The 50 Best Albums of 2022 (So Far)

50. Fontaines D.C. – Skinty Fia

A turbulent record for turbulent times. Reminiscent of Joy Division at their peak, if they had been around long enough to have a peak.

49. Miranda Lambert – Palomino

15 tales of love and chasing the American dream as only Miranda Lambert can deliver. Palomino represents an artist that is maturing before our very ears.

48. Sarah Shook & The Disarmers – Nightroamer

Pedal steel-era country-tinged Rock and Roll. Sarah Shook will make you want to drink, dance, or fight in whatever order you choose.

47. St. Paul and the Broken Bones – The Alien Coast

Paul Janeway and the band venture into new musical horizons. Loosely based on the land in the Gulf of Mexico and unwanted colonization, there is a lot of soul to go with the vocal swagger.

46. Sharon Van Etten – We’ve Been Going About This All Wrong

Sharon Van Etten transfers her pandemic angst into her most personal album to date.

45. Wet Leg – Wet Leg

Hailed as the saviors of post-pandemic guitar rock, their song “Chaise Lounge” may very be the earworm of the year.

44. Jody and the Jerms – Flicker

Upbeat and sonically pleasing Power Pop from Oxford, England. Blondie, The Go Go’s, The Bangles, all of the touchstones with a scent of Americana are all front and center.

43. Father John Misty – Chloe and the Next 20th Century

Floating between bossa nova, swing, big band, and John Barry soundtrack-noir this one is about as expansive as it gets.

42. Sundowners – Pulling Back The Night

With Paul Weller and members of The Coral collaborating there can be nothing less than gorgeous harmonies and Laurel Canyon vibes.

41. The Hanging Stars – Hallow Heart

Terrific cosmic cowboy stuff from a Scottish band that wears their influences on their collective sleeves with aplomb. Listen closely and you will hear some Pink Floyd and mid-era Fleetwood Mac fertilizing the garden.

40. Jon Spencer & The Hitmakers – Spencer Gets It Lit

The Garage Rock dynamo that is Jon Spencer fires up a set of scuzz-laden grooves worthy of a night of Rock and Roll debauchery at CBGB’s. A return to worm town, indeed.

39. Kevin Morby – This is a Photograph

A love letter to Memphis of sorts, the album was inspired by a two-week stay at the historic Peabody hotel where he visited the Lorraine Motel, Graceland, and the exact bank of the Mississippi where Jeff Buckley met his demise.

37. Calexico El Mirador

Forced to stay home, these tour dogs made good use of their pandemic-induced isolation to produce this Desert-Noir classic.

36. The Lazy Eyes – Song Book

These young Aussie popsters channel everything from Revolver-era Beatles to Foxygen all the way to your favorite new psychedelic band of the day. A warm and fuzzy jam of the highest order.

35. Mordecai Smyth – Things Are Getting Stranger On The Shore

A lavishly adorned Psychedelic Pop record. Don’t let the latter-day prog feel of this one-stop you from lounging in the octopus’ garden under the influences.

34. Kai Danzberg – Satellite

All in on Jeff Lynne and ELO down to the spaceship on the cover, you are not going to hear a better hot tub time machine record this year.

33. Fantastic Negrito – White Jesus Black Problems

Never has the story of an indentured Scottish servant who falls in love with a black slave been told with such rock and roll panache. Merging Black Sabbath, James Brown, Frank Zappa, and a whole lot of Prince-ly funk, learning has rarely been this toe tapping.

32. Nicki Bluhm – Avondale Drive

Girl group Phil Spector’s swagger mixes with tropical Tiki vibes and Sheryl Crow singer-songwriter pathos for an immensely pleasing listen.

31. Sheepdogs – Outta Site

The best new band to hit our ear holes in the last 5 years. These guys are what the James Gang could have been having if they stayed together long enough to be fully formed.

