All 52 Record Club Albums of 2023, Ranked(*ranked based on how I feel about each album presently, not how I felt about it when I wrote the corresponding review)
(**I linked to each of my reviews, but in many cases, maybe even most cases, there were better reviews written that week, so check out
the archives to see some of the superior work PoYB's contributors put forth in the past 52 weeks)
(***Should go without saying at this point, but my opinions about any particular album are not a reflection on the person who chose the album originally, and indeed, if you picked an album and I
didn't like it, then that means you are challenging me and us and yourself with something otherwise unfamiliar or unloved, and I tend to appreciate those picks more so than safe, fun, 4/5-pukes album picks in the grand scheme of things)
52. Deep Space by CANDIACEFelt weird pulling the trigger on my first "0 pukes out of 5" review in Record Club history. I hated this album, and I was deeply offended by it. Music is a precious gift, and it pisses me off when some fucking Z-list celebrity treats it like an ATM instead.
51. this is what ____ feels like (Vol. 1-4) by JVKEJVKE's music was worse than CANDIACE's (something about those all-cap mononyms, I guess). But at least JVKE was just some fucking broccoli-headed dirtbag kid. He's too dumb to know that his music is bad. It's not malicious, it's just terrible. Big difference, in my opinion.
50. The Medicine EP by Jeremy RennerIf we never have to mention the word "Marvel" in an album review again, I would be so goddamn happy. This album from a Marvel movie guy was almost as bad as the special effects in a Marvel movie.
49. Un Verano Sin Ti by Bad BunnyI'm just tired of it, that's all. I tire quickly when an 80-minute-plus album features the same type of song over and over and over and over. Pop music has traveled to some really wonderful non-American places over the past decade, but I exclude the birthplace of dembow from that. (And yes, I learned the name of that rhythm from Professor Jamison, the La Salle music professor who faked his own death. This probably does nothing to help Bad Bunny's cause.)
48. Gloria by Sam SmithI'm really happy for Sam Smith. I just think that their music is bad. Those two ideas are not mutually exclusive. (Sidenote: There are
so many RC alumni on the
Barbie soundtrack. Sam Smith's song is by far the worst one.)
47. How I Got Over by the RootsI can guarantee you that there will come a day when I finally "get" the Roots. That day did not arrive in 2023. It probably will arrive after they distance themselves from their sex-trafficking employer (not that that's the reason I didn't like this album, I'm just saying that it complicates things, that's all).
46. Inside Out by Emmy RossumMaybe once a generation, we have an album that is so off-center and so bad that it almost seems audacious or bold that it'd even exist at all. I think that when a celebrity tries to record music that finds popular music as it is now or as it once was, then it becomes a really noxious affair. I think that when a celebrity records music that purposefully distances itself from anything that popular music has ever sounded like, then it's something to be lauded. Even if it blows chunks.
45. The Christmas Album by Neil DiamondIt happens every year—I have nice things to say about our Christmas album when we're in the moment, but by the time I do my annual 52-album ranking, the holiday shine wears off, and the winner of the RC Holiday Poll slips perilously down the rankings. I'll be returning to "You Make Me Feel like Christmas" come Thanksgiving, though.
44. Anarchist Gospel by Sunny WarIt's fine, but something about a classic 88.5 WXPN overrating compels me to even the scales and more easily dismiss an album than I might have otherwise. I've heard tracks from
Anarchist Gospel on the radio at least a dozen times in the past nine months. They haven't moved the needle in terms of how I feel.
43. The Art of Forgetting by Caroline RoseFUCK, I should've saved the XPN thing for this blurb. Though, if I'm being honest, I haven't heard Caroline Rose nearly as much on the radio as I have Sunny War. Wait, it can't be a reverse correlation thing, right? Because I love XPN. I don't want it to seem like I like Caroline Rose more because XPN likes them less. These albums are fine, that's all. Just okay. Just feels like the premiere radio station for music lovers in Philadelphia might find better use for better albums, that's all I'm saying.
42. African Giant by Burna BoyWe're moving into the "like the album more in theory than in practice" section of our list. I like the idea of smuggling Afrobeats into the Top 40 pop charts. I don't think Burna Boy brings enough of the heat to the idea to make it fully work. Who the fuck am I, though, but just one lowly blogger?
