2023: possibly one of the most confusing years where no one could agree on anything, including being on the right side of history. Even music, the year didn’t start off strong but it did finally end with an unexpected bang. It’s never expected but then again, it is. The right to opinions has never been reserved for one person, but a collective of individuals and once again, Kane Adams, Nathan Conrad, Eddie Ugarte, Diego Flores, and Daniel Severn compile their thoughts on the year’s best. We take a look back on the best of the best.

Petey – USA 

You may recognize Petey from his one-man comedy act on TikTok. Hilarious as his videos are, his music offers another dimension to his intense personality. His latest album offers a variety of indie rock bangers that range from the incredibly energetic earworm, “I’ll Wait,” to the introspective chronicle of his first time smoking weed on “Home Alone House.” 

Medium Build – Health 

Medium Build’s EP, Health, is a produced studio album that gives us a smoother version of his heart-wrenching ballads. While his lyrics would not seem out of place on a Homeless Gospel Choir record, his vocal approach is soulful and at times is reminiscent of Paul Simon.  

En Attendant Ana – Principia 

This French outfit’s approach to Indie-Rock defines their sound transcending genres and making the kind of gorgeous melodic tunes that make you want to brew coffee or tea and turn your living room into a lounge.  

Damon Locks & Rob Mazurek – New Future City Radio

One thing that always surprises me is Damon Locks’ music, and here with Rob Mazurek (Exploding Star Orchestra), it’s happened once again with New Future City Radio. I’ll admit, I am biased but here the way they combine instrumentation, samples, dissonance, noise, and just about anything else they can piece together, alters the way one listens to music.

AJJ – Disposable Everything 

I have always admired bands who set out to create a new sonic experience with each record that they release. Disposable Everything not only offers a new dimension to AJJ’s catalogue but also brings a solid record to the canon.  

100 Gecs – 10,000 Gecs 

This record is full of explosive and ridiculous energy! 10,000 Gecs is a blaring Hyperpop album that will either give you a headache or put a smile on your face. Imagine if Lincoln Park were nerds in 2040 who lived in outer space.  

Shame – Food For Worms

The English group Shame seems a bit more subdued here on its new album but it just offers a different side of the band. The group doesn’t have to come in fever-pitched all the time, and Food For Worms shows that.

Elisapie – Inuktitut

An incredibly beautiful album of covers sung in Elisapie’s native Inuit dialect. The songs are familiar and absolutely stunning. If this album doesn’t give you goosebumps, heart palpitations, or feelings of any kind you might be dead inside…please see a doctor immediately. 

Hannah Georgas – I’d Be Lying If I Said I Didn’t Care

Bedroom pop never sounded so good. This is one of those albums that is best listened to over a cup of morning coffee or tea and is the equivalent of popping an early morning Xanax. The only difference is you can get shit done after your dose.

AJ Suede x Televangel – Parthian Shots

A sequel to 2022’s Metatron’s Cube, AJ Suede manages to keep it fresh while Televangel’s wobbly production really pushes this album forward into a very interesting listen that continues to ascend with every visit.

Andrew – Don’t Forget Me, Bluest

Andrew’s fourth and latest effort of 2023 sees him continue on a path of creating blue collar raps and poignant relatability while keeping it lighthearted and honest. Definitely up there as one of the hardest working independent artists of 2023, at least it feels that way judging from his constantly consistent output.

Meaty Ogre – Escape from Grenades

Meaty Ogre crafted an insanely fast-paced, onslaught of hip-hop with Escape From Grenades. Meticulous production and a slew of underground artists make this a relentless feat of engineering. You throw this on and there’s no running away from it. It grabs you, sits you down, permeates your brain, and then your head explodes.

Video Dave X Controller 7 – ArticulatedTextiles

ArticulatedTextiles is in a class all of its own. This album is the equivalent to a warm beverage for your ears on a chilly day. There’s no way you can be having a bad time while Video Dave floats across Controller 7’s comforting production. Very reminiscent of early De La Soul, super fun and incredibly dope.

