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Post-Trash's Year In Review: The Best of 2023

by: Benji Heywood, Calvin Staropoli, Chris Coplan, Dan Goldin, Dana Poland, Dominic Acito, Elizabeth Braaten, Emma Ingrisani, Eric Foreman, Jack Peterson, Anna Solomon, Jare C, John Glab, Justin Davis, Kris Handel, Layton Guyton, Liz Van Horn, Ljubinko Zivkovic, Mark Wadley, Matt Watton, Matty McPherson, Myles Tiessen, Sara Mae, Selina Yang, Shea Roney, Stan Standridge, Taylor Ruckle, Torrey Proto, and Zak Mercado


Here we are, the end of another year. It’s been a challenging year, to say the least, but when in need there was always new music. We love music, and there’s something inherently special in discovering new favorites. Our “Year In Review” takes a look back at the tunes that kept us going the last twelve months. While much year end coverage is seemingly steeped in cultural impact and popular opinion, we’ve never been too concerned with all that. We’re here to share what we love, and we hope that you’ll find something that you love too.

We’re going back to our roots, once again breaking down the year’s coverage in month by month segments. Despite what some would prefer you to believe, music isn’t a competition and it feels fairly arbitrary to rank our favorites. While we could have listed hundreds of albums without end that would be worth giving a listen (because everyone has their own cup of tea, so to speak), we know that we’re pushing it as is and decided to cap this particular feature at 150 releases. With writing both fresh and recycled from coverage throughout the year, the sentiment remains, Post-Trash will always be here for the dedicated music fans, the folks scratching beneath the surface. In the interest of spreading the coverage around, artists who released several gems over the year (looking at you Tha God Fahim, Cel Ray, Guided By Voices, Radiator Hospital, YUNGMORPHEUS, Helvetia, and Rome Streetz), we went ahead and picked one.

It’s been a good year for new music. It always is. Keep digging and support the artists you love. Buy albums, go to shows, pick up a shirt, or just spread the word. Thanks for being here with Post-Trash.


J A N U A R Y :

Further Listening:

BRAINIAC “The Predator Nominate EP” | CROSSLEGGED “Another Blue” | DARI BAY “Longest Day of the Year” | EX PILOTS “Ex Pilots” | LABRADOR “Hold The Door For Strangers” | MEG BAIRD “Furling” | NYXY NYX “Anything” | R. RING “War Poems, We Rested” | S.H.I.T. “Demo 2023” | SPEED PLANS “Statues of God” | THA GOD FAHIM & NICOJP “Chess Moves” | WHELPWISHER “Cool Good”

F E B R U A R Y :

FURTHER LISTENING:

ABI OOZE “Julia's Apartment (Demos)” | BLACK BELT EAGLE SCOUT “The Land, The Water, The Sky” | CHONCY “Community Chest” | JORDAN HOLTZ “Not Close For Comfort” | KOLEŽANKA “Alone With The Sound The Mind Makes” | LECHE “Gas Powered Guillotine” | THE LUNCHTIME SARDINE CLUB “No Place” | M(H)AOL “Attachment Styles” | PHYSIQUE “Again” | PUNTER “Punter” | QUASI “Breaking The Balls of History” | ROME STREETZ & BIG GHOST LTD “Wasn’t Built In A Day” | SWEET WILLIAMS “Sweet Williams” | TV STAR “Hallucinate Me”

M A R C H :

FURTHER LISTENING:

3D & THE HOLOGRAMS “3D & The Holograms” | BLACK COUNTRY, NEW ROAD “Live at Bush Hall” | CHE NOIR & BIG GHOST LTD “Noir or Never” | CONNECTIONS “Cool Change” | DIVORCER “Espionage” | DOUBLE GRAVE “Till The Ground” | FUGITIVE BUBBLE “Delusion” | THE HIRS COLLECTIVE “We’re Still Here” | ILLITERATES “No Experts” | ITCHY & THE NITS “Itchy & The Nits” | KOMMAND “Death Age” | KOOL KEITH & REAL BAD MAN “Serpent” | PURLING HISS “Drag On Girard” | TELEHEALTH “Content Oscillator” | TETCHY “Smaller / Better” | THA GOD FAHIM & OH NO THE DISRUPT “Berserko” | WASTE MAN “Waste Man”

