Best Albums of 2022

Well, I think it was obvious from my review for this last month that this was gonna be my main pick for Album of the Year, and it didn't change despite a few very close contenders.

I'd been introduced to Quadeca last year through the heavy attention & praise Sisyphus got and it became a favourite of mine last year. Now he's come back this year, much more evolved than ever and with an album that he put so much heart and soul to.

I Didn't Mean to Haunt You was a VERY omnious 54min experience, with immaculate production that sends chills down your spine. Quadeca's vocals are slightly quiet but they add to the ghostly atmosphere of the album.

Considering the heavy subject matter from the viewpoint of a ghost in the afterlife that's still missing life & those close to him, I should've realised this was gonna be dark experience in terms of lyrically & sonically.

Not gonna lie, listening to this in one full sitting during the middle of the night broke me. I haven't felt this emotional with a record ever.
I don't know what it was about this album, but I was emotionally drained by the end of it that I just needed to watch something uplifting to get my spirits back up.

I still remain in awe from this record. I honestly was not prepared for the darkness this album was filled with, but Quadeca has seriously verified himself as a genuine talent in both lyricism & production. Congrats, Q!

Weyes Blood's new album And in the Darkness, Hearts Aglow hit all the right emotional notes for me when I heard it the night it released.

Every track is minimal in sound & laid back, something I'd hear in a black & white movie; they all carry a cinematic touch to them which makes them all feel like an experience to behold.

Lyrically, it conflicts a lot of things that have happened over the last two years: peoples' loss of identity, wanting to fix mistakes from the past for the better, wishing to express true feelings etc.

This album pays off exactly the way I was hoping for it to do:
- Musically, it's goregous.
- Lyrically, it's deep & powerful
- Vocally, it's heavenly.

The ultimate 3 in 1 combo in just 46mins.

Musically minimalist & intimate, you feel a mixture of warmth, joy & sorrow as you experience it. Lovely jazz solos, light guitar strings, violins etc. It's all so soothing, kinda like a comfort food in musical form.

Every song just sounds beautiful, pretty much cinematic in quality in terms of Natalia's lyrical delivery.

De Todas Las Flores channels many emotions throughout; whether it be an uplifting sense of joy or moments of sadness, it's a gorgeous journey worth taking.

Danger Mouse & Black Thought are the perfect duo I didn't know I needed.

Excellent, smooth production + unstoppable flows. Black Thought is legit one of the best lyricists in Hip-Hop. D.M continues to be one if the best producers in the genre, too with some of the smoothest beats & melodies that remind me of the old-school 90s Hip-Hop; it's just beautiful.

Cheat Codes also contains a fantastic ensemble of features too from the likes of Run the Jewels, Michael Kiwanuka, Joey Bada$$ & MF Doom (RIP), all who bring their A-game to the table on each track they appear.

*Been having Strangers on repeat since this released*

Croydon-based rapper Loyle Carner's 3rd album hugo contains 10 tracks filled with lyrics discussing identity, reflecting on past flaws, fears of racial prejudice, witnessing death & grief over atmospheric melodies, hard drums & powerful harmonies.

Pure poetic storytelling here. Carner is a true defining figure in UK Hip-Hop. A hard-hitting must listen. But be prepared for some of the dark subject matter this album dives into.

HIS HAPPINESS SHALL COME FIRST EVEN THOUGH WE ARE SUFFERING: A relentlessly hard, abrasive album with a gorgeously sinister cinematic touch. But at the same time, there's a lot of vulnerability hidden underneath all the harshness.

Like a horror film but composed as an album, everything on this album hits you like a punch to the gut.
From the intense vocals from Backxwash & every featured artist on here, the heavy drums that pound through your skull, the scary melodies that are dark & shrill... my heart was pounding for the entire experience!

Halloween was the perfect timing for such an album, because this shit was quite intense. It's not an album you could experience as well outside of Halloween or late at night by yourself!