Jonathan Bree – Pre-code Hollywood 

This New Zealand-based singer-songwriter’s latest release is a chamber pop album that draws influences from John Hughes’ film soundtracks with its orchestral tones throughout the songs. His music is known for its pop sensibility and his beautifully deep voice.  

Color Crush – Moments 

Shoegaze anyone? Color Crush fuses emo, shoegaze, and dream pop with wonderfully melodic vocals provided by David and Courtney. This husband-and-wife duo are also members of the satirical metal outfit, Timoratus, and the sludge metal band, Azell. While I sometimes wonder if they will start another band, I am satisfied with Color Crush and look forward to their sophomore full-length.  

Beach Fossils – Bunny 
Beach Fossils serenaded my year with the release of catchy singles featuring subdued vocals and reverb-soaked guitars. The single, “Don’t Fade Away,” grabbed my attention with a guitar hook that felt like Blue Oyster Cult in all of the right ways. Bunny is a solid album and an exciting discovery that got me through many late nights of writing papers.  

Pearly Drops – A Little Disaster 

I have been in love with everything that Pearly Drops has put out thus far. The Finnish pop duo is making the type the backdrop and gentle vocals serenading us, I am simply glad this music exists. 

Pickle Darling – Laundromat  

Laundromat is everything that there is to love about bedroom pop, plus a good mix. The album contains short songs inspired by short stories from the book, News from Nowhere, written by Lydia Davis and William Morris. This is one of the most uniquely satisfying records that I have listened to this year.  

Bickle – Biblickle 

Bickle is a unique artist whose genre lands somewhere in the spectrum of indie pop. With a vocal range that is suited for RnB, Bickle delivers an album that takes its listeners on a fun sonic journey. With a moniker inspired by the film, Taxi Driver, and an album titled Biblickle, I can’t help but wonder if he has seen First Reformed.  

Palehound – Eye on the Bat 

Eye on the Bat opens with “Good Sex,” a narrative about birthday sex that closes with the line, “Bad Sex makes a good joke that everyone can get, but good sex makes a bad joke that’s only funny if you were there.” They coined the genre of Journal Rock, which is an appropriate description because the music rocks and the lyrics are personal and relatable. 

Yeule – Softscars 

Yeule’s latest album, Softscars, is quite an accomplishment as each song represents a different scar. “Time never heals a scar completely, but each scar remains soft.” Softscars fuses glitch pop with 90s-influenced indie-rock. It is a brilliant record with longevity to boot.  

Aesop Rock – Integrated Tech Solutions 

Aesop Rock has nothing to prove at this point in his career, and yet he continues to release phenomenal albums that display his brilliant wordplay. Integrated Tech Solutions is his most approachable album to date as the album opens with a satirical commercial for his fictitious tech company, followed by the lead single, “Mindful Solutionism.” The wordsmith crafts a banger about the drive-thru and a song about the time he met Mr. T.  

Indie tribe – L O W B L O W 

Indie tribe is pure Christian Hip Hop gold. With lines like, “Read a lot of Paul/this ain’t no mall/there ain’t no Blart in this,” one cannot help but to smile. There is a youthful “cool factor” that their predecessors in the genre lacked. L O W B L O W is a fun album, and the hooks stick to your ribs.  

Rove – Poke the Bear

Rove’s sophomore effort includes a who’s who of underground heavy hitters that don’t just use the ballpark to play ball, they grand slam this shit out to far reaches of outer space. A solid outing that sees artists like Sole, Ceschi, Myka 9, 2Mex and many others dance around Rove’s production in a way that lets the two coexist together in the same way a pitcher throws a ball that tests the batter’s capabilities as a hitter. Swing and a hit on damn near every track. 

Dios Negasi – Black Violin

Surprises don’t come often but Dios Negasi brought Black Violin to life with the boom bap and with a wide array of guest appearances from the Reagan Era Records roster. Clever rhyme schemes overlayed with catchy rhythms and melody should make this one a cult classic.

