JPEGMAFIA, Sufjan Stevens, George Clanton, Wednesday, & bar italia lead a stacked field of nominees
Last year during Grammy week, we introduced our own award circuit, the Imposeys, which celebrated the best in music that tends to get ignored by the mainstream powers-that-be. We introduced dozens of hyper-specific award categories broken up by micro-genres (including Best Vaporwave, Shoegaze, Underground Hip-Hop, etc.) on top of four general field categories (Album, Song, New Artist, Music Video). In the end, Spanish art-pop titan Rosalía emerged as the big winner, collecting awards for Latin Pop, Music Video, and Album of the Year for her triumphant LP MOTOMAMI.
It proved to be a nice antithesis to the back-patting, glad-handing insider culture that consumes the Grammys, and a wonderful way to recognize lesser-known works from independent, up-and-coming, and under-the-radar musical artists. And now once again, the Imposeys are returning, and we’ve decided to drop the list of nominees a bit earlier this year. This year’s crop of nominees largely derives from our recent Top 50 Albums list, and many other top albums to come out in 2023.
After sizing up the pool of artists, we included as many sub-genres here as possible, although a couple notable ones from last year, such as Best HEXD, are not returning. We have, however, added a few categories, including Best K-Pop, Regional Mexican, and a category for Industrial Electronic or Deconstructed Club music. If there’s any scene or genre that you think we missed, let us know and we’ll include it for next year’s awards!
Of course, the most hotly contested category looks to be Best Album, and our number one album of 2023, JPEGMAFIA and Danny Brown’s Scaring The Hoes, appears to have the inside track to taking home the top prize. However, Top 50 runner-up DJ Sabrina The Teenage DJ has plenty of die-hard support to carry the votes, while up-and-comers bar italia, Model/Actriz, and Wednesday seem to be the strongest dark horses to pull off an upset. Meanwhile, Sufjan Stevens is tied for most nominations, including Best Album, Best Indie-Folk, and Best Song for his heartbreaking ballad “Will Anybody Ever Love Me?”
As voted on by the Impose staff, the winners will be announced on our socials on Sunday Feb. 4 in the lead-up to the Grammy broadcast. And trust me, our winners will be much, much better than what the Grammys have on offer. Feel free to scroll through below for the full list of nominees!
Best Album
Armand Hammer – We Buy Diabetic Test Strips
bar italia – Tracey Denim
DJ Sabrina The Teenage DJ – Destiny **WINNER**
George Clanton – Ooh Rap I Ya
JPEGMAGIA x Danny Brown – Scaring The Hoes
Liturgy – 93696
Model/Actriz – Dogsbody
Parannoul – After The Magic
Sufjan Stevens – Javelin
Wednesday – Rat Saw God
Best Song
bar italia – “Nurse!”
Big Thief – “Vampire Empire”
A Beacon School – “Jon” **WINNER**
JPEGMAFIA x Danny Brown – “Burfict!”
Lana Del Rey – “A&W”
Overmono – “Is U”
Ratboys – “The Window”
RXKNephew – “Critical”
Sufjan Stevens – “Will Anybody Ever Love Me?”
Wednesday – “Bull Believer”
Best New Artist
@
Blondshell
Blush
Charlotte Plank
Crushed
The Last Dinner Party
LE SSERAFIM
Luh Tyler
Nourished by Time **WINNER**
No Windows
Best Music Video
George Clanton – “I Been Young” **WINNER**
Injury Reserve/By Storm – “Bye Storm/Double Trio”
Jane Remover – “Census Designated”
ODD EYE CIRCLE – “Air Force One”
Tyler, The Creator – “Sorry Not Sorry”
Best IDM or Progressive Electronic
crimeboys – very dark past
James Holden – Imagine This Is A High Dimensional Space Of All Possibilities **WINNER**
Lorraine James – Gentle Confrontation
Oneohtrix Point Never – Again
Overmono – Good Lies
Best Techno or House
Brutalismus 3000 – ULTRAKUNST
DJ Sabrina The Teenage DJ – Destiny **WINNER**
HiTech – DÉTWAT
Rezzett – Meant Like This
Sofia Kourtesis – Madres
Best Jungle, Drum n’ Bass, or Breakbeat
Andrea – Due in Color
Kinoteki – Dawn of the Final Hour
leroy – Grave Robbing
Nia Archives – Sunrise Bang UR Head Against Tha Wall **WINNER**
TURQUOISEDEATH – Se Bueno
Best EBM, Electro-Industrial, or Deconstructed Club
Chuquimamani-Condori – DJ E **WINNER**
Mandy, Indiana – i’ve seen a way
Sextile – Push
Surgeon – Crash Recoil
Tzusing – Green Hat
Best Ambient or New Age
Blue Lake – Blue Lake
Gia Margaret – Romantic Piano
Laurel Halo – Atlas
Purelink – Signs **WINNER**
Tim Hecker – No Highs
Best Vaporwave
bliss3three – it’s so much brighter over here
death’s dynamic shroud – After Angel
desert sand feels warm at night & Mindspring Memories – Desert Memories
George Clanton – Ooh Rap I Ya **WINNER**
Luxury Elite – Fashion Pop
Best Indie Pop, Alt Pop, or Futuristic Pop
a.s.o. – a.s.o. **WINNER**
Caroline Polachek – Desire, I Want To Turn Into You
Everything But The Girl – Fuse
Fever Ray – Radical Romantics
Lana Del Rey – Did you know that there’s a tunnel under Ocean Blvd.
