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Zach LaVine is currently sidelined with a foot injury that has coincided with an increase in trade rumors around the former All-Star guard, with many speculating the L.A. native and Klutch Sports client prefers a landing spot with the Lakers.

However, LaVine has not produced to the level of a star who, on his current contract, can fully dictate where he will play next and to this point there has been little in the way of movement, with the most recent update being there is “not a market” for the star right now. As such, with trade season officially opening on December 15 with players signed this summer now eligible to be traded, LaVine’s representation is trying to make clear that he is not singularly focused on the Lakers.

Rich Paul spoke with The Athletic’s Sam Amick recently and insisted the Lakers were not the “specific destination” in mind for LaVine, and, while being wise enough to speak publicly on trade demands, noted that they’ll work with the Bulls to figure out what’s best for all parties “in the event” Chicago decides to look to move him.

“It’s not one team,” Paul told The Athletic regarding the LaVine situation. “I don’t have a specific destination for Zach. I want what’s best for Zach and his family. When you have a guy playing the game, you want him to be able to play the game happy, whether that’s in Chicago or somewhere else.”

“In the event the Bulls decide they would like to go a different direction with the team, and it involves Zach, then I’m sure we’ll have conversations to get clarity on what’s best for both sides,” Paul said. “Until then, the goal is to get healthy and return ready to go.”

It’s not surprising Paul would want to publicly push a message that LaVine is not just trying to force his way to L.A., as they need to create a market for him right now, and it’s hard to do that if teams think he has one team in mind. Since LaVine has four years left on his contract, they need teams trading for him to believe he’s in it for the long haul and would be committed to a new team. Later in the piece, Amick notes that LaVine has interest in joining De’Aaron Fox in Sacramento (a fellow Klutch client), but the difficulty in making that trade happen is the Kings are not willing to part with Keegan Murray in a deal.

We likely won’t get any movement on the LaVine trade front until January at the earliest, as teams will want to see him back on the court and healthy before considering a move for him. The Bulls will also want him to raise his value a bit by playing (and playing well), as they won’t be particularly keen on selling low on, theoretically, their top veteran trade asset.

Although the initial release date for Kanye West and Ty Dolla Sign’s joint album Vultures has come and gone, that hasn’t deterred Kanye’s fans from continuing to clamor for the project. After all, some release shenanigans are par for the course when it comes to the mercurial producer, who has released albums days after they were due and opted to put them out on proprietary tech.

He’s also been a bit distracted, with his attention being split between putting out the publicity fire his antisemtic comments set to his career and stewing over his (just) treatment by friends and business partners who din’t want to be smeared by association. He still seems intent on putting out Vultures after all this — and Ty seems perfectly fine going along for the ride — so, here’s everything we know about the album so far.

Release Date

Vultures is now allegedly coming out on December 31 after a third (second?) listening event, this time to be held in Saudi Arabia.

Tracklist

While Ty shared a tracklist, it seems unlikely that this will be the final sequencing after Backstreet Boys protested “Everybody” for sampling their 1997 hit of the same time and Nicki Minaj turned down offers to appear on “New Body” since Kanye asked at the last minute — and will almost certainly not be clearing it now.

1. “Everybody” Feat. Charlie Wilson, Lil Baby
2. “Back To Me” Feat. Freddie Gibbs, Offset, Quavo
3. “Fuk Sumn” Feat. Playboi Carti, Quavo
4. “Time Moving Slow”
5. “Beg Forgiveness” Feat. Charlie Brown
6. “So Good”
7. “Paid” Feat. Future
8. “Timbo Freestyle”
9. “Slide”
10. “New Body” Feat. Nicki Minaj
11. “Promotion”
12. “Vultures” Feat. Bump J, Lil Durk
13. “Lifestyle”
14. “Drunk” Feat. Bad Bunny, Kodak Black
15. “Worship”
16. “River” Feat. Young Thug
17. “Gun To My Head”
18. “Unlock”

Features

Although Nicki’s out, the guest list will supposedly still include contemporary faves like Lil Baby, Quavo, Offset, Future, Playboi Carti, Kodak Black, Lil Durk, Bad Bunny, and Young Thug. However the most intriguing inclusion for day-one Ye heads should be Bump J, the Chicago rapper who worked with him early in both their careers. Also, Kanye’s daughter is apparently included despite being uncredited on the tracklist.