30. Michael Head & The Red Elastic Band – Dear Scott

A perfect follow-up to 2017’s Adios Senor Pussycat, here, Head delivers a set of perfectly crafted songcraft.

29. Los Peyotes – Virgenes

Bold, sexy, and ear-catching, Los Peyotes is Tarantino-Noir at its most dangerous. The Surf Punk album of the year without a doubt.

28. Willie Nelson – A Beautiful Time

Another deftly produced record from the twilight of Willie’s career. The guitar picking, dusty vocals, and songwriting remind us that we should all age as gracefully as Willie.

27. Kurt Vile – (watch my moves)

With spit-shined lyrics and Pop sensibilities that would make Matthew Sweet blush, this set of laid-back missives will swirl around in your head long after the last note is played.

26. Monophonics – Sage Motel

With heavy doses of Marvin Gaye and Curtis Mayfield, never has a concept album about a by-the-hour flophouse sounded so grand.

25. Anton Barbeau – Power Pop!!!

There isn’t much Power Pop on this record, but that is pretty much the point. What you do get is a delicious concoction of ABBA if they were a synth band, glam-dusted flower power, and Bowie if he ever went techno.

24. Ceramic Animal – Sweet Unknown

Another fine effort from Easy Eye Sound, Ceramic Animal lays down a palate of T-Rex, Todd Rundgren, with Tame Impala thrown in for those that like their musical touchstones less dated. A fresh record with a vintage feel.

23. Ghosts of Jupiter – Keepers of the Newborn Green

No less than Shindig magazine has hailed this record as a potential album of the year candidate. And who are we to argue. The music has shades of West Coast ‘60s pop, ‘70s psychedelic grooves, and English Canterbury sounds.

22. Goodbye June – See Where The Night Goes

Rock and Roll is not dead And, neither is Lynyrd Skynyrd despite a plane crash it seems. Come for the Southern Rock vibes stay for the AC/DC bombast of the opening track, “Step Aside.”

21. Classless Act – Welcome To The Show

No inhibitions showing with this Sunset Strip-worthy record. All your favorite bands are spirited here in unfiltered, lighter waving style.

20. Hollis Brown – In The Aftermath

After much debate in the halls of Rock is the New Roll as to whether or not to include this on the list, common sense prevailed. After all, Aftermath is a favorite Stones album among many. Here, the presentations are not slavish interpretations and don’t try to replicate the swamp-boogie of the original. Which at the end of the day is extremely cool.

19. Simon McBride – The Fighter

This Blues-Rock guitar slinger from The Emerald Isle channels Paul Rodgers and Bad Company with the best of them. Just listen to the opening track, “Don’t Dare,” and tell us we’re wrong. And, things only get better from there.

18. Banditos – Right On

Mary Beth Richardson is the secret sauce behind Banditos, an eclectic band with touches of Los Lobos, Lone Justice, and the backing band for the Titty Twister bar in Tarantino’s From Dusk Til Dawn.

17. The Coffis Brothers – Turn The Radio Up

Seemingly hailing from Woodstock, laying down tracks that easily could have been songs from From The Big Pink, with Tom Petty and his Heartbreakers as the backing band, this is an Americana treasure.

16. Fernweh – Torschlusspanik!

T Tex meets ‘80s Brit Pop with a lot of Classic Rock nuances sprinkled in is the order of the day on this fine sophomore release. Listen for Paul McCartney and Harry Nilsson touchstones as well.

15. April March – In Cinerama

Truly, a cinematic wonder to behold April March walks that delicate line between the sultriness of Dusty Springfield and the bombast of Shirley Bassey. The French Pop arrangements sprinkled in only serve to enhance an already eclectic listen.

14. The Americans – Stand True

With no less than musical Sensei Rick Rubin in their corner, L.A.-based band, The Americans, are blazing a new Americana trail by putting one fret firmly in the here and now while placing another clearly in the past. If your Jam is Springsteen, Mellencamp, or Petty, these fellas will wet your whistle just fine.

