Category: ambient music

JBL Endurance Peak II: One-minute review

The JBL Endurance Peak II are serious earbuds for serious workouts. They provide the fit and comfort that will get you through just about any exercise routine without having to adjust or mess with them. And, the sound quality with its big bass will keep your heart pumping to get through that last rep or the last 100 yards of a difficult run.

In essence, they do just enough right that most people in the market for the best running headphones or the best workout headphones will be happy with them. Of course, the JBL Endurance Peak II aren’t perfect as they lack a lot of the features that we’ve come to expect on the best earbuds such as active noise cancellation or app support. But, considering their sub-$100 price, these omissions are necessary evils. And, if you’re using these exclusively for workouts, they’re generally not missed.

JBL Endurance Peak II: Price and availability

• How much does it cost? $99.95 (£104.99 / AU$149.99)
• Where is it available? Available now
• Where can you get it? Available in the US, the UK, and Australia

Though the JBL Endurance Peak II aren’t going to break any records when it comes to budget workout headphones, an imaginary award we would give to an offering from JLab, their affordable price tag of $99.95 (£104.99 / AU$149.99) makes these earbuds a much more accessible pair than a lot of the competition.

The Beats Fit Pro, which we’re big fans of, do come with many more features such as active noise cancellation and ambient or passthrough mode but will also cost you twice as much at $199 (£199 / AU$299.95). If you want to stick with JBL, the JBL Reflect Aero are also much more feature-filled than the Endurance Peak II and aren’t that much more ($149 / £119), especially for those in the UK. However, they don’t come with those ear hooks for the incredibly secure fit that the Endurance Peak II have.

JBL Endurance Peak II: Design

• The fit is incredibly secure and mostly comfortable
• They’re light on features like ambient or transparency mode

What sets the JBL Endurance Peak II apart from most other earbuds are those large hooks that go around the ear. Sure, you can get these earbuds in three colors: black, blue, and white. But, these JBL earbuds are generally utilitarian in aesthetics. If you’re looking at these, it’s for functionality during a workout. And, thanks to those ear hooks, the Endurance Peak II are instantly among the better options out there, no matter how intense the workout.

The ear hooks are rubberized appendages that have enough give to comfortably fit around different size ears yet stiff enough that once secured, they won’t budge. In our testing, we can say that these didn’t move at all. And, we’ve tried out all sorts of earbuds including the traditional variety and those with wings such as the aforementioned Beats Fit Pro.

Of course, as solid and secure as that fit is, its comfort comes with a time limit. Since these earbuds are essentially locked into place around the ear and push the ear tip into our ear, it does start to exert some pressure after an hour or so. It’s a bit of a necessary trade-off. However, if you’re looking for a pair of earbuds to also use for everyday use whether on a commute or around the house, you might want to look elsewhere. But, for workouts, this tight fit is worth it.

While the JBL Endurance Peak II is light on a lot of features that we see on mid-tier earbuds such as active noise cancellation or app support, the only real feature we miss is some kind of ambient or transparency mode. Passive noise cancellation is more than adequate to block out noise, but when we’re out and about for a job, being able to hear traffic is critical to stay safe.

Yet, these earbuds are not devoid of features. They come with capacitive touch controls so you can pause music, adjust volume, answer a call, and more. And, they can be used in mono mode as well. You can use either earbud on its own to listen to music or jump on a call.

Lastly, as these are meant to weather the elements of most workouts, they come with an IPX7 rating. While that’s considered waterproof, don’t go swimming with these as they can’t survive long bouts underwater (you need an IPX8 rating for that) but they’ll handle sweat or brief submersion without taking on any damage.

JBL Endurance Peak II: Performance

• Good but not great sound quality
• Above-average battery life

Though the JBL Endurance Peak II won’t win any awards for audiophile-like audio quality, they sound pretty good, especially for the price. There’s quite a bit of low-end though not much sub-bass extension, the mids are balanced enough that they sound full without sounding too rich, and the high end is present without sounding harsh though we do find it a bit indistinct sounding, as it doesn’t have as much detail as we would like.

Going back to that low end, it’s intentionally bumped up to help you with your workouts. While we prefer more neutral-sounding headphones, that low-end is not egregiously out of balance. However, if you want to tame it, you’ll have to use a third-party EQ or built-in EQ on your phone to do so.

Though we’ve described these earbuds as being light on features, they thankfully still include the capability to take calls. And, they’re not bad. Our experience has generally been that almost all headphones and earbuds (excluding headsets with a boom mic) sound worse than speaking directly through a phone and rating the quality is a matter of how big that gap in performance is. So, with the JBL Endurance Peak II, the speaker does sound a little hollow and a little far away but is still very audible to the listener. In our estimation, that’s above average for a pair of earbuds.

Another feature that we consider to be above average is their battery life. The earbuds’ six hours of use without needing a charge is hardly world-beating but is inline with the Airpods Pro (with the Airpods’ ANC off). And, the additional 24 hours that the case provides is similarly on par. And, considering that these should mainly be used for exercising, that’s more than enough for anyone not running a triathlon.

Should I buy the JBL Endurance Peak II?

Buy it if…

Don’t buy it if…

Also consider

JBL Endurance Peak II: Report card

• First reviewed December 2022

How we test

We pride ourselves on our independence and our rigorous review-testing process, offering up long-term attention to the products we review and making sure our reviews are updated and maintained – regardless of when a device was released, if you can still buy it, it’s on our radar.

Read more about how we test

The past 12 months have seen the return of live music after the pandemic, bringing a new wave of young acts to stages across the UK.

ut 2022 was also a year in which artists who found a devoted fanbase on social media sites such as TikTok branched out and began dominating the charts.

The coming year will undoubtedly bring a new wave of talent. Here are the acts to keep on your radar in the coming months.

1. Flo

The three-piece vocal outfit formed when childhood friends Renee Downer and Stella Quaresma met Jorja Douglas at an audition.

They have said in interviews how their connection was almost instant.

Their debut single, Cardboard Box, produced by Little Mix and Dua Lipa-collaborator MNEK, was released in March.

The breakout anthem won praise for its sassy style and lyrics about empowerment, with scene-makers Missy Elliot and JoJo expressing support.

Flo have captured the zeitgeist with their retro-leaning R&B, which pays tribute to the Nineties and Noughties heyday of girl groups, and catchy choruses that seem tailor-made to go viral online.

– Listen: The soaring Losing You, for a taste of things to come

2. Fred again…

In-demand music producer Fred Gibson, 29, has worked with Ed Sheeran and Stormzy and played international festivals such as Primavera in Barcelona.

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But 2023 may be the year he breaks through as a solo artist.

The house and techno DJ, known for being a sensitive soul who intersperses his banging sets with moments of emotional piano and vulnerable audience chat, is on the edge of mainstream success.

Trained in classical music and mentored by ambient pioneer Brian Eno from the age of 16, his range extends from Afrobeats to bashment, pop and drill.

He has also built a devoted social media following through constant fan interactions and giveaways, even crowdsourcing decisions on how to edit specific tracks on Instagram.

“The whole thing of, ‘what type of music do you like?’ is such a dated concept and I’m so thrilled that’s the case,” he recently told The Guardian.

– Listen to: Marea (We’ve Lost Dancing), a lockdown anthem that went viral

3. Debbie

The young south-east London soul singer looks destined for greatness.

Signed to the forward thinking label 0207 Def Jam with a recent writing credit on Stormzy’s latest record, a debut album could soon be on its way.

This year, she opened for acts including John Legend and Lucky Daye with more high-profile slots on the way.

“What I want to stand for is truth music and making music that comes from the soul,” she recently told Rolling Stone UK.

Debbie cites Lauryn Hill as one of her biggest inspirations and, while their sounds may differ, it is clear they share the same urge to create music without compromise.

– Listen to: Cherry Wine, for its sultry atmosphere and powerful yet understated vocals.

4. Cat Burns

The south London native, 21, may have lost out on the Brit Awards Rising Star prize to Flo, but 2022 was still a promising year for the young gospel-tinged pop vocalist.

The former student at the Brit School – the performing arts establishment with alumni including Adele and Amy Winehouse – started busking on London’s South Bank.

“I don’t know if I’m ever going to make it. I’m just singing covers on the street,” she has recalled thinking at the time, but in lockdown she broke through on TikTok with covers and original music.

Her song Go was released in July 2020 and initially failed to trouble the charts.

It was not until this year that it rose to number two, winning her new fans who will be ready when more music arrives in the new year.

With 1.4 million followers on TikTok and 5.3 million monthly listeners on Spotify, Burns is already on her way to stardom.

– Listen to: Go (featuring Sam Smith) for an alternative version of her hit track

5. The Beths

2022 was not only about TikTok-focused pop.

The year saw a number of guitar bands make it big and New Zealand indie outfit The Beths are poised to follow in their footsteps in the coming months.

Fronted by vocalist and guitarist Elizabeth Stokes, their debut album Future Me Hates Me was released in 2018 to critical acclaim and their subsequent records have been praised by indie scene-leader Phoebe Bridgers.

Combining upbeat melodies with cerebral, sometimes even “super depressing” lyrics, The Beths chime with many current trends in UK pop.

After spending 2020 and most of 2021 at home in Auckland – where they recorded a live album and concert film at the city’s town hall, made possible by the nation’s tight borders amid the pandemic – The Beths were ready to be unleashed on tour.

Their third album, Expert In A Dying Field, was released in September and upcoming UK live dates could be the catalyst for a commercial breakthrough.

– Listen to: Expert In A Dying Field, the title track from their latest and most accomplished album

Want to add some local music to your playlists?

We’re listening to Syracuse-area artists who released new music in 2022, including rap, rock, R&B, country, pop, EDM and more. Some have millions of streams, like Baldwinsville band Council and Syracuse-bred rapper Scorey, or a long legacy like The Flashcubes, but they all have one thing in common: A passion for music.

Check out more than 65 artists from Central New York who released new albums and singles this year and where to stream or buy their songs below. (Note: Some songs may contain explicit lyrics not suitable for younger audiences.)

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Council – “Rust to Gold,” “Icon”

Baldwinsville brothers Pat, Doug and Andy Reeves, who hone the Council sound in the family barn, have opened for artists like The Strumbellas, All-American Rejects and The Kooks. Their self-produced song “Rust to Gold,” mixed by Grammy nominee Mark Needham and mastered by Grammy winner Howie Weindberg, has been streamed more than 13 million times on Spotify and been used in the Olympics, World Cup soccer, “American Idol” and the MLB playoffs. This year, Council released acoustic and Spanish versions of the track, along with new singles like “Icon” and “It’s Christmas.” For more info, visit councilband.com.

Listen to Council on Spotify, Apple Music and YouTube

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Scorey – “Help Is on the Way”

Syracuse rapper Scorey Ayee released the brand-new mixtape “Help Is On the Way,” featuring Polo G and Lil Poppa. The drill rapper, whose real name is Bakari Ward, first gained recognition with his 2019 single “Freddy Krueger” and became the first artist signed to Polo G’s Capalot Records in 2020; he now averages 1.7 million monthly listeners on Spotify. For more info, visit scoreyayee.com or follow @scoreyy on Instagram.

Listen to Scorey on Spotify and YouTube

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The Flashcubes – “Flashcubes on Fire (Live at the Firebarn)”

The Flashcubes, the Power Pop Hall of Fame band from Syracuse, still features the same lineup as when the group formed in the late 1970s. Tommy Allen, Paul Armstrong, Gary Frenay, and Arty Lenin released a new live album this year, plus nine digital singles via Big Stir Records in California. For more info, visit The Flashcubes on Facebook.

Listen to The Flashcubes on Spotify

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Emorfik – “Try Me,” “Poltergeist,” “Vicious Tendencies,” “Time”

Damiano Cortini, a Fayetteville-Manlius High School alumnus who performs as Emorfik, has been making noise in the EDM scene with bass-heavy dubstep-flavored tracks like “Try Me,” “Time,” “Vicious Tendencies” and “Poltergiest” — which earned more than 500,000 combined streams on Spotify this year. The DJ returns to Syracuse to perform at the Westcott Theater on Jan. 6, 2023. For more info, visit https://linktr.ee/Emorfik.

Listen to Emorfik on Spotify and Apple Music

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Jess Novak – “Bad Bitch”

Novak, a Syracuse musician known for her soulful voice and five-string electric violin, makes a huge departure in sound with unapologetic modern pop on her 11th album since 2013. For more info, visit jessrocknovak.com.

Listen to Jess Novak on Spotify

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Ben Wayne – “Spectator”

Syracuse’s Ben Wayne combines the best of multiple genres, including reggae rhythms, southern rock soul, pop hooks, SoCal swag and piles of clever lyrics that can catch any ear. For more info, visit benwaynemusic.com.

Listen to Ben Wayne on Spotify

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Mozay Calloway – “Moods Vol. 2″

Mozay Calloway, who runs the Alien Opera House in Syracuse, has a distribution deal with EQ/RocNation for his hop-hop label We The CEO. Singles released this year include “Tokyo Drift,” “Gangsta Love,” “The Grey Area” (with Tezzy) and “The Midnight Hour” (with Geatz Akipmind and Kay.MJ). For more info, follow @mozaycalloway on Instagram.

