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Tyler Clark presents: Local Mythologies writesCHIRP Radio’s Best of 2023: Tyler Clark
Throughout December, CHIRP Radio presents its volunteers’ top albums of 2023. Our next list is from DJ Tyler Clark.
Do you follow yearendlists.com? You should. I just found out about it earlier this year, at the beginning of what I've been calling List Week, but would probably more accurately be described as List Month. Anyway, if you love best-of polls, the folks behind this website do the hard work for you; for the last decade or so, they've been curating the most important year-end critics' lists into one easy-to-navigate source. (I swear, this isn't an advertorial; I'm just doing this cheerleading for free.) It's been a fascinating rabbit hole to fall down during the long nights of early winter, especially as this year's lists began showing up. Take a look over there right now, and you'll see something that I find pretty exciting: an absolute lack of consensus. Unlike recent years when acts like Beyoncé and Fiona Apple flattened all comers on the way to top honors in 20+ lists each, 2023 has leaned more towards parity and risk-taking when it comes to album rankings.
By my count, the following artists have taken home top honors on at least one poll of note this year: Yves Tumor, Kara Jackson, Jungle, Nation of Language, Jim Legxacy, Nourished By Time, 100 Gecs, Asake, Caroline Polachek, ANOHNI and the Johnsons, Bully, Kali Uchis, Sampha, Sam Wilkes, Yo La Tengo, Enji, Blur, Olivia Rodrigo, Horrendous, Lana Del Ray, boygenius, Ratboys, a.s.o., Beach Fossils, Jessie Ware, Amaarae, Margo Cilker, Say She She, Kelela, Gunna, Young Fathers, Guided By Voices, Victoria Monet, Brent Faiyaz, Karol G, Mitski, Corrine Bailey Rae, Jeff Rosenstock, HEALTH, Meshell Ndegeochello, Sufjan Stevens, SZA, Wednesday, and Lankum.
If that seems like more artists than usual vying for those top spots, that's because it is; according to my unofficial math, 2023 already has more best album winners (44) than any other year this decade, beating the previous decade high of 42 in 2021 and easily eclipsing totals in 2022 (38) and 2020 (32). You'll find three of the records mentioned above on my personal list, which you're about to read; however, in the spirit of this year's relatively high chaos factor, you'll find yet another new #1 at the top. What can I say? I've never been one for order.
See if you agree or disagree with my picks below; then, for even more year-end coverage, visit the Local Mythologies newsletter over at Substack.
#1 Cartwheel by Hotline TNT (Third Man)
It's a shame this was released in November; if it'd dropped in May, just when you need a shoegaze record with a power-pop heart that sounds like it's being played from the bottom of a pool? Well, things would be different, at least.
#2 10,000 gecs by 100 gecs (Dog Show/Atlantic)
If 100 gecs's jump to a major label hadn't worked, I don't think anyone would've been too harsh about it. After all, it'd been four years and an entire pandemic since their debut smashed its way into our hearts like a PCP-dosed Kool-Aid Man; without the element of surprise, could they really zag on us again? The answer, of course, is yes. We were mad for ever doubting.
#3 CBD Reiki Moonbeam by Neggy Gemmy (100% Electronica)
Look. On "Black Ferrari," Neggy Gemmy refers to the car in question as a "'rari." This is a prescription-grade pop album, one whose woozy, half-remembered hedonism puts all those OTC pretenders to shame.
#4 Rare Birds: Hour of Song by The Bug Club (Bingo)
I'm still half-convinced that someone in Wales is pulling a long-gestating prank on me. How else could you explain this record that, in 2023, marries the surgical genre pastiche of the Dukes of Stratosphear with the unhinged twee of early of Montreal and the fuzzed-out riffs of peak-era Strokes? If this is a trick, I've fallen for it completely.
#5 Heavy Heavy by Young Fathers (Ninja Tune)
I don't have a favorite song from this one. That's how tight of a unit it is. Listen from front to back, then again, and again, and you'll have a pretty good idea of how I spent most of February.
#6 All of This Will End by Indigo De Souza (Saddle Creek)
I first fell in love with Saddle Creek for the confessionalism of the label's earliest artists. More than two decades later, I've finally found an artist that matches that spirit and exceeds the execution.
#7 Fly Or Die Fly Or Die Fly Or Die ((World War)) by Jaimie Branch (International Anthem)
This record doesn't make the loss of Jaimie Branch in 2022 any easier; nothing could. Instead, it acts as a bittersweet capstone on a too-short career, one that shows off the qualities that made Branch's work essential to begin with while hinting at the tantalizing evolutions that we'll never get to hear bear fruit.
#8 The Window by Ratboys (Topshelf)
...I mean what can I say? This is just a tremendous indie rock record from one of Chicago's best bands. No embellishments needed.
#9 Maps by billy woods & Kenny Segal (Backwoodz Studioz)
Of all the hip-hop records I listened to this year, this was the one I revisited the most. Partly because it painted a vivid, disorienting picture of life on the road for a post-COVID touring artist, but mostly because billy woods's food and drink descriptions make me hungry for he finer things in life. A mezcal Negroni? Who wouldn't!
#10 Les Égarés by Sissoko, Parisien, Peirano, Ségal (No Format)
Though most of my jazz listening this year kept me firmly in the past, I came back to the present day whenever something really demanded my attention. This record, from a quartet including Malian kora player Ballaké Sissoko and his long-time collaborator Vincent Ségal, was well worth the trip back from 1959.
Honorable Mentions
Albums #11-#25, songs of the year, and more: find them at Local Mythologies on Substack.
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