As we find ourselves heading towards the end of the musical landscape of 2023, it's time to reflect on the sonic tapestry woven by talented artists across genres. Here at Runout Record Club we pride ourselves on being purveyors of great albums to our subscribers and we have made a change this year to our normal end of year process.
Our December curated and classic albums have been Christmas based over the last few years, but this year we have witnessed such a diverse array of albums that have left an indelible mark on the music scene, and because of this we have decided to create our first best of the year album list. This list will be a long list posted now with a short list posted just before we normally send out or monthly subscription, and as part of our change we will be makling our curated album and classic album one of the best albums of the year.
So here we'll take a comprehensive look at some of the best albums of 2023, exploring the sounds that have resonated with both us, critics, and audiences alike.
Billy Nomates - Cacti
From the opening notes of the first track it becomes evident that ‘Cacti’ is not an album that shies away from confronting reality. Billy Nomates' distinct vocals, coupled with minimalist yet effective production, create an atmosphere that feels both intimate and immediate. The stripped-down nature of the music allows her lyrical prowess to take center stage, and it's a stage she commands with unwavering confidence.
Early single "Blue Bones (deathwish)" saves the bleakness for its lyrics, where suicidal ideation is thrown around as a casual conversation topic (“If you wanna die then do it, you don’t need my permission”). The song itself borders on jaunty, while melancholy, anger and grief all battle for the spotlight in her vocal. It’s a more mature and wiry approach, for an artist who began with such a direct and deadpan delivery.
Opener ‘Balance is Gone’ is just as brutally honest as any of that early material. She dismisses meditation and healing rituals, but as poetic symbols that reflect her own crumbling self-actualisation, rather than something to scoff at over a drum machine.
In a musical landscape often dominated by polished productions and formulaic compositions, ‘Cacti’ is a breath of fresh air. Billy Nomates' willingness to embrace imperfections, both in her voice and in the production, adds a layer of authenticity that is increasingly rare in contemporary music. ‘Cacti’ is not just an album; it's a testament to the power of unfiltered expression and a reminder that sometimes, the most impactful art is the one that bares its soul without reservation.
Sampha - Lahai
Inspired by the short story ‘Jonathan Livingstone Seagull’, ‘LAHAI’ is about how finding your community makes all this possible. On "Rose Tint" Sampha confesses “Lost the art / Of connection,” before asking everyone to “gather round”. Those gathering include yaeji and Yussef Dayes (‘Spirit 2.0’), Laura Groves (‘Jonathan L Seagull’), and Sheila Maurice-Grey (‘Can’t Go Back’). All of which make small-but-poignant appearances that put Sampha’s thesis of power in community into action. “Faith will catch you / friends will catch you,” he sings on ‘Spirit 2.0’.
The album is a sound collage imbued with a cosmic charge, where suites and segments careen between West African folk spirituals, hymns and Afro-futuristic allegory. The album’s middle stretch invokes distant galaxies; from the slow crackle glitch of ‘Satellite Business’, into the searching prayer ‘Jonathan L Seagull’, into digital lullaby ‘Inclination Compass (Tenderness)’, Sampha drifts through the album: between dimensions and lapses in time. On ‘Can’t Go Back’, Sampha tries to stem the flow of his strained thoughts, echoing a plea before a pacey breakbeat breakdown: “Spirit, I’ve been tryna do some summoning/Time machine I built has been stuttering.” ‘Suspended’ is the height of spiritual fervour. The frenetic, free jazz aria positions love as a kind of elevated meditation. Sampha’s bristling vocal, stretched to the limits here, is his most potent instrument; split between registers, sometimes wispy and light, other times edging into spoken-word atonality.
‘Lahai’ is not just an auditory experience; it's a celebration of heritage and a testament to the power of music as a universal language. Sampa's ability to seamlessly fuse cultural influences while maintaining a contemporary edge is a testament to her artistry and vision. As the album unfolds, it invites listeners to join Sampa on a transcendent journey, making ‘Lahai’ a captivating and enriching addition to any discography.
Beach Fossils - Bunny
Beach Fossils, known for their dreamy soundscapes and infectious melodies, offer a refreshing chapter in their discography with the release of ‘Bunny.’ This album, like a gentle breeze off the ocean, washes over the listener with a sense of tranquility while maintaining the band's signature indie charm.
“Sleeping on My Own” opens the album with a pop influenced sound and well balanced production that sets the stage for the remainder of the album. The track feels weightless, with intricately stacked guitar tracks of various tones and lead singer Dustin Payseur’s soothing dream-pop vocal style.
