Contributed by Jonny Collins
Another year done, another 12 months jam packed full of… huh, you know I can actually barely remember anything that happened this year.
Like it was all bad, I know that much, but I think 2020-2022 just burned me out on it so much that I’ve just let it all wash over me like the polluted drinking water in our country and slice me up with all the razors and needles dumped by water companies trying to profiteer a basic human resource to an even more bullshit degree than before.
I think 2023 has been a culmination of bullshit that’s been a long time coming that both Johnson and Truss had set up over the last couple of years, and we’re now at a point when I’m just like “Yep, of course that happened, why wouldn’t it?” And then I just spitefully move on and carry on with my life in the vague hope that it’ll piss someone I don’t like off. In reality they probably don’t know I exist, but let me pretend, it’s all we have now.
2023 for music was a weird one as well, the charts were a lot of nothing, and not just in a Boomer “music today isn’t as good as when I was a teenager and growing up” kinda way, ‘cause I didn’t love most of that either. But even just compared to a couple of years ago, there was so many different things being made from so many different angles. And yeah, there was some crap, but it was at least fun and interesting crap.
2023 has just felt like the year of sampling and reviving older songs and either making them worse or change very little about them, or just really successful far right Country music over in the States.
But, as always, I never limit myself to the charts, and in the underground and indie space, there were so many cool musical projects going on, and here are just 44 of my absolute favourite Blizzard-appropriate tracks from the year gone by.
Disclaimers that these are not in a ranked order, they are chronological from release date. I will be providing some commentary to explain why I like and why I picked each one. These are my words and interpretations unless stated otherwise, I do not claim to speak for the artists, and it is possible, perhaps even likely that I’ve really missed the mark with some of these, so grain of salt with that.
And if you can’t be arsed to read nearly 15000 words about music you probably hadn’t heard this year, you can just find the playlist below and make your own conclusions and analysis:
- Deezer: https://deezer.page.link/pvnhBYYmAwNJejJ87
- Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/3axB87lZlyGwX75oMRXdzS?si=ae38d22a9885450f
- Tidal: https://tidal.com/browse/playlist/55f579c4-6111-412f-add8-b59b005f2b50
- YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLGv_OFvoeqQsuG4diqGd2eM77_ZN1REFB
Okay, let’s get this bad boy started with some familiar Scouse boys:
1: Lights Out (Toff boi UwU) – Austerity Dogs
Lights Out (Toff boi UwU)
20/01/2023
Spoken Word Punk
“Little Toff boi sells off resources to see their bank balance go up
Living off the interest
While the public show disinterest
as it’s between either brekkie or tea being their one meal a day”
Starting our list, we have our favourite angry Scouse scallywags from Austerity Dogs – with their punk flavoured beat poetry in the form of “Lights Out (Toff Boi UwU).” Austerity Dogs are one of those bands who have an unmissable cult output, featuring raw authentic working-class rage against elite Tory oppression, systemic corruption, and the human condition in such contexts.
This track is a self-admitted fuck-about track. This year they also put out “Lobster.exe”, which is much more introspective, turning down the rage or at least redirecting it into great reflective poetry backed up with more melancholic ambient beats. It’s a phenomenal EP, but I always find myself coming back to the charm of this one.
Much like last year’s entry “What’s It All about?” – Lights Out features explicit storytelling, delightfully disgusted and sarcastic delivery, and a riff fuelled rock beat to colour in the gaps between words, coming together to create a rich tapestry of Tory hatred and class frustration.
Lights Out is a bit softer than my favourites from last years, “The Void”. But that works in its favour, as Jono takes a more exasperated tone as he depicts this toff character, the kind of Boomer who got handed everything in life, got his dream job, basically got handed assets to sell off and manipulate the economy in his favour, yet talks down about spoiled millennials and gen z not knowing real hardship, and calling back to a war he wasn’t even alive to experience to establish non-existent credentials for his opinions. You all know a guy like this, hell they’ve been filling out Parliament for at least the last decade.
This track is a sincere takedown, but that doesn’t remove its sense of cheek and humour and the general charm of this unique blend of Craig Charles-esque poetry, Sleaford Mods style beats, and Bob Vylan rage that Austerity Dogs have going for them. A supremely underappreciated modern rock duo who are going to make huge countercultural impacts if they keep this level of writing, experimentation and energy up.
2: Take Their Eyes – Allfather
A Violent Truth
25/01/2023
Black Metal
https://allfather1.bandcamp.com/album/a-violent-truth
“As tyrants rise
We tear them down
We’ll leave them swinging
With a Carrion Crown”
Taking a bit of a gear shift early on to this extreme Allfather track. You can micro define extreme metal subgenres ‘til you’re blue in the face, but to me this feels like Blackened Death Metal – featuring raw and ambient distorted guitar tones rather than the crunch you expect from death metal, but still bringing in that groove and those hooks, a guttural style that straddles the two, and the blast beat drums that have you headbanging at a tempo that will definitely cause you back problems in the not too distant future.
Whatever it is, I really like it. It’s a dark and aggressive depiction of the failures of democracy and dangers of tyrannical rule, which we’re unfortunately much closer to than many of us would like to admit.
It sets the scene for this tyrannical violent rule, then builds to an almost deathcore-like breakdown taking eye for an eye to a literal extreme conclusion, the titular “take their eyes” referring to taking both back before they get a chance to take both of yours. It’s too late to fight back at that point, so don’t wait that long.
This is everything I like in metal, brutal, raw, groovy, aggressive, and a great release of tension whilst you pretend to mosh by yourself in your bedroom, knowing that in an actual mosh pit you’d quickly run out to the side as far away from the action as possible.
3: Putin’s Ashes – Pussy Riot
Putin’s Ashes
27/01/2023
Ambient
“Зла тебе я не прощу
(I won’t forgive you any harm)
Ты гори гори до тла
(You burn, burn to the ground)”
This is a bit of a weird one for this list as I think it’s the video as much as the song that really makes this one stand-out as a 2023 protest song masterpiece.
The song divorced from the video is a hauntingly ethereal, kind of matter-of-fact chant against the war crimes of Russian dictator Vladimir Putin. The fact that it’s so emotionless and toneless really adds to the creepy vibes of this track, and I think enhances the statement the song is trying to make against Putin.
Then you add the video which sees several masked women burning a portrait of Putin to the ground and the song trebles in power just like that. The song doesn’t need the video, but the video really punctuates the song’s message. According to the video description, most of the women involved were Ukrainian, Belarusian, or Russian – three of the peoples most directly harmed by Putin’s actions as dictator president of Russia.
The song is determined, unambiguous, and using violent imagery in a completely non-violent protest. I genuinely think this track will be studied for generations to come as an important historical moment.
Pussy Riot’s artistic chops really sell it both on an audio level and with the cinematography and choreography, framing the Putin Portrait in the middle of the shot slowly burning as all 12 masked women flank it on either side, standing and staring unapologetically at the camera. This is powerful performance art the likes of which few other artists are either capable or brave enough to do. Pussy Riot are a one-of-a-kind group, and whatever it is they’re working on, it is guaranteed to be important, mind blowing, and unlike anything you’ve ever seen or heard before, and this is no exception.
4: Silence is Violence – Comeback Clit
Howl Still
03/02/2023
Riot Grrrl
https://comebackclit.bandcamp.com/album/howl-still
“Taught to protect ourselves
We’re taught not to ask for it”
Comeback Clit are a modern feminist punk outfit I discovered at this year’s Manchester Punk Festival and do everything I want in a Riot Grrrl band and more. Hardcore riffs, satisfying groovy breakdowns, yelled feminist lyrical content, all wrapped together in a package that makes you wanna smash shit up left, right and centre in pursuit of feminist liberation.
Silence is Violence is all about how the patriarchal society puts the onus on victims of sexual harassment and assault to act in a way that keeps them safe, and conversely seems to let perpetrators off incredibly lightly, like it’s not their fault. They were clearly goaded into it by women simply existing.
This attitude penetrates beyond everyday misogynists and goes deep into law enforcement and justice systems around the world. “Silence is Violence” is an important and transferable message that’s very at home with this issue, in that being silent about this issue is functionally akin to supporting the status quo and the way things are. They make that point very clear with crushing punk riffs and determined lyrical delivery.
Comeback Clit are a very exciting band and I look forward to everything new they release, as they really do give you everything you need in a modern riot grrrl group, so if you’re partial to the genre you absolutely need to check em out.
5: No Future – The Meffs
Broken Britain Pt. 2
24/02/2023
Punk
https://themeffs.bandcamp.com/album/broken-britain-pt-2
“Do you see how the other side live?