Listen to Mozay Calloway on Spotify and YouTube

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Razbari Sumthing – “Razbari Sumthing”

This band of East Syracuse-Minoa alumni released three albums, toured nationally, and won two SAMMYs between 2002 and 2011. More than a decade later, they reunited to raise more than $2,000 for the KaraFund and release a new self-titled album. For more info, visit facebook.com/razbarisumthing.

Listen to Razbari Sumthing on Spotify

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Karim Lesgoooya – “Flowers”

Karim Melendez, a.k.a. Karim Lesgooya, raps mainly about life on the west side of Syracuse. His new EP received more than 250,000 combined streams on Spotify this year. For more info, visit karimlesgoooya.com or allmylinks.com/karimlesgoooya.

Listen to Karim Lesgoooya on Spotify, Apple Music, Soundcloud and YouTube

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Lexy G – “Let You Love Me,” “Buried”

The Syracuse-based pop/R&B singer flips the script on Mario’s 2004 hit “Let Me Love You” with “Let You Love Me,” plus she released the dreamy new single “Buried” as follow-ups to last year’s EP “Bed Memories.” For more info, follow @lexygarm on Instagram.

Listen to Lexy G on Spotify and Apple Music

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DreaMe – “Chapter 22 New Beginnings”

The Syracuse-based artist says his new album was inspired by the experience of being kicked out of his house and his desire to spread a message of love. For more info, visit @therealdreame on Instagram or facebook.com/DreaMe007.

Listen to DreaMe on Spotify, YouTube and Apple Music

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Glass Image – “Mixed Emotions”

Glass Image is an alt-rock band based in Auburn, N.Y., featuring Connor VanEpps (Vocals/Guitar), Eric Mohan (Drums), Eric Frank (Guitar) and Alec Barner (Bass). For more info, visit glassimageband.com.

Listen to Glass Image on Spotify and Apple Music

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Toosii – “Boys Don’t Cry: Men Do”

Syracuse native Toosii, whose real name is Nau’Jour Grainger, was named to the XXL Freshman Class last year, performed at Lollapalooza, and averages 1.7 million monthly listeners on Spotify. For more info, follow @toosii on Instagram.

Listen to Toosii on Spotify and Apple Music

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Eliezel el Calvito Baby – “Brokensoul”

Eliezel mixes trap and Latin R&B in Syracuse; his latest EP features songs like “Mejor Que Nunca” and “Diferente.” For more info, follow @yosoyeliezel on Instagram.

Listen to on Spotify, Apple Music and YouTube

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Evil Key – “Civil Blood”

Evil Key is a Syracuse-based multi-instrumentalist, composer, producer, singer and MC inspired by ‘90s New York hip-hop and 2000s nerdcore rap. For more info, follow @evilkey_ on Instagram and visit facebook.com/evilkeyofficial.

Listen to Evil Key on Bandcamp, Spotify, Apple Music and YouTube

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Cait Devin – “Survival”

Devin, a singer-songwriter from Syracuse, brings a wide range of influences (Avril Lavigne, Doja Cat, Grimes) to her alternative pop/indie rock sound, including on “Survival,” a follow-up to last year’s “Jokes on U.” She also writes for Guitar World magazine and organizes charity events for trigeminal neuralgia, a rare and excruciating facial nerve pain condition. For more info, follow @thecaitdevin on Instagram.

Listen to Cait Devin on Spotify

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The Rollin’ Rust – “Banjo in My Hand,” “Columbus Day”

The Rollin’ Rust is an indie-folk band from Central New York that’s been touring along the East Coast, opening for artists like Brandy Clark and Driftwood. The trio, featuring singer-songwriter James VanDeuson, lead guitarist Jim Hearn and drummer Kyle Dennis, released four singles from their upcoming album this year. For more info, visit therollinrust.com.

Listen to The Rollin’ Rust on Spotify and YouTube

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Noon Dha Goon – “Honors,” “Smoking Potent”

Noon Dha Goon, a.k.a. Lil Nooney, is an unsigned Syracuse hip-hop artist who released half a dozen singles this year. For more info, follow @noontheceo on Instagram.

Listen to Noon Dha Goon on Spotify and YouTube

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The War Lovers – “Charged City Nowhere”

The traditional street punk/oi! band from Eastwood released its third album this year. For more info, follow @thewarlovers on Instagram.

Listen to The War Lovers on Spotify, Apple Music, YouTube, and Bandcamp.

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Ace Morr – “Letter,” “Light It Up,” “Be Without You”

Ace Morr, a Cicero-North Syracuse High School alumnus, has released several singles ahead of an upcoming album, including the holiday party anthem “Light It Up,” “Letter” (a tribute to his brother Gary Morris Jr.) and “Be Without You” for the ladies. For more information, follow @acemorr315 on Instagram or Ace Morr on Facebook.

Listen to Ace Morr on YouTube, Spotify and Apple Music

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ITZYOUNGJAY – “ITZYOUNGJAY 2”

The Syracuse hip-hop artist, whose real name is Jesse Cowher, discovered his signature sound by experimenting with melodic cadences and intricate delivery ultimately creating his own unique genre of music. For more info, follow @itzyoungjay on Instagram.

Listen to ITZYOUNGJAY on Spotify, Apple Music and YouTube

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Furco – “Starplayer”

Growing up with a father who owns and manages radio stations, it’s no surprise that Furco’s full-length album features a blend of pop and hip-hop with catchy melodies, intricate flows, grooves and powerful delivery. The Onondaga Hill resident has opened for artists like Lil Tjay and Fivio Foreign, plus works as an audio engineer and marketing executive. For more info, follow @FurcoMusic on Instagram.

Listen to Furco on Apple Music and Spotify

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No Blush – “No Blush”

No Blush is a Syracuse-based riot grrl punk trio featuring Destynee Raines, Gavin George and Greg Ambler. For more info, follow @n0blush on Instagram.

Listen to No Blush on Bandcamp, Spotify and Apple Music

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1DRFL – “Do It,” “House Tool”

Cam Scott and Matt Galanti are 1DRFL (”won-der-ful”), a DJ duo that makes original club music (like the funky “House Tool”) in addition to mashups and EDM remixes of artists like Travis Scott, Mary J. Blige and Drake. They’ve performed in Oswego and Syracuse, including opening for Snakehips in October. For more info, visit facebook.com/its1drfl.

Listen to 1DRFL on Spotify, Soundcloud and Apple Music

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Trauma Cat – “The Truth Doesn’t Live Here”

“America’s sorriest power trio” is a Syracuse band that compares itself to Cake, Tool, Primus and XTC. Guitarist Ralph Kojig, bassist Roman Pando with drummer Rutger DiBoyere, who won the best new artist award at the SAMMYs in 2021, released a new psych-rock album this year and a satirical docuseries, “The Truth About Trauma Cat.” For more info, visit traumacat.com.

Listen to Trauma Cat on Spotify, Bandcamp and Apple Music

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Chris Cresswell – “When You Awaken in the Morning’s Hush”

The Manlius-based composer, songwriter, educator, guitarist and sound artist incorporates a variety of sounds in his new ambient/experimental EP. He performs both solo and as a member of the chamber group, 315 Ensemble. For more information, visit chriscresswellmusic.com.

Listen to Chris Cresswell on Bandcamp

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Christenelle Diroc – “With Syncronosity & Serendipity”

Born in Romania and put in an orphanage by Mother Theresa, Christenelle was adopted by a Tipperary Hill family and became a U.S. citizen in 1994. He attended Westhill High School and the Syracuse Academy of Science, learning how to rap between classes. His latest album features Bubba Sparxxx, Pumba, Mad Stuntman and more. For more info, follow instagram.com/christenellediroc.

Listen to Christenelle Diroc on Spotify

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Emma Donvito – “Butterfly Effect”

Jordan-Elbridge High School student Emma Donvito released an EP in September, covering a variety of pop and jazz tunes with help from her band teacher, Zachary Moser. Donvito, 16, also released singles of “Just the Two of Us” (featuring Moser on saxophone) and “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas.” For more info, visit emmadonvito.hearnow.com or follow @emma_donvito on Instagram.

Listen to Emma Donvito on Spotify and YouTube

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Rasta Dej – “Zathura,” “Days Gone,” more

Army veteran and prolific Syracuse rapper Rasta Dej released multiple albums this year, featuring rapid verses over hazy beats. For more info, follow @rastadej on Instagram.

Listen to Rasta Dej on Spotify and Apple Music

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John Cadley – “I Never Knew”

Fayetteville bluegrass musician John Cadley, a recent Syracuse Area Music Hall of Fame inductee who performs acoustic, traditional roots music with The Cadleys, released a new solo album this year. For more info, visit cadleys.com.

Listen to John Cadley on Spotify and YouTube

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Gogetem Ttd – “What You Wanna Do,” “Shake the Room”

Gogetem is a Syracuse rapper who opened up for Gunna in Washington, D.C., earlier this year. For more info, follow @gogetem on Instagram.

Listen to Gogetem Ttd on YouTube and Spotify

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Single T – “The Fragile Balance of Life”

Single T’s Mat Wescott explores love and loss on a deeply personal and eclectic rock album. For more info, follow Single T on Facebook.

Listen to Single T on Spotify

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Anthony Saturno – “Mixed Bag of Beans, Vol.1″

The Syracuse singer-songwriter, guitarist and home studio experimentalist collaborated with friends on a new instrumental EP. Volume 2 will be released next year. For more information, visit his Facebook page or follow @saturno0077 on Instagram.

Listen to Anthony Saturno on Spotify, YouTube and Apple Music

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The Dirty Doves – “Bumblee Brandywine”

The Syracuse-based rock band, featuring Jamie Cunningham and Anthony Saturno, released a new EP this year featuring lead single “Lucky Penny.” For more info, visit facebook.com/TheDirtyDoves.

Listen to The Dirty Doves on Spotify and Apple Music

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Purple Light – “Graveyard Blues”

The acoustic-driven rock band, featuring members from Liverpool and Jamesville, mix modern production with old school songwriting on their album recorded at Subcat Studios. For more info, follow Purple Light on Facebook and Instagram.

Listen to Purple Light on Bandcamp and Spotify

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Sig Roy – “What It’s Like,” “Voices in My Head”

Sig Roy, a 2014 West Genesee High School graduate whose real name is Nichols Sgroi (pronounced “sig roy”), has more than 11 million streams on Spotify. His R&B/hip-hop vibe would fit well on playlists alongside artists like Post Malone and Drake. For more info, follow instagram.com/sig_roy.

Listen to Sig Roy on Spotify

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Jeffrey Pepper Rodgers – “Hippie Hair (For the First Time)”

The Fayetteville-based folk rock musician, author and teacher is a grand prize winner of the John Lennon Songwriting Contest, the founding editor of Acoustic Guitar magazine and author of “The Complete Singer-Songwriter.” He released the new single “Hippie Hair” and also performs in Dead to the Core, an acoustic celebration of the Grateful Dead. For more information, visit jeffreypepperrodgers.com.

Listen to Jeffrey Pepper Rodgers on Spotify

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Good God – “Hollow Tree,” “Murkwood,” “The Dying Blind”

Good God, a four-piece rock band that performs “metal fusion” in Central New York, released an EP and two follow-up singles this year. For more info, follow @goodgodband on Instagram.

Listen to Good God on Bandcamp, Spotify and Apple Music

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Jeremy Romance – “Mixtape 1”

Jeremy Romance, an Onondaga Central School and OCC graduate whose real name is Jeremy Miller, mixes alternative rock with emo hip-hop. He previously performed in Syracuse with the band One Last Shot; as a solo artist, he’s collaborated with rappers like Redman and the late Juice WRLD. For more info, follow instagram.com/jeremyromance.

Listen to Jeremy Romance on Spotify, YouTube and Soundcloud

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Lilbookababy – “Booka Juice,” “Turn It Up,” “Wicked Poetry”

The Syracuse born-and-raised rapper followed up last year’s “TXIII” album with several singles highlighting his upbeat energy and diverse flows. He also starred in the YouTube series “Young Gawdz,” launched a TXIII clothing line, and seeks to inspire with positivity and a sense of self-confidence and belonging. For more info, follow @lilbookababy on Instagram.

Listen to Lilbookababy on Apple Music and Spotify

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Ian Brown – “Maybe One Day”

Brown is a Syracuse-based solo musician and producer who dabbles in multiple genres. For more info, visit facebook.com/IanBrownMusic.

Listen to Ian Brown on Spotify and Apple Music

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L2REAL – “Word 4 Word”

Syracuse rapper L2REAL, a.k.a. Lemar Shelton, released several freestyles this year and the upbeat “Word 4 Word.” Fo more info, visit facebook.com/lemar.shelton.

Listen to L2REAL on Spotify

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Luxuriouz – “Ride or Die”

The Rome, N.Y. rapper describes himself as a young king who grew up in an orphan home who always knew he was a leader at heart and would do what it takes to get the job done: “As we all know, nothing in life is free or comes easy.” For more info, visit luxuriouznation.com.

Listen to Luxuriouz on YouTube

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AUK – “AUK II”

This Syracuse quartet is an instrumental, improvisational indie rock group for fans of Sigur Ros and Explosions in the Sky. For more info, follow @auk_band on Instagram.

