Top 100 Music Albums of 2023 by JamesMowbray

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Buy album United States
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Ravenna Hunt Hendrix has long taken her music very seriously, often making it easy to mock the sheer earnestness that went into here works, but with time the full effect of her approach to music has become apparent. '93696' collects and breaks into new ground using pretty much all the material recorded by liturgy, drawing all the way from 2008's 'Immortal Life' to 2020's seemingly standalone 'Antigone' to build towering cascades of sound, eerie interludes and tightly percussive tracks. It's only made possible by this total commitment to the idea of transcendental black metal, a theological take on the genre that swaps the despairing darkness associated with the genre, with a distinctly bright sound. The brightness in the playing has always been a art of liturgy's music, though 93696 takes it to whole new levels by mixing the operatic compositions of 'Origin of the Alimonies' with the glitchy metal of record like 'HAQQ'. It makes for about 80 minutes of some of the best arranged music of recent years, pushing well beyond the boundaries of each form of music it takes on. There's the odd poor decision made on the record, most notably a middle section where three instrumental interludes appear back to back, but in general the approach of shorter tracks building into monolithic ones is incredibly well executed. The choral approach taken in many of these reaches the same euphoric spot as the pounding guitar and drums of the longer tracks, but by a totally different path. It helps that it all builds to the record's highlight 'Antigone II' which takes some of guitar lines of the original 'Antigone' single and 2011's 'Tragic Laurel' to build to some of the most earthshatteringly powerful notes I've heard, the sound is just huge. It's also a great example of the more fluid approach taken to the song writing. While 'Generation' is a defining track for the band to this day, with its incredible use of repetition, the tracks here create the same hypnotic effect by morphing and evolving as they unfold, almost as if they had a life of their own. '93696' is a wonderful project that feels so total in how it defines Liturgy's career that I can't imagine where things are headed next, though Ravenna seems to be an artist well worth holding faith in. [First added to this chart: 04/07/2023]
Year of Release:
2023
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Rank Score:
145
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Buy album United States
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This surprised me a lot, after following up her critical breakthrough Norman Fucking Rockwell with a couple of substantially weaker albums I figured that Lana's music had peaked and that the still quite decent standard of Chemtrails and Blue Banisters would be the new normal. I think I was about a couple of tracks into this record when I realised that wasn't the case, Ocean Boulevard isn't just a great piece of work but one that elevates the rest of Lana's discography. The opening run of tracks is just as good as on NFR, the effortless emotional build of The Grants, the full production of the title track and the lyrical directness of the second half of Sweet work incredibly together. They also set the stage for Lana's most contemplative and thoughtful album, breaking into new ground while drawing on the fear of being left in the past. This is most successful on A&W which mirrors the lyrical themes of her earliest records but adds some depth to them with its downbeat frustration as she tries to trace the roots of the unfulfilling and demeaning relationships that she used to only cover at a surface level.

For me Ocean Boulevard matches NFR in its earlier tracks but it's deeper into the tracklist that it starts to pull away from it, it stays compelling to the end. There are some especially strong melodies on tracks like Paris Texas and Candy Necklace and a warmth to others like Let the Light In. Each of the tracks I've highlighted has a really effective feature on it, Lana's sense for collaboration is at its best here, we're a long way from unnecessary rap features being stuffed into dull tracks. Only Bleachers doesn't quite pull his weight vocally, but his involvement in Margaret feels fair considering his personal connection to the track. It sets up a great finale as things come full circle with the looseness of the first few seconds of the album being mirrored by the almost conversational conclusion to Margaret.

