Our Favorite Albums of 2023
Our Favorite Albums of 2023
Won't you look back on the year one more time with me?
2023, what a weird one. Personally, I got off to a good start then rapidly declined in the back half of the year, and was saved by a swift upturn over the holidays. In general, it felt like this year was a bit of a wash for a lot of people I know, though some thrived and others faltered.
In terms of music, this was the year where I listened to the least music since starting this newsletter, and I expect that trend to continue. Listening to thousands of albums per year takes a lot out of you, specifically when it comes to forming meaningful memories that you can attach to said music. Going into next year, I want to keep this newsletter running, but in a way that provides all of you with a greater level of insight into the world of metal and other underground music.
And now, to the list. This year I’m adding a lot (like, a lot) of albums in the runner up section. Partially, this is to save myself time, and it also prevents me from filling this letter with meaningless words on albums that I enjoyed but haven’t really lived in for all that long. This is going to keep the main section much shorter, and much more informative.
As for the structure, the list itself is in tiers. All albums within a single tier are functionally of the same quality level in my opinion. I think that creating truly ordered lists is a fruitless exercise that only frustrates me.
Thank you all for reading this year. I hope that the new year brings you joy, happiness, and the heaviest metal you can imagine.
Albums I Wish I Had More Time For
This new section does what it says on the box. These are all albums that I should have revisited going into the holiday season but I didn’t because I felt like relaxing instead of analyzing albums. I’m only human:
Runners Up
I’ve separated the runners up list into two tiers this year, which are extensions of the tiers in the rest of the list. The best way to think of this list is “good/great but I either didn’t spend enough time with it or it had something holding it back from being one the best of the best”
Tier 5
Tier 4
The List
Tier 3
Minor Science - 064
This year was my first big “I’m going to listen to electronic music” year, and 064 was a major highlight. Technically a two song single (EP?, who knows) rather than an album, 064 delivers pure heat for about 15 minutes then takes its leave. Both tracks center around an infectious drum and bass pattern that’s been sped up to the limit then dripped with crunchy bass tones and synth notes. My main point of praise is that whenever “Cashiene” comes on, I can’t help but dance, and I don’t dance.
Grave Pleasures - Plagueboys
It’s the album vampires would make if vampires were real. It oozes with silly gothic imagery and overwrought lyrics, but in a way that stays self aware and campy rather than overbearing and obnoxious. Strongly recommended for the silly goth in your life.
Indigo De Souza - All of This Will End
Blown out, hazy, nostalgic, All of This Will End is the perfect album for a malcontent college kid or those of us who are still malcontent college kids at heart. Indigo De Souza continues the refreshing trend of exciting indie music coming out of the south. So pop this on and get back in that late high school early college mindset where everything is SO IMPORTANT and NO ONE GETS IT LIKE YOU DO.
Sightless Pit - Lockstep Bloodwar
This year, metal boundary pushers “The Body” were relatively quiet barring an archival release and another side project that I just now realize I missed (oops). Thankfully, Lee Buford, the drummer of The Body, teamed up with Dylan Walker from Full of Hell to bring us a second Sightless Pit album. Filled to the brim with harsh, violent synths, stunning drum work, shredding vocals, and the occasional atmospheric piece, Lockstep Bloodwar is a harrowing must listen for anyone who loves experimental metal.
Olivia Rodrigo - GUTS
I don’t know that Rodrigo is pushing pop punk forward, but she is doing a damn good job making pop punk music. Outside of the terrifically executed but ultimately boring “Vampire” the album bristles with a thrillingly petulant energy. Every song leaves you exasperated as much as uplifted, infused with an undeniable sense of “you are being SO dramatic.” Thankfully, that’s what pop punk is for, and it’s nice to know that teenage problems haven’t changed all that much.
Blockhead - The Aux
The Aux contains everything you could want from a producer-led hip-hop album. Off-kilter beats, virtuosic verses, and brain-searing flows are a given on any of the tracks. What’s especially notable is the way that Blockhead draws the best out of everyone featured on the album, to the point where many songs surpass the featured artist’s recent work.