Listen to AUK on Bandcamp

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MaazKID – “Lessons,” “Child’s Play,” “June 55″

Stephen Fitzgerald, a.k.a. MaazKID, is a Syracuse rapper and producer influenced by everything from alternative psychedelic rock to hip-hop and electronic dance music. He and his brother also started Electron Death Records and produce music under the same name, as well as in the hip-hop group Jai Shamans. For more info, follow @MaazKID on Instagram.

Listen to MaazKID on Spotify

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Breeze NFM – “Heart to Give,” “Make It to Me” (feat. Loodie NFM, Spazzz)

Breeze is part of the Syracuse hip-hop collective NFM (No Future Mistakes), which has been steadily releasing music through local record label Venom Nation Records and includes artists like NFM Rell, Spazzz, and Loodie NFM. For more info about VNR, visit facebook.com/venomnationrecords.

Listen to Breeze NFM on Soundcloud and YouTube

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Kelz ShowOut – “Trauma,” “In a Minute” (with Herk), “Still Hurt”

Kelz ShowOut, whose real name is Mikel Thomas, is the brother of Venom Nation Records founder MarsaQuaon Thomas, who recently opened a recording studio at 800 N. Salina Street in Syracuse. Mikel said he focuses on “pain music,” calling the new 21 Studios a great place to vent and “let my problems out” in a productive way. For more info, follow instagram.com/KelzShowOut.

Listen to Kelz ShowOut on YouTube and Soundcloud

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Whiskey Hollow Rush – “Linda Lu”

The SAMMY-winning country band, who’s performed in places like Nashville and the New York State Fair, released their fourth album, “Linda Lu.” For more info, visit whiskeyhollowrush.com.

Listen to Whiskey Hollow Rush on Spotify

The Real Raw Breed: Mikey T – “Mikey T,” Big Nate MG – “Book of MG,” Wigs – “For You”

The Real Raw Breed, a Syracuse-based collective of hip-hop and R&B artists who have performed at the New York State Fair, Taste of Syracuse and more, released three albums this year from Mikey T, Big Nate MG and Wigs. For more info, follow @therealrawbreed on Instagram or visit linktr.ee/TheRealRawBreed.

Listen to Mikey T on Spotify, Big Nate MG on Spotify and Wigs on Spotify

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Zak G – “I Got It,” “It’s a Zak G Christmas”

Zak G, an Arab-American rapper, singer, songwriter, and producer from the countryside of Syracuse, followed up his new album with singles like “I Got It” and “It’s a Zak G Christmas.” Influences include Childish Gambino, Mac Miller, Kanye West, Kid Cudi, Kendrick Lamar, Linkin Park, Anderson .Paak, Logic and Timbaland. For more info, follow instagram.com/iamzakg.

Listen to Zak G on Spotify, Apple Music, YouTube and Soundcloud

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Skeeno – “Life After Pain,” “New Feelings”

Romero Crosby, a.k.a. Skeeno, tells life stories from the south side of Syracuse over a mix of old school and new school hip-hop beats. For more info, follow @sk_ee_no on Instagram.

Listen to Skeeno on Apple Music

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Fudge – “Me Myself & I”

Davohn Fudge, a.k.a. Fudge, is a recent Syracuse Academy of Science graduate making melodic hip-hop on his debut album. For more info, follow @davohnfudge on Instagram.

Listen to Davohn Fudge on YouTube and Spotify

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Maestro Collage – “Love”

This experimental pop group from the Fayetteville-Manlius area is inspired by ‘60s bands like the Beatles, Beach Boys and the Zombies, plus late ‘80s and ‘90s indie artists such as Neutral Milk Hotel & Elephant 6, R.E.M., and the Pixies. Maestro Collage released its third album in November. For more info, visit maestrocollage.bandcamp.com

Listen to Maestro Collage on Spotify and Apple Music

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SKG Tunez – “Jimmy Brooks”

Versatile Syracuse singer and MC SKG Tunez has a unique sound with a story of a war general, delivering melodies and multiple genres on new album “Jimmy Brooks.” For more info, visit unitedmasters.com/skgtunez.

Listen to SKG Tunez on Spotify, YouTube, and Apple Music

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Kasmos – “Bieber,” “BitterSweet”

Who is Kasmos? The Syracuse native followed up his new album “Orange Slices” with several singles, including the rap song “Bieber.” For more info, visit whoiskasmos.com or follow @kasmosis on social media.

Listen to Kasmos on Spotify, Apple Music and YouTube

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VinnyVeg – “1104 Volume 3 VinnyVeg Goatizum”

The Syracuse-born-and-raised rapper, whose real name is Mckever J Brown Sr., tells real-life stories of pain, love, and understanding. For more info, follow @VinnyVeg315 on Instagram.

Listen to VinnyVeg on YouTube

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Phaze Minor – “Sunshine,” “A Letter from Purgatory”

A Korean artist, born and raised in Manlius, has a wide range of influences from The Chemical Brothers and Jimi Hendrix to Kanye West and country music. He crafts his eclectic sound using synthesizers, samplers, preamps and a computer. For more info, follow @phazedafuture on Instagram.

Listen to Phaze Minor on Spotify and Soundcloud

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LuhLos – “Been Calling,” “Love Nwantiti (Remix)”

Syracuse singer-rapper LuhLos builds on his catchy sound, including a remix of CKay’s viral hit “Love Nwantiti (Ah Ah).” For more info, follow instagram.com/theyluhlos.

Listen to Luh Los on YouTube and Spotify

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YounQ Kye – “Doin’ Too Much,” “Life Gettin 2Real”

Kye, born and raised in Syracuse, is a an independent hip-hop artist who gained his sound purely from pain. “I was abused for 8 years of my childhood,” he said. “I grew up in a house with me and my two siblings and we weren’t raised off love, we were raised off survival from all of the trauma we faced with my father…” For more info, follow @younqkye on Instagram.

Listen to YoungQ Kye on YouTube, Spotify and Apple Music

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Faster Horses – “Stay”

Kate Ellen Dean, formerly of Syracuse rock band Jackson’s Kid Summer, and The Square Studio owner Steve Sopchak are making songs in Syracuse and Brooklyn that combine country, alternative rock and pop sounds. “Stay” is the third single from their upcoming debut album, “Letting Go.” For more info, visit www.fasterhorses.band or follow them at instagram.com/fasterhorses.band.

Listen to Faster Horses on Spotify and Apple Music

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Slick Fashionz – “Piece of It” f/ Queeto ABF, Mac the MC

Slick Fashionz, Queeto ABF and Mac the MC are part of All About Family Entertainment, a Syracuse collective that won a SAMMY Award for best hip-hop album. “All About Family isn’t a gang, or a cult,” Freeman Holbdy said. “It’s a business run by fathers and graduates and leaders who have over come hardships and adversity to push the sound of the hip-hop culture forward in the new direction.” For more info, follow @slick fashionz and QueetoABF on Instagram.

Listen to Slick Fashionz, Queeto ABF and Mac the MC on Apple Music and Spotify

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SH3A – “I Want,” “8T33N”

Syracuse singer-rapper SH3A, a.k.a. Kvng Shea, dropped more than a dozen melodic hip-hop songs this year, including the “8T33N” mixtape. For more info, follow instagram.com/official_sh3a.

Listen to SH3A on YouTube, Spotify and Soundcloud

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YxngPadro – “GTA”

The Syracuse rapper follows up his “PaperBoy” video-game inspired mixtape with the new track “GTA.” For more info, follow Yxng Padro on Facebook.

Listen to YxngPadro on YouTube and Spotify

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You Young June – “Basket(s)”

A teacher by day and artist by night, You Young June released the 12-track DIY rock album “Basket(s)” this summer. For more info, visit linktr.ee/youyoungjune.

Listen to You Young June on Soundcloud and YouTube

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Fight From Within – “Vivisepulture”

CNY metalcore band Fight From Within released three singles this year, including “Malevolence” and “1 V 1.” For more info, visit http://fightfromwithinny.com or facebook.com/FightFromWithinNY.

Listen to Fight From Within on Spotify, YouTube and Bandcamp

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RD Bugotti – “Fast Lane”

Syracuse’s RD Bugotti spits a timeless flow over drill beats. For more info, follow RD Bugotti on Facebook.

Listen to RD Bugotti on YouTube

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Lil MoeJ – “Good at Goodbyes,” “Free P”

The Syracuse rapper combines hip-hop with pop, rock and more, like on his earlier Selena Gomez-sampling track “Who Said.” For more info, follow @lilmoej_ on Instagram.

Listen to Lil MoeJ on Apple Music and Spotify

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Polo Cavalli – “Summer of ‘69”

Syracuse rapper Polo Cavalli, previously known as Polo Hillfiga, gives Bryan Adams’ enduring hit a melodic hip-hop twist. For more info, follow instagram.com/polo_hillfiga/.

Listen to Polo Cavalli on YouTube

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UnoFuego – “Got Bae Tomorrow, “Scream Queen Scene,” more

The relentless UnoFuego releases dozens of songs every month, singing, rapping and drumming on mixtapes he puts out independently. For more info, visit youtube.com/user/UndergroundMCity.

Listen to UnoFuego on YouTube

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Other Syracuse-area artists who released new music in 2022 include King Lo (“Barcelona”), Sydney Irving (“Wish That I Knew”), Young Sylence (“Bring It Out”), Tyjhier (“Shoot for Something”), Christopher Ames Band (”Life Outside the Machine”), Jack Callahan (”Backshift Bachelor”), Angvl (“Complicated”), Coya Monae (“This Feeling”), Empires in Orbit (”Heart of a Galaxy”), Numba9ine x Stizz Y (“Don’t Fear Love”), Baby Keez (”KeezRich Vol. 2″), Thrift Store Gypsies (“Tear it Down”), Ruben Wetzelbeck (”Sharing the Signal”), Stan Colella Orchestra (“Just For Fun”), Blick600 (”1 Minute Freestyle”), Gabriel Day (“Stripped”) and Forever Plus (“Safe Inside,” “Easy”).

Also, check out dozens more artists who released in new music in 2021 here and here.

* * * * *

Are you a Syracuse-area musician? Email gherbert@syracuse.com to share your music. We’ll periodically publish lists of new releases.

Karsh Kale. Photo: Suraj Warrier

From his second time at the White House to year-ender gigs in Goa to ambient and audio-visual projects, Karsh Kale has had a productive 2022 as he shuttled between India and the U.S.

Earlier this year, he was invited to be a part of Diwali celebrations at the White House in Washington D.C. “This time I was invited as a guest. It was a great time celebrating with so many contemporaries and people who work I am a fan of at White House,” he says over email. In 2013, the multi-instrumentalist performed at the White House, being introduced by then-president Barack Obama at the Asian American Pacific Islander gala celebration as an artist who “fuses the best of east and west, mixing eclectic beats with the sounds of his heritage and creating music that’s distinctly his own.”

Nearly 10 years on, the gesture by Obama and the American government at large kept Kale in the U.S., by his own admission. And he further honed a sonic signature that’s been part of his work for decades now. It can be heard in 2021’s two-parter Touch EPs and most recently with digital art and music experience called the Delicious Design project, commissioned by Glenmorangie.

The five-minute song and visual is a collaboration between the brand, Kale and visual artist Studio Moebius aka Nikunj Patel. Kale says, “Often times we get asked by a brand to produce something that they already specifically have in mind but with this project, they really let the both of us be artists.” The groovy electronic-fusion track seldom strays away from Kale’s proclivity for drum and bass, tabla and flute arrangements, with Studio Moebius’s visuals slowly unraveling different animated settings. Kale says the only inputs he had on the visual front was picking the “basic track” and suggesting pace and tempo to suit the initial drafts of the audio-visual project. “I loved working with the final piece as the colors and images added so much to the story,” he says.

In addition to the Delicious Design Project, Kale teamed up with another visual artist and musician this year – Siddharth Achrekar, guitarist-bassist for erstwhile Indian rock band Colourblind with Ram Sampath – to release music as Silent Space. An ambient, electronic project specifically for healing, it was even lauded by thrash metal band Testament’s guitarist Alex Skolnick. Kale calls it one of his “most favorite projects” of the year. “Siddharth and I both did it as a labor of love and as a gift to all those who had suffered through the pandemic,” the artist adds.

Looking back at the year, he counts his friend and dulcimer artist Max Z.T.’s solo album Daybreak as one of his top albums of 2022. With several artists often in rediscovery mode, Kale says he’s “always rediscovering” the music of Peter Gabriel and Pink Floyd and that was on repeat in 2022. With the music industry often leaping to adapt or cater to new developments – like blockchain technology – in recent years, Kale says one of the new things he’s learned this year is to re-approach and change his thoughts on “the idea and concept of an album.” To that end, there’s still a solo album and “a few other collabs” in the works for 2023.

Alongside his solo work and collaborations, Kale continues to be a part of film soundtrack work in India and abroad. His favorite soundtrack as a listener and fan was Black Panther: Wakanda Forever (“great film and the music was fab”). For his own part, he adds, “A couple of films are in the pipeline for 2023.”

