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alexanderking · 10 months ago

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Another Top 20 Albums of 2023

“…And have I left anything out?” – albums of 2022:

E L U C I D – I Told Bessie: Elucid isn't a name I'd checked for since his 'Lessondary' days. To find out he's part of what I call the "Off-Kilter Hip-Hop Movement" was pretty welcome. 'Really enjoyed the flows and production but didn't come back to this enough...

EARTHGANG – GHETTO GODS: The Dungeon Family legacy lives on through this duo (not just them obviously). 'Some impressive flows, beats and messages. 'Another one I didn't come back to enough...

Ego Ella May – FIELDNOTES PT II: This chapter in the 'FIELDNOTES' series details the joy and excitement of a new relationship, only for it to end so soon. The slower, at times stripped down Neo-Soul vibe conveys this well...

Joe Armon-Jones & Fatima – Tinted Shades: A welcome collection of Jazz-influenced Soul from this partnership. An album would be welcome...

Joey Bada$$ – 2000: 'A (spiritual?) sequel to '1999'. I found the lyrics more relatable this time around (especially on a track like 'Survivor's Guilt'). The production isn't as strong, which makes it's predecessor more enjoyable for me...

Quelle Chris – DEATHFAME: 'Some great production on here. I didn't fully absorb the theme of the album though...

Lucky Daye – Candydrip: Lucky Daye continues his streak of quality modern R'n'B. The mood of this album does remain quite samey; I need to be in a certain mood to return to this project...

Phife Dawg – Forever: Darting effortlessly between more vulnerable, reflective topics and braggadocios verses, this project is truly bittersweet...

Sudan Archives – Natural Brown Prom Queen: This is slightly more pop-leaning R'n'B, which contains the bluntness of a SZA or a Summer Walker and some great violin playing woven throughout the 18-track run. I genuinely forgot to put this in my honourable mentions last year...

KingKlavé – KingKlavé: This is just awesome hip-hop influenced jazz fusion! This may have made #19 last year...

2023:

20) Terrace Martin & Alex Isley – I Left my Heart in Ladera:

Alex Isley takes a slight departure from the mellow, lo-fi sounds of ‘Marigold’ to deliver a deep R’n’B project with musician/super-producer Terrace Martin. At this point, you can generally depend on Terrace Martin to give us pleasing, west coast tinged melodies with a hint of 80s and 90s throwback. The centre-piece of this album brought a welcoming end of October for me. I’ve come back to this project a fair bit…

19) Alfa Mist – Variables:

Alfa Mist’s playing has only become more assured with each project. The explorative melodies are accompanied with confident solos, well-placed vocals and the occasional rap verse from Mist himself. I haven’t played this very often throughout the year, but each time I do I think: “Why didn’t I?!!!??!”…

18) Butcher Brown – Solar Music:

Elephant in the room (for me): The tracks getting shorter and shorter with each project is irksome. That being said, a lot of the music remains on the chipper, optimistic side, making this a particularly great listen when the sun is out. There are a couple of three to four track runs on here I often play through easily...

17) Gregory Hutchinson – Da Bang:

After hearing the 30 second sampler of 'Blow Your Mind / Take it Back', 'Da Bang' became one of my most anticipated albums of the year. Unfortunately this did fall a little' short of my expectations; a lot of the instrumentals are great on initial listen, but can overstay their welcome without a chord progression or a breakdown (despite some again, criminally short tracks on here!). Pieces like 'My Turn Now', 'Losing You' and the aforementioned escape this criticism. 'Still an enjoyable listen...

16) Mick Jenkins – The Patience:

This was a late entry to the list for me, literally hearing this on New Years Eve. The Chicago based emcee delivers a flurry of hungry, frustrated verses over his usual and more than welcome jazzy instrumentals. Despite my pedantry when it comes to this trend of short albums, 'The Patience' comes across as succinct, closing off nicely with the importance of remembering to take a breath and the value in learning patience...

15) Yasmin Lacey – Voice Notes:

If this isn't UK Neo-Soul at its finest, it's pretty damn near! 'Voice Notes' opens with the very relevant message of just creating and releasing the project, whatever it is! The subject matter from there covers relationships (family, friends and romantic), cultural legacy, uncertainty and the difficulty that can come with trying to let go...

