Amoeba Music

Our taste-making indie buyer at Amoeba Hollywood has put the finishing touches on his list Top 50 Albums of 2023 list, and it's awesome as ever. Read on to discover some new sounds or something already loved.

#50 Indigo De Souza - All of This Will End (Saddle Creek)
This album sounds like your favorite alt rock album from the 90s that you forgot was so good. A little bit grungy and a whole lot of angst. An album that can be both optimistic and intensely sad. She manages to capture those feelings we all feel in our youth that never really go away. A great way to start and end the year.

#49 Mint Field - Aprender A Ser (Felte Records)
Fantastic shoegaze from Mexico City. This is yet another gorgeous album to come out of pandemic times. So many albums out this year came out of those times we all collectively shared. Out of isolation and tragedy comes some beautiful music for sure. Bands like this make the world an easier place to deal with. Music therapy is real. The first of many fantastic albums that Felte released this year.

#48 Loveshadow - II (Dark Entries)
I really do feel that part of my soul is still in San Francisco after living there for over 10 years. I get a spark of excitement any time I discover a new band from the bay. This duo already has one great album under their belt. This new one is overflowing with the synth and bass lines we all miss from the 80s. It is like a dark wave soft rock. But it really does something different and manages to sound like something I have never heard before.
 

#47 Melenas - Ahora (Trouble In Mind)
This is the third album by Spain’s version of Stereolab. Super catchy and weird and effortlessly cool. I just immediately loved this record before it barely even started. A fantastic pop record that should not be ignored.
 

#46 Julie Byrne - The Greater Wings (Ghostly International)
A beautiful folk album that deals with grief is just what I needed this year. We all have parents die at some point in our lives. But having one right after the other was an intense experience for me this year that I was not quite prepared for. Gorgeous arrangements. A beautiful haunting voice. Harps and keyboards. What more could I ask for.
 

#45 Veil of Light- Sundancing (Avant! Records)
Synth-pop dance ballads from Switzerland. These songs would not be out of place on your favorite 80s new wave album. This album captures that sort of fun that only certain dark wave albums can. This always puts me in a good mood whenever I need it.

#44 Niecy Blues - Exit Simulation (Kranky)
I can always count on Kranky to find me a new artist like Niecy Blues. This album crosses multiple genres within each song. Elements of dream pop gospel and experimental r&b are found throughout. A beautiful album to just sit back and experience. It will take you over and make you a changed person after a full listen.
 

#43 Jessy Lanza - Love Hallucination (Hyperdub)
The fourth album by this Canadian electronic musician. I fell in love with this record right away and I relaxed right into it. It just feels good to listen to this album. Nothing like a catchy dance record to give you all those good feelings inside. “Don’t Cry On My Pillow” is one of the songs of the year for me.
 

#42 Cupid & Psyche - Romantic Music (Felte Records)
Abe Vigoda band members Juan Velasquez and Michael Vidal are back with their new project Cupid & Psyche. These LA dudes know how to write a catchy dreamy slow jam. This album sits somewhere comfortably between your favorite post punk songs of the 80s and your favorite 90s alt rock. “Angels On the Phone” is an essential part of my 2023.
 

#41 Fearing - Destroyer (Profound Lore)
This is one of those dark and spooky goth albums that I would have been obsessed with 20 years ago. But it is also a goth album that I am obsessed with right now. These have been some dark times the last couple of years. I always find this dark music cathartic and healing. This album has a great energy to it and only gets better with time.

#40 Tanukichan - GIZMO (Company Records)

Bay Area shoegaze in the style of darker shoegaze bands like Curve. Dark swirly music to help lullaby you off to sleep. Dark and moody while being sugary sweet all at the same time. ”Make Believe” will make you love this band. Or something might be wrong with you.

#39 Temple of Angels - Endless Pursuit (Run for Cover)
Like a goth-tinged version of The Sundays. This Austin band has put out one of the best debut albums of the year. I can never get enough dream pop to lose myself in. Swirling guitars and catchy hooks wash around the gorgeous vocals.

#38 Public Memory - Elegiac Beat (Felte Records)
My favorite albums every year tend to be a mix of light and dark. I like the feel good pop albums but I always fall in love with the darkest and dreariest of the albums of the year. As dark as Public Memory can be they always make me happy. I love being transported to another dimension and they always take you there. Like a mix of goth and trip hop.

#37 Empty Country - Empty County II (Get Better Records)
The former singer of Cymbals Eat Guitars has moved on to better and brighter things. This is another record that seemed to come out of nowhere and worm itself into my consciousness. “Erlking” became one of my favorite songs of the year. The album comes off as a collection of short stories that you want to know more about. Like a mix of Modest Mouse and Rufus Wainwright.