Watch the video from the Delicious Design Project ft Karsh Kale and Studio Moebius below.

When it comes to electrification, Mercedes-Benz is surging ahead of other luxury automakers. And nowhere is that more apparent than the EQS580 SUV, which is one of the most serene experiences I’ve had behind the wheel in years.

I quite liked the EQS sedan’s spaceshippy design when it first debuted, and I think that look is every bit as good when adapted to an SUV. Sure, it isn’t as aerodynamic as the sedan, but the EQS SUV’s shape is still mighty slippery with a drag coefficient of 0.26. The tail end of the roofline doesn’t taper that much, so the EQS retains a strong SUV shape. The hood has some creasing, but the rest of the body is generally devoid of harsh angles or other visual noise that would only get in the way of efficiency.

Inside, the cockpit is nearly a carbon copy of the EQS sedan — again, not a problem, because it’s great. It’s not hard to tell that a lot of thought went into this interior. The build quality is excellent, with my tester’s $1,370 Nappa leather upgrade extending this soft upholstery to nearly every surface. The wood trim on the center console is my favorite part, though, as it features metal three-pointed stars embedded within. Three rows of seats are available, but you can also opt for a two-row configuration, which offers oodles of rear legroom.

There’s still plenty of practicality hiding behind this plushness. The door pockets are large enough for most water bottles, although big ol’ Nalgenes will still have a hard time finding a place to chill. Under the center console’s sliding door are a set of retractable cup holders and plenty of space for tchotchkes and the like. The storage tray underneath the console is huge, and there’s some extra space under the armrest, as well. Out back, there’s about 31 cubic feet of cargo area, which is less than what the BMW iX offers, but it’s still enough for a family’s worth of shopping bags.

The 580 is the beefiest model in the EQS SUV lineup, and it will likely stay that way, as Mercedes does not intend to launch an AMG variant for the time being. A pair of electric motors, one at each axle, combine to produce 536 horsepower and 633 pound-feet of torque, which is enough power for this SUV to reach 60 mph in 4.5 seconds. The instantaneous nature of electric torque means acceleration hits like a sack of bricks at most speeds, pushing me back into that cushy Nappa leather as sound coming through the speakers provides a subtle yet futuristic soundtrack.

Since the EQS SUV isn’t as aerodynamically efficient as its sedan sibling, there’s a slightly larger amount of wind noise at speed, but the car still remains largely sealed away from the elements, aided in part by my tester’s $1,010 Acoustic Comfort package, which adds thicker glass. The SUV’s standard air suspension system soaks up just about every inch of nastiness on the road, and while it can stiffen up and hustle around, this car is best left in its softer settings. Standard rear-axle steering makes urban traversal simple despite the EQS SUV’s larger footprint.

Regenerative braking is interesting here, just as it is on the EQS sedan. There are a few different strengths to toggle through, but there is no true one-pedal mode — just Intelligent, which combines with the car’s myriad safety systems to keep an even pace with low-speed traffic. The brake pedal also moves as regeneration kicks in, to provide a predictable braking force any time my foot touches the pedal. Honestly, I like the way it works; it’s never caught me off-guard, although it does feel strange after exiting an EV without this setup. The pedal is a little mushy, too, which is fine for slow, smooth stops, but it’s not as confidence-inspiring on heavier, more panicked applications.

The EQS SUV does sacrifice some range for its larger, less efficient body. The EPA rates the EQS580 SUV at 285 miles per charge, or about 2.4 miles per kilowatt-hour. Downsizing to the EQS450 Plus SUV improves range to 305 miles, but nothing can match the outright efficiency of the sedan with its estimated 340-mile range. Nevertheless, the EQS SUV is still pretty good at sipping electrons, and my efforts behind the wheel return numbers that meet (and occasionally beat) the feds’ best efforts. When it comes time to juice up, the EQS SUV will accept up to 200 kilowatts of juice, going from a 10% state of charge to 80% in about half an hour.

I think the EQS SUV is best enjoyed at night, because its standard 64-color ambient lighting is a true sight to behold. LED strips extend across nearly every surface of the car, and there are unique animations for changing the temperature or when the “Hey, Mercedes” voice assistant engages. There’s also a setting to change the lighting as the vehicle accelerates.

Of course, there’s far more cabin tech in the EQS SUV than just some fancy lights. The 580 comes standard with Mercedes’ Hyperscreen, a dash-spanning piece of glass that houses a massive 17.7-inch central screen, in addition to the 12.3-inch digital gauge cluster and a 12.3-inch touchscreen for the passenger. The largest display can show a giant map with overlays for the radio, massaging seats and other features. The navigation does an excellent job of ensuring a route includes plenty of chargers, and both wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto are included. USB-C ports are within reach of every seat, ensuring everybody’s devices stay topped off. The EQS SUV also comes standard with a whole host of active and passive safety systems, including adaptive cruise control, lane-keep assist, active steering assist, automatic emergency braking, automatic lane changes and blind-spot monitoring.

Somewhat surprisingly, the 2023 Mercedes EQS SUV isn’t that much more expensive than an equivalent EQS sedan. A base EQS450 Plus SUV starts at $105,550, including $1,150 for destination, but the beefier EQS580 SUV brings that price up to $127,100. With some tasteful options like $1,100 massaging front seats, $860 four-zone climate control and $450 for faster seat heating, this example rings in at $132,880. It’s a tall price to pay, but it’s in line with the segment, which isn’t really about scrimping or saving — a BMW iX M60, for example, will set you back about $109,000 before options.

For this much money, expectations can be high, but the 2023 Mercedes-Benz EQS580 SUV exceeds them. It takes everything the automaker has learned about building a comfortable, interesting luxury SUV and adapts it to an electric future, and the resulting EV feels every bit as futuristic as it looks.

All products and services featured are independently chosen by editors. However, Billboard may receive a commission on orders placed through its retail links, and the retailer may receive certain auditable data for accounting purposes.

Looking for a way to spend your holiday gift cards? The SZA-approved, Sony LinkBuds S noise cancelling earbuds are on sale for a limited time.

More from Billboard

These top-rated earbuds offer optimized ambient sound and active noise cancellation for less than $200 — if you grab them on discount at Amazon and other major retailers such as Best Buy and Walmart.

Sony’s LinkBuds S earbuds are lightweight with an incredibly comfortable fit, making them perfect for travel, exercise, commuting, etc. And they’re always on, which means they can instantly connect to your laptop, smartphone, or another device – even if you haven’t used them in a while.

Buy: Sony LinkBuds S Truly Wireless Noise Canceling Earbud Headphones, White $139.99

Sony LinkBuds provide up to 20 hours of battery life, but you can get up to 60 minutes of playtime with a five-minute charge, and an IPX4 waterproof rating means that you don’t have to worry about splashes of water or sweat ruining your earbuds.

If you’ve been looking for an alternative to AirPods, Sony’s LinkBuds S earbuds definitely fit the bill. They also have built-in Alexa and they’re compatible with Apple and Android phones.

SZA stars in a Sony LinkBuds S commercial showcasing the new “Earth Blue earbuds. The New Jersey native’s “Shirt” single soundtracks the commercial where she’s featured rocking a pair of white, LinkBuds S and and a blue, oversized varsity jacket.

In addition to the new colorway, Sonly LinkBuds S are available in black, dessert sand, and white.

Meanwhile, SZA’s SOS album recently celebrated a second consecutive week atop the Billboard Hot 100. “Lol instagram randomly deleted my post last week .. but APPARENTLY [IT’S] STILL TRUE THIS WEEK,” she wrote in response to topping the charts again. “Number [one] two weeks in a row .. God is incredible. I won’t repeat it all, but thank you everybody for supporting me and speaking power [and] love into me. It’s 9:43 in Hawaii. I couldn’t ask for anything more. Life is beautiful and what it should be.”

Story continues

Watch SZA’s Sony LinkBuds S commercial below.

Click here to read the full article.

When we publish our rankings of the year’s Best Albums and Best Songs each December, those lists represent the collective effort of dozens of music listeners at Rolling Stone, each with their own distinct likes and dislikes. Everyone hears the year in music a little differently — and in this post, we’ll show you just how true that is. The albums on these personal Top 10s range from beloved blockbusters like Beyoncé’s Renaissance and Bad Bunny’s Un Verano Sin Ti to all kinds of out-there sounds and unexpected new favorites, with list entries coming from nearly every genre imaginable. Read on for a glimpse at the records that more than 40 Rolling Stone staffers loved most in 2022.

Sage Anderson, E-Commerce Writer

1. RM, Indigo
2. The 1975, Being Funny in a Foreign Language
3. Ginger Root, Nisemono
4. Beyoncé, Renaissance
5. Prep, Back To You
6. Yung Bae, Groove Continental: Side A
7. Calvin Harris, Funk Wav Bounces Vol. 2
8. Mystery Skulls, Beam Me Up
9. The Weeknd, Dawn FM
10. Engelwood, Nautical Nonsense

Last year, I lamented that Spotify Wrapped had diagnosed me with a case of “Old Man” as I struggled to scrape together a list of ten new albums out of the pile of salty-tinged Seventies yacht rock I was swimming in throughout 2021. Was my 2022 self in their “being a normal late-20-something” era? Well, this year “Quiet Storm” was my most-streamed genre, so clearly not much has changed. But even from my biased perspective, if 2021 was an aggressive burst of funk-tinged “get-me-out-of-the-house-right-now” joy, then 2022 simmered down into introspective albums and much smaller, personal releases. RM of BTS’ Indigo was a rich exploration of the artist’s inner world, his regrets and hope for the future to reconnect with his purpose as an artist. From the 1975, we saw Matt Healy once again turn the mirror on his favorite writing subject — himself, and his role as “Part of the Band” on Being Funny In a Foreign Language, which actually soars more when it meditates on love and what we owe each other as humans. Bridging the gap between self-reflection and bangers for the end times, Dawn FM was the Weeknd at his most genuine, and works both as a letter to his past behavior, and as a stellar concept album. Sure, we had our fair share of blockbuster releases from capital ‘S’ superstars, but a lot of the big pandemic breakout artists took their well-deserved victory laps on tour this year, which perhaps let us hear more from the underdog voices. That’s not to say the music landscape wasn’t shining with a little funk and soul — Yung Bae, who I’ve been following since he came out of the Saint Pepsi-future funk era, released the bouncy, glitteringly produced Groove Continental: Side A, and Calvin Harris returned to form with the second volume of his feature-stuffed Funk Wav Bounces (special shoutout to Charlie Puth’s Michael McDonald impression on “Obsessed”). But the best way to sum up 2022 is UK band Prep unexpected hit — a downtempo, crooning cover of Styles’ “As It Was”, with a moody sax solo that makes you feel like it’s not the same, and we’re not the same as we were, but maybe that’s OK. We might even be better than the original.

Editor’s picks

Waiss David Aramesh, Director, Social Media

1. Charli XCX, Crash
2. SZA, SOS
3. Taylor Swift, Midnights
4. Harry Styles, Harry’s House
5. Flo Milli, You Still Here, Ho?
6. Pusha T, It’s Almost Dry
7. Drake, Honestly, Nevermind
8. Maggie Rogers, Surrender
9. FKA Twigs, Caprisongs
10. Muna, Muna

Frankly, it’s getting exhausting to declare “20XX was when we finally went back outside,” but maybe this time…we really mean it? 2022 was the year of the great reemergence, and in many ways, it delivered on the great release 2021 had promised. Naturally, these albums reflect that. They’re loud, they’re abrasive, they include many artists singing in a tongue-in-cheek way about their misdeeds. No project better exemplifies the debauchery and (to steal Maggie Rogers’ words) feral joy of the year than Charli XCX’s Crash. The hits kept coming with Drake’s summer soundtrack Honestly, Nevermind, and even when we were sad, we were still at the function (“Tears in the Club” by FKA Twigs goes crazy). On track 16 of Flo Milli’s You Still Here, Ho?, she declares the decade the “Roaring 20s” and on track two, she invites us to “Come Outside.” Much obliged.

Related

Jonathan Bernstein, Senior Research Editor

1. Florist, Florist
2. Bonny Light Horseman, Rolling Golden Holy
3. Hurray for the Riff Raff, Life on Earth
4. Martha, Please Don’t Take Me Back
5. Nilüfer Yanya, Painless
6. Joe Rainey, Niineta 
7. Gladie, Don’t Know What You’re In Until You’re Out 
8. Richard Inman, Come Back Through
9. Deslondes, Ways & Means
10. Wednesday, Mowing the Leaves Instead of Piling ‘em Up

Emily Sprague, the lead singer of Florist, summed up 2022 best: “I think I’m alive/Too much on my mind,” she sang on her band’s self-titled record, a stunning collection of sparse singer-songwriter ballads interspersed with found nature recordings and ambient instrumentals. When I wanted to feel more alive, the records I sought out in 2022 tended to either be old sounds presented in new ways (check out Wednesday’s country-roots covers record, in which they transform Gary Stewart and Roger Miller tunes into something that might have gotten played at an all-ages D.I.Y. punk show at Brooklyn’s 285 Kent) or thrilling new sounds presented in ways that felt familiar and comforting (the ethereal synth-roots of Hurray For The Riff’s latest evolution, Life on Earth; the experimental indigenous soundscapes from the Midwestern artist Joe Rainey). When there was simply too much on my mind, I gravitated to records by longtime beloved bands doing what they do best (the Deslondes, Martha), new (to me) voices that I know I’ll be listening to for years to come (Richard Inman, Gladie), or artists simply reaching new heights with songcraft and cohesion on their second albums (Bonny Light Horseman and Nilüfer Yanya). 

