As someone who used to pride himself on how many new albums he could obsessively listen to and catalog on “rate your music dot com,” I admittedly did not listen to that much new music in 2022. As I’ve gotten more used to a work/life balance, I’ve decided to spend less time listening to albums just to listen to them. There have been some drawbacks and benefits to this approach. The benefit is that I feel like I’ve built a better and healthier relationship with the music I DO enjoy. I haven’t wasted time listening to an album just once to seem slightly cooler than the average terminally online Twitter user. The drawback is that I haven’t made nearly as many discoveries as I would in the past. Because of that, this list will be pretty short and only focus on my five favorite records released in 2022. That being said, there are a few records that I’d regret neglecting to mention at all, so here are a few honorable mentions:
Once Twice Melody - Beach House
Hellfire - black midi
Dragon New Warm Mountain I Believe in You - Big Thief
Blue Rev - Alvvays
Darklife - death’s dynamic shroud
Reset - Panda Bear & Sonic Boom
Everything Was Beautiful - Spiritualized
Famously Alive - Guerilla Toss
#5 - God Save the Animals - Alex G
I never really cared for Alex G. Before this record, I had listened to a few of his songs, but despite enjoying 2019’s House of Sugar, he never clicked with me. I feel as if I could never get over the impression of his music I developed in high school. I found it pleasing for its lo-fi aesthetic (I already had Car Seat Headrest for that), but the songwriting was never interesting enough to keep me coming back. God Save the Animals opened my eyes to how wrong I was about Alex G.
God Save the Animals steps away from the psychedelia of House of Sugar and the lo-fi aesthetic of the earlier half of Alex’s catalog to pivot into what seems to be spiritually inspired indie folk rock. It’s still Alex G at its core. There are still interesting electronic passages and vocal manipulation all over the place, like the beautiful “After All.” Still, I think God Save the Animals is at its best when Alex plays it straight. The songs on this record are about growth, love, and adulthood. I think the way a song like “Runner” tackles the loneliness that comes with those experiences while remaining endlessly catchy is quite an achievement. “Miracles” has already become one of my go-to love songs and has some of my favorite lyrics of the year:
“I have fears that I have not addressed, she says
Some things from my past make me feel powerless, well
‘Baby, I pray for the children and the sinners and the animals too, and I
I pray for you.’
After all, there's no way up from apathy, yeah
You and me, we got better pills than ecstasy
They're miracles and crosses.”
#4 - And in the Darkness, Hearts Aglow - Weyes Blood
Weyes Blood’s 2019 record, Titanic Rising, was my favorite album of that year. Her reflective writing, gorgeous voice, and meticulously performed baroque arrangements resonated with me. I spent many an emotional night blasting “Something to Believe.” And in the Darkness, Hearts Aglow feels like a sequel to that record. It’s a bit of a safe sequel but a compelling one nonetheless. Natalie Mering doesn’t change her sound too much on this record, but the moments she does do pay off. I love the more electronic “Twin Flame” and the breathtakingly gorgeous new age-influenced “God Turn Me Into a Flower.” It’s easily the best song of her career so far; the instrumental is a bit more lowkey to make room for the vocal performance of a goddess. The whole song culminates in an ambient crescendo which leads into a birdsong sample. It’s easily the best song of the year. If this list only leads you to listen to one song, let it be that one.
The rest of the record is more in line with the beautiful 60s and 70s-influenced baroque singer/songwriter music that Weyes Blood has been known for. While it’s nothing new for her, the songs on this record are just as good as her previous one, so if you enjoyed that album, there’s no reason not to check this out. Also, Mamaw, if you’re reading this, which I KNOW you are, listen to this one. I remember you saying you liked her songs when I played them on the radio in 2019.
#3 - Ants From Up There - Black Country, New Road
It’s hard to listen to Ants From Up There without stirring up bittersweet feelings. In 2021, Black Country, New Road seemed like they’d be the defining rock act of the 2020s. While that’s still possible, the news of BCNR’s lead singer, Isaac Wood’s departure from the band just a few days before this album’s release is hardly going to be a minor hurdle for the band. That being said, BCNR’s second album, and what appears to be its final fronted by Isaac, is a masterpiece.
Ants From Up There steps away from 2021’s For the First Time's angsty post-punk roots to deliver an experience more melancholy and beautiful, fueled by strings and horns. While it’s still rock music at its core, it incorporates chamber compositions to heighten the emotions of Isaac’s introspective and heartbreaking stories. Speaking of which, the writing on this album makes it clear why Isaac decided to cite mental health issues as his reason for quitting the band. The lyrics and performance on this album are clearly coming from a place of suffering. While they make for a captivating emotional experience, I’m glad he made this decision for himself, and I hope he’s getting the help he needs.
