2022 has a been a year of album releases. Here are four of some of my most listened to albums that were released this year.
- Alvvays – Blue Rev
After five years since Alvvays’ last album, Blue Rev is what any indie fan (or just me) needed. While the album release was anticipated much sooner, lead singer Molly Rankin was robbed; in the robbery of her apartment, demos meant for this album were lost.
Receiving an outstanding score of 8.8 from Pitchfork, Canadian indie pop band Alvvays makes one of the strongest comebacks to the music scene in this 2022 release. While other artists tend to stray away from experimenting with their sound, Rankin, Kerri MacLellan, Alec O’Hanley, Abbey Blackwell, and Sheridan Riley of Alvvays chose to explore and redefine new heights.
Produced by Rankin, O’Hanley, and Shawn Everett, Blue Rev is an album easy to appreciate by any fan of shoegaze, dream-pop, and guitar distortions. Notable tracks include “Belinda Says,” “Very Online Guy,” and “The Pharmacist.” - L.S. Dunes – Past Lives
Take Frank Iero of My Chemical Romance, Tucker Rule and Tim Payne of Thursday, Coheed and Cambria guitarist Travis Stever, and Circa Survive’s Anthony Green and you get brand new supergroup, L.S. Dunes.
The band entered the scene as a newly formed group earlier this year with their debut single, “Permanent Rebellion.” Fans of the bands didn’t hesitate as L.S. Dunes gained a cult following before even releasing their breakout album Past Lives. In just 43 minutes, L.S. Dunes wasn’t afraid to take what they learned from their own respective careers and bring a new level of energy to their first release. Notable tracks include “2022,” “Antibodies,” and “Sleep Cult.” - Amanda Shires – Take It Like A Man
After playing the fiddle in her husband Jason Isbell’s 400 Unit and a member of the all-female country group, The Highwoman, Shires steps out of the shadows and takes the stage front as a solo musician with her seventh solo studio album, Take It Like A Man.
2022 was truly a year for Amanda Shires. From a national television performance on The Late Late Show to headlining her own tour, Shires was rightfully brought out of the limelight since the release of her inarguably best album yet.
The album features multi-instrumentalist, album collaborator and producer Lawrence Rothman, keyboardist Peter Levin, drummer Julian Dorio, and co-writing by Isbell, Liz Rose, and Routon Kelly.
Shire’s album, released on July 29, 2022 through ATO Records, sheds light on the rough parts of her marriage, womanhood, and identity. Notable tracks include, “Empty Cups,” “Hawk for the Dove,” and “Fault Lines.” - Kayleigh Goldsworthy – Learning to Be Happy
Throughout her career as a musician, Kayleigh Goldsworthy has either joined the stage or opened for some of the biggest names in emo and alternative music, such as The Menzingers, Kevin Devine, Frank Turner, Bayside, and Frank Iero.
Having written most of the album during the COVID-19 lockdown, there was a lot of self-reflection evident in this LP, as live music came to a pause. The pop album first began the recording process a day after New Year’s Day in 2020, with the help of producer Will Yip at Studio 4 in Philly, and was released on May 6, 2022.
This album follows her previous solo debut 2013 release, Burrower. To put the album together, Goldsworthy took on vocals, guitars, synths, and keys, Yip played bass, drums, percussion, and supporting vocals, while Joe Godino of The Menzingers played drums and former bandmate Aaron Garritillo played bass on select tracks.
The ten tracks on the album feel more like conversations with Kayleigh about breakups, learning to be yourself, and self-confidence. Notable tracks on Learning to Be Happy include “Overambitious,” “Keep the Light On” and “You’re Good.”
