Man… it’s been a helluva year for music. Not only have I seen myself expanding my taste into genres I don’t always touch, but we’ve seen some of my favorite bands release their best material yet. In short, this year has been a lot stronger than last!
Fatherhood has done a number on me dear reader (I had to include one last one in my intro much to the chagrin of my wife), and perhaps it’s just me, but I found myself more moved emotionally than I have in years. In this list are albums which show artists wearing their hearts on their sleeves, bearing it all for their fans and listeners. As you read/listen through this list I hope you find some of these moments as well, and feel the same impact that I have.
There isn’t really much to preface this overview with that I don’t touch on in my individual reviews. I do want to thank you for taking the time to read through this (or skim it… let’s face it, there isn’t much space in our soundbite society for you to dedicate yourself to reading every word I write), and appreciate your engagement with my website. A small favor… if you find yourself enjoying any of these albums or, at least, appreciating my write-up for them, leave me a comment or message. Your engagement keeps me writing, sharing, and creating.
Without further ado… my favorite albums of 2023.
Honorable Mentions:
- Apologie du temps perdu, Vol. 1 BRUIT (Ambient)(EP) Electronic, atmospheric, post rock.
- Downer’s Grove Kevin Atwater (Indie)(EP) Midwest, gloomy folk vibes.
- Momentum Their Dogs Were Astronauts (Progressive Metal) Bombastic, overblown instrumental metal.
- Quaranta Danny Brown (Hip-Hop) A sober and dour reflection on being 40 from rap’s goofiest oddball.
- Another triumph of ghetto engineering Open Mike Eagle (Hip-hop) B-sides from one of underground hip-hop’s best albums from 2022.
30. God Made Me an Animal Better Lovers (Metalcore) (EP)
It’s not often I put EPs on this list. The purpose of an EP is to tease music to come, and so I usually will listen to one, enjoy it, and then put it on the backburner while I wait for the LP.
But holy shit, this one is worth talking about.
It’s hard to believe that it’s been six years since The Dillinger Escape Plan, one of the metal world’s greatest “core” bands, called it quits. Their departure created a power vacuum of sorts, one which many younger, hungry bands have tried (and expectedly failed) to fill. The metal world was further shaken last year when, after one of the best albums of their career, another of my favorite groups, Every Time I Die, also violently imploded. So of course the hype was real when the ex-members of ETID announced they would be teaming with Greg Punciato, the feral ex-frontman of TDEP. The announcement was like when you were playing with your Batman and Spiderman action figures at the same time as a child, a team-up of such legendary proportions that it couldn’t possibly deliver.
Well… hold onto your boots kids, because this one’s gonna knock you off your feet. God Made Me an Animal is an absolute ripper of an album, the sonic equivalent of wearing that sexy dress to your school dance after your boyfriend breaks up with you. The EP is a statement (or warning) to former band mates and friends, a proverbial “look at how much better off I am without you.” Shots are fired across the bow. Grenades are tossed with reckless abandon. While time will tell if this act can sustain the power and substance to live up to its predecessors, it certainly will go down as one of the greatest supergroups to be born in the 2020’s. As Punciato shrieks on opening track “Sacrificial Participant”, “If you don’t tear them down, you can never build.” I’m just happy to have the boys back.
For fans of… Revenge served hot and fresh.
29. Blossom Pupil Slicer (Metalcore)
One of the things I find so terrifying about alien movies is the idea of becoming a vessel. You’re yourself, but something else. You’re in the passenger seat as some other entity grips the wheel. Blossom is ultimately an exploration of this concept, something that is science fiction for some, and a social issue for others. The music itself mirrors this experience, at times tranquil and floating, at others violent and desperate. Vocalist Kate Davies howls and shrieks through lyrics about body possession and dissociation while metalcore riffs shapeshift between thrash, black, and nu metal influences. It’s, at times, an overwhelming and consuming experience (this is a loud album), but hands down one of the most intense and passionate metal albums of the year.
For fans of… Converge.
28. My Back Was a Bridge For You to Cross ANOHNI and The Johnsons (R&B)
If the previous album was the embodiment of violent change: ravaging, decimating, and all consuming, then this album is the opposite. It’s the kind that comes from looking at one’s reflection in the mirror of a calm pond, the revelations that come to one as they’re walking through an autumn forest. On My Back Was a Bridge For You to Cross, ANOHNI directly addresses the listener over tranquil and gently swaying R&B tracks, not condemning but merely asking them to reflect on love, acceptance, and equality. It’s a spiritual successor to the great R&B albums of the 70’s that explored the concept of loving those that don’t look like you; instead asking the listener to love those that don’t LOVE like you. It’s a heavy album, to be sure, but one that’s necessary (and will be necessary) in the years to come.
For fans of… Marvin Gaye
27. One Day Fucked Up (Punk)
Two years ago, the album that stole my number one spot was Fucked Up’s Year of the Horse. It was a prog-heavy rock opera that told the story of a young woman’s escape from a demented society with the help of a horse sent from heaven, leaning on sludge metal just as much as it did the sweeping scores of Ennio Morricone. It was my introduction to the band’s music and I was curious as to what a more traditional album from the band might sound like.
One Day is a wild departure… and by that I guess it’s a return to form? Packed full of stomping punk riffs (“Found”) and fist pumping anthems (“One Day”, “Roar”), it’s a more straightforward affair than its predecessor. And while there were certainly higher-prog elements that I missed from the album, there’s still plenty of weird riffs and smart songwriting that make the album an engaging listen. Ultimately, it was the collection’s thematic message that drew me in. The album poses the question that we all inevitably face: “What would you do with one more day?” Songs are hopeful and filled with bright production, providing the album with some levity that, if done by another group, might have found the music spiraling into some dark places. Given the events of the past five years, I think we’ve had enough darkness for a while, don’t you?
For fans of… The Mighty Mighty Bosstones
26. Cracker Island Gorillaz (Alternative)
I won’t lie to you reader, I was on the fence about this album for a while. True, I was one of the more adamant defenders of it, both to peers and online strangers, but upon reflecting on it, I wasn’t certain that I LOVED the album. Really, it wasn’t until my Spotify Wrapped that my doubts were cast aside and I came to realize what my heart already knew.
