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2023! What a year! A bunch of new music from bands I love and some new bands I've not listened to before this year! So quite exciting and what a fun year. But unfortunately for so many of these. My top 5 may be fairly predictable for those who've followed along in past years.
If you hadn't read my previous post from 2022 the link is at the bottom:
The winner was "Elder - Innate Passage"
The criteria:
The albums!
[spotify] senders' Releases 2023 Spotify Playlist
I wanted to shout out both Starcadian's Sunset Blood Special Edition (yes, once again Starcadian fails to make the top 5 but still gets special mention) and Emma Ruth Rundle's Engine of Hell Live at Roadburn.
Engine of Hell Live at Roadburn honestly… I cannot judge if it or the original is the better album? I saw Emma live performing Engine of Hell this year and it was truly haunting and sounded nearly exactly like she does on this album, which itself is nearly identical to original recording. But the live version is more airy, lighter, but heavier (emotionally). It's acoustic. You can feel the presence of the room in the recordings. There is so much space. It's captivating.
Sunset Blood Special Edition isn't just another remaster. Starcadian redid every single song (some to its detriment: He^Rt is a step backwards) into something new but familiar. It feels like they took their songs, updated the VSTs to later versions, fed midi through higher quality instruments, adjusted the mixes, and added or removed some of the orchestration to make the song feel new, and sometimes better. Its much in the way a live album is the same music but its different. It's unique to that point in time, that performance, like Emma above. I am really impressed by it... except for He^Rt — Just release a higher res cut of the music video! And Dark Horse (Starcadian Remix)!
[spotify] senders' Releases 2023 Playlist
Bell Witch is back, this time with a solo release! And its amazing. Simple enough. Seriously, while this is an incredibly long album it just breezes by. Sit in a cozy place, take a deep breath, and just give in.
Well... of course it's The Clandestine Gate! There's simply no other option! I mean it! This whole entire album is a single 1 hour 23 minute and 16 second track!
I don't listen to enough Funeral Doom Metal to know how widespread this trope is — but their iconic Mirror Reaper is the same thing and while it makes it trickier to pick out the movements its seriously amazing.
I can check the liners on the Vinyl LP I have and it breaks it down into… oh wait! It's also just the single track! On Mirror reaper they marked the various movements! But that shows in this album as it seamlessly flows together without any clear or obvious breaks.
Listening to it on Vinyl, where there is a maximum runtime per side, it somehow also manages to not feel too interrupted. And it segments itself nicely each side; ending with what feels like a natural break. Each side feels like its own piece and while unofficial its own movement in the over all performance.
I also really enjoyed it on Vinyl because it once the needle hits the run-out groove you are given a chance to finally breathe. To reflect on what you just listened to. Digitally, the entire track can blend together a bit, so having that forced pause in the listening allows for the music to penetrate even deeper into your soul.
[songwhip] Bell Witch - Future's Shadow Part 1: The Clandestine Gate
KANGA once again kills it. Her previous album was in my Top 5 in 2021 and it won. And every year one of her albums just touches me she also dominates my Spotify Wrapped. This year the first 5 songs off of Under Glass were my top 5 most played songs. (foreshadowing?)
I was lucky enough to see KANGA for this tour where she honestly performed quite a few tracks and I just spent the entire set dancing my brains out. I was able to get a picture with her too! So excited despite the lighting being pretty harsh and my N95 sorta making me hate how I look in it. But gosh! What a night. Heck, my entire October was this album.
This album may go down as one of my favorites of all time. I am still split on the 2021 victory for "You and I Will Never Die" given how good Emma Ruth Rundle's Engine of Hell was. I've listened to Engine of Hell more (well also because of the Live album released this year) than gone back to KANGA's previous album.
But KANGA has been dropping singles for this album since 2022 and it's been a ride. In my Top Albums 2021 (Written in November of 2022) I talk about how Magnolia was released by then and how hype I am for this album. Which came out almost a year from that point!
That said I actually was a bit mixed on a few tracks as they got released. I was posting of fedi quite a bit when Rehab came out and I remember when she posted online a clip of her work-shopping the breakdown to rehab I felt it was a bit clunky. But it grew on me, and in full song context, it works pretty well and I actually really enjoy that track.
Something I find quite amazing with this track are the last few songs. They're a departure from the pure synth, drum machine, vocals of her previous... discography. They have some electric guitar and prominently. Midnight Horses is like a blend between her two styles then for Only Revolutions to just fully depart. Heck, it is more post-rock than dark-pop. But I mean... I'm here for it. If she pulled a guitar out on stage I'd die.
