Top 50 Albums of 2023 pt. 2

Sprain - The Lamb as Effigy

Genres: Experimental Rock, Post-Rock, Noise Rock

Best Tracks: Man Proposes, God Disposes -- Reiterations -- Margin for Error

"Bloodthirsty Theatrics Embody the Brutalism of Insecurity.

'The Lamb as Effigy' smolders as a cataclysmic reach towards higher power; a stunning journey, awe-inspiring in its imposing environments and physical incarnation of equally grand emotive deliverance."

Jessie Ware - That! Feels Good!

Genres: Dance-Pop, Disco

Best Tracks: Free Yourself -- Begin Again -- Freak Me Now

"U.K. Dance-Pop Star, Jessie Ware Extravasates Pleasure in this Disco and Funk Fueled Frolic of Love and Pop.

Glamorous commemorations of animal gratification and inexorable demonstrations of self-freedom escort an uncontrollable carnal euphoria, assured to cling to the ears of any who listen."

Panopticon - The Rime of Memory

Genres: Atmospheric Black Metal

Best Tracks: Winter's Ghost -- Enduring the Snow Drought -- The Blue Against the White

"A Pummeling of Anarchic Noise in a Dread Soaked Winter.

Wispy environments of cold guitar drones, screaming vocals and layers upon layers of battering drums set forth an excursion into the vast mountains of freezing nostalgia."

Squid - O Monolith

Genres: Experimental Rock, Art-Punk

Best Tracks: Swing (In a Dream) -- Undergrowth -- The Blades

"U.K. Experimental Rock band, Squid Returns for a Sophomore Effort of Dense Kraut and Ascending Art-Punk. 

An incredible consistency of brimming guitar work matched with ominous Punk grooves, multifarious climaxes, and a fiery display of vocal commentary earn 'O Monolith' its title as an imposing force of art and rhythm."

Lankum - False Lankum

Genres: Irish Folk Music, Avant-Folk

Best Tracks: Go Dig My Grave -- Newcastle -- The Turn

"Irish Folk Band, Lankum Transforms Folk Tunes of Old in this Funereal Odyssey of Profound Harmonies and Avant-Folk Blues.

'False Lankum' functions as an incarnation of the deep-rooted feelings of ancient anecdotes, light in the air of the open sea, but heavy in the hearts of mournful lovers."

Black Country, New Road - Live at Bush Hall

Genres: Progressive Pop, Art Rock, Chamber Pop

Best Tracks: Up Song -- I Won't Always Love You -- Turbines/Pigs

"Renowned Art Rock Band, BCNR Picks Up the Pieces after Lead Singer, Isaac Wood's Departure in a Heart-Rending Live Performance, Both Celebrating and Mourning Friendship.

Instrumentally and vocally, BCNR is able to make songs of great suspense, assembling moments of soft and personal reflection that lead to thrilling blasts of triumphant commemoration; A charming, yet forlorn live show soaked in the tears of good times and lost concord."

Swans - The Beggar

Genres: Post-Rock, Experimental Rock

Best Tracks: Paradise is Mine -- The Beggar -- Ebbing

"Legendary Experimental Rock Group, Swans Enter the Charred Sewers of Death through Primal Post-Rock and Discomposed Gothic Country in their 16th Studio LP.

'The Beggar' stands as a curious tale of innateness and the natural state of mortality. This sentiment, along with Swans' ability to build awe-inspiring musical environments is what makes this album a horrifying, yet beautiful confrontation with the Grim Reaper and his tormented subsidiaries."

Reverend Kristin Michael Hayter - SAVED!

Genres: Hymns, Southern Gospel, Singer-Songwriter

Best Tracks: All of My Friends Are Going to Hell -- The Poor Wayfaring Stranger -- I Know His Blood Can Make Me Whole

"Bloody Hymns for a Tortured Soul.

Grand piano Gospel is deconstructed through lo-fi production and searing distortion. Electroacoustic chords are frail and messy, leaving the project with a warped sense of dread; The dark drama of the piano, utterly gorgeous vocals, and strangely gnarled instrumentation elevate an eerie spirit that resets the psyche with a truly magnificent divine release."