Billy Cobb – Halloween Vlll 

Billy Cobb caught my ear with Zerwee, pt. 2. This album was a tribute to Pinkerton. If I listened to it blindly, I would have thought that Weezer made another great album in the vein of their sophomore album.  Earlier in the year he dropped an album of covers including Taylor Swift’s “You Belong With Me” and an incredibly moving rendition of “When You Were Young” by The Killers. Halloween Vlll offers a backdrop that sounds like a videogame soundtrack while Billy brings playful lyrics that he sings in some lower tones than he uses on his records.  

Open Mike Eagle – Another Triumph of Ghetto Engineering

A continuation/sequel to 2022’s Component System With the Auto-Reverse, OME manages to elevate the craft once again. Hearing Hannibal Buress kick raps is always a treat as well. There’s an artist who goes by Still Rift who keeps popping up across a slew of releases lately as well. He is definitely worth keeping an eye on. In fact, he’s on 3 of the best albums to come out this year, which according to very sophisticated and technologically advanced computer calculations, this is no coincidence.

FACS – Still Life In Decay

Always bottom-heavy is the noisy Chicago outfit FACS. This year’s Still Life In Decay is pretty remarkable as the band always finds a beat to revel in. While one may think the band is repetitive, it never becomes repetitious, creating an enclosure for its own atmosphere.

Buck 65 – Super Dope

There is way too much dope shit coming from Buck 65 over the past 3 years. He’s gotta stop making everybody look bad. From a production standpoint, only one word can describe the beats he’s coming out with: Whoa. Actually, that word just sums up every album he’s put out since Controller 7 brought him out of retirement with the album Billy in 2020. Peep the catalog and admire the technique, it’s absolutely mind-blowing.

Gregory Pepper and His Problems – No Thanks

Pepper has released what we understand is his final release and ends on a high note. Lovely harmonies, wondrous vocals, and cheerful melodies make it understandable as to why Gregory Pepper is a master at his craft.

Blockhead – The AUX

With a roster of underground heavyweights from the likes of Casual, Billy Woods, and Aesop Rock to newer cats like Bruiser Wolf and Brian Ennals, Blockhead creates an atmosphere that weaves through verses like only the finest loom could craft, The AUX sets itself apart from the rest by quite literally, coming from the best. 

sleepingdogs – I’m Fakin’ My Own Death Just to Get Some Rest

Besides having the best album title of the year, this album should go down as your new best friend. It’s right there talking shit with you whilst making you lift your chin up at the same time. Jesse the Tree and Andrew are an incredibly good pairing who pretty much came out of nowhere with the sleeper hit album of the year.

Andre 3000 – Andre 3000 Blows The Flute

When it comes to wind capacity, you gotta hand it to 3 stacks, he’s literally blown everyone away in the whimsical rapper-turned-flutist category. Word is that if you get the wind just right and Andre blowing at the right decibel level you can actually hear every Outkast fan die a little inside.

Spectacular Diagnostics – Raw Lessons

The doctor is in and the diagnostics are looking very good. When it comes to hip-hop, Rucksack Records has had a couple of fingers on the pulse this year and Raw Lessons definitely keeps the blood flowing. A smattering of underground emcees round out this spectacular addition to the hip-hop heavyweights of 2023.

Onry Ozzborn – BlvckBeachboi 

Onry always brings a solid plate of lyricism and aesthetics to the table with each album.  BlvckBeachboi is a refreshing collection of songs where Onry seems to be experimenting with his flow and hitting some sweet spots while doing so. The songs with features on this record are particularly strong. I am just thankful that Onry and Pigeon John found Laura Palmer safe and dropped her off at the diner.  

Morricone Youth – Battleship Potemkin 

Morricone Youth is a band that specializes in creating scores for film. Their latest album is a new score for the 1925 silent film, Battleship Potemkin. This score is intense and not meant for casual background music, but if you are trying to expand the horizons of what you listen to and you love film scores, this album is for you.  

