2022 AOTY So Far

if I were to summarize my Big Five so far:
Mr. Money, Boy Alone & King Of Amapiano II With The Rave, Roses & Renaissance Vibe, Part 1

My top 4

Battlelore - The Return of the Shadow
Brymir - Voices in the Sky
Rina Sawayama - Hold the Girl
Archers of Loaf - Reason in Decline

bc: I'm curious to see if/how you'll work in Love & Ego on friday :)

I'm disconnected from most new music as usual but I really liked:

Animal Collection - Time Skiffs
death's dynamic shroud - Darklife
Junior Boys - Waiting Game
Magma - Kartehl

‘more love, less ego’ would be a perfect description of said Rave, Roses & Renaissance Vibe, methinks

xp

My top 5 AT THE MOMENT, in chronological order of release, definitely subject to change (newest addition to the list is Ariel Zetina):

Big Thief
Nova Twins
Nina Nastasia
Shygirl
Ariel Zetina

Kangding Ray - ULTRACHROMA (my favorite of his by a wide margin)
Sofie Birch - Holotropica
Kuedo - Infinite Window
Brian Eno - FOREVERANDEVERNOMORE

yes that's two all-caps album titles

I keep hearing about how economically unfeasible it is to be a musician these days (which it is), yet there's already too many good albums to keep up with. I don't know what I'd do if the world started caring about the treatment of artists again.

Yeah, the sheer number of releases I've been curious about this year has been exhausting. I think it's pretty much all an after-effect of the pandemic, for various reasons:

1. bands/artists that held on to finished albums until they could tour again
2. bands/artists that had to wait for pressing plant delays to clear up to release their new stuff
3. bands/artists that had a lot of extra time to write new material that sped up their usual cycle

list of records that have stuck with me for the year, sort of in order, obv i have so much to catch up on and i never will:

junior boys waiting game
lambchop the bible
beth orton weather alive
rosalía motomami
perfume plasma
real lies lad ash
the 1975 being funny in a foreign language
soccer mommy sometimes, forever
caracara new preoccupations
mr fingers around the sun pt 1
carly rae jepsen the loneliest time
arctic monkeys the car
brent faiyaz wasteland
sharon van etten we've been going about this all wrong
ari lennox age/sex/location
willow <copingmechanism>
circa survive two dreams
underoath voyeurist
cloud rat threshold
panic at the disco viva las vengeance
maren morris humble quest
dawn richard and spencer zahn pigments
sam prekop & john mcentire sons of
autopsy morbidity triumphant
tegan and sara crybaby
tears for fears the tipping point
wilco cruel country
björk fossora
no devotion no oblivion

13 albums from this year that I will ride or die for

Real Lies - Lad Ash
Mr Fingers - Around The Sun pt. 1
Cass McCombs - Heartmind
Billy Woods - Aethiopes
Destroyer - Labyrinthitis
Cloakroom - Dissolution Wave
Arctic Monkeys - The Car
Scarcity - Aveliut
Black midi - Hellfire
Danger Mouse/Black Thought - Cheat Codes
Double Virgo - Foolish Narratives
Sophie Royer - Harlequin
Fontaines DC - Skinty Fia

I think the Naima Bock album might end up my AOTY. Somewhat out of character for me, but it's so beautiful and intricate. I took me a while to hear the Brazilian influence all the reviews mentioned, but I hear it in the way she arranges and combines instruments

One that needs to be mentioned is Lorraine James’ Whatever The Weather album. Superb ambience broken up by crispy breakage

Oh yeah, that Lorraine James is really good.

