Best Music šŸŽ¶ of 2022!

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August 2022 was one of those months that started out very slow but got progressively better with each release day Friday.

My most anticipated album of the month was the latest from Russian Circles, and they truly delivered with one of their best albums since their early days. There were also some new-to-me metal standouts with Autonoesis (holy riffs and solos, Batman!), Blackbraid, and ā€ŠĆ“sserp. Surprisingly, we were treated with two solid rap/hip-hop albums (as this year has been lacking) with JID and Danger Mouse & Black Thought. Finally, as always, there were some RBFs with new albums from Lumenette, Rat Tally, and ā€ŠSRSQ.

I would also like to thank @avecigrec for recommending the new album from Kokoroko.

There were also a few albums that I had on my radar list for the month that didn't really grab me upon initial listens. After a few re-listens to new albums from Julia Jacklin and Stella Donnelly (as well as re-listening to the Danger Mouse & Black Thought album), I'm not really sure what I had missed on the first go-round. I enjoyed these albums immensely after a few more takes. Sometimes you just need to sit with an album a bit longer before it clicks.

Overall, August 2022 was a bit of a surprise and it delivered more than I thought it would. I could easily see some of these albums making it on to my AOTY list at year's end, but we'll see how they hold up until then.

What were your favourite albums from August? What did I miss? Have you checked any of these out, and what did you think?

As we move on from the summer months of new music and into the final stretch 2022 (with Sept, Oct, and Nov historically being three of the strongest months for new music every year for me), how is your AOTY list shaping up? Going for a Top10, a Top25, a Top50, or another number? For me, I'm thinking 2022, at this point, could be a solid Top25 or Top30 (with some HMs). But I'm hoping a solid Top50 is reachable within the upcoming months.

Until then, as always, #MusicIsSubjective āœŒļø

Autonoesis - Moon Of Foul Magics (Thrash Metal, Black Metal)
Blackbraid - BLACKBRAID I (Native American Black Metal, Folk Metal)
Danger Mouse & Black Thought - Cheat Codes (Rap, Hip-Hop)
JID - The Forever Story (Rap, Hip-Hop)
Julia Jacklin - PRE PLEASURE (Indie Folk/Rock/Pop)
Kokoroko - Could We Be More (Jazz, Afrobeat)
Lumenette - All Around My Head (Shoegaze, Dream Pop, Alternative/Ethereal Rock)
Ɠsserp - ELS NOUS CANTS DE LA SIBILā€¢LA (Grindcore, Black Metal)
Rat Tally - In My Car (Singer-Songwriter, Indie, Alternative)
Russian Circles - ā€ŠGnosis (Instrumental Post-Metal)
ā€ŠSRSQ ā€ Ever Crashing (Dream Pop, Shoegaze, Electronic)
Stella Donnelly - Flood (Singer-Songwriter, Folk, Pop)
 
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musicjunkiegreg said:
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August 2022 was one of those months that started out very slow but got progressively better with each release day Friday.

My most anticipated album of the month was the latest from Russian Circles, and they truly delivered with one of their best albums since their early days. There were also some new-to-me metal standouts with Autonoesis (holy riffs and solos, Batman!), Blackbraid, and ā€ŠĆ“sserp. Surprisingly, we were treated with two solid rap/hip-hop albums (as this year has been lacking) with JID and Danger Mouse & Black Thought. Finally, as always, there were some RBFs with new albums from Lumenette, Rat Tally, and ā€ŠSRSQ.

I would also like to thank @avecigrec for recommending the new album from Kokoroko.

There were also a few albums that I had on my radar list for the month that didn't really grab me upon initial listens. After a few re-listens to new albums from Julia Jacklin and Stella Donnelly (as well as re-listening to the Danger Mouse & Black Thought album), I'm not really sure what I had missed on the first go-round. I enjoyed these albums immensely after a few more takes. Sometimes you just need to sit with an album a bit longer before it clicks.

Overall, August 2022 was a bit of a surprise and it delivered more than I thought it would. I could easily see some of these albums making it on to my AOTY list at year's end, but we'll see how they hold up until then.

What were your favourite albums from August? What did I miss? Have you checked any of these out, and what did you think?

As we move on from the summer months of new music and into the final stretch 2022 (with Sept, Oct, and Nov historically being three of the strongest months for new music every year for me), how is your AOTY list shaping up? Going for a Top10, a Top25, a Top50, or another number? For me, I'm thinking 2022, at this point, could be a solid Top25 or Top30 (with some HMs). But I'm hoping a solid Top50 is reachable within the upcoming months.

