![]()
Written by: The Administrator
If you are a purveyor of music review sites, you've undoubtedly learned to skip over the fluff that constitutes AOTY intros. The pointlessness of writing this isn't lost on me, let alone the fact that this is a list for, erm, the wrong year. In the music industry churn, an album released last year might as well be a million years old. Obsolete. Irrelevant. Forgotten. So: why 2023? Why not 2024, like unto a proper music review website? What's the rationale behind publishing this list a whole damn year late? There are two reasons. The first is that I think demonstrable longevity is an important aspect of music appreciation, and the ability of an album to outlast a narrow moment in time is a testament to its particular excellence. The second (and real) reason is that I am a profoundly lazy and frequently overwhelmed person, and compiling this list last December was a very large task that seemed, frankly, insurmountable. So here we are. These are 23 albums from 2023 that are, in significant hindsight, still very much my favorite albums of 2023. In terms of format, this list is alphabetical and purely unranked. The generally arbitrary structure of counting down to #1 simply doesn't demonstrate the way I enjoy music, nor is it an effective or accurate way to make recommendations. I'm also completely unconcerned about genre, as I listen to a lot of different stuff. If I'm writing a list, it should probably reflect the reality of listening habits instead of projecting a false image of metal exclusivity. Be prepared for eclecticism. I hope there's something lurking herein that catches your ear. A massive thank you to every artist who contributed to the releases below. And, dear reader, thank you for your readership and support of artists! You're the best. Yes, you.
1 Comment
![]()
Written by: The Administrator
With just a few tracks released to date, the first of which dropped July of 2022, Tooth & Dagger's rollout has been quite prolonged. Including today's song in question, this alt-metal band out of Birmingham will have released three singles by the end of 2024. Whether or not this is all culminating in a debut album remains to be seen, but in the meantime, they've given us some quality. Some bangers, dare I say. Your milage may vary dependent on tolerance for alt-metal in general, but I personally quite enjoy the genre's inherently orotund sense of emotive and sonic excess. Tooth & Dagger are thunderous and slick. Their output thusfar has been decently eclectic, evoking the radio-ready overblown emotion of 2000's-era modern metal, the bouncy hookiness of nu-metal, and the oversized physicality of groove metal. This latest single, "A.T.T.A.S," draws from similar inspiration, but also feels more massive. More pissed off. More angsty. In all respects, "A.T.T.A.S" hits hard. The slamming riff that effectively buries the calm-before-the-storm intro means business, and the guitar throughout seems intent on creating headbangable pockets. Speaking of pockets, the vocals move quite seamlessly between harsh to clean and back again. The cleans in particular lean heavily into an adolescent sneer--and this I mean in the best possible sense. There's an authenticity to the aesthetic, a warm nostalgia amidst the modern sheen. No question about it: "A.T.T.A.S" is a banger through and through, and here at the Sleeping Village, we celebrate bangers. Check it out below!
Tooth and Dagger can be found:
Linktree |
WELCOME!We provide thoughtful reviews of the music that wakes us from slumber. Archives
November 2024
Categories
All
|