Urban75 Album of the Year 2023

[Monkeygrinder's Organ]

I think I've probably heard, to varying degrees, of about thirty of them but in terms of actually listening to them I think it's three for me (Godflesh, MC Yallah and Lankum). I like to try and listen to as many as I can when this list comes out - I've listened to a couple more now (starting at no 100, Call Super and Niecy Blues) which were both quite good but lacking a bit of impact for me. Oozing Wound up next which I expect will change that a bit.

 

[braindancer]

I think I've probably heard, to varying degrees, of about thirty of them but in terms of actually listening to them I think it's three for me (Godflesh, MC Yallah and Lankum). I like to try and listen to as many as I can when this list comes out - I've listened to a couple more now (starting at no 100, Call Super and Niecy Blues) which were both quite good but lacking a bit of impact for me. Oozing Wound up next which I expect will change that a bit.

The Oozing Wound album is fucking great and will be on my list - grungy noise rock goodness - no shortage of impact

 

[braindancer]

I think the Khanate album that places highly is possibly the grimmest thing I have ever heard - I'm often drawn to music expressing misery and despair but that one crosses a line. Approach with caution!

 

[Monkeygrinder's Organ]

The Oozing Wound album is fucking great and will be on my list - grungy noise rock goodness - no shortage of impact

Yeah liking this one so far.

 

[hitmouse]

I think the Khanate album that places highly is possibly the grimmest thing I have ever heard - I'm often drawn to music expressing misery and despair but that one crosses a line. Approach with caution!

I had absolutely no intention of listening to some bloody doom album before reading this post, but I have to admit to being curious now.

 

[Monkeygrinder's Organ]

I had absolutely no intention of listening to some bloody doom album before reading this post, but I have to admit to being curious now.

It's O'Malley isn't it. Heavily featured in the 'links to fascism' thread but he does do bleak as fuck extremely well I have to admit.

 

[braindancer]

Yep - it's O'Malley.

Never heard him come up in links with fascism chat - that's disappointing, I've never bought any of his records but I've been to see him in Sunn and various other projects quite a few times.....

Will do some reading when time allows.....

 

[Monkeygrinder's Organ]

The John Zorn one is proving to be surprisingly lovely, not the squally sax barrage I'd expected. The only one so far I've not been able to get on with at all is Anohni and the Johnsons, really not my thing at all.

 

[hitmouse]

They were on this BLM fundraiser comp a few years back, so I think it's fair to say that he's moved on a bit since those days:

I still have no particular desire to hear him holding down one guitar string for seven minutes or whatever it is he does though.

 

[AverageJoe]

I'm going to have to pass on this vote as I don't think I've listened to a single 2023 album.

Plenty of singles though.

 

[Johnny Vodka]

Quietus Albums Of The Year 2023 (In Association With Norman Records) | The Quietus

Driven by our shameful national rent crisis and housing shortage, this has been in train for some time now, as my tQ co-pilot John Doran discussed in his New Weird Britain series on BBC Radio 4 back in 2019. COVID-19 undoubtedly put the brakes on for a while, but this year it feels as if […]

thequietus.com

The Quietus list out now - I always pick up a few of the (many) I've missed through this one.

Way too cool for school that. What I would rate as my favourite album of the year isn't even in their 100.

 

[braindancer]

Listened to a few bits from the Quietus list that I missed... best new discovery so far is the Rezzett album... scuzzy hazy house vibes.... really nice ...

 

[Dr. Furface]

Treblezine’s top 50 The Best Albums of 2023 | Treble

 

[marty21]

Torn between 2 for my number 1 - once I decide that, number 2 is sorted

 

[Indeliblelink]

Online version of Brighton's Resident Music's yearly annual.

the annual 2023 - resident

www.resident-music.com

Lots of stuff to investigate in there

 

[zahir]

My number 1

 

[The39thStep]

Forgot which list it was on but this album Raven by Kelela is very listenable to.

 

[zahir]

Carminho - Portuguesa

 

[zahir]

Hana Kogure - Jacaranda

 

[Dr. Furface]

I've now got The Wire mag and was surprised and a little disappointed to see what their #1 is this year - not because I don't rate it, but because for them it seems to me a rather conservative choice considering some of the ones they've had in the past and ones they could have picked this year. Quite often they choose something I've never even heard of before, but that's definitely not the case this time. The winner does not feature at all in the Quietus list but it is in the Treblezine one I posted earlier, and the Norman Records picks. Anyone care to guess what it is?

I was also surprised to see their top 50 does not include PJ Harvey's or the Lankum one either.

 

[The39thStep]

This won’t be on any of the lists as it’s an obscure Belgium/Portuguese band but it’s lovely

Ão- Ao Mar

 

[braindancer]

Forgot which list it was on but this album Raven by Kelela is very listenable to.

It's in many a list - quite possibly including the most important one of all - mine

 

[braindancer]

I've now got The Wire mag and was surprised and a little disappointed to see what their #1 is this year - not because I don't rate it, but because for them it seems to me a rather conservative choice considering some of the ones they've had in the past and ones they could have picked this year. Quite often they choose something I've never even heard of before, but that's definitely not the case this time. The winner does not feature at all in the Quietus list but it is in the Treblezine one I posted earlier, and the Norman Records picks. Anyone care to guess what it is?

I was also surprised to see their top 50 does not include PJ Harvey's or the Lankum one either.

Wow. That is a very un-Wire no. 1 I agree! I'd never have guessed. Great album though....

 

[braindancer]

Wow. That is a very un-Wire no. 1 I agree! I'd never have guessed. Great album though....

Had this on repeat today actually - man it's so good. Definitely the finest YLT in years....