13. Band of Horses — Things Are Great

Another raggedly glorious effort from The Band of Horses, this one is a bit of a return to form. Back to their Indie Rock roots, with a bit more jangle in their step than demonstrated on their previous two albums, Bill Barnwell and his latest band of horses deliver on one of the better Americana releases of the year.

12. Mike Campbell and the Dirty Knobs – External Combustion

A bit more rock than you might expect from the guitar player for Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, but that definitely is not a bad thing on this set of Midwest-rooted, Americana-tinged, tunes. Guest turns from Margo Price and Ian Hunter make this one even cooler.

11. Silverbacks – Archive Material

There is more than a hint of The Talking Heads in the DNA of this Irish five-piece. The melodies are catchy with a post-punk flair that will bring to mind Devo.

10. Hurray For The Riff Raff – Life On Earth

Best described as Folk Blues Punk, Alynda Seggara and the rest of the Riff Raff deliver a thoughtful set of songs that seem to reflect on their new found outlook on life with a fresh perspective and a less jaded world view.

09. Horsegirl – Versions of Modern Performance

Artfully blending ‘80’s Indie Rock and ‘90s shoegaze, Horsegirl has risen above the radar to emerge as on of the most vibrant young bands on the scene today.

08. Angel Olsen – Big Time

Much less symphonic and much more introspective, the new Angel Olson L.P. is a study in restraint. Going down like the last call at a honky tonk bar, the subtle arrangements and dreamy pedal steel coalesce with Olson’s dream weaver vocals to create a perfect antidote for a poisoned world.

07. Gymnasium – Hansen’s Pop ‘N’ Rock Music ’22

A who’s who of the Boston music scene pitch in on this robustly energized set of 22 songs that will rekindle your love for Power Pop. The Cheap Trick-induced “Tavern at the End of the World” is worth the price of admission alone, and the ghosts of Pink Floyd that make an appearance on “Down to a Glimmer” will leave you wanting more.

06. Gyasi – Pronounced Jah See

Glittering bombast of rock and roll excess, shades of T Rex, early David Bowie, and all the glam you can fit in one record, Gyasi will be your next favorite guilty pleasure.

05. The Delines – Sea Drift

Sure, the singer is mostly Amy Boone on this one, but the heart and soul of this band is Willy Vlautin, the songwriter and novelist. You probably missed this since it came out pretty early in the year. This one is a collection of William Faulkner’s short stories come to life in a song.

04. Bye Bye Blackbirds – August Lightning Complex

With Lenny Gill back and better than ever, Bye Bye Blackbirds have released their best record to date, which is saying a lot since 2020’s Boxer at Rest was an instant classic. Blending REM, Big Star, and the more listenable aspects of The Replacements, this record is rich in diversity, tones, and texture with first-class songwriting courtesy of bandleader Bradley Skaught who delivers a set of vocal turns that veer between Elvis Costello, lost weekend-era John Lennon, and Alex Chilton.

03. Black Keys – Dropout Boogie

Following quickly on the heels of Delta Kreame, the 2921 deep blues cover, album, this layer record is more loose and lively with a lot of Blues-Boogie to savor. “Baby, I’m coming home” gives a nod to The Allman Brothers “Midnight Rider,” and Kings of Leon’s Angelo Petraglia lends a hand on “Wild Child,” and the king of Boogie himself, Billy Gibbons even makes an appearance.

02. Michael Rault – Michael Rault

Fully entrenched in the studio wizardry of the ‘60s and the ’70s, this is a delicious throwback melding of ‘70s FM rock, pop, and soul.

01. Spoon – Lucifer On The Sofa

With a nod to The Kinks, Prince, and Motown, ten records in, this one might be their best. Good old-fashioned rock and roll, glam, and ’70s riffs all coalesce into one of the best albums of the year.

