22 for ‘22

As 2023 dawns, Danno takes a look back at some of his favorite albums of the past year with the aim to shout out something for everyone.

Happy New Year, fair readers and listeners! The past year has been another very strong one in new music from both the old pros and the young upstarts, but you know, there’s just too much of it out there. Thankfully for you, I do this full-time so you don’t have to listen to the latest amateur outfit’s “epic” debut (I’d have added another word to that description most of the time), or that old band you love making an incredible return to form with their 348th career LP (which sucked, let’s face it… we still love ‘em but c’mon).

Now, realizing my own biases, imperfections, and general lack of focus on the bright, shiny objects that everyone else is melting over, I’ve done one big thing for this year’s album round-up: no rankings. 

I guess it’s natural to rank albums given the charts and all of that jazz, but, just like the progression of hip-hop from the golden age to the metronomic present, it’s become rather drab and repetitive as far as the arrangement no matter how well you throw down your bars in between. 

Put simply, listicles are generally rather large exercises in futile mental masturbation.

Also, who the hell is anyone to tell you what the worth of any art is, really? Yeah, sure, I do this full-time, but if anything should surely be inculcated by the general public with the events of the past half decade or so swirling endlessly in our masked faces, be it politics or health or sports or anything else, be well read, but bring your salt to the reading table.

Thus, in the interest of breaking the mold and letting you make up your own mind, no rankings on this list for 2022’s best albums, and there’s plenty beyond my favorite 22 to sink your teeth into as well to round out a decent top 50. 

As stated, it was a strong year, and I’m sure there are artists on this list that you haven’t checked out that are well deserving, from young upstarts making debuts to veteran acts finally making the breakthrough to the pop forces of nature that just won’t let us get away even if we’re not that into ‘em. The main point here is that the list represents a diversity of sounds and gives you a bit of an idea as to what they are and why I personally thought they were fire.

With that noted, let’s begin the fun, and may 2023 bring us more good funk to get us out of this bad funk. All the best to all of you.

Adeem The Artist – White Trash Revelry (Four Quarters Records)

You might find it weird to be starting off in the country realm, and trust me I find this locale a challenging starting point, but the alphabet cannot be argued with sans any rankings. And with my self-own trap properly laid, let’s step into it, although if I feel uncomfortable. Adeem the Artist surely knows the feeling, as the country artist is also non-binary and from the South. Thus, it is a wonder that this brilliant singer-songwriter is still breathing, let alone making an incredibly accomplished sophomore album that is undoubtedly one of the best albums of the year in any genre. The album itself is a statement to, and of, the deepest red of America in the South. While one might expect them to be deeply despondent and derisory of where they’re from, Adeem casts their outlook based squarely in an empathic worldview, which makes the songs exceedingly genuine in their clarity, resulting in an insightful, cutting record.

Alvvays – Blue Rev (Polyvinyl/Transgressive)

We go through so many tiny moments in life that sometimes the happenstances that emerge from stuff that one can barely remember the very next day often beggar belief. This is precisely the microscopic focus of this Toronto band’s third career album.

However, the zoom out from the momentitos in life grows into an album that creates a cinematic perspective for the listener that feels as real as it was to the protagonists directly involved. Blue Rev calls one back to moments of emotions and the little things in life that feel like yesterday even though you’re having trouble recalling what you had for breakfast. The songs and arrangements on this record are that personal, even though it’s only your first listen. 

Big Thief – Dragon New Warm Mountain I Believe In You (4AD)

After an absolutely stellar 2019 with two excellent albums going everywhere to mass and critical acclaim, it felt like the sky was the limit for this veteran indie outfit led by the generational songwriting talents of Adrian Lenker. While the pandemic put a bit of a damper on the band’s rise, it also maybe put a hole in the collective memory of veteran (read: jaded) music fans out there. That is, the double album can be actually a great thing.

Typically, 2xLPs have either way too much filler, tracks that are underdeveloped, or more typically, a fatally annoying combination of both. Not so with this gem, which feels like a long road trip across the vast expanses of the American continent, giving us the highs of songs like “Simulation Swarm,” and the Biblical lamentations put into acoustic folk-cum-Vedic chant format of “Sparrow.” This is a band that cannot be stopped, and if rankings were a must, this album might be at the very top. 

Black Country, New Road – Ants From Up There (Ninja Tune)

This record and its release were so glorious and catastrophic that it’s almost painful to write about. As far as the good on this record, the slow burn within is so heartachingly quality that it renders the heart to ribbons. 

However, just four days prior to the release of Ants from up There, lead singer and guitarist Isaac Wood, citing mental health issues, just left the band. Admirably, the band have decided to soldier on, but will it be the same? Time will tell, but most would doubt it. Maybe that makes this album even better in the end, and the emotive trek required to take it in that much more satisfying.