Artwork

Ty Dolla also shared the proposed cover art, but as with all things Kanye, don’t be suprised to see things change in the coming weeks.

Singles

No singles have yet been released, but Kanye previously teased the album with the Backstreet-sampling “Everybody.”

Tour

A merch site briefly offered tickets for a “world tour,” but disappeared, leading to speculation that Kanye is planning a tour — although for him, that should be read more like “wants to do” rather than “is currently doing the work to ensure that such a thing actually happens.”

As 2023 comes to a close, late-night television is wrapping up the year with some of the biggest musicians. Over the past year, artists like Olivia Rodrigo, Jon Batiste, and Nicki Minaj were inescapable, and this week (December 18-22), viewers will get to see them deliver what we’re sure will be some fire performances. Here’s what (and who) to expect on The Late Show With Stephen Colbert this week.

Olivia Rodrigo — Monday, December 18

Olivia Rodrigo will kick off her hotly-anticipated Guts World Tour in February of next year. But in the meantime, fans can look forward to a killer performance from the “Vampire” singer tonight.

Jon Batiste — Tuesday, December 19

Grammy Award winner Jon Batiste is sure to deliver a magical musical set. Plus, fans can also look forward to an interview with the esteemed musician.

Nicki Minaj — Wednesday, December 20

Hot off the release of her fifth studio album Pink Friday 2, Nicki Minaj is set to deliver fire bars on the Colbert stage this hump day.

Louis Cato & The Late Show Band — Thursday, December 21

Louis Cato & The Late Show Band are likely to deliver a jazzy, holiday musical set this Thursday night.

Friday, December 22

There is no new episode of The Late Show scheduled for this Friday.

Colby Covington did not have a great night at UFC 296. With Donald Trump watching in the crowd, the unabashedly MAGA fighter lost to Leon Edwards, and in true MAGA fashion, Covington is blaming everyone but himself.

After losing to Edwards, the night quickly went south for Covington as he delivered a post fight speech dedicated to Trump.

“I want to shout out Donald Trump,” Covington told Joe Rogan. “You can delay, but you can’t deny us. He’s going to make America great again, reduce inflation and secure our borders. Donald Trump is the only one that can do that. Vote Donald Trump in 2024.”

However, Covington should know by now that Trump hates losing, and the former president was not thrilled to be repeatedly name-checked by a guy who just got his clock cleaned. In fact, Trump got up and left.

Via Marca:

At one point during Covington’s speech, the broadcast cameras panned onto the former President of the US, who visibly cringed when his name was mentioned on several occasions. It was also comical to see the fighter say it was “the easiest fight” of his life, and that he didn’t “even have a scratch” while his face was visibly bloodied. To add insult to injury, Donald Trump did not even stay in his seat during the speech, leaving the arena while Covington was still speaking with Joe Rogan.

The embarrassment didn’t stop there for Covington. While talking to reporters, the fighter accused the judges of hating him because of his MAGA political beliefs, and that’s the reason he really lost. The whole thing was rigged, you see? Can’t imagine where Covington learned that behavior from.

“He didn’t put any damage on me. He got a couple low kicks, but then I started checking him at the end. You know, I thought I had the win,” Covington said. “I thought I did enough, but you know, the judges never favored me. They hate me because I support Trump, and you know, everybody hates Trump in this building. So, you know, it is what it is. Life goes on.”

As the clip of Covington’s rant went viral, social media had a field day with the UFC fighter attempting to blame political persecution for his loss. You can see some of the reactions below:

(Via Marca, Ron Filipkowski on Twitter)

Blueface and Soulja Boy, two of hip-hop’s more controversial rappers, demonstrated the darker side of social media this weekend, exchanging heated posts that turned into an invitation for a real-life meetup for fisticuffs. However, only one rapper showed up to the agreed-upon location, evoking echoes of the infamous Temecula incident of 2014.

