Favorite Albums of 2023
I really don’t know how to do these intros, so I’ll keep it simple this year. First off, thank you if you’re reading this. I’ve really enjoyed doing this yearly round up of my favorite fifty albums of the year. Next, there are some really amazing albums that were released this year that mean a lot to me - whether helping me understand the world and myself better or giving me a reason to smile and sing along. Like previous years, the albums below are listed in chronological order. Lastly, I hope this helps you find a new album, band, and or musician you like. Art and Music are special things that are a unique part of the human experience and I am forever grateful for them. Thus, this yearly round up has become an act of curation to cement the albums that were my favorites and meant a lot to me this year.
Strays
by Margo Price
Margo Price returns for her fourth album with standout songwriting and a few amazing guest features. The country and folk sound that Price has shown across her previous music is added to with influences of rock and pop songs. On Radio, Price brings Sharon Van Etten’s vocals and stylistic influences in a song about tuning out others and having confidence in herself. Another song where genres are mixed together is Time Machine where song structure and style could be that of a Sheryl Crow song.
Date Released: January 13
Standout Songs: Been To The Mountain, Radio, Change of Heart, Country Road, Time Machine
Gigi’s Recovery
by The Muder Capital
Continuing my love for the current wave of post-punk, Gigi’s Recovery is a well balanced album of deep lyrics and intense instrumentals.The band’s second album seems to depart from the deep grunge loudness of their first album, but they don’t completely abandon it - only adding to it. Songs throughout this album combine to create drama and cinematic storytellings of past relationships. This album is an intense listen, but it is worthy of listening for the intense lyrics and vocal delivery as well as the post-rock-esq layered instrumentals.
Date Released: January 20
Standout Songs: Crying, Return My Head, Ethel, The Stars Will Leave Their Stage, We Had To Disappear, Only Good Things, Gigi’s Recovery
Electrophonic Chronic
by The Arcs
The long awaited return of The Arcs comes with heavy hitting soul, rock, and funk blending songs. Dan Auerbach of The Black Keys brings his lyrics and vocals to this amazing combination of musicians and producers yet again. Their honed in and specific sound is a culmination of each member's solo music and production styles. This album is both of the present and also of a past generation of sound.
Date Released: January 27
Standout Songs: Keep On Dreamin’, Heaven Is A Place, Sunshine, Behind The Eyes, Love Doesn’t Live Here Anymore
Let’s Start Here.
by Lil Yachty
When this album first came out, drummer and music connoisseur Questlove said of this album “the most surprising transition of any music career I’ve witnessed in a min, especially under the umbrella of hip hop.” Not only did Lil Yahcty depart from where he was, he also arrived. This album’s delivery brings us psychedelic, sublime, and Pink Floyd rock heavy tracks back to back. With each listen you can hear that this was an album that Lil Yahcty wanted to make, enjoyed making, and truly put in the ten thousand hours to reach this whole new sound and experience. Again from Questlove, “Shit like this (envelope pushing) got me hyped about music’s future.”, a statement I wholeheartedly agree with.
Date Released: January 27
Standout Songs: the BLACK seminole., running out of time, pRETTy, drive ME crazy!, sAy sOMETHINg, sHouLd i B?
Heavy Heavy
by Young Fathers
Joy is a word that could be used to describe this album, but that barely scratches the surface of the energy every second of this album radiates. In similar ways TV On The Radio pushes the boundaries of genre and reinvent their sound in dynamic and stunning ways, Young Fathers pushes forward fearlessly in to uncharted style territories where they inhabit all of the space they want to to its full extent. This album is quite possibly one of my favorites from this year and I can't recommend it enough.
Date Released: February 3
Standout Songs: Rice, I Saw, Drum. Geronimo, Shoot Me Down, Ululation, Holy Moly
This Is Why
by Paramore
Who is ready to rock out and have fun? Because I think Paramore is and they aren’t waiting for you to be ready. This album sees Paramore, and especially Hailey Williams, doing their best. The album’s front half is much more inline with their upbeat hits we’ve gotten from them over the years The back half of the album though is quite beautiful in the down tempo yet never losing the punk edginess.
