I’m ending my 2023 obsessed with an album from 2022, which I only stumbled across recently. It’s called Too Much to Ask by a band named Cheekface. I should’ve spent the past week or so catching up on releases I missed this year, but, I’ve become a certified Cheek Freak instead, and my music brain hasn’t had any interest in anything else. So, if there are any glaring gaps in the following list, direct all blame towards Cheekface- it’s their fault for making the catchiest tunes to ever exist.

Until next year (maybe). I think this might be my last year doing this. Writing and editing these lists using WordPress is an absolute headache, and I am no longer the patient 17-year-old I was when I started this thing. I’ve opened a bottle of whiskey to get me through this one, so, cheers.

Craig :)

****

Honourable Mentions:

• Better Lovers – God Made Me An Animal (EP) – Refrained from putting EPs on this list, but am very excited to hear a full LP from this ex-Dillinger / ex-ETID formed group, hopefully in 2024. [Bandcamp]
• Death Cab for Cutie – Asphalt Meadows (Acoustic) – The more I hear from Ben Gibbard, the more he cements himself as one of my favorite lyricists. This acoustic record really brings his words to the fore, and I love the mellower instrumental arrangements throughout.
• Feverchild – Altering a Memory – Stumbled across this recently (via Sophie’s Floorboard). Liked what I heard, but haven’t spun it enough to place it on this full list. [Bandcamp]
• Fred again.. & Brian Eno – Secret Life – Fred again.. has been my favourite discovery of 2023 (I know it took me a while), and I’ve spent a huge chunk of his year spinning his Actual Life series, as well as the stream of singles he’s dropped. I preferred those songs and albums to Secret Life, but a 2023 list would not be complete without some mention of Fred. “Ten (feat. Jozzy)” is one of my top five songs of the year, and his recent collaboration with Baby Keem is a banger.
• Initiate – Cerebral Circus – Hardcore punk out of California. This record goes hard, and just missed out on the top 100. Insane vocals throughout. Flies by at 22 minutes, too short for a 10k run, but perfect for a fast 5. [Bandcamp]
• Knocked Loose – Upon Loss / Deep in the Willow – This is only a two-track release, so can’t make the full list, but it is the project I’ve listened to most this year, aside from my number two. Mindblowing how good these two songs are – Knocked Loose killing it.
• Olivia Rodrigo – GUTS – It’s not really my thing, but I get why most folks love it. I do think that ‘bad idea right?’ is a bop.
• The National – First Two Pages of Frankenstein – Decent background music for the most part, but I struggle to appreciate it as more than that. It’s also the least interested I’ve been in a new project from The National in several years. I had the chorus to ‘New Order T-Shirt’ stuck in my head for a couple of weeks when it came out though, so it scores points for that.
• SZA – SOS – This is a 2022 release, I see you Pitchfork. Album still slaps though.

****

100-11

100) slowthai – UGLY

Big fan of the punk direction slowthai went down on this LP. “Visceral” would be the word that comes to mind – a great dismantling of the tortured psyche. Appreciate Tyron for how honest he makes his material, with ‘HAPPY’ being a standout. [Bandcamp]

99) PONY – Velveteen

Just great power-pop, and on constant rotation during the summer months this year. June was the perfect time for this record to drop. Impossible to resist. [Bandcamp]

98) 红白色乐队 (Red & White Band) – 浮游记

Some of the catchiest and most polished Mandopop of the year, bound to delight indie fans on an international scale. Immensely likable. There’s an entire song on here about wanting to turn into an orange – ‘橙子’ – come on!

97) The XCERTS – Learning How To Live And Let Go

Still somehow one of the most underappreciated bands in modern British rock. Another solid offering.

96) The Acacia Strain – Step Into the Light

If this album was only the track ‘Sinkhole (feat. Josef Alfonso)’, it would be number one on this list. Crushing. That shouted “Fuck you! Die Slow!” into the breakdown is madness, and my favourite moment in metal from 2023. Digs a grave and then buries you in it.

95) All Get Out – All Get Out

An American version of The Xcerts? A band that consistently put out stellar records, with this most recent being another winner. If the first minute of first track ‘Trouble’ doesn’t do it for you, then, you probably don’t need to read through the rest of this list. [Bandcamp]

94) Daughter – Stereo Mind Game

I listened to Daughter’s 2016 record Not To Disappear a lot, and was excited for this new LP, which came after a long break for the band. I was pleasantly surprised, even though I didn’t enjoy it quite as much as its predecessor.

93) Speedy Ortiz – Rabbit Rabbit

I’d been sleeping on Speedy Ortiz for some time now, before listening to Rabbit Rabbit, and corrected that this year. This album is a blast, from start to finish. ‘Kitty’ is probably my favourite song here – love the screeching guitars and the effortless manner in which the song cruises. [Bandcamp]

92) Have Mercy – NUMB

The last addition to this list, due to a December release, but a welcome addition all the same. Have Mercy will always have a home on this infrequently-visited music blog, and I’m very happy to have them releasing music again.

91) Equipment – Alt. Account

Opener ‘Hot Young Doctors’ might just be the most enjoyable track one I’ve come across this year. Never fails to make me smile – a slacker anthem for the ages. Everything that follows is also gold, full of personality. Then, with track eight, you get to ‘Your Clothes Without You in Them’ and the whole thing suddenly devastates. An incredible sophomore album, and one that makes me really excited to see what Equipment do next. [Bandcamp]

90) Blood Command – World Domination

This album is 20 songs in 37 minutes, and that should give you a good idea of what to expect from it. Not a second on this thing goes to waste, which tears by like the best of Trash Talk in their heyday. Domination indeed. [Bandcamp]

89) Worriers – Trust Your Gut

Lauren Denitzio is a fantastic indie-punk songwriter, in the vein of Laura Jane Grace and Jim Adkins, finding strength in honest and sincere songs that dive into the human condition and modern living. Slow-burning third track ‘Waste of Space’ is a highlight, poignant and affecting, and I sometimes find myself humming the chorus unknowingly (and relating) – “I want to be a better picture I know me to be / I’d get my shit together but there’s never a good time.” [Bandcamp]

88) Earl Sweatshirt & The Alchemist – VOIR DIRE

Super-producer The Alchemist has a habit of bringing the best out of the artists he works with. Same here – Earl on top of his game.

87) Killer Mike – MICHAEL

I really hope Mike gets a Grammy for this record. I know him better for his work in Run The Jewels, but really enjoyed this solo outing (solo with a bucket-load of features). Loved the soulful cuts like ‘SHED TEARS,’ but also the more conventional trap bangers like ‘TALK’N THAT SHIT!.’ As always, Mike is both powerful and political, sharp-tongued and not one to hold back on how he feels – “I don’t give a fuck who the president is if the president ain’t for me.”

86) Loma Prieta – Last

Last was the first record from the Bay Area hardcore legends in eight years and carried all of the aggression and energy of the earlier works. As a long-time fan, it was exactly what I wanted from a new Loma Prieta album in 2023 – a swirling and chaotic blend of sounds, with lead single ‘Glare’ potentially being the best song the band has ever put out. A five-minute epic, guttural screams, and pummelling instrumentation, bursting into melodic shoegaze towards the end. An excellent return. *As always, love to Deathwish Inc. too – the best label in the game. [Bandcamp]

85) Holding Absence – The Noble Art of Self-Destruction

I don’t necessarily know that I’ve matured and grown alongside Holding Absence and their music. I was a lot more invested in their earlier records (naming them the most promising young band in the UK in 2017). Their third record is one I’ve listened to a decent amount this year, though I mostly found myself drawn to certain songs (‘Death Nonetheless,’ ‘False Dawn’). Some of the other songs admittedly didn’t do much for me; I found ‘Honey Moon’ very saccharine for example, and the gothic influence of bands like HIM felt trite at times. That being said, I still find Holding Absence to be a beacon of light within the alternative British scene, and am glad to see them continue to grow in reputation. As a cohesive whole, The Noble Art of Self-Destruction is their most complete and confident work to date, in some contrast to its title.

