Lend an ear: The best sounds of the previous year

By Angie Hund | Manor Ink

As 2022 has now ended, it only seems right that we honor our favorite records from this year. Despite being a difficult few years for artists announcing music and touring, 2022 has given us honorable releases that have become staples in our playlists. Ranging from pop, indie rock, alternative and metal, the past year offered a diverse plethora of new albums. With releases from upcoming artists as well as from well-known names, here’s my ranking of favorite post-COVID releases, in no particular order.

“CONGREGATION,” WITCH FIRE
Genre: Punk
Favorite Track: “Slow Burn”
Rating: 8 stars out of 10

Upcoming band Witch Fever released their debut album “Congregation” last October. This current British all-female queer punk band amplifies the re-emergence of Riot Grrrl and grunge voices in the UK alternative scene. The record incorporates aspects of front-person Amy Walpole’s traumatic experiences with religion in her childhood. Filled with 13 tracks, “Congregation” explores female fury and vulnerability while growing up in purity culture and binding evangelical beliefs. This group displays a sound similar to other modern punk groups like Dazey and The Scouts and GRLwood.

If you enjoyed “Congregation,” you might also enjoy bands like Hands Off Gretel, Bad Waitress, The Menstrual Cramps and Destroy Boys.

“LAUREL HELL,” MITSKI
Genre: Synth-pop, indie pop
Favorite Track: “I Guess”
Rating: 10 out of 10 stars

“Laurel Hell” presents itself as Mitski’s comeback album after her three-year hiatus from putting out music. After its initial release, tracks such as “Love Me More” and “The Only Heartbreaker” began to popularize. This album describes Mitski reaching a peak of maturity in womanhood from her experience in the industry. She alludes to her feminine maturity within business, her mentality and her physical form. The album’s underlying concept is the idea of working toward something or achieving a goal, and then later behaving dreadfully upon receiving it. The title “Laurel Hell” also sets the underlying theme for the album. “Laurels” were once used in Ancient Greece to symbolize victory, so pairing this word with “hell” shows that achieving the goal isn’t always rewarding.

In my opinion, the release’s second track, “Working for the Knife,” sets the tone for the entire album. In this song, Mitski expresses that working toward victory wasn’t inherently fulfilling or beneficial after fighting for so long. Her ultimate win is an example of dreadful feminine conquest. With several tracks echoing a grand ’80s dance pop sound, Mitski also incorporates her down-turned, heavily reverbed vocals in the record. “Laurel Hell” holds a timeless portrayal of living modern life as an individualist artist. Mitski once again bares her emotions and vulnerability for her fans to interpret.

The record is classically Mitski, its lyrics being both loud and quiet. As with her previous album, “Cowboy Like Me,” “Laurel Hell” explores the theme of taking ownership and working toward an identity in music. As complex as her writing can be, Mitski makes a new mark in the indie pop scene with this dismal synth-pop growing-up tale.

If you enjoyed Mitski’s “Laurel Hell,” you’ll also like Cults, Fiona Apple, HAIM, Sakert! and First Aid Kit.

“LABYRINTHITIS,” DESTROYER
Genre: Indie rock
Favorite Track: “The Last Song”
Rating: 9 out of 10 stars

Vancouver-based indie rock band Destroyer released their 13th studio album last spring. Announced just after the new year, frontman Dan Bejar teased “Labyrinthitis.” The music for the record was initially written in early 2020 and recorded later that spring. The group initially set out to feature a techno sound, but quickly expanded to a much broader sound. The lead single “Tintoretto, It’s for You,” possesses aggressive lyricism delivered in a disturbed tone, making this one of the group’s most aggressive tunes. This album reveals fast, dark patterns while never seeming to slow down across all ten tracks. Destroyer’s ability to create a recording so layered and eclectic, and yet unique from their previous releases, is entirely impressive. Although Bejar’s lyrics and hectic melodies may be difficult to decipher at times, the album makes up for it with its experimental, never-ending zig-zag of sound. Bejar himself says this album alludes to “someone who’s addicted to mazes, or someone who chronically takes the wrong turn.”

If you liked Destroyer’s “Labyrinthitis,” you may also like Sunset Rubdown, Wolf Parade, Animal Collective and The New Pornographers.

“REQUIEM,” KORN
Genre: Metal
Favorite Track: “The Nothing”
Rating: 7 out of 10 stars

As far as metal goes, nu metal band Korn has made a legacy for itself within the scene. After a three-year absence, the group released their fourteenth studio album “Requiem” in February. This album has been described as the Korn album for non-Korn listeners. In contrast to their other releases, this recording displays a more mature voice and delves deeper into a newer sound. The first song off “Requiem,” “Forgotten,” sort of represents the band’s career and the album’s entirety. The track conveys a recurring state of distress, but later ascends to hopefulness toward the end of the song. It ends with the lyrics “One day I must decide if I’m worth it/Don’t feel bad for me, don’t feel sad for me.”

The average Korn listener may find this newer release a bit off-putting because it lacks hip-hop influences. I would say the band’s focus is on a lighter feel, and that’s what makes the album appealing. Aside from the obvious changes from their previous work, this record opens up a side Korn has yet to explore in their discography.

If you like “Requiem,” you may also enjoy Static-X, American Head Change, Soil and Dry Kill Logic.

“HARRY’S HOUSE,” HARRY STYLES
Genre: Pop
Favorite Track: “Love of My Life”
Rating: 9 out of 10 stars

Grammy winner, famous boy band member and queer icon, Harry Styles announced his third studio album last spring. Produced by Kid Harpoon once again, Styles released his 12-track album “Harry’s House” on May 19. The album incorporates a new alternative ’70s flair, but still retains a familiar pop sound. In contrast to his previous solo albums, Styles’ “Harry’s House” has an experimental, dream-pop sleaze. The album itself can be described as bright, fun and effervescent. Even the more melodramatic heartbreak tracks retain a certain hopeful charisma.

This record also explores the fear and pain associated with accepting that you must let someone or something go. Songs like “Love of My Life” and “As It Was” emphasize the approach of the ending of something good. Throughout these songs, Styles reminisces about fond times in his relationships and longs to return to them. But in recreating these scenarios, Harry realizes they’ll never be the same.

Styles paints his cynical love stories throughout the album with an upbeat soundtrack. This record proves his talent for incorporating storytelling into his lyricism. Whether he’s portraying another’s story or his own, he effortlessly guides you through it with rhythmic beats and a ’70s pop sound. In the album’s eleventh track “Boyfriends,” he empathizes with the women in his life that are constantly diminished by men. He describes the instability in a complex relationship between two people this way:

Boyfriends
They think you’re so easy
They take you for granted
They don’t know they’re just misunderstanding

If you enjoyed “Harry’s House,” you may also like Wet Leg, Declan Mckenna, Wallows, Luke Hemmings and Niall Horan.