#36 Cloth - Secret Measure (Rock Action)
It is hard to explain this band but I really do love this album every time I listen to it. The songs are like a sexy slowcore whisper. They remind me of a slowed down version of Smashing Pumpkins at times. This album is dreamy and ethereal but there is a pulsating energy to these songs that are infectious.
 

#35 Soft Kill - Meta World Peace (Cercle Social Records)

Super catchy post-punk from these former Portland dudes. Dark and moody and everything I love. Trouble & Molly were both on heavy rotation in my car this year.
 

 #34 Pearla - Oh Glistening Onion, The Nighttime is Coming (Spacebomb)

A breathtaking debut from this Brooklyn moody indie folk artist. “Effort” somehow feels like a song that has been with us forever. I fell in love the first time I heard it. Like a long lost country-tinged dream pop record that was always in your collection.
 

#33 Ritual Howls - Virtue Falters (Felte Records)
Some bands just have perfect names and this is one of them. Another album of dark goth rock from this Detroit trio. They have a country music vibe through the filter of dark and gloomy death rock. For fans of The Sister of Mercy and Nick Cave.

#32 Beach Fossils - Bunny (Bayonet Records)

Bedroom pop at its finest. Another great album of dreamy jangly pop from these Brooklyn dudes. Heartbreak always feels good on an album like this.
 

#31 Squirrel Flower - Tomorrow’s Fire (Poly Vinyl)

Like a country music Pale Saints. My new favorite genre is country grunge shoegaze. Dreamy and melancholic songs with beautiful vocals. For fans of 90s era dreamy jams.
 

#30 Nuovo Testamento - Love Lines (Discoteca Italia)

Another one of my recent favorites put out their second album this year. Another perfect mix of 80s goth and freestyle. Super catchy and highly addictive. This band is just perfect.
 

#29 Kelela - Raven (Warp)

It feels like forever since Kelea put out her first excellent album in 2017. This album is a throwback to a different time in dance music. Smooth and ambient r&b pop at its finest. The album is full of so many good songs that I feel like I have a different favorite after every listen.

 
#28 Chasms - Glimpse of Heaven (Felte Records)
Chasms is LA ambient dream pop artist Jess Labrador. An absolutely devastating and beautiful ethereal album. I really can’t get enough of this album and I could listen to it forever. Highly recommended for headphone listening.

#27 The KVB - Artefacts (Reimaginings From the Original Psychedelic Era) (Cleopatra)
The KVB have created a fantastic album of dark wave covers of songs from the 60s. It sounds like a forgotten Love & Rockets album. Highly recommended.

#26 Wednesday - Rat Saw God (Dead Oceans)

Not many bands can pull off a sound somewhere between shoegaze and country. This band’s fifth album is an angsty album that sounds like it came right out of the late 90s. This album caught me be surprise and became one of my favorites of the year.
 

#25 Lisa O’Neill - All of This is Chance (Rough Trade)
You won’t find another album like this. Like some amalgamation of Nick Cave and Sinead O’Connor. A dark and folky album by this Irish singer-songwriter. It plays out like a story. As if you are just sitting at a campfire in some ancient long forgotten land.
 

#24 The Tubs - Dead Meat (Trouble In Mind)

These are my favorite kinds of albums to discover and fall in love with every year. I just never know what the year holds for me until I start to discover these albums. I can always count on Trouble in Mind to bring me a new favorite. Another band from the ashes of Joanna Gruesome. Sweet and jangly pop to bring you back to a simpler time.
 

#23 Ladytron - Time’s Arrow (Cooking Vinyl)

Ladytron is another band that I feel like has been part of my life forever now. But after electroclash came and went Ladytron is still here. Their sound has comfortably not altered much. It is like a warm synth blanket to cuddle up with. “Misery Remember Me” is one of my favorites songs of the year along with “The Night.” A band really only meant to be listened to at night. So happy to have them in my life.

#22 Tennis - Pollen (Mutually Detrimental)
Six albums later I still love this band. There is just something about this band that has made me a fan for life. They are always comforting and soothing to me. They are like a 70s soft rock duo but in the future. My favorite indie rock couple.

#21 Georgia - Euphoric (Domino)

I think we need a new Georgia album every year. I can never be sad when listening to her. The album takes a couple songs to get going but once you get into it the rest is like a fantastic never ending party. “The Dream” is my favorite song on the album and really is a song that I feel like everybody should love.
 

