End Of Year Top 10’s For 2023
2023 has been a big year with plenty touring of international artists as well as our favourite Australian and local acts as well. It has also delivered some great new album releases which we hope continues in 2024.
Some of our team has taken stock and looked back on the best album releases and gigs experienced this year… what are yours?
Rob Lyon
Top Ten Albums:
- blur – Ballad Of Darren
- The Struts – Pretty Vicious
- The Hives – The Death Of Randy Fitzsimmons
- Queens Of The Stone Age – In Times New Roman…
- Gorillaz – Cracker Island
- Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds – Council Skies
- Voyager – Fearless In Love
- Gaz Coombes – Turn The Car Around
- The Rolling Stones – Hackney Diamonds
- Teenage Fanclub – Nothing Lasts Forever
Top Ten Shows:
- Electric Callboy – Hindley Street Music Hall
- Grinspoon – Hindley Street Music Hall
- Maneskin – Adelaide Entertainment Centre
- Royal Blood – Hindley Street Music Hall
- You Am I Plays Tommy – Hindley Street Music Hall
- Voyager – UniBar
- Electric Six – The Gov
- The Counting Crows – Hindley Street Music Hall
- Sting – Adelaide Entertainment Centre
- Alexisonfire – Hindley Street Music Hall
Justin White
Top Ten Albums:
- Kingswood – Home
- Sleep Token – Take Me Back To Eden
- In Flames – Foregone
- City & Colour – The Love Still Held Me Near
- Holy Holy – Cellophane
- Bad//Dreams – Ho Ha
- The Rolling Stones, Hackney Diamonds
Top Ten Shows (well 13):
- Alexisonfire – Hindley Street Music Hall
- Paul McCartney – Adelaide Entertainment Centre
- Ghost – John Cain Arena, Melbourne
- Kingswood – Memphis Slims
- Red Hot Chilli Peppers & Post Malone – Optus Stadium, Perth
- City & Colour, Ben Harper & Angus & Julia Stone – SummerSalt, Torquay
- Sleep Token – The Gov
- Jet – Hindley Street Music Hall
- Boy & Bear – Hindley Street Music Hall
- Amity Affliction – Hindley Street Music Hall
- Smashing Pumpkins – Adelaide Entertainment Centre
- Bliss N Eso – Hindley Street Music Hall
- The Killers – A Day On the Green – Barossa Valley
Samuel Phillips
Top Ten Albums (in no particular order):
- Sleep Token – Take Me Back To Eden
- HEALTH – Rat Wars
- Crosses – Goodnight, God Bless
- Sevendust – Truth Killer
- Bury Tomorrow – Seventh Sun
- Currents – The Death We Seek
- Voyager – Fearless in Love
- 3teeth – endEx
- Of Mice & Men – Tether
- Wargasm (UK) – Venom
Top Ten Shows (in no particular order):
- Knotfest – Flemington Racecourse, Melbourne
- Froth & Fury Festival – Pirate Life Brewing
- Good Things Festival – Fleington Racecourse, Melbourne
- Volumes – Lion Arts Factory
- Electric Callboy – Hindley Street Music Hall
- Papa Roach / The Used – Adelaide Entertainment Centre
- Voyager – UniBar
- Alexisonfire – Hindley Street Music Hall
- Sepultura – The Gov
- The Bronx – The Gov
Geoff Jenke
Top Ten Albums:
- greenhouse – Centre of the Universe
- The Church – Hypnogogue
- The Ronson Hangup – Centaurus
- Hackney Diamonds – Rolling Stones
- Sundowners – The Answer
- Hoo Ha – Bad//Dreems
- Wilco – Cousins
- Rival Sons – Dark Fighter
- Defiance Pt 1 – Ian Hunter
- Neil Young – Before and After
Top Ten Shows:
- The Church – Hindley Street Music Hall
- Samantha Fish – The Gov
- Earthless – The Gov
- Deacon Blue – Hindley Street Music Hall
- Mary Coughlan – The Gov
- Foo Fighters – Coopers Stadium
- Paul McCartney – Adelaide Entertainment Centre
- Clannad – Thebarton Theatre
- Brian Cadd – Trinity Sessions Church
- Sunnyboys/Even – The Gov
Lindsay Bulach
Top Ten Albums:
- Department of Gloom – s/t
- Scumbag Millionaire – All Time Low
- Trench Dogs – Stockholmiana
- The Poor – High Price Deed
- Eclipse – Megalomanium
- Velveteen Queen – The Theater Sessions
- The Royal Beggars – Falling To New Heights
- Extreme – Six
- Buckcherry – 10
- Pizza Death – Reign of the Anticrust
Top Ten Shows:
- Crashdiet – The Prince Bandroom, Melbourne
- Froth n Fury – Pirate Life Brewing
- Guitarwolf – Unibar
- Glamfest – The Bridgeway
- Avalanche – The Metro
- The Angels (Symphony of Angels) – Her Majesty’s Theatre
- Pizza Death – Crown n Anchor
- The Poor – Crown n Anchor
- Megadeth / In Flames – Entertainment Centre
- World is a Vampire festival – Entertainment Centre
Anita Kertes
Top Ten Albums:
- Anohni and the Johnsons – My Back Was a Bridge for You to Cross
- Sufjan Stevens – Javelin
- Skeleten – Under Utopia
- Genesis Owusu – Struggler
- Sofia Kourtesis – Madres
- Barry Can’t Swim – When Will We Land?
