My Top 30 Albums of 2023 (and other great records)
My annual list, so late it’s silly – but it’s more for me and my personal music history and reference. With that in mind, my reviews are scaled back a bit into quicker blurbs.
30. Lost
Ships – Atoms
Collide Forever
Jangly indie rock from the UK. It’s pretty straight up with its basic guitar pop structures and reminds me of early 90’s Canadian alternative pop/rock, like Lowest of the Low and The Weakerthans. There are hints of Badly Drawn Boy and Shame About Ray-era Lemonheads, and it feels like the same successful recipe of contemporaries Quivers.
29. The Tubs – Dead Meat
Bad band name paired with an off-putting album name. Were it not for copious recommendations from indie tastemakers, I would have just passed this by. This is extremely tight jangle/power pop clearly influenced by Flying Nun and Slumberland artists. Recommended if you like The Bats, The Clean, The Feelies, Close Lobsters, Sumos, EggS, Holy Tunics, etc. Choice track: “Duped”.
28. Guardian Singles – Feed Me To The Doves
Shoegazey post punk/punk, like Shame meets Wire meets The Adicts. At times, this sounds just enormous. And snarly. Choice track: “Metal Fingers’.
27. Sands – The World’s So Cruel
I possibly learned of Sands through a review from Elizabeth Klisiewicz, the prolific music critic from The Big Takeover and digital radio (her tastes are so up my alley, she’s become a treasure trove). Sands have a lot going on, but in such an integrated way that the influences are hard to discern at first listen. At its core, this is a melodic guitar pop, pretty, tight, and polished. There’s lot’s of 60’s pop here, some 70’s AM radio, a bit of new wave, and Shoes-like power pop. It's pretty under the radar and really really good. Choice track: “The Lines Been Drawn”.
26. Emma Anderson - Pearlies
Fuzzy dreampop godmother from Lush graces us with a proper solo album, after some furtive releases with Sing Sing. Her signature voice brings me right back to the early 90’s . This is a more chill and downtempo affair when compared to her work with Lush, and is closer to Air and Cocteau Twins. Lovely. Choice track: “Willow and Mallow”.
25. En Attendant Ana – Principa
France’s EAA return after blowing my mind with one of the best records of 2020, Juliet. Less fuzz and more Stereolab lounge-jazz this time around, Principia is not as strong, but still exceptional and super cool. Choice track: “The Cutoff”.
24. Th Da Freak – Indie Rock
Not sure how this came across my ears. It was possibly from checking out the Howlin’ Banana Records roster, which has been putting out some excellent records in recent years (Special Friend, Pop Crimes, EggS). This on-the-nose album title just begs listening. What a treat. This is fuzzy, warbly lo-fi… indie rock! The approach feels like early Elephant 6 releases (e.g., The Gerbils, early Beulah) with all it’s charming DIY sonic choices. Sometimes it’s just straightforward 90’s indie rock that you might find in a (cool) used CD bin, sounding like Number One Cup, Archers of Loaf, or Tobin Sprout. Contemporary comparisons might be Mac Demarco, Dog Day, or Petite League.
23.
Flyying Colours – You Never Know
These Aussies wowed me with 2016’s Mindfullness, an album of heady and ethereal psych shoegaze. 2021’s Fantasy Country and 2023’s You Never Know are equally excellent. This most recent offering adds new elements however, such as quasi-danceable synths and trebly guitar riffs that tie them to 80’s new wave and countrymates Tame Impala. I am also reminded at times of Brian Jonestown Massacre, American Analog Set, Stars, and Lilys. Good stuff. Choice track: “Hit The Road”.
22. Angelo
De Augustine – Toil and Trouble
I had started to grow a little weary of DeAugustine, who’s gentle, emotionally laden folk started to sound overly precious and, well, “sad sack”. That fragility remains on Toil and Trouble, but the song structures and production are more interesting this time around, distracting from the melancholic self-pity. He’s a fabulous singer and the folky melodies are wonderful and dreamy. He fills a hole that Sufjan Stevens sometimes leaves when he is off on one of his experimental jaunts. Choice track: “The Painter”.
