Welcome to the Life on this Planet Blog. This is our 13th Annual Best Albums of the Year List! This year we have 8 contributors, 67 different albums and an 81-song playlist. We hope that you'll make some new discoveries that you won't be able to live without! We ditched Spotify this year, so please check out the YouTube playlist (at the bottom of this post) and subscribe to the Life on this Planet YouTube Channel while you're there.
And don't forget to leave us a comment and share your Top Ten lists!
Happy New Year!
- Bret and Sarah
P.S. We do earn a commission if you purchase anything through the links in this post.
I've posted my Top Ten below. If you'd like a show and tell with some additional discourse, please have a look at my accompanying video. On a personal level, it was incredibly satisfying to enjoy the 20th anniversary reissue of Audra's Going to the Theatre. Thank you all for your support!
10. Blood Incantation - Timewave Zero
Death metal band makes instrumental synth / ambient record. If you're looking for a headphone album, tune in.
Key Tracks: You just have to listen to the whole thing <-- not a song title
09. Zola Jesus - Arkhon
Sonically engaging. The use of organic drums, percussion and bass guitar weave in so beautifully here. I feel like a lot of people slept on Arkhon, which is a shame.
"Everyone I know is lost"
Key Tracks: The Fall, Undertow, Into the Wild
08. Taylor Swift - Midnights
I'm always impressed with how Swift can take a simple phrase and make it come down like a ton of bricks. Even when I feel like a distant spectator in the story line, I can't help but be drawn in as an emotional support system for the protagonist.
"Cause there were pages turned with the bridges burned / Everything you lose is a step you take / So make the friendship bracelets, take the moment and taste it / You've got no reason to be afraid / You're on your own, kid / You always have been"
Key Tracks: You're On Your Own Kid, Anti-Hero, Vigilante Shit
07. Just Mustard - Heart Under
I somehow missed this Irish band's debut when it came out a few years back, but I've made up for lost time upon the discovery of their sophomore earlier in the year. It's quite easy to get lost in this record's dark, noisy layers and childlike vocals.
"It's just a picture / I cannot feel it / The way I felt it / I should have cherished"
Key Tracks: In Shade, 23, Rivers
06. Charli XCX - CRASH
Probably my favorite modern pop artist. "Beg for You" and "Good Ones" are amongst my most-played tracks of the year. Infectious.
Key Tracks: Beg for You, Good Ones, Baby
05. And Also the Trees - The Bone Carver
So elegantly melodic. Their 15th is a beast of a record. If we brush away loads of uninspired, copycat bands that have come synonymous with the genre name, this is what the word Goth should really reference in its purest form.
"Sinking in the quicksand / I feel your arms reach out and circle me / Like a dance in the dark / We step out of the past / I lead you - you lead me"
Key Tracks: Beyond Action and Reaction, Last of the Larkspurs, The Seven Skies
04. Ghost - Impera
Such a fun, wild ride. On their fifth album, Ghost may have produced my favorite in the catalog thus far. \m/
Key Tracks: Respite on the Spitalfields, Call Me Little Sunshine, Darkness at the Heart of My Love
03. The Cult - Under the Midnight Sun
I grew up with this band. I can still see my almost illegible, super-faded, paint-splattered and torn Sonic Temple t-shirt from my high school days. And here we are 33 years later and The Cult have released such a shockingly great album to sit there on the top shelf. I mean, wow. And the art design.... my favorite album cover of the year.
"As all life fades / We have to go / We've all been behind you"
Key Tracks: Outer Heaven, Give Me Mercy, A Cut Inside
02. Breathless - See Those Colours Fly
Sometimes it feels like I haven't taken a breath in years. As I listen to my most played song of 2022 - "Somewhere Out of Reach" - I'm reflecting on a few of the emotional moments it has played its role in scoring. Words matter, and it's a breathtaking thing when the right words line up with not only the right melody, but the right musical backdrop. Magic happens. This is magic.
"You know the reasons / The weakest are always left behind / Give something back / Could it be as simple as that?"
