Think you’ve got your ‘Best of 2023’ list all…wrapped? Don’t finalize your rankings until you’ve heard this week’s batch of new albums. Released song-by-song throughout the year, Peter Gabriel’s long-gestating i/o is a triumph from start to finish. The album’s complementary mixes, a ‘Bright-Side’ by Spike Stent and a ‘Dark-Side’ by Tchad Blake, allow each of the dozen tracks to dazzle in moonlit grandeur.
Recruiting guest vocalists like Iggy Pop, Tori Amos, and Seal, producer Trevor Horn reimagines generations of anthems by Nirvana, Grace Jones, Kendrick Lamar, and more on Echoes: Ancient & Modern. Maryland’s Full of Hell and Philadelphia’s Nothing join forces on When No Birds Sang, a collaborative LP that shows off each band’s spaced-out approach to heavy rock. Prolific songwriter and producer Gabby’s World took a similar approach to releasing her new album as Peter Gabriel did with i/o: the songs from Gabby Sword were released monthly throughout the year, culminating in the playful full-length. As mentioned in last week’s holiday PRESSMAS roundup, members of the Philadelphia Eagles have returned with A Philly Special Christmas Special, the festive sequel to their breakout 2022 album.
PRESS PLAY on these new releases below. Listen for spotlights on new records like these (and more) every Friday on the XPN Morning Show and Indie Rock Hit Parade.
Peter Gabriel – i/o
CHECK OUT: “Road to Joy” “Panopticom” “And Still”
Trevor Horn – Echoes: Ancient & Modern
CHECK OUT: “Personal Jesus (feat. Iggy Pop and Phoebe Lunny)” “Love is a Battlefield (feat. Marc Almond)”
Full of Hell and Nothing – When No Birds Sang
CHECK OUT: “Like Stars in the Firmament” “Spend the Grace”
Gabby’s World – Gabby Sword
CHECK OUT: “Open the Door” “Magnify”
The Philly Specials – A Philly Special Christmas Special
CHECK OUT: “Fairytale of Philadelphia (feat. Jason and Travis Kelce)” “This Christmas (feat. Jordan Mailata and Patti LaBelle)”
FURTHER LISTENING:
ABBA – The Visitors (Deluxe Edition), Aretha Franklin – A Portrait of the Queen 1970-1974, Arone Dyer & s t a r g a z e – Arone Dyer & s t a r g a z e, Atmosphere – Talk Talk EP, The Black Crowes – The Southern Harmony and Musical Companion, Chick Corea Elektric Band – The Complete Studio Recordings 1986-1991, The Corrs – Best of the Corrs (Reissue), Fat Tony – Smart Ass Black Boy Redux, Haiku Hands – Pleasure Beast, Harp – Albion, Jonathan Rado – For Who the Bell Tolls For, Kate Bush – Hounds of Love (The Baskerville Edition) / The Boxes of Lost Sea (Box Sets), Khruangbin – Live at Sydney Opera House, Love Minus Zero – L’Ecstasy, P!NK – TRUSTFALL (Deluxe Edition), Soft Cell – Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret (Deluxe Edition), Tina Turner – Queen of Rock ‘n’ Roll, Violent Femmes – Violent Femmes (40th Anniversary Edition), Zach Russell – Where the Flowers Meet the Dew, Various Artists – Moping in Style: A Tribute to Adam Green, Various Artists – The Sound of Music (Super Deluxe Edition)
