Music, Sound & Film

As the end of the year rolls to the end. Here are our writer's best-of lists for 2023, and as always, it’s a highly genre-varied mixed selection of titles- highlighting the sites mission statement.

Roger Batty (Editor/Owner)
Music/ Sound:
1: Viera Janárčeková - Dotyk [Kairos Music]
2: Vidna Obmana - Dante Trilogy [Zoharum]
3: Yotzeret Sheydim - Sefer Yetzirah (The Book of Creation) [Deathbed Tapes]
4: Pauline Oliveros - Sound Pieces [Another Timbre]
5: Worship - Focus [Self release]
6: See Through Buildings - I Take Your Entrance Back [HNW Netlabel]
7: Khanate - To Be Cruel [Sacred Bones Records]
8: Various Artists - Sputnik!: The Launch Of The Space Race [Bear Family Records]
9: Big Hole - The Hole: A Reading Soundtrack [Ominous Recordings]
10: Stackridge - Friendliness [Esoteric Records/ Cherry Red]
11: Subhumans - The Day the Country Died [Pirates Press Records]
12: Eden Lonsdale - Clear and Hazy Moons [Another Timbre]
13: Swans - The Beggar [Young God]
14: Rien - The Transparent Blue Tape [Ominous Recordings]
15: Sebastian Tomb - Summer Of Our Discontent[Gates Of Hypnos]
16: The Necks - Travel [Northern Spy]
17 : Quentin Rollet & Romain Perrot - Le vieux fusible / The Singles   [reQords]
18: Inanition - Trampling Iris [HNW Netlabel]
19: RENALDO M. They Blessed The Body Breadcrumbed[Klanggalerie]
20: Elis Hallik - Born In Waves [Kairos Music]
21: Orchestra Of The Upper Atmosphere - θ6[Discus Music]
22: Elsa Bergman - Playon Crayon [Bergman Inspelningar]
23: Gang Green - We'll Give It To You(CD Boxset) [Dissonance Productions/ Cherry Red]
24: Rosie Kelvin - Theres Nothing Out There [Its Wall Noise]
25: Fred Frith & Núria Andorrà - Dancing Like Dust [Klanggalerie]
26: Sutcliffe No More - Normal [Klanggalerie]
27: Coffin Vomit - Glovejob [Mima Kass]
28: Officer! - Some Songs/Bandagen [Klanggalerie]
29 :Arktau Eos - Dormiveglia [Aural Hypnox]
30: Lee "Scratch" Perry - Battle of Armagideon (Millionaire Liquidator) [Doctor Bird/ Cherry Red]

 

Film:
1: Empire of Screams( Blu Ray Boxset) [Arrow Video]
2: Children’s Film Foundation Bumper Box Vol 4( DVD boxset) [BFI
3: Morvern Callar(Blu Ray) [Fun City Editions]
4: Welcome To The Dollhouse(Blu Ray) [Radiance Films]
5: Fascination( UHD & Blu Ray) [Powerhouse]
6: Essential Film Noir: Collection 4 ( Blu Ray Boxset) [Imprint]
7: The Dunwich Horror(Blu Ray) [Arrow Video] 
8: The Psychic( UHD,Blu Ray, CD boxsets) [Severin]
9: They Might Be Giants( Blu Ray) [Powerhouse]
10: Triple Trouble(Blu Ray) [Eternal Flame]
11: Creeping Horror( Blu Ray boxset) [Eureka Entertainment]
12: Naked Lunch( Blu Ray) [Arrow Video]
13: Night Has A Thousand Eyes(Blu Ray) [Powerhouse]
14: The Haunting Of Julia( Blu Ray & CD) [Imprint]
15: The Beta Test(Blu Ray) [Arrow Video]
16: Eugenie. The Story Of Her Journey Into Perversion(UHD & Blu Ray) [Blue Underground]
17: Arrebato(Blu Ray) [Radiance Films/ Altered Innocence]
18: The Driver’s Seat (Blu Ray) [BFI]
19: Twilight(Blu Ray) [Second Run]
20: Playing With Fire(Blu Ray) [Cult Epics]
21: Drowning By Numbers (UHD & Blu Ray) [Severin]
22: The Night Of The Hunted( Blu-Ray/ UHD) [Powerhouse]
23: Crimes of The Future(UHD/Blu Ray) [Second Sight Films]
24: A Question Of Silence(Blu Ray) [Cult Epics]
25: Who'll Stop The Rain( Blu Ray) [Scorpion Films]
26: V/H/S/99(Blu Ray) [ Acorn Media International]
27: Sex Is Crazy(Blu Ray) [Severin]
28: Night Of The Zodiac(DVD) [SRS Cinema]
29 The Girl From Starship Venus(DVD) [Cheezy Movies]
30: Little Corey Gorey(DVD) [SRS Cinema]

