Listening Clark :: Class Of 2023 :: Module Twenty
1,000 recordings later…
Suffice to say, it may finally be time to start slowing things down now, just so I can properly collate all of my ratings and such.
In the meantime though, please feel free to enjoy some (dis)enchanting sounds to ring in the spooky season…
And whilst you listen to that, please take a read as to what made it onto this latest iteration of my Best Of 2023 musings…
Listening Clark :: Class Of 2023 :: Module Twenty
Fantasia – Igor Levit
The tenth album from the German pianist supremo is a double-disc collection of superlative playing that traverses centuries of distinguished work, his incisive precision and emotional depth on full display not least on his rendition of Ferruccio Busoni‘s imposing epic from which the compilation takes its title.
Goodbye, Hotel Arkada – Mary Lattimore
Veering towards the more contemporary end of classical music, we have the fifth solo longform from harpist Mary Lattimore, whose spellbinding compositions find room for collaboration from members of The Cure and Slowdive this time around, just in case you were not baited enough by her name alone for the utmost dreamy swoonery.
Isn’t It Now? – Animal Collective
Album twelve from one of experimental rock music’s most consistently impressive purveyors arrives a mere single calendar year since their previous effot, the songs featured therein actually built from the same pre-COVID sessions as Time Skiffs but put on a back burner before being able to return to the studio with a more full-bodied, improv-heavy approach… suffice to say, it is worth the wait.
Javelin – Sufjan Stevens
Between 2015’s Carrie & Lowel, which drew acutely-painful inspiration from his mother’s passing, and this tenth album dedicated to his recently departed partner, Sufjan Stevens really does seem to spoil his fans with his most resplendently beautiful work when pursing through personal grief and trauma, giving his music that gorgeously ambivalent, almost indecent edge.
Jbal Rrsas – Deena Abdelwahed
A richly-deserved shout-out this way reads for Tunisian DJ and producer Deena Abdelwahed, whose second album contains to explore themes of modernity and tradition in fusing traditional Arabic rhythms with bracing club-ready beat signatures, offering a scorching demonstration that both of these facets can not only co-exist, but evolve more magnificently together.
Nadie Sabe Lo Que Va A Pasar Mañana – Bad Bunny
Indeed, at least half of Benito Ocasio’s new album is full of woe-is-me, tabloid-baiting grandiosity, flirting somewhat with an almost Drake-like pop-friendly nihilism; thankfully, the wide-ranging breadth of the new album’s musical influences and shifting of genres and perspectives keeps things percolating along very, very nicely.
Picture Perfect – Hannah Diamond
As sign-offs go, ultra/faux-hip electronic music label PC Music could not really have done better than having their stalwart signee Hannah Diamond’s second album as their final release of original material, the singer/songwriter on her customarily inimitable form that finds both the light and darkness in neon-bright bubblegum pop aesthetics and self-effacing songs about love and self-worth.
So Far So Good – Meernaa
Fitting most comfortably within the genreless corridors of independent pop alongside the likes of Nilüfer Yanya and Helado Negro, Los Angeles outfit Meernaa’s second album builds upon their reputation as one of the classier R&B/rock acts of current days, with lead singer Carly Bond in particular shining brightly as she channels some fierce Sade-style vocal stylings throughout.
The Harmony Codex – Steven Wilson
With Porcupine Tree fans now recently sated thanks to a post-pandemic reunion that resulted in the outfit’s first album in thirteen years in 2022, Wilson endeavours to keep the classic prog-rock flag flying in full force with his seventh solo effort, which includes collaborations with jazz keyboardist Adam Holzman and Israeli powerhouse vocalist Ninet.
Water Made Us – Jamila Woods
If there is one artist who has been inconspicuously missing during these unprecedented times, it is Jamila Woods, her trademark sound of spiritually modern R&B along with its themes of remembrance and resolve, both personal and societal, sorely needed for maximum healing and uplift to everyone lucky enough to listen to her, and album number three certainly does not waste any time or effort getting to any of it.
And there you have it, another ten albums from 2023 that ought to be worth your time… I may still yet be able to squeeze more in though, so let’s see what November holds, eh?
Until then…
xxxo
