The Best Australian Albums Of 2023

If anyone thinks that we don’t have music that stands up on a global level in Australia, they’re wrong. 2023 has seen homegrown artists put out expectation-defying, massive releases in hip hop, metal, punk, pop, alternative circles, and beyond.

We’ve had local artists like Budjerah open for Ed Sheeran during the English singer’s stadium tour of Australia, Gretta Ray support Maisie Peters in the UK, and Polaris make waves with American metalcore bands like Silent Planet and Currents.

We’ve watched on as G Flip and Troye Sivan swept up the ARIA Awards - the latter and Kylie Minogue also nominated for Grammy Awards at the 2024 ceremony - and most recently, praised RVG as they took home this year’s Soundmerch Australian Music Prize.

It’s been an impressive year for Australian music, and we’re not done praising it just yet. Here are The Music’s top Australian albums of 2023 (in alphabetical order).

C.O.F.F.I.N – Australia Stops

How often do you hear a punk rock album that recalls the best of Australia’s pub rock heyday and modern-day examination of today’s socio-political class? On Australia Stops, the belting fifth album from one of our finest bands, C.O.F.F.I.N, that’s exactly what they achieve.

Packed with incredible passion and an addictively brash nature - just listen to those throat-thrashing vocals and face-melting guitars - C.O.F.F.I.N absolutely rock with their party anthems and allow you to find yourself in their noisy and angry world.

Upon its release in September, Australia Stops was #2 on both ARIA’s Top 5 Australian Artist Albums and the Top 5 Vinyl Albums charts.

In a press release, the album was described as follows: “While the theme 'Australia Stops' poses political questions and ideals, it also synchronously shines light on the eminence of community, the healthy beating heart of art and music, the beautiful landscapes and divergent nature surroundings held dear within Australia. With this, Australia Stops is neither a fully positive or negative elucidation of this country. It is a celebration of the things we are lucky to have, while always trying to encourage and inspire those around us to try and do better.”

When the Last Chance Rock & Roll Bar’s crowdfunding campaign to save The Tote was successful, what did owners Shane Hilton and Leanne Chance say? “Go to the shows, buy the albums, wear the t-shirts and listen to C.O.F.F.I.N.”

Cub Sport - Jesus At The Gay Bar

Cub Sport finally sound like the band they’ve always been destined to be on Jesus At The Gay Bar. With a cheeky title and a whole lot of heart, their latest album was released on Good Friday.

The album title stems from Jay Hulme's poem of the same name and follows journeys through shame and towards joy, celebration and pure euphoria.

The Brisbane band - Tim Nelson, Sam "Bolan" Netterfield, Zoe Davis and Dan Puusaari - engage in 2-step and UK garage music as influences, all the while embracing fragility and tenderness. They also engage in club-ready dance music and nostalgic pop songs all wrapped up in a wistful haze.

Ahead of the release of Jesus At The Gay Bar, The Music caught up with Cub Sport’s Tim Nelson. "It was my vision for the next era to find a way to keep capturing the heart and emotion that has come to define Cub Sport, but also find a way to bring a bit more joy and something more uplifting to it," he said. "I think Replay is one of those songs that sits exactly in that spot for me."

Teasing the emotional journey of the album, he continued, “There is some really special stuff on the way in that world. Other big things have been happening in my life over the last couple of years that I've also been writing about. So, our songs will span a decade and fill in little gaps in the story that's been told over our last four albums. It feels like an evolution into the future of Cub Sport.”

G Flip – DRUMMER

2023 was nothing short of enormous for G Flip – already the most successful non-binary pop star in Australian music history – with the release of their incendiary second album, DRUMMER, topping a list of milestones that also includes their biggest tour yet, huge wins at the ARIAs and J Awards, and collabs with legends like Delta Goodrem and Mike Shinoda (not to mention their marriage).

DRUMMER debuted at #1 upon its release back in August, with ARIA CEO Annabelle Herd personally applauding Flip (aka Georgia Flipo) for “pushing the narrative of Australian music forward” and “represent[ing] the next wave of homegrown success here and overseas”.