 

[SpookyFrank]

Have some suggestions from publishers who have, undoubtedly, got it wrong:

The 100 Best Albums of 2023

We Rank the best albums of the year, from Lil Yatchy to Olivia Rodrigo to Lana Del Rey

www.rollingstone.com

They got their list backwards, the correct number 1 is at number 100.

 

[billy_bob]

I thought I wasn't going to have much to vote for other than Bridghde this year - it's been a tumultuous personal time (as you might have seen me post about elsewhere) and besides that, I developed an overwhelming obsession with 2000s and 2010s electroclash and witch house which kind of took me away from new music. But it's been a good year, hasn't it? When I sat down to message belboid I had no trouble listing loads.

 

[The39thStep]

Can't find any mention of Death and Vanilla's Flicker on these lists so far. Superb psychedelic dream pop

 

[Spandex]

Rather than turn this thread into a copy of the album recommendations thread, let's celebrate those BANNED albums we can't vote for with a quick top 10 compilations of the year..

Record Kicks 20th Rare Box Set

All-killer, no-filler retro funk/soul

The Tribal Rites of the New Saturday Night (Brooklyn Disco 1974-75)

Early disco comp inspired by the article that inspired Saturday Night Fever

Fruko y sus Tesos – Fruko Power Vol.1 (Rarities & Deep Album Cuts 1970-1974)

Rare cuts from Colombia's greatest Salsa band.

Latin Freestyle (New York / Miami 1983-1992)

A skip through the less remembered latino electro/house/disco scene of the 80s.

Cease & Resist: Sonic Subversion & Anarcho Punk In The UK 1979-1986

Crass records & associated acts. I guess those that like this stuff will know most of these, so all together now: I looove tube disasters, I wanna marry a tube disaster...

Happy Land (A Compendium Of Electronic Music From The British Isles 1992-1996)

Wonky British electronica from the 90s. Found some unexpected new fans when it was accidentally pressed on a Taylor Swift record.

Music for the Radical Xenomaniac:
Hedonistic Highlights from The Lowlands 1990 – 1999, vols 1-3

Loads of amazing Dutch house music from the 90s.

Waves Of Distortion (The Best Of Shoegaze 1990-2022)

Great introduction to shoegaze. Some oldies, some new stuff, some you'll know, some you probably won't.

Velvet Desert Music, vol 3

Chilled electronica with some desert guitars and occasional vocals.

Kalahari Oyster Cult - The Chants Of The Holy Oyster

Answers the question: what if trance and tech-house was actually still good?

 

[Hollis]

At least one of those lists can't bring itself to include the new Blur album in the top 100... quite amusing as it's really a very good album.

 

[belboid]

Rather than turn this thread into a copy of the album recommendations thread, let's celebrate those BANNED albums we can't vote for with a quick top 10 compilations of the year..

Record Kicks 20th Rare Box Set

All-killer, no-filler retro funk/soul

The Tribal Rites of the New Saturday Night (Brooklyn Disco 1974-75)

Early disco comp inspired by the article that inspired Saturday Night Fever

Fruko y sus Tesos – Fruko Power Vol.1 (Rarities & Deep Album Cuts 1970-1974)

Rare cuts from Colombia's greatest Salsa band.

Latin Freestyle (New York / Miami 1983-1992)

A skip through the less remembered latino electro/house/disco scene of the 80s.

Cease & Resist: Sonic Subversion & Anarcho Punk In The UK 1979-1986

Crass records & associated acts. I guess those that like this stuff will know most of these, so all together now: I looove tube disasters, I wanna marry a tube disaster...

Happy Land (A Compendium Of Electronic Music From The British Isles 1992-1996)

Wonky British electronica from the 90s. Found some unexpected new fans when it was accidentally pressed on a Taylor Swift record.

Music for the Radical Xenomaniac:
Hedonistic Highlights from The Lowlands 1990 – 1999, vols 1-3

Loads of amazing Dutch house music from the 90s.

Waves Of Distortion (The Best Of Shoegaze 1990-2022)

Great introduction to shoegaze. Some oldies, some new stuff, some you'll know, some you probably won't.

Velvet Desert Music, vol 3

Chilled electronica with some desert guitars and occasional vocals.

Kalahari Oyster Cult - The Chants Of The Holy Oyster

Answers the question: what if trance and tech-house was actually still good?

Must admit, some of m y favourite albums released this year aren't eligible. Well, they might be, we've allowed newly released really old stuff before, but I don't think its in the spirit.

So they'll be not places for the brilliant Nick Drake covers compilation - The Endless Coloured Ways




Nor will The Teardrop Explodes for Culture Bunker 1978-1982 despite the fact that it includes what would, had it been released as a single disc, the ultimate TX live album, from the Club Zoo dates in 1981



Hawkwind at least have a really brand new album that could get in the chart (and it really is good, honest) but it isn't as good as either of the boxed sets they released this year - the recent complete Space Ritual (complete sets from the three gigs that make the original album up, as well as remixed and rethingummied versions of the original) or the absolutely vital Days of the Underground - Live & Studio Recordings 1977-1979. Superb set out out-tales alternative versions and other groovy fun stuff from the Hawks' mightiest era. Again, an absolutely superb live album included within it with the band on top notch, brilliantly merging old school driving heavy riffs with the shinier new wave sci-fi material from Calvert. Magnificent.



And then there's Les Rallizes Denudes. They, almost legendarily, released bugger all during their performing lifetime. But now they are making up for it in abundance. Another two releases this year - CITTA '93 and now BAUS '93 feature rare reappearances of their frontman Takashi Mizutani out of his self imposed hiding following the hijacking of Japanese Airlines Flight 351 in 1971, which the band were kinda involved with. Anyway, it's two discs of ninety minutes of wonderful repetition repetition repetition and cacophonous feedback loops. Perfect Sunday morning music.