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15 Artists to Watch in 2023

Don't say we didn't tell you first
SPIN artists to watch 2023

Now that 2022 is comfortably behind us, it’s time to take an informed look at what’s to come in 2023. Yes, some artists have already announced (and released) anticipated albums. However, what we’re excited about are the rising voices who are set to emerge this year, and what follows is a look at the artists (listed in alphabetical order) who we have high expectations for over the next 12 months. They just have that something about them that excites us, and we think you’ll feel the same. – Daniel Kohn

BigXthaPlug

 

BigXthaPlug
(Credit: Jarrod Anderson)

BigXthaPlug sounds like Texas. Imagine Mike Jones with more bass in his voice or what a candy-painted slab would sound like if it could expound on the aesthetic merits of swangas. Booming but relaxed, with his saliva-coating syllables like codeine, BigX’s voice is perfect for cutting through trunk-knocking 808s and strutting over pitched soul samples. Last December’s “Texas,” which has millions of plays across streaming platforms, is a summation of the Dallas rapper’s talents and a new state anthem. The beat is gospel, trap, country, and blues — Texas musical history stirred into an updated version of the potent potion UGK cooked on Ridin’ Dirty. BigX espouses state pride and nods to its rap legends, synthesizing the past to bring it into the modern era reverently, not redundantly. Maxo Kream and Sauce Walka have already given BigX their double cup stamp of approval on recent features. His name will likely ring out beyond Texas very soon. – Max Bell

Blondshell

 

Blondshell
(Credit: Daniel Topete)

The brutally frank, distorted guitar-driven music Sabrina Teitelbaum makes as Blondshell is relatable even if you’ve never gone back to a lover in spite of your therapist’s recommendation, pined for the “dick” husband Logan on Veronica Mars, or looked askance at someone who watched a little “too much HBO growing up.” Teitelbaum, 25, was originally on a path toward becoming a professional pop songwriter after studying for two years at USC’s Thornton School of Music. When she realized her heart was elsewhere, she dropped out and began writing material just for herself, and those songs form the basis for Blondshell’s debut album, due April 7 from Partisan Records. With help from Yves Tumor’s Yves Rothman, Blondshell radiates honesty and the emerging self-confidence only gained from the “I guess I’m an adult now” life experiences of a person in their 20s. Jump aboard now, and then tell all the fuckbois you knew her when. – Jonathan Cohen

claire rousay

 

claire rousay
(Credit: em scott)

Rattlings? Scrapings? Crinklings? Whisperings? Smartphone haptics? Nothing is too ordinary or too small, for this prolific San Antonio/Los Angeles sound collector to celebrate in her affectingly spare audio tableaux — scores of recordings and performances in the last few years, some with instruments, electronics and/or spoken word, but many without. And now, perhaps oddly, she and her outsider audio-collage art are being celebrated. She’s been teaming with a widening range of both musical and visual artists for collaborations (More Eaze, Jacob Wick, Emily Harper Scott), while various outlets and institutions are commissioning new works (a la “sometimes i feel like i have no friends,” for Rotterdam’s Radio WORM). Why? The trick is that she imbues the sounds with profound intimacy. Through these assemblages, she explores and exposes her own anxieties, hopes, and doubts, and connects with ours. In our noise-bombarded world, rousay urges us to stop and hear the roses. It’s exactly what we need. — Steve Hochman

Dead Tooth

 

Dead Tooth
(Credit: Michelle LoBianco)

If you haven’t been hanging in the dense, musky clubs in Brooklyn, you are forgiven for not noticing the buzz emanating from rising post-punkers Dead Tooth. The group, which deftly weaves the saxophone into its ferocious sound, is as wild on stage as it is humorous (as seen in the video for “Sporty Boy” where the band commits grand theft in order to get to a DIY show). As much as Dead Tooth impressed at our SXSW showcase last year, the band has bigger plans for 2023. So far, it’s set to hit the road with Bass Drum of Death and has more shows to come, and since the group is always working on new material, don’t be surprised if it bursts onto your radio or slips onto your playlists sometime soon. –DK

Debby Friday

 

Debby Friday
(Credit: Katrin Braga)

On Debby Friday’s new Sub Pop single, “So Hard to Tell,” the Toronto-based polymath trades SOPHIE-indebted electronics for something with less of an edge — think a sound more befitting of FKA twigs’ swooning falsetto and mystical instrumentation. Whereas previous EPs such as Bitchpunk and Death Drive reveled in steely aggression, Friday strikes a remarkable balance on her forthcoming debut LP, Good Luck: between the boisterous and the tranquil, the erudite and the crass, a packed dancefloor and quiet isolation. Featuring unequivocal bangers like “I Got It,” “Pluto Baby,” and “Heartbreakerrr,” Debby Friday is destined for bigger stages in 2023. – Grant Sharples

