the Top 10 Pop Albums of 2022

Pop speaks for itself. This list once includes hip hop, since that is basically what it has become. As a whole pop music has become a shit show, you have 40 producers working on one album and they are still recycling sounds from other artists. These albums broke from that factory of sounds and tried to do something different. 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. Perhaps 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 Pop albums of 2022

10-Pale Waves- "Unwanted" 

My not so guilty pleasure band who pretty much falls in line with Chrvches in the frame of my listening habits. Even though this is more of a teenage angst ridden pop punk album it still holds plenty of common ground with their previous albums. More guitar driving the bigger hooks this time around. She does a really good job of harmonizing her vocals on the emo power ballad feel of these songs

Abysmal Hymns: Pale Waves : "Unwanted"

9-Snow tha Product- "To Anywhere" 

I have not reviewed a great deal of hip-hop this year as the bulk of it has been garbage. However, I was really looking forward to this album and finally tracked it down, it came out without a great deal of fanfare. The first track is poppier than I expected with Snow singing more than rapping, though she does cut loose in a few places. The album is laid-back but really well done.

Abysmal Hymns: Snow Tha Product: "To Anywhere"

 

8-Yung Gravy-"Marvelous" 

In a world where hip hop tends to take itself too seriously someone this ridiculous is needed to parody it. His voice is not drenched in effect and auto-tune, and he puts words together in a clever manner than puts himself ahead of the bulk of the industry. The Swiss born rapper tend to make a train of thought wish list for the kind of bitch he needs, which is pretty fun.

Abysmal Hymns: Catching up with 2022- Yung Gravy: "Marvelous"

7-Ayria- "This is My Battle Cry" 

The thump of this album is pretty on point for what this artist does. She fuses future pop with dark wave, it has been a minute since I have given any of her work a listen as despite the goth trappings, she is pretty sugary sweet. Despite owing a huge debt to the 80s I think it works better than most of what is on the radio these days

 

Abysmal Hymns: Gothtober : Ayria : 'This is My Battle Cry"

6-the Rasmus - "Rise" 

This Finnish band gave themselves wide breadth to thrive in 2022. It is amazing for a band that has been around since 1994. Their singer does not sound 43. The symphonic elements are still in play and it's clear they do what Maneskin tries to do a great deal better.They have perfected the pop side of what they to and creates infectious songs that do not feel lost in the 90s.

Abysmal Hymns: the Rasmus : "Rise"

 

5-Corlyx- "Blood in the Disco" 

You got to love a band that refuses to make the same album twice. This time they are veering off into more of a 90s electro pop sound in the vein of bands like Curve. The vocals purr over the bass driven grooves, while they shadow of the core sound have not fade but give room for upbeat pulse of the song. Fans of the band will embrace the new sounds. 

Abysmal Hymns: Corlyx : "Blood in the Disco"

 4-Charli XCX- 'Crash" 

Quirky British pop singer Charli XCX is back. This time she is showing us that she makes an album with a half dozen less songwriters and producers than the likes of the Weeknd or Lil Nas X . She does continue a slick 80s retro path and I am not sure any of the songs strike me as bumping as hard as she did on  "How   I'm feeling now". She has a knack of riding the beats with odd chanted vocal lines and they tend to grow on me.  

Abysmal Hymns: Charli XCX : " Crash"

 

3-SRSQ- "Ever Crashing" 

Kennedy Ashlyn's former project Them Are Us Too were one of those bands whose influences they were paying tribute to was so apparent, in their case the Cocteau Twins, that if you are a fan of the said band then you welcome them. In the case of the Cocteau Twins they are not making any new music so I would welcome  a band that was filling that void for me. There is a hint of that influence still lingers, but she has come into her own artist under the SRSQ moniker. Even more so with this album. She is no longer basking in ethereal darkness and stepping into an 80's themed neon. The brighter tone of the album still works and finds this to be a monument of growth for Ashlyn

Abysmal Hymns: SRSQ : " Ever Crashing"

2-Tears For Fears-"the Tipping Point" 

After 18 years the silence has been broken. The duo that comprises this band went through their individual stressors that almost brough them to an end before they finished with the album, they began working on back in 2013. The record label pressure the band to work with younger artists, however they had the integrity to say " no, fuck that this doesn't sound like Tears for Fears. Sounding like Tears For Fears does not mean they are trying to recreate "Songs From the Big Chair", they pick up where they left off by venturing into folk and other dynamics. 