A P R I L :

FURTHER LISTENING:

ALL HANDS_MAKE LIGHT “Darling The Dawn” | ANGEL OLSEN “Forever Means” | BUCK GOOTER “Ghost Brain” | COMMUNITY COLLEGE “Schmomco” | DISPLAY HOMES “What If You're Right And They're Wrong​?” | DOMMENGANG “Wished Eye” | DURING “During” | ES “Fantasy” | FLY ANAKIN “Skinemaxxx (Side A)” | GLITTERING INSECTS “Glittering Insects” | GLOW IN THE DARK FLOWERS “Glow In The Dark Flowers” | JANA HORN “The Window Is The Dream” | KARA JACKSON “Why Does The Earth Give Us People To Love?” | NICOLE YUN “Matter” | NIGHTOSPHERE “Katabasis” | PUBLIC INTEREST “Spiritual Pollution” | SCIENCE MAN “Mince’s Cane” | THA GOD FAHIM “Dump Gawd Reloaded” | TUNIC “Wrong Dream” | VOIDCEREMONY “Threads of Unknowing”

M A Y :

FURTHER LISTENING:

ANTI-MACHINE “Too Many Eyes” | DRAGNET “The Accession” | ELECTRIC CHAIR “Beat Session Vol. 11” | ELUVIUM “(Whirring Marvels In) Consensus Reality” | FAIRYTALE “Shooting Star” | FLASHER “In My Myth” | GLAAS “Cruel Heart, Cold Summer” | JAY WORTHY & ROC MARCIANO “Nothing Bigger Than The Program” | LYSOL “Down The Street” | MANDY, INDIANA “I’ve Seen A Way” | MEGA BOG “End of Everything” | MEMORIALS “Music For Film: Women Against The Bomb” | PYREX “Pyrex” | RYAN WONG “The New Country Sounds of Ryan Wong”

J U N E :

FURTHER LISTENING:

ANNA ST. LOUIS “In The Air” | BIG BLOOD “First Aid Kit“ | BIG CLOWN “Beatdown” | BORIS & UNIFORM “Bright New Disease“ | BUSTED HEAD RACKET “Junk Food” | CS CLEANERS “Drolomon” | GREG ELECTRIC “It’s Been…” | IMPLODERS “Imploders” | KING GIZZARD & THE LIZARD WIZARD “PetroDragonic Apocalypse“ | LA SÉCURITÉ “Stay Safe!“ | MATT ROBIDOUX “Music For Aluminum Corn” | QUEENS OF THE STONE AGE “In Times New Roman…” | SOCIETY “Social Flies” | THE STOOLS “R U Saved?” | SQUID “O Monolith” | TEKE::TEKE “Hagata” | THE TOADS “In The Wilderness” | WOMBO “Slab EP”

J U L Y :

FURTHER LISTENING:

BAD HISTORY MONTH “True Delusion” | BEING DEAD “When Horses Would Run” | GUIDED BY VOICES “Welshpool Frillies” | JEANINES “Each Day” | THE LENTILS “Hello Jane Goodall, Are You Listening?” | LIFEGUARD “Dressed In Trenches” | LOCATE S,1 “Wicked Jaw” | MEAT HOUSE “Meat House” | MUTOID MAN “Mutants” | OXBOW “Love’s Holiday” | POWERPLANT “Grass” | RANSOM & NICHOLAS CRAVEN “Director’s Cut 4” | RANSOM & NICHOLAS CRAVEN “Deleted Scenes 2” | UPPER WILDS “Jupiter” | ZOOMDWEEBY “War of the Ants”

