Ahh, that’s much better. After a relative dry spell of album releases in 2020 and 2021 thanks to COVID, 2022 provided a steady stream of new releases throughout the year. I added over a dozen more new albums to my collection this year than I did last year, and it seemed as if every other band was eager to put something out after being prevented from touring or even recording for a while. A lot of big-name indie acts released albums this year, and there were some exciting new artists who released promising debuts. Here is some of the excellent music that came out this year.
First, here are the honorable mentions:
Hot Chip – Freakout/Release
True to its title, Hot Chip’s eighth album Freakout/Release oscillates between frantic dancefloor bangers and softspoken sentimentality. It’s a very good album overall, and the single “Eleanor” is one of their best yet. You can read more about Freakout/Release here.
Phoenix – Alpha Zulu
Phoenix’s seventh album was a complete dive into synthpop, and the band does a terrific job with this slight change in tune. The album is fun from start to finish, but if you’re going to check out one song, make it “Tonight” – an A+ duet with Vampire Weekend’s Ezra Koenig. You can read more about Alpha Zulu here.
And now, here’s the Indiecator’s top 10 albums of 2022:
10. Yeah Yeah Yeahs – Cool It Down
As one of the seminal indie rock acts of the 2000s, Yeah Yeah Yeahs were sorely missed in the 9 years since they released Mosquito in 2013. Their long-awaited fifth album Cool It Down is noticeably short, but packs quite a bit into its abbreviated runtime. There’s a good chance you’ve heard the anthemic “Spitting Off the Edge of the World” (featuring Perfume Genius) on the radio, but the real foundation of the album is its midsection of dance tracks. From the explosive chorus of “Wolf,” to the four-on-the-floor beat of “Fleez” to the rocking disco of “Burning,” the album creates a rush you won’t forget. You can read more about Cool It Down here.
9. Toro y Moi – Mahal
I generally liked the 2019 album Outer Peace by Toro y Moi (Chaz Bear) when it first came out, but it quickly escalated in status to something I played on a regular basis, finding its way to that year’s top 10 albums list. His seventh album Mahal followed a similar path onto my top 10. Like his 2015 album What For?, it leans heavily into psychedelic rock (“The Medium,” “The Loop,” “13 Days in Love”) though you’ll also hear echoes of his 2016 Star Stuff, where he collaborated with jazz duo the Mattson 2 (“Goes By So Fast,” “Millennium (which actually features the Mattson 2),” “Clarity”). The lo-fi hip-hop he experimented with in 2019 also occasionally makes an appearance (“Magazine,” “Foreplay”). And then there’s the funky track “Postman,” which defies easy explanation. Mahal is Toro y Moi’s most varied release to date, and that might be what makes it so addictive.
8. Angel Olsen – Big Time
I got into Angel Olsen after seeing the praise for All Mirrors three years ago. It was a lush and soulful album that I was surprised to see occasionally labeled “folk.” Olsen’s sixth album Big Time definitely fits this bill better, showing off a return to her Americana roots with as much flourish as possible. There’s some excellent country on here, especially when the pedal steel guitar comes out on “All the Good Times,” “Big Time,” “Dream Thing,” and “This is How It Works.” Other times, she gets her heartland-styled point across with muted instrumentation, like “Ghost On” and “All the Flowers,” where her powerful voice really shines. On the flip side she hasn’t abandoned her fuller, baroque pop sound either, especially as shown on the album’s closing trio of tracks that ends with the gorgeous “Chasing the Sun.” Big Time is a beautiful album from start to finish, showing off Olsen’s ability to hone a variety of approaches to her music.
7. Wet Leg – Wet Leg
There’s been quite a bit of hype around this duo from the UK’s Isle of Wight this year, and I didn’t get around to buying their self-titled debut until recently. Listening to the single “Chaise Longue” is ultimately what sold me; a post-punk track with completely ridiculous lyrics sung in a completely deadpan manner. Much of the album similarly shows off the band’s sense of humor, with songs about bad parties (“Angelica,” “I Don’t Wanna Go Out”), exes (“Loving You,” “Ur Mum,” “Piece of Shit,”), or even buying groceries (“Supermarket”). Musically, they land somewhere between garage rock, pop, and post-punk, as exemplified by tracks “Wet Dream” and “Oh No.” These are fairly well-trod styles, but in a scene full of dour acts that take themselves very seriously, Wet Leg stand out for their tongue-in-cheek manner.