21. Nation of Language – Strange Disciple
After wowing me with 2021’s A Way Forward, Nation of Language finally return with their absolutely perfect distillation of 80’s new wave/synthpop, like a reincarnated AI amalgam of China Crisis, Depeche Mode, and Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark. I always love a good 80’s analog synth throwback, but Nation of Language is simply peerless in mining the special sounds/feels of that time. Choice track: “Stumbling Still”.
20. Bully – Lucky For You
Bully is Spotify-friendly pop-punk, seemingly tailor-made for the dwindling number of emo kids who still want to rock out to high energy guitar riffs. Regardless, you cannot argue that Alicia Bognanno is not laying it all on the table, with edge and grit and authenticity. You can tell she is having a blast while simultaneously exorcising whatever demons that may need confronting. The production is a little thin and inferior to her own work (she produced all the previous Bully albums), but that can’t stop the hammerstrokes of these songs. Think Hole, Breeders, and Sleater Kinney. Choice track: “All I Do”.
19. Blue Ocean – Fertile
State
Blue Ocean can be added to the not so little corner of my music collection that is unassumingly lo-fi, seemingly recorded in small bedrooms, and replete with fuzzy guitar lines, noise, and reverb. It’s possible that they were trying to make a big shoegaze record, but I suspect Blue Ocean was making exactly what they wanted to hear. Guitar pop songs sent through a dizzying chain of budget pedals, with copious reverb on the vocals (setting: empty bathroom). Choice track: “Radiant Edge”.
18. Pop Crimes – Gathered Together
I could almost take the above review Blue Ocean’s Fertile State and drop it in here. This is catchier lo-fi fuzz pop, but with fewer pedals, and almost sounds like it was recorded live off the floor. There is also much more jangle going on here. An album like Gathered Together demonstrates to me that, despite my sniffy dismissal of so much music, I am simultaneously really easy to please. This is simple stuff. Give me a good melody and a few guitar chords and I’m pretty happy. This is the ongoing legacy of The Velvet Underground, punk ethos, and the tireless championing of record labels like Slumberland and Sarah Records (and now, it looks like, Howlin’ Banana). Choice track: “Ends and Begins”.
17. Great Lake Swimmers – Uncertain Country
16. White Poppy – Sound of Blue
Dreampop, which I've always associated with the likes of Cocteau Twins and Lush, has bifurcated into two streams: the original incarnation and a more synth-based approach, which sort of took ambient music and injected pop structures and sensibilities. Ground zero of this evolution (and thus a wider application of the genre label) was the emergence of Beach House in the mid-2000’s (and several others, such M83 and School of Seven Bells). Beach House’s surprising reach has led to many bands seeking to emulate this recipe of synth-based arpeggios, ethereal vocals, and cathedral-level reverb. White Poppy’s Sound of Blue is a truly beautiful example. Choice track: “Happy”.
15. Drop Nineteens – Hard Light
The last decade has seen a surprising (and welcome) revival of the shoegaze/dreampop genre, with a gazillion new bands and, perhaps due to the resurgence, a flood of reunion tours and albums by the old guard: Slowdive, Swervedriver, Medicine, Ride, My Bloody Valentine, Lush, and many others. A “lost classic” of the genre was Drop Nineteens’ Delaware, in which the band was quickly pigeon-holed as American shoegaze (their second and final album was Dinosaur Jr. informed indie rock). While I loved Delaware, I honestly forgot about this band until they reemerged in 2023 with Hard Light. The shoegaze label is apt, albeit with some shifts and exceptions driven by pop/indie-rock sensibilities. It’s a little dreamier, with smoother edges, and is really strong top to bottom. “Another One Another” captures the old gazey Delaware sound, but you’ll also here some acoustic guitar and synthy moments. Stand out track “Gal” sounds like a Yo La Tengo clone, straight out of the I Can Hear The Heart Beating As One sessions. Choice track: “Gal”.
