Top 20 Albums of 2022–20(ish) Honourable Mentions
It’s list season my friends. Without too much preamble, here are a bunch of great albums worth checking out that didn’t quite make my top 20. Sorted alphabetically.
Backxwash — His Happiness Shall Come First Even Though We Are Suffering
More violent and noisey hip hop from Canada’s most frightening musical artist. Continues in the path of last year’s excellent I Lie Here Buried… and delves further into themes of trauma, religious and otherwise.
The Callous Daoboys — Celebrity Therapist
The closest thing I’ve heard in ages to the aggression and technicallity of The Dillinger Escape Plan’s insane brand of metal. Very fun if you like having your face ripped off.
Chat Pile — God’s Country
Noisy post-punk/industrial angst. “Why?” is one of the best tracks of the year. Can’t wait to see these guys open for Lingua Ignota in February!
Cohort B — 1001 Lukewarm USA EP
Definitely a band to watch. Really interesting blend of genres and “This is Traffic” rivals the madness of some of Black MIDI’s best tracks. Can’t wait to see what these folks do with a full length album.
Cryalot — Icarus EP
Kero Kero Bonito’s Sarah Bonito released her first solo EP this year as Cryalot. A noisier, sadder, and more aggressive take than KKB’s usual fair — heading towards Poppy territory at time — but still full of catchy melodies that make me happy.
Dane Letourneau — I Love You / Nodata — Nodata
Dane is one half of Nodata and also does solo stuff under his own name. The other half of Nodata is Jesse Lough, who also contributed to Dane’s solo record. So I figured I could put them together here. I love both these boys and am very pleased to count them as good friends. I Love You is a lovely singer/songwriter album made up of love songs to Dane’s favourite places on earth. Nodata is a sprawling ambient/post rock adventure that is dynamic enough to keep you enthralled but also chill enough if you just need some meditative background music. I strongly recommend both.
Elder — Innate Passage
Groovy, down tempo post-metal with rare vocals, all of which are sung. Gave me ISIS vibes in the best way. Really pleasant heavy record that anyone could listen to whether they usually like “metal” or not.
The Ephemeron Loop — Psychonautic Escapism
One of the absolute most batshit albums of the year. If I’d had it for more than two weeks it may have grown into the top 20. Blending ambient, noise, new age, doom and black metal, and krautrock, this…this is something. Not for the faint of heart, but fascinating. I will definitely be returning to it throughout next year. “Trench Through Pink Death” is one of the most insane tracks of the year and worth checking out.
Fergus McCreadie — Forest Floor
A suite of jazz compositions for piano, bass, and drums, inspired by travelling throught the Scottish countryside. Really lovely over all but also has some surprising moments that are downright thrilling. “Unfurrowed Field” was a comfort track for the last quarter of this year. All three musicians are beasts — check out the drums on “Law Hill.” Definitely going to explore more McCreadie in the new year.
Gospel — The Loser
Apparently these guys were contemporaries of The Mars Volta in the early days and have returned after a long hiatus. This record definitely shows the 00’s prog-rock roots, crazy organ solos and everything. A really fun high-energy listen.
Horse Lords — Comradely Objects
Horse Lords’ The Common Task was one of my favourite records of 2020. The first half of Comradely Objects would be in my top 10, but unfortuately I felt like the back third couldn’t quite stick the landing. Still, “Zero Degree Machine” through “May Brigade” is one of my favourite runs of tracks released this year. A hypnotic kaleidescopic pattern of jazz and electronic music that morphs over time in a way that absolutely tickles my brain.
JID — The Forever Story
JID is one of the most talented young rappers alive and he proves it once again on The Forever Story. Some absolutely insane bars and flows all over this one and some great beat choices as well. I did find that I usually felt a bit exhausted by the end of the album and it didn’t grab me as hard as the DiCaprio 2 tape, but still an excellent project and will always be excited for more.
