A stellar year for music, 2022 has seen a richly diverse selection of comebacks and return to forms from some beloved artists – as well as strong bodies of work from rising fresh talents. We delve into some of our sonic highlights of the year, presenting Culture Fix’s Best Albums and EPs of 2022 in no particular order.
Björk – Fossora
Ambitious and earthy avant garde excellence was on the menu for Fossora, Icelandic musician Björk’s tenth studio album. Rooting its thematic imagery in earthy textures, fungi and matriarchy, Fossora sees Björk deliver tectonic Icelandic beats and otherworldly arrangements for this challenging yet rewarding listen. From deliciously frantic magic mushroom trip Atopos to the transcendent compassionate beauty of matriarchal ode Ancestress, Fossora provided a densely invigorating reintroduction to contemporary Björk.
Darren Hayes – Homosexual
A triumphant Darren Hayes returns on Homosexual, his refreshingly honest celebration of queer identity and freedom. Navigating a varied emotional tapestry, Darren weaves in the complex nature of the human experience throughout the album. Highlights range from All You Pretty Things, a touching dancefloor-centred tribute to the victims of the Pulse shootings, Poison Blood an ambitious and honest yet ultimately affecting sonic exploration of depression, and the defiantly queer synthpop nostalgia of Do You Remember?
Soft Cell – Happiness Not Included
Twenty years on from their fourth album Cruelty Without Beauty, Marc Almond and Dave Ball once again reunite on Happiness Not Included. The pair present a broody electronic soundscape on a number of dark electro delights. Eastern influenced track Heart Like Chernobyl brims with an icy Soviet sheen, whilst Bruises on All My Illusions sees Soft Cell bring darkly unsettling storytelling about the debaucheries of the world, and Nostalgia Machine delivers bombastic up-tempo kitsch pop. Standout number Purple Zone sees Soft Cell join forces with Pet Shop Boys on the joyously euphoric electro banger. Happiness Not Included captures Soft Cell at their best – wry, salacious and weary with an undercurrent of hopeful optimism permeating.
Calum Scott – Bridges
Four years on from his debut, Calum Scott delivered his long-awaited sophomore album Bridges. Calum provides a number of impeccable cuts which provide a sincere conviction as he tackles themes of love and heartbreak. Navigating between rousing anthems including Rise and Run With Me – not to mention career best number If You Ever Change Your Mind – and tender ballads Boys in the Street, Bridges and Biblical – Calum shows himself as every bit the star on his second album which soars as one of 2022’s best LPs.
Rina Sawayama – Hold the Girl
Rina Sawayama put us in a chokehold with her first single from Hold the Girl, This Hell – a barnstorming middle-finger to genre. Refusing to let us go with numbers such as Hold the Girl and Catch Me in the Air, Sawayama shines with her themes of powering through trauma in intelligent lyricism, pairing it with intoxicating production delving into the worlds of electro, techno, country and synth. This feels like Sawayama’s Born This Way sophomore outing – unrestrained and brimming with sharp sentiment and a desire to do whatever the fuck she likes.
Carly Rae Jepsen – The Loneliest Time
Canada’s premiere pop darling Carly Rae Jepsen delivered another album of impeccable pop variety with The Loneliest Time. From the comic sharpness and swaggering confidence of unlucky in love anthem Beach House to the silky disco dreampop flavours of the title track featuring Rufus Wainwright, The Loneliest Time is one of the singer’s most varied LPs yet. Echoing her career defining EMOTION album with Surrender Your Heart and Talking to Yourself, Carly provides the high energy pop her fans have come to crave yet displays a breezy Autumnal sound on the rewarding Western Wind.
Betty Boo – Boomerang
One of the most unexpected comebacks of 2022 was British pop heroine Betty Boo who shot back to form with third LP Boomerang. Bringing her classic pop-rap sound in 2022, Boo shined on these optimistic numbers from Get Me to the Weekend to Shining Star and David Gray collaboration Right By Your Side. We were reunited with the Betty Boo we knew and loved from Boomania and Roar! yet given a slick and welcome 2022 redux.