84) Bewilder – From the Eyrie

2023 saw the welcome return of indie label Tiny Engines, and Bewilder’s From the Eyrie, the first release from the label post-comeback embodied a lot of what made them such a scene favorite in their heyday. It’s an easy recommendation for anyone looking to give more midwest-emo / indie a chance – with twinkly guitar work, a somber atmosphere, and moments of genuine beauty (as on ‘Breaking’). Fans of basically anything / everything the label put out pre-2020 will find plenty to love here. [Bandcamp]

83) The Great Nothing – Sapphire Moon

This post-rock record showed up in my YouTube recommendations one day, and I immediately went and purchased it on Bandcamp after hearing opener ‘Etched Reflection.’ If you like the genre, and the names that define it – this is right up your street. Vast, sweeping soundscapes which frequently culminate in dense highs, with the sort of goosebump-inducing moments that you only really get from this kind of music. Apparently, everything on this album is the product of one person too – wild. [Bandcamp]

82) Subsonic Eye – All Around You

Loved the slightly more well-rounded sound on this latest LP from the Singaporean outfit, which moves into slightly heavier territory while still keeping their mellower indie vibe alive. Final track ‘Everything’ is the highlight for me here, bursting forth from a plodding melody into a full-blooded climax – vocals almost inaudible under the cacophony. You can just make out vocalist Nur Wahidah asking, “Does it scare us that no matter how much we eliminate tall grass, it grows back wilder and wilder?” That All Around You is a record with such questions is one of the many things that makes it great. In its best moments, this is an album that sounds effortless – it embodies the word ‘cool.’ [Bandcamp]

81) Creeper – Sanguivore

This record slipped under my radar, despite the fact that I loved the lead single ‘Cry To Heaven.’ That song saw Creeper fully embrace their gothic metal influences, and was one of the best things they’d ever done. It’s a fitting introduction to the record as a whole, which sees the band bigger and bolder than on previous LPs. Ambitious, sprawling in concept, and unabashedly confident in delivery, Sanguivore is an easy record to love. I still think ‘Black Heaven’ is a little ridiculous though, but that’s just me.

80) Mom Jeans. – Bear Market

Another winner from Mom Jeans., and a record which extends their sonic palette and takes their songwriting in interesting new directions (as on short but, well, sweet ‘Sweet’). Elsewhere, you get the dynamic, bombastic emo-tinged pop-punk the band have always been a reliable go-to for. Fans of bands like Prince Daddy & The Hyena or Arm’s Length won’t have any complaints about Bear Market. [Bandcamp]

79) Lord of the Isles & Ellen Renton – My Noise is Nothing

Electronic and ambient music from producer Lord of the Isles, punctuated by the words of fantastic soft-spoken Scottish poet Ellen Renton. [Bandcamp]

78) Lakes – Elysian Skies

Lakes put out a very promising debut record in 2019, Constance, which I loved at the time. Elysian Skies is their third full-length, and sees them growing and improving in every conceivable way. I still find myself wanting a little more from the vocals at times, but there’s no denying the charm of songs like ‘Cut and Run’ and the sweeping ‘Our Fine Arrangement.’ [Bandcamp]

77) UJU – The Sun Is In Our Eyes

A delicious blend of shoegaze and indie pop – like sinking into a warm bath after a half-marathon. Deserves far bigger an audience. [Bandcamp]

76) Taking Back Sunday – 152

I thought that last year The Wonder Years put out a killer record about adulthood, and having kids, and I think Taking Back Sunday delivered an equally killer one this year, about marriage and middle age. They’ve come a long way since Tell All Your Friends, and have never sounded more composed and mature than on this most recent outing. I might need to hit 30 to better appreciate it (I’m 29 now), so will return to this one next year and see what else it does for me.

75) Short Fictions – Oblivion Will Own Me and Death Alone Will Love Me (Void Filler)

Long album title, Short Fictions. All killer, Void Filler. [Bandcamp]

74) Ratboys – The Window

The best Ratboys record to date, both wildly inventive and refreshingly experimental. Love the lyricism on this album too, especially on the aching title track and crush-heavy ‘I Want You (Fall 2010).’ As someone who also used to burn blank CDs for people I was into, I can certainly relate. [Bandcamp]

73) James Blake – Playing Robots Into Heaven

I don’t think James Blake misses. After the more hip-hop-infused Assume Form and soulful Friends Will Break Your Heart, it was refreshing to hear him return to dance and electronic music on this record, one which he described as “easy to make.” James Blake is one of only a few producers working today who make music this polished sound like just another day at the turntables, but Playing Robots Into Heaven is a testament to his immense talent.

72) The Japanese House – In the End It Always Does

Never a chance that this would disappoint, and it doesn’t. [Bandcamp]

71) GEL – Only Constant

Love it. Ten songs in sixteen minutes, absolutely blistering hardcore. Ticks all the boxes – fast, fun, and fucking electrifying. [Bandcamp]

70) Carly Rae Jepsen – The Loveliest Time

I will fight anyone who refuses to agree that Carly Rae Jepsen is top five pop star status. And, as someone who doesn’t listen to a great deal of pop (but who is always trying to be better), I find her albums to be infectious and endlessly endearing. What we got with The Loneliest Time in 2022 was more hooks, more melodies, and more heart. I sat on a two-hour train ride in the lead-up to that album and just spun the playful lead single ‘Beach House’ and the wistful ‘Western Wind’ on repeat, and never tired of them in the weeks before the album dropped. Imagine my joy when the B-side to that project, The Loveliest Time was just as, well, lovely. ‘Psychedelic Switch’ and ‘Kamikaze’ are absolute bops. Like sunshine in CD format.

69) Chris Farren – Doom Singer

Chris Farren knows how to write a chorus. Doom Singer is his best record, and his others were far from bad (they ruled). Every time I’m out on a run, and ‘Cosmic Leash’ shuffles onto my playlist, I hit speeds I didn’t think I was capable of. [Bandcamp]

68) The Armed – Perfect Saviors

Not quite the game-changer 2021’s Ultrapop was, but an excellent follow-up to one of the best metal records of recent years. [Bandcamp]

67) Ryuichi Sakamoto – 12

I feel like I’ve been experimenting more with ambient music in 2023, a genre I’ve almost always ignored. I discovered a couple of artists this year who I gravitated towards, namely Hiroshi Yoshimura and Laurel Halo (who features further down this list), but also enjoyed 12, a sparse but affecting record, punctuated by the sound of laboured breathing from its creator over sparse pianos. Mostly unadorned and spare in the details, I found that Sakamoto’s use of space and silence was particularly compelling, and it certainly made me keen to explore more music in this vein.

66) Reverend Kristin Michael Hayter – SAVED!

