List Week is fully underway here at Dead Good Music! Yesterday we delivered our Favourite EPs of 2022, and today it is time for our favourite ALBUMS of the year. As always, music has gifted us plentiful amounts of good noise to enjoy, so making this list was very difficult. Tomorrow we will be releasing our favourite releases from 2022, which includes EPs, Albums and Singles that were written by the team here. Enjoy!
FAVOURITE ALBUMS OF 2022
Honourable mentions: The Big Moon – Here Is Everything, Mitski – Laurel Hell, Everything Everything – Raw Data Feel, Stella Donnelly – Flood, Franc Moody – Into the Ether
25. Bloc Party – Alpha Games
24. The Wombats – Fix Yourself, Not the World
23. OFF! – Free LSD
22. Viagra Boys – Cave World
21. Wet Leg – Wet Leg
20. The Chats – Get Fucked
19. Kendrick Lamar – Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers
18. Ghum – Bitter
17. The Beths – Expert In A Dying Field
16. Loose Fit – Social Graces
15. Fresh – Raise Hell
14. Yard Act – The Overload
13. Charlotte Adigéry, Bolis Pupul – Topical Dancer
12. Julia Jacklin – PRE PLEASURE
11. cheerbleederz – even in jest
10. Big Thief – Dragon New Warm Mountain I Believe In You
09. Little Simz – NO THANK YOU
08. Bob Vylan – Bob Vylan Presents The Price Of Life
07. Peaness – World Full Of Worry
06. Foals – Life Is Yours
05. Arctic Monkeys – The Car
With little to lose, Arctic Monkeys returned with an album that continued further down the sounds discovered on Tranquility Base Hotel & Casino. However, things seemed to be more realised second time around, blending together the astronomical heights with a more grounded foundation, bridging together the sounds of old and new. The result is an album that’s unafraid to stray from the past but does embrace it a little more this time.
04. Fontaines D.C. – Skinty Fia
Fontaines can do no wrong it seems. The third album from the Irish band showcased their songwriting abilities, once again proving that they are one of the best acts in recent years. Bridging together their more urgent, immediate sound on their debut and their drawn out, composed sound on their second, Skinty Fia brings the best of the both worlds.
03. Confidence Man – TILT
Probably the most fun you could ever have in a record; Confidence Man’s second album shatters the sophomore slump and gets us shaking our rump. That is an awful sentence but one that highlights the care-free attitude and freedom that oozes out of the record. Certainly more ambitious than it’s predecessor, TILT aims to offer the good times to everyone in attendance, delivering banger after banger. It is still a dream of ours to see them live, but we’re happy for TILT to give us a peak of that experience in our homes.
02. black midi – Hellfire
Utterly bizarre and crushing with highlights, black midi’s Hellfire is a behemoth of a record. Steeped in thick, gritty guitars and melodies that would contend with the strangest of dreams, it’s a challenging listen that is absolutely worth the effort.
01. Black Country, New Road – Ants From Up There
Speaking of strange, the top spot had to go to Black Country, New Road. While it still hurts to see that For the first time didn’t receive a Mercury award, the collective’s follow up proves that awards mean nothing, and that these guys should keep doing what they’re doing.
For what was to be their final record with Isaac Wood, Ants From Up There brought more of his quality lyricism and unhinged vocal performances, while diving into a new sound that brought an uplifting, brighter style to BC,NR. While things didn’t sound quite as murky as on its predecessor, the result is a song that highlights how talented the act is as a collective, and shows that they’ll continue to be fine in future projects.