More Favorite Albums of 2022 - Best of the Rest, Surprises, Disappointments

Here are some more of my favorite albums of 2022  - those that did not make my top 25

So many quality albums in 2022, many more than the top 25 I posted recently. These are all good to very good albums, but may have some issues (inconsistent, some not very good tracks, etc), that kept them from the very top spots. Thus, I am dubbing these the 'quite good, but not quite great' albums. These are not ranked, but just listed in alphabetical order, but separated into Prog and Non-Prog categories

Quite Good, but not Quite Great

Prog-related

Birth - Born

Ben Craven - Monsters of the Id

The Flower Kings - By Royal Decree

Gandalf's Fist - Widdershins

Glass Hammer - At the Gate

Kaipa - Urskog

Anthony Kalugin - Rebirth

Karfagen - Land of Green and Gold

King Gizzard and The Lizard Wizard - Changes

Lobate Scarp - You Have it All

Magenta - White Witch Trilogy

Manticore - Elements

Marillion - An Hour Before Its Dark

Mars Volta - Mars Volta

Naxatras - IV

Alan Parsons - For the New World

Tiger Moth Tales - A Song for Spring

Devin Townshend - Lightwork

Yesterdays - Saint-Exupery alma

WIZRD - Seasons

Indie/Alt. Pop/Rock, etc.

And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead - XI Bleed Here Now

Alvvays - Blue Rev

Animal Collective - Time Skiffs

The Beths - Expert in a Dying Field

Big Thief - Dragon New Warm Mountain I Believe in You

Built To Spill - When the Wind Forgets Your Name

Everything Everything - Raw Data Feel

Kiwi Jr. - Chopper

Wilco - Cruel Country

Wet Leg - Wet leg

Weyes Blood - And in the Darkness, Hearts Aglow

Sobs - Air Guitar

Tears for Fears - The Tipping Point

 

For me, the biggest surprises were the discovery of the bands Kaprekar's Constant and Cloud Cult, and just how great their albums were. Also, the resurgence of Dawes, and the brilliance of the Von Hertzen Brothers and Elder's new albums. Just fantastic.

But, as fine as the year was, there were undoubtedly some disappointments along the way. These are a few albums that were most disappointing to me, in that I was expecting more from them.

Disappointments

Most disappointing:

The Smile - A Light For Attracting Attention

Although many have praised this album from this side project from Radiohead's Thom Yorke and Johnny Greenwood, I found it tedious and dull, that is when it wasn't plain annoying. A couple good tracks, but overall pretty lame and unpleasant.

A couple others that were somewhat disappointing, still decent/pretty good, but underwhelming and not what they could have been:

Jethro Tull - The Zealot Gene

Porcupine Tree - Closure/Continuation

And Lastly, although I usually try to stay positive and not dwell on negatives and the stuff I do not like (because everyone has different tastes, and although I may not like a particular artist, many others may derive much enjoyment from them), but there were a couple of albums that have been highly acclaimed and mentioned on many best of lists, that I thought were terrible and I just don't get at all. So, here is a special category.

Worst albums to be highly acclaimed and placed on many best of lists:

Black Country, New Road - Ants From Up There

Black Midi - Hellfire 

To me these are almost unlistenable, yet are adored by many. Both are considered to be in the 'post-rock' realm, and if this is what post-rock is, count me out. It's odd though, because both bands are obviously very talented musicians, and musically are solid (Black Country New Road also features interesting and unusual instrumentation), but the 'songs' are mostly terrible, and the vocals are just awful throughout. Sorry, but to me, this is just pretentious art-school nonsense.

 

OK, so that's about it. So many great albums and songs this year, with just a few negatives. Let me know what you thought about the music of 2022.

 

I may still do a post on the best songs of 2022, if I have time. Looking forward to a great 2023 as well.

Anyway, Have a Happy New Year, and see you in 2023