Abysmal Hymns: Tears For Fears - " the Tipping Point"

 

1-Taylor Swift - "Midnights"

Imagine a pop album not overrun by an assembly line of producers and outside songwriters. Taylor has got you covered with that. Having started off as a musician and song writer before fully wading into the pop waters, she has an advantage over her peers with whom she shares the radio waves. Taylor continues to excel while making music in a genre that normally vomits up disposable jingles for audiences who fall for anything sold to them, so imagine pop music with some thought behind it, what a concept. She writes great songs with clever lyrics which carries an infectious nature that found her beating out the likes of Tears for Fears, who was great but perhaps not as inspired. 

Abysmal Hymns: Taylor Swift: "Midnights"

the Top 10 Albums of 2022 ... So Far

 

This year has half slipped away from us. More comprehensive of what has been released than you might expect, considering that I am already getting promos for August releases in my in-box. There is a fair cross-section of genres represented as I already did my metal list so while there are some hard rock artists, this is the top 10 non-metal albums that have been released this year so far.  Pop, goth, indie rock, post -punk and progressive rock are all represented here in varied shades. All of these albums a solid shot for the number one spot at the end of the year, depending on how they grow on me.  I make the overall top ten for the year and at this rate December will be here before we know it. What makes them the best is how much I actually listen to them. I guess we will see how these albums hold up over the course of the year.  I am posting links to the reviews if you want to check these albums out.

10-Dead Register - "Alive" 

This album picks up where they left off, but in a more refined manner. The grooves are smoothly syncopated with an industrial stomp, but with none of the gear grinding abrasion. There is more of a 90s grunge influence in the drumming this time around. The blend of brooding shadows in the verses is streamlined as the song writing is more noticeably matured

Abysmal Hymns: Dead Register : "Alive"

9-Marissa Nadler- the Wrath of Clouds" 

This EP consists of three unreleased songs and two covers. The originals she had forgotten about during the "Path of Clouds sessions", She went back into the studio and emerged with this. It splits the difference between the more atmospheric tone of her early work and where she is currently at with a more layered sound.

Abysmal Hymns: Marissa Nadler : "Wrath of Clouds"

 

 8-Rumours - 'the Lower We Sink the Less We Care" 

This Swedish band are skilled weavers of sonic gloom, it's laced with a punchy hint of 70s rock. The instrumentation is warmly recorded in analog. The retro thing is not the band trying too hard to capture a bygone era. With a sound that is very much their own, at time they occupy a sonic space similar to Rope Sect . The vocals are more dynamics as the singer belts it out with a great deal of convincing power.

Abysmal Hymns: RUMOURS : "the Lower We Sink, the Less We Care"

  7-Placebo- "Never Let Me Go" 

2006's "Meds" was the last album I want into by this British glam band.  I think the key to Brian's success as a songwriter lies in his ability convey the struggle of his anger, darkness, metal health and addiction. It is in that struggle where their music has found its fire. Moloko succeeds in recapturing that moodiness on their new album. I think it is important that Stefan is still working with Brian as that duo is clearly Placebo and not just Brian Moloko solo album. There is none of the kinetic punk tension that colored their early work. It works off smooth grooves and melodies, with sonic layers of guitar embellish the dynamics

Abysmal Hymns: Placebo : "Never Let Me Go"

6-Christain Death- "Evil Becomes Rule" 

The band's 15th album, I like the Valor albums and I like the Rozz albums I think Valor has carried the spirit of what the band was doing over the years. They continue to move in a less punk more metallic and darker direction, though it wonderfully melodic and there is an excellent choice in sonic colors they paint the sounds of this entire album.  

'Abysmal Hymns: Christian Death : "Evil Becomes Rule"

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

When I press play on their new album, I cannot for the life of me have good reason as to why I have not listened to them until this point. They are moody and melodic in all the way 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. 

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

 

4-Zola Jesus -"Arkhon" 

One of my favorite singers of the past decade, I breathed a sigh of relief when I pressed play and found this album is another step into the darkness as she could have taken a poppier turn. This time rather than taking everything on herself she worked with producer Randall Dunn, and former David Bowie drummer Matt Chamberlin The former's influence can be felt the most. The second song moves with a more organic fluidity to its groove. Are some of her vocal passages more accessible here? Yes, but I am not sure I would call this pop music as it is more complex in both arrangement and laying

Abysmal Hymns: Zola Jesus : " Arkhon"

 3- Charli XCX- "Crash" 

Quirky British pop singer Charli XCX is back. This time she is showing us that she makes an album with a half dozen less songwriters and producers than the likes of the Weeknd or Lil Nas X . She does continue a slick 80s retro path and I am not sure any of the songs strike me as bumping as hard as she did on; "How I'm feeling now" . She has a knack of riding the beats with odd chanted vocal lines, which she works off of coming out of the gate. The best Pop album of the year so far. 