 

Darren Charles
Best Albums 
1: Green Lung – This Heathen Land  (Nuclear Blast)
2: Blood Ceremony – The Old Ways Remain (Rise Above Records)
3: Electric Callboy _ Tekkno (Century Media)
4: Twin Temple – God is Dead (Pentagrammaton)
5: Goat – Medicine (Rocket Recordings)
6: Enslaved – Heimdal (Nuclear Blast)
7: Spirogyra – The Future Won’t Be Long, The Albums 1971-1973 (Esoteric / Cherry Red)
8: ÚATH – Self Titled (Cursed Monk Records)
9: Immortal – War Against All (Nuclear Blast)
10: Myrkur – Spine (Relapse)
11: Burial Hex – In Hiding (Cold Spring)
12: The Heartwood Institute – The Mist Over Pendle (Doomshire Tapes)
13: Black Swan Triad – Metamorphosis (Self Released)
14: Mark Jenkin – Enys Men OST (Invada Records)
15: Black Swan Triad – Maelstrom (Self Released)
16: Hellripper – Warlocks Grim and Withered Hags (Peaceville)
17: Baroness – Stone (Abraxan Hymns)
18: Sonologyst – Electrons (Unexplained Sounds Group)
19: Utopia Strong – International Treasure (Rocket Recordings)
20: Owlmask – It’s Time (Self Released)
21: Maria Uzor – Soft Cuts ( Castles in Space)
22: Pefkin – The Light Bends Inwards (Self Released)
23: Field Lines Cartographer – Phases of this and other Moons (Castles in Space)
24: Ryan Shirlow – Ullstair University Vol. 1 (Woodford Halse)
25:Blackbraid – II (Independent Release)
26: Polypores – Praedomitium (Castles in Space)
27: Stone Anthem – Between the Bliss (Castles in Space)
28: Aural Design – The Dead Astronaut (Woodford Halse)
29: Violet Mist – Fading Light (Woodford Halse)
30: Gintas K and Michelle O’Rourke – Sorry Gold (Zoharum)

Best Films
1: Godzilla Minus One (Toho)
2: Black Circle (Synapse Films Blu-ray)
3: The Boy and the Heron (Studio Ghibli)
4: Leda (GFY Blu-ray)
5: The Texas Chainsaw massacre (Second Sight Films Blu-ray)
6: The Wicker Man 4k Boxed Set (Studio Canal UHD)
7: Martin (Second Sight Blu-ray)
8: House by the Cemetery (Arrow UHD)
9: Son of the White Mare (Eureka Entertainment Blu-ray)
10: Footprints (Severin Blu-ray)
11: Voyage into Space (MGM Blu-ray)
12: The Big Gundown (Powerhouse Films Blu-ray)
13: Yakuza Graveyard (Radiance Blu-ray)
14: The Iron Prefect (Radiance Blu-ray)
15: Violent Streets (Eureka Entertainment Blu-ray)
16: The Working Class Goes to Heaven (Radiance Blu-ray)
17: The Spiral Road (Imprint Blu-ray)
18: Holy Spider (Utopia / MVD Visual Blu-ray)
19: Accione Mutante (Severin Blu-ray)
20: Blazing Magnum (Studio Canal/ Cult Classics Blu-ray)
21: Cocaine Bear (Mediumrare Blu-ray)
22: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem (Paramount)
23: Moonage Daydream (Universal Blu-ray)
24: Barbie (Warner Bros)
25: Oppenheimer (Universal)
26: Suzume (Toho)
27: A Haunting in Venice (walt Disney)
28: Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny (Walt Disney)
29: Dungeons and Dragons: Honour Among Thieves (Paramount)
30: Evil Dead Rise (Studio Canal)

 

