Tackling year-end music lists traditionally goes one of two ways. It’s either a cut-and-dried affair, with the upper echelon of records so clearly defined in their superior quality, or it’s a pros-and-cons, “Ooh but it is really good” type of elimination-exercise nightmare. Being as we are in the situation of the latter, I feel the need to point out that it’s not as if there weren’t albums instantly locked to the list at the point of conception, or that nothing really screamed ‘Album of the Year’ at me. It means we’ve all been spoiled in 2023, and the parameters of what made the list and what didn’t might be arbitrarily what I got around to.
I can think of around fifteen projects I’ve heard good things about, but simply haven’t had the time to dive into. I am just a man after all, I can’t listen to everything. But I have had a fantastic time with music this year, and here’s what I’ve enjoyed the most.
I’d also like to thank Spotify and Last.fm for helping me quantify this in any sort of way – my brain was coming out of my ears before I decided to pull some data on the whole operation (and still somewhat ignore it in favour of the ever alluring ‘vibes’). Okay, let’s go!
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10. Hozier – Unreal Unearth
Unreal Unearth finds Hozier at the absolute most confident he’s been as a songwriter in his decade-long career thus far.
Quiet contemplative tracks, like the opener ‘De Selby (Part 1)’ or the late-game ‘Unknown/Nth’ contrast with gigantic radio-ready anthems, like ‘First Time’ or ‘Eat Your Young’, but without the album feeling tonally disjointed.
It’s lengthy but justifies every second of its runtime with incredible lyrics, poetic vocal melodies, and poignant subject matter. On the latter point, a special recommendation to the song ‘Butchered Tongue’, about cultural suppression and the true cost of assimilation.
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9. Danny Brown – Quaranta
I listed Quaranta in my most anticipated albums of last year, so this is fashionably late. Danny has been very vocal about how 2016’s stellar Atrocity Exhibition put him 70k in debt after the samples were paid for – with that context it’s easier to understand the extended hype cycle for this LP. In the opener, the tone is set: ”A lot changed since Triple X came out.”
However, by literally the next track, ’Tantor’, the Detroit rapper insists that, despite this, he himself “still ain’t changed.” The journey from 30 to 40 has been a wild ride for Bruiser Brigade’s head honcho, and Quaranta is his most candid project to date… maybe a terrifying thought if you know anything about the nature of the man’s work.
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8. boygenius – the record
In the last five years or so, the indie landscape has been dominated by some combination of Julien Baker, Phoebe Bridgers and Lucy Dacus.
2023 was no different. The highly-anticipated debut album by sad-gal-suite boygenius was well worth the wait. Tracks like ‘Not Strong Enough’ and ‘Emily, I’m Sorry’ were in constant rotation, and no-one even hurt me…what a concept.
Supergroups often combine to create something not at the level of their individual work and I’m happy to say this is an exception, one which will only make the act harder to follow for anybody not already named in this section.
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7. Yves Tumor – Praise A Lord Who Chews But Does Not Consume (Or Simply, Hot Between Worlds)
I like living in the world of Yves Tumor.
From the fragmentary Safe in the Hands of Love to the fuzzy, Prince-inspired palette of Heaven to a Tortured Mind, I never really know exactly what I’m getting with a new release. Here’s two tracks as examples: ‘Echolalia’ ticks away it’s three minute stay, teasing a gear it’ll never kick into; whilst ‘Meteora Blues’ explodes through the damn wall just five lines in, wielding a Sabbath riff and a chorus of the year contender.
What you can be sure of, always, is the art of the LP is alive and well. The importance of ordered track listing, of ebb and flow… a curated experience is absolutely paramount to Sean Bowie and company’s vision of what music is at its best.
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6. Sufjan Stevens – Javelin
Sufjan Stevens adds to his endlessly celebrated catalogue with Javelin, a record dedicated to the memory of his late partner Evans Richardson.
Sufjan explores his aches and anger, his heartbreak, the existential questions that can only rear their heads when one feels alone. Numbers like ‘Will Anybody Ever Love Me?’ and ‘Shit Talk’ are as beautifully composed as they are tough to listen to, the latter a sprawling eight-minute suite that breaks down into a defeated refrain: “I don’t wanna fight at all.”