Do you think it’s okay?”
Next up we have No Future by The Meffs – an excellent modern punk band, a bit more stripped back and accessible than Comeback Clit, but no less full of feminist rage.
This is just a classic call for rebellion and revolution underpinned by a catchy old school punk sound with modern production. Lyrics deal with the central premise that most of us just have no real future or prospects because wealth inequality is so vast that not even a Blairite idea of working-class prosperity severely limited and railroaded into capitalist productivity is achievable for the majority of working people.
All of this while the richest of the rich managed to turn a once in a generation global crisis into ways to make even more profit off of the declining health and survival rates of the poor.
To quote an upcoming song much later in the end, “Shit’s fucked” – and this anger has been channelled into a timeless punk hook accessible to most ears and musical tastes.
6: War to the Palaces – Faintest Idea
The Road to Sedition
15/03/2023
Ska Punk
https://faintestidea.bandcamp.com/album/the-road-to-sedition
“For every window there’s a brick
War to the Palaces”
Faintest Idea’s Road to Sedition is my album of the year hands down. I’ve loved this band ever since I first heard them, and they’re probably the band that actually got me properly into ska punk and not just a genre that I enjoyed enough when it was on but never seek out actively.
Faintest Idea have some of the heaviest brass sections in the genre, I’ve never been so scared of a mosh pit in my life, and this new album is more of what I love about them. Heavy and melodic brass sections, bouncy rhythmic sections, well picked and integrated political samples, ugh, it’s just everything I need. It’s no more than the sum of its parts, but the sum of its parts are ridiculously top tier, it doesn’t need to be.
War to the Palaces is probably my favourite track of the album, it’s got a rough, fast punk driving rhythm, catchy brass hooks, a juggernaut of a chorus chant, and tight structure that is just as long as it needs to be without mixing itself up too much.
Lyrically it tackles wealth inequality, specifically with regards to accommodation and housing crisis – where more and more people are living on the streets, and more still are living in accommodation not safe or sufficient to live in, while private landlords are making a killing in the industry, and it seems all city newbuilds are getting immediately bought up by investors and being rented at completely unaffordable prices.
Whether you take the palaces in this song as literal palaces, or just the houses of the rich landlords, it works just as well – brick em next time you see one.
7: 18+ – Scene Queen
18+
16/03/2023
Metalcore
https://hopelessrecords.bandcamp.com/track/18
“Headline spot goes to the abuser (that’s right)
Half my idols are fucking losers”
Scene Queen might just be my favourite artist working right now. She takes everything I love about the attitude of Riot Grrrl, wrapped in nostalgia by exceptionally produced early 2010s electronica infused metalcore style.
18+ is a standout release in 2023 and has me hyped as fuck for this year’s album. If you’re like me, you spent a lot of 2023 being disappointed in artists you thought would be better turning out to have multiple credible allegations of sexual misconduct against them. While “18+” is about a very specific kind of all too common sexual abuse in music and especially rock, the energy is cathartic and relatable to really any bands with shit men in them.
I don’t think any bands I liked have been specifically called out on noncing this year, but with Anti Flag and Rammstein both being on my best of 2022 list getting some frankly horrific allegations against their respective singers, this song has been a great fuck you to those people for me, even if the specifics of the song are not a 1-1 with what these men have (allegedly) done.
Bright pink Barbie bimbo aesthetics, brutally heavy breakdowns, confident and swagger filled lyrical delivery, Scene Queen is everything I admire in more politically and socially charged music, and this track is a fucking bop even detached from that, so this is probably song of the year for me ngl.
The Microsoft Sam voice solemn non-apology note that leads into the breakdown is the icing on the cake. The satire and parody of that specific kind of damage-limitation social media post from bands called out on this shit is spot on. That exact voice is how I read all of them from now on, as they might as well be computer generated at this point, calculating what words to say to cause the least additional backlash and salvage what remains of a fanbase.
Saying that, Rammstein are touring again, and Anti Flag recently released an anniversary edition album, so it can’t’ve hurt them that much. Isn’t the music industry great.
8: Burn Your House Down – The Hirs Collective
We’re Still Here
24/03/2023
Punk
https://hirs.bandcamp.com/album/were-still-here-2
“We’re not stopping. We’ll never quit this collective”
I don’t even know how to begin describing this one except it’s the exact music you’d expect trans women to make. It’s abrasive, discordant, unpleasant to listen to, and I fucking love it.
It’s also only just over a minute long so doesn’t outstay its welcome – and is a refreshing short burst of unbridled rage and determination with collective community minded theming, taking their ideology of de-individualization very clearly in their songwriting.
This is pure leftist bliss boiled down to sonic form, and it sounds fucking atrocious and yet low key the only thing I ever want to listen to again when the mood is right.
Definitely a band I’m going to get deeper into and really experience everything they have to offer, as even from this small sample of seconds I can tell this is one of the most exciting queercore bands I’ve ever encountered. And I’m boring as shit, I find everything queercore exciting, so that’s a pretty impressive bar to clear.
9: Warning: Dystopia – Common Sense Kid
A for Effort, E for Attainment
28/03/2023
Ska Punk
https://commonsensekid.bandcamp.com/album/a-for-effort-e-for-attainment
“History repeats itself, still no lessons learned
When you outlaw peaceful protest It’s not just human rights
That’ll get burned”
Wow, just wow. I remember Common Sense Kid releasing music in 2020 and 2021 and it being really great independently produced punk from a self-taught musician, but this is just an inhuman improvement.
I always loved Common Sense Kid’s lyric writing and vocal style, and even the stripped back punk riffs – but here we have a high tier dub/ska track, well written poetic lyrics, a catchy hook, constantly moving beat and produced with a clear artistic vision.
This song is incredible and my favourite off the 2023 album. The lyrics are a lot to go into as he sums up the dystopia that we are currently living through. Building upon each verse; getting more and more frantic and overwhelmed, and ending on dead silence after that last line, with no fadeout or anything to punctuate the gravity of the feeling and situation we’re in. Pure art, honestly.
I could gush for ages but I’m already struggling to make coherent sentences about how much my mind is blown by the step up in quality from what was already great raw punk, so I’ll leave the music to speak for itself. But yes, this is 10/10, quality stuff, great job Mr. Sense Kid.
10: Centrist – Slightly West
Fearmongrel
04/04/2023
Alternative Rock
https://slightlywest.bandcamp.com/album/fearmongrel
“It’s so hard to choose
Between human rights and power abuse”
One of my first new artist discoveries of 2023 was finding this track by Slightly West whilst painstakingly looking for songs against private healthcare as standard. (surprisingly hard, thought it’d be a goldmine, but either not many people have done it, or more likely, a lot of the people who have made that statement have been suppressed and not really promoted by anyone enough for me to find them.)
Slightly West is a fairly small YouTuber and musician, but his musical style feels perfectly curated to the stuff I like. It’s grungy, discordant, hints of horns giving it a not-quite-ska feel but adjacent, very overtly satirical and political, and nowhere is that more evident than the song Centrist.
This is a takedown of people who occupy the centre ground of modern politics, people who think that all political ideals are the same, and people with a privileged enough life to think that fascism is just a bad as socialism.
The main hook of this song “It’s so hard to choose between human rights and power abuse” is brutally sarcastic, really highlighting the naivety of people who define themselves as centrists. I am sympathetic to viewpoints like “both realistic candidates in this election aren’t great” or “the left-wing party aren’t left wing enough to actually enact any meaningful systemic change” – sure, I won’t argue with you on that in most cases. But very few elections are actually being fought between the left and right. They’re being fought between the right and at best centre.
I’m not going to go deep into political theory here, loads of people have done that better than me in fewer words – but the fact is if you think both electoral parties are just as bad as each other, that’s probably because they both typically occupy the right wing of the political spectrum, just one further than the other.
So yes, I can see how you can observe that two candidates in an election aren’t really that distinct – but that’s not the same as both sides being as bad as each other. In very few cases is that true, usually there is a candidate who at least pays lip service to some basic socialist ideals, like “maybe poor people also deserve to not starve to death in the streets all of the time. We can talk about it.”
And people who define themselves as centrists rarely critique from the actual centre ground, it’s always the centre of that window of political choice, thinking that the answer lies in compromise between the two options, rather than way over there on a completely different grid to the two currently fighting for your votes.
So yeah, Centrists are almost more infuriating than the right, for the simple reason that at least the right are explicitly terrible. People in the centre have a smug, holier-than-thou attitude, that they’re the only enlightened ones able to achieve a compromise and see what is actually needed.