Until then, as always, #MusicIsSubjective āœŒļø

Autonoesis - Moon Of Foul Magics (Thrash Metal, Black Metal)
Blackbraid - BLACKBRAID I (Native American Black Metal, Folk Metal)
Danger Mouse & Black Thought - Cheat Codes (Rap, Hip-Hop)
JID - The Forever Story (Rap, Hip-Hop)
Julia Jacklin - PRE PLEASURE (Indie Folk/Rock/Pop)
Kokoroko - Could We Be More (Jazz, Afrobeat)
Lumenette - All Around My Head (Shoegaze, Dream Pop, Alternative/Ethereal Rock)
Ɠsserp - ELS NOUS CANTS DE LA SIBILā€¢LA (Grindcore, Black Metal)
Rat Tally - In My Car (Singer-Songwriter, Indie, Alternative)
Russian Circles - ā€ŠGnosis (Insteumental Post-Metal)
ā€ŠSRSQ ā€ Ever Crashing (Dream Pop, Shoegaze, Electronic)
Stella Donnelly - Flood (Singer-Songwriter, Folk, Pop)
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That Autonoesis album is super cool. I only just listened for the first time an hour or two ago, but will most certainly be revisiting it.
 
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Somewhat similar month to @musicjunkiegreg for me. A couple of the smallest Radar Lists I think I've posted, but lots of solid discoveries along the way!


ALBUMS
Black Thought & Danger Mouse - Cheat Codes
Rippin Chicken - Rippin Chicken
Rachika Nayar ā€“ Heaven Come Crashing
Kyle Kidd - Soothsayer
Eli Winter - Eli Winter
ShrapKnel - Metal Lung
Russian Circles - Gnosis
The Space Cadet Quintet - Exotic Sounds For A Brighter Tomorrow
Autonoesis - Moon of Foul Magics

EPs
Amythyst Kiah ā€“ Pensive Pop
Valerie June - Under Cover
Matthew Halsall - The Temple Within
 
avecigrec said:
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Somewhat similar month to @musicjunkiegreg for me. A couple of the smallest Radar Lists I think I've posted, but lots of solid discoveries along the way!


ALBUMS
Black Thought & Danger Mouse - Cheat Codes
Rippin Chicken - Rippin Chicken
Rachika Nayar ā€“ Heaven Come Crashing
Kyle Kidd - Soothsayer
Eli Winter - Eli Winter
ShrapKnel - Metal Lung
Russian Circles - Gnosis
The Space Cadet Quintet - Exotic Sounds For A Brighter Tomorrow
Autonoesis - Moon of Foul Magics

EPs
Amythyst Kiah ā€“ Pensive Pop
Valerie June - Under Cover
Matthew Halsall - The Temple Within
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This would've been included for August had I listened to it a few days ago instead of tonight...

 
this is my first real go at trying to rank my favorite albums so far this year, so I'm building in considerable space to move things around before the end of the year...

1. Fontains D.C. - Skinty Fia
2. Spoon - Lucifer on the Sofa
3. Danger Mouse & Black Thought - Cheat Codes
4. Cate le Bon - Pompeii
5. Yumi Zouma - Present Tense
6. Yard Act - The Overload
7. Kendrick Lamar - Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers
8. Sylvan Esso - No Rules Sandy
9. Jenny Hval - Classic Objects
10. Shearwater - The Great Awakening
11. Wet Leg - Wet Leg
12. Lil Silva - Yesterday is Heavy
13. Sharon van Etten - We've Been Going About This All Wrong
14. NilĆ¼fer Yanya - PAINLESS
15. The Smile - A Light for Attracting Attention
16. Denzel Curry - Melt My Eyez See Your Future
17. Horsegirl - Visions of Modern Performance
18. Earl Sweatshirt - SICK!
19. Cola - Deep in View
20. Damien Jurardo - Reggae Film Star
21. Calexico - El Mirador
22. Stars - From Capelton Hill
 
avecigrec said:


Only the one song and I'm a little over a month after-the-fact in finding it but holy shit I very much want more!!

@Poly-Rythmo You heard this one yet?
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Yup. He's amazing, isn't he? He has so many different projects on the go. Can't wait to hear the full album. He's also got a trio record coming out with Cello and drums and I'm seeing them live in Oslo this autumn. The guy can't go wrong. (Check out his string quartet on YouTube if you haven't seen it)
 
This was released back at the end of May but I only learned about it today... the Stupify algorithm gets it really right once in awhile.