Bobby Oroza – Get On The Otherside (Big Crown Records)

One of the best new arrivals in the vintage funk and soul movement of the past decade has been Finnish crooner Bobby Oroza, and on his sophomore album, he and backing band Cold Diamond and Mink encourage you to stop putting your feet on the ground and join them in space.

The sublime gravity-free float to be enjoyed on this record is the standout aspect, with songs like “I Got Love,” “Sweet Agony,” and “Loving Body” sending you off to Bobby’s mystical realm in the galaxy’s outer reaches. If these tunes and this album are to be representative of what’s to be found on the “otherside,” it’s time to go.

Danger Mouse & Black Thought – Cheat Codes (BMG)

This is an album that hip-hop fans have been dreaming about for literal decades, as super producer Danger Mouse and The Roots’ lead man have been in collab on a slew of projects over the years.  Enter this vintage bomber of an album, which features the likes of Mercury Prize-winner Michael Kiwanuka and the dearly departed MF Doom within, amongst a variety of other heavy hitters.

While Black Thought says this is not part of the Streams of Thought series, it probably goes down that way to most listeners, with a stunningly simple bare bones series of arrangements showcasing Thought’s devastating lyricism that still cuts like a scalpel wielded by an accomplished surgeon.

Danielle Ponder – Some Of Us Are Brave (FUTURE CLASSIC)

With the release of the first couple of teaser singles to this incredibly soulful album, a lot of people were asking, who is that? Well, the answer is obvious as the name is on the album, but that doesn’t tell you this debutant worked for years as a public defender in upstate New York before biting the bullet and moving down south to the metropolis to try her hand full-time in music.

The result is this stunning album  that makes clear we’re dealing with an amazing new vocal talent on the scene and a person who is not about to forget their working class and activist roots. 

Ghost Funk Orchestra – A New Kind of Love (Colemine/Karma Chief)

After 2020’s dynamic An Ode to Escapism, it was an interesting thought experiment for fans of the band to wonder where main man Seth Applebaum would take his ever-evolving phantasmic vintage take on funk and soul next. The answer with A New Kind of Love is wherever he wants to take it, and both his incredibly tasteful albums and improving productions damn well give him that right. In an exclusive interview on The Drop, Applebaum discussed getting over the need for being vintage sounding just for the sake of it and letting the music speak for itself.

The culmination of that mindset is an incredibly expansive cinematic funk and soul blast, with the most poignant moments punched by the ever-emotive female vocals and blares of brass that are so in your area you might just get lost forever. 

HUNJIYA – KHAMAI (Ada Korea)

Kim Hyun-ji has had a well-traveled life that has seemingly come full circle, with the Seoul-born, US-raised singer-songwriter leaving Miami and returning to the capital of her birth. Khamai is Hunjiya’s first release since 2020 and sees the singer going into her more acoustic-based sound that to me really lets her incredible voice stand out a la 2017’s Lineage EP.

The album’s Greek title seems to be a play on communication and the lack thereof, reflecting Hunjiya’s move back to Seoul in the middle of the pandemic. Already caught “between worlds” on the language and cultural level, the struggle to effectively have people understand is palpable throughout this record, which feels like a defiant, soulful cry in the night for everyone feeling a similar pain in their daily interactions.

Ibibio Sound Machine – Electricity (Merge)

This London-based band fronted by lead singer Eno Williams is hard to pin down, although most put them into some lazy “dance music” or “EDM” (blech) category. More than anything, this band of West African descendants is the perfect encapsulation of Afro-futurism here in 2022. Being from the lands where some of the first percussive instruments were invented, this trip produced by the Hot Chip duo speaks to the band’s ability to communicate through music across spacetime.

Electricity speaks the languages of highlife, afrobeat, house music, synth pop, and Hausa all at once, with an accessibility to the listener that is crystal clear and infectiously fun.

Kendrick Lamar – Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers (Top Dawg/Aftermath/Interscope)

This album is exceedingly complex to digest, which to the experienced listener is usually the mark of quality, but it just takes time and a few listens, which honestly most people can’t hang with. Maybe it’s the jarring manner in which this record flows forth, and its complicated subject matter.

But no, it’s not the contradictions or the bumpy ride; what makes this record great is both its realism and unresolved hopelessness. For those looking for blessing and absolution, there is none to be found here, and Lamar’s honesty in the morose blackness of harming those we love with zero resolution only results in a big shrug and an even bigger musical statement.

King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard – Ice, Death, Planets, Lungs, Mushrooms, and Lava (KGLW)

Really, what can you say about this Aussie group that just continues to change what’s possible for one band to put out as far as quality and volume? Four albums in 2022, and pointing it out with jaw agape, you’d probably get a shrug from the veteran outfit’s members, as they’re too effing busy putting out the next five.

