In classic fashion, my personal favourite record from 2023 came out a year ago. Eagle-eyed Instagram followers might’ve noticed too that when it came to the big Spotify Wrapped reveals, my number one song (and quite a few within the top five) were from an album that came out seven years ago! As our reviews man Ben Forrester likes to say though – don’t get it twisted! We bleed new music through and through and 2023 has been a bountiful year for it, so much so that it’s been particularly difficult picking just 50 songs for our regular end of year feature.
But pick we must and pick we have – cataloguing our (or rather, my) favourite tracks of 2023, split into two parts (part one being here!) As ever, these are in alphabetical order rather than a ranking because, after all, it is Christmas time.
Heads up – 2023 was also a big year for us, Birthday Cake For Breakfast celebrating ten years of being a thing – ten years of DIY on the fringes! It’s been quite the decade, so much so that we had shirts made up to celebrate the fact! There’s a handful left if you’re keen (and a medium!)
Minor Conflict – Living Statue
(Bright Lights, Dead City)
One of the hottest debut EPs of 2023 (out mid-year on PRAH Recordings), Bristolian outfit Minor Conflict’s sound is of the POZI and Squid vintage. On the stirring ‘Living Statue‘, heavenly backing vocals and resplendent harp playing combine with a driving rhythm and almost stream of consciousness vocal for invigorating results.
Mock Tudors – Self Assessment
(Self Assessment)
Released on January 31st to tie in with the deadline for filing tax returns, ‘Self Assessment‘ was just one of many brilliant releases from tracksuit wearing Sheffield lads Mock Tudors this year. Fronted by him out of Mr Ben & The Bens, the title track from the EP is a rollicking garage rock rager.
Skull-crushing trio MUMS returned this year after some time away to once again put the industrial town of Widnes on the map! Return single ‘100 Kilos‘ sounds like just that, a rock solid, heavy as fook fuzz-fest that requires earplugs even with the volume down.
Jalen Ngonda – Come Around and Love Me
(Come Around and Love Me)
It doesn’t seem right that London based, American soul musician Jalen Ngonda is younger than me, given that ‘Come Around and Love Me‘ (the title track from his new album) sounds like a classic unearthed from 50 years ago. Ngonda has a timeless voice that really elevates this delectable cut from his debut LP, out now via Daptone Records.
Objections – BSA Day
(BSA Day / Better Luck Next Time)
The second release this year from tastemakers Wrong Speed Records (Hey Colossus), Objections brings together members of Bilge Pump and Nape Neck, with ‘BSA Day‘ being their debut release. What a stonking debut it is too, the earworm vocals of Claire Adams soaring over the crunchy instrumental. A full length album is due to follow in 2024!
An undeniable favourite from this year, the thumping ‘Big Air‘ just stirs up something within us. Maybe it’s the hazy, almost slacker vocals of Kane Strang in contrast to the energy of the music, or the musical concoction that sounds like a combination of Jimmy Eat World with Meat Wave and the theme tune from ‘Peep Show‘. Whatever it is, it’s had us suckered in all year.
Man, it’s good to have Omni back on these pages. The Atlanta, GA, based trio recently announced the release of a forthcoming new album – their second for Sub Pop (fourth overall) and the follow up to ‘Networker‘ from 2019. ‘Exacto‘ perfectly captures that infectious blend of sparkling post-punk they’ve been mastering since the release of their debut album, ‘Deluxe‘.
OSEES – INTERCEPTED MESSAGE
(INTERCEPTED MESSAGE)
Whilst closing track ‘LADWP Hold‘ is *thee* best song of the year (literally just the infamous hold music we all know and love), the title track from the latest OSEES record (at the time of writing, anyhoo) was an unexpected gear shift from the band after their prior hardcore punk record (‘A Foul Form‘), frontman Dwyer leading the band into wackier, synth territory. Into it!
PACKS – Laughing Til I Cry
(Crispy Crunchy Nothing)
Throughout 2023, we’ve encountered PACKS on a number of occasions and ears have collectively pricked up every time. ‘Laughing Til I Cry‘ was an early favourite, finding ourselves taken in by the woozy, tripped-out style of vocalist Madeline Link, reminiscent of early Mac DeMarco.
Pardoner – Are You Free Tonight?
(Peace Loving People)
Commenting earlier in the year that ‘Are You Free Tonight?‘ features one of the best halftime switch-ups this side of Parquet Courts ‘Almost Had to Start a Fight / In and Out of Patience‘, the flip is switched from a twinkling Kiwi Jr. style affair to a full-pelt, snotty punk thrash-through in its short two minutes.
Personal Trainer – The Feeling
A year on from the release of their stunner debut album ‘Big Love Blanket‘, Personal Trainer end the year on a high with the news that they’ve just signed to Bella Union! To mark the occasion, the Dutch collective recently released heart-swelling nine minute saga ‘The Feeling‘, which is parts BC:NR, Deliluh and Pavement.
Leeds thrash-heads Pest Control made a real stink this year with the release of their debut album, ‘Don’t Test The Pest‘, loved by just about everyone who fucks with gnarly Metallica riffs. Its follow up, standalone single ‘Enjoy The Show‘, is a proper rad, in-yer-lughole blast of hardcore, packed with gnarly guitar solos, snarled metal vocals and The Big Four vibes aplenty.
