{"id":9685,"date":"2022-12-21T08:00:00","date_gmt":"2022-12-21T13:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/meadowparty.com\/blog\/?p=9685"},"modified":"2024-12-23T12:44:43","modified_gmt":"2024-12-23T17:44:43","slug":"top-22-albums-of-2022","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/meadowparty.com\/blog\/2022\/12\/21\/top-22-albums-of-2022\/","title":{"rendered":"Top 22 albums of 2022."},"content":{"rendered":"\n

I don\u2019t think 2022 was as strong for albums as 2021 was, where I could have run 30 deep on the rankings, but I had enough that I could keep up this gimmick of ranking a number of LPs equal to the last two digits of the year, and even made a few cuts in the final go. I know streaming has sort of killed the album in a sense, and I\u2019m partly to blame as someone who generally prefers listening to specific songs over full records, but I also appreciate the artist\u2019s vision for an album and am happy to support that in a tiny way here, even if it\u2019s just \u201cI like this collection of songs.\u201d Honorable mentions include Everything Everything\u2019s Raw Data Feel<\/em>, Foals\u2019 Life is Yours<\/em>, and the Mysterines\u2019 Reeling<\/em> (which would have made the cut if they\u2019d included more of their early singles), MUNA’s MUNA<\/em>, Little Simz’s NO THANK YOU<\/em> (released just five days ago, and very good, but I need to listen to it more), and beabadoobee’s beatopia<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You can see my previous year-end album rankings here: 2021<\/a>, 2020<\/a>, 2019<\/a>, 2018<\/a>, 2017<\/a>, 2016<\/a>, 2015<\/a>, 2014<\/a>, 2013<\/a>, and my top albums of the 2010s<\/a>. My top 100 songs of 2022 will go up in the next day or two.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

22. Elder \u2013 Innate Passage<\/em>.<\/strong> A very last-minute addition to the list, as Ian Miller of Kowloon Walled City recommended this LP to me over the weekend, and, since he knows my tastes pretty well, it hit its mark. Elder is a progressive metal band with heavy stoner\/doom elements to their music, and this album, their sixth, is their first with vocalist\/guitarist Nick DiSalvo as the only remaining founding member. It\u2019s just five tracks and runs 53 minutes, with a solid mix of proggy metal riffing, tempo and tone changes, and even some harmonies in the vocals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

21. Sunflower Bean \u2013 Headful of Sugar<\/em><\/strong>. I feel like Sunflower Bean are a post-hype prospect at this point; the music press seem to have moved on, or decided the band isn\u2019t going to hit its ceiling, rather than appreciating them for what they are and for the potential they still have. Their brand of sunny jangle-pop with a little bit of garage to it might be a little familiar, but they offer a perfect slice of it on this album. Highlights include \u201cBaby Don\u2019t Cry,\u201d \u201cWho Put You Up to This?,\u201d \u201cI Don\u2019t Have Control Sometimes,\u201d and the bonus track \u201cMoment in the Sun,” a one-off single they added to the album after it was used in Heartstopper<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

20. Porcupine Tree \u2013 CLOSURE\/CONTINUATION<\/em>.<\/strong> Porcupine Tree returned after a 12-year hiatus as if they\u2019d never left, still proggy after all these years, but without becoming overindulgent as the genre often sees. Founder Steven Wilson has produced three Opeth albums in the interim, and Porcupine Tree previously toured with the prog-metal giants, so it\u2019s hard not to hear the latter\u2019s influence here in some of the strongest guitar riffing. Highlights include \u201cHarridan,\u201d \u201cChimera\u2019s Wreck,\u201d and \u201cRats Return.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

19.<\/strong> Danger Mouse and Black Thought \u2013 Cheat Codes<\/em>.<\/strong> Hard to believe, but this was Danger Mouse\u2019s first hip-hop album in 17 years, since the last Danger Doom collaboration with the late MF Doom, whose vocals appear on the track \u201cBelize.\u201d This is peak Black Thought, with solid contributions from Danger Mouse, although the producer gets first billing here. Highlights include \u201cBelize,\u201d of course, as well as \u201cThe Darkest Part\u201d and \u201cAquamarine.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

