The 2023 Music Thread

[GoGo Yubari]

On 31/12/2022 at 14:45, GoGo Yubari said:

Like I did the last two years, here's a playlist of some songs I liked that came out this year:

- Kool 2022 Jamz: Spotify Edition
- Kool 2022 Jamz: YouTube Edition

Confidence Man and Faye Webster continue three-year streaks on these playlists, only other repeating artist from last year's is Wet Leg. Two best surprises were "Bloom Indigo" by Hollis, which I think is just a wonderful bit of lo-fi pop, and Drill Music in Zion by Lupe Fiasco in general. I pretty much fell off him entirely after The Cool and Drill Music was exactly what I needed to listen to this past fall.

I don't add stuff to this after the year ends but I listened to Expert in a Dying Field by The Beths yesterday and that's a hell of an album. My favorite track off of it is probably "A Passing Rain," which is indie/power pop that I'd probably put at the level of that dog. or Rilo Kiley:

But I also really like "I Want to Listen," which sounds a little like Shonen Knife to me:

 

[RPS]

My playlist of my 15 favorite songs of the year. 

Top 3 albums are:

Black Midi - hellfire: This is the best rock album released in decades. It's perfect in every way because it refuses to compromise. There is no hit single. No attempt to make a song to narrate a TikTok video. It's not really even intended to be performed at Coachella. It's an experience to punish, alienate, push the audience as it explores themes of toxic masculinity, entitlement and the order of society we live in.  Take Sugar/Tzu for example - it starts off as a relatively lovely song, before slowly crescendoing to complete chaos. You think you'll get some expert pay off moment, but the song constantly changes directions, refusing to give us the audience even one moment to reflect. Welcome to Hell is just a masterpiece of song writing. It makes my skin crawl, the sinister tone Geordies voice as he taunts me that he's mocking me telling me not to tell him of my grief or my emotional grief. Every instrument is perfect - the bassline harrowing, the drums chaotic and impossible to follow, the guitar building that anxiety inside of you. It's just extreme excellence in recording history - refusing to chase trends, compromise or reward their audience. 

Charlotte Adigery and Bolis Pupil - Topical Dancer: This is an album unlike I have heard before. It is a breezy electronic album that would not fit out of place in a mid 00s DFA or Soulwax dance party. It is raw, catchy, yet ever so abrasive. Where it really thrives is how cutting, uncomfortable and bizarre it is. Listen to It Hit Me and name a song that even resembles it. Using voice alteration, they both examine what it felt like to understand the sexual gaze. It hit them, as they say.  Which they repeat over and over again. It's so on the nose, but in a way that is so outlandish and unexpected. Both male and female perspectives are explored - it hit both them and we hear both perspectives. Ceci n'est pas un cliche is just Charlotte dead pan singing a bunch of nonsensical cliches with little to no meaning. HAHA is just Charlotte laughing for three minutes with bizarre interjections here or there, before pronouncing guess you had to be there  There is so much here to grapple with - one can enjoy it as a stand alone bizarre track. Or you can look at it from a critical lense. When Charlotte laughs at me and says - guess you have to be there - I am being othered and excluded. Why would a singer release a track designed to mock, exclude their audience? It's all so fascinating. 

Alvvays - Blue Rev: what a delightful pop album. I don't have deep thoughts on this album. It's a picture perfect pop album made with crunchy guitars, a raw bass guitar, and a subdued drum. Front and center is the fuzzed out vocals. Superb. 

[Hellraiser]

New year, new thread.

After 21 years since the release of Up, we're finally getting a new Peter Gabriel studio album made up of original material this year. Unfortunately though, the songs that make up the new album "i/o" will be released over the span of this year with a new song dropping each full moon to match the lunar cycle. The first single is called Panopticom:

 

[Hobo]

15 hours ago, Hellraiser said:

New year, new thread.

After 21 years since the release of Up, we're finally getting a new Peter Gabriel studio album made up of original material this year. Unfortunately though, the songs that make up the new album "i/o" will be released over the span of this year with a new song dropping each full moon to match the lunar cycle. The first single is called Panopticom:

 

I listened to it recently and tbh it was... fine. It sounded like middling early solo Peter Gabriel.

[Roster Depth Sicko No. 2]

You Me At Six, Fall Out Boy, All Time Low, and Paramore are all releasing new albums, pop punk is back on the menu Boys.

[DFF]

I've started my Annual ongoing ranking of the albums of the year. Managed to get beyond 50 albums done already - not sure I'll keep this pace up haha. If you want to follow along, here is the link: https://rateyourmusic.com/list/Haldamir319/2023-ranked-albums/

We've had one true utterly brilliant album so far this year imo and that's 'The Coral Tombs' by Ahab. A fantastic slab of funeral doom / death doom. 

Anything tickled anyone's fancy so far? 

