Another year draws to a close, and what a jam-packed twelve months it’s been. 2023 may well be the most exciting year of new releases since Belwood began. Delights, surprises and new discoveries at every turn. I’ve never been more thrilled to celebrate and share some of the best new music around with you all. This year’s edition of Listmas has been a delight to assemble, and as tradition dictates we begin as ever with my favourite end of year collection; a deep delve into the year’s most memorable and arresting artwork.
10. The Paper Kites – At The Roadhouse
Gorgeous use of colour, equally inviting and mysterious. The addition of a classic car, even one wreathed in shadow, is also a sure-fire way to elevate just about any album cover.
9. Boygenius – The Record
A simple idea brilliantly executed. All three members reaching for the sky together – a perfect metaphor for this superb supergroup. Can easily see this becoming an iconic cover in the years to come.
8. ISON – Stars & Embers
Ethereal and otherworldly. Worth buying the album just to hang on your wall as an art piece! A ghostly figure stepping through a doorway and drawing in starlight; the kind of scene that sparks your imagination.
7. Ratboys – The Window
A masterclass on how to do a lot with very little. Love the use of contrasting colours. The inviting warmth of the titular window, framed by the frigid icy world that surrounds it, just serves to draw you in like a moth to a flame.
6. Earthside – Let The Truth Speak
It has an indistinct dreamy quality to it that feels like peering into the fae realm. The red hair is especially striking, and the way it hangs feels like an impossible mix of an underwater scene and a flicker of flames.
5. Covet – Catharsis
Not only does being carried above the clouds by a flock of songbirds sound the premise of a Studio Ghibli movie, but the cover itself has the same stunning attention to detail as one. Adore the pastel palette of the clouds.
4. Bleach Lab – Lost In A Rush Of Emptiness
Lost in self-reflection while the whole world rushes by you in a hectic blur. A gorgeous, memorable and relatable image that perfectly captures the tone of the music found within.
3. King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard – PetroDragonic Apocalypse…
It’s like Godzilla with the Eye of Sauron prowling the wastelands of Mad Max. Want an album cover that will make people stop and stare? Simple: make it stare back!
2. Deposed King – One Man’s Grief
There’s a lot to admire here, from the great contrasting colours, to the depth of detail found in the tangled nest of roots and the feather-like branches above. A dark fairy tale come to life.
1. Katatonia – Sky Void Of Stars
The first album on my list way back in January, and it has stuck with me all this time. The pillar of light draws you in from afar to pour over every half obscured detail of these ominous back streets, all while a murder of crows hangs overhead.
Belwood Music 