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| Blazin's Top 40 Albums of 2023
A week later turned into a month and a half later, but I'm glad I finally got it done. Cheers, folks! | | 40 |  | Stortregn
Finitude
Melodic Death Metal / Progressive Metal / Technical Death Metal
Stortregn hit us with the back-to-back on quality records. At this point, I’d consider Stortregn as my favorite Swiss act to date. Finitude is basically an updated Impermancence. The production is slightly improved, the album’s slightly more technical (a huge feat because the playing on both records is mind-blowing), and the songwriting’s slightly more consistent. Not all of these minor changes make it better than Impermanence, but it does allow Finitude to stand out in the discography just enough to keep dedicated followers, slowly including me, well-satisfied.
“I drift into timeless time
Spaceless space nightless night
Neither here or elsewhere”
Listen to: “Cold Void” | | 39 |  | Armand Hammer
We Buy Diabetic Test Strips
Abstract Hip Hop / Industrial Hip Hop
This was Billy Woods’ best career year. He and Kenny Segal came out with one of their best records this year and now he and Elucid come out with their best record in We Buy Diabetic Test Strips. The collab variety and choices were fantastically done and were big factors in the album’s replayability. The middle stretch of the album is particularly insane with the high-intensity industrial backdrop in “Trauma Mic” to the lyrical boom-bap banger in “N*ggardly (Blocked Call)” to the trippy tribal vibes on the album’s best song, “The Gods Must Be Crazy”, and so on. Even the tried-and-true mystique of a song like “Supermooned” has an excellent standing on the album. As you’ll see later in the list, Billy Woods and friends continue to prove legendary statuses in underground hip-hop.
“Self-pity always stows away inside remorse
Gun butt the teeth out of every gift horse”
Listen to: “The Gods Must Be Crazy” | | 38 |  | Asia Menor
Enola Gay
Post-Punk / Math Rock
The end-of-year RYM journey bore plenty of great records, but none more charming then the young Chilean band’s fantastic debut album Enola Gay. The production’s got this lovable “live” sound to it that gives the otherwise bombastic energy a unique impact in the art-punk world. The consistent amount of great songwriting in Asia Menor’s bag of math-rock/post-punk marriages is what makes this such a fun album to return to. The opener “Patio” will always set insanely high expectations only for the beautiful sax outro of “1920” or the alluringly hypnotic opening of “Flores del naranjo” to match that excitement. These guys have a very promising future given the evidence of creativity here.
(English Translation from Spanish)
“I want to hangout
With my friends!
I want them to tell me
What I don't want to hear”
Listen to: “Patio” | | 37 |  | Geese
3D Country
Southern Rock / Art Punk
Honk, honk, b*tches! It’s America’s new artsy indie sweetheart in Geese’s 3D Country. This is another record full of creativity and replayability just based on how fun the music is. It’s just the right amount of obnoxious, too, to provide a neat antagonism to the otherwise sunny and carefree experience. This album’s got a great balance of energetic rockers (“2112” and “Mysterious Love”), warmly welcomed soul crossovers (“3D Country” and “I See Myself”), and just, uh, charming weirdness (“Cowboy Nudes” and “Tomorrow’s Crusades”). If you’ve been looking to hipster up your country tastes, look no further than the album that sports its 3D glasses with confidence.
“I've got eyes for anything moving
Fell in love with a tumbleweed”
Listen to: “2112” | | 36 |  | Thy Catafalque
Alföld
Avant-Garde Metal / Progressive Metal
There’s not been a better one-man black metal act in the last decade than Tamás Kátai when it comes to reliability. Alföld is a more traditional black metal album than his last record, but the best tracks come through with the most fitting doses of experimentation. The most important song to get right on the album, the centerpiece title track, was the album’s best song and continued testament of Kátai’s songwriting experience. More condensed bangers like “A földdel egyenlő” and “A felkelő hold országa” are excellent displays of the more straightforward black metal style. At this point, Thy Catafalque’s next record has a higher chance of ending on this list than not. A handful of artists can make that claim, much less any one Hungarian man.
(English Translation from Hungarian)
“Always near and equally far
Black earth, wide sky
There is this picture, there is this canvas
In front of me, behind me”
Listen to: “Alföld” | | 35 |  | Great Falls
Objects Without Pain
Sludge Metal / Noise Rock
As with a couple of entries on this list, I thank SputnikMusic’s Year End List for this awesome discovery! The production nails its job on impact; the bass and drums are booming and the “fried” vocal effects on Demian Johnston’s voice add extra layers to Johnston’s already well-established ferocity. The record’s bookends make for amazing highlights; the first breakdown on the opener and the crawling, desperate groove throughout the closer are especially memorable. Speaking of desperation, it’s been a long time since I’ve gotten such a secondhand pummeling of it from an album about a tumultuous breakup. If anyone’s been seeking the 90’s Neurosis/early Mastodon sludge sound, then this is the album for you.
