When we signed off our top releases of 2022 this time last year with “Your move, 2023,” we honestly couldn’t fathom what was to come. With Elaine Howley, Gilla Band, Aoife Nessa Frances and One Eye One Leg among countless heavy hitters in a truly banner twelve months, there was a sense that, for all our limitless belief in what sets us apart as an island, we had hit a bit of a peak – one to be equalled, at best, in the coming twelve months.
Blessedly, how wrong we were. Lifting our collective jaw off the floor to compile this year’s round-up has been an opportunity to take in the full, luminous span of the music – the many full-length albums, EPs and compilations – that reveal a fiercely independent community that continues to upend tradition, envision whole new soundworlds, and well and truly break the mould.
One glance at end-of-year lists globally will reveal some long-time TTA favourites. They feature here too – along with lesser-celebrated heroes, fast-rising contenders and artists making some truly vital work, out there on the fringes.
We’ve very consciously left this year’s round-up to the tail-end of the year so to accommodate a couple of late-December releases. Besides, why rush a good thing? May you have as much fun working your way through this as we did putting it together. Without question, it’s been the best year for Irish music since we launched back in 2013. 2024, please, do the honours.
100. Boa Morte – The Total Space
99. SELK – Seconds
98. Slow Moving Clouds – Kolmas
97. Atomic Weng – The Atomic Weng EP
96. No Oil Paintings – Rain Season
95. The Fae – bloodrush
94. Eve Belle – Sharp Relief
93. Conor Mallon – Unearthed
92. Caoilean Sherlock – Teenage Jesus
91. The Scratch – Mind Yourself
90. Neil Brogan – Yrs Truly,
89. John Blek – Until The Rivers Run Dry
88. Vernon Jane – Chestpains and Sidepieces
87. Jordan Adetunji – Rock n’ Rave
86. Peak Hue – Safe Room EP
85. Hotgirl – Sick Sad World
84. Daithí – Lakelands
83. Walshy – Few Beers
82. Chósta – Twilight Transmission
81. Drew Makes Noise – Let the Whole Tape Run
80. Akrobat – Zesty Terrestry
79. The Daisy Chain – Take a Look at all the Houses
78. Myles McCormack – To Better All Things
77. Zoid – Internal Space Element
76. Ian Nyquist – Thiar
75. Two Nice Catholic Boys – Three Cheers For The Distant Observer
74. Alpha Chrome Yayo – All Aboard
73. Bricknasty – Ina Crueler
72. Super Extra Bonus Party – Late Nite 99
71. Offica – Hokage
70. Ailbhe Reddy – Endless Affair
69. The Holy Roman Army – Modern European
68. George Houston – Vehicular Suicide
67. CMAT – Crazymad, for Me
66. Strand Unit – In Consequence of the Uncertainty
65. Kojaque – Phantom of the Afters
64. Uly – Sometimes Sad Sometimes Groovy
63. Arvo Party – Devotions V
62. Organs – Eamonn Duul
61. King Cedar – Everything More, & Other Stories
60. Therapy? – Hard Cold Fire
59. Soda Blonde – Dream Big
58. White Sage – Car Park Space Jazz
57. Alicia Raye & Becky McNeice – Love Letters
56. Autre Monde – Sensitive Assignments
55. Mark Waldron-Hyden & Peadar Tom Mercier – Bruach na Laoi: Fidil & Drumaí improvisations Vol. I
54. Ciaran Lavery – Not Nearly Dark, 10 Years Later
53. Stephen Shannon – Fathoms
52. Joel Harkin – Sham Supermarket EP
51. Jape – Endless Thread
50. Connor McCann – Without Wax
49. Nyahh Records: A Collection of Songs in the Traditional & Sean-Nós Style
48. Sunken Foal – Reveal In Finder
47. Citrus Fresh – Good Grief
46. Stik Figa & The Expert – Ritual
45. Phil Kieran – The Strand Cinema
44. Cobra Truth – Purple Feathers
43. Natalia Beylis & Eimear Reidy – She Came Through the Window to Stand by the Door
42. No Spill Blood – Eye of Night
41. Daniel Luke – Shadow Dance
40. Swimmers Jackson – Now Is All
39. The Mary Wallopers – Irish Rock N Roll
38. Everything Shook – Blacking Out
37. Tandem Felix – There’s A New Sheriff In Town
36. This Ship Argo – Flowers, Sparks, Fireworks
35. SLOUCH – I Got This Job Because I’m Too Stupid To Steal
33. A Litany of Failures: Volume IV
33. David Kitt – Idiot Check
32. R.F Chaney – Tropism
31. Hands Up Who Wants To Die – Nil All
30. Pôt-pôt – Ode To A
29. Nyahh Records – Under The Island: Experimental Music in Ireland 1960-1994
28. Gareth Quinn Redmond – Ar Ais Aris
27. Slomatics – Strontium Fields
26. Maija Sofia – True Love
25. I Dreamed I Dream – Why Say A Lot?
24. Nealo – November Medicine
23. Stefan Murphy – Hospital Verses
22. Arborist – An Endless Sequence of Dead Zeros
21. Brigid Mae Power – Dream Deep From The Well
20. Problem Patterns – Blouse Club
19. Alpha Chrome Yayo – Hidden Earth
18. Girlfriend. – To Be Quiet
17. Naoise Roo – Emotionally Magnificent
16. Perlee – Speaking From Other Rooms
15. David Holmes – Blind on a Galloping Horse
14. Katie Gerardine O’Neill – Into The Beyond
13. Hilary Woods – Acts of Light
12. Crying Loser – Oaf Milk
11. Lisa O’Neill – All of This is Chance
10. M(h)aol – Attachment Styles
9. John Francis Flynn – Look Over the Wall, See the Sky
8. Elaine Malone – Pyyhric
7. Trá Pháidín – An 424
6. Rachael Lavelle – Big Dreams
5. ØXN – CYRM
4. Search Results – Information Blip
3. Lankum – False Lankum
2. Natalia Beylis – Mermaids
1. The Bonk – Greater Than Or Equal To The Bonk