Key Tracks: Somewhere Out of Reach, Looking for the Words, Let Me Down Gently
01. Suede - Autofiction
Suede survived the loss of an integral creative partner, addiction and a decade-long breakup, emerging in the second half of their career now with four stellar albums. Autofiction is the sound of a band with a lot more to say. Singer Brett Anderson continues to take his voice up to and through its breaking point, giving the listener repeated emotional jabs and uppercuts. One of the best bands ever to roam this earth.
"I wonder if her touch will ever fade / Is she waiting in the garden for us to play / Yes, in many many ways I'm still a young boy / With all those questions in my petrol blue eye... Sometimes when I look up at the sky / She leads me on / She still leads me on"
Key Tracks: She Still Leads Me On, Personality Disorder, It's Always the Quiet Ones
Sarah Quarrie Helm
10. Christine and the Queens - Redcar Les Adorables Étoiles
Key Track: la chanson du chevalier
09. SRSQ - Ever Crashing
Key Track: Abyss
08. Secret Shame - Autonomy
Key Track: Hide
07. Alvvays - Blue Rev
Key Track: Easy On Your Own?
06. Preoccupations - Arrangements
Key Track: Slowly
05. The Cult - Under the Midnight Sun
Key Track: Mirror
04. And Also the Trees - The Bone Carver
Key Track: Last of the Larkspurs
03. Suede - Autofiction
Key Track: The Only Way I Can Love You
02. Placebo - Never Let Me Go
Key Track: Chemtrails
01. Ghost - Impera
Key Track: Spillways
Frank Deserto
While it wasn't my most favorite year for new sounds, I still find myself with an overabundance of music to celebrate at year's end, certainly more than I'm allowed to mention here within these constraints. One thing I can say for certain - guitars reigned supreme for me in 2022, and while there were certainly dozens of synth pop/EBM-flavored records that are masterful in their own right, it's a sound that just fails to resonate with me these days. In an era where so much music goes in one ear and out the other for me, my musical palate is oversaturated with copious soundalikes and clichés, bands far too focused on aping sounds we've all heard a million times before while forgetting the most important part: writing a good fucking song. It takes a lot to stand out to me these days.
With that in mind, each one of the records I've chosen this year truly grabbed my attention in full. Should you find yourself enjoying this list and seeking more in this vein, please visit post-punk.com for ten more killer LPs, as well as some favorite EP and single selects.
Otherwise, much love to everyone out there. Hope you all have a happy and healthy holiday season! <3
10. Gloria de Oliveira & Dean Hurley - Oceans of Time
This is truly a beautiful record, chock full of soft, synthetic strings, ethereal vocals, and intricate melodies. In some spots, it dips into neoclassical textures and even flirts with dearly departed Julee Cruise and Angelo Badalamenti's unforgettable collaborations. In others it sounds like an earthier, grounded version of Lana Del Rey's dreamier moments. Among original highlights, it also features a cover of the infamous Jeff Buckley and Liz Fraser duet "All Flowers in Time Bend Towards the Sun", an unfinished demo recorded just before Buckley's untimely death and never commercially released. In a year filled with a lot of personal turmoil, this was my go-to record for centering my body and spirit, and for that, I'll always be eternally grateful.
Key Tracks: Eyes Within, Something to Behold, All Flowers In Time
09. Cult of Youth – With Open Arms
While I'm proud to call members of this band friends, I didn't expect a new record from them in 2022. However, not only did this record surprise me with its release, it knocked me clean out of my Doc Martens. While Cult of Youth's previous records have explored the ups and downs of positive punk and neofolk, nothing could prepare me for the sheer sonic energy contained in each of this album's 14 tracks. As the story goes, this LP was recorded in the mountains of Vermont in 2015, the band living off of the grid with copious amounts of psychedelics and bizarre instruments in the mix. Nothing was off the table, and the band found themselves crafting a hefty amount of material, all of which was whittled down and molded into a cohesive listen. I've always enjoyed this band's work, but this is by far their masterpiece, as far as I'm concerned...
