2023 end of year lists

10: Squid - O Monolith

Squid continue their progression as a band. The follow up isn't as accessible as their debut, but I really like the direction they've taken things. It's a rewarding LP that feels like a complete piece rather than just a collection of tunes. Uncommon time signatures, kinda dense, nods to krautrock.. I'm completely down with the way the band are heading & excited to hear whatever comes next.

09: Famous Mammals - Instant Pop Expressionism Now!

Brilliant discovery that I think I stumbled across on RateYourMusic. Californian band Famous Mammals do the kinda post-punk that sounds like its come out of Britain in the late 70s, think The Fall or Wire. But also when Parquet Courts were a lot more ramshackle and garage sounding. I also like the weird experimental noisy tunes that help give the record variety. 18 songs but it's all kinda snappy & moves on from one idea to the next quickly whilst containing some real bangers. The Lo-fi production really suits the bands style too. Love this record.

08: The Rolling Stones - Hackney Diamonds

Who'd have fucking thought it? Certainly not me. I was of the opinion (like almost everybody else) that nobody wants or needs a new Stones record in 2023. Anything I'd heard post Some Girls ranged from forgettable to useless. Then Hackney Diamonds comes along. 80% of the record sounding like they could be singles. The frickin' KEEF song hitting me with a real sense of melancholy, the bluesy numbers giving variety to the record then the crazy shit like Lady Gaga turning up. They had no right to make an album this good, and they fucking did it. It has led me down a rabbit hole of the Stones & I've learnt to appreciate some of the later career records. God bless them, if this is goodbye then what a send off (pretty sure we're getting a follow up next year though). It's just a fucking joy to hear the Stones doing their thing in 2023. I could have never have predicted this & I am PROUD & HONOURED to have contributed to the Rolling Stones inevitable Soapbox Album of the Year #1 spot. You deserve it lads.

07: Bill Orcutt - Jump on It

One man and his acoustic (& some heavy breathing in the quiet spots). It's extremely technical in terms of playing, yet sounds so effortless & melodic. Glad I got to see Bill perform this year, watching his unique technique really helped appreciate what he does even moreso. Found myself gravitating to music that I can just relax & allow it to paint pictures in my mind a lot more recently & Bill's music is just so evocative.

06: Tee Vee Repairmann - What's on TV

Insanely addictive garage-punk from Sydney, Australia. Hooks to die for, fast & furious & all over in 24 minutes. Pure Joy. Hope they come to the UK someday. This music is just a pure adrenaline sugar rush. Can't really say much more other than if you can't enjoy this then you're DEAD to me. 

05: Sparklehorse - Bird Machine

When it was announced I was curious, but had little hope that this would actually be any good. I was expecting some unfinished tunes, mostly acoustic & in my mind it was going to be quite downbeat & sombre sounding. That couldn't be further from the truth, this thing is bursting with energy & LIFE, Linkous lives.. at least whilst you listen to these recordings. Respect to those that helped finish off these songs, tastefully & faithfully done. Bird Machine can sit comfortably next to anything in the Sparklehorse discography. What an unexpected joy, a beautiful belated goodbye from Mark Linkous.

04: ANOHNI and the Johnsons - My Back Was a Bridge for You to Cross

This is the one record that has been universally praised by the critics this year that I feel is fully deserving of the accolade. ANOHNI's never sounded more soulful, not only vocally, but the arrangements of these songs despite veering into art-rock & chamber pop just feel pure soul to me. I even get some Stanley road vibes from it in places. Beautiful record which I thought was pretty damn good upon release but has just sounded better and better throughout the year. It's a classic that can sit comfortably next to I Am a Bird Now & without a doubt one of the best releases of 2023.

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Top 3 time. These were the only 3 ever in the running for the #1 spot, TBH on any given day I could have gone with any of these, really depends what mood I'm in
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03: Sprain - The Lamb as Effigy

This record lasts 96 minutes, containing two songs that almost hit the 25 minute mark & it feels every god damn minute of its length. Yet when I first heard this I was completely captivated. It's relentlessly uncompromising, challenging & is all the better for being so. The first time I heard this I was convinced I'd heard something special. It falls somewhere between post-punk, experimental rock & noise-rock, but there's a lot more going on, moments of drone to classical. I do love the singers voice even if it's more of a disturbed anxious whine. After discovering it I listened to it a lot over the course of a few weeks & slowly but surely I just couldn't take it any longer It's a bloody hard listen & if you're not in the right frame of mind it can easily feel like a chore. Still I was pretty pumped about this record & then the singer started making these overly dramatic cringe posts on instagram regarding each song & then he broke the band up not long after sounding like he was going to kill himself Not gonna lie, he sounds like a right bellend & it put me off listening for a good few months.
So after taking an extended from the record I really wasn't sure how I'd feel about it now, let alone where it'd rank on an end of year list. Returning now I'm reminded why I loved it so much in the first place & it's revealing itself in ways I hadn't cottoned onto originally. Yeah you can find obvious influences in the likes of Swans & Sonic Youth, but the way this is packaged together (at least to me) feels completely unique. I don't think it'll ever be a record I return to on a regular basis, but one of those that in the rare occasion that I surrender myself to it I'll be reminded what a special piece of work it is.