At the moment (in roughly descending order):

Oren Ambarchi - Shebang
Lucrecia Dalt - ¡Ay!
Beth Orton - Weather Alive
Real Lies - Lad Ash
Lady Aicha and Pismo Crane's Original Fulu Miziki of Kinshasa - N'Djila Wa Mudujimu
The 1975 - Being Funny in a Foreign Language
Puscha - Etterath
Dawn Richard & Spencer Zahn - Pigments
Junior Boys - Waiting Game
Rema - Rave and Roses
Rosalía - MOTOMAMI
Au Suisse - Au Suisse
Brent Faiyaz - Wasteland
Taylor Swift - Midnights
Arctic Monkeys - The Car
Perfume - Plasma
Soccer Mommy - Sometimes, Forever
Kendrick Lamar - Mr. Morale and the Big Steppers
Carly Rae Jepsen - The Loneliest Time
Jenny Hval - Classic Objects
Ethel Cain - Preacher's Daughter
Makaya McCraven - In These Times
Shackleton - The Majestic Yes
Omay Lay - Boy Alone
Ari Lennox - Age/Sex/Location
Maren Morris - Humble Quest
Sam Prekop & John McEntire - Sons Of
Emeka Ogboh - 6°30′33.372″N 3°22′0.66″E
Miranda Lambert - Palomino
Sudan Archives - Natural Brown Prom Queen
Obongjayar - Sometimes I Dream of Doors
Somi - Zenzile: The Reimagination of Miriam Makeba
The Soft Pink Truth - Is It Going To Get Any Deeper Than This?
Beyonce - Renaissance

But there's so much I still need to hear or need to spend more time with.

I was having a typically depressing conversation with my dad about politics and he asked, "Does anything seem good now?" I said, "Well, there's a ton of great music ..."

This is practically my only resource for finding new music at the moment, so I think my list'll be pretty hive-mindey this year:

Real Lies - Lad Ash
Croatian Amor - Remember Rainbow Bridge
Time Wharp - Spiro World
Junior Boys - Waiting Game
Big Thief
Beth Orton
Modern Nature - Island of Noise
Florist - s/t
Sam Prekop & John McEntire - Sons of
Ashenspire - Hostile Architecture
Duncan Marquiss - Wires Turned Sideways in Time
Makaya McCraven - In These Times
Kali Malone - Living Torch
Jake Xerxes Fussell - Good and Green Again
Lambchop - The Bible
Bennie Maupin & Adam Rudolph - Symphonic Tone Poem for Brother Yusef
Etran de L'Aïr - Agadez

And aye, xp, good year IMO.

Realizing from Brad & Tim's lists that I somehow still haven't listened to the Maren Morris album. Thanks both.

Teri Gender Bender - COMPLEXIFY EPs (putting them all together, they will easily be my #1 for the year)
Boris - W
Automatic - Excess
Deep Water - s/t
Hedgehog - Crow Valley It's All Connected
J. Zunz - Del Aire
Amateur Hour - Krökta Tankar och Brända Vanor
Panda Bear & Sonic Boom - Reset

Roughly in order

Real Lies - Lad Ash
The Beths - Expert In A Dying Field
Hatchie - Keep Giving The World Away
Junior Boys - Waiting Game
Alvvays - Blue Rev
Carly Rae Jepsen - The Loneliest Time
Stella Donnelly - Flood
Melody's Echo Chamber - Emotional Eternal
Dawn Richard & Spencer Zahn - Pigments
Destroyer - Labyrinthitis
Caroline Loveglow - Strawberry
Soccer Mommy - Sometimes, Forever
Say Sue Me - The Last Thing Left
Tallies - Patina
Charli XCX - Crash
The Orielles - Tableau
Björk - Fossora
Nilüfer Yanya - Painless
Suede - Autofiction
Charlotte Adigéry & Bolis Pupul - Topical Dancer
Gwenno - Tresor
Angel Olsen - Big Time
Beyoncé - Renaissance
Altered Images - Mascara Streakz
Foxes - The Kick

Definitely feels like a stronger year than 2021 overall.

I'm going to use a real broad brush and assume that 2021 was the year of everyone's pandemic album and 2022 is a year of looking outward/pushing forward. Feels like everyone's creativity is freed up.