In their cover story for The Music, Flipo explained that DRUMMER marked a major step in their artistic evolution: “When I made [2019 debut album] About Us, I felt like a kid. I was very much learning how to navigate the world and everything around me – and since then, I feel like I've matured so much. And I've matured in my artistry, and in my vocals and my songwriting and musicianship – even my stage presence. But you know, that’s just the passage of time; I think all of us grow and elevate in whatever field we're in. I just feel like a more matured version of myself now.”

Flipo went on to vouch for their second album as the purest distillation of their creativity. “The music on DRUMMER is so me,” they said.

The whole thing was written “with the live show in mind”, too – an ethos that stemmed from Flipo’s past as a wedding drummer, when they’d spend their weekends “just playing through 100 hit songs”. They noted, “It always stuck to me, because all of those songs were hits, but some of them were just way more fun to play than all the others. So when I was writing a lot of these songs on the record, I wanted to make sure it would be fun to play them live.”

Genesis Owusu – STRUGGLER

Genesis Owusu doesn’t need us to gas him up – his countless accolades (including huge wins at the National Live Music Awards, J Awards and ARIAs) and sold-out shows do just fine with that – but we’d be remiss not to celebrate the genre-bending stalwart for the monumental impact he’s had on Australian music, especially over just a few short years.

His second album, STRUGGLER, landed in August with a labyrinth of its own lore, further cementing Owusu as a storytelling wizard on top of a musical genius. He told The Music in a cover story: “I think when I’m making music, it’s a pretty selfish process. I’m just completely stuck in my own world. It’s all just a process of expressing myself – getting all that weird shit off my chest, you know? The world is living in a crazier time – I’m a crazier person – so the concept has to be crazier.”

STRUGGLER came together pretty quickly – especially factoring in the fact that after minting its predecessor, Smiling With No Teeth, Owusu took a short hiatus from songwriting – but it wasn’t a case of opening the floodgates and having the ideas surge out freely. “It took me a while to figure it out,” he said. “I had to go through this whole period of self-rediscovery, because, you know, there’s this very cliched quote where it's like, ‘You have your whole life to make your first album and only a few years to make your second’ – but no one told me that until it was time to make my second album!

“I had to figure out a way to make this album mean something to me, you know? I didn’t want to be there going, ‘I have to make this album for the sake of making another album...’ I was just figuring myself out – what I wanted to say, how I wanted to say it, how I was feeling... And you know, that led me to finding new forms of inspiration, like reading a lot more books, watching plays, movies... Anything I could get something out of.”

Gretta Ray - Positive Spin

Melbourne indie-pop artist Gretta Ray embraced happiness on her second album – aptly titled Positive Spin – offering a bright and bubbly soundtrack for a cultural moment that has been everything but. “Songwriting is so therapeutic,” she said upon releasing it in August, “and my way of moving through my emotions has been to put a positive spin on my experiences.”

Ray went on to explain where she was creatively when she started writing Positive Spin: “Being in pop music and being a woman in pop music... your perception of where you’re at can get very warped. I’m starting to really settle into my mid-20s... I feel stronger now than I ever have... I am so much more equipped to do the job now, and to be this person now... I feel really empowered by the knowledge that I have gotten, over the years of experience that I have had in this industry.”

Shortly after Positive Spin hit shelves, Ray embarked on a stately theatre tour of Australia, and went on to be nominated for the 2023 Australian Music Prize.

James Johnston – Raised Like That

Described by James Johnston as a “celebration of a way of life”, Raised Like That is packed with jovial anthems, slow hits, and a powerful track, This Land Is Killing Me, that even covers the risks and societal issues facing those living on the land.

The popularity of Johnston’s Raised Like That has been quick and emphatic, with many of his songs centered around the seemingly everyday experiences of being a parent, a husband, and life on the land. With storytelling so foundational to the country genre, Johnston’s ability to capture a feeling or message and convey it so earnestly has made him appeal to such a wide country audience.

Raised Like That was crowned the fastest-ever debut single by an Australian country singer to reach one million streams. The album also peaked at #7 on the ARIA charts for Australian Albums, and #2 for Australian Country Albums.

When asked what fans could expect from the album, Johnston said, “I think you will know me way more intimately. The record will make you want to dance, make you want to cry, and make you want to turn around and buy a little property in a small town somewhere.”

