2023 Top 40 Albums: #31-40
Forty albums is quite a lot to get to. With the blurbs and the formatting and the selecting a song from each to highlight or make accessible…
But it’s worth it to imagine the smiles on your faces.
Let’s jump into this year’s Top 40 albums! Starting, today, with the bottom ten:
40: Skálmöld - Ýdalir
(Viking Metal | Folk Metal)
Ýdalir tells an original Norse myth, premising an attack on the titular realm of Ýdalir by the dragon (or serpent) Níðhöggr, who is described in Norse mythology as nibbling on the roots of Yggdrasil. The album is performed in Icelandic, but full translations are available at lyricstranslate.com courtesy of one David Winlo who, as far as I can tell, did an exceptional job, footnotes and all, on the translation. (Use the search bar on the page to limit the results to songs from Ýdalir.)
This album kept surprising me. Every time I listened to it, it was better than I remembered. The music is rich and engrossing, and the story, while somewhat basic at points, feels like it perfectly emulates the manner in which mythological storytelling typically operates, and that was the point. Also, Ratotoskr gets a song, so what’s not to love!
39: Cody Fry - The End
(Orchestral Pop)
After the viral hit that was “Underground” took off, Cody Fry repositioned himself. Now, with The End, Fry finds himself on the leading edge of a new wave of Orchestral Pop. The album is filled with a brilliant blend of poppy vocals and deep orchestration. It’s deeply emotional with incredible highs and lows. The only real flaw with this album is that even with a bonus cover song tacked onto the end, it feels too damned short. I NEED MORE. So, say what you will about artists who ‘lack originality’ or ‘follow hype-trains’ – I sincerely hope that others hop on this bandwagon. It’s a niche which should be more thoroughly explored. I’m already excited for Fry’s next album.
38: Ice Giant - Ghost of Humanity
(Progressive Metal | Melodic Death Metal)
Death Metal is something I had tried many times. Including the bands which style themselves as “Melodic” Death, but only convinced me they had no clue what a melody was. Ice Giant is the first to actually win me over. Not only are there melodies on this album, but they’re good! AND there’s an epic story; AND there’s sociopolitical commentary; AND serious virtuosity! And, I mean, yeah, harsh vocals, but they’re not totally overdone, and there are clean vox to balance them. I mean, you can say ‘this is only album #38 of the Top 40’, but I don’t think you fully understand how good a Death Metal album has to be for me to rate it high enough to even make the honorable mentions, let alone make the list – in any capacity. Ice Giant is legit. And if, in five or ten years’ time, I legitimately like Death Metal, more generally, it’ll be because of this album.
37: Melanie Martinez - Portals
(Pop)
Melanie Martinez is the reigning queen of wild metaphors in Pop concept albums. Given that concept albums in Pop are rare, she didn’t have much competition. This album is full of metaphors of all sizes – some stretch the whole album, others are contained within songs or verses. And, as the title indicates, the album transports you to an entirely different world where Pop has entirely different rules. It’s fun, it’s dark, and it is, frequently, very dirty. But the artistry on display is incredible, from composition to vocals to lyricism. This album is very much exactly what I was hoping for from Martinez.
36: Paramore - This is Why
(Post-Punk | Pop Punk | Art Punk | Alternative Rock)
With their 20th anniversary happening this coming year, Paramore is an act that really has achieved legendary status. This is Why is only their sixth studio album, but it solidly reinforces their reputation for producing consistently excellent bops, frequently with sociopolitical commentary woven elegantly throughout (and sometimes, like with “The News”, below, it’s just point-blank) — I mean, can you even be considered punk-adjacent without having something to say?
I also have to address, briefly, the scare that they gave us this last month: Paramore isn’t done, but their deal with Atlantic is. And they slashed and burned several bridges in a quite-sudden declaration of freedom. Now there are rumors that they’ll re-record their old discography; Hayley Williams is friends with Taylor Swift, after all. We’ll have to wait to hear their plans in detail later.