Date Released: February 10
Standout Songs: This Is Why, Running Out Of Time, Big Man, Little Dignity, Thick Skull
Cuts & Bruises
by Inhaler
Following their 2021 debut album It Won’t Always Be Like This, the Irish rock band Inhaler returns with momentum forward and starting to chart their own style. While its easy to say that the lead vocalist Elijah Hewson sounds just like his father, Bono of the band U2, there are definitely aspects of this new album that shows Inhaler is starting to deviate and find their own. Songs like Love Will Get You There and Deblin In Ecstasy shows the band can write and perform songs of a caliber equal to that of legacy rock bands.
Date Released: February 17
Standout Songs: Just To Keep You Satisfied, Love Will Get You There, If You’re Gonna Break My Heart, Dublin In Ecstasy
Food For Worms
by shame
On their third album, shame pushes forward in to some newer spaces within the post-punk genre. Like when I wrote about their previous album, Drunk Tank Pink, shame brings their “punching guitars, moving drums and bass, and punk-esq whaling vocals”, yet something more seems to be present on Food For Worms. Through what sounds like nostalgia and an outward pouring love and respect for each other within the band, this album feels more than just another post-punk album.
Date Released: February 24
Standout Songs: Fingers of Steel, Six-Pack, Adderall, Orchid, Burning By Design, All The People
Shook
by Algiers
Algiers has been one of my favorite groups. Another group that pushes genres and boundaries of sound, Shook pushes even further than their previous records. The music can at times feel mysterious and jarring but that adds to the political and protest nature of the music’s content. Speaking of political and protest, this album has features on a majority of their songs ranging from Zack de la Rocha from Rage Against The Machine to Samuel T. Herring of Future Islands. This album is a stand out in their discography for me because it keeps the energy quite consistent across all of the songs compared to some earlier albums where by the end you’re lost in too many down tempo and quiet songs. The song Out of Style Tragedy should be listened to repeatedly and studied for the layers of meaning in the lyrics, the use of instruments, and the sample of Nuclear War by Sun Ra and His Arkestra.
Date Released: February 24
Standout Songs: Everybody Shatter, Irreversible Damage, 73%, Out of Style Tragedy, I Can’t Stand It!, Green Iris, Something Wrong
Bless This Mess
by U.S. Girls
Bless This Mess is an album that uses the now satirized throw pillow saying to call commentary on the mess of the current world situations on everything from climate change to the hyper-technologicalized lives we live. U.S. Girls’ albums are consistent in that they always have well written and composed songs that are fun, funky, and at times funny - this one is no exception.
Date Released: February 24
Standout Songs: Only Daedalus, Just Space For Light, Screen Face, Tux (Your Body Fills Me, Boo), R.I.P. Roy G. Biv
Lotus Glow
by Adi Oasis
Singer, Songwriter, and Bassist Adi Oasis released one of the funkiest, grooviest, and down right sensual albums of the year. With each song this album fills the listener with classic sounding funk and soul while bringing contemporary flairs and lyrics. I am keeping this blurb short and simple because this album is a must listen.
Date Released: March 3
Standout Songs: Get it Got it, Serena, Marigold, Dumpalltheguns, Multiply, Adonis, The Water, FourSixty
Oh Me Oh My
by Lonnie Holley
The artist Lonie Holley expands his mediums to include spoken word music and concept album. In his mid seventies, Holley takes his artistic sensibilities to new heights with this album where he details in memoir-esq story telling of growing up and existing in the Jim Crow south. At times the songs can be chilling and ghostly at other times they can be driving forward and triumphant. But each song features the vibrant and detailed story telling lyrics that take these songs from music to art.
Date Released: March 10
Standout Songs: I Am A Part Of The Wonder, Oh Me, Oh My, Earth Will Be There, Mount Meigs, Kindness Will Follow Your Tears, None Of Us Have But A Little While, Future Children
10,000 gecs
by 100 gecs
The internet meme making musicians are back with their sophomore album that proves their first album wasn’t a fluke and was instead just a starting point. Songs like Dumbest Girl Alive and mememe fit right in to the progression from their first album while songs like Frog On The Floor and I Got My Tooth Removed interweave strong flavors of ska in to their style. This album is serious about the fun they’re having.