This new era for Kristin Hayter begins in typically enthralling fashion, SAVED! being the kind of record you need to sit with in a quiet room for the duration of its runtime. Immaculately produced, and absolutely radiant, there is nobody who does what Hayter does better. Admittedly, it hasn’t clicked with me the way her work as Lingua Ignota did, but I intend to persist, especially now that the days are colder and the nights are arriving earlier.

65) Skrillex – Quest for Fire

I did not see myself enjoying a Skrillex record this much in 2023, but damn, this album rules. I’ve found myself getting back into dance and (to a lesser extent) dubstep this year [thanks in large part to Sonny Moore collaborator Fred again..], and Quest for Fire became a go-to of sorts. The Missy Elliot-featuring ‘RATATA’ is a very easy sell, for example.

64) The Streets – The Darker The Shadow The Brighter The Light

Always good to have a new record from Mike Skinner, even if it is murkier in tone. I haven’t seen the movie it pairs with, but can appreciate the album as a stand-alone endeavour also.

63) Enter Shikari – A Kiss for the Whole World

Seven albums in, and Enter Shikari are still a bunch of pioneers. I saw some of these songs played live in a recent Audiotree performance (watch here), and loved hearing about the creative process and thought process behind the songs, so many years into the existence of the St. Albans four-piece. Enter Shikari have never really been a band to dilute their music in the way similar acts of their era have, and I find their output to be more commendable than those of their peers (many of whom haven’t made this list). A Kiss for the Whole World is another conceptual and ambitious effort, with plenty of standout songs, namely ‘Bloodshot,’ ‘Pls Set Me On Fire,’ and the title track. [Bandcamp]

62) Hot Mulligan – Why Would I Watch

There’s a slow acoustic track on this album about the death of a beloved pet, and it kills me each and every time it comes on. Thankfully, it helps that it’s surrounded by some of Hot Mulligan’s peppiest and catchiest songs to date. ‘Shhh! Golf is On’ is probably my favourite from their discography. But, god damn does ‘Betty’ break my heart though. Just thinking about it makes me want to sit in the dark with the recent lo-fi EP the band released on repeat. Not one for a party playlist. [Bandcamp]

61) Slowdive – everything is alive

My knowledge of Slowdive is lacking, I’ll admit. I wasn’t familiar with them prior to their 2017 self-titled reunion record, which mostly passed me by at the time. I was a bigger fan of the recent follow-up, perhaps better able to appreciate shoegaze as a genre than I have been in the past. The digital bath of Everything Is Alive is a haunting and profound experience, showing the cumulative years the band have spent both together and apart. It made me want to revisit their 2017 output, and discover everything that came before, also. Better late than never. [Bandcamp]

60) Bully – Lucky for You

Easily the best Bully album to date, one which is exuberant and suitably gritty. This is near-perfect alt-rock, washed-out production blemishes and all. I also appreciate ‘Ms. America’ for giving voice to some of the anxiety I’ve felt this year around potential parenthood and the impending apocalypse. [Bandcamp]

59) Jesus Piece – …So Unknown

Stellar riffs all over this project, and I rated it for the ambition it showed throughout. Jesus Piece did in 2023 what Turnstile did in 2021. [Bandcamp]

58) Liquid Mike – ST

Impressive that the album is just as good as the album artwork is. Huge power pop, consistently a fuzzy and warming delight. Get on board with it, because Liquid Mike are going places. [Bandcamp]

57) Leith Ross – To Learn

I’ll let this get a little personal here, and write that, as someone who is not particularly interested in sex, and finds that level of intimacy tough to handle, Leigh Ross’s song, ‘We’ll Never Have Sex’ is an important song for me, and, listening to it, even after as many times as I have, it still resonates a lot. That isn’t strictly what the song is about, a different kind of intimacy which listeners can assign their own meaning to, but I find it comforting all the same. Sweet, simple, and wonderfully affecting, it shines bright still even on an album full of brightly shining songs. And yes, I first heard it through a fifteen-second snippet on an Instagram video; it’s one of the few good things social media has done for me in 2023.

56) No Party for Cao Dong – The Clod

I was gifted this album by one of my students, for helping them on a summer vacation project, and was hooked as soon as they told me the name of the band. I hadn’t heard of this legendary Taiwanese rock band prior to that introduction, and immediately did a search of their discography, surprised to learn that The Clod is their first full-length album in seven years (and is only their second album overall). I love the deep vocals of primary vocalist Wood Lin (though each member contributes) over punchy bass riffs and plucky guitars. The songwriting here is frequently upbeat, reminiscent at times of acts like Foals (as on ‘Pool’), and the band strike a pleasant balance between subtler indie overtones and fuller all-out-rock sections. There’s plenty of stellar music coming out of Taiwan, and No Party For Cao Dong are right up there. [Bandcamp]

55) Thank You, I’m Sorry – Growing in Strange Places

I’ve enjoyed watching Colleen Dow grow as a solo artist in 2023 (hopefully we get a record from her in 2024), and was also a big fan of her work with her band this year, Thank You, I’m Sorry. Growing in Strange Place expanded their sound on their third LP, while keeping the endearing blend of dream pop, indie, and rock that made their first two records such earworms. If the movie Juno was to be re-released in 2023, Thank You, I’m Sorry would be all over the soundtrack. I found Growing in Strange Places to be quite lovely, especially opener ‘Your Backyard,’ with it’s small-town anxiety and fear of… not aging… but, adulting? Dow and her bandmates have a knack for anecdotal observations, and I can recognise a lot of myself in their songs and Dow’s lyricism. ‘Chronically Online’ for example has been symptomatic of my 2023, in which I tried (and mostly succeeded) to extricate myself from the web of social media. [Bandcamp]

54) Understand – Real Food At Last

I was two years old when Understand released their debut album Burning Bushes and Burning Bridges, so, I think it’s fair to say they were before my time. Being 28 when their second record dropped, I was certainly in the right place at the time. Real Food At Last is fast, frenetic, and a blistering good time. Apparently, the songs here are made up of ideas conceived in the band’s initial run, but these 90’s recordings have been given new life, produced in a way that they feel both current while also reminders of a past era of hardcore. I greatly enjoyed discovering the band this year – and their debut by extension. Their legendary reputation is well justified, it seems.

53) yeule – softscars

I really started paying attention to hyper-pop towards the end of 2022 (due to the most-recent Brakence record), and found the genre’s best offering in 2023 to be softscars, which blends in 90’s alternative rock with shoegaze elements for a consistently varied style. It’s not always an easy listen, lyrically, but is certainly worth persevering with, harrowing but heartfelt, confessional but cathartic also. Songs like ‘Software Update’ serve as a warning about digital living, while the blissed-out production of songs like ‘sulky baby’ make passing lines like “I want to eat your face” sound almost inviting. Enigmatic for the entirety, softscars is a curious and compelling listen. [Bandcamp]

52) The Menzingers – Some of It Was True

I think this is a better Menzingers record than Hello Exile, but still doesn’t quite match their post-2010, pre-2018 run. Still an excellent album though, typical of the tight and yarn-spinning songwriting we’ve come to expect from the Philly quartet. Lead single ‘There’s No Place in This World For Me’ held a lot of promise, and the album mostly delivers on this promise, especially on songs like ‘Alone in Dublin,’ which I quickly grew to love – the song I return to most here. Greg Barnett deserves all of the plaudits he gets for his lyricism and nostalgia-infused vocals, and he’s close to his best on this song. The Menzingers are the epitome of the word “consistency,” and, going into one of their albums, you know you’re unlikely to leave disappointed. I will always have a soft spot for this band, and with every new release, they further cement that soft spot (while keeping it soft) – you know what I mean. I’m on my second glass of whiskey; this is a long list. [Bandcamp]

