We don't know when it happened or how, but 2022 is half way done. Time truly does fly when the world is routinely crumbling into chaos, huh?
Already seeing some huge release, the contenders for album and song of the year are stacking up into stiff competition. Seeing the release of some of the most heavily anticipated albums of the year, 2022 is already a big one for music. Wrapping up the first half, here are the Gigwise team's picks for our favourite songs of the year (so far)...
Jack White - 'Hi-De-Ho'
'Hi-De-Ho' is a brilliant example of how, even after decades, artists can still produce amazing quality tracks without faltering or swerving too far from their roots. The collaboration with rapper Q-Tip is a chaotic amalgamation of incredible bass lines and whacky lyricism that make for a ridiculously catchy cut. (Lana Williams)
Foals - '2am'
Foals made a massive return this year with an album focused on "parties, club nights and being drunk on the bus at 2am trying to get home". No record is more perfect for the first supposedly post-Covid summer. '2am' remains the standout track, a huge floor-filler that harkens back to the traditional Yannis Philippakis lyrical sensibilities, but leans itself into a whimsical dance party tune that will inevitably change every club's indie night forever. From catchy riffs, huge solos and a massive breakdown led by Philippakis' somehow both rough and smooth vocals, '2am' is the earworm of 2022. (David Roskin)
Confidence Man - 'Luvin U Is Easy'
The best track from Confidence Man's colourful sophomore album TILT, 'Luvin U Is Easy' radiates a beautiful, shimmery glow. Its sound is like the taste of a cool cider on the beach on a beautiful summery day, and its lyrics sound like a warm hug. The chorus is delightful; the beat is infectious...it's a perfect pop song. (Alfie Verity)
Bob Vylan - 'Take That'
Bob Vylan Presents The Price of Life is a fantastic album as a whole, but 'Take That' stands out from the very first listen. The sample of 'Cubik' from acid house legends 808 State is an inspired choice and the lyrics are quintessentially Vylan, taking aim at everyone from Elvis to Churchill, as well as gammon and the government. (Adam England)
Suki Waterhouse - 'Bullshit on the Internet'
Suki's vocals are so reminiscent of '60s singers like Jane Birkin or Marianne Faithful, but the lyrics and lighter beats on 'Bullshit on the Internet' inject a dose of modern pop I always crave. I’ve played it first thing every morning to kickstart my main character moment. (Kara Douglas)
Courting - 'Loaded'
'Loaded' is a rowdy celebration of pop music twisted with absurdism and auto-tune. A boisterous hyperpop rock song held together with clanging guitars, metallic percussion and lyrics about both gentrification and pop stardom, it’s an expansion on what always distinguished Courting as one of the better post-punk bands. Their astute wit when observing modern life and imagining dystopian futures, plus the visionary techniques they apply to their ever-evolving sound has long foreshadowed their unsettledness within their assigned genre; the avant-garde 'Loaded' confirms their departure. It’s weird, unexpected and hilarious — but mostly, it’s so, so much fun. (Tilly Foulkes)
ROSALÍA - 'SAOKO'
Opening Spanish singer-songwriter Rosalía's latest album MOTOMAMI, 'SAOKO' is a highlight reel of sonics, sounds and textures we're about to hear across the album's entire 16-tracks. It's comparable to jumping on a high-speed jet ski, taking you in each and every direction simultaneously, unexpectedly leaping from one style to another. From its opening ever-rising pitched vocals to its slow, jazz-style piano conclusion, it's a track that tells you everything you know about the album and ROSALÍA as a whole. It pulls you back in again and again, and you find yourself learning something new from it every time. Captivating, even if you have no idea what is actually being said… (Cailean Coffey)
Fit For A King - 'Reaper'
With moshable grooves, hellish riffs and back-breaking bass spins, oh and a breakdown that will make you pull a disgusted face in the best possible way, Fit For A King have dropped the best metalcore single of 2022 with 'Reaper'. Marking the band's return since their 2020 album The Path, Fit For A King have come back with an almighty earth-shattering bang, as 'Reaper' will leave you feeling like you have just been hit with thunder, lightning and boulder after bouder for three minutes and 19 seconds straight. (Katie Conway-Flood)
Let's Eat Grandma - 'Happy New Year'
Although released right back at the start of 2022 on 1 January, we've yet to hear a song that matches the gleeful euphoria of the synth-pop duo's celebratory single, from third album Two Ribbons. Possessing the ability to pull you back out of even the lowest of moods, it's a hugely uplifting track about enduring friendship and fresh starts that is guaranteed to make you smile. (Karl Blakesley)
False Heads – 'Thick Skin'
False Heads have been gearing up for the release of their second album and this latest single is an exciting sneak peek into a much more mature sound. It’s a no-frills, straight-to-the point track that packs a lot of energy and finesse into a short runtime, with a distinctive opening riff setting the tone for an addictive refrain and biting grunge vocals. It feels classic and modern at the same time, sharp-focused and with a broad sound that works perfectly well with the intense lyrics. (Chiara Strazzulla)
Big Thief — 'The Only Place'
While Adrienne Lenker’s lyrics can often be described as abstract and old-timey folk poetry, this track (and the album it’s on) adds a futurist aspect to it and the inescapable gentleness of Big Thief’s sound and message within the text break all possible emotional barriers. 'The Only Place' is a seemingly simple song, which is why you don’t even notice how, on such words as “We’d ride the bend from source to mouth, I want a friend from north to south”, your eyes start tearing up. (Aleksandr Smirnov)
Nilüfer Yanya - 'midnight sun'
Introspective Radiohead-style guitar over trip-hop percussion and Yanya's ethereal vocals, 'midnight sun' is an absorbing track which builds to an epic crescendo of chanting and crunching, grunge guitars. The song demands multiple listens and is the high point from one of the albums of the year. (Andrew Belt)
Chappell Roan - 'Naked in Manhattan'
2022 is the year of the bimbos and the big pop girlies, and the return of Chappell Roan has those bases well and truly covered. With ‘Naked in Manhattan’ and ‘My Kink Is Karma’ both being released in the first half of this year, it seems set to be a huge one for Chappell and I’m very much on board. Campy, huge and joyously silly, ‘Naked in Manhattan’ has soundtracked all my hot girl walks so far this year and I’m still not sick of it. (Lucy Harbron)
Ethel Cain - 'Strangers'
Upon the release of her American epic of a debut Preacher's Daughter, Ethel Cain immediately became a contender for both the year's most exciting newcomer and for album of 2022. With the record-closing 'Strangers', she distilled what makes this small town artist such a spine-tingling storyteller. Interminable layers of guitars, treated vocals and various synths and strings create a desert swell of emotion crowned by Ethel's beautiful voice and, on 'Strangers', the best, most addictive, most emotional melody on the record. Not to mention the stirring electric guitar section that'll have you widening your eyes in awe. Ernest Hemingway could never. (Jessie Atkinson)
Listen to our full playlist here:
