well, it was another banner year for music, folks. we're having a good run! i narrowed down this list from like 55 songs, so this is just a fraction of the tracks i loved in 2022, but hopefully you find at least a couple you dig as well! full spotify playlist for easier listening here.
honorable mention:
22. parker gispert - "stuck inside someone else's dream"
i've vehemently held that the whigs are one of the best and most underrated bands of the 2000s — mostly just to myself because nobody else cares that much or even knows who they are. buuuut if you're so inclined, i highly recommend listening to all of their albums because they're flawless. while the band is on indefinite hiatus, frontman parker gispert has ventured into solo work in recent years that retains the alt-country swagger i know and love. this rollicking deep cut from his latest, golden years, was an immediate standout for me.
21. wednesday - "bull believer"
y'all know i'm a sucker for that early '90s sound, and there are a handful of current bands that i think are really nailing it, including wednesday. this song is a true *journey* and trying to describe it in words would be a disservice; you just have to listen to it to understand what i mean. preferably while feeling angsty in your bedroom at night.
20. quarters of change - "t love"
it's giving gen z fitz and the tantrums! i dare you to listen to this song and not nod your head and/or smile real wide.
19. harry styles - "keep driving"
confession: personally, i think harry's house is the weakest album in harry's discography (don't @ me!). but that's probably because i am decidedly not into it when every artist/band inevitably makes a synthy pop album. why do they all do it? you don't have to do it! so it's no surprise that my favorite songs on this record are the '70s soft rock, fleetwood mac-y tracks that are more reminiscent of fine line fare: "grapejuice," "daylight," and this one! i also dig the vague, slightly naughty stream-of-consciousness lyrics that include "cocaine, side boob, choke her with a sea view." ope! you wildin', mr. styles.
18. dry cleaning - "don't press me"
in theory, i should dislike dry cleaning, because in theory, they're quite similar to black country, new road, whom i cannot STAND. you know that nick cave quote about the red hot chili peppers? that's literally me with black country, new road. pretentious, pseudo-intellectual, critic's wet dream nonsense. but i digress. i love, love, love dry cleaning. it must be the female vocalist, because their lyrics are just as ridiculous ("don't touch my gaming mouse, you rat!"). but the guitars are tight and searing and i can't help but bop along to this quirky gem; it's very reminiscent of the british indie rock acts of the mid-2000s like the cribs, art brut, and the subways.
17. bad suns - "life was easier when i only cared about me"
bad suns have been churning out upbeat, '80s/new-wave flavored indie pop for the past decade that just makes you feel all sparkly and happy and bright. the chorus alone rockets me to the moon.
16. camp blu - "madame murder"
i've been in my *~spooky~*/darkwave era for the past year — please hit me up if you want some playlist recommendations — and omg, "madame murder" makes me want to don a red velvet cape and sulk around my lair in a vampire's castle. or, like, do the pulp fiction dance in the basement of a goth club with a dude wearing eyeliner.
15. day wave - "blue"
hearing a lotta shoegaze and a little early smashing pumpkins influence here and it soothes my soul. this song is a big, cathartic sigh and a big, cathartic hug from someone who gives really good hugs at the end of a bad day. :)
14. pool kids - "i hope you're right"
pool kids are a florida-based emo outfit with a pop touch. "i hope you're right" is lush, dreamy, and haunting. i especially love the "ha-ha-ha-ha" pre-chorus and when the guitars are totally unleashed at the end!
13. diane coffee - "our love/the run"
i've been a fan of diane coffee, the solo project of foxygen drummer shaun fleming, since i caught his absolutely electric live show at the 4knots music festival in brooklyn back in 2016 (i also highly recommend his fantastic NPR tiny desk concert, my favorite to date!). since, shaun and i have struck up a bit of an internet friendship on twitter and instagram and it's great to know that he is just a super cool and funny human in addition to being an incredible singer and musician. the latest diane coffee record, with people, was a bit of a return to form in terms of his soulful retro sound while incorporating the synth pop elements of his last release, internet arms. i always lean toward the former, so "our love/the run" caught my ear right away. it draws you in with a unique, isolated vocal melody that is constantly stuck in my head and and slowly reveals a soaring chorus.
12. PHONY - "the middle"
my only complaint about this song is that i wish it was two to three times longer! neil's songwriting and melodies just resonate so much with me — "great white" was my #3 song last year before his full album, at some point you stop, was released this past summer. but "the middle" manages to pack so much gorgeous, raw emotion into two minutes. love the production on this track, too.
11. dani mack - "fleabag"
one thing about me is that i love a good banger about catholic guilt. just kidding, sort of. i don't really know how to explain it properly, but "fleabag" is one of those songs that just sounds so much like ME, from the vocal delivery to the sarcastic/deadpan lyrics to the handclaps, because another thing about me is that i fucking love a song with handclaps.
10. golden apples - "high school"
fuzzy, hooky, lo-fi goodness straight outta philly. the "come and get it, don't regret it" part and subsequent instrumental just hits my earholes so darn favorably.
9. sorry - "key to the city"
i don't know if i've ever described a song as "evocative," but that word really encapsulates this beautiful, dark, understated but surprisingly complex tune. it's one that stays with you. and, like, the lyrics "i know that you're somewhere out there, being fucked in someone else's bed?" oof oof oof. been there, babe.