“I slide the key under the door
I don't want the weight”
Listen to: “Dragged Home Alive” | | 34 |  | Yves Tumor
Praise a Lord Who Chews, But Does Not Consume...
Neo-Psychedelia / Noise Pop
Nearly one decade later, Yves Tumor has worked themselves into a premier figure in modern psychedelic music. While Praise a Lord… may not have the standouts of their previous two records, this album may represent their best and most consistent songwriting yet. The songwriting consistency accolade has a double meaning here in both its quality and how the numerous angles of psychedelic rock sounds play into the album experience. The glamorous “Lovely Sewer” and “Ebony Eye”, quirky rockers “Meteora Blues” and “In Spite of War”, and poppier, sarcastic cuts such as “Parody” and “Operator” are very fun and display perspectives on intimacy that are equally intriguing to consider on relisten. Yves Tumor’s vocal range and diversity add infectious attitudes with an adaptability that only a handful of vocalists can even compete within the current rock sphere.
“The absence of our isolation
Will tear our fears away”
Listen to: “In Spite of War" | | 33 |  | George Clanton
Ooh Rap I Ya
Neo-Psychedelia / Trip-Hop / Dream Pop
Memory lane can be a difficult concept to fully capitalize on. It’s easy to poorly cover an older mainstream sound or to be unfashionable with modern songwriting standards. George Clanton, however, clearly has the artistic passion and knowledge to stand out and show respect in this regard. The album’s singles, “I Been Young” and “Justify Your Life” are major presenters of the latter point, putting a motivational spin on times that are missed in the glory days and how they can still be recreated at any time. This album’s sonic framework is lovably lush and otherworldly with some of the best synthetic instrumental production I’ve heard all year. Its “otherworldly” vibes can be perfectly summed up by its album name, an ambiguous phrase in which perhaps not even Clanton understands the meaning of.
“Young enough to start a life and old enough to die
Waste a couple of years while I make my mind”
Listen to: “Justify Your Life” | | 32 |  | Sadness / Abriction
Sadness // Abriction
Blackgaze / Emo / Post-Rock
When a “bedroom project” like this comes out this successfully, it’s easier to root for its creators than anyone else. Each track has patiently wonderful progression with lots of lengthy, dense passages that could make these tracks pass off as anthologies. Most of these passages are very catchy and have melodies with impactful contexts of melancholy, love, nostalgia, or several of these at once. I love how both members of this collaboration write around young love and cherished memory as core concepts. The instrumental songwriting and attention to detail are apparently quite mature, but much of the lyrics are humbly immature, bringing about an impressive authenticity to the storytelling of these concepts. This collaboration is one of the most lovable “un-genre-able” projects of 2023, especially to those who don’t mind the production on a DIY scale.
“Little moment spores catching in the love sounds
Twirling and chiming”
Listen to: “Her Summer Morning Sky" | | 31 |  | Ne Obliviscaris
Exul
Progressive Metal / Melodic Death Metal
Just when I thought the flame on Ne Obliviscaris’ schtick had went out, Exul shows they’ve got plenty of prog-death bangers in the tank. The band’s not reinventing their stylistic wheel, but Exul’s new improvements are satisfyingly highlighted. The biggest of such improvements is the overall orchestral arrangement. Especially on the opener “Equus” and the Misericorde duology, the signature symphonies of Ne Obliviscaris have never sounded better. In the back half of the record, the guitar playing wonderfully balances the record’s spotlight and adamantly knocks it out of the park there. Even if Dan Presland was a total beast behind the kit, Kevin Paradis has filled his role on drums seamlessly. Unless if they impossibly have more of this prog-death style in the tank for their next record, this would be fantastic closure for this iteration of Ne Obliviscaris.
“Fall into the abyss of the sky
Epitaph...
None of God, one of I”
Listen to: “Equus" | | 30 |  | Phoxjaw
notverynicecream
Post-Hardcore / Alternative Metal / Post-Punk Revival
Notverynicecream was one of 2023’s best surprises in that reading about the record before spinning it, it sounded like an omen of disaster. However, the oddity of notverynicecream is addictively charming amongst the several songs with genre crossovers that impossibly work excellently. Just listen to how the album’s first three tracks play out; there’s the trippy electropop work that opens “evermore”, a demented alt-rock banger where the leader singer impersonates Anthony Kiedis on “apples”, and the post-punk reminisce of “icecreamwitch”. And how about the upbeat quirkiness of “shotgunlipstick” followed by a near-metalcore performance on “lastmancalledjohn”. It seems like a mess, but each song fits this album’s thematic madhouse. The clever twists of black humor complete notverynicecream’s bizarre and inviting world.
