2023 end of year lists

What's up with him? Genuine question.

He's a cunt.

Don’t listen to him Titch. Those that remain listless are of no importance to us 😃

Still struggling to close a top 40 or 50 or 60

Oh, fuck it... not including nothing I've started listening to this month though

31. 100 gecs - 10,000 gecs
Back in summer of 2022 I ended up seeing them at a festival and even if I didn’t know much about anything gec related, I had more fun than expected. This follows that trend, there are goofy touches of some of the worst genres of the turn of the century (ska rock, nu-metal, punk pop) mixed with random samples (like opening with the THX sound or using the tiktok voice) and filtered by some distorted hyperpop madness. As they never spend much time on one style or melody, it can feel unsettling and annoying, like puking after an indigestion of dated sounds caught on the fly on a supersonic trip through late 90s teenage music while having vocal dysphoria. Besides or because of all that, 10,000 gecs becomes a challenging rollercoaster with a couple of uniquely amazing moments.

32. Juliana Hatfield - Sings ELO
I’ve been getting into both of them recently, so even if this is nothing amazing it is still a nice surprise. Good songs, pleasant defeated performances in contrast with the happy-go-lucky feel of the originals.

33. Ratboys - The Window
I do enjoy my country-ish indie rock (Waxahatchee, Big Thief, Wilco) and even more if it falls on the noisy energetic side as this one does. It’s been generally considered their breakthrough effort but it hasn’t surpassed beyond moderated enjoyability for me. Even the title track, a clear highlight and a soul-stirring song feels somehow a bit muted and great-but-not-amazing. Still I slightly prefer this lot to Wednesday, who while also fine have been incredibly hyped. Anyway far more highs than lows and a band I’ll be following from now on.

34. Deerhoof - Miracle-Level
After seeing them live in 2022 I described them as “epileptic madness”. At some point they sounded like each member was playing a totally different song but I had a lot of fun. Miracle-Level is apparently their first for a couple notable things: Japanese lyrics and studio production. They have a chaotic energy that can bring to mind a female Captain Beefheart making the intro of an anime.

35. Youth Lagoon - Heaven is a Junkyard
I never listened to them back in their Pitchfork-enhanced rise 10 years ago. For some reason, I tried this comeback and felt this was done with a lot of care, its low key energy and unworried pianos resulting in comforting music for me this year. Maybe not a very special album, but Trapeze Artist is quite amazing though.

36. Shame - Food for Worms
Shame were the first of the post Brexit Windmill thingy but always seemed to struggle against their more arty peers. This one feels a bit of a step backwards from Drunk Tank Pink, which was darker and riskier, but all and all helps in solidifying a career that starts to look quite praiseworthy. (Is it me or does it sound quieter than it should?)

37. Crocodiles - Upside Down In Heaven
I will probably die alone on this hill but Crocodiles are one of the most underrated rock bands of the previous decade. This is not one of their best but it feels nice. Won’t ever forget when JP said one of the crappy demos from my band sounded by them.

38. The Men - New York City
Their best in 10 years, basic filthy rock and roll.

39. Explosions in the Sky - End
I don’t know much about post-rock, don’t even enjoy it that much and this seems to be a not very well received effort but for me it works, like good “mind music” or “companion music” if that makes any sense. Connoisseurs complain about it being predictable or formulaic but probably that’s the reason while I feel safe and peaceful listening to it.

40. Diners - DOMINO
Short and functional piece of underground power pop. It flies by without leaving much trace, to the point where I find it hard to pick highs and lows within its tracklist.

21. Jenny Lewis - Joy’All
I'm not a psycho / I'm just tryna get laid / I'm a rock-and-roll disciple / In a video game. Turn down the treble / Drop the bass / Respect to your guru / Namaste, Ye

22. Angelo de Augustine - Toil and Trouble
Charming folk pop in the vein of his 2021 collaboration with Sufjan, for me this reinforced his role on that project as Suf doesn’t seem interested in delivering direct melodies anymore (I wrote this back in July). Like a friendlier Elliott Smith, two highlights (Memory Palace / Another Universe) are what propel a very decent batch of balsamic songs to the next level of enjoyment.