A U G U S T :

FURTHER LISTENING:

BEEF “BEEF” | DRIPPING DECAY “Festering Grotesqueries” | EDSEL AXLE “Variable Happiness” | EMIL AMOS “Zone Black” | GAADGE “Somewhere Down Below” | GARETH LIDDIARD “The Bootlick Series Volume 1 (Live 2006-2016)” | MARY JANE DUNPHE “Stage of Love” | SONIC YOUTH “Live in Brooklyn 2011” | SPIRAL DUB “Spiral Dub” | THIS IS LORELEI “EP #33” | TV STAR “TV3” | WATER MACHINE “Raw Liquid Power” | WHO IS SHE? “Goddess Energy” | ZELMA STONE “A Dance”

S E P T E M B E R :

FURTHER LISTENING:

THE ALCHEMIST, MIKE, & WIKI “Faith Is A Rock” | ALEXALONE “Alexalone Technical Research“ | BILLIAM “Corner Tactics” | CANNIBAL CORPSE “Chaos Horrific” | C.O.F.F.I.N “Australia Stops” | CONSENSUS MADNESS “Consensus Madness” | CORKER “Falser Truths” | EXPLOSIONS IN THE SKY “End” | FLAT WORMS “Witness Marks” | INSANE URGE “My America” | JUNGLE BREED “Wynona, Paloma, Pappiloma” | LUGGAGE “Hand Is Bad” | MUMS “Legs” | MUTANT STRAIN “Murder of Crows” | THEEE RETAIL SIMPS “Live On Cool Street” | RUIN LUST “Dissimulant” | STEPMOTHER “Planet Brutalicon” | THANKS FOR COMING “What Is My Capacity To Love?”

O C T O B E R :

FURTHER LISTENING:

AXIS: SOVA “Blinded By Oblivion” | BLUE SMILEY “Fishhh” | BLUE SMILEY “Happyyy” | CHAIN WHIP “Call of the Knife” | CHECKPOINT “Drift” | CHERRY CHEEKS “CCLPII” | DUSK “Glass Pastures” | GOLDEN APPLES “Bananasugarfire” | GOLPE “Assuefazione Quotidiana” | GRAVESEND “Gowanus Death Stomp” | HALF STACK “Sitting Pretty” | INSTITUTE “Ragdoll Dance” | KOOL KEITH “Mr. Controller” | LÊ ALMEIDA “I Feel In The Sky” | MIKE DONOVAN “Meets The Mighty Flashlight” | MOPE CITY “Population: 4” | PATTER “Patter Theme 2” | QUARANTINE “Exile” | QUEEN SERENE “Queen Serene” | RADIATOR HOSPITAL “Watching A Fire” | SENTENCED 2 DIE “Parasitic Infection” | THE SERFS “Half Eaten By Dogs” | SPARKLE DIVISION “FOXY” | THA GOD FAHIM “Tha Supreme Hoarder Of All Pristine Wealth” | WIMPS “City Lights”

N O V E M B E R + D E C E M B E R :

FURTHER LISTENING:

ALGAE DUST “In Hindsight” | ALL STRUCTURES ALIGN “Cut The Engines” | BAKED & THE ZELLS “Queensburgh: A Baked & Zells Split” | BLOCKHEAD “The Aux” | CARCINOID “Encomium to Extinction” | CEL RAY “Piss Park” | CROSS “No Beginning, No End” | GUIDED BY VOICES “Nowhere To Go But Up” | GUT HEALTH “Singles ‘23” | ISMATIC GURU “III” | JOLIE LAIDE “Jolie Laide” | LEXICON “Poison Head” | REBECCA RYSKALCZYK “Say It Back” | RECIPROCATE “Soul To Burn” | RID OF ME “Access To The Lonely” | VASTUM “Inward To Gethsemane” | WET DIP “Smell of Money” | YUNGMORPHEUS & REAL BAD MAN “The Chalice & The Blade”