Best Albums of 2022: Kai Danzberg – Satellite

You will be hard-pressed to find another record that is released this year that will be as perfectly crafted, concisely produced, and all-around fun as this one. Holding his fingers to the frets, his hands to the piano, or his feet to the fire, Kai Danzberg would tell you that his greatest musical influences are Michael Jackson, E.L.O., Jellyfish, Drake Bell, and The Beatles. Listen carefully and you will find every one of these artists making an appearance on his terrific new record, Satellite.

“Lonely Together” jaunts down the highway with a hint of mid-era “I’m In Love With My Car” Queen vibes by way of The Little River Band, and “Voodoo Woman” pumps up the party vibes with more than a little dusting of Elo’s “Evil Woman” if George Michal recorded the song in a New Orleans studio complete with a horn section that is. And, yes there is cowbell.

With “Diva Eyes” and “Oh Baby,” two songs that would have slid in quite easily on any of the E.L.O. Discovery era records, Danzberg’s immense talent in crafting a perfect Pop song is on full display, if you are looking for a musical miss-step in this song cycle there is none to be found.

And, if you are still not convinced, heed the advice on “Turn It Up” and turn up the volume up to 11 to savor this ear-worm-worthy epic that features Roger Manning of Jellyfish on keyboards.

With an entirely new listening experience awaiting around the corner, track to track, your ears are not deceiving you. An early candidate for album of the year may have just surfaced.

Song of the Day: West Coast Music Club – Fanclub Favorite

Very much an under-the-radar group West Coast Music Club teams up with Pop maestro Kai Danzeberg on this single from their latest record, Faded Scrapbook. If there was ever a doubt that these guys should be bigger it’s all in the lyrics, “You’re still our favorite, though you never really made it.”

Five Cool Ones: Five New Records Released This Week (July 1, 2022)

The pickings are a bit slim this week, but we do the work so you don’t have to in curating the best of the crop.

First Aid Kit is out with a freshly minted video, “Angel,” live from Glastonbury.

Nervous Eaters, another great band courtesy of Wicked Cool Records, have released “Wild Eyes” in advance of a soon-to-be-released record.

And,

In a week of slim Pickens, here are five nice nuggets we were able to surface for you.

Classless Act – Welcome To The Show

That buzz you are hearing is not a swarm of killer bees heading to a rock festival near you, what you are hearing is the hype surrounding one of the freshest retro-rock bands to come on the scene in quite some time.

Equal parts Sunset Strip swagger, Aerosmith Blues-Rock, and AC/DC riff-ready anthems, Classless Act is primed and ready to satisfy your appetite for destruction.

Feel free to skip right over the cringe-worthy title and opening track, a song that features the past his born-on date Vince Neil, and you are in for a Classic Rock feast for the ears.

“This is For You” is likely the pound-for-pound best song in the set, and would have been a prime B side on any of the Guns ‘N’ Roses singles, and “Thoughts From A Dying Man” features Jellyfish’ own Roger Manning on keyboards on a song that would have fit in quite nicely on any of the J-Fish albums.

If you are looking for a record from back in the day when rock reigned supreme, then this is your jam.

Jack Johnson – Meet The Moonlight

With his eighth proper studio album, and first in the last five years, Jack Johnson doesn’t paddle out to the really big swells on Meet The Moonlight, but that doesn’t make this any less chill.

On the opener, “Open Mind” you might as well be sitting next to a campfire on the beach listening to a guitar pull, and “3am Radio” is as a life-affirming record as you will hear all year.

Jack Johnson is an important artist that has a knack for emerging just when we seem to need him most. For best results, take the title track, “Meet The Moonlight,” for a spin with a Mai Tai in hand sitting underneath a coconut tree swaying in the wind.

Tijuana Panthers – Halfway To Eighty

Any band that blends Post Punk, Garage, Surf, and Rock, all with a distinctly low-fi edge, is very worthy of some of our ear time.

