A wrap of of 2022’s best of contenders.

Best LPs of 2022

Gang of Youths / angel in realtime

Loss shows up a lot in music, of course, but angel in realtime is about the loss of the singer’s father, and the gamut of emotions loss brings. The band covers the whole experience with deep sampling of vocal and instrumental samples from Indigenous musicians recorded by ethnomusicologist David Fanshawe.

Standout songs: “you in everything”, “returner” and, to get some of the complicated backstory, “brothers”.

Band info: https://www.gangofyouths.com/

Gabriel Kahane / Magnificent Bird

Gabriel Kahane crosses show tunes to artful classica to fully earnest stories with an eye for the now. Magnificent Bird is the latter, each song takes you to some prescient moments in the last few years, usually tinged with the fear and uncertainty of covid and the certainty that the world is moving fast and getting dark. Yet there’s still these happy moments and music that lifts the soul.

Standout songs: “To Be American”, “Hot Pink Reindeer” and “Sit Shiva”.

Band info: https://gabrielkahane.bandcamp.com/ https://gabrielkahane.substack.com/

Tomberlin / i don’t know who needs to hear this

Smart, complete and sparse yet rich songs of finding your voice and place.

Standout songs: “Stoned” and “Easy”.

Band info: https://tomberlin.bandcamp.com/

Everything Everything / Raw Data Feel

This band has always been on a tech forefront — maybe that’s part of why I’ve been a fan for a dozen years — but new to me: Raw Data Feel is basically a concept album made from putting 4chan posts into a machine learning algorithm. I have a strong separation between art and the artist, but this is a process story that I want to know more.

Standout songs: “Born Under a Meteor”, “Jennifer” and “My Computer”.

Band info: https://everything-everything.co.uk/

Kate Klim / Something Green

So concise, so well produced, an absolute coup of perfection. Each song is its own island in an archipelago that feels like an end of an era. And the songwriting itself is an art, hooks, bridges, all in a way my brain knows exactly what to do.

Standout songs: “Almost Know Anyone”, “Take the Driving” and “But You Can’t”.

Band info: https://kateklim.com/audio

Friendship / Love the Stranger

Friendship is somehow understated and distinctive, a bar band with a slide guitar that brings you in with lyrics like “I can tell you stuff I can’t tell anyone else because you don’t threaten to help”. It’s like honesty and insight from an old friend.

Standout songs: “Ugly Little Victory”, “Alive Twice”, “Mister Chill” and “Ryde”.

Band info: https://friendshipphl.bandcamp.com/album/love-the-stranger https://www.mergerecords.com/artist/friendship

Madison Cunningham / Revealer

Remember how I really want to separate the art from the artist? It’s almost impossible with this artist — every single second you listen to her on Spotify, they push vignettes of lush hair, fashionable shoes and (to quote the Talking Heads) skinny legs. Her Spotify bio is produced by an overzealous marketer that insists she’s 26 — why is that the first sentence? All that makes me confused if her music is as fake as her L.A. it-girl persona; my hate for music marketing could power a train. But let’s quell all of that… there’s actually some really great music and writing — this tangled mix of highs and lows, jangly guitars, riffs and hooks and fluttery drums are something to behold.

Standout songs: “Our Rebellion”, “Who Are You Now”, “Your Hate Could Power a Train” and “All You’ve Ever Known”.

Band info: https://www.madisoncunningham.com/

The Beths / Expert in a Dying Field

Yo, I feel you on the album title. But the singer’s NZ accent, the earnest backup vocals and the band’s energy have this perfect pop charm. They bring the noise, they call and response, they solo during the vocals — this is music that needs to be seen and rocked.

Standout songs: “Expert in a Dying Field”, “Best Left”, and “Silence is Golden”

Band info: https://thebeths.com/ https://thebethsnz.bandcamp.com/

Christine and the Queens / Redcar et les adorables étoiles

In only what I could describe as la prochaine chanson française, Christine and the Queens’s gender bending music is from the future — a driving electronic synthesis but to me sounds more goth turned trip pop with an awareness of britpop.

Standout songs: “rien dire”, “Looking for love” and “Je te vois enfin”

Band info: https://christineandthequeens.bandcamp.com/

Christine and the Queens / Redcar et les adorables étoiles

In only what I could describe as la prochaine chanson française, Christine and the Queens’s gender bending music is from the future — a driving electronic synthesis but to me sounds more goth turned trip pop with an awareness of britpop.

Standout songs: “rien dire”, “Looking for love” and “Je te vois enfin”

Band info: https://christineandthequeens.bandcamp.com/

Bartees Strange / Farm to Table

Truly some of the most original music of 2022, this is a tour de force of melange of styles, hip hop, country, show tunes — I really can’t explain it, just dig in. There’s so much music crossover between queer, black, country and pop — Bartees is one of the most open and fresh sounds I’ve heard.

