the Top 10 Indie Rock Albums of 2022

The indie rock list is normally bands who do not rock hard enough to be rock records or fell askew from other lists, so they are falling here. Indie rock has been a thing since the days of bands like Television, in the 90s they got commercialized and scooped up by major labels, so it lost its charm. This does not mean bands that they are not on mainstream labels but bands that fall outside of pop and rock.; Much like in years past sort through the genre lists before making the overall top ten of the year list. The fact these artists made it on the list speaks to how great these albums are, so it's not a slight that the number 8 album is above the 9th album, there is something that just gives it an edge that makes me want to listen to it more. After all we can try to look cool and pick the hippest bands for a list, but at the end of the day what makes an album the best is that it makes you want more, you look forward to listening to it again. I do hope you can find your next favorite on this list and have included links to reviews of these albums if you want to check out audio on these guys. Anyways here are the top 10 indie rock albums of 2022.

10-Alvvways-"Blue Rev" 

With a sound that is from a woozy corner of the 90s, this band from Canada manages to fuse quaint pop ditties with a swirl of ambiance. There are melodies that emerge which at times can be happier than what I normally listen to. However, when tempered to the more surreal drug drip of effects for the disenfranchised lyrics to ponder over things work out for the best

Abysmal Hymns: Alvvays : "Blue Rev"

9- the Black Angels - "the Wilderness of Mirrors" 

The 6th album by the Texas band carries the kind of hypnotic throb you want from them. It has a dark drone to it that creates a haunting pulse as layers of sound swirl around it.  The reverb drowned vocals occupying a similar space. The bass bring more of a thump to drive the grooves as the vocals have a clearer narrative when singer Alex Maas awakes from his stoned lethargy. There is more of a 60s pysch-pop feel at times, but it is always compelling. 

Abysmal Hymns: the Black Angels : "Wilderness of Mirrors"

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8-Rome - ""Hegemonikon-A Journey to the End of Light" 

Crossing over from the folk or post-punk list, the new album is a departure from the flirtations with Death in June. Instead, we got an atmospheric affair weighed heavily by synths, The vocals being buried under said synths. The strum of guitar remerges to a more familiar sound at times. The production on this album is less organic than previous ones. There is a more upbeat almost pop feel to the song writing which is still stellar enough to earn its place here. 

Abysmal Hymns: Rome : "Hegemonikon-A Journey to the End of Light" "

7-Death Bells -"Between Here and Everywhere" 

It makes sense that the band's move to Los Angeles finds their sound becoming more streamlined and palatable to the masses. The punk in the post-punk side of the equation is dialed back putting them in the same sonic zip code as the more mainstream post-punk revivalists of the early 2000s like Interpol and the Rapture. Here the more accessible leanings work in the bands favor as they have stepped up their songwriting game, resulting in some of their most memorable songs yet, the sounds provide a counterpoint against one another as the upbeat vibe of the song proves a backdrop for dead pan vocals and glum lyrics

Abysmal Hymns: Death Bells: "Between Here and Everywhere"

6- Black Country New Road- "Ants From Up There" 

The previous album was one of the best post-punk albums of the year. Where their last album rode ad the line between the early days of post-punk and a jammy weirdness, this album leans in a more prog direction with the dead pan vocals the only thing that holds traces of the starker postpunk tension. It is hard to fault them for this when the end result is a great deal of fun almost like Gogol Bordello without their obnoxious singer. Things break into an easier going more languid mood that opens room for the  vocals to take on a more wavering croon that is delicate in a manner not unlike Bright Eyes, who also serves as a fair sonic point of reference. They grew in an interesting new direction that paid off. 

Abysmal Hymns: Black Country , New Road : "Ants From Up There "

 

5- Interpol-"the Other Side of Make Believe" 

I can get over the fact Interpol is no longer as dark as they once were. Gone is the stark tension of post-punk. Now we have rather breezy indie rock that does what Arcade Fire did in a less orchestrated and more organic fashion. The Beatles are more of an influence than Joy Division with songs like "Fables". Despite this gradual stylistic shift that has brough them to this place over the years, they are still great songwriters. They are masters at capturing mood and while different still retains who they are and works as it is easy on the ears. I find myself just leaving it on to play

Abysmal Hymns: Interpol : "the Other Side of Make Believe"

