Three Albums: 2022

A few of my favourite albums.

Beth Orton: Weather Alive

Sublime sounds, beautiful tunes, lovely playing — including drummer Tom Skinner of Sons of Kemet and The Smile.

Apple Music · Spotify

Tomberlin: i don’t know who needs to hear this…

An album of consistent pleasures; I found myself coming back to it often. Choice lyric: “You paid for lies to be made truth / Does that fuck with you?” You know who you are.

Apple Music · Spotify

Oren Ambarchi, Johan Berthling, Andreas Werliin: Ghosted

Hypnotic.

Apple Music · Spotify

See also: 2020, 2021, 2023.

Three Tracks: 2022

These were a few of my favourite tracks.

The Smile: Thin Thing (Live at Montreaux Jazz Festival)

Radiohead is one of my all-time favourite bands, but for some reason The Smile’s A Light for Attracting Attention never quite grabbed me. After I saw them live (Seattle, December), I wondered if a reason might have been that, while Radiohead works (worked?) out songs live, often over the course of many years, A Light was a “pandemic album.” The track “Skrting on the Surface” was a candidate for this list, being perhaps the closest thing to a Radiohead track we’re ever again likely to get; but in performance everything came alive and “Thin Thing” was one of the highlights. The interplay of Yorke’s bass and Greenwood’s guitar at 3:12 is just so great.

“And then, she’ll steal the photos / From your phone.”

Apple Music · Spotify

Beth Orton: Weather Alive

Long ago, I had a copy of Orton’s Trailer Park; but I lost track of her over the years. The Pitchfork review of her new album prompted me to have another listen, and the album one of my favourites of the year; the title track is a standout. She and her band were great live in Vancouver in November.

“Almost makes me wanna cry / The weather’s so beautiful outside.”

Apple Music · Spotify

King Hannah: It’s Me And You, Kid

How many years has it been now that most of the best rock tracks are by women? Well, in this case a female vocalist. Anyway, a simple but grand pleasure.

Apple Music · Spotify

See also 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2023.