As 2022 winds down, let’s count down the top 10 records of the year.
10. The Interrupters - “In The Wild”
As this band continues to grow its popularity all over the world, the songwriting has matched the band’s bigger aspirations. “Raised By Wolves” is a Hellcat band graduating to Bon Jovi, and “In The Mirror” sounds like modern day No Doubt if that existed.
9.Bartees Strange- “Farm to Table”
One of indie rock’s rising stars, Bartees Strange puts forth another solid effort. Songs like “Heavy Heart” and “Wretched” tug at your heart and try to drag you on the dance floor.
8.Lights- “PEP”
From the arena-rock ish opener “Besides Myself,” to the addictive EDM pop song “Okay Okay,” Lights covers a lot of ground on “PEP.” The Canadian singer/songwriter never loses her spark or focus though, as every track on “PEP” has its own unique qualities.
7. The 1975- “Being Funny in a Foreign Language”
The 1975 always shoots big, and there’s a lot more of the radio friendly 1980s/1990s dance influence that the band has tapped into the past few years on this album. “Being Funny in a Foreign Language” sounds like Jack Antonoff (Bleachers) produced a Rick Astley record in 2022.
6. The Wonder Years- “The Hum Goes on Forever”
This anxiety-ridden concept album about adulthood, and fatherhood works as a whole, but individually the songs stand on their own at the same time. The most complete emo/pop-punk record of the year is right here.
5. The Dangerous Summer- “Coming Home”
A big-sounding rock record that could easily be heard in the arenas if the band playing the songs were called The Killers or Kings of Leon. The Dangerous Summer scores big here with the title track “Coming Home,” “Dimensional Love,” Meet Me in the Morning, “and others
4. JER- “Bothered/ “Unbothered”
The sleeper ska record of the year, “Bothered/ Unbothered” is socially consciousness, catchy, and proves JER is more than just the Skatune Network ska cover guy.
3. Bloc Party- “Alpha Games”
Bloc Party doesn’t stray far from its artistic indie rock path on “Alpha Games,” and that’s fine. The band proves that they can still be bombastic and brilliant at times.
2.Taylor Swift- “Midnights”
She’s done it again. With two huge singles out the gate in “Anti-Hero” and “Bejeweled” (with equally as impressive music videos), “Midnights” is another moody, poppy jaunt that picks up right where “Folklore” and “Evermore” left off.
1.The Regrettes- “Further Joy”
Gone is the girl-power grit from the band’s previous work, but the pop sensibilities, upbeat energy, and strong songwriting remains intact. On “Further Joy,” the band furthered their sound to infuse even more indie pop into the band’s already repertoire of hooks, and memorable lines. It’s a grown-up record, that never fell off the Spotify rotation all year.
-By MIKE DAMANTE
If you are a fan of music, Mike Damante’s latest book “Hey Suburbia: A guide to the emo/pop-punk rise” is out now, and features interviews with Alkaline Trio, blink-182. Descendents, New Found Glory and others.