Fuck, forgot Anteloper - Pink Dolphins. rip jaime

2022 albums I haven't gotten to yet/haven't been released yet: The Stargazer Lilies, Carla Dal Forno, Eno, Lucrecia Dalt, Hermanos Gutierrez, S.G. Goodman, Fenella, Christina Vantzou

I don't know what my favorites are in general yet, but here is what I've bought physical copies of this year

Horsegirl - Versions Of Modern Performance
Charlotte Adigéry & Bolis Pupul - Topical Dancer
P.E. - The Leather Lemon
NoSo - Stay Proud Of Me
Soccer Mommy - Sometimes, Forever
Kat Frankie - Shiny Things
Yumi Zouma - Present Tense
Jackie Cohen - Pratfall
Cate Le Bon - Pompeii
Tallies - Patina
Twen - One Stop Shop
Phoebe Green - Lucky Me
Flasher - Love Is Yours
Mitski - Laurel Hell
Maita - I Just Want To Be Wild For You
Maren Morris - Humble Quest
The Afghan Whigs - How Do You Burn?
Cécile McLorin Salvant - Ghost Song
Yeah Yeah Yeahs - Cool It Down

Oh, and these, which haven't arrived yet...

First Aid Kit - Palomino
Julianna Riolino - All Blue
Warhaus - Ha Ha Heartbreak

An adjunct list to the immediate ones I mentioned upthread. Unranked because haven't really listened to them repeatedly:

Beach House - Once Twice Melody
Blushing - Possessions
Cloakroom - Dissolution Wave
Elkhorn - Distances
Ghost Woman - s-t
Gwenno - Tresor
King Hannah - I'm Not Sorry, I Was Just Being Me
Loop - Sonancy
Marisa Anderson - Still, Here
Naujawanan Baidar - Khedmat Be Khalq
Onyon - s-t
The Routes - The Twang Machine
Sault - everything they've released this year
Shearwater - The Great Awakening
The Soundcarriers - Wilds
Viagra Boys - Cave World
Wet Leg - s-t
50 Foot Wave - Black Pearl

There's a lot more I've bought and listened to this year, but they're all folks who just keep on keeping on. Sure, I like the new BJM, Spiritualized, Robyn Hitchcock, Graham Day, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, albums a lot but it's not like I'm going to put them on a list.

In lieu of posting a first draft of my ILXOR ballot I'll pretend this is the "77 voting recommendations" thread and mention a few albums that have received little to no attention here or elsewhere (as far as I know):

Lady Wray - Piece Of Me - Nicole Wray of "Make It Hot" fame continues what she started with the Lady s/t in 2013 and her own album Queen Alone in 2016 - comforting, warm, accomplished soul.

Eliza and the Delusionals - Now And Then - I started a thread for this and unfortunately it received no replies, but despite that silence I am continuing to enjoy this debut from these Australian nostalgists. Widescreen dreampop that takes the Sixpence None The Richer sound and runs with it, as many others have this year.

Say She She - Prism - I've found it hard to place this, but I feel like it sits at the intersection of a host of ILM vectors - Lady Wray herself might be one, but also Natalie Prass, We Are King, Emily King, Kadhja Bonet, that short-lived band Juce, Esperanza Spalding when she's in a more straightforward mode, etc. Their band name is horrible and the album is on the short side, but it's lovely to listen to and hard to fault.

renforshort - dear amelia is my pick for 2022's best imitation of Olivia Rodrigo's SOUR.

Finally, Javiera Mena - Nocturna has the feel of a compilation for me as I'd previously rinsed so many of its component tracks, some of which were released years ago, but at the same time I wouldn't begrudge anyone calling it her best album and if pushed I might give it that description myself. A banger-a-thon that concludes with the song she tried to enter Eurovision with and its spooky-ooky organ solo.

Xp Elvis Telecom thanks for the Teri Gender Bender rec. This shit is unreal.

Still mulling my list but it will def include:

Yeule - Glitch Princess
Death's Dynamic Shroud - Darklife
Arp - New Pleasures
Emily Wells - Regards to the End

Plus previously mentioned Richard/Zahn, Soccer Mommy, Horsegirl, Beth Orton et al.

Definitely a strong year for releases.

Teri Gender Bender - COMPLEXIFY EPs (putting them all together, they will easily be my #1 for the year)

Ooh, didn't realize she had something new out.

