2022 was undoubtedly an incredible year for music, with some of the most influential artists of our time releasing a multitude of genre-defining and innovative projects. 2022 has also been an incredible year for new artists to put themselves out, and multiple new stars have risen to the spotlight over the course of the year. Now that 2023 has begun, we can finally see which albums stood out the most among the rest.
10. Björk, “Fossora”:
The beautiful instrumentation accompanied by Björk’s ethereal vocals on “Fossora” marks it as one of her most impactful projects to date, on par with classics like “Debut” and “Vespertine”. This project’s production throughout feels alive, with lush instrumentals that envelop the listener and transport them to a strange new world. Björk’s vocals only enhance the otherworldly feeling of the album, adding mystery and humanity to the tracks. Despite the alien feeling that Björk typically conveys with her music, this album simultaneously feels as if it’s a soundtrack and an ode to the nature of our own planet. The earthy sound of the record explores feelings of nature, harmony, and chaos at times with its sonic creativity paired with vivid lyricism. Björk’s vocals feel human, despite being as haunting, challenging, and unique as they are. With lyrics often referring to fungi, the album sonically pairs perfectly to display the nature of how we typically think of mushrooms, something of earth that is still unknown, mysterious, and captivating.
9. Denzel Curry, “Melt My Eyez See Your Future”:
“Melt My Eyez See Your Future” is by far Curry’s most introspective project to date, and feels quite different from the rest of his projects. Curry, known for his punchy delivery over heavy, bassy beats, takes a step back and decides to put out something more focused on being meaningful for this project. Featuring fewer bangers and energetic tracks, this album could be a bit off-putting to fans of Curry’s typical style, but looking into the lyrics gives a true glimpse at the thought put into the album, and the incredible self-reflection expressed throughout the album. With uncharacteristically relaxed delivery on the more notable songs of the album, the calmer, more organized production throughout the album is complimented very well. His verses consistently contain lyrics about his life as a rapper and the impact that things such as drugs have had on both him and the people around him whom he holds close to him. This is an amazing project, a fresh new sound from Curry, and one of the best conscious hip-hop albums of 2022.
8. Beyonce, “Renaissance”:
In a complete change of pace from Beyonce, “Renaissance” proved to the world that she could keep on getting better. This entire album serves as a love letter and celebration of both club music and the culture that surrounds it. “Renaissance” embodies every aspect of an incredible dance record. Packed with references to her previous works, this album feels as if it serves as a turning point in Beyonce’s career, but still refuses to let go of the legacy of her previous works, embracing them rather than abandoning them. This album is written and created for the sole purpose of being a joy to listen to. It’s a celebration of the environment created by a club, and each track is best listened to in a setting that reflects that. Almost every track on this record is immensely catchy, and the successful tracks vastly outnumber the tracks that fall a bit flat. As a perfectionist, Beyonce is known to always put out only the best, and this album is a true show of the love and dedication to music that she holds. This project is fun, catchy, and an immensely enjoyable listen.
7. The Smile, “A Light For Attracting Attention”:
The Smile’s debut Album “A Light For Attracting Attention” is an incredible project that, although not a Radiohead project, sounds like a new Radiohead album. This project, led by Thom Yorke, creates incredible soundscapes and is a fresh new project from Yorke that is both similar to his previous projects with Radiohead and different at the same time. At 54 years old, Thom’s vocal style, lyrics, and performances feel as young as ever and seem to have not taken much of any wear and tear from his many years of experience in music. The production of this album creates soundscapes that fully envelop the listener, and truly feel like an experience rather than a song. The feeling some of the tracks give is on par with some of the greatest albums in Yorke’s discography, such as Kid A, OK Computer, and In Rainbows. Running at almost an hour, every track on this project feels connected but still quite independent sonically, leading to a cohesive experience that rarely gets old. One of the definite highlight tracks of the album, “The Smoke”, is very clearly a funk-influenced track with an infectiously good bassline complemented by Thom’s genius vocals. The lyricism of this album is clearly and intentionally political and tends to insult very prominent figures in the modern political climate, but does not let the messaging interfere with the quality of the music in the slightest.
6. Soul Glo, “Diaspora Problems”:
“Diaspora Problems” is, without debate, the best hardcore album of the year. With overarching themes of generational trauma, social justice, and hypocrisy in both government and people’s communities, this album uses serious commentary, sarcastic humor, and incredible sound to ingrain these messages into the listener’s mind. The intention of this album has one single purpose in mind: Change. Most of the tracks on these albums are powerful calls to action, highlighting the hypocrisy of not only the government and its actions but both US political parties, too. Aside from the impactful commentary, this album sounds incredible. As a hardcore punk album, “Diaspora Problems” does exactly what it sets out to do genre-wise. Its sound is refined, captivating, and diverse throughout the tracks. Another highlight of this album is the humor, which only assists the message portrayed by the lyricism. This album is also stacked with features, with a multitude of artists that only enhance the overall experience and contribute to the overall sonic diversity of the project. This album, although not stylistically for everyone (as any hardcore punk album would be) is undeniably important, and will be remembered as a hardcore classic in years to come.
