The biggest music moments of the year were all about maximalism. Whether embodied by the shocking pink of the Barbie soundtrack or the glittering costumes of Taylor Swift’s record-breaking Eras tour, pop went big in 2023.
It’s interesting, then, that so many of The Independent’s favourite albums over the past 12 months have been quieter affairs. Our writers fell for insular, pastoral folk from Flyte, Billie Marten and boygenius, the moony ballads of Lana Del Rey and Mitski, and the eerie Irish folk-rock of Lankum and Grian Chatten.