6. Beach House – Once Twice Melody
Even though Beach House is a duo, their music has always felt very grand in scale, as if you were listening to a full orchestra. Their eighth album Once Twice Melody takes Beach House’s grandiosity to its logical conclusion, as an 18-track double album divided into four “chapters.” You realistically won’t notice these chapter divisions, but you will be treated to Beach House’s reliably excellent songwriting. Much of it has that “classic” dream pop style that they’ve honed over their seven previous albums (“Once Twice Melody,” “Another Go Around,” “The Bells”), but there’s intriguing new forays into rock (“Superstar,” “ESP,” “Only You Know”), folk (“Sunset”), new wave (“Masquerade”), and synthpop (“Runaway,” “New Romance,” “Hurts to Love”). It’s certainly quite a trip at 84 minutes long, so it might be tough to take in within a single sitting, but it’s definitely worth it. On Once Twice Melody, Beach House again prove why they’re top 10-worthy after doing so in 2015 and 2018.
5. Destroyer – Labyrynthitis
Destroyer is no stranger to my “best of” year-endcountdowns, partially thanks to their ever-changing sound. Despite being their 13th album, Labyrynthitis still managed to pleasantly surprise and impress me with its uniqueness. To start, the single “June” is a tour-de-force that starts simply and ends in complete chaos, making it the most compelling track I’ve heard this year. There’s also a surprising number of tracks with dance beats on the album (“All My Pretty Dresses,” “Eat the Wine, Drink the Bread,” “It Takes a Thief,” “The States”), along with straightforward rock (“Suffer”) and more dramatic-sounding pieces (“It’s In Your Heart Now,” “Tintoretto, It’s For You”). You can read more about Labyrynthitis here.
4. Beirut – Artifacts
I have written about my love of B-side compilations on two separateoccasions, although I’ll fully admit that the content on these types of albums can vary quite a bit. Many compilations are geared towards diehard completionist fans (see Old Dead Young from this past January), but Beirut’s Artifacts is the rare B-side compilation that can serve as a great introduction to a band by showing you the full scope of their music. The compilation’s first five tracks are all from 2007’s Lon Gisland EP, opening with my favorite Beirut track of all time “Elephant Gun.” These tracks show off the Balkan folk style that the band is most famous for, and there are more of them here, but Artifacts excels at reminding you that Beirut has done so much more. There’s plenty of synthpop (“Poisoning Claude,” “Bercy,”“Sicily”), a sea shanty (“Your Sails”), and instrumental jams that sound nothing like you’d expect from them (“Irrlichter,” “Babylon”). You can read more about Artifacts here.
3. Panda Bear and Sonic Boom – Reset
Panda Bear (Noah Lennox) has always had a penchant for pop melodies, making him the most accessible part of Animal Collective, and his sound has never been able to escape comparisons to the Beach Boys. On Reset, he teams up with his previous producer Sonic Boom (Peter Kember) to fully embrace this side of his music. Much of the album revolves around samples of 50s and 60s pop songs from groups like the Everly Brothers, the Drifters, Randy & the Rainbows, and the Troggs. Some tracks emulate the feel of these samples, like the single “Edge of the Edge” or “Danger,” while others totally reinvent them like the Latin-sounding “Livin’ in the After.” The sample-free tracks are also a draw, with really impressive vocal harmonization on “In My Body” and a synthy singalong on “Whirlpool.” If you liked Panda Bear’s breakthrough Person Pitch, you’re bound to appreciate Reset, and it’s a record that even first-time listeners can appreciate. You can read more about Reset here.
2. The Smile – A Light for Attracting Attention
Fine, I’ll admit that if it involves Thom Yorke, there’s a very good chance that it’s going to make it onto my year-end countdown. The Smile is something of a Radiohead side project, featuring their frontman Thom Yorke, guitarist Johnny Greenwood, and longtime producer Nigel Godrich, alongside non-Radiohead drummer Tom Skinner. As a result, their debut A Light for Attracting Attention often sounds like Radiohead (see “A Hairdryer”) or Thom Yorke’s solo work (see “Pana-Vision”), which I already consider a plus. That said, it mostly has a new sound all the band’s own, and the album has an incredible breadth. There are fast and surprisingly heavy rock songs (“You Will Never Work in Television Again,” “We Don’t Know What Tomorrow Brings”), ominous-sounding parts (“The Same”), slower ballads (“Speech Bubbles,” “Open the Floodgates”), and even some new styles (“Thin Thing,” “Waving a White Flag”).
1. Fontaines D.C. – Skinty Fia
Irish rock band Fontaines D.C. have been on a winning streak since they started. I loved their 2019 debut Dogrel, naming it my favorite album of that year, and their sophomore album A Hero’s Death was one of the few musical highlights of 2020. I was cynical at first, thinking they set the bar too high and would make a so-so third album, but Skinty Fia is just as good, if not better than, their first two albums. Its lead single “Jackie Down the Line” is one of my top tracks of 2022, with a stellar, Smiths-like guitar melody and a fantastic (albeit misanthropic) chorus. The album also leans heavily into gothic rock, with tracks like “Bloomsday,” “How Cold Love Is,” and “Nabokov” showing off their darkest side yet. The band also lean more into their Irishness on this one, with social commentary heard on the tracks “In ár gCroíthe go deo” and “I Love You.” You can read more about Skinty Fia here.
