My Top Ten Albums Of 2023

 

MY TOP TEN ALBUMS OF 2023

By Kayla Harper

 

As 2023 comes to a close, I would like to reflect on the music that was brought into the world over the past year.  Particularly music that made an impact on my life.  2023 was an exciting year for music as many of my favourite artists released new music.  I also discovered new artists through song and album releases that stood out to me.

I am not going to rank them in a definitive scale from favourite to least favourite or best to worst because all of these albums are so different in genre and themes that I do not think I can.  Therefore I am simply going to go through each one in the order they were released this year, touching on the highlights and significance of each one.

 

**For a more in-depth look into each of these albums, keep your eye out for my individual album reviews/rankings.

 

10. The D4tour -Ekoh | released January 23, 2023

 

Ekoh, an indie-rapper from Las Vegas, released the fourth album from his “detour” series early this year titled, Detour Four or D4tour.  The album surpassed the bar that Ekoh’s previous albums had set with versatile rhythms and deep lyrics that hook listeners in from the opening seconds of the album’s first track, “D4rk Side.”  Ekoh has never been one to shy away from speaking about real and difficult topics, using his music to spread important messages and bring awareness to the struggles of others.  We only see Ekoh expand his realm of depth and reality in songs like, “oxycontin,” “Dissociate,” and “numb.”  Ekoh has also been known for his ability to “revamp” an old song, or remake a classic in his own signature style.  On this album Ekoh collaborates with Crazy Town to deliver a brand new, modern version of the band’s hit song, “Butterfly.”  He also provides listeners with his own take of Fort Minor’s “Where’d You Go?”  To conclude, D4tour is full of hits that consecutively flow into each other from start to finish.  With its catchy hits and emotional moments, the album is an entertaining listen and recommended to all rap/hiphop lovers.

 

9. Good Riddance -Gracie Abrams | released February 24, 2023

 

After two EP’s the 24-year-old singer/songwriter, Gracie Abrams, released her highly anticipated debut album at the beginning of this year.  Good Riddance is a passionate piece touching on various aspects of heartbreak and self-discovery.  Produced by Aaron Dessner, the album’s overall tone remains consistent and comfortingly mellow.  However, it is Abrams’s emotional appeal that makes the album so relatable, with lyrics that reveal the reality of young love and heartbreak, along with the insufferable guilt and grief that comes with going through it.  These themes are relevant in songs like, “This is what the drugs are for” and “I should hate you.”  In addition, what makes Abrams’s songs so captivating is her brutal honesty and confession of her own faults in songs like, “Best” and “Will You Cry?”  Throughout the facets of heartbreak the album also sees points of self-reflection in songs like, “Right Now” and “Difficult” making the album versatile and tragically relatable—especially to the young girls going through it. Abrams received her first Grammy nomination with Good Riddance for Best New Artist and opened for several North American dates of Taylor Swift’s, “The Eras Tour,” making this album and this year a turning point in her career.

 

8. Did You Know That There’s A Tunnel Under Ocean Blvd -Lana Del Rey | released March 24, 2023

 

Lana Del Rey’s Did You Know That There’s A Tunnel Under Ocean Blvd delves into the depths of loss, family and romance.  This may be Del Rey’s most emotionally vulnerable album to date with its themes of honesty, self-reflection, grief and love, while still maintaining components of Del Rey’s signature style.  The album’s opening track, “The Grants”, is an emotional recollection of how the memories of loved ones can be carried on even in the afterlife.  Similar concepts are present in tracks like, “Grandfather please stand on the shoulders of my father while he’s deep-sea fishing” and “Kintsugi.”  Other songs such as “Sweet”, “Let The Light In” and “Margaret”  explore the complexities of romance and navigating relationships on a more serious level than the album’s second single, “A&W.”  The maturity and vulnerability of the lyrics make it a meaningful listen.  Subjectively, the only weakness may be the long interludes, “Judah Smith Interlude” and  “Jon Batiste Interlude,” not because they lack purpose or meaning, but they tend to be where the most skips occur.  However, this is a subjective opinion and varies based on personal preference.  All considered, Del Rey has reached new heights with Did You Know That There’s A Tunnel Under Ocean Blvd so it makes sense the album is Grammy nominated for Album Of The Year.

 

7. The Record -boygenius | released March 30, 2023

 

The debut album from girl band boygenius—composed of Phoebe Bridgers, Lucy Dacus and Julien Baker—titled the record is an astonishing demonstration of the three artist’s clever songwriting abilities compiled into an album reflective of their individual work, but enhanced by their collaboration.  A melancholy, indie-rock tone runs in and out of the songs, while the three artists exchange verses and lines throughout the majority of the tracklist.  In songs like, “Emily I’m Sorry,” “Revolution 0,” and “Letter to an Old Poet ” Bridger’s takes the lead in her signature cathartic vocal tone aligned with her devastating lyrics.  However, the majority of the album’s hits like “Cool About It” and “Not Strong Enough” feature the three singers sharing the spotlight as they sing about vulnerable experiences from depression to heartbreak.  All in all the album’s poetic lyrics, mixed with electric guitars and melancholy melodies makes it a worthwhile listen.