02: Joanna Sternberg - I've Got Me

Fell for this record in a big way upon first listen. Its just fantastic song-writing, very classic sounding tunes like something from the 70's but also twee in a Mouldy Peaches kinda way. The frankness & simplicity of the lyrics also reminds me in a big way of Daniel Johnston. In an era where people always aim for the abstract when it comes to lyrical content there's something just so beautiful yet bittersweet and pure about the honesty of Sternberg's words. This has become a Sunday Morning hangover kinda record for me. Adore this record, I wouldn't be surprised if this becomes the one record from 2023 that I'm still playing on a regular basis 20 years from now.

01: Erik Hall - Canto Ostinato

I've dabbed into minimalism over the past couple of years. Like almost everyone I started with Steve Reich's Music for 18 Musicians which fucking floored me. Well, I've had the same kinda experience from Erik Hall's take on Canto Ostinato. Originally written to be performed by 4 piano's in the late 70's by Simeon ten Holt, here Erik Hall uses does it all by himself using multitracked grand pianos, an electric piano and an organ. It's an hour long continuous/repetitive piece that slowly evolves as the time signatures fall out of place. Must have been painstakingly hard to record this but it never feels like a multitrack piece, it just feels so alive and each time you feel like you know what's coming the time signatures move on & help float along to the next piece of the puzzle. One of the most rewarding listens I've had all year, something I just put on & completely get hypnotised by & the hour running time just zips by.

I'm calling this real early. I predict a Stones/Coombes/Blur soapy top 3.

A number 4 and 8 ranking for the Stones puts Hackney Diamonds at the top of the leaderboard.

I doubt they’ll look back. It’s a one horse race, Fuzzy, hand out the Eddie Murphy statue now so mick and Keef can feel it before it’s too late

The prize for Soapy album of the year is a statue of Eddie?
Am I handing it out due to the lack of a glamorous (or indeed any) woman and so the role of forum eye candy has fallen to me by default?

As head of our social media marketing team I feel it's something you should be dealing with to get us hits with the tick tockers.

Fav EP's

01: Alice Low - Transatlantic Sugar
Contender for my favourite release of the year. A quirky melancholic mixture of progressive pop & GLAM-rock. Reminds me of when Foxygen were good or before Ariel Pink turned into a cunt.

02: Lifeguard - Dressed in Trenches
Noise rock, very 90's, very sonic youth. No surprise as one of the members is a brother of a member of Horsegirl. Yet I believe this band are even younger. Excited to hear a full length by them

03: Children of the Pope - Committed to Cynicism
4 Garage-rock bangers in 13 minutes. Reminds me of classic Black Lips. Just great fun. Just a shame new material in their live sets has started to sound a bit RAWK, they were onto a winner with the sound on this EP

04: Tapir! - Act 2 (Their God)
their second EP, their debut is being released as these mini EP's that tell a story. There will be some major soapbox end of year controversy next year when me & Kevin include what I guess technically will be a compilation in our lists next year. Not quite as strong as the 1st EP, though includes their best song. Excited for part 3 & hearing it as a album.

05: Itchy and the Nits - Itchy and the Nits
Insanely catchy 3 piece garage-rock band from Sydney, Australia. Their EP has 7 songs and is over in less than 10 minutes. It's so immediate, it feels like they just plugged in bashed these wonderful nuggets out. so much fun

06: Cowboyy - Epic the Movie
An odd band I've seen a couple of times this year. They have a Black Midi/math rock thing going on but you can tell the members are pulling from different directions from Shoegaze to post punk to metal. Live I still don't know what to make of them but man, this EP really caught me by surprise.

A big part of my listening has been garage-rock this year. There's too many release to mention but needless to say I've found so much gold this year. Here's 90 mins of my favourite garage tunes from the year.

Disappointments:

Slowdive:
Cannot get into it at all, just sounds so lifeless to my ears

Janelle Monae:
At this point everything that made her so exciting has gone out the window & replaced with the most obvious & painfully boring music imaginable. Wouldn't surprise me if it turns out this was made with AI

The Coral:
Well, sea of mirrors, I didn't even bother with the other one. I doubt I'll bother with this band anymore, happy to just remember when they were weird & wonderful.

Egyptian Blue:
Hell of a live band, on record, totally forgettable

The Streets:
I wanted to believe, wish I hadn't bothered.

Old shit I've discovered:

Been a poor year for me regarding this. I've kinda just gone down rabbit holes listening obsessively to artists I've loved for years, which of course isn't a bad thing. But I do want to start finding some unheard (to my ears) gems again in 2024. Still found some time for some gold though, just not as much as I'd like.

Karen Dalton - In My Own Time (1971)
Where the fuck has this record been all my life? It's just bloody beautiful. What an absolutely incredible voice. A perfect sunday morning record. Could go onto be an all-time favourite as I don't think I'm going to tire of it anytime soon

Manuel Göttsching - E2-E4 (1984)
I waited until he DIED before deciding to listen to Gottsching. Progressive electronic music, very minimalistic, something to get absorbed by.