41. Preacher's Daughter by Ethel CainAnd I
really like the idea of a trans gothic rock opera, so big props to Ethel Cain for sounding like NOTHING else that is currently or recently popular on the TikTok algorithm. I just couldn't find room to connect to the songs. It's usually cyclical—what once I considered too weird usually eventually hits just right. I patiently await the moment when this album hits. Nowhere close to it now.
40. Universal Consciousness by Alice ColtraneFinally, I love the idea of an artist making a batshit noise-jazz album out of grief as interpreted through a religious experience, but there wasn't a fucking chance that I was going to "get" this one. I sincerely love the phrase "meteoric sensation" though, and will fondly think about that bumper sticker for years to come, even after the whirlwind confusion of
Universal Consciousness subsides.
39. Famoe's 16Bars Rap-Blog EP by FamoeNo idea what to make of this one. Maybe an album needs more than five minutes to make any sort of impact. Though I've listened to plenty of five-minute-plus albums in my life, and a lot of them have been worse than this one. Clearly this dude was doing a sort of "song of the day" thing for a few days and got bored after five days and decided to slap them onto an album anyway. I can empathize with the struggle.
I spent a lot of my year attempting to understand hip hop, and until this week, I was confident in the strides that I made. When confronted with Famoe, it's like: wait, is this good? Is this bad? I have no idea. Oh god, I don't know anything. I want to say that there are moments that feel good or are competent, but another part of me thinks that that's just the post-Christmas glow affecting my outlook.
"Efreezee" has this line: "Music, to me, is a miracle / It won't stop." I literally have no idea whether that feels true because it's a good insight or if it feels true because it's the most cliché thing any hip hop artist has ever rapped. Famoe is the hip hop version of Eric Hutchinson (also, see below)—spits the truth, is lame when he spits it. I like this album like I enjoy Hamilton—nothing about it is unpleasant, except I catch myself cringing despite the enjoyment. There's a song that has a Home Alone reference and an Ice Age reference! That's bad! But still somehow rings true!
There is nothing about this that makes me dislike Famoe. There is also nothing about this that makes me want to seek out any more of Famoe's music. Tough to form an opinion when the album is over before you can even say its title out loud.
GRADE: 2.5 pukes out of 5
38. Moving Up Living Down by Eric HutchinsonI was ready to write this one off as a dumb album made by a dumbo (and I guess I technically did, since I wrote a review saying as much), but Record Club reminded me once again that one man's trash is
another man's nostalgic treasure. So now when I think about Eric Hutchinson, I don't think about C-level singer-songwriter pop music; instead, I think about the the joy of discovering music as a teenager, and rediscovering that joy as you get older and start to revisit old totems.
37. Asking for a Ride by White ReaperProbably underrated, I don't know. It's not that important. But I can't help but let it burn me a little bit when a band eschews the sound I originally loved them for. The hair metal pastiche is fine. Good, even. But White Reaper used to be fucking
great, man. Maybe one day, they'll get there again.
36. American by RuPaulHow does one "have fun"? I see fun in completing a task; I see Record Club weekly reviews as a task that I take great joy in completing consistently and to the best of my ability; I see album reviews as a way of acknowledging highlights and flaws of a work of art and processing them through a creative writing assignment. That's
my fun. I am fully aware that other people consider fun to be ignoring that task, and just focusing on the good stuff, and ignoring the bad stuff to find bliss. RuPaul is charismatic enough that I find myself ignoring the task at hand and having fun in the latter sense. Doesn't make me feel good in the long run, but in the present moment, it feels pretty great. I don't like this album; I had fun.
35. The Land Is Inhospitable and So Are We by MitskiSincerely nonplussed at the idea of Mitski being a Top 40 pop star. This album seems so wildly out of step with the dreck I hear in that area of pop music stardom that I can't help but wonder if the TikTok teens are just attempting to be contrarian. That's not to say that they are forcing themselves to like bad music—I kinda liked Mitski's most recent stoic attempt at being extremely serious. But it almost feels like
The Producers—the more Mitski tries to pull away from the limelight, the more the limelight finds her.
