I think I volunteered to organise this somewhere deep in another thread, so here goes.
I suggest, as per previous years, that we post a top 20 with twenty points awarded to every number 1, down to one for every number 20. Any music newly released this year is valid, though I propose that live albums wholly or mostly comprising old material are included in any accompanying poll of re-releases. The poll will, as in previous years, close at 11.59pm on New Year’s Eve and results will be published on New Year’s Day.
Go on, post your favourites – you know you want to….
Hi Mods. Please could this be pinned towards the top of the page?
20?
I’ve been working on 25.
And that’s quite funny because initially I thought I would only have 5.
Anyhow, I’ll be quite late. Sorry
Oh, and do we have a ruling on 1989?
It’s too long ago.
I’m not really an album guy these days, but these were the 10 that I spent the most time with in 2023.
1. Four Tet Live at Alexandra Palace, 24th May 2023 – Four Tet
2. Good Lies – Overmono
3. The Land Is Inhospitable And So Are We – Mitski
4. Greater Wings – Julie Byrne
5. Guts – Olivia Rodrigo
6. Zach Bryan – Zach Bryan
7. Kaytramine – Kaytramine
8. Let’s Get Started – Lil Yachty
9. Javelin – Sufjan Stevens
10. the record – Boygenius
The top five are all records I expect to be listening to for years to come, and I keep half expecting to read about Zach Bryan on here; I’d have thought that’s an Afterword-friendly record, if a little on the slick side.
There are probably others I’m forgetting. Most of my favourite music of the year arrived in the form of individual tracks though.
Do you work for Rough Trade Mr Bingo? I’m sure most of those were RT albums of the month
Well, I don’t work for the record store, but by happy coincidence the descriptor does match my bosses, so: yes. Yes I do.
I didn’t mean the store, more A&R. I only have one from your list ‘Javelin’ and it is good.
I’d like to revise my list if that’s allowed. Realised I left a few records off I should have included, and also managed to omit my single favourite album of the year.
1. Scaring The Hoes – JPEGMAFIA & Danny Brown
2. Four Tet Live at Alexandra Palace, 24th May 2023 – Four Tet
3. Good Lies – Overmono
4. The Land Is Inhospitable And So Are We – Mitski
5. Greater Wings – Julie Byrne
6. Guts – Olivia Rodrigo
7. Zach Bryan – Zach Bryan
8. Kaytramine – Kaytramine
9. Let’s Get Started – Lil Yachty
10. Javelin – Sufjan Stevens
11. the record – Boygenius
12. Quest for Fire – Skrillex
13. With a Hammer – Yaeji
14. Business is Business – Young Thug
15. Rat Saw God – Wednesday
Scaring The Hoes properly blew my mind this year. Probably the best rapper on the planet right now paired with one of my favourite producers. Could easily have been less than the sum of its parts, but ended up being so much more. It’s completely hyperactive, both in the way the production twists and turns and the sheer range of samples/musical styles from which it draws inspiration. It’s one of those rare albums that opens the door to a whole new way music can be constructed and sound. Listening to it has reminded me of the first time I encountered each of El-P’s Fantastic Damage and Death Grips’ The Money Store, and I can’t really give higher praise than that. 2023 wasn’t a stellar year for Hip Hop, but this was an instant classic.
Re live albums comprising old material, would that include Dylan’s ‘Shadow Kingdom’? I would suggest it’s a re-working rather than old material. But I know the concert was from a couple of years ago. I am confused!
I’ll be running the reissue one, I believe. I’ll post a thread-starter later but I will be calling it Reissues, Archival and Historical. Therefore, I agree with Paul that music recorded in the past but newly released in 2023 will be best voted for in the Reissues, Archival and Historical poll.
I’m happy to accept that Shadow Kingdom and 1989 are ‘new recordings’, so belong here.
Thank you.
Yep I agree with that in both cases – Shadow Kingdom and 1989.
Thanks – that’s helped my list!
Except Shadow Kingdom was 2021 😉
A two year wait for a live recording to be released is routine. It’s not ‘historical’.
It’s historical-comical -pastoral.
Just the 3 from me.
1. Cousin – Wilco
2. I/O – Peter Gabriel
3. Hackney Diamonds – Rolling Stones
Aren’t these ‘old’? 😉
All 2023 releases. Wilco are young whippersnappers, mainly still in their 50s.
@dai only one album from Jeff T this year though. He’s slowing down!
Well 2 physical releases (3 LPs) if you count Cruel Country
And a book!
Surely Cruel Country was actually last year, just took a while to get physical release
Yes it was. Actually both albums were recorded around the same time ca. 2021-22, Jeff and Cate le Bon tidied Cousin up for release last winter.
Indeed his latest book is out and according to Uncut he is working on a solo album that will be his next release.
Full line up for Solid Sound 2024 announced yesterday, very pleased to see it also includes Nick Lowe and Jason Isbell 🙂
https://solidsoundfestival.com/solid-sound-festival-lineup-announced-2/
@dai yes wish I could go but not next year. Maybe 2025.
2026 (every 2 years), book your hotel room now! @Kjwilly
Just two from me (not my fault, my ears are too deranged to listen to more than two albums a year).
1. Ryuichi Sakamoto – 12
2. Paul Simon – Seven Palms
or, if you prefer it the other way round for convenience sake (no specification was made – a potentially costly oversight, I fear):
1. 12 – Ryuichi Sakamoto
2. Seven Palms – Paul Simon
1 The 3 Clubmen – The 3 Clubmen EP
2 The Vampires (feat. Chris Abrahams) – Nightjar
3 Joe Jackson – Max Champion
4 Bob Dylan – Shadow Kingdom
5 Natural Information Society – Since Time Is Gravity
6 Rachel and Vilray – I Love A Love Song
7 Taj Mahal – Savoy
8 Alister Spence Trio and Ed Kuepper – Asteroid Ekosystem
9 Vivian Stanshall – Dog Howl In Tune
10 The White Blinds – Presheatecha!
11 Greasy Chicken Orchestra – I Cakewalked With A Zombie
12 Mara! Big Band – Pashto?
13 Phil Judd – My Life As A Ghost
14 Rufus Wainwright – Folkocracy
15 Thandi Ntuli and Carlos Nino – Rainbow Revisited
16 The Zappa Early Renaissance Orchestra – Six of One
17 Mike Keneally – TTTKCI
18 Larry Goldings, Kaveh Rastegar and Abe Rounds – Better
19 Rickie Lee Jones – Pieces Of Treasure
20 Mike Nock – Hearing
FYI (in case you were wondering)
Nos 2,8,10,11,12 and 20 are Australian
No 13 is from New Zealand
@Mousey surprised you are calling Mike Nock an Aussie.
Er yes – my bad! Sorry Mike!
As usual I had no idea what had been released in 2023 and what hadn’t, so after perusing the lists here are a mere 10 albums that I’ve enjoyed and played a few times, in rough order of liking.
1 Paul Simon – Seven Psalms
2 Bonny Soon – Let There Be Music
3 Lankum – False Lankum
4 Rufus Wainwright – Folkocracy
5 The National – First Two Pages of Frankenstein
6 Sufjan Stevens – Javelin
7 Jen Cloher – I Am the River and the River Is Me
8 Jeff Goldblum and the Mildred Snitzer Orchestra – Plays Well with Others
9 Wilco – Cousin
10 Blur – The Ballad of Darren
I’m only including the ones I’ve really liked and played repeatedly as there have been lots I’ve played two or three times and then forgotten about, so just three from me.
1. Ian Hunter – Defiance Pt 1
2. Israel Nash – Ozarker
3. Jenny Lewis – Joy’all
I don’t usually bother dipping a toe into this yearly bit of froth but what the hey.
Fifteen from me, one of which is so shiny and new it was only released today but it comes from a particular favourite musician of mine and has been on constant repeat since 4:30 am. All of these it goes without saying have been pretty constantly listened to since being liberated into the wild. Others could have made the cut in all likelihood but after the gloss wore off to one degree or another have failed to keep me interested enough to make my list.
1. James Brandon Lewis – For Mahalia, With Love.
2. Tim Hecker – No Highs.
3. London Brew – London Brew.
4. Kendrick Scott – Corridors.
5. Hinako Omori – Stillness, Softness…
6. Muriel Grossmann – Devotion.
7. Fire! orchestra – Echoes.
8. Anenon – Moon Melts Milk Light.
9. Cecilie Strange – Beyond.
10. Vic Mars – The Beacons.
11. Spencer Zahn – Statues II.
12. Yusef Dayes – Black Classical Music.
13. Kayhan Kalhor & Toumani Diabate – The Sky Is The Same Colour
Everywhere.
14. You Lost Me – RPG.
15. Balladeste- Conversations In Ritual.
I presume Tenderlonious missed out because of the child’s lullaby.
😉
It almost made the cut. I had a list of twenty yesterday but I decided on a svelte fifteen in the end. The ones that ended by the wayside due to my last minute wilful decision are…
Josef Akin – Enymore.
Tenderlonious – You Know I Care.
Claire Deak – Soto Voce.
Pierrick Pedron & Gonzalo Rubalcaba – Pedron Rubalcaba.
Knower – Knower Forever.
I am a gadfly and bestow my gifts on a whim. Perhaps they could be amended to the bottom of my list if Paul feels inclined to do so.
You’ve given us more than enough to chew on already!
My choices are mostly, decidedly not Dafterword friendly I would surmise. 😉
@pencilsqueezer
Yussef Dayes also appears on my list, Mr P – but, er, that’s it! With that in mind, which of the others might appeal to me? Ta!
None of them. It’s a regrettable list awash with twaddle. I don’t usually bother with the end of year listmania, this cavalcade of crapola is ample demonstration of why I am best kept away from these kind of things.*
* Yes I have woken up in a very dark place.
Hwyl fawr.
Well, I’m sorry to hear that.
“Some light for the Pecilsqueezer, please.”
@pencilsqueezer Great to see Claire Deak’s name there. She’d be chuffed. She was in my first year teaching Nino Rota’s screen music at the Australian Film and TV School in Sydney. A couple of decades ago. A top sheila and not stuck up at all
It’s a fine album and no mistake. Surprisingly labelled a debut. It sounds far too accomplished for a first solo outing.
Beautiful cover too. Hopefully Paul will attach my waifs and strays to my truncated list and all will be as it should be. Having said that Thomas Bücker is releasing a new Bersarin Quartett album on the 15th of this month so I suspect a request to add that to my list may be forthcoming mid-month.
Thanks for the BQ heads up!
Thomas released this yesterday. It’s the third cut from the forthcoming album he’s released to date. I am agog with anticipation.
Of course I’ll add them Pencilsqueezer. In the order you put5hem from 16-20?
Thanks Paul you’re a gent. 16 – 20 is fine by me. 🙏
Hi Paul cut the Knower album please. I will probably need room for Bersarin Quartett around mid-month. Ta.
A new Bersarin Quartett album is ALWAYS a cause for celebration!
Emphatically yup.
Here are my 20. It’s been a pretty damn good year when I look at this
1. LYR – The Ultraviolet Age
2. The Blaze – JUNGLE
3. Young Fathers – Heavy Heavy
4. Slow Pulp – Yard
5. Arxx – Ride Or Die
6. Das Koolies – DK.01
7. House Of All – House Of All
8. Jim Bob – Thanks For Reaching Out
9. Romy – Mid Air
10. Sofia Kourtesis – Madres
11. Four Tet – Live at Alexandra Palace, London
12. Carly Rae Jepsen – The Loveliest Time
13. Beirut – Hadsel
14. Hamish Hawk – Angel Numbers
15. Johnny Flynn – The Moon Also Rises
16. The National – First Two Pages of Frankenstein
17. PJ Harvey – I Inside The Old Year Dying
18. Hannah Georgas – I’d Be Lying If I Said I Didn’t Care
19. Complete Mountain Almanac – Complete Mountain Almanac
20. Nabihah Iqbal – DREAMER
Jim Bob – Top choice that, and will now be appearing in 2 lists
(when I get round to compiling and ranking mine)
My top 20. I agree with seanioio above – it’s been a good year.
1. King Creosote – I DES
2. Everything but the Girl – Fuse
3. Steve Mason – The People Say
4. Laura Cantrell – Just Like a Rose
5. Peter Gabriel – I/O
6. Public Service Broadcasting – This New Noise
7. Paul Simon – Seven Psalms
8. Withered Hand – How to Love
9. Matthew Halsall – An Ever-Changing View
10. Ancient Infinity Orchestra – River of Light
11. Nat Birchall – The Infinite
12. Hanakiv – Goodbyes
13. Samuel Sharp – Consequential
14. PJ Moore & Co – When a Good Day Comes
15. Ultramarine – Send and Return
16. Erland Cooper – Folded Landscapes
17. Kim Moore – A Song we Destroy to Spin Again
18. Hania Rani – Ghosts
19. Julian Cope – Robin Hood
20. Nat Birchall – Songs of the Ancestors
Good to see the Withered Hand album riding fairly high! And the reminder of it!
Indeed – it’s excellent.
Wasn’t the PJ Moore & Co album from 2022 ?
Released 31/3/2023 according to Bandcamp.
It looks like it was a delayed release in Bandcamp. I certainly recall buying in 2022 (and it was probably on my list of 2022 albums of the year).
Just searched and I started a thread about it in October 2022…
I guess it was only available on their website then. Another case (like the Public Service Broadcasting) of not knowing what is valid and what isn’t – do we base on mainstream release date or the initial release.
It’s a great album though.
It is, which is the main thing.
1 – Archangel Hill – Shirley Collins
2 – Seven Psalms – Paul Simon
3 – False Lankum – Lankum
Just to be awkward, I submit a Top 14
1. Jim Bob – Thanks For Reaching Out
2. Blur – Ballad Of Darren
3. Wreckless Eric – Leisureland
4. Sparks – The Girl Is Crying In Het Latte
5. Hamish Hawk – Angel Numbers
6. Public Image Limited – End Of World
7. Duncan Reid & The Big Heads – And It’s Goodbye Form Him
8. The Damned – Darkadelic
9. Madness – Theatre of the Absurd Presents C’est La Vie
10. Glen Matlock – Consequences Coming
11. Wingmen – Wingmen
12. The Coral – Sea Of Mirrors
13. Joe Jackson – Presents: Max Champion in “What A Racket!”
14. Alice Cooper – The Road
(Admittedly, Number 9 is under a month old, but it certainly deserves inclusion)
Update: found this morning in the “waiting for a listen” pile. Forgot I bought it (hence why it wasn’t on the original list), but must’ve listened to it as not in packaging.
So I gave it another spin this morning, and will now add:
15. Rolling Stones – Hackney Diamonds
1. Romy – Mid-air
2. Lana Del Rey – Do You Know There’s A Tunnel Under Ocean Boulevard
3. Rolling Stones – Hackney Diamonds
4. Caroline Polachek – Desire, I Want To Turn Into You
5. Steven Wilson – The Harmony Codex
My top 20, it has been a good year, indeed.