Key Tracks: Beyond Self, Outside In Reality, With Open Arms
08. Secret Shame – Autonomy
This was one of the most anticipated albums of 2022 for me, and it delivers in spades. Secret Shame explore many of the same post-punk touchstones I love dearly, and this record is simply chock full of powerful hooks. The musicianship here is top notch, and while there's copious amounts of deathrock influence, there's also a heavier, 90s alternative lean here that's most noticeable in the texture of the guitars, as well as Lena Machina's vocal delivery. It's as if Secret Shame are combining the darkness of Skeletal Family with the caustic energy of L7 and the melodic songwriting chops of The Cranberries, and I'm here for every second of it.
Key Tracks: Luxury Bitch, Hide, Saccharine Dream
07. SRSQ – Ever Crashing
The sound of summer, bottled up into one glorious LP. I've loved everything Kennedy has recorded so far, and this is certainly no exception to the rule. There's an art to the way she crafts songs that may nod to nostalgic sounds, but transcends them with sheer beauty and joyous choruses. This record simply soars and makes my heart feel as full as the first time I heard Cocteau Twins' "Carolyn's Fingers" one late night in college. Similar to the Secret Shame LP, this album expands on SRSQ's already existing 80s influences with a slew of early 90s reference points, including early Sixpence None the Richer, The Sundays, and other bands in that vein. There's even a little touch of Madonna's late 80s/early 90s ballads in "Used To Love" and some drum and bass in closing track "Someday I Will Bask In the Sun." My only complaint about this album is that the LP version cuts several of the album's best tracks to keep it to one LP, which is a bit of a bummer considering the sheer strength of the excised material.
Key Tracks: Saved For Summer, Used To Love, Fear
06. Suede – Autofiction
While Slowdive and Blur remain the high watermark for one-off reunion albums thus far, Suede take the cake as far as sheer consistency is concerned. Each record since 2013's Bloodsports has been as good as the last, proving that the band has plenty more life left in them yet, and show no signs of stopping. While their US tour seemed to be a mixed experience for the band (they claim they won't ever return to the States, where they've never quite fit in), I'm forever grateful to have seen them this year to support this tremendous record as well as celebrate their storied career.
Key Tracks: Personality Disorder, Shadow Self, She Still Leads Me On
05. Coatie Pop – Deathbed
This record has been my slow burn favorite since the moment I heard it - so much so that it's actually moved up quite a bit in the ranks this week, and if I'm not careful, it might just dethrone everything else. Coatie Pop blend dream pop bliss, sad synth serenades, and shameless dance beats with self-aware lyrics, acoustic guitar, driving bass, and copious amounts of reverb. Think HTRK, Massive Attack, and even our beloved Cocteau Twins as reference points, but unlike any of these bands, Coatie Pop can equally swing for the fences with a fast-paced club banger to balance things out. I can't wait to catch this duo live in 2023, and hope this album gets pressed to vinyl as well.
Key Tracks: BODIES [sic], City Song, pretty fucked up [sic]
04. Breathless – See Those Colours Fly
It's always cause to celebrate when a new Breathless album comes out. Since the moment I first heard this band, I've clung to each wistful note with doe-eyed adoration. There's no way to casually listen to them, it's an all-or-nothing affair, no distractions, no conversations. Just sheer, evocative bliss. I could easily drown in Dominic Appleton's voice forever... The band shifted gears on this LP ever-so-slightly, utilizing simple programmed drum machines to fill the gap left by long-term drummer Tristran's lengthy recovery process, but not skimping on the carefully spun melodies and songcraft.
Key Tracks: We Should Go Driving, So Far From Love, The Party's Not Over
03. And Also the Trees – The Bone Carver
I feel the same way about And Also the Trees that I do about Breathless, and it's a real treat to have new records by two of my all time favorite under-the-radar bands released in the same year, within weeks of each other. And Also the Trees walk a similar path as The Fall - always the same, always different...and to pile on, always consistent. This is an album that's meant to be listened to in full, on repeat, letting it sink its teeth into you and take you on a journey through the more romantic and passionate side of the spectrum.