Jon Blistein, Staff Writer

1. Jockstrap, I Love You Jennifer B
2. They Hate Change, Finally, New
3. Hagop Tchaparian, Bolts 
4. Weyes Blood, And in the Darkness, Hearts Aglow
5. Lucrecia Dalt, ¡Ay!
6. Black Country, New Road, Ants From Up There
7. The 1975, Being Funny in a Foreign Language
8. Plains, I Walked With You a Ways
9. Titus Andronicus, The Will to Live
10. Arctic Monkeys, The Car

Probably the most unexpected thing to happen to me this year was that I finally learned to stop worrying and love the 1975. Other things were more expected. My perpetual need for maximalism was met by Black Country, New Road’s sonically and emotionally extreme Ants From Up There; Weyes Blood’s gorgeous life-during-end-times orchestration on And In the Darkness, Hearts Aglow; and Titus Andronicus’ “Ultimate Rock” odyssey, The Will to Live. Some pleasures were simpler, like listening to Katie Crutchfield and Jess Williamson go full Nineties country on Plains’ I Walked With You a Ways; or delving into the incredible archival beats on Hagop Tchaparian’s Bolts. Then there were all the times I just wanted to get weird. Like following Alex Turner further down the lounge-rock rabbit hole on Arctic Monkeys’ The Car, and realizing that space wasn’t dissimilar from the smokey, sci-fi realm Lucrecia Dalt was occupying on ¡Ay! They Hate Change’s Finally, New offered an incredible mix of bars and production that touched every regional style and microgenre between Miami bass and drum’n’bass. And my favorite of the year, Jockstrap’s I Love You Jennifer B, is an album I feel like I can only proclaim my love for at this point in the most plain way: classic songwriting, but sounds wonderfully weird as hell.

David Browne, Senior Writer

1. Horsegirl, Versions of Modern Performance
2. Tedeschi Trucks Band, I Am the Moon
3. SZA, SOS
4. Taj Mahal and Ry Cooder, Get on Board
5. Rosalía, Motomami
6. The Smile, A Light for Attracting Attention
7. Alvvays, Blue Rev
8. Wet Leg, Wet Leg
9. Sonic Youth, In/Out/In
10. Bonnie Raitt, Just Like That

For nearly three years, the music world has had the pandemic blues, from on-again-off-again tours and festivals to music that sometimes captured what it was like to write or record in isolation. But in their own ways, most of my favorite albums of this past year burst with pent-up energy and creativity. From Horsegirl and Alvvays’ walls of vintage-alt sound to Rosalía’s endlessly morphing tracks to Tedeschi Trucks’ ambitious response to Layla to Thom Yorke and Jonny Greenwood busting out their versions of jams with the Smile, the year’s most enthralling records shook off the Covid doldrums. SZA’s “Gone Girl” is worth the price of admission in and of itself. The Sonic Youth compilation of rare instrumentals wasn’t technically new, but (along with Neil Young’s lots-more-barn Harvest Time movie) was another reminder of how much valuable music and footage remains in the vaults, waiting to be heard.

Rick Carp, Research Editor

Straw Man Army, SOS
Chat Pile, God’s Country
Gospel, The Loser
Massa Nera, Derramar | Querer | Borrar
Never, Cash
Palm, Nicks and Grazes
Mamaleek, Diner Coffee
Gudsforladt, Friendship, Love and War
Innocent, Architects of Despair
Hawak/Joliette/Our Future is an Absolute Shadow/Eyelet/Elle/Burial Etiquette, Cube

These lists are tough to make when so much great stuff is constantly coming out. It is hard to keep up with everything, especially when you end up getting, like, 40 emails on Bandcamp Friday. 2022 saw reunion records and shows by amazing acts like Gospel, City of Caterpillar, Nine of Swords, The Mars Volta, The Sawtooth Grin, Saetia and more; as well as previously hard-to-find material from folks such as Codeine and Godspeed You! Black Emperor. I got to see a bunch of these shows, and I recommend trying to go if any of these acts are coming through your area. The stuff on this list is not in any particular order, but I tried to cut everything down to 10 releases. Last year, the editors let me shout out a bunch of extra bands, but I’m not trying to annoy them too much. I would like to note, however, that we’ve been putting these lists together for a while now, and many artists that I have previously included continue to make really fun music — so be sure to also check out the records from alumni including Abandoncy, Amygdala, Bored at My Grandma’s House, Horse Jumper of Love, Lower Automation, Short Fictions, and VR Sex. Everyone, please stay healthy so we can keep going to sick shows! Have a good holiday season.

Tim Chan, Director of Products and Commerce

1. Taylor Swift, Midnights
2. Beyoncé, Renaissance
3. SZA, SOS
4. Blackpink, Born Pink
5. Lizzo, Special
6. Carly Rae Jepsen, The Loneliest Time
7. New Jeans, New Jeans
8. Harry Styles, Harry’s House
9. Bad Bunny, Un Verano Sin Ti
10. Charlie Puth, Charlie

After two years of staying in and keeping to ourselves, 2022 was the year where we finally got to let it all out, and these albums provided the perfect soundtrack for our big in-person comeback. From the club beats of Renaissance and New Jeans’ peppy debut, to SZA’s emotional SOS and Lizzo’s empowerment anthems, these albums let us sing, cry, dance, and shout at the top of our lungs — unmasked, unbothered, and finally uninhibited.  

Mankaprr Conteh, Staff Writer

1. Beyoncé, Renaissance
2. SZA, SOS
3. Steve Lacy, Gemini Rights
4. Asake, Mr. Money With the Vibe
5. Stormzy, This Is What I Mean
6. NATIVE Sound System, NATIVEWORLD
7. Wizkid, More Love, Less Ego
8. Koffee, Gifted
9. Asa, V
10. BNXN fka Buju, Bad Since ‘97

This year, I retreated into songs I’ve loved for years as often as I embraced what seemed like an endless influx of new music by industry vets and promising freshmen alike. To be real, the playlist Spotify made of my top songs of 2022 includes “4ever” by Lil’ Mo and Fabolous (2003), “Still Not a Player” by Big Pun and Joe (1998), and “Feel It Boy” by Beenie Man and Janet Jackson (2002). There’s something snug and inviting about a well-worn track — putting one on is easy, it’s basically just muscle memory. Still, I was rarely regretful when I reached for something new, like NATIVE Sound System’s NATIVEWORLD, a diverse compilation of music from the Black diaspora curated by the folks behind one of Nigeria’s premier culture publications. The album is electric; it jolted me out of my streaming slumber the day I heard it. 

I had even become a little indifferent about rumored releases from acts I came of age with, like Rihanna, SZA, and Beyoncé. We had been waiting so long that I elected to take comfort in their existing discographies rather than clamor for something new — then came “Lift Me Up,” SOS, and Renaissance, which reminded me why my sister-fans were so desperate for their return. On the Afrobeats side, a newcomer (Asake) debuted a record way more beloved than those the genres’ torchbearers (Wizkid and Burna Boy) released. All in all, it was a good year for being a little stubborn, but an even better one for being open-minded.

Nishka Dhawan, E-Commerce Writer

1. Armin Van Buuren, Feel Again, Pt. 2
2. Taylor Swift, Midnights
3. The Chainsmokers, So Far So Good
4. Beyoncé, Renaissance
5. Daniel Blume, One Day I’ll Thank You
6. Harry Styles, Harry’s House
7. The Weeknd, Dawn FM
8. Bad Bunny, Un Verano Sin Ti 
9. Martin Garrix, Sentio
10. Years & Years, Night Call

This year called for the need to escape, at least for me. With stress looming in our lives and the pandemic still a daunting reality, 2022 didn’t feel like the new chapter many of us were hoping it would be. So we turned to music. Armin Van Buuren’s “Superman” lifted me up even on my lowest days, and Taylor Swift’s “Midnight Rain” made me want to sing in the shower at the top of my voice. Beyoncé’s entire Renaissance album was a constant dance party that made me want to kick up my feet and pretend I was a backup dancer in a music video. The Chainsmokers’ So Far So Good got me through hours of travel, moments with friends, and sleepless nights. Daniel Blume’s One Day I’ll Thank You kept me daydreaming on gloomy New York days and Martin Garrix’s Sentio was the ultimate party starter — and for some reason the pump-up jam I needed for late-night gaming sessions. Harry Styles, Bad Bunny, the Weeknd, and Years & Years were all artists I listened to while facing writer’s block. Just three minutes with my favorite song would fill me with hope, strength, and a new zest for life, even on the most routinely boring days. That’s what music did for me this year. I want you to take a second, think back, and feel — what did music do for you? 

Jon Dolan, Reviews Editor

1. Spoon, Lucifer on the Sofa 
2. Harry Styles, Harry’s House
3. Kurt Vile, Watch My Moves
4. Wet Leg, Wet Leg
5. Alvvays, Blue Rev
6. Omar Apollo, Ivory
7. Cate Le Bon, Pompeii
8. MJ Lenderman, Boat Songs 
9. Angel Olsen, Big Time
10. Archers of Loaf, Reason in Decline

Harry Styles pulled off my favorite achievement of the year: high-gloss rock-star pop that was as emotionally generous as it was perfectly polished — a Yo La Tengo record inside a Steely Dan record. Well played, sir. Spoon, the best American rock band of their generation, came through with a record that’s just as good as the Seventies radio classics they admire. Kurt Vile, Cate Le Bon, and Omar Apollo all dazzled me with the warmth, wit, and subtlety of albums that grew and changed with every listen. Angel Olsen went big and nailed it with the luminous country textures and earned optimism of Big Time. Like every year since 1964, this was a great one for kids with guitars: Thanks to Alvvays, Wet Leg, and MJ Lenderman for keeping the indie-rock torch blazing. For me, 2022’s most heartening moment was the return of Nineties guitar heroes Archers of Loaf, with their first record in 24 years, sounding bracingly brand new and reminding anyone smart enough to stick around and pay attention that you never can tell how things are going to work out in the life you end up with.

Brenna Ehrlich, Chief Research Editor

1. Kendrick Lamar, Mr. Morale & the Big Steppers
2. Pusha T, It’s Almost Dry
3. Guided By Voices, Tremblers and Goggles by Rank
4. Drug Church, Hygiene
5. J-Hope, Jack in the Box
6. Megan Thee Stallion, Traumazine
7. Destroyer, Labyrinthitis
8. Jack White, Fear of the Dawn/Entering Heaven Alive
9. The Mars Volta, The Mars Volta
10. Jethro Tull, The Zealot Gene

2022 has been a great year for… all genres. I’m down with anything that pushes boundaries, and this crop of records delivered.

Solomon Fortune, Account Manager

1. FLO, The Lead EP
2. Beyoncé, Renaissance
3. Miley Cyrus, Attention: Miley Live
4. SZA, SOS
5. Twice, Between 1 & 2
6. Latto, 777
7. Mariah Carey, Butterfly: 25th Anniversary Expanded Edition
8. Arca, Kick
9. Rosalía, Motomami
10. Charli XCX, Crash

After countless promising releases in 2021, I refused to believe the bar could be set any higher. Yet with all the love and growth afforded me in 2022 came a craving for new sounds. These 10 albums comprise the soundtrack to my first year at Rolling Stone. A void in the industry was left after Little Mix’s indefinite hiatus was announced. In their absence, FLO stepped onto the scene with undeniable harmonies, and Twice gave us an intoxicating hit, “Talk That Talk,” with fiery choreography. Mariah Carey, the long-reigning matriarch of my top artists list, repackaged her magnum opus Butterfly with new remixes and live performances which remain timeless contenders amongst today’s releases. Another legendary act who returned to the scene, Beyoncé, made it virtually impossible to attend any queer Brooklyn space without hearing the ever-motivating “Break My Soul,” inspiring us all to continue “looking for a new foundation” into the new year. The feeling my friends and I chase is an immaculate and soulful summer ambiance, and these bodies of work carried us through countless summer soirées, Long Island Rail Road trips to Fire Island, and the beautiful memories we created together.