Trhä - av◊ëlajnt◊ë£ hinnem nihre
For releasing as many albums as they do, Trhä sure knows how to keep it fresh. This album contains many of their hallmarks, shivering blast beats, shrieked vocals, and an atmospheric bent in the background. What elevates this record above most of their 2023 output is the choice to include non-traditional instruments for the black metal space. Admittedly, I don’t know exactly what instruments they are, and their bandcamp page remains profoundly unhelpful, but the twinkling sounds lend a jovial element to an otherwise oppressive genre.
Body Void - Atrocity Machine
Body Void continues their lone quest to make the heaviest riff possible. It’s going well. Atrocity Machine takes everything that made Bury Me Beneath This Rotting Earth excellent — heavy riffs, crushing drums, slow beats, terrifying vocals — and cranks them up yet another notch. The fact that it’s all backed by quality lyrics (you’ll need a lyric sheet unless you’re a roar speaking savant) is just the icing on the cake.
Dopelord - Songs for Satan
Though it doesn’t quite hit the heights of Sign of the Devil, Songs for Satan still delivers all of the Sabbath worship you could possibly want. The riffs are so low and slow that I can see Texas pitmasters taking notes, and the lyrics are as bong rippingly dumb as you hope. I won’t spoil the lyrical surprise, but go listen to “Evil Spell” for both silliness and riffage.
KMRU - Dissolution Grip
Ambient music is a minefield, now more than ever. With AI generated ambient tracks littering the space in an attempt to make a quick buck off of kids trying to study for an exam, finding something truly artful takes more skill than it once did. KMRU, a Kenyan composer and field record artist, stands head and shoulders above the crowd. Combining soothing synth work with naturalistic field recordings, he creates a transporting work that relaxes and engages you while washing away the stress of even the worst day.
Trhä - rhejde qhaominvac tla aglhaonamëc
Frankly, it’s shocking I’ve only included two Trhä albums on this list, considering how many they released this year (16 including splits). This one leans more traditional raw black metal than the other entrant on the list, which is rarely my cup of tea. Fortunately, Trhä can execute the genre on a level that few hope to match, so if the more jovial angle didn’t work for you, you can walk down the well-trod path with rhejde qhaominvac tla aglhaonamëc. Just watch out for the beautiful ambient stretches toward the back half of a few tracks.
Sadness & Kenopsia - summerset streetlights
For Sadness, what began as a well-executed, if by the numbers, approach to depressive suicidal black metal (DSBM) has evolved into one of the most essential black metal projects on the planet. Bucking the usual trend of DSBM’s depressive bent, Sadness infuses each project with glistening life and hope. The resulting music bounces between moments of joy and agony, and relaxation and grief in a way that feels true to life rather than something designs to push buttons.
Ana Roxanne & DJ Python - Natural Wonder Beauty Concept
Few albums on this list are as immediately easy to appreciate as this one. Natural Wonder Beauty Concept is a perfect blend of dance, drum and bass, and ambient that should appeal to anyone with ears. You can listen to it while working, cooking, driving, dancing, the applications are virtually endless. Every composition is tight, without a wasted second. In particular, the blend of synthetic sounds and analog instruments elevates this far beyond most music on either side of that coin. I strongly recommend this record to anyone who has struggled to worm their way into electronic music.
Blackbraid - Blackbraid II
It’s generally considered sacrilege to prefer black metal that came from outside of Scandinavia, but right now the Americans are just so much more interesting. Blackbraid II in particular, takes everything that made Blackbraid I great and continues its refinement. The production is crisper, the song structures more gnarled, the vocals more intense. Even if you choose not to delve into the exciting themes of Native American life and struggle, you’ll get a compelling piece of art that hits viscerally and intellectually.
Victory Over the Sun - Dance You Monster to My Soft Song!
