By The Spinning Platters Editorial Team
Good news, everyone! Just like every other year, Spinning Platters is publishing the LAST top albums of the year list you’ll be reading. Our entire team has been listening to each other’s favorite records, no matter how painful it can get, and we’ve voted on our 10 favorite albums of 2022! Without further adieu, here we go:
10 Ashe / Rae
The genre known as “soft rock” gets such a spectacularly bad rap despite being the most universal of music genres. And, of course, people will never admit to being a fan of it, but when you ask them how they feel about Carole King or Fleetwood Mac, nobody will speak ill of these acts. Ashe’s Rae comes straight out of that school of music- accessible, earworm-heavy hooks, dynamic arrangements, and lyrics that seem gentle on the surface, but are full of biting wit. Not to mention she’s the only artist outside of the experimental world to pay such a direct tribute to Yoko Ono as the video to “Angry Woman.” Oh, and nobody else got Diane Keaton in a year of a few “featuring”s. (Dakin Hardwick)
9 Carly Rae Jepsen / The Loneliest Time
Carly Rae Jepson consistently puts out amazing music. She’s a reliable pop musician who knows how to craft radio-friendly sounds that also push the boundaries of her chosen genre. The Loneliest Time explores the connections we make with each other and with the organic world around us. These sounds are woven into the tapestry of a perfect pop song, her optimistic voice wrapping around us like a comforting blanket. Songs like “Western Wind” and “Beach House” explore a sense of place both physically and emotionally. They got that California feel. They sit on opposite ends of the spectrum; one is a quirky comedic take on modern dating, the other a soft ballad about love that feels safe. The former also touches on safety with an underlying darkness. This contrast is found threading across various songs like “Bends” and “Bad Thing Twice.” Perhaps it’s about finding a balance among the dichotomies that surround us. If Carly remains consistent, we can hope for a Side B next year. (Sahar Yousefi)
8 Mitski / Laurel Hell
There is something about Mitski’s rather frank lyrical stylings that makes her so utterly refreshing to the indie rock scene, which is usually so cryptic and metaphoric. She has continued this trend from album to album, and Laurel Hell, while stepping back in its sonic soundscapes from Be The Cowboy, has maintained its lyrical edges, even emphasizing them with songs like “Working for the Knife” and “Everyone.” I continue to look forward to each album, and I’m glad to see that I’m not alone in that feeling. (Oliver Brink)
7 Just Mustard / Heart Under
The Irish underground has been littered with fantastic bands that harken back to the classic sounds of the Factory and Creation labels. The best album to come out of that scene in 2022 comes from shoegaze act Just Mustard with their album Heart Under. A giant leap forward in sonic textures from their debut, they’ve found the perfect formula of enveloping the listener in darkness while the eerie vocals of Katie Ball float within the murkiness. It’s a formula heard before, but it’s exciting to hear it done so well. (Gordon Elgart)
6 MUNA/ MUNA
MUNA speaks to a subset of us who have been made to feel like the things we want are somehow wrong— before listening to the album, I wondered why their third album is called MUNA, when self-titled albums generally seem to be reserved for debuts. After listening, I understand that this album is a declaration of self-acceptance in a world that tells us we’re asking for too much. “You’re gonna say I’m on a high horse,” to which they retort on “Anything But Me,” “Did you ever think maybe you’re on a pony?”
The album starts off with synth-pop dance tracks like “Silk Chiffon” and “What I Want” that have a nostalgic classic feel while retaining a bold modernity in the personal lyricism. Progressively the album grows more introspective, with ballads like “Kind of Girl” and “Loose Garment.”Tinges of country emerge. Intertwined are reflections on gender and sexuality. Ending with the gorgeous “Shooting Star,” musing on the want to be fully loved while watching a crush from afar, how they glow unattainably. A feeling MUNA captures and makes us feel is attainable. (Sahar Yousefi)
5 Spoon / Lucifer On The Sofa
Lucifer on the Sofa represents the best of what a decades-old band can still bring to the table. Thumping, raw, and stripped-down, yet embracing nuanced emotion in a way Spoon is best known for, their tenth studio album doesn’t miss a beat. Quite the opposite, Lucifer on the Sofa beats like a bleeding heart from its track one cover to its melodic title track conclusion. (Chad Liffman)
4 Angel Olsen / Big Time
When Angel Olsen sings “I’m loving you big time” on the title track from Big Time, you can’t help but think the “you” she’s singing to is as much herself as a romantic partner. Love, acceptance, contentment, and happiness aren’t generally the topics that we expect from songwriters. We romanticize the Elliot Smiths and Kurt Cobains of the world whose struggles are like a warm blanket we wrap ourselves in to buttress against our mundane lives. But on Big Time, Angel Olsen does the unexpected: she finds the crushing beauty in the temporality of love and happiness. She closed out 2019’s All Mirrors by singing, “It’s hard to say forever love/Forevers just so far/Why don’t you say you’re with me now/with all of your heart?” and that same catharsis through finding peace in the here and now carries through Big Time. She’s found love, she’s found acceptance, and she knows it’s all temporary, and that’s why it’s beautiful. (James King)
3 The Linda Lindas / Growing Up
2 Lizzo / Special
It’s a BFF pep talk, a little angel/devil on your shoulder encouraging strength and healing. Tender throughout. Devilishly humorous. Pep in your step. Throwback and mash-up beats. A perfect 10 and on repeat! (Tiffany Black-Darquea)
1 Wet Leg / Wet Leg
It’s really easy to write off Wet Leg as a novelty act destined for one-hit-wonder status. If all you know is “Chaise Longue,” the massive, Mean Girls-referencing hit, then your expectations are likely to be set there. Stopping there means you’re missing out on one of the most stunning, honest displays of raw emotion ever pressed to a circular disc. From the opening meditation on the comforts of anxiety, “Being In Love,” to the holy shit “I don’t know what this feeling is called, but someone finally put it into words, and I’m there ALL THE TIME” closer of “Too Late Now.” This is record is a heavy analysis of anxiety, a story of finding your power when there are no reserves of power left, and, of course, finding relief from all of this in the joyful frivolities of life (and occasional snarky swipes at exes). I didn’t know how much I needed this album. 2022 was a real, pardon my French: fucker. I don’t know what next year is going to bring, but I know that I’ll always be reminded that it’s important to practice your “loudest and longest scream” while getting through it. (Dakin Hardwick)