Abysmal Hymns: Charli XCX : " Crash"

  2- Hangman's Chair- " A Loner" 

The French band's 2018 album "Banlieue Triste" took the top spot as Doom album of the year. This time around things are dialed back in the metal department. They straddle the fence sonically in a zip code closer to post-nu metal Deftones and Katatonia. They know there is more than one way to be heavy  the album as a whole is more about capturing a mood, which they have. I respect that they did not try to recreate the previous album and made steps forward,

Abysmal Hymns: Hangman's Chair : "A Loner"

1-Tears for fears - "the Tipping Point" 

After 18 year silence , the dup found themselves bucking record label pressure in 2013, until they found who they were in today's world free of the radio trappings that could have been imposed upon them. This makes for a great deal of surprises as the album spans genres from the folky opener to the controls being set to sizzle as they reflect the new wave 80s vibe while working in modern electronics.

Abysmal Hymns: Tears For Fears - " the Tipping Point"

Tears For Fears @ MidFlorida Credit Union Amphitheater

Like most concerts over the past year it has been my first time at the venue. It was a weird mix or the fair and a your normal Live Nation run shed. We sat in the covered seating to the left of the sound board. It was still daylight when Garbage came on. They were a mixed bag. Shirley Manson is aging better than some. Many of the big hits they tried lounge versions of at first to paced themselves and then busted into something closer to the real thing by the second chorus. The best thing about their live show was the more organic nature of it and how you could hear they were basically a post-punk band in the 90s who was fortunate enough to have a producer in the band that was able to give it a radio sheen of aural candy to fit onto 90s pop radio. Some of their newer deeper cuts on the set, might not hold up their classic work. 

Tears For Fears took the stage in a fairly understated fashion that I am not sure the crowd knew how to react to. Roland Orzabal came on strumming an acoustic guitar playing the western tinged folk of "No Small Thing" the opening track from their new album "the Tipping Point". It gave Curt  Smith time to warm up his voice with backing vocals. Though when it came to his first solo vocal in "Everybody Body Wants to Rule the World" something was off.  It seemed he had trouble falling into the phrasing. I t could have been a problem with his in ear monitors, though his voice was straining, there is always a tendency as a singer to not project if you cannot hear yourself since that is a good way to damage your vocal chords. You could age at age 60 it is just the normal decline, but Roland sounded better than ever. When the two were singing together Kurt hit all the note , and later in the set on songs like "Pake Shelter" he hit some higher notes, it sounded more like problem with shifting from his chest voice to head register as fluidly in the weird middle space like on the phrase "you don't give me love" though the falsetto phrasing was fine it was odd and since I have Googled to see if he is dealing with hearing loss and found nothing. 

They were unapologetic in promoting the new album and playing 7 songs from it, which was fine with me since it is a great album that sits well within the context of their body of work. The crowd was a little perplexed by this and really only took to their feet for the big radio hits, obviously they left "Shout" for the last song. But it was perhaps the less radio dominating classics like "Sowing the Seeds of Love" that might have been the best moment. I hoped for "Raul and the Kings of Spain" and would have gladly traded "Woman in Chains" for it.  I do admire Tears For Fears for not just relying on the nostalgia of greatest hits. The new songs worked well live with "My Demons" serving as one of the best songs of the night.  "Secret World" off "Everyone Loves a Happy Ending" was also one of the sets better moments. When it came to crowd pleasing classics "Pale Shelter" worked better than 'Mad World". Anytime Roland belted it out of the park with his big soulful voice to was also a shining moment. One of my favorite new waveish bands from the 80s, and one of the few hold outs that i had not seen yet,  not a flawless performance but a pretty great one.  

  

Tears For Fears - " the Tipping Point"

After 18 years the silence has been broken. The duo that comprises this band went through their individual stressors that almost brough them to an end before they finished with the album, they began working on back in 2013. The record label pressure the band to work with younger artists, however they had the integrity to say " no, fuck that this doesn't sound like Tears for Fears.   but the folky "No Small Thing" has not what I was expecting going into this album, despite being a huge fan of this band and fully aware of the ground they have covered over the course of their career. There is the type of dynamic shift you might expect from this band that evens things out. The title track that follows is what sets the controls for sizzle as it reflects the new wave 80s vibe while working in modern electronics. 

"Long, Long, Long Time" is more of pop song that blends in with more recent music but on their own terms. Carina Round from Puscifer contributes backing vocals to this song and other tracks on the album. The Curt Smith penned "Breaking the Man" flows really well.  "My Demons" glides over an electronic groove. Going into this album my main concern as with most veteran rockers is how well is their voice holding up over the years. Their singing is still dynamic and very capable though they might not reach up into their head register like the once did. "Rivers of Mercy" is a ballad. It works for what it is, not my favorite song, but I am sure it will grow on me, they do balladry better on "Please Be happy". "Master Plan" finds them back in their sweet spot, sure it recalls the 80s but that is what I want from these guys even when they are skipping along with a piano driven riff like this one. I mean this could have been on "Songs from the Big Chair". There is also something very Pink Floyd about the big dramatic way it moves. 