Pissed Jeans – No Convenient Apocalypse
With a gruff vocal sounding almost like American soft-lad Alex Jones whenever he’s gone full tilt, Matt Korvette gets blunt on the brutal, noise-rock assault of ‘No Convenient Apocalypse‘, the material funny but actually quite worrying as he laments “We’re screwed!” The latest offering from Pennsylvania formed outfit Pissed Jeans, it’s their first new material in six years!
Rozi Plain – Complicated
(Prize)
The arrival of ‘Prize‘ in early January alleviated some of the winter blues, ten tracks that provided a real warming treat to start off the year. On ‘Complicated‘, Rozi Plain has the listener in her palm, the curious lyrics against the hushed instrumental completely captivating from the off.
Public Body – Driven By Data
(Big Mess)
Another year, another Public Body entry on our annual list chronicling the best new music out there. This lot delivering the goods, always. From their first full length album proper, the frantic ‘Driven By Data‘ flies by in a whirlwind of DEVO style synth-attack.
Say She She – C’est Si Bon
(Silver)
Don’t be fooled – this did come out in 2023, rather than fifty years ago! A glitterball disco delight that’s had us hooked since mid-year, ‘C’est Si Bon‘ is an unreal funk-fest from Brooklyn based trio Say She She. Impossible not to smile – or move your feet for that matter – during its near four minutes running.
Screaming Females – Brass Bell
(Desire Pathway)
Before knocking it on the head at the end of the year (following 18 years together), New Jersey trio Screaming Females kicked off January with the stonking ‘Brass Bell‘, lead single from their eighth (and final) studio album ‘Desire Pathway‘. Packed on heavy with ripper guitar parts and wall-crumbling vocals from Marissa Paternoster, it was an instant smash.
Snooper – Pod
(Super Snõõper)
Following a run of unmissable singles and EPs over the past few years, Nashville’s Snooper – fronted by vocalist Blair Tramel and guitarist Connor Cummins – finally released their hotly tipped debut album in 2023. From it, the hyperactive speed-punk of ‘Pod‘ provided untold thrills, a head-spinning dance-a-thon to play over and over again.
Stuck – The Punisher
(Freak Frequency)
With a sound not too dissimilar to fellow Chicagoans Meat Wave, this year saw Stuck release their second album, ‘Freak Frequency‘, a follow up to the brilliant ‘Change Is Bad‘ released in deepest, darkest Covid times. ‘The Punisher‘ paces ahead, fuelled by jagged guitar, chest-thumping drums, sax flourishes and an increasingly worked up vocal from Greg Obis. 2024 will see the Chicago base outfit on EU/UK soil, with unmissable shows pencilled in!
SUDS – My Own Mind
(In The Undergrowth)
A new discovery and subsequent highlight from 2000 Trees Festival this year, Norwich’s SUDS had a big 2023, signing to tastemaker label Big Scary Monsters and releasing their debut album, ‘The Great Overgrowth‘. Prior to that, the quartet put out their debut EP ‘In The Undergrowth‘ and from it, ‘My Own Mind‘ blew us away, sounding like Julia Jacklin if she was backed by a midwest emo band…
Sweeping Promises – You Shatter
(Good Living Is Coming For You)
A Sub Pop album debut for Sweeping Promises this year and rightly so, after their debut album ‘Hunger for a Way Out‘ well and truly captivated us on release in 2020. From ‘Good Living Is Coming For You‘, ‘You Shatter‘ is a brooding, ice-cold post-punk statement from the dynamite pairing of Lira Mondal and Caufield Schnug, sounding like an authentic artefact from the 80s, brought to life in our year of the lord 2023.
Terry – Golden Head
(Call Me Terry)
Five years on from the release of their last record, the brilliant ‘I’m Terry‘, cowboy hat sporting Aussie quartet Terry made our year by once again gracing us with their presence. ‘Golden Head‘ is a lovely number – dig the four-way vocal which, when coupled with the strings, have a touch of the melancholy about them.
Ulrika Spacek – The Sheer Drop
(Compact Trauma)
Initially shelved during the pandemic (for obvious reasons), ‘Compact Trauma‘, the latest record from Londoners Ulrika Spacek, became an early favourite for 2023. Opener ‘The Sheer Drop‘ sets the tone perfectly, opening on its quirky synth intro before jangly guitar leads the listener into spellbinding transcendence.
USA Nails – Feel Worse
(Feel Worse)
USA Nails waited for the vinegar strokes of 2023 to release their new single ‘Feel Worse‘, but it was worth the wait, coupled with the news that it would be taken from a forthcoming album of the same name and would be their label debut for One Little Independent Records! As they always do, the quartet smash it from the off with their lead single – a thunderous, rib-rattler, full of bite that sounds as vital as ever.
Having wowed us 100% with the massive 2021 single ‘Dreamsickle‘, Kentucky trio Wombo returned in 2023 with a three-track EP to coincide with a UK/EU tour. From the EP, its title track showcases what they’re all about in the space of 110 seconds – dynamite guitar, engrossing basslines and keep-you-on-your-toes drumming.
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