kitschy sentimentality, it’s difficult to refuse their offer. ‘God vs. Bible’ is a tiny track featuring only vocals and hand claps that jokes, “If God owned the Bible he’d read it every day.” But the album isn’t limited to those moments of glee and mischief. Closer ‘Oklahoma Nova Scotia’ features hauntingly layered vocals and relentless instrumental ascents, while ‘Last Living Buffalo’ quickly devolves from cheeky indie rock into droning and the screeching of the words, “You killed them.” When Horses Would Run is a solid debut that almost emulates the experience of sitting in on a jam session. It’s cool without trying to be; it feels raw and rustic, but it’s always infused with heart and honesty.
16. The Death of Randy Fitzsimmons – The Hives
Release Date: 11 August | Producer: Patrik Berger | Label: Disques Hives
A blistering power chord opens The Death of Randy Fitzsimmons. This is not just a production choice but a statement: what you’re about to experience is a rock ‘n’ roll record, no less, no more. Over the course of the next 32 minutes, the album grabs you by the lapels and shakes you like a second-hand Skoda speeding over a cattle grid. Since it was released in August, thousands of houses have been cleaned in record time while this record blares, personal records in 5k jogs have been obliterated, and countless dreams of seeing The Hives live with a two-pint cup in hand have been had.
Press releases are never usually that indicative of what will truly follow, but The Hives offer the most genuine one to my inbox this year: “There’s no maturity or anything like that bullshit, because who the fuck wants mature rock ‘n’ roll?” So, despite being elder statesmen, the Swedish band returned from an 11-year hiatus with a call to immaturity that proves joyously fun. The musicology? Who cares about that? The fact that the longest song is 03:44 should give you a solid insight into this punky beast that brilliantly manages to be daft without ever enduring a mere whiff of cheesiness.
15. Come Back To Me – Peter One
Release Date: 5 May | Producer: Rafaela Hernández, Matt Ross-Spang | Label: Verve Forecast
Peter One grew up in Bonoua, Cote d’Ivoire. For a large chunk of that time, being a musician seemed an impossibility. He wasn’t presented with a guitar until he was 17. Since then, one has hung off him like a wooden appendage. He is the sort of artist who makes their craft seem as natural as taking a stroll. However, with Come Back To Me, he has tapped into reserves that go beyond the effortless and dredge the depths of his soul to create a sweet assortment aureated with experiential wisdom.
All his years – the fame he found in his homeland before a tempestuous political climate forced him to leave in the 1990s to the struggles he faced settling in the US – are all wrung up in a stirring, serene masterpiece. Come Back To Me sounds like he is finally sinking back into the core of his soulful sound. As he sings on the bluesy ‘Staring Into the Sun’, “It’s been 16 years a lot of changed since then, nobody is like you, nobody can really fill your shoes.” But this sentiment isn’t presented mournfully; rather, it is blissfully uttered as a reconciled exhale of all that has been, delivered with a pinch of sugar that conjures rays of summer.
14. Bunny – Willie J Healey
Release Date: 25 August | Producer: Loren Humphrey | Label: YALA! Records
When listening to the plethora of records the year has had to offer, it was easy to pinpoint the brilliance of Willie J Healey’s Bunny. Imagine waking up on a sunny Sunday morning with a pot of hot coffee brewing; the drifting thoughts of a plan-less day ahead are only paused by the notions of an afternoon nap and the splatter of the fried foods you’re about to consume. It is that feeling of unique contentment that Healey has managed to capture within Bunny.
Ranging from the calm and cultivated indie bounce that Healey has been carefully constructing for most of his career to the swaying funk rhythm that carries the undercurrent of joy possessed within the record, Bunny is the perfect LP to ceremoniously place on your turntable as the weekend opens up. ‘Dreams’ is typical of this idea, providing both an insatiable hook and a delicately buoyant bassline to keep toes tapping. ‘Sure Feels Good’ is another track to bring a smile to your face, complete with a deliciously retro viewpoint that begs your cheeks to rise to your ears.