Jon Freeman, RS Country Deputy Editor

1. Beyoncé, Renaissance
2. Adeem the Artist, White Trash Revelry
3. Charley Crockett, The Man From Waco
4. Spoon, Lucifer on the Sofa
5. Ibibio Sound Machine, Electricity
6. Willi Carlisle, Peculiar, Missouri
7. Bartees Strange, Farm to Table
8. Pillbox Patti, Florida
9. Hermanos Gutiérrez, El Bueno y El Malo
10. Angel Olsen, Big Time

I’m a longtime house music fan, so Beyoncé’s savvy interpretation of that and other forms of dance music on Renaissance was a shot of pleasure to my central nervous system, echoed in more angular, post-punk fashion on Ibibio Sound Machine’s overlooked Electricity. This is also the rare year in which multiple indie-rock projects found their way to my favorites, thanks to Spoon, Bartees Strange, and, if you still count her slightly country turn on Big Time (I do), Angel Olsen. In country music, I was impressed by distinctive individual voices: the prolific Charley Crockett really coming into his own as an entertainer-raconteur, Pillbox Patti chronicling the bleak side of Florida life, and the queer, empathetic viewpoints of Adeem the Artist and Willi Carlisle. In particular, Adeem, a non-binary singer-songwriter based in Knoxville, wrote some of the year’s most stirring anthems about thorny subjects like the terrible legacy of white supremacy and the rural Southern evangelical experience, sticking the landing every time in breathtaking fashion. And when my brain needed a hard reset, which was often, nothing else would do but the arid, dreamlike instrumentals on the latest album by Swiss duo Hermanos Gutiérrez — a project that can transport and soothe in equal measure.

Dewayne Gage, Digital Media Editor

1. Vince Staples, Ramona Park Broke My Heart
2. Brent Faiyaz, Wasteland
3. Drake & 21 Savage, Her Loss
4. Lucki, Flawless Like Me
5. Future, I Never Liked You
6. Gunna, DS4EVER
7. Lil Durk, 7220
8. Kendrick Lamar, Mr. Morale & the Big Steppers
9. Metro Boomin, Heroes & Villains
10. Drake, Honestly, Nevermind

2022 was filled with enough high-quality music for two years, and for that, I first have to start off with an honorable mention to Babyface Ray’s Face and G Herbo’s Survivor’s Remorse for their top-tier rap performance on those two projects. While I am envious of all Spotify users who were able to make a festival lineup out of their most listened-to artists, I would like to thank Apple Music for making the process of choosing my favorite albums of the year a breeze. These albums were truly the soundtrack to my life this year (word to Cudi). From hitting the gym to subway rides in New York City, to drives in Southern California, each album served as a form of therapy to me. Thank you, music.

Andre Gee, Staff Writer

Che Noir, Food for Thought
Chris Patrick, X-Files
Defcee, For All Debts Public And Private 
Fly Anakin, Frank
Lupe Fiasco, Drill Music in Zion
NoCap, Mr. Crawford 
Quelle Chris, Deathfame
Ransom, No Rest for the Wicked
Wifigawd, Chain of Command
Young Slo-Be, Southeast 

As you may recall me trying to explain on our year-end best albums podcast, 2022 was an amazing year for rap. The amount of good projects formed a bottleneck in my mind and I couldn’t even articulate all the albums I wanted to reel off, from a variety of regions — but that’s what this list is for. Not all of these albums would necessarily be in my top 10, but here, in alphabetical order, are 10 albums that didn’t get on our previous lists that absolutely deserve to be celebrated.

Kory Grow, Senior Writer 

1. The Smile, A Light for Attracting Attention
2. Sun’s Signature, Sun’s Signature
3. Ozzy Osbourne, Patient Number 9
4. The Afghan Whigs, How Do You Burn?
5. Wet Leg, Wet Leg
6. Mattiel, Georgia Gothic
7. Big Joanie, Back Home
8. Christine and the Queens, Redcar les Adorables Étoiles
9. Soul Glo, Diaspora Problems
10. Dry Cleaning, Stumpwork

My 2022 souvenir soundtrack contains longtime faves reminding the world why they’re great (Ozzy, the Whigs), classic artists succeeding with new sounds (the Smile), postmodern iconoclasts advancing pop music (Christine and the Queens, Dry Cleaning), fun artists making fun music for fun’s sake (Wet Leg, Mattiel), and hard-edged punk and post-punk holding a mirror to the world at large (Soul Glo, Big Joanie). But the record I want to highlight the most here is Sun’s Signature, the first new music from the Cocteau Twins’ Liz Fraser to come out in years. It’s ornate, catchy, mysterious, and perfectly captures the surreal world of the past few years. Can we get them in the next season of Stranger Things, please? Liz deserves a renaissance as much as Kate Bush.

Oscar Hartzog, E-Commerce Writer

1. Pusha T, It’s Almost Dry
2. Metro Boomin, Heroes & Villains
3. Bjork, Fossora
4. Charli XCX, Crash
5. Freddie Gibbs, $oul $old $eperately
6. Daddy Yankee, Legendaddy
7. Yeat, 2 Alive
8. Future, I Never Liked You
9. Gunna, DS4EVER
10. YoungBoy Never Broke Again, 3800 Degrees

The concept of “being the main character” in your life’s TV show has been floating around TikTok all year, and, well aware of the narcissism involved, I’ve been wholeheartedly indulging in those main-character vibes through music. Besides listening to actual film scores from Hans Zimmer and Ennio Morricone, that desire for a personal soundtrack drew me to artists with a talent for theatricality. The braggadocio of Pusha T’s kingpin character on It’s Almost Dry and Metro Boomin’s cohesive roundup of hip-hop’s Avengers on Heroes & Villains were the year’s standouts, trailed by Yeat’s 2 Alive and a handful of tracks off Future’s I Never Liked You. All showcase some of hip-hop’s best modern orators offering a focused, almost mythical power that I have yet to encounter in real life but nonetheless crave as an antidote for the mundane. Of course, this year’s season of my show also required an intensive refresher on partying, and Charli XCX’s Crash provides an excellent intoxicant. Then there’s Bjork’s Fossora, which drags me, Alice in Wonderland-style, to a completely different kind of maximalist world that I neither understand nor want to leave.

Becca Higgins, Talent Producer (Twitch)

1. Nilüfer Yanya, Painless
2. The Regrettes, Further Joy
3. Robert Glasper, Black Radio III
4. The Smile, A Light for Attracting Attention
5. Lizzo, Special
6. Alex G, God Save the Animals
7. Paolo Nutini, Last Night in the Bittersweet
8. Omar Apollo, Ivory
9. Kendrick Lamar, Mr. Morale & the Big Steppers
10. Metro Boomin, Heroes & Villains

The true test of a great new album is whether or not it can steal my attention away from the SortPuz mobile game that monopolizes my idle time. In 2022, there were so many songs that grabbed my focus in unique, interesting ways that my compulsive puzzling didn’t stand a chance. Occasionally a series of very relatable and evocative lyrics, like those describing the physical manifestation of existential dread in the Regrettes’ “Monday,” would break the game’s spell. In other listenings, like with Last Night in the Bittersweet, I found myself so transported to Sunday evenings in my childhood home that continuing to furiously tap my thumbs against an iPhone threatened to break the space-time continuum. And in other instances, still, I would stop my ‘Puz-ing to get lost in the intricacies of Robert Glasper’s piano movements, Kendrick Lamar’s veritable opera, the guttural expression of Alex G’s own humanity via those trademark screams, or in a fantasy where I was best friends with Lizzo, and perhaps it was, in fact, my birthday, girl. Looking back on 2022, I’m grateful for these albums that were able to pull my brain out of my screen, and I hope to continue finding a surplus of them in 2023. 

Christian Hoard, Music Editor

1. Rosalía, Motomami
2. Beyoncé, Renaissance
3. SZA, SOS
4. Wet Leg, Wet Leg
5. Bartees Strange, Farm to Table
6. Omar Apollo, Ivory
7. Asake, Mr. Money with the Vibe
8. Miranda Lambert, Palomino
9. Bad Bunny, Un Verano Sin Ti
10. Kendrick Lamar, Mr. Morale & the Big Steppers

I found Rosalia’s Motomami to be pop’s most exciting album in 2022 and a gift that kept on giving: a mashup of disparate styles that added up to something that felt genuinely original, full of genius little details that kept popping up like welcome surprises. Big names were reassuringly awesome this year: Beyoncé making cathartic dance music; SZA making it worth the wait; Bad Bunny making a bid for biggest artist in the world; Miranda Lambert making a case as the most consistent album artist of the 21st century. Asake was Afrobeats’ breakout star and deserved to be — Mr. Money with the Vibe was remarkably assured and deeply pleasurable. Omar Apollo, Wet Leg, and Bartees Strange mixed fresh ideas with guitars (among many other things). Kendrick, weirdly, got underrated — lost amid the double-album sprawl was a generous batch of compelling songs that no one else could have made.

Joseph Hudak, RS Country Editor

1. Yelawolf & Shooter Jennings, Sometimes Y
2. Butch Walker, Butch Walker as…Glenn
3. Ghost, Impera
4. Billy Strings, Me/And/Dad
5. Hailey Whitters, Raised
6. Paul Cauthen, Country Coming Down
7. Kelsey Waldon, No Regular Dog
8. Halestorm, Back From the Dead
9. Wet Leg, Wet Leg
10. Joshua Hedley, Neon Blue

Sometimes Y, Shooter Jennings’ reinvention of Southern rapper Yelawolf as a legit rock singer, was released in March, but it took me five months to first listen to the album. I’ve made up for that precious time wasted ever since, playing Sometimes Y — as in “a, e, i, o, u, and…” — each time I get in the car. Shooter’s synth-heavy production snaps your head back (e.g., the Queen “One Vision” vibes of “Jump Out the Window”), and Yelawolf’s singing and lyrics are as powerful as anything he’s ever spit in his rap game. “At least I ain’t no goddamn gimmick!” Wolf howls in “Make Me a Believer,” the LP’s high point, just daring you to challenge him. Butch Walker also reinvented himself in 2022, transforming into a Seventies piano man named Glenn on the concept album of the same name — it’s as fun as it sounds. Tobias Forge’s theatrical shredders Ghost and Lzzy Hale’s unstoppable Halestorm delivered the best opening wails of the year with Impera and Back From the Dead, respectively. And in the country landscape, Joshua Hedley made the best Nineties album of the 2020s; Billy Strings cut a masterwork by simply recording with his dad; Paul Cauthen raised his swagger tenfold on Country Coming Down; Hailey Whitters wrote the genre’s sharpest lyrics of 2022 with Raised; and Kelsey Waldon proved John Prine was oh-so-prescient to sign her to his label with her superb LP No Regular Dog — coincidentally also produced by Shooter Jennings.

Meagan Jordan, Research Editor

1. Steve Lacy, Gemini Rights
2. Beyoncé, Renaissance
3. J.I.D, The Forever Story
4. Moonchild, Star Fruit
5. Larry June, Spaceships on the Blade
6. Samara Joy, Linger Awhile
7. New Impressionz, Energy Set 3
8. Ari Lennox, Age/Sex/Location
9. Nas, King’s Disease III
10. GloRilla, Anyways, Life’s Great…

2022 brought me hysterical moments of laughter and tears, as I navigated through some troubling times. While it’s fair to say that my music choices for this year are in fact moody, each of these albums have made me feel human, tapping into a part of who I was, who I am, and who I’m growing to be. I’m a sucker for great productions, live instruments, and lyricism. So projects like Beyoncé’s disco-influenced album Renaissance, with songs like “Virgo’s Groove” and “Cuff it”, activated the non-roller skater within me, making me want to do a lap while holding onto the wall. New Impressionz brought high energy with 30-plus songs (in their trilogy album set) that delivered solid conga and tom-drum pockets. And Samara Joy’s debut jazz album was the perfect way to clean the house as a person with ADHD. As the year closes, I’m grateful to each artist for their work, especially those I’m just now listening to, like Larry June (shoutout to Cora!). Despite this year’s grief, 2022 affirmed that life means nothing without love, great family and friends and of course, music.

CT Jones, Staff Writer

1. Orville Peck, Bronco
2. Ethel Cain, Preacher’s Daughter
3. Marcus Mumford, (self-titled)
4. The 1975, Being Funny In a Foreign Language
5. Rina Sawayama, Hold the Girl
6. Florence + The Machine, Dance Fever
7. Muna, Muna
8. Noah Kahan, Stick Season
9. Ashe, Rae
10. Wallows, Tell Me That It’s Over

There is a moment on the Northeast Regional Amtrak train where you leave a long dark tunnel and break into the light of a cool Jersey day. For the next few hours, there is little to no service and only the winding, rolling landscape to keep you company. It is the best sense of worship I have ever gotten — and each of these albums represented a different way of looking out the window onto something new. Preacher’s Daughter is a pop-goth dirge, Bronco delivers rousing queer adventure, and Stick Season makes me want to scream into a canyon. Rina and Muna  ooze sweat and self assurance. Being Funny is the 1975’s best album in years, Dance Fever is untethered and ethereal, while Rae and Tell Me That It’s Over use rock and crushing lyrics to articulate all the horny, despondent rage that comes from being afraid to turn 30. And (self-titled), which will probably be one of my favorite albums of all time, takes Mumford’s stadium voice and throws it into a hushed waiting crowd, teetering on the precipice of what could come next. These albums are flawed, messy bangers. And each one is a journey I want to start again. 