King's Disease III has genuinely great flows, stellar production from Hit-Boy (I'd love to know what else this guy has produced) & I can see why Nas is considered one of the G.O.A.Ts after listening to this album.

At 49yrs old, Nas' consistency is beyond impressive throughout, proving he doesn't need to collab with anybody to keep the bar at a high level.

Never a dull moment here on any of these 17 tracks which are lyrically thought provoking and filled with genuine passion.

A surprise record that succeeded in every way.

Some of the finest Vaporwave music I've heard.

Production is top-notch, the amount of genre-bending is fantastic, Darklife is a mind-blowing experience like no other.

I stll come back to this album twice a week, some of the tracks have legit been stuck in my head since listening to this 8 weeks ago.

Cave World is a wildly humourous & catchy Dance-Punk album from the Viagra Boys.

Funny, satirical, aggressive & just plain fun.

It takes guts to experiment with this much genre versatility, but I'd say ROSALÍA definitely pulled it off with MOTOMAMI and she gave us all a highly worthy album that should help her achieve a wider audience.

Whether it be blending the likes of reggaeton with jazz breaks, classic latin vibes, power ballads with frequent vocal shifts & heavy tribal drums, MOTOMAMI genuinely has it all.

JID has quickly become a major name in Hip-Hop after proving himself with The Forever Story.

A wickedly fun album that features fantastic lyricism, great production, unpredicatble switch-ups & a great selection of A-game features.

black midi have to be one of the best rock groups the UK has at the moment. The energy & momentum they have is incomparable.

Slick production, high-level intensity and a great combination of several genres ranging from the likes of Jazz, Experimental Rock & Progressive Rock, Hellfire is just a chaotic journey in the best way.

I bet seeing them live would be unreal.

Retaining the same Jazz Rap sound of her previous album "Sometimes I Might Be Introvert" while also taking it into new directions, Simz' continues to prove herself yet again thanks to delivering hard-hitting lyrics over some gorgeous Jazz & brass instrumentations along with some of the UK Hip-Hop sound of her earlier discography.

Every track on Blue Rev is equally noisy but heavenly at the same time. Instrumentation is top notch and hard-hitting. Cuts deep in the feels. Molly's vocals are gorgeous.

Never really been that familiar with Shoegaze music, but if this is what it sounds like, consider me a fan of it now. Perfectly captured the mood for the Autumn season, too.

Chaotic, riotous punk stuff that blew me away.

My brain needed to recover after a while from hearing this.

Kendrick's consistency on this album is truly something to behold.

Lyrics that focus on personal subject matter, others relating to a lot about our current state of life... Kendrick knows to deliver some genuine bars that are down to earth.

Even with the few controversial moments here and there, Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers continues to prove why he's among the top-tier in Hip-Hop.

Throughout this album, Conway demostrates a lot of vulnerability, diving into a lot of personal struggles he's faced over the last few years.

There are many great features on this album, who all have great chemistry on each track, nicely balancing out their verses together.

At times, God Don't Make Mistakes is a tough listen due to the subject matter on certain tracks, but this album is highly impactful and brutally open & honest as Conway steps out of his comfort and lets everything out.

With Melt My Eyez See Your Future, Denzel proves himself yet again to be one of the best rappers in the scene right now.

Love the mix of aggressive delivery over some laid back beats.

A first class combination of Metal & Shoegaze, not two genres I'd expect to blend as well as this did.

Headbanging instrumentation that will wreck with your head, a mix of calm & loud vocals with some unsettling melodies, Fleshwater's debut album is a HIGHLY impressive achievement that does the Alt Metal genre justice.

A gorgeous blend of Techno with some heavenly lo-fi sound design.

It just carries a highly uplifting nature throughout the entire 49mins.

Some of the synths are highly creative & energetic that remind me of classic arcade games.

The tempo changes really amplify the entertainment value and make you feel in the mood for a good racing game.

Was awesome having this album on in the background when I was playing Sonic Dash in the summer. Made it more fun.

A haunting 33min Drone / Ambient experience that I didn't want to end.