51) The Clientele – I Am Not There Anymore

Like Understand, a few spots further up this list, The Clientele’s I Am Not There Anymore was a welcome modern introduction to a band who experienced their commercial peak when I was too young to fully appreciate their music. That the lyrics on this album hark back to that period further add to that sensation. Unlike Real Food At Last, this album is a slow and contemplative listen, infused with electronic elements alongside the band’s trademark chamber pop sound. When the album’s title is repeated on ‘Claire’s Not Real,’ the feeling is transportive, and I find myself also wistful for the past, nostalgic for The Beatles records my parents would listen to in the car on holiday road trips while I read in the backseat. This album is sublime, and I plan to spend more time with it in the future, despite its heavy connection to the past. [Bandcamp]

50) Christine and the Queens – PARANOIA, ANGELS, TRUE LOVE

I haven’t enjoyed a Christine and the Queens record on release as much as I enjoyed PARANOIA, ANGELS< TRUE LOVE since 2018’s Chris (which I still feel is her masterpiece). This latest from the French musician is another triumph, heavy with nostalgia and rich with feeling. Thematically, this is Chris’ densest project, and it could have aptly been named Grief, Grief, Grief as a secondary title, ruminating on the death of his mother, every song on thi album penned out of that loss, and sounding all the more alive because of it. What has always drawn me to Chris’s work is their honest and unfiltered approach to songwriting, the refusal to hide what the artist is working through, and I find that sentiment to be especially true of PARANOIA, ANSGELS, TRUE LOVE, which, for want of a better word, is “generous” with how much it gives to a listener.

49) Liturgy – 93696

Yes, I watch Fantano (first example). [Bandcamp]

48) Love Remain – Still In Awe

I don’t live in England anymore, not really, and haven’t for six years now, but Still In Awe, for me, is the sound of a British weekend – the snippets of city life that still carry some sense of home for me. I feel I’ve overheard the voices which feature throughout this electronic record on a London underground train, at some point, in some time, and, in a year in which I’ve found it difficult at times to be so far away from home, artists like Love Remain have acted as a tether. I have grown to better appreciate their music for the way in which it embodies a sense of life I often feel disconnected from due to distance. It’s hard to express how it feels to listen to a record like Still In Awe while slurping a dinner of 15元 noodles in a Chinese back alley hutong on a fourty-degree evening, or to make efforts to imagine that the elderly square dancers in the public parks are actually vibing to the colourful rhythms of ‘With You, I Can Be Anything’ while weaving amongst them. What I feel is every bit as infused with live as the music here, jubilant and joyous, regardless of where I happen to be. I am grateful for albums like Still In Awe, which embody the best qualities of soul-affirming dance and electronic music in such wonderful abundance. Grateful also to have the third track ‘No Tears In The Morning’ in particular, which features a spoken passage from Dagenham poet Gboyega Odubanjo (under the moniker GBYG), who passed away earlier this year. May his voice and words live on. This album – decent. [Bandcamp]

47) Gabriels – Angels & Queens

There’s been plenty of hype around Gabriels for a few years now, and rightly so. Vocalist Jacob Lusk has one of the most undeniably powerful and instantly recognisable voices in modern music, and it is the main draw throughout Angels & Queens, which has been released over two years, and saw completion in July. This is soulful pop without blemishes, gloriously well-produced, and with brilliant songwriting throughout. A diverse listen, also, bound to please any who press play on it.

46) Foo Fighters – But Here We Are

Foo Fighters found strength in grief and put out their best album in twelve years. Not much more to be said than that.

45) The Hirs Collective – We’re Still Here

Now this, this is heavy. Think “heavy,” think Hirs. This is a record that bludgeons the listener, an exhausting half-hour, but in the best possible way. The features on this thing are wild too – Gouge Away, Soul Glo, Melt-Banana, Escuela Grind – and that’s just the first half. Holy shit is this album heavy. Love the pro-LGBT message and community influence throughout this album too. [Bandcamp]

44) Militarie Gun – Life Under The Gun

A blistering debut record, with some of the best hardcore choruses of the year. Explosive, propulsive, and impossible not to enjoy. Like The Dirty Nil when they emerged onto the scene some years ago, boiling and irrepressible. [Bandcamp]

43) Jeromes Dream – The Gray In Between

The second-best screamo I heard this year. This record decimates, soaked in atmosphere, feedback, and emotion. [Bandcamp]

42) Home Is Where – The Whaler

I’m sure some folks would be able to write a dissertation on this album, so rich is it in depth and detail. I’m not sure I have the energy or ability, so will just say that it is an incredibly rewarding listen, emo-rock of the highest caliber. [Bandcamp]

41) Elliott Green – Everything I Lack

It’s easy to compare Elliott Green to peer Julien Baker, but at this point, it’s also a little too easy, and to do so would be a disservice to Everything I Lack, Green’s second LP. It marks her first on Count Your Lucky Stars – a label which continues to unearth and distribute exceptional indie musicians, and which will always feature on an end-of-year list somewhere on this blog. As a lot of the label’s back catalog is, Everything I Lack is a confessional, heart-on-sleeve collection, and Green at its center is spellbinding as a songwriter. Her Bandcamp page simply states, “I write sad songs,” but there is so much more to her sophomore album. [Bandcamp]

40) Tomb Mold – The Enduring Spirit

As is mentioned elsewhere on this list, I’m not a huge death metal fan, but even I boarded the Tomb Mold train in 2023. Easy to see why these guys are as revered as they are within the genre. [Bandcamp]

39) Laurel Halo – Atlas

I don’t think I’ll ever understand the level of talent and musicianship that is required to create a record as intricately layered as Atlas is. It’s clear that Laurel Halo is a genius, and her fifth record is her genius embodied. Ambient, beautiful, and wonderfully immersive, I could spend day after day listening to Atlas and never tire of it. [Bandcamp]

38) PJ Harvey – I Inside the Old Year Dying

It’s a PJ Harvey record – it has to be good. [Bandcamp]

37) Swans – The Beggar

One of these days, one of these days, I’ll really get into Swans. I’ve been trying, I promise, and, with a record like The Beggar, I feel I can better understand the appeal. I’m going to need more time though. Check back in with me next year. [Bandcamp]

36) Wednesday – Rat Saw God

Rat Saw God can awe any ear all day, and the toe may tap. The key was… boo! Icy, icy, icy. [Bandcamp]

35) Queens of the Stone Age – In Times New Roman….

Just a brilliant, good old-fashioned rock record. Like Foo Fighters, a great return to form. [Bandcamp]

34) Jessie Ware – That! Feels Good!

I loved the singles that preceded this album, and felt they built on and added to what Ware had done on her immaculate last LP, What’s Your Pleasure? Tracks such as ‘Free Yourself’ and ‘Pearls’ were euphoric, and the rest of That! Feels Good! is on a similar level of unabashed glamour, glitz, and disco goodness. I’m not a dancer by any means, but, maybe I am (strictly alone in my apartment with the lights turned off and the curtains drawn). [Bandcamp]

33) Jane Remover – Census Designated [Bandcamp]

Census Designated was born from a blizzard experienced during a cross-country road trip, and sounds like it. Swirling shoegaze mixed with the post-storm clarity of lo-fi bedroom pop, Jane Remover’s second record is a cross-country trip in itself. It also marked a departure in style from their first record, but, in doing so, saw the producer expand into bolder sounds, without losing any of the tech-influenced lyricism and the sense of searching for meaning in a digital age.