Sonically, the album is filled with elements expected from Beach Fossils based off of their past three albums. Yet here, the band subtly shifts into a more upbeat and pop influenced space, showcasing their ability to make indie music of any style while staying true to their personal sound. The band pulls in catchy pop melodies, while also branching out with a twangy folk influence on songs such as “Run to the Moon” and “Tough Love,” in addition to including elements of 80s synth-pop that feels similar to The Cure, on the songs “Just Like the Setting Sun” and “Feels so High.”
The album's cohesion is notable, with each track seamlessly flowing into the next. It's a testament to Beach Fossils' craftsmanship and their ability to create an immersive listening experience. "Bunny" stands as a sonic reverie, inviting listeners to lose themselves in its lush landscapes and to find solace in the ebb and flow of its melodies.
CASISDEAD - Famous Last Words
From the very first track, ‘Famous Last Words’ establishes an atmosphere of gritty introspection. Casisdead's signature deep, gravelly voice weaves tales of life's complexities, taking the listener on a rollercoaster of emotions. The production is a masterclass in creating atmosphere; each beat feels meticulously crafted to complement the raw, unfiltered narratives.
In terms of features, we’ve got appearances from Connie Constance, Kamio, and the one that had everyone talking about when it was announced, Pet Shop Boys star Neil Tennant. Piecing it all together, he’s also roped in old friends Ed Skrein and Emma Rigby to provide the narrative.
On the production side, MSM and Johnny Jewel oversee the bulk of the track’s production, with credits also going to Stranger Things composer Kyle Dixon, Chase & Status, Felix Joseph, Cyrus, Mark Ralph, Paul Wale, Joe Brown, Dora Jar, Peter Byrne, Rob Fisher, Chris d’Eon and Nat Walker.
Casisdead may have kept fans waiting for a decade, but ‘Famous Last Words’ does not disappoint. This stands to be one of the year’s most compelling and engrossing albums - not just in UK rap, but in British music in general.
In conclusion, ‘Famous Last Words’ is a testament to Casisdead's unwavering commitment to his craft. It's a bold exploration of the human condition, wrapped in a sonic landscape that pushes the boundaries of contemporary hip-hop. For those willing to embark on a journey into the depths of Casisdead's mind, ‘Famous Last Words’ is a rewarding and thought-provoking experience.
Jelly Roll - Whitsitt Chapel
With its very title, ‘Whitsitt Chapel’ appears thoroughly country and Jelly Roll plays with this theme throughout the record, emphasizing the sacred/profane connection by littering the album with tunes like "Halfway to Hell," "Church," "Dancing with the Devil," and "Hungover in a Church Pew." He still swears, he still sings to electronic rhythms, he still brings old rap friends Struggle Jennings and Yelawolf aboard for cameos, but he also finds space for country singers Brantley Gilbert and Lainey Wilson, all in an attempt to steer himself squarely toward the moody country mainstream.
You might struggle to find a better all-round album then this is in 2023. It genuinely has everything and most importantly it grips you and doesn’t let go. The lyrics and storytelling that this album issues to the listener is top drawer and really sets Jelly Roll aside. Using his experiences of growing up in Nashville’s Antioch neighbourhood and his life heading to drug addiction and drug dealing would certainly give you the backdrop for great stories, but what we should be celebrating here is that Jelly Roll has used those experiences and turned them into a positive.
In conclusion, ‘Whitsitt Chapel’ stands as a powerful chapter in Jelly Roll's discography. It's an album that invites listeners into the artist's inner world, encouraging them to confront their own struggles and triumphs. With its lyrical depth, genre-blending sound, and unwavering honesty, Jelly Roll's ‘Whitsitt Chapel’ is a soul-baring journey that resonates long after the final notes fade away.
Skrillex - Quest for Fire
Skrillex is an extremely good producer. there's a reason he's the one who brought dubstep to the mainstream, and that reason is that he was able to make it sound vivacious and angelic at the same time, of course, i can name many other artists that i felt the same way about in the earlier dubstep-adjacent scene - from mala to burial all the way back to horsepower productions - but i'm a nerd, and if you recognize those names, you probably are too.
Fittingly, Quest for Fire’s guest list ticks every box in terms of big-name dance album collaborators. There are rappers, including Missy Elliott and Rae Sremmurd’s Swae Lee. There are pop vocalists, among them Aluna Francis, of British duo AlunaGeorge. There are exponents of global music, such as Palestinian singer Nai Barghouti, who sings in Arabic on “Xena”, and figures from the world of alt-rock, including angsty singer-songwriter Siiickbrain and Fall Out Boy’s Pete Wentz, the latter admittedly only appearing in a clip from a joint TV interview with Skrillex taped backstage at a festival. But Quest for Fire also boasts appearances by stridently independent electronic auteur Four Tet and Flowdan, the grime MC/producer best known for his work with the Bug. Both are avatars of no-commercial-considerations underground cool; neither, you suspect, would be in any great hurry to collaborate with Deadmau5 or Timmy Trumpet.
