Top Albums of 2023
It’s January here at Do You Know What I Love The Most?, and that means it’s time to sum up the last 12 months with Year End Lists! I’ll be devoting the rest of this month to rounding up and discussing the various media released in 2023 that meant the most to me — just like every other website on the internet! Isn’t that special?
I’ve been chomping at the bit for months to work on this Top Albums list, because 2023 has just been an absolutely fucking phenomenal year for music — or, at least, it has been if you like guitar-centric, alternative-adjacent punk/emo/indie/power-pop kind of stuff as much as I do. I sampled 77 new albums/EPs in 2023, as well as 33 singles/one-off releases, and that’s notable not just because of the sheer amount of music I took in, but because of how much of it stuck with me, grew on me over time, or just blew me away outright. And again, that’s just in the very specific genres I’ve devoted so much of my life to — I barely got a chance to sample hardcore, which by all accounts is in the middle of an unprecedented renaissance, much less anything more mainstream. How would I even have the time, when my scene was in the middle of one of its best years in decades?
Seriously, this has been the most difficult Top Albums list I’ve ever had the privilege of compiling, but that only makes it all the more rewarding. What follows are my Top 10 Albums of 2023, as well as my favorite EP. They’re a testament to a year of music I’ll never forget. I hope you can find something here you enjoy even half as much as I do.
11. Sincere Engineer — Cheap Grills
Back in 2021 I proclaimed Sincere Engineer’s “Trust Me” an instant classic that we’ll be blasting at Emo Nites for decades to come, but the same can be said of just about every single song on Cheap Grills. From the moment the record opens to the frantic wails of singer Deanna Belos repeatedly proclaiming “I’m a walking open wound” it’s operating at 110%; every song is distinctive, propulsive, and instantly catchy. Seriously, Sincere Engineer are earworm machines, second to none at writing choruses that grab the listener by the collar of their shirt and refuse to let go. Belos’ lyrics are candid and self-effacing yet also incredibly sincere (oh!); she’s unafraid to bare her soul, whether that means revealing her most tragic, embarrassing flaws or her deepest held desires. She’s also a writer who understands the power of specificity; coats, photographs, apartments, beds, phones, hotel rooms, and even the city of Chicago become talismans on Cheap Grills, used to center Belos’ storytelling and often to embody friendships, relationships, and hopes and dreams, reminders of what her life’s been and where it could yet go. Sincere Engineer have seriously leveled up with Cheap Grills; it’s thrilling to see what they’re capable of, and I can’t wait to see what they do next.
Highlights: “California King,” “Anemia,” “Fireplace”
10. The Dirty Nil — Free Reign To Passions
The Dirty Nil are one of the last true Rock Bands, and Free Reign to Passions embraces this monicker wholeheartedly, dropping the more produced sheen of the Nil’s previous release for sludgier, dirtier, guitar-heavy Rock With A Capital “R.” The riffs are always sick, whether they’re on one of the faster, rollicking tracks or veering more into grungy heavy metal; yet, there’s also a profound and persistent nice streak running through this record, which I suppose is only appropriate for a bunch of Canadians. Passions’ heaviest song, “Celebration,” is also a straight-up love song, and the narrator in lead single “Nicer Guy” seems entirely genuine about his desire to be nicer; even the most nihilistic of lyrics (“money’s fake anyway/Jesus ain’t coming back”) are painted as a reason to be a nicer guy, rather than something pessimistic or destructive. “Blowing Up Things In The Woods” goes out of its way to portray its titular antics as harmless (“It ain’t arson if it’s ours to burn”), painting these acts of destruction as methods of artistic expression and joy; songs like “Stupid Jobs” and “Free Reign to Passions” go on to solidify this record’s theme of embracing your passions, finding a path in life that makes you happy and fulfilled no matter what’s expected of you. These uplifting themes are as delightful as they are unexpected, and help create a record that continually reveals new layers of meaning beneath its coarse and kick-ass exterior.
Highlights: “Blowing Up Things In The Woods,” “Free Reign to Passions,” “Nicer Guy”
9. Spanish Love Songs — No Joy
No Joy is a dark, bleak, unrelenting record. To be honest, on my first few listens I found it overwhelming, and for one brief, uncharitable moment I even unfairly dismissed it as “fetishizing sadness.” That was never true, though; I think that was just my way of trying to process the entirely genuine, unsettlingly unfathomable sadness of No Joy. Yes, No Joy is a record obsessed with death and despair, but it’s a record that has incredible sympathy for those struggling with depression, and an incredible empathy for those who no longer wish to be among us. It clearly finds the minds behind Spanish Love Song grappling with tragedy I couldn’t begin to comprehend, and more than anything, it finds them begging, pleading those they love to stay with them. “You’re not a cautionary tale, so don’t you vanish on me” / “When you’re feeling like a ghost would you come haunt me please?” / “Stay alive out of spite.” In those lyrics I find the same Spanish Love Songs I’ve always loved, a band who examines the darkness in order to find the light, a band who knows that if we’re to survive the horrors of the world, we’ll need to do it together. No Joy, on first listen, was a record that pushed me away, but when I set aside my first impressions and approached it with an open heart, I found a record that instead pulled me in, that offered to protect me from the darkness and help me make sense of the worst the world has to offer. That’s something to marvel at.