Paul Casey
Music/ Sound
1: Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark - Bauhaus Staircase [White Noise]
2: Suffocation - Hymns from the Apocrypha [Nuclear Blast]
3: Wound Man - Human Outline [Iron Lung]
4:400 Lonely Things - Mother Moon [Cold Spring]
5: Olivier Alary - Apparitions (Vol. 1) [Line]
6: Baring Teeth - The Path Narrows [I, Voidhanger]
7: CHAIGIDEL & NERATERRÆ - Lamaštu [Cyclic Law] 
8: Conjecture - Nostalgia Futura [Cyclic Law]
9: Contaminazione - Pericolo Di Morte [Helter Skelter/Regain]
10: Fabio D'Onofrio - Cosmos In Cosmos [Iter Research]
11: David Toop & Lawrence English - The Shell That Speaks the Sea [Room40]
12: Drawn and Quartered - To Kill Is Human [Moribund] (Reissue)
13: Fossilization - Leprous Daylight [Everlasting Spew]
14: Holy Similaun - Radicor al flort, espert on'ill il erb, aor Raetia [Kohihaas]
15: Magnus Skavhaug Nergaard - Hibernacle [Motvind]
16: Jason Mason - An Anxious Host [Students of Decay]
17: Nothingness - Supraliminal [Everlasting Spew]
18: Gagi Petrovic - Unfold Yourself [Moving Furniture]
19: Sarmat - Determined to Strike [I, Voidhanger Records]
20: Slasher Dave - Cannibal Death Gods [Hells Headbangers]
21: Stenched - Gorging of Mephitic Rot [Blood Harvest]
22: The Hafler Trio - Idiots: Laughing Matter [Nihilist]
23: They Grieve - To Which I Bore Witness [Silent Pendulum]
24: Tom Thiel - Album [Arjunamusic]
25: Tongues of Mount Meru - Kalpa [Moving Furniture]
26: Takashi Watanabe - One [Emerald & Doreen]
27: Tomb Mold - The Enduring Spirit [20 Buck Spin]
28: Go Ahead And Die - Unhealthy Mechanisms [Nuclear Blast]
29: The Ocean Blue - Davy Jones' Locker [Korda] (Reissue)
30: Maurizio Bianchi / M.B. - Computers S.P.A [Verlag System] (Reissue)

 

Josh Landry
Music/sound
1. Fleshvessel - Yearning: Promethean Fates Sealed [I, Voidhanger Records]
2. Spirit Possession - Of the Sign...  [Profound Lore Records]
3. The Psychotic Monks - Pink Colour Surgery [FatCat Records]
4. Thy Catafalque - Alföld  [Season Of Mist]
5. Yakuza - Sutra [Svart Records]
6. Sam Eastmond - John Zorn's Bagatelles Vol. 16 [Tzadik]
7. Kris Kuldkepp - Moonutatud Muudused / Distorted Conversation [Zeromoon]
8. Nate Scheible - Plume [Warm Winters Ltd]
9. OPLA - GTI [Pointless Geometry]
10. ROHRER / TROBOLLOWITSCH / NAMTCHYLAK - Jeito de Ferver [Sonoscopia Sonos]
11. Climax Golden Twins [Fire Breathing Turtle]
12. Shackleton - The Scandal of Time [Woe To The Septic Heart!]
13. VA [Visionary Shamanics] - Changa Renegades 3
14. Dom & Roland - Against a Dark Background LP [Over/Shadow]
15. Cosinus - Rites of Passage [Sangoma Records]
16. Critter - Critical Mask EP [Woo-Dog Recordings]
17. Cyk - Lore [Sangoma Records]
18. Drip Drop & Fungus Funk - Fungus Drop EP [Harmonia Records]
19. Interconnekted - Future Frequency [Vertigo Records]
20. Jellyheadz - Tentacular [Omveda Records]
21. OrePhonia - Spiritual Connection [self released]
22. Paralocks - Horizon EP [self released]
23. Primordial Ooze - Chaotic Influx EP [T.O.U.C.H. Samadhi]
24. SOME1 - Voyager [Iono Music]
25. Zion Rebels & Kek Heh - Dancing Psytrance With the Buddies [Blooming Minds Records]
26. VA [Global Sect Music] - Liquid Symphony
27. VA [Multidimensional Music] - Radioactive
28. VA [Nordic Aliens Music & World People Productions] - First Contact
29. VA [Reversible Records] - Circle of Echoes
30. VA [Transubtil Records] - Divergent Polarity

 