Standout songs: “Escape This Circus”, “Wretched” and “Heavy Heart”

Band info: https://barteesstrange.bandcamp.com/

Ethel Cain / Preacher’s Daughter

I had absolute no idea that there was more than just an amazing album by an amazing songwriter until I saw her live in person and it was the most packed stage at the music festival, and the audience was almost entirely 16 and female. She goes right to the subject matter — often religion and upbringing — and I realize I might be getting it all wrong ‘cause I’m slightly not a teenager. Yet… brilliant music with all the feels and crackles and reverb, and she’s funny as hell.

Standout songs: “Sun Bleached Flies” and “American Teenager”

Band info: https://www.daughtersofcain.com/

The Rural Alberta Advantage / The Rise

You can’t not get sucked into the building crescendos — we go from finger picked acoustic to rides and crashes, heralded by a singer who really lets the band connect his distinctive voice with their polyrhythmic and multifaceted instrumentation. The drums just keep getting me off my chair, not an easy feat, but these guys make looking a fool really worth it.

Standout songs: “3 Sisters”, “CANDU” and “AB Bride”

Band info: https://ruralalbertaadvantage.bandcamp.com/album/the-rise-the-fall

Sylvan Esso / No Rules Sandy

The key to this band is knowing how smart and tricky they are, sly musical foxes that seem to make hot girl summer music but it’s not that at all, it’s built for you like an elaborate sand castle, damn the waves. Collections of Colonies of Bees alumni Nick Sanborn’s production makes Amelia Meath’s smiles and sunburn everygirl into a danceable, singable endless summer.

Standout songs: “How Did You Know”, “Your Reality” and “Didn’t Care”

Band info: https://ruralalbertaadvantage.bandcamp.com/album/the-rise-the-fall

La Bien Querida / Paprika

The first song is a soundtrack — violins and reverb — but overspoken/sung with a telemundo verve that tells you about the movie you want to fall in love with. Helped by Los Planetas lead singer, La Bien Querida created this world that seems cross-continent and traditional, more mexican than her native Spain, and just invites you to belt it out.

Standout songs: “Átame” and “No Es Lo Mismo” (with Los Planetas)

Band info: https://labienquerida.bandcamp.com/

Los Planetas / Paprika

Songs from Spain’s Los Planetas revolve around modern issues like denialists and capatilism, and with long and steady music, the songs are a vehicle for the story. But the music is strong and fully capable without the story and even falls into flamenco …

Standout songs: “Alegrias de Graná” and “No Es Lo Mismo” (with Los Planetas)

Band info: https://labienquerida.bandcamp.com/

Arce Memos / A Collection of Bird Songs

Another…

Standout songs: “Alegrias de Graná” and “No Es Lo Mismo”

Band info: https://labienquerida.bandcamp.com/

Julie Odell / Autumn Eve

New Orleans music doesn’t tend to be this good this far away from jazz, but Julie Odell is one of the exceptions. A first half of the album is good, but things really ramp up when she weaves songs that aren’t so simple, that has stops and starts and zig and zags, and to me start to have a Decemberists writing feel. The title track is a tour de force and never gets old for me.

Standout songs: “Autumn Eve”, “Space” and “Caterpillar”

Band info: https://www.julieodellmusic.com/

Earworms — or some of the greatest songs of 2022

The 1975 / The 1975 (2022 version)

Adolescent lyrics with New York minimalism — is it an accident or self aware or … well who knows. “…while q-anon created a legitimacy when it’s just some bloke from the Philippines…” has some level of self awareness that matches the minimalism, but then there’s the rest of it… I’m happy to be confused / the wrong audience.

Alex the Astronaut / Growing Up

There’s a lot of aussie in my year in music, and Alex the Astronaut sings music that’s young and vibrant and soaring and cute as all hell.

Kathryn Joseph / of all the broken

That voice, that darkness. From the album where Kathryn Joseph goes all in on organ, she fills the space with sound in the way Patrick Watson does — minimal but so incredibly full.

Daniel Romano & The Outfit / La Luna Part 1 & 2

Their bio talks a lot about country and the music business, but all I hear is 70s AOR rock opera concept album. I love that wherever I think I am, they’re going farther, and I can sing all the way along.

Storefront Church and Phoebe Bridgers / Words

I am so sorry if you’re over Lady Bridgers, but I am very much not, mostly because she’s been a collaborator with such great artists to make songs that are whole new places for my heart to subside.

Crawlspace / one & the same

It’s in my head, and I can’t get it out! It’s a great song, so simple and a great instrumental chorus of steel guitar, but why is it so sticky?

Best concerts of 2022

Gang of Youths — their angel in realtime tour was one of the first bigger post-COVID shows, and they were on fire and the singer was reaching high and low and the ladies were swooning.

The Beths — prospect park in the summer couldn’t be a better space and time for this singsong indie delight.

Spotify playlist

Spotify is like democracy — the worst form of music listening, followed by every other form of music listening. Alas, that’s my discovery and listening platform, except the occasional stack of MP3s of bands that aren’t on Spotify. Either way, have a listen to the 300+ songs that make up what I’ve been listening to in 2024.

[…(2024 best of contenders)]