Highlights: “Pendulum,” “I’m Gonna Miss Everything,” “Clean Up Crew”
8. Fall Out Boy — So Much (For) Stardust
The first thing I thought when I listened to So Much (For) Stardust was “Oh, finally, this sounds just like old Fall Out Boy!” In retrospect, though, I don’t think this record sounds at all like those first couple of punk and hardcore adjacent Fall Out Boy records I hold so dear; there’s a disco song on Stardust, for Christ’s sake! If anything, Stardust continues the post-reunion trend of FOB following their musical muse in increasingly esoteric directions, only this time around they’re honed in on more classic sounds instead of writing dubstep tracks. Instead, I think what I honed in on was that Stardust makes me feel like those early Fall Out Boy records did when I first listened to them; the exact execution may differ, but So Much (For) Stardust still won me over with grandiose ambition, clever wordplay, earworm hooks, and Patrick Stump’s absolutely stupendous singing voice belting out the words with unrivaled soul and enough force to level a small building. I’d forgotten what a joy Fall Out Boy could be when they’re operating at the top of their game, and So Much (For) Stardust is FOB at the very top of their game. What a time to be alive!
Highlights: “So Good Right Now,” “Fake Out,” “What A Time To Be Alive”
7. Tiger's Jaw / Joyce Manor — Constant Headache / I Saw Water (Split EP)
Back in October I saw an entire room of people collectively lose their minds when Tiger’s Jaw, unexpectedly and unprecedentedly, played a live cover of Joyce Manor’s signature song “Constant Headache.” I spent the rest of the night raving about it on Twitter and to everyone I knew. A few days later Tiger’s Jaw began posting “Constant Headache” lyrics on their social media, while Joyce Manor began posting lyrics to Tiger’s Jaw’s signature song “I Saw Water” on theirs. I crossed my fingers and hoped for a split 7” with covers of both songs, and a few days later, that’s exactly what I got. I love shit like this — my favorite 7” I own is a split where the Wonder Years and Motion City Soundtrack cover and re-interpret each others’ songs — and wish more bands would do it, but still, this split wouldn’t make the list, especially this high, if both songs didn’t absolutely slap. In fact, I daresay both covers may be better than the originals — Joyce Manor brings a sense of scrappy urgency to “Water,” while Tiger’s Jaw brings harmonies and the strengths of both their lead vocalists to “Headache,” and both bands bring over a decade’s worth of extra experience to songs originally written at the outset of their careers, and it shows. I’ve listened to these songs, on repeat, more than just about any other songs this year. They’ve earned their place on this list tenfold.
6. Fireworks — Higher Lonely Power
Fireworks was always perhaps just a bit too sophisticated for the pop-punk genre that birthed them, and Higher Lonely Power — the band’s first record in nine years, somewhat-surprise-dropped on January 1, 2023 — is easily their most complex and nuanced release yet. Higher Lonely Power is a record that explores the bleak emptiness of modern American society, the ways organized religion has preyed on its worshippers and led to epidemics of prejudice and loneliness, and the ways that trying to just survive in America has become so untenable that it’s stripped the act of living of all its joy and dignity. It’s heady and heartbreaking stuff, and it’s songwriting that feels like a natural next step for Fireworks; musically, though, Higher Lonely Power takes a tremendous leap in new directions, essentially abandoning former genres and scenes that never fully appreciated them for new sonic horizons. The record opens with discordant screaming — a statement of purpose that says “we aren’t the same Fireworks anymore” — before settling into something a little shinier, a little more electronic, a little more based in indie rock than one would expect (though it’s still often recognizably Fireworks, especially when it comes to the keys and guitar tone). I have a few quibbles with the production, especially in regards to the vocals, but there’s no denying that these songs sound great, with sharp, vivid melodies and these great big choruses that just soar. Higher Lonely Power wasn’t the record I was expecting from Fireworks, but that’s not at all a bad thing; it remained a vital, top-tier release throughout every single day of 2023, and I don’t see that changing any time soon.