Daniel Kreps, Staff Writer

1. The Smile, A Light for Attracting Attention
2. Kendrick Lamar, Mr. Morale & the Big Steppers
3. Christine and the Queens, Redcar les Adorables Étoiles
4. Beyoncé, Renaissance
5. Charli XCX, Crash
6. Pusha T, It’s Almost Dry
7. Death’s Dynamic Shroud, Dark Life
8. Wilco, Cruel Country
9. Bladee and Ecco2K, Crest
10. Della Zyr, 비타민과 우려 Vitamins and Apprehension

Anytime Radiohead or Kendrick Lamar release a new album, it’s a safe bet it’ll top my year-end list, and 2022 did not disappoint in that sense. Despite it being a “side project,” A Light for Attracting Attention is as Radiohead-adjacent as it gets, a catalog-worthy collection that beautifully tapped into 2022’s dread, while Mr. Morale is perhaps Lamar’s most ambitious, diverse set of songs so far.  My listening habits this year were also dominated by a pair of pop masterpieces (Beyoncé, Charli XCX), Wilco comfort food, the latest incarnation of Christine and the Queens, and a bunch of stuff I stumbled on on Bandcamp, from vaporware and Drain Gang to South Korean shoegaze. Not listed here, but some archival releases I spent a lot of time with: Charles Mingus’ The Lost Album From Ronnie Scott’s, Frank Zappa’s Zappa/Erie and Numero Group’s Valley of the Sun: Field Guide to Inner Harmony.

Kristine Kwak, Director, Audience Development

1. NewJeans, New Jeans
2. J-Hope, Jack in the Box 
3. Nayeon, Im Nayeon
4. Blackpink, Born Pink 
5. Seventeen, Sector 17
6. Le Sserafim, Fearless 
7. (G)I-dle, I love
8. RM, Indigo
9. Aespa, Girls
10. Winner, Holiday 

I know this isn’t supposed to be a K-pop list, but I can’t help that my top three genres (according to Spotistats) are K-pop, K-pop girl group, and K-pop boy group, which I didn’t know were separate genres. While compiling this list, I learned that a lot of K-pop releases are in the form of singles, making the list of albums to choose from more limited than I had initially thought. As expected, NewJeans’ debut EP tops my list. Somehow “Hype Boy” has become my Number One 1 most listened-to track despite the fact that it came out in August. I still can’t decide which of the four tracks on NewJeans’ EP is my favorite. Each song has a different mood, and I’m still listening to it on repeat (although now, early previews of “Ditto” and “OMG” have been thrown into the mix). I like to prep for interviews or shows by playing albums on repeat to really familiarize myself, so it’s no surprise that a lot of the albums on my list also happen to be from artists I’ve had the opportunity to meet or watch perform this year, too. I still remember J-Hope’s enthusiasm while talking about Jack in the Box and his creative process. He put everything into that album, and his talent really shines through. Nayeon is another one of my favorites, and with her album being the first solo album to come out of Twice, I had high hopes — and she didn’t disappoint. Overall, I thought 2022 was a great year for the K-pop girlies. I loved to see a variety of different genres and sounds from my favorite groups, and I can’t wait to see what’s in store for 2023. 

Sacha Lecca, Deputy Photo Editor

1. Fontaines D.C., Skinty Fia
2. Warmduscher, At the Hotspot
3. Viagra Boys, Cave World
4. Sunflower Bean, Headful of Sugar
5. Yard Act, The Overload
6. Working Man’s Club, Fear Fear
7. Breanna Barbara, Nothin’ But Time
8. Stromae, Multitude
9. The Bobby Lees, Bellevue
10. Dry Cleaning, Stumpwork

I felt spoiled for choice to make a top ten as there was so much music that I connected with. That said, it was always going to be Fontaines D.C. and then everyone else — Skinty Fia is an amazing record. They’ve only gotten better. Same with Sunflower Bean, Warmduscher, Stromae, and Breanna Barbara too, who have all been under my skin for years. I invite you to dive into Rolling Stone’s official list of the 100 Best Albums of 2022, as well as listen to my colleagues on the excellent Rolling Stone Music Now podcast on the same. I often find appreciation for music I’ve overlooked once I hear their takes; and I’m gratified that a couple of my personal faves are also represented there.

John Lonsdale, E-Commerce Writer

1. Harry Styles, Harry’s House
2. Steve Lacy, Gemini Rights
3. Wet Leg, Wet Leg
4. Beyoncé, Renaissance
5. Omar Apollo, Ivory
6. SZA, SOS
7. Rosalía, Motomami
8. Taylor Swift, Midnights
9. Maggie Rogers, Surrender
10. Big Thief, Dragon New Warm Mountain I Believe in You

“I’ll be out there as much as I can,” Carly Rae Jepsen recently told me about potentially touring more in the future. I didn’t get the chance to see her perform songs from The Loneliest Time, one of the year’s best LPs, just yet. But I took a similar approach to seeing some of my favorite artists play their new albums live in 2022: Angel Olsen rocking through Big Time in the middle of Topanga Canyon, Big Thief performing an intimate set at the Wiltern, Harry Styles turning the Kia Forum into Harry’s House for the best dance party in town — feathers on the floor and all. I shouted along with the other Wet Leg fans at Lollapalooza, and happily did the same during “Evergreen” at Omar Apollo’s Greek Theatre concert. Looking back, the last 12 months gave us so many damn good albums, and a whole lotta memories I feel grateful to have.

Julyssa Lopez, Senior Music Editor

1. Mabe Fratti, Se Ve Desde Aqui
2. Lucrecia Dalt, ¡Ay!
3. Mediopicky, Mediopicky
4. FKA Twigs, Caprisongs
5. Bad Bunny, Un Verano Sin Ti
6. Sasami, Squeeze
7. Villano Antillano, La Sustancia X
8. Rosalía, Motomami
9. Silvana Estrada, Marchita
10. Guitarricadelafuente, La Cantera

Throughout the pandemic era, I’ve sought out a lot of comforting music that’s felt specifically focused on processing grief or releasing joy. But this year, I was more interested in artists who bewildered or intrigued me — the weirder, the better. Luckily, there were so many acts twisting unexpected sounds into beautifully bizarre records: Mabe Fratti’s tense and tender Se Ve Desde Aquí blew my mind, as did Lucrecia Dalt’s striking ¡Ay! and Mediopicky’s carefree self-titled release. I loved the unpredictable turns on Bad Bunny’s Un Verano Sin Ti and Rosalía’s Motomami, and the freedom that FKA Twigs, Sasami, and Villano Antillano showed on each of their LPs. All of it was a good reminder that even during the uncertainty and isolation we just went through, and despite lots of tedium and darkness, so many people out there were letting their imaginations run wild, piecing together some future I probably wouldn’t have been able to picture on my own.

Griffin Lotz, Associate Photo Editor

1. Fontaines D.C., Skinty Fia
2. Sasami, Squeeze
3. King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard, Omnium Gatherium
4. Yard Act, The Overload
5. Sunflower Bean, Headful of Sugar
6. Glove, Boom Nights
7. Wet Leg, Wet Leg
8. Los Bitchos, Let the Festivities Begin! 
9. Goose, Dripfield
10. Gift, Momentary Presence

Live music drove my 2022 listening, and I was fortunate enough to see every band in this list live at least once, if not multiple times. A postponed show delayed seeing Fontaines perform Skinty Fia favorites “I Love You” and “Jackie Down the Line,” but the wait was well worth it, and the songs were as large as they sound on the record. Sasami really is “The Greatest” by combining heavy riffs and sweet, soothing vocals. King Gizzard put out so much music this year, but Omnium Gatherium rose to the top featuring excellent new live staples “The Dripping Tap,” “Magenta Mountain,” and the monstrous “Gaia.” Sunflower Bean got tough and heavy on Headful of Sugar, and as my colleague Joe Hudak put it after a show at SXSW, Glove sounded “like the future.” Local Brooklyn band Gift put out a spacey psych-rock record with Momentary Presence. Yard Act provided comedic and poetic lyrics with an unstoppable groove, and Wet Leg was unavoidable, yet very enjoyable. Goose and Los Bitchos could each keep a party jamming all night, depending on your type of party.

Leah Lu, Senior Social Media Editor

1. Okay Kaya, Sap
2. Searows, Guard Dog
3. Tomberlin, I Don’t Know Who Needs to Hear This… 
4. Julia Jacklin, Pre Pleasure 
5. Skullcrusher, Quiet the Room
6. Weyes Blood, And in the Darkness, Hearts Aglow
7. Ethel Cain, Preacher’s Daughter 
8. SZA, SOS
9. The 1975, Being Funny in a Foreign Language
10. Georgia Harmer, Stay in Touch

“It’s been a long, strange year,” Weyes Blood sings on “The Worst Is Done.” “Everyone’s sad.” Real! This is admittedly a devastating list; embarrassingly reflective of the emotional states I’ve spent 2022 in. Chalk it up to my prefrontal cortex finally developing by turning 25 or whatever. This was a year marked by lots of feeling for me — hours and hours spent ruminating, trying to think of things differently, taking miles-long aimless walks, all while listening to these albums on an endless loop. They’re records that have aided with my introspection, providing welcome new perspectives or offering a soft, indulgent landing of comfort.

Angie Martoccio, Associate Managing Editor

1. Taylor Swift, Midnights 
2. Harry Styles, Harry’s House 
3. The Smile, A Light for Attracting Attention
4. King Princess, Hold on Baby 
5. Mitski, Laurel Hell 
6. Soccer Mommy, Sometimes, Forever 
7. Rosalía, Motomami 
8. Weyes Blood, And in the Darkness, Hearts Aglow 
9. Father John Misty, Chloë and the Next 20th Century
10. Los Bitchos, Let the Festivities Begin!

This year marked the return of indie greats (Mitski and Soccer Mommy), my favorite Sub Pop California songwriters (Weyes Blood and Father John Misty), and two-thirds of Radiohead (Thom Yorke and Jonny Greenwood as the Smile). The global dance-rock band Los Bitchos remain the best-kept secret this year, while Rosalía finally got her due with Motomami. (My favorite track of 2022? The swooning “Hentai,” baby!) And if it’s at all alarming that my top two choices are pop records by Taylor Swift and Harry Styles, remember that both of those masterpieces nod to the Seventies — from vintage Wurlitzers to disco jams — and you’ll realize I stayed on brand.

Tomás Mier, Staff Writer 

1. Camila Cabello, Familia
2. Rosalía, Motomami
3. Sabrina Carpenter, Emails I Can’t Send
4. Omar Apollo, Ivory
5. Tove Lo, Dirt Femme
6. Meghan Trainor, Takin’ It Back
7. Stromae, Multitude
8. Rina Sawayama, Hold the Girl
9. Gia Woods, Heartbreak County, Vol. 2
10. Lolo Zouaï, Playgirl

Can you tell I’m gay with this list? Amid the noise of seemingly the most music we’ve ever had in a single year, my favorite albums of 2022 were the ones that successfully tapped into personal identity and delivered fresh, forward-thinking sounds. With Takin’ It Back, Meghan Trainor returned to her roots and successfully used TikTok as a tool — and not a means! — to promote and produce genuinely good music worthy of virality. Influenced by my queer icon Juan Gabriel, Omar Apollo beautifully laced his Latinx upbringing with songs about his own LGBTQ relationships and identity on Ivory. On Emails, Sabrina Carpenter said “fuck you” to the perceptions people had of her thanks months of tabloid drama. And Gia Woods proved with Heartbreak County, Vol. 2 that she’s a rising star we should‘ve started paying attention to years ago.  Camila Cabello sang a mariachi song in English. Stromae sampled a Bridgerton trailer. And what more can we say about Rosalía, except that she was the pop queen of 2022? 

Ethan Millman, Staff Writer

1. Alvvays, Blue Rev
2. Wet Leg, Wet Leg
3. Kendrick Lamar, Mr. Morale & the Big Steppers
4. Angel Olsen, Big Time
5. Big Thief, Dragon New Warm Mountain I Believe in You
6. Beach House, Once Twice Melody
7. SZA, SOS
8. Vince Staples, Ramona Park Broke My Heart
9. Jack White, Fear of the Dawn
10. Pusha T, It’s Almost Dry

For a year that didn’t have very many dominant smash-hit singles compared to previous years, 2022 certainly delivered tons of amazing albums. Blue Rev and Wet Leg practically owned my rotation this year and made for an easy one and two, but it took a considerable amount of work to rank the next eight albums. Overall I think what made this year so special for me on the album front was that so many artists were willing to push themselves outside of their comfort zone, whether that meant asking hard new questions like Kendrick Lamar did on Mr. Morale, or Jack White forcing himself into his most unique sonic palette to date with Fear of the Dawn. And then there’s Beach House, who fly right in the face of that idea and somehow exist in a paradox where their music both sounds like it did a decade ago, yet hasn’t managed to sound tired or repetitive. Not that I’m complaining.

