2022 Round-Up — The Musical Year in Review
Hope everybody is enjoying the holidays. Are you looking forward to new years eve? Well I sure as hell am!
But before we all dive into the year of 2023, I have one final article to close of my (somewhat belated) list week. as per the tradition I have built over the last 2 or 3 years, I wanted to close things off with my typical “Yearly Roundup” article.
For those of you that are new to this, this article is where I cover the final best (and worst) musical tidbits of the year, including some of the most impactful artists, most disappointing projects, and those projects that I am very hyped for in the new year.
In case you missed them , I have listed all of the articles I have covered for list week this year, so if you’re interested in what any of these articles covered, feel free to give them a read.
My Top 100 Tracks of 2022 (you can also check out my top 100 playlist here)
But if you’re here to find out what I thought of any other type of musical thing this year, be sure to stick around, as I’ll be going into them right now, starting with…
Artist of the Year: Viagra Boys
After properly discovering Viagra Boys through their early 2021 album Welfare Jazz, there was still a little part of me that felt like there was an itch that hadn’t been quite scratched. And especially after listening to their amazing (and arguably their most iconic tune) “Sports” later on, I felt that I really wanted to become a true fan of the band.
But thanks to their phenomenal 2022 album Cave World, my soul is no longer itchy. But more importantly, I feel that the band is finally beginning to get the more widespread recognition that they deserve. With Cave World arguably being the best album in the band’s discography (surpassing even their brilliant debut Street Worms, in my opinion), things are certainly looking more than promising for the band moving forward.
And who knows; they may even just trailblaze a movement of other artists following suit in the band’s whacky brilliance.
Newly Discovered Artist of the Year: Tasman Keith
This artist is on here for pretty much the exact same reason why Genesis Owusu was my favourite newly discovered artist of last year (that being said, it feels only fitting that I discovered one through the other).
Tasman Keith carries a whopping amount of versatility, as shown by his debut album A Colour Undone. And while that album comfortably settled its roots in hip-hop, the sheer vibrance that each and every track offered meant that this album, and the artist alike, sounded fresh and exciting from beginning to end.
On top of that, Tasman Keith clearly takes musical inspiration from some of my favourite artists, such as Kendrick Lamar, Tyler, the Creator, and of course the aforementioned Genesis Owusu. When you weigh all of that, you can clearly tell why I like this artist so much.
The Highest Climber & The Hardest Faller of 2022
My opinions on albums are far from fact; they are simply me channeling how I feel about them at the time. That being said, my opinions are inevitably going to change from time to time.
So to give a little explanation about what this segment is all about, the highest climber and the hardest faller are the most obvious representations that sometimes an album can end up being more enjoyable that I initially thought, and vice versa; so let’s get into those.
Highest Climber: Buddy — Superghetto
From being an album that I only gave a middle-of-the-road rating of 73%, to my 36th favourite album of the year, that difference pretty much says it all when it comes down to just how much Buddy’s Superghetto had grown on me throughout the year of 2022.
While Buddy’s debut album Harlan & Alondra still reigns superior in my opinion, this album doesn’t fall short nearly as much as I initially made it out to be.
There are actually some bops on here than often equal, and sometimes even surpass those on the debut album, such as “Ain’t Fair”, “Wait Too Long”, “Coolest Things” and “Bad News”. I can also really appreciate the heightened sense of experimentation that this album was going for, even though it sometimes proved to be of a bit of a hit or miss case.
Nevertheless, I felt that perhaps I didn’t give this album enough runtime before reviewing it (as March proved to be a very busy month musically). Nevertheless, this album is more than deserving of the belated praise I am giving it now.
Hardest Faller : The Game — DRILLMATIC Heart vs. Mind
No man falls, but albums do, apparently.
While my initial listen of the track “No Man Falls” perhaps set my hype a tad too high for this album, which resulted in me rating it more highly than I otherwise would’ve, it’s fair to say that that spell wore off quickly.
The sheer amount of tracks that can be found on this album possibly clouded my judgement for a time. But in the end, the cracks were quickly starting to show on the album as a whole, as I got more and more used to it.
The vast majority of the tracks on here feel very half-assed, or simply not creative enough, and I have a hunch that this was as a result of The Game wanting to cram as much into the project as possible.
But a big bag of waste, is still a bag of waste, and quantity does not always surpass quality, as clearly shown by the hardest faller of 2022.
Late but Great Discoveries of 2022
This is a new segment that I thought I’d add to this article. However, it’s not an entirely new concept. If you’ve been following my instagram for a while, you ay remember my “Late but Great Discoveries”, where I essentially gave shout-outs to albums or tracks that I was too late to review.
And even with the Last Minute Reviews article that I did, there were still a few projects that slid under the cracks. So with that, I thought I’d quickly cover one final album, and one final track.
Late but Great Album: Lupe Fiasco — DRILL MUSIC IN ZION
I actually recall that I might’ve had this album recommended to me. And after listening to it, damn, I wish I did it sooner.
Nevertheless, DRILL MUSIC IN ZION was not the kind of drill album I was expecting. On the contrary, the overall sound of the record feel super grounded and phenomenally soulful in a sobering way. I would even go as far to to say that it stylistically resembles a lot of what made MF DOOM so enjoyable.
I’ll obviously give this album a well-deserved listen soon, but even after the last-minute skim-through I made of this project, the artistic genius and talent of this artist shines through brilliantly.
Late but Great Track: Jessie Ware — Free Yourself
Pretty much the main reason why I decided to do this segment in the first place.
I seem to be cursed with discovering Jessie Ware later than I really wanted to. First her phenomenal 2020 album What’s Your Pleasure?, and now this track!