#20 Slowdive - Everything Is Alive (Dead Oceans)

I honestly never thought this band would still be active in my life. I just thought they would be one of my favorite bands destined to live only in my mind and a band that didn’t exist for decades. But Slowdive came back into our lives years ago and gifted us with yet another comeback album and tour this year. The album is short but I can listen to “kisses” and “the slab” over and over again. Nothing makes me happier than the multiple generations that are now into and obsessed with this band. It is hard to think of a band that has been more important to me than this one.
 

#19 Yves Tumor - Praise A Lord Who Chews But Which Does Not Consume; Or Simply, Hot Between Worlds (Warp)

Sean Lee Bowie gives us another weird and experimental pop masterpiece. Not just anyone can make music both catchy and chaotic at the same time. This album might take a moment to grow on you but once you love it you really love it.
 

#18 Nation of Language - Strange Disciple (PIAS)

Like a modern version of Human League. I am a sucker for catchy synth pop. Seriously just give me a band that sounds like this for the rest of my life and I will be the happiest little synth popper. This band never lets me down. “Sole Obsession” is one of my favorites songs.
 

#17 Body of Light - Bitter Reflection (Dais)

File Body of Light under my love of Depeche Mode and all the great synth bands of the 80s and 90s. For fans of Alphaville Anything Box and Book of Love. Albums like these make me feel like I am still a teenager listening to albums in my bedroom or on my walkman biking around my neighborhood. Dark and moody pop that never gets old.

#16 Parannoul - After the Magic (Topshelf)
Parannoul is a mysterious South Korean shoegaze band. Nobody seems to know anything about this band. It is one of those albums that I can somehow sing along to even though I don’t speak Korean and can often barely distinguish the lyrics from the instruments. For fans of Ulrich Schnauss and bands like Manual and Darla Records.
 

#15 Wild Nothing - Hold (Captured Tracks)

It seems like just yesterday I first got obsessed with this label and bands like Beach Fossils Blank Dogs Soft Moon DIIV Craft Spells and Wild Nothing. I never stopped liking this label and most of these bands are still very active and releasing great albums. They are a very consistent label and remind me of Sarah Records in the 90s. Wild Nothing is a bit dream pop and a bit jangly. One of those bands that you would swear came from the British 90s. Jack Tatum has perfected his sound and made another fantastic tight album.

#14 Land of Talk - Performances (Saddle Creek)

This band still feels new to me but they have been in my life for more than 15 years now. This Canadian band features the breathtakingly gorgeous vocals of Elizabeth Powell. They play a sort of indie rock that does not exist much anymore. The kind of mellow and emotional indie that Saddle Creek is famous for.
 

#13 Flyying Colours - You Never Know (Poison City)

Another album of fantastic shoegaze from this Melbourne band. This is a genre I never grow too old for. Always fun to hear bands still working within this genre and putting out new and inspiring albums to get lost in. Unlike some shoegaze acts you can actually understand these guys as the vocals are not just lost in the background. “Goodbye To Music” is one of the stand out tracks along with “Modern Dreams.”

#12 Laura Groves - Radio Red (Bella Union) 
Laura Groves is an indie British singer who first gave us the brilliant project Blue Roses in 2009. I honestly kind of forgot about her until she resurfaced the last couple of years with some EPs and this brilliant new record. A truly haunting unique voice that I am obsessed with. She has a fragile voice that reminds me of Harriet Wheeler and The Sundays. I love the whole album but I usually just listen to the first track “Sky At Night” over and over again.

#11 The Drums - Jonny (ANTI-)

Another one of my favorite artists put out his best album in years! Jonathan Pierce is the king of catchy indie pop jams. He is like The Smiths produced by Vince Clarke. Dreary and dreamy all mixed up together in a perfect combination. Synthy and super fun and easy on the ears. “Plastic Envelope” is my heartbreaking pop jam of the year.

#10 Kara Jackson - Why Does the Earth Give Us People To Love? (September Records)

The former National Youth Poet Laureate has given us a unique alternative folk album. An interesting and amusing take on a genre that has existed forever. She takes you into her world and makes it an enjoyable ride. I can imagine being obsessed with her singing songs to me as a child first discovering music in a classroom. But also seeing her perform in a smokey 90s coffeehouse. She captures a lot of feelings and emotions in one album. Can’t wait to see what she does next. I am now a proud member of the cult of Kara Jackson.
 

#9 Romy - Mid Air (Young)

I was obsessed with that first album by the xx back in 2009. We now have a whole xx universe with Jamie xx Oliver Sim and Romy. Mid Air is an excellent dance pop album. I love my musical queer family and can always relate to these albums on a deeper level. This album is like a big musical hug from a long lost friend. Familiar and full of love and longing. “The Sea” and “Enjoy Your Life” were two of my biggest favorites this year. The album pulsates with the dark and dreamy energy that you would expect from one of the members of the xx. It feels like being transported back to the techno of the 90s but only in the way that Romy could do. I always feel healed and reborn every time I listen to this album.
 

