Favorite Records of 2022

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Clams
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Favorite Records of 2022

Post by Clams »

Time for the year-end thread.

Right now my top tier will be Tyler Childers' Can I Take My Hounds to Heaven (Hallelujah version, disc 1) and Kurt Vile's (watch my moves) with the Truckers' Welcome to Club 13 slotting in just below those two. Still holding out hope for Caitlin Rose's Cazimi which comes out later this month.
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Re: Favorite Records of 2022

Post by beantownbubba »

When I first saw this post I thought "uh oh don't tell KG" (who believes the year ends 12/31) but then I thought about it and I realized it's not even Thanksgiving yet, and just like the commercials that have already inundated the airwaves, it's too soon.
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Re: Favorite Records of 2022

Post by Zip City »

Pretty low number of new records for me, and some that I really anticipated (Kendrick) were only just okay.

DBT is good. Black Thought might be AOTY
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Re: Favorite Records of 2022

Post by Kudzu Guillotine »

beantownbubba wrote:
Mon Nov 14, 2022 7:09 pm
When I first saw this post I thought "uh oh don't tell KG" (who believes the year ends 12/31) but then I thought about it and I realized it's not even Thanksgiving yet, and just like the commercials that have already inundated the airwaves, it's too soon.
I've already started putting together a list of favorites but it is by no means definitive. Pretty much everyday I discover some new release I haven't checked out yet. In no particular order, here are some of my current favorites.

Alvvays - Blue Rev
Plains - I Walked With You A Ways
Big Thief - Dragon New Warm Mountain I Believe in You
S.G. Goodman - Teeth Marks
The Beths - Expert in A Dying Field
Beth Orton - Weather Alive
Julia Jacklin - Pre Pleasure
Anna Tivel - Outsiders
Kenny Roby - self-titled
Bonny Light Horseman - Rolling Golden Holy
Lee Bains III & the Glory Fires - Old-Time Folks
Will Stewart - Slow Life
Courtney Barnett - Things Take Time, Take Time
The Dead Tongues - Dust
Kelsey Waldon - No Regular Dog
Angel Olsen - Big Time
Jake Xerxes Fussell - Good and Green Again

Late discoveries for me this year were plentiful as life issues have prevented me from digging into music as I have in the past. At the top of that list would be pre-2022 albums from Margo Cilker, Julia Jacklin (especially Crushing), and Mylee Grace just to name a few. I haven't checked to see what albums are due in 2023 but among the most highly anticipated are the new ones from Margo Price and H.C. McEntire.

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Re: Favorite Records of 2022

Post by Zip City »

Finally listened to the Childers album. Good stuff.

I’ll throw in a vote for the Amanda Shires record as well
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Re: Favorite Records of 2022

Post by Tequila Cowboy »

Most years, I make a top-ten album list, but I’ve taken a different approach this year. While I’ve still listed my top ten, along with the honorable mentions, it’s really about the albums that stood out and made me listen more than any sort of value judgment. I will briefly touch on my top three here, but that’s not a slight to the excellent records later in the list.

As anyone that has spent five minutes discussing music with me knows, I have a thing for big, sprawling albums that shouldn’t work but somehow do. This category includes Exile on Main Street, Zen Arcade, Southern Rock Opera, Wowee Zowee, and both London Calling and Sandinista! Some work better than others, as the two Clash records illustrate rather profoundly, but they all have bear the gift of artistry. Sometimes interesting is every bit as exciting as good, and when an album has both of those elements in spades, that album will draw me in body and soul. Big Thief- Dragon New Warm Mountain, I Believe in You is just such a record. Adrianne Lenker’s voice is the glue here, along with her brilliantly personal and often cryptic lyrics. Only this type of album can house a song like “Spud Infinity,” which is ostensibly a metaphor using the humble potato at its center. Still, in actuality, it is an existential musing on life itself. Oh, and did I mention the jaw harp that at first sounds incongruous but, upon repeated listens, proves to be the perfect instrumental touch? It’s brilliant, as is the whole record. I rarely go two days without a listen. It’s my favorite album since Drive-By Truckers American Band in 2016.

