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User
Reviews 1
Approval 100%
Soundoffs 2
Album Ratings 444
Objectivity 71%
Last Active 11-24-19 3:21 pm
Joined 02-06-09
Review Comments 57
| 2023 - Top 25
Sometimes you just want the year to come to an end, but it keeps dragging on. 2023 was that year for me. Fortunately, I had a fair mix of really good music to accompany me on this seemingly never-ending year. | | 25 |  | Klone
Meanwhile | | 24 |  | The Belair Lip Bombs
Lush Life | | 23 |  | The Sleeping
I Feel Like I'm Becoming a Ghost
Personally, I'm glad that Doug's back in the music scene. I've always enjoyed The Sleeping and enjoyed him with Night Verses as well. Comparisons are tough to avoid and although I do thoroughly enjoy I Feel Like I'm Becoming a Ghost, I can't help but wish that The Sleeping's band members had Night Verses' technical ability. | | 22 |  | Random Hand
Random Hand
I listened to Random Hand back in the day and although they had a few fun songs, I never would have placed them anywhere near the top of a best of the year albums list. Apparently, a lot can happen in twelve years, because their most recent self-titled release is a marked improvement. To begin, I half expected a muted and fuzzy garage recording where each instrument competes for space on the recording, but instead the recording is well executed. Also, they've vastly improved upon their version of ska punk. The music is highly energetic, providing both variation and appropriate experimentation throughout. Furthermore, their lyrics are introspective and refrain from the all too silly lyrics that can be found on most other ska albums. Given time, Random Hand may move up my list. | | 21 |  | Haken
Fauna
Although I really enjoy Fauna and can't find any glaring flaws, unlike their other releases, I haven't been motivated to revisit it. Perhaps I'm experiencing progressive metal burnout. | | 20 |  | The Anchoret
It All Began With Loneliness | | 19 |  | The Gaslight Anthem
History Books | | 18 |  | Currents
The Death We Seek
Currents sound better live than they do on a recording. Their live energy and overall passion for their music doesn't translate to recorded media very well. | | 17 |  | Hail the Sun
Divine Inner Tension | | 16 |  | Silent Planet
Superbloom
I appreciate the change in direction on Superbloom. It's not necessarily as captivating as their previous work, but it's highly listenable. | | 15 |  | Cliffside
Deeper Water
I enjoy ERRA. Cliffside reminds me of ERRA. Hence, I enjoy Cliffside. | | 14 |  | The Ocean
Holocene
Holocene isn't as instantly gratifying as some of their former releases. I'm glad that I've given it adequate time because the journey from beginning to end is worthwhile. | | 13 |  | Dreamwell
In My Saddest Dreams, I Am Beside You | | 12 |  | There Will Be Fireworks
Summer Moon | | 11 |  | Spotlights
Alchemy for the Dead
Sometimes, I wonder why a specific image or graphic is chosen as the artwork for a given album. Essentially, I imagine that each band/artist puts considerable thought into the album art that's selected and that there's perhaps meaning behind their selection. Perhaps I'm wrong though because the album art for Alchemy for the Dead is borderline laughable and honestly almost made me skip this release entirely. I'm glad that I didn't because sonically, Alchemy for the Dead is a substantial step up from the album art chosen to represent it. | | 10 |  | Johnny Booth
Moments Elsewhere
I had never heard of Johnny Booth before. I'm not disappointed. | | 9 |  | Koyo (US)
Would You Miss It? | | 8 |  | Polaris (AUS)
Fatalism
I saw Polaris in SLC and hands down, they put on one of the best live shows that I have ever been to. | | 7 |  | Night Verses
Every Sound Has a Color in the Valley of Night...