 

6. PORTALS -Melanie Martinez | released March 30, 2023

 

When Melanie Martinez announced her much anticipated third album, “PORTALS”, she also introduced a new aesthetic along with it.  The album explores themes of everyday, mundane, experiences mixed with a deeper, spiritual exploration of life, death and the afterlife.  Although PORTALS is a continuation of the narrative Martinez established in her debut album, Crybaby, and further developed in her sophomore album, K-12, we see her take on a new sound, new look and new persona.  Compared to the experimental alternative pop sounds we hear on Martinez’s previous work, PORTALS seems to take this sound and enhance it with a pop rock sound in songs like “VOID” and “EVIL”.  Throughout the album Martinez  consistently uses her lyrics to set boundaries in relationships and deliver messages about life, loss, and death.  In relevance to the storyline Martinez developed throughout this trilogy, PORTALS allows Martinez’s character Crybaby to grow, but not in the way most expect.  Martinex explains that the character has grown and adapted as a soul on a spiritual level, even taking on a new look.  Within the bold lyrics, exciting instrumentals and improved vocals, is an important message about the deeper meaning of life, soul and spirituality, which makes PORTALS an insightful and meaningful listen.

 

5. Midnights (The Til Dawn Edition) -Taylor Swift | released May 26, 2023

 

When singer/songwriter Taylor Swift initially released her tenth studio album Midnights back in October of 2022, it was an immediate hit with upbeat anthems such as “Anti-Hero” and “Bejewelled” and it’s experimental sounds we have yet to hear from Swift, such as, “Maroon” and “Vigilante Shit.”  The same night of the album’s release, Swift treated fans to an expanded version of the album with seven extra songs called Midnights (3am Edition).  However, Swift was not done with the Midnights Era yet, in May of 2023, Swift released Midnights (The Til Dawn Edition) which features all original tracks, the 3am tracks, as well as the previously physical copy exclusive, “Hits Different” and remixes of the albums original tracks including, “Snow On The Beach (feat. More Lana Del Rey)” and “Karma (feat. Ice Spice).”  The reason Midnights is such a monumental project for Swift is the way it touches on, and calls back to, previous eras of her musical career, creating the perfect blend of late night nostalgia and the feeling of something new and unfamiliar.  With Midnights Swift returns to pop after releasing two re-recorded country albums and two alternative indie-folk albums, and she does not disappoint. With its catchy hooks, meaningful lyrics and instrumental freedom, Midnights is a MUST LISTEN.

 

4. The Good Witch -Maisie Peters | released June 23, 2023

From underground bedroom-pop to alternative-pop sensation, Maisie Peters’s The Good Witch delivers break-up anthems and girlhood through her honest, but clever lyrics and catchy hooks.  The album explores themes of heartbreak, friendship and self-discovery all wrapped up in what feels like an early 2000s coming-of-age story.  Peters proves her ability to write complex lyrics and tell a story through her music in songs like “History Of Man” and “The Band And I” as well as her ability to deliver petty, heartbreak anthems through upbeat melodies that hook you in, such as “Body Better” and “Watch”.   The themes of the album do not stray far from a typical girl experience, which is what makes the album so relatable and worthwhile.

 

3.  Truth Killer, Sevendust | July 28, 2023

Sevendust released their fourteenth studio album this past summer.  While Truth Killer is similar to their previous work thematiclaly and sonically, it still finds them growing as a band.  As always the drums immediately distinguish them from their nu-metal counterparts, giving each song it’s signature Sevendust sound.  Truth Killer might just be one of my favourite albums from the group.  The first half is espeically strong.  Starting off slower than usual, “I Might Let The Devil Win” is different from anything we’ve ever heard from Sevendust previously, however, it’s an amazing album opener in the way that it builds suspense throughout the song before the drop at the end.  It flows into the title track “Truth Killer” flawlessly.  From there, each song is a Sevendust banger through and through.

 

2. GUTS -Olivia Rodrigo | released September 8, 2023

 

After the success of her debut album, Sour, released in 2021, Olivia Rodrigo’s highly-anticipated sophomore album, Guts, did not disappoint.  Although it maintains a similar aesthetic and consistent themes with its predecessor, Guts showcases a more mature tone and some musical experimentation.  In songs like “ballad of a homeschooled girl” and “all-american bitch” Rodrigo explores a punk rock style, relative to early 2000s Avril Lavigne.  However, vulnerable moments featured in songs like “the grudge” and “vampire” seem to be reminiscent of Sour’s iconic “driver’s license” and “traitor”.  The overall themes remain consistent with Sour’s deep exploration of heartbreak and teenage angst, however, with an aspect of early adulthood.  Throughout the album, songs like “lacy” demonstrate an improvement in Rodrigo’s already impressive songwriting abilities with poetic lyrics containing figurative devices.  Guts makes it evident that Rodrigo is not simply a “one-hit-wonder” and plans to continue to improve and grow within her craft.

 

1.  Godmode, In This Moment | October 27, 2023

In This Moment released their eighth studio album, Godmode, this fall.  Similar to what they’ve done in the past, the album conceptually flows from start to finish and features another iconic remake/cover; a metal rendition of Bjork’s “Army Of Me”.  Maria Brink’s voice never disappoints and this record is no different.  The way she seamlessly transitions from smooth, powerful singing to the most emotional and metal scream you’ve ever heard is impressive.  Front-to-back Godmode is an enjoyable listen and classic In This Moment album.