Bunny may not dwell on ‘cutting-edge’ dourness or endlessly overused spoken-word pompousness that seems to litter much of modern music, but it has buckets of character, a unique swagger and the kind of timeless appeal that will mean it’ll sit proudly on shelves for decades to come.
13. The Record – Boygenius
Release Date: 31 March | Producer: Boygenius, Catherine Marks | Label: Interscope
2023 was the year of Boygenius. The supergroup of Phoebe Bridgers, Lucy Dacus and Julien Baker returned with their full-length follow-up to their beloved 2018 self-titled EP. While the EP delivered a promising collection of songs from three indie up-and-comers, their LP, The Record, is an absolute mountain collating the finest work from the now genre leaders. Taken on the road for one of the year’s most exciting live acts, Boygenius are undeniably one of the biggest success stories of 2023, weaving an essential strand of the modern alternative zeitgeist.
From the rage on tracks like ‘$20’ and ‘Satanist’, allowing the members to play out their rock band fantasies, to the tender vulnerability of ‘Emily I’m Sorry’ and ‘Cool About It’, The Record provides a tracklist of songs that are better than the sum of their parts. Taking the incredible storytelling and poetic lyricism of Dacus, mixed with Bridgers’ ability to articulate messy feelings and Baker’s broader musical sounds, the combination delivered an instant classic for millions of angsty teens and 20-somethings.
On ‘True Blue’, the band sings, “It feels good to be known so well, I can’t hide from you like I hide from myself,” perfectly summarising the magic of The Record. Boygenius are emboldened by their friendship and musical understanding. Allowing themselves to be braver in the embrace of a caring threesome, all that love resulted in a masterpiece of sorts.
12. This Stupid World – Yo La Tengo
Release Date: 10 February | Producer: Yo La Tengo | Label: Matador Records
It may be hard to cast our minds back to February, but we must, even if just for this exquisite offering from the New Jersey alt-rock legends Yo La Tengo. What began as a smorgasbord of jams, a series of polished tracks suddenly began to take shape through sporadic pandemic studio sessions between 2020 and 2022. Noticing they had a more than agreeable follow-up to 2020’s We Have Amnesia Sometimes on their hands, Yo La Tengo scraped together a perfectly balanced LP of exceptional range.
Impressively, This Stupid World was wholly self-produced, with McNew handling most of the mixing duties. In fact, before the recordings were handed to mastering engineer Greg Calbi, the only other person involved was CJ Camerieri, who provided French horn tracks for ‘Aselestine’ and ‘Apology Letter’. This insular conviction creates a record that flows boldly between the noise-rock weight of ‘Fallout’ and ‘Sinatra Drive Breakdown’ to the ethereal delicacy of ‘Aselestine’ and ‘Miles Away’. Eerie, intense and as colourful as ever, Yo La Tengo exercise an array of familiar styles in a nuanced platter of immersive ear candy with textural depth demanding eternal re-listens.
11. Did You Know That There’s a Tunnel Under Ocean Blvd – Lana Del Rey
Release Date: 24 March | Producer: Various | Label: Interscope, Polydor
Lana Del Rey’s status as one of music’s most vital voices has only been rising steadily over the past decade. She released her ninth studio album, Did You Know That There’s a Tunnel Under Ocean Blvd, in March, complete with a host of collaborations with artists ranging from Father John Misty to Tommy Genesis. Yet, these additions never detract from Del Rey’s singular vision, fitting into the singer’s sonic world seamlessly. The album is perhaps her most introspective to date, with songs such as ‘Fingertips’ allowing Del Rey to lay bare her innermost thoughts.
On ‘A&W’, Del Rey shows her dynamism by opening with a mellow acoustic-guitar and piano-led meditation on her childhood, the media’s critiques of her body, and her sadness surrounding romantic relationships before taking a sharp sonic shift and allowing a trap beat to crash down and lead the track in a new direction.
