Rather than grapple with things like rankings and ratings and “bests” or even “favorites,” here is simply a list of five things I loved from this year and wish to share with you, in alphabetical order.
Visit my Instagram @JMWwrites for the full posts, including Honorable Mentions.
Image Credit: Ri_Ya
5 New Songs I Heard and Loved in 2023
1 per artist, alphabetical order, links included
I am endlessly entertained by storytellers who fish for joy in the abyss. There’s something about being confronted with nothing and still finding something–something comforting, no less–that creates a fascinating dissonance. This may not be Hozier’s first foray as a songwriter into that territory, but it is certainly his best. We live in an age that is more adamant than ever that everybody stays in their own cultural lane, so to speak. That’s all well and good. And yet, listening to this Irishman do Gospel while surrounding himself with people who can do it well always puts a smile on my face.
It might spell doom to Radiohead loyalists whenever Thom Yorke and Jonny Greenwood put out an incredible song as part of their new band with Tom Skinner. But I for one am happy to imbibe whatever creative cocktail those two have to serve up, no matter who they may or may not be collaborating with. “Bending Hectic” is a searing track of contrasts, catharsis, and quirk. In other words, everything that I love about a good Yorke/Greenwood joint. If you listen to nothing else that The Smile puts out in the fear that Radiohead will ultimately be put out as well, then at least listen to this.
Optimism is not in vogue right now. I believe that Jon Batiste’s optimism has garnered so much favor in spite of that because it’s more about affirming the listener’s power to overcome their obstacles than it is about denying that those obstacles exist. Nowhere is that more evident than on this song. “Butterfly” is the only song I’ve ever put on a year-end list that I’ve only listened to once. Maybe it was the moment I was in, maybe it was the power of music. But the song brought me to tears with just one listen. It deserves its Grammy nomination.
“Peach Velvet Sky” by Corinne Bailey Rae
The three words of the title and their place in the chorus translate impossible emotions from an incredible story into an indelible damage. One of the most singular acts of musicianship this year, “Peach Velvet Sky” takes me back to music school, when we were given art songs to study for piano and voice which, in their own way and in their own time, changed what people believed music was capable of. This song certainly changed what I believed Corinne Bailey Rae to be capable of. And I hope that, in its own way and in our own time, it is embraced as something worth studying.
After waiting six years since Sampha’s last album, I immediately put on his sophomore effort, Lahai. But it didn’t click immediately. It was this fourth track, “Suspended,” where the album seemed to truly come to life. Sampha’s best work has a unique ability to thrill; energetic beats, emotional piano harmonies, and heartfelt lyrics prove him more adept at taking a listener on a true journey than most musicians. This exquisite single is Sampha at his best, and it proves that the power of his creativity is worth every bit of the wait.
5 New Albums I Heard and Loved in 2023
alphabetical order
Black Rainbows by Corinne Bailey Rae
“Don’t you know, Earthlings? You can start again.” That’s just what Corinne Bailey Rae did, transforming herself, her work, and public opinion. It’s the kind of album where each track feels unlike anything the artist has done before, unlike everything else even on the rest of the album. It’s a powerful tribute to Black History, and a visionary glimpse into the artist’s future, containing some of the most inspired musicianship I heard all year.
The Land Is Hospitable and So Are We by Mitski
It’s not surprising that Mitski can record a damn good country album. It’s not even surprising that she tried. And if we’re being honest, it’s not surprising that we loved it. Somehow, all these things make sense. And yet, somehow, this album took us all by surprise anyways. Because it was not necessarily something we would have asked for, something we wanted. Until we got it. Then we couldn’t get enough. In the spirit of Christopher Nolan, it’s not the Mitski album we deserved, but it’s the Mitski album we needed.
Lahai by Sampha
If Black Rainbows is the kind of capital-A Album to contain a different world in every song, Sampha’s Lahai is the kind of capital-A Album that feels whole, clear and consistent all the way through like a diamond, homogenous at every cross-section. It is dense with ideas, a self-reflexive hall of mirrors on themes of aging, regret, and the passage of time, but it’s all smoothed over with a sonic through-line that’s as rich and rewarding as a spoonful of honey on the tongue. It’s elevated, it’s elegant, it’s exciting. It’s everything I hoped it would be and more.
So Much (for) Stardust by Fall Out Boy
The phrase “instant classic” is a bit of a paradox. It requires a Billy-Pilgrim-Doctor-Manhattan ability to be in 2023 and 2033 at once, to look ahead and see yourself looking back, to know that what you’re experiencing is new for now but will eventually become an old favorite. Having been adrift for a time, Fall Out Boy returns with an album of instant classics. I am in 2023. I am listening to “Heartbreak Feels So Good” for the 100th time this year even though it’s brand new. I am in 2033. I am listening to “Heartbreak Feels So Good” for the 100th time this year even though it’s ten years old.
Unreal Unearth by Hozier
I’m over the Grammy’s. I’ve been over the Grammy’s. But the snub I’m most bitter about this year is this album’s exclusion from the Biggest Grammy Snubs articles. Hozier did not get so much as a nod from the Grammy’s, and most of the snubs articles I have read seem unbothered. It’s too bad. The album displays a consummate artist at the top of his game, a thoughtful and powerful musician often pigeonholed as a one-hit wonder continuously proving his willingness to reinvent, to push his own boundaries, to reach ever higher as an entertainer and an ally. Someone get him a trophy.
JMW Writes 
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