Date Released: March 17
Standout Songs: Dumbest Girl Alive, Hollywood Baby, Frog On The Floor, Doritos & Fritos, The Most Wanted Person In The United States, mememe
SCARING THE HOES
by JPEGMAFIA and Danny Brown
JPEGMAFIA and Danny Brown might be one of the hottest and spiciest collabs of the year. Each song on this album is filled with banging samples and instrumentals. The production on this album is tight. The raping on every song never ceases to turn down the temperature.
Date Released: March 24
Standout Songs: Lean Beef Patty, Steppa Pig, SCARING THE HOES, Garbage Pale Kids, Burfict!, God Loves You, HOE
Live at Bush Hall
by Black Country, New Road
Last year Black County, New Road released one my favorite albums of the year, Ants from Up There just days after the front man left the band. This live album is the band’s first release without Isaac Wood and shows the band is Capable of continuing to produce music of the same caliber after his departure. The band stressed this isn’t an official album, instead just a release of songs they’ve been writing and playing - like a record of their current state. Songs like The Boy and Turbines/Pigs show off the bands epic-styled songs. All the songs on this album showcase the band member’s song writing capabilities and continue to exhibit amazing instrumentation and compositions.
Date Released: March 24
Standout Songs: Up Song, The Boy, I Won’t Always Love You, The Wrong Trousers, Turbines/Pigs, Dancers
Requiem for Jazz
by Angel Bat Dawid
It's hard to find words that describe what this album is and does, but it is definitely jazz and it does A LOT. This album, and Angel Bat Dawid’s music as a whole, plants itself at the forefront of the continuation of the afrofuturism jazz movement started by the likes of Alice Coltrane and later built upon by many like Sun Ra and Pharoah Sanders. This live recorded album charts a journey of not only the so called “death of jazz” but really the liberation such a statement makes. The structure of this album - which seems to be one of the most clearly defined aspects of the project, is a track whose name features a line that Angel says followed by the next track that builds upon that statement and turns it in to a feature track with countless instruments, musicians, and collaborators composing some of the most truth to power, observative, and firm statements made in music.
Date Released: March 24
Standout Songs: INTROIT - Joy n’ Sff’rin, KYRIE ELEISON-Lawd Hav’ Merci, DIAS IRE-Chain Around the Spirit, The Negro transforms America’s Image of him into a transport of Joy!, CONFUTATIS-Repression, Because Jazz is the one element in American life where whites must be humble to the Negro, AGNUS DEI-Jazz is Dead!
the record; the rest
by boygenius
Three friends released an EP in 2018 by the same name as the group they became, boygenius. In 2023 they released the record which skyrocketed these individuals to new highest of recognition and stardom they had yet to see in their own solo careers. Each member (Phoebe Bridgers, Julien Baker, and Lucy Dacus) combine forces in the truest sense to make something far more special and larger than the sum of their parts. the record and its followed up EP titled the rest, contains some of the best songwriting to be released this year and as someone who has followed these three musicians both individually and as a group for at least half a dozen years now, it is amazing to see the art they’ve made.
Date Released: March 31
Standout Songs: $20, Emily I’m Sorry, True Blue, Cool About It, Not Strong Enough, Satanist, Anti-Curse, Black Hole, Afraid of Heights
Glorious Game
by El Michels Affair and Black Thought
The stylings of Leon Michels and his band the El Michels Affair paints a beautiful jazzy and soulful backdrop for the one and only Black Thought to rap his usual heavy hitting bars. This is a true hip-hop album but so much more. As Leon Michels and his band have started to make and produce collaboration albums, this one stands out because of its full circle nature - El Michels Affair having first gained recognition with their cover album of Wu-Tang Clan’s album Enter the 37th chamber.
Date Released: April 14
Standout Songs:: Grateful, Glorious Game, Protocol, The Weather, That Girl, Miracle
Why Does the Earth Give Us People to Love?
by Kara Jackson
The debut album from National Youth Poet Laureate, Why Does the Earth Give Us People to Love? is a folk album full of honest and raw emotions. Jackson’s incredible story telling in her poetry carries over so well to the medium of songs and an album as a whole. She doesn’t mince words or shy away from truth and honesty, which is what takes this album from great to amazing.
