With the end of the year and Consequence’s Annual Report looming, October gave us plenty of great albums to consider. There was a terrific return from Sufjan Stevens with Javelin, heartfelt offerings from Jamila Woods and Angie McMahon, and a Troye Sivan album that still has us dancing. Meanwhile, strong follow-up works from the likes of L’Rain, Squirrel Flower, and Sampha reminded us why we fell in love with those artists in the first place. Listed in alphabetical order, here are what our Consequence writers and editors think are the best albums from October 2023.
Reverend Kristin Michael Hayter — SAVED!
“I’M GETTING OUT WHILE I CAN,” the opening song from Reverend Kristin Hayter’s SAVED!, is bruised and bloody — literally. To achieve the song’s eerie crackles, pops, distortions, and imperfections, Hayter dragged the song’s tape around the studio, untangled it, re-recorded it to cassette, ran it through a broken tape player, and finally translated it back to tape (see visual evidence of the crime scene here). It’s the most out-there the record gets, as SAVED! dials back the raw intensity of Hayter’s previous work as Lingua Ignota, but successfully sets the tone for an album that’s as unsettling as it is beautiful.
The following 10 tracks, many of which are covers of Christian hymns and folk tunes, almost take the shape of a dusty, warped, intensely spiritual 12″ that was left at the bottom of a stack of records somewhere in the rust belt. It’s an utterly enrapturing sonic journey, one that draws you in no matter how resistant to old religious tunes you might think you are. — Jonah Krueger
Husbands — Cuatro
Oklahoma City indie rockers Husbands are back with their second album in two years: Cuatro. Clearly, the band is feeling a little prolific right now — after their eclectic 2022 album Full-On Monet came out last January, the band played Lollapalooza and Austin City Limits, nabbed some major opening tour slots, and returned this month with new music. The more oddball elements of Full-On Monet return, while also hearkening back to the classic, boyish hooks from their breakout third album After the Gold Rush Party. The band’s commitment to vocal harmonies — which can range from sedative and gentle to downright anthemic — is a major asset to their sound, making songs like “Old Town” and “Can’t Do Anything” as irresistible as ever. — Paolo Ragusa
L’Rain — I Killed Your Dog
Taja Cheek’s third record as L’Rain, I Killed Your Dog, reflects heartbreak and grief from the perspective of hurting those we love the most. The multi-instrumentalist and composer describes it as an “anti-breakup” album. “Our Funeral” is a soulful and serene tune that observes the end of a relationship. The synth-driven track, “Pet Rock,” looks at identity and expectations. “I Hate My Best Friend” is a humorous song about resenting your pals for wanting you to get help. The project showcases the complexities of heartache and pain. — Sun Noor
Angie McMahon — Light, Dark, Light Again
What does growth even look like for millennials these days? Everything is in such constant flux that a paradigm shift in what’s expected or “normal” happens every other day. So how does someone in this cusp-y generation keep themselves on a beneficial path of self-discovery? As Angie McMahon belts on the Light, Dark, Light Again single “Letting Go,” “It’s okay/ Make mistakes.” The Australian artist explores the anxiety of existence on her sophomore release, adding some Sharon Van Etten and, dare I say, Florence Welch to her songwriting to cathartic results. These songs ride the same emotional waves we all do — high to low to high again, with new lessons and scars in tow — with the wisdom that crests and falls are all part of the journey. McMahon’s lyrics are about “trying,” “learning,” and “hoping,” and in the mess of the 2020s, is there any other way through? — Ben Kaye
The Newton Brothers — The Fall of the House of Usher (Soundtrack from the Netflix Series)
The Newton Brothers, as not-actually-related composers John Andrew Grush and Taylor Newton Stewart are known, have been collaborating with The Fall of the House of Usher creator Mike Flanagan since 2013, and have a singular knack for capturing Flanagan’s skewed takes on classic literature. There’s an elegance befitting the prose of Edgar Allen Poe throughout their original orchestral score for The Fall of the House of Usher, thanks to the haunting strings and piano underscoring the season’s most shocking deaths — there’s also whimsy, too, as the show’s witty exploration of greed, fate, and literary deaths is reflected in tracks like “A Shorter Elevator Ride” and “F*ck Blippi.” Most importantly, the official soundtrack release includes the Newton Brothers and Daisy Grey’ deliciously slutty EDM cover of Chris Isaac’s “Wicked Game” (as featured in Episode 2 of the season), and that alone is reason to listen. — Liz Shannon Miller
Sampha — Lahai