For right now, you should know that This is Why is an incredibly good album; it’s biggest flaw, if you can call it that, is that it comes in at a measly 36 minutes of playtime and leaves you wanting more.
35: Jamila Woods - Water Made Us
(Rhythm & Blues | Neo-Soul)
Jamila Woods is a poet, first and foremost. But she’s a poet with a gorgeous voice and an incredible ear. Her lyricism and metaphors are strong draws for this album, as it wends and winds its way through a relationship, delving into the trials and triumphs and painting a sincere image of how much serious work relationships require — and then languishing on the fact that, even if you do all of that work and do everything right… it could all still fail.
And that’s okay.
Water Made Us is an experience. I guarantee that there is something on this album which will strike you — something you’ll relate to. Whether it’s the eagerness of new love, the work that goes into trying to make it work, or the heartbreak at the end; this album is filled with poetry, and you will feel something.
34: Drayton Farley - Twenty On High
(Alternative Country)
Drayton Farley’s Twenty On High is raw, real Country which leans into the genre’s roots. It pulls some Rock elements, but the core is Country music which advocates for the Working Class. Time passes too quickly, and we spend most of it laboring in Sisyphean fashion. The album also delves into existentialist crisis and depression, particularly through this lens of poverty and hopelessness, and the music reinforces all of those feelings, as even the most energetic sections have this subtle sourness which plagues the album.
There’s nothing happy here. This is a Millennial Country artist voicing the concerns of his generation, and doing it well. Twenty On High doesn’t have the same lyrical strength or raw melodic beauty of other albums which I’ve already discussed, but it hits hard and strikes right at the heart. Farley is an artist I’ll be watching eagerly in the years to come.
33: Sirenia - 1977
(Gothic Metal | Symphonic Metal)
Why is the cover art of Sirenia’s 1977 a tombstone?
Because the Gothic melodies contained within will haunt you. It’s a warning.
This album utilizes a blend of poppy vocals-forward hooks, dark gothic tones, and intense symphonic depth to create absolutely enchanting tracks, such as “Oceans Away”, below. That one, in particular, is more of a languishing harmonic void; there are some rather energetic bops on 1977, as well, such as “Wintry Heart” and “Dopamine”. It’s a thoroughly enjoyable album, start-to-finish, and is among the more accessible albums on this list for Metal newbies.
32: Isole - Anesidora
(Doom Metal)
Anesidora provides 46 minutes of low-and-slow Doom Metal. Its low-tuned guitars and vibey grooves provide an atmosphere of gloom which envelops the mind and shuts everything else out — in other words, grab your headphones and crank it.
Like most Doom Metal, Anesidora is filled with tracks which are decidedly not positive. Opener “The Songs of the Whales” (included below), states:
Hear the songs of the whales before they are lost They will tell you a story from the seas We all need to hear Please find the key to the box of pandora We ripped the lid from the box long ago Our hope is that you will find a way To close the box you inherited from us We’re led astray Please don’t follow us Hear the song of the whales
The statements there just cannot be more clear.
The entire album is dark and beautiful and intense. This is primo Doom Metal. Give it a try.
31: Teen Jesus and the Jean Teasers - I Love You
(Punk Rock | Riot Grrrl | Post-Grunge)
“Awww”, you might say, “they’re so cute!”
Rest assured, they will eat you. TJJT has attitude, and if you aren’t catching that, that’s on you.
I Love You is an incredibly fun album filled with feminist Punk Rock anthems. The Australian quartet exudes ceaseless energy, even in most of the slower tracks. There’s also some serious emotional depth on the album in tracks like “Salt”, “Toe Bone”, and “Backseat Driver”.
If you’re looking for something to dance or jam to, do not overlook this album. Truly, “fun” is the best descriptor for it. I Love You does a lot, and it does all of it very well and with a ton of positivity.
Next, we’ll wrap up the first half of the list with Albums 21-30.
The links below will work once each article has gone live.
AOTY | #2-10 | #11-20 | #21-30 | #31-40 | Honorable Mentions