Key Tracks: In a Bed In Yugoslavia, The Girl Who Walks the City, The Seven Skies
02. Blacklist – Afterworld
I have so much deep-seated love for my brothers in Blacklist, having shared so many moments together over the years (not limited to opening for each other in the mid-2000s, playing in each others' bands, collaborating on countless recordings, DJing into the late hours together, and last but not least, I've even had the honor of playing synths in this very band at various points throughout their tenure). However, deep down, I have always been a fan of first and foremost, drawn deeply to the thunderous drums, rumbling basslines, shimmering guitars, anthemic hooks, and most importantly, lyrics that cut deep to the core with world-weary insight and deep sincerity. Released thirteen years after their debut LP, Afterworld is a brave step forward for Blacklist, as they've simply outdone themselves with this record.
Key Tracks: Pathfinder, Lovers In Mourning, The Final Resistance
01. Just Mustard – Heart Under
Let's get this out of the way. Yes, they have a terrible name. Yes, they sound almost exactly like Cranes. It's uncanny. Either of these facts alone could put lesser bands to rest. However, Just Mustard have blown me away time and time again with their sonic tapestry that takes the sound of one of my all-time favorite bands and pushes it deeper into the noisy indie rock underground. I had the pleasure of seeing this band twice this year, and both times, my jaw was on the floor. Seriously, if you've been avoiding this band because of their name, but love perfectly crafted, darkly intense shoegaze, cut the crap and put this record on immediately.
Key Tracks: In Shade, Seed, Still
Keith Creighton
Seattle, Washington | Popdose
Year in Review – 2022 was one of the best music years in memory, filled with 30+ albums that could easily be in my Top 10. Lots of legacy artists releasing their best music in years, and lots of younger artists truly proving they’re not soon to be forgotten.
10. Beabadoobe - Beatopia
Her debut, 2020’s Fake it Flowers was a 90’s rocker, setting the stage for Olivia Rodrigo’s 2021 smash Sour. For her second full length album (beyond a stack of killer EPs), Queen Bea goes in the opposite direction delivering a sonic experience that is trippy, dreamy, and untethered to any graspable genre.
Key Tracks: Talk, 10:36
09. Fletcher - Girl of My Dreams
In “Becky’s So Hot”, my song of the summer, our heroine fruitlessly lusts after the girl who stole her girlfriend – very much a “Jessie’s Girl” or “Stacy’s Mom” for a new generation. In 2022, Queer Pop further flowed into the mainstream (see also this year’s latest by Hayley Kiyoko, Muna, and Pillow Queens), filled with stories that are both true to LGBTQIA+ experiences while still channeling universal themes of love, lust, heartbreak and resistance.
Key Tracks: Becky's So Hot, Her Body is Bible
08. Flogging Molly - Anthem
Speaking of resistance, the world needed some new protest songs and Flogging Molly was one of several bands who truly delivered in 2022 (the others being Midnight Oil, Dropkick Murphys, Frank Turner, and Gogol Bordello). Best Molly album in ages, truly built to blow the roof off arenas.
Key Tracks: These Times Have Got Me Drinking, A Song of Liberty
07. The Cult - Under the Midnight Sun
For many soft hearted new wave goth kids in the 80s, The Cult’s “Electric” album, jettisoning the eyeliner strewn club anthems of “Love” for AC/DC arena rock vibes was the ultimate betrayal. Well, some 30 years on, they’ve come full circle to reconcile with their Dreamtime, Love, and Peace eras with exquisite results. This album paired nicely with “Blind” the new Black Swan Lane album that’s in my Top 15 (part of the extended Chameleons UK universe).
Key Tracks: Give Me Mercy, A Cut Inside
06. Tove Lo - Dirt Femme
I’ve been mispronouncing this Scandi-pop superstar’s name for years (too-vah-loo). Her first album after a major label era is perhaps her most delicious; banger after banger, proving she doesn’t need X-rated lyrics to still pack a punch.