4 Fontaines DC-"Skinty Fia" 

This Irish band now perhaps lives in a sonic zip code closer to Radiohead than any type of shoegaze or post-punk revivalists. They slip away from the more hypnotizing drones to slinky grooves. This allows for the vocals to be moodier but with an underlying attitude. Their singer chooses some interesting placement with his phrasing. This can be felt in the with the lyrics bobbing in and out of the guitars staccato jangle. "Sometimes flirting with their punk rock youth with lyrics invoking dive bars past midnight

Abysmal Hymns: Fontaines D.C. : " Skinty Fia"

3-the Smile - A light for Attracting Attention" 

A band with Thom Yorke and Johnny Greenwood is going to sound like Radiohead. The main difference is drummer Tome Skinner who played with the jazz band Sons of Kemet. He helps them lock into a much different groove than what you might expect from Radiohead. I think the rowdy punk tension of "You Will Never Work in Television Again" made some members of the press fooled into thinking this would be return to the scrappier younger days of Radiohead. Why should it be? After all this is not Radiohead? I am sure many of these songs were intended to Radiohead, but I can imagine the pressure which comes with writing for a new Radiohead album was one thing they wanted to get away from when writing this.

Abysmal Hymns: the Smile : "A Light for Attracting Attention"

 

2-Murder By Death - 'Spell/Bound"

This album is sonically not as stark when it opens when a warmer sounding country song. Lyrically things darken at times. When I talk about dark with these guys, everything is being measured against "Who Will Survive and What Will Be Left of Them". Yes, I know that was their second album and it is a masterpiece. They are not trying to replicate it nor would I want them to, but it does show where they are at peak songwriting and the kinds of things, they are capable of. They reach similar heights but from another angle here. 

Abysmal Hymns: Murder By Death : "Spell/Bound"

1- Midlake- "For the Sake of Bethel Woods" 

This album both surprised and grew on me. They are moody and melodic in all the ways I like for this kind of music to be. Their drummer is really on it. There is a folk thing, but they are also very melancholy and thoughtful. Things get more soulful and lean toward being more  proggy than folk, as the instrumentation flirts with math rock while the vocals s are off doing their own thing. Ath the end of the day it's the songs and all the feeling they put into them that earned the top spot. 

Abysmal Hymns: Midlake : " For the Sake of Bethel Woods"

Rome : "Hegemonikon-A Journey to the End of Light" "

The first song is not the type of neo-folk you expect from this project as it is an atmospheric affair weighed heavily by synths, The vocals being buried under said synths. The strum of guitar remerges to a more familiar sound for the second song. The production on this album is less organic than previous ones. There is a more upbeat almost pop feel to the song writing rather than the more Death in June like musings of their earlier work. "Icarus Rex" is back to the vocal narrative sitting atop the pulse of a synth on "Icarus Rex". Synths are still prominent against the strum of guitar that joins the lighter mood of the still brooding "Surely Ash", His voice drops into a lower Nick Cave like place.  A very 80s sounding synth bounces along the chorus. 

"Walking the Atlal" starts off sounding as if it will float along a more folk centric arpeggiation. It drones on as he narrates things with a less focused lyrical direction than what propelled the melodies of the previous song. This new wave twist to the song writing works out well on "Hearts Mend" which is one of the albums strongest songs there is a more western flavored longing to it. His croon has a Chris Isaak like strength to the timbre of baritone invoked here. "Solar Caeser" follows a similar path, though is more of indie track if Death in June collaborated with the Postal Service. I am fine with these changes as just acoustic guitars all the time can be very limiting to work with. 

"Stone Grace" is spoken word over an ambient back drop and feels more like an interlude than a song to me. "New Flags" feels more like a New Model Army song. It ambles more like modern indie rock as the beat feel more electronic based It is one of those songs that needs to grow on me, I approve of this direction though I also like disco Kiss and Vegas Elvis, odd stylistic changes are my kink. I will give this album a 9, in terms of where it falls in regard to the songs writing. Not his best album, but better than what most can achieve.  

Rome : "Parlez-vous Hate"

 Long time fans might feel the neo folk project is selling out by not making the kind of bleakly obtuse that put them in line for Death in June's throne. It does seem like these songs were written with breaking through in the America. There is even a song that kind of parodies Bruce Springteen's "Born in the USA" But all the above works for me as it is very hooky and concisely written songs. "Death From Above" has a slight hint of country to it and is more upbeat than what you might expect. This song grew on me and it was also made apparent how the vocals have improved. Is there more of a rock touch to it ? Yes. If you just want a folk album then this might take some getting used to. It should not be hard as this is a great album and we are only a few songs in. 

