2022 - End Of The Year Retrospectives

The end of the year is approaching, and as it's our habbit here we look into some of the end-of-the-year reviews of music magazines. Some years ago I settled on 3 of them: Mojo, Uncut, and Classic Rock - even though I stopped buying the latter when it stopped giving away CD's. As usual, this year I've been busy researching the past and filling holes in my record collection, and haven't listened to a lot of new music. I believe I have 3 albums which were newly released in 2022: Fontaines D.C.'s Skinty Fia (Mojo's No.10, Uncut's No.17), Hurray for The Riff Raff's Life on Earth (Mojo No.30, Uncut No.22) and Los Bitchos' Let The Festivities Begin! (I believe it just made it into Rolling Stone's Top 100, but that's a list I won't delve into here). But I've listened to the free Best Of The Year samplers from Mojo and Uncut, as well as a few tracks on youtube, so I can share my impressions with you: Michael Head (formerly of Shack and The Pale Fountains) found himself on an improbably high position in these lists (No.1 Mojo, No3 Uncut). Based on what I've heard here Dear Scott must be a pretty charming acoustic indie LP, I was reminded of Paul Weller circa Wild Wood. Does that justify its high position? I'm not sure. Uncut's No.1 (Mojo No.11) is A Light for Attracting Attention by The Smile. Featuring two members of Radiohead, it's inevitably similar - but better than anything they've done in years, as here the experimentation doesn't lead to self-sabotage, opening them instead to different directions including funk - if your idea of funk is Can's "Vitamin C". Wet Leg (Mojo No.2, Uncut No.7) seem to have released the debut of the year - most other music publications seem to agree, too. It's a fresh-sounding upbeat indie-pop album with post-punk elements. Skinty Fia finally delivers on the promise of Fontaines D.C.'s debut, while Hurray for The Riff Raff's Life on Earth surprised me; based on what I had read about Alynda Segarra, I expected something folkier. Instead I got a combination of Lana Del Ray and P.J. Harvey - as you can imagine, I wasn't disapponted. Other magazines have placed Beyoncé's Renaissance on No.1 but it features relatively low here (number 27 Mojo, 53 Uncut). To be honest, I didn't find much to like either. I did like Horace Andy's Midnight Rocker (No. 4 Mojo, 32 Uncut). Nice to hear good old-fashioned dub reggae. Khruangbin have been on the rise for years, and here they team up with Vieux Farka Touré for an album dedicated to his legendary father, Ali (Mojo No.37, Uncut 39). Interesting pairing, but I think Khruangbin are the ones with the upper hand here. This sounds completely different from the Vieux Touré I saw in Groningen some 12 years ago, doing his "Hendrix in the Sahara" thing; I would have liked some more desert blues, certainly on an album named after Ali Farka Touré. On the Americana front, Wilco seem to follow a more traditional country route (the cuts I heard remind me of Grateful Dead and Gram Parsons) while Lambchop, Bill Callahan and Cass McCombs feature a more alt-rock sound. The new Arctic Monkeys LP makes a respectable showing (No. 5 Mojo, 23 Uncut), while Jack White has two albums in the lists: Fear of the Dawn (No.8 Mojo) and Entering Heaven Alive (No.69 Uncut). 