Both tracks are quite long, but they capture a bleak cinematic feeling that leaves you unsettled to the core. But at the same time, it's honestly beautiful how somethimg so dark can be blissful to listen to.

An hour long journey through pain & heartbreak that might be mentally exhausting towards the end, but damn... Ants From Up There hits like a ton of bricks on the listener with it's lyrical depth & simple but haunting instrumentation.

The instrumentation on Shiki is fuckin' crazy. The guitars and drums come at you with sheer force that leave you on the edge of your seat.
The guitar solos especially stand out here as they are rife with tension & energy. Perfect headbanging material.

Every track on Shiki feels unpredictable as you think you know what you're in for, but believe me you'd be wrong. The tension in each track just keeps building throughout, giving the listener no time to rest.

This site and some of its users' have slowly made me become a Metal fan now, and I'm more rham happy to branch into this stuff a lot more next year!

Fossora is a musically heavy, but surpsingly warm and emotional fever dream that I was hooked on from start to finish.

The singles were already promising, but this album as a whole makes it even better to experience.

Fossora deliveres a wide range of experimental music that rattles your brain, mixed with Björk's haunting vocals that convey a variety of emotions.

You'll dance, you'll cry, you'll be haunted by the atmosphere that she provides as she takes you on a unique trip.

Beyoncé's comeback to music after a 2 year break was amazing.

16 club-ready tracks that are rife with seductive energy all around.

I remember being blown away by the direction Beyoncé went in for this album, but I'm not complaining as she delivered on almost every track.

I also love the consistent flow throughout this album. It just keeps the party going one would say...

RENAISSANCE proves why she's referred to as Queen B, and we should remember that.

Never was a country music fan to begin, but something album Zach Bryan's recent discography clicked with me.

Something in the Orange was a fantastic country hit that made me curious to see what else he offered... and American Heartbreak is what I believe the genre should aspire to be.

Everything here felt genuinely passionate; incredibly well-written, filled with emotion & a ton of energy.

With i'm going insane, Quinn pushes her experimental skills to brilliant heights, and I was quite spellbound by the mixture of sound design & samples being mixed together.

There's a great level of consistency throughout. The mood is both melancholic & aggressive, and it manages to maintain that vibe for the full 32mins.

i'm going insane is my kind of project that I'd come back to for repeated listenings

A cleverly crafted project from Jockstrap that shows an intriguing range of diverse sounds & styles.

I Love You Jennifer B is quite an unpredictable ride, whether this album decides to go into Glitch Pop, Folk or even a straight-up House track, you never know what you're gonna get and that's what I loved about this album.

Can't wait to see what this duo have to offer next.

Pusha T's flow on here is great, as expected.

Two massive highlights about this album is how consistent the flow is throughout, making the album an easy listen.
I also adore the production on each track, with standouts like Diet Coke giving me early 2000s vibes & Hear Me Clearly going for a old school Urban vibe.

The features on here are great too, including the likes of Ye, Labrinth, Nigo Jay-Z, Kid Cudi & Pharrell Williams. What an ensemble cast.

A soothing 4 hour Vaporwave fuelled journey that requires patience, but if you can get the time to hear it, trust me it's worth it.

Filled with a range of haunting & uplifting sounds that make you feel like you're hovering in the air, these 8 tracks leave the viewer astounded with its atmospheric beauty.

This album has made The Callous Daoboys one of the many artists I can't wait to look forward to hearing more from in the coming years!

I love the mixture from soft to fucking ruthless; it makes this album both an unpredictable & entertaining listen.

32mins of relelntless Grindcore energy that had me on the edge of my seat from beginning to end.

Most tracks are short but deliver 100% tense instrumentation, scary screamo vocals & headbanging music.

I'm gonna need a neck brace after this.

A catchy Nu Jazz project that should definitely intrigue listeners as the ramge of styles incorporated with your usual Jazz sounds in unpredictable in the best way.

Sometimes you'll feel uplifted, sometimes you'll wanna dance, but most of all... you'll be intrigued by the execution of these unlikely ideas & how they end upvdelivering a full-force Jazz experiment that pays off nicely.