The most impressive moment on ‘Quest for Fire’ comes when Skrillex links up with avant-garde percussionist Eli Keszler on the ephemeral “A Street I Know,” which serves as a perfect encapsulation of not only the album’s eclectic nature, but of Moore’s ever-growing aesthetic ambitions. ‘Quest for Fire’ is the work of an artist who’s more than willing and able to prove himself again, and again.
Jesus Piece - …So Unknown
Jesus Piece’s talent lies in the way they experiment with the fundamentals of a relatively static genre. Across its 28-minute runtime, ‘...So Unknown’ arranges energetic bursts in intervals that mirror the rhythms and movement of a hardcore show, with tempo changes that slow things down just enough to let you catch your breath before accelerating into head-splitting quarter-note triplets that teeter on the edge of chaos.
The album’s first two tracks, “In Constraints” and “Fear of Failure” rely on traditional metalcore elements, but the album begins to move beyond the mold with “Tunnel Vision” and “FTBS.” the former teeters on being full-blown nu-metal, reminiscent of early Slipknot, with dissonant guitars, tom-heavy percussion, and panned whispers throughout the track.
With “FTBS” (a some what easy-to-decipher acronym), Jesus Piece constructs their ultimate live anthem, a shout-along hymn that feels just as right being sung by Heard as it would be by DMX or M.O.P., “You don’t like what you’re hearin’/FTBS/They don’t like how you’re livin’/FTBS.” The verdict is still out whether this becomes the song that introduces Jesus Piece to the world at large –but if it doesn’t, that’s the world’s fault.
There's only so many ways to say Jesus Piece writes good hardcore, but that really is the take away from ‘…So Unknown’. It's exciting, emotive, and ball-busting hardcore taken to the next level by smart writing. They definitely earn their place as a rising name, and a good bridge builder for metalheads who might grimace at the mention of hardcore. For those who like their music dark and raging, but also danceable, now's a great time to hop on board for the infectious melee.
JPEGMAFIA x Danny Brown - Scaring the Hoes
This is a collab we’ve been waiting for quite some time for. JPEGMAFIA and Danny Brown are two artists in the rap game that bring their own originality into the genre. Both are obscure musicians that revel in their oddities. Whether it’s JPEG’s brand of experimental rap or Danny’s distinctive nasally voice, these two are certainly of an acquired taste.
‘Scaring The Hoes’ is a solid collaboration between JPEGMAFIA and Danny Brown. With JPEG’s eccentric production and the lyricism/flow from both artists, this album sets the foundation for future collaborations to follow between the two. The album excels in its unconventional use of sampling and beats, with verses that equally match.
Opener ‘LEAN BEEF PATTY’ is a no-holds-barred introduction. Every single note feels tweaked to bleeding point, a sonic assault framed by chirruping electronics and a square-wave bassline worthy of 2002 era grime. The stuttering beat on ‘STEPPA PIG’ brings out an unruly performance from Danny Brown, sheer punk rock in its outlaw bravado. Title cut ‘SCARING THE HOES’ is brutally simplistic, swapping dense electronics for a rhythm section built around hand claps.
While some of the songs may take once or twice to get the full experience of (or hear Brown’s verse whatsoever), ‘Scaring the Hoes’ is still a fantastic album, and may perhaps form the blueprint for collaborations that has seen some stagnation in recent years.
Jalen Ngonda - Come Around and Love Me
Released via the legendary Daptone label, ‘Come Around And Love Me’ is a wonderfully smooth, dramatic album of modern soul and R&B, all brought together by an exhilarating, hair-raising voice. Sometimes, like at the start of the shuffling ‘That’s All I Wanted From You’, he’s stretching his voice into an almost shout with superb power. Elsewhere, ‘Lost’ sees him swing effortlessly between near-spoken word and soft, melodic singing.
Other highlights come in the form of the irresistibly smooth ‘It Takes A Fool’ and comparably energetic closer ‘Rapture’, all bound together by a voice that’s constantly surprising, fresh and technically superb.
With ‘Come Around And Love Me’, Jalen Ngonda’s voice just has to be heard. The 28-year-old singer, has a vocal range that effortlessly equals soul music’s greatest, add in quality songs to match that are overflowing with raw emotion and you will be blown away from start to finish. This is music that makes living and listening both worthwhile.
