let's share cool music

my top pick:

- trevor dunn's trio-convulsant & folie à quatre - séances (jazz)

honorable mentions:

- ben monder - hydra (jazz, allegedly)
- tongue depressor & weston olencki - don't tell no tales upon us (drone)
- farmers market - speed / balkan / boogie (folk-ish)

oh now this is a good thread. am all ears, love combing through new stuff like this and was already in the process of refilling my queue of music to hear

probably my biggest highlight was both Jane Remover albums, Frailty and Census Designated; the former i heard at the beginning of 2023 and the latter came out recently. basically completely different styles too (digicore and shoegaze) but she nails both admirably, really inspiring writing

another really crazy one for me was Takeshi Nakatsuka - Parade, a delectable blend of glitchpop with big band jazz

honorable mentions:
Kenny Werner - Peace: Live at the Blue Note (jazz)
Million Sunday - Deeper Water / Fathers Keeper (wonky trip-hop)
quarkimo - Ranch 97 EP (texture focused digital fusion)

I really enjoyed Morningside by Faded Paper Figures earlier this year.

Also on the mainstream side, loved the Foo Fighters’ But Here We Are album they put out. I loved a few songs especially Show Me How where Dave Grohl sings duet with his daughter.

I discovered I Monster this summer with their album Nerveroddoreven, it's trip hop/downtempo . I loved this album but if I have to pick a single one as my favorite for 2023, I would choose A Dense Swarm of Ancient Stars (from I Monster too)!

Another great finding was A Little Night Music from Jonathan Bree, it's quite different compared to I Monster, I wouldn't be able to put a label on it.

My father make me listen some blues songs during Christmas, I didn't listen to the whole album yet but 461 Ocean Boulevard of Eric Clapton has some really good stuff. I think I'll listen more blues in 2024.

My favorite album of the year was Loraine James's Gentle Confrontation

. It's super well-produced glitchy atmospheric IDM, but it's also got an intimate personal vibe which I find pretty rare in that kind of music.

Some other favorites:

Genevieve Artadi's Forever Forever

-- pop songs with really strange chord progressions and killer jazz solos

12 Rods' If We Stayed Alive

-- super catchy, interesting, and dreamy indie rock songwriting

Steve Lehman & Orchestre National de Jazz's Ex Machina

-- ambitious big-band album with a subtle dose of microtonality for some striking overtone effects

Dario Zenker's Reflection

-- crisp breakbeats juxtaposed against gorgeous ambient backgrounds

My favorite album of the year was "Play" by Moby, "Debut" by Björk, "Licensed to Ill" by Beasties Boys, "Fat Of the Land" by Prodigy, "Madvillainy" by MFDoom and Madlib, "More Than Alot" by Chase & Status

These will be my favorite albums of all time, because i love them

I don't have my favorite albums released in 2023

Last February I discovered Plantasia by Mort Garson and bought a CD to listen to it almost everytime I drove to school. Also discovered Mint Jams by Casiopea and listened to that on repeat as well.

Hawaii Part II by Miracle Musical is probably one of the coolest albums I listened to last year. I love the combinations of so many genres and stuff :)).
I also started listening to Weezer, from them I actually don't have a favourite album so i'll say SZNZ Autumn... for the moment.
If you ask me about Lemon Demon i'll just say Damn Skippy it's a banger.

Favorite old discoveries from last year:

(1970) Bo Hansson - Lord of the Rings
(1973) John Martyn - Solid Air
(1987) Jane Siberry - The Walking

(1994) Milla Jovovich - The Divine Comedy
(2005) Rei Harakami - lust

(Roland Sound Canvas magic)
(2006) Clogs - Lantern

(2006) LAKE - First Album

Favorites from last year (not a lot, I'm not up to date on new music):

* Amaarae - Fountain Baby

* Caroline Polachek - Desire, I Want to Turn Into You

* Clarissa Connelly - The Voyager

* Nondi_ - Flood City Trax

* Seaming To - Dust Gatherers

* Sigur Ros - Átta

Can't think of any favorite album discoveries from last year. But the entire soundtrack from Sylvan Tale

is 100% my thing. Best game music discovery in a very very long time.

according to last.fm, my most played new album is "over the edge" by wipers (post punk or something)

I've been hung up on The Silence in Between by Bob Moses. Especially "Time and Time Again" - I don't know what kind of club plays that music but it's basically then only club I'm interested in going out to at this point.