I really dig this album.
It’s hard to talk about the Gorillaz without acknowledging two things. First, that their first three albums are indisputably awesome. Second, that their recent output has been lackluster. Sure, there have been songs that have broken through the static of lukewarm albums, but there hasn’t really been anything that has felt cohesive or inspired. Cue Cracker Island, a release whose first two singles were the sole reason for the return of my belief in our beloved, animated band. Poorly timed to release in February (seriously… who let Damon do that?), this album was made for the summer. Tracks like “Cracker Island” and “Silent Running” groove along to the driving beat of a speed boat, while others like “New Gold” and “Tormenta” float through a haze of pastel colors. For the first time… ever, the Gorillaz were one of my top artists of the year and this album accomplished that single handedly. If you’re reading this at the time of publication, this album is warm enough to make you want to sit out on your patio in a bathing suit with a marg, a pair of shades, and a sense of reckless abandon that can only come from a carefree, June afternoon.
For fans of… Tame Impala
25. Integrated Technology Solutions Aesop Rock (Hip hop)
At this point, not much can be said about Aesop Rock that hasn’t already been said. The dude is a loquacious lyricist, whose ability to turn a phrase has only gotten stronger as he’s shifted from weaving abstract images together to a more linear storytelling. Aesop continues to impress with his ability to completely dissect topics, starting with something seemingly simple (see “Pigeonometry”, a song about… you guessed it… drawing pigeons) and turning it into something profound, and in my opinion is one of the sharpest MCs in the game today. In a genre that seems to be shifting (at least in the pop sphere) towards a fairly cookie cutter formula, Aesop demonstrates once again how the nerds and weirdos are the ones really making waves.
For fans of… Del the Funkee Homosapien.
24. Desire, I Want to Turn Into You Caroline Palochek (Pop)
Y’all… I did it. I got a pop album on my year end list! Ignoring the fact that this one was critically acclaimed and will, undoubtedly, make many reviewers and music consumers’ year end lists, I genuinely enjoyed this one. On Desire… Palochek has crafted a collection of songs that feel warmly nostalgic (“Pretty Impossible” feels like something dropped in the 90’s-early 00’s) while simultaneously living in a space that is solely of her own creation. And while her voice is an obvious starting point for talking about why this album is so strong, I think what I’m drawn to most about this project is its versatility. Each song is a different snapshot of some popular subgenre, ranging from the flamenco beat in “Fly to You” to the fragile atmosphere of “Hopedrunk Everasking”. Palochek is truly a pop virtuoso, the equivalent of an artist painting in different styles or an athlete succeeding in multiple sports. I can’t stress enough… if you are someone who likes pop music, you need to listen to this album.
For fans of… Charlie XCX
23. The Worm HMLTD (Art Rock)
On this list we’ve got all sorts of concept albums. If you’ve been following my year end reviews, you know I’m a sucker for them. We’ve got dragon apocalypses. We’ve got ghost love stories. We’ve even got tales of interdimensional survival. But snagging the award for “strangest concept album of the year” goes to HMLTD’s latest output, an album about… a giant worm? Or is it? To be honest, I’ve read plenty of reviews and notes and I still can’t really make heads or tails about what the overarching story is really about. All I know is there’s a worm, it’s all consuming, it’s maybe a metaphor for hate or base human desires, and that this is a wild album. Heavily inspired by musicals, 70’s psychedelic rock, and a little bit of prog, this album is a campy, unhinged celebration of experimentation and exploration. Regardless of your taste of music, it’s hard not to admire the ambition and scale with which HMLTD attacked this concept. And while you might walk away from this album scratching your head asking, “what the hell was this about?”, you certainly won’t be walking away feeling like you wasted your time.
For fans of… the movies your friend would make in college where you just sort of watched them and scratched your head and said… “huh”, but in a good way.
22. Javelin Sufjan Stevens (Indie)
It’s weird to admit this, but I think Sufjan Stevens’ 2015 release Carrie and Lowell is single handedly responsible for getting me into indie folk. I’m sure I would have inevitably gotten into the genre as it was a time when I was branching out from the genres I’d grown up with, and I was in a long-term relationship with my then girlfriend (now wife) who was (and still is) a huge fan of the genre, but it was that album (and the perfect storm that surrounded it) that drew me into the genre. Sufjan’s stomach-turning album about the death of his mother was the perfect backdrop for my life at the time, many of the emotions reverberating across my own experiences at that time. I say all this because, since then, Sufjan has sort of abandoned the folk-heavy leanings of that album, be it through the orchestral, bombastic Planetarium or the electronic laden release, The Ascension, and I have been eagerly waiting for the time when he would return to this sound.
If Carrie and Lowell was a reflection on his parents: the turmoil he experienced growing up, the mix of emotions he felt reuniting with the mother who essentially abandoned him, then Javelin is an honest portrait of his relationship with his partner who passed away in April. Beneath gentle picked guitar strings, tinkling electronics and piano notes, Sufjan recounts stories of love as it truly is: sometimes angry (“Javelin (To Have and To Hold)”) ,sometimes heartbreaking (“So You Are Tired”), sometimes lonely (“My Red Little Fox”), but always warm, honest, brave, and true. Stevens navigates these feelings of love and losing love so beautifully, so intimately, that this album will stay with you long after its final, hope filled song, “There’s a World”, plays. Because even though we inevitably lose what we love, there is beauty and purpose within this wonderful life we all live.
For Fans of… Simon and Garfunkel
21. Born Again Danger Mouse & Jemini the Gifted One (Hip hop)
If you asked me what kind of music I was listening to in 2003, I can tell you with confidence that it sure as hell wasn’t hip-hop. In fact, the genre wasn’t even on my radar. But times have changed, and here I find myself in 2023 listening to an album that was written and recorded at a time when the fastest lyrics I’d ever heard came from a Weird Al song (sometimes… I embarass myself).