Caroline Polachek - Desire, I Want to Turn Into You

Genres: Art Pop, Alt-Pop, Electronic

Best Tracks: Welcome to My Island -- Sunset -- Smoke

"Art Pop Extraordinaire, Caroline Polachek Brings Passion into a Tropical Mix of Electronica and Operatic Vocals.

Clean, yet maximalist in its ambitions, 'Desire' captures the listener through masterful soaring vocals, a diverse set of experimental Pop instrumentals, and a deep dive into the nature of love and desire in a changing world."

George Clanton - Ooh Rap I Ya

Genres: Chillwave -- Neo-Psychedelia -- Baggy

Best Tracks: Justify Your Life -- I Been Young -- F.U.M.L.

"Anthemic Propulsions of Lush Electronica and Irresistible Beat.

Dense electronic whirs burst open with pulsating synth waves, hypnogogic drum patterns, and ethereal atmospherics. A glamorous display of 90s influence make for an obsessive nostalgia anchored by incredibly fun production."

Carly Rae Jepsen - The Loveliest Time

Genres: Dance-Pop

Best Tracks: Kamikaze -- Kollage -- Psychedelic Switch -- Put It to Rest

"A Grand, yet Personal Party of Ravishing Dance-Pop Execution.

Compulsive Pop beats take from a wide array of influence, creating an eclectic collection of tantalizing dance vibrations. Jepsen's sensational vocals mixed with magnificently imaginative Pop progressions is a recipe for 43 minutes of non-stop gratification."

Aesop Rock - Integrated Tech Solutions

Genres: Abstract Hip Hop, Conscious Hip Hop

Best Tracks: Mindful Solutionism -- Living Curfew -- Aggressive Steven -- Black Snow

"Unimaginable Imagination in the form of Futuristic Boom Bap.

Inventive electronic Hip Hip beats lay a foundation of zipping rhythm for Aesop Rock to lay down a scripture of exhaustive vocabulary and expansive wordplay. Sarcastic stories mask deeper meaning as Aesop goes beyond any possible expectations with a profoundly decorated Hip Hop experience."

Liturgy - 93696

Genres: Avant-Garde Metal, Black Metal

Best Tracks: Djennaration -- Haelegen II -- Ananon -- 93696 -- Antigone II

"Black Metal Outfit, Liturgy Delivers a Striking Mass of Spiritual Glitch and Avant-Garde Treasures.

Alongside a radically technical and saga-like composition, Chamber sounds soar to create a fantastical atmosphere while brutal Metal works with brisk time-signatures to transcend ferocity into Nirvana; An utterly enthralling set of wicked and demiurgic Avant-Garde invocations."

Sadness & abriction - Sadness // Abriction

Genres: Shoegaze, Emo, Blackgaze

Best Tracks: Something in the Summer Rain -- Please... -- Breaking Through the Clouds -- Her Summer Morning Sky

"Experimental Artists, Sadness and Abriction Share Mellifluous Summertime Nostalgia in an Orange Bloodbath of Lo-fi Shoegaze.

The beauty of this record is in its atmosphere, where stratified guitar paints Midwest landscapes of warmth and comfort. The vocals beckon to this feeling of tenderness, often drowning in overwhelming shock waves of electrified strings. Such lachrymose vocalization in company with melting Shoegaze make the collaborative album an extraordinary odyssey of sunbathed nostalgia."

what is your name? - My Name Is...

Genres: Midwest Emo, Neo-Psychedelia

Best Tracks: It's Okay. -- Mirror / Candle -- aM i aL0ne ! ? (or just crazy ! ?) -- 21 and lonely -- For Anything

"Twisting Lo-fi Density Renders a Salient Epidemic of Solitude.

Bullish Indie compositions are sculpted by cavernous acoustic guitar, sharp electric guitar, and rippling electronic signals. Kaleidoscopic environments emanate a certain anxiety that plays to the earnestness the record has to offer. Dazzling displays of undulating distortion, vibrant psychedelics, and pulverizing wavelets of seclusion leave the listener wanting more as they search for their own cures to the forlorn."