Things get more martial and darker with "Panzerschokolade". I am not sure how serious this song is if he is singing about having Scooby snacks . The song after this finds him getting back to a more familiar folk sound. This song highlights the changed in production which is much brighter on this album. He sings in his more resonate baritone here. I mean this is what he normally does so he is going to be good at it. It however seems like a step back into his comfort song and I was enjoying the change in direction. Acoustic guitar one again takes it's rightful place on this album for "Toll In the Great Death". It has a more swaying Irish folk sound, though there are also Spanish elements introduced. When we get to "Feral Agents" we are at the kind of risk taking I want here as it seems to pay off more often than not . There is a moodier tone to this one. There is more of a New Model Army feel to "You Owe Me a Whole World" .

That New Model Army feel continues on "Blood For All" which flows in almost a Cure like manner that I like but the lyrics asking where are we on the privilege chain , is heavy handed , despite the fact I can never tell what side of things he falls on, I would rather they just did not come up at all and we were talking about lost love , Satan or drug use. "Alesia"  finds him using his upper register more and it smoothly flows , as does most of the album.  I will give this album a 9.5 , so it might not be perfect, but it might be hjis best and I enjoy his songwriting here.

The Top 10 Indie Rock Albums of 2018

It is that time again. For the sake of this list indie rock is anything that is not mainstream rock or hard enough to be punk or metal. Some folk and shoe gaze are included , though it can't be dark enough to be goth or tense enough to be post-punk The score from my reviews to help determine the ranking , but also how many times Last FM told me I listened to each album.An album can have all the critical acclaim in the world but if it does not inspire multiple listens then how good can it actually be ?

While the top ten lists for other genres leaned more heavily on the side of new blood it seems there is an even blend of well established acts who put out the greatest quality albums .; Rather than posting media of a track from each band I am leaving a link to the review, which will contain Bandcamp or Full Album Streams. Ok enough talking about it, the time has come to dig into the top 10 indie rock albums of 2018.

10-Slow Crush -"Aurora"


If this had come out earlier in the year and I had a more easilly accessible copy of it this album by the Belgian shoe-gaze band would have been higher on the list. But I just found them, the review is hot off the press, yet I could not avoid putting them on here because they are so good at what they do.

 https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2018/12/slow-crush-aurora.html

9-Rome-"Hall of Thatch"

 By the second song Jerome Reuter proves his gets better with each album. By the 3rd song it's obvious this album is a lot darker, which is fine by me as it carries a very Swans like feel. The theme of the album is a darker spiritual exploration and much more personal than the political themes he has championed in the past. I think this is a wise choice for him as this seems to elicit a more emotional response.


https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2018/10/gothtober-rome-hall-of-thatch.html

8- Hillary Woods-"Colt"

 Hilary Woods would not be out of place on the Twin Peaks soundtrack. Less fey sounding than the Cocteau Twins, yet it occupies a similar sonic space as an album like "Treasure". These ballads are haunting, yet invoke spirits of inner space rather than from beyond the grave. Hazy not dark would be the best way to describe the sound. There is a jazz like minimalism, though unlike 90s acid jazz, it serves the melody rather than the beat. The percussion on these songs is incidental.Any genre that embraces emotive and shadow filled sounds could embrace what is done here.

 https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2018/04/hilary-woods-colt.html

7-Church Girls- "Home"


Poppier than what I expect of most indie rock that tries to be too cool for school. It's not a poppy as say Pale Waves, though it's not as dark as them either. Though there is a touch of punk to what they do. Mariel's voice is plaintive while being emotive. It reminds me of 90s alt rock like Liz Phair or Veruca Salt.  She does have more range than she lets on at first . These guys are pretty impressive musically as the solo on "Black Seas" is pretty unexpected and highly fleet of finger.it's worth the dollar they are going to make me spring for it, which says something about the infectious nature of these songs.

 https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2018/12/church-girls-home.html

 6-Deafheaven- "Ordinary Corrupt Human Love" 