Martin P
Music/Sound
1:Annelies Monseré - Mares (Horn of Plenty)
2:Axebreaker - Bunker Archeology, Vol. 2: Concrete Tombs (Brachliegen Tapes)
3:Biliana Voutchkova & Sarah Davachi - Slow Poem For Stiebler (Another Timbre)
4:Black Dog Productions - Bytes (Warp)
5:Bruxa Maria - Build Yourself A Shrine And Pray (Riot Season)
6:Chain Whip - Call of the Knife (Drunken Sailor Records)
7:Codeine - Frigid Stars (Numero Group)
8:Controlled Death - Demonic Trip Through Hell (Phage Tapes)
9:Eden Lonsdale, Apartment House & Rothko Collective - Clear And Hazy Moons (Another Timbre)
10:FUSE - Dimension Intrusion (Warp)
11:Heroin - Discography (Southern Lord)
12:Hydromedusae - Hydromedusae (Trome Records)
13:Hygiene - 15 Minute City (Static Shock Records)
14:Jackson-Pratt & Shredded Nerve - Jackson-Pratt & Shredded Nerve (Total Black)
15:Kleistwahr - Down But Defiant Yet/Acceptance Is Not Respect (Fourth Dimension Records)
16:Kleistwahr - Don’t Let Go: Complete Kleistwahr 1982 - 1986 (Fourth Dimension Records)
17: Lankum - False Lankum (Rough Trade)
18:Liquid Shit - Repulsive Bodies (Dry Cough Records)
19: Macronympha - Amplified Humans (Industrial Recollections)
20:Macronympha - Whorechestra (Mother Savage Noise Productions/Dada Drumming)
21: Magnus Granberg, Apartment House - Evening Star, Vesper Bell (Another Timbre)
22: Marco Baldini - Vesperi (Another Timbre)
23: Morton Feldman, Apartment House - Violin And String Quartet (Another Timbre)
24: Oozing Wound - We Cater To Cowards (Thrill Jockey)
25: Osees - Intercepted Message (In The Red Recordings)
26: Primitive Wings - Morphosis (Satatuhatta)
27: Rat Cage - Savage Visions (La Vida Es Un Mus Discos)
28: The Shits - You’re A Mess (Rocket Recordings)
29:Terror Cell Unit - Come And Test Christ (Phage Tapes)
30: The New Boyfriends - The New Boyfriends 1 & 2 (Satatuhatta)

 

Colin Lang
Music/ Sound
1. Duster- Remote Echoes [Numero] 
2. Org-Org [Reissue]  [Smalltown Supersound]
3. Jaimie Branch- Fly or Die Fly Or Die Fly Or Die ((World War)) [International Anthem]
4. Radian- Distorted Rooms  [Thrill Jockey]
5. Cherubs- Icing [Reissue], Brutal Panda
6. Jefre Cantu-Ledesma, Poverty [Disfold Ltd]
7. Black Duck- Black Duck [Thrill Jockey]
8. John Fahey- Proofs & Refutations [Drag City]
9. Gunn-Truscinski-Nace, Glass Band [Three Lobed]
10. Tashi Dorji- Guitar Improvisations [Drag City]
11. Ativin- Austere [Joyful Noise]
12. Xylouri White- The Forest in Me [Drag City]
13. Bardo Pond- Volume 3 [ Fire]
14. Tim Hecker- No Highs [Kranky]
15. Roxane Métayer- Perlée de sève [ Kranky]
16. Mark Solotroff- Today the Infinite, Tomorrow Zero [ Self-Released]
17. Oval- Romantiq [Thrill Jockey]
18. Steve Roach- Rest of Life [ Projekt]
19. Murmer- Lether [Helen Scarsdale Agency]
20. Hainbach- Voice Magnetic [ Seil]
21. David Grubbs and Jan St. Werner- Translation From Unspecified  [Blue Chopsticks]
22. Transtilla- Transtilla III  [Midira]
23. Young James Long- Orogeny [Leaning Curve]
24. loscil/Lawrence English- Colours of Air. [Kranky]
25. Teksti-tv 666- Vapauden Tasavalta [Svart]
26. Maria Anderson & Tara Jane O’Neil- For All We Know, [Jealous Butcher]
27. Helvetia- Heuristic Hindsight Blues, [Self-Released]
28. VA- The Chicago Experiment Revisited,[ Ropeadope]
29. Exploding Star Orchestra, Lightning Dreamers [International Anthem]
30. Acetone, I’m Still Waiting, Boxset, [Reissues]  [New West ]