I’ve spent a lot of time with Javelin this last couple of months, and no impact has diminished from my very first listen. Approach with caution (or if you fancy a cry).
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5. Black Country, New Road – Live From Bush Hall
Live at Bush Hall was a sink or swim situation for BC,NR. Frontman Isaac Wood was gone, and the band had to establish itself anew with the weight of two critically-acclaimed albums and a world of expectations on their shoulders. Instead of inviting comparison forever by hard ‘replacing’ Wood with any single person, the remaining band members share the load, rotating to the microphone song by song to helm their own contributions.
Bush Hall is a live record only in the sense of where it was recorded: these songs are brand new and purpose-written for the soft reset. The Am-Dram aesthetic of the stage and costuming was a genius touch too, what could look more like people just figuring it out, just having fun? It remains to be seen if the baroque pop direction that dominates most of the runtime is in fact a direction at all, or merely made sense for the presentation of Bush Hall. Either way, this is a wonderful collection of tracks and I couldn’t be more excited for the band’s future.
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4. Sampha – Lahai
Sampha was in that Frank Ocean pocket for me – when (if ever) was there going to be some new music?
2017’s Process has given me a lot of value, but I was definitely ready for the next at-bat. Lahai is an album about an enduring commitment to personal growth, about shifting priorities and a chaotic brain trying to zoom out and see the bigger picture better. It’s sometimes easier than it could be to forget where you are in the narrative on any given track, and that’s not the fault of the writing.
Sampha’s ability to compose something truly transcendent in quality, a groove pocket that holds you in. Thematically, this is definitely meant to be listened to from end-to-end, but check out the singles ‘Spirit 2.0’ and ‘Only’ first for a taste.
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3. Jeff Rosenstock – HELLMODE
Jeff Rosenstock makes a year-end list of mine again to the shock of absolutely no one.
His single-handed image rehabilitation of the pop-punk genre has been astounding to see play out – I say single-handed because anybody still recommending me a pop-punk record is undoubtedly sending me Jeff. He’s made a twenty-five-year-old genre cool again, by virtue of never caving to its long established lyrical conventions, instead repurposing the sonics as a backdrop for more mature and socially conscious material.
HELLMODE is another instalment of exactly that – observations on a life equal parts beautiful and terrifying, from a man who like the rest of us, doesn’t quite have it figured out. Try on single ‘HEALMODE’ for life-affirming goodness.
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2. Mitski – The Land is Inhospitable and So Are We
Nothing will better prove that there’s a huge disparity between even the most viral online success and actual fame than Mitski scoring her first UK Top 10 hit in 2023.
She’s possibly the worst kept secret in music at this point, but I do understand WHY she’s bigger than ever before. The Land is Inhospitable and So Are We is an incredibly ugly painting on a gorgeous canvas; a wolf in lounge wear. The swaying orchestral strings and twinkling odes to Americana will maybe only disarm the new fans – the ones that’ve been around a minute know exactly how Mitski likes to set up her heart punches.
‘My Love Mine All Mine’ has so quickly climbed the ranks to discography-wide favourite already.
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Before I get into my album of the year, huge shout-outs/additional recommendations go to Killer Mike’s MICHAEL, Jam Baxter & Granuja’s De las Sombras, Armand Hammer’s (a duo containing one billy woods) We Sell Diabetic Test Strips, and literally anything The Alchemist did in 2023. The hip-hop renaissance shows no signs of slowing down.
1. billy woods & Kenny Segal – Maps
Maps is a loving amalgam of a rich tradition of stylistics.
The precise syllable-smithing of an MF DOOM (RIP) or an Aesop Rock, the direct storytelling approach championed on any great Nas or Kendrick Lamar record, the reverence for the record store’s land of sampling opportunity – all of this and much more can be found inside of a mere 45 minutes.
billy and Kenny aren’t just visitors to a booming cultural moment, they’re locked into a lifestyle for better or worse – the throughline of Maps being their exhausting touring schedule. If rap is your thing and this one escaped you, please do yourself a favour and seek it out.