Except the album just keeps on going and this is still what really confuses me. Fishtail, Peppers and Taco Truck are all really good but they feel like bonus tracks within the structure of the album. I really enjoy the switch up in sound towards something more hip hop influenced, Peppers especially is one of the catchiest tracks of the past year, it's a shame that it just doesn't fit. I think these songs could have made for a really good EP instead of being grafted onto the end of the record, it's a bit annoying though the fact that it stands out so clearly as an issue shows how well the rest of Ocean Boulevard is structured.
[First added to this chart: 04/07/2023]
Year of Release:
2023
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Rank Score:
907
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Buy album United States
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[First added to this chart: 10/19/2023]
Year of Release:
2023
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Rank Score:
126
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Buy album United States
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[First added to this chart: 06/29/2023]
Year of Release:
2023
Appears in:
Rank Score:
164
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5. (=)
Buy album United States
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It's rare to get an album cover that looks so close to the overall sound of the record. Raven uses murky synths, prominent drums and slightly hazy vocals to build the feelings of being submerged in cold water, of empty cavernous spaces and quiet times after dark. It's an album that sees Kelela evoke so much without really revealing anything, for how much I like the tracks here I don't think I've ever really paid any attention to the lyrics. Instead her voice consistently fills the gaps in these minimal tracks and allows a variety of sounds to gel together with the same vibe. Closure is a good example of this, the track starts with a brief repeating melody which seamlessly gives way to slow drumming and then a dull bass. This type of flow of sounds happens constantly on Raven, not just on tracks but also between them, it's just such a satisfying listen. It only seems appropriate for these sounds to eventually circle back around as closer 'Far Away' becomes an even more ethereal version of opener 'Washed Away', these tracks almost feel like an easing in and out of the dark and atmospheric sounds you'll find between them and it's the cohesion of these sounds that make it stand out so much as such a complete record. [First added to this chart: 02/16/2023]
Year of Release:
2023
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Rank Score:
199
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Buy album United States
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[First added to this chart: 05/03/2023]
Year of Release:
2023
Appears in:
Rank Score:
124
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Buy album United States
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I was quite surprised to find out that 'Everyone's Crushed' wasn't a debut album, I'd not heard of Water From Your Eyes before and the record is brimming with ideas that feel ahead of their time, even if things are a bit unfocussed. There's a lot of eye catching tracks here, the repetitive build of 'Barley' and the driving fuzzy guitars of 'True Life' are really effective at using abrasive sounds in what would otherwise be catchy and accessible song structures. This willingness to create a kind of harsh pop music generally works really well and I think that Rachel Brown's laid back vocals do a lot of heavy lifting here. These kinds of tracks stay fun and relaxed because the weirder elements of the tracks are well anchored. This vocal style also draws attention to the lyrics, which are another strength, varying between being ironic, quite deeply emotional and downright cryptic. For me the slower brooding tracks are what work best, with '14' being the standout track on the record. The almost mournful organs pair so well with the repeated lyrics, which are more effectively sung by Rachel than anything else on the record. There's a real sense of unease through the track, the lyrics are once again hard to decipher but make a kind of harsh sense, there's something so kind of conflicting and tough about the line "I'm ready to throw you up" that I struggle to explain, but it does make a kind of emotional sense. [First added to this chart: 06/24/2023]
Year of Release:
2023
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Rank Score:
78
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Buy album United States
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[First added to this chart: 03/15/2023]
Year of Release:
2023
Appears in:
Rank Score:
32
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Buy album United States
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[First added to this chart: 02/10/2023]
Year of Release:
2023
Appears in:
Rank Score:
33
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Buy album United States
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This makes a really welcome change from so much recent singer songwriter music which, even if it's not outright bad, leaves very little impact on me. Central here is Joanna's voice, which has a roughness that seizes you through each of these pared back tracks. They remind me a little of Joanna Newsom on The Milk Eyed Mender, which I think also succeeds in its directness. It's helped along by the simple and mostly solo compositions which do just enough to back up the vocal performances without overpowering them. The Human Magnet Song is the only exception to this, it's not a bad track at all but it's full band performance is quite jarring after 10 much more minimal songs. The lyrics are the other big stand out point here, like few other records they've got an emotional honestly that's almost uncomfortable to listen to. Joanna shows the sadness and bitterness caused by a break up and how it twists their perspectives towards their ex partner and themselves, especially on a track like People Are Toys to You. I think these sentiments are so effective because of their uncomfortable familiarity, lots of people will have these kinds of thoughts when they're pushed to their limits and because of their nastiness we don't really like to lay them out and confront them like Joanna does here. [First added to this chart: 07/27/2023]
Year of Release:
2023
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Rank Score:
84
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Total albums: 100. Page 1 of 10

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Top 100 Music Albums of 2023 composition

Artist Albums %


Kelela 1 1%
Jonny Greenwood / Dudu Tassa 1 1%
Mitski 1 1%
Eluvium 1 1%
Big Brave 1 1%
Girl Ray 1 1%
Margaret Glaspy 1 1%
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Country Albums %


United States 59 59%
United Kingdom 16 16%
Mixed Nationality 8 8%
Ireland 4 4%
Australia 3 3%
Canada 2 2%
Korea, South 1 1%
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Top 52 Music Albums of 2024 by JamesMowbray (2024)
Top 100 Music Albums of 2022 by JamesMowbray (2023)
Top 100 Music Albums of 2021 by JamesMowbray (2021)
Top 100 Music Albums of 2020 by JamesMowbray (2021)

Top 100 Music Albums of 2023 ratings

Average Rating: 
88/100 (from 4 votes)
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From 08/13/2023 17:48
I like the list. I'll probably return to compare every now and then.
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Best Albums of 1965
1. Highway 61 Revisited by Bob Dylan
2. Rubber Soul by The Beatles
3. A Love Supreme by John Coltrane
4. Bringing It All Back Home by Bob Dylan
5. Help! by The Beatles
6. Otis Blue / Otis Redding Sings Soul by Otis Redding
7. Pastel Blues by Nina Simone
8. My Generation by The Who
9. The Beach Boys Today! by The Beach Boys
10. A Charlie Brown Christmas by Vince Guaraldi
11. Mr. Tambourine Man by The Byrds
12. Here Are The Sonics!!! by The Sonics
13. Out Of Our Heads by The Rolling Stones
14. Spiritual Unity by Albert Ayler Trio
15. Maiden Voyage by Herbie Hancock
16. Jackson C. Frank by Jackson C. Frank
17. Live At The Regal by B.B. King
18. I Put A Spell On You by Nina Simone
19. Turn! Turn! Turn! by The Byrds
20. Bert Jansch by Bert Jansch
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