The 50X50’s – Brews 

Fake Four Inc.’s Freecember is something that I look forward to every year and this year was kicked off with a release by one of my favorite discoveries in hip hop, The 50X50’s. The New Haven-based duo consists of Sketch the Cataclysm and Deto 22. Brews is one of those albums that feels like it was meant to bob your head. Both lyricists complement each other while gracing the undeniably dope beats, reminding us that collaboration is a crucial element of hip-hop. 

Tanukichan – Gizmo 

San Francisco-based singer-songwriter, Tanukichan, wrote this album during the pandemic. On Gizmo she channels the in-your-face positivity of 90’s pop like The Cranberries and 311.

OXBOW – Love’s Holiday

This is unmistakable. While Oxbow has gone through changes the past few decades with lengthy stints in between albums, it has created one of the most remarkable albums this year in Love’s Holiday. Rippling with noisy guitars, beautiful melodies, and cacophonic rhythms makes for the perfect release this year. Love’s Holiday is Oxbow’s most realized full-length release.

Codefendants – This is Crime Wave

The brainchild of Fat Mike of Nofx, Ceschi of Ceschi and Sam King of Get Dead, This is Crime Wave is an onslaught of heavy listening mixed with social realizations that can be a hard listen for some people. That’s where the beauty in the Codefendants lies though, the bared teeth honesty that’ll help you realize that you’re not alone in this crazy world. Besides, where else are you gonna hear The DOC get down with the surprise best new band of 2023. 

Kay the Aquanuat x Cee Reality – Before the Dog After Humanity

When the lower classes rise up and finally eat the rich, Before the Dog After Humanity should be playing in the background. A very solid effort from the Rhymethink family members: Cee Reality and Kay the Aquanaut. Revolutionary lyricism and sharp production keep the hits hard and the landings apocalyptic. “If your wallet’s empty then you’re one of us.” 

Drunken Arseholes – Restricted

Is it crass? Yes. Is it logical? Absolutely. Will you feel better after listening to it? 100%. Nova Scotian legends: Moves and Cee!!!!!!!! craft an oddly graceful and well-put-together album full of logical raps, sexual exploits, and a high number of dope beats to keep you thinking for yourself while meandering through only the finest of tasks.  This album is like taking that pill from Limitless. 

Black Thought and El Michels Affair – Glorious Game

Black Thought continues to run through his producercentric albums as the Roots emcee blazes over the always methodical production of El Michels Affair. It’s a real treat to see Black Thought branch out and it’s incredibly exciting to wonder what producer he’s going to work with next…

Rid Of Me – Access To The Lonely

If there is anything that anyone needs to listen to is Access To The Lonely, the sophomore release by Rid Of Me that by far surpasses anything and everything the band has done up to this point. The shifting dynamics from song to song is evident while at the same time unnoticeable. The album flows freely and takes on a life of its own. If Rid Of Me were an animal, its predatory nature would make it the alpha of the jungle.

Spoken Nerd – Magical Powers

It’s the return of the homie Spoken Nerd with his latest full-length release, Magical Powers. From album to album we’ve witnessed the growth of Nerd as an artist Magical Powers is filled with bangers, tracks that are tongue-in-cheek offset with humor, with lyrics that force listeners to sit up and take notice. ‘Impressive’ is the word that comes to mind.

The Kills – God Games

7 years since the release of the cross-Atlantic outfit The Kills has released an album but as usual, vocalist Alison “VV” Mosshart and Jamie “Hotel” Hince, simply outdo themselves. It’s difficult to believe that God Games is only the band’s sixth album, but the group’s presence throughout the years is unmistakenbly powerful.

JD Pinkus & Tall Trees – Ponder Machine

Is the banjo even a real instrument? Hush your mouth! Damn straight it is. JD Pinkus (Butthole Surfers, Daddy Longhead) has release a collaborative effor with Tall Trees entitled, Ponder Machine. Just two guys and their guitars. It follows up Pinkus’ 2021 solo release Fungus Shui, which is also bound to have you look and listen to music much differently.