90's rock heroes Spritualized (No.13 Mojo, 30 Uncut) and Suede (No.6 Mojo, 54 Uncut) are back in form; the sample tracks included are as good as anything they did in their heyday. Older veterans in these lists include Elvis Costello (No. 39 Mojo, 10 Uncut), Brian Eno (No. 65 Mojo, 9 Uncut) Levon Helm and Mavis Staples (No.22 Mojo, a version of "The Weight" on the free CD is reminiscent of their fantastic older takes on this song with The Band and Staple Singers), and Taj Mahal & Ry Cooder (Mojo No.38). Both free samplers also include tracks by Rich Ruth's I Survived, It's Over (No.16 Mojo, 47 Uncut). It's instrumental, somewhat experimental music. Interesting, but not for everyone. The last years a lot of great young female singers have appeared, and you can find some here (e.g. Aldous Harding, Weyes Blood, Joan Shelley, Angel Olsen, Julia Jacklin et al.) That's all very well, but as much as I like listening to the new Joni Mitchells and new Stevie Nickses, I have to ask: where are the female rockers? C'mon girls, you know you can rock! Just do it! Speaking of hard rock, Classic Rock magazine resides as ever in its own universe, a place where hair metal still rules: new albums by Def Leppard, Scorpions, Ozzy and Skid Row vie for the top position, while ZZ Top round up the top ten with yet another live album featuring 40-to-50-year-old tunes. If I'm not mistaken, the only overlap with the other lists is The Black Keys' Dropout Boogie (on No.47 here, 69 Mojo, 59 Uncut). Classic Rock is also the only one to include some prog rock in their top 10: Porcupine Tree on No.3 and Marillion on No.6. Nice to see some personal favorites like The Hellacopters, Fantastic Negrito, and Mongolian über-rockers The Hu make the list, too. Well, for some people Ozzy backed by Eric Clapton on guitar will always be infinitely more exciting than anything Michael Head can come up with. And if you think that bands like Def Leppard and Scorpions (not to mention Red Hot Chili Peppers, Muse, Rammstein, and Cult, whom mainstream magazines seem to have forgotten of) are irrelevant in 2022, just look at which bands are that fill the stadiums.

 

MOJO MAGAZINE TOP 75 1.Dear Scott (Michael Head & The Red Elastic Band) 2. Wet Leg (Wet Leg) 3. Cheat Codes (Danger Mouse and Black Thought) 4. Midnight Rocker (Horace Andy) 5. The Car (Arctic Monkeys) 6. Autofiction (Suede) 7. YTI⅃AƎЯ (Bill Callahan) 8. Fear of the Dawn (Jack White) 9. Stumpwork (Dry Cleaning) 10.Skinty Fia (Fontaines D.C.) 11. A Light for Attracting Attention (The Smile) 12.Warm Chris (Aldous Harding) 13. Everything Was Beautiful (Spiritualized) 14. And In The Darkness, Hearts Aglow (Weyes Blood) 15. Cruel Country (Wilco) 16. I Survived, It's Over (Rich Ruth) 17. This Is A Photograph (Kevin Morby) 18. Hyper-Dimensional Expansion Beam (The Comet Is Coming) 19. In These Times (Makaya McCraven) 20. Weather Alive (Beth Orton) 21. Pompeii (Cate Le Bon) 22. Carry Me Home (Levon Helm and Mavis Staples) 23. Welcome 2 Club XIII (Drive-By Truckers) 24. Reset (Panda Bear and Sonic Boom) 25. Angels & Queens – Part I (Gabriels) 26. The Spur (Joan Shelley) 27. Renaissance (Beyoncé) 28. Tresor (Gwenno) 29. Chloë and the Next 20th Century (Father John Misty) 