Once again, the sheer quantity of releases this year was an overwhelming one. And once again, we've most definitely missed out on a few gems because we were raving way too hard about the discoveries we made. So, here's the kind of consensus we came up with in terms of albums we just couldn't get enough of in 2023. Now grab your headphones and enjoy.

PARIS TEXAS : mid air : Self-Released
Crossover 2.0? Post-Hop? Hip-Punk? Don’t really know what they’re doing or how they’re doing it, but they are doing it perfectly right!

BEING DEAD : when horses would run : Bayonet Records
The Austin-based band has it all: psych, 60s backbeat, surf-rock, pop, jazz, lots of hippie-shit, and above all, a wicked sense of humor - which seems to be very rare these days.

MANDY, INDIANA : I’ve seen a way : Fire Talk
Innovative, sonically rich and impossible to pin down, “I’ve Seen A Way“ invites the audience to a tense apocalyptic dance like no other.

OVERMONO : good lies : XL Recordings
Everything you admire about contemporary British clubland is served to perfection by the long-overdue debut from the brothers Russell.

CLARK : sus dog : Throttle Records
Clark always was a producer that never failed to surprise - but this time he’s clearly outdone himself. Let’s hope that his voice will be a steady component of his oeuvre from now on.

MODEL/ACTRIZ : dogsbody : True Panther Records
Remember the early 00s, when the indie-kids wanted to rave, and the club crowd discovered how to rock? In 2023, the NYC band delivered a sharp and pitch-perfect upgrade to that exact moment.

ANTHONY NAPLES : orbs : ANS Recordings
Leaving the dancefloor behind for good, the NYC-based producer mixes classic instrumentation with lush synths to stunning effect. If there really is a downtempo revival going on, then this year’s holy grail is titled “Orbs“.

MITSKI : the land is inhospitable and so are we : Dead Oceans
Her voice always was an outstanding one, but now she finally did find the right songs and instrumentation to let it brightly shine.

NABIHAH IQBAL : dreamer : Ninja Tune
Merging synth pop, dancefloor and wave/shoegaze, this ten track album feels as if Iqbal is transferring her life and memories into one of the best (and most diverse) playlists you’d hear all year.

BORN DAYS : my little dark : AudioSport Records
A fascinating and overall personal musical dystopia by Chicago-based Melissa Harris, that cites all the right parts shoegaze, (dark) wave and dream pop are offering.

VOICE ACTOR : fake sleep : Stroom
It’s basically a director’s cut of last year’s 109-song strong debut - a cherry-picked selection of thirteen songs alongside three brand-new tracks, which underlines the genius of this enigmatic bedroom project.

CRIMEWAVE : altercation : Black Acre
If you ever wondered how Tom Jenkinson would sound like if he’d be heavily into shoegaze instead of pushing the boundaries of IDM, this Manchester-based one-man-show delivers all the answers.

THE SERFS : half eaten by dogs : Trouble in Mind Records
Channelling post-punk paranoia through motorik bangers and lots of frenetic energy, Cincinnati’s finest present themselves as their most accessible self’s on album #3.

WEVAL : remember : Technicolour
The music of Amsterdam-based Weval always was a lot more interested in songs than offering an advanced toolkit for clubland - and “Remember“ proves this with grandeur.