ALBUMS OF THE YEAR 2023

[Hunchentootz]

Zopp does not work for me but I loved the new Amoeba Split album! I wrote about it here: https://pienemmatpurot.com/year-by-y...lbums-of-2023/

Cool. Thanks for that.

[SteveSly]

Glad to see that I'm not the only Tauk fan, around here.

Neil

Another Tauk fan here, but I don't have the new album. Need to get it. I first saw them open for Umphrey's McGee a few years ago and they blew me away. Been a fan ever since.

[boilk]

^^This new one returns to their roots, as it's all-instrumental. They've been mostly playing with a singer the last few years and it just hasn't been to my taste. But the new one is quite good.

Neil

[Zalmoxe]

^^This new one returns to their roots, as it's all-instrumental. They've been mostly playing with a singer the last few years and it just hasn't been to my taste. But the new one is quite good.

Neil

How does it compare to Nebula - which is their best that I know?

[hippypants]

[boilk]

How does it compare to Nebula - which is their best that I know?

Hey. I would say that Sir Nebula is their best album. It's not quite at that level, but I like it better than their previous release, Chaos Companion. It's a good album, with some of their melodic/proggy/instrumental goodness on display. The whole thing is up on bandcamp.

https://tauk.bandcamp.com/album/equalizer

Neil

[Zalmoxe]

Pourpre – S/t
Rabaska – s/t
Ultraphauna – No No No
Mong Tong - Tao Fire
Gravity Fields – Disruption
Trees Speak – Mind Maze

I love these types of lists, especially those coming from people that have a lot of albums common with my own lists. It allows me to discover things that I missed, like the 6 titles in the above list. I just want to bring everyone's attention to the fact that Pourpre has recently made their album available on CD and the item is for sale on the band's Bandcamp website. This is so good, that I am pretty sure a lot of people would purchase it if it was wider available. Have a listen - this was most likely shared somewhere else, but it has to be shared again. Thanks Hugues for opening my eyes to such a gem.

[Hobo Chang Ba]

I always try to take the month of January to evaluate the late in the year releases and flesh out final positions, so here is my top 20 of 2023:

Top albums of 2023:

1. Behold The Acrtopus – Interstellar Overtrove
2. Ni – Fol Nais
3. Paskinel – Maraude Automnale
4. French TV – A Ghastly State Of Affairs
5. Yoshida Tatsuya – The Die Is Cast
6. Tangerine Dream – Sessions VIII
7. Kanaan – Downpour
8. The Necks – Travel
9. Natural Information Society - Since Time Is Gravity
10. National Orchestra De Jazz – Ex Machina
11. Univers Zero – Luer
12. One Shot – 111
13. Satanique Samba Trio – So Bad
14. F Froislie – Fire Foretellinger
15. Hedvig Mollestad – Weejuns
16. Ukandanz – Kemekem ከመከ
17. Agitation Free – Momentum
18. Ozric Tentacles – Lotus Unfolding
19. Kate Gentile – Find Letter X
20. Asceta – Erebus, La Suite De Las Sombras


Overall, a pretty darn good year. Not the best, but presumably top 5 since I've been doing these lists (~2008).

[Trane]

I tried to make an order of preferance (a vain exercice anyways), but couldn't really manahe, so I just posted this in PA's top 2023 list.
descending order

The end of the list is jazzy stuff - and I'm not counting archival or reissues releases

Trees Speak – Mind Maze
Hidden Orchestra – To Dream Is To Forget
Light – The Path
Fire! Orchestra – Echoes
Free Human Zoo – Mysterious Island
Ishkero – Shama
Atsuko Chiba – Waters It Feels Like Growing
Rhùn – Tozih
Äshkinel – Maraude Automnale –
Jordsjø - Salighet
Lars Fredrik Frøislie - Fire Fortellinger
Natural Information Society – Since Time Is Gravity
AKKU Quintet – Kinema
Univers Zero – Lueur
Eclectic Maybe Band – Bars Without Measures
Maailmanpuu – Kaimalkuu
La Theorie Des Cordes - 4u-9525
Zopp - Dominion
The Chronicles Of Father Robin - The Songs & Tales Of Airoea: Book 1&2 -
Amoeba Split - Quiet Euphoria
Agusa - Prima Materia
Caravela Escarlate - III
Andorra – Current
Eyeless Owl – Murmurations
Isobar - Isobar III
One Shot – 111
Pourpre – S/t
Rabaska – s/t
Mangeurs de Reves – Vivre et Mourir -
Gecko & Tokage Parade – Heart of Tokage
Sonar – Three Movements
Alakazam – Karnival Dawn
Sesam – Modern Voodoo
The Ocean – Holocene
Ultraphauna – No No No
Mong Tong - Tao Fire
Emme Phyzema – Trying Not To Be
Gravity Fields – Disruption
DAAU - Musik Für Animierten Tonspurfilm -
Asceta - Erebus, La Suite De Las Sombras
Tauk - Equalizer
Bend The Future – Sounds So Wrong
Peter Gabriel - i/o
Soft Machine - Other Doors
Gong - Unending Ascending
Homunculus Res - Ecco l'impero Dei Doppi Sensi


Join the din – Change
Go Go Machine Orchestra – SYMBOL
GoGo Penguin - Everything Is Going To Be OK -
Binker and Moses – Feeding The Machine
London Brew – London Brew
Muriel Grossman - Devotion

[Zalmoxe]

Very late entry on my list: Cinétiqua - Crossing Borders (France). I just discovered it, even though Bandcamp says the album was released in May of last year:

[Trane]

love it, thx for the share

[mellotron storm]

My top 7 in order:
Zopp- Dominion
Lars Fredrik Froislie- Fire Fortellinger
One Shot- 111
Jordsjo- Salighet
Sonar- Three Movements
Univers Zero- Lueur
The Chronicles Of Father Robin- Book I

The top six stood out from the pack but Book I has won me over with the energy and passion that I feel the other two that followed lacked.

[interbellum]

My 2023 purchases as of 1/1/24...

(...)

Really like these

(...)
**Squeaky Feet - Cause for Alarm

** (...) Squeaky Feet I just got, but after a couple of spins of each, I’m really enjoying these albums, and in the end the Squeaky Feet may well wind up as my album of the year... fantastic record! (...)

(...)

* Points off for selling a CDR on Bandcamp that is listed as a CD. It would be nice if people were up front about this so buyers know what they’re getting.

Bill

Finally got this one. It's so expensive to buy this CD from the USA (shipping to Europe + all the rest), so I waited until I found one in Germany at Just For Kicksmusic. Just listening to it for the first time and what a great album this is.

I kept your last * because Cause For Alarm is a CDR too, although it's not sold on Bandcamp. https://squeakyfeet.bandcamp.com/alb...se-for-alarm-2