For me, it would be these two:
Yet Another Day by Megus - while I was wholesale-y intrigued by its album cover, what this musician does bring to the table is nothing short of emblematic of a typical day, whether inside or outside the home, or workplace, or school/university;
Voice Magnetic by HAINBACH - yes, I'm a sucker when it comes to ambient-styled albums like this, and although it might not be everyone's cup of coffee or tea, each of its tracks somehow blend nostalgia and unease quite well with his manipulation of recorded tape loops, as well as a careful sprinkling of effects and dynamics to deliver the vibe it aims to achieve.

another one i remembered to post - i found out emo chiptune exists and it is everything i ever wanted:

exciting!!excellent!! - you will watch me die

(linked one of my favs on the album but it's a playlist)

if i had anything even remotely resembling the vocal tone of an emo vocalist i would loooove to make something like this - the chip backing is like exactly what i'd love to hear more of and would gleefully bring into this world... love hearing other styles approached in this field

resurrecting - sorry, but i'm a digger. not that competent perhaps, but enthusiastic for sure ;)
to pick just three each category and not bore you too much:

[2023 LPs]

Sen Morimoto - Diagnosis (for Knower and Beck fans, album of the decade so far to me)
https://morimotosen.bandcamp.com/album/diagnosis

Meshell Ndegeocello - Omnichord Real Book (best new jazzy neo-soul you can get; mind, there's a lot of it)
https://open.spotify.com/album/6m9xpYmSjwsV83YJ1TmJXA

Oneohtrix Point Never - Again (glitchtronica with renaissance influences? i know how crazy it sounds but...)
https://oneohtrixpointnever.bandcamp.com/album/again

[DEEPER IN HISTORY]

Beto Guedes - Amor De Índio (1978, impossible richness of composition, arrangement and sound, even for a Brazilian)
https://open.spotify.com/album/7sMdgODXEAGvPq490JbN1a

Cardiacs - Sing to God (1996, how could i miss this? take the quirkiest album you've heard and multiply it several times)
https://alphabet-business-concern.bandcamp.com/album/sing-to-god-vol-i-ii

Adrian Knight - Vacation Man (2018, "Steely Dan meets Robert Wyatt" but it happens in the 80s)
https://adrian-knight.bandcamp.com/album/vacation-man

[A PLAYLIST TO BROWSE]

https://open.spotify.com/playlist/1N3OKliuQO6WEwQdZ0wT6m?si=8638fd2c78bc4a4f
the guy who maintains this huge source of awesome of all genres is a musician himself, leads an amazing band called Soyuz

'ts all folks, running away to check what's recommended above (Jane Remover? Steve Lehman? your descriptions already sound delicious) :)

animal collective - hollinndagain

anco's first live album. not sure why i never gave this one a fair shake before - maybe i dismissed it long ago after bouncing off the opening track which treats you to 3 minutes of churning, processed noise before you hear a single note. that was my loss, but i've seen the light now.

or rather, i should really say, i've seen the dark. the sonic tone and lyrical content are much heavier than anco's more popular material - i wouldn't recommend it if you're in an impressionable state psychologically. the first 3 tracks comprise a single 25-minute performance, throwing you into a bad trip and holding you down in it for the duration. it opens melancholic with an undercurrent of dread in i see you pan as avey tare recounts hallucinating a malevolent spirit looming over him as he drifts in and out of consciousness - then they start gradually ramping up the tension and just don't stop until forest gospel lets it all burst out in the most explosive climactic moment i have ever experienced on any album, live or studio, period. thom jurek of allmusic called it a 'percussion orgy' (don't just skip ahead to it though - you've got to earn it).