Date Released: April 14
Standout Songs: no fun/party, d******d blues, therapy, pawnshop, free, lily, rat, why does the earth give us people to love
Hardly the Same Snake
by Skinny Pelembe
This album’s ominous nature gives way to quite compelling instrumentals and lyrical themes. Electronic undertones act as a beautiful backdrop for influences of british punk rock and alternative R&B to be vibrant in their interesting integration. Songs like Hardly the Same Snake and Like a Heart Won’t Beat stand out among the album and show that Skinny Pelembe can craft interesting and catchy songs without pandering. The album ends with some of its most ominous sounds showcased in the song Secret Hiding Place, a track that is primarily lyric-less choir singing in a space like a dark, old, and cold cathedral.
Date Released: April 28
Standout Songs: Same Eye Colour, Hardly the Same Snake, Don’t Be Another, Like a Heart Won’t Beat
When We Were That What Wept For the Sea
by Colin Stetson
This jazz album does more than the genre title jazz could define. Soundscapes are created that transfix and transport the listener to this coastal cliff where they must become witness to the great abyss. Colin Stetson, a jazz musician and a film score composer, uses his circular breathing technique to surround the listeners mind in the never ending music of long tones, dissonances, and repetitions. Like the sea in the album’s name, the soundscapes created by Stetson swell and grow, the ebb and flow, they’re organic and ever changing.
Date Released: May 12
Standout Songs: The Lighthouse I, When We Were That What Wept For The Sea, Infliction, Long Before the Sky Would Open, Fireflies, The Surface and the Light, The Lighthouse V
Beloved! Paradise! Jazz!?
by McKinley Dixon
This album, while rap and hip-hop genres are at play, is really something much bigger as seen in its title taken which combines the name of three of Toni Morrison’s books. The album also starts with a reading of Morrison by the writer and poet Hanif Abdurraqib. The bars lay bare the experience of resilience of McKinley Dixon community and upbringings while perfectly scored over jazzy and funky instrumentals. Any fan of hip-hop will find many things to like and appreciate in this album.
Date Released: June 2
Standout Songs: Sun, I Rise, Live! from the Kitchen Table, Dedicated to Tar Feather, Beloved! Paradise! Jazz!?
O Monolith
by Squid
In the follow up to their debut and breakout album, Bright Green Fields, Squid takes their sound and evolves it to new levels, breaking out of the post-punk genre and vibe they started with. The sound on this album is much more open, free flowing, and intricate compared to their previous releases. Sprinkles of new sounds are mixed in to bring a more sublime and almost spiritual quality.
Date Released: June 9
Standout Songs: Swing (In a Dream), Siphon Song, After the Flash, If You Had Seen the Bull’s Swimming Attempts You Would Have Stayed Away?
Space Heavy
by King Krule
The newest King Krule album is a melancholic celebration of all the experiences of and surrounded by love. At times instrumentals and chord changes can feel at odds as if mental friction is manifested in the music until there is either a resolution or just an outright sudden absence and a void is created. This album feels right in place in the timeline of releases, but Space Heave really stands out for doing new things and continuing to progress King Krule’s sound.
Date Released: June 9
Standout Songs: Flimsier, Seaforth, That Is My Life, That Is Yours, Hamburgerphobia, From the Swamp, Seagirl, Our Vacuum, If Only It Was Warmth
Girl with Fish
by feeble little horse
Girl with Fish is one of the most seriously fun albums of the year. Each song showcases a unique style. There is everything from indie rock to shoegaze to just straight up noise. The lyrics are catchy and quick and sung with a lot of grace and delicacy. This album is like a soup of things thrown together from the pantry but it comes out to be one of the best tasting meals you’ve ever had.
Date Released: June 9
Standout Songs: Tin Man, Steamroller, Heaven, Sweet, Pocket
when the poems do what they do
by aja monet
Surrealist blues poet Aja Monet brings her vibrant and descriptive truth-up-front poetry style to the song and album format. Her poems are scored with a backdrop of the jazz subgenre that is stereotypical for the Hollywood image of a French basement jazz cafe. And yet, it feels correct, it doesn’t feel tacky, it doesn’t feel cheeky. Instead, This album is powerful, it is chest out and head up, it is unforgiving and in doing so it transcends and stands out shining on its own.
