We’re halfway through what has already been an eventful year in the music industry. A year with some of the biggest artists of the moment releasing new music, a new rap beef that has brought out the best in some artists and the worst in others, cough J. Cole cough, and some great debut artists standing proudly amongst established names.
With that in mind, it’s all just too exciting for us to leave the decision of our favourite albums of the year till December. That’s so long away! So why not gather all together and talk about and share our current favourites of this truly incredible year for music?
Atlanta Tsiaoukkas, Georgia Burns, Elohor Efakpokire, and I have each selected an album that we feel has truly stood out in this phenomenal year…
Lynks - Abomination
(Source: BandCamp)
By Atlanta Tsiaoukkas
Lynks' (he/she/they) ABOMINATION is a drag-y, angry, horny debut full of sharp lyricism, creative production, and righteous queer chaos!
Every song offered up by Lynks on this album is a thoughtful, expressive perspective on being a gay man — combining a socially complex view of queerness in the UK with an irreverent, sexy sense of humour. Take “USE IT OR LOSE IT”, for example, an ode to “twink death” that celebrates excess horniness (“it’s going to be a 12-month hot girl summer”) whilst simultaneously fighting off the fear of being an ageing gay man with few role models to rely upon (Ian McKellen and Graham Norton were those name-dropped in this track). More explicitly political, the title track, ABOMINATION, takes some classic jabs at evangelical homophobes and reworks, Christian imagery to create a righteously angry queer anthem. Unlike the more pop-friendly and, arguably, dull and misguided attempts at this tiring trope (I’m looking at you, Sam Smith), Lynks' points to more prescient examples of homophobia alongside the well-known, well-debunked Biblical messages — all the while keeping their tongue firmly planted in their cheek. By expressing the very real sense of shame in discriminatory blood donation practices (“now every time I see the British Heart Foundation, I’m reminded that I’m an abomination”), there is a punkish sensibility that can be found across the album that counters more tame, milquetoast, straight-friendly musical challenges to homophobia.
There is almost a lyrical dissonance in the fraught and frank queerness in Lynks’ verses played against clubby and Hyper-Pop beats, but it feels correct. Lynks captures queer nightclub sounds, the exact atmosphere that the situations and how issues he explores would play out in reality. In doing so, he creates a supremely danceable, singable and stompable album. It is a loud and angry queer, bordering-on-punk sound that opposes the many radio-ready queer artists of today, whose sexuality is often neutered to appeal to the straight listeners, whose focus on masquerading in a tame version of Pride at the expense of moments of vulnerability and fear; emotions Lynks draws heavily upon. They are not afraid of presenting a queerness that is sexualised, shamed, nervous or angry and it's this side of queer music that ought to be pushed forward.
Cowboy Carter by Beyonce
(Source: @beyonce on instagram)
By Georgia Burns
In 2023, I found myself listening to a lot more country music than I had ever before. I found new artists through the likes of TikTok and other people's Instagram stories. Artists like Zach Bryan, Morgan Waller, Chris Stapleton, Haley Whitters, and Kacey Musgraves to name a few, quickly filled my Spotify playlists.
And so, when Beyoncé brought out her 27-track-long, country album Cowboy Carter, I was pretty surprised. One, to see one of my favourite artists release an unexpected new album and two, to see her release a whole unashamed Country album —- a genre which Beyoncé has only rarely orbited. Filled with covers of iconic country and classic rock songs (Jolene, Blackbird), classic-sounding country ballads, and masterful hybrids of trancey RnB and Country make a staggering long album soar and turn Cowboy Carter into an incredible listening experience.
Although this wasn’t Beyoncé’s first time performing within the Country genre. “Daddy’s Lessons” from her incredible album, Lemonade, really showed Beyoncé’s versatility. Cowboy Carter follows this path, expanding her sound and embracing of her Texan roots in a welcome bit of variety in her already diverse catalogue.
The release of “Texas Hold ‘Em” and “16 Carriages” on the 11th of February created a frenzy on TikTok. The Texas Hold ‘Em dance created by Tiktokers Matt McCall and Dexter Mayfield added further fuel to the fire. Whenever the song comes on through the speaker it has me and my friends dancing. The song now has over 1.4 million posts on TikTok with millions of views per video, showing that Beyoncé can break the internet with whatever genre she decides to go down.
I’m excited to see what other genres Beyoncé decides to put her twist on in the future, and I won’t be surprised if I like it as well.
ORQUÍDEAS by Kali Uchis
(Source: Pitchfork)
By Cameron Cade
When I approached the other writers at Antagonizine with the premise of the article, I was hoping that I had given myself time to make a decision. Names had been rattling around in my big (usually empty) melon for weeks: Little Simz (Drops 7), Charli XCX (brat), Billie Eilish (HIT ME HARD AND SOFT), Beyonce (Cowboy Carter), IDLES (TANGK), St. Vincent (All Born Screaming), and The Last Dinner Party (Prelude to Ecstasy). As I did my best to cut down that list, an album I had unfortunately missed when it was released suddenly entered my periphery.
ORQUÍDEAS by Kali Uchis is mesmerising. An album that fluidly transforms and evolves through genres, effortlessly combining Latin Pop and Folk, RnB, Soul, Hip-Hop and Pop. Dancey, ethereal songs such as “Me Pongo Loca” and “Disoa”, to the poppier side of the album with songs such as “Pensamientos Intrusivos.” offer a truly unique journey. I won’t insult anyone by attempting to use my less-than-adequate Spanish to translate this gorgeous album, but the bits I could understand (and the bits in English of course) were bewitching and heartfelt, all while being incredibly performed.
Kali Uchis takes a break right before the halfway point of the album to show off her ability in a genre I was in no way expecting to hear. “Te Mata” stands, unquestionably, as my favourite track. A beautiful bolero/flamenco jazz track with an incredible vocal performance and careful use of modern production sensibilities (as well as some beautiful strings, acting as ornaments to the main track), “Te Mata” is a bold and welcome step from an artist who was clearly being stifled by labels encouraging her to “appeal” to American audiences.
Anytime an artist embraces a variety of genres with open arms, it's difficult to get me to stop listening. Not only does Kali Uchis adopt these genres on ORQUÍDEAS, but she deftly flaunts her ability to craft catchy and incredible songs regardless of the genre or language.
Timeless by Kaytranada
(Source: Pitchfork)
By Elohor Efakpokire
I was first introduced to the extent of Kaytranada’s musical talent, when I saw him open last year for The Weeknd. That experience pushed me to listen to more of his music, and when I found out he recently released an album, Timeless , it quickly became my favourite album this year.
`Timeless is the third studio album by music producer Kaytranada, and it may be his best yet. Divided into two discs Kaytranada takes you into another dimension, with an eclectic sound and a seamless fusion of Electronic, RnB and Hip-Hop elements. Some features on the album include big names like Don Toliver, Childish Gambino, Anderson Paak and Tinashe. Kaytranada spoils us with songs like “Spit it out” and “Dance Dance Dance Dance” that radiate summer bliss and my personal favourite “Call U Up”, featuring incredible lyricism from Lou Phelps. Listening to this body of work is an immersive experience, captivating the senses and taking you on a sensory journey. Kaytranada includes components of syncopated beats as well as using drums and what resembles tambourines to achieve this wholly original sound.
Each song has an entirely unique sound compared to the one before, yet there's a beautiful cohesion in their sequence. Some honourable mentions include “Snap My Finger” featuring Pinkpantheress, “Stuntin” and “Weird”.
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