The 15 songs from 2023 you shouldn't skip out on

Heavenly ambient, rap confessionals, DIY pop and more that stood out this year.

(Illustration by Ben Kothe.)

Between the (re-)return of Loops, my dip into freelance criticism, and months spent working from home, I listened to more new music in 2023 than ever before. My favorite songs seemed to match the urgency and passion in my own life this year, which started with me quitting my job and ended with me getting married. (To my wife. She’s lovely.)

To cap off a Very Big Year, here are my 15 favorite songs of 2023. They depict the uncertainty and fragility of our world today, as well as its breakneck pace and growing apathy. Like all great music, these songs stand in defiance of this reality, offering solace, strength, or much-needed vulnerability.

Read about each of my picks below; there is also a Spotify playlist and links to other apps.

One last thing before we get to the list: Loops as it looks today is thanks to a group of friends and artists from around the country. Thank you Meesh for the new photos, Lauryn for our new lemony logo, Ben for the wonderful end-of-year illustration above, and Faith for copy editing the many words in this list. For anyone else interested in contributing writing or other skills to Loops, send me an email.

What were your favorite songs of 2023? Let us know in the comments — or by replying directly to this email. Happy hunting!

Arthur Russell: “Picture of Bunny Rabbit”

A well-preserved slab of drone and experimental music. Russell layers dissonant cello lines, hollow and metallic, and uses tape effects to whirr them back and forth. At some point the recording clicks off entirely, and Russell scrapes his bow for an extended, noisy outro. (Apple Music/Bandcamp)

Barker: “Birmingham Screwdriver”

Barker’s debut album Utility glowed like a weightless alien life-form. His “Birmingham Screwdriver,” on the other hand, is dark, heavy and disorienting. It’s hard to grab on to the modulated kick drum as it twitches and morphs shapes. Much easier to let it swallow you whole. (Apple Music/Bandcamp)

billy woods & Kenny Segal: “Soft Landing”

“Soft Landing” captures the experience of waking up on an early morning flight. Your eyes are crusty, the sun is peeking through the window shade, and you’ve got just a few minutes before you’re back on land and scrambling toward your next destination. For a moment in the sky, Segal’s guitars unfurl and woods shoves his problems aside. “Birds flying high, you know how I feel,” he exhales, smoking on some Nina Simone. (Apple Music/Bandcamp)

Cole Pulice: “If I Don’t See You In The Future, I’ll See You In The Pasture”

The idea for this 22-minute behemoth came to Pulice during their set at this year’s Drones Not Drones, a festival in Minneapolis benefiting Doctors Without Borders. Like that nonprofit, which is currently helping the wounded in Gaza and more than 70 countries, Pulice’s piece is meant for dark times. Its benevolence is strong enough to make you believe in a better world. (Apple Music/Bandcamp)

Drake & Central Cee: “On The Radar Freestyle”

I’m actually impressed by the gall these two had to call this a freestyle. The performances here are technical and dexterous. The drill beat by Harley Arsenault and Kid Masterpiece never loses momentum. In the end, Central Cee gets the knockout: “Sick of these high-rise buildings/ flip the script, now I'm living on farmland.” (Apple Music)

Danny Brown: “Celibate” (feat. MIKE)

Danny Brown had wanted to move on from the XXX bars for years. “Celibate” paints the clearest picture of who he is today. The song benefits from clever wordplay, a passionate MIKE verse and Brown’s quiet, matter-of-fact drawl. This time, it’s his vulnerability that shocks. (Apple Music/Bandcamp)

Jessy Lanza: “Limbo”

Lanza and co-producer Tensnake work their charm quickly and effectively on “Limbo”, a highlight off Lanza’s Love Hallucination. “I could stay a bit or I could go/ I could live my life in limbo,” she sings as the sun sets over the city. The hook — “L-I-M-B-O” spelled over synth stabs and octave-jumping bass — suggests maybe it’s not so bad. (Apple Music/Bandcamp)

K-LONE: “Oddball”

A light and spry downtempo track that stands out in its tranquility. Like Fatima Yamaha’s “What’s a Girl to Do” and Herbert’s “I Hadn’t Known (I Only Heard)”, it’s dance music that refreshes and unwinds, allowing you to observe and take note of where you are and what’s around you. (Apple Music/Bandcamp)

Kelela: “Happy Ending”

Kelela spent the years following 2017’s Take Me Apart immersed in the history of Black and queer people. She then imagined their future, in an ocean world bathed in silver moonlight. “Happy Ending” drops us there and leaves us marveling at the crashing waves, crafted by LSDXOXO and BAMBII and kept under control by Kelela. (Apple Music/Bandcamp)

Navy Blue: “Chosen”

The first words we hear on “Chosen” are a declaration of pride. “I can’t stop from loving me,” Navy tells himself. It’s right on me when Budgie’s kick drum thrusts him up and over a velvety soul sample like a trampoline. It’ll lift you up, too, no matter how many times you hear it. (Apple Music)

Nourished By Time: “Soap Party”

God bless Marcus Brown for showing up as he is: warbling, imperfect, human. “Soap Party,” off this year’s excellent Erotic Probiotic 2, is a soft, scrappy and endearing pop song. As clouds of synths descend in the outro, Brown channels Purple Rain, begging the sky to “rain on me”. (Apple Music/Bandcamp)

Olof Dreijer: “Rosa Rugosa”

The swirling, serpentine synths on “Rosa Rugosa” might sound familiar to fans of the Knife and Fever Ray (led by his sibling Karin Dreijer). Over a syncopated shaker, the lines intertwine and converse with one another. It’s the rare dance track that confuses and questions the listener, enchanting them nonetheless. (Apple Music/Bandcamp)

Skrillex: “Tears” (feat. Joker & Sleepnet)

Skrillex brings in the brethren Joker and Sleepnet for an impeccably produced dubstep track. “Tears” ripples outward like the blast radius of a spaceship, haunted by Skrillex’s pitch-shifted vocal samples and Joker’s cavernous bass design. The rest of Quest for Fire has Sonny and his counterparts on a one-way journey into outer space. (Apple Music)

Tomu DJ: “Band Man”

“Band Man” is a masterful speed run by California producer Tomu DJ. Over the soft plinking of keys, Tomu unleashes an Amen break that blitzes past at several notches past 160 bpm. As other synths and effects whiz by, the drums stay on course to reach the finish line. The relentlessness and proficiency those elements make “Band Man” rise above the competition. (Apple Music/Bandcamp)

Wednesday: “Bath County”

Young, loud and alienated. Wednesday show the reality of American life on “Bath County,” a song about witnessing someone OD outside of a Planet Fitness. What can they do about the poor man lying in the parking lot — and every one else just trying to make it by — but shriek, shred and serve as witness? (Apple Music/Bandcamp)