Saturday, December 31, 2022

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                                         


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