Ahead of the release of Raised Like That, The Music interviewed Johnston for a cover story. “A lot of the music I have released up to date is pulled from my upbringing and growing up in a small town, growing up in the country and all the things that come with that,” he noted.

“I think the album, a lot of the songs are the evolution of that - it goes from now, being a dad, and then getting back to my roots and reconnecting with my childhood, taking my family and being back in that environment and what that means now.”

JK-47 – Revision For Regrowth

Described by Purple Sneakers as “a revolutionary rap artist”, JK-47’s long-awaited album Revision For Regrowth, produced by ARIA Award winner Jay Orient, dropped last month and quickly secured its place on many end-of-year lists.

The expansive and optimistic hip hop record features Tasman Keith, Adrian Eagle, Emily Wurramara, and more.

Revision For Regrowth comes from a place of introspection, and it’s about change: acknowledging your mistakes to become a better person. "You realise you can’t do things the way you’ve been doing them because it’s not healthy but if you hadn’t lived the experience you wouldn’t have that perspective. When you cut something off you gotta learn how to regrow," JK-47 said.

On the album’s focus track, Zuriel, he added: "Three months before the first album dropped I had my son, and on the day my son was born, this song was made. My family is a big reason for why I do what I do. I see each day as a chance to do things right by them, and make all the mistakes count for something. Although this song is the outro of the album, it was the start of everything.”

Kerser – A Gift & A Kers

This year, Australian rap icon Kerser brought his storied career to an epic close in the form of his tenth and final album, A Gift & A Kers. Boasting 23 tracks, this farewell opus, featuring chart-toppers like Seen It All and Winner, showcased a departure from Kerser's trademark rapid-fire releases, with the artist dedicating three years to meticulously shape this monumental project.

The album's moniker, A Gift & A Kers, encapsulated the artist's triumphant underdog narrative, symbolising the successful completion of his mission to drop 10 albums in a decade. Spanning his entire musical journey, the album served as a kaleidoscope of Kerser's diverse styles and emotions, from street anthems to introspective tracks. Helmed by the production prowess of Open Till L8 and Raijan Kitano, this magnum opus took shape during an artistic retreat in the scenic Gerringong, NSW.

“I know this is my best piece of work yet,” he said of his final gift to fans. “I’m leaving my fans with an album that will carry them through the rest of their lives. My final thank you and my final imprint on the scene I built.”

Kylie Minogue - Tension

Described by Kylie herself as a “pop-dance exploration”, the icon’s sixteenth studio album went straight to #1 in Australia and the UK upon release, with its unforgettable track Padam Padam scoring a Grammy nomination for Best Pop Dance Recording and claiming Best Pop Release at the J Awards.

“I am in awe of the love and support you’ve shown me. I will hold on to this moment forever!!” the singer said went Tension hit #1.

In The Music’s 4.5 star review of Tension, reviewer Bryget Chrisfield wrote, “Tension is a chic collection of songs to help us pull in da club, soundtrack all-night raves and make our hearts sing/go Padam Padam.”

Tension is Minogue’s eighth #1 album in Australia, following 2000’s Light Years, 2001’s Fever, X in 2007, Kiss Me Once in 2014, Golden in 2018, Step Back In Time: The Definitive Collection in 2019, and Disco in 2020.

Ahead of the album’s release, she said that she “wanted to celebrate each song’s individuality and to dive into that freedom”, adding that Tension was “a blend of personal reflection, club abandon and melancholic high”.

Polaris - Fatalism

Soundmerch Australian Music Prize nominees Polaris got close, landing in the Top 9 shortlist of albums that began with 450 records for over 30 judges to listen to. They could have won, and ultimately, their new album Fatalism did win 2023, landing at #1 on the ARIA Albums Chart as the Aussie metallers headlined arenas at home for the first time.

As well as Overflow, Fatalism was led by two other singles, Inhumane and Nightmare, and they both rip as hard as they did upon release within the context of the album. Inhumane, the first offering from Fatalism that we heard, is wicked from its bass intro through to the keyboards, lead vocalist Jamie Hails’ distorted vocals in the first verse, and straight to the dearly departed Ryan Siew’s beautiful guitar solo.