Date Released: June 9
Standout Songs: i am, why my love?, black joy, unhurt, the devil you know, for sonia, yemaya, for the kids who live
The Age of Pleasure
by Janelle Monáe
Since their transcending 2018 album, Dirty Computer, Janelle Monáe has been busy starring in films, television, and writing songs for the screen as well. And yet, the long awaited follow up is here and it blows any and all expectations away. Fun, sensual, and summer barely begin to describe this album’s themes and energy. This album is not only liberating for Monáe but also for the listeners and the girlies that get it.
Date Released: June 9
Standout Songs: Float, Champagne Shit, Phenomenal, Haute, Lipstick Lover, The French 75, Know Better, Paid In Pleasure, Only Have Eyes 42
The Omnichord Real Book
by Meshell Ndegeocello
Meshell Ndegeocello’s first album on Blue Note Records is a synthesis of so much of her prior work and style. This album brings together and expertly interweaves jazz, soul, and dub among many other genre influences. The Omnichord, a coveted synthesizer, is the main feature on this album (real book in reference to the jazz standards book every jazz student has) and an instrument that Meshell Ndegeocello expertly uses to create everything from funky grooves to slightly off putting dissonances that only she can resolve.
Date Released: June 16
Standout Songs: Georgia Ave, Call The Tune, Omnipuss, Clear Water, Gatsby, Towers, Vuma, The 5th Dimension, Virgo 3
Snake Sideways
by Do Nothing
Wow… not another British post-punk band on Music Stream Dreams’ yearly album roundup. What sets Do Nothing apart from the crowded, but welcomed, scene is their amazing vocal delivery and softer instrumentals compared to their contemporaries like Squid who I also highlight this year. On Snake Sideways it is hard at times to even consider their sound in the punk sphere at all. Melodies are sweet and delivered with great vocals from the front man Chris Bailey. The instrumentals are driving and grooving. This is a great album for anyone wanting to get in to or curious about the post-brexit wave of post-punk music and bands.
Date Released: June 30
Standout Songs: Nerve, Happy Feet, Snake Sideways, Ivy, The Needle, Amoeba, Sunshine State
In The End It Always Does
by The Japanese House
In 2019, The Japanese House released her debut album Good at Falling, and since then my love and ears for indie and alt pop has never been the same. Building upon the success of her first album, The Japanese House brings new light and sensibilities to singing about relationships of all types through an overarching theme of cyclical understanding of time and change. The uniquely dreamy vocals and instrumentals are supported with a feature from MUNA, co-writing credits from Katie Gavin and Justin Vernon, and background vocals by Katie Gavin and Matty Healy - it has everything for the girlies.
Date Released: June 30
Standout Songs: Spot Dog, Touching Yourself, Sad to Breathe, Morning Pages, Boyhood, Sunshine Baby, One for sorrow, two for Joni Jones
My Back Was a Bridge For You To Cross
by ANOHNI and the Johnsons
This is easily my favorite album this year. This is ANOHNI and The Johnsons first release in nearly 13 years. In the time between, Anohni transitioned and released two solo albums. In this new album with The Johnsons, the statements made in the album start with the album’s cover, a beautiful photo of Marsha P. Johnson the trans activist who has been an inspiration for Anohni her whole career as a musician. This album details the social position that trans women in our current society are put in to and the struggles they deal with. She also paints intricate pictures of grief and the planetary destruction caused by climate change. While this album generally deal with down tempo, sad, and somber themes, there is a skillfully crafted and refined soulful undercurrent in the rhythms and instrumentations. This album is quite impactful and deserves to be listened to with openness and acceptance. The warm sound of Anohni’s vocals and the powerful lyrics and instrumentations, this album has captured my mind and been an album I’ve relistened to hundreds of times this year.
Date Released: July 7
Standout Songs: It Must Change, Sliver Of Ice, Can’t, Scapegoat, It’s My Fault, Rest, Why Am I Alive Now?
