Matt's Books and Music

[This post is part of a large project in which I am going through the popular music released in each year. Please see the note at the bottom of the post re: omissions and limitations.]

Introduction

When I was reviewing the music of 2023, what stood out to me was, on the whole, how balanced the year was. There were certainly some clear stand-out albums — Olivia Rodrigo’s Guts and Chappell Roan’s The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess to name two — but on the whole, the points I assign (in my totally subjective way) were distributed pretty evenly. As you’ll see, this means some unlikely artists made the top ten albums rankings, while a number of my favourite albums had no songs make the year-end playlist, while a lot of those top songs were either singles or from albums that didn’t do much for me otherwise.

Top 10 Albums

1. Guts (Olivia Rodrigo): Sophomore albums are notoriously difficult to manage. Few have been as successful as Guts. It both continues in the same direction as Sour, effectively confirming her brand as an artist, while pushing forward in the songwriting. A fantastic album!
2. The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess (Chappell Roan): While Chappell’s star shot up in unprecedented ways the first half of 2024, the album itself was released in September of the previous year, so for my purposes it counts for 2023. But it was a phenomenon. And deservedly so.
3. Personal (Florrie): I’ve been a big Florrie fan since 2010 and I was so thrilled that this album went as hard as it did. Five songs made my year-end playlist, and I have no regrets.
4. Paint My Bedroom Black (Holly Humberstone): It’s always exciting to see an emerging artist come into their own, which is what we saw in this great second album from British singer-songwriter Holly Humberstone. It has a quieter, and slightly darker, energy than a lot of what’s been popular the past few years, but it’s gorgeous.
5. First Two Pages of Frankenstein (The National): Few things say ‘elder millennial’ more than my profound love for The National. Led by standout tracks like “New Order T-Shirt,” “Once Upon a Poolside,” and “This Isn’t Helping” (to say nothing of a brilliant Taylor Swift collaboration, “The Alcott”), these dad-rockers showed they’ve still got it.
6. 1989 (Taylor’s Version) (Taylor Swift): Once again, I’m only counting the ‘from the vault’ tracks from the Taylor’s Version project. So it’s quite the achievement that this made my top albums on the strength of just six tracks. But what tracks they are! A bit sonically restrained compared to what made the original album (while spilling more tea), these six songs feel like lounging on a beach and I love them.
7. Mirror (Lauren Spencer Smith): Back to another album from a lesser-known artist, this is a deep, beautiful, and heartfelt collection of songs. The standout for me is “Narcissist.”
8. Did you know that there’s a tunnel under Ocean Blvd (Lana Del Rey): Another odd-but-wonderful album from one of the most reliably odd-but-wonderful singer-songwriters of her generation. The title track is the highlight for me, but it’s solid top-to-bottom.
9. The Day My Father Died (SYML): This is another album from the ‘artist coming into their own’ files. It’s another album marked more by its depth than its highlights, but check out “Chariot” for a great example of what he’s doing.
10. Waterfall (Rebirth) (Couch Prints): This is perhaps the least expected album to make it in any of my top-ten lists. But it’s a fascinating listen, sitting on a unique intersection of indie rock, pop, and electronica.

Other Albums of Note

• Good Riddance (Gracie Abrams): Another pre-2024-breakout year, another compelling EP from Gracie Abrams.
• The Returner (Allison Russell): This is a great contemporary soul album, led by standouts “Springtime,” “The Returner,” and “All Without Within.”
• Barbie: The Album (various artists): I’d say this soundtrack didn’t have to go so hard, but if the film taught us anything, it’s that it probably did have to.