34. Metamodern Sounds in Country Music by Sturgill SimpsonSturgill Simpson is one of the best Americana artists working today (or not working, or playing bluegrass, or whatever). I think he's still approaching his peak, and I'm not going to disparage earlier steps in that climb. Metamodern was fine, he's since done better, that's the name of the game when it comes to Record Club's one album rule.
33. Mellow Gold by BeckBeck is the great alchemist of our time, turning trash and debris into gold. Shit, I guess the name makes sense.
32. These Are Good People by Little Big LeagueProbably the only album on this list with required reading attached. Would I have enjoyed Little Big League if I hadn't read the memoirs of its frontwoman? I have no idea. But I've read it, and I now have no choice but to become invested in anything Michelle Zauner ever does and everything she'll ever do.
31. Honest by FutureThe highs are high enough to keep the lows at bay. If I'm being honest with myself, then I'd say that I can't help but think about that blog post
about-but-not-about Future from over the summer. I don't know if any of this makes me want to listen to more Future, but it keeps Future on the brain.
30. Voices by Hall & OatesRough year for Hall & Oates. First, they lost the vote at the Philadelphia Zoo, and the new bear cubs were NOT named "Hall" and "Oates" (the honors instead went to another RC alumnus, "Kelce," plus a man who has NEVER released an album, "Harper"). Then, Hall and Oates started fighting each other in court. IANAL, but this can't end well. Still a good classic throwback album. Makes you remember better days.
29. Stick Season by Noah KahanExtremely hilarious to read all the comments underneath any news article featuring Noah Kahan on any of the music blogs I follow. Usually something like: "fucking
who?" Record Club has the last laugh. We were there at the beginning. And we're gonna be thinking about this competent and goofy and fun New England folk album when Kahan accepts the Grammy for Album of the Year in 2027.
28. Hip Hop Tables by Ms. RobinsonNovelty music is only worth checking out if it's actually good too. Incredibly, it seems like Ms. Robinson makes good music? Despite that music being entirely about the multiplication tables? Man... life is a trip sometimes, ain't it?
27. healing by In Love with a GhostSorry, gang, I am obligated to use this as the hook for this blurb: my kids like this album. Like, there are tangible family memories and in-jokes surrounding this album. I won't bore you with them, but I need you to know that they exist, and I need you to know that I have no idea how this happened, or why.
Brian didn't mean it this way, but he was still right on the money—in twenty years, one of my daughters is going to snap to the fact that they were emotionally invested in a lo-fi ambient chiptune album when they were under the age of six, and they are going to come to me and be like "what the
fuck were we listening to all those years ago?"
26. Yoko Ono/Plastic Ono Band by Yoko OnoYou think you know someone, and then 20 years later, they surprise you with something like
this. I gotta assume I had never known prior to 2023 about Yoko's dark mirror complement to John's
John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band because this noise punk was just too audacious for audiences in the 1970s. As it stands in 2023, it hits pretty nicely. "Why" is gonna end up on the "50 Songs from the First 500 Weeks of Record Club"
list.
25. Bastard Jargon by NakhaneSomething about that cover still reads as haunting to me, in a similar way to how I was creeped out by Pink Floyd's
The Wall. (If I'm making Pink Floyd comparisons, then you can surmise that
Bastard Jargon has grown on me.)
24. Fear of Death by Tim HeideckerWhether it's actually comedy or not is besides the point. Even if it's supposed to be funny, the fact that someone could sincerely mistake this album as a serious one means that this dude is talented, full stop. Glad we at least did a drive-by with this thing.
23. Drums Unlimited by Max RoachNeeds more drum solos.
22. Victory Laps by Wax FangThere needs to be more albums like this, albums that no one can claim are "important" but still hit the marks competently enough and still bring the hooks and still sound interesting and still leave themselves wide open for interpretation that someone could easily
claim it's important if they wanted to, and no one would be able to judge them for it. That's our responsibility as critics as well—you're allowed to talk shit, but you also gotta acknowledge that what's shit to some might be treasure to others, for completely arbitrary reasons. Both can be true, or neither. Music is deeply personal, and yet we force it to become communal through the act of collective blogging. It's a thrilling juxtaposition. I don't know why I'm typing all this in the Wax Fang blurb. I thought this was a swell album.