The Greater Wings
by Julie Byrne
Somewhere in the world there is a venn diagram of contemporary folk music and indie bedroom pop music, and in the middle where the two overlap sits The Greater Wings. This album is confessional to its core but delivers it in a dreamy and airy quality that makes it so easy to get lost in like watching puffy clouds roll by on a summer blue sky. Byrne utilizes a wide variety of instrumentals to create soundscapes, like a wind chime of the porch of your childhood home, to set the scene for some of the most beautiful and delicate songs to come out this year. Lushness is the best word to describe the essence of this album whose themes range from love to loss.
Date Released: July 7
Standout Songs: The Greater Wings, Portrait of a Clear Day, Summer Glass, Lightning Comes Up From The Ground, Flare, Death Is The Diamond
Plumb
by David Murray, Questlove, and Ray Angry
Plumb is a collaborative project between the legendary jazz saxophonist David Murray, the legendary hip-hop drummer Questlove of The Roots, and hip-hop and jazz keyboardist Ray Angry. Fusion barely begins to describe what this over two hour beast of an album sounds like. Jazz is definitely an undertone of this album but with each musician bringing their storied backgrounds and long discography. Also, who knew Questlove had such amazing jazz drumming chops? This is a great and fun and ethereal listen. With a rumored follow up album I can’t wait to see where each musician goes from here in their future released as a group and in their solo excursions.
Date Released: July 21
Standout Songs: Plumb, Intro To Ninno / Ninno, Pleiades, Atomic Number, Scalene, 5 Minute Joint, Brown Doves
Volcano
by Jungle
Jungle, one of my favorite dance music groups, maybe became one of the top dance music groups of the year. The song Back on 74 broke wild and rampant throughout the internet. This album is consistent with the quality of their past albums but with a little more catchiness and some amazing features. The music videos for this album also are consistent with their previous releases. It's not that this album is just consistent, it's that it is consistent with the progression and increasing in quality and tightness of the songs and dance numbers in the music videos. This is funky and groovy dance music that anyone can enjoy.
Date Released: Aug 11
Standout Songs: Us Against The World, Candle Flame, Dominoes, I’ve Been In Love, Back On 74, Don’t Play, Pretty Little Thing
KARPEH
by Cautious Clay
When Cautious Clay signed on with Blue Note Records I was quite intrigued to see what he would accomplish with the label’s prominence in jazz, I was not disappointed. Many of the songs on this album definitely have some jazz influences that Caly’s previous releases haven’t. And on the song Yesterday’s Price, Cautious Clay brings in two of jazz’s greatest newer stars, Immanuel Wilkins and Ambrose Akinmusire, to be featured. For an album whose content is very introspective and personal, this album is some of the best soulful and funky music I’ve heard this year.
Date Released: Aug 18
Standout Songs: Fishtown, Ohio, The Tide Is My Witness, Another Half, Repeat Myself, Unfinished House, Blue Lips, Yesterday’s Price
STRUGGLER
by Genesis Owusu
After the immense success of his debut album Smiling with No Teeth, Genesis Owusu had big expectations to live up to with his sophomore album. STRUGGLER doesn’t just exceed any and all expectations, it blows them all away tenfold if not more. This album, while rap and hip-hop at heart, knows no bounds. There are hard hitting punk songs, groovy funk songs, down tempo slow songs, and anything else you could want. Owusu’s vocals and bars are expertly delivered. This album does, goes, and consumes with each listen.
Date Released: Aug 18
Standout Songs: Leaving The Light, The Roach, The Old Man, Tied Up!, That’s Life (A Swamp), Balthazar, Stay Blessed, Stuck To The Fan
The Returner
by Allison Russell
In her debut solo album, Outside Child, Allison Russell documented the darker truth to her lived experiences. In The Returner Russell shows overcoming, ambition, and joy, feelings and outlooks that take immense amounts of strength to overcome what was sung about in her first album. This overcoming is quickly detailed in the albums opening track Springtime. Strength can be heard in the song’s breakthrough song Demons where Russell stands up to the demons in her life and shows she is not afraid. This album is a beautiful painting of folk and americana music that is of our time and place, but is not bound by the present as is stated in the albums last song Requiem.