1. Titanic – Vidrio
2. Øxn – Cyrm
3. Gotts Street Park – On the Inside
4. Damon Locks & Rob Mazurek – New Future City Radio
5. Christian Madden & The Enemy Chorus – The Extra Weight
6. Phet Phet Phet – Shimmer
7. Niecy Blues – Exit Simulation
8. Wednesday – Rat Saw God
9. Moritz Von Oswald – Silencio
10. IzangoMa – Ngo Ma
11. The Mary Wallopers – Irish Rock’n’Roll
12. Hania Rani – Ghosts
13. Tian Qiyi feat. Jah Wobble – Red Mist
14. Goat – Medicine
15. Yussef Dayes – Black Classical Music
16. Ana Frango Electrico – Me Chama De Gato Que Eu Sou Sua
17. Black Market Brass – Hox
18. The Watson Twins – Holler
19. Nakibembe Embaire Group – Nakibembe Embaire Group
20. Galen & Paul – Can We Do Tommorow Another Day?
Here goes my first pass….
1. Natalie Merchant – Keep Your Courage
2. Steven Wilson – The Harmony Codex
3. Sigur Ros – ATTA
4. Big Big Train – Ingenious Devices
5. Peter Gabriel – I/O
6. Everything But The Girl – Fuse
7. CVC – Get Real
8. GoGo Penguin – Everything Is Going To Be Okay
9. Rose City Band – Garden Party
10. Madness – Theatre of the Absurd presents C’est La Vie
11. Def Leppard – Drastic Symphonies
12. Bennett Wilson Poole – I Saw A Star Behind Your Eyes, Don’t Let It Die Away
13. Thomas Bangalter – Mythologies
14. Hozier – Unreal Unearth
15. Blur – Ballad Of Darren
16. Rolling Stones – Hackney Diamonds
17. Cyan – Pictures From The Other Side / Pictures From Another Side
18. Harp – Albion
19. The WAEVE – The WAEVE
20. Gabriels – Angels & Queens
The Harp album crept in at the bottom even though it’s only a few days old (I have been listening to 3 of the tracks for the past few weeks though). It probably should be higher after more listens and I may edit the list later.
I was debating on including the Public Service Broadcasting “A New Noise” album but not sure if its valid – it’s a new album this year, but it’s the BBC Proms performance from last year and whilst it is a “live” album, it doesn’t exist as a studio album so not a live rendition of that as such……
Public Service Broadcasting is fine. Do you want to put it in?
Listened to Harp for the first time yesterday – good isn’t it? Unsurprisingly like old Midlake.
Okay – thanks. I may add it in, but will hold off a couple of weeks in case of any other changes…… (like the Harp album climbing up the pop parade)
1) Natalie Merchant – Keep your courage (unbelievable that this didnt feature at all in either Uncut or Mojo)
2) Baxter Dury – I thought I was better than you
3) Ben De La Cour – Sweet Anhedonia (recommended by @retropath2)
4) Third Mind – Third Mind2
5) Long Ryders – September November
6) Thea Gilmore – TheA Gilmore
7) Lucinda Williams – Stories from a Rock and Roll heart
8) Michele Stodart – Invitation
9) Rolling Stones – Hackney Diamonds
10) Marty Stuart and the fabulous superlative – Altitude
11)Don Letts – OuttaSync
11) Robert Finley – Black Bayou
12) Buddy and Julie Miller – In the throes
13) Osees – Intercepted message
14) Say she she – Silver
15) Wilco – Cousin
16) Amos Lee – Honeysuckle Switches (The songs of Lucinda Williams)
17) David Holmes – Blind on a galloping horse
18) Alison Russell – The returner
19) The Lilac Time – Dance til the stars come down
20) Coral – Sea of Mirrors
Returning the compliment, @stevet , until your list appeared, I was unaware the Amos Lee. It’s a beaut, nearly making up for his pointless Chet Baker karaoke set of last year or so.
Apologiies two number 11’s – please delete The Coral and move the rest down.
One vote so far for Lana del Rey – you lot are weird.
Sunday Times album of the year.
You, me, the ST. The rest haven’t a clue.
Pitchfork, Guardian song of the year A&W.
1. Jason Isbell – Weathervanes
2. Cowboy Junkies – Such Ferocious Beauty
3. Israel Nash – Ozarker
4. Dylan Leblanc – Coyote
5. Jonathan Wilson – Eat the Worm
6. Pretenders – Relentless
7. Natalie Merchant – Keep Your Courage
8. Lori McKenna – 1988
9. Kassi Valazza – Knows Nothing
10. Buddy & Julie Miller – In The Throes
11. The Handsome Family – Hollow
12. Paul Simon – Seven Psalms
13. Bob Dylan – Shadow Kingdom
14. Laura Cantrell – Just Like a Rose
15. Rodney Crowell – The Chicago Sessions
16. Great Lake Swimmers – Uncertain Country
17. Graham Nash – Now
18. John Mellencamp – Orpheus Descending
19. Margo Cilker – Valley of Heart’s Delight
20. Waco Brothers – The Men That God Forgot
Hardly been on here this year, life has been getting in the way. But have still been listening to lots of stuff. So here goes…..
1. The Order Of The 12 – Lore Of The Land
2. The Lemon Twigs – Everything Harmony
3. Warrington-Runcorn Newtown Development Plan – The Nation’s Most Central Point
4. Craven Faults – Standers
5. Flange Circus – Katabasis
6. Uzi Listening – Uzi Listening?
7. Sufjan Stevens – Javelin
8. Pop-Up! Kerching! And The Possibilities Of Modern Shopping – Mozart Estate
9. John Cale – Mercy
10. Hawksmoor – Telepathic Heights
11. The British Stereo Collective – Drowning
12. Modern Cosmology – What Will You Grow Now?
13. Laura Cannell & Polly Wright – Sing As The Crow Flies
14. Public Service Broadcasting – This New Noise
15. Gazelle Twin – Black Dog
16. Harp – Albion
17. The New Electric Frontier – Layovers On Infinite Road
18. Jonathan Wilson – Eat The Worm
19. Ligeti Quartet – Luc: Anna Meridith String Quartets
20. Young Moon – Triggered By Sunsets
Bubbling Under:
Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs – Land Of Sleeper
The New Electric Frontier – The Consequences Of Erosion
Erland Cooper& Scottish Ensemble – Folded Landscapes
Gogo Penguin-Everything Is To Be Okay
The New Electric Frontier – Layovers On Infinite Road
Creep Show – Yawning Abyss
The 3 Club Men – The 3 Club Men
Goat – Medicine
Kosmischer Läufer – Volume 5
Mozart Estate is obviously the artist. Sorry.
1. Weathervanes – Jason Isbell & The 400 Unit
2. Hackney Diamonds – The Rolling Stones
3. Shadow Kingdom – Bob Dylan
4. Hollow – The Handsome Family
5. On Pain – Lloyd Cole
6. Leisureland – Wreckless Eric
7. Stories From a Rock ‘n’ Roll Heart – Lucinda Williams
8. Endless Skyways – Bobby Lee
9. Defiance Part 1 – Ian Hunter
10. 30 May 2023 Edinburgh Scotland – Bruce Springsteen
11. Theatre of the Absurd presents C’est La Vie – Madness
12. Dance Till All the Stars Come Down – The Lilac Time
13. Clear Pond Road – Kristen Hersch
14. Keep Your Courage – Natalie Merchant
15. The Vivian Line – Ron Sexsmith
As per the discussion on the reissues poll, can I add Laura Cantrell – Just Like a Rose at number 11, and move the remainder down one, please? Thanks!
Ive listened to loads of good stuff this year but just posting the ones that Ive kept returning to. The number 1 & 2 spots rotate on any given day (sorry Steven)
1. What Matters Most – Ben Folds
2. The Harmony Codex – Steven Wilson
3. Tuebrook – John Jenkins
4. Albion – Harp
5. An Ever Changing View – Mathew Halsall
6. Dahab Days – Rob Luft
7. Dear Departed – Sam Burton
8. Supernatural Thing – M Ward
9. Atta – Sigur Ros
10. Endless Coloured Ways – Nick Drake/Various Artists
Nice to see Rob Luft get a mention in someone’s list. Great guitarist and becoming quite prolific. The above is his third solo album. His album “Lost Ships” with his partner Elina Duni is very good indeed and he’s made two now with saxophonist Dave O’Higgins. He’s due to play at our pub jazz venue in January with O’Higgins and Hammond organ sensation Ross Stanley. That promises to be something really special.
He was a new name to me but this album is beautiful. Shades of Pat Metheny in his compositions which of course is no bad thing
For anyone unfamiliar with Rob Luft, here’s some stuff he did a couple of years ago with Elina Duni.
That’s exquisite – I wish I could play guitar like that.
Just watched this – oh, my! That is some fine, fine playing.
I was going to include the Nick Drake tribute but wasn’t sure whether it would go into the reissues/compilation sections even though I know it is not a reissue
New recordings belong here.
Here goes..
1. I feel as though, despite hearing loads, there must be a great deal of tasty fare I’ve missed this year, so I’m looking forward to investigating all of your lists.
2. I got back into dancing this year (while I still can!) and that’s reflected here.
With that in mind, these are the records I’ve enjoyed most – the top 3 are locked in; there’s not an awful lot between the rest..
Artists first:
1. Tessa Violet – My God!
– lovely, lovely pop in several flavours
2. Dream Wife – Social Lubrication
– stroppy dexterous punk
3. Jamila Woods – Water Made Us
– thoughtful new soul. Her third album, her third to make my end of year top 10
4. Gabriels – Angels & Queens
– irritating staggered, multi-format release can’t take away from the fact so much of this is ace
5. Lola Young – My Mind Wanders And Sometimes Leaves Completely
– simple and unfussy, but very effective songs
6. V V Brown – Am I British Yet?
7. Danger Mouse & Gemini The Gifted One – Born Again
8. Kara Jackson – Why Does The Earth Give Us People To Love?
9. Jam City – Jam City Presents EFM
10. CHIKA – Samson: The Album
11. CMAT – Crazymad, For Me
12. Creation Rebel – Hostile Environment
13. Mahalia – IRL
14. Jungle – Volcano
15. RAYE – My 21st Century Blues
16. Skrillex- Quest For Fire
17. The Ullulators – Mighty Dub Collider. Chapter One.
18. Anish Kumar – A Mixtape By…
19. Lana Del Rey – Did You Know That There’s A Tunnel Under Ocean Blvd
20. Olivia Rodrigo – GUTS
Cheers Paul!
Nice to see Anish Kumat get a mention. And I’ve seen a few mentions of Kara Jackson around – might give that a listen. Interesting list Mr Robot. Or can I call you Sewer?
You can call me anything you want, P.
And anytime..
While most of my money goes on reissues and vinyl copies of albums I previously only owned on CD, did buy about 10 new albums this year. In no particular order, my faves were
Chris Stapleton – Higher
Wilco – Cousin
Iggy Pop – Every Loser
Neil Young – World Record
Marty Stuart – Altitude
Shall I put them in that order, 20-16? Or give them all 18 points as your level numbers 1-5?
I guess give em all 18 points
If Shadow Kingdom counts as new, I guess you’ll need
to award 15(?????)) points each
Nice try but you can only vote once
Just realised there are a mind-boggling 81 albums from 2023 that I’ve listened to. Quite a few that I’ve enjoyed.
I think I know what my #1 is going to be, although the forthcoming Bersarin Quartett album might just pip it to the top spot. There are a handful of others that I know will end up highly-placed.
As for the rest, either a mammoth re-listening session is called for or I’ll just submit a short list of no more than 10.
1. Teenage Fanclub – Nothing Lasts Forever
2. King Creosote – I DES
3. Hiss Golden Messenger – Jump For Joy
4. Lankum – False Lankum
5. Bob Dylan – Shadow Kingdom
If SK counts as new, pls add to my rather stunted list a couple of posts above
It does. I will.
Here’s mine:
1. Novelty Island – Wallsend Weekend Television
Tom McConnell has done it again, creating an earwormy confection of woozy pop that nods to, but never gets overwhelmed by, his 60s and 70s influences. The live shows were joyous and the B-Side ‘Day’ was possibly my song of the year.
2. Thomas Walsh – The Rest is History
Finally, a new Pugwash album – but it’s not a Pugwash album, even though it sounds much more ‘Pugwashy’ than the last one. Guest stars galore, but the biggest attraction is the gorgeous songs.
3. The 3 Clubmen EP
Andy Partridge, Jen Olive and Stu Rowe have made a collection of songs that is probably the most exhilarating music I’ve heard in 2023 – bursting with ideas and sounds. If only it were album length…
4. Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit – Weathervanes
Maybe not as great as Reunions but has two or three songs that take your breath away, for example his tribute to Justin Townes Earle ‘When We Were Close’.
5. Paul Simon – Seven Psalms
The most unexpected pleasure of the year. An incredibly intimate, affecting piece of work that may well end up as his own epitaph. And who better to write it?
6. Jimmy Regal and the Royals – First and Last Stop
OK, these are friends of mine but I have been playing this a lot. What starts out as a blues album takes in country, New Orleans swamp and Senegalese rhythms along the way. Their breakthrough album that has deservedly topped blues charts all over the world.
7. Pretenders – Relentless
Less straight rock’n’roll than predecessor Hate For Sale, but the variety of music and Chrissie Hynde’s more reflective approach is a treat. That said, ‘Vainglorious’ takes us back to the first album and shows that James Walbourne is a worthy inheritor of Jimmy Honeyman-Scott’s lead guitar gig.
8. Big Big Train – Ingenious Devices
They’re not the same prospect without David Longdon, but this beefed-up compilation is a fitting tribute to the great man.
9. Boygenius – The Album
I took a recent punt on this after seeing their wonderful performance on Saturday Night Live. The noisier ones are the tracks standing out so far.
10. Wilco – Cousin
Don’t know how they put stuff out at this rate and it becomes a bit difficult to digest. That said, a new Wilco album is always to be celebrated and ‘A Bowl and a Pudding’ is their most ‘Radiohead’ moment to date.
I quite enjoyed the Novelty Island album. must keep a look out to see if they ever play locally.
I haven’t played my Wilco – Cousin album yet. Unfortunately the Radiohead comparison is likely to delay it even longer.
No don’t be put off – play it! It’s really good – my favourite of theirs for years.
I would put Paul Simon in my top 5 favourite artists – some days even top but seven psalms completely left me cold. I wanted to like it but there are no tunes and no shade. just monotony. I couldn’t get to six listens I am afraid – 4 was enough. File it with songs from the Capeman in the bin – the rest of his catalogue is unimpeachable.
At last! Dearie me, Paul Simon is a genius but
7 Psalms is pretentious drivel to the 7th Degree.
I agree. 100% as the kids say…
I think I can stretch to 20, though I can’t say I truly love any of these records like old friends just yet. It’s also interesting (well, to me) that a lot of my favourite albums are on the mellow side, whereas my favourites singles are always brash and preposterous.