14) Pedro Martins – Rádio Mistério:

This is my first venture into the music of guitarist Pedro Martins, outside of hearing his guest feature on Thundercat's 'It is What it is'. Needless to say I was not disappointed. A lot of the music harks back to the Jazz Rock Fusion era of the 70s, which works perfectly for me! Standouts for me include 'Liberdade', 'Estrela Do Rock n' Roll Do Planalto Central', 'Polos' and 'Kaya Noite'...

13) Kaidi Tatham – The Only Way:

I'll refrain from saying the thing I've said every time Kaidi Tatham has released an album (you'll know what I mean if you go back through these lists...). What I will say is that there are some awesome track progressions on here, something that has become synonymous with the 2000black sound. I found 'Alien @$^%' particularly inspired, reaching into the frenetic sound that the broken beat genre has provided over the years. Kaidi's output continues to be insane (this isn't the thing I'm referring to...)...

12) Cherise – Calling:

'Another anticipated album of 2023 for me! There are great soulful R'n'B pieces throughout this (solo) debut. While romantic love is a prominent topic on the album, the main theme for me is cultural impact and legacy, heard through the joyful thump of '2 Steppin'', the "barbecue during carnival" vibes on the title track and the various snippets of Cherise's grandmother telling her story...

11) Daniel Caesar – NEVER ENOUGH:

'NEVER ENOUGH' departs from the more syrupy sentiments of a 'Best Part' or 'Blessed' and comes across way more brash over this stripped down, folksy, guitar-laden collection of ballads and reflections. Much like Caesar's previous work, the melodies are on the slower side, a few of them quite subdued. However, the vocal arrangements make these pretty easy for me to sing along to. 'NEVER ENOUGH' has only gotten better and better with each listen...

P.S.: *mumble mumble* 2019 *mumble* apology *mumble mumble*...

10) Lil' Yachty – Let's Start Here.:

The first thing I noticed about the track listing was, the songs were actually over 2 bloody minutes!!!! The second thing I noticed when I clicked the sampler to the opening track 'the BLACK seminole.' was the psychedelic rock instrumental accompanying Yachty's vocals. The push over the edge was when Chris messaged me saying that this album was awesome. He wasn't wrong. Alternating between the more guitar and drum heavy moments of 'the BLACK seminole.' or 'IVE OFFICIALLY LOST ViSiON!!!!' and the poppy glide of tracks like 'running out of time' or 'drive ME crazy!', 'Let's Start Here.' marks a welcome turn for the once controversial emcee, although the question of why stepping away from the emceeing pillar of hip-hop is regarded as growth, is a valid discussion to have...

9) Kali Uchis – Red Moon In Venus:

If anyone asked me why it took me so long to get into Kali Uchis, it would be valid. With delicate (sometimes grandiose) melodies and gentle vocal stylings, 'Red Moon In Venus' offers a more tender side of R'n'B that has taken a break in recent times. This being the case, the subject matter hovers around romantic love by and large (although the title involving the word 'Venus' should be a dead giveaway)...

8) JPEGMafia & Danny Brown – SCARING THE HOES... Startling the Maidens:

JPEGMafia's off-kilter production style compliments Danny Brown's often frantic style of emceeing! Given the organised confusion (no pun intended...I think) of various sound bytes, harsh snares and the odd blast of synth, this album title is pretty apt...

7) Sampha – Lahai:

After a slew of high profile features, Sampha returns with his deeply personal sophomore body of work. Musically, 'Lahai' contains elements of Broken Beat and the more modal electronic sound you might associate with a Floating Points or a Kirk Degiorgio. My favourites include 'Suspended', 'Jonathan L. Seagull' and 'Can't Go Back'...

6) Black Milk – Everybody Good?:

Given the amount of projects that speak on the impact that the COVID-19 pandemic had on our mental health, I can't help but wonder if life has imitated art to an extent; I sometimes find myself referring to these kind of albums as 'Post-blip albums'. Black Milk reflects on how the pandemic has affected him and in doing so, gives us what I believe to be his magnum opus. The verses are succinct. The production is top notch, channeling the signature Detroit sound with higher chords conveying hope, a light in the tunnel and sometimes, surrealism. We also get a hell of a feature verse from Phonte at the back end of this project...