8. kurt vile - "hey like a child"
quoth a random youtuber: "oh you like a little twang? a little distortion? a little trippy and totally groovy? songs that feel like the sun is shining directly on you? lyrics that hug your insecurities and give you an understanding that you aren't alone? you should definitely listen to kurt vile." preach, sister.
gotta be honest, though: (watch my moves) is definitely my least favorite KV record. i know the man likes to wander around within songs a lot and i love that about him, but he went off in some very meandering, strange directions a bit too often and for too long for my taste on this one. but! there are several bright spots, including "fo sho," "like exploding stones," "mount airy hill (way gone)" and this one! if you listen to nothing else, listen to the way he says "in a-da-reeeeam i da-rewww my blueprint" because it's 100% kurt vile core. god bless.
7. the berries - "prime"
first, i will urge anyone reading this (for the second time) to listen to the berries' jaw-droppingly good album, high flying man, immediately. while there's not a filler or skip track in the bunch, the undeniable riff and catchy, simple-yet-relatable chorus of "prime" wormed its way into my brain this summer and it came out on top for me. so goddamn groovy.
6. russ - "yes sir"
my introduction to russ was kind of funny and quite roundabout. i was visiting a friend in portsmouth, new hampshire for the day back in the spring, and i forget what exactly we were talking about, but she brought up the remix of his song "handsomer" — which had been making the rounds on tiktok — and played it for me in her car. i immediately loved it and added it to my playlist. the next day as i was scrolling, because the 'tok is always watching and listening, this clip came up of a smiling, happy fellow drinking a cocktail on a boat and without even seeing who it was, i was like "who is this man with such IMMACULATE VIBES?? I MUST KNOW WHO HE IS!" and surprise, surprise, it was russ!
"yes sir" was undoubtedly my #1 summer jam. russ' style is sing-songy, fun, and playful but also delightfully clever — e.g. "baby i'm a star, of course i'm hangin' out the moonroof" and "come here, kitty kitty/i don't mind a couple whiskers." we love a body positive, feminist king! yes sir, we do. side note: the scenes in this video of him eating pasta on a parisian rooftop are going onto my vision board because this is the energy i want and need in my life, always.
5. bendigo fletcher - "broken routine"
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| can someone pay me to write about music like this (minus my gratuitous "like"s)? because music writers generally don't, and i feel like they should instead of trying to be clinical and academic, because feelings are the essence of why we love music, right? right?! thaaaanks! |
ohhh, how i love bendigo fletcher. "sugar in the creek" made my top 10 last year, and the first time i heard this tune from their new EP wingding, i was like "those bastards have done it again!" i'm typically not super into lyrics when it comes to music — it's usually all about the sound for me — but BF's lyrics so beautifully capture the mundanity of everyday life in such a gorgeous, humorous, authentic way that i can't help but pay attention to them above everything else. i can't be sure, but "broken routine" seems to elegantly describe the idea that as long as you're with your person, even the boring, bad, annoying stuff is no big deal because you're together. "how can i ever be ornery?/doin' your laundry/i imagine you slippin' into every garment/walkin' a clothesline over the carpet"? or "how could we ever be off base?/gettin' stoned in the crawl space/we imagine the locked door turning to chocolate/we are eating our way out of every problem." relationship goals. and that high note in the chorus? chills. every. time.
4. nilüfer yanya - "the dealer"
a track from one of my other favorite (and one of the most underrated) albums of the year, PAINLESS, "the dealer" is somehow urgent and ethereal, mysterious and familiar all at once. no one is quite doing it like she is right now, IMO.
3. my idea - "cry MFer"
ah, yes, my requisite "main character in a '90s movie stares out a window moodily during a train ride" soundtrack. from that hypnotic, looping riff to the yearning chorus, it's easy to get carried along for the four-plus minutes without even realizing it's been that long.
2. shane t - "night drive"
it's so funny to think about the first time i heard this song because i really liked it, but i had a completely different impression of what it was until a few listens later. it originally came across to me as pure sugary pop, but i soon realized that shane is an indie singer-songwriter that reminds me a lot of briston maroney, whom i also love, and listening to his EP painted a clearer picture of his sound ("deeper" is also pure FIRE.) "night drive" is immediately catchy and intriguing, but goes in a bunch of unexpected directions that it definitely doesn't have to, and that — along with the copious amount of pure VIBES and eminent danceability — is what takes it from good to great for me.
1. momma - "speeding 72"
big year for songs about driving, i guess! momma first appeared on my radar back in 2020 ("biohazard" was my #3 favorite song) and they struck gold again with their sophomore album, household name. while admittedly, i enjoyed the slightly darker tone of their debut, two of me, overall, "speeding 72" is by far the best song they've written thus far. its sunny, windows-down feel and crunchy riff perfectly match the laid back theme of the track; there are major shades of veruca salt and the breeders, and even a reference to my favorite pavement song in the chorus! as most know, guitar is v personal to me and i'm a slut for good riffs and solos, and that little mini-jam outro makes my mouth water. that TONE, dude. 10/10, no notes.