[Roster Depth Sicko No. 2]

I'm always amazed at how you do it, I've listened to 2 so far

[DFF]

21 hours ago, Brandon Cutler Fan Account said:

I'm always amazed at how you do it, I've listened to 2 so far

It really helps having a job where I WFH 3/5 days a week, and don't need to be on the phone much at all. That + Spotify Premium + Rate Your Music (to track it all) and it becomes straight forward enough to do a couple of albums a day

Since I last posted, I came across the following album, which must be one of the most chilled out and lovely records I've heard in a long while: 

https://rateyourmusic.com/release/album/cicada/棲居在溪源之上-seeking-the-sources-of-streams/

[RPS]

23 hours ago, Brandon Cutler Fan Account said:

I'm always amazed at how you do it, I've listened to 2 so far

I agree with DFF. I don't just use RateYourMusic, but a mix of what's new from trusted reviewers (Resident Advisor for electronic music, Exclaim for indie, Pitchfork for what's popular), or fan/critic aggregate sites like RYM or Metacritic or Acclaimed Music for new stuff. I work from home 3 days a week and I just find random stuff to listen to that I never heard before. Pitchfork does a really helpful service every Friday of the top 7-9 albums go listen to that week. I find that super helpful.

Listening to 3 new albums a week is easy... You just need to avoid relying upon the old faithful albums. There are times I become hyper obsessed with a band or album and listen to it a dozen or so times but otherwise I just try to listen to new stuff. 

[Roster Depth Sicko No. 2]

I usually aim for 100 a year, I just haven't really bothered trying to find stuff so far and my Spotify suggestion playlists have sucked lately.

[RPS]

2 hours ago, Brandon Cutler Fan Account said:

I usually aim for 100 a year, I just haven't really bothered trying to find stuff so far and my Spotify suggestion playlists have sucked lately.

I don't mind the Spotify suggestions, but I find that they try to find more like something, which is not always what I want. Like after I have listened to Fiona Apple or Saves the Day, I don't necessarily want artists like that. I like to vary it up a bit. 

[Roster Depth Sicko No. 2]

It's more that lately it just seems to throw me remixes of stuff or singles for albums that aren't out yet. There's been a fair amount released this year I like, just not many full albums.

I really like all the songs Sleep Token have been dropping recently but the album has no release date, You Me At Six's album got delayed until February at the last minute, Fall Out Boy and All Time Low have both released singles I've liked but the albums don't arrive until March. I got suggested a new single called "Eat You Alive" by Anger Party which I liked but it's literally the only song they have out at the moment. There's still loads from 2022 I haven't gotten around to yet and I keep finding stuff I like that's older, so it's not like I'm not finding new things, they just aren't "new" new  I've been listening to The Rumjacks and Pennywise recently because they were the support for Dropkick Murphys last week.

The two 2023 releases I've actually listened to are Anti-Flag and Wilswood Buoys, which were both fine but neither made a lasting impression.

[Skummy]

Since 2021, I've been keeping a spreadsheet of new releases. 

In the past, when I was a lot more engaged with new music, I used to go to HMV every week, pick out the best stuff from their New Releases display, and then flick through everything else for anything else new. I spent a ridiculous amount of my disposable income on CDs, and then when I was writing reviews for a time, I'd get promo copies of stuff as well. My local branch of HMV closed, and it wasn't long after that I stopped DJing, so I just wasn't engaging as much with new releases, and I wanted to try and change that. 

It's far from perfect, but I just open the Wikipedia page for album releases this year, and make a note in my spreadsheet of any that interest me. Not everything will be on there, so I keep an eye on other bands I follow, on my Spotify release radar, and other people's recommendations. I then just make short notes about each album, and if I like them, highlight them in either yellow or green.

I'm still working through November/December 2022, though, so haven't heard much from this year yet - only Laibach's new EP, which is good but weird, and Ryan Adams' version of Nebraska, which is shit.

[DFF]

https://everynoise.com/new_releases_by_genre.cgi?genre=*metal&region=GB&albumsonly=true&hidedupes=on

The above is good for seeing what the latest albums uploaded to spotify are. Updates weekly, and you can filter for Spotify in your part of the world (UK, US, etc). The above is specifically for metal, but you can change it. 

[livid]

New Lil Yachty is fascinating. 

[VerbalPuke]

Tom Verlaime of Television has died. 

[Roster Depth Sicko No. 2]

Slowly catching DFF, I'm up to 8

we Are Scientists and Maneskin are probably my top 2 so far. Not listened to WAS before, will need to check more of their stuff.

[DFF]

5 hours ago, Brandon Cutler Fan Account said:

Slowly catching DFF, I'm up to 8

we Are Scientists and Maneskin are probably my top 2 so far. Not listened to WAS before, will need to check more of their stuff.

Only 80 or so behind!

[RPS]

The Men's album New York City was a nice rock album. Very heavy and crunchy. No real standouts for me.

Lil Yachtys album was enjoyable. I get the criticism of rappers turning away from hip hop to be taken seriously. But it's a good psychedelic pop album. 

RAYE's album titled My 21th Century Blues is a fun little pop album. Not life changing but personal and enjoyable. 

The best album I have heard this year is the Young Father's Heavy Heavy. I liked their last album. This one is in a similar vein. Straddles the line between hip hop, pop, and experimental music. 

 

[livid]

Yeah loving the new Young Fathers quite a bit.