 

Cavan Gilbey
Film:
1: Passages (Mubi, physical/streaming)
2: Killers of the Flower Moon ( Apple Original Films, digital)
3: They Cloned Tyrone (Netflix, streaming)
4: Rye Lane (Searchlight Pictures, digital/streaming)
5: Past Lives (Celine Song, A24, digital/physical)
6:Nimona (Tony Quane, Nick Bruno, Netflix, streaming)
7:The Prince ( Nebula, streaming)
8:The Killer (Netflix, streaming)
9:Charcoal (Superfilms, digital)
10:Talk to Me (A24, digital/physical)
11: Spiderman: Across the Spider-Verse (Sony Pictures, digital/ physical)
12: Oppenheimer (Universal Studios, digital/physical)
13: Blackberry (Elevation Pictures, digital)
14: Stamped From The Beginning (, Netflix, streaming)
15: Bottoms (MGM Pictures, digital)
16: Barbie (Warner Bros, digital/physical)
17: The Caine Mutiny Court Marshal (Republic Pictures, streaming/digital)
18: Strange Way of Life (Pedro Almodóvar, Bteam Pictures, streaming)
19: Guardians of the Galaxy Volume 3 (Marvel Studios, digital/physical)
20: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem ( Paramount Pictures, digital/physical)
21: No One Will Save You (Searchlight Pictures, streaming)
22: Lola (Cowtown Pictures, digital/physical)
23: Creed 3 (, Warner Bros, digital/physical)
24: Asteroid City (Universal Pictures, digital/physical)
25:Cassandro (Roger Ross Williams, Amazon Studios, streaming)
26:Dungeons and Dragons:Honour Amongst Thieves ( Paramount Pictures, digital/physical)
27: Evil Dead Rise (Warner Bros, digital/physical)
28: Theatre Camp (Searchlight Pictures, digital)
29:Dicks The Musical (Larry Charles, A24, digital)
30:Shin Kamen Rider (, Toei Company, digital/streaming)

 

Sarah Gregory
Music/ Sound
1: Andre 3000 – New Blue Sun (Epic)
2: Angel Bat Dawid – Requiem for Jazz (International Anthem)
3: Art Ensemble of Chicago – The Sixth Decade: From Paris to Paris (Rogue Art) 
4: Arthur Russell – Picture of Bunny Rabbit (Audika)
5: Bruce Haack – Captain Entropy (Joyful Noise)
6: Carl Stone – Electronic Music from 1972-2022 (Unseen Worlds)
7: Coil – Queens of the Circulating Library (Dais)
8: Darius Jones – fLuXkit Vancouver (We Jazz)
9:Illusion of Safety and Z’Ev - Illusion of Safety and Z’Ev (Illusion of Safety and Z’Ev/No Part of It)
10: James Brandon Lewis – For Mahalia with Love (TAO Forms)
11: Lankum – False Lankum (Rough Trade)
12: Machinefabriek/Monica Bugajny – Recytle (Machinefabriek)
13: Mark Jenkin – Enys Men (Original Score) (Invada)
14: Matana Roberts – Coin Coin Chapter 5: In the Garden (Constellation)
15: O Yuki Conjugate – A Temple of Opposites Vol 3 (O Yuki Conjugate)
16: Pan Afrikan People’s Arkestra – 60 Years (The Village)
17: Pharoah Sanders – Pharoah (Luaka Bop)
18: Philip Jeck, Chris Watson – Oxmardyke (Touch)
19: Ryuichi Sakamoto – 12 (Milan)
20: Shit and Shine – 2222 Airport (The State51 Conspiracy)
21: Strategy - Graffiti in Space (Constellation)
22: Sunburned Hand of the Man – Tumble Dry (Sunburned Hand of the Man)
23: The Necks – Travel (Northern Spy)
24: The Stargazer’s Assistant – Fire Worshipper (House of Mythology)
25: Tholos Gateway – Tholos Gateway II (gusstaff Records)
26: Tristan Allen – Tin Iso and the Dawn (RVNG Intl)
27: UHF – Tune IN (yeyeh)
28:VA – Klar!80 (bureau b)
29:VA – The NID Tapes: Electronic Music from India 1969-72 (The State51 Conspiracy)
30: Yussef Dayes – Black Classical Music (Brownswood Music Limited)