2022 was saturated with great albums. Here are 10 of the best

Industry giants and breakout stars made 2022 an excellent year for listeners of all tastes

Some would say 2022 was a slow year for music, but albums from industry giants like Beyoncé, Taylor Swift and Beach House, and breakout stars such as Little Simz, Lexie Liu and Rina Sawayama saturated the year. There was a lot to enjoy for people with a wide-ranging mix of styles, genres, and tastes.

Honourable mentions: Taylor Swift – Midnights, Denzel Curry – Melt My Eyes See the Future, Beach House – Once Twice Melody, Florence + The Machine – Dance Fever, Sigh – Shiki, Red Velvet – The ReVe Festival – Feel My Rhythm, Lexie Liu – The Happy Star, Little Simz – NO THANK YOU

Here are 10 of the best albums from the year:

10. SZA - SOS

SOS is SZA’s second studio album and supposedly her last after the release of her critically-acclaimed debut CTRL. While released right at the end of the year, the track ‘Kill Bill’ went viral on TikTok, as did the album itself.

The length of SOS, while the record’s only true flaw, is also one of its biggest strengths. After all, it has been five-and-a-half years since CTRL. After the long hiatus, fans were eager for everything SZA put out. 

SOS showcases SZA’s mastery of the inner monologue, with the lyrics sounding like melodic entries from her diary. Despite the sheer length of the album, it maintains a shocking level of coherency and consistency, tackling SZA’s sour feelings leftover from the trauma, heartbreak and bitterness she faced throughout her life and since the last release. It is sonically unique and shatters some of the barriers of the traditional trap sound, featuring some unusual, groovy beats and catchy hooks. The production on the album never drops the ball, either. And SZA, as the centrepiece, delivers her most scorching and diverse vocal performances with some great features to back it all up.

9. King Gizzard and The Lizard Wizard - Ice, Death, Planets, Lungs, Mushrooms and Lava

If there was one narcotics-fuelled jam session one would want to be present for last year, this is it. The psychedelic jazz-rock jam compositions, laced with funk and acid rock influences never cease progressing, evolving and transmuting throughout the course of these songs. They build tension, rising to huge intensity displayed in scintillating guitar parts while slower, groovier jams come off as nearly mind-bending. The dissonant male vocals act as their own instrumental component. Standout tracks like ‘Mycelium’, ‘Iron Lung’, and ‘Hell’s Itch’ groove along on hypnotic jazz that form the foundation of an album that is highly technical without devolving into boring exhibitionism.

If there is a complaint, it’s that the emotional connection is lost somewhere in the dense artful passages of the music. While holding together, the album feels disjointed at the same time. It constantly moves and mutates, but doesn’t quite reach a triumphant final destination. But anyone who enjoys jazz-infused psychedelia or a bit of acid rock will love to tune out reality and lose themselves in the beautiful guitar work, deep grooves, levitating basslines and head-bobbing drums.

8. Björk - Fossora

For much of the last decade, Björk felt like a fading legacy act far removed from the glory days of the late 90s and early 2000s when she released three of the most seminal records in electronic music. In the wake of Post, Homogenic and Vespertine her last 15 years have felt like an extended victory lap. But 2022’s Fossora changes that, ephemerally tapping into much of what made her early body of work so special.

The album touches on some of the more personal moments of Björk's life ever since her last release in 2017, covering heavy topics such as her mother’s passing and themes of emotional connection, family, longing, vulnerability and growth. Despite feeling like one of her characteristically challenging later works, it never ceases to do justice to its themes. Songs like ‘Atopos’, ‘Ancestress’ and ‘Victimhood’ are filled to the brim with the innovative instrumentation and songcraft reminiscent of the work that put her on the map, but still carves out its place in her discography. Unlike many other albums released deep into an artist’s career, Fossora steps out of the shadow of the giant achievements that came before it.

7. Alvvays - Blue Rev

Blue Rev doesn’t reinvent the wheel, but its zippy 39-minute runtime is so clean in its level of quality it’s easy not to care. It’s peak 2022 dream pop and sonically bolsters the shoegaze aesthetic present in the genre with groovy progressions, using synthesisers and especially dreamy vocal delivery to deliver a complete package.

By never leaning into any of the popular dream pop tropes, it stays unique, mixing and matching noisy and melodic aspects to create an atmospheric, almost ethereal, sense that persists as you make your way through it. Its greatest strength is the near unmatched pacing. It doesn’t drag for a moment and knows exactly when to build an upbeat and energetic rhythm and when to slow to an introspective lull and put the writing into focus. The dynamic contrast is spectacular.

The record just lobs one serious banger after another at the listener, each with slightly different flavour profiles. ‘After The Earthquake’, ‘Very Online Guy’, and ‘Pomeranian Spinster’ achieve a mix of top-notch composition and radio friendly catchiness without ever bordering on generic. All that and inventive songwriting, matched by the best dream pop vocals of the year, for a great little record.

6. Weyes Blood - And in the Darkness, Hearts Aglow

And in the Darkness, Hearts Aglow marks the return of Weyes Blood’s majestic baroque pop sound with a set of interesting love songs. Lyrically, this album carries on from its older sister, even referencing two different songs from Titanic Rising. However, unlike that album, the lyrics are no longer in the foreground, nor are they in tandem with the gorgeous production.

Instead, And in the Darkness seeks to push the envelope for the instrumental aspect, utilising lush, enveloping orchestral arrangements and warm vocal delivery. Drawing inspiration from the folk pop of the 60s and 70s and introducing a healthy dose of modern psychedelia and electronic musicality, it builds a light, atmospheric world to immerse the listener.