On his sophomore album Lahai, Sampha reflects on loss and his sense of self through a spiritual lens. The long-awaited album arrives six years following the release of his Mercury Prize-winning debut, Process, which was characterized by grief and anxiety. Lahai is named after his grandfather, and Sampha creates a soulful and experimental record with a hopeful outlook. One standout track, “Spirit 2.0,” feels like a meditation, a guide through hardship. Lahai examines the complexities of life and depicts them as an essential part of the journey. — S. Noor
Troye Sivan — Something to Give Each Other
For his third studio album, Troye Sivan leaned further into themes of sensuality than ever before, building highly addictive chorus after highly addictive chorus into a stellar 10-track LP. Something to Give Each other might’ve been propelled by the success of its singles, but it’s wildly listenable all the way through — from the light club beat on “What’s the Time Where You Are?” to the glittery groove of “In My Room” and hyper-pop structure of “Silly,” the project let Sivan try new things while also honing the pop space in which he’s always thrived. There’s so much joy and pleasure baked into this project, making it easily one of the best mainstream pop releases of the season. — Mary Siroky
Squirrel Flower — Tomorrow’s Fire
Ella Williams’ fourth as album as Squirrel Flower is marked with both bliss and doubt. The guitars are fuzzier, her crystalline vocals more jagged and uncertain than ever. But often hidden within the thick air of Tomorrow’s Fire is a liberating release, like the classic rock freakout at the end of “When a Plant Is Dying” or the repeated rounds of Williams crooning “I’m not gonna change my sheets” in the final verse of opener “i don’t use a trash can.” Even when there’s darkness and doubt, Williams is an incisive, succinct character; her lyrics are never overstuffed, her musical phrases are as deliberately constructed as ever. It’s the boldest and most visceral Squirrel Flower album yet. — P. Ragusa
Sufjan Stevens — Javelin
Despite its tragic context and tear-jerking melodies, Sufjan Stevens’ greatest trick on Javelin is how the accomplished songwriter imbues the album with hope. For every moment of deep insecurity (“Will Anybody Ever Love Me?”) or romantic turmoil (“So You Are Tired”), Stevens offers glimpses of strength and perseverance. Be it the declaration of “I will always love you” on “Shit Talk” or the smile-inducing Neil Young cover “There’s a World,” Javelin refuses to wallow for the sake of misery. And for that, it hits all the harder, making like its title and piercing the hearts of listeners with expert precision. (Read our full review of Javelin here.) — J. Krueger
Earl Sweatshirt and The Alchemist — Voir Dire
Around 2019, The Alchemist started dropping hints that a collaboration with Earl Sweatshirt had been hidden on YouTube. Maybe it’s still there — maybe Alch didn’t really appreciate the uphill algorithmic battle facing unheralded music — and though we never got official confirmation, maybe at long last it’s been released as the fantastic new album VOIR DIRE. Alchemist has a reputation for being your favorite crate digger’s favorite crate digger, and the samples are once again surprisingly rich, with open-ended beats that Earl slides over with his usual introspection and anxiety. There aren’t a lot of what you would normally call choruses, but in his flows Earl boasts a jazz drummer’s ability to amuse and surprise, and VOIR DIRE’s 26 minutes fly by in a blink. — Wren Graves
Truth Club — Running from the Chase
North Carolina’s Truth Club writes jagged, dynamic, propulsive music that swings between manic highs and melancholic lows, making the namesake of their latest album just as sonically representative as it is thematically relevant. Running from the Chase finds the act picking up where 2019’s Not an Exit left off, doubling down on that record’s blend of noisy indie rock, tuneful slowcore, and skittering art-rock. From hooky melodies to cathartic explosions, Truth Club’s sophomore effort showcases a hungry band on the rise and stands as one of the most compelling, unique, and memorable indie rock records of the year so far. (Check out the band’s track-by-track breakdown of the project here.) — J. Krueger
Jamila Woods — Water Made Us
Jamila Woods is one of the great artists of her generation, and her third album, Water Made Us, proves she’s still peaking. On her previous efforts, HEAVN and LEGACY! LEGACY!, Woods pioneered a fresh kind of not-quite-concept album, asking herself big questions: What does she find sacred? How has her perspective been shaped by the great artists of the past? From those ambitious musings she creates music that is playful, moving, personal, and above all, irresistible, with melodies that sound nice the first listen and by the third listen take up permanent residence in your brain.
Love can transform us, Woods acknowledges on Water Made Us, but is that always a good thing? Water is one of the dominant themes of the album, and from song to song, love to love, it can swirl with the warmth of a jacuzzi or slam the listener like a tidal wave. Sometimes Woods herself can become water, and in “Tiny Garden” she nurtures a love at her own pace like slow-falling rain. Like a garden, Water Made Us grows richer the more time you spend in it. — W. Graves