Commenting on the broader musical year to date feels like something I'm really not qualified to do. Maybe it's because I'm getting older or I'm just being needlessly overcritical of myself, but whatever the case may be, I've never felt more out of the loop when it comes to music than I do right now. I don't have a particularly strong sense of what's making waves on the charts or what the true music nerds are buzzing about and I'll be honest, it's kind of fucking weird. This is something that I felt had a pretty strong read on for so long and suddenly for no good reason at all, I just don't anymore . If this is how I'm feeling at 31, I can only imagine how much worse it's going to get (this same statement could of course also be applied to life in general).
As for the records I have heard and feel comfortable discussing, there have been several standouts all over the quality spectrum. JPEGMAFIA and Danny Brown destroyed the almost inherently phoned-in nature of the hip hop collab album by joining forces to create one of the most unapologetically abrasive, relentlessly experimental and just plain fun records to come out of the genre in a long, long time. The effortlessly and endlessly talented Janelle Monae did the unthinkable and released something that isn't just shockingly uninspired and safe, it doesn't even feel finished. King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard made an unexpected return to the metal well and found gold in the form of a prog/thrash/stoner hybrid that combines the knack for crafting long, winding instrumental sections that has long been a centerpiece of their psychedelic/jazz rock offerings with a large collection of face-melting riffs that are significantly better than what 98% of today's full-time metal acts are writing. Swedish melodic death metal pioneers In Flames put out their best effort in nearly 20 years simply by returning to their more aggressive roots after trying (and failing) to make the transition into the world of alternative/hard rock for so long. Foo Fighters were able to channel the pain they felt from the death of their founding drummer Taylor Hawkins into a stirringly emotional yet still hard-rocking tribute that ranks among their best works to date. And last but certainly not least, veteran rapper Lil Yachty of "She blow on that dick like a cello" fame dropped a space rock album and while I wasn't as fond of it as most, I'm thrilled that something that sounds like an elaborate prank actually exists in real life and is sincerely not bad at all. Below you'll find a list of every 2023 LP and EP I've heard so far ranked from worst to best along with some miscellaneous awards and my picks for the 25 best songs of the year. Hope you enjoy.
EP's:
2.Brand of Sacrifice-Between Death and Dreams (B)
1.Knocked Loose-Upon Loss Singles (B+)
LP's:
37.Janelle Monae-The Age of Pleasure (D+)
36.Amaarae-Fountain Baby (C-)
35.Young Fathers-Heavy Heavy (C)
34.Young Thug-Business is Business (C)
33.Suicide Silence-Remember... You Must Die (C)
32.Caroline Polachek-Desire, I Want To Turn Into You (C)
31.Ava Max-Diamonds & Dancefloors (C+)
30.Lil Yachty-Let's Start Here (C+)
29.White Reaper-Asking for a Ride (C+)
28.Gunna-A Gift & a Curse (C+)
27.Sleep Token-Take Me to Eden (B-)
26.Fall Out Boy-So Much for (for) Stardust (B-)
25.Invent Animate-Heavener (B-)
24.Avenged Sevenfold-Life is But a Dream... (B-)
23.Miley Cyrus-Endless Summer Vacation (B-)
22.Paramore-This is Why (B-)
21.Gel-Only Constant (B)
20.Wound Man-Human Outline (B)
19.Entheos-Time Will Take Us All (B)
18.Currents-The Death We Seek (B)
17.The Acacia Strain-Step Into the Light (B)
16.Lana Del Rey-Did you know there's a tunnel under Ocean Blvd (B)
15.In Flames-Foregone (B)
14.Gorod-The Orb (B)
13.Queens of the Stone Age-In Times New Roman... (B)
12.The Acacia Strain-Failure Will Follow (B)
11.Yves Tumor-Praise a Lord Who Chews but Which Does Not Consume (Or Simply, Hot Between Worlds) (B)
10.Kali Uchis-Red Moon in Venus (B)
9.Drain-Living Proof (B)
8.Jesus Piece-...So Unknown (B)
7.Unearth-The Wretched; The Ruinous (B+)
6.Veil of Maya-(M)other (B+)
5.August Burns Red-Death Below (B+)
4.Periphery-Periphery V: Djent is Not a Genre (B+)
3.Foo Fighters-But Here We Are (B+)
2.King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard-PetroDragonic Apocalypse; or, Dawn of Eternal Night: An Annihilation of Planet Earth and the Beginning of Merciless Damnation (A-)
1.JPEGMAFIA and Danny Brown-SCARING THE HOES (A)
Awards:
Biggest Surprises:
1.Foo Fighters-But Here We Are
2.The Acacia Strain-Failure Will Follow
3.In Flames-Foregone
Biggest Letdowns:
1.Janelle Monae-The Age of Pleasure
2.Young Thug-Business is Business
3.Gunna-A Gift & a Curse
Most Underrated:
1.August Burns Red-Death Below
2.Veil of Maya-(M)other
3.Unearth-The Wretched; The Ruinous
Most Overrated:
1.Amaarae-Fountain Baby
2.Young Fathers-Heavy Heavy
3.Caroline Polachek-Desire, I Want to Turn Into You
Top 25 Songs (in alphabetical order by artist):
August Burns Red-The Cleansing
August Burns Red-Dark Divide
Better Lovers-30 Under 13
Doja Cat-Attention
Drain-Watch You Burn
Dua Lipa-Dance the Night
Foo Fighters-But Here We Are
Foo Fighters-The Glass
Genesis Owusu-Leaving the Light
Jesus Piece-Fear of Failure
JPEGMAFIA and Danny Brown-Burfict!
JPEGMAFIA and Danny Brown-Fentanyl Tester
JPEGMAFIA and Danny Brown-Kingdom Hearts Key (feat. redveil)
Kali Uchis-Moonlight
King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard-Motor Spirit
King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard-Supercell
King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard-Witchcraft
Knocked Loose-Deep in the Willow
Paramore-Running Out of Time
Periphery-Wax Wings
Queens of the Stone Age-Paper Machete
Sampha-Spirit 2.0
Unearth-Dawn of the Militant
Veil of Maya-Artificial Dose
Veil of Maya-Red Fur
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