In contrast to its predecessor’s abject doom, the songwriting is rooted further in reality. The album draws heavy comparison to her previous body of work and, as the title suggests, is something of a continuation. Still, all in all, And in the Darkness is a concise experience that feels timeless.

5. FKA Twigs - Caprisongs

After the emotional Magdalene in 2019, FKA Twigs delivers another DNA-altering mixtape in Caprisongs. The 17-track album is more adventurous and playful than Magdalene, even beginning with the click of a cassette tape. Throughout Twigs delivers a mix of straightforward club bangers with an experimental, shape-shifting approach to the sound. ‘Papi Bones’ with British rapper Shygirl and ‘Tears in the Club’ with the Weeknd are standout collaborations.

Known for her enigmatic, wispy falsetto, Twigs broadens her vocal delivery, adding to the intensity and versatility of the record. Following the mixtape theme, each song takes a different mood and tone as the listener takes an interesting journey interspersed with vocal clips of Twigs and her friends discussing a number of topics.

While not at the same level as Magdalene, Caprisongs is on a separate playing field. It’s a reset of sorts, a re-brand of the artist we know as FKA Twigs. Its ingenious use of afrobeat, art pop, and electronica has gotten a significant amount of attention from the mainstream music scene too, making it a deserving number 5.

4. Soul Glo - Diaspora Problems

Without a doubt the greatest blend of hardcore-punk inspired rock and hip hop to release in 2022, Soul Glo’s breakout hit seems a direct response to the generic cleanness that plagues the modern day mainstream rock sound. Diaspora Problems goes against that grain entirely, as the intense desperation bursts from every line of the borderline screamo vocal delivery of Pierce Jordan as he tackles resonant ideas of mental health, police brutality, and the desolate economic landscape, all packed together in a hurricane of chaotic drumming and screaming riffs with touches of noise, trap and screamo. The brisk runtime doesn’t hurt and it charges through its 39 minutes, not slowing once till near the end. 

In terms of writing, it might be the most culturally hard-hitting punk record of the decade so far. But its overwhelming energy isn’t its only party trick. The album starts a conversation and leaves you dazed and confused, wondering what just happened. It’s abrasive, exhilarating, heavy, political and even anarchic, sparking comparison to Rage Against the Machine’s self-titled album or The Money Store by Death Grips. Heavy praise, but well deserved for an excellent release.  

3. Taeyeon - INVU

The third studio album from the former leader of major girl group Girl’s Generation, Taeyeon brings an introspective, envious approach to speaking about an old lover who isn’t what people think in INVU. The vocal delivery on this album is spectacular; one of the most masterful vocalists in K-pop and pop in general. Taeyeon’s emotionally dynamic delivery throughout the stand-out tracks of this album such as the titular ‘INVU’, ‘Can’t Control Myself’ and ‘Siren’ separate it from the competition.

At its core, it’s a melancholy pop album with subtle influences and allusions to rock (‘Can’t Control Myself’), electronic (‘Siren’, ‘Cold as Hell’) and R&B (‘Some Nights’). Synthesisers and bass guitars add to the dark, moody atmosphere of the album and further bring the lyricism and vocals to the forefront. ‘Siren’, especially, uses a beautiful blend of her head voice while belting out the last chorus with a beautiful urgency.

In INVU, she speaks of her past lover enviously and denounces the love she feels for him throughout the record. But closer ‘Ending Credits’ sees her says goodbye to that love and makes her peace with its absence for a resonant final note.  

2. Ethel Cain - Preacher's Daughter

A wildcard entry, Preacher’s Daughter is a debut concept album about the dark story of the daughter of an Alabama preacher who runs away with a man to travel the US and is pimped into stripping and prostitution. By the end of the album, the main character is stored away in a freezer, her dead body being preserved as the last love interest of the album cannibalises her.

Preacher’s Daughter is a dark, but amazing story of love, yearning, reminiscence and presents many themes throughout the album such as past relationships, the exploration of America, and intergenerational and religious trauma.

The album starts off as an ethereal, smooth experience but traverses into more chaotic territory over the course of its hour-plus runtime until both the music and the story reach their horrific climax. Along the way, it touches on a number of striking vibes – the serene dreamy ballad ‘A House in Nebraska’, the moody dream pop of ‘Western Nights’ and the chaotic descent of ‘Ptolomaea’. It’s a harrowing journey, but a striking first release. 

1. Beyoncé - Renaissance

Renaissance marks Beyoncé’s return to the music scene since the landmark Lemonade in 2016. An eclectic collection of tracks that pay tribute to the greatest names in disco and pop music, Beyoncé creates the perfect environment for a careless and freeing pop album with the aim of getting people on their feet. And, as the opening to ‘Alien Superstar’ says, “Please, do not leave the dancefloor.”

It’s an excellent, hard-hitting hyperpop number that samples Barbara Ann Teer’s speech regarding her life, background and creating the New York performing arts company. The follow-up is ‘CUFF IT’, the ultimate disco track that pays tribute to the great Donna Summer. Over 16 songs, the tempo doesn’t let up.

Despite the many essential releases in 2022, Renaissance brings more concepts to the foreground of mainstream pop than any other record. It’s an endless dance party and it shines brighter than any other album of the year. From its release until the countdown to the new year, no other album was as deserving of being No. 1.    

This article is part of Stripe, bdnews24.com's special publication focusing on culture and society from a youth perspective.