While Fatalism doesn’t break the mould of heavy music in Australia, it certainly elevates Polaris to new levels. On their third album, we hear a band reach new artistic peaks, perfect their melodies, improve singing from two vocalists, and listen to 11 top-tier tracks we won’t forget anytime soon.

It’s an impressive follow-up to 2020’s The Death Of Me – longtime fans won’t be disappointed by Polaris’ evolution, and new fans will be won.

Fatalism is also notable for being released in memory of Polaris’ late guitarist, Ryan Siew, who died in June at age 26. The band confirmed in July that they would continue in Siew’s honour.

You can read The Music’s album review here.

RVG — Brain Worms

RVG just took home this year’s Soundmerch Australian Music Prize. One of the best albums of the year, both internationally and at home, Brain Worms finds RVG smoothing out the edges of their previously lo-fi brand of rock music for something wider and unafraid to embrace the grander ideas of its members.

The Melbourne rockers provide an exercise in telling stories packed with vulnerability and a sense of humour, delivering the best Drops Of Jupiter reference we’ve heard in any kind of pop culture. They get loud and powerful on the incredible singles Nothing Really Changes and Squid, allowing drama and instrumentation to build into something truly special.

The songs on Brain Worms have been described as “songs you can drive to” by lead singer Romy Vager, with most of the record written at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, when “not much was happening, and there wasn't much of a local scene to feed off or think about”.

As tedious as that was in the moment, Vager told The Music in a cover story interview it ultimately made for a more interesting palette of themes to draw from: “That breakaway from music made me explore more unique things.”

Teen Jesus & The Jean Teasers – I Love You

In September, Aussie punk rockers Teen Jesus & The Jean Teasers dropped their highly anticipated debut album, I Love You. An album a long time in the making, the Aussie four-piece put out a string of stellar singles before releasing their first EP, Pretty Good For A Girl Band.

With the album, Teen Jesus & The Jean Teasers kept up that momentum, remaining unflinchingly honest with unforgettable tunes. They’re the kind of band that channels Riot Grrrl-era energy with a 2023 spin and they happen to be the most natural, confident, and likable punk-rockers you’ll hear.

Listening to I Love You, replete with punching conviction, blistering beats, and an exciting post-grunge revival, The Music wondered in a cover story interview – whom is it Teen Jesus And The Jean Teasers love?

“We’ve wanted to do an album forever,” drummer Neve van Boxsel said, “and I feel like writing it and recording it was overwhelming. So, I feel like this is for each other, but also, everyone that listens, everyone that’s supported us.”

The Kid LAROI - THE FIRST TIME

The Kid LAROI's debut album is a fever dream of angst, heartbreak and ‘90s vibes.

While purists may contest that the F*ck Love trilogy was the artist's debut, THE FIRST TIME is his first full-length album release offering a 20-track journey with Jungkook, Central Cee, Future, Robert Glasper and D4VD collaborating.

In The Music’s review of The First Time, reviewer Claire Dunton wrote, “The Kid LAROI is looking only to connect rather than exclude, and it feels and sounds like a real, honest talent that you can’t help but back as an Australian.”

The album broke into the ARIA Albums Chart with a #3 debut, which was no easy feat given 1989 (Taylor’s Version) had a stranglehold at the time. Love Again was the first single to be released to wide acclaim, and was nominated for Song Of The Year at the 2023 ARIAs and also scored The Kid LAROI a nomination for Best Solo Artist

Shortly after the release of THE LAST TIME, The Kid LAROI announced a 2024 Australian stadium tour, making him the first Aus artist to play a stadium tour in the country since 2017.

In a press release, LAROI said of his own hype for the upcoming stadium tour: “I’m so excited to be coming back home in February! I felt so much love from the fans on last year’s tour – it’s something I’ll never forget. I can’t wait for you to all see this new show – we’ve taken things to a whole new level. I love you and I’ll see you all really soon.”

The Teskey Brothers – The Winding Way

2023 has been a landmark year of headline tours across the UK, Europe and North America for The Teskey Brothers, who sold over 80,000 tickets overseas and played their biggest international headline shows yet around the release of their critically acclaimed third album, The Winding Way.

At home, their currently underway album tour has sold over 50,000 tickets, while the release itself has enjoyed critical acclaim across the board after debuting at #1 on the ARIA Albums Chart.

