Urban75 Album of the Year 2023 - The Results!

[belboid]

15 Föllakzoid - V




Exploring psychedelia’s outermost reaches via vicious minimal techno. Mesmerising stuff.

 

[belboid]

14 Sufjan Stevens - Javelin

Wherein Sufjan stops fucking about and gets down to his intimate singer-songwriter best

 

[belboid]

13 Blur - The Ballad of Darren

Its Blur being all Blurry. Polished and fun.

 

[belboid]

12 Mammal Hands - Gift From the Trees

Jazz. With something of a Steve Reich vibe. Don't say you weren't warned.

 

[belboid]

11 Death and Vanilla - Flicker

Swedish dream pop with hints of krautrock. Ohhhh, those crazy Swedes. Needs more death and less vanilla.

 

[stavros]

I'm surprised YLT weren't higher, but pleased Actress got in.

 

[belboid]

It all gets a bit mainstream from hereon in.....

or does it???

 

[belboid]

10 Craven Faults - Standers

I read that this album was 'Meticulously curated…' at which point I refused to read on. It is really good though.

 

[belboid]

9 Nabihah Iqbal - Dreamer

A bit indie-pop, a little more shoegaze, a lot more trance – but extra waves of electronic wash and vocals so multitracked they’re choral make it labyrinthine enough to get lost in.

 

[belboid]

8 The Murder Capital - Gigi's Recovery

Fizzing, constantly promising something very exciting is about to happen, then delivering. Post-punk pefection.

 

[belboid]

7 Mary Lattimore - Goodbye, Hotel Arkada

The first harpist on the chart for a decade or so. Centred around motifs of evanesence, it's a laugh a minute.

 

[belboid]

6 Wednesday - Rat Saw God

Ragged tributes to delinquency, paeans to bad choices made with only mild later regret. Welcome to the world of grunge-country.

 

[May Kasahara]

I think this is the most albums I've ever had in the countdown! And loads of the others are things I meant to listen to.but forgot about, so extra cheers belboid for all your hard work.

 

[belboid]

5 Mandy, Indiana - I’ve Seen A Way

Noise rock debut, recorded in caves, crypts, and shopping malls. Visceral, is the word. It's a very good word.

 

[belboid]

and the top four are so bloody obvious, I don't think I cba

You can come up with a hilarious line for each of them yourselves.

 

[MBV]

Fast flop?

 

[SpookyFrank]

Thought I heard someone playing that Föllakzoid album earlier but it turned out I'd just spilled tea on my synthesizer.

 

[hitmouse]

Presuambly Lankum del Rey, no idea about the other two - not a new Swift album so can't be that?

 

[hitmouse]

I think this is the most albums I've ever had in the countdown! And loads of the others are things I meant to listen to.but forgot about, so extra cheers belboid for all your hard work.

I was thinking, considering I only submitted a short list, I've got a decent number showing up, but then half my list is probably stuff you or 39th mentioned, so makes sense I'm not the only person voting for them.

 

[Dr. Furface]

Presuambly Lankum del Rey, no idea about the other two - not a new Swift album so can't be that?

PJ Harvey for sure. Don’t know about the other one - maybe James Holden?

 

[hitmouse]

It's either a very good result or a very bad result for Boy and the Geniuses, I suppose.

 

[hitmouse]

Maybe House of All are about to demonstrate that Mark E Smith's death can't stop the Fall Mafiah?

 

[Indeliblelink]

PJ Harvey for sure. Don’t know about the other one - maybe James Holden?

I would think Slowdive might make an appearance.

 

[Dr. Furface]

I would think Slowdive might make an appearance.

Yeah, they won a big AOTY poll on Twitter I voted in. I hadn’t even heard it, and then when I did I was like

 

[belboid]

4 PJ Harvey - I Inside the Old Year Dying

PJ does PJ, mesmerising, beguiling, hallucinatory and bloody good.

 

[belboid]

Just to show what a weird and crazy year 2023 really was, the next record is....

 

[belboid]

3 Boygenius - The Record

It's a supergroup that is actually really rather good. A testimony to the power of aesthetic commonality. Awe and then some.

 

[belboid]

Well if that's only number 3, Number 1 surely has to be....What? No?!

 

[belboid]

2 Lankum – False Lankum

A nihilistic, almost comically bleak trek into the dark heart of folk music. Teeming with moments of iridescent bliss. Buy it.

 

[belboid]

Hang on, so at least one of Lana del Ray or Slowdive aren't going to get in at all? Didn't even crack the top 50? That's just crazy, man. But, which one?

It couldn't be both, could it?