A Queer Anthology of Drums - "a percussive collage of low-fi frequencies documenting a journey that never took place" (Takuroku), a home recording capturing Valentina's ritualistic free-improv essence, is now being presented to audiences across the world by bieĢ Records, via both streaming services and vinyl for the first time.

*A Queer Anthology of Drums was originally released on Cafe Oto's label ā€œTakurokuā€ with 8 tracks solely in MP3 format. The new version by the Beijing-based bieĢ Records, whose associate acts range across Hualun, Yu Su, Lim Giong, Gong Gong Gong and many more, is specifically remastered for vinyl format and expanded to 9 tracks with the previously unreleased ā€œShe/Her/Goneā€.
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Turbo said:
I'm 4-5 months late on the Ibibio Sound Machine LP, but it's pretty damn good. Had forgotten it was released. Re-stumbled on it because it was produced by Hot Chip. This may be my favorite one yet from them.
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Remains in my top 3. Glad more people are finding it. They just moved their Chicago show from the Metro to a smaller venue. Upside is that the new spot is walking distance from my pad. Downside is that it means people weren't buying tickets.
 
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Still fairly behind but an update-

This is most I've ever liked a Beyonce album and the 2nd year in a row where the top of my list has been hip-hop heavy.

Might also bump the Perfume Genius higher or lower... I just got to it over the weekend but am blown away after two listens.

Tier 1:
1. Kendrick Lamar: Mr. Morale & the Big Steppers (rap)
2. JID: The Forever Story (hip-hop)
3. Ibibio Sound Machine: Electricity (house, funk)
4. Perfume Genius: Ugly Season (art pop, post-rock?)
5. Beyonce: Renaissance (house/disco, r&b)

Tier 2:
6. Sunflower Bean: Moment in the Sun (indie rock)
7. Just Mustard: Heart Under (shoe-gaze, post punk)
8. Sudan Archives: Natural Brown Prom Queen (experimental r&b, hip-hop)
9. Zola Jesus: Arkhon (art pop)
10. Denzel Curry: Melt My Eyez See Your Future (rap)
11. Wet Leg: Wet Leg (indie rock, pop punk)
12. Grace Ives: Janky Star (lo-fi pop)

Tier 3:
13. The Smile: A Light for Attracting Attention (rock)
14. Black Thought and Danger Mouse: Cheat Codes (rap)
15. Big Thief: Dragon New Warm Mountain (folk)
16. Viagra Boys- Cave World (dance punk)
17. Billy Woods: Aethiopes (rap)
18. Nilifur Yanya: Painless (indie rock)
19. Axel Bowman- LULZ (downtempo electronic)
20. Kojey Radical: Reason to Smile (rap)

Tier 4:
21. Fountaines D.C.: Skinty Fina (post-punk)
22. Ty Segall: Hello, Hi (folk, acoustic rock)
23. Soccer Mommy: Sometimes, Forever (indie rock)
24. Saba: Few Good Things (hip-hop)
25. Charli XCX- CRASH (pop)
26. Spoon- Lucifer on the Sofa (indie rock)
27. Mars Volta: Mars Volta (alt-rock)
28: Vince Staples- Ramona Park Broke My Heart (rap)
29: Amber Mark: Three Deminsions Deep (r&b)
30: Horesegirl: Versions of Modern Performance (indie rock)
 
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avecigrec said:
View attachment 150089

Somewhat similar month to @musicjunkiegreg for me. A couple of the smallest Radar Lists I think I've posted, but lots of solid discoveries along the way!


ALBUMS
Black Thought & Danger Mouse - Cheat Codes
Rippin Chicken - Rippin Chicken
Rachika Nayar ā€“ Heaven Come Crashing
Kyle Kidd - Soothsayer
Eli Winter - Eli Winter
ShrapKnel - Metal Lung
Russian Circles - Gnosis
The Space Cadet Quintet - Exotic Sounds For A Brighter Tomorrow
Autonoesis - Moon of Foul Magics

EPs
Amythyst Kiah ā€“ Pensive Pop
Valerie June - Under Cover
Matthew Halsall - The Temple Within
Click to expand...

I think I'd listen to Rippin Chicken based on that cover alone... so of course I played it. And then I hear some rip roaring funk fueled by a greasy organ.... fuck yeah.
 
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