2023 – Music in review | Laura's pics & ramblings

MUSIC

Today is my 17th anniversary on last.fm so it’s time I go back through the collected data and reflect on the music that soundtracked my 2023.

For me it was the first vaguely normal year since 2019, in terms of my interactions with the ‘outside world’. It was a complicated year, as they often are, with extended periods of extreme mental stress and physical exhaustion which definitely affected my musical choices. Often I actually chose to watch things (shows and background noise on Youtube) rather than listen to music. The last month or so I made a conscious effort to change that and sought out new music from the best of lists that helpfully were popping up at the time.

I know opinions on these kind of ‘wrapped’ summaries vary but I enjoy them and always check them out when I see them. So here’s a look at my favourite music from 2023.

A L B U M S

I tried to listen to more current music this past year. This had mixed results, as I discovered and latched onto a lot of older stuff too. Still, there were a lot of albums that I really enjoyed and even among my top-played ones it’s tricky to rank them. It’s funny how often I end up using the data as a guide and then rank them emotionally…but that’s what I’m going to do again now.

Overall my favourite album was Caroline Polachek‘s Desire, I want to turn into you. It’s really cohesive and works great for repeated listens while still having some great standout moments. It felt polished and slick but still personal and genuine. Solid songwriting and melodies, with an underlying nostalgic feeling that really resonated with me.

Aesop Rock‘s Integrated Tech Solutions was my top-played album, and I’m only dropping to second because the songs themselves felt a little less stylistically distinctive than those on Desire. A great album though, and one that demanded my attention on every play.

Third place goes to Nokia & Ericsson by my longtime fave Markus Krunegård. Is it his best album? Not at all. But it’s a cosy collection of songs, a safe and pleasant listen with a few really lovely standouts.

Favourite albums:

Others I enjoyed, in no particular order:

Gunship – Unicorn
Yves Tumor – Praise a Lord Who Chews but Which Does Not Consume…
Lucy Kruger & The Lost Boys – Heaving
Fever Ray – Radical Romantics
Genesis Owusu – Stuggler
Bell X1 – Merciful Hour
Mitski – The Land is Inhospitable and so are we
The National – Laugh Track / The First Two Pages of Frankenstein
Familjen – Nerver av Tvål

Albums I missed/overlooked in the past and really enjoyed last year:

Hail Mary Mallon – Beastiary (2014)
Aesop Rock – The Impossible Kid (2016)
Brimheim – Can’t hate myself into a different shape (2022)
Francois Van Coke – Kanniedood (2022)

A R T I S T S

My back-catalogue-diving wasn’t as extensive as it has been in other years, I think mainly because I spent much of the year either not really actively listening to music or avoiding it entirely in favour of watchables. Still, when I first listened to ITS it prompted me to go into an Aesop Rock binge. He’s always been a ‘track’ artist for me…there are some like that; I have a bunch of tracks by them that I love but for some reason, I just don’t investigate them further. But then sometimes I do, and discover the wealth that is their discography.

In the case of Aes it was mainly his collab project Hail Mary Mallon and 2016 solo album The Impossible Kid.

T R A C K S

Favourite track:

Markus Krunegård – Nokia & Ericsson

Others I enjoyed, in no particular order:

Lucy Kruger & The Lost Boys – Heaving
Caroline Polachek – Crude Drawing of an Angel
Käärijä – Cha Cha Cha
The National – Once Upon a Poolside / Dreaming
Boygenius – Not Strong Enough
Lichen Slow – Preset
3TEETH – Higher than Death
Gunship – DooM Dance
dEUS – Faux Bamboo
Retro Dizzy – Manipulator
Fever Ray – Shiver
Bloc Party – Keep it Rolling
Genesis Owusu – Stay Blessed
Aesop Rock – Kyanite Toothpick
The Veils – No Limit of Stars

Tracks I missed in previous years and really enjoyed last year:

Pearly Drops – Call for Help
Hail Mary Mallon – Kiln
Blonde Redhead – Tons Confession
Morphine – So Many Ways
cEvin Key – Anger is an Acid
The Horrors – World Below
Aesop Rock – Kirby

L I V E

I attended my first gig in March, almost exactly 3 years since my last one in 2020. It was a pretty strange experience for many reasons, and it would still take a little time before I started properly shooting again, but that first one stands out as a highlight of the year. It also happened to be Hellcats’ last show for the foreseeable future, and they went out with a bang.

Other highlights included the Texx and the City Band or Bust contest at House of Machines, and the return of the After Dark series at the aquarium. Francois van Coke en Vriende at Grand West, Ramfest in Stellenbosch, and loads of great shows at District throughout the year.

But I think the most unexpected and enjoyable gig of the year has to be The Backstreet Boys at Grandwest. It sticks out for several reasons but mostly because I was there with my extended family, since my cousin has been the BSB sound engineer for the last decade. For more on that I wrote a more detailed piece over here.

M Y W O R K : M U S I C V I D E O S & A L B U M A R T

In August my dad’s project McCully/Mackay released their second album, Garden of the Snake. I might be a bit biased, but I really enjoyed the album, it’s more expansive and cohesive than their debut and has some really great tracks. Plus my mom and I did backing vocals on a few songs, which was a lot of fun.

I also designed the album art – as with the previous covers it’s an oil painting – and put together the music video for the title track, which you can check out over here:

I also did this fun video for Gordon Mackay about the relatable horrors of being stuck in traffic:

E U R O V I S I O N

I’m keeping this section here as Eurovision still fills my heart with joy, however this year was pretty dry. It’s only been like half a year and yet thinking back very little stands out.

Sweden won, and objectively speaking Loreen’s performance was excellent. And her win was historic, as it was Sweden’s 7th (tying them with Ireland for most wins) and her personal second, 11 years after Euphoria. I’ve always hated that song so was dubious about her coming back, but she’s got a respectable catalogue and is a great performer. Plus Tattoo is infinitely better than Euphoria in my opinion. They may be overly slick, but those Swedes have this stuff down to an art.

Still it was runner-up Finland who will forever remain the 2023 standout for me. Like many I was hoping Käärijä would defy the odds and Cha Cha Cha to victory, but sadly he didn’t get enough support from the juries despite being the public vote winner.

Overt politics are not allowed in the competition, still, there were a few entries that made references to war. The high point for me was undoubtedly Croatia‘s veteran art rockers Let 3, and their brilliantly layered Mama ŠČ! Part satirical commentary on dictators and autocracy and part Bohemian Rhapsody, it was a hundred percent Eurovision.