WEB PICKS: 2023 AOTY
Follow WHIP Twitter Facebook Instagram
The WHIP Web Department is back with a list of our favorite albums that were released this year, and you’re invited to check them out!
✴︎ ALBUMS OF THE YEAR
—2023
Lianna Platzner
This album is so special and different from Cherry Glazerr’s previous releases, yet still manages to perfectly incorporate their old grungey/garage-rock sound with their new fuzzy electronic sound. The songs are definitely on the more serious side compared to previous albums, and it all really shows their growth and maturity. I have been a huge fan of Cherry Glazerr for a long time, and this album is so incredibly introspective and gut-wrenching (at times!). It feels like it came to me at just the right moment, which makes me love it all the more! Some of my favorites on this album are “Touched You With My Chaos,” “Sugar,” and “Shattered.”
Rachael Abellard
Doja took the chance to capture everyone’s attention the best way she knows how: SCANDAL. Through changing her appearance and calling out whoever got in her way, she has riled up casual listeners, fans, and everything in between. Everyone preyed on her “flop” era because of these changes. Yet, little did we know at the time, we were all falling into her marketing trap: the release of the instant classic SCARLET. “It’s like taking candy from a baby,” she says. And she meant it.
Will Kirkpatrick
The sophomore effort from Philly dungeon punks is beautiful and evil. It feels like they stepped out of a portal from Medieval Times or out of the basement after a lengthy D and D session.
Dom Passafiume
Dogsbody is Model/Actriz’ debut full-length LP, and their first studio release since 2017’s No. The album is erratic, abrasive, and often overtly sexual — singer Cole Haden’s jagged vocals are frequently more shouted than sung, and his lyrics reflect a desperate struggle to come to terms with his own lack of power, self-identity, and physical touch in the wake of a toxic breakup. The loud, frantic instrumentals are influenced by everything from Xiu Xiu-esque electronic noise rock to contemporary dance punk to the band’s self-proclaimed emotional muses Big Thief. My personal favorite track is the slightly toned-down closer “Sun In,” which serves as a thoroughly moving culmination of the album’s lyrical journey through intertwined sexual yearning and self deprecation, all-consuming post-breakup angst, and finally a state of lucid acceptance and emotional renewal. With Dogsbody, Model/Actriz have cemented themselves as a staple of the modern experimental noise rock scene, and have delivered the rawest and most forward-thinking punk record of the year.
Lindsey Hernandez
An act shrouded in mystery, bar italia’s 3rd studio album, Tracey Denim, feels like being catapulted back into the 1990’s era of heady shoegaze. As a whole, the album bleeds of a relatable melancholic yearning that has opened the trio to mass appeal. Hypnotic yet effervescent through 15 tracks, bar italia establishes themselves in the juxtaposition of new wave and slowcore. For newcomers, I’d have to recommend a personal favorite “best in show” which embodies a seductive indecisiveness through crooning “I can stay the night but I can’t be open/ maybe it’s just you or maybe I’m broken”.
Zoë Longley
Lana Del Rey continues to earnestly wear her heart on her sleeve in her ninth studio album. Staying true to embodying the classic Americana aesthetics, Ocean Blvd is thematically cohesive. The lyrics are picturesque, poignant, and stuck with the tension between freedom and structure while seamlessly poking fun at current cultural zeitgeists. I had the great pleasure of being able to see Del Rey perform this album at Newport Folk Fest this summer and I can attest to the fact that her vocals are even more intimate and angelic in person. All in all, this is an incredible body of work that should be heralded as one of the greatest in her discography to date.
Erika Cutaia
Deeper’s third album, Careful, marks a dynamic shift for the Chicago band as they join new label Sub Pop. The opening track, “Build a Bridge,” echoes sentiments of the albums essence: “it’s the right kind of rhythm, you’re so lost in the sound.” The high-energy clashes are palpable, coursing through the body like electricity on a wire. Beneath the pulsating beats, Deeper weaves fragments of a reoccurring narrative of automatic living found in their previous works. Introspection, routine, complexities. The synergy between lyrics and music creates a captivating blend that continues to make me feel a heated pump in my heart.