LUCI

While technically she hasn’t released a new album this year, we can’t ignore the singles New York’s LUCI has released. 2022 saw the release of Juvenelia, an EP that showcased a musicality and uniqueness that we’ve never heard before. With these three singles this year it becomes evident she’s not a one-hit wonder. LUCI should be here for the long haul and we should all be grateful.

Factor Chandelier – Moving Like A Planet

We all know Chandelier creates a universe all his own and this year, Moving Like A Planet adds to it. Complete in technicolor, instrumentals capture vivid scenes while guests like Ceschi, Eligh, AJ Suede and others, mine new territory on those planets.

CZARFACE – CZARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE

Esoteric. 7L. Inspectah Deck. Is there much more to say about these three individuals that form CZARFACE? Of course there is. CZARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE is the twelfth album by the group and its first release on a major label. Still present is that East Coast swag, dirty rhythms and melodic interplay throughout the release. Guests include Nems, Kool Keith, Logic, and more. They’re back and they’re not leaving any time soon.

Califone – villagers

I can’t ignore mentioning Red Red Meat but that’s in the past, with singer/musician Tim Rutilli moving on and already establishing Califone, what began as a solo project, with sixteen full length releases. The latest, villagers, shows his penchant for classic indie, intuitive melodies, and beautifully unexpected harmonies.

Will Johnson – No Ordinary Crown

Former Centro-matic guitarist/vocalist Will Johnson outdoes himself with No Ordinary Crown, his eleventh album. The Texas musician can weave melodies together like no other, accentuating them with crunchy guitars and delectable melodies.

J Hacha De Zola – Without A Tribe

Solo artist J Hacha De Zola returns, following up last year’s astounding East Of Eden with Without A Tribe, which takes things in the same direction, while edging off-road trails to get to that destination. The album is full of soulful melodies, and wondrous harmonies, eschewing the urban junkyard for something much more classic.

Killer Mike – Michael

This is Killer Mike’s first solo album in over a decade and this time around, while the edges may have softened, his message is still strong. On MICHAEL we can hear him get more personal and introspective. Guests include CeeLo Green, Jagged Edge, Ty Dolla $ign, El-P, and many more.

J. Robbins – Three Masks

Yes, championing J. Robbins (Jawbox) is always going to be a thing because the music he releases is always poignantly delivered. With Three Masks, he interprets 3 songs written by Einstürzende Neubauten, Velvet Monkeys, and Government Issue, his old band. classic songs performed by a musical genius.

Quasi – Breaking The Balls Of History

Indie rock gods Quasi has always created beautiful catastrophes that would sound as if they would fall apart but instead explode like a thousand burning stars. That’s what the band does with Breaking The Balls Of History, which will expand your horizon and tickle your senses.

Tropical Fuck Storm – Goody Goody Gumdrops

Australia’s Tropical Fuck Storm refrains from traveling on a road made popular by most, instead intent on creating pop songs that are left of left, or right of center. They’re pop songs nonetheless on Goody Goody Gumdrops but steeped within experimental interplay, journeying into outerspace. No, there’s no one else like Tropical Fuck Storm.

The 1984 Draft – Best Friends Forever

With The 1984 Draft’s Best Friends Forever, the band takes a much more direct approach here but continues to embody what made its debut so intriguingly enticing; crunchy guitars, heartfelt vocals, and driving rhythms.

Fucked Up – One Day

Still rocking with enthusiasm and sheer power, the punk aesthetic is in full effect on Fucked Up’s One Day, the band’s sixth long-player. The melody is offset with howled vocals and everything we’ve come to love from Fucked Up.

The Young Hearts – Somewhere Through The Night

This is probably the greatest band you’ve never heard of! The U.K.’s The Young Hearts dropped an album of punk-pop fury, its sophomore release, Somewhere Through The Night. Don’t let them go unnoticed and ignored. Listen to ’em, love ’em.

