As unpredictable as the world is, circa 2022, it's nice to know that there are still some things we can count on. Music, for example. Even if we don't know the specifics (mostly, what's going to deliver that certain je ne sais quois for us and what isn't?), music still finds a way. Chaos and uncertainty be damned, bands will keep forming, songs will keep being written, music will keep being recorded. It will keep moving us and making us move, bringing us good songs (sometimes great) to balance out bad days, and helping us make human connections in a world often defined by division.
All of that said, the first six months of 2022 has been an incredibly strong time for recorded music by any measure. We've seen familiar names returning with some of their best work; hyped new artists proving that they're perhaps worth all of the buzz after all; and names we'd never heard before the year started. Are we approaching something like normalcy yet? Who knows? Here we are gathered together again, halfway through another year, to take stock of the music we've heard so far. What's surprised us? What's delighted us? What's grabbed us and wouldn't let go?
We once again asked our staff about their favorite releases (full length albums or EPs) of the year so far – what in 2022 has stood out, grabbed and/or moved them most?
Demi Harvey, Digital and Social Media Editor/Host
Mitski/ Laurel Hell
Ravyn Lenae / HYPNOS
Syd / Broken Hearts Club
Charlie XCX / CRASH
Bad Bunny / Un Verano Sin Ti
Alisha Sweeney, Host/Local Music Director
Angel Olsen / Big Time
Bluebook / Optimistic Voices
Hurray for the Riff Raff / Life on Earth
Sharon Van Etten / We've Been Going About This All Wrong
Wet Leg / Wet Leg
Willobee Carlan, Program Director
King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard / Omnium Gatherum
Spoon / Lucifer on the Sofa
Wet Leg / Wet Leg
Bartees Strange / Farm to Table
Sharon Van Etten / We've Been Going About This All Wrong
Jessi Whitten, Host
Muna / Muna
Omar Apollo / Ivory
Mitski / Laurel Hell
Sharon Van Etten / We've Been Going About This All Wrong
Harry Styles / Harry's House
Zach, Producer/Weekend Host
Spoon / Lucifer on the Sofa
Eels / Extreme Witchcraft
Jack White / Fear of the Dawn
Bob Moses / The Silence in Between
Neoma / Hyperreal
Bruce Trujillo, Especial/Host
Combo Chimbita / Iré
Ritmo Cascabel / Ritmo Cascabel
Wet Leg / Wet Leg
Toro y Moi / Mahal
Kikagaku Moyo / Kumoyo Island
Jeremy Petersen, Morning Host/Producer
Mattiel / Georgia Gothic
Stars / From Capelton Hill
Spoon / Lucifer on the Sofa
Beach House / Once Twice Melody
The Smile / A Light for Attracting Attention
Jason Thomas, Host/Music Director
Momma / Household Name
Fontaines D.C. / Skinty Fia
Plato III / The Devil Has Texas
Beach House / Once Twice Melody
Belle & Sebastian / A Bit of Previous