The next album on my list is Kevin Morby -This is a Photograph, and while not having the epic scope of the Big Thief album, I love every bit as much. The statement about Dragon New War Mountain being my favorite album since 2016, but if it didn’t exist, this record would simply take its place. This is a Photograph is, at its heart, a simple collection of songs, but a theme of memory, loss, love, and joy in life reveals itself reasonably quickly. The title track has him looking at family pictures of his father and his mother, describing what they’re saying to him in the images. After both descriptions, Morby sings, “This is what I’ll miss bout being alive, this is what I’ll miss after I die,” which he hauntingly repeats later in the song, but there’s no sadness, just a realization about what’s important in life. For obvious reasons, that speaks to me. I could go on about this album for hours, but I’m giving you snapshots of these few albums. Suffice it to say, I love this record, and like the Big Thief, I rarely go very long without listening to it.

The third of this incredible trifecta at the top of my list is Welcome to Club iii. My love of Drive-By Truckers is no secret, and certainly, that informs my opinions of their albums sometimes, but this one stands on its own without that. Like the Kevin Morby record, it deals with memory and self-reflection without romanticism. The two standouts are Patterson Hood’s “The Driver,” which recounts his experiences from earlier decades that came to color everything in his career that came after. The other masterpiece here is from Mike Cooley in “Every Single Storied Flameout,” a song as much about accountability as it is a look behind. This record is a departure from the political era the band mined from Amrican Band through The Unraveling. However, it’s still the same band reflecting on life, this time emphasizing the inward over the broader scope of the world. It’s no less powerful, though.

The rest of my list contains albums that could swap places with any of the top three on any given day. Lee Bains once again proves himself a master of folk music as punk expression and Plains combine great songs with the most sublime harmonies I’ve heard in some time. Craig Finn’s album reflects on memory and experience in a unique and timeless way, and Teeth Marks from S. G. Goodman takes personal to another level with grace and humor. The time I’ve spent on these albums has been well spent, and I fully expect to spend much more diving into their charms.

2022 in review

Dragon New Warm Mountain I Believe in You-Big Thief
This is a Photograph- Kevin Morby
Welcome to Club xiii- Drive-By Truckers
A Legacy of Rentals- Craig Finn
Old Folks at Home- Lee Bains III and the Glory Fires
Watch My Moves- Kurt Vile
Teeth Marks- S. G. Goodman
For Executive Meeting- The Paranoid Style
Rolling Golden Holy- Bonny Light Horseman
I Walked with You A Ways- Plains

Honorable mentions

Sea Drift- The Delines
Take it Like a Man- Amanda Shires
Forsythia- Caleb Caudle
Big Time- Angel Olsen
Bloodline Maintenance- Ben Harper
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Re: Favorite Records of 2022

Post by chuckrh »

I'll think of some others later but right at the top for me is "Time Capsule" by Particle Kid. Just saw Micah play a few weeks ago opening for Flaming Lips & he brings it live, too. He also came out with the Lips for a song & did a mind blowing guitar solo. The kind where the rest of the musicians stand there & stare at him.

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Re: Favorite Records of 2022

Post by cortez the killer »

Still working out my albums list/ranking, but in the meantime, here are my Top 25 songs of 2022, essentially in order.

Top 25 Songs
1. Belize - Danger Mouse & Black Thought (featuring MF DOOM)
2. The Driver – Drive-by Truckers
3. Climbing a Ramp – Guided by Voices
4. Coyotes – Bill Callahan
5. Chevrolet – Neil Young & Crazy Horse
6. Pharmacist – Alvvays
7. Strangers - Danger Mouse & Black Thought (featuring A$AP Rocky and Run the Jewels)
8. Anti-Glory – Horsegirl
9. Runner – Alex G
10. The Hardest Cut – Spoon
11. Roosevelt’s Marching Band – Guided by Voices
12. Couldn’t Leave U if I Tried – Young Guv
13. Madison – Drugdealer
14. Not Worth Knowing – Tony Molina
15. Where I’ll Stand – The Dream Syndicate
16. Cruel Country – Wilco
17. In Lies – Green/Blue
18. I Feel Fine – Reptaliens
19. Fool’s Gold – Built to Spill
20. Driver’s Story – Dry Cleaning
21. Quantum Leap – Roc Marciano w/ The Alchemist
22. Socrates in Thin Air – Robyn Hitchcock
23. Valentine – Drugdealer
24. Up to My Elbows - The Stroppies
25. Problem with It – Plains
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Re: Favorite Records of 2022

Post by cortez the killer »