Screaming Females – Desire Pathway

Sad news came this year as Desire Pathway has become the final opus for Screaming Females. The band had a great run, proving itself and leaving on a high note with Desire Pathway, its 8th album in its 18 year existence.

Y La Bamba – Lucha

Luz Elena Mendoza has embodied Y La Bamba for the past 15 years and her songs are delicate, alluring, and seductive. With Lucha, the majority of songs are sung in Spanish per usual and the Latin experience is beautifully delivered. “Dibuos De Mi Alma” is a standout.

Buffalo Nichols – The Fatalist

Yes, Buffalo Nichols evokes the ghosts of the original soulful/Rhythm & Blues musician with the evocative The Fatalist. His guitar, gruff vocal delivery, and gorgeous compositions throughout The Fatalist is haunting and beautiful.

Sufjan Stevens – Javelin

Let’s begin by stating the obvious, there is no other artist like Sufjan Stevens whose majestic compositions are always delicate, no matter how stormy they might seem. On Javelin, it’s no different, although he’s probably offered up his most realized work to date.

Yo La Tengo – This Stupid World

It’s true that Yo La Tengo has always steered its music within repetition, but it has never become repetitious. In its 37-year existence, the trio has always challenged itself, never complying with commercial popularity. On This Stupid World, Yo La Tengo continues to work its magic and challenge listeners as well.

Kill Normal – S/T

The NYC/Austin band, featuring former members of Barkmarket and Miracle Room aren’t here to change the world but are definitely here to toss a monkey wrench into the machine, with powerful rhythms fueled by angular guitars and catchy vocals.

Lydia Loveless – Nothing’s Gonna Stand In My Way Again

The country-esque chanteuse Lydia Love returns with another slab of delectable music with Nothing’s Gonna Stand In My Way Again. Her punk and pop roots are fully intact here as she smothers her songs with song structures as only she’s able to.

Slow Pulp – Yard

The sweet pop sensation of Slow Pulp is one group I was slow to come around to. I didn’t give them a chance but then I heard Yard, an intensely alluring album that builds on melodies that inevitably get stuck in your head.

Blonde Redhead – Sit Down For Dinner

What can be said regarding Blonde Redhead that hasn’t been said before? Sit Down For Dinner is a beautiful album with sweet vocal deliveries and inventive song structures utilizing your standard instrumentation but always finding a way to do something different.

Shabazz Palaces – Robed In Rareness

Ishmael Butler a.k.a. Palaceer Lazaro leads Shabazz Palaces, and what Shabazz does is create space-aged Hip-Hop that has no equal. Throughout Robed In Rareness, he partners with a variety of artists to expand on that otherworldly sound.

tittygraveyard – an album by…

Roots may be in Arizona but musically, tittygraveyard has no comparison. Electronic beats mixed with analog instruments, an album by tittygraveyard isn’t very melodic but what it lacks in melody it gains in originality and creativity.

Raw Poetic – Away Back In

This time around for Away Back In, Raw Poetic takes a more subdued approach. No longer a one-man project, Raw Poetic isn’t just Jason Moore dropping that heady lyricism but also guitarist Patrick Fritz whose notes and chords are obvious from track to track.

G’s Us – What Them Dogs Don’t Know They Know

Too Soon? No. While both R.A.P. Ferriera and AJ Suede have released solo material this year, they’ve closed it out with their new project G’s Us. Thick, chunky beats, expressive lyricism with a direct connection to souls.

Sparklehorse – Bird Machine

While this isn’t new material, it is the first time it’s seeing the light of day. Bird Machine is the posthumous release by Sparklehorse, the nom de plum of the late Mark Linkous. A genius in his own right, this album expressively shows why, adding to the catalog, the beauty of his music.

Deerhoof – Miracle-Level

A Japanese-language album only, Miracle-Level never stops to deliver inventive rhythms, stop/start fanaticism, and clear melodies through its instrumentation and vocal deliveries.