Typically, instrumental acts fall into two categories for me. They either rely too heavily on atmosphere and put me to sleep, or they try to inject every technical ability into each song for no apparent reason, resulting in complete boredom and disinterest. Night Verses manage to sit comfortably between the two. However, although their former album From the Gallery of Sleep was highly enjoyable, its length didn't do the album any favors. I'm glad that they decided to split this album into two parts. In my opinion, the shorter runtime is ideal and as a result, I keep listening to this album because it's not a chore to sit through. On a side note, not that bands need to have a vocalist, but I'm very excited to hear what part two has in store since there will be several featured vocalists. Personally, I really like Doug's voice and thought that there would have been a place for him in the band on both From the Gallery of Sleep and Every Sounds Has a Color, but I'm not disappointed. | | 6 |  | Invent Animate
Heavener | | 5 |  | Panopticon
The Rime of Memory
I probably enjoy this more than several albums that I ranked higher on my list, but I only listen to black metal for a few months out of the year so it hasn't had as great an impact on me yet. | | 4 |  | Earthside
Let The Truth Speak
Just a side note, and not to discredit any of the other guest vocalists, but I really enjoy Keturah's voice on Let the Truth Speak. Her vocal delivery and inflections remind me of Cedric from The Mars Volta. I think that it would be really cool if Earthside released an entire album with Keturah, similar to what Cult of Luna did with Julie Christmas. | | 3 |  | TesseracT
War of Being
Randomly, I was given a VIP pass to their Denver show. It was a great performance and getting to meet and speak with the members of the band prior to the show was pretty cool. Also, they played two songs as part of a private set, which made the experience more unique. | | 2 |  | Spanish Love Songs
No Joy | | 1 |  | Dozer
Drifting in the Endless Void
There are years when you know with certainty which album is at the top of your list. 2023 isn't that year. In fact, I've looked over and re-evaluated my top albums numerous times and regardless of the selected criteria, time and time again, Dozer rises to the top. It’s great across the board, but a master of none. To expand, Drifting in the Endless Void isn’t the most gratifying album on my list. It’s also not the most technically proficient. There also exist albums on my list that mean more to me personally. However, as mentioned, 2023 hasn’t been my favorite year and throughout its numerous challenges, Dozer has been my go to album. Stay late at work to meet a deadline…listen to Dozer. The neighbor’s dog wont’ stop barking…listen to Dozer. Try to bake cookies for the second time since you burned the first batch…listen to Dozer. Can’t decide what your best album of 2023 really is…listen to Dozer. | |
bc013
12.22.23 | This is easily the most diverse best of the year album list that I've ever put together. | JDubb
12.22.23 | Great pick on 1! | BlazinBlitzer
12.25.23 | 11 is very good and I agree on the awful album art. | Azazzel
12.29.23 | 11, I am definitley one of those hesitant despite seeing it appear on several list
jammed Dozer once and liked but moved on, didn't realize what a cult hit this band was in the scene, need to circle back
not a djent guy like at all but can't deny TesseracT put together a pretty solid record. same with mathrock and Night Verses, that thing never drags or grates
YES The Anchoret! loved that take on prog, hit similar to Sermon's LP for me this year
| bc013
12.30.23 | @Azazzel I completely forgot to check out Sermon's album this year! I forgot that I had even purchased it because it arrived much later than its initial release date. I'm somewhat embarrassed because after seeing your comment, I just found it sitting in a stack of "I'll get to this later" CDs. I'll certainly have to check it out this upcoming year.
Regarding Spotlights, I was extremely hesitant as well and merely cherry picked it out of my pile of new CDs expecting to give it a quick spin before reluctantly moving onto something else. However, it's stayed on repeat for weeks on end throughout the year.
Regarding Dozer, it's certainly the least exciting album of the year that I've ever selected. To make a sports comparison, Dozer isn't the all-star on the team that will pull off the game winning shot, instead, they are the no thrills athlete that you can always rely on. They are the behind the scenes player that ensure that great plays can be made and ultimately keep the team positioned so that they have the potential to win. Initially I struggled with selecting it as my album of the year, but ultimately decided that there's nothing wrong with choosing an album whose top quality is being consistently above average, haha. |
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