HYLI - Patrick's Best of 2022 (The Not-Metal One)

Patrick's favorite albums from 2022

I love music. In 2022, I feel like music was Quite Good. This is the first year in quite a while where it felt like there was a solid handful of albums that I really Loved, which is understandable given the state of the world the last couple of years prior. People started touring again, I went to some shows, and found out about a bunch of bands I didn’t know previously. That shit rocks, it’s the best. In 2022, I turned 33. Here are my 33 favorite albums of 2022. I included a playlist, as well, with my absolutely number One favorite song of the year, Dazy and Militarie Gun’s “Pressure Cooker,” which was a one-off single and not on an album, and a song that I myself released on an EP (Andy: EPOTY). Get over it. It’s fine. Hope you enjoy these albums that I loved and these songs. And thanks so much for reading HYLI this year. We started this near the end of January and I’m shocked it’s gotten the response it has. Y’all rock.

I’m gonna group the bottom of this list in batches of five, so this whole thing isn’t a billion words long, and then do the top 13 individually. I hope that’s okay with you. Without any further bullshitting, here it is.

Patrick’s AOTY List 2k22:

33. Dawes - Misadventures of a Doomscroller

32. Wet Leg - Wet Leg

31. The Mars Volta - The Mars Volta

30. Band of Horses - Things Are Great

29. Mindforce - New Lords

Patrick: A weird little batch here. Some bands I’ve loved for a long time with their best stuff in years (Dawes; The Mars Volta; Band of Horses) and some new discoveries for me (Wet Leg; Mindforce). Dawes had been a little sleepy for me for a while, with their brand of folk-ish rock getting a little stale, but they added some Steely Dan (Andy: ugh) to the sound here and, as I stated, I’m 33 now so that is appealing to me. The Mars Volta went about as close to pop as those little freaks could go and Band of Horses simply Wrote Good Songs again. Wet Leg was everyone’s favorite new band in 2022 because they simply Rock and write fun songs. What more do you need? Mindforce’s entire album is less than 20 minutes and maybe the most fun “I’m driving to the movie theater, what will take up the entire drive?” album. So many riffs.

Andy: Band of Horses stink man. They simply write Stinky Songs. Not sorry. The Dawes song was fun as heck tho. Where was this rec this year (Patrick: you literally just said ‘ugh’ about them adding Steely Dan to the sound, sorry)? Wet Leg grew on me with each listen. That is how you do fun rock. I had never heard Mindforce and that was a great song. I’ll check them out. Mars Volta is fun as always.

28. Warpaint - Radiate Like This

27. Carly Rae Jepsen - The Loneliest Time

26. Pusha T - It’s Almost Dry

25. 156/Silence - Narrative

24. Mo Troper - MTV

Patrick: Andy is gonna have a full-blown meltdown here that I put his album of the year at #25 on my list, instead of being positive and thinking it’s cool that we bonded over a good album being very good. Whatever. That band rocks. They injected some industrial elements and some dynamics into the sound which made it one of my favorite heavy releases of the year. Carly and Pusha T are massive stars that keep churning out good songs. Warpaint is an ultimate Vibes Band that I don’t think is particularly exciting unless I’m in a specific mood, but when that mood hits, it’s the best shit possible. Mo Troper wrote some more power-pop shit that rocks my world, what a fucking songwriter, “I Fall Into Her Arms” is about as good as music gets.

Andy: We didn’t bond over a good album being very good because I had to basically bully Patrick into listening to it. Still, good on you for including a great album on your list. Really stands out in this group of five because 156 and Mo Troper are just leagues better than the other three. Mo was fun as heck. Do all of their songs sound like that? A great combo of good music with some wacky vocals which I love. Warpaint is a good song on reflection. Actually, I liked Pusha T’s song cause it reminded me of a song that would have been on the Wild Wild West soundtrack which included such hits as “Wild Wild West” by Will Smith," “Bad Guys Always Die" by Dr. Dre and Eminem, and “I’m Wanted” by Kel Spencer. Why is that album not on any streaming service? What gives (Patrick: call your congressman)?