1. Meg Baird – Furling
2. CMAT – Crazymad, For Me
3. The Lilac Time – Dance Until All the Stars Come Down
4. Margo Cilker – Valley of Heart’s Delight
5. Grian Chatten – Chaos to the Fly
6. Haiku Hands – Pleasure Beast
7. Kara Jackson – Why Does the Earth Give Us People to Love?
8. Hannah Diamond – Perfect Picture
9. The Clockworks – Exit Strategy
10. Romy – Mid Air
11. Rolling Stones – Hackney Diamonds
12. Avalon Emerson – & The Charm
13. Teenage Fanclub – Nothing Lasts Forever
14. Bixiga 70 – Vapor
15. Cian Nugent – She Brings Me Back to the Land of the Living
16. Django Django – Off Planet
17. Belle & Sebastian – Late Developers
18. Bar Italia – Tracey Denim
19. Nabihah Iqbal – Dreamer
20. Dot Alison – Consciousology
Was Late Developers this year? An unfortunate omission from me then, it’s great!
Yeah, it was a surprise release, recorded at the same time as A Bit of Previous, and knocked it into a cocked hat for my money.
I see the Ryuichi Sakamoto album isn’t doing as well as the bookies expected.
I meant to include it but forgot. Truth be told I forgot a few and included some after reflection I shouldn’t have but it really doesn’t matter a jot.
Scores AND Comments
1. Fuse – EBTG – just right from the first note
2. Pale Blue Eyes – This House – shoegazing is back I tell you. Saw them 3 times this year
3. John Cale – Mercy – he’s 80 you know. Saw him twice this year – brilliant
4. Warrington Runcorn New Town Development Plan – The Nation’s most Central Point – not a joke honest.
5. Slowdive – everything is alive – shoegazing is back and as good as ever
6. LYR – An Unnatural History – a poet and chums
7. LYR – The Ultraviolet Age – another from the poet and chums
8. Jenny Lewis – Joy’all – indie country folky poppy stuff. I still miss Rilo Kiley
9. King Creosote – I DES – more electronic than folky this time
10. Robert Forster – The Candle and the Flame – good enough you don’t miss Grant (ok that’s a lie)
11. Martin Stephenson – You belong to Blue – still churning them out and a great night out (twice)
12. Bad Boy Chiller Crew – Influential – local lads surprisingly good
13. The Streets – the darker the shadow the brighter the light – another poet
14. Janelle Monae – The Age of Pleasure – just glorious
15. Lana Del Ray – Did you know there is a tunnel under Ocean Boulevard? – No, nor that I would enjoy this so much.
16. House of All – House of All – oddly reminds me of Yard Act more than The Fall. Is that allowed?
17. Ben Folds – What Matters most – back to being Ben (mostly)
18. Natalie Merchant – Keep your courage- gone back to tunes. excellent
19. The National – first two pages of Frankenstein – rather than Taylor
20. Apollo Junction – Here we are – local lads who are great live if a little conventional on album. Bit of a wasted vote I know
Also considered Bob & Cat, Taylor, Sufjan and Gorillaz (rather than Blur).
Missed albums last year were An Crann by Damien O’Neill, and Sun’s Signature by Elizabeth Fraser et al.
Yay. I was tempted to review the Bad Boy Chiller Crew album on here, but couldn’t come up with an angle.
It’s immense – albeit repetitive – fun. Sliding is one of my bangers of the year, with one of my favourite lines:
“I got a free lift to a funeral
And I made about five new bestest mates
In a toilet cubicle”
OK, here’s my list.
Unlike most of the Afterword, I haven’t been very impressed with the music of 2023. But I managed to make a list of 20 that I’ve enjoyed.
1. Wilco – Cousin (Back to form after last year’s false step – IMO – and heads above the rest)
2. Lisa O’Neill – All Of This Is Chance (Raw and beautiful, poetic and humorous – just gorgeous)
3. Brigid Mae Power – Dream From The Deep Well (Quirky contemporary folk sounding anything from menacing to tender)
4. Tinariwen – Amatssou (Hypnotic and dancetastic desert music with an extra pinch of magic this time around)
5. The Tallest Man On Earth – Henry St. (He won me over, again, despite some initial hesitation – but he’s got a knack for melodies that hook me in!)
6. Ahnoni and the Johnsons – My Back Was a Bridge For You To Cross (I didn’t used to like Ahnoni’s voice, but it has improved – less of a vibrato – and on this album the soulfulness, anger and sadness really touched me)
7. Boygenius – The Record (Beautiful album of brilliant songs from three songwriters presenting their hearts on a tray)
8. Jake Shears – Last Man Dancing (Well, I am a Disco Chick after all, so this is right up my street! This album made my cooking and washing up a blast this year)
9. Altin Gün – Aşk (Psych-folk from Turkey – this is what King Gizzard was going for with their microtonal albums, but this is the real deal)
10. Taylor Swift – Speak Now (Taylor’s Version) (An album still rooted in country, and with slightly better songs and much better vault tracks than the 1989 TV – I certainly learned to love it from this re-recording)
11. Mari Boine/Bugge Wesseltoft – Amame (Gorgeous folk/jazz collaboration by the legendary Sami artist Boine and Norwegian pianist Wesseltoft, steeped in melancholy)
12. Little Dragon – Slugs of Love (Another frequent kitchen companion in 2023, funky garage electronica that had an energy and charm that perked me up)
13. Sarah Klang – Mercedes (Named after her daughter, this album examines the journey from partying to motherhood, all elevated by Sarah’s husky soulful voice that has a somewhat retro feel to it)
14. Vasas Flora Och Fauna – Man blåser bort (The quirky Swedish-Finn band does it again; an album full of charming and subtly funny songs – if you understand Swedish, that is…)
15. Jana Horn – The Window is the Dream (Another quirky artist, not as brilliant on this album as on the previous, but still interesting)
16. Lisa Ekdahl – Bang Bang I Mitt Hjärta (Not an artist I’ve been a fan of previously, but took a punt on this album and found it strangely charming – playfully retro tinged songs with a pinch of jazz occasionally, only marred by Lisa’s odd slurring of words and other strange vocal mannerisms, but that becomes part of the charm after a while…)
17. Taj Mahal – Savoy (As one of Taj’s biggest fans I certainly wasn’t going to dislike this, nor as a fan of old jazz standards. I can feel a little sad that it isn’t an album of new original songs by Taj, but quite frankly – he can do whatever he wants and I’m going to lap it up!)
18. Taylor Swift – 1989 (Taylor’s Version) (The reason why this didn’t feel quite as exciting as Speak Now TV is that this is nearer in time from the original recording and still felt very familiar – but it’s a good album. OK vault tracks, but no homerun)
19. The Handsome Family – Hollow (This is a fine collection of songs, but slightly more bland than their previous albums IMO – then again, I’m only five listens in so far…)
20. Iron & Wine – Who Can See Forever (A live concert which, apparently, is the soundtrack to a documentary. if you like Iron & Wine, this is a great live album – I do, I’m just not a great fan of live albums! But it’s been growing on me, so quality-wise it probably should belong further up on my list – but at the same time, it’s all old songs)
Good to see the Irish making a strong showing in the top 3.
Not since the 1970s has there been such a surge of music from the island, folk derived and otherwise, laurels belatedly brushed after a few intervening years of Scottish supremacy.
Ah, yes; didn’t really think about that, but Irish women are not to be underestimated!
In other, less surprising news: I make no apologies for the abundance of Swedes (and other Scandi types) in my list! 😀
Sorry @Paul-Hewston, can I be annoying and change my vote just slightly?
I’d like to put a new entry at number four, move everything from four to nineteen on the OG list down one spot and lose the current number twenty from the list.
The entry I’d like to add is:
4. Pugh Rogefeldt – Guds finger (Swedish legendary and groundbreaking artist Pugh – pronounced P + the “ug” sound in the word “sugar” – died from CBD in May of this year, and this is a posthumous EP or mini album containing six tracks. Five of them are Pugh’s new Swedish lyrics to gospels, hymns and blues classics, and the final track is the instrumental “Funeral Song” that he wrote and recorded for his own funeral. This is a very short but very moving album that I haven’t been able to stop listening to since its late purchase. Recorded with great musicians and his voice in fine fettle despite occasional signs of the disease, with great arrangements and wonderful interpretations of the lyrics into Swedish – not for the first time for some of them, but his versions are looser and more personal, even though he leaves the religion in there. It makes me bop, laugh, sing along and tear up slightly at times. )
Sorry for the inconveniance, I didn’t expect to find a new favourite this late in the year!
Merry Christmas!
No problem – belatedly sorted @Locust.
Mainly listen to songs rather than whole albums so it’s just top 10 for me.
1/ Hamish Hawk – Angel Numbers
2/ Martin Stephenson- you Belong to me
3/ Natalie Merchant – Keep your Courage
4/ The Coral – Sea of Mirrors
5/ Jenny Lewis – Joy’all
6/ Jason Isbell – Weathervane’s
7/ Margo Cilker Valley of hearts delight
8/ Brothers Comatose – Ear snacks
9/ Iris Dement – Workin’’ on a world
10/ Thomas Walsh – The rest is History
Looking at these selections – f**k me, I’m old. And it’s only just happened, you know, recently.
“…and the bells were ringing out for Christmas day…”
You look fantastic, though..
Thanks.
It’s the blue highlights, maybe.
You lot clearly listen to lots more brand new music than I do. I’ll probably get round to much of the above over the next few years. Anyway, here are 7.
1. Lilac Time – Dance til all the stars come down
2. Lloyd Cole – On Pain
3. Teenage Fanclub – Nothing lasts forever
4. Bob Dylan – Shadow Kingdom
5. OMD – Bauhaus staircase
6. Madness – C’est la vie (given more time this’ll probably end up higher
7. Public Service Broadcasting – This new noise
Here’s 10 for you. As usual most of my listening is old stuff that’s new to me but these are all 2023 releases that I’ve really enjoyed
1 Sirenesque – The Bathers
2 Songs from Severn Grove – Ivan Moult
3 The Path – Belbury Poly
4 I Am Not There – The Clientele
5 Lost In A Rush of Emptiness – Bleach Lab
6 Underneath The Stars, Still Waiting – Vetchinsky Settings
7 Maison Mouton Sessions – Oddfellows Casino
8 Echoes on Departure – GNAC
9 House of All – House of All
10 K7 – Cleaners From Venus
Not really been a vintage year but the following twenty have been the pick IMHO:
1. Love in Exile – Arooj Arab, Vijay Iyer, Shazhad Ishmaily
2. Weathervanes – Jason Isbell
3. Tractus – Arvo part
4. Songs of Silence – Vince Clarke
5. Travel – The Necks
6. The Nation’s most central location – Warrington-Runcorn New Town Development Plan
7. Heavy heavy – Young Fathers
8. Bach Goldberg Variations – Vikingur Olafsson
9. The Beacons – Vic Mars
10. Keep your courage – Natalie Merchant
11. Ghosts – Hania Rani
12. The Girl is crying in her Latte – Sparks
13. Eno Piano – Bruce Brubaker
14. 12 – Ryuchi Sakamoto
15. Amatssou – Tinariwen
16. The Returner – Alison Russell
17. September November – The Long Ryders
18. Guts – Olivia Rodrigo
19. Stillness, Softness – Hinako Omori
20. Thea Gilmore – Thea Gilmore
That’s a very eclectic selection Hoops, I’m not saying they’ll feature in my list many definitely not but as I said a very good list
Thanks Ray. I will await your list with interest
You lot are very certain in your beliefs. For me the whole point of the exercise is to get me to listen properly to those albums I might have missed, and to re-assess those I liked earlier. Is the EBTG album one fantastic track (the first) and a bit just ok after? Are The National getting two albums in the list, if not which one is better? Are there going to be late runners coming up on the rails like Four Tet (probably not), Avalon Emerson (possibly), Beirut? Is the Natalie Merchant album going to keep its place? Is the Overmono? To find the answers to all these questions and more is going to take me a few weeks yet.
1) I/O ~ Peter Gabriel
2) Shadow Kingdom ~ Bob Dylan
3) Archangel Hill ~ Shirley Collins
4) Irish Rock N Roll ~ The Mary Wallopers
5) Garden Party ~ Rose City Band
6) Stories From A Rock N Roll Heart ~ Lucinda Williams
7) RökFlöte ~ Jethro Tull
8) Hackney Diamonds ~ The Rolling Stones
1. Nothing Lasts Forever – Teenage Fanclub
2. The Wireless Revolution – Dropkick
3. I Des – King Creosote
4. I Am Not There Anymore – The Clientele
5. When a Good Day Comes – PJ Moore & Co (if allowed for 2023)
6. Cousin – Wilco
7. Drops – Steven Adams
8. Uncertain Country – Great Lake Swimmers
9. The Vivian Line – Ron Sexsmith
10. Joy’all – Jenny Lewis
11. Nudge Unit Blues – The Eisenhowers
12. 24 Songs – The Wedding Present
13. Good Time/Hard Time – Teleman
14. Fuse – EBTG
15. Culture Gun – The Blue Aeroplanes
16. Air in the Lungs – Air In The Lungs
17 – I Saw A Star….. – Bennett, Wilson, Poole
18. Sea Of Mirrors – The Coral
19. Undo The Blue – Iraina Mancini
20. Spectral Lines – Josh Ritter
2023
1. Altin Gun – Ask
2. Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds – Council Skies
3. Brandee Younger – Brand New Life
4. Warrington Runcorn New Town Development Plan – The Nation’s Most Central Location
5. The Coral – Sea of Mirrors
6. Alfa Mist – Variables
7. Jim – Love Makes Magic
8. Woods – Perennial
9. Black Thought and El Michels Affair – Glorious Game
10. Carlton Melton – Resemble Ensemble
11. QOTSA – In Times New Roman
12. Nicky Wire – Intimism
13. Plank! – Future of the Sea
14. PJ Harvey – I Inside The Old Year Dying
15. Manco Wilder – Phantom of the Corner Store
16. Gaz Coombes – Turn The Car Around
17. Danny Arakaki – Tumble In Shade
18. Mette Henriette – Drifting
19. Weak Signal – War and War
20. Earth Room – Earth Room
At last! A vote for Jim.
He hasn’t done much since Taxi ended..
1. Natalie Merchant – Keep Your Courage
2. The Bluebells – In the 21st century
3. Blur – The ballad of Darren
4. Susanne Sundfor – Blomi
5. Jenny Lewis – Joy’All
6. Lana Del Rey – There’s a tunnel
7. Explosions in the Sky – End
8. Dexys – The Feminine Divine
9. Wilco – Cousin
10. Teenage Fanclub – Nothing Lasts Forever
11. Lloyd Cole – On Pain
12. Peter Gabriel – i/o
13. Noel Gallagher – Council Skies
14. Dot Allison – Consciousology
15. James Yorkston, Nina Persson – The Great White Sea Eagle
16. John Mellencamp – Orpheus Descending
17. Kid Francescoli – Sunset Blue
18. King Creosote – I DES
19. M Ward – Supernatural Thing
20. Boygenius – The Record
Hackney Diamonds is the only new album I’ve bought this year so I’ll vote for that.
Is it any good?
Better than I’d expected.
I gave up after two tracks.
The best one is next to last. It was the one that made me buy it. ‘Sweet Sounds of Heaven’. Lovely stuff.
The song of the decade.
The Seventies?
