My Top 10 albums of 2023

In the tapestry of 2023, a year marked by significant life events; graduating from college, securing my first job, and relocating away from my family and the city that had been my home for the past twenty-three years; a chapter unfolded, defined by self-discovery and personal growth, with music as my steadfast companion. 

Music-wise, I think it's fair to say that 2023 was a relatively busy year, from Lil Yachty channeling his inner Roger Waters and making a Pink Floyd-esque album in Let's Start Here, to Doja Cat insulting her fans and calling them ignorant as part of her album Scarlet rollout; it was meh but one thing I'd give her is she does know how to make a hit; to Travis Scott and Lil Uzi Vert finally dropping Utopia and Pink Tape respectively, both being a bigger disappointment than Paul Pogba, as they both failed to reach half the expectations everyone had after they have been teasing these two projects for years at this point. And, speaking of disappointments, you can't not mention Drake, making a bold claim that the old himself is back and promising everyone that For All The Dogs will make us forget about Take Care and Nothing was the same, only for it to be another sleeper that rivals Certified Lover Boy in mediocrity, okay, okay I may have gone overboard, it's not that bad. 2023 also saw Sampha and Olivia Rodrigo releasing and meeting the expectations in their awaited sophomore albums Lahai and GUTS respectively, both amazing albums by the way.

That aside now, curating the final list was no scratch in the head, as filtering out my top 10-15 albums of the year was easier than ever, since these aren't merely albums, but rather a sonic diary, capturing the emotions and memories entwined with each twist and turn of this significant chapter of my life. The only challenge, perhaps, was the bittersweet task of arranging these gems in a particular order.

10. This Is Why - Paramore

The last time I wrote about music was when making the 2022 list, I'm feeling a little rusty and not quite sure how or what to write here, but it will get better as you go down the list I can promise you that. Now, Paramore, of course, if you went through an emo-edgy punk phase as a teen you would be very familiar with this name, and don't worry I'm not passing judgment here, I was that edgy emo teen myself. You know, this feels weird cause usually when bands from that once rode that wave make a comeback, the music is for the most part bad, very mediocre, and cringe sometimes, Green Day & Limp Bizkit come to mind as prime examples. That said, however, Paramore seems to have escaped the curse, their lead single This is Why was enough to make me feel excited for the full release, and their second single The News was enough to make me sure it's going to be a good album. While the album isn't exactly innovative, lengthy, or lyrically dense, Paramore gave us a short, very cohesive, and sweet album, while sticking to their guns and doing what they do best, delivering crunchy and catchy pop-punk songs.

Favorite 3 songs: This Is Why, The News, Big Man Little Dignity

9. Maps - Billy Woods

They say never change a winning team, and what Billy Woods and Kenny Segal are doing only solidifies this statement. After their remarkable Hiding Place in 2019, which instantly became a modern classic in the underground hip-hop scene, they collab yet again to release another masterpiece, and my God, aren't they a match made in heaven, Billy's pen game is just top-notch, doesn't matter if he's rapping about deeply personal topics or grappling topics with a much wider scope, everything presented feels genuine and real, and what's crazy is how effortless he sounds when flowing over any and every beat here. Kudus to the features as well, every single one of them brings his AAA-Game for the sublime magic that Kenny crafts with the beats, Danny Brown, Aesop Rock, Samuel T, and many others, all did nothing but to put more character into the songs they appeared in, making them miles better. From the eerie Aphex Twin sample on Babylon By Bus to the jazzy comfort of FaceTime to the hazy nostalgia of NYC Tapwater, no second here is wasted and every moment is dripping with charm and charisma.

Favorite 3 songs: Soft Landing, Babylon By Bus, NYC Tapwater. 