23. Pool Kids - Pool Kids

22. Madison Cunningham - Revealer

21. Spoon - Lucifer on the Sofa

20. Deadbody - The Requiem

19. Cave In - Heavy Pendulum

Patrick: Several of these are albums that came out pretty early in the year, that fell on the list a bit through nothing other than the insane amount of albums that came out after them. “Arms Length” by Pool Kids is one of the tracks of the year (Andy: can confirm, also agree) and my favorite song off of probably my favorite Emo album this year; Madison Cunningham is one of my favorite discoveries of the year, an absolutely Sick guitar tone; Spoon is a band I feel I’ve loved all of my life and this is one of their best in a few releases; Deadbody is a new project from old metal and hardcore people and it fucking Shreds, some of the sickest riffs this year; Cave In is Cave In - they added a new member (Converge’s Nate Newton) and released an insanely good record that’s like if Alice in Chains got heavier and proggier. Who doesn’t want that?

Andy: Pool Kids, man. Came out of nowhere for me thanks to our friend Spencer and really has worked its way up the AOTY for me in just a few short weeks. Fun band man. “Arm’s Length” is a great, great song. The Madison Cunningham song on the playlist does it for me. I wonder if the rest of the album would? Good song. I’m not really here for Spoon, sorry. Deadbody is good metal, thanks. So is Cave In, thanks.

18. The Beths - Experts in a Dying Field

17. The Smile - A Light for Attracting Attention

16. Wild Pink - ILYSM

15. Momma - Household Name

14. Perspective, a Lovely Hand to Hold - Phantasmagorialand

Patrick: We’re really cooking with gas, now. I guess I probably could have just done a Top 18 Albums list with this bunch on down, but I live for a Bit (Andy: bits are life). The Beths and Wild Pink both took big steps up after (somewhat) disappointing albums previous to this year’s releases, with The Beths getting hookier (Andy: seems like a good thing) and Wild Pink getting heavier (Andy: seems like a great thing). The Smile is Basically Radiohead so it seems weird to me this album is in the teens of this list instead of the top 5, but that’s more respect to the other albums this year than a diss of an album I really enjoy. Momma dropped a top 5 song this year (shoutout “Speeding 72” hive and shoutout this tweet). PALHTH broke up but dropped a final album that is honestly pretty mesmerizing and feels more cinematic than a lot of actual movies that I enjoyed this year. What an album.

Andy: The Beths seem up my alley in a way where it is ‘not what I’m normally into’ but have an immediate connection with, similar to Pool Kids, so I was very here for that song. The Smile was firmly good but not great, but I’m also not the biggest ‘Radiohead’ guy so take my opinion as nothing. You told me Wild Pink got heavier but I’m not sure I believe you. Momma was great. It has basically nothing I normally enjoy but I connected with it immediately. Good song. PALHTH was great. I love the baller move of breaking up and dropping a “great” album. Always go out on top.

The Top 13 Is Here:

13. Kiwi Jr. - Chopper

Patrick: Did you ever want The Strokes to sound more like Guided By Voices? Is such a thing possible? This album delivers on that premise. So many fucking hooks, such great guitar lines, and amazing synth shit. What a band.

Andy: Didn’t really do much for me. Bit snoozy especially after some of the fun songs we just discussed.

12. Spiritualized - Everything Was Beautiful

Patrick: I would be so ridiculously satisfied if J. Spaceman just wanted to drop an album like this and 2018’s And Nothing Hurt every four years or so. I never thought this dude would continue making music well into his 50s because it seemed like, for a while, he wouldn’t make it to his 50s. I’m so glad he did. What the fuck this rocks.

Andy: So this is definitely a Pat song and definitely not an Andy song (Patrick: also a Blanchette song). This is the same band that did Ladies and Gentlemen We Are Floating in Space? I was into that album but not super into this song.

11. The Tisburys - Exile on Main Street

Patrick: It’s so fucked up that The Rolling Stones stole the name of their album from this classic. Tyler Tisbury should sue. Good band + good songs, Go Birds.

Andy: This is fun rock. It is so close to being bad for me but it just wasn’t? I really enjoyed it. I’ll check out the full album. (Patrick: I promise you, you’re allowed to compliment a song without being a weirdo about it lol) (Andy: why would I do that)

10. Drug Church - Hygiene

Patrick: Music by dirtbags, for dirtbags. Bang your head, dweebs.

Andy: If I must.

9. The Berries - High Flying Man

Patrick: I didn’t particularly love the Kurt Vile album from this year, so this record by The Berries acted as my replacement. Just really good indie-rock with subtle hints of classic rock and Parquet Courts-leaning folk/country/whatever thrown in. Love a guitar solo.

