FAV LPs of 2022
Comparison is the thief of joy, right? So that’s why rating and ranking music is so silly. But damnit I’ve been doing it for a few decades and it’s just straight-up fun every year, especially around the void of the holidays. Not to mention it’s a functional way to catalogue the best music from the absolute DELUGE of new music that hits us every day, every week, every month and every year.
As always, our annual hands-in-the-air shout out to the queer, trans and nonbinary folks who released music this year, especially Arca, Backxwash, Big Thief, Mykki Blanco, Brockhampton, Cakes Da Killa, Eartheater, Jenny Hval, JPEGMAFIA, Perfume Genius, Rina Sawayama, Shygirl, yeule, Yves Tumor, and on and on forever
Happy new year, friends, here’s to setting aside the uncertainty of the pandemic era for something more hopeful and fun in 2023
30 ANIMAL COLLECTIVE : Time Skiffs
RIYL : Panda Bear, Beach Boys, Radiohead, Tame Impala, psych pop, dub, art pop, prog
Best moment : In “Strung With Everything,” a carnivalesque Beach Boys reverie that peaks with the sort
of call-and-response breakdown you’d hear in a romantic early rock’n’roll single: “Let’s say tonight, you
and me,” Avey Tare excitedly sings, “we’ll watch the sky fall into pieces!”
Fav Songs : “Strung With Everything” / “Royal and Desire”
Companion LP : Monster Rally – Botanica Dream
29 CHARLOTTE ADIGERY & BOLIS PUPAL : Topical Dancer
RIYL : Soulwax, Marie Davidson, Bat For Lashes, Spellling, art pop, tech house, electroclash, minimal
synth
Best moment : This one’s defined by the duo’s caustic sense of humour. On ‘Esperanto’, Charlotte sings, “Don’t say, ‘Nice pair’ / Say, ‘I love the symmetry of you’” In bustling electro-pop song “Blenda” she reclaims a racist line into a memorable singsong: “Go back to your country where you belong,” she
sweetly intones. “Siri, can you tell me where I belong?”
Fav Songs : “Ceci n’est pas un cliché” / “Haha”
Companion LP : 700 Bliss – Nothing to Declare
28 SHYGIRL : Nymph
RIYL : Charli XCX, LSDXOXO, SOPHIE, Sega Bodega, Coucou Chloe, Arca, UK bass, future garage, alt r&b
Best moment : Just the entire production on “Firefly,” where she and producers Kingdom and Sega
Bodega marry a bouncy, glitchy synth melody with a wispy electro beat and downpitched vocals, a
satisfying UK garage track bubbles up and it feels alchemical
Fav Songs : “Firefly” / “Heaven”
Companion LP : Arca – KiCk iii
27 YEULE : glitch princess
RIYL : Eartheater, Cecile Believe, Purity Ring, Grimes, Billie Eilish, Arca, art pop, glitch pop, ambient, post-industrial
Best moment : When they rhyme “amphetamine,” a stimulant, with “amitriptyline,” an antidepressant,
curious about the ways we can manipulate our bodies though we’ll never be able to fully control them
See also; “Always want but never need/ I don’t have an identity I can feed,” from “Friendly Machine”
Fav Songs : “Too Dead Inside” / “Bites On My Neck”
Companion LP : 070 Shake – You Can’t Kill Me
26 JENNY HVAL : Classic Objects
RIYL : Julia Holter, Susanne Sundfor, Eartheater, art pop, synth pop, spoken word, ambient trance
Best moment : In “Year of Sky,” when the blipping synths evolve into Philip Glass-style organ arpeggios
as Jenny – in her highest, most childlike register – strives to perceive both the tiniest realm of insects
realm and the expanding universe. They all seem within her grasp
Fav Songs : “Jupiter” / “American Coffee”
Companion LP : Cate Le Bon : Pompeii
25 SUN’S SIGNATURE : Sun’s Signature
RIYL : Cocteau Twins (the one and only), Massive Attack, This Mortal Coil, Dead Can Dance, goth pop,
chamber folk, neo-classical psych folk, dream pop
