Favorite Albums of 2022
Blue Rev by Alvvays
(Polyvinyl Records)
Working with tone wizard Shawn Everett, Alvvays produce their dreamiest, most adventurous set of songs yet.
Highlights include: “Pharmacist,” “After The Earthquake” and “Belinda Says”
IRE by Combo Chimbita
(Anti Records)
A driven set of transporting cumbia soundcscapes, Carolina Oliveros’ voice is a clarion call for self-affirmation and spiritual liberation.
Highlights include: “Babalawo,” “Yo Me Lo Merezco,” and “Mujer Jaguar”
Hyper-Dimensional Expansion Beam by The Comet Is Coming
(Impulse! Records)
The Comet Is Coming intensify their cosmic jazz attack to reach new heights of otherworldly, dance floor ready sonic fury.
Highlights include: “PYRAMIDS,” “ANGEL OF DARKNESS” and “MYSTIK”
Fantasy Gateway by Cuco
(Interscope Records)
Cuco crafts an expansive psychedelic pop world on his fourth full-length effort that evokes Tame Impala’s Lonerism.
Highlights include: “Paraphonic,” “Foolish” and “Sweet Dissociation”
Melt My Eyez See Your Future by Denzel Curry
(PH Recordings)
Denzel Curry’s most reflective set of rhymes yet boasts a vibrant canvas of hard hitting beats and flows sure to satisfy old heads and trap fanatics alike.
Highlights include: “Walkin',” “X-Wing” and “Sanjuro”
Cheat Codes by Danger Mouse & Black Thought
(BMG Rights Management)
The collaboration of super producer Danger Mouse and incisive MC Black Thought predictably produces an incredible set of dusty, sample-driven boom bap bangers and killer features.
Highlights include: “Belize (feat. MF DOOM),” “Strangers (feat. A$AP Rocky and Run The Jewels)” and “Saltwater (feat. Conway the Machine”
The Space Between by Alexander Flood
(Stretch Music)
An immersive and progressive ecosystem of rhythms, Australian drummer Alexander Flood impresses with a versatile set of dance floor jazz jams for Chief Xian aTunde Adjuah’s Stretch Music.
Highlights include: “All For The Pocket,” “LDN” and “Pathways”
89 by Charlie Gabriel & The Preservation Hall Jazz Band
(Sub Pop)
Preservation Hall Band saxophonist Charlie Gabriel’s debut album at the age of 89 features a sublime rendering of six jazz standards and two new pieces, “The Darker It Gets” and “Yellow Moon.”
Highlights include: “Memories of You,” “I’m Confessin’” and “Three Little Words”
Damn, Feelings by Chayla Hope
(Jestertainment Records)
A modern pop masterpiece, vocalist extraordinaire Chayla Hope produces an infectious myriad of referential dance pop anthems on her expansive debut.
Highlights include: “Love in Lo-Fi,” “High” and “Alone”
The Forever Story by JID
(Dreamville/Interscope)
An impossible sharp and musically dense display of JID’s profound talents as a lyricist and MC.
Highlights include: “Raydar,” “Surround Sound (feat. 21 Savage & Baby Tate) and “Bruddanem (feat. Lil Durk)”
It Was A Home by KAINA
(City Slang)
An arresting and rooted collection of songs about place and identity, KAINA’s sophomore LP is work of pure soul beauty.
Highlights include: “Anybody Can Be in Love,” “It Was a Home” and “Apple”
Piece of Me by Lady Wray
(Big Crown Records)
Songstress Lady Wray blesses us with 12 perfect slabs of boom bap-informed R&B soul produced by Big Crown label owner Leon Michels.
Highlights include: “Piece Of Me,” “Under The Sun” and “Joy & Pain”
Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers by Kendrick Lamar
(pgLang/Top Dawg Entertainment/Aftermath/Interscope Records)
An enthralling, conceptual and, at times, difficult exploration of the depth of Kendrick Lamar’s psyche set against a diverse backdrop of superb production.