21. Blame My Ex by the BeachesAt a certain point, I will stop being so hard on any band whose story involves a phone app that has somehow become society's gatekeeper for popular music. This will be out of necessity. But we're not there yet. Because the Beaches' album was really fun and breezy and catchy, and yet also, there hasn't been a day since that I visited YouTube and didn't see the website try to force another live version of "Blame Brett" on me. There are dark forces at work here.
20. Shine a Light by ConstantinesTo maliciously quote our dear friend Nate: "It's fine."
19. Panic Prevention by Jamie TWhen you grow up wanting to be part of Arctic Monkeys and the Streets at the same time... somehow it doesn't end in disaster. I had a lot of fun with this one.
18. Strays by Margo PriceWhen you release two albums within the span of a year, there are naturally going to be questions about why you chose certain songs to appear on the first album over other songs that end up on the ostensibly "B-sides" second album. Margo Price isn't the only RC alumni to have these questions asked about this year (Carly Rae Jepsen, the National), but it's one of the more egregious cases, I think.
Strays II was fucking GREAT. It was so great that its greatness came at the expense of
Strays. In a world in which we are treated to one
Strays with all the best songs packed in, we'd be looking at a situation in which
Strays is one of the best albums of the year. As it stands now,
Strays is just very good. I'll still take it.
17. Come Around and Love Me by Jalen NgondaUnderrated due to timing, I think. Record Club's participation levels really dipped as we approached deep autumn and early winter. Nothing wrong with that, and we appreciate what we have during any given week. I just think that if Ngonda's album had the ten-review treatment, we would've seen a lot more joy around here. If anything, it inspired me to go back and check out some Philly soul classics from yesteryear (the Impressions, the Delfonics, et al.), and I can say with more confidence now that this dude knows what he's doing.
16. Was Dead by King TuffIt didn't make sense, but up until we saw
King Tuff live in concert, I had always pictured Kyle Thomas as a teenager. I don't know why. This was his first studio album and he was already 25 at the time. Now he's a 40-year-old chubby gray-haired dude. And yet... that change in perception somehow made the music better. He's a little older than me! And he's still living the rock 'n' roll dream! That's fucking great! I'm a King Tuff fan for life!
15. Malign Hex by Meat WaveA great album that somehow passed the Pam Test as well. Record Club lost something when we lost Pam. I know she's not reading this right now, and I know it's not feasible due to how our lives are structured currently, but: Pam, come back!
14. Fly or Die Fly or Die Fly or Die ((world war)) by jaimie branchI feel like the two big takeaways here were "now here's something that redefines what a particular genre of music can be" and "now who will see that the promise of this new sound comes to fruition?" That's probably enough for a good album. Helps that it was mostly catchy and fun too, despite the circumstances.
13. The Dusty Foot Philosopher by K'naan"This is where I came from" is not necessarily a new template for a hip hop album and its themes, but K'naan somehow manages to make it seem fresh and exciting.
12. That! Feels Good! by Jessie WareDefinitely underrated this one in the general Best of the Year 2023 discussions. Probably because it's just a great album. There's no big thematic hook, nothing that says that this album is good in interesting ways. It's just a really great disco album. There is nothing wrong with that, obviously. I'll be listening to
That! Feels Good! for a lot longer than a lot of those other albums that made me really excited in the moment and totally flamed out as time moved on.
11. Milo Goes to College by DescendentsI really appreciate the time stamp contained in the title of this album: "
goes to college." Tells you exactly the part of your life during which this album could find your sweet spot. I missed my chance, obviously, but even so, I find that when you listen to it sixteen years after going to college, it acts as an immediate source of dark nostalgia from the very first listen, in the way it reminds you of how you felt all those years ago.
10. In Keeping Secrets of Silent Earth: 3 by Coheed and CambriaI still kind of hate the fact that some of the best, most raw, and wildest emo riffs and hooks I've ever heard are couched in a lame-ass space rock opera, and I hate that the space rock opera is honestly the only reason we are talking about this at all in 2023. Still... top-shelf emo cannot be denied, even in its nerdiest form.