Del Rey’s strengths as a songwriter shine bright, and she often refers back to lines from old songs, nodding to her past or acknowledging how much she has changed. The album contains some of Del Rey’s most impressive cuts, such as the emotionally devastating ‘Candy Necklace’ featuring Jon Batiste. The album isn’t without playfulness either, and Del Rey has fun with ‘Peppers’, a hip-hop-influenced track that gives respite from the rest of the album’s heaviness. Once again, Del Rey has delivered an album demonstrating an impressive sense of individuality and sublime talent, making it one of the strongest releases of her career.
10. Praise a Lord Who Chews… – Yves Tumor
Release Date: 17 March | Producer: Various | Label: Warp
Yves Tumor is anything but conventional, and that’s why we love them. The self-taught musician started young, feeling out drums, bass, guitar and keys on their own terms. Since they broke through in 2015 with When Man Fails You, Tumor has continued to exude their innermost self in highly accessible yet refreshingly original and widely varied material. As if this unquenchable thirst for experimental and colourful creativity wasn’t enough, Tumor is also blessed with a commanding hand in the realm of production.
Back in March, Tumor released their fifth studio album. In a characteristic deviation from convention, they titled the album Praise a Lord Who Chews but Which Does Not Consume; (Or Simply, Hot Between Worlds), but it was well worth the mouthful. This Warp release slashed into new pastures of pop extravagance as a product brimming with textures descending from electronica, psychedelia and punk rock.
While there’s a lot going on across 12 tracks, Tumor’s deft production skills tether well-placed instrumentals to a coherent and well-balanced psych-pop odyssey. Whether tapping our feet to the rhythmic intensity of ‘Echolalia’, drifting in the ethereal ‘Interlude’ or headbanging to the industrial electro-punk of ‘God is a Circle’ Tumor never fails to intoxicate the listener with anxious excitement. This is, without a doubt, the essential avant-pop record of 2023.
9. Everything Is Alive – Slowdive
Release Date: 1 September | Producer: Neil Halstead | Label: Dead Oceans
Shoegaze is back, and accordingly, so is Slowdive. The genre pioneers made their return in 2023 with Everything Is Alive, their first full-length release in six years and yet another study in the softer side of shoegaze. Their sound remains just as hazy as it was during their original stint within the so-called “scene that celebrates itself”, and this is showcased immediately from the opening track.
Though the record acts as a continuation of the Slowdive sound shoegazers have come to know and love, Everything Is Alive sees them explore darker spaces and more electronic soundscapes. Though it maintains some of the dreamy fuzziness that brought Slowdive their place in sneaker staring history, Everything Is Alive is more precise and polished than some of their other work.
Typical twangy guitars honed on their signature rig take centre stage on ‘Kisses’, while the lengthy ‘Chained to a Cloud’ is just as contemplative and contained as its name suggests. The record brings the genre – and the band – into the contemporary scene. However, their gazes aren’t fixed firmly; they’re open to wider horizons than ankle-height existence. As ambient and enrapturing as ever, the record acts as a statement for the band’s deserved and enduring place within the genre, even three decades on from the release of the seminal Souvlaki. It also acts as a statement for the genre as a whole, a hazy sonic representation of our scattered times.
8. Accompany – Michael Nau
Release Date: 8 December | Producer: Adrien Olsen | Label: Karma Chief Records
There are some albums that raise the question: why aren’t all records like this? Within a few minutes of Accompany, or more precisely, as you bask in the bliss and beauty of the brilliant ‘Painting a Wall’, you suddenly think that punks ought to grow up, that dissonance is a codeword for defilement, and anything that tries to be anything other than easy on the ear is trying too hard. There’s no harshness or hardship to Michael Nau’s latest, just pillow-propped quietude pitted with little punches of poetry that pull you out of the smooth flow of instrumentation like the line, “Waiting for the morning at the end of the day, it’s an impossible life to get over.”
The album marks Nau’s fourth in a full solo capacity, but the constantly collaborating American has a bounty of prolific excellence to his name from an array of other projects. This wealth of experience clearly allows him to feel comfortable in his craft, happily relying on solid foundations and focusing on an embalming ambience thereafter.
