While 2020, and even 2021 were earmarked with the return of the glitterball disco (think Jessie Ware, Dua Lipa, The Weeknd, Victoria Monet, Doja Cat, Chromeo and Justice), it is less easy to discern the signature sound for this year. The subgenre that comes closest to giving 2022’s music a uniform identity has probably got to be house music. Though popular in the 80s and 90s in the African-American community, it became popular again in the 2010s with figures like Azealia Banks, David Guetta, Avicii and the Swedish House Mafia.
And after some years of being on the sidelines, it has come back under the spotlight thanks to Beyonce’s new album Renaissance, a sprawling record of house and other forms of club music. In this LP, the tracks flow seamlessly into one another and bring us visions of grandeur, self-love and the celebration of the black LGBT+ community. Drake, Rico Nasty and Sudan Archives also explored house music this year. Another sub-genre we cannot ignore, which ruled the airwaves in 2022, was DnB or garage, which was felt in the works of PinkPantheress, Charli XCX, Rico Nasty, Remi Wolf and more.
2022 truly was a solid year for a vast range of genres. So here’s my pick of thirty full-length albums of different genres (but mainly popular, English-language music) that either won us over, confused us, or polarised the listeners.
- Ravyn Lenae – Hypnos
For fans of: Alternative R&B, Steve Lacy, Arlo Parks
A dreamy, romantic R&B record that’s filled with sensuality and feminine delicacy, it will calm your nerves
- Will Joseph Cook – Every Single Thing
For fans of: Indie pop, The Beatles
The English singer is in love. And we know that thanks to the mushy love songs on EST. Truly cute and quirky…
- Beabadoobee – Beatopia
For fans of: Indie, pop-rock, shoegaze, bossa nova, early-00s R&B
The Filipino-British indie rocker attempts to build her own cult in this psychedelic, mixed-genre album.
- Flo Milli – You Still Here, Ho?
For fans of: Hip hop, rap, R&B, Nicki Minaj
A sequel to rapper Flo Milli’s mixtape ‘Ho, Why Is You Here?’, comes the comical reality show-inspired ‘You Still Here, Ho?’. It’s packed with delightful disses, snarky sass and hella arrogance. Memorable hooks and iconic moments abound.
- OSHUN – vol. ii
For fans of: Neo-soul, rap
Pregnancy, Black pride, manifestations and abundance are explored in this loose collection of rap and easygoing neo-soul.
- Arctic Monkeys – The Car
For fans of: Soft rock, lounge, chamber
Alex Turner & co. ditch rock and roll for an orchestra on this melancholic and dreamy strings-assisted album.
- Regina Spektor – Home, before and after
For fans of: Piano pop, chamber
“Home, before and after” may not be as touching and revelatory as Spektor’s previous outings, but this mix of old, obscure fan favourites and some new, cinematic orchestra-backed pieces make up for that.
- Flohio – Out of Heart
For fans of: Hip hop, grime
Unique hooks and samples help set Flohio apart as a rapper to look out for in 2023.
- Renata Zeiguer – Picnic in the Dark
For fans of: Indie, dream pop, bossa nova
Listening to this record is like wading through the shadowy corners of your mind to salvage painful childhood memories. It is hazy and phantasmagorical, utilising the echoing barks of a dog at one point.
- Yeule – Glitch Princess
For fans of: Glitch pop, hyperpop
Singaporean-British artist yeule explores the concept of an AI machine whose memories are erased slowly, but the robot still has some human-like memories which linger. Tender human emotions arise again and again to the cold surface of this otherworldly being, and that is expressed well through this symphony of sounds
- Tove Lo – Dirt Femme
For fans of: Dance pop, disco, club
The Swedish pop star paints portraits of several characters in her songs: the bored suburban wife, the playboy, the attention-hungry diva and the glamorous party girl all inhabit this alluring universe. It’s an exciting pop record, if not boundary-pushing.
- Shygirl – Nymph
For fans of: Club, rap, Planet 1999, Oklou, PC Music
After her smash hit EP ALIAS, we all waited for the British DJ and vocalist’s debut LP to come with a bang. What we got was something mellower. The cuts on Nymph are lighter and softer compared to its dark predecessor, but it’s still a fun and raunchy listen.
- Coco & Clair Clair – Sexy
For fans of: Progressive pop, bubblegum pop
The duo repping Atlanta, Georgia released their debut LP Sexy in November. Cat Zhang of Pitchfork says it best: “With its pop culture references and fantasies of living large, Sexy is a time machine to the weird, imaginative fun of girlhood.”
- The Linda Lindas – Growing Up
For fans of: Punk rock, riot grrrl
This four-piece girl band has made bright and colourful punk music. At times, Growing Up is filled with childlike musings (“Magic”), but it truly shines when they show off their unbridled rage or simmering angst (“Oh!” and “Fine”).