 The new album opens in a tone that is not metal at all with piano and post-rocky instrumentation taking a dreamy groove which the vocals eventually snarl over. Snarling doesn't instantly make things metal here or really anywhere. " The drums punch certain accents, but until it swells I am reluctant to call it metal. The drummer has really stepped up his game that is for certain. Vocally the are back to sticking to the same snarl so far. It's his typically mid range, sometimes it sounds like he is making more of an attempt to form words than others.It earns multiple listens ,while its not a metal album it excels when it comes to guitar playing and songwriting.


 https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2018/07/deafheaven-ordinary-corrupt-human-love.html

5-Iceage-"Beyondless"

 I was worried the boys from Denmark would stray to far from punk after their last album and the funky Rolling Stones like side project of their singer . The first song holds roots in the early days of punk, but is just good fucking music. While the drums continue to have a reckless edge the horns smooth out the sonic landscape. I am glad the gray clouds close in over the second half of the album, though none of it is sunshine and puppies,as it preserves the growing legacy of this band.


https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2018/05/iceage-beyondless.html

4-Marissa Nadler- "For My Crimes"


She continues down a path of hauntingly morose balladry. More ghostly than Lana Del Ray. More folk than country this time around, though hints of western sounds still color this album. Things seem simpler here. More minimal compositions, keep the focus on the vocals. Sometimes these vocals are layered on the chorus. Wispy the songs become intangible and don't hook me as quickly as some of her previous efforts, so its a grower not a shower.


 https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2018/09/marisa-nadler-for-my-crimes.html

3-Slothrust- "Pact"

 These guys have come along a way. This is a much smoother and polished effort right off the bat with a stab at pop injected. Gone is the grunge rawness. It does get kicked up later in the first song, but the hooky alternative rock going on here is much different than my first taste of the band. I would not call it selling out. It's a refining that could open them up to a bigger audience, it's a natural progression I suppose as I could never find their last album. This one certainly earned repeat listens.


 https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2018/09/slothrust-pact.html

2- Nothing -"Dance on the Blacktop" 

 I found "Tired of Tomorrow" to be too happy and was underwhelmed. While this album might not be full return to the grunge tinged "Guilty of Everything" it does make shoe-gaze great again with more balls behind it than the previous album and keeps the surreal step back into the 90s going . There are authentic guitar tones and the songs builds into a hooky melody at the end. The new element being introduced on this album is the kind of vintage slacker rock that bands like Dinosaur Jr and Sebadoh used to crank out. This is a pretty solid return for them and was highly enjoyed even if it floats away at the end.


https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2018/07/nothing-dance-on-blacktop.html

1-Pianos Become the Teeth - "Wait For Love" 

 Their fourth album is another picture of this band's dramatic evolution. If you go back and listen to their first album it doesn't even seem like the same band. Gone is the explosive energy and the screamed vocals. While I  think of these guys as having come from the same emo-revival that bands like Touche Amore came from, it's weird to here such refined indie rock coming from these guys. They are capable of going at it with an almost Jawbreaker-like drive on "Charisma". The vocals are plaintive but well-placed. The guitar doesn't told much in terms of distortion and works off of a dream-like jangle more often than not. While other albums might have scored higher on the initial listen this one earned it's place in heavy rotation and I actually listened to it more than the other albums.


 https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2018/03/pianos-become-teeth-wait-for-love.html

Gothtober-Rome : "Hall of Thatch"

By the second song Jerome Reuter proves his gets better with each album. By the 3rd song it's obvious this album is a lot darker, which is fine by me and a reason for this album to be included in "gothtober" as it carries a very Swans like feel. The theme of the album is a darker spiritual exploration and much more personal than the political themes he has championed in the past. I think this is a wise choice for him as this seems to elicit a more emotional response. "Slaver" seems to touch on personal issues with relationships. It blends a shadowy folk country with more northern European sounds. It aids his vocal performance and finds him singer with greater range and vigor.

"Martyr" is more aggressive to the point it has an abrasive sting like Swans and a vocal ranting more like Birthday Party era Nick Cave. "Hawker" has a more celebratory tone as is more akin to his previous work. He returns to a more experimental tone that carries another Swans like tone to it. I am less impressed by the Swans influence this time around. I prefer when he experiments more along the lines of "Keeper" where he uses the more ambient sounds to paint the backdrop behind him. This allows melody to still maintain the focus. The album ends with a more stripped down folk song. His vocals have been really well produced for the bulk of the album, but how they are double tracked here really resonates with me.