Born Again is, in many ways, a time capsule. Danger Mouse’s beats are closer to the boom bap rhythms of the time, and Jemini the Gifted One’s flow closer to Black Thought’s than Drake’s. One would think that an album being written twenty years ago would sound dated, but the energy is so palpable that it’s hard not to find yourself bopping your head to it. Jemini’s rhymes swing between braggadocious to cautionary, and his flow is that of someone who is a veteran of the game instead of someone who wrote two albums and dipped. Songs like “Where You From” sound like something I heard before football games in the late 00’s, whereas jams like “Born Again” glitter and jive by like something written in the 90’s. If you’re sitting on your couch, longing for a specific time when hip-hop had a unique flavor and flow, this album is for you.
For fans of… The Roots
20. O’ Monolith Squid (Post Punk)
Have you ever had one of those dreams that starts one way, be it pleasant or simply semi-normal, that then shifts to something else? You’re semi-lucid. You’re on a beach. No, you’re in a bedroom. No, you’re standing on the edge of a skyscraper? It’s daytime, but then you blink and the sun is rising. You know you’re standing in your childhood home, but for some reason it’s the place you live now? That’s sort of like how it feels to listen to this album.
O’ Monolith is surreal at times, jammy at others, grooving in some spaces, shapeshifting and angular in others. It lives in the same space as some of the great experimental albums of the 70’s: unafraid to explore spaces that are strange or at the very least unfamiliar. The music video is a great visual representation of this. The song “Swing (in a Dream)” starts off fairly straightforward, much like a game of one on one basketball, but as the song develops it becomes more chaotic. Other sounds start taking up space and, before you know it, the original groove is attempting to play around all these other music moments. There’s an anxiety to a lot of the songs on this album that make it an arresting listen and one of the most memorable albums of 2023.
For fans of… The Talking Heads.
19. Knower Forever Knower (Jazz Fusion)
On May 25th, Knower masterminds Louis Cole and Genevieve Artadi delivered a message to fans. As anyone who has a pulse is aware, streaming services pay their artists in coupons and there’s no money in music. So, in an attempt to actually get paid for the music they make, the two of them announced that their album would not be put on streaming services for the first 6 months (or so) of its existence, and if fans wanted to hear it they would have to buy it. The move was a gamble, but also one that reveals how much these two believed in the piece of art they’d created. This play could have easily imploded on the duo, isolating potential fans from reaching the music in an era where you HAVE to hype the release with singles and streaming opportunities. Instead, the project amassed $85,000 over the projected $6,000, and there’s a good reason.
As the kids would (maybe) say, this rips.
From front to back, this is a collection of Cole’s and Artadi’s strongest material, a jazz fusion album whose sound ranges from in-your-face funk bops (“I’m the President”) to smooth jazz, R&B jams (“Real Nice Moment”). Cole’s drumming is as floaty as ever, applying ghost notes as egregiously as one would use seasoning on a piece of boiled chicken, and Artadi’s tongue-in-cheek lyrics hold enough wit and attitude to provide a youthful spunk to their blend of lo-fi and high energy jazz. And while their respective performances are incredible, it’s truly the arrangements that make this the memorable album that it is. Relying on the talents of Dwayne Thomas Jr., a.k.a. Mononeon (bass), Rai Thistlethwayte (keyboard), Jacob Mann (keyboard), and a literal orchestra of brass, woodwinds, and strings, each song is absolutely reverberating with creative energy.
I don’t want to take up too much more of your time, dear reader, but I would be remiss if I didn’t take a moment to talk about the keyboard solos on this album. Particularly, Rai Thistlewayte’s on “It’s All Nothing Until It’s Everything.” As I’ve said before, the musicianship on this album is next level, but this keyboard solo, hands down, wins solo of the year for me. Floating on top of Cole’s frantic drumming is a piano solo that truly defies anything you’ll hear this year in terms of creativity, musicianship, and batshit wackiness. It, and many of the other solos on this project, are just the icing on the cake, and one of the reasons why this fun, goofy, high energy album made it into my top 30 albums of this year.
For fans of… Snarky Puppy.
18. Fronzoli Psychedelic Porn Crumpets (Psyche Rock)
In 2021, one of my favorite albums of the year was Psychedelic Porn Crumpets’ SHYGA! The Sunlight Mound. It was a warm, fuzzy collection of psychedelic, garage rock that felt akin to dancing in the summer sun, riding the buzz of whatever your drug of choice is. With bands like this, I expect fun but not necessarily a whole lot of variation (unless you’re King Giz in which case… it would be foolish not to expect it). Well, imagine my surprise when Fronzoli dropped late this year, an album that still incorporates plenty of overdriven guitar riffage but leans more heavily into an almost metal aesthetic. There are still plenty of lighter moments, but even those are coupled with some goliath riffs that come kicking down your door like your drunk neighbor on a saturday morning. “Dilemma Us From Evil” is the perfect example of this, a song that starts with some nice floating chords before dive bombing into a heavy af chorus. It sounds like something the Beatles might have written if they took less acid and drank more bourbon. Don’t expect any depth to lyrics here (see “(I’m a Kadaver) Alakazam”’s lyrics: “Sorry that you died Mrs Robinson/ I guess chihuahuas look like chicken to a crocodile/ Nothing like a well seasoned appetite/ You see them tiny fuzzy pixels on your satellite”), but expect to have a sore neck when your head quits banging.
For fans of… The White Stripes
17. Every Sound Has a Color in the Valley of Night PT.1 Night Verses (Instrumental Metal)
You’ve never truly known darkness until you’ve gone creeping through the forest on a night with no moon. It’s the kind of darkness that amplifies every sound, the kind of darkness that holds no outline of shape because everything is shadow. You continue to walk through this haunted grove until you see a warm, orange light bleeding through the thick web of branches and roots in the distance, notable in that it is the only light to exist… to maybe have ever existed. And as you approach, you come upon a fire, roaring and towering into an opening in the forest canopy. Surrounding the fire is a circle of six figures. As the fire crackles and leaps they begin to sway, and as their dance grows more frantic, shapes begin to rise from the fire.
