Albums of 2023

A rather belated attempt to gather my thoughts on the musical year. Xmas was filled with colds and illness, though that doesn’t explain my tardy upkeep of the blog in general! Anyhow, here are my highlights of 2023.

1. Depeche Mode - Memento Mori

Superb return to form. Easily their best and most consistent album since 1997’s Ultra. As usual with DM, melancholy, sex, and death never sounded so hopeful.

2. Romy - Mid-Air

Fab 90s- and 00s inspired trip down memory lane. Pop music as proper club beats.

3. Roisin Murphy - Hit Parade

Another great set from Roisin. If truth be told, for me not as good as her previous Studio 54-inspired Roisin Machine, but still head and shoulders above most of her contemporaries.

4. Jessie Ware - That! Feels Good

A more soulful sound than What’s Your Pleasure. Perhaps not quite as many killer singles, but no worse for that. 

5. Blur - The Ballad of Darren

Hands up, I’ve struggled with Blur’s output since Parklife, apart from the obvious great singles - Song 2 , Tender - but this is for neither most consistent album since at least 2000. Maybe it’s the fact that the ideas have been reigned in at it has a direct simplicity. Either way, whatever they did, it worked. 

6. Young Fathers - Heavy Heavy

File under “ why have I never heard of Young Fathers until this year?”. I mean I know is probably cos I refuse to stream and I’ve given up listening to 6Music since it disappeared up its own arse, but that’s no excuse. Proper exciting alternative “pop”. 

7. New Order - Substance (Expanded Reissue)

Substance was my gateway drug to New Order, but it was always shoddy, sound-wise. This remaster put that right, and the inclusion of a live version and extra muscles only made this essential. Especially when you consider it contains definitive versions of True Faith, Ceremony, Temptation, and 1963, a song it’s still hard to believe they pissed away as the True Faith b-side.

8. Come Together - Adventures on the Indie Dancefloor

Compilation of the year, no question. Yes, there are the usual suspects on here - WFL, Fools Gold, Connected etc - but the real gens are the obscure lesser known tracks and remixes that all remind you what a fantastic period in time 1989 - 1992 was. 

9. Peter Gabriel - I/O

Well this blindsided me. Totally wasn’t expecting to like it given Peter’s frankly mediocre output since Us. But wow, what a great album that marries the cerebral introspection of Us with the uplifting art-pop funk of So. Genuinely a late career (almost) masterpiece.