Mark Owen – Land of Dreams
Radio friendly pop gems from Mark Owen populate his fifth solo album Land of Dreams with the Take That star soaring on nostalgic seventies inspired gems such as You Only Want Me or euphoric big pop cuts such as Rio. Mark delves into slinky electronic pastures with the likes of Magic and Moroder-esque disco of Come Back. Shining as Mark’s best musical output and one of the strongest albums of 2022, Land of Dreams was truly aptly named.
Bananarama – Masquerade
Queens of reinvention Sara Dallin and Keren Woodward re-team with frequent collaborator Ian Masterson for Masquerade, Bananarama’s twelfth studio album. Delivering some icy europop magic tinged with dark hues, Masquerade presents a reinvigorating tableaux of Bananarama at their best. Favourite is a brooding electropop gen whilst the plush and expensive Velvet Lies shines with a macabre electronic decadence. Other highlights include bold eighties-inspired powerpop gem Running With the Night, whilst title track Masquerade delivers slinky pop tinged with a dark sense of dramatic camp. Masquerade showcases the enduring magic of Bananarama.
Benjamin Ingrosso – PLAYLIST
Swedish pop heartthrob Benjamin Ingrosso returns with his second English studio album PLAYLIST, four years on from his debut Identification. Channelling the classic songwriting magic of Benny Andresson and Björn Ulvaeus on nostalgic pop numbers such as Queens and Afterlife, Benjamin shows his varied influences as a musician throughout. Smooth electronic sounds on Don’t Leave Me Hanging, buoyant dancepop on Dance For Me, and the icy cool of Bullet, Benjamin showcases his musical finesse in the magnificent PLAYLIST
ALVAN – Magma
France’s Eurovision Song Contest ALVAN delivered high-octane electronic euphoria with Breton banger Fulenn. Its containing album Magma also features gems such as Anything which combines earthy traditional instrumentation with an energised electronic dance beat as well as passionate asserting delivery and commanding vocal effects. There’s a real sense of swagger which shines through on numbers such as DCAI and The Lemon Song in which ALVAN brims with confidence and impressive star power – Magma is an irresistible ride.
Confidence Man – Tilt
The Australian electropop outfit broke through to semi-mainstream consciousness with their second album Tilt. The hip collection of nineties and early-noughties inspired pop cuts including Feels Like a Different Thing and Holiday are painfully cool bringing a contemporary swagger to millennial and pre-millennial pop sounds thanks to sharp synths, hypnotic vocals and a dreamy sense of euphoria that permeates throughout the whole record.
Sigrid – How to Let Go
2022 brought the Norwegian pop sensation’s follow-up to her debut album Sucker Punch and How to Let Go certainly did not disappoint. Lead singles It Gets Dark, Mirror and Burning Bridges deliver Sigrid’s signature style of strong lyrics, powerful message and up-tempo energy fans have come to expect from this decade’s Robyn. Other highlights on the album include A Driver Saved My Night, Dancer and Last to Know, which perfectly display Sigrid’s equally impressive skill at delivering a piano ballad, as seen in the album’s special edition, where the songstress has recorded acoustic versions of each song on the album. Still only 26, Sigrid also continues to establish herself as an electrifying live performer and her lyrics, voice and versatility continue to cement her status as one of the most exciting pop talents around.
xPropaganda – The Heart Is Strange
Former Propaganda frontwomen Susanne Freytag and Claudia Brücken made it to #11 in the UK album charts with xPropaganda’s The Heart Is Strange. Preceded by the barnstorming Don’t (You Mess With Me), the German vocalists deliver a swaggering, calculated cool as they navigate through a variety of complex yet accessible electronic soundscapes from producer Stephen Lipson. The Heart Is Strange is lavish and theatrical, impressing through the steely delivery of Freytag and Brücken whilst tapping into esoteric, icy lyricism: “This is a warning, The wolves have returned, Their numbers are growing, They’re on the hunt, Be vigilant…”
Grant Knoche – First Hello
Grant Knoche has a surprisingly busy discography for a twenty year old, but the Texas based rising talent has had a stellar year. Catapulting his profile with his infectious pop cut Mr Independent from the debut incarnation of The American Song Contest, Grant has debuted a further string of singles – collated in his EP First Hello. Tracks brimming in emotional transparency and a mature pop sensibility has seen Grant shine as a fully realised star. Just take a listen to the title track and Custom Hell for a sample of Grant’s pop finesse.
