The Year-End List 2023
The Best of 2023, According to Me
Quick note, Substack warns me that this probably goes longer than email allows, so open in a browser for the full horrors of my list.
So long, 2023
Another year has passed. And what a year! I started it off running the Walt Disney World Half Marathon with my cousin Dani, who rules in general, and has long been my inspiration as I’ve entered the world of running over the past few years. It was a great time, I had a blast, and then I injured my hip the week after. An injury that would sideline me for a little over 4 months. Womp womp. I wouldn’t start running properly again until the Baltimore 10 Miler in June, which is definitely a race you should run without training, after injury. Highly recommended! (it is a fun race though, my experience notwithstanding)
The photo ops during the WDW Half definitely make the 5am start time worth it
I also turned 40 this year! A milestone I kind of dreaded, if we’re being honest. But I used it as an opportunity to celebrate as hard as possible with people, between a trip to Provincetown (my beloved) with some of my dearest friends, as well as a big ol’ bash here in Baltimore. Did my month of indulgence lead to me developing gout?1 Yes, yes it did, but I regret nothing.
Of course, the biggest thing that happened this year was the birth of my child. For a long time, I never saw myself as a parent. I can’t say for sure what changed; was it seeing my brother and his wife raising their kid? Getting older/my own biological clock? Getting married and having a loving partner I could actually envision starting a family with? A desire I always had but could never acknowledge? At any rate, I’m so thrilled about this chapter of our lives. Little Robocop here is cute and sweet, even if my music constantly causes some very unhappy faces.2 And thank goodness I became a father in an age with a dad joke tool, that even has its own API. What a wonderful world.
On to the Jams
Here we go, my favorite records of the year. I’m keeping it tight, a top 10 albums with some honorable mentions, and a top 10 EPs. It’s all in order. These are my favorites, not necessarily the best releases of the year. I could probably do a list of 30 albums, but who would read all that? At any rate, take this as gospel and shape your own taste around it. With that said:
Full-Lengths
Initiate - Cerebral Circus
Initiate grabbed my attention hard with their Lavender EP from 2020. Big, muscular riffs, powerhouse vocals, and great lyrics. I’ve been waiting for them to follow it up, and they did in a serious way with Cerebral Circus. “Alone At the Bottom” has been lodged in my brain since I first heard it. The whole album thunders through its brief 10 tracks, giving a short interlude before snarling back with the mighty “Fire Starter.” Hardcore gets (rightfully) stereotyped as long having been just been for white men, and I’m glad we’re seeing more bands like Initiate as the scene evolves.
Listen to: “Fire Starter,” “Alone At the Bottom”
Maura Weaver - I Was Due For a Heartbreak
Full disclosure: I’ve known Maura since her days in Ohio pop-punk band Mixtapes, when I and many of my cohorts were spending too much time on Punknews.org and unofficially affiliated message boards. She’s always been an excellent musician in the various projects she’s been part of (Mixtapes, Ogikubo Station, Boys, The Homeless Gospel Choir, others I’m forgetting) and I’m thrilled that her first solo album finds her growing her craft even more. Musically fun and inventive, lyrically clever and thoughtful, I can’t wait to see where she goes from here.
Listen to: “Languish in Anguish,” “Crush On You, Pt. II”
Militarie Gun - Life Under the Gun
I kind of avoided listening to Militarie Gun for a while. I can’t say why, I just did. I liked Regional Justice Center enough, but yeah. I checked out “Very High” in the lead up to this album and realized what a fool I had been. This album is clearly the work of a hardcore band, but with a healthy dose of ‘90s alt-rock in the mix. Much is made of Ian Shelton’s trademark bark, as it should be. His tuneful shout, his “OOH! OOH!” on the tracks, it’s distinct and perfectly catchy. I was able to catch them live recently on their tour with Scowl, and these go even harder live.
Listen to: “Think Less,” “Seizure of Assets”
Slayyyter - STARFUCKER
Ava Max would have made the top 10 if Slayyyter hadn’t dropped this and kicked her out of the upper echelons of the list. This is probably Slayyyter’s most straightforward release so far, leaning hard into pure pop—or as pure pop as she can—and all the better for it. Bouncing between neo-synthpop fare like “Miss Belladonna” and “Out of Time” and the more grimy electro-sleaze of “I Love Hollywood” and “Erotic Electronic,” this album sounds like a drunken, drug-fueled night in LA. I’m too old/square to actually live that life, but she makes me wish I could.
Listen to: “Erotic Electronic,” “Out of Time”
Nuovo Testamento - Love Lines
If you told me that a project related to Torso would be a straight up New Wave band, I’d have met you with a strong look of disbelief. And yet, the band is back with their second full-length, and it sands off a lot of the post-punk elements of 2021’s New Earth to go fully ‘80s pop. A friend said this was “too Debbie Gibson” for him; that’s about right, but not a negative to me. This should be a part of a good ‘80s throwback night. Also worth checking out: their incredibly unexpected remix of Scowl’s “Psychic Dance Routine.”