“If I broke a magic 8 ball and I swallowed it all
Would you pump out the truth or the juice?”
Listen to: “Apples" | | 29 |  | Empty Country
Empty Country II
Emo / Singer-Songwriter / Post-Rock
Joe D’Agostino and the gang hit us with a second straight bout of indie rock excellence. Empty Country II may not have the lightning-in-bottle moments of “Marian” or “Swim”, but it’s achieved the monumental feat of being a narrative upgrade of Empty Country I. It’s ambitious conceptually starting with its opener “Pearl”, a generational sequel of their previous opener “Marian”, where the story and music have both parallels and differences that tie the two together wonderfully. “David” is a neat tribute to David Berman of Silver Jews. An unusually atmospheric side of the band appears in the 10+-minute closer, “Cool S” that acts as a great wrap to the troubled stories of young adulthood. On top of displaying a great range of mood dynamics from the angsty grunge “Syd” to the melancholic “FLA”, Empty Country is making a case for one of the decade's wittiest rock bands.
“Seconds of pleasure and pain
The record skips into infinity”
Listen to: “Dustine" | | 28 |  | Victory Over The Sun
Dance You Monster To My Soft Song!
Black Metal / Avant-Garde Metal
Experimental black metal had a fantastic year. Dance You Monster to My Soft Song! was one of the biggest growers in the crowd as newfound musical patterns and risks are revealed on further listens. Its production has the staple fuzziness of many black metal projects, but the experimental instrumentation easily blends into that fuzziness. The record’s first half is especially strong with the opening epic “Thorn Woos the Wound” displaying massive and diverse songwriting prowess. Then “WHEEL” rams in as a chilling death-industrial hybrid. For having its surrounding epics be great themselves, the ascending chords and symphony of “The Gold of Having Nothing” make it feel like the real centerpiece despite its shorter length. Those looking for a dense adventure will find happiness here.
“If the reaching arm could only fray
The looming shadow of the sun
That heaven rotates
Upon her tender hip”
Listen to: “The Gold of Having Nothing” | | 27 |  | bl4ck m4rket c4rt
Today I Laid Down
Slowcore / Post-Rock / Slacker Rock
What was once a, even if sad, powerful and endearing debut effort by Bl4ck M4rket C4rt (AKA Kai Wesener) is now partially a tragic reminder of a young talent who left the world far too soon. However, today i laid down is magnificent and once a sign of immense artistic potential. Wesener had already mastered the emotional gravity of climatic moments like on “Good Morning Texts” and “No Food”, and the painstaking intensity of “Trapdoors That Open” and “Alive, Always”. The title track, to me, is the most heartrending piece with just how fatigued the piece sounds. I just wish an avenue of personal recovery was possible past Wesener’s troubles.
“You hang a white flag above the door
It's okay
Just for today”
Listen to: “No Food” | | 26 |  | TDK
Неместа
Avant-Prog
Here we have our resident wacky avant-garde hipsters dropping frantic bangers about, well, a bunch of wacky random stuff, naturally. The only constant is the chair scoot represented in the album cover. What sounds remotely fun about all this? It’s sheer presentation, of course. There are so many fun instrumental passages and performances like the jazzy chaos of “Kazvaha” and “Petnayskata”, the groovy bass synth in the back half of “Fiasko”, and the numerous brass and woodwind breaks that feel excellently timed. Speaking of which, the album’s pacing is also fantastic. The album as a whole never overstays its welcome and is over by the time you think it might be. This was a well-deserved popularity glow-up for the Bulgarian boys.
(English Translation from Bulgarian)
“You'll have the whole thing sorted
But you know?
All his life, actually
You will only be looking at the end point”
Listen to: "Petnayskata" | | 25 |  | The Armed
Perfect Saviors
Noise Rock / Post-Hardcore / Alternative Rock
I know many have been disappointed in The Armed’s creative direction on their recent projects, but honestly these albums have been such blasts. Perfect Saviors is the closest answer to “what if 2015 The Armed made an alternative rock album?”, but it’s also much more satisfying than just that. It’s like a noisy, spontaneous alternative to major-label rock that hasn’t been filled as well as what this record establishes. It also has excellent consistency in its rebellious personality despite being diverse in presentation from the huge riffs (“FKA World”) to bluesy bangers (“Modern Vanity”) to the heavy bass & Synth jams (“Liar 2”). Now I’m waiting for the next evolution. New Wave? Dubstep? Hyperpop? The last one would be pretty sick.