Home Is Where - the whaler
Like the best moments on any Neutral Milk Hotel album—or, frankly, any emo album worth a damn—the whaler excels when it feels like Home Is Where are at its slipperiest as a band, conjuring something capable of breaking beyond a simple genre signifier.
The record’s opening run is its strongest showcase of this: “skin meadow” acts as a continuation of the power chord-heavy roar that made i became birds an instant cult favorite, morphing its abstract title into an unexpectedly bracing singalong.
Things take a turn for the downcast on “lily pad pupils,” with a languid combination of banjo and pedal steel gradually boiling over into MacDonald’s gnarled screams. In its patience and command of dynamics, it might be Home Is Where’s best track to date, condensing their unpredictable appeal into a miniature cataclysm.
As if refusing to stay in one place too long, “yes! yes! a thousand times yes!” flips the mood once again, its buoyant emo riff on “Soak Up The Sun” dissolving as MacDonald’s narrative grows colder and loveless. The album never quite hits this sequencing high again—a relatively muted ending trio feels overshadowed by showier early tracks—but this opening stretch is an exceptional demonstration of Home Is Where’s virtuosic flexibility.
Kool Keith - The Serpent
The first new album of genuine substance from Keith in quite some time, Serpent stands apart from his previous pay-to-play output. One can’t ever fault him from cashing checks that others willingly write, but in fairness his bloated discography doesn’t always provide the same value for money to his eager and, generally, over-forgiving fanbase. Regardless of the previous misteps, he is extremely well served on ‘Serpent’ by Real Bad Man, a curatorial producer muscling his way into the center of indie hip-hop of late.
With Real Bad Man boasting whole album joints opposite the likes of Boldy James and Pink Siifu, not to mention compilations that bring similarly dope rappers into his sonic space, he clearly recognized the opportunity he was presented with here and acted accordingly. Who else would’ve had the courage to give Keith something so Griseldan as “Fire And Ice” to spit over.
In an very unsubtle nod to Dan The Automator’s gleeful sampling services, Serpent excels largely because of its musical diversity, which in turn allows Keith to showcase his multifaceted and multidimensional skills as the moment requires. “Jungle Fever” comes off as ruthless as anything off 2000’s scathing Matthew set, as does the triumphant yet perverse “The Great Marlowe.” Amid ebulliently-called play-by-plays from no less than Analog Brother Ice-T himself, he revives several of his best known pseudonyms (and a less-cited one too) on the lyrical donnybrook “Battle”.
Blur - The Ballard of Darren
For the past two decades, Blur has been a similarly distant, but meaningful presence in the band’s lives. Each member has kept busy: Damon with Gorillaz, and many, many side-projects; Graham with a solo career and The Waeve; Dave Rowntree in politics; Alex James with cheese. But there’s always a sense of unfinished business with Blur; they’ve never officially split, but each time they re-emerge it’s as if we’re rekindling a long-estranged affair. Two albums in 20 years since 2003’s ‘Think Tank’ – ‘The Ballad of Darren’ and 2015’s ‘The Magic Whip’ – would suggest they feel the same.
There’s a feeling of unity in the aging process across ‘The Ballad Of Darren’, with the four-piece all now in their mid to late 50s; the group’s ninth album is christened as a nod to people of their generation. Damon Albarn starts out on the bouncy singalong ‘Barbaric’ noting “I have lost the feeling I thought I’d never lose”, but by the end of the track that ‘I’ becomes ‘we’. Among his band mates of three decades, he’s able to tap into a perspective that rarely makes itself known in his Gorillaz universe.
The rose-tinted lenses are slipped on during gorgeous opener ‘The Ballad’, led by piano and flourishes of strings where the frontman professes “the words are hitting him in a full-on assault”. Glimmers of memories gone-by slip through the cracks in Graham Coxon’s backing vocals: “I met you at an early show,” he sings. “We travelled round the world”. ‘St Charles Square’ shakes the cobwebs off with a chugging glam blitz which mines the more raucous sides of ‘Parklife’ proving they can still manifest a screamer. Damon’s roars bookend the pre-chorus among Graham Coxon’s off-kilter riffs which hold the askew cabaret of classic Blur.