His work has a canny knack for cultivating perfection, and this album seamlessly embodies that feat. You can’t fault Accompany, and you will be thankful that it has entered your life, a humble gift—the type that lasts and gets endless use. It’s the sort of record that asks for so little and gives everything in return.
7. I’ve Got Me – Joanna Sternberg
Release Date: 30 June | Producer: Matt Sweeney | Label: Fat Possum
Sometimes, an album can leap out of the airwaves and grab you with an arresting assertion of its impressive musical prowess. Joanna Sterneberg‘s I’ve Got Me is not one of those albums. Instead, Sternberg’s gentle folk rhythm, which hums like your favourite blanket rolling around the dryer, operates more like a toffee-smelling smoke gently gliding through the air and delivering one of the year’s finest servings of comfort.
Sitting somewhere between the raspy tenderness of Karen Dalton and the idiosyncratic buoyancy of Daniel Johnston, Sternberg has delivered a defining record on only their second attempt. ‘I Will Be With You’ is a heartfelt trip back in time to the universal truths of love and loss, ‘Stockholm Syndrome’ gilds a similarly poised lily, tender and vulnerable as it floats on calm waters. But, in truth, this LP isn’t destined to be dissected and devoured in separate courses. This is a down-home family banquet of sonic delicacies.
Each song on the record is perfectly balanced with sweet and salty tones. Musically, using everything in their grasp, including fiddles and painful piano, Sternberg creates the kind of tones that can fill your heart with rich syrup. Vocally, too, they showcase a pin-sharp balance of unique burble, rich authenticity and classic folk cadence. The salt is added by Sternberg’s lyrics, which come packed with a punch of a barbed and guarded humanity in a tough world. So universally tragic and triumphant, I’ve Got Me is the kind of album that will rest happily in the hearts and minds of all who hear it for far longer than the year ahead.
6. Chaos For The Fly – Grian Chatten
Release Date: 30 June | Producer: Dan Carey, Grian Chatten | Label: Partisan Records
When Fontaines D.C. frontman Grian Chatten quietly revealed plans to embark on a solo endeavour with Chaos For The Fly, it was to very little fanfare, and he didn’t even tour the record. However, his first solo outing is a heartbreakingly triumphant album that doesn’t deserve to float under the radar and points a microscope into Chatten’s enchanting mind.
The Irish crooner deals with anxiety, loneliness, dependency and the downsides of fame on the profoundly personal record enhanced by stirring orchestral arrangements. For Chaos For The Fly, Chatten teamed up with producer Dan Carey, who has helmed all three Fontaines D.C. records, and their innate understanding of each other is evident across the record. ‘Salt Throwers off a Truck’ is a track firmly aligned with the heritage of Irish greats, such as the late Shane MacGowan, but Chatten is a unique artist, and he subverts the image of New York in the song with poetic quirks.
His ear for melody also offers beauty throughout, even when he’s dealing with dark subject matters, such as on ‘All of the People’, which finds Chatten labelling hangers-on as “scum”. Meanwhile, Chatten is at his rawest on the grunge-tinged closing track ‘Season For Pain’ as he sings, “This is no season for loving, This is the season for pain.”
Chatten’s vulnerability across Chaos For The Fly allows listeners to gauge another dimension of his character as he continues to cement himself as one of the finest songwriters to emerge over the last decade. However, Chaos For The Fly was never about establishing himself as a solo star. Instead, it was a pursuit he needed to follow as a sense of artistic integrity as this set of songs burned a hole within his soul.
5. Everything Harmony – The Lemon Twigs
Release Date: 5 May | Producer: The Lemon Twigs | Label: Captured Tracks
Many brothers in bands have fallen victim of taking themselves too seriously, ‘Every Day Is The Worst Day Of My Life’ is a song title that perfectly showcases the wry humour behind The Lemon Twigs bound to keep such a fate at bay. This mirth is resplendent throughout an album that paints a Claude Monet of New York streets, welcoming you into its harmonious world, as the reprised retro tones of 1960s baroque pop are met with postmodernism.