Best moment : Having Liz Fraser of Cocteau Twins back is a gift enough, but the seven-and-a-half-
minute centerpiece “Apples” finds her trilling at her most obviously Cocteau-y: offset by cloud-like
production, the delicacy of her voice undiminished by underuse
Fav Songs : “Underwater” / “Golden Air”
Companion LP : Hatchie : Giving the World Away
24 CHARLI XCX : CRASH
RIYL : SOPHIE, PC Music, Caroline Polachek, Ariana Grande, Kim Petras, electropop, bubblegum bass,
dance-pop, synthpop
Best moment : The subtle distortion and timely cutouts of “Lightning” capturing heartbreak perfectly:
“Heartbreak already hit me once, they say it won’t happen twice/You struck me down like lightning/My stupid heart can’t fight it” – Charli’s voice sounds as if it’s coming up from under water, warbling
through digital filters that somehow accentuate the pain
Fav Songs : “Twice” / “Lightning”
Companion LP : Hyd – Clearing
23 SUDAN ARCHIVES : Natural Brown Prom Queen
RIYL : SZA, Moses Sumney, Ravyn Lenae, Kelela, Kilo Kish, yaya bey, FKA twigs, future r&b, art pop, neo-soul, pop rap
Best moment : When she reaches into her higher octaves and reminds me of FKA twigs as she reaches
for higher octaves, used on her cry to “leave tonight or live and die this way” throwing back to Tracy
Chapman’s “Fast Car”
Fav Songs : “Selfish Soul” / “ChevyS10”
Companion LP : Ravyn Lenae – HYPNOS
22 FONTAINES DC : Skinty Fia
RIYL : The Smiths, Oasis, Shame, IDLES, Dry Cleaning, post-rock, brit pop, indie rock
Best moment : The tossed off “La la la” and “doo doo doo”’s on the self-loathing anthem “Jackie Down
the Line,” frontman and total babe Grion Chattham makes me question whether I really do hate Oasis,
or I’m stoked to see them on an opening slot on an Oasis reunion tour whenever the Gallaghers finally
get their shit together
Fav Songs : “Jackie Down the Line” / “Roman Holiday”
Companion LP : Spiritualized – Everything Was Beautiful
21 DANIEL ROSSEN : You Belong There
RIYL : Grizzly Bear (of course, of course), Elliott Smith, AnCo, Nick Drake, Jim O’Rourke, Paul Simon,
Radiohead, Weyes Blood, baroque folk pop
Best moment : “Unpeopled Space”’s mariachi guitar intro, with lyrics addressing the simple doing that
comes with building a new life– “Our work for work’s sake/ We’re useless in our way/ Clear the brush
and push the paint”, he sings. The song ends on a note of Zen-like acceptance: “Nothing’s lost when
there’s nothing there/Whatever was and whatever will”
Fav Songs : “Shadow in the Frame” / “Unpeopled Space”
Companion LP : Aoife Nessa Frances – Protector
20 DANGER MOUSE & BLACK THOUGHT : Cheat Codes
RIYL : MF DOOM, The Roots, Raekwon, Joey Bada$$, Conway the Machine, A$AP Rocky, Run the Jewels – that’s just the guest roster lol, east coast hip hop, boom bap, jazz rap
Best moment : The shimmering “Belize” features a bouncy verse from the late MF Doom that might well
have been stored on Danger Mouse’s hard drive since their last collab in 2005. “Danger make a groove
off a glitch,” raps DOOM whose flow has always provoked shivers, let alone on a collaboration from
beyond the grave
Fav Songs : “Belize (ft. MF DOOM)” / “Aquamarine (ft. Michael Kiwanuka)”
Companion LP : billy woods : Aethiopes
19 ALDOUS HARDING : Warm Chris
RIYL : Nilüfer Yanya, Cate Le Bon, Sharon Van Etten, Julia Jacklin, folk pop, folk singer songwriter, psych
chamber pop
Best moment : Closer “Leathery Whip” features the eerie, surrealist refrain: “here comes life with his
leathery whip” with Aldous clearing still having fun with a muppet voice, and while it can make for a
somewhat jarring listening experience, her playfulness adds depth to this super charming record
Fav Songs : “Lawn” / “Passion Babe”