My favorite 2022 Albums

1. Cheat Codes/Danger Mouse & Black Thought
2. Crystal Nuns Cathedral/GBV
3. Tremblers and Goggles by Rank/GBV
4. When the Wind Forgets Your Name/Built to Spill
5. YTI⅃AƎЯ/Bill Callahan
6. Hiding in Plain Sight/Drugdealer
7. Ultraviolet Battle Hymns and True Confessions/The Dream Syndicate
8. Stumpwork/Dry Cleaning
9. Versions of Modern Performance/Horsegirl
10. Cruel Country/Wilco
11. Blue Rev/Alvvays
12. The Elephant Man's Bones/Roc Marciano & The Alchemist
13. Natural Part/Horse Jumper of Love
14. Paper Thin/Green/Blue
15. Levity/The Stroppies
16. Lucifer on the Sofa/Spoon
17. World Record/Neil Young & Crazy Horse
18. Love the Stranger/Friendship
19. Welcome 2 Club XIII/Drive-By Truckers
20. In the Fade/Tony Molina
21. Sanguine Truth/The Casual Dots
22. GUV III/IV/Young Guv
23. Shufflemania/Robyn Hitchcock
24. Forever for a Little While/The Green Pajamas
25. Wet Leg/Wet Leg

2022 Spotify Playlist:
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Re: Favorite Records of 2022

Post by Mundane Mayhem »

I think my #1 is Hurray for the Riff Raff's Life on Earth. A stunner.

Aside from that, in no particular order, 20 more:

Lee Bains III & The Glory Fires, Old-Time Folks
DBT, Welcome 2 Club XIII (layup)
MJ Lenderman, Boat Songs
Big Thief, Dragon New Warm Mountain I Believe in You
Adeem The Artist, White Trash Revelry
Nduduzo Makhathini, In the Spirit of Ntu
Kid Kapichi, Here's What You Could Have Won
Amanda Shires, Take It Like a Man
Zach Bryan, American Heartbreak
Plains, I Walked With You a Ways
Freddie Gibbs, $oul $old $eparately
Tyler Childers, Can I Take My Hounds to Heaven?
Rosalía, MOTOMAMI
Friendship, Love the Stranger
Beyoncé, RENAISSANCE
Charlotte Adigery and Bolis Pupul, Topical Dancer
Father John Misty, Chloe and the Next 20th Century
Linqua Franqa, Bellringer
Angel Olsen, Big Time
Wilco, Cruel Country
Last edited by Mundane Mayhem on Wed Dec 14, 2022 8:25 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Favorite Records of 2022

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You are entitled to your opinion, but you are not entitled to your own facts.
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Re: Favorite Records of 2022

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The only publication whose list I look forward to every year.
All it takes is one wicked heart, a pile of money, and a chain of folks just doing their jobs

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Re: Favorite Records of 2022

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Re: Favorite Records of 2022

Post by Clams »

Mundane Mayhem wrote:
Tue Dec 13, 2022 9:57 pm
The only publication whose list I look forward to every year.
Yep, you can always find a missed gem or two on there.
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cortez the killer
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Re: Favorite Records of 2022

Post by cortez the killer »

Bill in CT wrote:
Wed Dec 14, 2022 11:45 am
https://fastnbulbous.com/lucky-22/
Fester can genreize like nobody else. Some good stuff on there.
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Re: Favorite Records of 2022

Post by tinnitus photography »

preach on!
Elder’s particular style of psych prog and space rock may not have true mainstream potential, but I can’t help but think about Pink Floyd, who were a very different band, but they also had their own unique take on psych prog that translated to them becoming a global brand. I’ve read several books lately on why that isn’t possible anymore — more variety and sheer amount of music, more divergent tastes, unpopularity of rock, etc., but I still firmly believe there’s a lot more people out there who would dig Elder.

though i must correct him; The Vintage Caravan are from Iceland and not Finland.

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cortez the killer
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Re: Favorite Records of 2022

Post by cortez the killer »

tinnitus photography wrote:
Wed Dec 14, 2022 1:04 pm
preach on!
Elder’s particular style of psych prog and space rock may not have true mainstream potential, but I can’t help but think about Pink Floyd, who were a very different band, but they also had their own unique take on psych prog that translated to them becoming a global brand. I’ve read several books lately on why that isn’t possible anymore — more variety and sheer amount of music, more divergent tastes, unpopularity of rock, etc., but I still firmly believe there’s a lot more people out there who would dig Elder.

though i must correct him; The Vintage Caravan are from Iceland and not Finland.
Yeah, I listened to some Elder records for the first time ever yesterday. They are excellent.
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Re: Favorite Records of 2022

Post by tinnitus photography »

i haven't spent much time with the new one. it's hard to choose a favorite between Dead Roots Stirring, Lore and Reflections.

