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

Lana Del Rey : "Chemtrails Over the Country Club"

 

She breaks out of her formula vocally right from the onset . When My wife asked me to let her know how it is the first thing I told her was it sounds more like Tori Amos than what she normally does. She is singing in a higher register, in whisper she lets crack. The mood makes me think she has been paying attention to Taylor Swift's quarantine output. By the title track we are back to a more familiar sound from here. It is piano based and ballad like.  Things get into more of a dreamy groove on "Tulsa Jesus Freak" that has more of the attitude you love her for though dialed back through a filter of Xanax. I told my wife I think Lana is on an IV drip of Xanax as that is the mood this album has so far. She has not been in the adoration of the press but does not care enough to get cancelled so I am sure she is high as hell and more power to her for it. 

All of her normal magic should work on " Let Me Love You Like a Woman" , but I think it is that cloud of Xanax that is keeping it from connecting like the first three songs , but it might have to grow on me. Her albums tend to do that. "Wild at Heart" finds her teetering on dialing it in. The arrangement so so minimal there is not much to really give the song a back bone to latch onto until at the chorus. The lyrics to improve on this one though. There is more of a detached melancholy to " Dark But Just a Game". The beat to this song, helps give a dynamic shift to the album.  She does have a way of letting melodies wander then reeling them back in. If lets them drift out of her reach on "Not All Who Wander Are Lost". When they do use guitar to bring it back together, it is slight wandering too much though not lost.  

"Yosemite" is another delicate flower of a song. I imagine the writing process for this album was her saying , "Ok, roll the tape I am high and it's raining outside, I will just come up with some shit". There are songs liek this that are pleasing to my ears, and good back ground music but not her knocking it out of the park like she did on her last album. "Breaking  Up Slowly" is more country thanks to singer Niki Lane who lends her voice to this one. '\Dance Til We Die" is not a song to dance to, unless you are ready for a nap. If this was Marissa Nadler I might be more stoked about the lethargy that weighs on the bulk of this album. The song does pick up in the last minute, but we need more of that. For the last song she is joined by Zell Day and Weyes Blood. It is yet another overly languid piano ballad.  I will give this album a 9, which makes it a great album unless you are comparing it "Norman Fucking Rockwell" then it is not as impressive. If you are a fan there is enough of what she does to keep you from content and bitching any more than what I am doing here. 

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