“Ohhh, I'm the king of rats
So flush, Niacin, delusion, I can fly”
Listen to: “FKA World” | | 24 |  | Mitski
The Land Is Inhospitable and So Are We
Singer-Songwriter / Chamber Pop
This album makes a definite case of revisionism because I was very wrong on Mitski’s potential. Once pigeonholed into young adult alternative pop that otherwise did nothing for me, the consistent and fantastic songwriting on here had worn that assumption down completely. The balance in both contemporary and experimental styles of folk, pop, and rock provides great replayability for a record that’s fairly concise. Mitski has a wonderful vocal display of the album’s ups (“Love is Mine All Mine”) and downs (“Star”) of love and expressions of anxiety (“I Don’t Like My Mind”, “When Memories Snow”). Mitski’s had a massive glow-up in popularity from this album and its singles, and its much, much well-deserved.
“Curses as you find the string
To strike within me
That rings out a note
Heard in heaven”
Listen to: “Star” | | 23 |  | Hypno5e
Sheol
Progressive Rock / Post-Metal
Hypno5e is one of the most promising acts from Pelagic Records alongside BRUIT and Psychonaut and one of the best prof-rock/metal hybrids since the label’s owners, The Ocean. Epic and atmospheric, careful and harsh, plus at least four languages on the lyrical belt, this band has a lot to unpack, especially on Sheol. The instrumentation is layered to support the album’s vast dynamic range and is often orchestrated out the wazoo. Each band member is insanely talented, too, resulting in some fascinating moments of complexity. It may be pretty lengthy and the band may be stubborn about hiding lyrics for the sake of “interpretation”, but this album’s a very bright moment of creativity in the progressive rock world.
“A trace of his brief life
I've felt it a forgone mist
We used to play on the sacred roots
On the base of death for a long time”
Listen to: “Slow Streams of Darkness, Pt. II - Solar Mist” | | 22 |  | Gezan with Million Wish Collective
Anochi
Neo-Psychedelia / Noise Rock / Art Rock
Thanks to the SputnikMusic staff year-end list again for this wonderful discovery. Humanity has hardly sounded as invigorating and simultaneously grounded as on Anochi. For as diverse as the instrumentation and performances are (especially vocally), the lyrics probably make up the album’s most unique strength. Gezan and the Collective provide heartfelt, yet thoughtful criticisms of modern societal issues such as the powerful banger of “Death Penalty Dog:”, the criticism of collective vicariousness in “We All Fall”, and the rejoice of “Third Summer of Love”. This is another of few records that had a massive outreach success, and Gezan and Million Wish Collective are just as deserving, if not more so. than any of them.
(English Translation from Japanese)
“Hey, there's no reason, but for some reason I feel like I can fly.
If I close my eyes and surrender to the wind
We will fly instead of fighter jets.”
Listen to: “Third Summer of Love" | | 21 |  | Squid
O Monolith
Post-Rock / Krautrock / Noise Rock
Two years since Bright Green Field and one of 2021’s best songs, “Narrator” comes an album with promising direction for Squid. O Monolith may not have the highs of Squid’s debut and it may not be as catchy, but it’s much more expansive in musical palette with lots of excellently crafted flavors. Just look at the stretch from “Siphon Song” to “The Blades” where you go from vocoder-riddled, post-hardcore-ish harshness to the funky krautrock inclusions in “Undergrowth” to the post-rock fan favorite. Then there’s the more traditional artsy punk side of Squid closer to the album’s bookend. It all contributes to an amazingly paced experience and yet another brilliant work from one of the Windmill scene’s best products.
“I log onto the website
Where a 2D flame surrounds the building I'm in now
Ask, ‘Do you see the bodies?’”
Listen to: “Swing (Inside a Dream)” | | 20 |  | Lamp
Dusk to Dawn
Jazz Pop / Chamber Pop
Proof that some horses don’t need fixin’. The legendary Japanese art-pop outfit has put out yet another solid crop of songs that display a great compositional range whilst often keeping a whimsical, slice-of-life songwriting focus. For a band as well-versed in this sound as Lamp is, there are plenty of surprises up this album’s sleeves. Curveballs like the flamenco groove on “August Calendar”, the heavy guitar presence in “Old Notebook”, and the loungy “Around the Corner” keep the record extra-fresh on relisten even with 20 songs to trek through. Definitely check this out for some of the year’s best songwriting in pop and soft rock.