14. Sumos – Surfacing
Sumos, a new band to me, surprised me with this excellent collection of fuzzy, jangly power pop tunes along the lines of Apples In Stereo, The Bats, or Fountains of Wayne. Super tight, mid-fi, energetic, and catchy as all hell. Every song is a hooky treat. I’m looking forward to what these Mancunians do next. Also, I disagree with their self-applied label “scuzz pop”, which does them a disservice. I’ll accept fuzz pop. Choice track: “Enemies”.
13. Melenas – Ahora
I discovered Spain’s Melenas in 2020, with their tremendous Stereolab-inspired fuzz pop Días Raros. (What a bumper crop 2020 was for female led indie rock/pop/shoegaze – with Melenas joined by En Attendant Ana, Jetstream Pony, Uniforms, Gum Country, Lomelda, Hazel English, Pia Fraus, High Water Marks, Aiko El Grupo among my top records). 2023 follow up, Ahora, is just as great. Their apparent love of Stereolab is even more foregrounded this time around, with droning synths, propulsive bass lines, and a vocal delivery that is almost indistinguishable from Laetitia Sadier. All of this is most welcome. Choice track: “1986”.
12. Draag – Dark Fire Heresy
This popped up on a recommended list from a well-respected YouTuber reviewer (The Omaha Introvert) and the assessment was bang-on. I’ve said in this space before that there are many many good shoegaze records of late, but few truly great ones. The ability to match melody and hooks with the fuzzy haze is tricky, and Draag seems to do it effortlessly. Not only is pretty much every song enjoyable, each is also surprisingly distinctive, an accomplishment that makes this album stand out it in the landscape (how many shoegaze albums drift by as if one long song?). Choice track: “Good Era Doom”.
11. Jenny O. – Spectra
Jenny O. beguiled me with 2020’s New Truth and I was looking forward to her next release. Spectra does not disappoint. There are quite a few influences going on here and pegging her as a singer-songwriter seems almost demeaning. The eclecticism is wonderful. At times I hear a lot of Julia Holter and Weyes Blood, but she switches gears often. “Advice at Dinner Party”, for example, is 80’s disco pop, as if Banarama has reappeared (but way better). It’s all strong, but the highlight is the bouncy guitar pop/punk of “Solitary Girl”. It’s my song of the year and has the best chorus I’ve heard in forever, matching the hookiest harmonious heights of the Go-Go’s and The Bangles. I must have listened to this song a hundred times already and I already know that it will remain an all-time fave for the rest of my days. Choice track: Obviously “Solitary Girl”.
10.
Seablite – Lemon
Lights
San Francisco’s Seablite appears to be a faithful reincarnation of Lush and I fucking love it. Gorgeous fuzzy dream pop with an underground/cool factor, sung by disaffected Ghost World girls with (fallen) angel voices. If you told me this was the new project by Miki Berenyi and Emma Anderson, I would believe you. Choice track: “Drop Of Kerosene”.
9. Young
Fathers – Heavy
Heavy
A friend who was only guessing at my musical taste sent me a Young Fathers track and I was immediately gobsmacked. How did I miss this? Young Fathers scratch that itch that TV On The Radio have not be scratching of late, which is rather hard to describe. An arty indie rock base, but blown out in numerous incredible musical directions – hip hop, African/Caribbean motifs, synthetic choirs, darkwave drones, industrial beats, and beat poetry. All delivered with amped up energy and conviction. I must see this band live! Choice track: “Rice”.
8. Golden Apples – Bananasugarfire
Jangly mid-fi indie rock from Philly, Bananasugarfire is one of those records that exemplifies a genre without being generic. If you said “I love Guided By Voices, Sloan, and early Teenage Fanclub”, I would be 100 percent positive that you would love, and not merely like, this album. It’s got all the ingredients of toe-tapping indie rock, that perfect blend of fuzz and chime, melody and harmony. Golden Apples are a pitch-perfect match to Matador and Merge records, circa 1994. Choice track: “Waiting For A Cloud”.