Victory Over the Sun’s 2020 album was a punch to the face, but there was something that prevented me from loving it as fully as I wanted to. None of those limiters make an appearance on Dance You Monster to My Soft Song!. The compositions are varied and engaging, often incorporating horns and saxophones into a modern metal-jazz concoction. Unlike many experimental metal releases, it never forgets to be metal either. The album teems with roars and brutal, compelling riffs that add a visceral appeal to an album that easily could have been an intellectual exercise.
Bell Witch - Future’s Shadow Part 1: The Clandestine Gate
If the world of metal interests you because of its predilection toward demons, leather pants, and fast songs, then Bell Witch is not your band. If you’re into the doom and gloom side of metal, Bell Witch could easily become your favorite. This one-song, 83 minute and 15 second record unfolds slowly, a funeral dirge for the opening of hell’s gates. It, of course, evolves into something far beyond the organ dirge and rolling cymbals into a bowel shaking cacophony, but it will take its time. If you give yourself over to it, you’ll find few experiences as rewarding as this.
Sadness & Oculi Melancholiarum - springgarden
Even by Sadness standards, springgarden pushes the boundaries of black metal. At times the album is a bouncing, bubbly bit of pop punk, at others a heartrending atmospheric emo. In both the DSBM and adjacent atmospheric black metal spaces, it’s usually simple to pick off influences, while Sadness certainly has their fair share, what they do with those influences puts them in a space completely separate from most other artists. It’s why they and Trhä are on this list, and not a lot of other black metal.
Tier 2
Feeble Little Horse - Girl With Fish
This was a banner year for shoegaze, with bands like Wednesday and Hotline TNT taking both fresh and orthodox approaches to the 90s critical darling. Of all the shoegaze outfits this year, my favorite was Feeble Little Horse by far. Combining mid aughts indie girl pop with furiously fuzzed out MBV worship and gentle acoustic breaks led to a refreshing, engaging, and immediately appealing approach to shoegaze that wowed me, and will wow you too.
Cicada - 棲居在溪源之上 (Seeking the Sources of Streams)
No album release this year has soothed me quite like 棲居在溪源之上. The album conveys an effortless sense of wonder and beauty that equals the gorgeousness of its cover. Each track leads you by the hand through a teeming wilderness full of lovely things and nothing painful. The strings delicately guide you along the river edge while the piano plays the role of the babbling brook. Despite the lack of lyrics, it’s so easy to imagine the landscapes that they’re envisioning. Cicada has always managed to transport me with their evocative songs, and this record takes it to the ultimate level.
Emptyset - ash
Emptyset is here to push the boundaries of electronic music. Hailing from friends and mentees of the incomparable Roly Porter, ash plays in a similar sandbox. The songs pummel you with deep, rhythmic bass that is harsh enough to intrigue and composed enough to draw you further into it. It’s the soundtrack for the collapse of society and what comes after, and you can feel the rumble of every single atom bomb.
Sprain - The Lamb as Effigy
Is this post rock? I think it is. It’s definitely one of the only bands I’ve heard attempt to do what Swans does, and do it convincingly. On The Lamb as Effigy, Sprain concocts a harrowing, rapturous musical experience that has all the cinema of an Explosions in the Sky record and all the queasiness of Arab Strap. It confidently bounces between these modes, deploying a 24 minute track as comfortably as a four minute sonic nightmare. It’s a massive brain bender of a record that I’m not sure I’ve wrapped myself around quite yet, but whenever it wraps up I press play again, and something that keeps you searching is more valuable than something you understand.
Jeff Rosenstock - HELLMODE
As a person who thinks about music a lot, it’s often hard to give into my pure impulses. Jeff Rosenstock makes it easy. HELLMODE is the ultimate in ska infused pop punk that you loved in the late 90s and early 2000s. And it’s executed with such joyousness and conviction that it quickly becomes impossible to find its flaws, if there are any. Put it on in the car and see if the 15 year old side of you can still avoid getting a speeding ticket.