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Re: Favorite Records of 2022

Post by WarHenRecords »

Very proud to have had a release included in this list.



Favs:
Jeff Parker - Mondays at the Enfield Tennis Academy
Daniel Villarreal - Panama 77
Daniel Bachman - Almanac Behind
Elkhorn - Distances
Seawind of Battery - Clockwatching
Charles Stepney - Step on Step
Greyboy Allstars - Soul Dream
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Re: Favorite Records of 2022

Post by Mundane Mayhem »

And then Little Simz drops an album on December 12. I didn’t make a list last year, but I think she’d have topped it if I had. If you haven’t heard her and are at all open to rap music, I highly recommend you give her a shot.
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Re: Favorite Records of 2022

Post by Sterling Bigmouth »

Strong year, already excited for a few upcoming in early 2023 like Lucero and Margo Price.

1. Vince Staples - RAMONA PARK BROKE MY HEART
2. Drive-By Truckers - Welcome 2 Club XIII
3. Tyler Childers - Can I Take My Hounds to Heaven?
4. SZA - SOS
5. MJ Lenderman - Boat Songs
6. Alex G - God Save the Animals
7. Kendrick Lamar - Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers
8. Wade Sapp - Radio Check
9. Arlo McKinley - This Mess We’re In
10. Joshua Hedley - Neon Blue

And some honorable mentions:

John Moreland - Birds in the Ceiling
Lee Bains + the Glory Fires - Old-Time Folks
S.G. Goodman - Teeth Marks
Pusha T - It’s Almost Dry
Turn it up to 10 and rip off the knob

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Re: Favorite Records of 2022

Post by Mundane Mayhem »

S.G. Goodman is on my list too. Probably top 10.
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Zip Up to Michigan
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Re: Favorite Records of 2022

Post by Zip Up to Michigan »

1. Weyes Blood - "And In The Darkness, Hearts Aglow"
2. Animal Collective - "Time Skiffs"
3. Alvvays - "Blue Rev"
4. The New Mastersounds - "The Deplar Effect"
5. The Smile - "A Light For Attracting Attention"
6. SAULT - "Air"
7. Plains - "I Walked With You A Ways"
8. Arlo McKinley - "This Mess We're In"
9. Big Thief - "Dragon New Warm Mountain I Believe In You"
10. SZA - "SOS"

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Re: Favorite Records of 2022

Post by beantownbubba »

In answer to a kind of strange question, Christgau named these albums as among the best of the year:

I count maybe seven what I’d call “rock” records among my provisional 2022 A albums so far: Gogol Bordello, Drive-By Truckers, Superchunk, Derek Senn, Terry Klein, Amyl and the Sniffers, Paranoid Style, arguably Emperor X, how about Craig Finn or Bonnie Raitt, maybe Wet Leg or the Beths or the Mammoth Penguins.
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Re: Favorite Records of 2022

Post by lajakesdad »

I don't listen to a lot of new music these days but these are the ones heavy in my rotation this year.

Take it Like a Man - Amanda Shires (my #1)
Acoustic Sessions EP - Morgan Wade (my most listened to according to Spotify)
Welcome to Club XIII - DBT
Glowing Lantern - Mother Hips (released in Dec 2021 but I'm still counting it)
Giving it All Away - Greg Lioacono
Sarah Shook & The Disarmers - Nightroamer
I Walked With You a Ways - Plains

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Re: Favorite Records of 2022

Post by Kudzu Guillotine »

These are my favorite albums of the year. There are more that I listened to but these are the ones that stood out most to me in one way or another. Some, I've spent more of a considerable amount of time with than others. There are also others I just never got around to. Nothing against them but there are only so many hours in a day and as much as I'd love to, I'm not able to devote but so much time per day listening to music. That's mostly in my car going to and from work, road trips, and beach trips.
I don't use any apps to track my listening habits but I can say without question that the album I listened to most in 2022 was Julia Jacklin's Crushing from 2019. That was followed closely by Alvvays' debut from 2014. It was a year of catching up for me after going roughly two years without listening to anything beyond single songs on my laptop. Other albums from previous years I got around to in 2022 that got multiple spins also include Margo Cilker's Pohorylle and the debut album from Mylee Grace, Whiplash in the Moshpit, both from 2021. My favorite song of the year is "Wilder Days" by Drive-By Truckers which also just so happens to come from my favorite album of the year, Welcome 2 Club XIII. RIP, Wes Freed.
I also have to mention a late entry, Delusions of Grandeur by Sophie and the Broken Things. Sophie was Margo Cilker's lead guitarist when I saw her at Cat's Cradle - Back Room back in September where she proceeded to tear that shit up throughout the show. She told me about her band then but I just now got around to listening to their debut album. If not for seeing her with Margo I wouldn't know about it. If you're a fan of the roots rock/Americana thing, it should be right up your alley. I hear shades of Emmylou (among other influences) but their sound is all their own. Highly recommended.