30. Life on Earth (Hurray for the Riff Raff) 31. Timbuktu (Oumou Sangaré) 32. Endless Rooms (Rolling Blackouts Coastal Fever) 33. Forfolks (Jeff Parker) 34. Mr. Morale & the Big Steppers (Kendrick Lamar) 35. Cool It Down (Yeah Yeah Yeahs) 36. I Love You Jennifer B (Jockstrap) 37. Ali (Vieux Farka Touré & Khruangbin) 38. Get On Board: The Songs of Sonny Terry & Brownie McGhee (Taj Mahal & Ry Cooder) 39. The Boy Named If (Elvis Costello & The Imposters) 40. The Mars Volta (The Mars Volta) 41. Breaking The Thermometer (Leyla McCalla) 42. Heartmind (Cass McCombs) 43. Gold (Alabaster DePlume) 44. Fear Fear (Working Men's Club) 45. The Overload (Yard Act) 46. Ants From Up There (Black Country, New Road) 47. Fever Dreams Pts. 1-4 (Johnny Marr) 48. For The Sake of Bethel Woods (Midlake) 49. Anaïs Mitchell (Anaïs Mitchell) 50. Jazz Codes (Moor Mother) 51. (watch my moves) (Kurt Vile) 52. All Of Us Flames (Ezra Furman) 53. Heart Is Strange (Xpropaganda) 54. Good and Green Again (Jake Xerxes Fussell) 55. Dentures Out (Proclaimers) 56. Dragon New Warm Mountain I Believe in You (Big Thief) 57. Shebang (Oren Ambarchi) 58. Most Normal (Gilla Band) 59. Fossora (Björk) 60. Lucifer on the Sofa (Spoon) 61. See You in the Stars (Lightning Seeds) 62.Topical Dancer (Charlotte Adigéry & Bolis Pupul) 63. Riderless Horse (Nina Nastasia) 64. Loggerhead (Wu-Lu) 65. FOREVERANDEVERNOMORE (Brian Eno) 66. Big Time (Angel Olsen) 67. Spencer Gets It Lit (Jon Spencer & the HITmakers) 68. The Bible (Lambchop) 69. Dropout Boogie (The Black Keys) 70. For McCoy (Eiko Ishibashi) 71. Pre Pleasure (Julia Jacklin) 72. The Line Is A Curve (Kae Tempest) 73 Recordings from the Åland Islands (Jeremiah Chiu & Marta Sofia Honer) 74. LP.8 (Kelly Lee Owens) 75. I Got a Love (Elizabeth King)

UNCUT TOP 75 1. A Light for Attracting Attention (The Smile) 2. The Spur (Joan Shelley) 3. Dear Scott (Michael Head & The Red Elastic Band) 4. Big Time (Angel Olsen) 5. Dragon New Warm Mountain I Believe in You (Big Thief) 6. Cruel Country (Wilco) 7. Wet Leg (Wet Leg) 8. Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers (Kendrick Lamar) 9. FOREVERANDEVERNOMORE (Brian Eno)10. The Boy Named If (Elvis Costello & The Imposters) 11. The Sea Drift (The Delines) 12. How Is It That I Should Look At The Stars (The Weather Station) 13. Pompeii (Cate Le Bon) 14. Weather Alive (Beth Orton) 15. The Bible (Lambchop) 16. The Ruby Cord (Richard Dawson) 17. Skinty Fia (Fontaines D.C) 18. Tresor (Gwenno) 19. We’ve Been Going About This All Wrong (Sharon Van Etten) 20. (watch my moves (Kurt Vile) 21. Hellfire (black midi) 22. Life on Earth (Hurray for the Riff Raff) 23. The Cars (Arctic Monkeys) 24. Stumpwork (Dry Cleaning) 25.Heartmind (Cass McCombs) 26. I Love You Jennifer B (Jockstrap) 27. Ants From Up There (Black Country, New Road) 28. The Comet Is Coming - Hyper-Dimensional Expansion Beam 29. Julia Jacklin -  Pre Pleasure 30. Spiritualized - Everything Was Beautiful 31. Kevin Morby - This Is A Photograph 32. Horace Andy - Midnight Rocker 33. Sudan Archives - Natural Brown Prom Queen 34. Daniel Rossen - You Belong There 35. Panda Bear & Sonic Boom - Reset 36. S.G. Goodman - Teeth Marks 37. Bitchin Bajas - Bajascillators 38. Courtney Marie Andrews - Loose Future 39. Khruangbin & Vieux Farka Touré - Ali 40. Ty Segall - "Hello, Hi" 41. Rolling Blackouts Coastal Fever - Endless Rooms 42. Jana Horn - Optimism 43. Revelators Sound System - Revelators 44. Makaya McCraven - In These Times 45. Aldous Harding - Warm Chris 47. Rich Ruth - I Survived, It's Over 48. Carson McHone - Still Life 49. Bill Callahan - YTI⅃AƎЯ 50. Drive-By Truckers - Welcome 2 Club XIII 51. Jake Xerxes Fussell - Good and Green Again 52. Tim Bernardes - Mil Coisas Invisíveis 53. Beyoncé - Renaissance 54. Suede - Autofiction 55. Amanda Shires - Take It Like a Man 56. Father John Misty - Chloë and the Next 20th Century 57. Oren Ambarchi, Johan Berthling & Andreas Werliin - Ghosted 58. Pye Corner Audio - Let's Emerge! 59. The Black Keys - Dropout Boogie 60. Sarah Davachi - Two Sisters 61. Yard Act - The Overload 62. Jenny Hval - Classic Objects 63. Robyn Hitchcock - Shufflemania! 64. Ghost Power - Ghost Power 65. Beach House - Once Twice Melody 66. The Unthanks - Sorrows Away 67. Jake Blount - The New Faith 68. Kathryn Joseph - for you who are the wronged 69. Jack White - Entering Heaven Alive 70. Tommy McLain - I Ran Down Every Dream 71. Angeline Morrison - The Sorrow Songs: Folk Songs of Black British Experience 72. Širom - The Liquified Throne of Simplicity 73. Aoife Nessa Frances - Protector 74. Chris Forsyth - Evolution Here We Come 75. Drugdealer - Hiding in Plain Sight

 

CLASSIC ROCK TOP 50 1. Def Leppard - Diamond Star Halos 2. Ghost - Impera 3. Porcupine Tree - Closure/Continuation 4. Clutch - Sunrise On Slaughter Beach 5. Scorpions - Rock Believer 6. Marillion - An Hour Before It's Dark 7. Ozzy Osbourne - Patient Number 9 8. Alter Bridge - Pawns & Kings 9. Skid Row - The Gang's All Here 10. ZZ Top - Raw: That Little Ol’ Band From Texas Original Soundtrack 11. Tedeschi Trucks Band - I Am The Moon 12. Ann Wilson - Fierce Bliss 13. Massive Wagons - Triggered! 14. Slash Ft. Myles Kennedy & The Conspirators - 415. Von Hertzen Brothers – Red Alert In The Blue Forest 16. Red Hot Chili Peppers - Unlimited Love 17. The Cult - Under The Midnight Sun 18. Thunder - Dopamine 19. Michael Monroe - I Live Too Fast To Die Young 20. Big Big Train - Welcome To The Planet 21. H.E.A.T.: Force Majeure 22. Saxon - Carpe Diem 23. Reef - Shoot Me Your Ace 24. Eddie Vedder - Earthling 25. Journey - Freedom 26. Halestorm - Back From The Dead 27. The Sheepdogs - Outta Sight 28. Rammstein - Zeit 29. Eric Gales - Crown 30. Rosalie Cunningham - Two Piece Puzzle 31. Muse - Will Of The People 32. Tuk Smith & The Restless Hearts - Ballad Of A Misspent Youth 33. The Hu - Rumble Of Thunder 34. Ginger Wildheart & The Sinners - Ginger Wildheart & The Sinners 35. Jethro Tull - The Zealot Dream 36. Megadeth - The Sick, The Dying... And The Dead! 37. Monster Truck - Warriors 38. Joe Lynn Turner - The Belly Of The Beast 39. Magnum - The Monster Roars 40. The Hellacopters - Eyes Of Oblivion 41. Dan Reed Network - Let's Hear It For The King 42. Fantastic Negrito - White Jesus Black Problems 43. Nickelback - Get Rollin' 44. Whiskey Myers - Tornillo 45. FM - Thirteen 46. Cardinal Black - January Came Close 47. The Black Keys - Dropout Boogie 48. Bonnie Raitt - Just Like That 49. Buzzcocks - Sonics In The Soul 50. Cats In Space - Kickstart The Sun