This Week’s Theme: Top 20 Albums of 2023

The final show in my best of 2023 series compiles my favorite albums from the genre-based lists I presented during the last few weeks into a Top 20 of the year list.

As always, there is a playlist.

Amazon Prime Playlist

Spotify Playlist

Number 20: Exul by Ne Obliviscaris

Australian Progressive Death Metal band Ne Obliviscaris are the closest thing to old school Opeth out there right now. Their 4th album is fantastic. It is everything this style was created to provide – long movements that flow from quiet to loud, beauty, destruction, and most importantly, technically precise musicianship. The strings are a trademark of this band’s sound and help them rise above many of their contemporaries. This is the type of band who define the new Post-Metal world of music.

Number 19: Lucky For You by Bully

Ms. Faux and I love Liz Phair. I am a fan of ’90s alt rock. I like the Breeders. I like Elastica. I hear all of these artists in the sound of Bully on her 4th album. Lucky For You has grown on me with every listen. Lovers of old fashioned indie rock should like this one.

Number 18: 10,000 Gecs by 100 Gecs

2023 is the year I discovered that I like hyperpop. I had heard the music before but was unaware of the subgenre’s name until Faux Jr. clued me in. Two of my favorite albums of the year fall into this category, including #7 on this list and 10,000 Gecs by 100 Gecs. The third album by 100 Gecs provides all flavors of the genre. This style of music may not be for everyone, but as we move further into the 21st century this sort of music seems to be an obvious melding of all of the genres of rock music that have evolved over the last 25 years.

Number 17: Jenny From Thebes by The Mountain Goats

I could write a book about The Mountain Goats. I have heralded John Darnielle in past Faux Shows as the greatest songwriter and lyricist of my generation. I would place him on a short list of the great songwriters along with Bob Dylan, Bruce Springsteen, Joni Mitchell, Carole King, Steve Earle, and a handful of others. Coming from that background, I have to be careful that I don’t always place a new Mountain Goats album at the top of my best of the year lists. The truth is that I was extremely disappointed with last year’s Mountain Goats album Bleed Out. However, Mountain Goats fans know that there are three albums that most consider the band’s masterworks (All Hail West Texas, Tallahassee, Sunset Tree), so when Darnielle writes a sequel to one of them it deserves special attention. Jenny From Thebes is the sequel to All Hail West Texas (2002), a collection of songs that include several characters who are beloved by Mountain Goats fans and who make up the story presented in this new release. Call backs are made to the All Hail West Texas songs “Color In Your Cheeks,” the title character “Jenny,” “Fall of the Star High School Running Back,” “Distant Stations,” and more, but all without a contrived nostalgic reference. All Hail West Texas was the last great lo-fi Mountain Goats album. The songwriting and sound of the band has evolved several times since then, with the current incarnation finding them at arguably their most popular period of existence. Their original fans have grown with them for 30 years, but now they have an entirely new fanbase who may not even know their early lo-fi recordings. That is probably the greatest argument I can make for Darnielle as a genius. He writes great songs and it doesn’t matter how they are performed.

Number 16: Why Would I Watch by Hot Mulligan

Emo bands are a dime a dozen now-a-days. I don’t know why I like Why Would I Watch by Hot Mulligan as much as I do, other than that is reminds me a lot of the first few albums by Third Eye Blind, and I used to love that band. There is nothing new happening here, and the singer leans toward screaming a little too often, but I am always a sucker for a good hook. These are catchy emo tunes by a band who will most likely break up or be forgotten in the next few years.

Number 15: Cousin by Wilco

Wilco should be in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. I have been a lifelong fan since they sprung from the ashes of Uncle Tupelo. Jeff Tweedy is a rock genius who has flourished combining roots rock and post rock into his own unique style. It has been many years since I have enjoyed a new Wilco release, and Cousin is one of my favorites by the group. If you don’t like Wilco, you won’t like this. If you like Wilco, you will like this. If you have never heard Wilco, go listen to the songs “Monday” and “Can’t Stand It” and the album Yankee Hotel Foxtrot.

