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- Music Review: Top 10 Albums of 2022 – Part 2 - 24 December, 2022
John Preston selects his favourite seven tracks of the week.
070 Shake, ‘Come Back Home’
Initially 070 Shake’s sophomore album You Can’t Kill Me seems simultaneously overstuffed and insubstantial, but this is an album that takes time before it reveals its potency. Few tracks here finish as they start off and ‘Come Back Home’ is as good an example of this often thrilling and episodic musical route as any.
Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Perfume Genius, ‘Spitting Off the Edge of the World’
With a title that is vividly translated both sonically and lyrically, Yeah Yeah Yeahs’ return to music after a hiatus is a doomy, electro-driven dive into the post-apocalyptic wasteland. Perfume Genius adds whispered paranoia to the song’s edges but it’s Karen O who brings the baby home.
Halsey, ‘So Good’
After a very public battle with her record label, Halsey has finally been able to release one of her most loved songs, ‘So Good’. A departure of sorts from the more experimental rock electro of ‘If I Can’t Have Love I Want Power’, Halsey has returned with a safer, more power-pop anthem. ‘So Good’ will doubtless be huge.
Grace Ives, ‘Lazy Day’
Grace Ives’ second album Janky is a tightly packed, micro-sized record that takes all of the lo-fi idiosyncrasies for her debut and pulls into a more focused, pop ideal. Janky is likely an early contender for album of the year and its charm and subtleties, combined with Ives’ clear and slyly powerful vocals, should be sought out immediately. ‘Lazy Day’ is a perfect introduction.
Sky Ferreira, ‘Don’t Forget’
At this rate we may get another album from Sky Ferreira by 2043, but at least the reclusive pop star finally releases another single after three years teasing it. Was it worth the wait seems a redundant question but ‘Don’t Forget’ is one of the star’s best: pounding drums, massive walls of synth and a superior attitude in the extreme, Sky Ferreira continues to rule.
HAAi, Jon Hopkins, ‘Baby, We’re Ascending’
From an album that plays with mixtape structures – and several dance genres from drum and bass, happy hardcore and trip hop – usually only for 90 seconds before another variant of beat bleeds in, ‘Baby, We’re Ascending’ is an absolutely ethereal banger. HAAi is fearless in her experimentation and she should soundtrack your summer.
Superorganism, ‘On & On’
Superorganism have really cornered the market on sarcastic and juvenile, eye-rolling dance-pop – that burrows its way into your brain and just refuses to move out. The once massive collective, now somewhat diminished in size, are prepping their next album, World Wide Pop, which indeed promises world domination.