My longlist at the moment (mostly metal-adjacent)

Autopsy – Morbidity Triumphant
The Beths – Expert in a Dying Field
Chat Pile – God’s Country
Cloakroom – Dissolution Wave
Cloud Rat – Threshold
Desiccation – Cold Dead Earth
Early Moods – Early Moods
Fellowship – The Saberlight Chronicles
Ghost – Impera
Martha – Please Don’t Take Me Back
Moon Tooth – Phototroph
Moonlight Sorcery - Piercing Through the Frozen Eternity
Negative Plane – The Pact…
Satan – Earth Infernal
Sloan – Steady
Sumerlands – Dreamkiller
Sunrise Patriot Motion – Black Fellflower Stream
Voivod – Synchro Anarchy
Vórtize – ¡Tienes Que Luchar!
Wormrot – Hiss

Favourite tracks: “Toma Acción” by Vórtize, “Wolven Hour” by Moonlight Sorcery

Xp Elvis Telecom thanks for the Teri Gender Bender rec. This shit is unreal.

I need to start a thread. I love the Le Butcherettes albums, but these new EPs are something else

My favourite 2022 album that hasn't been mentioned on this thread is Marlon Williams' My Boy. Up until now, he's been a serious-minded country crooner, but on his third album, he's discovered a sense of fun.

This is one of my favourites:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YhaZBN3m2EI

nice, alex cameron vibes

I don't believe the new Cass McCombs has been mentioned?

apart from that I highly recommend Glass Horizon by Precipitation, lovely ambient bobbins

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gEdP99xQCEM

In no particular order,new records by:

Weyes Blood
Big Thief
Black Midi
BCNR
Alvvays

Honorable mention:

Ethel Cain

Wizkid - More Love Less Ego
Homeboy Sandman - Still Champion
Horse Lords - Comradely Objects
Floating Points - Whatever the album is called, the EP of singles is great

I just got through a second play but Nicola Cruz's Fabric mix is a motherfucker and likely to get in the mix

Also big late pass but I've got Ryuichi Sakamoto's Revenant OST on heavy play the last two weeks

Finally checking out the Guitarricadelafuente album that was only listed on NPR's Mid-Year list, and it's a really lovely, unassuming folk pop record with a unique mix of acoustic and electronic instrumentation, mostly in Spanish.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4aA90hkaCXs

Couldn't put my finger on it at first, but reminds me of C. Tangana's El Madrileño. Traditional Spanish music with modern updates that are mostly successful.

I haven't played anything else as frequently as Loop's Sonancy all year.

In lieu of posting a first draft of my ILXOR ballot I'll pretend this is the "77 voting recommendations" thread and mention a few albums that have received little to no attention here or elsewhere (as far as I know):

Lady Wray - Piece Of Me - Nicole Wray of "Make It Hot" fame continues what she started with the Lady s/t in 2013 and her own album Queen Alone in 2016 - comforting, warm, accomplished soul.

Eliza and the Delusionals - Now And Then - I started a thread for this and unfortunately it received no replies, but despite that silence I am continuing to enjoy this debut from these Australian nostalgists. Widescreen dreampop that takes the Sixpence None The Richer sound and runs with it, as many others have this year.

Say She She - Prism - I've found it hard to place this, but I feel like it sits at the intersection of a host of ILM vectors - Lady Wray herself might be one, but also Natalie Prass, We Are King, Emily King, Kadhja Bonet, that short-lived band Juce, Esperanza Spalding when she's in a more straightforward mode, etc. Their band name is horrible and the album is on the short side, but it's lovely to listen to and hard to fault.

renforshort - dear amelia is my pick for 2022's best imitation of Olivia Rodrigo's SOUR.

Finally, Javiera Mena - Nocturna has the feel of a compilation for me as I'd previously rinsed so many of its component tracks, some of which were released years ago, but at the same time I wouldn't begrudge anyone calling it her best album and if pushed I might give it that description myself. A banger-a-thon that concludes with the song she tried to enter Eurovision with and its spooky-ooky organ solo.

― monotony, Friday, November 4, 2022 2:39 AM (three months ago) bookmarkflaglink

Hey monotony! I saw an upcoming listing for Say She She at a local club, and for whatever reason decided to check out their record. Holy shit, I love this album! Then I came to see if anyone at ILM had been talking about them and it turns out that it's pretty much just you. As a gesture of solidarity, I'll check out your other picks from this post.

Anyone else who's reading the 2022 AOTY thread in 2023, give Say She She a shot!