18. The Wombats \u2013 Fix Yourself, Not the World<\/em>.<\/strong> A return to form for the Wombats after the uneven Beautiful People Will Ruin Your Life<\/em>, the band\u2019s fifth album veers more into an overt pop direction than their best LP to date, Glitterbug<\/em>, but doesn\u2019t skimp on the witty lyrics or shifts in tone and tempo. The EP they released in November of tracks that didn\u2019t make the album, Is This What It Feels Like to Feel Like This?<\/em>, has six more songs in a similar vein, several of which probably should have made the cut. Highlights from the LP include \u201cIf You Ever Leave, I\u2019m Coming With You,\u201d \u201cEverything I Love Is Going to Die,\u201d and \u201cMethod to the Madness,\u201d the last one of the most ornate songs the group has ever released.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

17. Belle & Sebastian \u2013 A Bit of Previous<\/em>.<\/strong> The Scottish indie stalwarts\u2019 first new album in seven years, although they\u2019ve released three EPs in the interim, A Bit of Previous<\/em> doesn\u2019t abandon the sunnier pop melodies and sounds of their last record, the effusive Girls in Peacetime Want to Dance<\/em>, although it\u2019s a bit darker in tone and lyrics. Highlights include \u201cYoung and Stupid,\u201d \u201cTalk to Me Talk to Me,\u201d and \u201cUnnecessary Drama.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

16. Lizzo \u2013 Special<\/em>.<\/strong> No record surprised me more than Lizzo\u2019s Special<\/em>, since I was certainly familiar with her work and her impressive voice, but never connected with her music at all. On her fourth album, Lizzo produced an ebullient record full of musical callbacks to pop, disco, and funk from the 1970s and 1980s, along with more than a little nod to Prince here and there. I guess we\u2019ll always have to wonder what that never-made Lizzo EP that Prince was slated to produce would sound like, but I\u2019d like to think we got some of that sound on Special<\/em>. Highlights include \u201c2 Be Loved (Am I Ready),\u201d the #1 single \u201cAbout Damn Time,\u201d \u201cThe Sign,\u201d and \u201cEverybody\u2019s Gay.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

15. Anxious \u2013 Little Green House<\/em>. <\/strong>The debut full-length from this Connecticut quintet, which draws on emo and punk with a real dose of pop hooks and harmonies, was one of the best straight-out rock records of the year, and would have fit in quite well on a best-of list from 20 years ago at the height of emo and the absurdly titled \u201cscreamo\u201d subgenre. There is a decent bit of screaming here, some of which I could have done without, as there\u2019s plenty of dissonance coming from the guitarwork. The album is a raucous joy straight on through until the shocking closer \u201cYou When You\u2019re Gone,\u201d a slow song (!) with vocals from Stella Branstool of Hello Mary. Highlights include that track, \u201cIn April,\u201d \u201cCall from You,\u201d and \u201cAfternoon.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

14. Freddie Gibbs – $oul $old $eparately<\/em><\/strong>. Gibbs might be the best technical rapper going now, and he is certainly the most interesting, doing far more with the music over which he rhymes than anyone else I can think of. He has a host of guests on this sprawling, hour-long record, including Anderson .Paak, Raekwon, Pusha T, Musiq Soulchild, and Scarface. Highlights include \u201cToo Much,\u201d \u201cFeel No Pain,\u201d and \u201cDark Hearted,\u201d as well as \u201cBig Boss Rabbit\u201d from the bonus edition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

13. Bartees Strange \u2013 Farm to Table<\/em>. <\/strong>Strange\u2019s sophomore album finds him leaning even more into his trad-rock side, and away from the comparisons to one of his inspirations, The National. The glimpses we had of the real Bartees on his debut are the dominant theme here, with great hooks and wistful lyrics about small things like the meaning of life and the prevalence of death. Highlights include \u201cHeavy Heart,\u201d \u201cWretched,\u201d and \u201cBlack Gold.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