As the title implies, everything is indeed harmonious, with the duo using a single acoustic echo chamber for the full record. This keeps things light and lilting, but in an almost Lynchian fashion, not everything in their spring-like world is rosy. Harmony is a battle against blighting forces rather than a constant sustainable state. This is indicated by the brilliance of desperately trying to maintain ‘Every Day Is The Worst Day Of My Life’ as a folky gem.
By sonically delving into the past and celebrating what they love with their own singular signature, the band refuse to partake in any fads. This facet, along with its effortless relatability and ease, ensures that it’ll remain a fixture that pops up on sunny days for as long as your ears remain functional. And each time, you’ll marvel not only at the charming melodies, Brian Wilson-like intricacies, and daring desire to obey their whims, but like The Alessi Brothers or Donnie & Joe Emerson, you’ll also marvel at two brothers whose performative brilliance makes evolution seem grossly unfair. How are they hitting these notes with a giggle?
4. Desire, I Want To Turn Into You – Caroline Polachek
Release Date: 14 February | Producer: Various | Label: Sony Music, The Orchard, Perpetual Novice
With pop music in a radio-friendly rut and an increasing preference for “cooler” genres, it seems almost impossible to inject the stilted realm with new life in 2023. Enter: Desire, I Want to Turn Into You. Caroline Polachek’s fourth studio offering is a solid statement that she just might be the saviour of pop. Though the record sits firmly within that sphere, it refuses to be confined to it – catchy choruses and synths are blended with Spanish guitars, bagpipes, electronic influences and even an appearance from Grimes. It’s unpredictable from start to finish, relishing in that very tenet of pop.
The playful ‘Sunset’ borrows from flamenco to tell the story of a fearless love, punctuated by short claps and skittish guitars, while ‘Blood and Butter’ seems like a fairly (albeit excellent) run-of-the-mill pop song until it devolves into a bagpipe break half-way through. Though her instrumentals are ever-changing, flitting between influences with ease, there is one constant throughout the album: whether they’re sitting atop bagpipes or blaring over trip-hop, Polachek’s vocals remain just as distinctive and precise as ever.
At times wailing desperately, at other times making purposeful statements of intent, her voice remains the most identifiable and iconic feature of her output. It begs you to sing along, then almost mocks you for doing so – it’s impossible to match her intricate ascensions and improvisations. For its unpredictability, inventive approach towards pop, willingness to experiment, and demonstration of Polachek’s spoken prowess, Desire, I Want to Turn Into You might be a perfect pop album for the modern age.
3. Mushroom Cloud – A.S. Fanning
Release Date: 26 May | Producer: Robbie Moore | Label: K&F Records
You could drop an atomic bomb in the dense puddle of Mushroom Cloud and you’d never live to hear it hit the bottom. Midway through A.S. Fanning’s third studio album, the depth lands upon a tagline that seems to hit a nerve with the zeitgeist, “Because living young is getting old.” Not only is it a piece of stunning poetry – the rare variety that startles you momentarily – but it also transcends the album like a flare of gen Z’s collective consciousness.
These moments are plentiful in Fanning’s record. With crooning akin to Leonard Cohen, he drawls out the sort of poetry reminiscent of a feather floating towards a window and shattering it on impact. Penned in a period when his flat was rendered a cushy prison thanks to incumbent restrictions, the Irish songsmith is not afraid to court melodrama. After all, is it really the dramatic to reconcile whether your life’s going the way you want it to when you reach a certain age?
He sees the light side of this question, too, realising that there is mirth in his predicament. This makes for an all-encompassing album that the instrumentation matches. There are times, in fact, when you barely realise things are boomingly orchestral amid the pedestrian settings; these swelling soundscapes sneak up on you. And it all, ultimately, coalesces with the closer ‘Pink Morning /Magic Light’, a twinkling beauty that conjures the same scenery as Bob Dylan’s ‘Mr Tambourine Man’, 15 years on in the life of the same protagonist. To use Fanning’s mirthful words, it’s a record to keep with you for the whole rest of your wretched little lives.