This is a really good album. I think while I can appreciate the Swans influence that cropped up on a couple songs, if it was another band doing it I might have liked it, but since I know Jerome has a much more defined sound of his own, there seems no reason to wear his influences on his sleeves in this regard as it doesn't meet with the same emotional results the other songs have. So I will give this one a 9, certainly placing it head and shoulders above the bulk of albums that have come out this year.

Wilcifer's Top 10 Folk Artists

Since the Weekly Playlist is weekly , I can only publish one a week, yeah, I know its my fucking blog so I could do anything I want, but then it would just be chaos. I am not opposed to chaos, but it would then turn into the bi-weekly playlist. The reason for the Weekly Playlist, was it was the audio equivalent to leaving notes in your crush’s locker in high school. The lyrics to some of these songs could still say..” Do you like me ? Check yes or no”, but not all of them , in fact some are on the angry side. So I made this a top ten list, cause you kids like them. I am not saying they are the greatest of all time, as it lacks the Bob Dylans and Phil Ochs. In fact I let Last FM sort them out and rank them by who I have listened to the most. The Top 10 folk artists, Wilcifer Has Listened to the Most According to Lastfm.com, so really an unwieldy title so , it is what it is. I did not list the song titles by the artists as that would imply they are the best songs by that artist. I just picked these songs because I like them. Some the lyrically content is particularly potent, which I think is a key component of folk, since it’s sripped down more honest story. The John Vanderslice song could have been a letter I wrote to my mom at the peak of my heroin addiction. The Chelsea Wolfe song pretty much sums up my marriage. So I could have titled this locker note…”Here Is What My Life Was Like Before I Met You”. But that title is also very long. It could be argued that these are not all soley folk artists, but by that reasoning neither was Bob Dylan as he took his music to other place. Here there are going to be elements of rock and blues mixed in , but I think that is part and parcel, granted there are many folk artist who came out in the 90s and were marketed as being singer -song writers since folk was not the easiest crossover market at the time. So we could nit-pick this list all day and I don’t have time for that, in fact dear reader while I hope you enjoy this , you are really just a voyeur to me leaving another audio note in the locker. 10- Rome

   



9-John Vanderslice

 

8-Cat Power


 



7-Damien Rice



 


 6-Ani Difranco

 


 5-Dax Riggs

   


4-Brendan Perry


 



3-Death In June



 


 2- the Decemberists



 


1- Chelsea Wolfe

 

Rome : " A Passage to Rhodesia"

This is Rome's 10th album. It'd fitting that Jerome Reuter found a home for himself on Projekt the long time gothic/industrial label.After a barrage of sound effects we get to the real songs. "Ballad of Red Flame Lily" kicks things of in a very groove centered manner that recalls Leonard Cohen. The folk strum with the darker Death in June qualities this project is known for doesn't hit til the chorus. A more traditional approach to this same flavor of dark folk is fully realized on "One Fire" which is even more Death in June like. Not to say Reuter doesn't have an identity for himself as this double album is a pretty ambitious feat, with a heavy political message to it.

He finds a more ballad like quality to "A Farewell to Europe". The songs are very to the point an lush in their execution. He returns to the more introspective commentary of the landscape he is reflecting on "The Fever Tree" that returns to a more Leonard Cohen texture. The album carries impressive momentum until "Hate us and See if We Mind". The melodies don't seem as strong on this one to me , though the song is far from filler, he has just set the bar pretty high for himself so far so there is going to be heavy scrutiny.

"the River Eternal" feels more like an interlude than a song to me. The synths create effective ambiance, but the spoken word doesn't do much for me. He starts to redeem himself on "A Country Denied". He still doesn't recapture the momentum of the album. He shifts into a slightly more upbeat feeling on "Lullabye For Georgie" which seems like the second movement of the previous song and has a slight Sinead O'Conner tinge to it. The lyrical theme continues to modulate it self through the album, taking an even darker, but yet slightly Dead Can Dance like turn on "In a Wilderness of Spite".

"Bread and Wine" sees the return of the synths. They wash over the intro of the song and almost continue to submerse the song in ambiance though the vocals float above the surface and hold their own with a rambling Americana like melody. Some elements of post- rock could be traced to te soaring mood he invokes here. The Past is Another Country is more of an outro than a stand alone song.

While I think it will grow on me it feels like after a really strong start the album begins to lose steam mid way through, the opener below is one of the best songs to come out this year so it's a shame the rest of the album did not live up to it's potential. Still an 8 is better than most and certainly demands to be heard at least once.
8.8