Written by guest writer and friend of the site, Dauragon.
It may shock readers of this piece to find out that I listened to a lot of music in 2023. Even more shocking is that I also managed to have some thoughts about it all. This list is not ordered in any real way. It’s less of a ranking and more of a collection of tracks, EP’s and full albums that stood out for me the most out of everything I heard over the year. So, with that said, here are my top 20 releases of 2023:
Alex DL – Rite of Passage
Alex DL displays a mastery of pure Vibes that simply cannot be matched in Rite of Passage. It feels kind of tired to describe a piece of music as a “soundscape,” but there is really no other way to describe this album. Arguably, rave music has been having a resurgence as of late, and I consider artists like Alex DL to be on the forefront of shaping what this new era sounds like. You won’t find any thumping kicks or bass drops here. Just get comfortable and maybe ascend a little.
Milk Talk – Milk Talk
If this was an ordered list, Milk Talk’s self titled debut Album would be #1 with a bullet. This isn’t, so don’t worry about it. In a sea of City Pop and general 70s’/80’s revival, Milk Talk stands out as uniquely authentic and meticulously accurate to that era while also feeling fresh. It’s near impossible for me not to listen to this record front to back every time, it just moves. This is silky shirt, big gold chain music at its finest.
Meme Tokyo – Memetic Infection
Ever since Meme Tokyo’s 2019 debut at Tokyo Idol Festival, I always believed that they would be something special in the whole universe of idol music. 2023 was truly the stride hitting year, with them releasing their first full length album followed by the truly excellent EP, Memetic Infection which makes my list. I think I listened to “GAV RICH” at least 20 times in a row the first time I heard it. I don’t know if Meme Tokyo represents the future of jpop idol music, but they certainly are the best markers of the Here and Hyperpoppy Now that I can think of.
Knower – Knower Forever
I’ve been a fan of knower for what feels like a century now, so no surprises here that I loved their latest album start to finish. Everything that’s always been good about Knower is present in this album, just executed in a way that exposes how mature and confident Louis Cole and Genevieve Artadi and their collaborators have become at this stage of their careers. A lot of this album sounds like you’re sitting in on a rock solid band rehearsal and I mean that in the best way possible.
Ano – 猫猫吐吐 – 猫猫 –
Ano is so damn cool, dude. That’s pretty much all I have to say about this one. This album is an absolute blast from start to finish, and Ano has a great deal of fun hopping back and forth between bubbly idol pop and more straightforward jrock bangers. All of which should not come as a surprise if you are aware of her previous run as a member of You’ll Melt More. Take me home, Mcdonalds Mamí.
♡☆♪ (LOVESTARMUSIC) – HIJKLSM
♡☆♪ (read as “LOVESTARMUSIC”, yes the unicode is their actual name) is a great new Dance Music focused Idol Group made up of former Fuyu no Doubutsuen and JILLASTED members. I had known about this group’s formation for a while, and man this is without a doubt one of the strongest debut albums for a group that I’ve heard in a long time. A mix of vocal tracks and high energy EDM instrumentals (i usually hate describing things as EDM but they are really going for the Stadium EDM vibe here, I can’t deny it), HIJKLSM really makes a strong statement.
Neochi – At The Library Where We Were Meeting
Neochi came completely out of fucking nowhere for me. Dreamy vocals over very bright and meticulous Math Rock adjacent compositions by Daijiro Nakagawa. I really hope this group stays around for a while, because they are absolutely filling the void left by the disbandment of groups like Maison Book Girl.
JPEGMAFIA and Danny Brown – Scaring the Hoes
This is the kind of rap album where every single sample makes me go “What!?!?!?! Excuse me!!!?” JPEGMAFIA’s frantic production feels at once totally unhinged and precise. My soul just about left my body when the Escaflowne beat dropped. Danny Brown sounds like he’s rapping under duress from a Phonebooth. It’s great.
ExWHYZ – How High?
I don’t actually know much about ExWHYZ other than they are WACK affiliated and were reformed from a previous group, but man this release whips. How High? Fairly effortlessly moves between standard emo tinged alt idol tracks, housey dance tracks, and downtempo r&b inspired tracks with an ease that escapes the disjointed nature that many genre hopping Idol releases like it tend to have.
Various Artists – The Raving Simulator
The 2000’s are really freaking back, baby! The Raving Simulator, a compilation album from Japanese dance music label SPRAYBOX, is non-stop rollerblading in your jncos neo Y2K rave bangers. My favorite of which features Valknee, who will come up again later in this list.
Nagi Nemoto – due stelle
Nagi Nemoto, formerly of Niji No Conquistador and Dempagumi.inc, ended her career as an Idol a few years ago and re-emerged as a solo artist and Vtuber. Due stelle displays what I feel like is a far more relaxed Nagi, representing herself on her own terms after her run in two very popular Idol groups, and it’s a delight. She’s having a great time and so will you.
