the Top 10 Albums of 2023

At the end of the day... or in this case, year, these are the albums I listened to the most. The reason these albums earned the top spot is because I listened to over 2000 albums this year and these are the ones that endured the influx of new music that hit My inbox every morning and made me want to hear them again and again. Yes, this is the culmination of all the other lists done up to this point for other blogs and was refined down to this master list of all genres.  So here ya go...

10-the Lion's Daughter -"Bath House" 

There is a great deal going on with this album. The synths are very present in the mix going into the otherwise hammering open song. Throaty vocals are aggressive but howled more than growled. Sung vocals often emote over what is a  more brooding turn for the band. There is an ominous feel to counterbalance the more grandiose feel. I really enjoyed this one it's an improvement over what they did on "Skin Show" This album grew on me, and carries great depth.  

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2023/10/the-lions-daughter-bath-house.html

9-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

8-Code  Orange - "Above" 

 I have been pretty invested in this band's career since being blown away by their 2017 album "Forever".  They broke away from the conventions of hardcore, which they continued to perfect with "Underneath". This set pretty high expectations for this album. Once I accepted the fact that they were no longer playing metal, I was able to really enjoy this album. It was tough to let go of this idea as they are still rather punchy in places, but they owe more to late 90s rock than hardcore or even nu-metal here. It is wonderfully written and shows there is no limit to what they are capable of. 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2023/09/code-orange-above.html

7- Temple of Angels - "Endless Pursuit" 

I sat down with this album and weighed the dream pop shoegazing moments versus those that owe more to romantic darkness, and came to the conclusion that this album leans into the shadows at least 60 percent of the time, and even when it lightens up a bit their songs are still haunted by a melancholy longing that still earns their place here.  They might not dress the songs up for Halloween in the way other bands on this list do but they are better songwriters, which is why they take the number one spot. These songs are passed by plenty of heart-gripping moments.

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2023/04/temple-of-angels-endless-pursuit.html

6-Harm's Way - "Common Suffering" 

After being convinced to check them out upon hearing the "Undertow" single featuring the singer of King Woman, I was surprised by the rest of the album, which hits in the way that I typically want my hardcore to slap me. Harm's Way has a gritty musculature to the riffs, and the vocals punch in all the right places to rally the head bob inducing syncopations shift with a groove. There is a great deal of emotion to the construction of the songs that paints things in a bleak shade of gray rather than just being the macho in-your-face beat down you might expect this to be

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2023/09/harms-way-common-suffering.html

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5-Frozen Soul - "Glacial Domination"

This Texas band pulls from classic death metal without worshipping any band too religiously. Their strength is taking a riff and grooving it without compromising the heaviness, In this way, there is a bit of Bolt Thrower in their DNA, but not enough to lump them in with bands who are clearly trying to re-live that band's glory days. I went into this album only aware of them by name, and by the end was a fan, thanks to hooky riff magic. 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2023/05/frozen-soul-glacial-domination.html

 

 

4-Pierce the Veil - "The Jaws of Life" 

Here is an album that had no business being as good as it is. I only knew this band from the Punk Goes Pop series of tribute albums. Much like that series, they strike me as being more on the pop side of the equation. Now five albums later the band has continued to shine their songwriting formula to create something catchier than other pop that dropped this year, while still carrying the torch for the Myspace era,. Singer Vic Fuentes'   tenor sounds like he is in high school. It is impressive that he has kept this youth vigor now that he is almost forty.  If Justin Beiber made metal the results might be similar. Which is better than it sounds on paper. In fact, it is so good I listened to this album as much or more than any other album this year. 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2023/02/pierce-veil-jaws-of-life.html

3-Grave Pleasures -"Plagueboys"

This year's release by My favorite Finnish post-punk revivalists grew on me with each listen. The songwriting trades bombast for subtlety for the sake of greater melodic value.  They took their tried and true sound, echoing all the way back to their Beastmilk days, and polished it into something even catchier. The sheer replay value of this album solidifies their place at the top.   