That is, essentially, what it’s like to listen to Night Verses’ latest album. At times haunting and atmospheric, at others swirling and chaotic, it’s hard to believe that this wall of sound can possibly be created by only a trio of musicians, but if you’re looking for metal that will leave you with a sense of awe and wonder, this is the album for you. Guitarist Nick Pirro, bassist Reilly Herrera, and drummer Aric Improta are on another level of musicianship, each a virtuoso with their respective instrument. This is an album that will possess you with catchy riffs and otherworldly, jaw dropping performances. If you’re looking for a band to wow you, and inspire you to never pick up an instrument again, this is the group to do it.
For fans of… Animals as Leaders
16. Like Dying Stars, We’re Reaching Out (Run for Cover) Runnner (Indie Rock)
There’s a lot of bombastic, over the top music on this list. In general, I think I gravitate towards compositions that are grandiose, that become something bigger than where they started. So, if you’re looking for an album about the quieter moments in life, one that seems to capture the beauty in the seemingly insignificant memories, this is the album for you. Noah Weinman, a.k.a. Runnner, does this beautifully, crafting songs that seem to live in those liminal spaces of life, each song a snapshot of friends and lovers from the past year, a look back on the growth we’ve made, the tears we’ve cried, and the lives we’ve lived. This review is simple and sweet, but then again, so is this album. Put this on and watch the sunset. You’ve earned it.
For fans of… Noah Kahan.
15. The Aux Blockhead (Hip-hop)
If there is one point of contention I seem to have with my students nowadays (besides grading, bathroom pass policy, etc.) it’s the state of modern hip-hop. I feel like an old man, but when I get a recommendation from a student for someone like Playboi Carti or Youngboy Never Broke Again I just cannot get into it. There’s a certain depth of lyricism that seems to be missing, a lack of vision that the young sometimes have (you’re thirty years old Kevin… shut the hell up). And while pretty much every single one of my hip-hop albums demonstrates this gap of talent that I’m referring to, I don’t think I could have come up with a better mixtape that demonstrates the difference between these young clout chasers and actual hip-hop artists if I tried.
If that sounds pretentious… so be it.
I can’t emphasize how wild the features list on this album is. If you’re anyone who has been paying attention to the underground of hip-hop, seeing Quelle Chris, Danny Brown, Billy Woods, Open Mike Eagle, Aesop Rock, among a slew of other names should be enough to turn your head (I discovered Bruiser Wolf on the sultry “Papi Seeds” and… damn, I’m an instant fan). Much like the title suggests, it very much feels like a who’s-who of hip-hop, a party where one person after another is tossing on their favorite song from their artist of choice to try and one up the other. The result is an album that is chaulkful of masterful lyricism, creative beats, and memorable moments. It’s a celebration of everything that hip-hop has been, is, and will be, a reminder to the people who come to the genre seeking poets that there are still some really great dudes making beats out there, you might just have to seek them in the shadows. If you’re someone who enjoys hip-hop from the fringes, this album is a must check. I guarantee you’ll find something to whet your appetite.
For fans of… MF Doom.
14. Scaring the Hoes Danny Brown/JPEGmafia (Hip-hop)
Imagine this (for some of us this might not be hard): you’re at a party, maybe even putting yourself back to your college years. You’ve been given the aux cord (guess I dated myself there) and are in charge of the jams for the night. You have two options: play something that everyone is going to like to keep the party rolling, or play something interesting that might earn you cred or get you a few laughs but runs the risk of killing the mood. This is essentially where the title comes from, the type of music that might scare off the girls who just wanna jam and party. This album is a compilation of hip hop that does just that.
Scaring the Hoes is a perfect marriage of underground darling Danny Brown’s clever, horn-dog lyrics and JPEGmafia’s punk aesthetic and production. Both MCs are absolutely laying it down on this album, leaving nothing behind. Over beats that have no business going as hard as they do (“Garbage Pale Kids” samples a Japanese ramen commercial), Brown and JPEG trade bars and jabs with a flow so natural one might think they’ve been doing this for years instead of this album representing their inaugural partnership (with the exception of JPEG providing beats on Danny Brown’s 2019 album uknowwhatimsayin?). It’s one of those artistic marriages that is so natural it’s impossible to imagine either artist crafting this album on their own. It isn’t the most accessible hip hop album on this list, but it is one of the most engaging albums to be dropped all year.
For fans of… Beastie Boys.
13. Petrodragonic Apocalypse; or, Dawn of Eternal Night: An Annihilation of Planet Earth and the Beginning of Merciless Damnation King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard (Thrash Metal)
I have a love/ meh relationship with King Gizz. At their best they drop albums that infuse their signature brand of psychedelic/ garage rock into the flavor of the month, crafting a collection of music that is uniquely them: bright, colorful, and jammy. All too often, however, I find myself exhausted by the end of the year, having listened to four of their albums released over the past twelve months that just feel like with a little bit more time in the oven the album could have been really special. And if I’m being honest with myself, I will preach the word of King Gizz but have found their recent years of output a bit closer to the “meh” side of the scale. Well the Gizz must have sensed my apathy, because their first of two releases this year came out the gate firing on all cylinders. This year’s offering sees the band once again returning to an aggressive sound (akin to 2019’s Infest the Rat’s Nest) with a heavier, thrashier take on their respective genre that is homage as much as it is reinvention. The result is an album that is unrelenting from start to finish, the sonic equivalence to a Mad Max movie.
Make no mistakes, this is still a Gizz album. There are plenty of jammy, psychedelic moments (see the halfway mark of “Motor Spirit”), but these elements are infused so organically into the tracks that they provide a proggy element to a genre that I find is often soured by formulaic, repetitive riffage. In fact, despite it being a year where metal titans Metallica released one of their better albums in recent years, you would be hard-pressed to find a better thrash metal album this year (or even one released from the past five years). So roll those windows down, find your favorite highway, and put the pedal to the floor. Witness me.
For fans of… Deep Purple
12. Sheol Hypno5e (Post Metal)
There is a place where we go after we die, a place of shadow and memory where we see our loved ones, see our faults, see our most beautiful memories; a place we eventually fade from until we are once again dust… one with the universe. It is a place known as Sheol, a land where the dead are laid and to which the dead go. It is this space of haunted longing that Hypno5e’s fifth album lingers, sifting through a story of love, memory, and loss.