Best Shoegaze
Feeble Little Horse – Girl With Fish
Hotline TNT – Cartwheel
Jane Remover – Census Designated
Parannoul – After The Magic **WINNER**
Sadness / Abriction – Sadness // Abrication
Best Dream Pop
A Beacon School – yoyo
Hysterical Love Project – Lashes
ML Buch – Suntub **WINNER**
Slowdive – everything is alive
yeule – softscars
Best Slowcore
bl4ck m4rket c4rt – Today I Laid Down **WINNER**
deathcrash – Lens
Flooding – Silhouette Machine
Midwife & Vyva Melinkolya – Orbweaving
Nicole Dollanganger – Married in Mount Airy
Best Indie Rock
Blondshell – Blondshell
boygenius – the record
Mitski – The Land is Inhospitable and So Are We
Ratboys – The Window
Wednesday – Rat Saw God **WINNER**
Best Post-Punk, Art Rock, or Experimental Rock
bar italia – Tracey Denim **WINNER**
Black Country, New Road – Live At Bush Hall
Model/Actriz – Dogsbody
Sprain – The Lamb As Effigy
Squid – O Monolith
Best Alt-Rock
Blur – The Ballad of Darren
Paramore – This Is Why
Queens of the Stone Age – In Times New Roman
Scowl – Psychic Dance Routine
Yves Tumor – Praise a Lord Who Chews but Which Does Not Consume; (Or Simply, Hot Between Worlds) **WINNER**
Best Psychedelic
Frankie and the Witch Fingers – Data Doom **WINNER**
Geese – 3D Country
King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard – PetroDragonic Apocalypse
King Krule – Space Heavy
Lil Yachty – Let’s Start Here
Best Indie Folk or Americana
@ – Mind Palace Music
Caroline Rose – The Art of Forgetting
Helena Deland – Goodnight Summer
Maria BC – Spike Field
Sufjan Stevens – Javelin **WINNER**
Best Alt-Country
CMAT – Crazymad, for Me **WINNER**
Cowboy Junkies – Such Ferocious Beauty
Florry – The Holey Bible
Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit – Weathervanes
Jess Williamson – This Ain’t Accidental
Best Pop Punk or Emo
awakebutstillinbed – chaos takes the wheel and i am a passenger
Home Is Where – The Whaler **WINNER**
Hot Mulligan – Why Would I Watch
Jeff Rosenstock – HELLMODE
Sincere Engineer – Cheap Grills
Best Punk or Hardcore
DRAIN – Living Proof
GEL – Only Constant
Militarie Gun – Life Under The Gun
Mil-Spec – Marathon
MSPAINT – Post-American **WINNER**
Best Metalcore, Screamo, or Post-Hardcore
Jeromes Dream – The Gray In Between
Jesus Piece – …So Unknown **WINNER**
Loma Prieta – Last
Year of the Knife – No Love Lost
Zulu – A New Tomorrow
Best Metal
Afterbirth – In But Not Of
Cattle Decapitation – Terrasite
Godflesh – Purge
Liturgy – 93696 **WINNER**
Ragana – Desolation’s Flower
Best Jazz
Arooj Aftab, Vijay Iyer & Shahzad Ismaily – Love in Exile
EABS & Jaubi – In Search of a Better Tomorrow
Jaimie Branch – Fly or Die Fly or Die Fly or Die ((World War)) **WINNER**
Matana Roberts – Coin Coin Chapter 5: In The Garden (Constellation)
Steve Lehman & Orchestre National de Jazz – Ex Machina
Best Underground or Experimental Hip Hop
Armand Hammer – We Buy Diabetic Test Strips
billy woods & Kenny Segal – Maps
ICECOLDBISHOP – Generational Curse
JPEGMAFIA x Danny Brown – Scaring The Hoes **WINNER**
MIKE – Burning Desire
Best Major Label Rap
Ice Spice – Like?
Ken Carson – A Great Chaos
Key Glock – Glockoma 2
Sexyy Red – Hood Hottest Princess
Veeze – Ganger **WINNER**
Best Alternative R&B
Amaarae – Fountain Baby
Kelela – Raven
Nourished By Time – Erotic Probiotic 2 **WINNER**
Sampha – Lahai
Tinashe – BB/ANG3L
Best Reggaeton, Urbano, or Latin Pop
Becky G – Esquinas
Eladio Carrión – 3MEN2 KBRN
Karol G – Mañana será bonito
Rauw Alejandro – PLAYA SUTURNO
Tainy – Data **WINNER**
Best Regional Mexican
Carin León – Colmillo de Leche
Eslabon Armado – Desvelado
Fuerza Regida – Pa Las Baby’s y Belikeada
Grupo Frontera – El Comienzo
Peso Pluma – GÉNESIS **WINNER**
Best K-Pop
aespa – MY WORLD
LE SSERAFIM – UNFORGIVEN
NewJeans – Get Up **WINNER**
ODD EYE CIRCLE – <Version Up>
Onew – Circle