(English Translation from Japanese)
“Turn off the radio and close the novel
Let the sighingly beautiful music play”
Listen to: “Old Notebook” (Track 16) | | 19 |  | Billy Woods and Kenny Segal
Maps
Abstract Hip Hop / Jazz Rap
I don’t know if I’ve ever had an artist as a major songwriter feature two albums on my year-end lists. Granted Billy Woods has been very prolific recently, but even KGLW, a fantastic act in their own right, hasn’t accomplished this with even more chances. There are tons of interesting wordplay and poetry on nearly every song. Woods and Segal have never been better at clicking together with the beat and vocal delivery. Great cases in point include the nonchalant nature of “Rapper Weed” and the more aggressive approach on the industrial-esque “Year Zero”. What’s also really sick about Maps is that its best songs feature lesser-known artists like Shrapknel and Samuel T. Herring who killed it in their respective roles. As my favorite hip-hop record of the year, it’s absolutely worthy of its praise.
“Caught 'em lacking on 9/11
I lie down like V.I. Lenin
People don't want the truth, they want me to tell 'em grandma went to heaven”
Listen to: “Babylon by Bus” | | 18 |  | Jessie Ware
That! Feels Good!
Disco / Dance-Pop
A pretty obvious groove/intimacy highlight of the year, but ultimately undeniable. Jessie Ware’s production scope has never been bigger and, honestly, is even better for it than on What’s Your Pleasure. Already gifted with the charisma and vocal talent to pull these larger-than-life dance numbers off, Ware wasted no time showing her stuff on the initial singles, of which most were album highlights. “Begin Again”, of course, being one of 2023’s best overall songs further stamps that. The experimentation of the deep cuts was a welcome pace change like the heavy disco focus in “Beautiful People” and the mellow downtempo of “Lightning”. It’s somewhat difficult to see where Ms. Ware will go from here, but I’m excited to hear her have fans further dance the night away as she’s oh-so-good at.
“Too good to be true and I do what I wanna
A perfect primadonna”
Listen to: “Begin Again” | | 17 |  | Omnerod
The Amensal Rise
Progressive Metal
Easily the most underrated project in this list’s top 20, The Amensal Rise is a wild record even within djent circles. The vast majority of that circle has probably never heard of any of Omnerod’s members, but the Belgian wizards deserve to be in greater discussion. “Sunday Heat” begins the album innocently enough with Leprous-adjacent vocal spotlights and atmosphere-building synths, but all bets are off for the next hour once “Satellites” appears. Throughout the intense journey are the warzones of "Magnets" and "The Commensal Fall", and beautifully balanced songwriting exercises in “Spore” and the title track. Vocalist Romain Jeuniaux is fantastic for Omenrod’s high-volume metal sound. Should you be interested in this record, you are in for one hell of a ride, so buckle your f*ckin’ seatbelts.
“Listen now, find comfort in those simple words
Carve them into your skin :
‘Nothing will ever matter
Nothing f*cking matters
Nothing ever mattered’”
Listen to: “Satellites" | | 16 |  | Protomartyr
Formal Growth in the Desert
Post-Punk
Protomartyr has established themselves as kings of post-punk consistency with another fantastic record on the shelf. I love the isolated, “deserted” atmosphere of the songwriting this time around, immediately rearing its head with the trudging and cold “Make Way”, transitioning smoothly into the peppier “For Tomorrow”. As exemplified in the first two tracks, this record’s packed with unique punk grooves for how compact many of the songs are. Even the very next song, “Elimination Dances”, has one of my favorite drum patterns of the year (“The Author” is another great drumming performance). I also love how this can dial down the conceptual scale without losing staying power such as the quirky “Fun in Hi Skool” and “3800 Tigers”. I have a feeling Protomartyr is an impressively long way away from losing steam.
“‘Hey you old f*ck, take a chair
See if you're gonna win the tontine’
You'll never see it coming unless you
Keep your eyes off the screen”
Listen to: “Rain Garden" | | 15 |  | Horrendous
Ontological Mysterium
Traditional Death Metal / Progressive Metal
I don’t remember why I wasn’t big on Horrendous’ past work, but you can bet your bottom dollar that this new album put aside many preconceived notions I had coming into this. It doesn’t even do much more than what it needs to be: a badass death metal record with solid riffs, solid production, solid pacing, solid everything, really. Where you do get genre switch-ups are carefully crafted and fit excellently in the record’s flow. It makes for an awesome rotation of kinda proggy (“Chrysopoeia”, “Exeg(en)esis”), kinda thrashy (“Neon Leviathan”), and kinda doomy (“Preterition Hymn”, “The Death Knell Ringeth”) cuts. Then the title track rounds all of that together in a personal album highlight. This album’s a banger from front-to-back in a convincingly true sense.
