50. afterlife dating - papyrophobia
afterlife dating - AKA/FKA 'maya is dead soon' - produce a varied project with everything from neck-snapping drums to spacious dream-worlds on papyrophobia. The intro track - 'algophobia' - has enough gusto to power an infinite-tonne train down an infinitely long track. It's hard to know whether the harsh aesthetic is from a poor recording ethic, or an intentional move - it does add a nice and crusty gloss to the sharp material, however.
49. Chini.png - El día libre de Polux
Delicate. Like a flower. Blooming. Windswept. El día libre de Polux fulfils what the 'Ctrl+Z' EP promised in 2020. Lush worlds of sweet opulence shine forth. Chile is a hotspot for heart-warming, and wrenching, acts at this moment in time. Exciting times are ahead, and here right now.
48. Treeboy & Arc - Natural Habitat
The witty Treeboy & Arc crew release their long-awaited debut. Saturated in satirical outlook, Natural Habitat finds a balance between forward thinking-ly rhythmic and bitingly honed-in. Tear it down, fix it......UP.
47. Mckinley Dixon - Beloved! Paradise! Jazz!?
Feelgood but heavy-hearted. Tapped into something a lot deeper. Wistful, melancholically musing - aware that not all that shines is gold. The upward trajectory that Mckinley Dixon finds himself on is flooring - artistically uplifting.
46. Egyptian Blue - A Living Commodity
A rhythm section in forward motion and weaving guitar-work. Energetically smart. The debut album from Egyptian Blue definitely exist among the recent surge of art rock/post-punk acts coming out of the UK; a scene thriving on fervent musicianship and a knack for channelling a range of musical feats.
45. Jeromes Dream - The Gray In Between
Aesthetically scathing; brightly burning; white-hot. Texture-wise, The Gray In Between is sonic paint stripper - unforgiving. Torn tendons and strained living. An acerbic attitude to life itself. A harsh reality met face-to-face.
44. Knower - KNOWER FOREVER
KNOWER FOREVER elegantly opens with an orchestral arrangement; before dipping into an amazingly 8-bit-like world - the orchestral touches flourish throughout. Fun. Free of worry. Knower Forever makes the most of simplicity - it's harder than it seems. A round and bubbly funk-fuelled experience from the Knower camp.
43. Profane Order - One Nightmare Unto Another
The second full length project from Montreal based band Profane Order is about as unforgiving as they come, without being over-bearing. It bridges the gap between remaining listenable and pushing things to their absolute limit. Trapped in the smouldering ether - no way in, no way out. Essential listening from the heavier side of things.
42. Oneohtrix Point Never - Again
In usual OPN fashion, the thinking cap may be required in order to get in to the material on Again - repeated listens are an absolute necessity. The skewed and off-centred worlds that await the listener come undone when you, the listener, are ready. Time is essential.
41. Stuck - Freak Frequency
If gangly guitars and outlandish displays of musicianship are your thing, then Stuck are the band for you. The Chicago quartet find fun and invigorating ways to catch the listener, and seemingly themselves, off-guard. Tune in to the freak frequency.
40. Memory Card - As the Deer
So lax. To the point of not caring at all. About anything. The external just washes over. Rinse and repeat. Forever. Cold and calm. Disappointment sits close by. As uncaring as it sounds, a warmth sits centre to Memory Card's charm. A lovable light remains on.
39. bar italia - Tracey Denim
The first of two projects that bar italia released in 2023 came in the form of 'Tracey Denim'. A jangly jaunt through the halls of Indie Rock, bar italia delve into almost every facet that said halls have to offer. It's a record which finds itself spread out far and wide - although within a certain spectrum. The dynamic of male/female lead singer places Tracey Denim on a drowsy knife-edge.
38. Joey Valence & Brae - PUNK TACTICS
Students of the game with a clear emphasis on having a good time, Joey Valence & Brae balance the serious within the silly - the Beastie Boys comparisons are unavoidable. Endless energy and a rapacious need to thrust things at a forwards pace, PUNK TACTICS is that exact shot of adrenaline that hits right at the source.
