Wetdream by Willy Rodriguez

Love goes the way of the setting sun, erupting in a desperate display of every color imaginable before fading into a haunting simmer, always threatening to reappear to start the cycle anew. Wetdream, the final album and magnum opus from bedroom alternative group Willy Rodriguez, holds a prism up to this brilliant scenery of fading passion, addressing every waypoint on the long and winding path away from deeply meaningful love. The band complicates this journey by introducing themes of substance abuse and bodily disgust, constantly willing to throw the legitimacy of romantic poetry into question as we wonder just how much of our complex emotions boil down to inelegant bodily impulses. Musically, an overwhelming parade of brilliant song structures, memorable riffs, and fluttery vocals take us by the hand through the record’s blown-out lo-fi sound, cramming dozens of layers of noisy, agonized musical performances into a recorder that maxed out four gain stages ago. We really thought that we’d be safe putting out our top 50 albums list a week ago, but 2023 had one last ace up its sleeve in the form of this masterpiece for the slacker generation.