5. Billy woods, “Aethiopes”:
After “Hiding Places”, most thought that Billy Woods reached his peak lyricism-wise, but his 2022 avant-garde hip hop album “Aethiopes” absolutely blew that assumption out of the water. With some of the most unique, raw production I’ve ever heard on a hip-hop album, paired with Woods’ incredibly unique delivery and genius songwriting, this album shines above every other hip-hop project released in 2022. Produced in full by Preservation (Dr. Yen Lo, and Yasiin Bey), this album has some of the most sonically interesting production this year. Tracks like “Wharves” and ‘Sauvage” stand out among the rest, exhibiting gritty, avant-garde production, mostly consisting of sporadic percussion and sampled sounds that create a dark, intimidating atmosphere. This is only enhanced by the heavy, loose delivery from Woods, with extremely descriptive and dark lyrics. Each track on the album portrays an individual story through its lyricism, and with the vivid imagery of woods’ lyricism, the listener is almost transported into the dark, intimidating picture that he paints. With Features from artists like El-P, Boldly James, Fatboi Shariff, Shinehead, and others, this project is packed with lesser-known hip-hop artists putting out some of their best performances to date. Most notably, tracks like “Heavy Water” and “NYNEX” contain some incredible lyricism and artistic diversity with multiple features showcasing some of their best work. With all of this combined, Aethiopes easily earns a spot in the top 5, and is, in my opinion, the best hip-hop album of 2022.
4. Natalia Lafourcade, “De Todas Las Flores”:
Natalia Lafourcade’s “De Todas Las Flores” is most definitely one of the most beautiful albums released in 2022. Lafourcade’s singing is taken to a completely different level in this project, with deeply personal lyrics delivered in a fashion that could only be described as perfect. Her vocals are sophisticated yet intimate and are complemented extremely well by the background instrumentals. While these instrumentals paint a framework and are extremely expressive when isolated, the true genius of this album is shown solely through the way Lafourcade’s vocals pair with the beautiful instrumentation. Lafourcade’s soft but powerful delivery of her lyrics about her heartbreak blend in and out with orchestral sounds throughout the album. These two distinct but extremely complementary elements of the album weave together to form an absolutely beautiful tapestry of sound. This album somehow both sounds classical and progressive and gives the listener a truly beautiful experience all the way through. Almost every moment of the album is truly moving, and although it may not be for everyone, I believe that anyone can find something that truly resonates with them in a full listen.
3. Black Midi, “Hellfire”:
“Hellfire” is an absolutely incredible show of talent. Running at nearly 40 minutes, the entire album is packed to the brim with organized chaos, immense climaxes, and insanely complex and intricate instrumentation. The musicality of Black Midi is shown at its highest level in this project, and although the band seems to get better with each release, there is very little room for improvement from this project. This project tells an overarching story, vague enough to be interpreted by the listener, but the events that take place in the lyrics of each song are clear. Half of the tracks are insanely fast, chaotic, and packed to the brim with jazzy instrumentation, spoken word vocals from lead singer Geordie Greep, and some of the most creative song structure and pacing from the band thus far. The other half of the tracklist explores the slow, beautiful aspect of
the band. These slower cuts often start extremely softly and swell into mesmerizing outbursts of emotional vocals, guitars, and percussion. Although this sporadic change of tone throughout the album seems a bit messy, it improves the feel of the album overall. The switches between chaos and peace are not instant and flow into each other quite gracefully, which leads to an overall cohesive experience sonically. Black Midi’s “Hellfire” is an unforgettable album, and should be used as a benchmark for the future of rock, post-punk, and almost all types of jazz-influenced music.
2. Big Thief, “Dragon New Warm Mountain I Believe In You”:
“Dragon New Warm Mountain I Believe In You” is easily the best indie folk album of 2022, and more than earns a spot in the top 3 albums of the year. The album combines folk, indie rock, and country elements in a way that stands out and marks this project as a peg above any other folk album this year. With a whopping 20 tracks, this project explores a multitude of emotions, with tracks ranging from emotional, acoustic slow cuts like “Dried Roses” and “Promise is a Pendulum”, to energetic, percussion-heavy tracks like “Time Escaping”. This album serves as one of the most impressive performances from lead singer, Adrianne Lanker, and a step up from Big Thief's last album. Backup singer Buck Meek’s vocals have
also massively improved in comparison to Big Thief's previous album, and he has clearly become a more integral part of the band in this new album. Some clear highlights of this album are the slower, more personal acoustic tracks. “Promise Is A Pendulum”, the track that stood out to me most, is an incredible display of the vocal range and humanity of Adrianne Lanker. When paired with simple guitars, her lyrics seem personal, as if she’s singing directly to the listener to tell them a story. Breaking up the energetic, incredibly produced tracks of the album, multiple songs feel as if they were written for you, the listener, and are being performed to you by a friend that deeply cares about you.
1. Black Country, New Road, “Ants From Up There”:
Black Country, New Road’s “Ants From Up There”, is by far my favorite project of the entirety of 2022, and possibly one of the best art pop albums of all time. It is an incredibly well-produced album with unmatched instrumentation and song structure, with tracks staying consistent stylistically throughout, but still varying in tone, emotional impact, and purpose. This project could be best described as cinematic. The grandiose climaxes of tracks such as “The Place Where He Inserted The Blade”, “Bread Song”, and “Basketball Shoes” are perfectly complemented by the slow, hauntingly beautiful tracks such as “Haldern” and “Mark’s Theme”. Although not a storytelling album by definition, the project’s lyrics, written by ex-lead singer Isaac Wood, tell a deeply personal, touching story of the struggles of love in the modern age. Although the entire project is incredibly enjoyable, the genius of the band shines through especially on the last three tracks. Together, the final three tracks run at just over 29 minutes, almost half of the entire album. Although long, these last tracks are absolute perfection. Not a single second is wasted, and the climaxes of each song are some of the most rewarding I’ve ever heard. The influences of massively influential bands like arcade fire can be heard on these tracks especially, and, although quite long, each track is incredibly unique and captivating all the way through. The final track, “Basketball Shoes”, is by far the most impressive and moving part of the entire project. The three-part, 12-and-a-half minute-long behemoth of a track blends elements of midwest emo, art pop, and even elements of classic rock, with an ending that will leave any listener speechless. No other album this year could have earned the number one spot on this list, and it would be an insult to the band not to rank this album the best of the year 2022.
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