32) Amaarae – Fountain Baby

People love this album, and I’m seeing it everywhere in year-end lists, for good reason. I don’t think it’s the best pop project of 2023, but I do adore how vivid it is. Stellar production too. [Bandcamp]

31) Armand Hammer – We Buy Diabetic Test Strips (feat. billy woods & ELUCID)

This features a lot of what I also enjoyed about Maps (which also features billy woods, and appears further down this list). Tight and lyrically wicked rapping over uncanny industrial-sounding beats. Full of social commentary and potent insights, We Buy Diabetic Test Strips is as relevant as it is reflective, bordering on dystopian, always with something to say and to be said over mercurial production. [Bandcamp]

30) Blur – The Ballad of Darren

The more I think about it, the more I feel like ‘The Narcissist’ might just be my favourite song of the year – wonderfully replayable, and with some memorable group vocal refrains laced throughout. Nothing crazy, nothing Gorillaz-esque, just Blur at their best. Tight, masterfully written, and still delivering on that classic Blur feel, it was as if they had never left. The rest of The Ballad of Darren continues that trend, full of wry observations on modern life, both the drudgery and the beauty of it. 2023 has been a year of comebacks, and Blur’s was one of the better ones.

29) ANOHNI – My Back Was a Bridge For You to Cross

You only really need to listen to the first track of this latest ANONI project to get a feel as to whether it’s for you or not. For me, ‘It Must Change’ is immediately captivating, and I feel unable to pull myself from it. The strength with which Anohni Hegarty delivers her music is remarkable, reminding me of my first experiences of listening to artists like Charles Bradley. Her voice is one-of-a-kind, soulful and vulnerable, gliding over luxurious lounge instrumentation. In an age of Tik-tok singles and waning attention spans, My Back Was A Bridge For You to Cross is a remarkable feat, in that you find yourself hanging on every single second. I’m also grateful to this record for leading me to her work with the Johnsons – 2005’s I Am a Bird Now has been one of my better late finds of the year. [Bandcamp]

28) The Gaslight Anthem – History Books

This was by some distance my most-anticipated album of the year, and it mostly lived up to my hopes for it. History Books is an odd album, feeling like one-half a Brian Fallon solo album, and one-half a Gaslight Anthem album, while not being the best version of either. That being said, there are some brilliant songs here – I find ‘Michigan, 1975’ popping into my head often, even if days have gone by without me listening to it, for example. The title track, featuring Bruce Springsteen, is another winner, delivering on the inevitability that The Boss would show up on a Fallon project eventually. It’s one of the few tracks on which I feel able to overlook the shocking production choices, which are what ultimately sours this record for me, as a long-time fan. It’s a shame that many of the songs here, especially in the first half, feel so flat, with washed-out guitars and lifeless drums. I find it kind of baffling, in truth, and still can’t quite get my head around it, a few months on. [Bandcamp]

27) Lana Del Rey – Did you know that there’s a tunnel under Ocean Blvd?

I haven’t always had the patience I feel is required to really ‘sit’ with a Lana Del Rey record, the last time I really got into one of her projects being 2019’s Norman Fucking Rockwell. I definitely clicked with Did you know…? though, and can understand why this record has been praised as much as it has been this year. NME made a good call in selecting the standout track “A&W” as their single of the year.

26) feeble little horse – Girl with Fish

Another 2023 critical indie darling, and another fully deserving of the praise which has been heaped upon it. I wish it was a little longer, but it packs in so much across the 26-minute length that it’s a minor complaint. Changes often, and always in an interesting and beguiling direction, as on ‘Slide,’ which is the song I’ve found myself returning to most regularly. [Bandcamp]

25) COVET – catharsis

More post-rock mathy goodness from Yvette Young and co. My students will frequently refer to “instrumental” music as “pure” music due to what I think is the translation from Chinese to English, but I actually like their label here. There is certainly something very pure about COVET and their breezy, charismatic approach to the most technically difficult of songs. Perfect for a sunny day, and one to bask in. [Bandcamp]

24) Jeff Rosenstock – HELLMODE

Always a Jeff fan, and really dug what he did with this album, leaning more into tender moments than on past releases. I was surprised by just how sweet a record HELLMODE is, especially given the title, but in trademark Rosenstock style there is plenty of heart and warm feelings alongside the crippling anxiety of modern living. There’s also a great genre blend, in that you get aspects of ska (no doubt encouraged by the reception to SKA DREAM), power pop, and emo, all blended into an uplifting and spirited listen. Jeff has never sounded more in control of his sound, and the result is a highly cathartic and anthemic listen.

23) Sampha – Lahai

Every good thing you’ve heard about Lahai is true. [Bandcamp]

22) Thantifaxath – Hive Mind Narcosis

Not the kind of record I’d normally go for, as black metal isn’t so much my thing anymore, but I stumbled across this on Bandcamp and was hooked. As soon as the discordant guitars of ‘Solar Witch’ blare out, shrill and needling, they pierce like blades and sink even deeper when the guttural vocals hit soon after. The songs here are dense and confrontational; the album like stepping into a ring with Canelo Alarez. I also have no idea what the lyrics are on this record – not that I mind. [Bandcamp]

21) underscores – Wallsocket

Yes, I watch Fantano (second example). First track ‘Cops and robbers’ has been lodged in my brain for months, and I haven’t minded for a moment. “Wheeeen was the last time…” [Bandcamp]

20) Young Fathers – Heavy Heavy

Another late addition to this list, but you only need one playthrough of Heavy Heavy to recognise it’s quality (noun and adjective). Dynamic, energetic, and consistently surprising, Young Fathers presented a spirited collection of thunderous and life-affirming tracks. Euphoric stuff, and a clear ray of light in recent weeks. I’m not a religious person, by any means, but I have made a church church of Heavy Heavy this month. [Bandcamp]

19) Sarah Su – The Soil In Which My Roots Now Grow

The opening spoken-word title track of The Soil In Which My Roots Now Grow finds Sarah Su paying respect to the First Nations people who occupied the land before her (and on whose land the album is recorded) – “it always was, and always will be, aboriginal land,” she tells the listener. It’s an opener that immediately grabs an audience, and tells them quietly to sit down and listen. Listening to The Soil… remains as captivating for the entirety of its runtime; from the thoughtful lyrics, to Su’s own gorgeous voice, to the delicate instrumentation, this is a record that embodies the sense of ‘warmth’ we seek in home. In press leading up to the release, Su was vocal about how she wanted this record to feel like a ‘full’ record, as opposed to a collection of singles, and it undoubtedly is. Even shorter tracks like the acoustic ‘Lulu’ feel like part of a whole. It is a body of work in which the body is central, and that Su’s music sounds so fully realised on a debut project is astounding. This an album that rewards a complete playthrough, and many more following. [Bandcamp]

18) Fucked Up – One Day

The Toronto punk stalwarts returned this year with what I think might be my favourite record of theirs since The Chemistry of Common Life, benefitting from working with tighter deadlines (each band member contributed their parts within a 24-hour window) and the shorter runtime also at fourty minutes long. One Day is charged and joyous, and the shining likes of ‘Huge New Her’ and ‘Falling Right Under’ are highs upon highs. This entire record feels like a flex, Fucked Up operating at the peak of their powers. [Bandcamp]

17) Greg Mendez – ST

Opening with church organs and then settling into an acoustic guitar instrumental, Greg Mendez’s third solo album immediately reassures and calms. Safe hands, and that feeling spreads as the album progresses, a subtle but affecting listen, packed tight with observant and anecdotal lyricism in the vein of Adrianne Lenker, MJ Lenderman, and fellow Pennsylvania native Alex G. Self-Titled / Greg Mendez is only 23 minutes long, but rewards multiple listens, burying plenty behind the deceptive simplicity of the songs here. Tracks like ‘Sweetie’ and ‘Shark’s Mouth’ only feature a handful of lines, but their brevity is a mask for a great amount of depth, amplified by Mendez’s trembling timbre. I find it graceful and arresting in equal measure, and cannot recommend it enough. [Bandcamp]

16) Kara Jackson – Why Does the Earth Give Us People to Love?