You can give them all 10.5 points each
Paul Simon – 7 Psalms
Israel Nash – Ozarker
Peter Gabriel – I/O
Bob Dylan – Shadow Kingdom
Oxn – Cyrm
CVC – Get Real
Third Mind – Third Mind 2
Coral – Sea Of Mirrors
Jonathan Wilson – Eat The Worm
Natalie Merchant – Keep Your Courage
Kassi Valazza – Kassi Valazza Knows Nothing
Jason Isbell – Weathervanes
King Creosote – I Des
Taj Mahal – Savoy
Mary Wallpapers – Irish Rock N Roll
Dropkick Murphys – Okemah Rising
Jim – Love Makes Magic
Rose City Band – Garden Party
Lilac Time – Dance Til All The Stars Come Down
The Handsome Family – Hollow
Worst album of 2023: Rolling Stones – Hack Kneed Bollocks
I’ve given them 11.
If the Baron did this on the Historical Poll, I’d score Paul Simon 20 down to the Handsome Family with one point.
Why not ten? He can’t sort his sequence out, why reward him with ten extra points on aggregate? I’d knock off ten.
😉
All perfectly reasonable points. I guess I was just opting for an easy life, avoiding conflict. It’s a personality trait you know.
Tigger is right, one ring to bind us all
C’mon , @andyourbirdcansing play the game…
Play what game? Dividing the points equally has been done many times in the end of year poll. This I know for a fact because I was running it before Tigs, before Loadstone, before Paul and many voters selections had points divided equally. Total points 1st place down to last place 210. Thats 10.5 points for each selection. So get of your high horses, what I’ve done is nothing new.
Tigs you would be out of order carrying out what you propose.
😘
Anyhow Tigs wouldn’t they all be disallowed not being reissues.
I’m looking forward to your long reissue list.
😀
On reflection it does seem wrong for all of Baron’s selections to get 11 and his selections ultimately to be worth more than anyone else’s, so I will give them all 10.5 as he requested to start with. I anticipate that will just mean the results will look a bit messier.
Give The Stones 20 pts just to annoy him
Does this not read like a Tigger Review?
Lana Del Rey: Did You Know That There’s a Tunnel Under Ocean Blvd
The singer-songwriter continues to map out a turbulent, symbol-strewn emotional landscape in sumptuous, sometimes jagged ballads
Intoxicating love, triumphant self-destruction, abject abandonment, simmering-to-roiling melancholia: this is the tonal palette Lana Del Rey has spent the past 12 years fashioning into a heady sonic calling card. Pop is still thrilled by reinvention, but for the musician born Elizabeth Grant consistency is crucial: her inner darkness is always rendered in languid, sumptuously beautiful ballads littered with strange, specific detail and steeped in the musty beauty of golden age Hollywood, as well as the gritty romance of everyday Americana. Songs are occasionally jolted into the 21st century by sharply flickering trap beats and always by her voice, a puffy sonic pout with a slight slur – in the past she has christened the cumulative style “narco swing.”
On her lovely and perturbing ninth album, Did You Know That There’s a Tunnel Under Ocean Blvd, Del Rey continues to map out this turbulent, symbol-strewn emotional landscape with disturbing ferocity: if the wretched creature here doesn’t line up with your mental image of a superstar singer-songwriter, you haven’t been consuming enough celebrity misery memoirs. On the hauntingly gorgeous title track – which takes pains to pinpoint her favourite moment of Harry Nilsson’s 1974 single Don’t Forget Me – she identifies hard with the eponymous tunnel, which has been boarded up for decades. Del Rey is tired of being closed off and terrified of being forgotten: she needs to be walked through. “Open me up, tell me you like it / Fuck me to death, love me until I love myself,” she croons elegiacally.
That craving for ego-obliterating affection is her lodestar; a pop trope she gave a cleverly contemporary spin on her 2011 breakthrough single Video Games. That song was a celebration of all-consuming romance, however wilfully delusional – yet on this album’s staggering standout track A&W she has been robbed even of that. “It’s not about having someone to love me any more / This is the experience of being an American whore,” she mutters over scratchy acoustic guitar and warbling keys. Gradually, synths drone louder, a hypnotic trap beat appears, and things get blurry, feedback-drenched and faintly industrial. We hear about Jimmy, who only loves her “when he wanna get high”, while Del Rey herself multiplies into a drugged-up choir destined for “the club”. It feels like a desperate cry from a pained soul, but also something more abstract and conceptual; a twisted anthem for an opioid-ravaged America, eve
Ocean Blvd does not begin with one of these poetic studies in disturbing dysfunctionality: gospel choir-backed opener The Grants is uncharacteristically wholesome, if characteristically morbid, as Del Rey counts the treasured memories – her niece, her grandmother’s final smile – that her pastor says are the only things she can transport into the afterlife. A few tracks later, she murmurs and chuckles along with an extensive recording of the controversial megachurch preacher Judah Smith, who has expressed anti-abortion and homophobic views. Critics were confused – was this an endorsement, or a satirical take?
On Ocean Blvd, Del Rey’s inbuilt ambiguity seeps deep into the music too. Instead of the smattering of pop songs – strangely unsettling, always, but catchy as well – that made her name in the 2010s, she now deals almost exclusively in impressionistic material which doesn’t instantly hit the pleasure centre. These tracks reward repeated listening, such as Candy Necklace – a Jon Batiste collaboration dense with Del Rey tropes (idealistic love, obsessive love, soul-sucking love) that is meandering at first, later potent and indelible. It pays dividends to invest in her world, an articulation of American darkness, of female pain, of the quest for temporary transcendence. Del Rey’s music has always been partly about cheap, empty thrills, but this richly imagistic, captivatingly cryptic album is never one itself.
tl:dr
😉
Bloody hell, it’s Friday morning already??
Get a life Dai it was a jest. It’s still the worst album I’ve heard in the last 5 years but that is just my opinion, why do you get so upright?
‘uptight’
Most of us would be more than happy to get upright.
And outasight.
I’d rather go blind. The slow way.
Mine was a jest too. Get a life yourself. Anyway doubt you’ve even listened to it. You slagged it off a couple of times before release before saying you wouldn’t do that any more.
I actually think it may have been a tad over praised. I listened to Steel Wheels last week and that’s generally really good so I doubt it’s the best since Some Girls or whatever. It’s still mighty fine for octogenarians and Sweet Sounds of Heaven is certainly to me their best track in many many years.
I am mostly upright between around 8am and 11pm. Sometimes have a nap after lunch though, makes me less grumpy
Do not doubt, I was gifted it. I played it 3 times liking it less each time.
In MY opinion the album is a regurgitation of similar sounds recorded on their 70’s output which itself deteriorated with each release. The current album being shallow reproduction of a tired sound. That is my opinion others are available.
I notice the esteemed Pat Carty has backtracked a bit on his intitial enthusiasm for the recent Stones album, now rating it as only about 50% good.
I’ve tried really, really hard and even listened to around 10 different “Best of 23” articles but nothing this year has engaged me apart from, of course,
Lana del Rey – Tunnel Under Ocean Boulevard (using Baron’s system I think that means she gets 210 points?)
If it’s allowed in this poll, can I put Neil Young’s Before & After in second place?
Yes. New recordings.
Goodee, I now have two!!
105 points each
1. Noel Gallagher’s HFB – Council Skies
2. D’Virgilio, Morse & Jennings – Sophomore
3. Fucked Up – One Day
4. The Hold Steady – Price of Progress
5. Jenny Lewis – Joy All
6. King Creosote – I Des
7. JPEGMafia & Danny Brown – Scaring the Hoes
8. Rufus Wainwright – Folkocracy
9. Gaz Coombes – Turn The Car Around
10. Peter Gabriel (E I E) I O
Seasons greetings to you all. My 16:
1. Did you know that there’s a tunnel under Ocean Blvd – Lana Del Ray
2. Angel Numbers – Hamish Hawk
3. The Ballad of Darren – Blur
4. ÁTTA – Sigur Rós
5. Cracker Island – Gorillaz
6. False Lankum – Lankum
7. Sea of Mirrors – The Coral
8. Seven Psalms – Paul Simon
9. Theatre of the Absurd presents C’est La Vie – Madness
10. The Girl is Crying in her Latte – Sparks
11. Everything Harmony – The Lemon Twigs
12. blómi – Susanne Sundfør
13. The Last Rotation of Earth – BC Camplight
14. Javelin – Sufjan Stevens
15. Tiny Notes – The Young’uns
16. Angels & Queens – Gabriels
1. Øxn/Cyrm
2. Rura/Dusk Moon
3. Jim Moray/Beflean
4. Realta/Thing of the Earth
5. Withered Hand/How To Love
6. Unthank, Smith/Nowhere and Everywhere
7. Lankum/False Lankum
8. Skinny Lister/Shanty Punk
9. Ben De La Cour/Anhedonia
10. Margo Cilker/Valley of Hearts
11. Fairport Convention/Full House For Sale (NEW live recording released this year, recorded last)
12. Our Man in the Field/Gold on the Horizon
13. Teenage Fanclub/Nothing Lasts Forever
14. Anohni/My Back Was Broad For You
15. Black Pumas/Chronicles of a Diamond
16. Tu-Kay & Ryan/Companion
17. Roseanne Reid/Lawside
18. Kassi Valazza/Kassi Valazza Knows Nothing
19. Ana Frango Elétrico/Me Chama de Gato Que ou Sou Sua
20. Madder Rose/No One Gets Hurt ever
1. H… retropath has the Øxn album at No.1. Right: that settles it. I feel I must buy it.
2. Just a brief heads-up that the thread you’ve all been waiting for will be launched tomorrow, Tuesday 19 December. Yes indeed, I’m talking about the duco01 50 Favourite New Albums of 2023. Fully annotated and free to all Afterworders. See you tomorrow…
Huzzah!
Christmas has come early!!!
I really tried to like the Lana Del Rey album and listened several times but to no avail. Sorry
Wor(l)d’s gone mad
It starts brilliantly but loses all momentum with a couple of irritating Interludes and never recovers.
As for you….
I struggled with it for some months but in the end I realised I was Wrong in my original assessment: a masterpiece is what it is, a masterpiece.
To be honest when I gave the CD to Jimmy and Betty a few doors down they said it was like listening to Vera Lynn all over again.
It ain’t no Norman Fucking Rockwell.
You’re right, it’s better
1. Natalie Merchant – Keep your courage
2. Jason Isbell – Weathervanes
3. Robert Forster – The Candle and the flame
4.Lana Del Rey – Did You Know That There’s A Tunnel Under Ocean Blvd
5. The National – First Two Pages of Frankenstein
6.Sufjan Stevens – Javelin
7.Rolling Stones – Hackney Diamonds
8.Jenny Lewis – Joy’all
9.Olivia Rodrigo – Guts
10. Bob Dylan – shadow kingdom
11.Dexys – the Feminine Divine
12.Paul Simon – Seven Psalms
13. Susanne Sundfor – Blomi
1. Steven Wilson – The Harmony Codex
2. The Necks – Travel
3. Mike Nock – Hearing
4. Lankum – False Lankum
5. Syntax Error – The Vanishing Existence
6. The Silversound – The Silversound
7. Yussef Dayes – Black Classical Music
8. The National – First Two Pages of Frankenstein
9. Arooj Aftab, Vijay Iyer, Shahzad Ismaily – Love in Exile
10. Jessie Ware – That! Feels Good!
11. PJ Harvey – I Inside the Old Year Dying
12. Visions of Nar – Daughter of the Seas
13. Gareth Koch – Ghost Stories
14. All India Radio – Diamonds in the Dark
15. Hawksmoor – Telepathic Heights
16. Jason Bruer & Hammerhead – I Didn’t Get Where I Am Today
17. Trichotomy – To Vanish
18. Unthank Smith – Nowhere and Everywhere
19. London Brew – London Brew
20. The Church – The Hypnogogue
@simon22367
Hooray…a point for the Church!
I thing only the estimable HP Wonderful has ranked the latest album by Sparks. A travesty that must be rectified.
1. Sparks- The Girl I s Crying in Her Latte
2. Rose City Band -Garden Party still laid back ,still lo fi but with a hot Aussie summer this’l do the trick
3. Mike Nock – Hearing
4. The Necks – Travel I think Silverwater is probably the best recorded representation but this is pretty damn good.
5. The Feelies – Some Kinda Love , their garagey tribute to the Velvets
👍 for The Rose City Band
I think Handsome +2 had voted for Sparks, Junior. Hope so, or my spreadsheet has gone wonky….
I’m sure you are right.
Ok here are mine – a good year I think, I could have done another 20.
1. boygenius – The Record
2. Slowdive – Everything Is Alright
3. Jim – Love Makes Magic
4. Sufjan Stevens – Javelin
5. Blur – The Ballad Of Darren
6. Wilco – Cousin
7. Sofia Kourtesis – Madres
8. Barry Can’t Swim – When Will We Land?
9. Anish Kumar – A Mixtape By Anish Kumar
10. The National – The First Two Pages Of Frankenstein
11. Young Fathers – Heavy Heavy
12. Eyes Of Others – Eyes Of Others
13. Willie J Healey – Bunny
14. Harp – Albion
15. Beirut – Hadsel
16. Smoke Fairies – Carried In Sound
17. Das Koolies – 001
18. Sparklehorse – Bird Machine
19. Gorillaz – Cracker Island
20. ACR – 1982
I like (or used to like) the National, but bailed about 5 years back, as they were getting a bit formulaic. Loved the singers solo album, mind. Anyhoo, a lot of folk have put Frankenstein on their list ( and none their other 2023 release): sell it to me! Why is it top 20 material?
They were, for a number of years, my go-to band when I didn’t know what to put on, and the run of albums from Boxer to Trouble Will Find Me are top-draw miserable indie and perfect for a certain mood.
The latest two don’t quite scale these heights but First Two Pages Of Frankenstein has a couple of tracks that rank with their best imho, namely Eucalyptus and Tropic Morning News. They use female vocalists (Taylor Swift and Phoebe Bridgers) to support on a couple of other standout tracks and the whole album is a rich and rewarding, if more downbeat than the old days, listen.
The above-mentioned Eucalyptus is probably my song of the year – gorgeous and melancholy, the lyrics quoting a separating couple sharing out their stuff. Lyric sample:
What about the rainbow eucalyptus?
What about the instruments?
What about The Cowboy Junkies?
What about The Afghan Wigs?
I did the same Retro, they used to be a wonderful band but have done some awful albums over the last few years.
This new one is not hitting the heights of Alligator or Boxer, but it is the first album of theirs since Trouble Will Find Me that I have repeatedly played throughout, it just works as an album. I would say the other release (Laugh Track) actually has a few songs on that are better than anything on Frankenstein (especially Smoke Detector), but as a full album it is weaker.
Just listening to F’stein now, as I prepare the julskinka: the boys visiting so he needs to feel at home. The albums good.
And also to the other one; I think Laugh Track edges over it at the tape….
And, while we are at it, didn’t Lodey Del Ray do 2 this year as well, with only one getting any mention. I lost interest after Chemtrails, which I liked a lot, c/o the more muted arrangements. Someone tell me, please, tho maybe not Lanstone of Wrongness, so as to get an objective opinion.
Lots of singles but only one album in 23
Thanks for the clarification. On the album or waifs and strays?
My name is George. My English is not good very. What waifs and strays?
Stand alone singles or lifts from the album. My name is, interestingly, also George, Ian.