Key Tracks: 2 Die 4, Grapefruit
05. Steven Page - Excelsior
Always the most interesting of the Barenaked Ladies, Page’s epic solo career realizes the greatness that could have been for the still reliable touring act he left behind. His latest slowly sets its hooks into you and claws deep, pairing big huge arrangements with wry and poignant lyrics.
Key Tracks: The Golden Age of Doubling Down, Something About Me
04. The Nervous Eaters - Monsters and Angels
This band has been around since the CBGB era and perhaps finally might get their long overdue regional, national, or ideally global success with this epic album. Tripping through punk, post punk, and garage rock with lots of soul and swagger, each song is its own sonic beast that works as a collective whole.
Key Tracks: Wild Eyes, Superman's Hands
03. The Weeknd - Dawn FM
One of two albums from the mid-year report, Dawn FM never stopped delivering exquisite spins – so many layers, celebrating life even as it soundtracks your last moments before death.
Key Tracks: Out of Time, Gasoline
02. Altered Images - Mascara Streakz
Much like ABBA did last year, Clare Grogran’s Altered Images dropped its first album in nearly 40 years, and they didn’t miss a beat. As a modern dance album, it carries the torch from recent disco smashes by Dua Lipa, Jesse Ware, and Kylie Minogue. As a retro throwback, it seamlessly carries on from 1983’s “Bite”. Play this and the equally meaty and beat heavy new albums by Bananarama (“Masquerade”) and Betty Boo (“Boomerang”) by and your next all night disco party is set.
Key Tracks: Mascara Streakz, Glitter Ball
01. The Linda Linda’s - Growing Up
My #1 from mid-year holds on to keep the top spot. The Linda’s (now ages 12 to 18) are still having the time of their lives. They dropped a few new songs, toured the world, hobnobbed with The Yeah Yeah Yeah’s, The Go-Go’s, Bikini Kill, and Iggy Pop, and made a name for themselves on screen (Amy Poehler’s Moxie) and in the world of avant couture fashion in eye popping color. Their album mixes brash hardcore punk (Racist, Sexist Boy) with polished pop (Growing Up) and everything between.
Key Tracks: Talking to Myself, Oh
Kevin Larkin - Angioli
Hudson Valley Region of New York | Instagram
(An Introductory Paragraph on My Personal Experience of the Year as a Serious Listener of Music) It’s that time of the year again! I feel compelled to confess that I feel like a phony right off the bat here. The great irony is that despite working in a record store this year, I did not keep on top of new releases. No store-play copies of a lot of things, too broke to buy new music unless I knew I loved it, and generally averse to streaming except for playlist making and sharing purposes. All of which is to say, there’s probably a ton of great stuff that came out this year I didn’t even hear. Actually, being surrounded by so much music, instead I drifted down several interesting historical corridors, discovering oddities, obscurities, and plenty of good jazz. My year was neatly bifurcated. The first six months, there was a certain tone and texture to my days, and then it all abruptly shifted. Collisions, separations, and losses came down like a guillotine mid-year. If the year was a poem, this would be its volta. All the stuff I had been listening to then, what’s in my list from earlier this year and much of which shows up again here: I barely listened to most of those albums for the rest of the year. In September, I went to see a show in a cave by Pelican Movement, whose Fistful of Ivy was featured on that list and has made the cut again. At this show I met and sparked a new friendship with Anna Mērnieks-Duffield, whose band Beams had recently recorded with Pelican Movement architect Kevin McMahon at his Marcata Studio. The album he produced for them, Requiem for a Planet, is not out yet and is looking for a label; it is my album of the year. I have listened to it so many times and it keeps giving and revealing more of its depths. Beginning in apocalypse and ending in reclamation, moving through the personal and the environmental, generously giving space and quiet to stretch out in the first half before stacking in the bangers and bids for joy and connection on the second half, the sound of the album, the songcraft, the vocal performances, and the inspired moments by all its players makes for a rewarding listen that rewards repeated spins. McMahon’s unique production style is present: you feel it would come up to your ankles or shins like a mist if you walked in during a session. Catching up with Beams’ back catalog—especially their tier-jumping last record, Ego Death (released just as covid came crashing down on us all)—and other Toronto-based acts, such as Ace of Wands (in which Anna plays guitar and who also have a new album to look out for next year) and Ancient Teeth (in which Beams drummer and Anna’s husband Mike Mērnieks-Duffield plays drums) to name a couple, has consumed most of my newish music-listening attention. I’m enjoying the sense of scenius here. Exploring another place’s independent and underground music scene from a distance has been a bit of a balm during a time when the place I’ve called home has radically changed and I don’t know who’s who or what’s what or where to even go for a show most of the time anymore. Without further ado, then, here’s my top televen, a combination of 8 albums I own on vinyl or compact disc and 3 I’ve so far merely streamed and enjoyed.