- Nakhane – Bastard Jargon
- RVG – Brain Worms
- The Drums – Jonny
- Dan Sultan – Dan Sultan
Top Ten Shows:
- Beck – Harvest Rock II
- Bon Iver – WOMADelaide
- alt-J – Groovin the Moo
- Josh Pyke – Queens Theatre
- Royal Blood – Hindley Street Music Hall
- Deb Mob – WOMADelaide
- Ladyhawke – Harvest Rock II
- King Stingray & Deb Mob – Adelaide Unibar
- Genesis Owusu – Groovin the Moo
- Dan Sultan – Adelaide Art Gallery
Richard De Pizzol
Top Ten Albums:
- Aaron Thomas – Human Patterns
- Black Country, New Road – Live at Bush Hall
- Caroline Polachek – Welcome To My Island
- Christine & the Queens – Paranoia, Angels, True Love
- Ella Ion – Waiting
- Hannah Cameron – Holding Pattern
- Lana Del Rey – Did You Know There’s a Tunnel Under Ocean Blvd
- RVG – Brain Worms
- Teen Jesus & The Jean Teasers – I Love You
- Teenage Joans – The Rot That Grows Inside My Chest
Top Ten Shows:
- Beck – Adelaide
- Black Country New Road – Glastonbury & Barcelona
- Blur- Barcelona
- Caroline Polachek – Sydney
- Christine and the Queens – London
- Depeche Mode – Barcelona
- Devo – Melbourne & Sydney
- Evanescence – Adelaide
- Lana Del Rey – Glastonbury
- Kraftwerk – Melbourne & Adelaide
Darren Leach
Top Ten Albums:
- High Vis – Blending
- Flyying Colours – You Never Knew
- Narrow Head – Moments Of Clarity
- Foo Fighters – But Here We Are
- Ash – Race The Night
- AC Soul Symphony – Metamorphosis
Top Ten Shows:
- Narrow Head – Hackley Oslo
- My Vitriol – Scala, Kings Cross
- High Vis – Islington Assembly Hall
- Flyying Colours – Lexington, Kings Cross
- Dry Cleaning – Paradiso, Amsterdam
- Space Grapes – Jazz Cafe, Camden
- Preoccupations- Scala, Kings Cross
- Sparta – Underworld, Camden
Bronwen Caple
Top Ten Albums (in no particular order):
- All Time Low – Tell Me I’m Alive
- Nothing But Thieves – Dead Club City
- The Maine – Self Titled
- Beartooth – The Surface
- Story Of The Year – Tear Me To Pieces
- Fall Out Boy – Nothing But Stardust
- Sleep Token – Take Me Back To Eden
- Matt Corby – Everything’s Fine
- Yellowcard – Childhood Eyes
- Royal Blood – Back to the Water Below
Top Ten Shows:
- All Time Low – Hordern Pavilion, Sydney
- All Time Low – Adelaide Entertainment Centre
- Slowly Slowly – The Gov
- The 1975 – Adelaide Entertainment Centre
- Foo Fighters – Coopers Stadium
- Pierce the veil – Adelaide Entertainment Centre
- Michael Buble – Adelaide Entertainment Centre
- Froth & Fury Festival – Pirate Life Brewing
- Harvest Rock – Rymill Park
- Heaps Good Festival – Wayville Showgrounds
Anastasia Lambis
Top Ten Albums:
- My Soft Machine – Arlo Parks
- Struggler – Genisis Owusu
- That Feels Good – Jessie Ware
- Danse Macabre – Duran Duran
- The Age of Pleasure – Janelle Monae
- Tension – Kylie Minogue
- World Music Radio – John Batiste
Top Ten Shows:
- Madonna The Celebration Tour – O2 London
- Arlo Parks My Soft Machine Tour – Sydney Opera House & The Gov
- Diana Ross – Royal Albert Hall, London
- G Flip Drummer Tour – Hindley St Music Hall
- Khelani – Hindley St Music Hall
- Duran Duran (with Chic & Nile Rodgers) Austin Texas, USA
- Chic with Nile Rodgers – Harvest Rock
- Genisis Owusu – Hindley St Music Hall, Adelaide
- Florence & the Machine Dance Fever Tour – RAC Arena, Perth
- Jessie Ware/Grace Jones at WEHO Pride, Los Angeles, USA
SPECIAL MENTION (for pure nostaglia) – Janet Jackson: Together Again – Hollywood Bowl Los Angeles & San Diego USA
Bec Scheucher
Top Ten Albums:
- Burning Witches- The Dark Tower
- Redhook- Postcards From A Living Hell
- Teen Jesus and the Jean Teasers- I Love You
- Teenage Joans- The Rot that Grows Inside My Chest
- Witch Spit- Stunned Mullet
- Spiritbox- The Fear of Fear
- Unearth- Yhe Wretched The Ruinous
- Alicia Keys- The Diary of Alicia Keys
- BABYMETAL- The Other One
- Alt.- Abeyance
Top Ten Shows:
- Mayhem – Lion Arts Factory
- Megadeth – Adelaide Entertainment Centre
- Thrice – Lion Arts Factory
- Everclear – The Gov
- Temper Trap – Vintage Vibes
- Teen Jesus and the Jean Teasers – UniBar
- Meg Mac – The Gov
- Tex Perkins and The Fat Rubber Band – The Gov
- Chet Faker – Harvest Rock
- The Exploited – The Gov