Orville Peck – Bronco
Lone cowboy Orville Peck returns for his sophomore effort Bronco, which brings some Western theatricality and queer longing to the fold. Bold Orbison-esque vocals soar on standouts such as C’mon Baby, Cry and Daytona Sand. There is a sentimentality that pierces to the surface with Peck deploying an emotional range on the likes of All I Can Say and Let Me Drown. Nostalgia comes from Bronco’s ability to play with classic Outlaw Country and rockabilly sounds, yet present an upfront and direct queerness.
Little Boots – Tomorrow’s Yesterdays
Seven years on from Working Girl, electropop queen Little Boots returned with her fourth album Tomorrow’s Yesterdays which plays with nostalgic pop sounds on standouts including the intoxicatingly ambiguous pop Silver Balloons, heartbreak banger Crying on the Inside, and whimsical Landline. Little Boots crafts a sequin-adorned soundscape of breezy disco tunes, with charm-filled vocals and absorbing pop hooks.
Olly Murs – Marry Me
Returning four years after his latest studio album meets Greatest Hits collection You Know I Know, the British pop favourite delights with Marry Me. This uplifting selection of tracks sees Olly navigate a brash and bubbly electronic sound in a plethora of optimistic numbers including I Found Her and Dancing On Cars. Olly experiments on the Gotye-esque Die of a Broken Heart and goes low-key on album closer Let Me Just Say, but truly shines on the LP’s more bombastic pop moments.
Darin – My Purple Clouds
Darin made a welcome return to English language pop after two well-received Swedish LPs, with this five track EP seeing him collate his recent singles including Can’t Stay Away, Satisfaction and Superstar. The tone is jubilant and self-confident as Darin navigates different facets of the pop world from eighties funk to slick electropop. This is a staggeringly impressive chapter in Darin’s always absorbing musical journey and it is a delight to hear him return to English language pop.
Willie Gomez – Del Cibao
We have raved about Willie Gomez’s musical releases over the years, with the musician and dancer building up an impressive discography with singles such as Vicio, Borracho de Tus Besos and Salvaje shining as markers of his impressive musical identity. 2022 saw Willie delight with his full length debut album Del Cibao. The eleven track set includes the previously mentioned singles as well as previously unheard anthems such as Yun Yun and Otra Vez. Packed with summery Latin pop melodies, high energy vibes and Willie’s smooth and warming vocals, Del Cibao is a stellar listening experience and one of the year’s best.
Melanie Wehbe – Bloom
Swedish pop talent Melanie Wehbe soars on her EP Bloom, a collection of elegant pop cuts from 2022. Standouts including All the Rest, Bloom and Like I Do showcase big immaculately produced numbers with an emotional sincerity than shines through.
HRVY – Views from the 23rd Floor
Brit pop talent HRVY released EP Views from the 23rd Floor at the start of the year with the five song set impressing as some his strongest work to date. With Talking to the Stars, HRVY delves into more mellow yet emotive R&B flavours, whilst Golden Hour soars with a powerhouse chorus. Fans of HRVY’s more dancefloor orientated hits will be swept away by banger Never Be Us. Views from the 23rd Floor continues to assert HRVY as one of the UK’s brightest pop talents.
Charli XCX – Crash
After the lo-fi How I’m Feeling Now, Charli XCX puts the pedal to the metal in Crash, her first LP for Warner UK. Huge pop cuts including Good Ones, Beg for You (featuring Rina Sawayama) and Baby present Charli XCX at her most accessible with the pop rulebreaker crafting some Y2K bangers on her own terms. Does anybody know this foakin song? I loave it.
Altered Images – Mascara Streakz
Scottish synth-rockers Altered Images return with Clare Grogan and Steve Lironi delivering Mascara Streakz their first LP since 1983. Brimming with a punky sentiment, Grogan and Lironi deliver on the dance-rock of the title track, the slinky emotional disco of Glitter Ball, and the sunny New Wave sleek of Changing My Luck. Mascara Streakz presents a gleeful reunion of one of the post-punk scene’s most exciting acts who prove that they are still very much that.
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