Hypno5e are the masters of tension and release. Their albums are composed largely of massive metal songs that accumulate mass as they roll onward. Sheol is no different, and although the band claims that it is one of their lighter albums, make no mistake that this album is just as heavy and brooding as its “sequel”, 2019’s A Distant (Dark) Source. And while it can be appreciated on a song to song basis, Sheol is at its best when the listener is fully immersed within the sonic landscape the band creates. Feel the tension of massive opener “Sheol Pt. I: Nowhere” as it builds into “Sheol Pt. 2: Lands of Haze”. Bang your head as the closing minutes of “Bone Dust” come descending down upon you like the crushing reality that the memory you once had is not what it seemed. This album will lift you up only to break you down. It will draw you back into the haunted lands of your own Sheol.
The album begins with a poem, titled “Heces” by Cesar Vallejos. As plucked guitars guide the listener through a land of mist and shadows, Vallejos illustrates a portrait of a person lamenting their dead lover. “Esta tarde llueve, como nunca/ y no tengo ganas de vivir/ corazón” roughly translated to “This afternoon it rains, like never before; And I have no desire to live.” It’s the perfect, moody accompaniment to this album’s dreary, lament-filled atmosphere, and one that fully helps demonstrate the drama in which these songs drift and slowly sink.
For fans of… Gojirra.
11. Hellmode Jeff Rosenstock (Punk)
I was talking about music with a friend recently and came to the conclusion that we’re officially beyond the pandemic. I don’t mean that in a sense of processing and healing, but more that the art that we create can process it and where we are at the end of it instead of being in the middle of it. Last year was one of the worst years for music (at least in my opinion) partially because we were still reeling as an artistic community from the political, global, and social ramifications of this event. It’s hard not to look at albums like Kendrick Lamar’s Mr. Morales… or Chat Piles God’s Country and not feel the raw nature of these albums as they processed these events. I bring all this up to say that this year, by contrast, has felt like a healthier place for many of my beloved artists, a space where they can now start to process the cluster bomb that decimated many of our social skills, attention spans, and general mental stability.
This album is the embodiment of that.
Titled Hellmode, Jeff Rosenstock’s latest album is as much about healing as it is about our current, global hellscape. Many songs (“WILL U STILL U” and “DOUBT”) are about this healing process, this forgiveness of ourselves and our shortcomings. There are still plenty of songs that have a lighter meaning (the bouncy “LIKED U BETTER”), but even in these moments Rosenstock finds time to reflect on his own actions and perceptions. The result is a punk rock album that is as cathartic as it is fun. It’s the kind of experience that, by the end of it, leaves you feeling refreshed, understood, and ready to climb out of your own hells. Let’s put our demons aside for a minute and dance it out. You’ll feel better, I promise.
For fans of… NOFX.
10. Maps Billy Woods & Kenny Segal (Hip-hop)
This is the year of Billy Woods. Ignoring the fact that he is featured on literally EVERY hip-hop album on this list, his label Backwoodz Studioz is also responsible for many of this year’s biggest releases. So it only makes sense that among all these great releases is Woods’ second outing with legendary producer Kenny Segall and, much like the first outing, it’s a certified banger.
If 2019’s Hiding Places was a dreary rumination on gentrification, mortality, and the dark places we choose to ignore looking at, then Maps is its brighter, more colorful cousin. Over a slew of memorable beats, Woods weaves his trademark dry, biting witty remarks, his lyrics more poetic in nature than linear or sing-songy. Indeed, this album feels like the experience of touring itself, as songs end and start like waking up in the back of the van only to find yourself in a new town, a new experience. Songs like “Babylon by Bus” feel a little more reminiscent of old school boom bap, where as “Year Zero” (featuring Danny Brown delivering some of this year’s funniest lyrics) trudges along to a nightmare fueled lo-fi beat like someone driving through the shell of a bombed out city. In this respect, there’s a little bit of something for everyone and while Maps can be seen as one of Woods’ more accessible releases, this is by no means a comment on the depths of lyricism that have given Woods’ the reputation as one of the most prolific, well-written, well-read MCs in the game. If anything, this album is hopefully a jumping in point for those who like hip-hop but haven’t checked out one of the greatest artists you’ve never heard of because man… if this year is any indication of the success to come it won’t be long before you’ve heard his fuckin’ name.
For fans of… The Roots.
9. Heavy Heavy Young Fathers (Art Pop)
On this list, more so than last year, there are a lot of albums of celebration. I mentioned early in my Jeff Rosenstock write up my hypothesis for this, but coming in at my number nine spot is an album that is very much a sonic celebration, a dance party that incorporates elements of soul, West African music, psychedelic, and pop. It’s an album that is warm and welcoming, a collection of songs that feels cohesive and yet impossible to pin down. One moment you’re stomping and clapping to the drum and bass of “I Saw”, the next you’re swaying and reflecting to the tranquil, M83-esq atmospheric build of “Tell Somebody”. It’s an album that’s a unique experience and unlike anything I listened to this year.
When I reflect on the breakdown of my list, I try to separate it into sections of ten so that, by the time you’re at my top ten albums you’ve reached the ten that I would recommend to someone over the rest of the list.
Reflecting on this album… I’m not sure why or how it earned this specific spot. Perhaps it’s because this album is so out of my typical wheelhouse that it’s made a lasting impact on me. Perhaps it’s the warmth of this album, and the contrast it has to so much of the music I typically listen to. Perhaps it’s that it’s just a fun album, the kind that makes you want to bob and groove back and forth, the kind of album that sticks with you because it’s just enjoyable. Sure there are moments of reflection and meditation (“Geronimo”), but in general the power in the music is that you can feel it. The grooves are infectious. The vibes are right. This album will stick with you long after the thundering beat of “Be Your Lady” dissipates.