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2023/04/grave-pleasures-plagueboys.html

2-Jason Isbell & the 400 Unit - "Weathervanes" 

Isbell's latest collaboration with his band the 400 Unit is a celebration of songwriting. His voice always finds the perfect place to be. While his solo album "Southeastern" is the masterpiece that this album is going to be measured up against, here he steers things into a more Americana-flavored rock rather than country music. There is a warmth to the album's sound that recalls many classic rock albums with a southern flare, but it is more personable than those. He is one of the best songwriters living today. He transcends country music and does his thing.

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2023/06/jason-isbell-400-unit-weathervanes.html

 

1- HEALTH - "Rat Wars" 

 This band continues to perfect its unique place in industrial music which is both apocalyptic and an androgynous self-loathing. Their heaviest work to date, also finds their arrangements droning on the groove less and letting them spawn into new landscapes.

 https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2023/12/health-rat-wars.html

The Top 10 Pop Albums of 2023

Pop does not have to be a bad word. Sadly the music industry takes it down a deeper hole of vapid capitalism, by pumping out products rather than music with anything to say.  Unlike their more mainstream counterparts, these albums were not rolled from the same assembly line and did not need the teams of songwriters and producers to create for them, they generally did this themselves.  Here are albums that stand shoulder to shoulder with other genres, proving pop does not have to be trash, despite being that more often than not these days.  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 Pop albums of 2023.

10-Hot Milk - "A Call to the Void" 

Closer to rock than Chvrches with the aggressive punchy nature of what they do, they are not better musicians than Chvrches as they tend to lean into pretty simple Tik Tok pop punk. Blending a few different styles the Paramore style of pop influenced by punk seems to be the core of who they are. 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2023/08/hot-milk-call-to-void.html

 

9-KANGA- "Under Glass" 

She is back with another synth-driven stab at aggressive pop, sung from the shadows in a sultry alto. This time however the sound is underlit with neon. The melodies are more graceful this time around. She has some strong moments for this celebration of forward-thinking pop that still owes a debt to the industry that spawned it. 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2023/12/kanga-under-glass.html

8-Kylie Minogue - "Tension" 

Kylie's 16th album. 15 songwriters and 9 Producers are more than legit rock bands, but these days pretty par for the course when it comes to pop music, and more respectable than artists like Doja Cat and Lizzo who have over 25 of each.  Minogue's brand of dance music is more complex than what either of those artists are doing. She also has more of a European fan base, with more progressive tastes. The most remarkable thing might also be due in part to her producers, but Minogue does not sound like she is 55. Her voice is light and high almost like her barely 20-something pop counterparts in the States.

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2023/09/kylie-minogue-tension.html

7-the National -"The First Two Pages of Frankenstein" 

The vocals are more memorable and melodies weave complex webs of melancholy around everything. Granted this album has nothing really to do with Frankenstein as the title suggests. Instead, they have written some thoughtful, introspective songs, but still go somewhere. Matt's sullen baritone remains understated but with impeccable phrasing as the lyrics bounce off the music around him. 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2023/04/the-national-first-two-pages-of.html

  6-Lana Del Rey -"Did you know that there is a tunnel..." 

Lana is ditching the spoken word of "Chemtrails" and her last album seemed to be more of the same ole same ole from her, as she languished on the seaside of California. To some extent that is who she is, but she needed to switch it up a bit. Slightly experimental, but well-produced rainy-day fun. 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2023/03/lana-del-rey-did-you-know-that-there-is.html

 

5-Poppy -"Zig" 

Her fifth album finds her stepping more solidly into pop. Is it more quirky and darker than most mainstream pop? Yes. Though it conforms more to the mainstream pop formula than you might expect. but that is still more than enough to set her apart from the TikTok pandering artists your kids are listening to.

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2023/10/poppy-zig.html

 

 4-Boygenius - "the record" 

Well, Taylor Swift said these girls are her favorite new band, and  It also helps that at the center of this trio is  Phoebe Bridgers, who I am already a fan of. At times their brand of dreamy pop flirts with folk along with indie rock. Sure there is a hazy ambiance to what they do, which is supplemented by smart lyrics and hooky melodies. .