With a bit of Devo and a Dash of Green Day in the DNA of this record, the production value seems to have a bit of Lee And Nancy’s “Summer Wine” aura about it, most notably on “Take Back Time.” Stray Cats come to mind on “False Equivalent,” and “Man of Dust” has Link Wray written all over it.

Given their influences including the likes of Ty Seagall and Thee Oh Sees, this band is destined for better things with certainly more surprises just around the musical corner.

Joan Shelley – The Spur

As the state of the current state of affairs seems to be careening towards self-destruction, it is refreshing to come across an artist who is refreshingly old-school, and Joan Shelly with her latest, The Spur, has produced a timeless record that will at times take you back to the dust bowl, an East Tennessee farm with chickens wandering in the yard, and a civil war bride waiting for her soldier to come home from the war.

With a voice that floats to the heavens with refrains of Judee Sill and Joni Mitchell swirling in the clouds, “Between Rock and Sky” is as beautiful a song as you have likely heard all year, and “Like The The Thunder” will linger in your brain long after the final notes are struck.

Written and recorded during the heyday of the pandemic, this record seems to straddle the line between the happy and the sad while at the same providing a calming coping mechanism for the listener.

Supersonic Blues Machine – Voodoo Nation

A loose collective of a Blues Boogie band curated by Toto’s Steve Lukather. prior incarnations of the band have included Billy Gibbons, Slash, Steve Vai, and John Mellencamp’s drummer Kenny Aronoff.

This time around, the curation includes some newer-gun guitar slingers including Sonny Landreth, Eric Gales, Charlie Starr, and Kris Barras carrying most of the vocal duties.

Blues guitar dynamo King Solomon Hicks lends a Robin Trower flavor to “You and Me,” and the title track “Voodoo Nation” straddles that line between blues and funk. The closer, “All Our Love,” is pitch-perfect dirt road Americana tinged blues with Blackberry Smoker Charlie Starr stepping up on vocal duties.

With a passion project like this one and the talent level of the musicians called for duty here the results are as expected, Boogie-Blues stacular.

Five Cool Ones: Five New Records Released This Week (June 10, 2022)

The weather is starting to heat up and so is the tune-space

Amanda Shires, otherwise known as Mrs. Jason Isbell is out with a scorching new single, “Hawk For The Dove” in advance of her new record set to reach our shores later in the year.

Michael Monroe, ex of Hanoi Rocks proves once again that Rock is not dead with his latest record Dead, Jail or Rock and Roll.

And, Aussie siblings The Buckleys just might have released the hit of the summer with “Oops I Love You.”

And, hang loose everyone. On top of all that aural blissfulness, here are five hot-stepping records worthy of your ear-time.

Rust – The Resurrection of Rust

Rust was the name of a short-lived duo that consisted of Elvis Costello, then known as Declan MacManus, and singer songwriter Allan Mayes. Existing for approximately one year, the lads played the Liverpool pubs and coffee houses before Costello set out to find fame and fortune in London.

After connecting again in early 2021 to flesh out the idea of doing a one-off Rust reunion gig for charity, Elvis countered with a proposal to record a full-blown E.P.. and thus The Resurrection of Rust was born.

With a set list that harkens back to their pub rock days, every song on this set will strike a Rockpile chord. “Surrender To The Rhythm” is classic pub rock splendor circa 1962, and “Don’t Lose Your Grip On Love” would have been a perfect song for The Attractions to caress back in the day. But, it’s on “Everybody Knows This is Nowhere,” the Neil young staple, where the sun really shines and all is revealed as to why the duo got together in the first place.

Kelley Stoltz – The Stylist

Certainly on the medal stand of contemporary Power Pop mavens along with Brendan Benson and Matthew Sweet, weaving a tapestry of Rock, Folk Rock, Post Punk, and Power Pop, Kelley Stoltz proves, yet again, that he is simply incapable of making a bad record.