The feud — as most drama seems to these days — on a podcast. Appearing on the latest episode of Open Thoughts, Blueface declared he could beat anyone in a Verzuz hits battle, despite the fact that he’s best known for one song. When a clip of the host Funny Marco suggesting Soulja Boy as an opponent went viral, the Atlanta rap pioneer wasn’t hearing it.

In an amped-up Instagram Live stream (has he ever had any other kind?), Soulja taunted Blueface, “You gon’ perform ‘bust down Thotiana’ five times in a row? Cut it out.” Maybe he touched a nerve, because Blueface’s response turned the topic from hit battle trash talk to schoolyard muck instantly; “I hit yah Bm already soulja boy ask her who perform better hit for hit,” he wrote on Twitter. Things escalated from there:

After a few more back and forth posts in this vein, Blueface finally invited Soulja Boy to “squabble up,” providing an address on “neutral” territory. However, Blueface wound up mostly just livestreaming by himself. He later mocked Soulja Boy, writing, “We all knew he wouldn’t show.”

Of course, it’s important to remember that these are grown men with too much money and notoriety to be going around behaving like this. All this to impress the peanut gallery on Elon’s Twitter. Yuck.

There’s a lot of ways Stranger Things could end. It could time travel to the 1990s and Eleven gets really into Liz Phair, for instance, or maybe Steve and Robin learn that the strangest thing of all is the friends we make along the way. But one way the Netflix series won’t wrap up is with a well-worn TV trope.

While attending the premiere of the Stranger Things: The First Shadow play in London’s West End, creators Matt and Ross Duffer were asked about the popular fan theory that the entire show has been a Dungeons and Dragons campaign. None of it was real, it was all a dream (sort of).

“That is correct. That is the ending… No,” Matt laughed when presented with this concept by Metro.co.uk. Ross added, “That would be the equivalent of, ‘That’s all a dream.’ No, I assure you that is not how we’re going to end the show. We’ve known where we’ve been going for a while. And we feel comfortable with it; hopefully, it satisfies everyone. We’ll see.”

So, the Dungeons and Dragons idea is out. But can Chris Pine still make a cameo?

Stranger Things is expected to return for its fifth and final season in summer 2025.

(Via Metro.co.uk)

The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon has some special holiday surprises this week (December 18 to December 22). As the year comes to an end, Fallon has some festive guests and events planned For those tuning into the popular late-night show, here’s what (and who) to expect.

Adam Blackstone — Monday, December 18

Tonight, Emmy-winning producer, musician, and songwriter Adam Blackstone will serve as the show’s musical guest. He will likely be performing songs from his new holiday album, A Legacy Christmas. Viewers can also look forward to interviews with Mandy Moore and Elvis Duran.

Rufus & Martha Wainwright — Tuesday, December 19

Brother-sister musical duo Rufus & Martha Wainwright will deliver an evening of festive songs, ahead of their Carnegie Hall family Christmas show, A Not So Silent Night.

Chloe Flower & The Roots — Wednesday, December 20

With a resume featuring production and composition work for Nas, Celine Dion, Timbaland, Babyface, 2 Chainz, and Swae Lee, Chloe Flower and her music prove to be the gift that keeps on giving. Last month, the esteemed composer released her holiday album, Chloe Hearts Christmas.

Travis Scott — Thursday, December 21

It’s lit! Travis Scott will visit the show this Thursday, as he closes out an epic year, celebrating his monumental album, Utopia.

Friday, December 22

There is no musical guest set for Friday. Instead, Emma Stone, Kiefer Sutherland, and Jay Jurden are on the line-up.

John Oliver dedicated Sunday’s episode of Last Week Tonight to Elon Musk and his first disastrous year of owning Twitter. Naturally, Oliver delivered a scathing report on Musk’s megalomaniacal takeover, but first, the late night host made it a point to roast the Tesla CEO’s wide array of supervillain looks.

“A man who can pull off pretty much any bad-guy-in-a-movie look,” Oliver said via Variety. “There’s Lex Luthor, posing for the cover of Metropolis Maniacs Monthly. There’s ‘Why no Mr. Bond, I and my child bride expect you to die.’” (Naturally, that one involved Grimes.)