Listen to: “Heartbeat,” “Heat”
LP Giobbi - Light Places
Thank Spotify’s “Night Rider” progressive house playlist for turning me on to LP Giobbi. A lot of that list can kind of get samey, but her trademark piano is attention-getting. This album is a really great mix of chill house-influenced music (“If Love Is a Skill”) and more traditional club jams (“Georgia”). All told, this is a great record from a distinctive DJ that really works the album format versus a collection of singles. Perfect soundtrack for a low-key night.
Listen to: “If Love Is a Skill (ft. Sofi Tukker),” “Feels Just Like It (ft. Caroline Bryne)”
Incendiary - Change The Way You Think About Pain
OK, sure, nothing on this is necessarily as good as the crushing highs of Thousand Mile Stare or Cost of Living. But honestly, even Incendiary sounding (relatively) tame is damn good. Sometimes I like to think of myself as a Thinking Man appreciating poetry and depth in lyrics, and other times “Echo of Nothing” plays and I’m pumping my fist screaming along that “every fucking window! deserves! a! brick!” We all contain multitudes. Anyway, the riffs are big and loud, the vocals still have that spoken/barked quality that draws (questionable) comparisons to Zack de la Rocha, and while you shouldn’t judge a book by its cover, you get Daniel Danger doing the art and I’m automatically in. Incendiary delivered, and after 6 long years, the wait was worth it.
Listen to: “Echo of Nothing,” “Lie of Liberty”
Aly & AJ - With Love From
I was never the target audience for “Potential Breakup Song.” Or any of Aly & AJ’s appearances on (checks notes) The Disney Channel. I mainly knew AJ from The Goldbergs. So when Spotify suggested their dance single “Joan of Arc on the Dance Floor” several years ago, I was pleasantly surprised. Their move since then into more sunny pop-rock (2021’s a touch of the beat…) was welcome, but this, a more low-key album, is stellar. The National are an obvious influence, made even more clear by their non-album single, a cover of “I Need My Girl.” Especially perfect for a quiet evening.
Listen to: “Blue Dress,” “With Love From”
Angel Du$t - Brand New Soul
Everything Justice Tripp does is hardcore. He says so himself. And look, I’m certainly not gonna tell anyone from Trapped Under Ice what hardcore is or isn’t. Angel Du$t has always been less beholden to the trappings of hardcore than TUI was, and all the better for it. Brand New Soul may be the band’s best collection of songs. From the bouncy power-pop of “Racecar” and “Born 2 Run,” to the pummeling speed of “Space Jam,” the current lineup of the band maintains everything the band has been previously and pushes it further.
Listen to: “Space Jam,” “Racecar”
Spiritual Cramp - Spiritual Cramp
Sometimes albums need to grow on you. Other times, you hear them and you are immediately obsessed. This debut full-length from Spiritual Cramp is the latter. Stylish, muscular, and fun as all hell, the album breezes through at 10 tracks in under half an hour, begging for repeat listens. It dropped the same day as Paint It Black’s new one and stole that record’s place in my brain, which says something. There’s more than a little DNA of that early ‘00s guitar rock boom in this, but by guys who cut their teeth in the Bay Area punk scene. This could soundtrack a dance night or a street fight.
Listen to: “Slick Rick, “Can I Borrow Your Lighter?”
Honorable Mention
Ava Max - Diamonds and Dancefloors
Move BHC - Black Radical Love
Worriers - Trust Your Gut
Zulu - A New Tomorrow
Teenage Halloween - Till You Return
Temple of Angels - Endless Pursuit
The Gaslight Anthem - History Books
Restraining Order - Locked In Time
Mil-Spec - Marathon
Broken Record - Nothing Moves Me
EPs
Scowl - Psychic Dance Routine
California hardcore band follows up their great LP with an EP that finds them broadening their sound while losing none of the fury that makes them so amazing.
Anklebiter - To Live and Withstand
This band hits like a New England winter. Stormy and hard, stoked to see more from them.
Ozone - Shutting You Down
I don’t know what is going on in Texas but this band goes hard. I hear this and I can see, smell, and feel the pit and I’m already sore.
(G)I-DLE - I feel
“Queencard” is undeniable, the whole EP from this K-pop girl group is an ultra fun bop.
The Hope Conspiracy - Confusion/Chaos/Misery
HOPE. CON. IS. BACK. Enough said.
Softcult - See You In the Dark
A great collection of shoegazey darkwave.
Fraud - March of Progress
Boston hardcore. 6 songs, 9 minutes, no holds barred.
Entry - Exit Interview
Another killer band from LA’s fertile hardcore scene, and another great release from Convulse Records. Sara’s vocals are vicious.
Jazzy - Constellations
Irish DJ/singer Jazzy’s debut EP. The song “Giving Me” has been a favorite of mine this year, and the rest of the tracks are excellent.
Cigarette Camp - Chalk
Jeff Poot is a Boston legend. This is a Jeff Poot band. Need I say more?
And of course, a playlist
Naturally I couldn’t leave you all without an easy way to listen. Everything above is represented here, plus a bunch more music that just rules.
What were your favorite releases this year? Sound off in the comments!
I wish I was kidding about this.
Though Trapped Under Ice went over well. Truly a child of Baltimore.