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2023/04/boygenius-record.html

3-Miley Cyrus _ "Endless Summer Vacation" 

Miley straddles the Nashville Songwriting machine she grew up with and the pop machine she went to after reinventing herself to shed Hannah Montana. Unlike most pop stars she still holds a very active hand in the songwriting process. This can most be felt in the lyrics and the melodies which retain similar themes as those we have heard in the past from her. Perhaps the pop hooks are not twerking in your face as they drip with sex sugar, but the more mature effort provides a more serious look into who Miley is at this stage in the game  

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2023/03/miley-cyrus-endless-summer-vacation.html

2-the Beaches -" Blame My Ex" 

Yeah, I am just as surprised as you that they beat Miley as this band came out of nowhere and killed it with this album. Taking the number two spot here is a testament to the fact that I listened to this album more than the other eight albums, The vocals on this album are really well produced, and this is done so without an entire team of producers. They just have really fucking clever songs. 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2023/09/the-beaches-blame-my-ex.html

 

1-Pierce the Veil - "The Jaws of Life" 

Here is an album that had no business being as good as it is. I only knew this band from the Punk Goes Pop series of tribute albums. Much like that series, they strike me as being more on the pop side of the equation. Now five albums later the band has continued to shine their songwriting formula to create something catchier than other pop that dropped this year, while still carrying the torch for the Myspace era,. Singer Vic Fuentes'   tenor sounds like he is in high school. It is impressive that he has kept this youth vigor now that he is almost forty.  If Justin Beiber made metal the results might be similar. Which is better than it sounds on paper. In fact it is so good I listened to this album as much or more than any other album this year. 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2023/02/pierce-veil-jaws-of-life.html

The 10 Pop Albums of 2023 ...so far

That time of year again . These lists serve as a decent snap shot of where the year is heading in terms of music. I have already received  promos for albums dropping as far out as August in my in-box, so they are really going to need to bring it in order to compete with the top five albums on this list. When it comes to pop what you are not going to see much of are big mainstream radio artists that are part of the music industry machine that spits bullshit out on an assembly line with two dozen producers and even more songwriters making a product for the sheep to consume. There are only two artists on this list that came from that machine and they both have risen above it unlike the bulk of their peers. 

What I want from my pop is catchy songs that have actual instruments being played, rather than just empty calories being pumped into my ears. My people refer to this sort of thing as their guilty pleasures, which I do not use that terms as anyone on this list is better than vapid shit kids on Tik Tok are dancing to. Hip Hop has pretty much been garbage this year, so don't hold your breath for any of that to appear, there are links to full review if you want to check these out and with all that said here are the top 10 pop album of 2023 so far. 

10- Gorillaz - "Cracker Island"

More of an honorable mention as it is far from their most compelling effort. This album is well done from a production stance, but loses inspiration in the third act as it becomes to streamlined

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2023/02/gorillaz-cracker-island.html

9-Sleep Token- '"Take Me Back to Eden" 

My prediction for band most likely to break big into a more mainstream audience goes to this band. Much like Ghost they mask up to disguise the fact they are a pop act, but a much better one than Ghost.  The vocals are soulful enough to show Sam Smith how it should be done. It mainly ballads or I would be compelled to listen to it more.  

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2023/05/sleep-token-take-me-back-to-eden.html
 

8-Lana Del Rey- "Did You Know There is a Tunnel..." 

Lana has more than enough melancholy to fall neatly within my tastes. This album finds her ditching the spoken word of "Chemtrails" and her last album seemed to be more of the same ole same ole from her, as she languished on the sea side of California. To some extent that is who she is, but she needed to switch it up a bit. This album does that while making fun rainy day music. 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2023/03/lana-del-rey-did-you-know-that-there-is.html
 

7-M83-"Fantasy" 

The French electro pop project finds itself stripped down to primary songwriter Anthony Gonzalez who worked on a large part of this album with live keyboardist Joe Berry. He also brought many of the live musicians he works with to aid in the sessions and the seemed to have gotten really high and made something that sounds more like floating on a cloud than the pop music of Tik Tok. 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2023/03/m83-fantasy.html

 

 

6- Fever Ray- "Radical Romantics"

Swedish singer Karin Drejier from the Knife continues her journey into moody electronic music as Fever Ray with third album under this moniker. The album's strength lies in how she uses her voice as an instrument along with the interesting beats that provide the backdrop for her uncanny pipes. I think this lines up well with what she has done in the past 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2023/03/fever-ray-radical-romantics.html
 

5- the national- "First Two Pages of Frankenstein" 

First off the album has nothing to do with Frankenstein, but it is still pretty great. They are back to their moody ways , and the easy listening mood of the album brings heavy replay value, but there is a uniformity to the beige shades the songs are colored with.