Number 14: Blomi by Susanne Sundfor

I had never heard of Susanne Sundfor before discovering her 2023 album Blomi last summer. I was immediately pulled into the album by the first track, an experimental spoken-word piece with esoteric lyrics about the physical nature of love in relation to physics, gravity, and other stuff which I’m sure I don’t understand. If the entire album was similar to that first track, I may have enjoyed it well enough. However, one must move past the first track to discover that this is an album by an amazing songwriter and vocalist. Sundfor combines traditional Norwegian folk music with modern songwriting to produce a collection of gorgeous songs that continue to move me with every listen. This is a beautiful album and deserves to be heard by a lot more people than are going to hear it.

Number 13: the record by boygenius

Female supergroup trio boygenius have given each of the individual artists (Julien Baker, Phoebe Bridgers, and Lucy Dacus) a new, much larger fanbase. A lot of supergroups from rock’s past are created by aging stars looking to extend their careers. Boygenius breaks that mold by giving three women in the prime of their career a chance to grow together as songwriters and musicians. Every song on the record could be a standout on each woman’s next solo album. By combining their talents in this way, they have created a songwriting powerhouse and have given each other inspiration to expand their creative palette. I would imagine that the future will find all three women performing both together and separately for years to come now that they have found the mass success they each have deserved for years.

Number 12: Guts by Olivia Rodrigo

Olivia Rodrigo is a 20 year old former Disney star who is also one of the most popular acts in the U.S. There are very few artists recording right now who have achieved as much success and popularity as Rodrigo in the last 3 years. What’s amazing is that all of those other artists are either pop or hip-hop artists. It has been years since an ultra-popular artist has recorded rock music like Rodrigo has made for her new album. Her debut had moments of rock but was a pop album at its core, while this new album has moments that sound like The Breeders and Green Day. I think this is because she is now making music that sounds like what she listens to. While she claims to be the world’s biggest Swiftie, she also names her influences as Alanis Morrissette, Fiona Apple, and Avril Lavigne. Even more importantly, she names White Stripes, Rage Against The Machine, and Babes in Toyland as influences. I’m sure that most people my age ignore artists like Rodrigo and tend to play their favorite album by Led Zeppelin or Prince when they start up the car. I am not trying to argue that Rodrigo is the second coming of Robert Plant, and her music is set firmly in the pop music production aesthetic of 2023, but most of this record sounds like Liz Phair and not Britney Spears. Like her heroes Swift, Morissette, and Apple, Rodrigo is on a path toward a long career in popular music. If she can avoid the traps of fame that often befall such young artists, she could end up becoming a generational icon just like her own heroes.

Number 11: I’ve Seen A Way by Mandy, Indiana

I know very little about the band Mandy, Indiana. I’ve Seen a Way is their debut album. According to Wikipedia, parts of it were recorded in caves and crypts, the band consists of musicians from Manchester, England, possibly Berlin, Germany, and a vocalist from Paris who sings in French, and their name is a play on the city of Gary, Indiana. All that really matters to me is that they remind me of Throbbing Gristle and early Cabaret Voltaire. This is avant-garde 21st century music of the highest quality.

Number 10: Air Not Meant For Us by Fires in the Distance

One of the integral moments in my dive back into metal 20 years ago, after a ten-plus year removal from listening, was my discovery of the albums Below the Lights and Isa by Enslaved. I didn’t know it at the time, but those records were a turning point for the band and the genre. Enslaved started as a traditional Norwegian black metal act, but with those records they expanded their sound and helped define the new Extreme Metal that has been prevalent across the globe ever since. The addition of a full time keyboardist gave their sound the depth necessary to expand beyond straightforward destruction. The 2nd album by U.S. Extreme Metal band Fires in the Distance would not exist if bands like Enslaved had not spearheaded this movement 20 years ago. They have taken the format, added piano as a primary instrument, and composed six epic songs that are exactly what metal should sound like in 2023. Air Not Meant For Us is #2 on my metal album of the year list, so I obviously approve.