23. Wilco - Cousin
Although their double Americana LP from last year is a tad underrated, this could be the best Wilco since The Whole Love in 2011. It starts with one of my favorite songs of the year, Infinite Surprise is simply gorgeous and magnificent. With Cate Le Bon producing I would have hoped for them to go back to experimenting a bit more, but Tweedy keeps sighing more than singing and you know? Sometimes that is good enough.

24. Gena Rose Bruce - Deep Is The Way
My yearly discovery in the slightly-quirky-girl-with-a-guitar-but-I-wish-it-was-rockier-than-folkier. As it’s usual for these, there are moments and songs where I absolutely love what I’m hearing (including some cool early Beatles riffing and a Bill Callahan collab) and lets her standout from the comparisons I unfairly tend to make. But also this particular case ends with an underwhelming final trio of songs that leaves me a bit of a sour taste.

25. Caroline Rose - The Art of Forgetting
Caroline’s previous releases (especially the underrated Superstar, eaten by the pandemic’s gap year) had a lot of building a character thing. This is a different beast, both sonically and lyrically, detailing all the ups and downs of a breakup and the dizzying rebuilding of your own that comes afterwards. I’d say this is too scattershot, but I wouldn’t have it any other way. For me it has some of the highest highs of the whole year, but I believe other people might love some of the tracks I’d skip, so that means it’s a very rich record. She’s pretty underrated as a songwriter, performer, producer and arranger.

26. JW Francis - Dream House
Another dose of charming jangly bedroom pop but with slightly better production this time, like a slacker Albert Hammond Jr. it is light-hearted and fun til you drop. The songs were apparently compiled from a bunch composed by request for Valentine’s Day (or “internet bardic culture” as per a RYM review), but you don’t need to know that to enjoy the record.

27. 12 Rods - If We Stayed Alive
It seems this was another story of 90s alternative band going to a major label and imploding after not meeting expectations. I first heard about 12 Rods by a Ryley Walker mention on Twitter and now this is released under his label. A low key one person affair after recovering some old home demos, but still with the charming melodic complexities from their prime, managed to make it sound from that era but in a good way.

28. Blur - The Ballad of Darren
New Blur is always good news, one of the bands of my life and I will always gladly accept getting new basslines from Alex or different versions of the dynamics between Damon and Graham. Unfortunately as good as a Damon ballad can be, some of the songs here feel nondescript, plus there used to be far more unexpected turns in their records. But when it works, oh dear.

29. Yves Tumor - Praise a Lord Who Chews but Which Does Not Consume; (Or Simply, Hot Between Worlds)
A distillation of their previous record, with big distorted guitars and epic textures dancing between glam, psych, post punk and shoegaze by the way of a modern Prince. Second half is nearly spotless.

30. Melenas - Ahora
Nice evolution with a few lovely highlights but not fully buying it as a whole. Great harmonies, more krautrock and very similar to Stereolab, which is nice but also a bit lacking in the guitar department.

lol you gonna post your list on your MySpace from your desktop PC

He was always held up as some kind of saint in the Scottish music scene but, like most things, I think the reality was somewhat different.

When the old Fence Collective record label went bust / was deliberately folded there was some allegations he did rather better out of it than others.

Johnny Lynch, aka the Pictish Trail, was his right hand man but won’t have anything to do with him anymore.

But apart from all that I’m sure he’s brand new

11. Connections - Cool Change
Fuck, 10 years from their debut? I remember mahoney bigging them up back then. They always kind of sound the same way but RYM says I didn’t listen to their previous ones much so I came in with Connections hunger. Could highlight some tunes or the weird flashes of epic synths that got me a bit off guard but it’s a really consistent piece of work. One the best GBV in 15 years or so.

12. El Buen Hijo - Viene y Va
Just another Spanish band, this lot falls more on the soft, summery, cute, twee side of things. Under half an hour, a nice surprise (I only checked them because they were playing nearby) and it was released on a special moment for me so it will always be attached to late October 2023.

13. Monteperdido - Daño Físico
Just another Spanish noise pop formation reflecting on the frustrations of being a young adult, with subtle post hardcore instrumentation. B-side > A-side.

14. The Rolling Stones - Hackney Diamonds
We should just be grateful for this record to exist, but then again, it’s actually good! There are 3 or 4 songs I can’t get tired of listening to and none of it feels too lackluster or forced. Way more The Next Day than Blackstar, it feels like a modern update of all their different sides (rock, pop, blues, country, gospel, disco, Keith’s track..) but it flies by, Mick carries it and I have surprisingly enjoyed this way more than I thought I would. I read somewhere that they probably never did anything too new, but they invented the motherfucking Rolling Stones, and that’s an incredible feat.