10. Tie: Beyonce - Renaissance | Florence + The Machine - Dance Fever
These pop stars both get weird in good ways. Renaissance keeps the beats coming and the vibe flowing with seamless tracks while Beyonce takes chances and gets visceral. Like a lockdown party of the mind. Florence’s album is an art nouveau haunted estate of female archetypes and unfulfilled desires. I’m usually not superkeen to either of these artists’ work, though I try, but a late-in-the-year catch-up with pop albums had me really impressed by both and going back for repeated listens.
Key Tracks: Plastic Off the Sofa, Alien Superstar | The Bomb, Girls Against God
09. µ-Ziq - Magic Pony Ride
Sparkling electronica with classic jungle beats.
Key Tracks: Brown Chaos, Magic Pony Ride Part 1, Turquoise
08. Red Hot Chili Peppers - Unlimited Love
What can I say? I really had a moment with this record earlier in the year.
Key Tracks: The Heavy Wing, White Braids & Pillow Chair, She's a Lover
07. Just Mustard - Heart Under
A refreshing, astonishing attack of sounds, textures, and moods.
Key Tracks: Seed, I Am You, In Shade
06. Pelican Movement - Fistful of Ivy
Ambitious twisted masterpiece unlike anything you’ve ever heard.
Key Track: Last Gasp of the Dying Eagle
05. Laura Veirs - Found Light
Front-to-back beautiful, affecting pieces in this brave-faced first album post-separation-from-former-producer-and-husband, with a little help from mushroom friends and Shahzad Ismaily; great spacious production, warm performances, engaging wise sensuous lyrics—a generous healing trip.
Key Tracks: My Lantern, New Arms, Naked Hymn
04. Tears for Fears - The Tipping Point
So good to have these guys back! The whole album feels like a luxurious gift to indulge oneself in.
Key Tracks: No Small Thing, Rivers of Mercy, Long Long Long Time
03. Wilco - Cruel Country
This batch of heartfelt and rough-hewn songs from tweedy & co is beautiful.
Key Tracks: Mystery Binds, The Universe, Many Words
02. Breathless - See Those Colours Fly
A new record from masters of melancholy Breathless is always cause for celebration; the use of a beatbox while drummer Tristram was in a coma and a hand in mixing by Kramer of Bongwater gives this one different texture, at once comfortably familiar and just different enough.
Key Tracks: I Watch You Sleep, We Should Go Driving, Let Me Down Gently
01. CMAT - If My Wife New, I’d Be Dead
This woman is unstoppable. Killer melodic hooks, drop-dead funny lyrics with a dark undertone, high camp, strong songcraft, a voice that does some pretty amazing things.
Key Tracks: Peter Bogdanovich, Nashville, 2 Wrecked 2 Care
Jaymz Todd
Phoenix, Arizona | Instagram
Hopefully one, if not all, hits you as hard as they did for me in this last year.