For fans of… Gorillaz
8. Praise a Lord Who Chews but Which Does Not Consume (Or Simply, Hot Between Worlds) Yves Tumor (Experimental Rock)
I always appreciate an artist who’s a chameleon, who refuses to be pigeonholed into one sound or genre but instead uses genre as a tool to explore whatever the thematic material of the album dictates. Yves Tumor is one of those artists, akin to a Bowie, whose bravery when it comes to composition and whose dedication to producing brilliant sounding music has quickly catapulted them into one of the most ingenuitive and exciting artists of our generation. Their music is bombastic without being overblown, so extravagant that it borders on campy (although, as we know, I am not dissuade from music that exists in the camp), and on Praise a Lord… we see a truly one of a kind album, unencumbered by preconceived notions, genre specifications, or a sense of pressure from media or fanbase.
From the first, anxiety breaths of “God is a Circle” to the groovy, swinging orchestral arrangements of “Ebony Eye” this is a brilliantly composed (and produced) album that surprises as much as it pays homage to the sounds of some of the greatest art rock albums of the 90s. It’s a short listen (clocking in at around thirty-seven minutes) but in that time Yves Tumor manages to seamlessly weave R&B, funk, psychedelic, electronic, industrial, and alt rock into an exciting, gripping album. In many ways these sounds aid Tumor’s thematic reflection on their own upbringing, exploring topics of religion, mortality, and love, serving as almost a time machine into the music that Tumor grew up with and how, by referring back to those genres, they’re taking us back into the space they occupied when they were younger and being introduced to this grandiose topics. It’s sexy. It’s raw. It’s emotive. It’s got swagger. It’s, essentially, everything that rock and roll was built on and everything it should be.
For fans of… Prince.
7. 16 Einar Solberg (Progressive Rock)
I’m a true believer that we are defined not by the events of our lives, but how we face them. Loss and grief can lead to personal growth and self-realizations. Pain can lead us to seek out joy. Love can help us see what we’ve been missing the whole time. For some of us, these moments come with the diagnosis of some illness, or a bad accident. The loss of a friend or loved one. Relocating to a new place.
For Einar Solberg, one of the masterminds behind progressive rock band Leprous, the year that defined him (or at least greatly altered him) was his 16th year and it is this year that Solberg, conceptually sitting at his fireplace, reflects on.
Ultimately, this album is a celebration of Solberg’s influences, both personally and musically (two of the songs feature people important to his life: his sister (Star of Ash) and brother-in-law (black metal artist Ihsahn). Each song has its own personality, from the cinematically epic rock song “A Beautiful Life”, to the orchestrally composed “Where All the Twigs Broke”, to the metal tinged “Splitting the Soul” and it’s fun to hear everything from Massive Attack to Andrew Lloyd Weber blended together. For fans of Leprous, this is a tasteful deconstruction of the music that Solberg brings to the table when focused on his main band, a way for Solberg to try his hand at writing songs that are representative of these different musical masks that he weaves together. It’s also a glimpse into some of the pivotal moments in Solberg’s life, from his first foray into music, to his decision to live a life for himself, to even meta commentary on his decision to write the album in the first place (and why he chose to face these moments). But you don’t have to be a fan of Leprous to enjoy this album, any music fan can appreciate this solo artist showcasing all the genres that he loves working with, and just how his sound is influenced by them.
This journey into Solberg’s past comes to a head with the absolutely monumental closing track “The Glass is Empty”. In many ways, this is the moment the whole album has been building to, the final door left to open, the last boggart to face. Because while there are many emotional moments woven throughout this album, this song is absolutely heartbreaking and is THE moment that defined his 16th year of life. I won’t claim to have any personal information about Solberg’s past or personal life, but knowing the fate of one of his family members it seems this song is a confrontation of that moment, his own admission of guilt, and the heartbreak from the event’s outcome. The self-destruction that this person brought upon themselves and Solberg’s brutally raw exploration of this moment make this, hands down, one of the most important musical moments of the year and, if you’re a fan of musicals, progressive rock, or just phenomenal music, I can’t stress enough how important it is that you listen to this tear-jerking composition.
This album is heavy, make no mistake. The moments of levity float to the surface only to be sent plummeting to the depths by anchors of honest reflection. Still, this list isn’t just about albums that you’ll like listening to, but albums that you SHOULD listen to. By exploring his past, Solberg also invites you to explore your own, to reflect on those years that defined you, to bask in the warmth of their light, and to illuminate the corners where the demons might hide.
For fans of… Pasek and Paul (the writers of Dear Evan Hansen and La La Land)
6. Periphery V: Djent is Not a Genre Periphery (Metalcore)
If there’s one thing I hate about the metal community, it’s the gatekeeping, elitist mentality that comes with it. So often I hear from my peers in this genre that an artist is “too pop-y”, or “too mainstream”, etc. And while newer bands like Sleep Token seem to have taken the brunt of this unfair critique currently, for a good chunk of time you couldn’t (and still can’t) make it through a facebook thread of an online forum for Periphery without someone slinging shit at them. The criticisms range from the band taking themselves too seriously, to not seriously enough, to Spencer Sotelo’s voice. And while some of the criticism is valid (I too have been frustrated by the band’s inability to actually take themselves seriously), it’s almost impossible for me to deny that I am, at this point, very much a fan boy. So you can imagine my hunger as I waited for FOUR years for their next album after 2019’s Hail Stan (again… that title) for the princes of progressive metalcore to release their next album.
So here we have PV, an album whose title pokes fun at the very “subgenre”/sound they helped popularize in the metal scene. And you know what… It’s really damn good. One of their best. It’s pop-y at times. It’s heavy at times. But this is also their most focused and heartfelt album since… ever.
Sure, the goofy titles are there (both of the album and some of the songs), but this album feels like a band actually trying to take some risks instead of rehashing (conceptually) the songs from past albums. Opener “Wildfire” sees the band tastefully revisiting themes and lyrics from 2015’s Juggernaut, exploring the more human side of a demonic possession instead of the supernatural lore. “Atropos” takes the listener on an eight minute journey that’s a masterclass of building a theme. This album truly sees them swimming in uncharted waters, testing the listener and themselves with longer song structures and weirder experiments (the pop ballad “Silhouette”).