Unfortunately, in most electoral systems, the centrists are also the ones who decide results, as they’re the only people likely to change year on year, so that’s another reason to hate them. They could just be sensible and we’ll never have to see another Tory government in our lives, but no.
Fuck centrists, and listen to this brilliant song shitting on them, Slightly West is criminally under listened to, and deserves way more fans than he has.
11: I Hate This Place – Throwing Stuff
I Hate This Place
05/04/2023
Punk
https://throwingstuff.bandcamp.com/track/i-hate-this-place
“Must be peaceful to be filled with so much hate
Shout it loud, I hate this place
Must be inspiring to elicit such disgust
With your tongue stuck to his boot”
Here we have some good old hardcore flavoured rage from appropriately named “Throwing Stuff.”
The sentiment of hating this place is very relatable to all of us living in the UK right now. Also, on a more micro level, it’s applicable to the whole comedy circuit a lot of the time. This is just such a universal sentiment on its own that I don’t feel you need to explore any specifics in the song. Plus, the source I’m sure I found the band talking about the song’s meaning a while ago I can now no longer find, and I don’t want to speculate any more than I already definitely have on half of these.
However you read it, it’s a hecking mood. It’s short, it’s angry, and it’s loud. Everything I love in both Punk and women. This song isn’t a woman, but if it was it’d be the perfect one.
…what the fuck am I even talking about anymore? We’re not even close to halfway through, let’s just move on.
12: Doom Scrolling – Worriers
Warm Blanket
07/04/2023
Punk
https://worriers.bandcamp.com/album/warm-blanket
“Looks like we’ve been making plans
for the next 30 some odd years
With all of our Monopoly money,
like this city might still be here”
Something a lil softer now, we go to Worriers’ “Doom Scrolling” – which is, a melancholic dirge all about the futility of all human activity in the face of near certain extinction or at least societal collapse – and being beyond hope that we can turn the tides, and just vaguely hoping that all the bad stuff will happen later, so we can get some small enjoyment in the here and now.
This is brutally tragic and relatable, and really captures the feeling of the titular doom scrolling, just feeling uncontrollable despair, so just endlessly scrolling all the bad stuff without any motivation to do anything else, almost as a form of self-harm.
It’s painfully in tune with how a lot of us are feeling right now, and a cathartic listen for that reason.
13: Under The Rotting Pizza (From “Final Fantasy VII”) – GameGrooves ft. Simple Minded Symphony
Limit Breaker: A Ska Tribute to Final Fantasy VII
21/04/2023
Ska
https://gamegrooves.bandcamp.com/album/limit-breaker-a-ska-tribute-to-final-fantasy-vii
Okay, I don’t normally include covers on these lists, largely because there’s so many other great contenders that it doesn’t feel fair to bring back older songs, however well they’ve been reinvented by the covering artist. (That’s the main reason you won’t see T-Pain’s War Pigs on here, despite being one of my favourite covers of all time.)
But I suspended my rule for this wonderful rendition of one of my favourite video game soundtracks, partly for those reasons. And also because we showcased and reacted to a lot of these tracks on a livestream earlier in 2023, and that became our most viewed video no contest, so I think I owe these guys an extra shout out.
But how do I make a case that an instrumental Ska cover of an instrumental RPG field track belongs on a list of 2023’s best protest/adjacent music?
Well – if you’ve ever played Final Fantasy VII, or are even remotely familiar with the concept – the Midgar section of the game is very on the nose with its social commentary on class warfare, having the working class impoverished in the slums literally underneath the main prosperous city with the big energy monopoly slowly bleeding the planet’s resources dry on top, blocking out all natural light and using giant spotlights to replicate the sun in these neglected areas.
That’s the “Rotting Pizza” this track title refers to. It plays during a segment in the game where you are separated from your main party and exploring unfamiliar slum areas, with wasteland environments, lots of damaged roads, half finished construction, and forgotten areas left to rot. The track, I think, perfectly goes hand in hand with the kind of environment that is left to die while above they’re all just continuing to grow and harvest more of the world until there’s nothing left.
It’s very contextual for sure, and maybe you don’t get this vibe from the track out of context – but anyone who has played either version of the game will be instantly transported back to that setting hearing this track. The game is not subtle about its environmental and class commentary, especially in that first section.
And the track reinterpreted in this high-fidelity ska style, with really satisfying brass solos driving the song forward regardless of the lack of vocals. This is my new preferred way of listening to the track, even considering the remastered/re-recorded version on the remake 4 years ago. Wait 2020 was 4 years ago? Oh god.
14: Never Again – Bruise Control
Useless For Something
28/04/2023
Punk
https://tnsrecords.bandcamp.com/album/useless-for-something
“Fuck! Your boss!
Quit! Your job!”
Bruise Control were the first band I saw at this year’s Manchester Punk Festival – and they are loads of fun live. The singer has a very distinctive voice and energy that is kind of reminiscent of 90s and 00s Britpunk.
Their 2023 album is full of bangers, but I thought “Never Again” in particular really encapsulates what they do. It’s full of quotable lyrics, banging riffs and bouncy driving rhythms, making it possibly the quintessential punk release of this year. I particularly love how the verses at first sound like the edgier end of pop punk bad relationship songs, but then quickly spins and recontextualises that language to direct it instead at the relationship between you and your boss.
This is essentially a breakup song about quitting your shit job. If that’s not one of the coolest and empowering sentiments you’ve ever heard in a song of this style then I’d love to hear what you’re listening to.
There’s a place for complex and nuanced social commentary and tackling huge controversial socio-political issues – but sometimes you want all the energy and emotion that goes into angsty breakup songs about how shit your boss and job are. This has probably been done before, but it’s the first time I’ve heard it done so succinctly, and Bruise Control have the perfect sound for this exact feeling, and I’m so glad they made it.
15: Scrap The Monarchy – The Krown Jewelz
Scrap The Monarchy
03/05/2023
Pop Punk
https://kuntandthegang.bandcamp.com/track/scrap-the-monarchy
“The coronation seems a good occasion to discuss
Why one family live in palaces, all subsidised by us
While folks rely on foodbanks, and we’re supposed to rejoice
As a crown is chauffeured ’round in a custom-made Rolls Royce”
The Kunts are back in 2023 with another one of their chart bids – this time for the Coronation of King Charles, and with a pseudonym to make sure the BBC doesn’t just gloss over their chart presence this year ‘cause of the profanity in their name.
I still think 2022 was their best year, with Prince Andrew is a Sweaty Nonce and Fuck the Tories being that year’s entries and still some of my most played tracks to this day. But Scrap the Monarchy really does demonstrate the Kunts’ knack for writing addictive and infectious hooks that are very chart accessible by design, contrasted with disgusting provocative lyrics about some of the most unhinged shit you can think of – and more recently in aid of political points.
The Kunts aren’t a political band, so it says a lot that the Monarchy and Tories have gotten them riled up enough to put out some of the 2020s’ most iconic protest songs without fail year on year.
Scrap the Monarchy is three stanzas taking down the institution of the monarchy, and the obscene wealth and power they display, especially now when people are struggling to afford to live, King Charles specifically for his ties to Jimmy Saville and indeed, his brother Prince Andrew, and what they’re both most famous for, and Prince William’s habit of arranging convenient filming whenever he’s doing a good deed to curate a narrative about him.
All of that tied together by one of the Kunts’ trademark catchy singalong choruses and squeezing in some more well-placed words of criticism of the royal family to really squeeze that all out into its short runtime.
This may be the most well-constructed song they’ve ever released. Fuck the Tories is still my number 1, but this one really gets in your head. I wouldn’t be surprised if it becomes our new national anthem before 2024 is up. It’s much more memorable and catchier than that boring ass tune.
#16: Desecration of the Meek – Begravement
Horrific Illusions Beckon
05/05/2023
Death Metal
https://begravement.bandcamp.com/album/horrific-illusions-beckon
“Enslaved to this predatory being
Nevermore will this life be freeing”
I never get enough Metal on these lists, ‘cause my tastes are far less cringe than they used to be. Or more maybe? My tastes are cringe in a different direction now.
But Metal was the pathway I got into basically all music with, and I’ll always have a soft spot for melodic, heavy riffs underneath brutal guttural vocals, and upping the wordcount by needlessly describing every facet of Death Metal without using the words.
Begravement are a band of someone who I tangentially know through a shitposting group, and I’ve been terrible and only just started listening to them, and oh boy have I been missing out.
One of the leading tracks of their 2023 album is this brutal wall of noise onslaught, featuring grooves for days, demonic evil riffs, funky basslines, driving drumbeats and classic death metal growls and screams, everything you want out of a death metal track. Desecration of the Meek keeps the song interesting with switching up tempos and incorporating very thrash inspired licks into the track, reminiscent of early Death works to me.