8. PetroDragonic Apocalypse - King Gizzard & the Lizzard Wizzard

the term Swiss knife is usually used to describe someone who possesses a wide range of versatile skills, per example if we're talking about football, that would be Eduardo Camavinga, a player who can play as a pivot, as a midfielder, as a left-back, as a right-back, and even as a goalkeeper as perfectly demonstrated in an Instagram story he shared not too long ago. But If we're talking about music, the Swiss Knife here would be King Gizzard & the Lizzard Wizzard. Whether they're aiming for poppy mellow tunes, psychedelic garage rock songs with splashes of Krautrock, heavy stoner trash riffs, or even jazz itself, they nail it, every single time. So much so that they can release a modern stoner rock classic in Infest the Rat's Nest in 2019 about climate change, release seven or eight albums that sound nothing like it, and then come back with a sequel that contains some of the heaviest riffs I've heard all year. With head-banging tracks like Converge and Gila Monster, this is an album that I heavily recommend to all my metalhead friends, and the gym rats looking for some raging thrash metal to work out.

Favorite 3 songs: Supercell, Gila Monster, Dragon. 

7. Live at Bush Hall - Black Country, New Road

Last year, a few days before releasing one of last year's fully realized and very best albums in Ants From Up There, The band announced the departure of their frontman Isaac Woods due to some struggles with his mental health. Following this terrible news, I and many other fans were very skeptical about what BCNR would do next, not due to any lack of talent or creative ideas, but simply because Isaac is irreplaceable. The band however would soon answer our questions by releasing a live album, giving us a taste of what was to come. And, although it is nowhere near the standards set by their earlier work, I can't help but feel proud of them, they're still adjusting, they're changing a lot as a group, and this is probably why they opted for a live album, to release some music without the pressure of it being their next real album. With that In mind, I enjoyed this one a lot, the instrumentals are as BCNR as they can get. I loved the idea of trading off vocal responsibilities, May Kershaw especially, her vocals seem to be able to radiate any emotion she wants to, whether it's hope and cheerfulness on the opener Up Song, or despair and vulnerability in Turbines/Pigs. Live at Bush Hall serves as a tantalizing preview of BCNR's promising future, and I eagerly anticipate what lies ahead for them.

Favorite 3 songs: Laughing Song, Turbines/Pigs, Dancers

6. The Land Is Inhospitable And So Are We - Mitski

Something that used to annoy me with Mitski is how a lot of her songs that I love are in albums that I'm not necessarily fond of, where the rest of the songs fall a little flat in comparison to the ones I like, Stay Soft in Laurel Hell per example, or Come into the Water and Nobody in Be The Cowboy. With that said, I am so glad that isn't the case with this new release. Mitki serves us with a cocktail of lush instrumentals and string-esque ballads with a subtle country twist and a heavy dose of romance, where she uses her voice as an extra instrument, be it majestic and powerful as is the case in I Don't Like My Mind, or subtle and sweet in songs like Bug Like an Angel, she is a blessing to hear every time. Lyrically speaking, it seems to me as if she is singing about multiple stages of a failed relationship, from enjoying every moment you spend with your lover, on songs like Heaven, to reminiscing about the good days in songs like Star and When Memories Snow, to blaming thyself and feeling as she puts it "The dog in the relationship" in I'm Your Man, to finally being free and cherishing her solitude and feeling empowered, so much so that she strides in her house naked unbothered while the curtains are open, as she mentions on the closer I Love Me After You. In short, sad indie white girl banger after sad white indie gitl banger, and I absolutely love it.

