2023: The Year in Albums
December 2023
Music has played an interesting role for me in 2023. A significant portion of my listening time this year was spent while I was working on my dissertation, listening to albums in a repetitive manner, often becoming trance-like. Of course, this was in addition to my “regular” listening time.
But speaking of my dissertation, it seems as if my time working on it, the interviews I conducted, and time spent around music venues, also shaped what I listened to as well. In part, my dissertation looked at how musical genres and music venues affect how people think about place, particularly throughout the gentrification process. The title of my dissertation — You Can’t Just Land on the Moon and Have a Rock Club: A Case Study of Racialization, Gentrification, and Place Reputation in Fishtown — was inspired by a quote from a research participant. And though this is an undeniably ridiculously long title, I thought it encapsulated how music/sound can affect how people interact with a place (or don’t interact with it). In the case of Fishtown, where my study took place, that meant a lot of “Indie stuff:” Indie Rock, Indie Folk, and so on. Maybe by virtue of hearing folks talk about “Indie music” so much, I started listening to more of the artists that were mentioned, while also venturing out to find my own niche of artists. Hannah Jadagu, Beach Fossils, Holy Wave, and Bayonne are a few results of that exploration.
Some other highlights from the year for me:
Pedro Martins’ album, Rádio Misterió, reinvigorated a love for the guitar for me. It showed me the possibilities of the instrument and compositions built around it.
Q’s album, soul,PRESENT, sent jolt of energy into many of my days. I can still remember the utter shock and joy I felt listening to The Hide for the first time.
Noname released her first album since 2018’s Room 25. She’s one of my favorite artists working right now.
I enjoy seeing artists workout an idea, a sound, over the course of multiple albums.
Victoria Monét’s JAGUAR II was an exciting addition to her JAGUAR series, and an album that I thought offered a more refined version of her sound.
Similarly, Jessie Ware’s That! Feels Good! felt like a fitting, yet more expansive, version of her 2020 album, What’s Your Pleasure?
Terrace Martin released 6 albums (including a Christmas album) and 2 EPs. Nova, his EP with James Fauntleroy, was my favorite.
I’ve listened to Andre 3000’s album, New Blue Sun, almost every day since its release.
I like doing year end lists because they’re a way for me to keep an archive: of my tastes and how they change, of the ebbs and flows of music (that I perceive), of the instantaneous moment. Over the past few years, I’ve started treating year end lists as a collection of smaller lists: the artists I’ve been following for years and come back to often, debut albums, artists that are new to me, and my “Top 8” — albums that are extra special, and so on. Without further ado, here are my favorite albums from 2023:
Where My Bread is Buttered & My Cup is Filled
There are some artists whose music has resonated with me for a number of years. They’re the people I come to time and again who don’t disappoint. This year, some of my favorite artists released new albums, where they tried new things (or didn’t, which is fine), and in some cases, collaborated with new people.
Yussef Dayes — Black Classical Music
Mayer Hawthorne — For All Time
Braxton Cook — Who Are You When No One Is Watching
Baby Rose — Through and Through
CARRTOONS — Saturday Night
Butcher Brown — Solar Music
Reuben James — Champagne Kisses
Nice to Meet You
This category is somewhat in contrast to the aforementioned section. Where the last section was about a level of familiarity and trust I feel like I’ve developed with some artists, this is more about exploration in a sense.
As such, one of the things I enjoy most about blogging is looking for new music — particularly music from people I don’t know much about. Each month, through the Plug’n Play playlist, Kevin and I scour the underbelly of the internet for music that moves us, but also music that may go unnoticed. Below are some albums made by artists that I’ve come to really appreciate, and serves as my entry point to them.
Inhaler — Cuts and Bruises
Planet Giza — Ready When You Are
Say She She — Silver
Holy Wave — Five of Cups
Bayonne — Temporary Time
Gareth Donkin — Welcome Home
Salami Rose Joe Louis — Akousmatikous
Yves Tumor — Praise A Lord Who Chews But Which Does Not Consume; (Or Simply, Hot Between Worlds)
Beach Fossils — Bunny
Brad Allen Williams — oeconomy
CHAI — CHAI
The South Hill Experiment — SUNSTRIKES
Debut Albums
One of my favorite listening exercises is to go through an artists discography from the beginning (this is much easier to do because of streaming). Debut albums are often self-funded, or have little backing from a major label, and the artist often has to do most of the labor for the album themselves: play multiple, if not all, instruments, produce, do the cover design, mix and master the album themselves, and so on. And while an artists “voice” isn’t as refined as we might find them later in their career’s, they make up for it in ambition. To me, this is what makes the debut album exciting: it can feel limitless and a peak into what’s to come. Below are some of my favorite debut albums from 2023.
Hannah Jadau — Aperture
Madison McFerrin — I Hope You Can Forgive Me
Keeyen Martin — Neutral
De La Bux — With Love
Miscellaneous Favorites
Berhana — Amén (The Nomad’s Dream)
Daniel Ceasar — NEVER ENOUGH
B. Cool Aid, Pink Siifu, Ahwlee — Leather Blvd.
André 3000 — New Blue Sun
Top 8
Some albums, for whatever reason, become special to us. For me, it’s not quite something I can explain, but I’ll try. There are stylistic elements I’m often drawn to, but style wouldn’t explain my interests. I’m often drawn to albums that have reflective songwriting, production that is driven by instruments, compositions that explore harmony in new ways. I like albums that say something about the world, yet are imaginative about the future. Here are a few albums I not only returned to time and again, but I’m sure will be in rotation for years to come.