And lyrically, well, some of you might have an easier time deciphering the Russian lyrics of Putin’s Ashes than this, but it’s full of classic gruesome death metal flavour to depict the persecution of the Meek and struggle of their survival when abandoned. I don’t think this is necessarily meant to be a grand political statement or anything, but hey, it’s a really catchy tune, and easily applicable to the horror of eugenics, either through violent intent or starving without basic human rights aid.
Might be a stretch, but it’s a stretch I love making. Now only if it’ll fix whatever the bastard is going on with my back too.
17: Yosemite (Song For The Ahwahnechee) – Iniko
Jericho
13/05/2023
Indie Pop
“Only I know who I am
I am not woman or man”
So normally when writing these bits I start with looking up the lyrics on Genius as that’s usually the best resource of both artists’ comment and well informed analysis, just to make sure I’m on the right track and not missing a very obvious or contradictory reading. But this track isn’t on there, and I’m actually struggling to find a lot of information about the artist. So I want to keep my own reading of this to a minimum so I’m not putting words into this artists’ mouth, or grossly misunderstanding racial contexts/nuances that I’m not qualified to talk about.
What I will say is that this is a unique indie pop track all about existing outside the confines of gender, from a non-white perspective, and it’s one of the most beautiful things I’ve ever heard. Their incredibly soulful vocal delivery brings a tear to my eye, as they are singing both concepts I am familiar with from an angle I am absolutely not. It’s so good to be exposed to these voices that you basically never do on any mainstream media platforms without searching specifically for it. I only found this by word of mouth.
Tying the singing together is a powerfully infectious percussive beat, and forlorn string sections, creating an incredibly rich and deep symphony underlining the crux of the song beautifully.
I am not qualified to talk about how moving and brilliant this song is, so I’m going to stop now, but honestly just listen to it, this is frankly a masterpiece.
18: $wing – Fever 333
$wing
31/05/2023
Trap Metal
“I can’t keep asking y’all
For the real story bout what happened y’all
When you was building off the backs of all
Them bodies that you broke while making capital”
Aw yisss, Fever 333 are back. I found this band in early 2020 when their first full length album was still sending shockwaves through the nation, especially along with that year’s focused emphasis on police violence and institutional racism.
So, seeing them drop a new track got me hyped as fuck and they did not let down.
$wing is everything you want from Fever, fast paced, lil industrial elements, trap metal foundations, and impassioned lyrical delivery. In his own words, Jason describes this track as a sonic reminder that you are the power the system needs to grow and exploit.
The 1% weaponize your own power and value against you by grinding you so close to the ground that we have no perspective on the fact that we are as powerful and necessary to them as we are. They trick us into worshipping them and following their rules, and when there’s no will to fight, we’ll just keep this system going for them while they keep on profiteering and getting richer whilst the rest of us are killing ourselves for the privilege of making them richer.
This is Fever’s rage at its peak, tackling the heart of capitalism, slavery, worker suppression, and all of its intersections therein.
19: Lifejackets – Random Hand
Random Hand
02/06/2023
Ska Punk
https://random-hand.bandcamp.com/album/random-hand
“Top down shake down
You must be sick of being our last warning”
I’ve always been a bit up and down on Random Hand, which is weird ‘cause I like a lot of similar bands, but they don’t always scratch that itch for me. That being said, when they do, they fucking nail it, and this most recent album is solid 8/10 and above across the board.
Lifejackets has such a satisfying bounce to it, managing to maintain a certain heaviness alongside pop-punk accessible riffs, and keeping a hardcore edge along with the tight horn sections you expect with this current wave of Skacore.
Lyrically all about the gap between the working and upper classes, the “top-down shake down” alluding to the myth of trickle-down economics, and how that concept only seems to apply in states of recession and economic hardship. The top get all the spoils, but when it comes to pulling together as a country to pull ourselves out of the financial turmoil, it’s always the poorest who are expected to foot the bill.
Illustrating this with the Lifejackets imagery being oversubscribed, as the wealthy get first dibs, so when we inevitably cause the world to sink under the rapidly rising sea levels, the people most responsible for this irreversible climate change are the only ones who are allowed to survive that apocalyptic event. This works both literally and metaphorically, as any other catastrophe, tangible, economic or otherwise works the same way. The biggest perpetrators who got the richest off the cause are the first to abandon the sinking ship and leaving the rest of us to die.
I also like to read the “Stay put, nothing for you to survive” line as a call out to the rich who do take all the life saving equipment, that all they’re really doing at this point is delaying the inevitable, as there’s nothing left, they’ve killed it all. But the cynic in me thinks the reading of that line being directed to the proletariat being told to stay put and accept their fate as there’s nothing left to save them.
Either way, this is a brilliant piece of satirical Ska Punk from one of the modern titans of the genre.
20: Queer Love Outlaw – Ryan Cassata
Queer Love Outlaw
07/06/2023
Folk Rock
https://ryancassata.bandcamp.com/track/queer-love-outlaw
“This queer love feels like home, it feels like it’s just right”
Queer Love Outlaw is a heart-warming defiant folk anthem to the beauty of queer love. Ryan Cassata is a tremendous writer of political protest songs as well as some of the most iconic love songs of his genre – and he straddles both perfectly here with the simple chorus statement “All my friends are outlaws, and all my friends are in love.”
While a lot of places no longer overtly outlaw homosexuality in the sense that it’s not a criminal offence, in most places it is still socially frowned upon, and yet others are actively trying to regress the rights we’ve already fought so hard and so long for. Queer Love Outlaw does that timeless classic move of embracing the criminal label, whilst demonstrating just how sweet and lovely queer love is, embracing aesthetics of outlaws, and rather than overtly disagreeing with it, adopting it, which creates a rich feeling of cool underground lovers, protesting this rhetoric by just being happy and in love and enjoying it.
There’s something to be said about how every aspect of queer people existing is inherently politicised by people who aren’t us. In fact Ryan’s “Howl”, also released, this year is a great yelp of frustration at the fact that he has to keep writing protest music due to their continued treatment and oppression, when he really just wants to write and be known for his love songs as well.
Well, on this one he’s managed to do both, and created an enduring, feel-good, queer anthem that is as romantic as it is rebellious.
21: STINKIN RICH FAMILIES – Grove ft. Bob Vylan
PWR // PL*Y
14/06/2023
Drum ‘n’ Bass
https://theyisgrove.bandcamp.com/album/p-w-r-pl-y
“This ain’t a cost of living crisis
This is a rich people greed problem”
This isn’t ranked in any order of preference, as I think they all tackle different themes from different angles and wildly different styles, so it would be more work than it’s worth to try to pick favourites, and indeed I’d probably change my mind within hours.
That being said, this might by my favourite track of 2023 period. 18+ is a strong contender, but Grove just does it for me, with their heavy, punk-infused, Drum & Bassy hip-hop, aggressive politically charged lyrics, and the added bonus of featuring my favourite Punk act of the 2020s in Bob Vylan.
Stinkin Rich Families does everything right – focuses on a simple but essential idea, unpacks it with clear and snappy lyrics, binds it all together with a killer beat and song progression that will have even the most anxious dancers moving in whatever context they’re in.
From the opening lyrics this song sets the tone, going in straight with the attack, criticising the language of “Cost of Living Crisis” to pin the issue on the actual cause: greedy rich people. Grove then deliver an onslaught of bars hammering home that point, with an important reminder that part of their strategy is to turn the proletariat against each other and demonise specific minority groups.
Bob kills his verse too, and the whole thing is easily my favourite punk, electro and hip-hop track of the year by miles, none of my words can do it justice, you should just listen to it ‘cause it fucking slaps.
22: Discovery – Ah-Mer-Ah-Su
Discovery
23/06/2023
Electronic-Pop
“Discovery, my body
Discovery, how to be free”
Ah-Mer-Ah-Su might be one of my favourite recording artists who I routinely forget to listen to.
I absolutely love her comforting, dream-like electropop and introspective soulful voice. Whether a joyful or melancholic tone, she kind of makes those opposing feelings one and the same, keeping things sad but uplifting, or taking joy and grounding it in the difficulty of modern existence as a transgender woman of colour in particular.
Discovery struck a chord with me on more of an implicit level than anything else. Ah-Mer-Ah-Su tends to be very vague and vibes-focused in her music, which is at odds with a lot of this list being explicit punk expressions of political discontent or personal struggles.
But the crux of this song explores the idea of freedom within the self and feeling in tune with your body. This is a feeling I’m sure a lot of people can relate to, to a greater or lesser degree, but the implications of it being sung by a trans woman, and indeed hearing this as a trans person, really gives it that defiant edge for me that makes it fit so nicely on this list.