Musically, the gentler side of Blur slips into frame more frequently to accompany the album’s more wistful energy. This works beautifully on ‘Russian Strings’ which extends a handout to the warring country - “Where are you now? / Are you contactable?” - and the fragile acoustic-plucked strings of ‘The Everglades’. ‘Far Away Island’ may trail off into cookie-cutter Damon melancholia, but new fields are plowed on ‘Avalon’ - a brass-led stomper indebted to a little Motown - and ‘Goodbye Albert’ which bobs atop a pulsating synth-bass.
Emotive, visceral and full of intent, Darren takes us on a soul searching journey which is a testimonial of how overcoming loss might just help you find yourself, your sound and your friends via the power of music.
Bobby Lee - Endless Skyways
Bobby Lee does not miss. For his third long-player, the Sheffield based virtuoso of vibe returns with a full band behind him, riding aloft on headwinds of pure celestial boogie.
‘Endless Skyways’ is far too audacious in its combinations of musical ideas to resort to overt borrowing from likeminded musicians, past or present. You witness how the unstoppable handclap-enriched stomp of “Reds for a Blue Planet” crashes the bubbly drone of Canned Heat’s “Poor Moon” headfirst into the loping rhythms and hypnotic repetition characteristic of desert blues from the Sahara region.
Elsewhere, the laidback groove of “Acid Grassland” spikes the beer that J.J. Cale is sipping, whilst “The HR Manager’s Beautiful Daughter” straps the building blocks of classic British folk rock to a spaceship, resulting in a frantic dash around the maypole.
Perhaps the most impressive of all, “Folsom Point Blues” closes the album with a plainly beautiful slice of graceful ambient balm that is equally reminiscent of Neu! guitarist Michael Rother’s humbly majestic early solo albums (or the peerless instrumentals by another unconventional guitar hero, the late great Michael Chapman) and an arcane slice of the kind of elemental guitar-solo stylings that Lee’s label, revered US imprint Tompkins Square, specialise in.
It’s easy to want ‘Endless Skyways’ to linger a just a little longer, because there’s no telling the next time Bobby Lee will turn up. But he’ll be back, and we’ll be waiting for anothera soothing lullaby for our weary times.
Kevin Abstract - Blanket
'Blanket' is Kevin Abstracts his fresh start after the end of the form breaking rap collective Brockhampton. Abstract debuted his new material at a short-notice live show in Hollywood, arriving with a band that played up the heavy, grungy direction of this new material, all brooding fuzz, dropped tunings, and loud/soft whiplash.
What has made ‘Blanket’ thrive and pulse is its completely commitment to unrelenting honesty and vulnerability from Abstract. He runs through the record naked, speaking odes on his identity, atop of some gloriously fuzzy riffs, synthesisers and drums. The Texan polymath cultivates a visceral world on ‘Blanket’, the track list a diverse conglomeration of grunge, bittersweet ballads, pop and hip-hop. The record is at its best when noisy and scrappy, nineties West Coast undertones thread throughout – the dynamic ‘The Greys’ sparse but still thrashing and heavy, ‘Today I Gave Up’ downtempo but oozing that Pacific Northwest emo tonality.
While the bulk of his hip-hop flair has been thrown to the side on this project, his voyage into guitar-based territory has clearly been a fantastic move, Abstract sounding as comfortable and infallible as ever. The album continues to show him as one of the greatest talents of this generation, an individual who eliminates conformity and remains earnest and candid, regardless of the sonic environment he visits.
DRAIN - Living Proof
Independence ultimately lies at the root of hardcore, the concept runs through the veins of ‘Living Proof’– from the ode to sobriety “FTS (KYS)”, where chainsaw guitars and a brawling rhythm section battle against vocalist Sammy’s rousing roars to reinvent yourself and “kill all the parts that you don’t love”, to the record standout “Imposter”. Opening with aquote that “imitation is the lowest form of flattery”, ‘Imposter’ points its crosshairs at the fakes and posers in a scene rife with hangers-on and people wanting to get involved because hardcore is cool right now. This mentality is the antithesis to DRAIN, and you can almost taste the undiluted rage oozing out of the band, as Sammy seethes, “I’ll never fucking respect you’ to those who ‘try too hard to be something you’re not.”
Paying homage to the bands that came before, DRAIN deliver a fairly faithful cover of Descendents’ “Good Good Things” amongst their cathartic cacophony, but they too look to the current blending of hardcore and hip-hop culture by introducing rapper Shakewell on “Intermission”. Such dexterity within and admiration for the genre they inhabit sets DRAIN apart from the ever-growing pack, and ‘Living Proof’ might just be the best record yet to spawn from a scene that still hasn’t hit its peak.
There might be other thrash records this year that blow up and hardcore records that kick doors in, but this is the perhaps the thrash and hardcore record of the year. There is a barely concealed grin behind everything DRAIN do.
