INDISPENSABLE LISTS
Best of IM's Monthly New Music Picks 2023
Kristine England
More difficult decisions were made this year. Carving out a mere 10 favorites out of 88 featured artists was not an easy task. These choices cover a lot of musical ground, from surf to world music, lots of atmosphere from experimental composers, psych rock, electropop, and more. Honorable mentions: Liela Moss and Margo Price (Jan), Laraaji (Feb), Altin Gün (Mar), GoGo Penguin (Apr), RVG (Jun), Markus Floats (Oct), and Move 78 and Big Something (Nov).
Ladytron
Time's Arrow
Liverpool’s Ladytron is back with its latest album, Time's Arrow. Pioneers in making music remotely throughout its 20-year career, the electropop quartet assembled the record during the pandemic to create “qualities of nuance and complexity, flowing in a dreamlike state…” (The Line of Best Fit)
FEATURED TRACK: “City Of Angels”
The Bomboras
Songs From Beyond!
Formed in 1994 in LA, The Bomboras celebrate the classic surf sounds of the 60s. The group had a decade-long hiatus, returning in 2021 with an EP and now, a full-length album. Fans of surf rejoice!
FEATURED TRACK: “The Good, The Bad And The Single Fin”
Rahill
Flowers At Your Feet
Lansing, MI native Rahill Jamalifard is an Iranian-American singer, best known for her work in Brooklyn-based psych-rock group Habibi. Her debut solo album is a departure, with an amalgam of Eastern and Western folk influences as well as trip hop and jazz. It’s a highly personal exploration straddling two cultures.
FEATURED TRACK: “I Smile for E”
Ritual Cloak
Vanished in Transition
Guitarist Daniel Barnett was a member of the award-winning Welsh rock group Samoans. Drummer/producer Andrew Sanders is the proprietor of Cardiff’s Kings Road Studio. Together, they are Ritual Cloak, a duo who explore piano-laden ambient soundscapes with jazz and Indian flavors.
FEATURED TRACK: "Vanished in Transition"
Elephant Stone
J’adore cette chanson. Another swirling, psychedelic delight from Quebec’s Elephant Stone. Elephant Stone's sound uniquely combines Indian classical music and psych-rock. The band has released five albums and several singles and EPs since its inception in 2009.
FEATURED TRACK: “Lost in a Dream”
Dead Feathers
Full Circle
You can’t go wrong with a band that sounds like a heavy psych version of Fleetwood Mac with a powerhouse vocalist who has been compared to Grace Slick. Chicago’s Dead Feathers takes the listener on an evocative and emotional aural journey from start to finish.
FEATURED TRACK: “The Swell”
Grails
Anches En Maat
Portland, OR’s instrumental group Grails has been experimenting with sounds and textures for more than 20 years, still driven by founders guitarist Alex Hall and drummer Emil Amos. The band has been influenced by a myriad of bands and forms, from Led Zeppelin to Brian Eno, and borrowing from cultural traditions as far-flung as Turkey.
FEATURED TRACK: “Black Rain”
WITCH
Zango
Zamrock pioneers WITCH (We Intend to Cause Havoc) have been around since the early 70s, formed by lead vocalist Emanuel "Jagari" Chanda. With elements of funk, psychedelia, and hard rock, the group carved out its niche on the Zambian rock scene. Defunct since 1977, the band finally released a new record in 2023 featuring Zambian rapper Sampa the Great and other guests.
FEATURED TRACK: "Avalanche of Love"
Dirty Heads
Midnight Control Sessions: Night 2 EP
The Huntington Beach, CA alt-rock-reggae group released the first three planned EPs for 2023, with Night 2 documenting some of the Midnight Control sessions (thus the title) along with remixes and special guests. The lead single a hip-hop love letter to California.
FEATURED TRACK: “Rescue Me”
Hilary Woods
Acts of Light
Dark and foreboding, the ambient music on Acts of Light evokes dangerous journeys with droning synths, strings, and voices. The Irish composer’s latest work is a far cry from her days as the guitarist for the indie band JJ72. She is an evolving artist who creates compelling sonic vistas.
FEATURED TRACK: “Where The Bough Has Broken”