Companion LP : Shirley Hurt : Shirley Hurt
18 LUCRETIA DALT : ¡Ay!
RIYL : Twin Peaks, Broadcast, Rachika Nayar, Oren Ambarchi, Felicia Atkinson, Spanish language, spoken word, ASMR, jazz-noir, latin bolero, ambient pop
Best moment : On standout “El Galatzó” she keeps her voice low and close to the mic, each consonant
arriving with controlled, breathy precision. “No obedezco a tu verdad lineal,” Dalt sings, high-pitched
strings crescendoing in the background: “Romperé tu narrativa/Y alteraré tu paisaje aplanado.” (“I don’t
obey to your linear truth…/I’ll disrupt your narrative/And alter your flattened landscape.”) Hell yes
Fav Songs : “No Tiempo” / “El Galatzó”
Companion LP : Natalia Lafourcade – De todas las flores
17 BJORK : Fossora
RIYL : Bjork’s last three albums plus gabber techno, mushrooms, mycelium, art pop, electronic, post-
industrial, orchestral pop, choral
Best moment : The two guest turns -“Fungal City” with guest star R&B auteur serpentwithfeet, whose
sinuous voice fits in perfectly. So does that of Norwegian singer-songwriter Emilie Nicolas on “Allow,”
the one song that’s simultaneously the most and the least like an outlier. “Allow” wasn’t even meant for
Fossora – she cut it during the Utopia sessions – yet thematically, it fits best at all
Fav Songs : “Fossora” / “Ancestress”
Companion LP : Naming a similar album released this year is not within my powers
16 KALI MALONE : Living Torch
RIYL : Sarah Davachi, Kara-Lis Coverdale, Caterina Barbieri, ambient, organ music, hymns, drone, space
Best moment : When her tones tilt toward darkness during Living Torch’s second half, a 15-minute
descent into the abyss. Kali Malone uses the synthesized sound of a single guitar string to provide a
rhythm, but its hanging tone—imagine an unamplified bass, plucked with endless resignation—conjures
a countdown to either death or liberation
Companion LP : Malibu – Palaces of Pity EP
15 BLACK COUNTRY, NEW ROADS : Ants From Up There
RIYL : Slint, Fontaines DC, black midi, Arcade Fire, Squid, post-rock, art rock, chamber music, indie rock
Best moment : Knowing that frontman Isaac Wood left the band before this album was released, and
then hearing lyrics such as on closer “Basketball Shoes” : “All I’ve been forms the drone/We sing the
rest/Oh, your generous loan to me/Your crippling interest.” Or on lead single “Chaos Space Marine” he
yelps, “So I’m leaving this body/And I’m never coming home again!” This album is a Viking funeral of
sorts for their singer, as they prepare to march on without him. Damn
Fav Songs : “Snow Globes” / “The Bread Song”
Companion LP : black midi : Hellfire
14 PANDA BEAR + SONIC BOOM : Reset
RIYL : Person Pitch, Animal Collective, Beach Boys, Spacemen 3, psych pop, sunshine pop, ambient,
sampedelic
Best moment : All the crate-digging they did for these amazing samples, running the gamut between
instantly recognizable and esoteric (and all presumably expensive): the Everly Brothers’ “Love Of My
Life,” Eddie Cochran’s “Three Steps To Heaven,” the Troggs’ “Give It To Me,” Randy & the Rainbows’
“Denise,” the Drifters’ “Save The Last Dance For Me.” Noah Lennox and Peter Kember found comfort in
the predictability of these warm, hopeful songs, made out of ’50s and ’60s records that channeled an
optimism that’s basically a mirage
Fav Songs : “Edge of the Edge” / “Everything’s Been Leading To This”
Companion LP : Kaitlyn Aurelia Smith – Let’s Turn It Into Sound
13 TWO SHELL : Icons EP
RIYL : SOPHIE, Drexciya, Daft Punk, Joy Orbison, Overmono, Daphni, India Jordan, UK bass, bubblegum
bass, future funky
Best moment : When the duo top off the massive beats with a jokey sci fi flourish, like “Pods” pausing
halfway through to make way for a sing-song computer voice intoning database commands. “Calling