15. The Chemical Brothers - For That Beautiful Feeling
After dismissing it for many years, recently I’ve got much deeper into electronics, still trying to find the artists and genres that hit closer to home. Being an uneducated rookie makes me have weird preferences, like enjoying way more this late ChemBros era instead of their 90s Big Beat peak. As always there’s a couple of purely blissful and euphoric moments, even if it’s quite varied it might flow better than No Geography (which was quite good anyway). Only downside is The Darkness That You Fear appears on a much inferior version compared to the original single, which is one of my favorite songs ever.

16. DIRK. - Idiot Paradise
Had to try this band from Belgium after being described as a mix of Weezer, Pavement, a touch of 90s post hardcore/emo, Pixies, early Franz Ferdinand and some Blur. Not sure if they are all that, but it is very enjoyable nonetheless. I tried to pick up a couple highlights (probably the tracks with extended instrumentals at the end) but it is surprisingly consistent.

17. Jungle - Volcano
After catching them on a DJ set last summer I’ve been really in the mood for their easy funk+soul+disco vibes. Better suited for the dancefloor than for home listening, some of the remixes (Opolopo one for Candle Flame is amazing) are indeed better than the songs - which are themselves originated by sped up and rearranged remixes of slower fake soul bits they create (quite cool tbh). It is spotty in places, but hedonistic fun.

18. Lisasinson - Un Año de Cambios
By now I thought I would have gotten sick of the sweetie, teeny power pop songs produced by this band from my own city. But it turns out there are still enough melodic twists to keep me under their spell for a little bit longer.

19. Woods - Perennial
Whatever I always say when I review a Woods record (basically same old same old but it ends up growing on me), but this time a tad better with a couple lovely highlights and a surprising but pleasing quantity of instrumentals.

20. Apartamentos Acapulco - La Reconciliación
Another step of refinement on their established sound, which is a mix of quiet shoegaze with a tad of flamenco melodies (taken from Los Planetas) and some upbeat poppier numbers.

I liked the Woods record. Not reinventing the wheel, but maybe a better set of songs than recent albums

10. Mitski - The Land Is Inhospitable And So Are We
This is an elegant, magnificent, beautifully tragic record, but only if you manage to enter its headspace, which might not always be easy. She’s a very idiosyncratic artist, who crafts short vignettes which can easily pass you by but actually have a lot to untangle, independently of the dressing used on each phase of her career (she apparently said her records come in pairs and I was a big fan of the previous two). This batch of songs might be her biggest accomplishment yet, understated Americana with big choirs and strings emerging on top, her voice and lyrics unhurriedly weaving a comforting cobweb that might leave you gasping for air if you’re not careful.

9. Queens of the Stone Age - In Times New Roman…
I’ve never fully connected to QOTSA, just a tad of respect and casual listening here and there. Still they’ve managed to become familiar and one of the last truly big rock bands around, so I feel like my appraisal has been gradually increasing in the past years. It’s only fine then that after his collaboration with Iggy, this might be the most Bowie-esque sounding record by them yet and might even be my favorite. Great guitars all around, Emotional Sickness is one of my favorite songs this year and Made To Parade has a lovely strutting feel.

8. Alice Phoebe Lou - Shelter
What can I say, she's still an angel-like creature, I'd say maybe even more comfortable on her own skin and it's reflected in the music. Unhurried delicate layers of instruments untangling around her voice, at times longing and at times playful. It doesn’t always happen, but when a song like Lately unravels itself, it is a beautiful thing. Caught her live at Toulouse as she was recovering from some kind of flu but it only made the experience lovelier and more captivating.

7. Osees - Intercepted Message
Their freshest one in 10 years or so and as many records: energetic but not frenetic (though fortunately this doesn’t apply to the live show), varied but not too scattershot, silly but melodic, kraut but rock.

6. Purling Hiss - Drag On Girard
Noisy fried lofi with big distorted guitars wailing for 38 minutes, one of the best Dinosaur Jr. albums ever.

