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Sputnikmusic Staff’s Q4 Playlist 2022

Welcome to our fourth installment for our 2022 quarterly playlist! Feel free to jam the playlist below while reading what our writers had to say about each selection. Tell us what your favorites are in the comments, as well as any new artists you may have discovered here — or, alternatively, tell us what we missed! Thanks for reading/listening, and stay tuned for the cumulative 2022 playlist later this week and the Community’s Top 50 LPs (and Top 10 EPs/Live Albums/Compilations) of 2022 next week!

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Tracklist:

16 – “The Floor Wins”
Into Dust

The sludge metal veterans returned this year with a brand new, uncanny full length that further explores the misery, deception and sad realities of American life. Centerpiece “The Floor Wins” peeks into the ugly downward spiral of drug addiction that haunts the country right now. The scorching riffs and aggressive vocals create a suffocating atmosphere that works really well with the lyrical content. –Raul Stanciu

The 1975 – “Wintering”
Being Funny in a Foreign Language

I’m not exactly a fan of The 1975 in general for plenty of reasons that many of this music site could articulate. “Wintering” doesn’t really set itself apart from all my gripes about the band, but for whatever reason, it’s latched on to my subconscious in a compelling way. A Christmas song for our times, of sorts — you can mock the lyrics all you like — but they end up hitting right. Maybe it’s just that Matty Healy repeatedly sings some variation of “I’ll be home on the 23rd” over a subtly catchy melody throughout this choon, and sure enough, my wife and I met up with some of my relatives on the 23rd, with that evening finding us sitting in front of a roaring fire, sipping drinks and toasting s’mores, with only the glaring lack of chestnuts roasting leaving the scene incomplete. Happy Holidays to all of Sput! –Sunnyvale

Birds in Row – “Daltonians”
Gris Klein

Fine. You were right. Birds in Row are very quite good. Don’t call me. –AsleepInTheBack

Bonny Light Horseman – “Someone to Weep for Me”
Rolling Golden Holy

Bonny Light Horseman, two albums in, appear to be destined to be a “songs band” rather than an “albums band”. While this is a little bit of a bummer, the saving grace is that they’ll still leave behind a legacy of a handful of indie folk bangers. “Someone To Weep For Me” is perhaps the best example from the group’s sophomore effort, deriving a classic feel not only from its effortless sense of melody, but also its earnest and open-hearted historical narrative. Demanding a sing-along and perhaps a tear in the eye after one too many, a song like this will always have its place. –Sunnyvale

Brutus (BE) – “Victoria”
Unison Life

Aside from being the name of an English Queen, “Victory” in Spanish, and maybe the nickname of some malware about to be released in 2023 to turn our PCs and Macs into toasters, “Victory” is also the name of Belgian post hardcore trio Brutus’ latest full-frontal emo attack in 2022. What an amazing track, for the love of Belgian chocolate. Drummer/screamer Stefanie’s performance on this song squeezes your lungs and pinches your pelvis, the pain in that voice is as real as life itself, and that’s not a surprise coming from a band that needs no tricks to shatter your very soul. Brutus remain peaking. –Dewinged

Cloud Rat – “Babahaz”
Thresholds

Just a friendly reminder, before the Community’s Top 50 list inevitably gets it wrong: Cloud Rat released the best grindcore record of 2022. Not Wormrot, not Knoll, not [insert your favourite band here]. Cloud Rat. Don’t believe me? Jam “Babahaz”. –AsleepInTheBack

Disillusion – “Driftwood”
Ayam

Within Ayam‘s context (after the barn-burners that are “Am Abgrund” and “Tormento” and just before the epic “Abide the Storm”) “Driftwood” is a soothing listen that hits an extremely precise sweet spot of melodic, dark, and ethereal sounds. Ayam is a logical progression from 2019’s The Liberation, although Jens Bogren’s influence (given his work with Katatonia, Opeth, Moonspell, et al.) helps imbue songs like “Driftwood” with pensive melancholy. –Jom

Elder (USA-MA) – “Merged in Dreams – Ne Plus Ultra”
Innate Passage

Elder dove headfirst into progressive rock territory, with each tune on their latest LP ending up an odyssey in itself. Perhaps the most rewarding of them is “Merged in Dreams -Ne Plus Ultra” and its smooth, labyrinthine melodies. Like a rollercoaster ride, the track is full of intense riffs and meandering detours. It is beautifully structured, offering everything you can wish from them. –Raul Stanciu