7. Crystal Canyons – Stars and Distant Light
Crystal Canyon return with classic shoegaze sounds, tying them directly to My Bloody Valentine and Lush. The “glide” guitar of MBV is liberally used, with that signature pitch-shift wailing that is almost narcotic in effect. The vocals performed by Lynda Mandolyn are pretty and cool, and suggest she looks up to Bilinda Butcher and Rachel Goswell. With song titles like “Dreamray”, “Catatonia”, “Pulsars and Magnetars”, and “Cobra Aurora”, you know this band is committed to the craft. I may sound like a broken whammy bar, but what makes this stand out above the innumerable shoegaze acts that have emerged in the last decade is melody. Like Fleeting Joys, Ringo Deathstarr, Soft Science, Westkust, Pia Fraus, and other great second (third?) generation ‘gaze acts, I came for the haze and stayed for the hooks. Choice track: “Catatonia”.
6. Film
School – Field
Film School is routinely grouped into the
shoegaze genre, but there is more than that going on here. On Field they introduce more
danceability, propelled by Krautrock rhythms and tempos. “Defending Ruins”, for example, is a runaway
psychedelic train, persistent in its drive and intensity and made for an
underground dance floor. There are lots
of classic shoegaze sounds, but also post-punky goth (“Is This A Hole”) and
some bright janglegaze (“All I Need”).
If there is a “west coast shoegaze” sound, Film School seems to define
it. Choice track: “Defending Ruins”.
5. Sufjan Stevens – Javelin
Sufjan Steven’s apex mountain for me was always Illinois (2005), which seemed like the logical conclusion to his preceding two masterpieces, Michigan (2003) and Seven Swans (2004). Subsequently, Stevens embarked on a range of artistic explorations and art-house soundtracks that always left me disappointed. On 2015’s plaintive Carrie & Lowell, he returned to the beautiful folky spareness of Michigan, and that was lovely. More experiments and tangents followed and now, finally, we have Javelin, a record that is within throwing distance of Illinois’ greatness. Take Everything That Rises as a demonstration track. That banjo-like capoed guitar paired with Steven’s fragile and pretty voice, then joined by strings and choir, some digital loops, and then…you get the picture -- that signature blossoming of sound that evolves a humble tune into an emotional anthem. This is the recipe throughout and represents such a compelling return to form, reintroducing every strength that made Sufjan Stevens among the most exciting artists to emerge in the early 2000’s. Choice track: “Everything That Rises”.
4. Big Bliss – Vital Return
My all-time favorite bands may be so because they’re inimitable in their greatness (Beatles, The Clash, Swervedriver, R.E.M., Stereolab, Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, Arcade Fire, etc.). Great bands can approach the sounds and feels of such luminaries at times, but can never get all the way there. Big Bliss gets pretty damn close at capturing the sound/style/substance of R.E.M., at least in the Lifes Rich Pageant (1986) to Out of Time (1991) period, which was an incredible run. While not as varied in approach as R.E.M., Big Bliss nail that literate and weighty college rock vibe with methodical tightness. First track, “A Seat at the Table”, starts with a guitar riff that feels like it could be on Reckoning. You cannot listen to track 2, “Sleep Paralysis”, and not hear R.E.M.’s direct influence - propulsive guitar chords paired with Peter Buck’s jangly picking, the counter melodies of Mike Mills' bass, and Stipe's knack for melody and poetics. Next track, “Proof of Life”, channels Michael Stipe’s slower and meditative songs that pepper and enhance R.E.M.’s catalogue. The R.E.M. DNA is everywhere. I could never hear this as a “rip off” – it is an artistic accomplishment to land this so perfectly and does nothing but honor its mighty lineage. Choice track: “A Seat At The Table”.