In a world that refuses to acknowledge you as you are and insists you behave and feel a certain way based on arbitrary biological factors that mean far less than we decide to ascribe to them, listening to a trans woman singing so joyfully about discovering her body and how to be free as herself, is possibly one of the most powerful statements on this list at all.
The trans joy in getting to a point with your body that you can feel this way, either through surgical or hormonal changes, or even just social level changes to presentation and self-actualisation, whatever it is. Learning to love your body, and curate it in a way that you feel free within yourself is in this society an inherently political statement. It shouldn’t be, but until gender nonconformity and transition is socially normalised and accepted, the mere act of existing, and specifically existing without being ashamed, is just so powerful and comforting for me, and inspires and encourages me to do the same.
23: We Don’t Know Impossible – Propaganda
Terraform: The Possibility
23/06/2023
Hip-Hop
“People over profit that’s ridiculous
Enough to go around
Don’t even mention it
A world without boarders
You silly kid
Y’all ain’t even listening”
We Don’t Know Impossible is a conscious rap track by Propaganda that poetically delivers a statement on all the social improvements that we don’t make and are often dismissed as impossible or not going to work – challenging that idea with some of the other seemingly impossible feats we have achieved over thousands of years of human history and development.
Really all lyrics are poetry if you boil them down, especially hip-hop, but looking at the structure of this one on paper genuinely reminds me of verse I would’ve studied during English classes, the many years ago I was last in one. Every line is so well crafted, the ideas and themes structured with a coherent and consistent arc, the lyrics flowing and washing over you even as they get in your head, helped by the dreamlike and inspirational production choices for the finished product.
We Don’t Know Impossible is the crux of this, and it’s a nice sentiment – we don’t know what is or isn’t impossible, but it definitely will be if we don’t even try. Of course, that is moot as it implies the higher powers in government actually think it’s impossible and not just misaligned with their own self-serving interests. But still, as a statement piece to help open our collective eyes to the fact that actually, we can do things differently if we want to make that choice, and we shouldn’t be limited by how things are currently or the things that those in power refuse to entertain.
Propaganda is a real wordsmith, and whether you read this as a poem or listen to the song, it’s a powerful piece of writing that leaves a lasting impact and pause for thought on the listener.
24: Civilised – Tripsun
Kill The Dream
03/07/2023
Indie Punk
https://tripsun.bandcamp.com/album/kill-the-dream
“THRU ALL MY HATRED FOR THE WEST
I HAVE TO SHOW THEM RESPECT
FOR IT COULD BE THE DIFFERENCE
BETWEEN MAKING IT HOME
AND A KNIFE TO MY HEAD”
More soft accessible indie punk here from Tripsun, skilfully crafting a catchy melody with simple pop punk riffs, infectious vocal hooks, and a deep emotive identity cry all about the racist dog whistle buried in the term “civilised”. It’s used as a way to alienate and exclude a lot of BAME communities in the country, falsely using it as a racially blind metric to measure human decency, whilst actually implying a very white and upper-class standard that isn’t even culturally relevant to a good deal of white people, let alone others.
Digging deeper into that theme, expressing the respect through fear the singer has to give to their oppressors just to save themselves from violent threats. Integration is another term the racists tend to use a lot, justifying hatred against certain racial minority groups because they make no apparent effort to join in British culture – ignoring that fact that their idea of “British” culture is in itself very narrow and exclusionary, and that British culture isn’t a constant thing. It is, by definition, the culture made up of the inhabitants of the nation. Ergo, expats living in Britain are a part of British culture, and that doesn’t need to be identical to yours to earn respect and acceptance.
Culminating into the conclusion of the song, asking the age-old question about what being ‘civilised’ even means to a group with colonising racist undertones, and why do those not deemed so have a lower life worth than those who do fit in with those incredibly biased ideals?
This isn’t my favourite musical style, but it’s done well, and the messaging in the songwriting and lyrics are top tier. It’s definitely worth a deeper dive into the album as well, as this is not typically a perspective you hear in this musical genre very often, and that in itself makes it stand out amongst a lot of its contemporaries.
25: If Dinosaurs Saw The Asteroid – Oli Frost
If Dinosaurs saw the Asteroid
07/07/2023
Novelty
https://olifrost.bandcamp.com/track/if-dinosaurs-saw-the-asteroid
“We wouldn’t just save the world, we’d change it for the best
Stop a few velociraptors taking all the flesh”
This was a really cute and fun last-minute edition from a recommendation. Oli Frost is a YouTuber who specializes in satirical novelty songs about climate change. Niche, I know, and exactly the kind of whimsical yet pertinent shit we love on this show.
If Dinosaurs Saw The Asteroid was the stand-out for me. It’s sung from the point of view of a Dinosaur Ghost watching us approach an extinction level event, and reminiscing that despite having the advantage of knowing what was coming and having time to prepare, we’re mostly not doing anything, or doing performative things that don’t actually address the problem.
It’s silly, it’s accessible, but it also has desperate undertones willing us to actually take action – like the dinosaurs would have if they had the comprehension and abilities to try and save their own species.
We’re not better than dinosaurs, we can go extinct just as easily, and far from not doing anything, we seem to be encouraging it. Maybe we are too far gone and only delaying the inevitable, but the fact that we’re not trying to make comparatively minor changes to industrial scale activities and government-led operations to make meaningful reductions to our collective carbon footprint, things that could also help us on a social level and actually improve quality of life for many without any real existential sacrifice… why don’t we do it? Worst case scenario it doesn’t work, and we’ll at least know we did what we could, and improve life for the last generation of humanity.
That’s maybe a bit too bleak on this silly song about Dinosaur politics, but hey, Oli has found a niche, surprisingly good vehicle for spreading environmentalist messages, so I’m not going to overlook that crucial message.
26: BISEXUAL AWAKENING – Clowns
ENDLESS
11/07/2023
Hardcore
https://clownsband.bandcamp.com/album/endless
“I spent 28 years
walking these streets
so confused
too straight to be gay
and too gay to be straight
Now I’m awake”
Sometimes you just need a screaming hardcore song about fucking a homophobe’s Mum and Dad to be your big bisexual coming out statement. I have a very queer echo chamber so honestly, I’m at a point with bisexuality that I forget it is actually still a big deal for people to come to terms with, and a biphobia is rife in both heterosexual and some homosexual circles.
So it’s really nice to discover and hear artists who have more recently found themselves expressing themselves and saying fuck you to the homo and biphobes with a short, aggressive ode to cucking both cisheteronormative parents of people who think we either don’t or shouldn’t exist.
I’m a big fan of explicit queer celebrations of the self, and this has nailed that vibe in every sense of the word, great stuff here, hard to not yell along to.
27: What Was I Made For? – Billie Eilish
Barbie The Album
13/07/2023
Pop
“Takin’ a drive, I was an ideal
Looked so alive, turns out I’m not real
Just something you paid for
What was I made for?”
Okay, full disclaimer, I’m terrible and haven’t yet seen Barbie. I know, what’s wrong with me.
But I have listened to the soundtrack, and like every aging millennial trying to still be hip and with it I love most everything Billie Eilish has ever put out. Understated, almost trip-hop inspired pop, combining both Billie’s powerful voice and range with deliberately muted tones to give this eerie and almost unsettling feeling that really works for this particular theme.
What Was I Made For works both very literally for the film it’s in, but also as a general snapshot of the experience women have growing up and discovering first hand patriarchal oppression and misogyny, and getting that deep internalised sense of forced purpose put on you. On top of that, as an artist crying out feelings of uncertain reflection on their place in the world as anything other than an entertainer. All of these readings are equally as polished and valid, and she delivers the song in a way that works for all of them, making it a really versatile piece of 2023 pop, in a year where the popular charts were lacking in it.
28: Porky Pies – Smoking Gives You Big Tits
Guts for Starters
14/07/2023
Riot Grrrl
https://smokinggivesyoubigtits.bandcamp.com/album/guts-for-starters
“It’s normalised.
Fabrication and lies
Exaggeration, misinformation, accusations denied“
Ooooh yes mate, this is a delightfully crusty punky takedown of misinformation and the normalization of untruths in politics and media from the Salfordian titans behind the all-time great lyric “My favourite fact about Maggie is that she’s fucking dead.”
Smoking Gives You Big Tits’ debut full length album goes so fucking hard, which is impressive in contrast to the almost novelty production of the aforementioned first draft of the Maggie song.
