The Dallas Observer Music Critics' Picks for Best Albums of 2023

It gets harder as you get older to find new music to love, because as has been reported to death, adults over age 30 are less interested in finding new music and instead grow increasingly attached to the songs they associate with their youth.

So this is how we come to have violent disdain for whatever new thing making its way to our ears against our will, unless it’s reminiscent of the soundtrack to our past, the way “throwback” artists prey with finesse on our proclivity for familiarity.

This is why it’s good to turn to others for recommendations rather than trusting that what music execs are pushing onto the radio is representative of the current musical landscape at large.

And, not to brag, but as music writers we are required to listen to music for a living, and naturally have an investment in current culture. Before you comment about our shitty taste, bear in mind we didn’t listen to ALL albums out there; these are just our favorites from what we heard this year, so send us some recs.

Here are our music writers’ favorite albums from 2023:

Preston Jones

1. Janelle Monae, The Age of Pleasure
2. Jessie Ware, That! Feels Good!
3. Blondshell, s/t
4. Lil Yachty, Let's Start Here
5. Sufjan Stevens, Javelin
6. Polyphonic Spree, Salvage Enterprise
7. Jenny Lewis, Joy'all
8. Jess Williamson, Time Ain't Accidental
9. Raul Malo, Say Less
10. Ben Folds, What Matters Most

Jonathan Patrick

(not in order)

Chuquimamani Condori, DJ E
Blake Mills, Jelly Road
Tirzah, trip9love...???
Earl Sweatshirt & The Alchemist, Voir Dire
ML Buch, Suntub
Daniel Bachman, When the Roses Come Again
Blue Lake, Sun Arcs
Arthur Russell, Picture of Bunny Rabbit
Lucy Railton, Corner Dancer
Masahiro Takahashi, Humid Sun
UFOm, Aliens Are Real
JPEGMAFIA x Danny Brown, SCARING THE HOES
Various Artists, Holy Tongue, Beatrice Dillon, Lamin Fofana, LABOUR
Eugene Carchesio & Adam Betts, Circle Drum Music
DJ K, Panico no submundo
Jules Reidy, Trances
Laurel Halo, Atlas
MIKE, Burning Desire
Nourished by Time, Erotic Probiotic 2
Jana Winderen, The Blue Beyond

Local mention: Everything released on contemporary music label Sawyer Editions, including its stellar new field recording imprint, Sawyer Spaces (start with Sarah Ruth's Fellowship of the Arid Plain).

Bryson "Boom" Paul

(all local!)
1. BigXThaPlug, Amar
2. BigXThaPlug, The Biggest
3. Rakim Al-Jabbaar, Big Baby Thanos
4. Gunna Meize, Spinna
5. Star Music & Sanit Row, Breakfast With Breadwinners
6. RoadRun CMoe, Art of War
7. Mac K The K Baby, Mr. Make It Happen
8. xBValentine, Forever & A Day
9. Dorrough Music, Star Baby
10. Montana 700, Omerta

Mollie Jamison

1. SZA, SOS
2. Karol G, Mañana Será Bonito
3. Tainy, Data
4. Maluma, Don Juan
5. Carin Leon, Colmillo De Leche
6. Rawayana, ¿Quién Trae Las Cornetas?
7. Drake, For All the Dogs
8. Myke Towers, La Vida Es Una
9. Becky G, Esquinas
10. Daniel Caesar, Never Enough

Michael Bialas

1. Daisy Jones & the Six, Aurora
2. Morgan Wade, Psychopath
3. Molly Tuttle & Golden Highway, City of Gold
4. Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit, Weathervanes
5. Bella White, Among Other Things
6. The New Pornographers, Continue As a Guest
7. Allison Russell, The Returner
8. Brennen Leigh, Ain't Through Honky Tonkin' Yet
9. Larkin Poe, Blood Harmony
10. Christone "Kingfish" Ingram, Live in London

Jamie Vahala

1. Broke String Burnett, Doppelgänger
Favorite country music album of the past decade, bar none. Equal parts dusty, mysterious, and beautiful.
2. TJ Novak, Paper Soldier
TJ Novak, formerly Astro James, released a steady stream of singles last year, working up to an album release. Paper Soldier has equal parts "New Orleans street parade" and "listless wanderer."
3. Hugh Trimble & the Atomic Ranch Band, Hugh Trimble & the Atomic Ranch Band
Formerly of Sisterman, Hugh Trimble is one of my favorite living lyricists. To listen to him is to love him and be fulfilled.
4. Hevy Ben$, Right Now, Forever
A concept artist at heart, Hevy Ben$’ EP details his real-life redemption tale.
5. Zoe Cimino, Now I Know
Zoe Cimino’s first single from her upcoming debut is pregnant with potential, echoing the sound of Dallas’ pride and joy, St. Vincent.
6. ceci ceci, Mutuo
Shout out Nicaragua. ceci ceci makes some of the best dance music in town. Every song is a certified banger, and if you haven't been to one of her performances you should get on that directly. Dallas is lucky to have her.
7. Penny and Dime, Summer Jean
Something about Penny and Dime makes one feel endless. Infinite like the idea of an ocean or a horizon far away.
8. CURL, Star
Dallas’ favorite post-punk band. Storytelling in the shade of Morrissey or Joy Division.
9. Hellen, Lip Service EP
Hellen sounds as if Sonic Youth, Washed Out, Animal Collective and Daniel Johnston all fell in a lo-fi blender.
10. Honin, Bitter Cup
I loved this EP. Honin’s music is dreamy as all get-out but still approachable. It will paint pictures in your brain and leave them there.