37. Public Body - Big Mess
The debut album from Brighton based band Public Body pulls on the strings of simplicity and simultaneously ties a knot that’s hard to pull apart - they do a lot with a little. A satirically sharp wit flows through the records veins, as well as a groove which seems to have no end in sight. A solid start to Public Body's venture into the world of full-length albums.
36. Sunforger s/t
Sunforger's self-titled project harnesses a jangly aesthetic; nice and clunky, staggered - clunky in the best way possible, intentionally clumsy. Heavily stumbling in to the next step. Taking it as it comes. Failing forwards. A down-and-out feel meets a spirit that refuses to back down.
35. Slowthai - UGLY
Stepping outside of one's comfort zone, the potential to meet the nasty side of life - often times the nasty side of oneself - becomes more common. That which was once hidden by comforts sheen gets put to the test - torn and frayed by inner turmoil. An inner turmoil which eventually turns outwards. U G L Y.
34. Danny Brown - Quaranta
Danny Brown and his allegiance to the leftfield grows more mature - still undoubtedly Danny Brown - through Quaranta. Life moves on, and if you’re not tuned in to the lessons along the way, you'll find yourself left behind in no time. The show must go on; buy the ticket, take the ride. Will Danny Brown appear further on this list? Most certainly.
33. Swans - The Beggar
The Beggar is Swans sixteenth studio album. It is a meditative, contemplative, and introspective affair. A very moving and somewhat spiritual experience, The Beggar traverses the human spirit - all the good, and, with it, the not so good. All too aware that the finish line is creeping ever closer. Is there really a mind?
32. Yves Tumor - Praise A Lord Who Chews But Which Does Not Consume; (Or Simply, Hot Between Worlds)
The psychedelically seedy sounds of Yves Tumor burrows further underground as Praise A Lord Who Chews digs it's talons deep in the game. The disjointed nature of the material masterfully falls apart as it comes together - a task set for the maestro types.
31. Italia 90 - Living Human Treasure
The debut album from Italia 90 spreads the guitar far and wide with sprinkles of Wire influence throughout. A well-worked use of the basics is just as effective as that which is complex, if not moreso. Italia 90 have a certain understanding of how and when to use things to get the most out of them. When will knowledge become practice?
30. Earl Sweatshirt & The Alchemist - Voir Dire
The laidback approach of Earl Sweatshirt cruises along as The Alchemist's reminiscently soulful sound dives deep within. Don't mistake the lax vibes for being anything close to uncaring. Dig beneath the surface and let Voir Dire seep into your being.
29. Caroline Polachek - Desire, I Want To Turn Into You
Polachek proves yet again why she is frontrunner for the finest female voice on the contemporary scene. Her eclectic taste in sculpted sound only helps to further these claims. A modern day Kate Bush says it best. 'Billions' is pop perfection.
28. Ulrika Spacek - Compact Trauma
Ulrika Spacek's psychedelically tinted pop stands in a stupefied stance. Home to some of the best guitar based music that 2023 has to offer, Compact Trauma dwells in swelling daydreams.
27. James Holden - Imagine This Is A High Dimensional Space Of All Possibilities
Easy listening with enough to get lost in. Pay attention and it offers itself up; zone out and it gently sways along - it gives you what you need. An untethered feel resonates - a spirited bout of soul-searching. A musical freedom - boundary-less. Effervescently infinite, Imagine This saunters in active ambience.
26. Yo La Tengo - This Stupid World
30+ years at the forefront of the indie world, the acerbically shy sounds of Yo La Tengo find their latest manifestation in This Stupid World. The bittersweet snarls never cease to amaze.
25. Bruiser & Bicycle - Holy Red Wagon
With their influences worn well upon their sleeves, Bruiser & Bicycle splay the worlds of Holy Red Wagon far and wide. An eclectic sound palette, as well as a sensibility for twee twists-and-turns, renders Bruiser & Brigade the kind of music that warms the soul.
24. Rozi Plain - Prize
Rozi Plain produces the years biggest slab of infinite chill with 'Prize'. The cosy worlds that Plain conjures up feel like a hug of lukewarm winds - skin temperature breezes wrap around the listener on its receiving end. A well-needed mental respite comes courtesy of Rozi Plain; a space to meditate on it all.