“We Grew So Far Apart” could have been a Standells Garage Rock Classic,” “It’s A Cold World” carries with it a bit of Harry Nilsson in the DNA, and on the opener, “Change,”Stoltz channels early ‘70s Steve Miller.

There are hooks everywhere on this record, “Wrong Number” even evokes the spirit of David Bowie. There is nary a miss-step anywhere on this one and it stands right up there with his best work.

American Aquarium – Chicamacomino

Almost twenty years into their career now and having produced two stellar records in the last five with Lamentations and Things Change, American Aquarium continues to play to their audience on their new record, Chicamacomico. A bit more stripped down and less edgy than their prior efforts, this one nevertheless has the band very much on-brand in telling working man stories from the perspective of the denizens of America’s heartland.

Death and mortality are the two centerpieces on display here, bookended by “The First Year,” a song that recalls the emotions that seem to be strongest the first year after a loved one’s death, and “Waking Up Echo’s,” a poignant tune that surfaces the ghosts brought about from a friend ending their life on their own terms.

The breezy first single, “All I Needed” is about as Country has things get on this album, and should be the most familiar to long-time fans of the band. And, “Wildfire” chronicles a relationship that goes from an ember to a forest fire at the flick of a match.

Make no mistake, the fact that Chicamacomico is a bit more of a sedate affair than you are used to hearing from BJ Barnham and the boys, the band has not lost their edge. They simply have found their groove.

The Dream Syndicate – Battle Hymns and True Confessions

Somewhat overlooked in the pantheon of ’80s Indie bands that have reunited, restructured themselves, etc, including The Pixies, The Replacements, Dinosaur Jr, among many others, The Dream Syndicate may be the most under the radar of them all. Growing up in the “Paisley Underground” scene, Steve Wynn and the band were mostly known for their stretched-out affairs with stylistic curves thrown at the listener from song to song on their albums. And, here on their latest, the fourth album since re-forming, equalling their 80’s output, the song generally remains the same.

On “Hard To Say Goodbye” the Velvet Underground influence and particularly the Lou Reed speak-sing vocal turn is somewhat difficult to hide, “Lesson Number One” is a bust-out rocker that has a bit of a Mark Lanegan despair about it, and “Every Time You Come Around” is a woozy Bowie evoking affair.

With Chris Cacavas, formerly of Green on Red on keyboards and now an official member of the group, there seems to be a more focused approach to the songs. This one is a timeless affair that can easily transport you back to 1985 and will have you pulling out those old Depeche Mode and Duran Duran CDS.

Florence Dore – Highways & RocketShips

An artist in the true sense of the word, Florence Dore is a professor of literature and creative writing at the university of North Carolina and has written a scholarly work entitled Novel Sounds drawing the link between Southern fiction in the Faulkner mold and Rock and roll.

Her latest, Highways and Rocket Ships, her first in four years, is a rollicking diverse affair. Part Country with a Mary Chapin Chapin Carpenter vibe, part Americana, and part Tom Petty, most strikingly on “Thundercloud (Fucking With Your Heart).”

With influences the likes of Lucinda Williams showing on “Rebel Debutante” and Steve Earle on the title track, which makes sense as her husband Will Rigby is Earle’s drummer, there is something for everyone on this record.

Given this cauldron of smart, literate songwriting mixed in with a Cracker Jack band with Hootie and The Blowfish, R.E.M., Steve Earle, and Son Volt pedigrees, it should come as no surprise that this one should be a contender for top 10 billing when the best Americana album of the year lists start to roll around.

Video of the Day: Generation Radio – Why Are You Calling Me Now?

With a somewhat dubious relationship with Frontier Records, a label that brings old and new rockers together to put out formula-laden records releasing one and done albums that the bands rarely tour behind, may have hit on one this time. Featuring former members of Tom Petty, Rascall Flatts and Chicago the band Radio Generation is bringing back 80’s Rock in the Journey, Night Ranger, Whitesnake mold. Color our ears perked up.