“Follow your nose off the cliff's edge
Just let me sit in peace on the precipice”
Listen to: “Ontological Mysterium” | | 14 |  | Hail the Sun
Divine Inner Tension
Swancore
Hail the Sun is singlehandedly carrying the swancore scene in quality. That feat is espectable in its own right, but between Domino and Divine Inner Tension, Hail the Sun seems totally fine on their own. This new album has plenty of the noodly goodness they’ve always boasted, but it never feels like it gets in the way of the pacing or lyrical strength. In fact, it often adds to both. “Under the Floor” (a delectably Mars Volta-coded song) does this with its intensely paranoid nature as does the feeling of constantly invasive thoughts in “Mind Rider”. The melodies on this record are amazingly gripping, see the wailing chorus on “The Story Writes Itself” and the entirety of album highlight, “Maladapted”. Donovan Melero somehow continues to improve his lyrical front, too, with more quotables than ever before and some of the genuinely helpful messaging on mental health today.
“I quit the dark sh*t
Years ago
But I'm still addicted to the same ways I know”
Listen to: “Maladapted” | | 13 |  | Kostnateni
Úpal
Black Metal / Avant-Garde Metal
Extreme Metal had a spectacular run this past year with a sizable portion of the list being of or influenced by the genre. Kostnateni, the Czech-speaking American one-man army, was a delightful standout from the crowd. On Upal, Kostnateni lays a foundation of traditional black metal production, tremolos, and blast beats, then thwarts said foundation with angular twists and often subtle nods to Turkish folk music and microtonal melodies. It’s a chaotic idea amazingly executed and aptly explored within a satisfying runtime. Despite being pretty jammy at some points, at no point does Upal overstay its welcome, much like the Horrendous album just two entries ago. And also like that record, Upal absolutely deserves your attention.
(English Translation from Czech)
“The Earthling negotiated another day with the Sun
And it comes out, just like it did 1.6 trillion times before
To see its failure”
Listen to: “Nevolnost je vše, čím jsem (Nausea Is All I Am)” | | 12 |  | Caroline Polachek
Desire, I Want To Turn Into You
Alt-Pop / Downtempo
I made the big mistake of missing Pang in 2019 and I was not about to miss Caroline Polachek again this year. That change proved immensely fruitful as Caroline Polachek’s much-anticipated project was one of 2023’s biggest pop powerhouses and was an early AOTY candidate for me. A fantastic arrangement of producers and thematic versatility are some of its biggest strengths, but so are its accessibility and entertainment, especially in comparison with other pop projects that are a little more outside-the-box. I love how excellently it thematically plays into its theme of desire, both its pleasures and pains, its sunny highs (“Fly to You”, “Blood and Butter”) and its lonely lows (“Hopedrunk Everasking”, “Smoke”). Here’s to hoping this clever achievement of songwriting allows Caroline Polachek to hold her place as a modern art-pop staple.
“Draw your blood, draw your breath
Skip the whites of your eyes 'til you wake up and watch me”
Listen to: "Billions" | | 11 |  | Liturgy
93696
Avant-Garde Metal / Black Metal / Totalism
Look, I’m not gonna pretend to know what all of what this is about. But what I will say is that this is Hunt-Hendrix’s best-sounding craft to date. Thanks to the masterful production job of the late Steve Albini and the rich exploration of Liturgy’s totalist sound, 93696 is an eye-opener for those previously closed off. Its grand presentation edges on symphonic at times, and you know the presentation’s technical aspects are intriguing when it gets difficult to tell the guitar and violins apart. On paper, these compositions sound like beatdowns of volume and cake made way-too-sweet, but the fantastic songwriting keeps most connecting passages not only fresh, but also replayable. Just listen to the title track as one of the decade’s best examples. Especially if you get past the mostly filler interludes, this is a metal epic worth experiencing.
“Flagrant subterfuge is clutching its sidе
Paywalls enclose the virgin bridе”
Listen to: “93696" | | 10 |  | Knower
Knower Forever
Synth-Funk / Nu-Jazz
For those that haven’t previously known Louis Cole and Knower, their signature style of songwriting has been hit-or-miss depending on the project. However, the long-anticipated Knower Forever is pretty much everything I was looking for out of the quirky duo. The record’s production has been divisive, but I find the lo-fi, distant recording quite charming. Especially in upbeat songs like “Nightmare” and “Ride That Dolphin” do the production-quirkiness match shine. The songwriting throughout is fantastic with both the poppier cuts like “I’m the President” and “The Abyss” and djenty bangers like “It’s All Nothing Until It's Everything” and “Do Hot Girls Like Chords?”. Only a handful of records in the current decade can boast this style, so this is a must-have for jazz fans who don’t mind plenty of on-the-nose humor.
