ACL 2023 - Top Ten Electronic

A Closer Listen

This year’s top ten electronic albums run the gamut from quirky and fun to industrial and dark.  These albums cross boundaries, incorporating drone, pop, hip-hop, and modern composition, while the themes include death and vulnerability, gender roles and climate change.  A debut album is just as likely to be included as an album from a seasoned veteran.  This remarkable variety is a sign of health in the industry, demonstrating that electronic music runs far deeper than EDM.

To quote Men Without Hats, you can dance if you want to ~ but alternatively, it’s okay to just listen, to drink in the textures and luxuriate in the tones.  We hope you’ll enjoy our selection of the year’s best electronic music!

Aho Ssan ~ Rhizomes (Other People) Like Simulacrum, Aho Ssan’s 2020 debut, Rhizomes is full of dynamic bass and abrasive textures summoned inscrutably from Max-MSP. Both records are similarly grounded in philosophical concepts;  while the former captured his experiences growing up Black in the Parisian banlieue and connecting with the music of the Ghanaian grandfather he’d never met, Rhizomes explores non-hierarchical means of collaboration, featuring a number of high profile guests including Nicolas Jaar, Clipping., and Moor Mother. Even “Tetsuo II,” the one track that seems to be solo, is  conceptualized as a collaboration with himself, not unlike the role played by The Mensah Imaginary Band on Simulacrum. Rhizomes’ concept is also reflected in its format; not content to be a simple album, Rhizomes comes in a lyric / art book edition made in collaboration with  the artist Kim Grano, including bonus tracks and long versions of some of the album highlights. At times dark and driving, and others gentle and contemplative, Rhizomes sounds not quite like anything else. (Joseph Sannicandro)

Original Review

CORIN ~ Lux Aeterna (UIQ) CORIN’s sophomore album imagines sound coming into sentience. It’s a brooding, beat-driven piece of science fiction. Cold as an autonomous machine, it becomes eerily organic as it fidgets and grows. As each sound morphs into the next, meditative outer-space ritual gives way to immersive EBM rave. Regular readers will remember that CORIN’s debut album in 2019 was already strong. But Lux Aeterna is a decisive step into new territory. (Samuel Rogers)

Original Review

Croatian Amor ~ A Part of You in Everything (Posh Isolation) Dedicated to the artist’s deceased younger brother, this album represents a fine encounter between left-field and mainstream sensibilities, a fulfillment of the promise of the Croatian Amor project. Its heartfelt, melodic electronics sway with slightly noisy drones as backup, the transitions between ambient and dance music subtle and clean. The music crackles and creaks with constant tension, but never enough to disturb – its eeriness is resolved in ways that evoke early dubstep’s strategies of compromise between surface warmth and skin-chilling cold. (David Murrieta Flores)

Original Review

Francesco Gennari ~ Frammenti (imprec) There’s nothing quite like the luscious, cushy sonic envelope of the modular synth. On Frammenti classically trained pianist Gennari follows in the footsteps of artists like Caterina Barberi in layering cascades of synth lines in a rich tapestry of synthetic sound. He builds to moments of dizzying speed and dazzling climaxes but isn’t afraid to use his machine to luxuriate in periods characterized by more meandering rhythms and ambient soundscapes. The edges of Gennari’s sounds occasionally show, injecting a pointed but human edge to his machinic riffs. Frammenti is a confident and sophisticated debut album. (Jennifer Smart)

Original Review

Grand River ~ All Above (Editions Mego) If you have judged this album on the cover and the opening track – the mournful “Quasicristallo” – then you might think All Above would be a perfect choice if we ran a ‘saddest music of the year’ list. But this is an album that eases its way in softly before breaking out the pulsing rhythm, metallic percussion, glitches, hisses and hums which propel the subsequent pieces. In a similar fashion to Lorenzo Senni, Aimée Portioli crafts dance music without the kick drum beat: the result is an ambient rave that moves the heart as much as the feet. (Jeremy Bye)

Original Review

Kate NV ~ WOW (RVNG Intl.) There’s a through line of play and whimsy on WOW. Bouncy rhythms and jubilant synthesizers draw out melodies before being interrupted by saxophone and horns on “confessions at the dinner table.” An awkward beat accompanies percussive bells and the artist’s voice on “mi (we)” before other warped drum pads and processed vocals join in a stuttering but persistent dialogue.  Stops and starts, whimsical repetition, and shimmery synths evoke the fragmented but joyous journey through video games and other animated spaces. Throughout the artist deploys her cut-up vocals alongside an ever-shifting palette of electroacoustic sounds. WOW is a joyful exploration of buoyant sound that is as interested in letting melodies soar as it is in deconstructing them. (Jennifer Smart)

Original Review

Lyndhurst ~ Platforms When Platforms was released in July, we named it as a perfect album for summer. Indeed, playful and sparkling, it is reminiscent of the sun, sea, and fun. But, not merely easy listening, the album is also full of depth and complexity. Even individual tracks take listeners on journeys spanning various levels of soundscapes. Traversing from ambient and vast, to rhythmically percussive, to regally orchestral, Platforms never ceases to surprise. (Maya Merberg)

Orignal Review

Odalie ~ Puissante Vulnérabilité (Mesh) Puissante Vulnérabilité, translating to “Powerful Vulnerability” is an electronic album, but not very forthcomingly so. It opens with acoustic strings, and sometimes featuring soft and silky female vocals, maintains a delicacy throughout that speaks to the album’s title. It slowly reveals more and more of itself– some tracks are backed with heavier driving beats, while others are subtle and tender, though all are equally powerful. (Maya Merberg)

Original Review

WaqWaq Kingdom ~ Hot Pot Totto (Phantom Limb) We were delighted to see WaqWaq back again in 2023. They serve up another full-size bowl of eccentric electro-pop, with irresistible dancehall rhythms, processed vocal stylings, and a dash of absurdist humour. Like the artwork’s chanko nabe (sumo hot pot), the music contains a morsel of everything tasty, with 8-bit toadstools for good measure. This eagerly awaited follow-up doesn’t disappoint. It is expertly executed and brimming with energy. (Samuel Rogers)

Original Review

Zoë Mc Pherson ~ Pitch Blender (SFX) Pitch Blender is an intriguingly eclectic album, sometimes featuring frenzied club rhythms but always returning to slower, celestial soundscapes. Overall, the record has existential, otherworldly themes. The music is often catchy but always innovative and thought-provoking, as are the occasional lyrics. Every aspect remains in flux, the perfect reflection of its title. (Maya Merberg)

Original Review