Number 9: Praise a Lord Who Chews but Which Does Not Consume (or Simply, Hot Between Worlds) by Yves Tumor

The music of Sean Lee Bowie (aka Yves Tumor) is not easily identifiable as a specific type. They present electronic dance, hyper-soul, Radiohead-esque post-rock, grunge, and other styles, all through the creative lens of their masterful production skills. Praise a Lord Who Chews is experimental 21st century music that could not have existed 20 years ago. Some critics will list it as one of the year’s best, but most will ignore it due to the difficulty it presents in classifying it and understanding its sonic breadth. It deserves more attention than it will receive.

Number 8: Radical Romantics by Fever Ray

The wonderful electronic music of Swedish songwriter Fever Ray (aka Karin Dreijer) had avoided my earholes for almost 15 years prior to 2023. Music of this type was never my favorite when I was younger, but I now listen to it regularly. Most importantly, at least from a personal perspective, is that I focus my attention on discovering great releases of this kind of music and avoid the banal. Unlike a new indie rock album by a band I like, wherein I may listen to fairly mediocre releases and then forget about them like someone eating skittles, when I find a release as great as Radical Romantics I savor it like a perfectly blended curry. This release was my go to for driving around this summer with the windows down. The depth of sonic achievement on this wonderfully produced album is breathtaking. The melodies are incessantly memorable. This is a release by an artist at the peak of their creativity.

Number 7: With a Hammer by Yaeji

2023 is the year I discovered that I like HyperPop. With a Hammer is the 2nd album for Yaeji, and it is a great introduction to this type of music. HyperPop combines elements of electronic music with pop, R&B, and/or hip-hop styles with a focus on the avant-garde. In Yaeji’s case, the music is a mix of extremely diverse electronic experimentation with drastic rhythmic variation and an avant-pop sensibility. This is not music that everyone will immediately enjoy. In my case, it took several listens to start to understand the vision being presented. Over the last six months, the songs on this release have continued to stick in my brain like the best earworms do. I would highly recommend this for anyone who wants to listen to modern pop music but prefers an artist with some edginess in their creativity.

Number 6: Everything Harmony by The Lemon Twigs

Everything Harmony by The Lemon Twigs starts out with a song that sounds like early ’70s John Denver before exploding into 21st century rock and roll perfection. That is followed by twelve more songs that sound like what would have happened if Todd Rundgren had produced an album by Chris Bell after he left Big Star. I fell in love with this album immediately upon my first listen and haven’t stopped listening to it since. If you want to learn about the history of the band and its two young brothers who found success while in high school, you can do so with a few Google clicks. All that matters to me is that this is one of the best pieces of catchy pop rock released in years. Absolutely wonderful.

Number 5: Echoes by Fire! Orchestra

Fire! are a Scandinavian avant-garde trio who have been recording experimental music since 2009. They combine free jazz, noise, psychedelia, and avant-garde composition into a wholly unique sound. Ten years ago, they expanded their sound into Fire! Orchestra, a collective of dozens of musicians from the jazz and avant-garde scenes of Scandinavia who meld their individual sounds around the core trio. The results are always interesting. Sometimes, as with the 2023 album Echoes, the results are amazing. This incredible album has stayed on my heavy rotation list since it was released early this year. It is a 2-hour experience that showcases all of the groups range, shifting from gorgeous melodies to dissonant interludes to free jazz to bombastic explosions of noise to mesmerizing meditative moments.

Number 4: Dance Devil Dance by Avatar

The album cover of the 9th album by Swedish band Avatar looks like either early ’90s black metal or a Cradle of Filth snapshot on an old Polaroid. The music within Dance Devil Dance isn’t either of those things. Instead, it is exactly what the Post-Metal world of metal is supposed to provide in 2023. The music on this record should draw in fans of ’80s Hair Metal, ’90s Nu Metal and Death Metal, and all of the Progressive Metal of the last 25 years. Motley Crue-style guitar solos? Got ’em. Headbanging rhythms? Got ’em. Crushing blast beats? Got ’em. A blend of clean and cookie-monster vocals? Got ’em. Funky grooves? Got ’em. Techno-Metal electronics? Got ’em. And on top of it all, old metal fans who avoid so many modern metal bands because their vocalists growl out lyrics can listen to this release with smiles on their faces – all of the lyrics (clean or dirty) can be easily understood. This is without a doubt the record I have listened to more than any other in 2023.

