We heard it

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This article was published 15/12/2023 (955 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

There were thousands of albums in numerous genres and sub-genres released in 2023. Every week, Free Press reviewers John Kendle, Keith Black and Holly Harris each write about one of them.

As the year winds to a close, they sifted through 12 months’ worth of new releases, weighing star ratings, staying power and repeated listens, to bring you their top 10 picks.

Top 10 pop/rock/roots albums

1. Boygenius, The Record — Three supremely gifted solo artists — Julien Baker, Phoebe Bridgers and Lucy Dacus — unite to create an album that joyously and joyfully celebrates friendship, intimacy, honesty, intimacy and, most of all, the fact that love is love. Simply sublime.

2. Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit, Weathervanes — Singer-songwriter Isbell just keeps getting better. On the self-produced Weathervanes, he once again proves himself a fascinating observer of detail who isn’t afraid to question the Christian, patriarchal orthodoxy of the American South. He tells incredible stories AND he plays a mean guitar. Just give him all the Grammys.

3. Lydia Loveless, Nothing’s Gonna Stand in My Way Again — American alt-country performer Loveless has never been as emotionally honest or as musically expansive as on this record, the high point of her career to date. This is a breakup album, but it’s also a self-aware document of emotional and artistic growth, expressed through a genre-busting embrace of piano, keys, strings and synthesizers.

4. Super Duty Tough Work, Paradigm Shift — SDTW’s mix of instrumental prowess, hip-hop esthetics and anti-colonial politics will get your hips and legs moving while making your brain work. The Winnipeg crew, led by MC Brendan Grey, brings a blend of jazz-infused live instrumentation and erudite, radical lyricism that makes for a seductively powerful concoction. It’s starting to make noise in the U.K., too.

5. Paramore, This Is Why — Tennessee’s Paramore was an emo-leaning pop-punk band years ago, but Hayley Williams, Taylor York and Zac Farro are all grown up and the post-punk-informed guitar rock of their sixth full-length album is testament to their ability, depth and experience. This Is Why’s 36 minutes seem to fly by, but it reveals more and more with each listen. Spend the time.

6. The Beaches, Blame My Ex

7. Debby Friday, Good Luck

8. Jenny Lewis, Joy’All

9. Caroline Polachek, Desire, I Want to Turn Into You

10. Wednesday, Rat Saw God

— John Kendle

Top 10 jazz albums

1. James Brandon Lewis, For Mahalia With Love — An unusual and exceptional tribute album to the great Mahalia Jackson from this New York saxophonist. Powerful contemporary covers of classic gospel songs with stunning originality.

2. Darcy James Argue, Dynamic Maximum Tension — Canadian-born big band leader/educator Argue’s latest album is a reference to the life of futurist Buckminster Fuller. The writing and playing are stellar with fascinating variety and intensity.

3. Wadada Leo Smith, Fire Illuminations — American trumpeter Smith turns 82 this month and is a remarkable master who fits the descriptor, “If you’re looking for him, he’s somewhere else.” This is a very funky band that has hints of electric Miles Davis. Powerful and exciting.

4. François Houle Genera Sextet, In Memoriam. Led by clarinetist Houle, this is a loving tribute album by this Vancouver band to the late Ken Pickering, founder and strong voice in the West Coast jazz scene. Intense and heartfelt, it is an outstanding and poignant thank you from close friends.

5. Andrea Keller, Flicker & Polar Bird — Australian pianist/composer/educator Keller’s album is a blend of trio, strings and voice that is simply beautiful. The five-part Flicker suite is the cornerstone of a completely enjoyable release.

6. Ingrid Laubrock, The Last Quiet Place

7. Gentiane MG, Walls Made of Glass

8. Peripheral Vision, We’ve Got Nothing

9. Trio San, Hibiki

10. Kris Davis, Live at the Village Vanguard

— Keith Black

Top 10 classical albums

Mikayel and Lia Hakhnazaryan, Inner World — This deeply personal album explores a musician’s search for a new inner world after leaving his homeland. A longtime member of Berlin’s Kuss Quartet, cellist Mikayel Hakhnazaryan is joined by pianist Lia Hakhnazaryan for 11 eclectic works that display their expressive artistry. Highlights include Khachaturian’s Dream for cello and piano; Rachmaninoff’s Vocalise from his 14 Romances, Op. 34/14; and Bloch’s From Jewish Life, B. 54. Komitas’s Krunk is particularly haunting, including a traditional Armenian woodwind instrument that stirs the senses and moves the soul.

2. London Symphony Orchestra, Prokofiev: Symphony No. 5 in B-flat Major, Op. 100 — The London Symphony Orchestra led by Gianandrea Noseda tackles Prokofiev’s Symphony No. 5 in B-flat major, Op. 100, forged in a crucible of war and political unrest in Stalinist Russia. The gripping work, originally penned in 1944 as “a hymn to free and happy man, to his mighty powers, his pure and noble spirit,” bristles with taut energy throughout its four movements, brought to life by Noseda and his musicians with militaristic zeal.

3. Javier Perianes, Enrique Granados: Goyescas — El Pelele — Spanish pianist Javier Perianes infuses Granados’s Goyescas with equal parts passion and power, with the highly imagistic suite initially inspired by Spanish artist Francisco Goya’s paintings. The artist’s sublime pianism is exhibited in each of its seven movements, from dramatic swathes in No. 1, Los requiebros to clacking, dance-like rhythms in No. 3, El fandango de candil. A particular highlight is its famous No. 4, Quejas, o La Maja y el ruisenor laced with gossamer figuration and whisper-light trills, painting a picture of the Spanish maid and her nightingale often heard as a stand-alone work.

4. The Curious Bards, Indiscretion — You’d be hard pressed to find a more upbeat, infectiously joyful album than this ear-pleasing release featuring 18 reels, airs, jigs and country-dances culled from 18th century Scotland and Ireland performed by the Curious Bards. The early-music ensemble, founded by violinist Alix Boivert, is joined by four guest musicians performing on period instruments, as well as folksier drums and whistles. Highlights include snappy Scottish strathspeys such as Miss Clementina Sarah Drummond of Perth – The Marquis of Huntley’s Farewell – Mr. Moore’s Strathspey to darker, more contemplative works such as Mable Kelly, featuring the plaintive vocals of mezzo-soprano Ilektra Platiopoulou.

5. RIAS Kammerchor Berlin, Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin, George Frideric Handel: Coronation Anthems — Art imitates life when the release of this long-planned album happily coincided with King Charles III’s coronation held at Westminster Abbey on May 6. Justin Doyle leads the RIAS Kammerchor Berlin and Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin in stirring works by Handel, Croft and Blow, several of which were performed during the British monarch’s own crowning, including Handel’s Coronation Anthems, with its rafter-raising opener Zadok the Priest fit for a king.

6. Isabelle Faust, Francois-Xavier Roth, Igor Stravinsky: Violin and Chamber Music

7. Samuel Hasselhorn, Ammiel Bushakevitz, Franz Schubert: Die Schone Mullerin

8. Magalhães, Missa Veni Domine & Missa Vere Dominus est, Cupertinos & Luis Toscano

9. Oistrakh Quartet, Schubert Quartettsatz, Beethoven String Quartet No. 4, Op. 18, Shostakovich String Quartet no. 3, Op. 73

10. Shai Wosner, Beethoven 33 Variations in C Major on a Waltz by Anton Diabelli, Op. 120

— Holly Harris