Drive-By Truckers - Welcome 2 Club XIII
Big Thief - Dragon New Warm Mountain I Believe in You
Plains - I Walked With You A Ways
S.G. Goodman - Teeth Marks
The Beths - Expert in A Dying Field
Beth Orton - Weather Alive
Lee Bains & the Glory Fires - Old-Time Folks
Jake Xerxes Fussell - Good and Green Again
Will Stewart - Slow Life
Anna Tivel - Outsiders
Kenny Roby - self-titled
Bonny Light Horseman - Rolling Golden Holy
Courtney Barnett - Things Take Time, Take Time
The Dead Tongues - Dust
Kelsey Waldon - No Regular Dog
Kaitlin Butts - What Else Can She Do
Amanda Anne Platt & the Honeycutters - The Devil and the Deep Blue Sea
Sarah Lee Langford and Will Stewart - Bad Luck and Love
Angel Olsen - Big Time
Alvvays - Blue Rev
Julia Jacklin - Pre Pleasure
Sophie and the Broken Things - Delusions of Grandeur

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Re: Favorite Records of 2022

Post by brettac1 »

1. Zach Bryan - "American Heartbreak"
2. Molly Tuttle & Golden Highway - "Crooked Tree"
3. Lee Bains + The Glory Fires - "Old-Time Folks"
4. Drive-By Truckers - "Welcome to Club XIII"
5. Tyler Childers - "Can I Take My Hounds To Heaven?"
6. Joshua Hedley - "Neon Blue"
7. 49 Winchester - "Fortune Favors the Bold"
8. Plains - "Walked With You a Ways"
9. Billy Strings & Terry Barber - "ME/AND/DAD"
10. Hailey Whitters - "Raised"

Honorable mention:
Kelsey Waldon - "No Regular Dog"
Miranda Lambert - "Palomino"
Tim Barry - "Spring Hill"
Arlo McKinley - "This Mess We're In"
Ian Noe - "River Fools & Mountain Saints"

All-in-all, I thought this was an outstanding year of music but it belonged to Zach Bryan for me. Absolutely incredible that he released a triple LP, a 9-song EP, and then released a spectacular live album on Christmas morning. One of the most exciting rises to watch over the past few years and it's stunning how rapidly he has progressed at his craft as a writer, as well as becoming a bandleader on the fly. Going from a YouTuber recording next to a campfire or on a tailgate to a headline act leading a band in sold-out major venues like he did is breathtaking.

There are several other albums I have also enjoyed but didn't get to spend enough time with to feel it was appropriate to rank them but certainly the best year of the COVID era by a wide margin.
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Re: Favorite Records of 2022

Post by Mundane Mayhem »

brettac1 wrote:
Mon Jan 02, 2023 1:28 pm
1. Zach Bryan - "American Heartbreak"
2. Molly Tuttle & Golden Highway - "Crooked Tree"
3. Lee Bains + The Glory Fires - "Old-Time Folks"
4. Drive-By Truckers - "Welcome to Club XIII"
5. Tyler Childers - "Can I Take My Hounds To Heaven?"
6. Joshua Hedley - "Neon Blue"
7. 49 Winchester - "Fortune Favors the Bold"
8. Plains - "Walked With You a Ways"
9. Billy Strings & Terry Barber - "ME/AND/DAD"
10. Hailey Whitters - "Raised"

Honorable mention:
Kelsey Waldon - "No Regular Dog"
Miranda Lambert - "Palomino"
Tim Barry - "Spring Hill"
Arlo McKinley - "This Mess We're In"
Ian Noe - "River Fools & Mountain Saints"

All-in-all, I thought this was an outstanding year of music but it belonged to Zach Bryan for me. Absolutely incredible that he released a triple LP, a 9-song EP, and then released a spectacular live album on Christmas morning. One of the most exciting rises to watch over the past few years and it's stunning how rapidly he has progressed at his craft as a writer, as well as becoming a bandleader on the fly. Going from a YouTuber recording next to a campfire or on a tailgate to a headline act leading a band in sold-out major venues like he did is breathtaking.