I was sold on this album based on the name alone, which becomes so much more powerful and evocative in the context of the music. The title track itself is a mournful lament for a lost friend, and the rest of the album resonates with the same pain, but, channeled beautifully throughout. Jackson conveys emotion with purity and depth of feeling in her vocals, and her lyricism is poetic and genuinely moving. The production here is tasteful and delicate, everything slotting into place so comfortably that the best word to use in description of it would be ‘organic.’ Somewhere between Vagabon and Nina Simone, Kara Jackson has found a place for herself this year, and I am very excited to see where she goes from here, as Why Does the Earth… is a debut record of the highest quality. [Bandcamp]

15) Paramore – This Is Why

2017’s triumphant After Laughter exceeded all expectations, and 2023’s This Is Why proved to be another bold step forward, featuring some of the tightest songwriting of Paramore’s career. From truth to power (‘Big Man, Little Dignity’) to the casual mismanagement of schedules (‘Running Out Of Time’) Hayley Williams and co approached each with flair and poise, making it all sound very simple. Seventh track ‘Figure 8’ might just be my favourite track of theirs, and I also love the Bartees Strange reinterpretation on companion remix album Re: This Is Why.

14) boygenius – the record

In a weird way, I think I preferred the first EP, but, like most of the world, found this LP to be a charming fusion of the styles of Dacus, Baker, and Bridgers (Dacus is always first on my list). There’s no denying that the three have a chemistry that infuses these songs with energy and a sense mutual adoration, and, from a songwriting standpoint, some of the best work from each can be found here. I probably haven’t listened to it as much as I should have, but that’s probably just because my friend Ayden has listened to it enough for the both of us – if I had $20 dollars for each boygenius song on his Spotify Wrapped, I’d have… $80. the record is indeed a record. [Bandcamp]

13) McKinley Dixon – Beloved! Paradise! Jazz!?

The spoken word intro to this album, on which poet Hanif Abdurraqib reads novelist Toni Morrison, is my least favourite track on this album. And that’s with me thinking Hanif is a wordsmith, and that Toni Morrison is one of the greatest writers of the 20th century. What I’m trying to say is that even the spoken word intro to this album is solid, and what follows is an inspired, soulful, and deeply heartfelt record, on which McKinley Dixon takes everything that made his debut so powerful and takes it in expansive new directions. Great concept, even better execution. I also fully vibe with how “live” this record feels and sounds, the jazz instrumentation so full-blooded and there. When Dickson moves, the backing moves with him, giving the sensation of a carnival passing through the rooms of a house – “live from my mama’s kitchen / where she pulls heartbreak to her chest / and folds up cards to keep legs stable.” Live Hanif and Toni, McKinley Dixon is a born storyteller, and the narrative he weaves throughout Beloved! Paradise! Jazz!? is one of the year’s most emotive and expressive. [Bandcamp]

12) Mitski – The Land Is Inhospitable and So Are We

At this point in her illustrious career, it is redundant to say that Mitski is an icon. Her seventh album finds her music more stripped-back than it has been on recent releases, while also beautifully complemented by a 17-piece orchestra, adding a grand sense of majesty to tracks like ‘The Deal.’ As has always been true of Mitski, she is a compelling and sympathetic lyricist and vocalist, and to listen to her music is to be drawn closer to the artist also. There’s still that pervading sense of loneliness and longing, and the room with which these songs are given to breathe really brings Mitski and her voice to the centre, especially on singles like ‘Heaven.’ Heart-breaking at times, and stunning for the entirety, The Land Is Inhospitable and So Are We is a work of supreme craft, and makes you wish an artist like Mitski would never contemplate retirement again. She is incredible here, at her most powerful on songs like ‘I Don’t Like My Mind,’ where lines like “And on an inconvenient Christmas, I eat a cake / a whole cake, all for me” are absolutely spellbinding. I love it all.

11) Caroline Polachek – Desire, I Want to Turn Into You

Pop album of the year. Welcome to Caroline’s island; you won’t want to leave. [Bandcamp]

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10) Danny Brown – Quaranta

I’ll admit here that I haven’t really listened to any Danny Brown projects prior to 2016’s Atrocity Exhibition, which was my entry point for the Detroit rapper. So, that Quaranta was toted as a sequel to 2012’s XXX (30) meant little to me. Even without being able to appreciate that link, Quaranta still hits as Brown’s most somber and thoughtful project, across which he reflects on sobriety, the music industry, and relationships with a maturity perhaps not heard from him in such an extreme previously. On ‘Down Wit It’ for example, we hear him wax on how his rise to fame in the early 2010s led to the failure of a promising romance, due to paranoia and the spotlight. Such deeply personal introspections mark a serious and earnest side to Brown, but Quaranta still features moments of manic production (as on lead single Tantor), and topical political takes (as on the electrifying ‘Jenn’s Terrific Vacation,’ which slams the gentrification of Detroit neighborhoods). I have to mention the drums from Kassa Overall on his latter track also – unreal. Throughout his sixth record, Danny Brown remains one of the most distinct and compelling voices in modern hip-hop, a little older, a little more world-weary, but still every bit as sharp. [Bandcamp]

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9) Ragana – Desolation’s Flower

I have former AbsolutePunk writer Drew Beringer to thank for this one, who tweeted about Desolation’s Flower back in Sepetmber. Ragana, the project of friends Maria and Coley (surnames unknown), have filled the hole that Oathbreaker vacated when they went on hiatus in 2018. Desolation’s Flower is blow after blow after blow, merging moments of shimmering beauty with some of the most abrasive instrumentals of the year – as on the incredible ‘DTA’. The calmer moments on the recorded are perfectly juxtaposed with the shattering percussive highs, and the entire package is monolithic in size and scope, seeming so much more than the work of the two people responsible for creating it. Desolation’s Flower is aptly-named, in that it lacerates and destroys, but also calls out in the dark, blooming. There have been very few sonic experiences able to hold a candle to it this year. [Bandcamp]

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8) billy woods & Kenny Segal – Maps