Steven Pearl, Copy Editor 

1. Wet Leg, Wet Leg
2. Sofi Tukker, Wet Tennis
3. Beyoncé, Renaissance
4. Harry Styles, Harry’s House
5. Steve Lacy, Gemini Rights
6. Martha, Please Don’t Take Me Back
7. Stromae, Multitude
8. Kendrick Lamar, Mr. Morale & the Big Steppers
9. Yuksek, Cleaning Drives
10. Hot Chip, Freakout / Release  

When it comes down to it, my top picks of every year are always a cocktail of three vital ingredients: What’s going on out in the world and culture at large, what’s going on in my personal life, and what gets my groove on, all shaken with a big dose of the indie, alt, and (Brit) pop predilections that have been my polestar since I was a college DJ. This year, I’ve had a particular appreciation for all those artists bringing back music — whether sampled, evoked, reinvented, or remastered — from the past, from Beyoncé conjuring a rainbow of voices on Renaissance to Sofi Tukker recalling Suzanne Vega on Wet Tennis. I’ve loved listening to some artists simply because they’re just so at the top of their game, it’s good to be along for the ride (Lamar and Styles, both looking within and pushing on out), and hearing new tunes from some old favorites has been deeply gratifying: Listening to Hot Chip, Yuksek, and Stromae, the latter as lush-sounding and beautifully produced as ever while tackling sex work, parenting, and suicide, makes me proud to be a global citizen. But perhaps the greatest joy of any year is discovering new sounds, and for me in 2022, that includes the playful invention, seductive storytelling, and catchy songcraft of Martha, Steve Lacy, and the stunning big D’ers themselves, Wet Leg. Play ’em all, loud and often as you like! 

Noah Shachtman, Editor-in-Chief

1. Beyoncé, Renaissance 
2. SZA, SOS
3. Rosalía, Motomami
4. Noah Cyrus, The Hardest Part
5. King Princess, Hold On Baby
6. Runkus, OUT:SIDE
7. Nilüfer Yanya, Painless
8. Protoje, Third Time’s the Charm
9. Earthgang, Ghetto Gods
10. Labrinth, Euphoria Season 2 Original Score

Let’s be honest: They didn’t send their best in 2022. Some of the most-hyped albums of the years were duds. Others were rush jobs. A few were both. But that made the year’s peaks all the more Olympian. And what a pantheon we got: goddesses of rock, brooding Americana queens, reggae royals, globe-spanning genre-breakers, and, of course, The One Diva to Rule Them All. Here’s my list for the 10 best albums of the year.

Rob Sheffield, Contributing Editor

1. Beyoncé, Renaissance
2. Taylor Swift, Midnights
3. Harry Styles, Harry’s House
4. SZA, SOS
5. Horsegirl, Versions of Modern Performance
6. Rosalía, Motomami
7. Pictoria Vark, The Parts I Dread
8. Craig Finn, A Legacy of Rentals
9. Sudan Archives, Natural Brown Prom Queen
10. Ribbon Stage, Hit With the Most

What a year for music — any of my top half-dozen or so could have been Number One in an ordinary year. The double-digit years are always pivotal for music — ’66, ’77, ’88, ’99 were four of the coolest music years ever. (’11 and ’55 were bangers, too. Y2K wasn’t so hot, but at least had a kick-ass Madonna album.) 2022 might have felt more like Neil Young’s 22 than Taylor Swift’s, but the sick sonic minds on this list kept opening up private dream spaces, in ways that seemed to soundtrack possible futures. (Read more of Rob Sheffield’s favorite music of 2022.)

Brittany Spanos, Senior Writer

1. Beyoncé, Renaissance
2. Taylor Swift, Midnights
3. Harry Styles, Harry’s House
4. The Weeknd, Dawn FM
5. The 1975, Being Funny in a Foreign Language
6. Drake, Honestly, Nevermind
7. Florence + the Machine, Dance Fever
8. FKA Twigs, Caprisongs
9. Carly Rae Jepsen, The Loneliest Time
10. Demi Lovato, Holy Fvck

I always love a really huge-feeling year, with new albums from some pop music titans who lived up to however long it took to hear new music from them. Beyoncé’s latest was everything I hoped for: dance-floor freedom, with her paying homage to the Black women who made dance floors feel so freeing in the first place. The rest of the music I loved this year felt emotionally similar; Taylor Swift, Harry Styles, Drake, and FKA Twigs embraced movement above all else, digging into either pop fluff or rhythmic nostalgia that added a much-needed dose of levity to 2022. Here’s hoping for more club anthems in the year to come. 

Marlow Stern, Senior Entertainment Editor

1. Rosalía, Motomami  
2. Beyoncé, Renaissance  
3. Big Thief, Dragon New Warm Mountain I Believe in You 
4. Alvvays, Blue Rev 
5. Black Country, New Road, Ants from Up There 
6. Earl Sweatshirt, Sick!  
7. Fontaines D.C., Skinty Fia 
8. Weyes Blood, And in the Darkness, Hearts Aglow 
9. Bad Bunny, Un Verano Sin Ti  
10. Wet Leg, Wet Leg  

Though a bit of a down year for rap music — solo releases by Drake, Kendrick, and Future failed to meet the superstar artists’ own lofty standards — the pop queens more than picked up the slack, as Rosalía’s and Beyoncé’s galvanizing, genre-bending creations propelled even the most reticent of clubgoers toward the dancefloor. Across the Atlantic, Irish rabble-rousers Fontaines D.C. produced their most emotionally unrestrained album yet (their third in four years), while British newcomers Wet Leg’s horny anthem “Chaise Longue” refused to leave my Spotify rotation. Brooklyn’s Big Thief, led by virtuoso singer-songwriter Adrianne Lenker, continued spinning irresistible yarns on their 20-song double-LP, while Canada’s Alvvays pushed their brand of punchy dream-pop to thrilling new heights. Am grateful to each and every one of these artists for helping me escape reality in their own unique ways.  

Lisa Tozzi, Digital Director

1. Beyoncé, Renaissance
2. Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Cool It Down
3. SZA, SOS
4. Los Bitchos, Let the Festivities Begin!
5. Wet Leg, Wet Leg
6. The Beths, Expert in a Dying Field 
7. The Linda Lindas, Growing Up
8. Yahritza y Su Esencia, Obsessed 
9. Blackpink, Born Pink
10. Weyes Blood, And in the Darkness, Hearts Aglow 

In Pandemic Year Three, the angst and fear, anger and exhaustion of these times still lingered, but also it was as if something cracked (or maybe “bloomed” is the more optimistic word?) inside and we just needed to move. Luckily, some longtime favorites were willing to oblige, and some new delightful stars were welcomed to the floor. I call it “dance songs for moody girls.”  The existential dread is there, but at least it’s got a good beat.

Simon Vozick-Levinson, Deputy Music Editor

1. Bartees Strange, Farm to Table
2. Pusha T, It’s Almost Dry
3. Alvvays, Blue Rev
4. Sunflower Bean, Headful of Sugar
5. The Smile, A Light for Attracting Attention
6. FKA Twigs, Caprisongs
7. Zora, Z1
8. Bad Bunny, Un Verano Sin Ti
9. Soccer Mommy, Sometimes, Forever
10. Alex G, God Save the Animals

What a year for new music! Bartees Strange isn’t just a powerfully human songwriter, with extraordinary passion and truth in every line he sings; he’s also the rare rock artist whose second-album experiments feel earned, someone who truly lived up to the hype he’d amassed over the past two years of fearless studio work and incendiary live shows. Pusha T made his leanest, meanest solo LP a full 20 years after he became one of my favorite rappers with the opening bars of “Grindin’.” Read that sentence again — how many artists in any genre are doing their best work at 45? Alvvays delivered another instant classic, making me wonder if they’re some kind of alien time-lords from a planet where the atmosphere is composed of bittersweet indie-pop perfection instead of oxygen. And that’s just my top three! The rest of this list is full of albums that blew my mind, albums that helped me screw my head back on, and everything in between. Some seriously incredible releases just missed my top 10 (apologies to Beyoncé, Taylor, and Wilco). It was that kind of year.

Alison Weinflash, Managing Editor

1. Taylor Swift, Midnights
2. Harry Styles, Harry’s House
3. Wet Leg, Wet Leg
4. SZA, SOS
5. Plains, I Walked With You a Ways
6. Lizzo, Special
7. Beyoncé, Renaissance
8. Spoon, Lucifer on the Sofa
9. Big Thief, Dragon New Warm Mountain I Believe in You
10. Mitski, Laurel Hell 

All of these records and artists have been written about far more eloquently than I can. So I’m going to write about my favorite 20 seconds of music released this year: the excellent horns section on “Music for a Sushi Restaurant.” Those horns were pure exuberance and magically lifted my mood whenever I listened, which was 67 times, per my Spotify Wrapped. One of my biggest regrets of the year is that I didn’t get to see it performed live. Here’s hoping Harry goes on tour again in 2023.

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Ilana Woldenberg, Video Producer

1. Taylor Swift, Midnights (3am Edition)
2. Rosalia, Motomami +
3. Sabrina Carpenter, Emails I Can’t Send
4. Miley Cyrus, Attention: Miley Live
5. Reneé Rapp, Everything to Everyone
6. Anna of the North, Crazy Life
7. SIX Original Broadway Cast, SIX: Live on Opening Night
8. Harry Styles, Harry’s House
9. Beyoncé, Renaissance
10. Lizzo, Special

When I interviewed for this job, our editor-in-chief asked me what kind of music I listen to, and I replied, “Music that makes me happy.” I’ve recently discovered the powerful tool that is manifestation through music — it’s reciprocal determinism and it freaking works! This year, I healed my inner child by listening to Miley belting “The Climb” on Attention. I became empowered while blasting “No Way” from SIX while I cleaned my room (if Catherine of Aragon could put up with Henry VIII, then I could certainly manage to put away that pile of clothes living rent-free on my chair). I nearly cried tears of joy every time I heard Taylor Swift’s “Karma takes all of my friends to the summit,” because, retweet bestie. “Pure/Honey” became my go-to getting-ready-before-a-night-out anthem because it absolutely should “cost a billion to look this good,” and don’t even get me started on the espresso shot that is “Despechá,” a song that could awaken the party girl lying dormant within us all. I could hear Lizzo smiling in the booth throughout the entirety of Special, and somehow I couldn’t help but smile back. (Ilana’s Songs That Will Make You Happy 2022 Honorable Mentions: “Too Well” by Renee Rapp, “Nonsense” by Sabrina Carpenter, “Grapejuice” by Harry Styles, “Bird Sing” by Anna of the North, “I Love You Bitch” by Lizzo, “Like a Prayer” by Miley Cyrus.)

It’s been a great week for any indie game fans on Nintendo Switch. A full week of daily announcements, surprise releases, and more. One of said games being the already covered The Punchuin, but in the same show we also saw The Captain. The Captain is a point-and-click adventure game surrounding a space ship captain meant to stop a villain from destroying the sun. The interesting thing about this game though, is it starts to feel less like a standard point-and-click adventure the more you get into it.

The Captain is all done in pixel art, but it looks surprisingly good. There are definitely some metroidvania style games that it’s reminiscent when looking at the landscape of even the first world you visit- the desert planet. One that comes to mind is some of the more barren and orange areas in Blasphemous. The key thing is that this isn’t just another point-and-click game, where you simply explore the landscape and solve some puzzles. The main game almost has a Mass Effect type feel to it, where there are some main things to do, but there are also a lot of side missions available. The Captain has multiple endings, and while the main two are probably stop the sun from being blown up or let it blow up, there’s probably also several others, such as helping no one through the game or aim to do nothing but main missions.

As you travel from planet to planet, you start to learn that there is more to this than simple “point-and-click adventure.” Soon you’ll end up in fights against other space ships. These battles are turn-based strategy level fights, where you need to manage your energy between attacking opponents, and shielding your ship. There’s a lot of strategy that goes into these fights, and making the wrong move can quickly prove to be fatal. This is by far one of the most unique additions to The Captain and really helped maintain my interest in the game. While the humour is on par with some other great point-and-click games, having that little bit extra helped The Captain stand out.

Another spot where The Captain shines is its atmosphere. Yes, the game does look quite good, but it’s the music and effects of each area that really helps bring it home. In these kinds of games, one misstep could cause the entire game to feel off, but instead it draws you in to feel what the worlds you’re visiting actually feel like. Whether it’s the ambient semi-silence of being on your ship in space, or the beeping of an EKG while someone is frozen in a meat freezer, each area feels alive and feels like its own, instead of feeling copy and pasted with a different colour palette.

To be totally honest, I didn’t realise going into The Captain that it was a point-and-click adventure. I may have passed up on it had I known. Instead, I found what may arguably be one of the best and most unique games I have played in the genre. I do believe anyone who feels indifferent to this style of game should give it a shot, because it may be the one to change how you feel towards them. That, or if you just like tactical games, the battles can be a lot of fun, but there’s significantly less of those.

 

The graphics are nice. Honestly, there’s nothing too crazy in how this game looks, but instead everything else around how it looks to make it feel so unique.	In the start it feels like just another point and click adventure, which is fine because that’s the genre the game is going for. The addition of tactical space battles though to really break up any repetition and the ability to choose whether or not to do side missions really made the game what it is.
Sound is a big deal in these games, and The Captain absolutely nails it. The atmosphere in this game is pushed and enforced by the music, ambient sounds, and sound effects happening around you. Plus, each weapon and shield sounds unique in space battles, so that’s a good little detail.	I enjoyed The Captain way more than initially expected. This is easily one of the best games in the genre and definitely should not be overlooked. Maybe an update for just doing a bunch of space battles just for the fun of it.
Final Verdict: 8.0

The Captain is available now on Nintendo Switch and PC.

Reviewed on Nintendo Switch.

A copy of The Captain was provided by the publisher.

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