What I find myself drawn to most about the album is the emotion. Periphery has never been a group that shied away from discussions of depression, suicide, and grief, but this album feels like it’s holding these topics with more reverence and even seems to give us a glimpse of what lies on the other side. “Dying Star” is a beautiful song about accepting change (as a father, I have found myself growing misty eyed over the last lines of the chorus: “On roads unknown/ Your heart is open”) while “Wax Wings” is one of the bands most memorable riffs in recent albums that discusses the pressures of living up to society’s expectations (clearly reflected in the band’s feelings of attempting to live up to their own expectations for themselves).
The most beautiful moment on this album, and possibly their whole discography, comes with the song “Thanks Nobuo”, a tribute to the Final Fantasy composer Eumatsu. Over lush strings and epic choral sections, the band writes a song about accepting the past and yourself, finding the strength within, and loving your brothers. The song is a tribute to a man whose video games have made a huge impact on the group (you can hear his influence in the orchestral sections spread across albums) but it’s also a love letter to each other, a thanking of one another for accepting each other, flaws, histories, and quirks in all. It’s touching, and as the song dissolves the listener is left with a lush few minutes of serenity. It’s the perfect breathing room after a metal album that challenges its listener’s attention spans and is filled with riff after riff, and a message to fans as well: that after all our hardship there is light. There is peace.
For fans of… Spiritbox
5. Fauna Haken (Progressive Metal)
It’s no secret that, if you’ve talked music with me in the past few years, I’ve brought up Haken. If I had to craft a list of my favorite artists of all time, Haken would easily make the top ten and three of their albums (2013’s modern masterpiece The Mountain and 2019/2020’s equally as perfect double album Vector/Virus) would make the top ten as well. They’re one of the few bands in the genre who seemingly touch on both qualities of the genre: the reverence of its historic past and the desire to push songwriting forward. Their discography is damn near perfect, ranging from the metal fused Vector/Virus to the ethereal Affinity, and so given my love for their most recent album, I was excited to see where they would go with this one.
Fauna is the most experimental album in their discography, not sticking with one aesthetic like the 80’s prog infused Affinity or the 70’s inspired The Mountain, but rather serving as a collage of their past works. Each song is a kaleidoscope into their sound, and the result is an album that is as cohesive as it is a perfect starting place for new fans. Songs like “Taurus” and “Beneath the White Rainbow” have a heavy/djent quality much like Vector/Virus. Subsequently, “Elephants Never Forget” has a circus-esq sections which sounds like something from their earlier work. The first album since their EP in which keyboardist Peter Jones joins the crew, there’s a certain levity within the music that has been lacking since Aquarius (see the pop-y “The Alphabet in Me”). It’s a fun exploration of their discography and, whether you’re a new fan of the band or someone who has been following them from day one, there’s a little something here for everyone.
For fans of… Dream Theater.
4. He Left Nothing For the Swim Back Skech185 (Hip-Hop)
In a year where Danny Brown and JPEGmafia crafted the year’s wildest hip-hop release and Billy Woods established himself as the king of the underground with yet another right hook of an album, it’s hard to imagine a release topping either. Enter Skech185, yet another artist on Woods’ Backwoodz Studioz label, and hands down one of the hungriest artists I’ve heard in a hot minute. On his debut album Skech spits venom over nine tracks whose beats range from banging to anxiety-inducing. His flow never relents from barking, and he sounds more like a slam poet with a megaphone shouting up at God than an beatnik with a microphone. His wordplay is phenomenal, and he comes across as someone recounting a story, each tale a cautionary one. The result is an album that is unrelenting and furious.
Of all the albums on this list, this one’s title might be the most accurate. Seemingly a reference to the movie Gattaca in which the main character beats his brother in a contest to see who can swim the furthest by having no plan to return to the shore, this album sees Skech doing something similar. There is no energy left on the cutting room floor. Every rhyme, every beat, every song, is pulsing with a jazzy, gloomy urgency that you would be hard pressed to find on any song on the Billboard top 20.
He Left Nothing For the Swim Back is one of those debuts that leaves the listener excited to hear what the artist does next, and the only issue I can see with this album is that it sets the bar so high that it’s going to be a struggle to top it on his next outing.
For fans of… Earl Sweatshirt
3. Let the Truth Speak Earthside (Progressive/ Symphonic Metal)
Eight years ago I came across a debut album that shook me to the core, an album that was so good it quickly established a place on my favorite albums of all time list. It was bold, cinematic, and evocative, an album that said just as much with the few lyrics it had as it did with the bombastic, over the top instrumentation. That album was Earthside’s 2015 release, A Dream in Static. Incorporating a blend of post metal and symphonic metal, it was the perfect album to launch a band’s career, a statement of the band’s dedication to musicality and musicianship. It was the kind of debut that left the listener hungrily waiting for more, and so in (relative) radio silence we waited to see what (if anything) Earthside would return with.
But eight years is a long time to wait, especially in today’s society that devours music in singles and soundbites. In that time an insurmountable level of expectations were set (at least in my mind), that inevitably seemed impossible for the band to reach. Cue the band’s release of the lead single and closing track for the album: “All We Knew and Ever Loved”, a song that is Hans Zimmer as much as it is Leprous. It was a wild but important single to release, a statement that let fans know big things were coming, if only they might hold out a little longer for new music. Well hold out for two years we did, and the fruits of our patience and continued support is an album that addresses the few shortcomings of its predecessor, and elevates its strong elements to another level.
Let the Truth Speak is a monumental album, not only one of the best metal albums to be released this year but undoubtedly of the next decade. It’s clear that the band was not resting on their laurels this past… almost decade, but rather refining and honing their craft. With their last release, the best songs on the album featured stunning guest vocal performances from the likes of Daniel Thompkin (TesseracT), Lajon Witherspoon (Sevendust), and Eric Zirlinger, and this time around the group continue their trend of choosing vocalists who not only contribute to, but elevate the material. There is the ethereal vocals of Keturah on opening, djent inspired “We Who Lament”, the commanding attitude of AJ Channer (Fire From the Gods), and these are only some of the incredible talent they manage to pull. While some might argue that adding vocalists to the majority of the songs distracts from the band’s stellar musicianship, I would argue that it does the opposite, providing simply another layer to add emotion and weight to Earthside’s already powerful music.