Fugitive

 

Fugitive
(Credit: Will Mecca)

So-called crossover thrash (a mixture of amped-up punk and razor-sharp metal) was a 30-year-old relic in 2017, the year Power Trip put out its second album, Nightmare Logic. But the young Dallas quintet was somehow able to make the genre feel thrillingly urgent. Tragically, in 2020, at the height of the band’s rapid ascent through the metal ranks, frontman Riley Gale died suddenly as a result of the toxic effects of fentanyl. Power Trip’s future is still uncertain, but in the meantime, lead guitarist Blake Ibanez has launched Fugitive, a formidable new project featuring four fellow Texan heshers. As heard on its debut EP, 2022’s Maniac, the band combines death metal-ish howls from Seth Gilmore with steely, ‘80s-style riffage and just the right amount of flashy shred. Like Power Trip, Fugitive is a throwback, right down to its primitive graphic design, but one that should have no trouble inciting mosh pits in the present tense. The band has landed a couple of high-profile fest slots this year, which should only amplify the healthy buzz in the lead-up to an eventual full-length. – Hank Shteamer

HIRS Collective

 

HIRS Collective
(Credit: © Chris Suspect)

Self-produced, self-released, and self-booked, HIRS Collective’s de-individualized, do-it-together ethos makes for technicolor resilience. The semi-anonymous queer and trans grindcore crew fights for marginalized members of Philadelphia’s punk communities, and the raucous power of its live performances has made them local standouts since forming in 2011. Previous records (some of which clock in at 100 tracks) boasted cameos from Laura Jane Grace, Alice Bag, and Garbage’s Shirley Manson, but 2023’s We’re Still Here, coming March 24 from Get Better Records (co-owned by collective member Jenna Pup), takes their collectivist approach to power violence even further. The 35 special guests make for impressive combinations (Frank Iero, Melt-Banana, and Geoff Rickly offer ascendant screams and harmonies, layered atop occasional washes of saxophone, cello, and poetry), but ego is decentralized in HIRS, and this boundary-less meld of doom and thrash feels even greater than the sum of its star-studded parts. HIRS Collective will tour the U.S. heavily in support of the release, spreading a crucial ideology of survival and joy. – Sadie Dupuis

Léa Sen

 

léa sen
(Credit: Alex Waespi)

Léa Sen populates her debut EP, 2022’s You Now of, Pt. 1, with sparse but scintillating gestures: handfuls of flickering guitar chords and mysterious, mantra-like lyrics (“Loose sun on my mind,” she coos on “Hyasynth”), unobtrusive beats, and a staggering voice that slinks along the border of neo-soul and indie-pop. The singer, who was born in France and is based in London, has a rare, almost perplexing, sonic command. The more still she becomes, the more her songs seem to move. As of this writing, Sen hasn’t announced a full-length album, and her calendar only includes a few dates opening for Nick Hakim in 2023. But expect a big year nonetheless, as word, no doubt, will continue to spread. – Ryan Reed

Poppy Jean Crawford

 

Poppy Jean Crawford
(Credit: Angela Ricciardi)

23-year-old Poppy Jean Crawford has been making music and performing since she was a teenager, but she says her latest batch of songs is the first she can really, truly stand behind. That’s because Crawford, in collaboration with Lana Del Ray/Gorillaz producer James Dring, has conjured a beguiling sound with shades of ‘90s U.K. trip-hop and the confident, female-driven rock of Garbage and Blondie, best heard on the upcoming single “The Takeover” (an EP of the same name is due this spring through Anniversary Group, and Crawford also stars in the indie film The Giver Gives to Give, which premieres in L.A. on  Feb. 22). The pair were introduced by Danger Mouse, to whose 30th Century Records label Crawford was originally signed, and found a quick creative chemistry during free-wheeling sessions in London that crystallized Crawford’s inherent pop sensibilities. Keeping it in the family, the video for “The Takeover” was directed by Crawford’s mom Casey Niccoli, who won a VMA in 1991 for directing Jane’s Addiction’s iconic “Been Caught Stealing.” At a time when it’s all too easy to go viral and then vanish, Crawford is making the kind of music that foreshadows a long, ever-evolving career. – JC

The Paranoyds

 

The Paranoyds
(Credit: JJ Stratford)

The Paranoyds already have one very famous fan in Jack White, who signed the band to Third Man Records in 2021 and recruited it to open a trio of tour dates the following fall. In 2023, they’re just waiting on the rest of the world to catch up. Despite their obvious garage-rock credentials, the L.A. quartet expands beyond pigeonholing on the recently issued second LP, Talk Talk Talk — dipping into Devo-like robot synths on “Lizzie,” balancing plainspoken brattiness with nuanced art-rock moves on “Freak Out,” adding mid-song tempo changes to the sloppy stoner-metal of “Sunburn,” and teasing a subtle shoegaze shimmer with their bent-note guitar leads on “Nissan Overdrive.” There’s a playful smirk behind every sneer. – RR