“Yeah, Mount Rushymore has some t*ts
I heard you been talking sh*t
Let's see where that airstrike hits”
Listen to: “Do Hot Girls Like Chords?" | | 9 |  | Steven Wilson
The Harmony Codex
Progressive Electronic / Progressive Rock / Art Rock
I’ve waited eight years for this. Eight long years to confidently defend Mr. Wilson from the artistic gatekeeping. His last couple of records were admittedly middling with too many ideas that simply fell flat. On The Harmony Codex, Wilson’s songwriting is much more focused, the textural strength is vastly improved, and even the social commentary is decent. This is one of 2023’s best-paced albums, with a simple, but effective track listing where only every third song is above a certain length. The fantastic songwriting progression also adds to how consistently refreshing the album is during its plays. It excellently ties its harmony codex concept with dream-like perspectives of daily life events. As impressive and clean as this effort is, I’m excited to see how Wilson improves this sound.
“Bow down to him
But don't ever give him your name
He stole it from somebody else
He can fake it forever”
Listen to: “Staircase” | | 8 |  | Monika Roscher Bigband
Witchy Activities and the Maple Death
Avant-Prog / Experimental Big Band
A project I found late into 2023, Witchy Activities… is perhaps a self-catered discovery. Art-Pop mixed with orchestra and progressive rock passages? Sign me the hell up! Past that, however, is an extremely fun record with tons of creativity. The fantastic opener “8 Prinzessinnen” sets the album’s attitude perfectly followed up by an orchestral banger in “Firebird”. Then comes the spectacularly crafted “Witches Brew” suite, an underrated run with loads of creative melodies and even genre switch-ups on “Moon is Melting” and “Dance of the Sleepy Spirits”. Adding to the fun is the accessibility of the later poppy bangers of “A Taste of the Apocalypse” and personal favorite “Starlight Nightcrash”. Not only is this an ensemble to watch out for, but a group sporting some of the most fun personality I can recall in a big band effort.
“But are we not ghosts
Are we not in control
Or are we just ghosts
Drawn from the whole”
Listen to: “8 Prinzessinnen" | | 7 |  | Dodheimsgard
Black Medium Current
Progressive Metal / Avant-Garde Metal
DHG apparently has been a proper Norweigan black metal outfit for almost 30 years. It wasn’t until 666 International where they would earn a reputation for an eccentric twist on the traditional Norwegian black metal sound. Come 8 years after DHG”s last full-length effort and they have not only not lost one step, but have perhaps provided their best effort yet. With DHG being apparent experts on making fun records, Black Medium Current finds just the right balance of nerdiness and intensity. Each time the scale seemingly tips one way or another comes a fun banger with the more traditional passages of “Et Smelter” and “Halow”, the progressive odysseys of “Abyss Perihelion Transit”, or the doomy entertainment of “Tankespinnerens Smerte” and “It Does Not Follow”. I get quality over quantity, but being more proficient might not hurt DHG…
“Identity is a drug
From oblivion
Through the ethereal
And the black vale”
Listen to: “Interstellar Nexus” | | 6 |  | Jason Isbell
Weathervanes
Americana / Southern Rock
As reliable as ever, Jason Isbell continues to dominate the country game with Weathervanes. What's even more accomplishing is that this lands as Isbell’s best effort after Southeastern. Isbell displays powerful songwriting range across the board such as the opener’s passionate weariness of self-harm, the grounded political nihilism on “Save the World”, and the personal tragedies told on “Cast-Iron Skillet”. As the first Isbell-produced project since the Drive-By Truckers days, Weathervanes isn’t missing a beat in clarity. Not only is the record densely orchestrated for a country album, but it’s all so well-balanced and crisp on both rock bangers like “King of Oklahoma” and the closer and ballads like “Strawberry Woman”. It’s difficult to see how in the world Isbell improves on this, but I think he can prove me wrong again.
“Was it 27 times or was it 29?
I heard the blade broke off inside the man and he took a while to die”
Listen to: “King of Oklahoma” | | 5 |  | Tomb Mold
The Enduring Spirit
Traditional Death Metal / Progressive Metal
Unlike Horrendous, I remember finding Tomb Mold’s previous output creatively stale. This time was far from the case. Tomb Mold’s take on the often-criticized shift from traditional death to a proggier sound has made for this year’s most consistent metal project. There isn’t a single miss in the track list and each song has a clear-cut place. The guitar playing is nothing short of amazing across the record and the progressions from each section played show no fatigue. The Enduring Spirit is constantly refreshing its ideas despite keeping a mostly intense character. I also love how the album’s melancholic moments recall production tricks of the 90’s and early 2000’s without feeling like it’s pulling on only nostalgia. This is an awesome example of what artistic revision can do.