This is one of three albums King Gizz put out in October alone, but it is surely the best of the latest triplets birthed by the cosmic, multi-headed creature. The songs therein represent all seven modes of the major scale, with the titles being a mnemonic device for the mode therein, and all of it was recorded in seven-days’ time with each member jamming for 45 minutes, switching instruments, and then continuing on. Seriously, how deep does this go? Nobody knows, but as usual, it’s an absolute epic from King Gizzard that’s as surprising as it is insanely adept in its craftsmanship.

Kokoroko – Could We Be More (Brownswood Recordings)

This is a veteran West African band based in London that have been signed to Gilles Peterson’s Brownswood imprint for a while now, but this would be their full-length debut. For fans of the band, it’s rather amazing to ruminate on, as their previous EPs generated so many streams and so much hype that it just felt like it was all from a couple of very good albums.

The sound to be found on this record from these disciples of Tony Allen is exuberant and healing at the same time, with both emotional states being executed in understated but technically brilliant fashion, just like their patron saint and the godfather of afrobeat would’ve conducted it his damn self. Definitely a slept-on masterpiece for the jazz heads here in 2022.

Marxist Love Disco Ensemble – MLDE (Mr. Bongo)

Like UK-based (allegedly) mystery soul collective Sault, this group out of Italy was a bit of a valenced mystery on first release that might make the listener feel like their revolutionary romanticism only exists inside of their own socialist dream states. But no, the hope still lives and the dream never dies, as this group based out of Bologna that’s led by Paolo Volkov dropped the mysterious aspect along with this incredible album of Italo disco-influenced chuggers earlier this year.

But this album is far more future than the above describes, as the subtleties in the margins of influence are what really add distinction to this record’s sound. With Volkov listing Scottish pop darlings Orange Juice, Armenian pop icon Hamlet Minassian, and Ian Dury collaborator Chaz Jankel as those lighting the way, it does a lot to explain what makes this record a true original and a hidden red ruby in the morass.

Monster Rally – Botanica Dream (Golden Robot)

No, as pointed out when Ted Feighan appeared on The Drop, this is not Cleveland’s latest thrash metal group. Instead, it is a veteran vintage lo-fi producer and accomplished visual artist who year after year does things so simple yet unique in the ever-metastasizing multiverse of music that it almost beggars belief.

Monster Rally’s blend of downtempo and lo-fi beats along with vintage exotica and tropicalia influences, amongst other apparitions in the music world, make for a free trip to Mystery Island every time you hit “Play.” Botanica Dream sees this taken to an arguable career best in a discography from one of the most consistently outstanding contributors to this style.

Nogymx – Eien’s Fable (Independent)

It’s kind of incredible the amount of good independent music that continues to flow out of Cheongju, but chief amongst them is this understated Irishman out of Galway who’s called Korea home for the past eight years. Jimmy Dunne in his lo-fi guise goes by the name of Nogymx (no gimmicks) and has created a devoted fan base with his bifurcated contributions to which you chill, study, and relax.

Eien’s Fable represents the artist’s Asian-influenced audio side and is Dunne’s career fifth overall. Creating a fantasy realm through the music therein, this is the follow-up to the artist’s previous Ancient Forests and racked up an absolutely mind-boggling 1.5 million streams on Spotify alone in the first weekend of release. Drift with this one; you’ll be better off for it.

Say She She – PRISM (Colemine Records)

This is a septet ensemble out of Brooklyn that’s a nod to the genius of the sounds of The Chic Organization of Nile Rogers and company back in the day. Led by the female vocalist trio of Piya Malik, Nya Gazelle Brown, and Sabrina Mileo Cunningham, the vocal harmonies on this record are remarkable to say the very least.

Representing the diversity of backgrounds amongst the singers, one can find a lot of influences on this record melding together into an exceedingly consistent whole, with the most notable being “Forget Me Not,” which melds an infectious, funky hook to a hybrid Eastern-influenced vocal delivery. The sky is literally the limit for this experienced crew with this lovely, expansive debut.

Say Sue Me – The Last Thing Left (Damnably)

So, let’s call it here to start for all the good bands on the indie scene here in Korea. If you’re not candy-toned K-pop that can be added like a cheap cellphone tchotchke to their advertiser’s dream catalogue of predictability, you have little hope to get local exposure even though you totally deserve it.

