The VOS team and its collaborators have assembled a selection of the outstanding cultural products of 2023, which are coming to an end soon. This article looks at some albums to listen to and remember.
In terms of entertainment and culture, the year was marked by several Hollywood blockbusters like Barbie and a lot of horror in cinema. There were also series that concluded successful seasons, like The Crown and Succession, and albums by bands that reformulated their scheme after a death (Depeche Mode and Rolling Stone are all about resilience and courage).
For its part, Buenos Aires had some great festivals that will not be mentioned here because priority was given to the artists’ individual shows. Without a doubt, Taylor Swift’s recitals were the most talked about. There were also shows to remember in Córdoba and several stage proposals, among which the best-selling.
Married with Children stands out .
Finally, it was a good year for platform content, some viral, such as “La Fabrica de jingles,” and others of great depth, such as the podcast Sin control: el universo de Javier Milei.
These were the 10 outstanding albums.
German Arrascaeta
Finally, the British band transcends the logic of “greatest hits-filler album-global tour” to demonstrate relevance. In 80, the Rolling Stones surprised with this passionate, streetwise, and subtle album. It respects a tradition of black rock & blues expanded by whites (themselves), which in 60 years gave an account of dissatisfaction, need for refuge from a world gone mad, exiles in French castles to avoid paying tribute to the crown, exoticism and even harmony with the punk that put them in discussion. Bill Wyman, Charlie Watts, Paul McCartney, Lady Gaga, Elton John and Stevie Wonder participated.
“Sleeping without Madrid” and “ 111″, Milo J
Brenda Petrone Veliz
The five-song EP he produced with Bizarrap as the first album of his career put Milo J on everyone’s lips and marked the resounding success of this 17-year-old with the soul of a 30-year-old. The musician is very clear about where his career is going. The depth of his lyrics, the melodies of a very Argentine rebirth, and his calm but overwhelming personality consecrate him as the best of the year and a valuable figure for urban music in 2024. He has what it takes to continue surprising.
“Cracker Island”, Gorillaz
Nicholas Lencinas
Damon Albarn’s versatility and compositional talent led him to release two albums this year: The Ballad of Darren with Blur and Cracker Island with Gorillaz. The quality of his guests strengthens the project of his alter ego 2-D: Stevie Nicks, Adeleye Omotayo, Thundercat, Tame Impala, Bad Bunny, Bootie Brown, and Beck. Of course, in parallel with the music, the music videos are a fundamental part of Gorillaz’s work. As always, their music is an ode to the mixture and fusion of genres with pop, hip-hop, and electronic music as a base.
“Super terror,” He killed a motorcycle policeman
Juan Manuel Pairone
In July, Santiago Barrionuevo released premonitory words through the 10 songs of Super Terror, the breakthrough album in Él Mató’s career. The fourth album by the quintet from La Plata illuminated a new sound forged from keyboards, pop forcefulness, and their usual rock preciousness.
But what has the most impact is Barrionuevo’s voice and the forcefulness of his lyrics, which are connected primarily with a context of uncertainty and desolation. Super Terror has the aura of those works that synthesize an era and leave a mark on history. That is why it is also the band’s definitive album, at least for now.
“Autopoietics”, Mon Laferte
German Arrascaeta
The Chilean singer-songwriter dynamites her aura as a Latin American diva with vintage echoes. The conjugation of the verb “dynamite” is not arbitrary. After seven albums in which she fought to establish herself as the Amy Winehouse of this region, Mon Laferte reinvents herself from a bizarre, experimental, and squeaky approach, in which a bolero crossed by trip hop and made even more lofty by the pitched voice fits in. Or a piece from the opera Norma (Vincenzo Bellini) crossed by dembow. The lyrics are raw and link with empowerment, but they go beyond the feminist pamphlet.
“Endless Summer Vacation”, Miley Cyrus
Brenda Petrone Veliz
Consecration, healing, and reflection. These are the three concepts behind Miley Cyrus’ latest album, a production that includes greater introspection and reconciliation with herself. It marks a stage of devastating growth that allows her to rethink the impact of her old controversies and decadent loves. She embraces them all in music and recognizes that they will always be part of her life.
The song Flowers is one of the most significant milestones of her career. The album featured cinematographic productions (the Backyard Sessions ) in which Miley could explain and interpret the stories and emotions behind each song.
“Natural,” Solitude
German Arrascaeta
Soledad sought “the” producer of the new generation to get out of her comfort zone. But far from being subversive, in Nico Cotton, she found someone who understood that her proposal only deserved a minimal deconstruction and the exaltation of her voice in a context of pristine sound.
Here, Cotton does not renounce processed beats and voices; he manages those resources excellently and exalts a transparency that wonderfully suits the intrepid Soledad of today. On the other hand, Natural contains Los Paisajes, a song that clarifies something: “Being happy is a right.”
“Memento Mori”, Depeche Mode
German Arrascaeta
Following the death of their partner Andrew Fletcher (keyboardist), Martin Gore and Dave Gahan turned pain into beauty on this brilliant album. Here, the surviving Depeche Mode members move freely through various electronic textures to explain how “Andy”’s journey into terra incognita affected them.
While the work has extremes of sacred resonances, in the middle, it boasts an “open” dispute between old-school minimalism, techno-industrial, and even a silky waltz-like Soul With Me. Dramatically, Gahan’s voice amplifies poignantly these sensations of finitude and irremediability.
“.mp3”, Emilia Mernes
Brenda Petrone Veliz
It is the materialization of the 2000s era, a revival of her adolescence (and many of her fans) marked by pop, tube television, cassettes, VHS, CDs, and old MP3 players. Emilia knew how to use resources characteristic of singers like Britney Spears, Christina Aguilera, and Ke$ha, but with sounds from the urban genre and current electronic music.
This album reflects a significant leap in her career and demonstrates that retro-electropop is and will always be her central axis. In the slower songs, Emilia turns her deepest fears and wounds into lullabies for young adults.