i listened to this album a lot while working at a job i hated during the second half of 2023. the work was relentless; i was constantly chasing a rolling deadline while putting out new fires every day. i was not in a good way, but maybe my harrowed mental state is what made this album finally click and stick with me. after an intense day i would drop myself down on the sofa, put on hollinndagain, and just start helplessly spasming until i'd shaken the stress right out of my body. if you're at a similar point in your life you might find some comfort in the darkness, too.

anyway - this was supposed to be a short reply with a recommendation and brief comment but when i started writing all this nonsense just started pouring out, so i hope you enjoyed my impromptu blog post.

I love this thread y'all gotta do this more often. Also I can't help but add the album I mention every time I get the chance lol:

Unknown Mortal Orchestra's V

was constantly in my rotation after it released last year. Chill and enjoyable clear through; it feels like the kind of music that you can't help but make memories to (esp the opener).

Also Maggot Brain by Funkadelic. Finally listened to it all last year and can't believe I didn't before. An album that I'm surprised isn't talked about more

Huh. Now that I think about it I am not sure I bought any new albums this last year. I've been listening to a lot of music still, especially going over the BotB backlogs, but I haven't been going out to purchase albums. This may or may not be partly because my preferred way to purchase albums is on physical CDs and it seems the format is in the last moments of it's life.

I did buy a new copy of the SaGa Frontier II piano album, but that was because I was going to see Masashi Hamauzu in person and wanted it signed; I already had a digital version before; aside from a quick archival the disc is otherwise unused.

I've also kinda sorta been avoiding some of my favorite artists. I have generally been craving a lot more variety. I love King Gizzard but I could practically go broke just buying their new releases with how prolific they are.

POP-AID by TEMPLIME and Hoshimiya Toto is a top tier J-Pop/electronic album. Tarinai goes wild with the chords—if you listen to any one song first i’d recommend it be that one

https://m.youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_kgPD_l3jqlGYg7Xpn6T8mt6qy8RgUWKws

stil by Taylor Deupree is good album for dissolving into bed or bathtub or chair or floor

seconding DEEPER WATER​/​FATHERS KEEPER by MILLION SUNDAY

2023 was the year I got into a lot more 90s-era stuff. Of the albums I listened to for the first time last year I recommend the following:

Synkronized by Jamiroquai
A great acid jazz album! I heard the first song on that album, "Canned Heat", at a wedding reception in April of last year and, quite literally, bought the album on CD via ebay while I was still there; it had that much of an impact on me.

1, 000 Fires by Traci Lords
Great dance album. A shame this is the only album she's done, but Traci is mainly an actor, so I suppose that makes sense. And uh, let's just say her history is a bit more... colorful than just movie acting... Lots of KORG 01/W on this album. (CW: Track 9 describes some SA stuff she went through so if you're averse to that I recommend skipping that track.) Favorite song is a tie between "Outlaw Lover" and "Control".

Past, Present & Future by The Rah Band
The only 80s album on this list, Rah Band is a new favorite artist of mine. This the album of theirs I recommend the most. It's a motley mix of genres, and I can only really classify it as "distinctly 80s." Favorite song was "Clouds Across The Moon".

World Clique by Deee-Lite
Speaking of "distinctly 80s", here's "distinctly 90s!" Probably some of the coolest sampling in a House album I've heard. "Groove Is In The Heart" is probably my favorite song on there. I love the positive vibe of it all!

My favorite album discovery of 2023 has to be When Horses Would Run

by Being Dead. I stumbled upon it randomly on YouTube last summer and it sent me down a rabbit hole of weirdo rock music that I will probably never escape. It's like a very fun blend of garage rock, folk, punk, jazz, and a bit of evil Christian rock, and the band has a really fun sense of humor, while also sounding very genuine.

They also have a side project named Zero Percent APR, where they made a medieval concept album

and a Halloween album

, and that's honestly like my favorite shit ever!