Kendrick Lamar — Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers
Another cinematic and challenging record from the reigning king of Hip Hop. I’m sure I’ll return to this album about facing your demons and working through generational and societal trauma years past when some of my top 20 of this year drop off. But I found it just a little too abrasive to keep coming back to. Maybe if I’d been in a better place overall it wouldn’t have bummed me out so badly. That being said there is some masterful work on here and I appreciate that Kendrick keeps pushing the genre into new spaces. “We Cry Together” is both one of the hardest moments on the record as well as one of the most memorable tracks of the year. “Father Time” is another stand out for me.
King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard — Omnium Gatherum / Made in Timeland / Ice, Death, Planets, Lungs, Mushrooms and Lava / Laminated Denim / Changes / Satanic Slumber Party (with Tropical Fuck Storm)
Ya. That’s right. The Gizzverse spewed forth 6 projects and a collaboration this year. All of which I genuinely believe are good and worthwhile, except maybe the so-so remix album Butterfly 3001 which I didn’t list.
Quick and dirty and vaguely ranked best to worst:
Changes — Super groovy and sweet, built around just one chord change. Very fun vibes.
Satanic Slumber Party — technically billed as a TFS album, fun and gothy and strange and I get pumped everytime it comes on
Made In Timeland/Laminated Denim — companion pieces, each made of two 15 minute tracks that explore krautrock and electronic music more. Great to just have on almost always
Ice, Death, Planets…etc — In some ways closest thing we got to a “proper” KGLW album this year, no bad tracks but a bit bloated
Omnium Gatherum — made up of b-sides from the last 5 years as well as some new jams that came out of the first “everyone in the same room” recording session after the pandemic years, its a bloated mess with some huge highlights and some weird effluvium that I could do without.
NOTE: The opening track off of Omnium Gatherum is the 18-minute “The Dripping Tap” and was initially released as a standalone EP. If it had stayed on it’s own it would have been in the Top 5 albums of the year, but unfortunately got bogged down by the rest of OG.
Open Mike Eagle — Component System with the Auto Reverse
At this point Open Mike Eagle is one of the mainstays of left-field hip hop. And this might be his best album yet in my opinion. Weird evocative beats and clever word play abound, and there are some killer features including Armand Hammer and RAP Ferreira on this thing as well. “Circuit City” is one of my favourite tracks of the year
Oso Oso — sore thumb
Slacker/stoner/indie/emo/rock that sometimes evokes Built to Spill, other times Pavement, and strangely sometimes even Our Lady Peace…and it’s just a really fun chill listen that I kept coming back to. “nothing says love like hydration” is a stand out.
Perfume Genius — Ugly Season
I believe this album started as a score for a ballet? Anyway the haunting voice is back but now with many more instrumental compositions that are lovely and heart wrenching. Definitely get more out of this the more closely you pay attention. Some really moving work on here, and I think if I’d seen the dancers with it could have elevated it to the Top 20.
Pusha T — It’s Almost Dry
Push is back talking about selling drugs and absolutely oozing so much swagger you can’t ignore it. Great bars and beats and some genuinely funny lines, one of the stand out hip hop records of the year. “Dreaming of the Past (feat Kanye West)” has one of the catchiest beats of the year with a bouncy country western sample — and is probably only positive thing associated with Kanye that happened this year. Fuck that guy for real. However this came out before the madness ramped up to hateful levels, so I’m not gonna hold it against Pusha T for this one and just keep pumping this killer record.
Tzompantli — Tlazcaltiliztli
Indigenous doom metal centered around themes of pre Spanish Conquest mexican cultures and human sacrifice (the band name is the word for a rack used to display human skulls). The album is crushingly heavy and fun and I definitely want to see this band live since they really lean into the theatrics of the theme apparently while honouring their ancestral heritage. It’s protest music and theatre at the same time.
Thanks for reading. Top 20 should be out by Dec 18.