The tempo shift between the slow chugs of the verses with vocals soaring over in an almost Skin-like fashion from Skunk Anansie, to the manic thrashy shouty chorus more reminiscent of latter ’00s era Papa Roach but without the terrible lyrics, is so fucking satisfying. If I have any criticism of this song, it’s that I could’ve listened to it for another verse or two, it finishes too soon, and I want more of it. Luckily, I can just listen to it on repeat and then everyone wins.
29: Marvel – Spanish Love Songs
No Joy
02/08/2023
Indie Rock
https://spanishlovesongs.bandcamp.com/album/no-joy
“Silent explosions in your mind
come take you down at any time.
Just trying to make it to the end of the world.
Stay alive out of spite”
Marvel has first become one of my favourite tracks of the year, by providing a floaty, dream-like, ambient indie anthem to tackling suicidal ideation through malicious intent and negativity. Which, honestly? Really fucking works for me a lot.
When you’re struggling with mental health to a suicidal degree, it’s honestly not often enough to think about all the people who love you and would miss you. (In fact, often your brain will deliberately block them from your memory and gaslight you into thinking they either don’t exist or you’re secretly horrible and they’d be better off without you. It’s not true, for the record.)
But weaponizing spite as a motivator? Fuck yeah. I’m going to carry on living for no other reason that the world seems determined to stop me and people like me from existing and thriving.
On my worst mental health days it gets tough, but this song’s contrasting uplifting musical language with the simple refrain “Stay alive out of spite” allows me to channel that negative energy outwards and not internalise it. I’m not staying alive for the goodness I bring into people’s lives; I’m staying alive because my existence pisses off my least favourite people and power structures, and that is empowering as fuck.
It might not work for everyone, but I really like this angle on mental health and suicidal feelings, and this song is easily one of my most listened to tracks of the year for that reason, even though it was released over halfway through the year.
30: Embrace the Ugly – HAWXX
Earth, Spit, Blood and Bones
15/08/2023
Hard Rock
https://hawxxmusic.bandcamp.com/album/earth-spit-blood-and-bones
“Cause you don’t owe the world your beauty
Embrace the ugly
We are untamed”
I love doing these lists, through research or recommendations I always find bands I probably would never have discovered otherwise, and this year is no exception.
HAWXX are like if Halestorm met like Black Stone Cherry or Alter Bridge. Taking cues from grunge, hard rock, punk and metal to create this absolute banger of a track all about spitting in the face of the patriarchy and embracing the deliberately ugly side of you in defiance of the expectations to look pretty and sweet.
The riffs go so hard here. I don’t even like moshing and I think I’d be right in the pit for this one. If you’re into Riot Grrrl messaging and aesthetics but were after something a bit heavier in the riff department, Hawxx cannot be recommended enough. Superb band, and one I’ll be keeping a close ear on moving forwards as I am in love with this style.
31: Impostor Syndrome – Superfriends
Superfriends Are Online
18/08/2023
Indie Rock
https://superfriendstheband.bandcamp.com/album/superfriends-are-online
“What if I’m not good enough? Is it okay
What if I’m not alright? It’s not okay”
This one is a bit of a wildcard, being more introspective and descriptive of the modern human condition, the stress of being hyper online, surrounded by all the information and bias and misinformation and propaganda and art and content in that space, and adjusting to that life that less than a generation ago was a tiny fraction of what it is today.
The whole EP follows this theme, and this track is specifically about what the title says. When you’re online and constantly seeing figures portray themselves in a certain way, curating their public image, it’s very easy to see all that and feel insecure about how much less together you seem to have it.
This song is an earnest expression of that specific insecurity, and feelings of not being alright or good enough and having very little to channel that except overload yourself with shit that’ll make you feel worse.
But within that is a comforting blanket of solidarity, the production sounding pleasant but not intimidating, and just reassurance that no, you’re not the only person who feels this way, not by a long shot.
There’s not necessarily a solution here. But not being on your own, and realizing that actually a lot of people struggle with this feeling and insecurity too, by itself can help you feel a lot less crushed by the weight of everything. That, I think, is invaluable in getting through the worse dips of this particular mental struggle. And Superfriends have captured that whole vibe in this tune perfectly.
32: God Tier – Riskee & The Ridicule
Platinum Statue
25/08/2023
Grime Punk
https://riskeeandtheridicule.bandcamp.com/album/platinum-statue-2023
“Inflation skyrockets the wages remain,
where is your fire where are you flames?”
More distinctly British punk from Riskee & The Ridicule here, who’s 2023 album is a fantastic blend of grime influenced Oi punk, giving it that distinctive Streetpunk feel I love so much.
The first track on the album is actually my favourite (although don’t let that put you off the rest of the album, that is also all great). But God Tier is such a beautiful build up to the album, with 4 minutes of punk riff bliss, impassioned post-hardcorey vocals, authentic and raw lyrics, and a chorus you can’t help but bop to every time it comes on.
At its core, this track is Riskee introducing himself for the album, taking cues from boast rap tropes, establishing themselves as a band so you know what you’re into from the album. It’s quintessentially his experience, but always relates back to the listener and builds a connection between the commonalities and shared class experiences of the listener.
While the song is celebrating their own success, it’s never really doing so in a way that talks down to the listener. It name drops and slyly mocks a couple of other bands while establishing their own underground credentials, but you are clearly meant to share in this as a part of the community of fans and downtrodden people.
The music industry is very different from any other work, but there is a common experience of top down disempowerment. This track takes that idea, dissects it in a very personal way, but gets you on board by ultimately establishing you all as the working class and that common solidarity between you even though your lives and careers are very different.
It’s such a good song – and really a must listen if you’re a fan of any local punk and grime from the last 15 years or so.
33: pretty isn’t pretty – Olivia Rodrigo
GUTS
08/09/2023
Pop Rock
“And I bought all the clothes that they told me to buy
I chased some dumb ideal my entire life
And none of it matters and none of it ends
You just feel like shit over and over again”
Aw yes, new Olivia Rodrigo album, I am that basic bitch.
Olivia Rodrigo is possibly the most exciting thing in popular rock at the moment, and is defying the expectations of the Disney kids’ career trajectory, getting pretty much straight into carving her niche and space in the culture, and seeming to be doing what she wants to do with a lot more creative control than previous stars (at least on the surface, hard to know for sure).
GUTS didn’t grip me quite as much as SOUR if I’m honest, mostly ‘cause there’s no “Brutal” equivalent, but I found myself resonating and appreciating this cut quite a lot.
“Pretty isn’t pretty” is peak Olivia. It’s personal, it’s authentic to the experience of teenage and young women, it’s nostalgic to 2000s rock, in this case softer indie rock, and it’s very tightly written and performed emotively. Olivia is a great actor and as such really sells the emotions and feelings in her songs in a way that I think a lot of rock bands struggle to grasp the emotive nuances of more complex feelings.
This track explores a very crushing aspect of misogyny and internalised esteem issues that patriarchal expectations leave on young women in particular. The core sentiment in the chorus “When pretty isn’t pretty enough” cuts deep, as this is one of the many things that kills young women, especially young women in the public eye. Chasing this impossible ideal that you’ve been exposed to and internalised, even if you’ve not explicitly had it taught to you by people in your life, it’s inescapable.
Olivia always tackles these from a personal introspective view more than bigger picture stuff. But that really works for a topic like this as it’s an insecurity that hits people in her position a lot. There’s something to be said from anecdotal experience hitting harder than deconstructing the issue on a more abstract philosophical level.
In her voice, with her tone of defeated melancholic and kind of understated depression, this song nails the theming and point she was going for and is a very stark reminder on the impact these patriarchal systemic expectations have on real young women.
34: Bang Ya Head – WARGASM (UK) ft. Fred Durst
Venom
08/09/2023
Nu Metal
https://wargasm.bandcamp.com/track/bang-ya-head-feat-fred-durst
“everybody’s dying to make a living, so you bang your head
Until you break your neck”
I fucking love Wargasm. They’re a modern take on the kind of cringe shit I listened to in the early 2010s but without all of the stuff that made that cringe. Well, most of it. This still features Fred Durst, but fuck it, I’m into that, I refuse to be ashamed of that. Maybe a lil ashamed.
Wargasm aren’t exactly political juggernauts in their music – but this is a headbangers anthem all about dealing with the eternal grind for survival under capitalism – using the act of banging your head against the wall as a way to let out frustration, and cleverly using that metaphor as a way that ensures this song remains a metal classic even if you don’t read anything into the lyrics.
Heavy electronic nu metal, riffs that’ll knock your head off if you’re not careful, and a common frustrating life experience to unite a room full of aging millennials into angry socialist headbangers, before realizing we’ve fucked our spines and need to lie down for 3-5 business days.