10. Dear Boy - Forever Sometimes
Key Tracks: (On My) Mind, Wet Clothes, Forever Sometimes
09. Yeah Yeah Yeahs - Cool It Down
Key Tracks: Wolf, Burning, Blacktop
08. Franklin Gothic - Into the Light
Key Tracks: Spark, Slow Down Bang Bang, '94
07. Knifeplay - Animal Drowning
Key Tracks: Lonely Sun, Hearts, Untitled
06. Plastic Estate - Plastic Estate
Key Tracks: Berlin, Divinely Impaired, Change Your Mind
05. Freddie Gibbs - $oul $old $eparately
Key Tracks: Feel No Pain, PYS, Too Much
04. Foals - Life is Yours
Key Tracks: 2am, Life is Yours, Wake Me Up
03. Surf Curse - Magic Hour
Key Tracks: Cathy, Lost Honor, Randall Flagg
02. Just Mustard - Heart Under
Key Tracks: Seed, Early, Rivers
01. MorMor - Semblance
Key Tracks: Dawn, Far Apart, Chasing Ghosts
Sean Benham
Chicago, Illinois | Instagram
10. Gold Panda - The Work
Key Tracks: The Dream, The Want, Plastic Future
09. Eric Hilton - Lost Dialect
One half of the Thievery Corporation. Eric has been on a huge writing spree. This album gets an A+ for that lounge sound!
Key Tracks: Lost Dialect, Spiral Aura, A Joyous Revolution
08. Misha Panfilov - The Sea Will Outlive Us All
Estonian composer and producer, Misha Panfilov, has such a diverse set of writing skills. Proclaimed as blending psychedelic jazz, lounge and ambient into one.
Key Tracks: Waves, Baltica Calls Me, Medusa Song
07. Daniel Avery - Ultra Truth
I’ve yet to hear anything from Daniel Avery that I’ve disliked. Reminiscent of Ulrich Schnauss. Intense, moody soundscape and electronica. Sometimes you want to dance to a song, other times, lay on the floor and absorb the music.
Key Tracks: New Faith, Ultra Truth, Spider
06. Ghost Woman - Ghost Woman
The Laurel Canyon sound is alive and well with Ghost Woman! Catchy 1960s-style pop tunes that harkens back to The Byrds.
Key Tracks: All the Time, Along, Behind Your Eyes
05. Pneumatic Tubes - A Letter from TreeTops
Mellow Krautrock set to jazz and psychedelia. A mind expanding experience.
Key Tracks: Summer's Children, Treetops, Witch Water
04. Tan Cologne - Earth Visions of Water Spaces
A mixture of The Verve’s ‘A Storm in Heaven’, Mazzy Star, and Cowboy Junkies. It’s a soft, dreamy experience that verges on dream pop.
Key Tracks: Topaz Wave, Floating Gardens, Space in the Palms
03. The Smile - The Smile
The Smile is everything you wanted out of Kid A, but with only Thom Yorke and Jonny Greenwood of Radiohead. A solemn album, albeit absolutely brilliant.
Key Tracks: The Opposite, The Smoke, Free in the Knowledge
02. Toro y Moi - MAHAL
Take a deep trip with Toro y Moi and journey with him across the chillwave soundscape. He weaves the songs together to a great concept album.
Key Tracks: Goes By So Fast, The Loop, Mississippi
01. Hater - Sincere
If you took Ivy and Catherine Wheel, you would get something like Hater. A band out of Sweden with absolute brilliant 1990s indie rock tunes that are so catchy and memorable.
Key Tracks: Bad Luck, Brave Blood, Summer Turns to Heartburn
Rob Clark
Rockford, Illinois | YouTube
10. Spoon - Lucifer on the Sofa
This is Spoon's tenth studio album, and I'm not sure they've ever released a bad one. I got pretty excited for this one based on the strength of the first two killer advance tracks, "The Hardest Cut" and "Wild". I'm happy to report that the rest of the album was more than up to par. Pleasant musical surprise of the year: On-U Sound dubmaster Adrian Sherwood "reconstructed" the entire Spoon album and, by November, we had a contemporary dub version called 'Lucifer on the Moon'. My #11 album of the year.