Bonny Doon - Let There Be Music
‘Let There Be Music’ oozes Easy Rider-era Americana rife with garage rock undertones and pop textures. There’s a little bit of Grateful Dead in there; a tinge of Pavement. The world of Bonny Doon is a grand, expansive one that comes from an era that is bygone to the band’s members.
At the heart of ‘Let There Be Music’ is the friendship between singers Bill Lennox, Bobby Colombo, and drummer Jake Kmiecik, which comes through in the ease of their arrangements. Lennox and Colombo trade off vocal duties like two longtime buddies in contemplative conversation about life’s ups and downs. The album is smooth-edged, but not overly polished; deliberate, but organic, and always with an eye toward the sunnier side of the street.
The band take no big swings on ‘Let There Be Music’, and they tackle no grand subjects; they just concentrate on sculpting sweet, sincere songs about subjects like being vaguely homesick on a fine afternoon (“Fine Afternoon”), allowing emotions to evolve organically (“Naturally”), and trusting that hope will arrive as soon as today (“Maybe Today”). Each song is a carefully constructed miniature, and the album itself is endearingly small-scale too—a record where life lessons aren’t preached, just lived.
Les Imprimes - Rêverie
‘Rêverie’ is immediately captivating yet is in no rush to impress anyone but the man behind the music. Martens was able to create infectious tunes without forcing them to be anything but a beautifully produced take on modern soul. There is effortless energy that flows through these songs and their light-hearted nature creates an easy listening experience that is still able to pinpoint an emotion and explore it with a gentle touch.
The many layers of love are explored throughout as Martens pens moving poetry centered around his personal experiences. These words double as an anchor for the otherworldly arrangements that play like a lost balloon floating into the atmosphere. This middle ground of daydreams and reality created a perfect playground for Les Imprimés debut as the artist wastes no time establishing the tone of his debut.
‘Les Imprimés’ is a mystical roller coaster through a colourful world of Morten and his first outing as a frontman proves his musical talents without being arrogance. His subtle approach to his art makes for intimate soul music that constantly reverts to a heartfelt message while keeping things interesting through sugary arrangements that swell and deescalate like a long-term relationship.
Lil Yachty - Let’s Start Here
Largely replacing straight-up rap for half-sung, half-spoken interludes, the results contain some of his best work to date. On opener ‘the BLACK seminole.’ the track moves at a codeine-slow pace, the submerged vocals fraught with drama, the palette leaning on LA sleaze rock guitar solos, the ride feels as though you’re caught by the beach in Miami Vice, the salty wind piercing your lips – above all else, it’s actually pretty fun.
With only 14 tracks spread across a full hour’s worth of music, ‘Let’s Start Here’ brings relaxation and while largesse seems to be the name of the game; from the extended jazz intro that ripples through ‘running out of time’ to the meditative ‘WE SAW THE SUN’ it’s a record that oozes out to form its own path.
Notes of funk, soul, disco, old school hip-hop, and even industrial/prog rock are scattered all throughout the album. Much of the albums beauty comes from the collaborators Yachty choose. Outside of guest vocals from Diana Gordon, Teezo Touchdown, and Fousheé, Yachty enlists names such as Mac DeMarco, Alex G, members of MGMT and Unknown Mortal Orchestra, and more. Yachty’s change in sound direction, his commitment to the production, and his partners throughout the album has gotten every corner of the music-verse talking this year.
boygenius - The Record
There’s a power in simplicity, a force in stripping back the noise of the world around us to shine a light on the beauty that surrounds us. It’s in this simplicity that boygenius, the collaboration between three of indie/folk’s most powerful voices of recent years, set us on our journey with them. Phoebe Bridgers, Julien Baker, and Lucy Dacus, quite possibly three of the best modern songwriters in their genres, prove that together they are able to lift one another higher and create something truly special
This seamless 12-track album is divided evenly between the three singers; each takes lead on four songs, with the other two providing auxiliary verses, harmonies, or both. Never does one perspective overstep its bounds, even as ‘The Record’ manages to showcase each members’ distinct approaches: the crunching soft-punk of Baker explored the delicate, emo-informed devastations of Bridgers’ and Dacus’ hyper-specific sense of nostalgia.
boygenius have released an incredibly detailed record, rich with lyrical content fueled by the members love in their lives, and the want to feel love and to be loved; whether that be romantic or platonic. ‘The Record’ is a truly beautiful one, and the love that each member has for one another is as plain as day. Calls and demands answered, boygenius has given the world an album for the ages.