9. Loaded by the Velvet UndergroundI spent Record Club's Velvet Underground week begging people to check out any other VU album besides
Loaded, even though, sure,
Loaded is pretty great. I will defend the "one album per artist" rule with my goddamn life, so you'll have to murder me before we cover another Velvet Underground album within the confines of this music club. Still, extracurricularly speaking, I'm gonna ask again: wouldn't you like to hear some other good music from one of classic rock's coolest bands?
8. the record by boygeniusBurnout is real. I think if boygenius hadn't been irrevocably tied to my favorite hobby (Record Club), then there might've been the risk of burning out on the constant boygenius coverage that I saw throughout this year, both on this blog and otherwise. But because I knew them now as "boygenius, Record Club alumni," I instead had the reaction of: "There are our girls!" Let's not let the noises crowd out the fact that
the record is a really great achievement.
7. Maps by billy woods and Kenny SegalThough it was borne out of laziness, since I just didn't feel like bothering any of my friends during the Christmas season to pick one more RC album for us to cover, the act of letting the Best Of lists and websites choose a couple albums for us at the end of the year actually worked out well in other ways too. I feel like I've fallen out of the practice of going back and checking out any highly-rated present-year albums that I missed based on what Listmas reveals to me, but if I hadn't been basically forced to listen to
Maps, then I would have probably missed out on what ended up legitimately being one of my favorite albums of the year.
6. Wallsocket by underscoresThough I didn't actively participate in some of the internet-centric "rock opera"-type shenanigans tied to this album, I really do appreciate that they exist. It's just something extra for the true heads, ya feel me? And the fact that we have reached this point with hyperpop really makes me feel warm inside. Good album, better experience.
5. I Feel Alright by Steve EarleTook me WAY too long to get here. First it was "hey, that minor character from
The Wire is actually a musician." Then for a while it was "hey, that extremely talented and unfortunately now dead folk singer is the son of that dude from
The Wire!" Finally, we are at "hey, that dude from
The Wire actually seems like he was one of the best to ever do it." Not sure where there is to go from here, but I'm comfortable with that.
4. The Loneliest Time by Carly Rae JepsenI remain just fucking perplexed at the idea of a pop star's music getting better and better and in response falling farther and farther out of the public's consciousness. My thoughts when I listen to new Carly Rae Jepsen basically boils down to standing in front of a large crowd of TikTokkers and yelling "YOU FUCKING PHILISTINES!!!!"
3. This Is Why by ParamoreParamore gives a seminar on how to age gracefully as a band. It's not about repeating the same sound that made you famous, but it's also not going so far in the opposite direction that you're completely unrecognizable. Paramore finds that balance, and pulls it off with aplomb. For the record, I like this stuff at least ten times more than the "Misery Business"-era Paramore, but I like how this new-ish sound doesn't necessarily eschew it completely. It's still there. It's part of the story. This is just the next chapter. And so on and so on... are you tired of reading these blurbs yet? We're almost there.
2. Dookie by Green DayTough to rank the already well-worn classics against the music that's either new to me or new to everybody. It's like, of
course Green Day's seminal
Dookie is gonna rank near the top here. I'd be the worst fucking kind of contrarian if it wasn't. At the same time, saying
Dookie is one of the best albums we reviewed this year doesn't tell you anything new. It's like saying water is one of the best ways to hydrate—way too fucking obvious. Still... we have fun here, don't we? I'm glad we were able to take a couple more critical looks at an album already secure in its place in the canon.
1. White Trash Revelry by Adeem the ArtistIt's been nine months of constant repeat listens and I still get sort of breathless every time I listen to
White Trash Revelry. I tried to paint this as a "new voice" in a genre during my initial review, but I think that might be underselling it a little bit. Yes, it's pretty incredible at Adeem manages to do something completely unique within their chosen arena of music (Americana, country). At the same time, it's a little scary how natural it sounds too. Whether they are fiery and angry (the immortal "Heritage of Arrogance") or goofy and celebratory ("Run This Town"), every minute of this thing feels like part of the tradition while also a view of that tradition from a viewpoint never before even attempted. When I say that this was the best Record Club album of the year, of course I mean that it was one of the catchiest, and one of the easiest to listen to, and one of the albums that brought me the most joy when I heard its songs. But it's really number one because it confirms the overall point of doing this week after week after week—there's always something new to discover, and when that discovery is made, it makes it all worth it and then some.