Andy: It took me a few listens to “get” this but I’ve been enjoying it. Do you think there is a band named after every berry and this is the best of all of those berry bands?

8. Arctic Monkeys - The Car

Patrick: Consider not taking yourself so seriously for the first time in your boring life and just enjoy some British dude honking away on some synths while trying to sound like James Bond.

Andy: honking.

7. Birds in Row - Gris Klein

Patrick: I full-on love this shit, best heavy album of the year, insane riffs and incredible vocals. Idk if I should be calling this “hardcore” necessarily, but if that tag fits, it’s my favorite hardcore album in some years.

Andy: Man. Very good song. I wonder if I should have put this on my end-of-year list. I just didn’t listen to it enough. It is an honorable mention for sure. Great band, great song (Patrick: what a shocking surprise that the only song Andy is normal about is the hardcore one).

6. Father John Misty - Chloe and the Next 20th Century

Patrick: A fine pairing with the Arctic Monkeys album if your goal is to provoke the absolute most annoying people online. “Buddy’s Rendezvous” has no reason to be as beautiful as it is. Perfect tune.

Andy: I’m just here so I won’t get fined.

5. Dry Cleaning - Stumpwork

Patrick: I never in a million years thought that, on their second album, Dry Cleaning would get more melodic. I thought those little freaks were only gonna get freakier. I’m so glad they decided to write hooks, though, because they’re fantastic at it. Gary Ashbyyyyyyyy.

Andy: This sounds like it came out in the 80s are you sure it was released in 2022?

4. Dazy - OUTOFBODY

Patrick: Dazy wrote the Song of the Year. It isn’t on this album but this album also has good songs. Great ones, in fact, too. Pressure Cooker Got Me Runnin, Pressure Cooker Got Me Runnin, Pressure Cooker Got Me Runnin, Pressure Cooker Got Me Runnin Out (God Damn). I love Dazy. James can write hooks like nobody’s business and the full length showed a willingness to expand out from only writing Bangers and showing a softer side too and I think that’s nice.

Andy: I can confirm that Pat is again correct that “Pressure Cooker” is a great song. “Motionless Parade” is also good. I feel like this would be a great band to see live.

3. MJ Lenderman - Boat Songs

Patrick: Only one album this year references Michael Jordan, Jackass, and professional wrestling. If that weren’t enough, only one does it while sounding like the sickest take on Neil Young-type shit since A Star is Born (RIP Jackson Maine). What an album. Thank you, Mr. Lender Man.

Andy: This band showed up in our personal group chat end-of-the-year song list and was one of my favorites. The two songs I’ve heard are just the definition of don’t-give-a-shit-lets-have-fun. I’m definitely checking them out. Give me more.

2. Alvvays - Blue Rev

Patrick: Do you like My Bloody Valentine? What if their music was actually blindingly catchy, as well as being noisy and loud as hell? Would be my AOTY in basically any other year it was released. Perfect album.

Andy: Really suffered after the goliath that was MJ Lenderman.

1. Gang of Youths - Angel in Realtime.

Patrick: Blue Rev is a perfect album. Angel in Realtime. is not. There are a handful of songs on this album that do next to nothing for me and that I skip every time I listen to this album. Which is to say, multiple times a week. Nothing has had staying power like this, for me. Nothing else has made me CRY TEARS listening to it this year. I might be biased, but this is a big one for the Lost Parents Club. “We’re thinking of children, and I wish you could meet them. In a way it’ll feel like, you were an angel in real time.” I actually had a tear well up typing this into my fucking laptop. Come on, man. It also has bops that feel like Gaslight Anthem going full U2 but in a way that doesn’t sound as terrible as it does reading this back. Incredible singing, incredible guitar, lyrics that provoke an emotional response out of me when I type them back after pulling them up on Genius dot com. That’s music, folks. That’s the shit I Love.

Andy: I non-sarcastically love that this album means so much to you. Having connections to albums like that isn’t common for me so it is always great when I see it happen to other people. I touched on my opinion of this album back in Jun when we did our mid-year picks so if you want to read my thoughts there you can.

Thanks to everyone for reading this and all of the other HYLI stuff this year. I love Andy and I love him driving me up the fucking wall with metal (Andy: love you.) I’m glad it’s provided some entertainment for y’all this year because it certainly has entertained me. We’ll be back next year. Hope You Like It.