XIU XIU – Ignore Grief

Steeped in experimentalism, Xiu Xiu has always boggled minds & senses, creating a world – or rather universe- that knows no equal. With Ignore Grief, it continues to alter the reality that we all live in.

Eyelids – A Colossal Waste Of Light

Portland, Oregon’s The Eyelids – John Moen, Chris Slusarenko, Jonathan Drews, Victor Krummenacher & Paulie Pulvirenti – feature current and former members of GBV and The Jicks and it’s hard to deny the band its just due with its jangle-pop and occasional rock-hard edges.

M.A.G.S. – Destroyer

Don’t sleep on the power-pop M.A.G.S. delivers from album to album. His sweet voice offers honey-soaked melodies wrapped around over-driven guitars throughout Destroyer and no one can deny the beauty created.

Lung/Conan Neutron & the Secret Friends – Adult Prom

We get two groups for the price of one, mixing their skills together for something quite inventive. Loud deranged tones are offset with crazed rhythms and at other moments we’ll have aggressive pop driven punk but it’s all piece together perfectly.

SMUG BROTHERS – In The Book Of Bad Ideas

Tempered with indie jangly pop songs, In The Book Of Bad Ideas shows why the Columbus/Dayton band has been around for so long. Throughout In The Book Of Bad Ideas, the band utilizes the colorful palettes of sound they’ve become comfortable with, splattering it all on blank canvases.

Noname – Sundial

noname spits unabashed truths and brutal honesty on her third outing. She’s not beating around the bush on Sundial, she’s clearing the forest and coming straight at you. 

Bully – Lucky For You

Debut album aside, Bully delivers everything we might want, and on Lucky For You she delivers those driving rhythms with walls of guitar and the occasional cooing background vocals. We can all use a Bully like this in our lives.

LilYamaGucci – Bad Science

best listened to around Halloween yet dope on any occasion, Yamagucci weaves science fiction samples with a slew of guests over thick drippy production to lace tales perfect for those late night evenings. 

Soul Assassins 3: Death Valley

Once again DJ Muggs (Cypress Hill) shares another delicate and soulful version of himself with Death Valley, featuring an assortment of artists like Ghostface Killah, Scarface, Slick Rick, Roc Marciano, Westside Gunn, CeeLo Green, Method Mann, Freddie Gibbs, and many others. All together these artists elevate Soul Assassins 3 to another level.

DJ Shadow – Action Adventure 

Following up, Our Pathetic Age, DJ Shadow takes things to a new place with high-energy instrumental tracks. While DJ Shadow will always be known in the hip-hop genre, this album would fit among artists like Chromatics and Desire. I do not think they will ever make a sequel to Drive but….   

Soccer Mommy – Karaoke Night 

While everything that Soccer Mommy releases is quality, she has reached a whole new level with her cover of Sheryl Crow’s “Soak up the sun.” There are songs that are so good that anyone can cover them and make you feel something. Soccer Mommy took a different approach making one of the most annoying songs of the 90’s sound awesome! This covers EP slaps.  

LUNAR. – ARCOBALENO 

Lunar. is one of the most underrated artists in the Nashville hip-hop scene. As a producer and rapper, he is the full package. ARCOBALENO is one of nine full-length albums that he released in 2023. One cannot help but wonder where he finds the time to dig for samples to make these bangers.  

Negro Justice & Just Vibes – Art of the Craft 

Following up the 2022 release, Chosen Family, Negro Justice has teamed up with Just Vibes for another chapter in their canon. Art of the Craft wastes no time as it gets right to business with solid lyricism and  Boom Bap beats. One of the best moments on the album is their ode to Waffle House, “All Star Special.”  

The Alchemist – Flying High, Part 2 

Although The Alchemist is known for his production, his rapping is on par with the rappers he produces.  On Flying High, Part 2, he introduces the EP rapping over a sample-based beat that would fit well on a DOOM record. The EP contains features from Conway the Machine, Action Bronson, Gangrene, and Currency.