Highlights: “Goodnight Tomb,” “Woods II,” “Veins in David’s Hand”
5. The Menzingers — Some Of It Was True
Some Of It Was True doesn’t sound like your typical Menzingers record. There’s no waitresses, no references to Philadelphia or New Jersey, no jean jackets, minimal nostalgia — yet, somehow, these songs are still immediately recognizable as Menzingers songs. With Some Of It Was True, the band have discarded their typical bag of tricks and distilled their music down to its essence. There’s a melancholy and world-weariness, a sense of heartache and longing, to these tracks that’s as open, plaintive, and heartbreaking as anything the Menzingers have ever written, but they’re delivered in a way that feels fresh and new. “The older I get the less I know/and I knew nothing then” — from title track “Some Of It Was True” — is an instant classic late-Menzingers chorus, a meditation on aging that looks back on a wild youth without the fog of nostalgia, but musically it sounds like nothing I’ve heard from this band before, with bass-heavy, almost jazzy verses and an ending that forgoes a final chorus for something more solemn and understated. “Hope Is A Dangerous Little Thing,” meanwhile, is a scrappy, punky throwback to the band’s earliest, rarely-referenced pre-Impossible Past releases. “Ultraviolet,” True’s standout track, builds an intimate, beautifully-realized picture of a long-term relationship that’s bursting with both love and concern, pristinely mixed and produced and featuring the most emotive, tender vocals of Greg Barnett’s career. I love the Menzingers’ previous releases — they’re some of my favorite records of all time — but Some Of It Was True is a welcome, thrilling change of direction that has opened up a whole new world of possibilities for this band.
Highlights: “Ultraviolet,” “Some Of It Was True,” “Try”
4. Origami Angel — The Brightest Days
The Brightest Days — which Origami Angel classifies as a mixtape, rather than a full album — clocks in at only 8 songs and 22 minutes, but this works to the record’s advantage; it’s not short, it’s concise, cultivating clear and consistent vibes and themes. Musically, this is a summer record through and through, marrying the always eclectic Gami’s typical baseline of pop-punk/easycore riffs with ukulele and surf-rock to create a combination that never fails to put a smile on my face. That’s a good thing, because lyrically, this is a sad record. It’s a collection of songs about broken dreams; written primarily during the Covid lockdowns, The Brightest Days finds Origami Angel grappling with isolation and the loss of their summer (yet rejoicing that the influx of racist tourists that usually floods their hometown every summer are stuck at home as well), longing for the carefree and innocent summers of their youth (while also coming to the realization that those summers weren’t as idealistic as they once thought), and realizing that the world hasn’t felt bright and sunny for a while, but that they’re never going to stop trying to get that feeling back. Yes, there’s a beacon of hope buried even in the saddest of these songs, and it’s what makes The Brightest Days such a compelling and inspirational record. To quote its closing track, “the brightest days are few and far between,” yet The Brightest Days has never failed to brighten my day
Highlights: “Second Best Friend,” “Thank You, New Jersey,” “My PG County Summer”
3. Teenage Halloween — Till You Return
Back in March I saw Teenage Halloween play a few songs from this record live, and it was probably the hardest I danced all year — the wait for Till You Return to release was sheer torture, but more than worth it. This record just plain rips, every song is a banger, no exceptions, no skips. It’s exhilarating! Till You Return finds Teenage Halloween coalescing into a tight, dependable ensemble, as bassist/vocalist Trisha Marshall and guitarist Eli Frank join primary lyricist/vocalist Luk Henderiks in songwriting duties, and their camaraderie shines through in the fun, confident finished product; Till You Return is a better record than their already-fantastic 2020 self-titled debut in every way, and I’m so happy that I get to write those words. Lyrically, Henderiks and Marshall are struggling to find their place in the world as minorities in a scene and a society that rarely makes space for people like them. There’s heartbreaking specificity when Marshall complains about being mistaken for a groupie or a roadie, or when Henderiks explains how the trauma of growing up queer has made it difficult to trust (“It’s hard to find a genuine connection/when nobody offers you protection”), yet they also approach these situations with a sense of humor (“All my life I just felt embarrassed/like when I had to come out to my parents”). The band’s lived experiences bring a richness to these songs that cannot be underestimated. Till You Return is a record that shreds relentlessly, that never slows down, yet also thoughtfully explores delicate topics in incredibly relatable ways, and Teenage Halloween striking that balance so perfectly is no small feat. I’m so blown away by this record.