- Jack White – Fear of the Dawn
For fans of: Blues rock, rock and roll, The White Stripes
Rock figure Jack White has gifted us with not one but two unabashedly expansive rock albums this year. The first, and better, one is Fear of the Dawn where the electric guitars go rabid and guest artists like rapper Q-Tip snatch our wigs.
- Sudan Archives – Natural Brown Prom Queen
For fans of: Alternative R&B, electronica, hip hop, ambient, OSHUN, Doechii
“With each head-spinning beat change and violin loop”, writes Eric Torres, “Natural Brown Prom Queen’s musical daredevilry and lyrical honesty guarantee that no one will ever call [Brittney] Parks average again.”
- Little Simz – No Thank You
For fans of: Hip hop, socially conscious rap, Kendrick Lamar
The rapper dropped this album right towards the end of the year and journalists didn’t have time to make room for the smashing LP in their ‘best’ lists. But it should belong there thanks to Simbiatu’s honest and relatable rhymes, self-assured delivery and the strings section in “Broken”.
- Beyonce – Renaissance
For fans of: 90s house, afrobeat, Azealia Banks
Queen Bey defined 2022 in music by reintroducing euphoric club music like house into the mainstream consciousness, while also paying homage to her uncle Johnny, the black LGBT+ community and ball culture.
- Rina Sawayama – Hold The Girl
For fans of: Dance pop, nu-metal, stadium rock
The British-Japanese popstar’s sophomore attempt is a hit-and-miss due to its lack of focus and less-than-stellar-tunes, although some cuts like “Hold The Girl” and “Imagining” stand tall and proud.
- Megan Thee Stallion – Traumazine
For fans of: Hip hop, dance, rap, house
The Houston rapper gets into murky waters with this dark and brooding record (it’s like the evil stepsister of her debut album Good News). “Plan B” is a solid number while Megan also shines in her more vulnerable performances like “Anxiety” and “Flip Flop”.
- Mitski – Laurel Hell
For fans of: Synth, indie rock
“Has exhaustion ever sounded as horribly seductive as it does on Mitski’s sixth album?” Ben Cardew asks of Laurel Hell. And while that seems to bode well for Cardew, I personally find her despair to be too exhausting and old as it’s an emotion she has explored in her previous five albums. Some songs are an earworm, while others such as “Valentine Texas” are forgettable and should’ve been left on the studio floor.
- Alfie Templeman – Mellow Moon
For fans of: Indie pop, dance, Declan McKenna
A world of soda pop, confetti and moonbeams open up to us in Templeman’s Mellow Moon. Themes of frustration, motivation, love and the Self shine in the songwriting, but the melodies are largely unambitious. The songs lack individual traits, barring a few singles.
- Raveena – Asha’s Awakening
For fans of: Soul, R&B, pop
The story behind this sophomore album is of Asha, a Punjabi princess, who goes on an adventure through space and trains under the Kamlesh aliens in planet Sanataan, eventually ruling there. While the narrative is obviously fascinating, the songs are a mixed bag: some are effective while others are less impactful.
- Bjork – Fossora
For fans of: Chamber pop, experimental
While the ideas behind this recording (mushrooms, rebirth, grief and collectivism) are curious, the tunes themselves stretch thin over 54 minutes.
- Ella Mai – Heart On My Sleeve
For fans of: R&B, SZA, Summer Walker
We waited for four years for the London-born artiste to give us another full length play after her self-titled record. And while some songs on Heart On My Sleeve are definitely bops, most of them felt like fillers and B-sides.
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- Weyes Blood – And in the Darkness, Hearts Aglow
For fans of: Chamber pop
“Weyes Blood’s Natalie Mering has spent the last few years wrestling with difficult questions about the human species’ slow descent into climate apocalypse”, observes Rob Arcand, “writing tender ballads that situate individual melancholy within a larger politics of collective grief.”
- Santigold – Spirituals
For fans of: Pop, R&B, punk
Delving into Spirituals is like stepping into a smokey, shadowy world filled with intrigue and anger, but also some sleep-deprived venting.
- Belle and Sebastian – A Bit of Previous
For fans of: Indie, twee, guitar pop
Stuart Murdoch’s observations of teen love and anguish is starting to get concerning, seeing as the lead singer and main songwriter is 54 years old. The songs aren’t anything to talk about at home either.
- ELIZA – A Sky Without Stars
For fans of: Easylisten, acoustic, lounge
The singer, formerly known as Eliza Doolittle, gets sombre as she faces her inner demons and anxieties in what is a mostly monotonous, unexciting record.
- Tay Money – Girls Gone Duh
For fans of: rap, TikTok, hip hop
Girls Gone Duh is so transparently made for going viral on TikTok that the straightforwardness is almost admirable. Depending on whether you are a Tay Money fan or not, you may enjoy “The Assignment”, “Self Made” and “Asthma Pump”.
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