1: Yo La Tengo: This Stupid World
2: U.S. Girls: Bless This Mess
3: Lana Del Ray : Did You Know…
4: Dorothy Moskowitz and United States of Alchemy: Under An Endless Sky
5: The Clientele: I Am Not There Anymore
6; Roisin Murphy: Hit Parade
7: Sara Davici: Long Gradus
As revealed and annotated on a separate thread…
1. Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit – Weathervanes
2. Lisa O’Neill – All of this is Chance
3. Nils Økland & Sigbjørn Apeland – Glimmer
4. Mary Lattimore – Goodbye, Hotel Arkada
5. Lankum – False Lankum
6. The Necks – Travel
7. John Zorn (and the Incerto Quartet) – Full Fathom Five
8. Jim Ghedi & Toby Hay – Jim Ghedi & Toby Hay
9. Matthew Halsall – An Ever Changing View
10. James Yorkston, Nina Persson & the Second Hand Orchestra – The Great White Sea Eagle
11. Ital Horns – Vol.1 Show Case at Conscious Sounds
12. Penguin Café – Rain Before Seven
13. Sufjan Stevens – Javelin
14. Jonny Dillon – A New Directive From The Bureau of Compulsory Entertainment
15. Blue Lake – Sun Arcs
16. Mitski – The Land Is Inhospitable and So Are We
17. Shirley Collins – Archangel Hill
18. Danny Paul Grody – Arc of Day
19. Hayden Pedigo – The Happiest Times I Ever Ignored
20. Art Themen & Greg Foat – Off-Piste
For those who give a hoot, I’ve been chipping away at a playlist, restricting it to people’s top tens.
That Paul Simon knew what he was doing; the only option was to include his entire album. The git.
Shuffling away and my own first new discovery is Barry Can’t Swim. I shall continue to explore..
Great work @Sewer Robot.
224 albums to dip into! That should keep us busy for a while.
1. Tyshawn Sorey – Continuing
Sorey is a drummer with the power of Art Blakey and the musicality of Max Roach, Matt Brewer is a 21st century Ron Carter and Aaron Diehl is as dynamic and percussive as John Lewis. The trio reinvent Shorter’s Reincarnation Blues, Jamal’s Seleritus, Matt Dennis’s Angel Eyes and Harold Mabern’s What Direction Are You Headed? as soulful, discordant grooves. No album has given me so much pleasure this decade, a blessed relief post pandemic.
2. Gabriels – Angels & Queens
The core thirteen songs are thoroughly modern and not the least nostalgic, yet compare favourably to classic Soul albums of the seventies
3. Ryuichi Sakamoto – 12
An extraordinarily calm meditation on impending death
4. Lankum – False Lankum
A beast of an album, plumbing depths and crawling in dark corners most of us avoid
5. Radvanovsky, Jaho, Kaufman, Santa Cecilia Orchestra conducted by Pappano – Puccini: Turandot
A fabulous lockdown studio performance of real colour and drama, enhanced, somewhat unusually, by the complete Alfano ending.
6. Alabaster Deplume – Come With Fierce Grace
Primitive, raw, earthy and awesome
7. Lisa O’Neill – All Of This Is Chance
Primitive, raw, earthy and awesome
8. Cleo Sol – Heaven
A beautiful voice, a simple backing. This is music to tend the most troubled Soul
9. Muriel Grossman – Devotion
Saxophone, guitar and Hammond organ in a joyful groovefest
10. Naïssam Jalal – Healing Rituals
Who knew that the flute could be such an expressive instrument?
11.Arooj Aftab, Vijay Iyer, Shahzad Ismaily – Love In Exile
12. Mitski – The Land Is Inhospitable And So Are We
13. Kenneth Hamilton – Liszt: Salon And Stage
14. Masego – Masego
15. Yazmin Lacey – Voice Notes
16. Corinne Bailey Rae – Black Rainbows
17. Hania Rani – Ghosts
18. Peter Gabriel – I/O
19. Olivia Rodrigo – Cuts
20. Hannigan, Chamayou, Emerson Quartet – Infinite Voyage: Schoenberg & Berg
Lists like these are seemingly designed to make you feel inadequate, even if that’s not the intention. It doesn’t though.
I apologise
No need
As always at this time of year, contributors like DuCool and you, Tigger, are getting me very curious to listen to the artists on their lists.
You also got me wondering what ” a complete Alfano ending” was!
I Googled and now I know.
https://classicalvoiceamerica.org/2017/03/31/happily-ever-after-berios-turandot-ending-enigmatic/
I see that Tigger’s No.1 choice, Tyshawn Sorey’s “Continuing”, was also the Guardian’s Jazz album of the year, as chosen by John Fordham. I’ve been listening to the album quite a bit over the past few days, and it is indeed very fine.
https://www.theguardian.com/music/2023/dec/26/the-10-best-jazz-albums-of-2023
Fordham is a great writer and a fine judge. I see Healing Rituals is also in his top ten. Perhaps, I should give Neset another try. He hasn’t clicked with me since his fiery debut.
Tigger has the hotline to greatness!
In the Guardian, yesterday’s genre to get the “10 Best of the Year” list was a genre called “Contemporary”, which seems to cover the field of modern composition for small ensembles.
Anyway, Number one in that list was a record I’d never heard of called “Les Jardins Mystiques Vol 1” by a guy called Miguel Atwood-Ferguson. A hugely ambitious 4LP or 3CD set that sounds … intriguing. Has any Afterword ever come across this album in their travels?
https://www.theguardian.com/music/2023/dec/25/the-10-best-contemporary-albums-of-2023
No.
Looked at the list and feel it was invented, @duco01 , very much with you in mind. Noticed this year is the first I haven’t included any jazz, electronic or, um, “contemporary”. Folk seems to be eating me up!
The finest Jazz was recorded long ago, the finest folk is still being recorded.
IMO obviously.
That’s a contentious opinion. I concur with your comment about folk insomuch that there isn’t any cutoff point to talent in any of the arts. Talent is always present at all times in all cultures and all geographical locations. Obviously that makes the assertion that “the finest jazz was recorded long ago” open to question. On what date did talented jazz musicians stop making great jazz?
Are contemporary jazz musicians aware that they are not up to the mark? Perhaps someone should tell them so they can stop wasting their time and ours. IMO obviously.
How very dare you, retro!
And, RayX, there is far more fine Jazz created these days than in the seventies and eighties and beyond. The modern day musicians are superb, cultural cross pollination has never been better and the level of creativity is astonishing.
Of course…
@pencilsqueezer, @Tiggerlion, I did say IMO that doesn’t mean to say I expect to be right in everyone else’s opinion.
Unlike some who come on here I don’t expect the views I express to be agreed upon by even one other. I leave that to the pompous and arrogant, you know who you are.
Perhaps you could elucidate and explain when you believe Jazz fell from what you hold to have been it’s state of grace. Knowing exactly what you mean by “long ago” would be illuminating. Pre 1950? Pre 1970?
When?
Jeez, lighten up. Do you just come on here to be offended?
In a world of stupid genre classifications ‘contemporary’ is the most meaningless and idiotic of the lot (presumably all the other new music released this year is somehow not contemporary?). It is closely followed by the other top ten category The Guardian has listed, ‘global’…As an illustration of the nonsense of all of this the Arooj Aftab etc could equally have been put in any of of the three categories they have posted so far
Very true @BlueBoy. A lot of the most interesting artists in 2023 do not fit easily into one genre.
I am a big fan of Ms Aftab. Surely it must be good for her to be multi-genre? If I were her manager, I’d send her to Jamaica to get some dub-remixes done or perhaps down to Bristol to get a Massive Attack make-over.
That did wonders for both Nusrat
And Les Negresses Vertes
I so agree with what Tigger wrote;-:
“The modern day musicians are superb, cultural cross pollination has never been better and the level of creativity is astonishing.”
I know I could go to the Fasching Jazz Club here every week and see music that I’d really enjoy.
They are open-minded in their booking policy and have experimental acts like The Necks, lots of “world music” like Adriana Calcanhotto from Brazil and indie folk like James Yorkston, Nina Persson and the Second Hand Orchestra.
It might sound like a mish-mash but it works excellently, Everybody wins.
@Kaisfatdad you are so right. One of the best gigs I saw this year was Angelique Klidjo – she played two different sets and it would be impossible to pigeon hole her. She covered Calypso, funk, jazz, blues. Brilliant.
I saw her too this summer at the Roskilde Festival @SteveT and she want down a storm with a very large crowd, many of whom were not even born when her career really took off.
Here’s Cross-eyed and Painless from her African reboot of the Remain in Light.
An excellent example of the “musical cross- pollination” that Tiggerlion was talking about. It’s not just the musicians that have blossomed. Modern audiences are far
more open to a greater variety of styles and genres.
Look at the varied best of the year lists that are coming in. to to the AW Best of 2023.
Estonian polyphonic choirs, ambient jazzers, dub reggae, indie pop, Albanian black metal, fado, EDM, surf-guitar instrumentals, bossa nova, etc are all nuzzling together cosily together on the same list.
Yes I have and annoyingly I meant to include it on my nonsensical list but forgot. One of a few I intended to include but didn’t because I don’t take this kind of malarkey at all seriously because who cares?
Anyway this pretty exhaustive album is just the start evidently as Miguel Atwood-Ferguson intends releasing more very long albums in the fulness of time.
I have listened to lots of good and interesting records this year but I am not sure I have heard anything truly great. But, anyway, here’s twenty that I have enjoyed. Toss up which of the first two I put in the top spot but boygenius get the nod on the basis that I have been playing it and enjoying it through the year, and am still hearing new things in it, whereas the Aftab/Iyer/Ismaily I have come to just in the last couple of months. I suspect it may be the keeper on this list though.
1. boygenius – the record
2. Arooj Aftab, Vijay Iyer, Shahzad Ismaily – To Remain/To Return
3. Anohni and the Johnsons – My Back Was a Bridge for You to Cross
4. Sunny War – Anarchist Gospel
5. Susanne Sundfor – blomi
6. Margo Cilker – Valley of Heart’s Delight
7. Lucinda Williams – Stories from a Rock n Roll Heart
8. Corinne Bailey Rae – Black Rainbows
9. Lana del Rey – Did you know there’s a tunnel under Ocean Boulevard
10. Durand Jones – Wait Til I Get Over
11. PJ Harvey – I Inside the Old Year Dying
12. Feist – Multitudes
13. Lisa O’Neill – All of This is Chance
14. Rhiannon Giddens – You’re The One
15. Van Morrison – Moving on Skiffle
16. Jess Williamson – Time Ain’t Accidental
17. Allison Russell – The Returner
18. Sampha – Lahai
19. Julie Byrne – The Greater Wings
20. Edgar Jones – Reflections of a Soul Dimension
I know what you mean Blue Boy. Considering a few of your albums are on my list could I recommend the Matt Elliott album? I saw Arooj Aftab in the summer, she was amazing. I’d really recommend her previous album.
Thanks for the recommendation Paws. Dont know Matt Elliott at all so will check him out.
As always, this poll just confirms every year how little brand new stuff I tend to look up, but here goes. There are more I’ve listened to but these are the ones that stuck and kept me going back for repeated listens:
1. Steven Wilson – The Harmony Codex
2. Das Koolies – DK.01
3. Jah Wobble – A Brief History of Now
4. Four Tet – Live at Alexandra Palace, London
5. Public Service Broadcasting – This New Noise
6. Emma Rawicz – Chroma
7. Gorillaz – Cracker Island
8. Lemon Twigs – Everything Harmony
9. Vince Clarke – Songs Of Silence
I bought 30 albums this year but it seems only 16 were released in 2023. The first bunch were ones from last year’s Afterword Best Of that had passed me by. I greatly enjoyed Hannah Peel & Paraorchestra’s album The Unfolding and Anthony Toner’s Book of Absolution which were both on heavy rotation in my household during Jan & Feb. Of the aforementioned 16 I discounted 3 for various which leaves my list as follows:-
1. Molly Tuttle & Golden Highway – City of Gold
2. Tom Harris – Buddleia
3. Allison Russell – The Returner
4. Rhiannon Giddens – You’re the One
5. Martin Simpson & Thomm Jutz – Nothing But Green Willow
6. Michele Stodart – Invitation
7. George Sansome & Matt Quinn – Sheffield Park
8. Michelle Holding & Bonz – Satisfied, Tickled Too
9. Lucy Farrell – We Are Only Sound
10. Melrose Quartet – Make the World Anew
11. Track Dogs – Blind Summits & Hidden Dips
12. Hack-Poets Guild – Blackletter Garland
13. Kathryn Roberts & Sean Lakeman Almost a Sunset
For what it’s worth I crowdfunded 2 of these (Tom Harris and Michele Stodart) so got the CD directly from the artists. I bought 1 from Amazon and the remaining 10 from Bandcamp, mostly on Bandcamp Friday.
I have the Molly Tuttle and Track Dogs albums and I’m sure I must have Rhiannon Giddens album. I’ll be looking at a few more on your list Vince.
I’ve checked out the Rhiannon Giddens album. I gave it away, if I remember correctly I found it very M.O.R. not the usual material I expect from her. That’s just my opinion which I expect few to agree with.
Oh and Merry Xmas everyone!
Hmmm … I see that the Hack-Poets Guild album mentioned by Vince, the Øxn album, the Lisa O’Neill album, and (inevitably) the Lankum album all made the Guardian’s Folk Top Ten of the Year. …
https://www.theguardian.com/music/2023/dec/27/the-10-best-folk-albums-of-2023
It seems fair to say the Irish are back; not since the heady days of Planxty and the Bothy Band have they had such a presence. Scottish music, in the ascendant for a decade or two, is going to have to find some game to raise!
Hey Paul Hewson, sorry to be such a nuisance but I’ve dropped a clanger here. One of my most listened to albums in 2023 is The Flood by Wayward Jane, of whom I am a big fan. I pre-ordered the CD direct from the Artists and they duly posted it out. For some reason I didn’t add it to my database of recorded music. Can you please put it into my list at #4 and move all the rest down by one. Thanks!
Wayward Jane are a quartet based in Edinburgh and have been around for a while. I first encountered them at the Allen Valleys Folk Festival in bustling downtown Allendale in Sept 2017. They played a sort of old time stringband / bluegrass that I didn’t think anyone played in the UK, let alone as well as this. As a result I managed to get them booked at my local folkclub in 2019 and again in 2022. On this their third album they’ve written most of the material themselves.
No problem – all done.
Here’s my 5 – in order 20 to 16 points
Rhiannon GIDDENS – You’re The One
Caroline Polachek – Desire, I Want to Turn Into You
Steve WILSON – The Harmony Codex
Jess Williamson – Time Ain’t Accidental
Jason ISBELL and the 400 Unit – Weathervanes
18 from me – who knew?