Bonus: Pearl Earl, It’s Dread
Pearl Earl is the first band one thinks of in North Texas (and beyond) for psychedelic shoegazey pop wizardry. Their newest record It’s Dread is further proof of this mastery.

Rachel Parker

1. Paint My Bedroom Black, Holly Humberstone
2. Raye, My 21st Century Blues
3. Gracie Abrams, Good Riddance
4. Kelly Clarkson, Chemistry (Deluxe Version)
5. Dominic Fike, Sunburn
6. Chelsea Cutler, Stellaria
7. Janelle Monae, The Age of Pleasure
8. Abraham Alexander, SEA/SONS
9. Renee Rapp, Snow Angel
10. Niall Horan, The Show

Malen Blackmon

1. Leroyce, Ponder
2. BigX , Amar
3. Rakim Al Jabbaar, Big Baby Thanos
4. Pierce Washington, Past Due
5. Honey Daii, Epiphany
6. BigX, The Biggest
7. Devy Stonez, I Luv Stoney
8. P$O Kwame, You Know Me
9. Spike Chester, retrograde theory
10. Nojo Wallace, Golden Child

Ava Thompson

1. Cécile Mclorin Salvant, Mélusine
2. Emile Mosseri, Heaven Hunters
3. Caroline Polachek, Desire, I Want to Turn Into You
4. 2023 Broadway Cast Recording, Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street
5. Sufjan Stevens, Javelin
6. Caroline Rose, The Art of Forgetting
7. Gorillaz, Cracker Island
8. Jessie Ware, That! Feels! Good!
9. Mitski, The Land Is Inhospitable and So Are We
10. Janelle Monae, The Age of Pleasure

Garrett Gravley

1. Little Mazarn, Honey Island General Store
Lindsey Verrill is originally from Dallas, but her Little Mazarn project started in Austin. Honey Island General Store is, without a doubt, one of the most beautiful and compelling folk albums to come out this year. It scalpels right through the recent deluge of cookie-cutter bedroom folk music we hear from Phoebe Bridgers wannabes on TikTok and scratches the same itch that Songs: Ohia, Bill Callahan and Nick Drake do. This record is refreshing, and I am excited for what the future has in store for Verrill and the other half of Little Mazarn, Jeff Johnston.
2. Liv.e, Girl in the Half Pearl
3. Aunty Rayzor, Viral Wreckage
4. Yatsu, It Can’t Happen Here
5. Mya Byrne, Rhinestone Tomboy
6. Chapter Black Saga, Predatory Instinct
7. RXK Nephew, Till I’m Dead
8. Snow Strippers, April Mixtape 3
9. Silicone Prairie, Vol. II
10. Donzii, Penetrate EP

Favorite Song of 2023: “RIDE IT” by LustSickPuppy
Hyperpop had its share of copycats, but it also had its share of artists who saw countless possibilities and made them happen. LustSickPuppy is one of them, and thank God for it. When you listen to this song, you get remnants of SPK, Atari Teenage Riot, Slipknot, Josh Wink, Peaches and Princess Nokia. It’s heavy, but it also has a good party vibe.

Local Favorite: Yatsu, It Can’t Happen Here
This record is a masterclass of powerviolence. Do you like the way Man is the Bastard incorporated elements of industrial and harsh noise music to the genre? You’ll like “It’s Already Happening Here.” Like the brevity of bands like Infest? You’ll like “FOMO & Sickness.” Want something more metallic? Listen to “The Whites of Spring.”

Carly Gravley

1. boygenius, The Record
2. Mitski, The Land Is Inhospitable and So Are We
3. Laufey, Bewitched
4. Lana Del Rey, Did you know That There’s a Tunnel Under Ocean Blvd?
5. Various Artists, Asteroid City (Original Soundtrack)
6. NewJeans, Get Up
7. Paramore, This Is Why
8. Chappell Roan, The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess

Eva Raggio

1. Mitski, The Land Is Inhospitable and So Are We
2. SZA, SOS
3. boygenius, The Record
4. Super Terror, El Mato a un Policia Motorizado
5. Lana Del Rey, Did You Know That There’s a Tunnel Under Ocean Blvd?
6. Dominic Fike, Sunburn
7. Abraham Alexander, SEA/SONS
8. Caroline Polachek, Desire, I Want to Turn Into You
9. Vincent Neil Emerson, The Golden Crystal Kingdom
10. Chappell Roan, The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess

Favorite local releases:
Young Dean, Terror on Vacation
Frozen Soul, Glacial Domination
The Sounds of Deep Ellum compilation
Hannah Jagadu, Aperture
Lily Taylor, Amphora
FIT, "Pleasure + Pain"
Jacks Haupt, "SOLA"
Revolvers, "Lentamente"