Top 10 Songs

1. “Damage Gets Done” (Hozier, feat. Brandi Carlile): One of my most out-of-left-field top songs, it just kept rising and rising through the year’s steep competition until I just had to allow it its proper spot at the top. Let’s just face it: Brandi Carlile makes everything better just by showing up. (Favourite lyric: “But I know bein’ reckless and young / Is not how the damage gets done”)
2. “love is embarrassing” (Olivia Rodrigo): This youthful, high-energy, high-emotion rant is everything I want from a young rocker. (Favourite lyric: “Just watch as I crucify myself / For some weird second string / Loser who’s not worth mentioning”)
3. “Say Don’t Go” (Taylor Swift): This ‘from the vault’ track grabbed me from the first listen and hasn’t let go over two years later. With its thematic similarity to “All You Had to Do Was Stay,” I understand why it didn’t make the original album, but I’m so glad we got it, even if we had to wait nine years. (Favourite lyric: “And I’m yours, but you’re not mine”)
4. “My Kink Is Karma” (Chappell Roan): No matter how mature we may want to think we are, if we’re honest there’s always a wee bit of Schadenfreude when we see an ex struggle without us. No song captures this with as much snark, humour, and glee as this one. (Favourite lyric: “People say I’m jealous, but my kink is watching / You crashing your car / You breaking your heart / You thinking I care”)
5. “You’re Losing Me” (Taylor Swift): This song fell under the radar for a lot of non-Swifties, since it was released as an impromptu ‘from the vault’ track to Midnights following the public acknowledgement of the end of her six-year relationship. Telling the story one watching their relationship slowly die, it’s as well-written and heart-wrenching as any Taylor Swift song. (Favourite lyric: “Do something, babe, say something / Lose something, babe, risk something / Choose something, babe, I got nothing to believe / Unless you’re choosin’ me”)
6. “Casual” (Chappell Roan): Few songs capture the frustrations of contemporary dating better than this one, which wonders just when exactly a relationship stops being ‘casual’. (Favourite lyric: “It’s hard being casual when my favorite bra lives in your dresser / And it’s hard being casual when I’m on the phone talking down your sister”)
7. “The Alcott” (The National, feat. Taylor Swift): This is a story song about two ex-lovers who’ve arranged to meet up, uncertain of whether they can, or want to, move past old patterns enough to make a new beginning. It’s haunting, it’s profound, it’s heart-breaking. I just love it. (Favourite lyric: “Did my love aid and abet you?”)
8. “Not Strong Enough” (boygenius): I admit that I feel like a bit out of step for not loving the second album by boygenius (a supergroup made up by the powerhourse trio of singer-songwriters Phoebe Bridgers, Julien Baker, and Lucy Dacus), but there’s no denying the perfection that is “Not Strong Enough.” (Favourite lyric: “Half a mind that keeps the other second guessing”)
9. “vampire” (Olivia Rodrigo): Anger + Lyricism + Gorgeous Melody + Building Production = Pop Gold. (Favourite lyric: “Bloodsucker, fame-fucker / Bleedin’ me dry like a goddamn vampire”)
10. “Did you know that there’s a tunnel under Ocean Blvd.” (Lana Del Rey): This is quite possibly the most desperate song I’ve ever heard. It’s lonely, needy, self-doubting, and Lana’s velvety vocals match its emotion perfectly. (Favourite lyric: “Open me up, tell me you like me / Fuck me to death, love me until I love myself / There’s a tunnel under Ocean Boulevard)

Other Songs of Note

• “Blame Brett” (The Beaches): It’s been fun to see the star of this Toronto rock band rise over the past couple years, a journey which really started with this spectacular single from their album Blame My Ex.
• “Topanga Two Step” (Jess Williamson): One of the frustrating things for me this century has been the slow division of what used to be country music, largely along political and cultural grounds, between Americana and Country ‘proper’. (Wild to think that in 2025, the likes of Willie, Dolly, and Johnny wouldn’t be welcome in the Country world…) At any rate, it’s limited the exposure to artists like the wonderful Jess Williamson, who shows off her chops in this beautiful song.
• “Not the 1975” (Knox): I love a rising star’s first glimpse of real success. This cheeky song by Knox was a sign of fun things to come.

Most Surprising Inclusion

• “In Your Love” (Tyler Childers): Slow-tempo, coal-country songs about tenacious queer love aren’t generally fodder for best of the year lists, but here we are.

Notable Song that Missed the Cut

• “Kill Bill” (SZA): I went into the 2023 deep dive fully expecting “Kill Bill” to easily make the best-of-year playlist, but it just got a bit repetitive for me and fell off, just barely.

[Note: It’s of course impossible to listen to everything, so while I’ve tried to be as comprehensive as possible, omissions are inevitable. For consistency’s sake, I’ve gone with the year music was released, rather than when it became popular. Any ratings or rankings are my own and entirely subjective. This has nothing to do with objective quality but is simply reflective of my personal taste.]