“Our roots coil and ripen, and the believing heart opens all doors
Those fixed in their years, quietly wait for all to disappear”
Listen to: “Will of Whispers" | | 4 |  | Reverend Kristin Michael Hayter
SAVED!
Southern Gospel / Hymns / Tape Music
Rev. Kristin Michael Hayter’s Saved! is a personal and patience-rewarding listen. This album’s perspectives and personal portrayal of Christianity have been met with division by those who take the album as a theatrical parody of Christian faith and distrust. To me, Hayter’s performances of these hymns are natural interpretations of the source material. The tape loop influence on the production and sampling gives the hymnal material an extra layer of disarray, which resonated with me since I grew up with the disarray of evangelical hymns and "devout" worship. Of course, I must mention the glossolalia on the closer (a track I can't recommend easily) as the album's most powerful moment. Although the rest of Saved! is more digestible, the whole experience can be overwhelmingly powerful.
“My life flows on in endless song
Above Earth's lamentations
I catch the sweet though far-off hymn
That hails a new creation”
Listen to: “I WILL BE WITH YOU ALWAYS” | | 3 |  | Sufjan Stevens
Javelin
Chamber Folk / Folktronica
Even after many groundbreaking albums exploring personal and observational tragedy, Sufjan Stevens is fated with even more devastating tragedy. A part of me is upset that Javelin even exists because we have done nothing for Stevens to owe us this album. But perhaps writing this record is Stevens’ way of forming closure on his relationship with his late partner, Evans Richardson. The imagery and world Stevens created on this record are accessible for anybody with a broken relationship, whether through death or conflict. The gentle presentations of tracks like "My Red Little Fox" and "So You Are Tired" are just as effective to their lyrical themes as the grand presentations in "Shit Talk" and "Will Anybody Ever Love Me?". I know Stevens will always have amazing songwriting concepts lined up, just please not under these conditions again.
“Goodbye, Evergreen
You know I love you
But everything heaven sent
Must burn out in the end”
Listen to: “So You Are Tired" | | 2 |  | Thantifaxath
Hive Mind Narcosis
Black Metal / Progressive Metal
Back after a decade of LP inactivity, Thantifaxath cooked up a masterpiece straight from whatever Canadian underground lair they dwell in. Hive Mind Narcosis stood at the top of the off-key spiraling despair metal this year with an all-killer, black metal experience. Opener “Solar Witch” displays exactly the kind of mind-boggling maelstrom that’s delivered throughout the record. Solid production, impressive songwriting, and visceral all-around performances contribute greatly to the satisfying chaos, but what makes it stand out most is the record’s masterful attention to pacing. Nearly every passage or motif is ridden out to a length that lets all of its potential weight be felt. With this record now in their already strong resume, Thantifaxath sits with the best of the modern dissonant black metal wave.
“On dopamine wings she rises
Into nitrogen oceans she drowns
A stone angel cracked
In a million parallel universes”
Listen to: “Surgical Utopian Love” | | 1 |  | Sprain
The Lamb As Effigy
Noise Rock / Post-Rock
Sprain’s monster of a record pushed the limit of performance (and perhaps pretension) to an unrivaled extent. In that, they overwhelmingly succeeded and spawned a lot of divided discussion. The thematic debates surrounding this album, its airtight compositions, and its sheer expanse made this all too easy to keep coming back to. On the surface, there are countless quotable lines and many outstanding grand and subtle instrumental moments per song. Looking back, what becomes most intriguing is determining how much of the album’s character can be related to the band themselves. Even Sprain’s demise was like the album’s hidden epilogue. The album hates itself as much as any listener can hate it, but the magnificent product of that self-hatred and admitted degeneracy kept me wanting more, and it eventually became my most important album of 2023.
“‘Would you not have me sing you softly to sleep?’
[...]
I can’t sing if you’re looking at me”
Listen to: “Reiterations" | |
Winesburgohio
06.24.24 | ahh some great left-field picks here (nice to remember 38 and 10!) and the write-ups are of excellent caliber x | ThyCrossAwaits
06.24.24 | Glad to see some love for 18, that album is damn near a personal 5 for me. It’s sooooooo good top to bottom and over again. | Veldin
06.24.24 | Great list! Thanks for turning me onto 8, it’s so much fun | BlazinBlitzer
06.25.24 | Thank you all for the compliments! Sorry it took so long. I can be pretty generous to left-field poppy stuff but this year had a seriously good crop of records in that avenue. |
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