If you too miss the glory days of Nu Metal, but wish it sounded better than it did in the 90s, Wargasm may be the band for you. They’ve nailed the balance between nostalgia and much needed improvements to the quality. Venom is another contender for album of the year actually, every track is killer, well worth a listen to if you are as or less cool than me.
35: Know Your Enemy – Killdren
The Illuminaughty
15/09/2023
Breakcore
https://killdren.bandcamp.com/album/the-illuminaughty
“Your enemy isn’t stealing your wallet
They’re the ones that lured you into debt
Your enemy isn’t living on state benefits
They syphon state subsidies instead”
Killdren are back this year with their typically brutal, bass heavy breakcore with hardcore punk attitude. I’m not going to pretend their sound is easily accessible or even necessarily pleasant to weirdos like me who like it – but it is the most appropriate sound for the music they make, and lyrically they do NOT fuck about.
Know Your Enemy is a well explored sentiment in protest music, as the divide and rule strategy is a well explored tactic by fascist right wing governments around the world for centuries. It’s so easy for people to buy into the rhetoric and propaganda that refugees, trans people, people on benefits, or us wokes are the reason that your life sucks. When you’re in a difficult place, barely getting by week to week, sacrificing meals so your family can eat, the government KNOWS it’s their fault – but it doesn’t take much for them to redirect the anger away from them and to a group who do not have the means to defend themselves or argue back, and who systemically are discriminated against and as such often are easy to weaponize pre-conceived bigotries against.
So to have a song like this explicitly reminding you with each verse all the usual scapegoats the powerful tell you are stealing your jobs, your taxes, your home, etc etc – are not your enemy, not doing that, and are in fact often living on even tighter means or with extra challenges than you may be – and that you’re both being fucked over by the people who are pointing the finger.
Driven home with pounding bass, heavy electronic beats, and angry discordant shouted lyrics, it’s hard to ignore or misinterpret the message here. And if you can get into the sound, it’s really infectious to dance and rave to.
I personally love it. I can get why some people don’t, but give it a try, it could surprise you. Sounds like this are like Marmite. It’s very likely that if you don’t hate it, you could get a lot of enjoyment out of it. Frankly, shit like this isn’t going to make the radio or algorithmic pushing anytime soon, so just give ’em a go, see how you fare. A very unique band that are worth at least experiencing once, even if you never listen to them again.
36: Dysphoria Hoodie – Laura Jane Grace
Dysphoria Hoodie
04/10/2023
Acoustic Punk
https://laurajanegrace.bandcamp.com/album/dysphoria-hoodie
“Stay away from the city, it’s full of assholes
But out in the country is where fascists roam
Plenty reasons to fear when you don’t fit the mold
You are my armor when facing the world”
Dysphoria Hoodie is yet another Trans anthem from the titan of Trans anthems Laura Jane Grace.
I much prefer her stuff with Against Me! – but she’s still an incredibly compelling songwriter, that even unplugged her songs have a lot to say and say them very well. The idea of a dysphoria hoodie is very familiar to any trans people, or anyone who’s experienced gender dysphoria. It’s that baggy hoodie you wear to hide as much of the shape of your body as you can, hide from being perceived by the outside world, being both a comforting presence around you and a crux that is on a bad day the only thing you can face being seen in.
This song clearly comes from the voice of someone intimately familiar with this concept, it’s personal, it’s funny at times, but most of all it is a very human expression of dysphoria and how we choose to find comfort within those feelings.
37: Safe and Legal – Bad Cop, Bad Cop
Safe and Legal
10/10/2023
Punk
https://badcopbadcop.bandcamp.com/track/safe-and-legal
“End the stigma in this choice
It’s my story and my voice
No force into submission
As we fight for legislation”
Safe and Legal by Bad Cop, Bad Cop is one of many recently brilliant anthems to accessible and legal abortions in the wake of the overturning of Roe V Wade. This may be the furthest back America has gone this century, and the implications of this politically motivated repealing are terrifying and have already led to premature and needless deaths.
Bad Cop, Bad Cop are hardly the first band to sing this particular message, but there really can’t ever be enough people singing and shouting this message. Fundamental human rights are under threat for a significant number of AFAB people, motivated by corrupt politicians who want to control women, and enabled by misguided religious followers who maybe genuinely think abortions are never justified – but nearly always have never had to make that tough decision for themselves.
Whether forced impregnation in the first place, unviable circumstances to have and raise a child, or an unfortunate failure of contraception, or frankly just a changed mind after the fact. Anyone’s reason for taking this path is no one’s business but theirs and believe me they’ve had a hard enough time already making this choice without you applying hypothetical moral philosophy arguments into enforced law.
You don’t need to hear another AMAB person parrot the reasons that “Pro Life” arguments are ignorant, harmful, and often misogynistic. But the fact is even without debunking those specifics, you should just be able to accept that needing to have an abortion may be a tragedy, but actually having that abortion is not, and only the person having the abortion has any right to any feelings on that matter.
If you don’t like the idea of abortions? I hope you’re never in a situation where you might need one, and I will respect your choice not to have one, as much as anyone’s choice to have one. That’s the thing about being pro-choice, it doesn’t impede in pro lifer’s right at all. But Pro-Lifer rhetoric does control and harm everyone else.
The Roe V Wade situation is a stark reminder that even when things seem stable, the fight is never over, and we have to keep pushing for constitutional human rights and access to safe, professional, medical abortions, otherwise, we’re going to be losing far more lives than any pro-choice legislation would, even if you consider a glorified tumour as life in the same way that a living sentient human is.
38: He’s A Man – Bob Vylan
He’s A Man
27/10/2023
Punk
https://bobvylan.bandcamp.com/track/hes-a-man
“Yeah he’s a man (Yeah)
Till you say something he don’t like and all his toys are out the pram
But that’s a man, innit?
Yeah, that’s a man, I think”
Aww yes, Vylan’s back! The Price of Life was a strong contender for 2022’s album of the year, and since that we’ve had a couple of fun singles, but none of them landed for me quite as much as this beauty.
A 2-minute satire on toxic masculinity and the behaviour and attitudes of those men. What’s not to love?
This goes full Punk musically too, those riffs, that chorus, that bounce, yes mate.
That’s even before you dive into Bob’s one of a kind lyrical chops, being as devastatingly brutal as he is funny as he is insightful.
From the casual racism of a certain kind of English bloke, to the sexual harassment of any woman he sees, to missing Top Gear and taking bad quality drugs through the face of the dead queen – mmf, that’s pure poetry right there.
And ending on classic g-spot denialism and a “I can’t make women cum” line as a final brutal punchline to this entire takedown. This is a 10/10 cut and has made me hyped as fuck for the new album this year. Expect to see another track from this on that year’s list, can almost guarantee it.
39: TERFs Out – Problem Patterns
Blouse Club
27/10/2023
Riot Grrrl
https://problempatterns.bandcamp.com/album/blouse-club
“Standing with your oppressors will not make you more free
You can’t tear down who built up our community
Cuz LGB is nothing if not for the T
So show up with some real solidarity”
TERFs Out, I think, speaks for itself. This doesn’t bring any particularly new commentary to the debunking of feminist approaches to transphobia as such – but I’ll never get tired of trans solidarity riot grrrl punk, and these points cannot be overstated.
If you’re into your queer feminist trans inclusionary punk, then this has got everything you need, and it is always heartening to hear cis (I think? Not 100% sure and can’t find any concrete info on that, so apologies if I’ve misgendered anyone) women singing so passionately against transphobia. Honestly it shouldn’t be surprising to hear it, because as they so eloquently point out in this song, transphobia, specifically transmisogyny, boils down to controlling and dictating women’s bodies, so transphobia and the oppression of women do indeed go hand in hand. The enemy of your enemy isn’t necessarily your ally – but the ally to your enemy definitely IS your enemy.
If you somehow got this far into this blog and the fact that misogynistic neo-Nazis generally support your cause hasn’t already set off alarm bells in your head, maybe you need to think about that a bit more.
40: Shit’s Fucked – Baldhead
Tales From The Alley
03/11/2023
Ska Punk
https://baldheadband.bandcamp.com/album/tales-from-the-alley
“All I know is this ain’t the answer
Tory rule, endless fucking disaster
Propaganda to brainwash the masses
Divide and conquer, fuel the rise of fascists”
Some more very early ska inspired punk from Baldhead now, with a title that gets straight to the point.