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2023/04/the-national-first-two-pages-of.html
 

 

4-Boygenius - "the record" 

There is something lyrical cutting about the tone of this album . It is a super group of indie sirens who still embrace the more transgressive elements of their origin stories while still being able to connect with your average Taylor Swift fan. In fact Tay Tay herself called them her favorite new band. 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2023/04/boygenius-record.html

 

3-Miley Cyrus -"Endless Summer Vacation" 

Perhaps the pop hooks are not twerking in your face as they drip with sex sugar, but the more mature effort provides a more serious look into who Miley is at this stage in the game. Not here best album, but it is better than everything else on the radio. 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2023/03/miley-cyrus-endless-summer-vacation.html

 

2- Depeche Mode- "Memento Mori"  

This album  picks up where they left off on "Ultra" and makes for a logical new chapter. If this is the album they choose to end things with I would not blame them as this would be a high note to end it on. It paints a clear picture of Depeche Mode playing to their strengths. 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2023/03/depeche-mode-memento-mori.html

 

1-Pierce the Veil- "Jaws of Life" 

I found these guys originally through the POP GOES PUNK series , and what they did well on their contributions to those albums they have quantified. This album displays some of the smartest  song writing , and emotionally vulnerable singing makes a great combination for those who like the emphasis on pop melodies when it comes to rock music. They even do pop better than the current string of pop artists and do not need a team of producers to do it. 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2023/02/pierce-veil-jaws-of-life.html

Pierce the Veil : 'the Jaws of Life"

 

This is a band I only know from the Punk Goes Pop series of tribute albums. Much like that series they strike me as being more on the pop side of the equation. Now five albums later the band has continued to shine their songwriting formula to create something that is catchier than it has any right to be. Having come on the scene at the end of the Myspace era, there is still that torch burning that they carry. Singer Vic Fuentes, has tenor voice that sounds like he is in high school. It is impressive that he has kept this youth vigor now that he is almost forty.  If Justin Beiber made metal the results might be similar. Which is better than it sounds on paper. "Even When I'm Not With You" has a really strong melody. The rest of the band knows to stay out of the way and let him do his thing. 

The riff to "Emergency Contact" feels almost like a Weezer song. Sonically they are also not far from My Chemical Romance's less grandiose moments. The emotional pleading of Fuentes sometimes has an androgynous desperation in it's timbre that makes me think of Placebo. "Flawless Execution" finds his voice squeaking a little higher. Normally this sort of thing would be too happy for me, but they make it work. The bass line is pretty cool to this one. The drummer from 3rd Eye Blind plays on this album, which it does feel like that until the title track, which is the first song that has a more 90s alt pop feel to the drumming. Produced by Mutemath's singer, this album sounds great. The title track is also the first song that did not feel like it lived up to what the first half of the album did, though it does not suck either.

"Damn the Man, Save the Empire" has a playful groove that works for what they do and lays the ground work for their singer to shine which is the most important they have going . Subject wise I think this album finds them getting morbidly reflective which might give the song's a slightly darker feel, that might factor in to why it resonates more with me. "Resilience" is more reflected, but lends it self to melody. They dip into Joji like pop with "Shared Trauma".  Could this become a Tiktok ear worm for that generation? Sure. It's not my favorite song on the album, but it works well for what they are doing. "So Far So Fake" is moodier. It took a second listen to digest it . The chorus is happier than expected perhaps like Silversun Pickups in this regard. "Fractures' minds me of the best things about having pop music cross over into emo and emo crossing into pop. I will round  this album up to a 10 as the smart song writing , and emotionally vulnerable singing makes a great combination for those who like the emphasis on pop melodies when it comes to rock music.