the Top 10 Punk Albums of 2023

Punk has been in an interesting place. There is no shortage of people claiming to play it, but to find real punk driven by the desire to not conform is a harder aspiration, given the masses' willingness to conform.   These albums captured the true spirt of punk, by doing their own thing.   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 Punk albums of 2023.

10- Truth Cult - 'Walk the Wheel"

This Baltimore-based band reaches back to a time when punk had something to say. The Minor Threat / Fugazi influence is more than apparent.  There is also a kind of rock n roll recklessness that drives things. If you like the more underground side of  90s-tinged punk rock this album is for you.

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2023/01/truth-cult-walk-wheel.html

 

9-Scowl -  Psychic Dance Routine " 

This Baltimore band is pretty impressive. They go from a metallic rasped take on hardcore, to a sultry grunge of 90s alt-rock. The palm-muted tensions give the vocals of Kat Moss room to breathe. They should have the queen's share of the spotlight since her voice that elevates what the band is doing over the hundreds of bands playing 90s-influenced punk rock these days. 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2023/09/scowl-psychic-dance-routine.html

 

8-Institute - "Ragdoll Dance" 

Not sure what these guys are trying to do, but it sounds like they intend to take things back to the crossroads where punk, met rock n roll. While this is not as dark as what I have heard from them on previous albums, the guitar playing wanders around the neck in a more mathy fashion rather than just banging out the chords like most punk bands do. You can't fault this band for their commitment to growth. 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2023/10/institute-ragdoll-dance.html

7-dust- "et cetera, etc"

This band from Australia released this one back in March and it kicks out the jams with jangly punk energy that still focuses on songwriting. There are enough tense and melodic moments 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2023/09/dust-et-cetera-etc.html

 

6-Home front-"Games of Power" 

This Canadian band puts the emphasis on punk while keeping things bleakly tense. More electronic elements creep into their racing pace while the vocals form a chanted hook. What is becoming clear about this impressive debut album is rather than picking one band to pay homage to, these guys are clearly inspired by the 80s. however, they pulled from a mix tape of the decade's more thoughtful punk moments.

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2023/09/home-front-games-of-power.html

 5-James and the Cold Gun-"S/t" 

 This band could almost keep things going off the raw power of their energy alone.  When they lean into the moody nuance things have a wider range of sonic color to draw from. The album is really well produced, there is a huge drum sound, while the guitars are a little garage rock at times, as they clang out as if just plugged in at the rehearsal studio. They care about songwriting and have written some damn catchy ones that straight-up rock the fuck out.

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2023/08/james-and-cold-gun-st.html

  4-1476 -"In Exile" 

The guys might get blasty at the peak of their dynamic outbursts, but retain a rambling Cult of Youth rowdiness. There are a great deal of sonic textures and vocal colors to this. At times it draws from metal at the more powerful end of their aggressive outbursts, as they blend an array of genres, though at their core it feels like these guys are punk band. 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2023/10/gothtober-1476-in-exile.html

3-Final Gasp- "Mourning Moon" 

This Boston band, falls back into the late 80s when bands like TSOL and Die Kruzen took a darker turn in a more shadow-drenched direction. They are more aggressive than most bands going in this direction and take me iack to a place in music that I hold close to my black heart. 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2023/09/final-gasp-mourning-moon.html

2-Spiritual Cramp- ''s/t" 

 The San Francisco band is a highly energetic punk band that leans more toward the Mod side of things. This is not a raw-sounding punk album, but one where they clearly spent some time in the studio to get things dialed in. The songs are assembled in a catchy enough fashion. They tend to make fun of society as punk should. They breathe new life into old sounds.  

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2023/10/spiritual-cramp-st.html

1-Rid of Me -"Access to the Lonely" 

Having added a second guitarist for this album and you can hear how it adds in the denser sonic layers. The new sound of this album " is heavier and punches with a more sludge-ridden sound. Dissonant guitar passages cut through, along with more guitars on this album, to add a more firey rock n roll attack. She really proves herself as a singer on this album, still maintaining punk integrity. There a many dynamic vocal colors being introduced. They show you punk can be so much more than what we take for at face value. 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2023/11/rid-of-me-access-to-lonely.html