An Acute Case: 73 favourite albums of 2023
Glory for GUTS
My list covers a reasonable chunk of popular music but still misses plenty. Nothing Latin features despite the continued success of Bad Bunny and the breakout of Peso Pluma. My hip-hop contingent is a kind of Potemkin village, making up 20% of the picks despite my feeling that genre’s pretty muddled. Country gobbles up another 20%, but as with hip hop, recent developments (by which I mean the blokes are now worth listening to) don’t get much of a showing beyond the triumphant mumblebruce of Zach Bryan (6th); I’m unmoved by Morgan Wallen’s polished professionalism and couldn’t make it through Hardy’s headbangers, while Jelly Roll’s rock moves made a bigger impression before Ashley McBryde (7th) did it better. The remaining country cohort is pretty trad and very female.
Africa is woefully underrepresented. Four albums is a dreadful showing, and that’s before I tell you that three are ‘22 carry-overs and one is an 80’s comp (Balka Sound, 38th). The evolution of amapiano as advanced by Dlala Thukzin (which I learnt is called 3-step from a Dave Moore post I keep revisiting to try and understand the technicalities) could win me over, but not in time for this. Nothing K- or J-pop makes the cut. NewJeans are catchy but too slight, so it’s down to the progenitor of their style (and typography) PinkPantheress (22nd) to act as the sole ambassador for rehabbed turn-of-the-milenn d’n’b’n’dream-pop (with her ‘21 album, not this year’s, just in case you thought I was keeping up).
In other news, shoegaze is reportedly having a resurgence, though I couldn’t say whether it’s represented on my list as I’m not sure I believe it exists or ever did. Apparently, Wednesday (2nd) are shoegaze. And there I was thinking they were a rock band. Less remarked on in year-end write-ups is the dearth of sprech, which after last year’s glut has been welcome. Though I see Yard Act have a new album out in March, so expect phatic chatter to be back in fashion soon enough.
Healing remains a popular theme. 8 of the records in my top 20 either dabble or specialise in it: corook (20th, 59th), CMAT (16th, 40th), Lewis Capaldi (13th), Robert Forster (14th), A. Savage (10th), Zach Bryan, boygenius (3rd), and Olivia Rodrigo (1st). Nothing wrong with it. I just have a notion that the default mode for rock music (my preference even when rock isn’t the nominal genre, e.g. Bryan, Capaldi, Rodrigo—who all rock in their own way) is to break stuff rather than fix it. The only obvious hellions in my top 20 are Wednesday and JPEGMAFIA/Danny Brown (4th), and even Brown released an album late in the year (Quaranta, 26th) that was all recovery.
Of the 73 artists that feature, their average age is 40, their average number of releases 10—so another year where I favoured experience. 33 are male, 24 female, 4 non-binary, 12 mixed (as in bands). 49 are white, 23 artists of colour, 1 mixed (also as in bands). 52 are American, 8 British, 2 Australian, 1 Canadian, 1 Congolese, 1 Congolese/Algerian, 1 Ethiopian, 1 Senegalese, 1 Irish, 1 Kiwi, and 1 group can only be described as pan-African. And in case you’re counting along, the numbers don’t add up because Buck 65 (17th, 27th), CMAT, and corook pop up twice.
Anyway, now I’m just adding up, I’ll finish. (Though if adding up’s what you’re after, start with the record in 12th place.)
Olivia Rodrigo: GUTS
Wednesday: Rat Saw God
boygenius: the record
JPEGMAFIA X Danny Brown: SCARING THE HOES
Gina Birch: I Play My Bass Loud
Zach Bryan: Zach Bryan
Ashley McBryde: The Devil I Know
Lori McKenna: 1988
Montparnasse Musique: Archeology (‘22)
A. Savage: Several Songs About Fire
Taj Mahal: Savoy
Water From Your Eyes: Everyone's Crushed
Lewis Capaldi: Broken By Desire To Be Heavenly Sent
Robert Forster: The Candle and the Flame
Speedy Ortiz: Rabbit Rabbit
CMAT: If My Wife New I'd Be Dead (‘22)
Buck 65: Super Dope
Andy Fairweather Low: Flang Dang
Ratboys: The Window
corook: serious person (part 1)
100 gecs: 10,000 gecs
PinkPantheress: to hell with it (‘21)
Jenny Lewis: Joy'All
The Human Hearts: Viable
Danny Brown: Quaranta
Buck 65: Punk Rock B-Boy
Baaba Maal: Being
Baseball Project: Grand Salami Time!
Bill Scorzari: The Crosswinds of Kansas (‘22)
Morgan Wade: Psychopath
Withered Hand: How To Love
Nellie McKay: Hey Guys, Watch This
Megan Moroney: LUCKY
Tyler Childers: Rustin' In The Rain
Jess Williamson: Time Ain't Accidental
Kassmassee: Bahil | Wheg (‘22)
Balka Sound: Balka Sound (‘22)
Doja Cat: Scarlet
CMAT: Crazymad, For Me
billy Woods & Kenny Segal: Maps
$ilkMoney: I Don’t Give a Fuck About This Rap Shit, Imma Just Drop Until I Don’t Feel Like It Anymore (‘22)
Little Simz: NO THANK YOU (‘22)
Brandy Clark: Brandy Clark
Lil Wayne: The Fix Before Tha VI
Iris Dement: Working On a World
El Michels Affair & Black Thought: Glorious Game
Todd Snider: Crank It, We're Doomed
Janelle Monáe: The Age of Pleasure
No-No Boy: Empire Electric
MJ Lenderman: And The Wind (Live And Loose!)
Willi Carlisle: Peculiar, Missouri (‘22)
Rodney Crowell: The Chicago Sessions
My Idea: Cry Mfer (‘22)
Santigold: Spirituals (‘22)
feeble little horse: Girl with Fish
bar italia: tracey denim
corook: serious person (part 2)
Bethany Cosentino: Natural Disaster
The Tubs: Dead Meat
Margo Cilker: Valley of Heart's Delight
Adeem The Artist: White Trash Revelry (‘22)
Lyrics Born: Vision Board (‘22)
Vince Staples: RAMONA PARK BROKE MY HEART (‘22)
Algiers: Shook
Willie Nelson: I Don't Know A Thing About Love: The Songs of Harlan Howard
Aesop Rock: Integrated Tech Solutions
Stella Donnelly: Flood (‘22)
Vic Mensa: VICTOR
Sarah Mary Chadwick: Messages To God
Sexyy Red: Hood Hottest Princess
Rhiannon Giddens: You're The One