ANOHNI and the Johnsons - My Back Was a Bridge for You to Cross
ANONHI and the Johnsons deliver another thoughtful, soothing album that knows its greatest strength, ANOHNI’s incomparable voice. Every song features it front and center, laid across relaxing, jazzy instrumentals. Fortunately, the lyrics earn their spot alongside such beauty, confidently dealing with topics surrounding addiction, interpersonal relationships and societal ails, all without falling into the trap of generality.
Blawan - Dismantled Into Juice
This has to be the most sonically interesting album of the year. Nothing I’ve heard in my still young journey into electronic music has combined such organic, squelchy sounds with a host of unearthly synthetic elements. Doing that would maybe land you a spot on my runner up list, but Blawan takes all these exciting sounds and combines them into something truly groovy. You could dance to it, you could think to it, but the one thing you can’t do is feel nothing.
HMLTD - The Worm
The title holders for best album of 2020 have finally returned, with a… concept album about worms? That’s oversimplifying, though factually accurate. The worm is greed, the worm is capitalism, the worm is hatred, it’s a lot of things. That this record can convey such a harebrained idea convincingly, and still pull together some incredible standalone tracks like “Saddest Worm Ever” and “The End Is Now” is remarkable. Plus, who doesn’t love a batshit concept album?
Danny Brown & JPEGMAFIA - Scaring the Hoes
A panic attack of an MP3 folder. Scaring the Hoes unleashes JPEGMAFIA and Danny Brown at their absolute weirdest. The beats and samples deploy and shift manically, often overpowering the rapping itself, but never in a way that I find myself frustrated. The sample choices, mostly stemming from 90s and 2000s girl pop, are thrilling to hear when used in such an unconventional manner. This album won’t be for everyone, but anyone with an interest in production and off-kilter rapping needs this in their collection.
Oozing Wound - We Cater to Cowards
It was a really good year for hardcore music in 2023. Of all the great hardcore records, nothing got to me quite like Oozing Wound. Every riff is so raw, and yet perfectly engineered to make you run through a brick wall. It also gets major points for relatable lyrics about how being broke sucks, how working sucks, and how cryptocurrency is stupid. That it can make you think a bit while you get decimated by a 34 year old stage diver makes it virtually flawless.
Gorgonn - Six Paths
Six Paths contains the type of music that makes you nervous. Everything about this album is just a little bit scary, and that’s exactly what I like about it. The structures are all about tension without release, and the choice of sounds only makes it worse. Still, an album can’t be all horror, it needs something infectious. Gorgonn ensures we don’t get left out in the cold by delivering deadly grooves on top of the terror. Now you’re being chased at the docks by the terminator, but at least you can hear the rave a few warehouses down.
Tier 1
James Blake - Playing Robots Into Heaven
I’m completely in the bag for James Blake, but this album was something different. His past two records, Assume Form and Friends that Break Your Heart were interesting forays into his poppier side that I enjoyed but have rarely returned to, at least in comparison to his first three albums. Playing Robots Into Heaven doesn’t return to the albums I loved, nor does it continue the pop journey, instead it goes all the way back to his earliest works by drawing on his dance music roots. What results is a dance album that takes full advantage of Blake’s pop sensibilities, experimental leanings, and impressive production capabilities. Every time I’ve listened to the record since its release, I’ve enjoyed it more and more, and my favorite track is a constantly shifting target.
Home is Where - the whaler
Emo, like shoegaze and hardcore, is having a phenomenal resurgence right now. Of all the bands in that resurgence, Home is Where has resonated with me the most this year. Taking classic midwest emo elements like math rock inspired guitars and the traditional whining vocals, Home is Where manages to update the genre in a way that pushes it forward while remaining perfectly recognizable to fans of its former iterations. It also pulls inspiration from indie folk musicians, most notably Neutral Milk Hotel, from whom they crib generously and to great effect. Finally, being from Florida, there is a distinctly southern bent to their storytelling, at times nodding in the direction of greats like Faulkner when it comes to crafting the imagery in their songs. It’s a triumph of an album that deserves a spot alongside modern classics like Illusory Walls and Nearer My God.
