Best Music 🎵 of 2023!

I've been off the new music ball a bit so far this year and certainly haven't given the time to a ranking yet, but this is the bulk of the '23 releases I've been digging

The Murder Capital - Gigi's Recovery
The National - First Two Pages of Frankenstein
Cloth - Secret Measure
shame - Food for Worms
Yo La Tengo - This Stupid World
boygenius - the record
Gorillaz - Cracker Island
Complete Mountain Almanac - S/T
Margo Price - Strays
Tennis - Pollen
Atmosphere - So Many Other Realities Exist Simultaneously

looking forward to

Protomartyr
Queens of the Stone Age
Arlo Parks
Killer Mike
bdrmm
Nation of Language
Men I Trust (??)
Jungle
Grian Chatten
Ben Howard
 
2023 Mid-Year
Favourite Albums


2023 started out pretty strong for me with new releases. But then April and May were basically a wash. I've been in one of the worst new music funks I've ever had lately, as I've been unable to really connect to much of anything new in several weeks. That being said, June is ABSOLUTELY STACKED with new releases, many of which I am highly anticipating (stay tuned, I plan on sharing a radar list in the next day or two for the entire month of June!). In lieu of June being a potential turning point for the year (hopefully bringing me out of this funk), I wanted to pay homage to my favorite albums from January thru May of 2023. I have put together a Top10 and I have also listed 5 Honorable Mentions (which are ones I'm basically still on the fence with or are ones that are unique [like in the case of the BC,NR album, which is a live album, and live albums don't qualify to make my main lists]). Let me know what you think! (I had to use my Instagram account in order to share the photo of my chart here)



Top10
Arooj Aftab, Vijay Iyer, Shahzad Ismaily - Love In Exile
billy woods & Kenny Segal - Maps
En Attendant Ana - Principia
Haken - Fauna
JPEGMAFIA & Danny Brown - SCARING THE HOES
Liturgy - 93696
Model/Actriz - Dogsbody
Nicole Dollanganger - Married In Mount Airy
Raye - My 21st Century Blues
Sleaford Mods - UK Grim
HMs
Black Country, New Road - Live at Bush Hall
Lucinda Chua - YIAN
Paramore - This Is Why
Spektral Quartet, Julia Holter, Alex Temple - Behind The Wallpaper
Young Fathers - Heavy Heavy
 
These are the twenty albums I have spent the most time with so far in 2023 from most listened to least:

Celebrants - Nickel Creek
Requiem for Jazz - Angel Bat Dawid
Mighty Poplar
Strays - Margo Price
Wait Til I Get Over - Durand Jones
heavy heavy - Young Fathers
I Don’t Know a Thing About Love: The Songs of Harlan Howard - Willie Nelson
72 Seasons - Metallica
Prize - Rozo Plain
Lover’s Game - The War and Treaty
Melusine - Cecile McLeoin Salvant
Changing Light - The Ironsides
Shook - Algiers
Raven - Kelela
Brand New Life - Brandee Younger
Girl in the Half Pearl - Liv.e
First Two Pages of Frankenstein - The National
Live in Loveland - GA-20
Mythologies - Thomas Bangalter
 
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Lee Newman said:
These are the twenty albums I have spent the most time with so far in 2023 from most listened to least:

Celebrants - Nickel Creek
Requiem for Jazz - Angel Bat Dawid
Mighty Poplar
Strays - Margo Price
Wait Til I Get Over - Durand Jones
heavy heavy - Young Fathers
I Don’t Know a Thing About Love: The Songs of Harlan Howard - Willie Nelson
72 Seasons - Metallica
Prize - Rozo Plain
Lover’s Game - The War and Treaty
Melusine - Cecile McLeoin Salvant
Changing Light - The Ironsides
Shook - Algiers
Raven - Kelela
Brand New Life - Brandee Younger
Girl in the Half Pearl - Liv.e
First Two Pages of Frankenstein - The National
Live in Loveland - GA-20
Mythologies - Thomas Bangalter
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I love seeing one of the more "difficult" releases of the year so high on your listen list!
 


RADAR LIST
JUNE 2023

Yeah, this month is so fucking stacked, it gets its own radar list 🤘 Here's hoping the new music funk I've been in for awhile now is finally over. Here are my most anticipated albums over the next 5 release day Fridays! (and let me tell you, the anticipation for some of these is insane!)