Militarie Gun - Life Under the Gun
Militarie Gun alternate between ruthless hardcore punk and the alt-rock undercurrent of post-hardcore, a logical outcome of the members’ previous bands, but the lights are on and Militarie Gun is home.
The album opens well with “Do It Faster”, a song containing riffs from guitarists Nick Cogan and William Acuña that are simultaneously chiming and chunky. This jangly but muscular playing style continues through “My Friends Are Having a Hard Time”, a song on which vocalist Ian Shelton’s vocal style takes on a particularly affecting quality as he sings plaintively, “I cried all the time / Now it happens / Now it happens in mine / Wondering when I’ll be just fine.”
The guitar work is especially solid on the great “Think Less”, a song on which you can hear the experience Cogan has accrued in post-hardcore greats Drug Church. The solid riffs of ‘Life Under The Gun’ return on “Sway Too” and the closing title track.
Militarie Gun’s aim of fusing the melodies and jangly guitar sounds of Shelton’s songwriting influences like Guided By Voices and The Beatles with the punchiness and energy of the hardcore punk scene in which they honed their playing styles is an admirable and surprising one.
It’s very hard to feel bad throughout ‘Life Under the Gun’ and its 29 minutes of scream toting angst. There’s joy and freedom in the 12 songs, much as there was in so many of the most angst-ridden alt-rock anthems of the ’90s—many of the creators of which were influenced in large part by the early hardcore greats.
Model/Actriz - Dogsbody
Brooklyn’s Model/Actriz have been steadily bubbling away in the great creative do-or-die melting pot that New York is renowned as since 2016. We all find ourselves at a certain age looking for the similarity in new bands of those who we adored in our younger years. So when you listen to Model/Actriz and hear the musical DNA of LCD Soundsystem lurking in their tracks for some this may pull you in for more.
‘Dogsbody’ is a remarkable record. Its sounds like walking into a sultry goth nightclub, with SWANS in the corner making out with Black Country, New Road…, while Talking Heads are cartoonishly violently knocking teeth out of Les Savy Fav, and Xiu Xiu have got so wrecked they’re p*ssing on and shorting out the goth DJ’s deck, who’s playing some ironic-but-they-know-it dancey indie.
Dogsbody chronicles experiences on the outer fringes of society’s gaze, a mind on the brink of madness, caked by a voice flirting with mysticism and malevolent luciferian delusions. It’s nakedly authentic and bleeding, self-cannibalizing music that drips into veins like an alien drug. It describes sexual interaction as a liminal space and imagines the world as a Futurist pandemonium. It’s as much an X-rated update to Bloc Party’s more urban minded ‘Silent Alarm’ and If that frightens you: well they don’t care! The band are not here to hold your hand or sing you lullabies, but we can only pray the tension at the core of this wild fourpiece won’t devour them.
Algiers - Shook
Algiers’ politics are not subtle: For starters, they draw their name from a place once at the heart of the anti-colonial struggle. The Atlanta band’s lyrics are staunchly anti-capitalist, fueled by the righteous anger of people who know exactly how we got here and who’s to blame. Moreover, frontperson Franklin James Fisher is hyper-aware of his place as a Black frontman in a white industry—and of how the band’s values inform the way they’re perceived. While their debut was tight and focused, the group has sometimes buckled under the weight of their own bombast, hunched like Atlas as they carry a burden so great it threatens to crush them. But Shook, while characteristically dark and deadly serious, feels different. It’s a record built around community, evidence that when the struggle is shared with like-minded peers, it feels lighter. So does the music.
Shook is an astonishing achievement, particularly given that it was created by a band on the verge of breaking up. They have described it as “the most Algiers record that we’ve ever made”. Perhaps it was the sense of crisis, the proximity of it all falling apart, that drove them to make something that is so true to themselves. It is certainly their most accomplished record to date.
A big album in every sense; confident, eclectic and ambitious and it has the power to hold the listener enrapt throughout its fifty-five minutes. And at the end of it all, you will be punchdrunk; giddy with the sheer thrill of it all. But y’know what: like the very best thrill rides, as soon it finishes you will be desperate to go again.
Graphic Nature - a mind waiting to die
This five-piece powerhouse provided a fantastic debut record in 2023 that tackled mental health issues and sonically delves into a demented madness that would make the Nu-Metal era fan proud.
When first listening to to the world of Graphic Nature and the way they bring multitude of topics to the table, and backs them up with brutal riffs, excellent vocals and a disturbing yet interesting atmosphere, then one cannot be anything but impressed.