“There’s ‘I just bought your media company, I’m about to strip you for parts,’” Oliver continued without missing a beat. “There’s space’s first racist sheriff. And finally, the less f*ckable reimagining of Billy Zane’s character in Titanic. Truly, the man has range.”

However, Oliver had one more burn up his sleeve, and this one was a brutal throwback to the ’90s but involved one of Musk’s most recent public outings. Namely, the now-infamous NYT DealBook summit where he told advertisers fleeing Twitter to “go f*ck yourself” while wearing a bomber jacket.

“It’s hard to say what’s most embarrassing there, the fact that the world’s richest man is playing the, ‘You’re not breaking up with me, I’m breaking up with you’ card, or that he’s doing it to confused silence while wearing a jacket from Ralph Lauren’s mid-life crisis collection,” Oliver joked. “He’s clearly going for bad boy there, but ended up looking more like red-pilled Chip from Rescue Rangers.”

(Via Variety)

Keeping up with new music can be exhausting, even impossible. From the weekly album releases to standalone singles dropping on a daily basis, the amount of music is so vast it’s easy for something to slip through the cracks. Even following along with the Uproxx recommendations on a daily basis can be a lot to ask, so every Monday we’re offering up this rundown of the best new music this week.

This week saw Reneé Rapp score a major collaboration and Beyoncé surprise with a classic fan favorite. Yeah, it was a great week for new music. Check out the highlights below.

For more music recommendations, check out our Listen To This section, as well as our Indie Mixtape and Pop Life newsletters.

Reneé Rapp and Megan Thee Stallion — “Not My Fault”

Rapp is set to lead the upcoming Mean Girls remake as Regina George, but she’s also quite the musician, having released her successful debut album, Snow Angel, earlier this year (and she’ll be the first SNL musical guest of 2024). So, she’s a natural fit to contribute a song to the movie soundtrack, and she did by teaming up with Megan Thee Stallion on “Not My Fault,” a groovy and sugar-sweet pop tune that gets an added edge from Meg’s verse.

Lil Baby — “Crazy”

Lil Baby hit a snag towards the end of the year when there was a shooting at one of his tour dates, but he ended his year on a higher note last week by dropping a pair of new songs, “Crazy” and “350.” Uproxx’s Flisadam Pointer notes of the former, “Baby takes out his frustrations on the beat, showing that he’s a fighter who won’t give up his spot in the game.”

Nicki Minaj — “Beep Beep” Feat. 50 Cent

Minaj dominated a couple weeks ago with Pink Friday 2 (which ended up debuting at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 chart), and she let the fun spill over into last week with some bonus tracks. Among those was a link-up with fellow hip-hop veteran 50 Cent, who contributed to a revamped version of “Beep Beep.”

Beyoncé — “Grown Woman”

“Grown Woman” was a Beyoncé-era fan favorite that didn’t actually make it onto the album, but a decade later, the song has finally hit streaming services. This caps off a year in which Beyoncé fans ate, whether it was by seeing her on her massive Renaissance tour or by catching the tour movie in theaters.

Gucci Mane and B.G. — “Guwop & Gizzle”

Gucci Mane and B.G. came through with a holiday surprise, announcing the joint album Choppers & Bricks last week and releasing it the very next day. This is a big one for B.G. fans since it’s his first full length release since 2009, as he spent 11 years in prison before getting released earlier this year.

Lil Dicky — “Mr. McAdams”

Lil Dicky produced one of 2023’s most entertaining seasons of television with Dave, a highlight of which was the multi-episode arc in which Dicky developed a bond with Rachel McAdams. There was even a song, “Mr. McAdams,” and now the full version of that track is available on streaming platforms.

Playboi Carti — “2024”

Kanye West and Ty Dolla Sign’s album Vultures didn’t end up dropping as expected last week, but some new Kanye still made it out into the world: Playboi Carti’s “2024,” co-produced by West, is a jubilant number that looks forward to what next year has to offer.

