Your Favorite Music of 2023?

[mediocreplayer]

I could swear we did a thread about everyone's Spotify Wrapped (and I think I even posted to it) but a search turns nothing? I can only find the one from last year.

My (clearly inaccurate, see below) impression of myself is that I am someone who listens to new music all the time. Yet, here are the three artists I listened to the most this year:

1. Duran Duran
2. Pulp
3. Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds

My most-listened to track is this, a song that is 30 years old

(But check out this lovely cover, which is only 9 years old!)

What music did you discover this year? I feel I listened to a lot of new music but I cannot name a single new artist I listened to off the top of my head.

[andy_tchp]

I don't use spotify.

Two huge ones this year for me

Middle Kids
Highlands
Real Thing
Dramamine


The Beths
Future Me Hates Me
Jump Rope Gazers
River Run: Lvl 1

[marqueemoon]

I listened to The Shadows a bunch in 2023.

My favorite thing that came out this year is Loose Wing’s Miracle Baby.

[August]

I've enjoyed these 2023 releases:

Kevin Morby, More Photographs
Ludwig Göransson, Oppenheimer OST (love this)
Scott McMicken and THE EVER-EXPANDING, Shabang

[Telliot]

Scott McMicken and THE EVER-EXPANDING, Shabang

Being a big Dr Dog fan, I was happy to see this on someone’s list. It’s a great record and I even bought it on vinyl.

Here are a few that have gotten a lot of airplay for me this year:

- Skinshape Craterellus Tubaeformis
- Madison Cunningham Revealer
- The Smile A Light For Attracting Attention

[countertext]

The Fighter by Jeremy Wilms

tONY cURTIS by tONY cURTIS

V by Mathis Hunter

I Am So Happy You’re Here by Anna Kramer & Easy Now

[distressed]

Pretty cool new EP

Wombo - Slab

[Firecat]

Enjoyed these new albums the most:

1. The Murder Capital - Gigi's Recovery
2. Hammock - Love in the Void
3. Grian Chatten - Chaos for the Fly
4. Philipp Johann Thimm - Birds Singing Till The World Ends
5. Marc William Lewis - Living
6. MARO - Hortelã
7. The Clockworks - Exit Strategy
8. The Guru Guru - Make (Less) Babies
9. Maria BC - Spike Field
10. Passage - Oblique

And released an album myself called 'The Great Confusion' as Gato de Fogo: https://open.spotify.com/album/7atBjthc ... 71Zf1qpypH

[dinosaurkale->]

some newer / recent acts i was diggin this year:

full body 2, final gasp, kruelty, horrendous, zulu, yussef dayes, butcher brown, drain, sun organ, end it, conservative military image, 10 sluggz, tomb mold

[F15hface]

My Spotify Wrapped had:
1) Black Honey
2) Illuminati Hotties
3) Taylor Swift
4) Mannequin Pussy
5) Boygenius

Black Honey basically ran my year, they're my favourite band and released their third album in March so I saw them a bunch on tour and at festivals throughout the year. Saw Boygenius who were fantastic, and managed to get to both of Mannequin Pussy's London shows which were hectic and sweaty and incredibly fun. Taylor tickets booked for next year.

Mannequin Pussy are dropping an album next year and there's a good chance it'll be my AOTY. The singles are excellent and show more range than most of their previous music, with some chill shoe gaze vibes alongside blasting punk bangers.

Managed to go to 67 gigs and 7 festivals, seeing 207 bands and 265 sets. I was targeting 52 gigs heading into the year so my goal was more than achieved, and I had a good time at all but three of those gigs.

As far as new discoveries, I've been loving Chappell Roan, The Shania Twainsaw Massacre, Bully, Wych Elm, Bad Waitress, Dead Pioneers, Cerce, Julie, Blondshell, Scowl, CIEL, Comeback Clit, Wednesday, and Swim School.

[Steadyriot.]

My Spotify top 5 was:
Theo Katzman
Bring Me The Horizon
Spanish Love Songs
The Menzingers
Blink-182
But looking back I feel that doesn’t quite add up..

Best album (most played) from 2023 was Be The Weel by Theo Katzman, The Love Still Held Me Near by City and Colour was on heavy rotation too, as were No Joy by Spanish Love Songs and Cheap Grills by Sincere Engineer.

New discoveries were Chappell Roan, the Beths, Fleshwater, Rayna Gellert and May Erlewine.

[epizootics]

Dunno for y'all but 2023 felt like a purdy good year for music? Like, on top of my catching up with all the the cool stuff that was released in the past seventy years, there's a bunch of new records I can get excited about. I know we're supposed to get to a point in our 30s where we are stuck with whatever we listened to in those thirty-odd years, but I don' think I have ever listened to more contemporary releases than I do now.

Starting with this one, which has been on repeat for months in my workshop. Underscores, Wallsocket:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k6Z0Khe69WY

I like a big bombastic ambitious album and Wallsocket definitely qualifies. The production is both excessive and detailed, the songwriting is good. We are starting to see the results of a generation of kids growing up with an easy access to DAWs, home studios and Youtube tutorials, and I am glad to know that for all the detrimental effects of the over-computerization of our society, there are at least a few upsides.


Not their best effort overall but something cracks me up every time I listen to it. Tropical Fuck Storm covering 1983 (A merman I should turn to be):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p3PdgwmcO7I

I think hearing a Hendrix tune sung in an Aussie accent is what does it. Gaz's nonchalant "So moi dahling and oi mahde love in the sand" is priceless.


A lot of people around me complain about what they call an "Americana overdose" but I really liked Wednesday's last album, Rat Saw God:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SjKU1qVhJl4

On a more local scale, I discovered this guy when one of my projects got an opening slot for one of his gigs. Das Kinn - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZZnFr24x7ZA
Kinda like DAF but weirder. He got the whole venue dancing and sweating even though most of his songs are in weird time signatures. And he is one of the nicest, most articulate people I have had the pleasure to talk to in years.

Even more local, Tombouctou, my city's cult noise-math-punk-whatavya band, released their second album in years. A bit like Ludus or Lizzie Mercier Descloux in a more varied, less tiresome format.
https://tombouctou.bandcamp.com/album/tricky-floors

They are hands down Lyon's coolest live act. Their guitarist is the closest thing we have to a guitar hero on our local punk scene. He plays a horrible-looking PRS copy with a veneer flamed top and doesn't give a s**t.

Looking forward to see what 2024 will have to give. Musically at least.

[windmill]

Rocket 808 - House Of Jackpots

Small Town Romance - Home Fires

Babaganouj - Stay Up For Me

[beauzooka]

Feeble little horse - Girl With Fish
Teke::Teke - Hagata

[UlricvonCatalyst]

Off the top of my head, my faves last year were Grian Chatten's Chaos for the Fly & Blur's The Ballad of Darren.