1 VdGG – Bath Forum Concert
2 Emerson Qt/Hannigan/Chamayou – Infinite Voyage: Schoenberg/Berg
3 Arooj Aftab/Vijay Iyer/Shahzad Ismaily – Love in Exile
4 John Cale – Mercy
5 Estonian Phil. Chamber Choir/Tallinn Chamber Orch/ Kaljuste – Arvo Pärt: Tractus
6 Zopp – Dominion
7 David Brewis – The Soft Struggles
8 Välvē – Tiny Pilots
9 Soft Machine – Other Doors
10 Hilary Hahn – Ysaÿe: six sonatas for solo violin op.27
11 Yussef Dayes – Black Classical Music
12 Anoushka Shankar – Chapter 1: Forever, for now
13 Big Big Train – Ingenious Devices
14 Emma Rawicz – Chroma
15 Sinfonia of London/Wilson – Music for Strings
16 Taj Mahal – Savoy
17 Muireann Bradley – I Kept These Old Blues
18 Fairport Convention – Full House for Sale
…and, of course, many thanks for doing this, @Paul-Hewston
Many apologies, @Paul-Hewston – can I add the following late arrival at number 11, and push everything below that down by one? Very many thanks.
11 Nikki Iles/NDR Big Band – Face to Face
No problem -sorted @fitterstoke.
@Paul-Hewston
I understand from Tigger that the Sparklehorse album is now agreed between you both as a “new” album – I have therefore removed it from my reissues/old list – but would like to add it to my “new” list. Could you please insert it at number 3 and move everything else down by one (giving 20 in total)?
3 Sparklehorse Bird Machine
Many thanks.
@fitterstoke. No problem – that’s done. My feeling is that, if Shadow Kingdom is a new release then Sparklehorse must be! OOAA of course.
I note that some correspondents are mentioning whether they purchased hard copies of the albums on their lists, perhaps as an indication of their commitment to the music?
I’m not sure that’s absolutely necessary (especially given the import costs of some Bandcamp music): but, for the record, I bought 16 of the above as CDs, with 2 as “paid for” flac downloads.
Both Romy and Roisin Murphy made thank you videos especially for me so they are clearly overjoyed that I listened to their albums on Spotify.
Huzzah!
I admit that I am obviously a third class music consumer by dint of my only spending small sums on mass produced bits of circular plastic. I am fundamentally evil. A rotter of the first water and not a proper music fan.
I shall cast myself into the outer darkness forthwith.
You absolute rotter. Fancy not buying something, how could you 😊
Surely “how” you consume music is of no relevance, even to this poll? What matters is that it grabbed you, moved you etc. I also think that it matters (for this poll) that you kept going back to it rather than had a listen, thought it was good then moved on, although I dare say some will will disagree even with that.
Didn’t realise there were classes, Mr P…where will it all end? Am I a fourth class music consumer because I spent more on heating than music this year?
It’s a pleasure.
Lets hope this tips the top place to Mr.Isbell – I loved this album. Very different to – but possibly better than Southeastern
1. Jason Isbell and the 400 unit – Weathervanes
2. The National – Laugh Track
3. Wico – Cousin
4. The National- First Two Pages of Frankenstein
5. Slowdive – Everything is Alive
6. Sigur Ros – ATTA
7. Allison Russell – The Returner
8. Hiss Golden Messenger – Jump For Joy
9. Dylan LeBlanc – Coyote
10. boygenius – the record
11. Rhiannon Giddens – You’re The One
12. Everything But The Girl – Fuse
13. Amos Lee – Honeysuckle Switches
14. Ben de la Cour – Sweet Anhedonia
15. Natalie Merchant – Keep Your Courage
I’m with you re Jason, see my list below.
1 Sparklehorse
2 Young Fathers
3 National – Frank
4 National – Laugh
5 Skids – Destination Düsseldorf
6 Lana del R
7 Olivia R
8 Yeule – Soft Scars
9 Boygenius
10 Sufjan
Just 10. I actually bought 4 of these.
Hope everyone’s having a good Xmas.
I’m liking the Skids album myself.
I’ve mainly been playing music from previous years in 2023, notably Arabic artists, but a few of them have released music this year, alongside some Colombian and English-singing acts – just 10 from me:
1. Jessie Ware – That Feels Good
2. Acid Arab – ٣ (Trois)
3. Young Fathers – Heavy Heavy
4. Praed – Kaf Afrit
5. Le Cri du Caire – Le Cri du Caire
6. Nemanja – Voodoo Beat
7. Monsieur Periné – Bolero Apocaliptico
8. Christine and the Queens – Paranoïa, Angels, True Love
9. La Muchacha & El Propio Junte – Los Ombligos
10. Dhafer Youssef – Street of Minarets
Thanks for undertaking the poll, Paul!
From my point of view, it’s been a wonderful year for music. Looking at other lists, it looks like I’ve missed out on listening to a few more albums so I’ll need to put that right very soon. I think this is the first year in the past 20 years where Sparks have released an album and it hasn’t been at the top of my list. That’s less of a statement about the Sparks album and more a statement on the glory of the Esther Rose one. I really hope she’ll tour the UK in 2024.
1. Esther Rose – Safe To Run
2. Sparks – The Girl Is Crying In Her Latte
3. Brennen Leigh – Aint Through Honky Tonkin’ Yet
4. The Pink Stones – You Know Who
5. Jenny Lewis – Joy’All
6. Watson Twins – Holler
7. Margo Cilker – Valley Of Hearts Delight
8. The Long Ryders – September November
9. The Hurry – Don’t Look Back
10. Mozart Estate – Pop-Up! Ker-Ching! And The Possibilities Of Modern Shopping
11. On The Ranch – Emily Nenni
12. Caroline Rose – The Art Of Forgetting
13. Bella White – Among Other Things
14. Whitney Rose – Rosie
15. Chris Stamey – The Great Escape
16. Cut Worms – Cut Worms
17. Margaret Glaspy – Echo The Diamond
18. Coach Party – Killjoy
19. Flat worms – Witness Marks
20. Kate Davis – Fish Bowl
Played Esther Rose after your endorsement above. I think this will be purchase 12 for this year. I am adding her to my list below.
I’m glad you’re enjoying it. There’s more where that came from. I think I still prefer her last album but it’s now a close run thing.
11 albums purchased (on CD) which is my criteria for inclusion.
Going through all the lists above I’m sure I’ll find others that I’ve missed (enjoying Esther Rose as I type).
1. Jason Isbell & The 400 Unit – Weathervanes
2. Allison Russell – The Returner
3. Chris Stapleton – Higher
4. Black Pumas – Chronicles of a Diamond
5. OMD – Bauhaus Staircase
6. Brent Cobb – Southern Star
7. Dexys – The Feminine Divine
8. Joy’all – Jenny Lewis
9. Israel Nash – Ozarker
10. EBTG – Fuse
11. Jessie Ware – That! Feels Good! (Not had the requisite 6 listens yet)
As usual, ordering them is a nightmare but I’m sure of the top 2.
Like DrewToo above I hope I help Jason Isbell over the line to top the chart.
I made one other purchase, which I will post in the re-issue list.
Paul Hewston – Can you please add Esther Rose – Safe to Run at No.11 (making Jessie Ware no.12)?
No problem.
Having a boring day?
This site has compiled Best of 2023 Lists from a whole pile of different publications.
https://www.albumoftheyear.org/lists.php?fbclid=IwAR3r371nFuV8LYxqPPo93nJy_rdWr_DHVlyG9oQqrnlfgQNuuYubFdPqAjo
For those you trying to write your own List of the Year, a visit may threaten your sanity!
I did enjoy thïs Guardian 2023 Jazz list.
https://www.theguardian.com/music/2023/dec/26/the-10-best-jazz-albums-of-2023?fbclid=IwAR3ygHB1g5hHFSByuhfgX-ANQ_WBBlKpMYyAUEa74PEeFKO2OCCKsX8WoAM
I made myself a playlist and will continue to add other jazzy stuff.
However, I did notice that the journo has the same number one as Tiggerlion: Tyshan Sorey’s Continuing.
Strange coincidence, or???? Bet he was looking over Tig’s shoulder and copying all his answers!! What a swiz!
Thanks KFD, I started to have a look at that list of lists and that was it, who cares? The only list that matters is my own if I get round to it.
Many of these rather racy selections seem to come from periodicals aimed at the youth, you know those under 60. Not so many tunes by the doddering, feeble minded strummers The Afterword continues to support.
I read Fordham’s review when Continuing was released in August, thought “Oooh! That’s interesting,” listened to the album and was smitten.
I’d missed hearing Continuing until you flagged it up right here. Glad you did. It’s excellent. So tight it sounds loose.
The last periodical of any description I read was the last issue of The Word.
The only physical copy I buy of anything is Saturday’s Guardian because of the puzzles section. Everything else is on line.
I may start buying magazines again so that I can leave them in our waiting room at work. Looks pretty forlorn with only a copy of the national trust magazine and an old copy of the Idler.
10 faves
https://64.media.tumblr.com/3492af971137cfcb3ed93856c7f22cd6/27aa4618f4921ac3-dc/s1280x1920/356a40f393590975faff8f928b47f33c824b374e.jpg
https://babeterror.bandcamp.com/album/teghnojoyg-2023
https://64.media.tumblr.com/4b0a42b08a1539fbf2aea6878eb5629b/27aa4618f4921ac3-ed/s1280x1920/e5c81fa67a61230d266432119e2d4e5465c6c6b1.jpg
https://sufjanstevens.bandcamp.com/album/javelin
https://64.media.tumblr.com/5afacb5321ca61fb94e2e4b1aca785d1/29a4af678b2239f7-2d/s1280x1920/f0e3da3459d000d045a068499ab3a0eebdf22a83.jpg
https://whitecanyon5thdimension.bandcamp.com/album/gardeners-of-the-earth
https://64.media.tumblr.com/7afbd5729258db5fc07df42bca01ad58/8c5639e419e69383-98/s1280x1920/fee6e1ff2d485a76c9b1929a3e32e6dae48d460e.jpg
https://philipjeck.bandcamp.com/album/oxmardyke
https://64.media.tumblr.com/3f6c1f127a395af7a40b47ba9c2095d8/8c5639e419e69383-26/s1280x1920/efaaa348790bc9ccd6303ec93c8b68a1a2170a13.jpg
https://juliembyrne.bandcamp.com/album/the-greater-wings
https://64.media.tumblr.com/165eab750205b1bbc4532ad6322f1162/8c5639e419e69383-0c/s1280x1920/88fb9ab9bca85fed6b1b33dd255af94de9fd05d9.jpg
https://bricolageglasgow.bandcamp.com/album/before-the-echo-bc079
https://64.media.tumblr.com/a9fcb32cb42433500aae14836d00725d/65d04645f562c525-23/s1280x1920/7f54cf8b292fa08bfe585cf00e26b1ca44259764.jpg
https://flaermusic.bandcamp.com/album/preludes
https://64.media.tumblr.com/593578af3ed41de3f212728440eb5557/656895908063fbe5-c6/s1280x1920/fdf3a0615438b2696d36061b0bcb557929563fad.jpg
https://josephinefostermusic.bandcamp.com/track/dawn-of-time
https://64.media.tumblr.com/ce8f3e088d0bfc7b2376147851db28ce/d213deef47ff7fcc-5b/s1280x1920/bef70834aad96245d253e0052b7d450713024bd3.jpg
https://crueldiagonals.bandcamp.com/album/fractured-whole
https://64.media.tumblr.com/02df4bb12c9ab9c259df5de4f6418189/3d9eb2b120b75b55-01/s1280x1920/abbb6571808404c463a82bfcf144e1231959d608.jpg
https://polypores-cis.bandcamp.com/album/praedormitium
Last week I uploaded a fresh mix featuring 2 hours of some my fave female artists in 2023
Hi Gardener, maybe a good idea to re-do that one with just a list. The links DO work but pictures are notoriously difficult to get posted here properly. The Mix link is no problem
Your ever-helpful Yuletide Mods
thanks YM’s!
Here we go, can’t put it off any longer. Can’t decide if it’s been a good year for new music or not. Well, it has, but a lot of the new stuff was from previous years. This lot did float my boat at times this year-
1. Matt Elliott- The end of days
2. Young Fathers- Heavy Heavy
3. Sleaford Mods- UK Grim
4. Alison Goldfrapp- The love invention
5. Murray Lightburn- once upon a time in Montreal
6. Wilco- Cousin
7. Belle and Sebastian- Late developers
8. Arooj Aftab, Vijay Iyer, Shahzad Ismaily- Love in exile
9. Lana Del Ray- did you know that there’s a tunnel under Ocean Blvd?
10. Boygenius- the record
11. PJ Harvey- I inside the old year dying
12. Das Koolies- DK.01
13. Orbital- Optical delusion
14. Billy Nomates- Cacti
Bubbling under (as in I didn’t listen to them enough but didn’t not like them)
DJ Shadow, Chemical Brother, Mitski (my daughter’s new fav), Slowdive, Novelty Island, Bar Italia, Califone. Been listening to the Warrington Runcorn new town development album in the past couple of weeks after seeing in other people’s top 10s (and in a couple of the music magazines). If I’d have had a bit more time with it then it might have got some points here.
Meanwhile, thank you to Paul for compiling the list. I’m sure we’re all* looking forward to the results
*Well, some of us.
Compliments of the season to all who sail on here.
These are the results of the Notts jury.
1 The Clientele – I Am Not There Anymore
2 Gaz Coombes – Turn the Car Around
3 Das Koolies – DK01
4 Blur – The Ballad of Darren
5The Lemon Twigs – Everything Harmony
6 Wild Nothing – Hold
7 BC Camplight – Last Rotation of Earth
8 Sleaford Mods – UK Grim
9 Sunny War – Anachrist Gospel
10 CVC – Get Real
11 Baxter Dury – I Thought I Was Better Than You
12 The Coral – Holy Joes Coral Island Medicine Show
13 Billy Nomates – Cactii
14 Teenage Fanclub – Nothing Lasts Forever
15 The Waeve – The Waeve
16 The Coral – Sea of Mirrors
17 Panda Bear/Sonic Boom/Adrian Sherwood – Reset in Dub
18 The Boo Radleys – Eight
Many thanks. Hope 2024 is good for us all.
Good to see another vote for Sunny War – a terrific album I think
I must check that one out. She opened for Mick Flannery in Dublin during the summer and I thought she was quite good…
Could have sworn I posted my list to this thread a few days ago, but I can’t find it so either it’s inadvertently been put in an inappropriate thread or else I neglected to press Post Comment when I’d finished slaving over it and it vanished.
Here’s today’s version, which is probably not the same:
1) Fire! Orchestra – Echoes.
2) London Brew – London Brew.
3) Bersarin Quartett – Systeme.
4) Greg Foat/Gigi Masin – Dolphin.
5) Rymden/Norwegian Radio Orchestra – Rymden+KORK.
6) Greg Foat/Art Themen – Off Piste.
7) Ed Cherry – Are We There Yet?
8) Emma Rawicz – Chroma.
9) Yussef Dayes – Black Classical Music.
10) Brad Mehldau – Your Mother Should Know.
11) Ambrose Akinmusire – Owl Song.
12) Rob Luft – Dahab Days.
13) The Necks – Travel.
14) Kenny Barron – The Source.
15) Julian Lage – The Layers.
16) Buster Williams – Unalome.
17) Aarol Diehl & The Knights – Zodiac Suite.
18) Hanakiv – Goodbyes.
19) Jim Snidero/Kurt Rosenwinkel – Far Far Away.
20) Bobo Stenson Trio – Sphere.
On any other day, or in fact at a different time of day, the list could easily be a bit different.
