I have to say that 2023 felt like a weak year overall for music, at least for the artists I follow. My hunch is that after COVID, which caused a real dearth of new releases in 2021, there was a boom of albums in 2022, which meant a slower 2023. Additionally, even though I know this is down to personal taste (as everything on the Indiecator is), much of what I heard this year was certainly good, but not amazing. It was honestly hard to think of what to include on this year-end countdown, so like in 2020 and 2021, this is not a top 10. Instead, it’s just a list of some of the better albums that I’ve heard this year, presented in alphabetical order instead of ranked.
On one positive note, I have noticed that more albums than usual this year had some amazingly seamless transitions between their tracks. This is encouraging, since it shows more artists are treating their albums as something to be enjoyed as a whole, rather than just a compilation of songs that can be listened to in any order.
Alan Palomo – World of Hassle
Jungle – Volcano
As much as I enjoyed Jungle’s first three albums, many of their tracks on those releases tended to blend together, due to the band’s heavy reliance on disco string samples and falsetto vocals. Volcano breaks this mold, and is the group’s most varied and compelling release to date. Several tracks lean into hip-hop, where the soul samples are enhanced by having guest rappers on tracks like “Candle Flame,” “I’ve Been in Love,” and “Pretty Little Thing,” while others dive headfirst into dance music—I added the pumping “Holding On” to my running playlist almost immediately after hearing it. At the same time, tracks like “Dominoes,” “Back on ‘74,” and “Don’t Play” show the band getting better at their bread-and-butter retro-electronic style, which reminds me more and more of the Avalanches’ debut Since I Left You (high praise!). If you haven’t listened to Jungle yet, you’re missing out, and Volcano is a great place to start.
Grian Chatten – Chaos for the Fly
Grian Chatten is best known as the singer of the Irish post-punk band Fontaines D.C., and I fully expected his solo album to be something along the lines of “acoustic guitar tracks that sound similar to Fontaines D.C. song sketches.” Now, I wouldn’t have minded this, since I loved their first three albums, but Chaos for the Fly stands out for trying a bevy of different styles, none of which sound like Fontaines D.C. at all. There’s the orchestral pop of “Last Time Every Time Forever,” the showy lounge of “Bob’s Casino,” the intense country stomp of “Fairlies,” and my personal favorite, the trip-hop of “East Coast Bed.” Even when the instrumentation is more pared back, you can count on Chatten’s lyrics to keep you listening intently, like on “All of the People“ and “Salt Throwers Off a Truck.” Chaos for the Fly realistically is going to appeal mostly to Fontaines D.C. fans, but it’s worth a listen even if you’re not one. You can read more about Chaos for the Fly here.
The National – Laugh Track
The National made the bold move of releasing two studio albums in the same year, and made the even bolder move of making both albums fairly comparable. Spring album First Two Pages of Frankenstein and fall album Laugh Track are both full of the band’s trademark “sad dad rock,” but if I had to choose one to recommend, it would be Laugh Track. To start, its closing track “Smoke Detector” is a raw, chaotic return to form that sounds nothing else like they’ve done in the past decade. It also has better drumming, heard on tracks like “Turn off the House” and “Dreaming,” and the lively standout single “Deep End (Paul’s in Pieces).” Lastly, while the National brought in some big guest names for both 2023 releases (I mean, The First Two Pages of Frankenstein has Taylor Swift on it!) Laugh Track utilizes them better on songs “Weird Goodbyes” (with Bon Iver), Crumble (with Roseanne Cash), and its title track (with Phoebe Bridgers). Those who consider the National a bore probably won’t be sold, but any lapsed fans will want to return for it. You can read more about Laugh Track here.
Romy – Mid Air
With Romy’s release of Mid Air this year, all three members of The xx have now put out solo albums. However, while her bandmate Jamie xx released a mostly-instrumental electronic album (that I called my favorite of 2015) and Oliver Sim released a minimal and introspective album akin to the xx’s output last year, Romy’s Mid Air is unexpectedly a traditional house album full of romantic lyrics. It’s got some great throwback 90s euro-dance sounds throughout, particularly on highlights “One Last Try” and “Strong.” The songs also flow together exceptionally well, and the way the back-to-back tracks “Twice” and “Did I” blend together is my favorite part of the album. The house beat pretty much never lets up throughout the runtime, and Mid Air is definitely one to check out if you’re into dance music.