3. Zoon – Bekka Ma'iingan
I was swept away by Zoon’s debut Bleached Wavves and it’s glorious gazey/hazy soundscapes that lead, Daniel Monkman, refers to as “moccasin gaze”, a tongue-in-cheek nod to his Indigenous heritage. There are plenty of shoegaze records out there and plenty of ambient experiments as well, but this album rises above, hitting me in the spiritual pleasure centre that precious few can. For me, this means Bekka M’iingan reaches the same dizzying heights as Sigur Rós’ Ágætis Byrjun, Godspeed You Black Emperor’s Lift Your Skinny Fists Like Antenna to Heaven, and Spiritualized Laser Guided Melodies. I hear these bands in Zoon, and also elements of Flying Saucer Attack, Slowdive, and My Bloody Valentine. But there is something else, something unnameable going on here. A divine sort of sadness that transcends mere human ideas of sadness. And this imparts a sort of otherness, a deified combination of wisdom and hope that sits differently in the dimensions of space and time. Now THIS – what I have just said, which does not reference musicality directly – sounds like crazy talk, or grasping at spiritual straws, or just too much mumbo jumbo. Sorry. Big feels here. I literally do not comprehend how someone envisions these song structures and sonics, pursues them, nurtures them, and releases them to the world like Zoon has. Whatever Daniel Monkman is being guided by, it stands apart from me and my experience. That makes it magnificent to hear and I’ve heard some things. Choice track: “Awesinh (A-Way-See)”.
2. Being Dead – When Horses Would Run
At least once a year, some band emerges (to my ears, anyway) with a completely bonkers approach to musical vision and production that is as jarring as it is beautiful. Taking the last five years, for example, records by Black Country New Road (2022), Smoke Bellow (2021), Floral Tattoo (2020), Alex G (2019), and Spirit of the Beehive (2018) pushed all sorts of boundaries as to what a modern rock/pop music can sound like. It would be easy for things to go wrong, leading to songs that are just too, well, weird, to cross into that ephemeral space of “likability”. Being Dead may be the most accomplished of these, inevitably prompting the questions: “how the hell did these youngsters arrive at THIS conceptualization of music? How did they manage to make these choices? What musical experiences, listening habits, and tastes underpin this mélange of left-field folk/rock/pop?”. They clearly love old surf and rock n roll, 60’s psych rock, gothy folk, old-timey country and…well, I guess it’s a bit of a laundry list of genres. A single song shifts and pivots multiple times, pulling you in, pushing you out, and shaking you. The musicology of it all is astounding, reminding me of my first listens to Foxygen, Cindy Lee, and recent Smashing Times. The production sounds like a 78 RPM shellac record, anachronistically confusing/delighting the listener. Choice track: “Last Living Buffalo”, but you should listen to it all the way through.
1. Sunnsetter – The Best That I Can Be
Any number one album of the year for me will always be amongst “the best ever” in my personal estimation. My annual #1’s (and many #2’s and some #3’s) are automatically classics, de facto. But among these, there are those particularly special albums that stand apart further still, the best of the best, the most favorite of the favorites, the exemplifications of the music I love. To my surprise, The Best That I Can Be is definitely in the conversation for this status. I looked back at a mid-year Instagram post and had written: “It’s gorgeous - folky songs at the core with a beautiful, heady overlay of shoegaze and dreampop. It’s been on repeat and I just can’t get enough. Please check this out, it’s so deserving of wide exposure.” So that, but x10. Andrew McLeod (also a member of Zoon) strikes that perfect sonic balance of his acoustic and electric guitars, enhanced by warm keys and ambient textures. I'm sure he must be a fan of Sigur Ros and Mellon Collie-era Smashing Pumpkins. His vocals are lovely and his lyrics are honest and heartfelt. But adjectives cannot convey how well it hits my sweet spot of music, combining (almost) all I love in one place, perfectly assembled and performed. This is hard to understate for me. Everyone who likes enriched folk, dreampop, shoegaze, indie rock, etc., should hear this. Congratulations Sunnsetter, you’ve entered my pantheon. Choice track: “Float in Circles”.
Other worthy releases
The 1981 – Move On. Post-goth jangle wave, with a toe dipped in 70’s
nuggets psych.
Beach Fossils – Bunny. Sunny jangle pop for the sad kids.
Bodywash – I Held The Shape While I Could. I heady mix of Beach House dreampop (see "Kind of Light"), gothy pop, and shoegaze.