digital rockstar,” it warbles, and is swiftly answered by an ersatz electric guitar a la Daft Punk
Fav Songs : “Ghosts” / “Pods”
Companion LP : Burial – Antidawn
12 ALEX G : God Save the Animals
RIYL : Elliott Smith, Oneohtrix Point Never, Car Seat Headrest, The Microphones, Big Thief, Mac
Demarco, indie folk
Best moment : On one of my favorites, “S.D.O.S.,” Alex begins with a ghoulish chant amid playtronica
squeaks that forms into a warbled refrain of “God is my designer/ Jesus is my lawyer/ Curled up in the
shower/ High above the tower”
Fav Songs : “After All” / “Runner”
Companion LP : Quadeca – I Didn’t Mean to Hurt You
11 ROSALÍA : MOTOMAMI
RIYL : J Balvin, Bad Bunny, Arca, Kim Petras, Tokischa, the Weeknd, art pop, neoperreo, latin electronic,
flamenco nuevo
Best moment : Right off the bat, the undulating opener “SAOKO,” where she spits verses about
evolution. In Spanish, she proclaims, “I’m very much me, I transform/ A butterfly, I transform/ Drag
queen make-up, I transform/ I contradict myself, I transform/ I’m everything, I transform.” The most
immersive moment comes as the song structure itself shifts to include an improvisational piano jazz riff
before reverting back to its original form
Fav Songs : “La Combi Versace” / “Candy”
Companion LP : Bad Bunny – Un Verano sin ti
10 PERFUME GENIUS : Ugly Season
RIYL : Coil, Moses Sumney, Julia Holter, David Sylvian, art pop, ambient pop, surreal chamber music,
black metal
Best moment : The expansiveness of “Eye In The Wall”s galloping beat with strange, far-seeing melodies placed atop. It kind of plays like a conjuring – calling up spirits Mike Hadreas didn’t know he could access, suggestive of ways he could yet bend, stretch, and mutate his own music
Fav Songs : “Hellbent” / “Photograph”
Companion LP : Skullcrusher – Quiet the Room
09 NILÜFER YANYA : Painless
RIYL : Cate Le Bon, Goldfrapp, “In Rainbows” -era Radiohead, art rock, trip hop, indie rock
Best moment : The chorus of “shameless,” which sees Nilufer ready to do whatever it takes to maintain
a connection: “When you call, it’s shameless/ In these four walls I’m faithless/ Like when you call me graceless/ Until you fall, it’s painless.” “You can hurt me/ If you feel like,” she sings. “If it feels good/
Then I’m alright.”
Fav Songs : “Midnight Sun” / “L/R”
Companion LP : Hikaru Utada – BAD MODE
08 THE SMILE : A Light for Attracting Attention
RIYL : Radiohead (duh), Thom Yorke solo, Scott Walker, King Krule, Iceage, art pop, art rock, post-punk
Best moment : I love when they return to the orchestral swirl of Radiohead’s most recent album, 2016’s
A Moon Shaped Pool on “Pana-vision” (a cousin to melancholy tracks like “Decks Dark”), the gorgeous
“Open The Floodgates” (a sonic sequel to the spectral “Daydreaming”), and the breathtaking “Free in
the Knowledge”
Fav Songs : “Thin Thing” / “Open the Floodgates”
Companion LP : Duster – Together
07 AXEL BOMAN : Quest For Fire / Luz
RIYL : DJ Koze, Leon Vynehall, Kornel Kovacs, Anthony Naples, Bella Boo, deep house, downtempo,
Balearic beat, ambient house
Best moment : Much like Axel Boman’s contempory DJ Koze, he has a way with wistful, poignant
melodies, easy to miss when the tempo is high. On LUZ closer “Hold On,” over chiming, major-key
chords and little tendrils of guitar, an uncredited Baba Stilz sings “Don’t be scared/Even if it’s been scary for a while/Lift your head up/Give yourself a smile. When the going gets tough, it sucks/That’s why you got to hold on.” The sentiment is a hair’s breadth from being hopelessly hokey, but for whatever reason, it just works
Fav Songs : “Nowhere Good” (ft. Bella Boo) / “Sottopassaggio” (ft. Miljon)
Companion LP : The Soft Pink Truth – Is It Going To Get Any Deeper Than This?