De La Soul - Buhloone Mindstate (1993)
Shamefully had never heard this. Might be my favourite record of theirs tbh

Terry Riley - A Rainbow in Curved Air (1969)
most unsexy album cover ever. But man, this is minimalism at its finest. I've reached the point in my listening where I have on-the-go music where I like upbeat, garage/post punk. Then at home I like to be consumed by something that perhaps doesn't follow obvious song structures. This record has got it all, ambient, drone, a bit of psych. Wonderful

Kraftwerk - Die Mensch-Maschine (1978)
I'd heard this before but this record really landed for me in 2023.

I also had a big blues phase earlier in the year. Not really an album kinda genre but shout out to The Complete Willie Johnson. Sensational & essential. Also "Lead Belly: The Smithsonian Folkways Collection", music at its purest form.

Billy Harper - Black Saint (1975)
Incredible spiritual jazz record despite the bland artwork. I need to spend more time with this one actually

Then I really got into the classic era of Faust. Incredible seeing them (or what's left of them) do their thing. Shout out to "IV" which rightly is their masterpiece. But also to Outside the Dream Syndicate which is Faust with Tony Conrad, a full on Drone LP made up of two pieces. This really moved me.

Janes Addiction song might be the best from the record tbh

He sounds very, very annoying when he says "Jet-Pack Man"

I have honestly come to the realization that I haven't listened to many new albums this year. A lot of the stuff I thought came out in 2023 actually was 2022 lol.

So I will give you my favorite album & single of the year.

DRUMROLL PLEASE


SOTY; Don't Fade Away - Beach Fossils

AOTY; Bunny - Beach Fossils


Nothing has hit me harder than this album. I think it's exactly what I wanted/needed in life. Fuzzy/poppy/shoegazey - The whole thing is just a fucking banger. One of those albums that you can just play through and not have to worry about changing the song.

Honestly, I find it harder each year to devote time to new music. Probably so much stuff I miss but I always seem to come back to my trusted bands/artists in the hopes that they deliver.

Top 10 Musical Disappointments of 2023

1, The PJ Harvey album
2, The Strokes @ All Points East
3, Arctic Monkeys @ Carrow Road
4, The state of Simon Fowler last night
5, That BCNR live album. They suck without Isaac
6, The Janelle Monae album
7, The Steve Mason album
8, The Grian Chatten album
9, The Streets album
10, The Coral album

Top 15 albums of 2023

15) The Paul Langlois band - guess what
14) lankum - false lankum
13) Ron sexsmith - the Vivian line
12) odds - crash the Time Machine
11) Peter Gabriel - I/o
10) gord downie x bob rock - lustre parfait
9) trans-Canada highwaymen - explosive hits v1
8) Jason isbell & the 400 unit - weathervanes
7) slowdive - everything is alive
6) public image limited - end of world
5) your hosts for this evening, the bony rolls - hackney diamonds
4) Noel gallagher’s high flying birds - council skies
3) teenage fanclub - nothing lasts forever
2) the hives - the death of Randy fitzsimmons
1) gaz Coombes - turn the car around

Supergaz’s 2nd prestigious “srk album of the year award”, no less. (3rd if you count road to Rouen)

Could supergaz be a surprise threat to jagger and the lads here?!

Top 10 EPs of 2023

1,Deary - Deary
2,Marseille - Freedom EP
3,Marseille - This Dream of Mine
4,Crushed - Extra Life
5,Aphex Twin - Blackbox Life Recorder 21f/in a room 7 f760
6,Moleskine - Comfort
7,Opus Kink - My Eyes, Brother!
8,Cowboyy - Epic the Movie
9,Hallan - The Noise of a Firing Gun
10,Angel Olsen - Forever Means

No Shed Seven bruv?

Top 20 old albums discovered in 2023.

Kinda the opposite to mahoney on this for me as I went in hard on the old stuff this year. Could have done a top 50 but narrowed it down to 20 big hitters that I heard for the first time this year and loved...

1, Pharoah Sanders - Karma (1969)
2, The Young Disciples - Road to Freedom (1991)
3, Baby Charles - Baby Charles (2008)
4, The Blow Monkeys - She Was Only a Grocer's Daughter (1987)
5, Candi Staton - I'm Just a Prisoner (1970)
6, Nolan Porter - Nolan (1972)
7, Lord Finesse - The Awakening (1996)
8, Terry Callier - Ocassional Rain (1972)
9, Al Green - Al Green Explores Your Mind (1974)
10, Lack of Afro - Press On (2007)
11, Haircut 100 - Pelican West (1982)
12, Yussef Kamaal - Black Focus (2016)
13, Trio Valore - Return of the Iron Monkey (2008)
14, Desperate Journalist - Grow Up (2017)
15, EPMD - Business Never Personal (1992)
16, Everything but the Girl - Eden (1984)
17, Shirley Brown - Woman to Woman (1974)
18, Above the Law - Livin' Like Hustlers (1990)
19, The 3 Pieces - Vibes of Truth (1975)
20, Das EFX - Straight Up Sewaside (1993)

Storming effort chief.


The Nat Birchall record sounds right up my alley.