23. James Blake - Playing Robots Into Heaven
The heavily manipulated worlds of James Blake undergo a dark rebirth of sorts through the sweaty sounds of Playing Robots into Heaven - although Blake's music has always had a subversively seedy side to it. Under the layers upon layers of lovely instrumentation, there's a menacing tide which sweeps you into the underworld.
22. Tim Hecker - No Highs
Glacial tones bow and bend in the breeze. Hecker's airy aesthetic sways and sweeps across the records runtime - No Highs is a cleansing experience. The same thoughts that cycle around your mind break free from their own grip. A palette cleanser of the highest order - a refreshing square one. Eerily soothing.
21. Model/Actriz - dogsbody
The industrial slant that Model/Actriz walk upon emanates a jagged feel. Slippery slopes are near impossible to climb - the harder you try, the further you fall back. The vulnerable edge that sits centre to the record moves along on a concrete-like slab of rubbery rhythms. Dogsbody serves as a re-vamp of the guitar's purpose in music.
20. Avalon Emerson - & the Charm
Effervescently baggy, energetically subdued. Avalon Emerson finds that sweet spot where the best of both blends so sweet. & the Charm is home to the finest closing track, and closing moments, of any album released in 2023: A Dam Will Always Divide. A soothing and serene dancefloor filler if there ever was one.
19. Geese - 3D Country
Geese's alternative take on country turns it in to quirky, off-kiltered goodness. Slightly mis-shaped and, at times, utterly out there, 3D Country permeates a capricious nature - unpredictable and ever-welcome. Geese hit the more eccentric side firmly on it's head.
18. Ethan P. Flynn - Abandon All Hope
The lush and lavish spheres of Ethan P. Flynn hit the big time. The range of instrumentation is astronomical; P. Flynn is on another level when it comes to range and scope. The playing field feels vastly different to that of any other artist at this moment in time - an infinite feel radiates at all times. A free-flowing waterfallesque world is put forth; an absolute joy to delicately dive into. Again and again at the start of the end.
17. George Clanton - Ooh Rap I Ya
In the grips of a psychedelic stupor, Ooh Rap I Ya peels its eyelids open. Ooh Rap I Ya squints to block out its power; the sun is blinding - a bright orange is imprinted behind said eyelids. The world takes on a kaleidoscopic tint as the eyes adjust back to the new normal. Burnt retinas - forever skewed - but lovely all the same.
16. Unschooling - New World Artifacts
The weaving ways of Unschooling never fails to ignite a hot-fingered fever. A residual heat hangs around long after their records play; an itch that can't be scratched by any other. The bands snake-like smoothness meets angular angst like a sudden panic attack. These waves serenely make their way to shore; the undercurrents come with quite a bite.
15. Lankum - False Lamkum
Caressed by scathing winds, False Lankum trudges along at an unstoppable snails pace - heavy boots saddled by even heavier hearts. The haunting air that resides within brews like a bone-chilling stockpot. A slow-burning behemoth, False Lankum drones through like a miasmic drift of bittersweet news.
14. Slauson Malone - EXCELSIOR
EXCELSIOR is of another realm - it's above the noise and below our sensory depths. Equal halves calming and unsettling, Slauson Malone has crafted a world of malevolently benevolent idiosyncrasies. Obscure spaces which make and break their own rules. Entirely of its own accord, EXCELSIOR is one of those records that will be looked upon in 50 years time and admired for its all-round unique feel. Warp Records have inherited an absolute gem.
13. Squid - O Monolith
Squid are maybe the most forward thinking band in the world at this moment in time, although their music is still relatively down to earth. Their approach, and in effect their results, is nothing short of astounding. When things speak for themselves they speak the loudest. O Monolith, Squid's sophomore project, satiates that space between experimental and listenable. The best of both - weird and wonderful. Squid are the real deal.
12. Daughter - Stereo Mind Game
Home to a beautifully dense sound, and a weight, which is simultaneously as light as a feather, Daughter craft a world of serenely heavy bliss. Featuring production value for days, and some of the most heart-wrenching - and heart-warming - songs you'll find this year, Stereo Mind Game captures the bittersweet unlike any other.