06 BIG THIEF : Dragon New Warm Mountain I Believe in You
RIYL : Julie Byrne, Tomberlin, Aldous Harding, Grateful Dead, indie folk, dream pop, folk rock, slowcore,
psych folk
Best moment : When Adrienne Lenker gets all loopy and carefree, like on he psychedelic honky-tonk
closer “Blue Lightning” with “I wanna be the shoelace that you tie” and “I wanna be the vapor gets you
high” or near the end of country rave-up “Red Moon” where she exclaims, “That’s my grandma!”
Fav Songs : “Simulation Swarm” / “Blurred View”
Companion LP : Widowspeak – The Jacket
05 BEACH HOUSE : Once Twice Melody
RIYL : dream pop, shoegaze, synthpop, Slowdive, Cocteau Twins, Mazzy Star, Alvvays, My Bloody
Valentine
Best moment : All the moments when the legendary Baltimore duo go full-on goth pop such as “Pink
Funeral” setting an ominous mood that would sit well in a fantastical horror movie, perhaps one set in
space. The lyrics, too, suggest wonderment curdling into something awful: “Once was a fairytale/ Then it all went to hell/ Swans on a starry lake/ Hearts that were made to break/ Tears through a white lace
veil”
Fav Songs : “Masquerade” / “Pink Funeral”
Companion LP : Beth Orton – Weather Alive
04 WEYES BLOOD : And in the Darkness, Hearts Aglow
RIYL : baroque pop, soft piano rock, art pop, psych, folk singer-songwriter, Joni Mitchell, Enya, Lana Del
Rey, Angel Olsen, Phoebe Bridgers
Best moment : On “God Turn Me Into A Flower,” Natalie Mering spends six minutes singing — first with
Enya-like restraint, then with soulful fire — about the strange lure of the myth of Narcissus. “It’s good to
be soft when they push you down/ Oh God, turn me into a flower.” Behind her jaw-dropping
multitracked vocals, we hear a celestial choir of organ hums and bird calls, provided by Oneohtrix Point
Never. It’s a crystalline, luxurious, enveloping bed of a song and my personal favourite of the year
Fav Songs : “God Turn Me Into a Flower” / “Twin Flame”
Companion LP : Angel Olsen – Big Time
03 BEYONCE : RENAISSANCE
RIYL : apex pure pop, dance pop, 90’s house, pop rap, ballroom, diva hip house, Ciara, Rihanna, Diana
Ross, Aaliyah, Grace Jones
Best moment : Knowing that Beyoncé made good use of the pandemic, delving into dance music
history. Samples as wide ranging as Donna Summer’s iconic dancefloor mainstay “I Feel Love” on
“SUMMER RENAISSANCE” and Teena Marie’s lush “Ooh La La La” on “CUFF IT” were instant highlights
and a-ha moments
Fav Songs : “ALL UP IN YOUR MIND” / “ALIEN SUPERSTAR”
Companion LP : Megan Thee Stallion – Traumazine
02 ALVVAYS : Blue Rev
RIYL : classic power pop, shoegaze, Japanese Breakfast, Big Star, Beach House, Florist, Phoenix, Frankie Cosmos, Wild Nothing
Best moment : One of my fav Molly Rankin lines, that opens the triumphant “Easy on Your Own?”: “I
dropped out/College education’s a dull knife/If you don’t believe in the lettered life/Then maybe this is
our only try.” Plus the song sets the tone for the band’s slightly updated whirlwind sound while staying
true to the previous two albums’ signature yearn
Fav Songs : “Tile by Tile” / “After the Earthquake”
Companion LP : The Beths – Experts in a Dying Field
01 JOCKSTRAP : I Love You Jennifer B
RIYL : 90’s Björk, Caroline Polachek, Spellling, Let’s Eat Grandma, Beck – Odelay, Weyes Blood, Black
Country, New Roads, art pop, crystalline folktronica, prog wonky chamber pop
Best moment : The breakdown of “Concrete Over Water” has inspired many head bopping moments for
me and my crew this year. The song starts with Georgia Ellery’s tender voice supported by the warm,
preacher-backing-like flares of the organ, and then a quarter way through the song, a sample is
triggered: shouts of “hey, hey” permeate the background while the bongos begin to patter. The solemn
mood that once was is upended by a bulging bass and marching snares, making way for an aggressive
electronica section whose groove hits perfectly and you could see an electronic producer like SOPHIE
nodding in appreciation
Fav Songs : “Greatest Hits” / “Concrete Over Water”