Bas — “Home Alone” Feat. J. Cole

Bas just rounded out the year for Dreamville with his latest album, We Only Talk About Real Sh!t When We’re F*cked Up. He’s long had a supporter and collaborator in J. Cole, and the two have linked up once again on “Home Alone.” It’s a perfect time for this one to drop, too, with its lyrics referencing the classic Christmas movie Home Alone.

Luh Tyler — “The Grinch Freestyle” Feat. Latto

Speaking of holiday-inspired tunes, Luh Tyler and Latto prefaced Christmas with “The Grinch Freestyle,” which sees the two rappers in a back-and-forth, accusing each other of Whoville-hating behavior.

Karol G — “Que Chimba De Vida”

Karol G had a big 2023 with her album Mañana Será Bonito and follow-up mixtape Mañana Será Bonito (Bichota Season), and she was feeling reflective with her final song of the year last week, “Que Chimba De Vida.” She wrote on Instagram, “Last song of the year … 2023 taught me more than any other year that everything I lived, witnessed, and experienced over the years, let me say today QUE CHIMBA DE VIDA [WHAT A GREAT LIFE]! With all the ups and downs. G R A C I A S !”

Some artists covered here are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

Indie can mean a lot of things depending on who you ask. Whether it is strictly used to define an artist’s label status, the spirit in which they create, or simply as an indicator of a certain rock-and-roll ethos, some of the most exciting and innovative music is still coming from this space. Sure, indie rock might not be topping the charts like it did a decade ago, but we also know that these things are cyclical, and it will undoubtedly have its time as a commercial force again.

Which artists might be the next to make the jump from clubs to arenas? They might be on this list, which also includes a healthy amount of bands and musicians who have already made significant career progress in 2023. Let’s take a look at the best indie albums of 2023.

100 Gecs – 10,000 Gecs

100 Gecs could have so easily had their moment in the meme sun with their 2019 debut album 1000 Gecs and then faded away forever. The songs were both catchy and off-the-wall weird, a delicate balance that’s not easy to pull off on a single album, let alone two. They did it again, though, on 10000 Gecs. How? Songwriting. Throughout the album are compositions that reach out through their alternative, kooky grime and smack you in the face with catchy hooks and memorable lyrics. The inevitable 100,000 Gecs can’t come soon enough. – Derrick Rossignol

Arlo Parks – My Soft Machine

After first making a name for herself with her poetic lyrics and touching confessions on mental health and queerness, UK artist Arlo Parks returned with her sophomore album My Soft Machine. Living up to the accolades that came along with her debut (which included two Grammy nominations and the Mercury Prize for Album Of The Year) Parks doubles down on her revelations about the realities of relationships and struggling with depression, this time adding synths into the mix. Lush indie earworms like “Purple Phase” and the Phoebe Bridgers-featuring “Pegasus,” Parks’ My Soft Machine continues to prove she’s one of the best indie songwriters of her generation. – Carolyn Droke

Blondshell — Blondshell

LA-based songwriter Blondshell was the latest buzzy indie songwriter to arrive on the scene in 2023. Her self-titled debut offers a realistic snapshot of navigating your early 20s, relationship woes, and a heaping pile of self-doubt included. Blondshell opens with a song titled “Veronica Mars,” referencing the early aughts hit TV show. But that’s not the only ’00s reference you’ll find sprinkled throughout the album. The blown-out guitars and tangible angst call back to early alt-rock, along with singer Sabrina Teitelbaum’s earnest yet at-times guttural vocal delivery. Her lyrics pack an emotional gut-punch, my personal favorite being, “My kink is when you tell me that you think I’m pretty” on “Kiss City.” – C.D.

