So much amazing music out this year and I feel like I’ve missed a ton.

Favorite Albums of 2022…So Far

I try not to rank music as much as possible, so these are presented alphabetically by artist and it terms of my favorites not the supposedly “objective best” or whatever that means. Hope you find some new jams to get into and excited about. That said, I realize I’ve skewed heavily towards certain genres this year so far: metal, bluegrass/folk/Americana, and indie. I’ve done a woeful job so far of checking out much jazz, classical, noise, rap, R&B, country, etc. Feel free to chime in with your suggestions.

1. Animal Collective: Time Skiffs — AnCo cranks out so much music between albums, soundtracks/installations, visual albums, and the solo projects of individual members that it often feels hard to keep up with all of it. This is only the third “proper” AnCo albums since Merriweather Post Pavilion though. A lot of folks weren’t keen on Centipede Hz and Painting With, but seem down with Time Skiffs. I like all three, but this one does seem to capture a new bit of magic some have claimed is lacking lately.
2. Anna Von Hausswolff: Live at Montreaux Jazz Festival — It’s not a jazz record, but pay that no mind. AVH is one of the most exciting artists to emerge recently IMO. She plays organ/keys in a grandiose, cinematic gothic style and it’s hypnotic and addictive. Soaring voice as well. Despite not being metal, a lot of metal folks dig it.
3. Band of Horses: Things are Great — BoH’s first two records are so damn good that you still found yourself pulling for them after their next three albums ranged from pretty much good to middling/okay. Things are Great shows that thing at least are great in the Band of Horses world, because it’s a damn fine album and easily stands shoulder to shoulder with their best work 15 years into their career. You can find my full review of it here.
4. Blood Incantation: Timewave Zero — Their 2019 album Hidden History of the Human Race was considered by many as *the* metal album of the year and it’s a record that thrust them out of the underground and into the (metal) spotlight. So how do you follow up a career launching record of extreme heaviness? With an (almost) all synth ambient album of course. Kind of a headscratcher of move, but damn, it’s good anyway. Gotta admire the confidence and moxie to follow their vision no matter where it takes them.
5. Boris: W — Japanese band Boris continues to put out records that wow. At times they’re heavy, at times they play at a whisper, they’re a shoegaze-y band at other times. They always mix it up with great results.
6. Brad Mehldau: Jacob’s Ladder — A jazz pianist making a totally reconstructed album of 70s prog-rock tunes with a sprinkling of spirituality on top. Sounds like a train wreck on paper, but it’s expertly rendered in a way that only Mehldau could. The highlight, Rush’s “Tom Sawyer” with Chris Thile on vocals and mandolin (and there’s also a sax solo) has to be heard to be believed.
7. Calexico: El Mirador — Everybody’s favorite practitioners of southwest rock (a genre I just invented?) are at it again and doing nothing but winning. I’ve always said they sound like a Tarantino soundtrack and I hope to goodness that they consider that a compliment, because I certainly mean it that way.
8. Candy: Heaven is Here — Elements of hardcore, metal, industrial, and more turn this into probably what’s my favorite heavy release of the year so far. This is one of those records where if you’re into heavy music you know you’re into it in about the first 15 seconds.
9. Del McCoury Band: Almost Proud — 80+ years and still kicking insane amounts of ass. The reigning elder of bluegrass still has much to say and still puts out great records.
10. Drive-By-Truckers: Welcome 2 Club XIII — Everybody’s favorite southern rockers continue churning out great tunes and giving the middle finger to injustice and all of the other ugly facets of modern American life.
11. Earthless: Night Parade of One Hundred Demons — Love that heavy deep zonelord psych. Three tracks, one hour. The headiest of jams for people that hate jambands.
12. Ghost: Impera — Pop metal with a wink towards Satan. Somehow this shit packs arenas, but it’s catchy as hell (no pun intended.) Haven’t seen them since they were an opener or were headlining small clubs. Way ready to see once of these massive arena shows.
13. Greensky Bluegrass: Stress Dreams — I’ve always kind of admired Greensky from a distance in that I’ve thought they were solid, but have never been significantly moved by them. Well, that changes with Stress Dreams. Album opener “Absence of Reason” is a tune I’ve played with great frequency all year long. This album has unlocked the key to their whole catalog for me and I’ll see them for the second time this year later this summer.