Favorite 3 songs: Heaven, I Don't Like My Mind, My Love Mine All Mine

5. UGLY - Slowthai

Here's a laugh for you, I've been putting off completing this list for a few weeks now. Supposedly, it's because I've been busy with the whole moving to a new apartment drama, but honestly, both you and I know it was just good old-fashioned laziness, or just as Slowthai says in the first verse of this album, I've been lacking motivation, what a hilarious coincidence, the album where I finally get my shit together greets me with that line. Anyway, Slowthai really caught me off guard with this album. Like, I knew from his previous work that he wasn't a one-trick pony, but I never expected him to showcase such versatility, effortlessly transitioning between genres and styles, nor the range of emotions on display, from the gritty and aggressive opening Yum to the incredibly energetic and uplifting Feel Good (which truly lives up to its name), to Fuck it Puppet which could easily be mistaken for a Danny Brown song. to the distorted yet beautiful UGLY, with its shoegaze-esque production, to the raw and emotive Tourniquet, where Slowthai is at his most vulnerable and exposed. songs that all capture perfectly the feeling of being both self-destructive and self-aware, so aware that you witness yourself sabotaging your own life without doing shit about it, and after the thrill fades, when reality sets in, and you find yourself reaping what you sow, the internal debate begins, why am I like this? was it trauma? heartbreak? the way I was raised? society as a whole? or am I just a bad person? I don't know, I don't know if I care, so fuck it, I'll just roll another blunt, do another bump, and hope all my problems disappear by themselves when I wake up.

Favorite 3 songs: Feel Good, UGLY, Tourniquet. 

4. Did You Know that there's a tunnel under Ocean Blvd - Lana Del Rey

As I write this, we're already halfway through 2024, and I'm enjoying a laid-back summer vacation with my family. I've been putting off this review, partly due to a lack of motivation, but also because I wanted everything I write here to be perfect, something that could rival the writers of The Rolling Stones and Pitchfork. But let's be real, it's not that serious. These are just my random thoughts on albums that probably no one else cares about but me. So here we are, and I’m ready to dive in, no matter how it turns out. First off, let me just say that this is Lana's best work to date. It didn't hit me right away, but once it did, I was hooked. The production is top-notch and so varied, that it draws you in completely, blending perfectly with Lana's haunting vocals. Tracks like The Grants and Paris, Texas have been on repeat, and I still can’t get enough. The only thing holding this album back, in my opinion, is the interludes. I get what they add to the narrative but they also slow things down and feel like the album’s weakest points. But overall, great album, with a great atmosphere, great production, great vocals, great writing, and great everything, they don't call her the queen of indie white girl music for nothing.

Favorite 3 songs: Did you know that there's a tunnel under Ocean BlvdK, A&W, Grandfather please stand on the shoulders of my father while he's deep-sea fishing.

3. Space Heavy - King Krule

Now, If you know me very well, this should come off as a surprise, seeing a King Krule album; who happens to be my favorite artist of all time; at number three, however, if anything it's just a testimony of how good the other two are. Now, Space Heavy, you know it's funny because I've been dreaming of a new King Krule album for the past 2 to 3 years, and as time marched on, this wish began to look more and more distant, well, until a certain Reddit post happened. In short, some random record store dropped the bomb and accidentally put Space Heavy for preordering on their website, way before Archy himself announced the album. He eventually did announce it a few days later with the leading single Seaforth and dopamine levels were on an all-time high, and I still couldn't believe it despite playing that track to death. Space Heavy finds Archy doing something I've always wanted him to do more of, and that's adding elements of Jazz to his sound, we've seen glimpses of it on multiple occasions before, notably tracks like Cadet Limbo, Underclass, A Lizard State and many others. And on this album, Archy finally embraces it throughout the whole record, resulting in a beautiful and gorgeous set of songs that sound like heaven every time I put my headphones on and hit play. As for the lyrical material, I mean come on, do I really need to tell you about Archy's writing? do I really need to praise it? Do I really have to mention how his words make me feel? This is the guy who wrote Out Getting Ribs at 16 years of age, get a fucking grip.

Favorite 3 songs: Tortoise of Independency, Empty Stomach Space Cadet, If Only It Was Warmth

2. SCARING THE HOES - JPEGMAFIA & Danny Brown

Will write review for this later.... Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillu

Favorite 3 songs: Burfict! , Orange Juice Jones, Jack Harlow Combo Meal

1. Ooh Rap I Ya - George Clanton

Of my many discoveries this year, whether music-related or not, George Clanton's music was definitely my best. To be continued.... Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillu

Favorite 3 songs: I Been Young, Vapor King / SubReal, Ooh Rap I Ya