Gatherers – “Ad Nauseum, I Drown”
” ( mutilator. ) “

Slightly bending the rules in that this dropped as a single in 2020, but ” ( mutilator. ) “ is the 2000s-post-hardcore worship I didn’t know I needed. However, songs like “Boxcutter” and “Last Days Numbered on a Rotary Dial” are more than just fresh coats of paint, and closer “Twelve Omaha Solemn Certainty” is an enticing portent of what might be next. –Jom

Ghost Funk Orchestra – “Quiet Places”
A New Kind of Love

It’s important to judge covers by their books, yes, and also bands by their names! When I saw a band named “Ghost Funk Orchestra” I was expecting excellence, spooky tunes and just class all around, and let me tell you, I was 90% right. GFO have all the ingredients to become an immediate wallet burst in future releases for me. but I also predict that a song like “Quiet Places” is just the tip of the sax, while the rest is yet to come into the light. If you like your r&b with a stream of cognac while enjoying the smoke of a good ol’ Cohiba in the dark corners of a Chicago bar in the ’50s, you’ve come to the right place. –Dewinged

Girih – “The Key”
Ikigai

Many of post-rock’s usual suspects released new material this year, so I’d like to highlight this New Hampshire-based trio’s sophomore effort. 2022 has been an extremely somber year, and no matter which loosely-translated definition of Ikigai you use, I’m not certain I’ll lead a life I expected or otherwise hoped for. Music is always a helpful companion, though, especially instrumental-driven records that accompany you on your journey. While I enjoy the distortion-laden chugfest heard in “The Ring” very much, it’s “The Key” that makes for a cathartic listen. As much as the genre is maligned for diminishing returns, I’m a sucker for well-crafted percussion, and the dynamics Jeremy Dingman incorporates across the snare, toms, and cymbals envelopes you. –Jom

Goat – “Under No Nation”
Oh Death

My favorite tribe of demi-gods and weirdos, hailing from the depths of Sweden, revealed what was coming for them this year in 2021’s compilation Headsoup (which I learned not long ago it is the title of a Rolling Stones song? Didn’t see that coming, to be honest). Anyway, a couple of tracks on that comp heralded what was going to be Goat’s very much awaited return with new music this year, and they fulfilled that promise, but not fully delivering. Oh Death, for sure, is an album that sees them delving deeper on their psychedelics and instrumentals but it also feels like they have been scratching and collecting scraps from a dry well. Fortunately, they still go(a)t it — oh yes, they do — and this track is exactly the kind of groove I was expecting from them. –Dewinged

Goodfight – “Aqua Gorilla”
Goodfight

I listened to Danielson’s Ships (2006) for the first time this past summer at the Newark Airport and then a million times over in Los Angeles; I noticed how some music is so good it convinces you that all of the very best music is somehow fundamentally like it. Ecstasy and catharsis are the name of the game both on Ships (which rips) and on “Aqua Gorilla”, the raucous and consistently surprising jangle-pop anthem from the new Goodfight album, you’re lifted to such heights by the clarion guitars (there must be forty of them) and dense weave of vocalists (there must be fifty) yelling “YEAH THIS NIGHTMARE’S FINALLY OVER” that you wonder if the créme of all pop music is of necessity this jubilant. Probably not, breadth of experience and all that — but you should get up and dance anyhow. –robertsona

Honey Harper – “Heaven Knows I Won’t Be There”
Honey Harper & The Infinite Sky

Honey Harper’s hypnotic brand of country music took another step forward on 2022’s Honey Harper and the Infinite Sky, and the penultimate “Heaven Knows I Won’t Be There” ensures that the album leaves a beautiful impression upon listeners. The song swells with stunning harmonies and backing vocals, whisking you away to an alternate universe… y’know, as Honey Harper always seems to. Don’t let this absolute daydream pass you by. –Sowing

Honey Harper – “The World Moves”
Honey Harper & The Infinite Sky

Honey Harper may have struggled to meet the sky-high expectations promoted by the brilliance of debut Starmaker, but songs like “The World Moves” on the follow-up still make obvious the artist’s remarkable talent. Relatively simple in structure, this wonderfully sighing country ballad is as upfront in its depressing beauty as any tune to come out this year. A stunner from the first listen. –Sunnyvale

Jambinai – “From the Place Been Erased”
Apparition

The collaboration between Jambinai and singer sunwoojunga makes for one gorgeous yet haunting moment on their latest EP. The tension created by the blend of traditional Korean instruments alongside post rock touches is gently relieved by lovely, lush vocals. The group has been honing their chemistry and approach and this song is one of their finest so far. –Raul Stanciu