Amaare - Fountain Baby
One of the most addictive releases of 2023, it perfectly combines R&B, pop, and dance genres into an infectious, thrilling package. And somehow its versatility isn’t even its greatest strength. The whole album hinges on the back of compelling grooves and Amaare’s odd, baby-like voice, which instead of being off putting, adds themes of petulance and a demand for instant gratification to songs about partying, sex and drugs. The record is chock full of quotables too, “I like my coffee with some Hen in the morning, two shots.” and “Shawty love me, say won't you come give me kisses?" dot the album, lending a playful quality to an already bubbly album. Of all the records released this year, I’m most confident that I’ll be listening to this regularly for years to come.
TEETH - A Biblical Worship of Violence
Most years, there’s one metal album that stands tall above the rest — this time it was an EP. A Biblical Worship of Violence contains many of the most crushing, unrelenting, and vicious metal songs released this year. In particular, “Eyes, Horns, Mouth” conjures sounds that should sink this album, instead, its brutal heaviness elevates it so far beyond other metal releases it’s shocking. It’s not a deep album, it’s an album that will make you want to build a cinder block wall just to break it down with your own head.
Ox En Mayo Alto - Vulpes: del fuego, quebrador del Hielo 9
At this point an Ox En Mayo Alto release is guaranteed to at least hit the runners up list. This time, they really outdid themselves. Vulpes: del fuego, quebrador del Hielo 9 contains all the trademarks you’d expect, a bit of post-hardcore, plenty of math rock, tinges of metal, and an unconventional approach (for rock) to vocal sampling. All of this they execute near flawlessly, resulting in a tight, enjoyable EP for anyone who can hang with rock music. What makes it special is its capacity to make you feel. Bands like Ox En Mayo Alto, who are closer to the beginning of their music careers, tend to have a lot to say, and a lot to get out. This group pulls that off effortlessly, with each breakdown and crescendo hitting you right in the gut. Try and listen to the end of “Ética demostrada según el orden de Huli Jing” without feeling something in your soul. I promise you can’t.
Pile - All Fiction
All Fiction has all the elements needed to evolve into a flat out masterpiece. Years from now people will look back and heap acclaim on this album. Its riveting blend of post punk, mathy guitar playing, and languid but compelling vocals immediately grabs your attention. What separates this record from the many others who aim to achieve the same result is its listenability. It’s bold, impressive, and daring, and it never sacrifices enjoyment for any of its stranger interests.
Young Fathers - Heavy Heavy
Heavy Heavy came out early in 2023, and I immediately knew that it would hold a spot of high honor on my year end list. Over their time as a group, Young Fathers has evolved from a confounding, intriguing, somewhat flawed act into a tight and undeniable group of artists. This record cements them as one of the most exciting acts in music, regardless of genre. It embodies the word jovial at every turn, with infectious drums, chants, and swirling repetitions practically dragging you out of your chair to send you dancing through the streets.
Black Country, New Road - Live at Bush Hall
This still stands as a strange entry for my typical year end list, and that’s because it’s special to me personally. More than a year ago I got to see Black Country, New Road with my friend Andy, but I didn’t know that the band wouldn’t be playing any of their recorded material, a choice they made to honor the departure of former lead vocalist Isaac. What they performed would eventually be recorded at Bush Hall and turned into this album. The songs contained within don’t seem to miss Isaac at all, even though many reference his departure in one way or another. The group remains as strong as ever, and the choice to have three vocalists take the place of Isaac untethers the band from serving any particular singing style. Listening to tracks like “Turbines/Pigs,” “Dancers” and “Across the Pond Friend,” it’s impossible to view the band as depleted in any form. That this is only the beginning of their new iteration makes it all the more exciting.