Boygenius – The Album

When Boygenius — the supergroup comprised of Julien Baker, Lucy Dacus, and Phoebe Bridgers — first appeared with their 2018 self-titled EP, its members were known indie quantities but not quite the stars that they are in 2023. Their steady rise makes their debut LP, The Record, all the more of an event, and has found them on the cover of Rolling Stone, headlining festivals, and even appearing on the massive Taylor Swift stadium tour. But what might get lost in the hype and the friendship-focused narrative is that Boygenius also finds three magnificent songwriters working in their prime, tapping both new and unfamiliar territory in equal measure, and discovering parts of themselves that can only be illuminated through the artistry of others. – Philip Cosores

Gel – Only Constant

I don’t know if Only Constant, the 10 songs-in-16-minutes debut album by hardcore band Gel, is the shortest album on this list. But I do know it’s the album that will make you say “hell yeah” the most. The feedback opening to “Honed Blade” before the drums kick in and singer Sami Kaiser shouts at us to “sharpen up our voice”? Hell yeah. The pummeling guitar riffs on “Attainable”? Hell yeah. The way “The Way Out” will make you want to rip a phonebook in half? Hell yeah. Is Only Constant one of the year’s best albums? Hell yeah. – Josh Kurp

Gorillaz — Cracker Island

From Snoop Dogg to Kali Uchis, Gorillaz have always positioned themselves as expert collaborators. And their latest album Cracker Island is no exception. Throughout the 10-track release, their first since 2020’s project Song Machine, Gorillaz whisk up a collection of lush and attention-grabbing songs that prove they’re still innovators after over 20 years as a band. The project spotlights artists from Bad Bunny with “Tormenta” to Tame Impala with “New Gold” (and even includes a collab with Stevie Nicks!), showing that the band is at their best when they work with other artists. The end might be nigh for the current iteration of Gorillaz — according to Damon Albarn — but with Cracker Island, the band has primed itself to continue pushing the boundaries of indie music, no matter who’s at its helm. – C.D.

Hotline TNT – Cartwheel

A poppy shoegaze outfit that doesn’t skimp on catchy melodies even as the guitars push deep into the red, Hotline TNT attracted lots of hype this year. But the songwriting earns it, especially when singer-songwriter Will Anderson contrasts his surging, ear-splitting music with sensitive-guy musings that elevate Cartwheel to the heights of romantic fuzz-rock bliss. – Steven Hyden

Hot Mulligan — Why Would I Watch

The singles for the new Hot Mulligan album Why Would I Watch consisted of “Shhhh! Golf Is On” and “Gans Media Retro Games,” both of which are some of their best material to date. Their pop-punk earworms explode with unabating riffs and fervent shouts; every melody has the stickiness of a song you’d hear on the radio. The Blink-182 influence is directly confronted on the ridiculously catchy and inconsolably depressing track “It’s A Family Movie She Hates Her Dad”: “Sit me down and give me the confessional / Stay together for the kid / Isn’t that original?” – Danielle Chelosky

Indigo De Souza — All Of This Will End

Indigo De Souza is a master of imbuing sad songs with a contagious aura of hope. Though “Time Back,” the opener of her new album All Of This Will End, dwells on loss, it bursts with lively synthesizers and ends on an optimistic note: “When I come home / I will begin again.” This is also true of the confessional yet jubilant “Smog,” as well as the anxious “Parking Lot.” The images of pain are all outlined in a revelatory glow that forces her to recognize the significance of feeling anything at all. – D.C.

L’Rain — I Killed Your Dog

While L’Rain’s Taja Cheek is by no means a newcomer, her third studio LP I Killed Your Dog arrived as an experimental breath of fresh air in the indie world. Whether it’s the wonderfully psych rock track “Pet Rock” or the ethereal “r(EMOTE),” L’Rain takes her heartbreak, contorts it, and transforms it into something new. Oftentimes singing through layers of distortion, Cheek’s voice manages to sound like it lives somewhere beyond this plane of existence. The result is an album that’s like a dream sequence played out, imprinting you with feelings of both comfort and unease. – C.D.

Mandy, Indiana – I’ve Seen A Way

I’ve Seen A Way — the debut album from Mandy, Indiana — started its life, in part, in a cave full of smelly cheese (it’s true). A cavern-recorded album might immediately bring to mind atmospheric sounds like early The Verve, and there are doses of that on I’ve Seen A Way. There are also moments, though, where it sounds like somebody had the bold idea to host a rave or an ’80s synth dance party among the stalactites. Either way, I’ve Seen A Way is the sound of a fresh band taking a big swing right out the gate and connecting with a thunderous crack of the bat (cave pun not intended and only caught while re-reading). – D.R.