Highlights include: “Rich Spirit,” “Silent Hill” and “Savior”
Cure The Jones by Mamas Gun
(Candelion Records)
Mamas Gun produce a resplendent collection of absurdly good soul tunes, with singer Andy Platts in unreal form.
Highlights include: “When You Stole the Sun From the Sky,” “Good Love” and “Party For One”
Read/listen to an interview with Mamas Gun’s Andy Platts here
Sage Motel by Monophonics
(Colemine Records)
A career best offering of psychedelic soul from the Kelly Finnigan-fronted California collective.
Highlights include: “Sage Motel,” “Love You Better” and “Warpaint”
Big Time by Angel Olsen
(Jagjaguwar)
Affecting alt-country from Angel Olsen, Big Time explores themes of ending, love, regret, loss and hope through mournful songs that boast triumphant arrangements with stellar tones.
Highlights include: “All The Good Times,” “All The Flowers” and “Right Now”
It’s Almost Dry by Pusha T
(GOOD Music/Def Jam Recordings)
Pusha T flexes over some of Pharrell’s finest beats in years, honing this coke raps to witty, razor-sharp perfection.
Highlights include: “Brambleton,” “Let The Smokers Shine The Coupes” and “Just So You Remember”
Motomami by Rosalía
(Columbia Records)
A dizzying display of avant-pop mastery that finds Rosalía in spellbinding control of Anglo and Latin music’s building blocks.
Highlights include: “SAOKO,” “CANDY” and “BIZCOCHITO”
Şatellites by Şatellites
(Batov Records)
One of the most exciting new acts in the Tel Aviv scene, Şatellites’ self-titled debut is spacey Anatolian psych at its finest.
Highlights include: “Big Baglama,” “Olurmu Dersin” and “Seni Sen Olduğun İçin Sevdim”
Diaspora Problems by Soul Glo
(Epitaph Records)
Hardcore at it’s most liberated, Soul Glo’s fourth album is a deep, punishing and richly rewarding fusion of punk, metal, and hip-hop.
Highlights include: “Gold Chain Punk (whogonbeatmyass?),”Jump!! (Or Get Jumped!!!)((by the future))” and “Driponomics”
Anemoia by Spaceface
(Mothland)
The soundtrack to a cosmic rooftop cocktail party, Spaceface’s Anemoia radiates a wistful joy through a kaleidoscope of groovy psych pop tunes.
Highlights include: “Happens All the Time,” “Rain Passing Through” and “Long Time”
Read/listen to an interview with Spaceface’s Jake Ingalls here
First Light by Village of the Sun
(Gearbox Records)
A major spiritual jazz statement from an exciting new trio on the London scene, First Light places Basement Jaxx’s Simon Ratcliffe in conversation with powerhouse duo Binker Golding and Moses Boyd.
Highlights include: “Village Of The Sun,” “The Spanish Master” and “Ted”
10 by Westside Gunn
(Griselda Records)
Boasting woozy production and killer features—capped by the 10-minute Griselda victory lap “Red Death”—Westside Gunn’s 10 shows why East Coast hardcore rap never goes out of style.
Highlights include: “Peppas (feat. Black Star),” “Switches On Everything (feat. Run The Jewels & Stove God Cooks)” and “Red Death (feat. Benny the Butcher, Stove God Cooks, Rome Streetz, Armani Caesar, Jay Worthy, Conway The Machine & Robby Takac)”
Thought, Action, Reaction, Interaction by Work Money Death
(ATA Records)
An affirming meditation of analog splendor, Work Money Death use spiritual jazz to bring about a blissful clarity of mind.
Highlights include: “At Once Familiar,” “Freedom as a Heartfelt Song” and “Same as Before”
YOD Wave by Your Old Droog
(Self-Released)
Amongst the half-dozen quality releases from Your Old Droog in 2022, YOD WAVE stands out for its lyrical poignancy and the heart of its Nicholas Craven beats.
Highlights include: “Fela Kruti,” “Scooby Snacks” and “Black N Red Huaraches”