12. White Lies \u2013 As I Try Not to Fall Apart<\/em>.<\/strong> Wikipedia calls White Lies a \u201cpost-punk revival\u201d band, but this is new wave, and I will not stand for any erasure of that genre. (Get it? Erasure? Never mind.) Their sixth album feels like a culmination, as if they\u2019ve truly identified their sound and have been working towards this for several records now, with previous albums having similar highlights (\u201cThere Goes Our Love Again\u201d from Big TV<\/em>, \u201cTokyo\u201d from Five<\/em>) but lacking this one\u2019s depth and consistent quality. The contrast of melancholic lyrics and darkly joyous music is the strongest callback to 1980s new wave, and it\u2019s practically pandering to an audience of me. The bonus edition includes four more tracks, including the outstanding \u201cTrouble in America.\u201d Highlights include the title track, \u201cAm I Really Going to Die,\u201d \u201cI Don\u2019t Want to Go to Mars,\u201d and \u201cStep Outside.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

11. Crows \u2013 Beware Believers<\/em>.<\/strong> I was surprised how little press this sophomore album from Crows received, given the positive reception for their 2019 debut record Silver Tongues<\/em>. Crows get billed as a punk band, but that sells them short \u2013 they\u2019re a hard rock band in the old style, writing heavy, grinding tracks with distorted guitars, big riffs, and no pretense. Highlights include the title track, \u201cGarden of England,\u201d \u201cHealing,\u201d and \u201cCloser Still.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

10. Christine and the Queens \u2013 Redcar les adorables \u00e9toiles (prologue)<\/em>.<\/strong> Redcar is Christine & the Queens\u2019 latest nom de plume<\/em>, after he used Chris on his last album and briefly used the name Rahim last year. It\u2019s a breakup album, at least off the lyrics, but the music is anything but depressing. He backs up these tracks about a lost love (or loves?) with soulful music that draws on pop, soul, even elements of jazz. Highlights include \u201crien dire,\u201d \u201cMa bien aim\u00e9e bye bye,\u201d and \u201cJe te vois enfin.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

9.<\/strong> Just Mustard \u2013 Heart Under<\/em>.<\/strong> This Irish shoegaze band showed promise on their 2018 debut album Wednesday<\/em>, but this album carves out its own post-shoegaze sound, with the same droning guitars but without the inscrutable walls of sound that made My Bloody Valentine critical darlings whose music I couldn\u2019t abide. Highlights here include \u201cStill,\u201d \u201c23,\u201d \u201cMirrors,\u201d and \u201cI Am You.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

8. Sports Team \u2013 Gulp!<\/em><\/strong> Coming in at a scant 33:41, this barely full-length record from Sports Team, the band\u2019s second, is ten tracks of raucous, fun, art-punk-inspired rock-and-roll. It gets off to a strong start with “The Game” and never lets up, with hooks and big energy all the way through. Highlights include \u201cDig!,\u201d \u201cThe Drop,\u201d \u201cThe Game,\u201d and \u201cR Entertainment.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

7. White Lung \u2013 Premonition<\/em>.<\/strong> The newest album on the list, released just two weeks ago, is also the swan song for this Vancouver punk-metal band, as lead singer Mish Barber-Way decided to call it quits after having her second kid last year. (She’s also apparently still executive editor of Penthouse<\/em>.) Premonition<\/em> has apparently been in the works since 2019, but baby #1 and the pandemic pushed the record back, so while they\u2019re going out with a bang, it appears this is the end for this underappreciated act. Highlights include \u201cTomorrow,\u201d \u201cDate Night,\u201d and \u201cBird.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

6. Kid Kapichi \u2013 Here\u2019s What You Could Have Won<\/em>.<\/strong> In a year when the Arctic Monkeys confirmed for us all that they\u2019re no longer a rock band \u2013 and some critics seemed unwilling to point out that Alex Turner has no clothes \u2013 Kid Kapichi are here to take up the mantle of guitar-driven rock with intelligent, sardonic lyrics, here taking aim at the popular targets of those disaffected with late-stage capitalist Britain. Kid Kapichi start off making it very clear where they stand on the snarling opener \u201cNew England\u201d \u2013 which is not about the changing of the leaves in Vermont \u2013 featuring Bob Vylan, and the rage never really slows from there, not even for the acoustic \u201cParty at No. 10.\u201d Highlights include \u201cNew England,\u201d \u201cRob the Supermarket,\u201d \u201cSuper Soaker,\u201d and \u201cCops and Robbers.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

