top albums of 2023
did you have a good time? got hurt but feeling fine?
In a time filled with persistent, inexcusable rhetoric and political debates on common sense. A time filled with suffocating wars and genocide, environmental crises, greed, and division. In another year that feels heavy, I find myself grasping for music that acknowledges just that: the heaviness.
As an artist, tell me that you see the world as it is; don’t ignore it. Acknowledge the fears and sadness and darkness that cannot be escaped because we live in an ever-increasing virtual world of instant everything. But also, guide us to some happiness that feels harder to obtain than it used to.
To put it simply, don’t bullshit me. Don’t act like these are normal times. Because they aren’t, and I just want people to recognize that. Especially musicians.
I recognize that this isn’t a very uplifting introduction to my top albums of the year. But these are the realities of the world and the albums discussed here all ground themselves in that in some way. It only helps that they all happen to kick some serious ass while they’re at it.
Jeff Rosenstock - HELLMODE
I put a lot of pressure on this release, arguably too much. But alas, it didn’t really matter because it exceeded all expectations I had.
With LIKED U BETTER, DOUBT, and HEALMODE as the three singles, I knew this was going to be unlike any other Rosenstock album. And I think I was right with that guess. Jeff pushes himself with HELLMODE and gives himself moments to stretch and breathe and sink us into the songs. It’s the most complex collection he’s released to-date.
HELLMODE is introspection, healing, growing. It’s truly a remarkable album and what I believe to be the most honest work to be released in 2023.
Hot Mulligan - Why Would I Watch
This is Hot Mulligan’s most mature album and I am so damn happy to see them grow as songwriters.
From the seamless transitions between songs, to the heavy lyrics, to the rhythm and melody changeups. Every part of Why Would I Watch is a positive build on their already impressive discography.
While HELLMODE and some other albums on this list sit in the heaviness of global issues, Why Would I Watch looks inward and addresses personal depression, broken relationships, and generational trauma. It’s an album with such raw emotion and it’s delivered so beautifully in every track.
Also, Betty is the saddest song to come out of 2023. This is, in fact, the only song on this entire list that I have to skip every time. I even went to the bathroom to escape the live version of this song when the time came (my girlfriend was not happy).
Spanish Love Songs - No Joy
I wrote a long review of No Joy for my pals at The Indy Review and you can read that here.
I don’t have more to say about this album that isn’t already in the review but I will offer these cliff notes: No Joy is a refreshing, 80s-inspired collection of optimistic responses to the bleakness of death and economic depression and everything else wrong with this world. Well, it’s as optimistic as Spanish Love Songs can be, at least.
The Gaslight Anthem - History Books
Admittedly, History Books was a bit of a slow burn for me. At first few listens, I was just happy to have The Gaslight Anthem back. But with every listen, this album inched its way further up my list for the year.
This album is a reinvention. It’s confident, it’s honest, and it’s full of powerful songs. I’m nearly convinced that Michigan, 1975 is the best song Brian Fallon has ever written. This album feels weathered and real without feeling lazy or tired. It’s the most interesting collection that The Gaslight Anthem has released because it required decisions that I think they may have been too hesitant to try in the past.
Plus, it’s stamped with the Bruce Springsteen approval.
Fiddlehead - Death is Nothing to Us
I only discovered Fiddlehead this year. And my girlfriend Sara laughed when I said (only a few days after discovering them, I should mention) that this may be my top album of the year. Sure, I was exaggerating a bit but it’s in my top five so HA!
Death is Nothing to Us is just so damn tight. It’s a total of 27 minutes and it’s just non-stop bangers. It’s pure and perfected post-hardcore. And the lyrics are smart, heavy, relatable, raw.
There isn’t much more to say about it. This album just rips.
Honorable Mentions
Fireworks - Higher Lonely Power
Fireworks is another band I only started listening to this year and it’s because of this album. I knew they existed (thanks to The Wonder Years) but I had no idea what they sounded like. Spoiler alert - they previously did not sound like this album.
Higher Lonely Power dismantles religion. It describes life as a mid-30 something in modern America. It feels like it was released because it contains songs that needed to be sung. It was dropped on Jan 1, 2023 and I think I listened to this album exclusively until about March or so.
If you are a millennial, Funeral Plant is a must listen. If you are not a millennial, Funeral Plant is also a must listen so you can understand an entire generation defined by global tragedies and the internet. It’s a perfect song.
Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit - Weathervanes
I think this is Jason Isbell’s best album. And that is saying a lot.
This is objectively one of the best albums of the year. Cast Iron Skillet is likely his most impressive song to-date. It’s an album that I expected to listen to a lot more than I have but that’s just a matter of genre preference at the moment.
Weathervanes is another beautiful and tragic collection of just incredibly written songs. No one can write a song like Jason Isbell does.
If you enjoyed this, please like or comment or share. But more importantly, please listen to these albums. I find them to be pretty important.
What are your favorite albums of 2023?