When interviewed by The Music earlier in the year, Josh Teskey said the album was about “saying goodbye to your former selves and embracing what lies ahead”.

In the spirit of growth, both creative and personal, the Teskeys made a conscious effort to be less precious about what one of their songs should and/or shouldn’t sound like. “We were always open to the idea that a song should go wherever it should go,” Sam said, adding that it was crucial he and Josh “didn’t discriminate on any ideas” that came up.

The end result is a record studded all over with magical, mind-bending sounds and sonic concepts, from the heartwarming harmonies on Oceans Of Emotions and Carry Me Home to the roaring horns in Remember The Time, right to the soaring string crescendo on Take My Heart and Floydian guitar solo on Blind Without You.

Tkay Maidza – Sweet Justice

Seven years removed from her eponymous debut, Tkay Maidza’s second studio album – more accurately serving as a follow-up to her EP trilogy Last Year Was Weird – is an epic declaration to the trailblazing Aussie rapper’s growth, both personally and as an artist.

“I’ve come into my own,” Tkay said in an interview for a cover story on The Music. “I feel more confident about just how I move through the world now.”

She went on to say of the genesis behind the aptly named Sweet Justice, “Going into this album, if anything, it just felt like a homecoming. I didn't really have any questions to ask myself anymore. It was just kind of like, 'Let's do it; we can do it – you have the skills now. There's nothing to question anymore.' So I think that's just the difference. The fun energy is still there, but I'm accepting it now, as opposed to treating it like a burden of, 'I don't know what to do with myself.’”

She created purposefully yet instinctively. "Honestly, every song I was surprised – I definitely would come out of the studio being like, 'I didn't know I had that in me.’”

In addition to working alongside her regular cohort Dan Farber, Tkay linked up with new producers like Flume, KAYTRANADA, Billboard (Ariana Grande, Madonna) and Stint (Gallant, NAO, MØ). She also reunited with Duckwrth on Gone To The West, after the Cali MC blessed her 2018 hit Flexin’.

Troye Sivan - Something To Give Each Other

After a gruelling five-year wait, Troye Sivan returned to the spotlight in October with his triumphant and notably hopeful third album, Something To Give Each Other – an album that commemorates “sex, dance, sweat, community, queerness, love and friendship”.

Reviewing the album for The Music, David James Young wrote that “what really sells Something To Give Each Other, ultimately, is how far Sivan is willing to go”. He explained: “From his innermost feelings to his outermost desires, from his quietest ballads to his biggest disco infernos, Sivan wants everyone to know exactly who he is. He may as well, too – after all, he's finally sure of it.”

Unpacking the mindset he had during the album’s writing process, Sivan said: “I have no idea what the future holds, and that is totally okay. I'm so happy to just be in this moment right now with this person that I just met five minutes ago, or my best friend, or whatever. I felt a really strong sense of humanity and connection, and that was very inspiring to me.”

Since releasing Something To Give Each Other, Sivan has racked up a slew of award wins and nominations – including heavyweight titles like Grammys and ARIAs – and earlier this month he was named Man Of The Year by GQ Australia.

WILSN – Those Days Are Over

It’s been a big year for Melbourne-based singer Shannon Busch (aka WILSN), who this year released the modern soul masterpiece Those Days Are Over - her debut album.

Following the album, she featured on the Mushroom 50 celebration album in a duet with Budjerah (of Better Be Home Soon by Crowded House), performed at the concert (paying tribute to Renée Geyer with Heading In The Right Direction), supported The Teskey Brothers on their latest Australian tour, and recently announced her largest headline tour to date. Phew.

WILSN effortlessly infuses soul music in 2023, embracing jazz, Motown, and hints of pop music. She has a commanding voice and an inimitable vocal tone, as well as phrasing that’s uniquely hers. If you ask us, she’s the modern soul artist Australia has been waiting for.

On the album’s inspirations, WILSN explained in a The Music cover story, “Soul music never goes out of fashion because it’s pure.

“It’s all about a great melody, a great beat and harmony that moves you and makes you feel something. In today’s landscape of artists trying so hard to do something different, often for the sake of being different, it’s nice to just engage with the human voice in an unadulterated way. To make soul music, you have to be a long-time fan. You have to be real.”