Date Released: Sept 8
Standout Songs: Springtime, The Returner, All Without Within, Demons, Eve Was Black, Shadowlands, Requiem
Black Classical Music
by Yussef Dayes
Yussef Dayes has been at the forefront of drums in the jazz work for a few years now with collaborative projects he has undertaken. Now in his first solo album, Dayes’ album Black Classical Music is anything but classical. The 19 song album showcases jazz, R&B, funk, African, Cuban, Caribbean influences. While Dayes’ and his drumming isn’t the forefront of every song on this album, his touch and sensibilities is brought to each of the amazing featured and studio musicians who make this album a masterclass in well executive creative ambitions.
Date Released: Sept 8
Standout Songs: Black Classical Music, Afro Cubanism, Rust, Turquoise Galaxy, The Light, Pon di Plaza, Chasing the Drum, Gelato, Crystal Palace Park, Jukebox, Tioga Pass
The Land Is Inhospitable and So Are We
by Mitski
Miski, a musician comfortable with deep and intrapersonal song subjects, goes deep and within herself to explore new places and broaden her sound. Through an open live studio sound on the album, the space these songs consume is vast. Like the album’s cover suggests there is an older folksy vibe to this album, an open vacant space atmosphere, and a dark backdrop with a single light cast either on to or originating from the subject. With this album, Mitski retired the “sad girl shtick” and instead opens up in a much more forward looking lens.
Date Released: Sept 15
Standout Songs: Bug Like an Angel, Buffalo Replaced, I Don’t Like My Mind, The Deal, My Love Mine All Mine, Star
Heaven; Gold
by Cleo Sol
Cleo Sol, quite possibly my favorite chill R&B and soul musician of the past few years, released two albums both of which offer different themes but the same quality and soothing essence. On Heaven, Cleo Sol starts with exploring her own faith in herself and in the spiritual world around her which then climaxes at the end of the album with her standing strong and unwavering in this faith. On Gold, released just two weeks after Heaven, Sol brings back the motherly and soothing themes from her 2021 album Mother. This album brings a lot more gospel influences in to the vocal and background vocal arrangement. For most listeners, Cleo Sol has build a vast discography where they can find something they’ll like; whether in her solo work, featured performances, and her work with the group SAULT - these two albums are great additions to her body of work.
Date Released: Sept 15, Spet 29
Standout Songs: Self, Go Baby, Old Friends, Miss Romantic, Golden Child (Jealous); There Will Be No Crying, Reason, Things Will Get Better, Only Love Can Wait, Please Don’t End It All, Lost Angel, In Your Own Home, Life Will Be
Movie Of The Week
by Shakey Graves
I think this album was quite slept on this year. Shakey Graves’ newest album is a dreamscape of americana folk-ish songs that chart the search for meaning in life. The cohesion for this album comes in the form of interludes that brings this album to true concept album format. The fictitious movie these songs become a part of is a journey through life only to find the journey. It might be cliche but the music is great!
Date Released: Sept 15
Standout Songs: Limbo, Evergreen, Ready or Not, Lowlife, Big In the World, Century City
Starfucker
by Slayyyter
HARD. This album goes pure HARD. Slayyyter’s hyperpop and electricpop aesthetics mix so well with the real and darker side of the postmodern glam Hollywood image. After seeing her perform this album in concert, friends and I reflected that this might be the next Lady Gaga-type of pop star - and while I don’t like to compare musicians to others, I feel this is a fair and hopefully prophesy-like comparison. Listen to this album and try not to dance to it, I dare you.
Date Released: Sept 22
Standout Songs: I Love Hollywood!, Miss Belladonna, My Body, Rhinestone Heart, Erotic Electronic, Purrr, Plastic, Girl Like Me, Tear Me Open
XO SKELETON
by La Force
Singer and songwriter Ariel Engle returned to her solo project La Force five years after its debut. On XO SKELETON, themes of love, disappointment in relationships, and death trade places with each song. Engle’s angelic vocals act as a guiding light through her album and very intimate and poetic lyrics. Her voice and lyrics are paired well with jazzy instrumentals on some songs and soft indie rock instrumentals on others.
Date Released: Sept 29
Standout Songs: condition of us, how do you love a man, october, xo skeleton, zipolite, outrun the sun
Javelin
by Sufjan Stevens
Sufjan Stevens, the kind of sad music, returned with one of his best albums in quite some time. Javelin marks a considerable point in his progression as a musician. It feels like the synthesis of all that made Stevens popular on albums like Illinoise and Carrie & Lowell with his more recent collaboration and experimental albums like on Convocations and A Beginner’s Mind. This album, like most, has themes of the darker side of the emotional spectrum. This album is dedicated to his late partner who died this past year. Themes on this album really paint a much broader range of emotions that come with love and loving someone, not just a classic love song.