5. Sufjan Stevens - Javelin
These haven't been easy times for Suf, someone who always tried to keep his private life. In the weeks around the release, he announced he was battling a strange life-threatening disease and came out as gay publicly when announcing the death of his partner. The record incorporates all the different ingredients of his previous work but not like a retread and more in a “it all lead to this” way: folk pastorals, glitchy electronics, embellishing choirs, downers and buildups, love/rejection/Christianity, self-pity and compassion. Especially for the moment I was in when I first listened to it, every lyric hit like, well, a javelin. But what’s more important there’s enough light spreaded across the songs that it never feels like a burden. I think this paragraph from Pitchfork’s review sums it up quite well: “Throughout his career, Stevens has used the language of love songs to express religious devotion, and vice versa. Across Javelin, he seems intent on understanding and being understood, with the purpose of exposing the common thread between his pet subjects: raising the endless questions that lead us to seek meaning in one another, and rejoicing in the euphoria of sometimes finding it. And if it sounds like he is occasionally singing to us from rock bottom, it’s only so we can witness the steady ascent onward.”

4. Aiko el Grupo - Me están apuntando con un arma
It is a complete blast, a frantic, light-hearted way of approaching serious topics, mostly the way women are treated in music and other aspects of life. A refined version of the debut but briskier and angrier, still belted harmonies and keyboard guiding lines on front, with collaborations with Mujeres and Axolotes, a magnificent record from start to finish.

3. The Lemon Twigs - Everything Harmony
I’ve loved these brothers from the beginning, back when I saw them at the Moth club close to krburg: swapping instruments, providing unbelievably tight vocal harmonies and rearranging songs from their tricky studio versions. They had started showing their huge talents like Foxygen ambassadors on the quirky and unpredictable Rado assisted slightly proggy debut. Then tried a weird Broadway leaning concept record with Rundgren collab included (in 2017 I saw him joining them for a song at Coachella). The third one got lost like many others in the pandemic haze, it was a bit more rock and song oriented. Now I was surely waiting for a fully consistent album from them, but of all of their tendencies, baroque pop / 70s Laurel Canyon folk-rock wasn’t the one that suited me the most (plus customary sprinkling of Big Star and Beach Boys). Turns out I was wrong, as here it feels like they got rid of all the superfluous elements (not saying amazing drumming was part of that) and just focused on acoustic guitars, tight as fuck melodies, vocal harmonies and considerate arrangements. Don’t think they’ll get big anyway, but there’s a sense of fulfillment and also vulnerability here that was lacking before. They always sounded like some lost classic band, now they made an actual lost classic.

2. La Paloma - Todavía No
After a promising EP and lots of touring (they’re a great live act) we finally got the debut record by this (again) Spanish noise-pop band from Madrid which sounds like a way friendlier Dinosaur Jr. with generational lyrics. Although I guess this is one of those cases where something is lost for people from other countries, enjoying it that much was a big surprise even for myself. I feel they might be getting a bit of mainstream coverage in a few years so it was nice to watch them from the beginning. Hate the cover though, otherwise I’d have bought the vinyl (I finally bought it)

1. Mujeres - Desde Flores y Entrañas
As I described in here -> asoapbox.proboards.com/thread/6382/war-defend-band this record feels like their victory lap: still accelerated guitars and frenzied choruses as the backbone of their music. I don’t know man, it looked like I couldn’t like them more and it seemed a bit samey… and before I realized I was like a teenage gorilla chanting in my car dozens of lyrics I would get as messenger nicks or tattooed on my chest .When it was released I was down and empty inside and then within months my life completely changed for the better and it surely works both ways. It just talks about dealing with the ups and downs of life, a heart on sleeve feeling and those little moments when you look at all your scars and bruises and accept them as part of the path to the person you’ve become. You can feel they’re just 3 friends having fun and enjoying their moment after eating shit for years. I might not drunk text the bassist that much anymore, but I got an ankle sprain on their last show. I stopped looking for a life-changing band many years ago, but I can only embrace it when it happens.

Great work barny. Always enjoy reading your lists.

Awesome work Barny. Will check a few of these out. Up the diamonds!

I honestly thought Beach Fossils would be in Barnys top 10.

I'm not sure how I feel now.

I don't really rate them, sorry mate :/

BITCH

Don't you talk to barny that way.

Hi Tuckerman. How about a month ban for any regular members that don’t provide a list by the 31st