2. The Land Is Inhospitable and So Are We – Mitski
Release Date: 15 September | Producer: Patrick Hyland | Label: Dead Oceans
Despite facing some fierce competition from the rest of her discography, The Land Is Inhospitable and So Are We is Mitski’s most heart-wrenching and heart-warming effort yet. Between swelling harmonies and sampled barks, Mitski combines the personal and the cinematic in her instrumentals, all of which serve to enhance lyrical longing and loneliness. Her words chart broken promises, patriarchy, pain, and everything in between, unflinching in their vulnerability but precise in their poetry.
Taking Tiktok by storm, ‘My Love Mine All Mine’ is undoubtedly the album’s standout track, but it’s a song worth far more than the seconds many social media users have awarded it. Over swirling, warping instrumentals and bright keys, Mitski’s words shimmer in unison with the soundscape and appear to chart the culmination of her work so far. It’s at once soft and defiant, taking ownership of her own love, finding acceptance and beauty in its fragility.
On ‘Bug Like an Angel’ she pairs haunting harmonies with discussion of addiction – “Sometimes a drink feels like family,” she declares, and a chorus sings the final word back to her, almost imitating that troublesome warmth. ‘I Don’t Like My Mind’ grapples with guilt over a captivating bed of instrumentation, while ‘I’m Your Man’ contains some of Mitski’s finest lyricism yet. “You believe me like a God, I destroy you like I am,” she sings. For audiences, it’s a welcome destruction.
Throughout the record, we find Mitski battling with her own mind and memories with abandon, her intimate words always accompanied by equally intimate instrumentation. Moonlit metaphors permeate her writing, as is often the case, always giving her personal words a transcendental feeling. It’s an album that will certainly outlast her, an emotional yet exquisite sonic outpouring.
1. Milk For Flowers – H. Hawkline
Release Date: 10 March | Producer: Cate Le Bon | Label: Heavenly Recordings
“Tennessee wrote it better,” H. Hawkline sings over the bombastic guitar of ‘Plastic Man’, but I’m not sure Tennessee did. Throughout Milk For Flowers, the handsome Mr Hawkline’s words carry a prose-like quality, but somehow, he whips these into dense hooks fit for pop. In fact, everything on the record is an alchemical work of subversion and reconstruction that defies usual song science.
Convention says if you’ve got a catchy chorus, then use it, but the Welsh songwriter keeps them stowed up his sleeve, allowing the songs greater space to develop. In doing so, the tracks swell into odd snippets of stories, almost like Randy Newman’s Little Criminals written by a reliable narrator for once. These worlds are as obfuscated as the instrumentation behind them, yet there is enough imagery and emotive resonance to them to whisk you off to a Mexican taverna or wherever the hell they happen to be set.
In fact, nothing is conventional; for some reason, you’re moved to naturally categorise Milk For Flowers as folk, but beyond the strummed verses and melodic lyricism, that classification is bellied by belting horns, wailing electric guitar lines, castanets and avant-garde structuring. Thus, of all the albums released so far this year, H. Hawkline‘s sounds most like one you’ve never heard before, and yet, its true triumph is that it achieves this without straining a sinew towards enforced originality, evidenced by just how easy the whole thing is to enjoy after merely a few listens.
Grief is partnered with Americana for despairing waltzes, and misdemeanours in romance prompting pleading sermons are served up with jazzy pop, but punching honesty through perfectly vocalised lines like, “I want die happy, an empty glass, and knowing that I had sisters who loved me,” make sense of the whole dizzying human comedy. The album is a quirky world unto itself, held up with stunning melodies and a jaunty-hatted songsmith assured in his intent, serving precise prose that permeates the musical whirlwind, creating something that feels like an Edward Hopper painting edited by the devilish Salvador Dalí. The result is beautiful and invigorating.
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