Lexie Liu – “Magician”
MAGICIAN

Picking a single track from Lexie Liu’s eleventh-hour knockout in the sparsely-contested tussle for 2022’s finest pop record is a grim task, but “MAGICIAN”‘s synthed-up fireworks fill the slot comfortably enough. What a smash – what a chorus! Liu’s vocal acrobatics ground themselves in a Gaga-esque aside so sneaky positioned you’ll ask yourself whether you misheard on first listen (you bet I want that magic) I’m also fairly certain I wrote something to the exact same effect last time I platformed Liu for this feature, but she is one of the few artists in the game who still invests in a good second-verse switch-up rather than recycling her first and oh boy, does it the spot. I saw an article the other day about how TikTok is apparently squeezing the bridge out of pop music and, I dunno, not on this dancefloor honey. Banger. –JohnnyoftheWell

Little Simz – “Gorilla”
NO THANK YOU

Four minutes of Big Simbi looking for strained half rhymes to “gorilla”. What more could you possibly want from a song? –BlushfulHippocrene

Massa Nera – “April 7th”
Derramar | Querer | Borrar

Sputnik is a sacred haven for the kind of honeybadger skramz that swings like a frenzied pendulum back and forth between arrhythmic mania and impromptu grooves that just make you wanna stomp on those stupid stray emotions and rampaging anxieties. Massa Neras’s latest is full of the good stuff and “April 7th” is a deliciously violent flashpoint: scream to it, dance to it. –JohnnyoftheWell

Runnner – “i only sing about food”
Like Dying Stars, We’re Reaching Out

Like Pinegrove by way of (late) Bon Iver, only far better and way more immediate than that description suggests. –BlushfulHippocrene

Seiko Oomori – “最後のTATTOO”
超天獄 (CHO TENGOKU)

A clear departure from the effusive affirmations of her 2020 triumph Kintsugi, Seiko Oomori’s latest record is a wilfully haphazard collection of headstrong volatilities, many of which are conveniently fantastic. “最後のTATTOO” is a sardonic-as-horsepiss ode to living your best life under the weight of all the stupid, stupid shit you’ve done, and the amount of bite lurking behind its breathy, gleefully desyncronised double-tracked vocals makes me fantasise splitting a leisurely Sunday afternoon between ferociously day-drinking and smashing crates filled with.second-hand copies of the The Bends Crash Bandicoot-style. Iconic vitriolic daydream music at its finest. –JohnnyoftheWell

Smidley – “In Poor Taste”
Here Comes The Devil

Foxing’s frontman Conor Murphy delivers perhaps his finest vocal performance ever on this brooding track, a depressing account of selfishness and death that is both honest and self-deprecating. It’s arguably the most notable of several highlights on Smidley’s seamless and low-key spooky Here Comes The Devil, so if you enjoy this track, do yourself a favor and check out the full LP. –Sowing

The Smith Street Band – “Everyone is Lying to You for Money”
Life After Football

Oh, what’s that? You thought you’d finally extracted this relentless earworm from noggin? Soz. –AsleepInTheBack

SZA – “Kill Bill”
SOS

Funnily enough, “Kill Bill” — in which SZA fantasises about killing her ex — is SOS at its most focussed. That isn’t a slight — a few of you will disagree, but I think part of the magic of SOS is its sprawling tracklist, the messiness of it all. Still, it’s nice to be reminded what made us fall in love with SZA in the first place — the singer’s clear-headed approach to songwriting, a directness that not once compromises on catchiness or memorability. “Kill Bill” is both these things, catchy and memorable; like the rest of SOS, it’s SZA at her finest, and I’d gladly dance on that hill. –BlushfulHippocrene

Wild Pink – “ILYSM”
ILYSM

As if Wild Pink’s ILYSM wasn’t already overlooked enough as one of the most breathtakingly gorgeous folk albums of the last five years, the title track “ILYSM” is somehow even more ignored despite being the best song on the record. For whatever reason, listeners seem to be turned off by the “I love you so much” chants that kick off the track, somehow failing to witness the numerous beautiful ways in which it subsequently transforms. Between its warm fuzzy guitars, elaborate song structure, and heartfelt lyrics, this is one of the year’s standout moments. –Sowing

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Participating staff writers:

AsleepInTheBack | BlushfulHippocrene | Dewinged | insomniac15 | JohnnyoftheWell | Jom | robertsona | Sowing | Sunnyvale