Continuing our Hogmanay tradition, here’s is this music?’s writers’ chart for 2023.
We do kind of pride ourselves at being at the forefront of popular culture (snort) but this year, it seems the pack has rather caught up with us. Yes, every chart (or award ceremony) that counts is largely in agreement with ourselves, at least where 2023’s best album is concerned.
It must be said that it was an incredibly close contest with a handful of votes separating the top 6, but the winner really needs no introduction from us. Young Fathers reign supreme, once again.
1. Young Fathers – Heavy Heavy (Ninjatune)
2. Boygenius – The Record (Interscope)
3. Spanish Love Songs – No Joy (Pure Noise)
4. King Creosote – I DES (Domino)
5. Lichen Slow – Rest Lurks (Rock Action)
6. Spare Snare – The Brutal (Chute)
7. There Will Be Fireworks – Summer Moon (the imaginary kind)
8. Lana Del Rey – Did you Know There’s A Tunnel Under Ocean Blvd (Polydor)
9. BC Camplight – The Last Rotation Of Earth (Bella Union)
10. Hot Mulligan – Why Would I Watch? (Wax Bodega)
11. Slowdive – Everything Is Alive (Dead Oceans)
12. coro.alto – Bad With Names (New Soil)
13. The Coral – Sea of Mirrors (Modern Sky)
14. Enter Shikari – A Kiss for the Whole World (So Recordings)
15. Blue Orchids – Magpie Heights (Tiny Global)
16. Raveloe – Exit Light (Olive Grove)
17. Sparks – The Girl Is Crying In Her Latte (Universal)
18. Say She She – Silver (Karma Chief)
19. Hot Milk – A Call to the Void (Music For Nations)
20. Meursault – Meursault (Common Grounds)
21. HiFi Sean & David McAlmont – Happy Ending (Plastique / Last Night From Glasgow)
22. Caroline Rose – The Art Of Forgetting (New West)
23. Bully – Lucky For You (Sub Pop)
24. Yo La Tengo – This Stupid World (Matador)
25. Taylor Swift – 1989 (Taylor’s Version) (Universal)
26. RAYE – My 21st Century Blues (Human Re-Sources)
27. Be Your Own Pet – Mommy (Third Man)
28. Keeley – Floating Above Everything Else (Dimple Discs)
29. Weird Wave – Lost Map Presents… (Lost Map)
30. Tom McGuire & The Brassholes – Stay Rad (Slug)
(There’s even more reason now for us to continue to #boycottspotify… call us confused, call us hypocrites, but a Bandcamp search should allow you to hear most of the above before buying).