The bounce to "End of Night" is very consistent with who they are as a band and stands alongside the rest of their work which is really all I am asking from these guys. The problem with most bands of their status is they have already raised the bar for themselves already, so it is also asking a lot, but they are delivering better than I hoped. The light smooth texture of the vocals on the last song is pretty impressive even if the song itself is a very atmospheric ballad. Midway into the song the dynamics slowly grow. I will round this up to a ten as it is still growing on me but is impressive and earned many a listen thus far and holds up against their other albums.      

Mix Tape Mania

Kids these days will never know of the lost art of mix tapes. I am not sure you could find a blank tape to mix, much less the boom box to do it on these days without scouring antique stores . Saying that makes me feel like a relic from another time. Do kids leave notes in each other's lockers? Or do they just send selfies, and love Facebook or Instagram posts? Since there are no blank cds readily available much less cassettes the format has to suffice. In the days of cyber detachment sharing music is one of the most soul baring things to share these days as it says here are the songs that make me when I am expressing certain themes or concepts .  When I was a poor goth child as shown above it was one of my favorite past times .  I know if this is a display of me then metal is obviously missing if I am painting the full picture of who I am , but I think that is a given and metal is only 50 percent of what I listen to . It tends to play the most when I am angry or depressed .Here  are some other sonic colors that paint different things and having David Bowie, Morrrissey, the Cure and Taylor Swift accounts for a hug percent of my listening.





Jimmy Eat World - "For Me This is Heaven"



 Pale Waves - "Red"

 

 Ryan Adams - "Wildest Dreams"

 

Taylor Swift - "Gorgeous"

 



Tin Machine - "Amazing"


 

 Tears For Fears _ "Head Over Heels"


 



 the Weeknd - "Earned it"

 


Morrissey - "To Me You Are A Work of Art"





the Cure - "All I Want"


 

 Death Cab For Cutie- "We Looked Like Giants"

 

The Weekly Shuffle

OK we have been back at this for a few installments , so we are re-acquainted  with me hitting shuffle on the old iPod and reviewing the first ten tracks that pop up.

Deafheaven - Unrequited

Now that they have broken into the mainstream we can't forget what put them on the map and when they were more black metal than shoe-gaze or post rock. The song still rips pretty good and this album has stuck with it on my iPod to stand the test of time.

Alice Cooper -Who Do You Think We Are

Like disco Kiss  and Vegas Elvis , I have a thing for New Wave Alice Cooper, it much better than the cock rock years. Its smartly written , surprising as when these albums come up in interviews he claims to have been too drunk to remember making them.

Watain - I Am the Earth

Some older Watain , Erik growls a little more here than the more shouted Bathory style approach he began using more after this album. I can hear the Dissection in the guitar melodies.

The Mission - Naked & Savage

The Mission UK marched on with this album which retains every thing that makes them great , the emphasis being on the guitar tone, the drums are a little thin and programmed sounding here. The background vocals oohs, remind me of Sympathy For the Devil.

The Smiths - This Charming Man

I would go out tonight, but I haven't got a stitch to wear, is a classic line to a classic song that shows both sides to the enigma that is Morrissey and the bands skips along with him , creating the juxtaposition that is often the Smiths.

Alcest - Les Voyages De L'Ame

This is barely metal if at all and I have a bad feeling the new album will step away from this even further. Though this might play to the bands favor in record sales. For post-rock a genre that forsakes vocals , this makes a good case for them.

Tears For Fears - Women in Chains  

A great song , but the title is more exciting than the lyrical content of this soulful ballad . One of the bands greatest performances. It's chill inducing when he belts out the "and I feel lying in waiting is a poor man's game " line.  

Thin Lizzy - Killer On the Loose

Sometimes the singer reminds me of a cab driver from Jersey. They are full of great guitar playing even if this song is straight ahead rock a shade lighter than Motorhead.

Dissection - Night's Blood.

I could give myself a head trying to count straws and figure out if this is black metal or Swedish death metal. They have the very melodic guitar but unlike their limp wristed country men in the genre, the give it more teeth and attack. Jon's vocal's have a meaner sneer than death metal in it's rasp. These guys are awesome anyway you slice and Watain is the only band that has been able to carry their flame.

Wreck & Reference - Winter

I think the fact these guys are still in my iPod attests to the fact  I have gotten over the fact they are not called No Youth and I am able to embrace the dark sonic wasteland they call songs.The agony in this guys singing voice is great and adds to the song's bleakness.