Militarie Gun – Life Under The Gun

The search for “the next Turnstile” has given us a bunch of trendpieces and zero albums that managed a fraction of the critical and commercial impact of GLOW ON. In retrospect, Militarie Gun was actually the band calling the shots for hardcore in 2021; as dozens of their peers started to dabble in power-pop, Buzz Bin fanfic, and Oasis deep cuts, all roads indeed led to the Gun and their bullish major label debut. Many have pointed out that Life Under The Gun is hardcore in vibes only, but the ethics of Ian Shelton’s past work are every bit as crucial as the hooks – each song makes it point, makes it stick, and gets out before it can waste time on anything less than essential, a goal so thoroughly realized that the “next Militarie Gun” can only come from their next LP. – Ian Cohen

Mitski – The Land Is Inhospitable And So Are We

Recorded in Nashville and Los Angeles, with a cast of supporting musicians that include country scene stalwarts like pedal-steel guitarist Fats Kaplin and keyboardist Brooke Waggoner, The Land Is Inhospitable And So Are We is as still and insular as Mitski’s previous record, 2022’s Laurel Hell, was upwardly mobile and extroverted. The music is stately, dreamy, and extremely pretty, with Mitski’s voice buffeted by a pocket symphony of soft-focus Americana instrumentation, a stirringly cinematic string section, and a ghostly 17-person choir. – S.H.

The National – First Two Pages Of Frankenstein, Laugh Track

The National didn’t receive a full-scale backlash in 2023, but it’s hard not to think of them as taken for granted at this point. They’ve done nothing but offer up consistently great albums at a regular clip for nearly 20 years, with more casual fans signaling that they’ve had their fill of the smart, nuanced tunes from the band. The National answered with a pair of new albums in 2023, both predictably sturdy, and allowing for many fans to piece together their own tracklist for a combined, even-stronger effort. For my money, there aren’t many songs between the two albums I would cut, and if The National want to release three more albums in 2024, bring it on. – P.C.

Paramore – This Is Why

Paramore’s This Is Why is what it looks like when a band whose been making music for two decades gets back in touch with making music for the fun of it. This Is Why arrived earlier this year on the heels of a six-year hiatus when the band found themselves in the midst of a pandemic and social upheaval, and offers a sardonic commentary on the time period. Throughout their album, Paramore take a more pop-forward approach while holding on to elements of their emo roots. In true Paramore fashion, songs like “The News” offer deadpan takedowns of the powers that be while others like “You First” focus inward. – C.D.

Ratboys – The Window

A band can be called “underrated” only for so long before it starts to become a backhanded compliment, a constant reminder of success not yet achieved and a nagging prompt to question whether they’ve gotten a raw deal or just failed to make themselves essential. For over a decade, Ratboys have been a classic “your favorite band’s favorite band,” “sorely overlooked,” and a perennial solid opener but on The Window, they get on their Seth Cohen shit, jumping up on the proverbial coffee cart and refusing to be anyone’s secret anymore. Teaming up with Chris Walla (who knows a thing or two about this kind of move), Ratboys don’t do a whole lot differently, but they do it with a newfound gusto – their throwback alt-rock is hookier, there’s more grit in their rootsy indie, the jams go on for much longer, and their slice-of-life story songs have a greater sense of personal investment. The Window did everything a “level up” could ask for, including the most difficult part for a perennially underrated band, leaping from likable to lovable. – I.C.

Samia – Honey

Many of 2023’s biggest releases of the year across genres shared one commonality — all were gracefully thematic. Samia’s sophomore album, Honey, was the complete opposite in all the best ways. Throughout the project’s 11 tracks which includes singles “Breathing Song,” “Pink Balloon” and “Sea Lions,” the musician jumps across topics and sounds.

