Rare Round-Up: Top 5 Albums of 2023

Well, this is it! Our last Rare Round-Up of 2023. News is slim this week as you’d expect with everything at a bit of a standstill during this week between Christmas and New Year but Todd Phillips shared a couple of new pictures from the Joker sequel slated for release in late 2024. There’s also been a new trailer for Zack Snyder’s upcoming space epic Rebel Moon!

Otherwise, it’s just been a week of winding down from the festivities of Christmas and preparing for those of New Year! We hope you’re all having a wonderful festive period and thank you for stopping by to read our ramblings for one last time this year.

So with that, following on from our Best Movies of the Year listicle from last week, our final Rare Round-Up of the year will, of course, be our favourite musical ventures of 2023! It has undoubtedly been a fantastic year for music as it has been for film and with that said, let’s take a look at our favourites of the year:

5. Dolly Parton – Rockstar

Oh Dolly, how you make us smile! An album that was a response to the country icon’s decline of a nomination into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2022 because of the absence of rock and roll in her lengthy forty-nine album discography, the 77-year-old set out to justify her inclusion with just that!

An obvious departure from her regular works, the thirty-song-album sees Parton collaborate with rock icons like Joan Jett, Pat Benatar and Sting duetting their classic hits. The little pre-song exchange as Parton tells Jett to “grab your guitar and lemme sing with ya. Let’s go, girl!” is joyously wholesome as Dolly is clearly having a blast (and absolutely killing it)! Plus, it showcases just how good the aforementioned icons still sound.

Not absent of original material however, Parton penned the titular track as well as “World on Fire”, “Tried to Rock and Roll Me” and “I Dreamed About Elvis”, to name a few. All of which keep up that Dolly Parton energy that we love, with more drums and electric guitar.

4. Caroline Polachek – Desire, I Want to Turn Into You

Caroline Polachek’s fourth studio album (but her first under her real name, and a major label) throws things back to the 90s-2000s with a sound reminiscent of those of yesteryear. Described by Polachek herself as “a very maximalist album”, its twelve tracks feature a variety of instruments including Spanish guitar and bagpipes as well as children’s choirs.

The opening track, featuring the line that would become the album’s namesake elicits the vibes of the likes of Kate Bush running up that hill in ’85 and goes on to trip-hop, new wave and trance to flamenco. With this, Polachek solidifies herself in the music scene, breaking firmly away from her previous ventures as one-half of the indie pop duo Chairlift, where she spent the majority of her career. Breaking out of the metaphorical box that she was contained in by outside expectations, she transforms them into her most accomplished effort to date as an artist.

3. Rival Sons – DARKFIGHTER/LIGHTBRINGER

We’re counting DARKFIGHTER and LIGHTBRINGER as one entry due to the obvious fact that they are two halves of what is ultimately one album of eight songs and six respectfully, Rival Sons latest outing(s) feels like a sharpened extension of the band’s works until now. Following their first “hit” album success with 2019’s Feral Roots, the LIGHT/DARK collection is a culmination of the bands’ previous 6 albums.

Whilst the sound is familiar, parts of the(se) album(s) sounds unequivocally more grown-up. The compositions of each track longer and more complex, with more acoustic melodies and richer instrumental sections. Perhaps no more demonstrated than in the near nine-minute-long titular powerhouse of a track DARKFIGHTER which plays out like a complex narrative of emotional twists and turns.

Having some similarities with the likes of Led Zepplin and Bad Company, Rival Sons bring their bluesy zest to a classic rock sound, and they hit the ground running both times.

2. Mitski – The Land is Inhospitable and So Are We

Another album mixing sounds and genres however staying under a more specific umbrella, Mitiki’s seventh studio album is a little Americana, a little folk, a little bit country (but unfortunately not a little bit rock ‘n’ roll) and a whole lot of orchestral pop. Citing influence from various composers and spaghetti Western soundtracks, it is certainly Mitsiki at her quietest and most sombre- a country ghost story as if living through distant memories around a campfire, getting lost in the night sky.

Further characterized by her image-evoking lyrics layered with undeniable wit, The Land is Inhospitable and So Are We is a departure from the blaring synthpop sound of her first Billboard number one.

Stating that “the theme of love” is central to its lyrics, the album is a mesmerising journey through the human experience and really showcases Mitski’s growth and her maturing as a musician and a songwriter.

1. boygenius – The Record

boygenius is a supergroup consisting of three successful solo performers, born out of friendship and mutual admiration, as they fought against the media who were always pitting them against each other. Such information is profoundly evident within the tracks of the unassumingly titled The Record.

Julian Baker, Phoebe Bridgers and Lucy Dacus come together for the second time- following their self-titled EP in 2018, perfectly marrying their sounds to create something transcendent of any one genre. Opening with an acapella track as the three’s vocals blend seamlessly as they sing Give me everything you got / I’ll take what I can get / I want to hear your story and be a part of it: an opening statement reflective of the album as a whole. Followed by three tracks penned individually by each of the trio before their songwriting efforts reunite on "Cool About It."

And we are more than cool about The Record; a huge success not only for the three as a collective but individually as well.

What have been your favourite albums this year?

Have a wonderful new year everybody and see you in 2024!