Howdy and welcome to the thirteenth version of Stereogum’s annual Finest New Bands listing. Fortunate quantity 13! We began doing this again in 2010, and yearly since then — apart from 2014, which we skipped (sorry to any band that basically hit it massive in 2014) — our writers have taken inventory of the previous twelve months to highlight the artists which have us enthusiastic about the way forward for music in any style. It’s a enjoyable activity, and in addition an awesome one, as a result of there are so many bands. And so a lot of them are good! So a lot of them are unhealthy, too, however you gained’t discover these right here.

In fact “new” is subjective. A few of these acts have been round for a short while. However throughout the board, there’s one thing about what every artist has finished since final autumn that has us overrated. Possibly they lastly launched that debut album, perhaps their promise crystallized on LP2 and even past. Inclusion right here is usually a judgement name, primarily based on a nebulous vibe. I believe our vibes are normally proper. And we’re nonetheless calling this Finest New Bands, though a few of these artists aren’t bands. It’s simply what we name it. Lastly, we deliberately run this listing faraway from year-end season to provide these acts their very own particular shine. It’s not a year-end listing. Our 2023 In Overview protection is simply across the nook, and additionally, you will complain that that’s too early.

When you’ve been following alongside at Stereogum this yr, a whole lot of these names might be acquainted to you. They’ve been in our new music feed. They’ve been in our Band To Watch interview sequence. We’ve reviewed their concert events. And there’s a pair we haven’t talked about sufficient, so contemplate this a mea culpa.

Now you’re able to dive into Stereogum’s 40 Finest New Bands Of 2023, introduced in alphabetical order. There are additionally playlists on Spotify, Apple Music, and TIDAL highlighting the honorees. —James Rettig