I don’t know that I’ve ever heard a hip-hop record with lyrics as inventive and poetic as those on Maps. Every time I listen to it, there’s a new bar or rhyme that stands out, and makes me exhale in appreciation of the way in which it is written and delivered, the flows here so effortless, so easy. I thought that the duo’s 2019 collaboration Hiding Places was solid, but Maps is on a whole new level. billy woods is showing off here, without sounding like he’s showing off, penmanship so sharp that his lines roll off the tongue as if he’s running on autopilot. I’d write some of the lines down here, but they’d lose their energy on the screen. You could look to any line from any song on this album and find something of meaning, delivered over the production of Kenny Segal – which is jazzy and infused with elements of the underground. Maps is a journey, jumping between locations and timezones, the life of a touring artist condensed into a cyclical narrative that reaches a return home on final track ‘As the Crow Flies,’ the last minute of which is a crystal clear image of family, marriage, and raising children. You expect there to be a little more though, another verse, a few more lines, but you don’t get that. Maps just ends, with the notion that the cycle will begin again, with another year, with another tour, with another playground outing to bookmark it. Many times this year I’ve found myself going straight back to the first track after the closer ends, running the cycle again, from taking off to touching down. Maps is a transportive and layered listen, the two artists involved firing on all cylinders. [Bandcamp]

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7) Dreamwell – In My Saddest Dreams, I Am Beside You

Every year there’s a screamo record that sneaks its way into my top 10 after emerging from the blue and striking such a chord with me that it would feel criminal to place it anywhere that wasn’t a single-digit spot. In 2022, it was Piri Reis’s Ritma. In 2023, it is In My Saddest Dreams, I Am Beside You. It feels slightly unjust to label Dreamwell as a screamo band, because they cover so much genre ground on their second full-length, melding melody into the heaviness so wonderfully well, smatterings of shimmering guitar work and cleaner vocals that wouldn’t be amiss on a mainstream indie record. There are a lot of influences at play here, and it can make for a chaotic and dizzying amalgamation, a draining listen both sonically and emotionally. But this is also where Dreamwell excel, in the murging and delivery of these styles. If it is draining, then it is in the most absolute and human sense of the word, an assault on the senses that leaves a listener frayed but better for the experience. Taken in one sitting, In My Saddest Dreams… is a lot, but it’s also the best way to enjoy the record, to set up the poppier melodies of ‘Love Have MRSA On My Soul’ against the pummeling ‘All Towers Drawn in the Equatorial Room.’ This latter song being one of them, four of the eleven tracks here surpass the five-minute mark, but Dreamwell fly through them, not a second going to waste. The brutality sits alongside the beauty, the instrumentals here towering, the screamed vocals raw and unfiltered, the lyrics bleak and tortured (“You couldn’t stack enough stones to crush the devil out of me” opens ‘Obelisk of Hands’). Dreamwell throw absolutely everything at the wall here, and almost all of it sticks. For me, heavy music didn’t get any better than this in 2023 – In My Saddest Dreams, I Am Beside You is a savage, bold, and uncompromising record. I can’t get enough of it. [Bandcamp]

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6) Parannoul – After the Magic

Another record that doesn’t let a single second go to waste. After the Magic, the third full-length from anonymous South-Korean musician Parannoul is mesmeric and euphoric, and, as a few of the records in this top ten do, blends genres and styles to marvelous effect. You’d be hard-pressed to find an opening track as uplifting as ‘Polaris’ is, for example, its intoxicating fusion of indie, shoegaze, and electronic elements creating a dazzling sonic palette, exploding into life halfway through. It’s tough to express the emotions such an explosion conjures, but Parannoul finds ways to consistently deliver such emotional peaks, across ten tracks that constantly thrill and surprise. It has been a delight to spend so much time with After the Magic this year. [Bandcamp]

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5) JPEGMAFIA x Danny Brown – SCARING THE HOES

Where does a person begin when they find themselves having to write about SCARING THE HOES? The insane and eclectic production from JPEGMafia!, which shouldn’t work, but does, in an almost logic-defying way? The consistently surprising array of samples that inexplicably show up here? The fact that Danny Brown is at his wildest and most inventive since Atrocity Exhibition? The bars? Man, some of these bars. Every line on ‘Fentanyl Tester’ is gold, but my favourite is one as goofy but enjoyable as “I’m a big dog like Marmaduke.” Sometimes it’s the little things. At the end of the day, SCARING THE HOES is the most unique and enigmatic record of 2023, fusing the creative genius of the collaborating Peggy and Danny into a potent and genre-bending masterpiece. Maybe there is no place to begin – this album is frequently one that defies description, and just needs to be experienced. Even then, it might not be understood. A lot of fun though. [Bandcamp]

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4) Spanish Love Songs – No Joy

The one-two punch of ‘I’m Gonna Miss Everything’ and ‘Rapture Chaser,’ slap-bang in the middle of No Joy, is like being dunked head-first into cold water, so sobering in their clarity and delivery that they often make me stop whatever I’m doing to play the two of them again, back to back, like I’m looking for something to somehow simultaneously ruin and elevate my day. There are several moments like that on No Joy, which excels lyrically, and is Spanish Love Songs at their best in every other area. Not as loud as previous releases, but every bit as affecting (if not more so), the band’s third LP is a down-to-earth analysis of what it means to be a functioning / barely-functioning adult in modern America, crippled with debt, teetering on the edge of a mental health crisis, and watching the world around you sink into oblivion. No joy? You got it. But, if Spanish Love Songs go down with the ship, they go down having released one of the best records of the year. This thing is immaculate, crisp production and tight songwriting, full of memorable choruses and quotable lines. Seriously, every other line on this album is one that hits, and hits hard. And amongst it all, there is something genuinely inspiring and uplifting – there has to be – as the album admits, “it won’t be this bleak forever.” No Joy feels so human, so earnest, so honest, that it is both a damning depiction of the world we live in and a powerful testament to the emotive and restorative power of music and art. Does it actually make me feel better about everything? Is it healing? It just might be, and I love it for that, wholeheartedly. So, I end that one-two punch of tracks eight and nine reeling, but my god am I also happy to be living in a world in which No Joy exists (yes, I appreciate how that sentence would sound sans-italics). [Bandcamp]

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3) Sufjan Stevens – Javelin

From one emotionally-guttling record to another. I’ll admit here that I’ve never been a huge Sufjan Stevens fan. You got me, hands up and apologetic. Sure, I enjoy Illinois, and I’ve listened to Carrie & Lowell a few times, and I like those two songs he did for the Call Me By Your Name soundtrack. Javelin is the record on which I “got it,” on which Sufjan Stevens and his music really clicked for me. Javelin is a beautiful record, in the sound, the lyricism, and in the concept. Even not knowing the personal details surrounding the record, which I won’t go into here, you’d need to have a heart of stone (something I have been accused of in the past) to not be moved by the content here. It’s so precise, so delicate, so seemingly close to breaking at any moment, that you feel an urge to wrap it up in a blanket, and place it in a high place in which it might be safe. The instrumentation here, the arrangements and percussion, are gorgeous, ethereal in parts, and songs often reach stunning climaxes in which the layers of instrumentation shimmer in crescendo. It is not loud, but it is loud. And then there is Stevens, spotlighted in the quieter moments, his voice so gentle that you almost feel yourself attempting to move closer, to reach him, to make him out. The opening minute of ‘Javelin (To Have And To Hold),’ for example, which becomes so much bigger in context, is so grand despite finishing in under two minutes. There is ‘Will Anybody Ever Love Me?’ too, which is heartbreaking, ‘Shit Talk,’ which is expansive and enthralling, its refrain of “I don’t want to fight at all” ringing out alongside the line, “I will always love you” – a promise carrying so much weight, so much gravity. Javelin is a record that pierces like its namesake, but does so in a way so awe-inspiring and gut-wrenching that you feel the need to sink into quiet contemplation afterward, in effort to take it all in. it is instrumentally lush, and lyrically captivating, and is perhaps the most emotionally rewarding listen of the year (if you can bear it without breaking). The world is a better place for albums like this one. [Bandcamp]

