Best albums of 2023

Here are my favourite albums from 2023 so far. I’ll update this post if we get some end-of-year gold.

• Fountain Baby by Amaarae is tremendously fun, my most played album of the year.
• Desire, I Want to Turn Into You by Caroline Polachek brings us Y2K nostalgia from a different angle to everyone else currently chasing this trend. Arcane song writing and big vocals.
• Requiem for Jazz by Angel Bat Dawid is incredibly original and powerful jazz music, featuring some sounds you’ve probably not heard in jazz before.
• Brand New Life by Brandee Younger, another great jazz record of the year.
• Hit Parade by Róisín Murphy is the fun but low-key pop album I’ve been waiting for.
• Playing Robots Into Heaven by James Blake, where Blake embraces a more energetic production style than other recent projects.
• This Is Why by Paramore. A nice follow-up to (though not quite as good as) Williams’ solo music.
• 绿帽 Green Hat by Tzusing, a fantastic entry of hard-hitting techno into a genre that honestly peaked a few years ago.
• Praise A Lord… by Yves Tumor, which has an excessively long title. Perhaps discounted by how phenomenal their last project was, but still a great standalone.
• Throwblock Music II by B-Legit — great throwback West-coast hip hop beats, masterfully modernised.