June 2nd
  • A7X - Life Is But A Dream...
  • Foo Fighters - But Here We Are
  • McKinley Dixon - Beloved! Paradise! Jazz!?
  • Protomartyr - Formal Growth In The Desert
  • Pupil Slicer - BLOSSOM
  • Thantifaxath - Hive Mind Narcosis
June 9th
  • Christine and the Queens - PARANOÏA, ANGELS, TRUE LOVE
  • Janelle Monáe - The Age Of Pleasure
  • Jason Isbell & The 400 Unit - Weathervanes
  • King Krule - Space Heavy
  • Squid - O Monolith
June 16th
  • Boris & Uniform - Bright New Disease
  • caterina barbieri - Myuthafoo
  • Killer Mike - Michael
  • KG&TLW - PetroDragonic Apocalypse;...
  • Man On Man - Provincetown
  • Queens Of The Stoneage - In Times New Roman...
June 23rd
  • Geese - 3D Country
  • Kirin J. Callinan - If I Could Sing
  • Swans - The Beggar
  • Xasthur - Inevitably Dark
June 30th
  • Divide And Dissolve - Systemic
  • NONE - Inevitable
 
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I also like "difficult" music, Sure music can entertain and soothe and all that, but music that makes me think? I love that shit. Durand Jones would be my ROTY right now without question if IT DIDN'T SOUND LIKE IT WAS BEING PLAYED THROUGH STORF's FUCKING DOOBIE BROTHERS RECORD SPEAKER.
 
Lee Newman said:
I bought it on vinyl after like listen 6 or 7 (also I made a trade with my local, left with more records than I brought - including this one)
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I've still only listened to it twice, but have a copy on the way - hopefully here by the end of the week. I knew right away it would be one I'd engage deeper with once I had a physical copy and was waiting for the latest Sun Ra box set to arrive at the shop in Vancouver I preordered it from so they would bundle ship. My wife is going to be thrilled!*

*she is very much not going to be thrilled.
 
musicjunkiegreg said:
June 2nd
  • A7X - Life Is But A Dream...
  • Foo Fighters - But Here We Are
  • McKinley Dixon - Beloved! Paradise! Jazz!?
  • Protomartyr - Formal Growth In The Desert
  • Pupil Slicer - BLOSSOM
  • Thantifaxath - Hive Mind Narcosis
June 9th
  • Christine and the Queens - PARANOÏA, ANGELS, TRUE LOVE
  • Janelle Monáe - The Age Of Pleasure
  • Jason Isbell & The 400 Unit - Weathervanes
  • King Krule - Space Heavy
  • Squid - O Monolith
June 16th
  • Boris & Uniform - Bright New Disease
  • caterina barbieri - Myuthafoo
  • Killer Mike - Michael
  • KG&TLW - PetroDragonic Apocalypse;...
  • Man On Man - Provincetown
  • Queens Of The Stoneage - In Times New Roman...
June 23rd
  • Geese - 3D Country
  • Kirin J. Callinan - If I Could Sing
  • Swans - The Beggar
  • Xasthur - Inevitably Dark
June 30th
  • Divide And Dissolve - Systemic
  • NONE - Inevitable
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I like ten of those artists (better than most months). But I get the feeling that I'll like five of those releases (or less) lol

Lee Newman said:
I bought it on vinyl after like listen 6 or 7
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Did not like this one at all.
 
Serious question, @Rip_City and @RHANDMJ , had you listened to Angel Bat Dawid before? What were your previous impressions of her? I think this is a natural progression in her music. I do think we probably lose something from what the spectacle of the show must have been. I would be very interested in seeing her live, but also in seeing this particular performance on video.

Also has anyone, @avecigrec , watched the movie? (The Cry of Jazz)
 
Rip_City said:
Prior to the Requiem for Jazz? No. To me, This release is too much of a slog with some of it being borderline unpalatable.
I see that her other releases are have spiritual jazz, free jazz tags so I would be willing to try again.
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I’m not sure it’s worth the effort. Was curious though. I’m not sure I would have spent as much time had I not heard The Oracle and owned (and loved) Live. I need to pick up The Oracle but McCraven’s back catalogue is more important to me.
 
Lee Newman said:
I’m not sure it’s worth the effort. Was curious though. I’m not sure I would have spent as much time had I not heard The Oracle and owned (and loved) Live. I need to pick up The Oracle but McCraven’s back catalogue is more important to me.
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Other than the McCraven part I agree with all of this.
 
Lee Newman said:
Do you not like McCraven or do you just have it all already?
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Oh, I quite enjoy McCraven actually and definitely would like to pick up a few, if not all, of his albums - it's just less important to me.

I actually had Universal Beings E&F Sides for a few days but lent it to a buddy who is a huge fan and he gave me cash back (more than I paid for it) instead of the record! 🤣
 
This album that I haven't seen much mentioned elsewhere here was released in mid May and is some vital and sometimes mysterious fusion of musical styles such as jazz, pop, rock and others. An interesting journey. The musicians are from Ireland.

The Bonk "Greater than or equal to The Bonk"

 
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