1. Billy Woods and Kenny Segal: Maps
Backwoodz Studioz; May
Leftfield New York rapper Billy Woods released a pair of superb collaborative albums this year: Maps, with producer Kenny Segal, and We Buy Diabetic Test Strips, as half of Armand Hammer. Of two very different records, both anchored by this caustic sophisticate’s free associating, Maps edges it for its sly, deadpan take on a dissociative life in motion.
2. CMAT: Crazymad, for Me
AWAL; October
A bittersweet concept album about a misspent relationship in Irish singer-songwriter Ciara Mary-Alice Thompson’s youth, Crazymad, for Me was like a night of espresso martinis with your most voluble friend, channelling the self-actualising energy of Self Esteem with added country brio and a dash of Fleetwood Mac.
3. 100 Gecs: 10,000 Gecs
Dogshow/Atlantic; March
Now based in LA, hyper-pop-punk aesthetes Dylan Brady and Laura Les once again transformed seemingly obnoxious base metals into surreal and surprisingly emotional gold. Defiantly stupid, and spectacularly sharp at the same time, 100 Gecs pondered corn snacks, worried about bills and dumped losers while setting off musical fireworks indoors.
4. Billy Nomates: Cacti
Invada; January
Appallingly better known for taking abusive Glastonbury commentators to task than for her arresting songs, Billy Nomates is – or possibly, was – the pseudonym of indie auteur Tor Maries (she may have retired it). But if you were a person who needed to hear her acerbic, 80s-leaning earworms about self-care and vertigo, they hit home like a spiked mallet.
5. Janelle Monáe: The Age of Pleasure
Wondaland/Atlantic; June
What now seems like aeons ago, the multi-hyphenate artist Janelle Monáe once rapped in riddles and resisted the male gaze. The Age of Pleasure, her fourth album, prioritised pleasure, the logical conclusion of a series of increasingly sex-positive releases that could only end in this joyously sapphic pool party.
6. Mitski: The Land Is Inhospitable and So Are We
Dead Oceans; September
Having threatened retirement, Mitski returned with another lacerating album whose existential concerns were sublimated into different strains of Americana: plangent pedal steel, churning indie rock, orchestral oompah jazz. Her songs of snow, frost and stars only cemented her status as an all-American talent for the ages.
7. Jpegmafia x Danny Brown: Scaring the Hoes
Peggy; March
Another rapper who dropped two essential albums in 2023, maverick Danny Brown here combined with fellow margin-walker Jpegmafia to challenge 100 Gecs for the tinnitus crown. This avant-rap double-header allied attention-deficit soundscapes to Danny and Peggy’s furious, funny observations. Ironically, perhaps, the results were catchy as hell.
8. The Tubs: Dead Meat
Trouble in Mind; January
Indie rock periodically receives a stylistic shot in the arm (see Mitski, circa 2018). This year’s B12 jab came from former members of London-based Welsh band Joanna Gruesome in their sublime new incarnation, the Tubs. Not only did singing guitarist Owen Williams sound like Richard Thompson fronting Sugar, the Tubs’ riveting songs dealt trenchantly with manic episodes and bad rashes.
9. Jaimie Branch: Fly Or Die Fly Or Die Fly Or Die ((world war))
International Anthem; August
A posthumous release from a prodigious trumpeter, Fly Or Die… ((world war)) was the third in a series of Branch records that expanded what contemporary jazz could be: politically progressive, mellifluously Latinate. Part protest record, part polyrhythmic workout, Fly Or Die also made room for an Americana-hued Meat Puppets cover.
10. Lana Del Rey: Did You Know That There’s a Tunnel Under Ocean Blvd
Polydor; March
Gospel singers, ministering pastors and startling musical about-faces dot this ambitious record, one of the most compelling in a strong canon. There are, as expected, glossy Del Rey surfaces, but there are also songs of death and loss.
