Top Five Local Albums of 2023

The local original music scene in Erie is something of which our community should be immensely proud. The amount and variation of talent is impressive. This year, each of our album review writers chose their favorite local original album to feature for our top five local albums of the year list. Supporting our local music artists directly will help ensure the local music scene into the future, so if something catches your ear, be sure to check out the bands' social media, websites, Bandcamp pages, etc. and throw some cash their way. Without further ado, our favorite local albums of the year!

Blunt Guts (AKA Bobby Jensen) // Blunt Guts the Destroyer!

This music makes you feel restless and frenzied, yet so chill. Jensen's churning rhythms teeter between dub and industrial. He still laces obscure, challenging samples which have defined his work for decades. John Yochim's aggressive shoegaze guitar shreds while somehow being dreamy. One can see what squeezed Erieites into smoky, packed bars to see their old bands Pegasus Unicorn and Jargonauts for years. Jensen's musicianship is more like a sculptor creating an interactive display with shapes and moods letting you free-fall just long enough before pulling you back in again. Musicians Garrett Razman, Alex Krishner, and Nate Jeffery also contribute, enriching this work. The title track is hard to digest but so tasty. The autobiographical "Bullies" is an anthem. Listen to this album! — Melissa Sullivan Shimek

One if By Land // American Crows

One of the region's most consistent songwriters returns with even more fire in his belly. On Fred Oakman and company's third studio album as One if By Land, the band tightens up their muscular songwriting and delivers 33 minutes of anthemic punk tunes, making for one of the strongest local releases of the year. What makes American Crows so special is the way it manages to nod both to the past (opening track "We're Still Making Noise") and the future, optimizing the band's singalong hooks while also offering something a bit more mature and complex than their pop-punk peers. Oakman has always been skilled at showcasing his growth as a musician, and when he brings that to a full band, the results are stunning. — Aaron Mook

Re$inate // PPD

Northwestern PA's beloved hardcore quartet Re$inate released 22 minutes of pure and euphoric unhinged angst with their debut EP, PPD.  Featuring songs with a politically fueled message like "Open Your Mouth And Eat The Rich" and "Gem City Fire," lead vocalist Jake Juliano, guitarist and vocalist Corbin Fowler, bassist John Bramlett, and drummer Brent Knight set the energy for a blissfully chaotic journey. Tracks like Scorched Earth Tactics and Snake Eyes accentuate just how talented these musicians are with Fowler's uniquely weaved guitar solos and Bramlett's heavy bass riffs. PPD brings the colossal energy Re$inate displays during live performances into five powerful activist anthems to make one of my personal favorite local releases of 2023. — Cypher Eihwaz

Odd Atrocity // Groundscore

Heavy post-grunge band Odd Atrocity released their first album under their current moniker (they were formally known as Luc!d) this year. This debut showed the band leaning into heavier riffs and sounding tighter than their previous release. Despite their relative freshness on the scene, they've built an impressively large fan base in Erie, and they deliver an energetic show every time. Groundscore proves that Odd Atrocity can capture the same raw energy in the studio as they do on stage.
— Larry Wheaton

Northbound Soul // Love, Loss & the In-between

From front to back, Northbound Soul's 12-track full-length debut is so amazingly listenable that it simply has to earn a top spot for this year. Virtually everyone who hears this album or catches the band live will see that there is something special happening with frontman Mike Spagnolo and company. An Americana blend of light country, rock, and folk, the band uses a measured hand, always giving just what the songs require, for a simple and classic sound. With an on-the-nose album title, Spagnolo's lyrics weave together stories of Love, Loss, & the In-between. — Nick Warren