5. SAULT \u2013 Today & Tomorrow<\/em>.<\/strong> SAULT released six albums in 2022, five of them on one day in November. Each of the five explored a different genre or style, with Today & Tomorrow<\/em>, my favorite of the set, finding the secretive London-based group delving into rock and punk sounds for the first time. Highlights include \u201cThe Plan,\u201d \u201cLion,\u201d \u201cMoney,\u201d and \u201cAbove the Sky.\u201d If you\u2019re curious about the others, I\u2019d rank the five albums Today & Tomorrow<\/em>, Earth<\/em>, 11<\/em>, Aiir<\/em>, and God<\/em>, in order from best to worst.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

4. FKA Twigs \u2013 CAPRISONGS<\/em>.<\/strong> She calls this a mixtape, but it\u2019s 17 songs and 48 minutes long. It\u2019s an album. It\u2019s uneven, both in quality and theme, less cohesive than her album Magdalene<\/em>, but the highs are very high here, and FKA Twigs (Tahliah Barnett) experiments more with tones and styles than on her formal LP. Highlights include \u201chonda,\u201d \u201cdarjeeling,\u201d and \u201cjealousy.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

3. Yard Act \u2013 The Overload<\/em>. <\/strong>The debut record from these likely lads from Leeds might as well be a spiritual sequel to the earliest work of Gang of Four or maybe a lost album from The Fall, but updated with occasional flourishes of hip-hop (which, I concede, don\u2019t always work) and a more modern take on the working class progressivism of their forebears. Highlights include the title track, \u201cPayday,\u201d \u201cPour Another,\u201d and \u201cThe Incident.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

2. Sudan Archives \u2013 Natural Brown Prom Queen<\/em>.<\/strong> Sudan Archives is violinist\/singer Brittney Denise Parks, who released her second LP this year to massive and well-deserved acclaim. It\u2019s a genre-bending, world-spanning record that features abrupt tonal shifts within and between songs, lyrics that are by turns smart and frivolous, and a whole bunch of songs that just plain groove. Highlights include \u201cNBPQ (Topless),\u201d \u201cYellow Brick Road,\u201d the sinister-sounding \u201cHomemaker,\u201d and \u201cFreakalizer.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

1. The Beths \u2013 Expert in a Dying Field<\/em>. <\/strong>This is the album I\u2019ve been waiting for the Beths to make since I first heard \u201cYou Wouldn\u2019t Like Me\u201d back in 2018. Expert in a Dying Field<\/em> is a perfect exemplar of this New Zealand band\u2019s sunny take on power-pop, with perfect harmonies and an endless supply of melodies. They call back to \u201880s power-pop standouts like Jellyfish and Apples in Stereo while adding their own stamp, not least from lead singer\/guitarist Elizabeth Stokes\u2019 delightful accent. There\u2019s enough diversity in the tracks here to make it worth listening all the way through, but it\u2019s also the best collection of singles I heard in 2022. Highlights include the title track, \u201cWhen You Know You Know,\u201d \u201cKnees Deep,\u201d and \u201cSilence is Golden.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I don\u2019t think 2022 was as strong for albums as 2021 was, where I could have run 30 deep on the rankings, but I had enough that I could keep up this gimmick of ranking a number of LPs equal to the last two digits of the year, and even made a few cuts in […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[1275,359,609,167,757,852,787,260],"class_list":["post-9685","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-2022-in-music","tag-alternative","tag-hip-hop","tag-indie","tag-metal","tag-music","tag-progressive-metal","tag-rankings","entry"],"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/meadowparty.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9685","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/meadowparty.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/meadowparty.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/meadowparty.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/meadowparty.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=9685"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"https:\/\/meadowparty.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9685\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":10572,"href":"https:\/\/meadowparty.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9685\/revisions\/10572"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/meadowparty.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9685"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/meadowparty.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9685"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/meadowparty.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9685"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}