Highlights: “Armageddon Now,” “Good Time,” “Say It”
2. Magazine Beach — Constant Springtime
It’s been such a pleasure to watch Magazine Beach grow over the last few years, from their earliest, scrappiest EPs to the triumphant release of their first record, Constant Springtime, on Take This to Heart Records. The most important thing Constant Springtime does is take full advantage of both of Magazine Beach’s singers, not just with soaring harmonies and call-and-response vocals, but by expanding Casey Rutter into a lead role, on equal footing with original lead singer Angelo Leitner-Wise. Rutter’s smooth, dreamy vocals create a powerful contrast to Leitner-Wise’s more dry and sardonic voice, opening up a world of possibilities, from the sparse and delicate “Window” and “Why” to bangers like “Totally Cool” or “Summer Hits.” Magazine Beach’s songwriting is just as eclectic and varied. At times, they spin tales of youthful nostalgia and hope, namedropping friends and inside jokes; at other times they explore longing and heartbreak, fears of death and existential dread, grappling with impermanence; sometimes their lyrics come across more poetic and opaque, bursts of pure undiluted emotion left open to interpretation. It all culminates with the nearly ten minute closing track “Grizzly Wintergreen,” a climatic epic that features the record’s catchiest, most sing-along chorus, and which seems to chronicle a complicated, cross-country relationship through its many highs and lows. They opened every live set I saw them play this year with this song! Constant Springtime is an impressive, ambitious debut, and I could not be more proud of these guys. If you haven’t hopped on the Magazine Beach train yet, now’s the time. You’re gonna regret waiting when these guys blow up someday.
Highlights: “Grizzly Wintergreen,” “Totally Cool,” “Summer Hits”
1. Hot Mulligan — Why Would I Watch
Hot Mulligan is a fascinating band, and one I’d venture to guess is misunderstood by most older listeners in the scene. I don’t totally blame them; Hot Mulligan seems to purposely be cultivating a goofy, immature, potentially-offputting persona. They trade silly jokes on stage and release humorous music videos; they choose long, irreverent non-sequiturs for their song titles; they cheekily refer to themselves as “America’s #1 Hot New Band”; they’re beloved by Gen Z, poison to any self-respecting millennial. They can be hard to take seriously if you only glance at the surface. Of course, even at a surface level, Hot Mulligan blows me away. Why Would I Watch is 37 minutes and 24 seconds of pure adrenaline1, propelled by Tades Sanville’s arresting vocals — almost superhuman yowls that can barely contain his raw unfettered emotion — and Ryan Malicsi’s wild guitar solos. Each song stands out here musically in a different way, though the highlight — perhaps my favorite musical moment of 2023 — is the way the first two tracks transition into each other (which even sounded great live!). If I listened to this record and paid no attention to the lyrics, it still would have ranked very high on this list.
But if you take the time to parse out the lyrics, to listen to the stories being told on Why Would I Watch, then you quickly realize that Hot Mulligan are not the carefree kids they pass themselves off as. These songs are some of the bleakest I’ve listened to all year2, finding Hot Mulligan grappling with depression and suicidal ideation, the death of friends, family, and pets, regret and self-hatred. The most devastating tracks, though, are the ones where the narrator dives into his family history: the poverty, neglect, addiction, and mental-health crises that defined his upbringing (“It’s a Family Movie She Hates Her Dad”); watching his ailing grandmother lose her mind to dementia, mistaking the narrator for his dead brother (“Shmaccked My Head Awf”); recounting how his religious upbringing taught him to hate his mind and body, creating lifelong scars (“John ‘The Rock’ Cena, Can You Smell What The Undertaker”). These lyrics are raw, candid, and so emotionally devastating that they’re sometimes legitimately uncomfortable to listen to; I hope Hot Mulligan are getting some sort of catharsis out of this, but I honestly wonder if the whole immature persona is a way to deflect from the heavy subject matter. Regardless, Why Would I Watch is a show-stopping, powerhouse of an album, and my undisputed favorite album of 2023. Damn, maybe Hot Mulligan are America’s #1 Hot New Band.
Highlights: “John ‘The Rock’ Cena, Can You Smell What The Undertaker,” “Shh! Golf Is On,” “Gans Media Retro Games,” “Shmaccked My Head Awf”
Do You Know What I Love the Most’s “Best Of 2023” series:
2023: A Year In Review
Top Albums of 2023
Top Comics of 2023 (Part 1)
Top Comics of 2023 (Part 2)
Top Television of 2023 (Part 1)
Top Television of 2023 (Part 2)
Top Movies of 2023 (Part 1)
Top Movies of 2023 (Part 2)
2023: A Playlist
To read previous “Best Of” entries for 2020-2022, click this link to browse the directory!
ABOUT
“Do You Know What I Love the Most?” is a newsletter from Spencer Irwin about his relationship with the stories he loves. Spencer is an enthusiast and writer from Newark, Delaware, who likes punk rock, comic books, working out, breakfast, and most of all, stories. His previous work appeared on Retcon Punch, One Week One Band, and Crisis on Infinite Chords, and he can be found on Twitter at @ThatSpenceGuy. If you like this newsletter, please subscribe and share with your friends!
With “Betty” as a quick acoustic breather about halfway through
And that’s saying a lot in a year that also gave us No Joy. At least on that record there’s some kind of attempt at finding hope and moving forward, while Hot Mulligan seem to still be processing their past.