Number 3: The Crow-Cyan Lake by Yikii

The first show of this best of 2023 series presented my 10 favorite international releases of the year, and one of them is an album I have been listening to since discovering it over 6 months ago. “Discovering” is the best way to describe Chinese avant-garde composer Yikii (pronounced Yee-Kee), because no one is going to come across her music without some amount of searching beyond the superficial surface of popular music. The Crow-Cyan Lake is difficult listening. A dichotomy of sounds run rampant through her compositions. Darkness/light, horror/beauty, extremism/minimalism, dissonance/melody. This is an artist of immense talent who is working in obscurity in a country that controls its media more than any other nation besides North Korea. Since I first wrote my best of 2023 international artists show, I thought more about the music of Yikii. I listened to much of her work. I watched many of her self-produced videos. I discovered an interview of the artist. In the end, I have placed her at #3 on this list. Of all of the albums I will include on these best of 2023 lists, this is the one that I would make known to everyone if I had the ability to do so. I have also included the wonderful interview with Yikii and hope that someone will watch it and find a connection to the person and her music that is meaningful in ways much more important than simply enjoying an Olivia Rodrigo album.

Number 2: 3D Country by Geese

3D Country by Geese was my favorite album of 2023 for the entire year until my # 1 pick was released at the end of the year. This, the second album by the band, is 21st century rock and roll of the highest order. I hear influences ranging from The Rolling Stones to Pavement all over this record. If you like rock and roll, this record deserves your attention.

Number 1: i/o by Peter Gabriel

The first Genesis album was released in 1969. Peter Gabriel’s first solo album was released in 1977. Gabriel’s most successful album was released in 1986. Peter Gabriel is 73 years old. This is not the resume of an artist one should expect to release quality music in 2023. Many are heralding the Rolling Stones’ album Hackney Diamonds as some sort of amazing comeback by a group even older than Genesis. I have nothing against The Stones, but that record verges on unlistenable. It is also their third album of the 21st century and the third they have released since Gabriel’s last album of original material in 2002. Hackney Diamonds is not a comeback. It is just the next in a long line of decades of mediocre music released by a band who peaked before Gabriel recorded his first solo album, but they are the Rolling Stones and they have a world-wide media and marketing empire to back them. i/o, on the other hand, is a true comeback. After decades of rumored new material being worked on, this record was finally released on Gabriel’s Real World label (as have all of his albums since 1992). As a long-time Gabriel fan, I was merely hoping for anything better than his last collection of original material (Up, 2002), his forgettable collection of covers (Scratch My Back, 2010), and the orchestral versions of his old songs (New Blood, 2011). Unbelievably, he delivered with the fifth best album of his career. i/o sounds like the album that should have been released in the ’90s after Us in 1992. This makes sense because there were reportedly over 100 songs composed and worked on as a follow up to Us over the last 30 years. The end result took form over the last few years, with 20 tracks completed for possible inclusion. The tracks selected are all fantastic, and the decision to produce two versions of the final album (Bright Side Mix, Dark Side Mix) using two different producers was a success. Bright Side presents a more modern take on the material and Dark Side (my personal favorite) sounds like ’80s Gabriel production. The inclusion of long-time Gabriel bassist Tony Levin and musical genius/friend Brian Eno adds even more nostalgia. However, this is not a nostalgic throwback for only true fans to enjoy. This is an album that is as good as any pop music being made today. Gabriel is a musical icon and genius, and this (probably his final album of original material) may be the best final album ever recorded.

That concludes this best of 2023 series, and wraps up the third year of Faux Shows. Much like a year ago, I feel like a change may be required in the format of the Radio Faux Show. I’m sure I’ll continue to focus many shows on music, but the point of these posts has always been to provide myself a creative outlet. For this reason, I am never sure where I am headed. Until I find that out, as always, thanks for listening, and reading!

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