Quite a surprise to see the remarkable Fire! Orchestra from Stockholm at the top of your list @Mike_H. I sa them at Roskilde a few years back,
One of those gigs where it felt that there were more people on the stage than in the audience. There was a small, intense, cacophonous, funky army of them.
I’ve never seen or heard anything quite like it. Dinner Jazz it was not!
Very impressive but a little went a long way for me.
I haven’t heard (or heard of) that album by Rymden, but they also released the album “Valleys & Mountains” in 2023, which I bought, having enjoyed their stuff before.
Unfortunately it didn’t quite float my boat, and neither did Tonbruket on their album released this year.
In fact, the only albums you could categorize as jazz that I bought and liked this year were the Mari Boine/Bugge Wesseltoft album that did end up in my list, and the Anders Jormin (with Lena Willemark, Karin Nakagawa & Jon Fält) album “Pasado En Claro”, which is bubbling under (and only half as good as their “Trees of Light” album from 2015…)
So that’s 2 misses and 2 hits from Scandi jazzers for me in 2023. Oh, and I’ve missed the Fire! Orchestra having a new album out as well! I do enjoy the albums I have by them (including the one released by just Fire!, without the orchestra) so seeing as it’s your number one, I should probably get it.
2023 was a fine year for music IMO, I bought 30+ newly released albums and it was difficult getting my list down to 20. Two of my top 5 only being known to me in the last 2 weeks, I’d been waiting for the release of the Moon Safari album for a while. I came across the Bonny Doon album just over a week ago, both albums are superb. In fact I consider the whole list to be superb
1 – Kassi Valazza/Kassi Valazza Knows Nothing
2 – Bonny Doon/Let There Be Music
3 – Marty Stuart And His Fabulous Superlatives/Altitude
4 – Israel Nash/Ozarker
5 – Moon Safari/Himlabacken Vol.2
6 – Rose City Band/Garden Party
7 – ØXN/Cyrm
8 – The Coral/Sea Of Mirrors
9 – Bennet Wilson Poole/I Saw A Star Behind Your Eyes, Don’t Let `it Die Away
10 – Jonathan Wilson/Eat The Worm
11 – Cinder Well/Cadence
12 – Snow Ghosts/The Fell
13 – Michael Nau/Accompany
14 – Sunny War/Anarchist Gospel
15 – Molly Tuttle & Golden Highway/City Of Gold
16 – Altin Gün/Ask
17 – Bob Dylan/Shadow Kingdom
18 – Gov’t Mule/Peace…Like A River
!9 – Yusef/Cat Stevens/King Of A Land
20 – Jim/Love Makes Magic
That Sunny War album has got great reviews. Must give it a listen.
Oh, before I forget thank you to Paul for organising the 2023 poll
1 Caroline Polachek – Desire I Want To Turn Into You
2 LYR – The Ultraviolet Age
3 Peter Gabriel – i/o
4 Olivia Rodrigo – Guts
5 The National – Laugh Track
6 JPEG Mafia & Danny Brown – Scaring The Hoes
7 Eddie Chacon – Sundown
1. Lana Del Rey – Did You Know That There’s A Tunnel Under Ocean Blvd
2. The National – First Two Pages of Frankenstein
3. Sufjan Stevens – Javelin
4. Blur-the ballad of Darren
5. Everything But The Girl – Fuse
6. Lisa O’Neill – All of This is Chance
7. Lankum – False Lankum
8. Peter Gabriel – I/O
9. Shirley Collins – Archangel Hill
10. Roisin Murphy: Hit Parade
11. Madness -Theatre of the Absurd Presents C’est la Vie
Three days to go and the scores on the doors are. A pretty good year overall,
1. – Lauren Garnier – 33 tours et puis s’en vont
Garnier has said he’s stepping back from regular club DJ’ing and this has an autumnal, valedictory feel. Everything he’s learned through 30 years of moving the dancefloor. Always full of shifting, subtle melody, wooshy textures and filtered beats it’s an achievement to rank alongside along the very best ‘dance albums’.
2. The National – First Two Pages of Frankenstein
If the Clash styled themselves as the last gang in town, then The National have the feel of the last big, important band out there. After some albums where their textures and moods were great, but the button marked tune was often missed, this connects – their most immediate album in a decade.
3. Boygenius – The Record
The kids are alright. Song of the year by a country mile for Not Strong Enough.
4. House of All – House of All
Can there be a more cheering story of the year than five grizzled vets of the Fall coming together for this. An object lesson in how to carry on with dignity and integrity.
5. Henry Saiz – Balance 032
The carrier of the prog house flame delivers a 3-cd epic mix for this always-quality label. Mix of the year – not that I’ve listened to many!
6, Chemical Brothers – For That Beautiful Feeling
Always reliable, and in the absence of new music from Underworld or Leftfield the old school dad rave album of the year.
7 Slowdive – Everything Is Alive
If not as gob-smacking as their return album of a few years ago, this shows that shoegaze is one of the sounds of the year.
8. Romy – Mid Air
The simple but effective trick of Romy’s quavering vocals against definitive beats from Jamie’s solo album is repeated here to excellent effect. More disco-fied, which is not necessarily a bad thing.
9. James Holden – Imagine This Is a High Dimension Space of All Possibilities.
I must have listened to this album a dozen times, and each time it appears completely unclassifiable. Built on dance beats for sure, most of the time, but it is perhaps the wide open space album of the year.
10. Yotto – Growth
Not someone that will feature on anyone else’s list I am guessing, Yotto crafts straightforward and deeply untrendy uplifting house, but finds enough detail and variety for me. The Eurodance it’s ok to like IMHO. One of the best ever Essential Selection mixes is on soundcloud by him.
11. Lana Del Rey – Don’t You Know There’s A Tunnel Under Ocean Boulevard
The Stones to Taylor’s Beatles. Some great tracks but again LDR where oh where was the editor as this is waaay to long.
12. Natalie Merchant – Keep Your Courage
Like The National after a few albums of texture Ms Merchant appears to reconnect herself with the idea of more accessible melodies – without sacrificing her trademark literary density.
13. The Hold Steady – The Price of Progress
No-one can expect ambient or drum and bass departures from the Hold Steady, whose shopworn blue-collar small town melacholia rock is still in fine fettle. The 2023 edition I would say is one of their strongest efforts since Teeth Dreams almost a decade ago.
14. Blur – The Ballad of Darren
Barbaric deserves its place on their very best songs list, and it’s backed up well if nothing else here quite hits as hard.
15. PJ Harvey – I Inside The Old Year Dying
I always come to listen to PJ feeling it will be slightly a chore, but am soon disabused by sly rhythmic and melodic hooks – and so it is here.
16. Cloth – Secret Measure
Enigmatic, whispery, indie.
17. Sigur Ros – Atta
God’s background working music.
18. Yo La Tengo – This Stupid World –
Seemingly made up at random, one of the best inter-band dynamics there is. Like The Hold Steady absolutely nothing new, but absolutely fine.
19. Sofia Kourtesis – Madres
An album that I picked up from the end of year lists, and its beautiful sun-kissed melodic vibes are a treat in the dead of winter.
20. Overmono – Good Lies
Just giving it them the coveted last place over Pangaea’s Changing Channels mostly because I’ve played it a lot and it reminds me how much I’d like a new Bicep album.
Bubbling under/chopped out:
EBTG, Beirut, Young Fathers, Mitski, Pangaea, Avalon Emerson.
Disappointment of the year: the new Teenage Fanclub album. Sorry.
Some superb stuff on here MM & a lot I will check out thank you (Cloth & Yotto are 2 I don’t know so will seek these out today).
Chem Bros missed out on mine, but mainly due to lack of listening so I will also remedy this. I am very excited about new Underworld stuff next year if Denver Luna is anything to go by. It was my track of the year & is still getting repeated listens
sorry about my pic n link list post earlier, so here’s just a list of them with some extra reasoning
Babe, Terror : Teghnojoyg
I have never heard quite anything like this before, maybe when I used to do mushrooms and attempt to push copies of certain prog albums backwards whilst they were still on the turntable perhaps but not since. I also found it incredibly relaxing to drive to, which might be of certain concern to the RAC.
Sufjan Stevens : Javelin
I’m a long time fan yet still rue the day I missed him playing support to Lambchop at a local venue over 20 years ago, but I adore his voice when he floats it over such beautiful tunes as these.
White Canyon & The 5th Dimension : Gardeners of the Earth
If I was still doing mushrooms and I lived in a desert this would be my soundtrack.
Philip Jeck & Chris Watson : Oxmardyke
Grew on me throughout the summer as it seemed to mix other-worldly sounds with the things I hear everyday and occasionally a tune would pop up, my headphones album of the year no contest.
Julie Byrne : The Greater Wings
A perfect mixture of beautiful voice, tunes and guitar playing, a Joni for the future.
Sulci : Before The Echo
Just one of several beautiful electronic albums I discovered this year released on my favourite new label Bricolage, a Glasgow based imprint who have not put a foot wrong this year and will only improve next.
Flaer : Preludes
I bought this short but very sweet album on vinyl to fully appreciate the gentle delicacy of it’s folky-ambient pieces and it doesn’t disappoint, it don’t believe it’s just because I have a really good deck.
Josephine Foster : Domestic Sphere
I was smitten by Josephine’s haunting and ethereal voice and sound when it first wafted my way a few years ago and her immersive third album is one of the most unique recordings I heard this year.
Cruel Diagonals : Fractured Whole
In an alternative and quite possibly better universe Megan Mitchell’s amazing music would be even more popular than Taylor Swift’s.
Polypores : Praedormitium
Hitting all my electronica buttons with good tunes and light simple melodies and with occasional surprises, this was another record with the Castles In Space label seal of approval stamped all over it.
Cheers for the tip about the Josephine Foster album, Gardener – I may have a listen to that. I always like her stuff.
But … erm … by my reckoning it’s her eighth album, rather than her third….
ah I never digged so far back, glad to know there’s more!
1. Bruce Cockburn – O Sun O Moon
2. Bob Dylan – Shadow Kingdom
3. Lloyd Cole – On Pain
4. Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark – Bauhaus Staircase
5. Trevor Rabin – Rio
6. Taylor Swift – 1989 (Taylor’s Version)
7. Peter Gabriel – I/O
8. Penguin Cafe – Rain Before Seven
9. Ryuichi Sakamoto – 12
10. Shirley Collins – Archangel Hill
11. Public Service Broadcasting – This New Noise
12. Paul Simon – Seven Psalms
13. Steven Wilson – The Harmony Codex
14. Fairport Convention – Full House For Sale
15. Andre3000 – New Blue Sun
16. The Clientele – I Am Not There
17. Van Morrison – Moving On Skiffle
18. Orbital – Optical Delusion
19. Alison Goldfrapp – The Love Invention
20. Matt Berry – Simplicity
Paul Simon, Bruce Cockburn, Peter Gabriel, Fairport Convention, all quite superb albums, all missed out on my list amongst a few more. Just goes to show what a great year for music it has been.
Have to say Lang68, that’s a mighty fine and eclectic list!
It’s been that kind of year, doing this list has made me realise that, which is great.
1 Arooj aftab love in exile
2 Vanishing Twin. Afternoon X
3 Dave okumu I came from love
4 John cale mercy
5 Tosh Flood. Ornaments 1-3
6 Steve Gunn David Moore. Let the moon be a planet
7 Emma Anderson Pearlies
8 Roisin Murphy hit parade
9 Death and vanilla. Flicker
10 Andy Bell & masal tidal love numbers
11 Dot allison. Consciousology.
12 The waeve. The waeve
13 Depeche Mode memento mori
14 Robert Forster the candle and the flame
15 Mary Lattimore Goodbye Hotel Arkada
16 David Long shane O’Neill and you can’t dream that
17 Sandwell district. Feed forward
18 Ryuichi sakamoto 12
19 Bush tetras they live in my head
1. Boygenius – The record
2. Lana Del Rey – Did you know that there’s a tunnel under Ocean Bvld
3. Bob Dylan – Shadow Kingdom
4. Jeffrey Martin – Thank God we left the Garden
5. P J Harvey – I inside the old year dying
6. Paul Simon – Seven Psalms
7. Pretenders – Relentless
8. Robert Finley – Black Bayou
9. Thea Gilmore – Thea Gilmore
10. Lankum – False Lunkum
11. Wilco – Cousin
12. Teenage Fanclub – Nothing Last Forever
13. Natalie Merchant – Keep your courage
14. Grian Chatten – Chaos for the fly
15. Shirley Collins – Archangel Hill
16. Rolling Stones – Hackney Diamonds
17. Jason Isbell – Weathervanes
18. B C Camplight – The Rotation of Earth
19. Long Ryders – September November
20. Nick Cave & Warren Ellis – Australian Carnage
Thanks Paul and a Happy New Year to everybody
A good year but a strange one when Paul Simon and Rhiannon Giddens both release new music and they don’t get into my twenty…
1. Lisa O’Neill – All Of This Is Chance
2. Rufus Wainwright – Folkocracy
3. Public Service Broadcasting – This New Noise
4. Blur – The Ballad Of Darren
5. Mick Flannery – Goodtime Charlie
6. Lloyd Cole – On Pain
7. Jenny Lewis – Joy’All
8. Iris DeMent – Workin’ On A World
9. Robert Forster – The Candle And The Flame
10. Peter Gabriel – i/o
11. Lana Del Rey – Did You Know That There’s A Tunnel Under Ocean Blvd
12. Boygenius – The Record
13. Jason Isbell And The 400 Unit – Weathervanes
14. Willie Nelson – Bluegrass
15. Willie Nelson – I Don’t Know A Thing About Love
16. Bell X1 – Merciful Hour
17. Baxter Dury – I Thought I Was Better Than You
18. Lucinda Williams – Stories From A Rock’n’Roll Heart
19. Soda Blonde – Dream Big
20. The Rolling Stones – Hackney Diamonds
Honourable mentions to:
Dave Matthews Band – Walk Around The Moon
Rihannon Giddons – You’re The One
Paul Simon – Seven Psalms
Van Morrison – Moving On Skiffle
Rickie Lee Jones – Pieces Of Treasure
Gorillaz – Cracker Island
Lankum – False Lankum
Christine And The Queens – Paranoia, Angels, True Love (a big improvement on last year’s Redcar non-entity)
Thea Gilmore – Thea Gilmore
Joe Jackson – Max Champion
The Hold Steady – The Price Of Progress
Roger Waters – Dark Side of The Moon Redux – (RW did not cover himself in glory the past couple of years but I like this. How to revisit / remake your past in an interesting way. I’m looking at you, U2.)
Fizz – The Secret To Life. (They have lovely four-part harmonies. I look forward to their next album)
Lol Tolhurst / Budgie / Jacknife Lee – Los Angeles. (Good beats and production but while this is not intended to be Telefís 2.0, it’s hard not to envision the large Cathal Coughlan-shaped hole in the centre. Well meaning guest vocalists cannot come close)
Stephen Wilson – The Harmony Codex. (My first SW album after hearing so much about him from Awers. Not my last for sure)
That Mick Flannery has caught a few votes. I must listen it again. I bought it and was stunned by quite how good the first couple of tracks were, it then slipping a bit. Great voice.