Key Tracks: The Hardest Cut, Wild, On the Radio
09. Working Men's Club - Fear Fear
This Yorkshire post-punk band flew completely under my radar with their 2020 debut, but I'm happy to have discovered them this year. There are distinct goth and industrial vibes here, solidified by singer Sydney Minsky-Sargeant's deadpan vocal delivery, but it's well balanced by the almost motorik rhythms. In other words, it's dark, but you can dance to it!
Key Tracks: Cut, Rapture, 19
08. Liam Gallagher - C'mon You Know
There's plenty to love here for fans of Oasis, Beady Eye, or the youngest Gallagher brother's previous two solo albums, but there are also plenty of unexpected left turns to set this album apart. A really solid rock and roll record that got a surprising amount of play around here.
Key Tracks: Diamond in the Dark, Everything's Electric, I'm Free
07. The Waterboys - All Souls Hill
Mike Scott has had a long and prolific career following his muse in a variety of directions as the mastermind behind The Waterboys. The eponymous debut brought me on board in 1983 and I've only been very rarely disappointed since. What keeps me coming back has a lot to do with Scott's ability to sincerely find magic in the mundane, and there's no shortage of that on 'All Souls Hill.'
Key Tracks: In My Dreams, All Souls Hill, Here We Go Again
06. The Beths - Expert In A Dying Field
The most cheerful and upbeat album about disintegrating relationships that I think I've ever heard. This is the third album from this band from New Zealand, and every one of them has been a winner. Not a sit-still record by a long shot.
Key Tracks: Best Left, Head in the Clouds, When You Know You Know
05. Andrew Bird - Inside Problems
I fell hard for Andrew Bird's 2019 album, 'My Finest Work Yet', with its thoughtful but playful treatment of some of the societal issues we were facing at the time. As you might surmise from the title of his new album, 'Inside Problems', the pandemic years have prompted a more personal introspection. It's no less relatable, though. I love how Bird's records feel Ted Talk smart and living room comfortable at the same time, and this one is no exception.
Key Tracks: Make A Picture, Underlands, Atomized
04. Robyn Hitchcock - Shufflemania
Released very late in the year, this is the first album from Hitchcock since 2017. Written and recorded in various scenarios since then, it includes collaborations with a couple of his old Soft Boys bandmates (Kimberley Rew & Morris Windsor) as well as the likes of Johnny Marr, Brendan Benson, and Sean Ono Lennon. Robyn hasn't lost a shred of his signature psychedelic absurdity, either. Well worth the five year wait.
Key Tracks: The Sir Tommy Shovell, Midnight Tram To Nowhere, The Raging Muse
03. Frank Turner & The Sleeping Souls - FTHC
Frank Turner albums have frequently made it into my year-end lists since I was introduced to his music with 'Tape Deck Heart' in 2013. However, he hasn't released one since before Covid-19 hit us. As such, this is Turner's "lockdown album" and what a glorious, anthemic celebration of life it turned out to be. He hasn't rocked this hard since very early in his career.
Key Tracks: Perfect Score, The Resurrectionists, Punches
02. Wet Leg - Wet Leg
So many delightful and irreverent moments on this record. Every song on it makes me smile. Loaded with hooks galore and lyrical non sequiturs that remind me of classic Talking Heads, this was my #1 for months until the Art d'Ecco album came out, and even then I struggled to take it down to #2. It will be interesting to watch the progress of a band so seemingly fully formed on their debut.
Key Tracks: Chaise Longue, Wet Dream, Too Late Now
01. Art d'Ecco - After the Head Rush
Last year's 'In Standard Definition' was #12 on my extended list of 21 favorites from 2021. I had just discovered Art d'Ecco then and was very excited to hear someone update the sound (as well as the androgyny) of the vintage glam that helped form my musical taste in the 70s. As great as that album was, this one is better.
Key Tracks: Palm Slave, Midlife Crisis, Only Ones
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Have a listen to the playlist:
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