Cute & uplifting, PLASMA is an enjoyable album that carries a positive vibe throughout.

Perfume bring their A-game to the table with their gorgeous vocals over some of the catchiest J-Pop I've heard to date that just brings a smile to my face.

You have no soul if you can't at least smile at any point listening to this, lol.

Big Time is an emotional journey through heartbreak & loss that hits you right in the feels thanks to the gorgeous songwriting.

Olsen's vocals are just plain beautiful throughout this album. Some of the tracks are legit tearjerkers, but in the best way as there is genuine passion in them.

A fine example of Abstract Hip-Hop, with dark & poetic lyrics over a mix of smooth Avant-garde Jazz & morbid urban melodies.

Some dark storytelling right here.

Even at just 24mins long, Horseshit on Route 66 delivers no holds barred energy on every track.

Every song is quite short, but that's kind of a benefit, I'd say. Mainly because The Garden waste no time getting to the good stuff, delivering kick-ass guitar riffs, insane drum work & weary vocals that just fit the tone of every track nicely.

So much fun in so little time!

A kick-ass psychedelic rock album that's rife with nostalgia.

Looking forward to how Joe Keery can evolve his music career in the coming years because this provides a ton of promise.

Short but sweet, SICK! proves Earl Sweatshirt still succeeds at delivering some genuinely great bars in a brief runtime.

The production is sick (no pun intended), the features are great & some tracks are rather hard-hitting.

You could say big things come in small packages.

A surreal mix of sadness and joy packed into 8 tracks that represent a story that's heavy, but also filled with hope as it progresses.

A nice, easy going Instrumental Hip-Hop album that provides gorgeous Beats that are great for relaxing or studying to.

Culprate shows off his talent to extraordinary lengths here.

With some wicked sound design, clean production & slick examples of genre-bending, αριθμός τέσσερα is a unique example of IDM production being put to full use.

My ears were blessed.

False Light features some fantastic guitar riffs & tension throughout each instrumental solo, leaving the listener tensed up and anticipating a wickedly aggressive payoff...

And that is exactly what White Ward deliver on each track.

Slightly overlong, but this record is 73mins of some awesome Black Metal.

CAPRISONGS shows off twigs' versatility on an impressive level.

Ranging from R&B to UK Drill to Moombahton to Garage, there's nothing FKA twigs cannot do, and I'm all for anything she releases & experiments with.

Tension-filled Sludge Metal that is not for the faint-hearted whatsoever.

God's Country is an impressive debut for Chat Pile, with terrific instrumentation, awesome vocals & an unsettling atmosphere on every track that leaves me shaken to the core.

18 fast, rage-filled Hardcore Punk tracks with hilarious titles to go with them.

Good luck trying to headbang to this, you might do your neck in.

Fear of the Dawn is a wildly fun 40min rock album that's filled with powerful guitar riffs, riotous vocals & great experimentation.

The Weeknd brought us some genuine classics in the last 3 years that are likely gonna be remembered forever.

With Dawn FM, he continues that streak of awesome 80s & 90s influenced Disco bangers, with a badass retro radio show vibe adding to the whole experience.

Get ready to dance the night away like no one's watching you.

4 tracks that feature some genuinely catchy Techno style grooves mixed with space-like sound design & soft, ethereal melodies that make it easy listening & perfect for newcomers to Techno music due to it's laid-back & restrained approach.

Yes the runtime of 56mins might a bit off-putting considering it's only 4 tracks (1 track lasts 23mins), but it's still got plenty to offer to make you wanna dance.

Dorcha, dian, fuarchúiseach polaitiúil, fanann an chuid is mó den albam seo leat tar éis dó a bheith caite, bíodh sé mar gheall ar a chuid liricí nó an t-atmaisféar a chuireann gach rian ar fáil.

[Dark, intense, chillingly political, most of this album sticks with you after it's over, whether it'd be due to its lyrics or the atmosphere that each track provides]