If A Dream in Static was mostly post metal inspired, Let the Truth Speak leans heavily in a more progressive direction, and the variation in song structure only makes the album a more colorful listen. Songs range from alt/nu metal (“Patterns of Rebirth”) to the absolute left hook that is the funk inspired (and Tower of Power incorporating) “The Lesser Evils”. This is an album that still feels wholly Earthside, while creating more standout moments throughout.
All in all, it isn’t simply the songwriting or vocal performances, but the album’s overall meaning. Let the Truth Speak is an album about mortality, be it human, planetary, or morally. It is an album that begs the listener to listen with love. It’s an album that demands we speak for those that cannot. For if we do not speak, or provide room for the truth to speak for itself, then we damn ourselves to a life of inevitable collapse and destruction.
For fans of… Trans Siberian Orchestra
2. 3D Country Geese (Art Rock)
Let’s do another thought exercise. Imagine this: you’re at your favorite local dive bar. You’re already three pitchers of your favorite domestic in and, as another large plastic vessel of frothy gold is placed in front of you, the lights dim, a set of spotlights illuminate a small stage, and a band stumbles their way onto it. And when I say stumble, I mean in that cartoony, lampoon-esq way that comes from someone who is in their cups just as much as you are. They’re dressed like they got launched out of a catapult from the 70s, and have just now reentered from the stratosphere and don’t know when or where the hell they are. The music begins, and you aren’t sure if its what the band is playing or your perception of what the band is playing… but it’s fucking good. The lights are fucking good. Man… are you as drunk as I am?
That’s 3D Country, a blend of post punk, funk, rock, country, and boogie that simply cannot be defined by one genre but rather by an attitude. It’s goofy, wild, adventurous rock music that has the swagger of a group whose more than just two albums into their career. Each song is a drug fuelled romp into 70’s inspired, Looney Tunes-esq rock. Each twist and turn is just as colorful and as inventive as the last. Over solid blues/funk rhythms laid down by bassist DiGesu and drummer Max Bassin, lead singer Cameron Winters croons, bellows, and hollers songs about love and self and ego death with a performance that can only be described as “bonkers”.
This is an album for people who are hungry for new, inventive music, people looking to be surprised by songs that take left turns without sacrificing superb writing. It’s the kind of album that, had it been released fifty years ago, would be regarded with reverence, passed down by those in the counterculture with a cult status, the kind of album that inspired those that followed for generations. It possesses the unique ability to sound referential without repetitive, reverent to a time and place where music was about exploration just as much as space was. So, if you’re someone who wants to hear a band explore a wholly unique sound, give this record a spin and see if you can pin them down. Or, maybe just drink a pitcher of beer and lose yourself in the lights.
For fans of… Captain Beefheart.
- War of Being TesseracT (Progressive Metal)
The pandemic did a doozy on us. It tore apart families and friendships. It revealed our worst impulses. It forced us to stare into the mirror, to stare into the abyss that lay within self, to question our mortality, our morals, our goals. For many people, many talented artists, it forced them to make a decision: do we really want to keep doing this? These past three years we’ve seen so many bands, musicians, artists disband and leave their art, but we’ve also seen others rise from the smoldering ashes, pull each other up, stand among the wreckage and make a statement.
And in the case of TesseracT, deliver the performance of a lifetime.
The War of Being is an exceptional piece of modern art. I always hesitate to designate something a “classic” album before I’ve had years to sit with it, to see if it has made a lasting impact on me, to see if its concepts, music, and ideas linger with me as I move through the years. This designation is usually given to albums only after they have spent a decade with me. But dammit… this might be a perfect album, a stirring composition that has haunted me from the opening notes to the last, atmospheric moments. It’s the kind of album that has caught me in unexpected moments, tugging on my heartstrings as I drive home from work or building me up as I prepare myself for a day I’m not feeling ready to tackle. It’s the kind of album whose message is universal, everlasting, every morphing.
Musically, this album sees each musician delivering a performance of a lifetime. Each song is a perfect blend of the lessons learned on previous albums, an amalgamation of sounds that shows a band evolving and reaching their truest, fullest potential. It’s an amalgamation of One’s aggression (see “Natural Disaster”), Altered States grooves (bob your head to “The Grey”), Polaris’ massive hooks (have your heartstrings tugged with “Tender”), and Sonder’s concise songwriting ( check the radio single ready “Echoes”). Over massive riff after massive riff, lead singer Daniel Tompkins provides a soaring, thundering performance that establishes him as the best metal vocalist doing it right now (seriously… listen to “Legion” and tell me if anyone else is bringing to the table what he does on that song). This is truly an album of firing-on-all-cylinders, no skips progressive metal, an experience that knows when to drop the bass just as much as it knows when to let a song breathe, to build tension and anticipation for the next emotive moment.
Conceptually, the album is a spiritual successor to 2018’s Sonder, TesseracT’s heaviest outing to date and a collection of songs that focused on a person’s feeling of ostracization from society. War of Being takes this concept and shifts the gaze of one’s ire not outward but inward, following two characters as they navigate a world in which their traumas, fears, and truths manifest themselves as physical adversaries. These two characters lose each other (and themselves) in their descent into the madness of the world but, by facing themselves and their own demons, come face to face with each other. It’s a powerful metaphor for anyone who’s been in a relationship, and as someone who has been faced with his greatest and most beautiful challenge yet (fatherhood), it’s a powerful album that focuses on topics of acceptance, true love, and redemption. I won’t spoil the ending (or at least, what I think is the ending) but by the time the final, haunting notes of “Sacrifice” finish their echo it’s almost impossible not to feel the gravity of this album.
When a band takes this big of a leap (concept album, VR video game accompaniment, massive book of art and story, world tour, cinematic music videos), the energy within the project is palpable. Regardless of whether you’re someone like me who really immerses himself into the concept of his favorite albums or someone who just appreciates music, this album will enrapture you from start to finish, force you to go to war with the parts of yourself you’re most afraid of, and then take your hand and support you to the life-altering conclusion. In the end, isn’t that what the best art does?
For fans of… Devin Townsend.
The Word and The Song 