Enter UK-based Damnably, who have breathed life into some amazing Korean, Japanese, and Southeast Asian rock bands in recent times like Daegu’s Drinking Boys and Girls Choir, Otoboke Beaver, and indie darlings from Busan Say Sue Me. On Choi Su-mi (get it?) and company’s latest record The Last Thing Left, the band has truly entered a mature realm, with indie rock jumpers that longer-term fans will love accented with some truly new and expansive soundscapes. Currently Korea’s best band and only getting better, do go catch them live because the kids from Busan are truly coming into their own.

SZA – SOS (Top Dawg/RCA)

There are times when your habit of turning in your homework at the last minute pays off, and this expansive gem of an album would apply directly to this article. SOS, which just dropped prior to deadline on December 9, is an expansive, 23-song masterpiece that sees the singer at her very best in a stylistically diverse but always brutally honest buffet of mixed emotions and complexities in life and relationships.

An artist that hates the typical pop press pigeonhole of black = R&B, SZA plans to shoot the videos to this album and “disappear,” but how realistic is that with a public that simply can’t get enough of this record? One of the best albums of the year, and one that will hopefully round out the edges of the media’s boxy and clumsy musical perceptions of people, especially women, of color.

The Beths – Expert In A Dying Field (Carpark Records)

This Kiwi band has been on the rise since their debut release in 2018, and the combination of rock abandon and seriously tight arrangements that reflect their classical training has always set this band apart. Expert in a Dying Field is a ruthless and completely anesthetic-free surgical process via rock of a relationship past, with lead singer Liz Stokes ruthlessly digging deeper to find more.

Does the gallery watching get covered in blood and guts during the process? Probably, but that’s far from the point, which is to further explore the splatters.

Yard Act – The Overload (Island Records)

In what might not just be my own pick for rock record of the year, but best album overall, The Overload might have been left off quite a few lists due to the simple fact of being released in January. While the album surely was not missed by many in the UK and beyond, having debuted at #2 on the charts there, one must also additionally keep it in mind amongst a literal galaxy of post-punk coming out of the British Isles generally.

Producer Ali Chant has really done a masterful job on this record, with the arrangements letting James Smith’s insufferable, educated sloganeering and clear-eyed despondency in the lyrics have space to breathe with zero effs given. In a genre that has expanded in the past several years by leaps and bounds, this one stands above the rest for 2022.

Young Gun Silver Fox – Ticket To Shangri-La (Legere Records)

This is the project of veteran musician Shawn Lee and vocalist Andy Platts (who’s also part of Mama’s Gun, for all you fans here in Korea), and the duo since debut have often been very unfairly pigeonholed into the so-called “yacht rock” genre (and seriously, blech to that entire tag, even as a mere concept). Ticket to Shangri-La is the duo’s fourth album and is an expansive adventure of a record that explodes with brass soul odes, incredibly detailed arrangements, and an infectious sunshine that permeates every song. 

While many might put this band in front of Kool & The Gang at the country club placemat, such blasé categorization does a huge disservice to a duo that showcases a mastery of songwriting and multi-layered musicality that smacks of Steely Dan at the very pinnacle of their genius more than anything. 

Honorable Mentions…

…along with big albums that have been written about ad nauseum, so whatever:

• Beyonce – Renaissance
• Mitski – Laurel Hell
  About – Omnibus
• The Smile – A Light for Attracting Attention
• Adrian Quesada – Jaguar Sound
• Sault – Today & Tomorrow
• Honey Dijon – Black Girl Magic
• Perfume Genius – Ugly Season
• Makaya McCraven – In These Times
• Nilufer Yanya – Painless
• Julien Chang – The Sale
• Peach Luffe – Everything Is Peachy
• Monophonics – Sage Motel
• Σtella – Up and Away
• Swatkins – Friends & Other Necessities
• Karolina – All Rivers
• Weyes Blood – And in the Darkness, Hearts Aglow
• River Westin – The Honeymoon Suite
• Nick Hakim – Cometa
• Tove Lo – Dirt Femme
• Bulgarian Cartrader – Camden Free Public Library
• Yeah Yeah Yeahs – Cool It Down
• Nurdjana – Coming Home
• Regina Spektor – Home, Before and After
• Horsegirl – Versions of Modern Performance
• Fontaines DC – Skinty Fia

Main photograph by Fringer Cat on Unsplash.

The Author

Daniel J. Springer (aka “Danno”) is the creator, host, writer, editor, and producer of “The Drop with Danno,” broadcasting nightly on GFN 98.7 FM in Gwangju and 93.7 FM in Yeosu from 8–10 p.m. Prior to this, he was a contributor to several shows on TBS eFM in Seoul, along with being the creator and co-host of “Spacious” and “White Label Radio” on WNUR in Chicago. You can find “The Damyang Drop,” his monthly collaborative playlist with The Damyang House, on YouTube and Spotify.

Instagram, Twitter, Facebook: @gfnthedrop

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