This album was just. I put it on again while typing this review despite knowing it by heart and I got lost in it.
Crashing. Without a doubt. The hi-hat in the chorus beat just sells the entire track. It's a banger track outright. But the drum production here just really gives it the perfection. It elevates the song in a way that I am struggling to really define. It just does it for me. With basically all cymbal work removed for the verses when it hits on the chorus it just... yes!!! ahhh!
[songwhip] KANGA - Under Glass
I discovered Mikaela a while ago on a road trip in upstate New York. I was driving and we were browsing some local stations and through all the church on the radio and pop country iHeart stations was this independent station playing some local artist. The song "Other Lover" played out and captivated me. It was this psychedelic pop song with just a solid fucking groove. The chorus hook is just the biggest ear worm and just… I cannot recommend it enough.
While we were on the drive I had my partner find out who this was because I needed to know more. I immediately followed her on Spotify and added this song to my shared playlist of dope jams.
Come 2023 and she releases a new album! I nearly leaped when I saw it drop! A brand new album! Heck yes.
And Southern Star is a very fun poppy psychedelic country album. It's wonderful. It's a collaborative album with the group "Southern Star". Bringing a folk country feel into these very cozy and intimate songs. Plus it's not every day you get to hear harp so prominently featured in an album. And it rules.
The whole album gives off very "Lucky Brand" hippie high school girl vibes. But like… Let me live my life okay! The entire album is just one of those ones where you press play and it just takes you away. It's such a pleasant vibe; the whole album is so well produced and engineered which aides in its captivating performances.
If you like just cozy country I'd recommend giving this album a listen!
[songwhip] Mikaela Davis - Other Lover
I might just have to go with Cinderella. It's just such a vivid song with a great feel. To be honest the whole album is just so cohesive and just lovely. The ending of Cinderella when it goes into the "solo" the way everything gets a slight dirty boost applied to it and the warbly self oscillation. It's such a good outro and just mmm!
Added for a lil' bonus cause KEXP performances just kick ass!
[youtube] KEXP - Mikaela Davis (Full Performance)
[songwhip] Mikaela Davis - And Southern Star
Much like volume 1 which was in my top 5 back in 2021, this album is a continuation of that. Originally, Howden intended this to be a singular album but decided to split it into two, the details of why have long since been forgotten by me.
But considering its origin this indeed really feels like a continuation. More tracks that all just make your heart feel.
My favorite track has to be the 2nd track "Star Shells". Something about the chorus beat just grabs me and the mood of the overall track just takes me.
This is a pretty dense album with a bunch of tracks providing their own moods and melodies. This track is the one that my heart just latches onto the most.
Slow Pulp managed to once again find a way to put 10 tracks on an album that are all different but cohesive in their sound making it just a stellar album to listen to front to back. It stays fresh the whole way through without a single low point or "eh" song. (Guess I just convinced myself for another Perfect Album write up?)
That said there is still quite a bit of melancholy throughout this album. I've had a hard fucking year so like perhaps I'm just grabbing these notes from all the albums here but I was sad, got a little high, and just took in the album one last time for this review and it just sucked me in. The lead singer, Emily, her voice just really gives off this lingering sadness that speaks to me.
Picking a favorite track here was honestly really freaking hard. Gosh… Gone 2, Cramps, Slugs, MUD, Broadview… they're all slightly different in a way that makes it so hard to decide. It's one of those albums that each song hits different, or stronger, depending on your mood at that moment. I'm currently sad and Broadview just pierces my heart.
Once again I am met with a year where so many of my favorite artists release new music. Having Bell Witch up against KANGA up against Raised By Swans is so unfair. And Slow Pulp has been a big favorite of mine for a few years now. That said seeing a newcomer like Mikaela Davis is a joy and I am so looking forward to her next release.
But its a fairly foregone conclusion on which I am picking for my album of the year.
It's unfair. It's unfair. For KANGA to just release her second best album ever (self titled holding sucha strong place in my heart) just made no one else stand a proper chance.
This year was particularly hard and having an album I can just dance my butt off too was what I really needed, right on time.
This is seriously a top tier album for a top tier artist and I would recommend going to see her if she's in your city and you love dancing.
Despite some complaints from me on fedi. I love writing these and collecting my new albums. I need to figure out a way to shout-out new-old music. Releases from bands I hadn't really given time to, or bands that are new to me with albums from past years. It's fun to recognize that there is new music coming out that I genuinely love. But there are some releases from bands or releases I "discovered" in [current year] that I think deserve their own shout outs.
Maybe this is a tool for a page on my capsule than a playlists. We'll see!
[spotify] senders' Releases 2024 Playlist