Saw him in Ennis a couple of weeks ago and hearing the new songs performed live might have moved him up a couple of places in my chart. I love that final track and of course it has Anais Mitchell doing the lead vocal on Minnesota.
And doesn’t Lia O’Neill grace another track? As said, clearly overdue a listen.
No there are two other guest vocalists on it – Tianna Esperanza on one track and Valerie June on another, both of whom I am unfamilair with. You might be thinking of an album from a couple of years back, Retro, that was a collaberation with local Clare songwriter Susan O’Neill – In The Game – a very good album indeed, something of a concept album about a relationship under strain from one partner finding sucess in the music business and the other treading water. A bit like A Star Is Born in some ways.
I stand corrected! Cheers. So where was the delightful Ms O’Neill guesting, then?
(Gottit! Shane’s funeral!!! )
1. Wilco – Cousin
2. Sufjan Stevens – Javelin
3. Lankum – False Lankum
4. Jaimie Branch – Fly or Die Fly or Die Fly or Die ((world war))
5. The Coral – Sea Of Mirrors
6. Yo La Tengo – This Stupid World
7. Bob Dylan – Shadow Kingdom
8. Arooj Aftab, Vijay lyer, Shahzad Ismaily – Love in exile
9. Creep Show – Yawning Abyss
10. Young Fathers – Heavy Heavy
11. Israel Nash – Ozarker
12. Marty Stuart And The Fabulous Superlatives – Altitude
13. Margo Cilker – Valley Of Heart’s Delight
14. Jenny lewis – Joy’all
15. PJ Harvey – I Inside The Old Year Dying
16. Fatoumata Diawara – London Ko
17. Jonathan Wilson – Eat The Worm
18. Margo Price – Strays
19. Hiss Golden Messenger – Jump For Joy
20. Nicky Wire – Intimism
These are the new records that I’ve listened to & enjoyed the most this year. The top 2 are really equal first, but rules is rules
1. Wilco – Cousin
2. Eddie Chacon – Sundown
3. Matthew Halsall – An Ever Changing View
4. Julian Lage – The Layers
5. Rodney Crowell – The Chicago Sessions
6. John Scofield – Uncle John’s Band
7. Bonnie Prince Billy – Keeping Secrets Will Destroy You
8. John Cale – Mercy
9. Arooj Aftab, Vijay Iyer & Shahzad Ismaily – Love in Exile
10. The Golden Dregs – On Grace & Dignity
11. Billie Marten – Cherry Drops
12. Lori McKenna – 1988
13. John Metcalfe – Tree
14. Fruit Bats – A River Running To Your Heart
15. EBTG – Fuse
Bubbling under:
3 artists that I really love, but these records just haven’t clicked with me yet:
Sufjan Stevens – Javelin
Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit – Weathervane
Teenage Fanclub – Nothing Lasts Forever
Ooh, late run from Wilco, 2 no. 1s in a row, come on The Chicago Six!
I was waiting to vote until I had seen and heard anything Santa might have bought me. Sadly, it was the usual cack all! So, I’ll go with my very short list of what I already had, the No 1 position being, for me, the most enjoyable (intense?) listen in a very long time. I even had a ticket for that concert but, unfortunately, couldn’t make it for a variety of reasons. The CD and DVD will therefore just have to suffice.
1. Van der Graaf Generator – The Bath Forum Concert.
2. Peter Gabriel – i/o.
3. Bob Dylan – Shadow Kingdom.
4. Public Service Broadcasting – This New Noise
5. Paul Simon – Seven Psalms
I have read the lists above with great interest and would love to hear a load more new stuff such as those from OMD, Lankum, and The Coral to name but a few. Let’s see how things work out in the new year; however, any new purchases would be some of the re-releases from this year first, with King Crimson’s Larks Tongues in Aspic heading the list followed by the two from Little Feat and the two Beatles’ compilations.
Lastly, thank you to those who compile these polls. It can’t be an easy job!
Is that two of us voting for the Bath Forum Concert? Oh, frabjous day!
I wouldn’t like to say there’s just two of us with immaculate taste as that would imply others are wrong in their choices. All the same, we clearly have immaculate taste…..
1. Bennett Wilson Poole – I Saw A Star Behind Your Eyes, Don’t Let It Die Away
2. Peter Cox – Seaglass
3. Big Big Train – Ingenious Devices
4. Peter Gabriel – i/o
5. Teenage Fanclub – Nothing Lasts Forever
6. Jason Isbell & The 400 Unit – Weathervanes
7. Rolling Stones – Hackney Diamonds
8. Everything But The Girl – Fuse
9. Ian Hunter – Defiance Pt 1
10. Yes – Mirror to the Sky
11. Jarrod Dickenson – Big Talk
1. Ron Sexsmith – The Vivian Line
2. Monks Road Social – Rise up Singing
3. Yosef Gutman Levitt – Soul Song
4. Thomas Walsh – The Rest is History
5. CVC – Get Real
6. Bokanté – History
7. Van Morrison – Accentuate the Positive
8. The Third Mind / 2
9. Bennett Wilson Poole – I Saw A Star Behind Your Eyes, Don’t Let It Die Away
10. Shirley Collins – Archangel Hill
11. Paul Simon – Seven Psalms
12. Alison Russell – The Returner
13. Rob Luft – Dahab Days
14. Jarak Qaribak – Dudu Tassa & Jonny Greenwood
15. Sunny War – Anarchist Gospel
16. Laufey – Everything I Know About Love
17. Hays, Street & Hart – Bridges
Darn. I tried and tried, and dun a proof read, but knew I would make a typo – slap on the wrist for No 14, wrong way round!
Also, just discovered minutes before the midnight bell tolled, (many, many thanks to @morrison), at No 1 if it wasn’t too late:
Lewis Taylor – The Acoustic Album
I can’t help noting that of equal significance is the number of artists that I have left off this list – artists that have previously brought out long-lasting faves of mine, but this year’s contributions are underwhelming. And you only just made it, on that count, Mr Gabriel.
1. Lankum – False Lankum
2. Leveret – Forms
3. Melrose Quartet – Make the World Anew
4. Brighde Chaimbeul – Carry Them With Us
5. Nick Hart & Tom Moore – The Colour of Amber
6. Doug Eunson & Sarah Matthews – Poise
7. Martin Simpson & Thomm Jutz – Nothing but Green Willow
8. Bryony Griffith & Alice Jones – Wesselbobs
9. Eleven Magpies – Two for Joy
10. Natalie Merchant – Keep your Courage
11. Peter Gabriel – i/o
Sorry @paul-hewston
@duco01 praise made me revisit and of course I was Wrong. Jason Isbell Weathervanes is a belter and thoroughly deserves No3 in my so-called chart
No problem – all sorted.
What else have you done over Christmas? Nothing much, I guess…..
Here’s my 20, beating the deadline.
I’ve seen a couple of my list making the top of a coupe of recent postings. Maybe I need to listen to Bruce Cockburn and Ron Sexsmith a bit more than I have done so far.
1 – Israel Nash – Ozarker
2 – Lori McKenna – 1988
3 – William Prince – Stand In The Joy
4 – Natalie Merchant – Keep Your Courage
5 – Jason Isbell & the 400 Unit – Weathervanes
6 – Dean Owens – Pictures
7 – Brandy Clark – Brandy Clark
8 – Hannah Aldridge – Dream Of America
9 – Jenny Lewis – Joy’All
10 – Suzy Bogguss – Prayin’ For Sunshine
11 – Chris Stapleton – Higher
12 – Rodney Crowell – The Chicago Sessions
13 – Chuck Prophet & The Mission Express – Live à Paris
14 – Lydia Loveless – Nothing’s Gonna Stand In My Way Again
15 – Lucinda Williams – Stories From A Rock ’N Roll Heart
16 – Bennett, Wilson, Poole – I Saw A Star Behind Your Eyes, Don’t Let It Die Away
17 – Bruce Cockburn – O Sun O Moon
18 – Darius Rucker – Carolyn’s Boy
19 – Ron Sexsmith – The Vivian Line
20 – Everything But The Girl – Fuse
That’s a fine list @Carl, nearly as good as mine but don’t let that bother you nobody’s list is as good as mine,
I really should have included Bruce Cockburn, Jason Isbell & Dean Owens’ albums in my list, I forgot to include them on my provisional list. Dean Owens is an artist who certainly deserves more recognition
Israel Nash’s Ozarker is an excellent choice
Not trolling, just intrigued. New Cockburn and new Owens ought to have been dead certs, but, for two such gifted tunesmiths and lyricist, both their albums were, by their standards, distinctly lacklustre. Which was a source of no small disappointment. Hey ho, meat, poison, horses, courses.
Your list has given me things to think about.
I thought Brandy Clark was last year or it would have been on my list.
I wasn’t aware of a new Suzy Bogguss, I’ll be checking that out.
Given our similar tastes, a few others on your list will also be investigated.
2023, not the greatest of years for ‘new music’ but saying that the top 9 would be top 10 ‘contenders’ in any given year
1 Sick Boi – Ren
2 An English Village – Andy Smith
3 Bird Machine – Sparklehorse
4 The Last Rotation of Earth – B C Camplight
5 Nails – Benefits
6 Ugly – Slowthai
7 Handwritten Miracles – Mike Garry & The Casio String Quartet
8 Heavy Heavy – The Young Fathers
9 Dance Till All The Stars Cone Down – The Lilac Time
10 Bolted – Forest Sword
11 Road – Alice Cooper
12 Plastic Alice – Portland Vows
13 Codetta – Jinder
14 Mercy – John Cale
15 Nuc – Ligeti Quartet & Anna Meredith
16 The Feminine Divine – Dexy’s
17 Ballad of a Murderess – Julia Mosley
18 The Moon Also Rises – Johnny Flynn & Robert McFarlane
19 End of Everything – Mega Bog
20 Dark Side of the Moon Redux – Roger Waters
@Paul_Hewtson, let’s make a final decision on Sparklehorse, please. Is Bird Machine old or new? We can’t have it on both lists.
There are three votes on the Archival list. It is a posthumous release from a person who died quite a few years ago, with some instrumental additions to beef up the sound, a bit similar to some Jimi Hendrix releases in the early seventies.
I’m quite happy to categorise it as Historical. What do you think?
I voted for it in archive but it wouldn’t appear in my top 20 for 2023.
I’ve included it on my spreadsheet as it is a new collection of music and previously unavailable. But am happy to be persuaded otherwise. It isn’t flying particularly high in my chart.
Stick to yer guns Paul
Paul, you have the patience of a saint accepting all these changes. (Unless you’re just telling everyone what they want to hear prior to making up an eventual list that seems fairly believable, like I did when I ran it last year.)
Ah there haven’t been that many really – was expecting more to be honest. That’s not an open invitation though…
Some albums I have enjoyed from 2023…
1/ Blur – The Ballad Of Darren
2/ King Tuff – Smalltown Stardust
3/ Neil Young – Before and After
4/ Sophie Ellis-Bextor – HANA
5/ Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds – Council Skies
6/ The No-Ones – My Evil Best Friend
7/ Lana Del Rey – Did You Know There’s A Tunnel…
8/ Teenage Fanclub – Nothing Lasts Forever
9/ The Minus 5 – Calling Cortez
10/ Foo Fighters – But Here We Are
11/ Robyn Hitchcock – Life After Infinity
12/ The Rolling Stones – Hackney Diamonds
13/ Ben Folds – What Matters Most
14/ Ash – Race The Night
15/ House Of All – House Of All
I was unaware of the Robun Hitchcock album. I’ll have to add it to a growing list. It seems my year of drastic cutbacks in buying physical isn’t going off to a flying start, the opposite in fact
It’s his first entirely instrumental LP, and a nice listen. Available on his Bandcamp and the usual streamers etc.
1 Claire Martin/Scott Dunn/RPO – I Watch You Sleep
Beautifully arranged and sung celebration of Richard Rodney Bennett/the great American songbook
2 Billy Valentine and the Universal Truth
Veteran soul man re-works tunes by Gil Scott-Heron, Curtis and Pharoah. Wonderful haunting stuff
3 Voces8/Eric Whitacre – Home
Busy year for the V8 crew – background vocals on the Paul Simon album, a “mindfulness” Prom and this very “Classic FM” choral work that I’ve returned to time and again
4 Bebel Gilberto – Joao
A lovely homage to her late father – “close to the mic” singing against a delicate bossa nova backdrop
5 Saje – S/T
Jazzy harmony female quartet – including the wonderful Sara Gazarek – sort of the Roches meet late period Steely Dan
6 Lewis Taylor – The Acoustic Album
Nothing for a decade then two albums in a year – this a stripped-back take on the great man’s work – rich on harmonies and subtle arrangements
7 Tanya Tucker – Sweet Western Sound
World-weary country – some fine songs including future classic “Waltz Across A Moment”
8 Kem – Anniversary
Classy funky live in Detroit set from the R&B smoothie
9 Jalen Ngonda – Come Around and Love Me
Glorious Marvin-esque retro-soul on Daptone with great songs and arrangements
10 Johnathan Blake – Passage
10 Tyshawn Sorey Trio – Continuing
Two brilliant high-powered jazz drummers deliver superb contrasting albums – the first all swing and hustle the second a more reflective mood
12 Bobo Stenson Trio – Sphere
13 Eddie Chacon – Sundown
14 Sebastian Rochford/Kit Downes – A Short Diary
15 Elina Duni/Rob Luft – A Time to Remember
16 Mette Henriette – Drifting
17 Pat Metheny – Dream Box
18 Chris Botti – Vol 1
19 Brennen Leigh – Ain’t Through Honky Tonkin’ Yet
20 BJ The Chicago Kid – Gravy
Some of those seem very interesting Morrison, Pat Methany, Saje, Billy Valentine & Bebel Gilberto. Two of those I know nothing of.
Right having sorted the music, I have an issue about some mince pies I bough in your shop…..
I’ve missed the deadline by 10 hours or so, but I don’t think it matters as none of mine are likely to trouble the charts.
1. Ellie Walker & The Folly – Sink Or Swim. Local piano-led folk-pop.
2. Firestations – Thick Terrain. Shoegazey indie band with added trumpet.
3. The Bathers – Sirenesque. Quite Blue Nile-ish.
4. PJ Moore & Co – When A Good Day Comes (I bought the vinyl on release this March). Also quite Blue Nile-ish, funnily enough.
5. A Certain Ratio – 1982.
6. The Blue Aeroplanes – Culture Gun.
The second half of In Real Life 2023 was a distraction and anything bought since early August hasn’t really had a fair hearing or is still in the TBH pile. Sorry: Madness et al.
I’ll put them in @fentonsteve.
Thank you. I’d intended to post before midnight but fell asleep watching a film and took myself up the wooden hill to Bedfordshire. Mrs F filled in the gaps in the plot over breakfast this morning.
Oooh @fentonsteve
I never got round to buying the new Blue Aeroplane’s cd…will i like it??
It isn’t Swagger, or even Beatsongs, but it is a partial return to form. Better than the previous few, I think.
Gerard is angry and political. He doesn’t like Trump or what the Tories have done to the NHS.
Is there added Wotjek and about 6 guitars?
I will hopefully start the results countdown later today or, at the very worst, tomorrow morning. It just depends how my post NYE hangover develops.