Best Music of 2022

*Playlist: Best New Music of 2022 (Apple) | Best New Music of 2022 (Spotify) *

Now that 2023 is officially over I think it's safe to put out my Best Of 2022 playlist.  

One note first on how I come up with my list and why I might make the choices I do: a lot of the "good" new music these days (and perhaps always) feels like it's more catered to the 14-24 year-old crowd, so if it just feels too teenage angsty, then it doesn't really work for me, and I exclude it from my list.  I want to try and reward artists that give me something deeper and more unique but that I can still somewhat groove to or chill to.  

And I know I said something similar last year, but I wasn't super impressed with the output of new records in 2022.  Quite a few solid records, but no mindblowers.  

Best Albums

1. The Smile - A Light for Attracting Attention

• Thom Yorke as the frontman.  He is like the Novak Djokovic of rock.  New groups come on the scene and look poised to lead the new generation, but everything he does is just levels above the competition.  Not an amaaaazing album, but it's strong throughout, and it hits some beats and grooves and lyrics with a consistency that is superior to the other albums in 2022.  

2. Steve Lacy - Gemini Rights 

• I don't know really anything about the artist but he's got some hits on the record and I give him points for his unique style.  And this song, "Sunshine", is my absolute favorite track of the year.  

3. NNAMDÏ - Please Have a Seat

• Mostly ditto to #2 above.  I get some Masego (2020) vibes from this artist, though NNAMDI is a little more colorful / jumpy.  

4. Arcade Fire - WE

• An old reliable.  For as mainstream as they may have become, they've still managed to put out an awesome catalog of albums by now.  This one is maybe pretty low on my list of their stuff, but it has some good ones.  And I find myself listening to the whole album when I need some motivation to get through a long project on the computer or around the house, and it's perfect for that.  And I think it's cool that they included the song, "Lookout Kid" on the record.  It's kind of a sensitive love note to their son, and it gets close to being cheesy but it's actually not, and I'm glad they shared it with the world. One side note - I found myself watching a live video of their "Everything Now" concert (available on iTunes) and I was blown away by how cool the energy from their performance was.  Over the last several years I've found myself enjoying live performances / recordings much more than I used to.  I like listening for the subtleties of a master executing their craft.  

5. Taylor Swift - Midnights

• I checked out the new album one night while I was doing dishes, and I noticed I had gone on like a 5-track streak of pure enjoyment, culminating in the song, "Bejeweled".  This may be heresy but the experience of listening to this album closely approached jamming out to Robyn's "Honey" album.  (This is definitely inferior, but big props to Taylor Swift on her year of taking over the galaxy.)

6. Big Thief - Dragon New Warm Mountain I Believe In You

• I like their 2017 album, "Capacity", much more, but this is actually a good album as I listened to it more.  It has a song or two that kind of bug me so it's hard to just hit "play" and spin the album the whole way through, but it is 20 songs deep, and it's a pleasant listen overall, so I can't fault it too much.  I'm not blown away with how the band has evolved.  I'm not sure what I was hoping for, but evolutions like Radiohead and Low are the perfect model to follow.  The "Certainty" song I chose for this playlist evokes what I might imagine a 2022 indie version of an old Neil Young / Linda Ronstadt duet might sound like.  

6. Benjamin Clementine - And I Have Been..

• This album should maybe be rated higher but I had the highest of expectations for his 3rd album after #'s 1 and 2 were so so so good.  It felt a little too Benjamin Clementiny for me.  And the clever poetry of previous albums was more lacking here.  

7. Cate Le Bon - Pompeii

• A nice rock & roll texture on this album.  She's Welsh.  Yep.  

8. Kendrick Lamar - Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers

• Not nearly as groundbreaking as "DAMN.", which I've revisited a few times with great satisfaction over the past couple of year.  But he definitely hits some high points.  "Purple Hearts" is my favorite on the album.  As I was trying out the new album when it came out I turned this song on super high volume in my Toyota Sienna driving back from dropping my daughter off at Piano practice in Oakland.  As I was cruising the sunny urban streets I was really feeling myself jamming out hard to this tune.  

9. Tomberlin - i don't know who needs to hear this... - A great specimen of indie folk music with female vocals.  5 or 6 good / great songs on a record with 11 tracks.  

Other Good Albums

• Curse of Lone - People in Cars
• Alduous Harding - Warm Chris
• Kevin Morby - This Is a Photograph
• Florist - Florist
• Saya Gray - 19 Masters - Some great raw emotion and music in the album, but much of it is a little too adolescent for me.
• Nilufer Yanya - PAINLESS - London singer/guitarist
• Alex - G - God Save the Animals - I get some good Neutral Milk Hotel vibes from this guy.  
• Grace Ives - Janky Star - If I were still in college these would have been some great hits to download off Napster.  
• Black Country, New Road - Ants From Up There
• Dry Cleaning - Stumpwork 
• Arctic Monkeys - The Car - I wanted to like this album a lot more after this incredible single:, "There'd Better Be A Mirrorball," had been teased, and from the sound they created on that single, and the look of the album artwork, but then after listening to the whole album a few times I couldn't get into it.  

Artists with Diacritics in their Names (with all respect to NNAMDÏ)

• Björk - Fossora
• Beyoncé - RENAISSANCE
• Röyksopp - Profound Mysteries - I hate to say it, but the album title might be referencing some of the tracks on the album.  I just can't muster up the energy to listen to the whole album.