I don't do a lot of music posting anywhere cause I figure it's not what anyone follows me for and also I'm dogshit at talking about music1, but so many good-ass albums came out last year that I wanted to make a post about it anyway. 2 months late because ????
So anyway, here they all are, in no particular order. You can click the album covers or their titles below to go to their respective bandcamp/spotify pages2
THE UNRAVELING OF PUPTHEBAND - PUP
My most-played album of 2022 by a wide margin. PUP is one of my favorite bands of all time, and with this album they continue their career-long streak of never releasing a single song I don't love. Really catchy and energetic punk-rock. Love every single track.
Expert in a Dying Field - The Beths
I hadn't heard of The Beths before 2022, and 'Expert in a Dying Field' was the first album of theirs I ever listened to. It's a very warm and fun and pleasant indie rock album. Gentle but still very upbeat. Great all the way through.
Sweet Tooth - Mom Jeans.
Another album that's great front to back from another of my favorite bands. I'm an especially big fan of the way the track 'Graduating Life' sort of harkens back to 'Scott Pilgrim Vs My GPA', the first Mom Jeans song I ever heard and the song that got me into their music in the first place. It feels like that old song I liked, but all grown up. Does that make any sense at all? lmao
Pool Kids - Pool Kids
Another band I hadn't heard of until 2022, that I fell in love with immediately. I know I'm beginning to sound like a broken record but this album is also great all the way through. It's this really... mellow, ethereal, but also very loud brand of indie rock? Maybe a little shoegaze-y sometimes? I dunno. Genre is a bastard. A false god. This album has a really unique sound and I like it a lot.
Phantasmagorialand - Perspective, a Lovely Hand to Hold
A short-but-sweet album from a band with the longest name you've ever heard. Really interesting... math rock? Catchy guitar riffs and time signature changes galore. I like music that catches me off-guard by changing patterns around and this band is very good at that.
Prince Daddy & the Hyena - Prince Daddy & the Hyena
If I had a nickel for every self-titled album on this list, I'd have two nickles, but it's weird that it happened twice. Prince Daddy & the Hyena are responsible for some of my all-time favorite albums, and while I didn't enjoy this latest one as much as everything that came before it, it's still really good and it grows on me a little more every time I listen to it.
Farm to Table - Bartees Strange
Really nice, mellow indie rock with influences from a lot of genres. Lots of variety in terms of style and sound while also remaining pretty cohesive. A very unique, very personal-feeling album.
Nothing's Ever Fine - Oceanator
Just a really solid indie rock album. Vibes are immaculate. Feels like driving on a summer night. I imagine. I don't know how to drive. But if I did I would play this album on a summer night while driving. Sorry this description sucks ass go listen to this album it's good
Feather River Canyon Blues - Pigeon Pit
One of the most pleasant surprises of 2022. I sort of wasn't expecting to see another album from them again after 5 years of silence, but maybe that was silly of me. Anyway this album is really good. Queercore, folk-punk-ish stuff.
The Great American Novel - Proper.
If I had a nickel for every band on this list that stylized their name with a period at the end, I'd -- wait shit I did this bit already. Proper is another band I hadn't heard of until 2022. The Great American Novel is a really unique, queer, indie rock/prog rock album. Not all of it clicked with me at first, but for some reason I just kept coming back to it, and finding more to like about it every time. 'Ganymede' and 'Milk & Honey' probably ended up being some of my most-played tracks of 2022.
Wifey - Vernon Jane
Vernon Jane is such a great fucking band. A real hidden gem. Really impressive vocal performances. Punk rock but jazzier? I dunno. Anyway this is a really solid EP. Ironically, the title track is my least favorite, but it's still good.
Laurel Hell - Mitski
Love me some Mitski. Laurel Hell feels like a little bit of a departure from the rest of Mitski's body of work, but not necessarily in a bad way. I warmed up to it over time. Really mellow, synthy sort of album. Simulaneously sort of old-fashioned sounding but also really modern? I don't really know how to explain it.
Sorry I couldn't bring myself to trim down the list any more than I already did. Whenever I give music recommendations I have a bad habit of throwing way too much at people at once. Thanks for reading, go give some of this stuff a listen!
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Most of my thoughts about music that I like are basically just "I like this :)" with no depth or details. I'm not always all that capable of articulating my thoughts about things I like in general, and with music it's even harder. I've tried very hard to come up with something at least sort of interesting to say about each of these albums
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I tried to get bandcamp links for everything, but Vernon Jane's 'Wifey' isn't on their bandcamp page for whatever reason