5) Gareth Donkin – Welcome Home:

After a slew of singles over the years, musical prodigy Gareth Donkin releases his debut project. 'Welcome Home' plays as a bit of the throwback record, the bouncy drum patterns and synths taking us to the 80s. I did find this a bit of a shame as earlier singles like 'Inside' or 'Catharsis' were less on the nose with it. Tracks like 'Til' the End of Time (Night Sky)', 'By Your Side' and 'Tell Me Something' is why this is so high on the list (although I think September bias played a part too...).

Side note: I'm glad Gareth Donkin dropped the 'Master Soul Boy' moniker...

4) Ta-ku – Songs to Come Home to:

Ta-ku wasn't a name I'd heard until I was looking for more music by ROMderful. That's when I came across the impressive opening single 'SMILE'. 'Songs to Come Home to' closes out a trilogy of 'Songs to *insert thing here* to' on a peaceful yet hopeful note. The subject matter remains mostly in the realm of romantic love, reflecting Ta-ku's own personal life. A lot of the music stays in the lo-fi vein, but the highs are just that. I found myself enjoying this the more I listened to it also...

3) Shafiq Husayn & The Dove Society – So Gold:

One of the reluctant musical heroes of the West Coast returns! 'So Gold' continues in the vein of 'The Loop', utilising patchy drum loops to compliment the pleasing melodies and occasional beat change. 'So Gold' also takes the time to critique the more stereotypical side of black culture with advertisement interludes that wouldn't sound out of place on a show like 'South Side'. There are also a couple of call backs to Miquel Atwood-Fergusons string arrangement from 'Shafiq En A' Free-Ka's 'Dust and Kisses', a definitive favourite of my mine from the Sa-Ra founder...

2) Incognito – Into You:

Despite Bluey's furious output with his other musical acts, the last few years have formed an Incognito shaped hole that I'd didn't realise was there until my excitement for 'Into You'. This album exceeded my expectations. 'Still fairly predictable, but recruiting Goldie collaborator Natalie Duncan and Soul/R'n'B act Cherri V keeps the sound fresh, while having vocal stalwart Tony Momrelle keeps it familiar. 'Into You' fits comfortably in the top half of an Incognito 'worst to best' list for me (I've been watching a lot of those recently)...

Miguel Atwood-Ferguson – Les Jardins Mystiques Vol. 1:

The Brainfeeder label has Miguel Atwood-Ferguson pick up where Kamasi Washington left off, giving us a triple album of 52 tracks and three and a half hours of music. We are gifted with a wide range of compositions featuring an all encompassing roster of musicians, evoking many emotions ranging from reflective, subdued, hopeful, enchanted, intense, relaxed, going as far as nostalgic; seriously. The many synth-programmed solos have me thinking of Nobuo Uematsu's compositions for the 'Final Fantasy' series (specifically 'FFIX'). There's a lot to come back to on here as many of the pieces are revisited through the three-disc run. My favourites are...too many to count. I have played 'Kairos (Amor Fati)' a lot though...

Honourable Mentions:

Zeñel – 5ive: 'An unofficial favourite of the year! 'Boss Drum' and the 'Aliens' suite are fantastic...

Golden Mean – Oumuamua: 'More great contemporary UK Jazz from the Jazz Re:freshed family...

Ashley Henry – My Voice: I've got so much time for an Ashley Henry release. The vocal tracks on here are beautiful...

Terrace Martin – Fine Tune: This album unofficially continues the 'Sounds of Crenshaw' series for me. 'Some great compositions and instrumentals from the middle to end...

ROMderful – ICE CREAM CLONES 2: 'An enjoyable collection of tracks from the ever more self-assured producer/musician...

Armand Hammer – We Buy Diabetic Test Strips: I don't know if I'm quite there yet with the appeal of Billy Woods but I enjoyed this a lot...

Summer Walker – CLEAR 2: SOFT LIFE EP: This cemented my spring wonderfully...

Danny Brown – Quaranta: Danny Brown takes the time to share where he's been to get to this current stage of life...with much more rapping in his calmer persona...

Amber Navran – Knock on the Orange Door: Navran's talent shines behind the boards as well as on the horns, woodwinds and vocals...bloody hell!

Geneivah – Songs and Soliloquies: If self-care and self-affirmation were a soundtrack.

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