I feel like 2022, in a small way, helped erase some of my disgust at bands and labels for not releasing music when we were all locked down in 2020 and 2021. Musical distractions would have been beneficial to our collective sanity. My list this year contains quite a lot of the new releases we should have gotten much sooner.
I apologize in advance to anyone that decides to look at this list. I usually try to keep it short, but I found it impossible to make decisions this year.
In no particular order, here are the bands and albums I obsessed over in 2022.
The Virgin Prunes, If I Die, I Die (1982). The guitar player for the Virgin Prunes was in U2 and is the brother of The Edge. He left for the Prunes. He must have kicked himself every time he turned on the radio in the 80s through 2000s. If I Die, I Die is a little uneven, but it has a great side A; "Ulakanakulot/Decline and Fall" is amazing. If you have no interest in listening to an entire album by an 80s post-punk band, at least listen to this song. I believe it will blow your mind.
Bauhaus, Five Album Box Set (2013). I am painfully embarrassed at not knowing Bauhaus. This is one of those times when my close mindedness in the 80s fucked me. I saw Bauhaus over the summer at a festival in Los Angeles, and I was shocked at how great their music is. As soon as I got home from the airport I ordered the box set, which contains their first four albums as well as a disc of singles and B sides. I recently read that Peter Murphy has a five-disc box set of solo albums. I will be chasing that down soon as well.
The Black Angels, Wilderness of Mirrors (2022). I won't say much about this album. It sounds like The Black Angels.
Djinn, Transmission (2021). Djinn annoyed the shit out of me when this album was initially released. I found it online within a week of it being released and it was already out of print. I hate it when bands press a tiny number of records and they sell out immediately. Djinn re-pressed the album in 2022 and this time I was able to snag one. Djinn is a side project for one or more people from the band Goat. It is quite different from Goat. I am calling it an experimental (but not unlistenable) jazz album.
Jade Warrior, Jade Warrior (1971). I saw Jade Warrior albums in magazines, online, and in record stores for decades without having a clue what they were about. I assumed they were a NWOBHM band, so I ignored them. I was wrong. Jade Warrior, at least on this album, is very similar to Jethro Tull. There are some hard rock moments, prog. rock moments, and a flute throughout. I will definitely be looking for more albums by Jade Warrior.
The Bad Plus, The Bad Plus (2022). I rarely like piano jazz. I have made exceptions for McCoy Tyner and The Bad Plus. The Bad ones are a jazz trio that has always been comprised of bass, drums, and piano. Sometime during the never-ending pandemic, their piano player left. Rather than hiring another tickler of the keys, they hired a string strummer. The addition of the guitarist has, in my opinion, made what I already thought was the best band in modern jazz into the best band in modern jazz fusion. I can't wait to see what they do next.
Thumbscrew, Multicolored Midnight (2022). I know I have said this before in my yearly obsession list, but I love Mary Halvorson's guitar playing. Thumbscrew seems to put out an album each year; Mary does a solo album every year as well. I don't think this album is any better or worse than other Thumbscrew records, but I am always stoked to listen to Mary play.
Ahab, The Call of the Wretched Sea (2006). I thought about buying this album for several years. I generally have a hard time getting excited about funeral doom. I prefer more melodic doom like Pallbearer or the heavy metal classics. Ahab has me wondering what other funeral doom gems are out there. In brief, Ahab play a thunderous and ponderous version of doom, with very interesting guitar parts that contribute to the hypnotic aspect of the music, and dare I say, give it a slight psychedelic flavor.
Satan, Earth Infernal (2022). I will be very curious to see if this album makes anyone else’s list for 2022. Satan is one of those bands that have never put out a bad album - they might not be capable of making a shitty record. I believe Earth Infernal is their best album to date. For those that have never heard them, they play metal. It's not thrash or power metal. It's just straight up metal, and it is fucking great.
Goat, Oh Death (2022). Oh Death is a step forward for Goat. Goat ventured a little more into progressive rock territory on this one. If I had to pick one album as the best of the year, it would be a two-way tie between this one and The Bad Plus album mentioned above.
REZN, Chaotic Divine (2020). I saw REZN open for Russian Circles in 2022. I had watched some REZN live clips on YouTube before the show and made the decision to skip them. Fortunately for me traffic was much better than expected, and I got lucky with a parking spot outside the venue. I managed to catch nearly all of REZN's set. They rocked. I picked up Chaotic Divine at the band's merch. table, and now I am telling you about how great this band is. Although, I must admit, they have a stoopid name.
Russian Circles, Gnosis (2022). I always expect a lot from Russian Circles and they have never let me down. Gnosis continues the heavier direction Russian Circles has taken on their last few albums. It also seems like the guitar is more prominent than in the past.
Kreator, Hate Uber Alles (2022). 2022 was a great year for metal. The last metal album I will include on this list is Hate Uber Alles. If you, like me, enjoy what Kreator has done over the past few records, then this album will not surprise or disappoint you.
Evil Blizzard, Everybody Come to Church (2015). I took a chance on Evil Blizzard because one of the band members is a former member of Hawkwind - I am too damn lazy to look up who it was. In 2022, I picked up two albums by Evil Blizzard and this record was the better of the two. They have a slight Killing Joke quality to their music, and like Killing Joke, I have no idea what to call what they do. Is it metal? Not really. It's not punk? Whatever it is, it is interesting and quite entertaining.
Tilok Gurtu, Bad Habits Die Hard (1995). If you are curious what David Gilmore has been up to lately, he is playing guitar in Trilok Gurtu - no, not that David Gilmour, the other one; the one from The Crazy Saints. Anyhow, this is some great jazz fusion.
Non-album highlights from the year.
I only attended a handful of concerts in 2022. Most of them were stellar. First, I saw Russian Circles and REZN play at Revolution Hall in Portland, Oregon. Both bands were fantastic. Additionally, the crowd was unusually well behaved for a Portland audience. Nobody stuck their fucking phone in my face. Die cell phone recorders and picture takers!
The best show I saw in 2022 was Nick Mason's Saucerful of Secrets at a small theater in Seattle. Nick played tunes from the older Pink Floyd albums with an emphasis on Syd Barrett songs. The Barrett era is my favorite from The Pink Floyd. It was great.
I hate the overuse of the phrase "bucket list," but I finally got to see The Who in 2022. It was an emotional experience for me. The only band left at the bottom of the bucket is Hawkwind. Hopefully I can take care of that one in 2023.
I purchased a copy of the Triumph documentary, Rock and Roll Machine, in 2022. Frankly, I was a little disappointed. I wanted the film makers to delve a little deeper into the relationship of the band members, before, during, and after the breakup. I also would have liked to know why they made those shitty albums in the late 80s. There was also no discussion of the albums Triumph made without Rik Emmett. It was still great to see them interacting and playing together.
Honorable Mentions
Sex Pistols, Never Mind the Bollocks (1977). This is yet another album where I was late to the party.
MSSV, Main Steam Stop Valve (2020). Mike Watt!!!!!!!!!!
OSI, Office of Strategic Influence (2003). This one had to grow on me.
Dry Cleaning, Stumpwork (2022) I normally would run from an album where the vocals are spoken, since it makes me think of Lou Reed who I cannot stand. But, this is a very good record.
Jamie Saft, Black Shabis (2009). This album is quite strange.
My Sleeping Karma, Atmas (2022).
Laurence Vanay, Gateway/Evening Colour (2013). Laurence Vanay is another name for French jazz artist, Jacqueline Thibault. This album was originally released in the early 70s. I’m not sure how to describe it. I guess it could be called light jazz fusion.
No comments:
Post a Comment