This is a slow vibes-based song all about… well, shit being fucked. This kind of sounds like what would happen if you took Faintest Idea and slowed them down by about 40%. It’s melodic, it’s still heavy, it still has very prominent use of samples (this time an iconic segment from James O’Brien, whom, for all his faults and things I disagree with him about, does have an unmatched way with words when discussing Tory corruption and crimes, and paints a truly depressing and harrowing picture of the state of UK politics today), with the pure rage bubbling under the surface, breaking through at the last moment in a satisfying ska punk breakdown.
Not much more to say about this one really. It gets straight to the point, and so will I – great track, 10/10, perfect catharsis for anyone currently overwhelmed at how fucked the shit truly is. (Which is very, btw.)
41: Black Snow – Aesop Rock ft. Nikki Jean
Integrated Tech Solutions
10/11/2023
Conscious Hip-Hop
https://aesoprock.bandcamp.com/album/integrated-tech-solutions
“Keep fit shovelling the coal
Keep silly putty on the funnies
Nail down the sum of what you own
Phone every someone that you owe”
I can’t even begin to describe my excitement when I found out my favourite rapper (yes, I am that kind of white girl) was releasing a new album this year, and the lead singles absolutely slapped.
But honestly, listening to it as a whole, it didn’t do anywhere near as much for me as my all-time favourite “The Impossible Kid” from 2016 – which firmly cemented him as an all time great in my books.
Integrated Tech Solutions is a bit… basic, compared to what I’m used to. It has great moments, all the beats are solid, his flow is as good as it’s ever been, and his mastery of language is on full display. But in terms of what he was actually saying, not what words he was using, the centrepiece of the album seemed to amount to nothing more than “tech bad” level of insight. I think unintentionally implying things like robotic and prosthetic body parts and lifesaving medical techniques aren’t worth the risk given the inevitable mutually assured destruction from weapons tech we have these days.
Some of the things he said aren’t exactly wrong, but it’s very much white person who thinks the Unabomber didn’t do anything wrong rhetoric, landing on a couple of astute observations about human nature and the dangers of tech accelerating the way it is, but not really having anything deeper to say than that and coming across more like a boomer comic strip than a visionary philosophy activist or anything.
That being said – the album still does have its great moments, and the last track “Black Snow” is among my favourites that he’s ever done.
Aesop’s voice is engaging, and his speech style really brings you in to whatever he’s talking about, and this is utilised alongside some trippy beats that keep you actively listening to the track the whole way through even if you’re not conscious of it.
He uses this final 5 odd minutes of his album to paint a picture of living in poverty, awaiting death, and coloured in with spiritual imagery that is a bit too dense for someone like me to even attempt to unpack in its entirety, but does leave a lasting impression to the listener.
In this track I think Aesop comes closest to clarity on the album’s thesis statement – which is meant at its core to be a juxtaposition of the good and bad parts of modern life, without really concluding either way whether it’s net good or bad, which I think other tracks don’t quite nail and come across as the wrong kind of pretentious for me.
This track wraps up the whole album nicely. I would recommend if you were only going to listen to one track from this alum, make it this one, as it’s both an excellent and more concise and coherent summary of the record, and also a phenomenal classic Aesop Rock work that I think stands shoulder to shoulder with many of his greatest tracks of all time.
42: Body Politics – The Menstrual Cramps
Body Politics
21/11/2023
Riot Grrrl
https://themenstrualcramps.bandcamp.com/track/body-politics
“Crisps for breakfast
Break the rules
Binary oppositions
Are the patriarchal tools”
More trans inclusive feminist punk here from The Menstrual Cramps’ ferociously catchy takedown of gender roles, conformity and oppression in one fell swoop.
The Menstrual Cramps have a very addictive, soft, accessible punk musical style, lyrics more akin to melodic talking than strictly singing, putting the message of the words at the forefront of the tracks, and emphasising points with more aggressive shouted choral hooks.
Ultimately gender roles, even taking trans people out of the equation, are rooted in misogynistic ideals that harm women and men, so life is not only more interesting but also objectively better the less seriously we take them. Break the rules, live your best life, make it work for you, don’t let anyone put their own gender preconceptions on you, it’s based in nothing but historical oppression and stereotyping. Even if you’re the most cis person out there, your life will be improved demonstrably by taking these things less seriously and less concrete. Try it, honestly, you can thank me later.
43: John Barleycorn – Cruel Mother
John Barleycorn
05/12/2023
Folk Doom
https://cruelmother.bandcamp.com/track/john-barleycorn
“They ploughed the land, they laid him down, put clods upon his head
And there they sang around his grave, John Barleycorn was dead”
Okay this one is a bit of a wildcard as it’s definitely not a protest song, and it’s also a cover – but it’s the first release by our beloved Kirstie’s band, and I’ve not been able to get these riffs out of my head for well over a month at this point since I first heard it.
Blending Doom Metal with traditional folk songs, Cruel Mother create a rich instrumental soundscape to back this possibly ancient folk drinking song, making it a staple for party playlists moving forwards.
All I know about this song comes from the Bandcamp page of this song, so I’ll just direct you up there if you want a bit of a background on the songs themes and origins.
All I’ll say is I’ve been listening to a lot of Doom this year, loads more than I ever did previously as it was one of those genres that never quite clicked with me until recently. And this song, as a debut released from a new band, goes harder than anything I’ve heard so far. It’s a real earworm of an instrumental, if you’re into folk metal this will 100% be your jam. And the production is impressively clean for a debut independent production but retaining that raw edge you get from more underground recordings.
Super excited to see what they put out next. Honestly when the band was first described to me, I wasn’t sure it’d be my thing, but yeah, I’m really into this, and I don’t care if it is nepotism, bitch(es) deserves this. xoxo
44: 999 – Kid Kapichi
999
12/12/2023
Indie Punk
“It’s not one bad apple
It’s the whole goddamn tree”
We started the best of 2022 with Kid Kapichi, so it only seems fitting to end 2023 with them.
I actually fell off with them a bit after their 2022 album, which is great, but nothing they’d released since had really grabbed me the same way the best tracks on that one did.
That is until I heard this very late entry in 2023. “999” sees these Hastings indie punk boys tackling police corruption, bigotry, ineptitude and violence. All well-trodden topics in my favourite kinds of music, but a point that can’t be understated as it keeps getting worse all around the world.
The fact is even if you don’t have a problem with the inherent concept of policing, you can’t look at how often and easily police officers and the system get off with horrendous miscarriages of justice and grotesque criminal violence and not recognize that something needs to fucking change with it.
This song’s chorus tackles my least favourite argument as well, the whole bad apple concept. Apart from anything else, a few bad apples literally do seep into the whole system, that how rot works.
So, the chorus just refuting that outright and saying it is the whole tree, pointing to the system that enables and often encourages this behaviour, that actually if anything it’s more like there’s a few good apples on a tree that Is fundamentally rotten to its core.
I’m sure there are some individual cops who genuinely want to help people and do good in the world, but that is impossible the way it’s set up and utilised, and often marketed towards some of the most dangerously unhinged people that absolutely should not be given more accountability free power than they already have.
I don’t really know if it’s right to call Kid Kapichi a Punk band as such, but it’s definitely politically charged alternative rock and is likely to be agreeable to a majority of punk fans, with riffs as heavy as they are bouncy, easily chantable choruses, and full of punk attitude and energy behind the lyrics and unhidden accents in the singing.
A great track to round of a pretty damn good year for protest music.
And that’s the list. I think 2022 may have been overall better for its political music offerings, although 2023 certainly has some stand out tracks, and I think is representative of the wide range of bullshit we were experiencing socially and politically this year, with a strong anti-capitalist throughline as the root cause of 99% of these problems.
I almost certainly missed some other great tracks, so don’t be mad if I missed one of your favourites! Comments aren’t enabled on this as far as I know, but you can just write me a letter if you want to let me know of any tracks I missed. Just put it in an envelope and leave it underneath your wheelie bin on bin day. I’ll know where to find it.
And if you want to hear this and more great politically charged playlists, you should come to our live shows, maybe just for the intervals while they’ll be playing, and then leave during the comedy if that’s more your jam? I don’t mind, just leave a donation anyway please xoxo
Tickets: https://www.outsavvy.com/organiser/blizzard-comedy
Media: Twitch.tv/blizzardcomedy and @BlizzardComedyChannel on YouTube
2024 has been kinda shit so far if I’m honest, so I’m hoping it’ll pick up, but if it doesn’t, maybe there will at least be even more great music we get out of it, I guess. I mean, I’d rather it was just a nice year and have crap music, but if it is going to be a crap year it’ll be nice if the music isn’t crap as well pls.
I love you all, you’re all amazing, thank you for indulging us for nearly 5 years ago, and hope to see you all at a show soon ❤
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