#8 Blonde Redhead - Sit Down For Dinner (Section 1)

I know I love a lot of bands but this band is seriously one of my all time favorites. They have been around for a good 30 years now and still manage to put out some amazing albums.I probably listened to their 2000 album Melody of Certain Damaged Lemons more than any album that year. And I still go back to it often. I get excited any time Blonde Redhead announces a new album. But this one is really one of their best. I went to see them perform this album this year and it made me fall even further in love with it. Kazu Makinon is one of my favorite vocalists. I could just listen to her talk and sing all day long. This band is always intense but has evolved over time as they embraced their more dreamy and ethereal sound. A truly gorgeous album.

#7 Pure Bathing Culture - Chalice (First City Artists)
I love this band and really could just spend most of my life waiting for new albums from Pure Bathing Culture to come out. This is really the year when all of our favorite bands released their post pandemic albums. Sarah Versprille has one of those perfect angelic voices. That voice mixed with the perfect balance of dream pop is pure magic. This band always somehow feels like the most nostalgic thing ever but also like something I have never heard before. Dreamy      and ethereal and everything I love. Another album that I could not wait to crawl inside of and bask in its beautiful dreaminess.

#6 Molly Burch - Daydreamer (Captured Tracks)

A perfect pop album that you didn’t know you needed in your life. Molly is sort of indie pop’s version of Kylie Minogue. She makes it so easy to fall in love with this album with songs like “Unconditional” and “Physical.” They capture that perfect blend of catchy pop that makes you want to never stop listening to music. The album is really hard to resist. But why would you want to? I need albums like this to break up the sadder parts of life. Wistful and romantically nostalgic.
 

#5 Fever Ray - Radical Romantics (Mute)

This year was full of so many of my favorite artists putting out new albums. It was almost too much. It was hard to even find the time to spend the time with them that they all deserve. Karin Dreijer and her brilliant bands the Knife and Fever Ray have been haunting us since their debut album in 2001. The Knife show I went to in SF so many years ago and the Fever Ray show in Los Angeles are still two of my favorite shows of all time. This album and its imagery does not disappoint. Dark and weird electronica that gets inside your soul and never lets go. I am just happy to live on the same planet as Karin and all that she has given us. Thank you Gothenburg Sweden for the amazing gift of Karin and Fever Ray and another fantastic album.
 

#4 Sufjan Stevens - Javelin (Asthmatic Kitty)

It has been 20 years since Sufjan gave us the gift of his magical album Michigan in 2003. I never lived in Michigan but the pull of my Michigan roots are strong. I am so happy we have another fantastic album from Sufjan as great as Carrie & Lowell and those first couple of albums. Nobody deals with death and dying and love and depression as well as Sufjan. I have had a couple of rough years and it is always comforting to have this dude in my life. He reassures me that it will all eventually be OK and we are all really not so different. Gorgeously orchestrated melancholic pop is his specialty. And he has not let us down with this one.
 

#3 Provoker - Demon Compass (YEAR0001)

I was a big fan of this LA based band and their debut album Body Jumper from a couple of years ago. This second album is more of the dancey dark synth that I can never get enough of. I feel like this band was just made for me. Addictive and catchy while dark and gothy. A band I would have been obsessed with 20 years ago but still find myself gravitating towards. This band understands their assignment. Elements of futuristic spooky sci-fi and dark horror vibes but they made it fun. This band leaves me wanting more but also so happy to live inside this album.
 

#2 Mareux - Lovers From the Past (Warner)

The Cure is my gateway drug to everything. So it is no surprise that an unrecognizable cover of “The Perfect Girl” would bring me to Aryan Ashtiani and the dark wave brilliance of Mareux. A perfect dark and dreamy album that became my obsession of the year. Modern goth for those of us still yearning for that perfect melancholic state of moody and dark romanticism. I have listened to “Little Lies” and “Heaven on Earth” on repeat for the latter part of this year. But the album is really a great listen from start to finish. I can never get enough of an album thick with dark nostalgia of days long gone by.
 

 #1 RVG - Brain Worms (Fire Records)

I slowly fell in love with this album over a couple months this year as it kept creeping into my life. But I have never looked back. A perfect album full of dark and jangly songs that any lover of the alt rock of the late 80s and early 90s would easily fall in love with. This Melbourne based band has been around for a couple of albums now but they only just made it into my life. Romy Vager is my spirit animal and I really can’t get enough of these songs. She has a beautiful and intense energy that makes me want to never stop listening to this album. Is there really any better song this year than “You’re the Reason”? Gorgeous and sad and everything I love all in one beautifully perfect album.