The best Irish albums of 2023 — ranked

Such is the bounty this time that I can’t find room for fine albums from Jape, Kojaque and Mick Pyro among the 10 albums listed here (and 10 more in the ‘bubbling under’ panel.)

There’s such a breadth of fantastic albums that the judges for the Choice Music Prize for Irish album of the year will face an especially onerous task.

10 Ailbhe Reddy

Endless Affair

The second album from the London-based Dubliner marks her growth as an artist, dancing joyfully along the tightrope where pop meets rock. The marvellous opening brace, Shitshow and A Mess, capture Reddy’s eclectic talent: the former is all about her vocals, delicate one moment, defiant the next; the latter is a super-catchy Riot Grrrl-inspired collision of guitars and drums. Best of the lot is Last to Leave, a beautifully arranged track about a troubled friend.

9 David Holmes and Raven Violet

Blind on a Galloping Horse

Ever-busy as a movie soundtrack composer, the Belfast DJ’s first album proper in 15 years is an absorbing, eclectic affair. It features Holmes’s god-daughter, American newcomer Raven Violet, on vocals. The songs have plenty to say for themselves, not least Necessary Genius. A widescreen, pulse-quickening electronic backdrop, it celebrates many of the greatest names in art, people whose work has had a real impact on Holmes, an eclectic bunch including Terry Hall, Tony Wilson, Angela Davis and John Coltrane. The song is bookended by references to two Irish greats: Samuel Beckett and Sinéad O’Connor.

8 Cian Nugent

She Brings Me Back to the Land of the Living

The guitarist’s fourth album is a labour of love dedicated to his mother, Kathy, who experienced a debilitating stroke four years ago. Nugent returned to the Dublin-Wicklow border to be her sole carer and his songs centre on familial love, parent-child bonds and childhood memories. On the woozyly languid Dogs in the Morning, he sings about “finding a photograph of you in your youth”. Like many of the tracks, an evocative portrait is created from snapshots, snatched words, little asides. In their own quietly determined fashion, the songs celebrate life, its myriad challenges and the self-development that comes when we find ourselves in unexpected situations.

7 Grian Chatten

Chaos for the Fly

The Fontaines DC frontman and chief songwriter’s debut solo album sounds very different to the day job, although his Dublin-accented singing remains trusty and true. In a world of overlong albums, this short collection offers welcome respite and there’s a huge amount going on. Over the course of nine songs — many of them apparently inspired by his childhood and early adult life in Skerries, Co Dublin — he delivers low-key ballads, skiffle singalongs, brass-inflected confections and much more. There’s an eclectic feel to the album, yet it never feels disjointed.

6 The Bonk

Greater Than or Equal to the Bonk

The Waterford outfit sound like nobody else and their giddy, experimental music is ripe for investigation for anyone keen to venture down the road less travelled. Arriving six years after their debut album, this follow-up is a wildly inventive adventure that unfurls over a lean 32 minutes. Prog rock, garage, funk are all components of a heady, intoxicating mix. At the centre of it all is Phil Christie, formerly of Choice-winning band O Emperor, and the result is a strange but utterly captivating retro-futurist marvel.

5 CMAT

CrazyMad for Me

The follow-up to last year’s Choice-winning debut, If My Wife New I’d Be Dead, is a wonderfully eclectic offering from a Dubliner going places fast. Ciara Mary-Alice Thompson knows how to write songs that make a play for the big time. One of them, Stay for Something, deserves to be widely heard. An outrageously catchy, faintly 1980s number with heartland rock guitar, its sparkling wrapping hides troubling subject matter. Another, the evocatively arranged, Abba-like Where Are Your Kids Tonight?, finds her duetting with John Grant. Their voices mesh together beautifully.

4 The Murder Capital

Gigi’s Recovery

Following up a hugely acclaimed debut is no easy task, but the Irish post-punk quintet made it look easy. This concept album of sorts sees them expand their sonic palette while retaining the urgency and sense of mystery that was their stock in trade early on. Much revolves around James McGovern — the frontman is a commanding presence and a lyricist of distinction. He’s abetted by great players, and that’s evident on the wonderfully atmospheric A Thousand Lives and the bewitching, intense Ethel. The in-demand John Congleton, on production, helps elevate already excellent material.

3 Róisín Murphy

Hit Parade

The Co Wicklow native’s sixth solo album offers a marvellous collision of pop and house. Teaming up once again with the German techno producer DJ Koze, the ex-Moloko singer has fashioned a wonderfully eclectic suite of songs. Block-rocking beats and chilled down-tempo numbers sit together comfortably. CooCool is a delicious disco soul confection, Hurtz So Bad tackles a relationship gone sour and Fader is gorgeous synthesis of Murphy’s soulful vocals and Koze’s everything-and-the-kitchen-sink production chops. The album’s title may be playful — her songs are too outré to enjoy real chart success — but Hit Parade is another essential Murphy offering.

2 Lankum

False Lankum

For the best part of a decade, the Dublin quartet have been at the vanguard of the folk revival, pushing the genre into exciting territory while also being hugely respectful of its tradition. Their sonic inventiveness seems to expand with each new album and there’s something thrilling about the band in full flight. Radie Peat’s magnificently earthy vocals elevate the gut-punch opener, Go Dig My Grave, while the band’s virtuosic chops are evident throughout. The harmony-rich Clear Away in the Morning is a particular delight. Their music is connecting far beyond these shores. The really exciting thing is that there’s so much more to come.

1 Soda Blonde

Dream Big

In a just world, Soda Blonde would be one of Ireland’s biggest music exports, capable of commanding arenas around the world. But music history is littered with brilliant bands who never got their due. Soda Blonde leader Faye O’Rourke and her three bandmates must wonder if they’re cursed.

The critics adored their previous outfit, Little Green Cars, but many were indifferent. It would be a travesty if a similar fate befell this marvellous album. It’s one that defies neat categorisation — think sophisticated pop songs with clever arrangements and lyrics that avoid prosaic observations. There are touches of Fleetwood Mac and Kate Bush here and there, but Dream Big is the brilliant sound of a great band ploughing their own furrow.

Bubbling under...

Some more fine Irish albums to explore (in no particular order)

• Stephen Shannon, Fathoms
• The Mary Wallopers, Irish Rock N Roll
• David Kitt, Idiot Check
• OXM, CYRM
• Nealo, November Medicine
• Hozier, Unreal Unearth
• The Scratch, Mind Yourself
• John Francis Flynn, Look Over the Wall, See the Sky
• Tandem Felix, There’s a New Sheriff in Town
• Lisa O’Neill, All of This is Chance

Best Irish songs of the year

10. Maija Sofia, Four Winters

9. Rachael Lavelle, Big Dreams

8. Naoise Roo, Sacred Cow

7. Nealo, Forest

6. The Mary Wallopers, The Holy Ground

5. Jazzy, Giving Me

4. Inhaler, These Are the Days

3. Ailbhe Reddy, Shitshow

2. Hozier, Francesca

1. CMAT, Stay for Something