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2) Fireworks – Higher Lonely Power

This was my most-played album of 2023. Sure, it came out on January 1st, but it could have been released last week and it still would’ve been. I recall the day that ‘Demitasse’ dropped in 2019, and the rush of excitement and anticipation I felt – in that a new Fireworks album was on the way. I was at work; I faked a bathroom break to listen to it. If I’d known that day that it would have taken a further four years to get that full record, I probably would’ve been a little disappointed. If I’d known that record would be as brilliant as Higher Lonely Power is, then my excitement would have increased tenfold, and there would be no notion of disappointment. This LP dropped as a surprise release, and a surprise it was, not only in timing, but also in quality. Fireworks have always been an exceptional band, and their second and third records, 2011’s Gospel and 2014’s Oh, Common Life respectively will always be my first picks when someone asks me for pop-punk recommendations. The first for its consistent stream of hooks and choruses, the second for the mature and thoughtful way in which it tackled grief through the lens of the genre. What I got with Higher Lonely Power was quintessential Fireworks, a record that grapples with complex feelings (this time on religion and social issues), paired with the larger-than-life elements of alternative pop-punk-inflected music. There are moments here which, sonically, are the largest of the bands discography (see the chorus of ‘BLOOD IN THE MILK’), and others which are the darkest and most seeking, like ‘ESTATE SALE’ and its question of: “I want to know, who’s at my side in the monitor glow… who will be left alone?” This is a heavy listen, lyrically and instrumentally, plagued by God and death, CEOs wanting to buy young blood, generational dissociation and the seemingly empty promise of spiritual salvation. There are throwbacks too, such as ‘WOODS II,’ and also bold new directions, as on the thunderous opener ‘GOD APPROVED INSURANCE PLAN.’ And lastly, there is the breezy closer, ‘HOW DID IT USED TO BE SO EASY?,’ with a bounce almost irresistible despite the lyrical content – “There’s a church up the street / And on the sign up front they say / Be a fountain not a drain / I’m just not that way.” I find something new to love every time I listen to this album, even now, almost twelve months after it dropped like a miracle on the first day of the year. And perhaps that is a label fitting (or perhaps not so), given the religious themes at the core of HLP, but that is what Fireworks have done here – something miraculous. [Bandcamp]

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1) ther – a horrid whisper echoes in a palace of endless joy

I left Twitter in November of 2023, but I held on for a while before finally pulling the plug. I held on because sometimes Twitter would send a record my way, via a stray retweet, or a news article reposted, and I would find a reason to stick around, just on the of-chance that something would come my way again in the near future. I am grateful to whoever it was that tweeted about ther earlier this year, about their song ‘impossible things,’ which, for a few weeks, lit up my life in such a wonderful way. And then the album followed, pre-ordered after hearing that first teaser track, and my life has been lit up in a wonderful way ever since.

I’m at a bit of a loss on what to say about a horrid whisper echoes in a palace of endless joy, but will say that I just realised the title contains the word “palace” – I always misread it as “place.” Funny, and somewhat embarrassing, given how often I’ve played this album. I’ll start there, because ‘palace’ works too, when describing the record, which feels so large despite the very DIY nature of its conception. Ther are a band from Philadelphia, spear-headed by guitarist and vocalist Heather Jones, and a horrid whisper… is a starkly intimate sounding project, mic’d close, and recorded with a live studio sound, in such that you may notice blemishes or vocal cracks, the sound of chord changes and fret work, all of which add to the cocoon-like and homely feel of the record. Jones herself is a recording engineer, and you do get the sense that every choice on this LP is deliberate. Deliberate and impactful.

Three paragraphs in and I have hit a wall again, already. The air-conditioning timed out about a half-hour ago, and the apartment is starting to feel chilly. Writing about a horrid whisper…, I have failed to notice. I’ll say next that there is indeed a great deal of warmth to be found in this record, and that I feel a great sense of comfort in just having it close. Anecdotal and occasionally conversational, a horrid whisper… reaches towards its audience, and every time I am pulled in. There is just something about the way Jones manages to deliver lines like opening pair “I saw a kid on the train / I saw a kid / on the train” that immediately places me within the vicinity of this album. “How strange to be born in a time like now / when everybody’s freakin out” she ruminated towards the end of ‘1 kid,’ speaking outwards. In a way, I feel like I am stood beside her on the subway, observing the kid of the title, who is “wide-eyed and full of fright / blinded by the sight of God.” There is so much poetry in the way in which Jones recounts the everyday, the mundane as magic, as if sharing observations over coffee. Everyone is freakin’ out, no doubt, with concerns about capitalism and finances (“the seasons only started and you signed a contract”) but with a record like this on, the world fades to background noise, and it’s a sense of temporality that is not diminished with repeat listens. In fact, I find myself bound tighter by a horrid whisper with each listen, and my favourite song shifts constantly. Today, for example, it is ‘a brief moment,’ an acoustic cut which begins with Jones dancing, captivated by another. The song progresses over delicate guitars, Jones delivering lines as stop-what-you’re-doing-and-pay-attention as, “if this moment had a hand, I would squeeze as tight as I can, until all my fingers broke.” I hear it and I feel my heart in my chest, swelling. Her voice wavers, flickers, and then finds some rigidity for a fuller final minute, doing so much with so little – the voice, the guitar. If I could bottle it and share the feeling, I would.

I have found some rhythm, finally, some endless joy of my own in the writing about a horrid whisper… There are questions on ‘a brief moment,’ and there are questions throughout the album, almost all of them going unanswered. “When does worry turn to loss? When does loss become grief?” Jones asks on ‘with you.’ “Will the end be coming soon? Or will we hum a different tune?” she asks on ‘impossible things,’ a song which still brings on goosebumps so many months after first hearing it. On the closing track, ‘2 holidays,’ she asks, “Do you love someone? Do you show it enough, with your actions?”,” before adding, “If you don’t do something, it doesn’t matter.” a horrid whisper needn’t have answers, but it is a record that encourages reflection. It is so minimalist in composition, that it feels like being spoken to directly, and in that sense, it engages in a way that no other record on this listen does. That it is absolutely mesmeric is an extension of this quality.

It is easy then to forget that the horrid whisper of the title hints at that ever-present, creeping sense of doom (this constant feeling being another reason for my social media deletion) that stems from just being alive and aware in 2023, but records like ther draw attention to the fact while always offering reassurance. There is second track ‘big papi lassoos the moon,’ which looks forward to a friend becoming a parent, or ‘love is always,’ which features new beginnings and the line “just because it’s difficult doesn’t mean it’s cruel.” I think what I’ve found in a horrid whisper…, in “this hopeless way of living we’ve inherited” is a refuge for when things are not quite ideal. In her music, Jones sings about wanting an anchor, and, in 2023, the music of ther has been an anchor for me. “Turn a light on” she whispers at the end of ‘water that you cannot drink,’ the line eventually becoming a powerful refrain over some of the loudest instrumentation on the album. “Sing a good song / leave the light on” she adds. I am endlessly and increasingly appreciative of songs that shine as bright as those on a horrid whisper… do, and expect the album to accompany me for many years to come. [Bandcamp]

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