11. Feeble Little Horse - Girl With Fish
The sophomore project of Pittsburgh's Feeble Little Horse showcases a knack for noisy pop numbers. The dynamic of not caring and caring all too much throws a whirlwind of emotions into the mix. Keep a firm eye on the Feeble Little Horse camp - they're onto something truly special.
10. Asia Menor - Enola Gay
The first album that feels like the fifth. A musical maturity from later on down the line is already around from the get-go - a rare thing, a beautiful thing. The Asia Menor demo which floated around for years has found it's studio counter-part in Enola Gay. And what a special piece it is.
9. King Krule - Space Heavy
The murky streets of outer space receive their soundtrack in Space Heavy - a serenely weighted blanket of urbanesque soliloquies. A certain vulnerability resonates - an understanding that time is of a finite stance. The sand in space still manages to slip through your fingers. There's a reason that King Krule is your favourite artists favourite artist.
8. Armand Hammer - We Buy Diabetic Test Strips
Armand Hammer's recent run of records will be talked about for years to come. We Buy Diabetic Test Strips only furthers what we already know - no one in the world of Hip-Hop can come close; competing isn't even an option. Words combine in ways in which they were always supposed to; their purpose is for pain and pleasure - the undoings of the soul. There are levels to the game, and they're set by the likes of Armand Hammer.
7. Shame - Food for Worms
The third instalment in Shame's stellar catalogue, Food for Worms, imbues a rugged and somewhat frayed sentiment. A left-of-centre assortment sits on top of a vulnerable charm. An extra fuzzed-up and muddy aesthetic shrouds the airwaves - a tangible weight can be felt along the trail of Food for Worms. Shame are on one hell of a run.
6. Protomartyr - Formal Growth in the Desert
The Protomartyr sound progresses, and in some ways softens, into more of a heartfelt territory. However, the hard edge that the band are known for still certainly sits centre to their aesthetic. There may not be a 'better' band in the world at this moment in time. It all comes together in an immensely fulfilling manner.
5. Sprain - The Lamb as Effigy
The Lamb As Effigy takes what was done on the debut, As Lost Through Collision, and blows it into a million pieces. Stretched out on a torture rack of time, The Lamb As Effigy weeps as it's pulled apart. Sprain outdo themselves as they imprint an unrepeatable record into the psyche of the collective consciousness. What a way to bow out, if the news is true.
4. JPEGMAFIA & Danny Brown - Scaring the Hoes
The award for best album title, and track names, of 2023 goes to none other than Scaring the Hoes. Two of the most forward thinking artists of the Hip-Hop landscape - the music landscape in general - join forces and fuse the idiosyncrasies of each others characteristics under one incredibly well-worked project. Scaring the Hoes finds itself in the sweet spot of experimental. Scare them.
3. Billy Woods - Maps
A man that works with words is measured by said words; their weight reveals the quality of the mind behind. The way they weave; the patterns they play upon. Stitching slaps of the tongue together piece-by-piece. There isn't another MC in the game that can come close to the energy that Billy Woods emanates. His recent run of form will be remembered for years - eternity - to come. The run doesn’t seem like it will end anytime soon either. Woods reigns supreme.
2. The Murder Capital - Gigi’s Recovery
The moody feel of the Murder Capital finds new life amongst an electronically infused malaise. A bright-blue translucence holds Gigi's Recovery in its fervent grip - it exists in that space between burning bright and eloquently subtle. Every element within Gigi's world comes together to produce a more than well-rounded, and effortlessly effective, 45-minute masterpiece. The Murder Capital perfect the Art Rock/Punk aesthetic with Gigi's Recovery.
1. Sampha - Lahai
The sophomore project from Sampha is nothing short of perfection - the full package. Stylistically consistent. Musically majestic. Effortlessly cool. Auditory elegance in it's purest form, Lahai's windswept aesthetic gently pulls you in. Lahai comes to a close and you feel as if you've lost something that you were always looking for. There's only one thing you can do - play it again and again and again. Music is rarely this finessed.