Valknee – BREEEEZE
This Valknee track bangs incredibly hard and has my favorite music video of 2023 to boot. Valknee has not disappointed me yet in terms of singles, and this one comes out swinging with everything that makes her one of my favorite artists to keep up with recently.
Big Animal Theory – Know That You Are Loved
This release is only 3 songs long and it had an absolute stranglehold on me for weeks on end. With perhaps the most deceptively simple compositions on this whole list, Know That You Are Loved activates the part of my brain that remembers hearing UK Garage for the first time as a teen. Nostalgic and new at the same time, much like a lot of my other favorites from 2023. I might be sensing a pattern.
Isiliel – 月虹創聖記 (Moonbow Genesis)
After Black Metal/darkwave alt Idol group Necronomidol unfortunately disbanded, former member Himari Tsukishiro hit the ground running with her solo heavy metal Idol project, Isiliel. Much like Necronomidol’s best work, Isiliel effortlessly surpasses the level of just hooking you with “omg, a jpop idol doing metal???” by being a 100% sincere and real effort. This just is a beautifully constructed and executed metal album front to back. Himari is really about this shit, and she is letting you know with Moonbow Genesis.
Frog96, Sekai – Be, be, be, be!
I really expected to have more vocal synth tracks on my list this year, but if I only have to pick one, “Be, be, be, be!” has got to be it. Frog96’s production in this track is such a great combination of frantic, unpredictable, and controlled at the same time. A great romp in and out of several genres, with a breakdown in the middle that makes me look like a glowing red eyes meme edit every time I listen to it.
uku kasai – trline
Uku kasai is one of my favorite recent discoveries. I’m a big sucker for dreamy whisper singing and uku kasai has that corner locked all the way down. However, it’s uku kasai’s incredibly lush, glitchy production that keeps me coming back. “Trline” feels like a dream, or floating in a sea of hazy memories. The vibes are immaculate is what I’m getting at here.
Dempagumi.inc – One Nation Under The Dempa
The nice thing about Dempagumi’s incredible longevity as an idol group is the fact that they have survived long enough for the era that birthed the group (mid 2000’s otaku culture) to now be hoovered up into the inevitable 20 year nostalgia cycle. This, in my opinion, is the reason why I believe Dempagumi’s current lineup is putting out some of the best music in the group’s history. One Nation Under The Dempa is no exception. “Hyperpop was better when it was called denpa song” is something I have said multiple times as a dickheaded joke on social media, but I haven’t been able to get that phrase out of my head while listening to Dempagumi return to their Akiba roots with both a knowing smirk and total mastery of The Vibes that can only come from having been there.
YONLAPA – Lingering Gloaming
As a person who obviously listens to a lot of music out of Asia these days, I have always been amused by the way rock music and The Rock Band have been lamented as dead and dying in the the west (Mostly the US, to be frank), while it seems like you can’t throw a rock anywhere in Asia without hitting an incredible band. Thailand’s YONLAPA is one of those bands for sure. Lingering Gloaming continues the theme of me really enjoying releases that feel at once nostalgic and also incredibly contemporary. You could listen to these very potent and slinky indie rock tunes and say the 90’s are back, or you could just say that YONLAPA is simply picking up the torch and keeping the spirit alive.
Mndsgn – Snaxxx
I struggle to describe what Snaxxx is. Is it a full album? Is it just a collection of beats? It feels like something in between the two. This is a collection of really dense and textured vignettes, each track feeling like the audio equivalent of backflipping through a painting into a new world in Mario 64. My winner of the Most Loopable Album of 2023 award, which I have just made up now.
Forever Forever – Genevieve Artadi
Not a whole lot to say here that I didn’t already say about Genevieve Artadi’s other project, Knower, earlier in this list. This is a much chiller album than Knower Forever, but from the title alone you should know that what you’re getting into is going to be similar. Rock solid stuff front to back.
Honorable Mention: Itadaki Babel (Aiobahn Remix) – Denonbu
This is just an honorable mention and I do not have the time or space to explain what in the world Denonbu is as a project, so I will just say that this Aiobahn (of INTERNET YAMERO fame) remix of “Itadaki Babel” is bonkers and I just couldn’t not have it on my list. This song transitions from stadium edm to Mike Tyson’s Punch Out ass montage music to a crank dat soulja boy type beat back to stadium edm. If there was ever a prime example of why I will never give up on jpop, this is it.
If you made it this far, thanks for reading my top 20(1) releases of 2023! The past year felt very fun and special for music, despite all of the struggles people making music have had to deal with, especially in our post 2020 landscape. If I had the time or energy to do a top 50 or 100, I could do so easily. I enter 2024 with an enthusiasm for what is coming next that I haven’t had for a little while. It’s fun to be reminded why you have the hobbies you do, and this year really pushed music back to the front of my head. I hope this list could either reinforce some of your faves or help you discover some new ones! Let’s hope that the Year of the Dragon blesses us with even more bangers.
You can find Dauragon on Twitter, and can be found livestreaming on live.dauragon.com. They also graciously joined us on a podcast about the complete first season of the Call Of The Night anime!