Date Released: Oct 6
Standout Songs: Goodbye Evergreen, A Running Start, Will Anybody Ever Love Me?, Everything That Rises, Javelin (To Have And To Hold), Shit Talk
So Far So Good
by Meernaa
Every year I find a pop-ish album that is dreamy, a little experimental, and a lot of love and labor. So Far So Good is so captivating with its bedroom pop styles mixed with indie electronic pop influences. Meernaa’s vocals are light and flowy but delivered with amazing confidence. This album is a great listen if you’re looking for something a little new but not out in left field.
Date Released: Oct 6
Standout Songs: On My Line, Another Dimension, As Many Birds Flying, Black Eyed Susan, I Believe In You, Bhuta Kala, So Far So Good
Something To Give Each Other
by Troye Sivan
This pop album has everything. Club bangers like Rush and Got Me Started, love ballads like What’s The Time Where You Are? and Still Got It, and pure fun pop songs like One Of Your Girls and In My Room. This album is sex and sensuality forward. Troye Sivan is unapologetic from the album cover to the lyrics of each song. A great pop album.
Date Released: Oct 13
Standout Songs: On My Line, Another Dimension, As Many Birds Flying, Black Eyed Susan, I Believe In You, Bhuta Kala, So Far So Good
I Killed Your Dog
by L’Rain
I first stumbled in to L’Rain a few years ago when I saw her open for Black Midi. The set she put on with songs from her debut self titled album and her 2021 album Fatigue transfixed me instantly. I have been waiting for her third album ever since and here it is towards the end of 2023. I Killed Your Dog is an amazing journey in synthesizers, jazz-esq experimentations, and entrancing vocals. Upon first listen I was confused and put off by the album, but two months since its release its become one of my favorites of the year.
Date Released: Oct 13
Standout Songs: Our Funeral, Pet Rock, 5 to 8 Hours a Day (WWwaG), r(EMOTE), Uncertainty Principle, Knead Bee, New Year’s UnResolution
Lahai
by Sampha
Lahai is a masterclass in blending R&B, hip-hop, electronic, soul, and jazz genres. These genres combined with Sampha’s skills become something new and much bigger than any of those genres could express. Sampha’s dreamy and unique vocals are emotionally charged and never wanes. Songs like Suspended do such a great job encompassing Sampha’s abilities and possible high caliber output. If there is anything this album shows is that it's okay to take an extended amount of time between albums if it means you’re able to perform and produce something so unique and great.
Date Released: Oct 20
Standout Songs: Stereo Colour Cloud (Shaman’s Dream), Spirit 2.0, Suspended, Only, Can’t Go Back, Evidence, What If You Hypnotise Me?
Chronicles of a Diamond
by Black Pumas
After their HUGE self-titled debut album, Black Pumas is back after over four years with Chronicles of a Diamond that builds upon the magic they already crafted. Eric Burton’s song writing and vocals bring an eclectic soulful atmosphere to Black Pumas. Songs like More Than a Love Song and Chronicles of a Diamond sound like they came out of their first album, whereas songs like Mrs. Postman and Sauvignon feel newer and like a step forward in the band’s progression. Overall, this album is funky, soulful, and has many songs that just make you want to get up and dance to it.
Date Released: Oct 27
Standout Songs: Ice Cream (Pay Phone), Mrs. Postman, Chronicles of a Diamond, Angel, Tomorrow, Gemini Sun
Suntub
by ML Buch
An album like Suntub is quite rare. There are albums that are made today that sound like they were of a previous time. There are albums that were made in the past that still sound ahead of today’s sound. And then there are albums that are made today and both sound of yesteryear and of the future - that is what Suntub is, an alternative rock album that can only be best described by listening to it.
Date Released: Oct 27
Standout Songs: Pan Over the Hill, Flames shards goo, High speed calm air tonight, Fleshless hand, Well bucket, Big sun, River mouth, Working it out