See The New Music Releases of 2023 So Far

Contributing Editor

Listening to any good music recently? If not, refresh your playlist for the new year with these new releases.

From rock to country to pop, artists did not wait to put out their music for 2023. The first album you should take the time to listen to is RUSH! by Maneskin. Maneskin is a new rock group that has gotten big after their cover of “Begging” went viral on TikTok. With this album they showed off their rock and roll sounds, but also have a mix of English and Italian vibes. Make sure you listen to these hits on the album, “BABY SAID”, “GOSSIP”, and “FEELS”.

“RUSH! truly represents a rejection of any kind of mold or stereotype, a phenomena Måneskin is known for. Not only are the bandmates’ fashion evolving, but so are their musical abilities; they are playing with different styles of playing their instruments that lie outside the hard rock genre. This album feels influenced by the likes of Conan Gray, Aerosmith and even The Weeknd’s more soulful, pop/R&B sound, all while creating a cohesive and powerful tone.” (North by

The next album that only came out a few days ago is from Sam Smith, called Gloria. This album is full of pop and soul, talking about how to love yourself and love someone else with respect. Sam Smith has been quiet in the music industry, so it is a real pleasure to see him on the charts once again. The songs that should be checked out are, “No God”, “I am Not Here to Make Friends”, and “Perfect”.

The last album that has been rising on the charts, is by a country artist called HARDY. From his fans’ perspective, his album is quite different from his usual sound. His focus was more on metal with a slight mix of country for only this album. With the rock sound his album has been appealing to more than just country fans. Songs that have been given a lot of attention are “SOLD OUT”, “wait in the truck”, and “red”.

“Hardy is very reliable for standard issue male-sung radio country songs, including on this album with tracks like “beer” and “red,” and later the more rockified “TRUCK BED” and “THE REDNECK SONG.” No, the caps lock is not on the fritz, that’s Hardy’s punctuation to distinguish the country and rock songs. A split personality is also evidenced in the songs irrespective of genre, with about half presented for commercial purposes, and the other half to flex Hardy’s creative muscles.” (Saving Country Music).

If you want to see other artists who have released this year, make sure you check out your music apps like Spotify, Apple Music, Pandora, or Amazon Music.

Music is not just sounds and vocals that are played at get-togethers or stores. It can also be a great outlet to help you with stress, especially for students in an incredibly stressful college life. When studying or doing homework in general, play some slow music, even classical or jazz music, to stimulate the brain into calmness. Especially if a college student is surrounded by a loud dorm, or cannot seem to concentrate, music is a perfect way to escape the busy life and make you grounded.

It is scientifically supported that music is the best way to study. Florida National University put out an article about how much music has so many benefits, they said “ Rather than distracting college students, a Stanford study found that ‘“music moves [the] brain to pay attention’.”

Researchers utilized musical compositions from the 1800s in their study and found that “music engages the areas of the brain involved with paying attention, making predictions and updating the event in memory” (Baker). They believe that music choice was influential in brain processing, revealing, “The goal of the study was to look at how the brain sorts out events, but the research also revealed that musical techniques used by composers 200 years ago help the brain organize incoming information” (Baker). Mozart, Bach, and Beethoven can help students categorize information, which is an influential asset to studying. Listening to a specific song while studying can be a perfect way to remember certain terms or definitions, as you can sing the song in your head