Samia’s shuffled approach to the album serves as a metaphor for the clusterf*ck of difficulties she’s faced. No topic is left unexplored. No subgenre is untapped. On Honey, Samia detracts from her desire for perfection to embrace imperfection’s beauty in more ways than one. – Flisadam Pointer

Slow Pulp – Yard

This Chicago-by-way-of-Madison indie band made some waves with their 2020 debut Moveys, though their progress was blunted somewhat by the pandemic. Therefore, Yard felt doubly consequential this year, especially since it showed off their impressive range. This album veers from darkly beautiful alt-country to introspective folk to zippy guitar pop numbers. It’s the kind of big-tent indie rock record that used to be a lot more common 20 years ago, and still has the potential to win over scores of fans. – S.H.

Sufjan Stevens – Javelin

If I’m writing this blurb based on my experience with Javelin prior to October 6, reliable critic terms like “return to form” and “masterful” come to mind; means of expressing how Sufjan Stevens did a lot of familiar things on his tenth album and did them remarkably well, even if it doesn’t place him at the center of discussion in 2023 the way that Illinois or Carrie & Lowell did. But when Stevens posted a tribute to his late partner Evans Richardson on the day of Javelin’s release, things like “narrative” and “zeitgeist” and “rankings” ultimately felt trivial. Which, yes, that’s what Stevens’ best work does, whether it’s his maximalist, big-top indie revivals or his skeletal folk or the songs on Javelin which fall somewhere in between. The joy, love, brotherhood, and devastation that Stevens sings about here are overwhelming, but as he’s learned from the passing of his best friend and also his own fragile health, all the more beautiful because they’re ultimately fleeting. This is all the more reason to treasure Javelin as if it were Stevens’ final word. – I.C.

Sun June – Bad Dream Jaguar

After taking pastoral indie rock to new heights with their first two albums, Sun June returned this year with Bad Dream Jaguar. Like the band’s previous efforts, many of the songs center around lead vocalist Laura Colwell’s entrancing, wispy voice. Most are inspired by dreams — or nightmares — and written to sound like a stream-of-consciousness. As such, the album plays out like a gently crooned lullaby. Tracks like “Easy Violence” and “Get Enough” show the band’s ability to craft a rollicking Americana tune, while others like “John Prine” and “Sage” put Sun June’s inhibition on full display. – C.D.

Wednesday – Rat Saw God

On the previous Wednesday LP, 2021’s Twin Plagues, singer-songwriter Karly Hartzman wrote evocative story songs set in what I like to call the Gummo South, a partly real and partly made-up region in which dead dogs and burned-down Dairy Queens dot the landscape like Starbucks crowd street corners in big cities. But on Rat Saw God, her songwriting exhibits a level of detail that is practically physical. The title alone of the opening track, “Hot Rotten Grass Smell,” filled my nostrils with the aroma of a humid late July day. – S.H.

Yaeji – With A Hammer

Yaeji simmered relatively under the radar as a beloved figure in the electronic scene for years before impressing with her debut 2020 mixtape What We Drew. Now, it’s debut album time. With A Hammer came out in April and it too is a critical hit. She clearly hasn’t let early success coerce her into taming down her experimental ways in pursuit of a more commercial sound. Singles like “For Granted” and “Passed Me By” are as adventurous as ever while also maintaining an undeniable charm, which can also be said for the rest of one of the year’s most interesting projects. – D.R.

Yves Tumor – Praise A Lord Who Chews But Which Does Not Consume; (Or Simply, Hot Between Worlds)

It’s not quite radical enough to qualify as “experimental” and not quite catchy enough to work as a full-on pop move. But sonically this is one of the best-sounding indie albums of 2023’s first half. With the assistance of Noah Goldstein, an engineer who worked on My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy, and Alan Moulder, who’s one of the great architects of ’90s alt-rock, Praise A Lord invites you to get lost in its grooves. It’s a very good headphone record. The instrumental tones are on-point. – S.H.

Zach Bryan – Zach Bryan

In country music, there are always artists who claim to bring the music back to its working-class roots; this summer a certain ginger-haired lightning rod became an instant (though perhaps short-lived) star by doing just that. This is not Zach Bryan’s approach. His currency is emotional authenticity, in which he delivers gut-level catharsis in a mainstream pop context that otherwise is placid and plastic. At its best, that’s exactly what his self-titled album delivers. – S.H.

Some artists covered here are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.