There are several other albums I have also enjoyed but didn't get to spend enough time with to feel it was appropriate to rank them but certainly the best year of the COVID era by a wide margin.
Zach is quite a talent. I think some are going to dismiss him because they perceive that he rose TOO quickly and didn't "pay his dues" or whatever authenticity-fetish horseshit they want to come up with to avoid having to cop to liking something "popular."

I've seen some stuff to this effect on Twitter. Someone the other day said he was "Justin Bieber for the boots and denim crowd" or something. Which is obviously insane. I also see a LOT of what we'll shorthand as "Morgan Wallen fans" in his Twitter mentions and think that he, more than Stapleton or Childers or anyone else, might be able to drag some people away from what they play on the radio and over into "our" world.
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Re: Favorite Records of 2022

Post by brettac1 »

Mundane Mayhem wrote:
Wed Jan 04, 2023 2:19 pm
brettac1 wrote:
Mon Jan 02, 2023 1:28 pm
1. Zach Bryan - "American Heartbreak"
2. Molly Tuttle & Golden Highway - "Crooked Tree"
3. Lee Bains + The Glory Fires - "Old-Time Folks"
4. Drive-By Truckers - "Welcome to Club XIII"
5. Tyler Childers - "Can I Take My Hounds To Heaven?"
6. Joshua Hedley - "Neon Blue"
7. 49 Winchester - "Fortune Favors the Bold"
8. Plains - "Walked With You a Ways"
9. Billy Strings & Terry Barber - "ME/AND/DAD"
10. Hailey Whitters - "Raised"

Honorable mention:
Kelsey Waldon - "No Regular Dog"
Miranda Lambert - "Palomino"
Tim Barry - "Spring Hill"
Arlo McKinley - "This Mess We're In"
Ian Noe - "River Fools & Mountain Saints"

All-in-all, I thought this was an outstanding year of music but it belonged to Zach Bryan for me. Absolutely incredible that he released a triple LP, a 9-song EP, and then released a spectacular live album on Christmas morning. One of the most exciting rises to watch over the past few years and it's stunning how rapidly he has progressed at his craft as a writer, as well as becoming a bandleader on the fly. Going from a YouTuber recording next to a campfire or on a tailgate to a headline act leading a band in sold-out major venues like he did is breathtaking.

There are several other albums I have also enjoyed but didn't get to spend enough time with to feel it was appropriate to rank them but certainly the best year of the COVID era by a wide margin.
I also see a LOT of what we'll shorthand as "Morgan Wallen fans" in his Twitter mentions and think that he, more than Stapleton or Childers or anyone else, might be able to drag some people away from what they play on the radio and over into "our" world.
Anecdotally, I will be seeing Zach this summer at Summerfest with some of those exact fans, who are friends of a friend who I'm going with. They paid like $500 to see Morgan Wallen just recently. Absolutely wild.

I think a big part of ZB's rise is the "Yellowstone factor." He's had a few songs on the show and I believe also a cameo (I haven't watched the series at all but it seems most people like it) and has gotten bounces from that.
Do you ever get tired of singin' songs
Like all your pain is just another fuckin' sing along?

beantownbubba
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Joined: Fri Apr 02, 2010 10:52 am
Location: Trying to stay focused on the righteous path

Re: Favorite Records of 2022

Post by beantownbubba »

As is by now SOP, I didn’t listen to a ton of new music this year, but I feel like I heard most of the albums most likely to grab my attention. The groupings more or less correspond to “A,” “A-,” “B+” and “I feel like I ought to like these a lot more than I do.” Rankings within each group are INPO.

I think I’m the first person to list the Bonnie Raitt album, which I find very surprising. I think it’s among her best work with multiple killer tracks.

Bonnie Raitt – Just Like That
Drive By Truckers – Welcome to Club XIII
The Paranoid Style – For Executive Meeting
SZA - SOS
2nd Grade – Easy Listening
The Beths – Expert in a Dying Field

Lee Bains & The Glory Fires – Old-Time Folks
Beyonce - RENAISSANCE
Alvvays – Blue Rev

Amanda Shires – Take It Like A Man
Craig Finn – A Legacy of Rentals
Taylor Swift - Midnights
Young Guv – III & IV

Plains – I Walked With You A Ways
Big Thief – Dragon New Warm Mountain I Believe In You

Note: Christgau seems to think that the Amyl & the Sniffers album was released in 2022 but it seems pretty clear that it was a 2021 release. It would be probably be in the second category if I included it.
What used to be is gone and what ought to be ought not to be so hard

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