But, I digress, “Free Yourself” is a super empowering, and equally feel-good bop, which really set my hopes sky-high for the year of 2023. Speaking of the like, there seems to be a high chance of this track leading to a brand new album, as the time seems totally right for a new one. I promise, I will try my best not to let that project slip right under my nose.
Most Disappointing Album of 2022: alt-J— The Dream
Now we move on to the biggest disappointments of 2022 (not the worst; we’ll come to those later).
But when I say disappointing, I’m describing something that should’ve been better than it actually sounded. That is exactly the case with alt-J, and their long-awaited fourth album, The Dream.
After almost 5 whole years that followed the band’s previous album RELAXER, fans were surely excited to hear that indulgent and colourful sound that alt-J champion.
What we got instead, was an album that is as colourless as the cover art, constantly lobbing drab and typically indie sounds into our ears, lacking in any kind of alt-J uniqueness. This sounds more like an album to come from an upcoming indie band, whose main sources of inspiration are the most stereotypical indie bands you could think of, rather than the band who brought us projects like An Awesome Wave and This Is All Yours. In comparison, this album was a grave disappointment.
Most Disappointing Track of 2022: Ghost — Twenties
It goes without saying that Ghost is a band that are unique not only by their visual aesthetics, but how fun and campy their music is as well. But in the case of “Twenties”, I feel that the band had pushed this sentiment way too far.
This track proved to be one that I just couldn’t take seriously at all, to the point where I managed to find a way to laugh and cringe at the same time. Given Ghost’s gothic aesthetic, the goofiness of this track wound up detracting from that kind of feel, where many other tracks that have come before it, have added just enough of that campy aesthetic to compliment that style perfectly.
It is a borderline unlistenable track, unless you find yourself wanting to just have a giggle at how goofy it sounds. The fact that it comes from such a great band, is where the disappointment lies.
Worst Album of 2022: Slipknot — The End, So Far
With the last few projects that Slipknot have put out, it seemed clear that the band were on a bit of a stylistic decline. However, the earlier of said projects have shared some redeemable qualities, in the form of tracks that were genuinely enjoyable.
That isn’t the case, however, for Slipknot’s latest LP, which sees their decaying musical identity implode upon itself. It would’ve otherwise been a disappointing project, if not for the fact that I knew things were only going to sound progressively worse for the band. This honestly feels more akin to Stone Sour, than actual Slipknot, as none of the tracks on here bring anything new to the table, nore recapture that classic slipknot fury.
It’s simply the most tepid and flacid project that the masked band have ever put out, and in my mind, a complete and utter waste of time. It’s a shame that this is allegedly the way the band are seeing things off with Roadrunner Records, as it’s a sour departure, to say the very least.
Worst Track of 2022: Central Cee — Doja
I could’ve just as easily have put the likes of Kid Rock or Tom MacDonald on here, but I wanted to put a track that I’ve actually listened to fully on here. And while I only listened to Central Cee’s “Doja” through some music video channel, I’d say that’s enough for it to count.
But honestly “How can I be Homophobic? My bitch is gay” has to be the most laughable lyric of 2022. And as if that wasn’t enough to turn you off completely, the crappy sample of “Let Me Blow Ya Mind”, or maybe just the name being a blatant case of latching on to a much more popular artist to give the track more listens through its title, might just do that.
I can envision the type of people that vibed this track; and honestly, I’d rather defecate in my hands and clap than be seen in the same place as those kinds of people.
Music Video of the Year: Kendrick Lamar — The Heart Part 5
Moving back into more positive territory now, we have my favourite music video of the year.
It had to be Kendrick Lamar though; the man’s artistry seems to pour itself into everything that he’s involved in. But even when compared to the other great music videos that Kenny has put out over the years, the case of this one in particular is rater special.
On top of the immense amount of hype surrounding Kendrick Lamar’s return to music, the artist decides to re-introduce himself in the most human way possible through the amazing track that this music video was made for.
On top of all of the other important figures Kendrick lamar swaps his own face for throughout this music video, there are many other little artistic touches that play a role in letting the listener further understand the subject matter of the song, such as the intentionally-out of time lyp-syncing that pairs with the lyrics “Consciousness is synchronised and crystal-clear”, which signifies the rappers hidden uncertainty.
In short, those who pick up on the finer details of this music video, would understand why it stands out as my favourite of the year.
Directed by Dave Free & Kendrick Lamar
Album Cover of the Year: Kojey Radical — Reason to Smile
On top of simply being an attention-grabbing album cover with its bright colours, there is so much to be said about the album, displayed by this one simple image.
We see on the left, what I assume to be Kojey’s mother, who winds up being quite a prominent figure on the album itself. We see the city that the artist was raised in as the backdrop. Kojey himself stands (or in this case, floats) as the central figure on the album cover, whose state of levitation may represent him rising above the stresses of his life before this album. We even have a pool of water below, resembling how reflective the album is.
So much that has already been said about the album, with no words at all. I knew what I was going into when listening to this album for the first time. The fact that the album cover achieved that much, is absolutely genius.
Anticipated Albums of 2023
now that we have covered all of the last loose-ends of 2022, it’s time for me to list the upcoming releases I’m most excited for in 2023.
I’m only going to be listing those albums that have already been announced, and listing them in release date order, which is subject to change.
Young Fathers — Heavy Heavy — 3rd February
Algiers — Shook — 24th February
Gorillaz — Cracker Island — 24th February
Shame — Food For Worms — 24th February
Black Honey — A Fistful Of Peaches — 17th March
Thank you so much for sticking with me through 2022. It’s been an absolutely wild ride (not to mention the year that’s seen me reach 100 followers on here, so thank you all for that especially.
Stick around for the new year; it’s bound to be an exciting one!