Companion LP : Bladee & Echo2K – Crest
Albums by Genre
30 Animal Collective: Time Skiffs
29 Charlotte Adigéry & Bolis Pupul: Topical Dancer
28 Shygirl : Nymph
27 Yeule: Glitch Princess
26 Jenny Hval : Classic Objects
25 Sun’s Signature : Sun’s Signature
24 Charli XCX : CRASH
23 Sudan Archives: Natural Brown Prom Queen
22 Fontaines DC : Skinty Fia
21 Daniel Rossen : You Belong There
20 Danger Mouse & Black Thought : Cheat Codes
19 Aldous Harding: Warm Chris
18 Lucrecia Dalt: ¡Ay!
17 Björk: Fossora
16 Kali Malone : Living Torch
15 Black Country, New Road: Ants From Up There
14 Panda Bear + Sonic Boom : Reset
13 Two Shell: Icons EP
12 Alex G: God Save the Animals
11 Rosalia : MOTOMAMI
10 Perfume Genius: Ugly Season
09 Nilüfer Yanya: Painless
08 The Smile: A Light for Attracting Attention
07 Axel Boman : Quest For Fire / Luz
06 Big Thief : Dragon New Warm Mountain I Believe in You
05 Beach House : Once Twice Melody
04 Weyes Blood: And in the Darkness, Hearts Aglow
03 Beyoncé: Renaissance
02 Alvvays: Blue Rev
01 Jockstrap : I Love You Jennifer B
OTHERS :
MJ Lenderman : Boat Songs
Kelly Lee Owens : LP.8
The Weather Station : How Is It I Should Look at the Stars?
Destroyer : Labyrinthitis
14 Chat Pile: God’s Country
29 Charlotte Adigéry & Bolis Pupul: Topical Dancer
Burial : ANTIDAWN
BEST ELECTRO
Axel Boman : Quest For Fire / Luz
Burial : ANTIDAWN
Gloria de Oliveira & Dean Hurley : Oceans of Time
Kelly Lee Owens : LP.8
RIYL : RIYL : Boards of Canada, Aphex Twin, Squarepusher, Oval, Fennesz, IDM, ambient, new
musical languages
Kali Malone : Living Torch
Two Shell: Icons EP
BEST ROCK
Alvvays: Blue Rev
Animal Collective: Time Skiffs
Fontaines DC : Skinty Fia
Black Country, New Road: Ants From Up There
The Smile: A Light for Attracting Attention
Nilüfer Yanya: Painless
Special Interest : Endure
BEST FOLKY
The Weather Station : How Is It I Should Look at the Stars?
Destroyer : Labyrinthitis
Alex G: God Save the Animals
Sun’s Signature : Sun’s Signature
Daniel Rossen : You Belong There
Aldous Harding: Warm Chris
Perfume Genius: Ugly Season
Big Thief : Dragon New Warm Mountain I Believe in You
Weyes Blood: And in the Darkness, Hearts Aglow
BEST ART POP
Björk: Fossora
Lucrecia Dalt: ¡Ay!
Jenny Hval : Classic Objects
Panda Bear + Sonic Boom : Reset
BEST POP
Beyoncé: Renaissance
Beach House : Once Twice Melody
Charli XCX : CRASH
Charlotte Adigéry & Bolis Pupul: Topical Dancer
Jockstrap : I Love You Jennifer B
Rosalia : MOTOMAMI
Shygirl : Nymph
Sudan Archives: Natural Brown Prom Queen
Yeule: Glitch Princess
The Weather Station : How Is It I Should Look at the Stars?
Destroyer : Labyrinthitis
Burial : ANTIDAWN
Gloria de Oliveira & Dean Hurley : Oceans of Time
Kelly Lee Owens : LP.8
15 Chat Pile: God’s Country
29 Destroyer : Labyrinthitis