BEST OF 2022

2022 - Year of the Comeback?

If you’re an avid New Release watcher like we are, you may have noticed a little trend going on… It seems that 2022 has been the year that many of the big names have decided to release an album after a long hiatus… just to name a few we have Beyoncé (Renaissance), Def Leppard (Diamond Star Halos), Mary J Blige (Good Morning Gorgeous), Avril Lavigne (Love Sux), Red Hot Chili Peppers (Unlimited Love AND Return of the Dream Canteen), Arctic Monkeys (The Car), Kendrick Lamar (Mr. Morale and the Big Steppers), Florence + The Machine (Dance Fever), Björk (Fossora) and even the Yeah Yeah Yeahs (Cool it Down) who came back after a 9-year hiatus! Of course, there are so many more artists who graced us with their return, however, these were just a few of our favourites on the list.

Sweet Sound of Music

A theory going around is that many more people, especially in 2022, have leant into the saccharine-sweet sound of pop music, perhaps to counteract the not-so-sweet pandemic-filled years we have had. Regardless, all we know for sure is that pop had its moment this year with dozens of high-performing albums, and who better to top them all than Taylor Swift with her record-breaking album Midnights. Love her or hate her, we can’t help but respect the fact that she was the first artist in history to claim all 10 spots on the Billboard 100, and the fact that she just writes damn catchy music. Other albums that we believe should be up there competing with Miss Swift include Charlie XCX’s Crash, Rina Sawayama’s Hold the Girl, AURORA’s The Gods We Can Touch, Metronomy’s Small World, Lizzo’s Special and Steve Lacy’s Gemini Rights.

The Budding and The Breaking Up

For those who prefer to delve deeper into the world of music, there has been an abundance of releases that some may have skipped by that are worth mentioning. Take Fontaines D.C.’s new release Skinty Fia for example, with their punchy lyrics and grungy guitars. Also in a similar vein Black Country, New Road came in swinging with their sophomore album Ants from Up There released shortly after the lead singer announced his departure from the band. 2022 was an incredible year for female-fronted alt/indie endeavours by the likes of Angel Olsen (Big Time), Cate le Bon (Pompeii), Mitski (Laurel Hell), Beth Orton (Weather Alive), Findlay (The Last of the 20th Century Girls), Courtney Marie Andrews (Loose Future), Sharon van Etten (We’ve Been Going About This All Wrong), Naima Bock (Giant Palm) and of course, no budding artists list would not be complete without the band that took the world by storm, Wet Leg and their self-titled debut. On the touchy subject of bands who are breaking up, we cannot forget the formidable final album by self-proclaimed ‘boyband’ Brockhampton with their release The Family, and the slightly ambiguous release by Slipknot titled The End, So Far, however, whether this is really the end for them is yet to be seen.

Classical Classics

The world of classical saw some incredible releases this year from the younger generation who are pushing the boundaries of classical traditions. Budding pianist extraordinaire Aidan Mikdad released his debut The Scriabin Ravel Connection for the Royal Academy of Music Bicentenary Series at the young age of 21! 26-year-old Finnish conductor Klaus Mäkelä triumphantly lead the Oslo Symphony Orchestra in a new complete recording of Sibelius’ Symphonies which is sure to be the new go-to recording for many classical aficionados. The London Symphony Orchestra led by the formidable Sir Simon Rattle released Nazareno which celebrated the union of classical and jazz featuring works by Bernstein, Stravinsky and Golijov. World-renowned violinist Hilary Hahn returned to the airwaves with Eclipse, Jakub Josef Orlinski tackled Vivaldi’s Stabat Mater and The Flat Consort recorded an album highlighting little-known works by Matthew Locke that are more than worth discovering. One artist that you are sure to see more of in the future is Abel Selaocoe, who released his debut album Where is Home / Hae ke Kae. On this album he seamlessly intertwines traditional music from his home of South Africa, with Baroque works by the likes of Bach and Platti. These albums are just the tip of the iceberg and are just a handful of our celebrated favourites at Qobuz.

Left Field Favourites

No ‘Best Of’ list at Qobuz is complete without our favourite section, the left field favourites. If you’ve dabbled in the mainstream releases on this list and are looking for a deep dive into the unknown, the Qobuz team is here to help. Diving straight in with a band that are beyond definition is Gentle Stranger’s sophomore release Upon Return, which can only be described as completely indescribable. In the funkadelic world music scene we had YIN YIN’s The Age of Aquarius, on the indie side of world we had Tim Bernardes’ Mil Coisas Invisíveis and in the more metalcore scene we had Bloodywood’s Rakshak. For the electronic fans looking for something new, definitely check out Hudson Mohawke’s Cry Sugar, Carmen Villain’s Only Love From Now On or Nosaj Thing’s Continua. Taking electronica and merging it with jazz we had The Comet Is Coming with Hyper-Dimensional Expansion Beam, on the flip side, taking experimental hip-hop and merging it with jazz we had Moor Mother’s Jazz Codes, or if new-jazz is more your style, check out the incredible new album by Fazer (Plex). For neo-classical fans, Max Richter’s The New Four Seasons - Vivaldi Recomposed (2022) is unmissable, as is Caroline Shaw and the Attacca Quartet’s Evergreen. Other favourites from the Qobuz team include Sinead O’Brien (Time Bend and Break the Bower), Jockstrap (I Love You Jennifer B), Jesca Hoop (Order of Romance), Marina Herlop (Pripyat), Arve Henriksen & Kjetil Husebø (Sequential Stream) and Alabaster DePlume (GOLD).

PHEW! What a list! We are certain that there is enough music here to carry you into 2023 until we start our Best of 2023 predictions. And if you’re hungry for more, you can always listen to our Best of 2022 Playlist with over 100 tracks hand-picked by our team of music experts.