Tianna Esperanza

 

Tianna Esperanza
(Credit: Shervin Lainez)

​​21-year-old singer/songwriter Tianna Esperanza knows exactly how to use her voice. Her soulful, dynamic crooning immediately draws you in, as the musician reclaims her power amid grief and tragedy through her compelling songwriting. On her debut LP, Terror, due Feb. 17, Esperanza introduces herself by seamlessly blending genres from hip-hop to punk, with even some flamenco rock thrown in for good measure. The diversity reflects all facets of her artistry and multicultural upbringing (her grandmother is Slits/Raincoats member Paloma “Palmolive” McLardy). But rather than trying to emulate her heroes, Esperanza makes sure that her uniqueness is what shines through, a refreshing quality to see in an emerging artist. – Tatiana Tenreyro

UPSAHL

 

UPSAHL
(Credit: Aubree Estrella)

Over the past two-and-a-half years, UPSAHL is a name you’ve been reading a lot on SPIN, and with good reason. The über talented Arizona-native has steadily emerged as a go-to force not only with her own dazzling material but by writing for others (she boasts songwriting credits for the likes of Dua Lipa, Madison Beer, and Mike Shinoda). In December, she gave yet another glimpse of what will be an action-packed 2023 with the release of her Sagittarius EP. It is power-packed with infectious pop songs and shows how close your pop star’s favorite pop star will be to charging into the mainstream. – DK

Wesley Joseph

 

Wesley Joseph
(Credit: Wesley Joseph)

The Indiana-based Secretly Canadian label is best-known as the once- and current home of rock bands such as the War on Drugs and the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, but new signees such as Wesley Joseph are greatly expanding the company’s forays into new sounds. An acclaimed filmmaker above and beyond his skill as a musician, producer, and rapper, U.K. native Joseph proffers dark, cinematic hip-hop on the eight-song Glow, due out on Feb. 17. “Hiatus” finds him shifting effortlessly from rapping to singing, while the head-bobbing A.K. Paul collaboration “Monsoon” and the laconic hook on “Cold Summer” will be stuck in your head regardless of the season. Joseph will finally tour North America in April and May while he continues work on his full-length debut. – JC

yeule

 

Yeule
(Credit: Wanjie Li)

Singapore-raised musician Nat Ćmiel (a.k.a. yeule, a cyborgian alter ego named for a Final Fantasy character) studied art and fashion at London’s Central Saint Martins, all the while releasing a tantalizing stream of self-produced glitch pop EPs and other cyberspace ephemera. yeule incorporated jungle beats, jangly emo, and a four-hour ambient track on 2022’s Glitch Princess, a hyperpopera second LP about AI, autonomy, and the struggle for self-acceptance. With production assists from rave collagist Danny L. Harle, the boisterously nihilistic record conjured festival appearances from Primavera to Pitchfork, and a support slot with archetypal pop femmebot Charli XCX. 2023 dates are still taking shape, but Glitch’s prominent placements on year-end lists all but guarantee further ascension. yeule’s been mum so far about what sounds and visions it will dial up next (apart from a “soft gore cyborg” OnlyFans launched this month). If this lightspeed acceleration continues, yeule is bound to erupt even further from the dark web niche that inspired Ćmiel’s online genesis. – SD

ZULU

 

Zulu
(Credit: Alice Baxley)

The honeyed falsetto of Temptations member Eddie Kendricks might be the last voice you’d expect to hear on a hardcore song. But there it was, in sampled form, mingling with ominous feedback at the conclusion of “Now They Are Through With Me,” a blastbeat-driven rager from My People… Hold On, a 2020 EP from L.A. band Zulu that takes its name from the 1972 Kendricks track in question. The Black perspective has been integral to hardcore since the beginning, but for all of Bad Brains’ galvanizing intensity, they never tackled the horrors of racism with the directness and fury summoned by Zulu frontman and songwriter Anaiah Lei. Originally a Lei solo project, Zulu has evolved into a quintet, and advance singles from its debut full-length A New Tomorrow, out at the end of February, show it channeling its collective strength. See “Where I’m From,” where Lei trades lines with Zulu drummer/co-vocalist Christine Cadette and two other rising black hardcore luminaries, Soul Glo’s Pierce Jordan and Playytime’s Obioma Ugonna. The band has a busy year ahead, including a lengthy tour opening for Show Me the Body, and assorted spring and summer festival dates. We predict Zulu will be working up to headliner status very soon. – HS