I’ve heard Black Country, New Road criticized as many things. “Arcade Fire for zoomers,” “Slint for theatre kids,” and other reductive nonsense. The band even pokes fun at this on their last album, calling themselves “the world’s second-best Slint tribute act.” While I admittedly find these statements quite funny, with just their two records, BCNR has already proven themselves to be so much more than that. The beautiful slow builds of “Concorde,” the meticulous somberness of “Bread Song,” and the roaring finale of “Basketball Shoes” have already proven that. This is not the end for Black Country, New Road. I have already had the opportunity to hear their new music without Isaac live on two occasions; it’s great. However, even if it was the end, they had already proved everything they needed to.
#2 - Time Skiffs - Animal Collective
Did my blind loyalty to this band influence the ranking of this album on this list? Probably. Do I care? No, not really.
I absolutely adore Animal Collective. If you know me, you already know this. Time Skiffs had a simple mission to earn a spot on this list: Live up to the expectations I had developed for it in the five years I spent obsessed with this band. Time Skiffs more than delivered on that front, but I already knew it would. I spent those years attending multiple live shows and watching these songs develop into this record.
I’ve already published my extended thoughts on this album in a review I wrote right after it came out. While I think Animal Collective takes fewer risks than they usually do on this record, they created an album that feels more mature and focused than anything they’ve recorded in the past. Their music's sonic experiments and uncompromising psychedelia are more understated here, lending themselves to beauty rather than abrasiveness. I think I put it best in the aforementioned review.
“If Centipede Hz and Painting With were Animal Collective’s awkward high school stage… Time Skiffs is Animal Collective all grown up.”
While I do not listen to this record nearly as much as I did when it was initially released, on more recent listens, I still love it, and I’d put it relatively high in a ranking of the band’s discography. If you’ve never given this band and their brand of experimental and sentimental psychedelia a chance before, this is one of the best records to start with.
#1 - I Love You Jennifer B - Jockstrap
As I mentioned at the beginning of this list. I did not discover very many new artists this year. Jockstrap is the exception. Jockstrap is an art pop band made up of Georgia Ellery (the violinist of Black Country, New Road) and Taylor Skye. While some would consider this a BCNR side project, that could not be further from the truth. Jockstrap and Black Country, New Road sound nothing alike, and I honestly would not have realized they were connected by the music alone. This is primarily due to Georgia’s role in the band. While in BCNR, Georgia plays a more background role as the woman behind the music’s beautiful string arrangements. She is Jockstrap’s frontwoman and an incredible one at that.
Jockstrap is a hard band to pin down. It’s definitely pop. It’s definitely electronic, and there are some folk and chamber music elements too. They are unique in how seamlessly they move through all of these styles. A song like “Debra” has me admiring Georgia’s beautiful ballads over ambient passages before breaking down into an electronic drop complete with string embellishments. “What’s It All About?” and “Lancaster Court” feel like twee indie folk pop ballads with a hint of the glitchy electronics Jockstrap uses over the entire record.
Jockstrap’s greatest strength is how they can create endlessly catchy and danceable songs without sacrificing both the music’s beauty and experimental edge. The closest artist I could compare them to is Björk in the 90s, but even that would only be scratching the surface of their music. I want to see Jockstrap live purely to dance to these songs. “Greatest Hits” is probably their catchiest song. For some reason, it sounds like it could be one of the more upbeat tracks on the Shin Megami Tensei III: Nocturne Soundtrack (a weird comparison, I know.) “Concrete Over Water” blends the band’s sonic beauty with electronic danceability better than any of their songs and is probably the best thesis statement as to what this record is. And while “50/50” feels a bit out of place on the album, as it focuses purely on being a dance song, it is incredibly addictive. The version on the album is already an extended cut, but even those five minutes do not feel like enough. It always gets a repeat play from me.
I’ve always said my favorite kind of music is “experimental pop.” While that terminology might sound somewhat pretentious, I only mean music that is a bit out there but catchy enough to make me sing along. I Love You Jennifer B is precisely the kind of album I’m talking about when I say that. As an aside, I’d like to congratulate Georgia Ellery for being the only artist to appear on this list twice. While initially apprehensive about Black Country, New Road continuing without Isaac Wood, my fears have been alleviated after seeing BCNR live and falling in love with this album. If Georgia’s still there, the band is in good hands.
Well sweetheart, you were right, I was reading. It’s hard for me to comprehend that the little Jr High kid writing his first essay to be accepted into a magnet program in HS can write so eloquently today. We might be polar opposites on our musical flavors but one thing that I’m sure of is that you make me so proud and I’ll always be your favorite audience!