Top 5 British Bands & Artists To Listen To In 2022

It’s mid-June 2022, the monsoon has just begun in Bombay(Mumbai), India. With the onset of the rains, I’m searching for inspiration in all places, and for me, inspiration drifts in rather randomly but also the more I check out other musicians/bands/artists and new music etc. When it comes to songwriting I already have a lot of written material, I just need to practice more on my guitar and piano.

There’s always a set playing in my bedroom studio and it’s part of the process of being inspired by other artists/bands and musicians that’s an unspoken thing but that is very relevant.

There’s something about Brit bands, that really hits home for me, think Radiohead, Mark Knopfler, Clapton, (I don’t like the Beatles), The Verve, Oasis. But maybe it’s to do with the way of life in the UK, which Radiohead typify with their lyrics.

Radiohead wouldn’t have been as widely acclaimed if they didn’t echo life the way it is; no rosy bu**s*it, the way its. The disillusionment, the melancholy, and the darker themes that life has, it’s more a lull than an upper but life’s full of uppers and downers and lulls.

But there are a host of bands that are also equivocal in their music and lyrics but that drive home similar themes & plus the music is really kicka*s.

But anyway, I digress, this article is about 5 really cool Brit bands you NEED to check out right now. So anyway, here’s my list of the top 5 bands/artitsts from the UK that you have to listen to.

Fontaines DC

Formed in Dublin, Ireland(A place I need to visit), after meeting in college(BIMM *where I was planning to apply back when I was 27*) and sharing their common love of poetry, music and the Irish way of life, Fontaines DC came into being in 2017.

They are Grian Chatten (vocals), Carlos O’Connell (guitar), Conor Curley (guitar), Conor Deegan III (bass), and Tom Coll (drums).

They named themselves after the character Johnny Fontaine in the movie The Godfather and added DC which stands for Dublin City after another LA band called Fontaines sprang up with the same name.

It’s been a few years, just 5 in fact, since they’ve begun releasing music and they’re a pretty young band, and they’ve put out 3 albums so far, that are pretty interesting. They are: Dogrel, A Hero’s Death and Skinty Fia(This year in April 2022).

They rove in and out with moody elements, interesting lyrics and songs with themes of youth and forgotten years, and songs that you can just listen to and sip something to with some smokes and groove.

I really like this band, they’ve got the Irish roots & echo the disillusionment of the younger generation in the UK and although I’m Indian I have a very Irish soul and Fontaines DC are just my vibe when I listen to them during this Indian monsoon.

Their entire catalog is brilliant and they’re easily one of my favourite band discoveries this year.

Enough talk, give them a listen!

IDLES

Another Brit-band that are really intense and in your face are this act called ‘IDLES’. They’re a bit older, and were formed in 2009.

Formed in Bristol in 2009, they are Joe Talbot (vocals), Mark Bowen (guitar), Lee Kiernan (guitar), Adam Devonshire (bass) and Jon Beavis (drums).

Idles popped up on ‘The Basement’ on YouTube earlier this month, and yea, I really like Nigel Godrich’s work with creating the Basement sessions and he’s a producer I admire a lot for his work with Radiohead and just in general, he’s one of the best producers in the world.

But that aside, I really dig Idles, they’re louder and more Sex Pistols-ish but more relevant in 2022 of course also driving home a message and some slick grooves, and they’re pretty outspoken & you can feel the existential angst in their songwriting and their louder & more aggressive sound, like the sort of contained aggression bubbling in people around the world during COVID looking for an outlet.

In a way, the lockdown was really great for songwriting and so many bands just had time to focus on music and now release their stuff in 2022.

Here are IDLES

Crashface

These guys are really young, they’re probably in their teens but they’re pretty interesting nonetheless.

“Every crashface song slaps, facts only”, says the top comment on one of their videos on YouTube.

They’re loud, and their sound has the brashness of youth.

I haven’t heard them too much. But they’ve got a lot of potential and are pretty cool to listen to. Nowhere near the earlier two of course, but they’re worth checking out.

VLURE

VLURE are from Scotland, and their sound has a lot of underground electronic elements and I really liked their niche sound and approach.

Formed in Glasgow, these Scots are making waves and are slowly gaining popularity & media coverage.

They’re pretty cool and are another band that I discovered that are a nice change from the usual, their sound is unique and they’re also quite easy to listen to and groove to.

Although I detest this post-punk s*it terminology, VLURE are rather interesting and a decent listen.

Ghostpoet

Obaro Ejimiwe is Ghostpoet. I stumbled upon his stuff a few years ago after the release of Dark Days/Canapes in 2017.

His unique poetry, and spoken word lyrics that fit in smooth with the darker themes of the Alternative/Trip Hop in his music’s production, make him a pretty interesting and formidable artist.

Although he’s rather mainstream now, he’s an artist that is pretty innovative and who you should check out.

Here’s his last album that is a really great listen:

There’s some really cool music in this post, and I can’t wait to see how these artists grow and mature and keep putting out killer releases.

That’s a wrap.

If you liked the music in this post, consider buying me a coffee by clicking the link below.

Cheers!