The harrowing 40 second intro to the album is reminiscent of Alice’s decent into a dark and twisted wonderland, with following track 'Sour' instantly kick-starting this intense trip of a dark psyche. The prominent drums paired with aggravating riffs and the pure anger that incorporates vocalist Harvey Freeman’s performance sets the tone for what is to follow in the next 35 minutes.
The lead singles of the album “Into the Dark” and “Killing Floor’”while differing in the set aesthetic and sound the band is going for, are fantastic tracks in their own right and provide moments sure to make a live crowd go into a rampage.
The album makes it’s quite clear from the get-go that it’s not supposed to be a comfortable listen. This sense is further shown with “Sleepless” and “White Noise”, two songs that elaborate upon the difficulties of mental suffering.
The UK music scene needs more bands like Graphic Nature; experimenting with the old and new to create a sound that is infectious, heavy and ultimately, very enjoyable to listen to.
Say She She - Silver
Firstly, there’s an echo of original disco pioneers Chic, whose effortlessly funky, sleek spector hangs over ‘Silver’, even when the album ventures from outright disco grooves “C’est si Bon” towards pillowy soul, slow-burn incantations, and psychedelic space-disco the album has a way drawing the listener into every perfectly formulated groove.
Secondly, ‘Silver’ is infused with a righteous but ultimately positive political anger against forces of regression that are trying to turn back the clock to the dark ages when people (especially women) were supposed to know their place: "Don’t mind your manners / Throw a spanner in the works!", as the trio chant during the high-octane funk of “Questions”, one of the album’s many highpoints. It’s hard to think of a more entertaining yet still determined musical stand against gender-based condescension and barriers in the workplace than the positively levitating stop/start strut of “Entry Level”.
‘Silver’ is hardly a direct disco homage or a plain political broadside, however: backed by members of Los Angeles cult funkateers Orgone, this trio’s second album is above all a celebratory demonstration of real musical imagination and scope, echoing such past notables as Liquid Liquid, ESG and Tom Tom Club in how oft-visited strands of rhythm-forward music – rooted in funk, soul and disco – are successfully moulded in the band’s own, unique image.
Teenage Fanclub - Nothing Lasts Forever
Teenage Fanclub are one of life’s ever-presents – always there, always dependable, and always releasing new music. The departure of long-standing member Gerry Love presented its challenges, but 2021’s ‘Endless Arcade’ found the Glasgow-rooted group grappling with a fresh sense of evolution. This energy continues on ‘Nothing Lasts Forever’, a fine set of songs bedecked in arrangements that suggest subtle, yet sometimes striking breaks with the past.
“Foreign Land” is a neat opener, a prime slice of 100% proof Teenage Fanclub – gilded of guitar, sighing of vocal, few touch the uncharted regions of the heart like this band. “Tired Of Being Alone” carries a wistful, autumnal atmosphere in its core, while “I left A Light On” and “See The Light” are aptly paired – indeed, light, emerging from the dark is an over-arching theme on this enriching LP.
“Self-Sedation” is strikingly effective, plucking at the heart-strings with astute care. The odd note of saxophone across the record reminds you of the bands continuing maturation. “Falling Into The Sun” is gorgeous, a testament to a creative atmosphere in the studio.
There’s a sense of reinforcement at work in “Nothing Lasts Forever”, the sound of a long-standing band using one another as a point of inspiration. “Back To The Light” is explicitly about this, a song in which the band’s purpose becomes a place of celebration, both of the music they create and each other.
What Teenage Fanclub offer in their 2023 release is far from a profound statement. It is, simply put and lacking better words, them doing their own thing. They have found their comfort zone and have been digging themselves deeper into it simply putting pillowy bricks of foundation on their acoustic blanket fort.
So that is the long list of 25 albums for 2023, stay tuned as we whittle down our 25 to 10 before the end of the year, and don’t forget to get your curated or curated and classic subscription in so you can pick up either one or two of these albums this December.
PS.
While not quite making the long list the following albums deserve an honourable mention with the above;
Caroline Polachek - Desire, I Want to Turn Into You
Jeff Rosenstock - Hellmode
The Reds, Pinks, and Purples - The Town That Cursed Your Name
Kuedo - Infinite Window
The Smashing Pumpkins - Atum: A Rock Opera in Three Acts
Blue Lake - Sun Arcs
Chris Stapleton - Higher
The Nude Party - Rides On
Sleep Token - Take Me Back to Eden
Blink-182 - One More Time…
DJ Shadow - Action Adventure
SBTRKT - The Rat Road
Madlib x DJ Muggs x Mayhem Lauren - Champagne For Breakfast
All the best,
Stu
RRC
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