14. Guerilla Toss: Famously Alive — This band should be huge. I know that it’s *a lot* to digest in that it’s often warp speed fast and noisy and super crowded sounding, but I don’t care. It’s amazing and they’re even better live.
15. Imarhan: Aboogi — One of my favorite genres to reach widespread attention over the last several years has been so called “desert rock,” mostly meaning the electric guitar music of the Tuareg people of North/West Africa that are spread out across Niger, Algeria, Nigeria, Libya, Mali, and Burkina Faso. Just hypnotic drone-y guitar and the sickest beats imaginable. Mdou Moctar and Tinariwen are the artists that grab most of the headlines, but there are so many good bands of which Imarhan is one. Don’t see how you could have a pulse and not enjoy this.
16. Joan Shelley: The Spur — How she’s not on top of folksinger mountain in America I do not know, but get your shit together fellow Americana fans! She’s released gem after gem and this is no exception.
17. Marissa Nadler: The Wrath of the Clouds — Have never heard a song of hers I didn’t dig and this five song EP adds another five tunes to the list of great ones she’s written. Ethereal folk space goodness.
18. Midnight Oil: Resist — The band’s first proper album in 20 years (not including 2020’s collaborative The Marrakata Project) and you’ve got to wonder what they have left in the tank after such a long hiatus and hot damn if it isn’t a super solid album. I already find myself reaching for it more than some of their other albums (and they’ve never made a bad one.) A rare, late career gem from a legacy band.
19. Modern Nature: Island of Noise — I don’t even quite know what to make out of this record, but it quietly latched on to me and hasn’t let go since the first listen. It’s like indie rock meets free jazz or something. A peculiar combo that I haven’t heard elsewhere and it’s a damn good recipe. They’re kind of like Ryley Walker’s more polite British cousins.
20. Molly Tuttle & the Golden Highway: Crooked Tree — A star studded ensemble takes us on an outstanding bluegrass ride. She can sing like an angel and can play like a demon and her friends like Margo Price, Billy Strings, Old Crow Medicine Show, Sierra Hull, Gillian Welch, and Dan Tyminksi only strengthen already strong material.
21. Pedro the Lion: Havasu — The second of a five record series about places PtL bandleader David Bazan has lived. He has such a gift for making the mundane profound and the hyper-specific relatable to anyone.
22. Perfume Genius: Ugly Season — Over his last several albums, Michael Hadreus has lowkey become one of my favorite performers. A voice that has to be heard to be believed and a sound that’s otherworldly.
23. ragenap: Thriving Culture — More drone-y goodness from Chicago’s Joel Berk. “04.16.21” (and its reprise) will take you places you didn’t know you wanted to go. Consume it any way you see fit, but this is one for the headphones IMO.
24. Shabaka: Afrikan Culture — Debut solo album from the bandleader of Sons of Kemet and The Comet Is Coming (and others) releases an understated, but rewarding work that grows on you more with each listen. It’s far removed from his other work in terms of being high energy or attention grabbing, but anyone that spends time with this will be handsomely rewarded.
25. The Smile: A Light for Attracting Attention — Many of these songs would sound totally at home on a Radiohead album and that makes sense given the two main creative forces of the band, Yorke & J. Greenwood, are in The Smile. Phenomenal stuff. AOTY territory IMO.
26. Spiritualized: Everything Was Beautiful — Spiritualized (Jason Pierce) are one of those bands that I can only assume other bands listen to and think, “Holy shit, I wish that was us.” How this is the music floating around in someone’s head and that he gets it down on tape is all the more mindblowing. Absolute legend.
27. Spiter: Bathe the Babe in Bats’ Blood — A heady mix of black metal, punk, and horror themed stuff. Some of the song titles are going to be enough to turn some folks off, but if you get it, you get it…and I do…then it’s a lot of fun. They’re playing a DIY venue here later this fall and I’m so there for it.
28. Undeath: It’s Time…To Rise From the Grave — This album wastes no time in relentlessy grabbing you by the throat and it doesn’t let go for 35+ minutes. Thanks for the tip Pitchfork!
29. Wilco: Cruel Country — This record hearkens back to the early, more country-tinged days of Wilco, but it’s no throwback. It’s more like meeting back up with an old friend, but the discussions are filtered through growth and experience.