Bry Webb – Run With Me. Rustic heartfelt folk
from Constantines’ leading man.
Colored Lights – Colored Lights. Folky psych pop with some edge.
Couchboy – Singles and What Nots: 2021-2023. A comp of recent EPs that is effectively
an album. Lo-fi jangle/power pop. Great!
Daiistar – Good Time. Psychedelic dance
recalling Charlatans and Stone Roses.
Diners – Domino. Power pop channeling Apples in Stereo
and Beulah.
Eluvium – (Whining Marvel’s In) Consensus Reality. Song name “Mass Lossless Interbeing” kind
of sums up these avant- neoclassical instrumentals.
Fruit Bats – A River Running To Your Heart. The prolific Eric D Johnson does it again
with another collection of beautiful contemporary folk rock songs.
Griffin McElroy – Ethersea, Vol. 1. This dungeon master/podcaster soundtracks
his own campaigns and this underwater story is beautifully scored with lovely
instrumental motifs.
Grrrl Gang – Spunky!.
Pop punk firecrackers from great grrrl group.
Jess Williamson – Time Ain’t Accidental. Williams shifts a little away from Mazzy
Star and more towards the alt-country twang of Waxahatchee and Angel
Olsen.
Julian Never – Pious Fiction. Lo-fi fuzzy indie pop/rock
from Australia.
New Pornographers – Continue As Guest. Usually making my Top list, the New Pornographers nonetheless still deliver tremendous indie rock in 2024.
Photocopies – Unprofessional Conduct. Prolific flagship band of label Subjangle (a
treasure trove of underheard bands) give us peppy jangle pop on every track.
Pia Fraus – Evening Colours. Estonian dreampoppers never seem to falter
with yet another chill and nuanced record.
PJ Harvey – I Inside The Old Year Dying. IMHO Harvey has had trouble returning to the heights
of masterpiece Let England Shake, but to be fair her subsequent albums
are nonetheless great. This one
included.
Reds, Pinks and Purples – The Town That Cursed Your
Name. I have no clear understanding
of RPP’s releases – they seem to come out every three months with highly
similar album covers and the songs are samey.
But it’s a good samey, and the jangle has been given more warm fuzz this time around. Always great
stuff.
Rose City Band – Garden Party. Sun-kissed jams of canyon country/folk from
Ripley Johnson (Moon Duo, Shjips). This album is a grandchild of the The Byrds
and Grateful Dead, and a first cousin of Beachwood Sparks
Sand Pebbles – The Antagonist. Lightly psyched-out VU-inspired
rock.
Shame – Food For Worms. High calibre, angsty post-punk/emo.
Sigur Ros – Atta. Perhaps a step back from their lofty past, but
still pretty stuff.
Small Intestines – Hide In Time. Another VU-inspired lo-fi gem.
Special Friend – Wait Until The Flames Come Rushing In. Strongly reminds me of the underground folk of Ida and the collective of artists that birthed Sonora Pine, Retsin, etc. Bands that like to be spare and quietly dark, but also willing to add some noise.
Spires – Woke Up Strange. Indie rock/power pop, and while that’s a generic
description, this is a really good listen.
Trillion – So Soon Now. This one was truly flirting with Top list
status…lovely fuzzy astral shoegaze. Something
about the layered vocals and actively punchy bass makes it a stand out.
Whitney’s Playland – Sunset Sea Breeze. Fuzzy indie pop with a welcome (vinyl
only) cover of GBV’s "Motor Away".
Yo La Tengo – This Stupid World. A welcome return to form, circa Electro-Purra.
My Top 20 Songs of 2023
“Solitary Girl” – Jenny O.
“Float In Circles” – Sunnsetter
“Awesiinh (A-Way-See)” – Zoon
“Sixes and Sevens” – Jetstream Pony
“Gold” – Sigur Ros
“Solid Gold” – Red Sleeping Beauty w/ Amelia Fletcher
“Defending Ruins” – Film School
“Everything That Rises” – Sufjan Stevens
“Enemies” – Sumos
“A Seat At The Table” – Big Bliss
