The Top 10 Indie Rock Albums of 2023

If you do not know what Indie rock means in 2023, I am not sure why you clicked on this article in the first place. The bands that made the top ten list, are of the more experimental variety, many times bordering on post-punk, but not as fully immersed in the bleakness, though more albums lean into a darker mood than not here, though given the website you are reading this on that should not be a surprise. While indie rock lends itself to hipster culture, these are not intended to be the coolest albums, but the best, fuck what other blogs say,.   After I sort through the top 10 albums of all the respective genres, I use those lists to compile the top 10 albums of the year. 2023. The very fact these bands made it on the list speaks to how great these albums are, so it's not a slight that the number 8 album is above the 9th album, there is something that just gives it an edge that makes me want to listen to it more. After all, we can try to look cool and pick the hippest bands for a list, but at the end of the day what makes an album the best is that it makes you want more, you look forward to listening to it again. Perhaps you can find your next favorite on this list; and have included links to reviews of these albums if you want to check out the audio on these guys. Anyway here are the top 10 indie rock albums of 2023

10- Activity - "Spirit in the Room" 

This Brooklyn-based band was produced by Jeff Berner from Psychic TV.  While the ambiance you might associate with Berner is hinted at, this is more of a hipster affair.  Minimalist arrangements bubble to life not unlike how early Fever Ray used to work. They ride the line between writing songs and focusing on just creating cool sounds.

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2023/10/activity-spirit-in-room.html

  9-PAWS -"s/t" 

 This is the Scottish band's 5th album. They are an interesting blend of noisy catharsis disguised as indie rock, they gaze back fondly into the 90s sounds and touch upon a nostalgia for a time and place in music that was once dear to me

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2023/09/paws-st.html

8- Legss -"Fester" 

 London's Legss might get called a post-punk band, but there is little tension to what they do and more speculation than bleakness. Their guitars have a  jangle and poetic vocal lean into catharsis. At times they make me think of what Stone Roses might have sounded like if they had been into Sonic Youth. Their songs have impressive shift of dynamic shifts , even if it works off the loud-to-soft formula of the '90s.

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2023/08/legss-fester.html

 

7-the New Pornographers - "Continue as Guest" 

The Canadian indie rock band that made Neko Case a household name is back. These guys are more interesting when they are more emotionally complex and possibly really stoned. This album is a bit of a  sonic tug-of-war that proves they are great songwriters who really excelled at crafting this. 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2023/12/the-new-pornographers-continue-as-guest.html

6- Narrowhead-"Moments of Clarity" 

 On "12th House Rock" the Texas band busted out some post-hardcore with an emotive underpinning. Not unlike Hum or Helmet if those bands were really into their feelings. Now the glaze of shoegaze coats the songs. The vocals are more introspective. They do occasionally hit you with a harder syncopated jangle, to remind you they did not leave their distortion pedals at home. 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2023/03/narrow-head-moments-of-clarity.html

5- PJ Harvey-"I Inside the Old Year Dying" 

Harvey's 10th album and first since 2016 has according to her been a long time in the making. It opens with an introspective atmosphere. For 53 her voice sounds great. The delicate melodies cast a reflection of who she is today, which might not be the same woman who has brought us gritty grunge grooves soaked in blues. She muses Elvis and Jesus on this one and I am fine with that as well. She is making attempts to blend with the current musical climate, and remains a more outsider, though one with a less street-tough exterior.

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2023/07/pj-harvey-i-inside-old-year-dying.html

4-the Tubs -"Dead Meat" 

This British band formed out of the ashes of Joanna Gruesome, which is such a great name, sadly, they abandoned it, but the rollicking indie rock they jangle into is highlighted by the emotive croon of the singer. Are the Smiths an influence? Yes. Does the singer sound like Morrissey? No. His voice is a lighter more delicate plea than the more resonant voice of Morrissey, though the delicate quiver found here is unique and helps give them more of their own identity.

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2023/12/the-tubs-dead-meat.html

 

 

3- Swans - "the Begger" 

In a world where kids are listening to pop acts with 20 songwriters and even more producers, something is refreshing about Michael Gira, as the sole producer and songwriter of Swans' new album. There is a darker tone that is also a welcome return for the band who had gotten kinda jammy on previous albums and more into the droning math of grooves than the sonic heaviness of the post-punk they rose to cult status from before their hiatus. The fact that these guys are one of my favorite bands and only made it to number three is a testament to the bands that took the top two spots. 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2023/06/swans-beggar.html

2-House of Harm - "Playground" 

A lot is going on with House of Harm's new album. There is an 80s vibe to things that owes a great deal to the Cure, but there are more layers to it that than. The vocals are what separates them from post-punk bands, and lean them in the direction of poppy indie rock., which is more pronounced as the album progresses and the vocals become less pouty.

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2023/12/house-of-harm-playground.html

1-Death Valley Girls - "Islands in the Sky" 

There is still a little of the 60s feel that ran through the previous album, but there is less flower power sentiment. There are catchier groove to the song that might work more at goth night than for go-go dancing, despite often stepping back into the  60's girl group pop feel. This goes in the most logical direction given the band's trajectory but is a far cry from selling out, which works for me. 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2023/03/death-valley-girls-islands-in-sky.html