The Halfway Point: My Top 5 Albums of 2022 (So Far…)
Going over my favourite albums of the year so far
2022 has been flying right by, I don’t know about you but for me, this year has been going much quicker than the last two years. Maybe it’s a good thing or not, but I can say the soundtrack to 2022 has been nothing but short of amazing. We have been getting a plethora of new music in the past 6 months. Almost every week I’m updating my playlist with new singles and albums that I can’t quite keep up.
I’ve been saying this since last year and I’ll be saying it again, but it’s clear that artists have used their time wisely in this pandemic. Taking full advantage of nationwide lockdowns to focus on their craft and drop some gems for us to listen to.
With all that being said, let’s take a look at my top 5 favourite albums of the year so far. With the quantity of music we’ve gotten so far, it was tough to choose just 5, but these are the ones I’ve had in constant rotation throughout this first half of 2022.
5.) Kendrick Lamar: Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers
I still consider this album to be “new”, which is why it’s at the bottom of my list but make no mistake, Kendrick Lamar has outdone himself once again. After a 5-year hiatus, the Compton MC returns with the confessional Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers. Billed as a double album Kendrick dives deep into subjects such as generational trauma, fame, and accountability to name a few.
Production-wise this is Kendrick’s most subtle-sounding album, with very few bangers this time around. It complements his innate storytelling and lyricism quite well, however. He also plays around a lot more with his voice, taking cues from his cousin Baby Keem, Kendrick toys with his inflections and delivery throughout the album.
As a concept album, Kendrick doesn’t shy away from discussing taboo subjects throughout Mr.Morale & The Big Steppers. There are some genuine surprises and revelations uncovered throughout that conjured up a ton of emotions from me. Ranging from the “Kim” inspired “We Cry Together” to the haunting discoveries of “Momma I Sober”.
Like most Kendrick albums it takes time to fully unpack everything and considering the album’s scope, there are still so many layers to the album’s concept I have yet to uncover. Being this is his last album with Top Dawg Entertainment, Kendrick Lamar has truly left his mark with this album, and is one that will generate a lot of discourse as the year continues.
4.) Pusha T: It’s Almost Dry
When it comes to a Pusha T album I only expect 2 things: bars and beats, and Push delivers that and more on It’s Almost Dry. Pusha T embraces his role as rap’s supervillain once again as he gushes over riches, luxury, and cocaine. You’d think after 20 years of rapping about these 3 things it would get stale by now, but Push manages to reinvent the wheel with his rhyme schemes and beat selection this time around.
Produced primarily by his cohorts Kanye West and Pharrell Williams, this is without a shadow of a doubt one of the best-produced rap albums of the year. West and Williams shine throughout the album, bringing their signature flairs such as Ye’s old-school soul sampling (“Dreamin’ of the Past”) and Pharrell’s bouncy 808 (“Brambleton”).
Pusha T matches the album’s eccentric production with a slew of bars that prove how elite his penmanship is. His wordplay on songs like “Call My Bluff” or the Jay-Z assisted “Neck & Wrist” is unparalleled to anything I’ve heard this year, how he still manages to come up with new ways to talk about cocaine will forever remain a mystery, but it works.
It’s Almost Dry has solidified Pusha T’s stance as one of this generation’s undisputed rappers. He’s a kingpin in his own right, or as he puts it the “Martin Scorcese of coke rap”. A title fitting for an artist of his caliber.
3.) Underoath: Voyeurist
Although their 2018 album Erase Me is considered Underoath’s comeback album, I truly feel as if Voyeurist is the “real” comeback record for the band. Entirely self-produced, Voyeurist takes Underoath back to their metalcore roots and for the better. I don’t think the band has ever sounded this good before in a long time and it shows.
In my review, I called this album a solid wall of sound and that couldn't be further from the truth. Voyeurist is a dense album full of atmosphere I’ve never heard before on an Underoath album.
The guitars and drums pummel on every song, making the breakdowns for “Take a Breath” and “I’m Pretty Sure I’m Out Of Luck And Have No Friends” feel visceral. Lead singer Spencer Chamberlain’s guttural screams pair nicely with drummer Aaron Gillespie’s clean vocals, they establish a good back and forth throughout the album, especially on the more melodic tracks like “We’re All Gonna Die”
What stuck with me the most with this album though has got the be its lyrics and themes. Voyeurist is an incredibly bleak album centered around uncertainty, existentialism, and animosity towards faith. The latter point is a big surprise considering the band’s past material. This album is certainly one of the best metal records I’ve heard all year and offers hope that Underoath can continue with this sound again going forward.
2.) The Weeknd: Dawn FM
As the first big release of the year, The Weeknd went full-blown synth-pop heavy on Dawn FM. Sonically it’s a direction I’ve personally wanted to see him go in for a long time, and he’s finally done it. With the help of powerhouses such as Max Martin and Oneohtrix Point Never among others, Abel Tesfaye was able to make an album I can only describe as timeless.
As both a love letter to a time long gone, and a musical reinvention of The Weeknd, Dawn FM embraces Abel’s knack for infectious melodies and hooks with danceable beats on par with the late King of Pop. My mind is still boggled at how songs such as “Sacrifice” and “Out of Time” (my contender for song of the year) manage to sound so good.
Each track on the album is full of life. doing away with the self-deprecating moodiness of 2020’s After Hours in exchange for a handful of pop records that prove once again just how talented The Weeknd is.
Conceptually it’s also one of Abel’s boldest albums. Dawn FM is focused on a journey from a state of purgatory, with the help of Jim Carrey acting as a radio host guiding listeners to the light. Throughout the album, we hear Abel slowly forgive himself for his sins as he makes his way to heaven, making the album his most self-reflective project yet. It’s also been teased that this is part of a new trilogy of albums that aim to tell a bigger overarching story, however, this could be mere speculation.
1.) Rosalía: MOTOMAMI
Since her initial breakthrough in 2018, Rosalía has become one of Spanish music’s most talked-about figures. There’s an element of experimentation that she provides in her music that very few artists are willing to do, especially in the mainstream sense. This is possibly the main reason why I can’t get over her newest album MOTOMAMI, my favourite album of the year so far.
After years of collaborating in the reggaeton scene, Rosalía offers her take on the genre while mixing in her own influences of traditional flamenco and industrial music to create an incredible genre-bending experience that I haven’t witnessed since Frank Ocean’s Blonde.
I can’t stop emphasizing MOTOMAMI’s experimentation, not just in the way how it takes familiar reggaeton/dembow beats and flips them over their head (“SAOKO”, “DIABLO”) but also with song structure. Jarring breaks and scattering percussion are juxtaposed with short ballad pieces on songs like “CUUUUuuuuuute”. It kept me surprised and blew my expectations away, as I never knew what to expect.
MOTOMAMI is equal parts playful and fun as it is sensual and transformative. In her most personal album, Rosalía sheds her layers (as evident by the album cover) and offers a little more insight into her mind, while still offering a hint of mystery. It’s an album that I think will encourage artists both in the reggaeton scene and others to step out of their box just a little bit, and not be afraid of subverting the listener’s expectations.
And that’s it for my top 5 albums of the year so far! We still got another 6 months left, so who knows where these albums will end up towards the end of the year. So far it’s been a great year for music, So I can only expect nothing but greatness from here on out.
What about you? What are some of your favourite albums of the year?
