Welcome…

Those not new to Tracksuite’s Best Albums blog will know that this list isn’t a top 50 or top 100, there is no pre-determined ranking to the albums in this list other than those released in the year that 100% deserve to be here. Only those considered by Tracksuite to be complete works with no filler sonic excellence make it in. This year there are 13 - unlucky for some but not for you dear reader/listener, you are in exactly the right place.

THE MYSTERINES - REELING

Taken in release order, first up is Reeling by The Mysterines. These songs grabbed me early and have not let go. There’s more than a little smattering of 90s nostalgic sound in quite a lot of what I have loved this year. What can I say, it was my defining era. And The Mysterines have got a 90s edge to them as sharp as a pocket blade. Exquisitely produced hot and heavy riffs, gothic drama and grunge punk attitude. There’s little can prepare you for the utter power of Lia Metcalfe’s vocals, in every way mesmerising and compelling, it’s like you can feel her eyes fixed on you, drawing you in like a B-movie vamp. If next season’s soundtrack of BBC’s Peaky Blinders isn’t peppered with tracks from this album, like The Bad Thing, a pounding swagger of threat and intensity, and Dangerous, a song you can almost feel the searing heat off, then a trick has been regrettably missed. Its the type of debut that comes along every now and then and is just so good that it makes you question if that’s really true. With near perfect hooks, sheer production class and pure poise and maturity that defies their years, it’s a welcome subversion of expectations.

FERRIS AND SYLVESTER - SUPERHUMAN

I’ve only just discovered at the point of writing, now that I’m returning to this album for another re-listen, that the London based duo of Issy Ferris and Archie Sylvester are now a pretty freshly married couple and brand spanking new parents to boot. What a year they have had! Before the birth of little baby Lucky in September, their first child was arguably this, their debut album, that came along a little earlier, in March. It isn’t really a surprise to be honest. Their passion for life, each other and their music is what strikes most through this impeccable song writing and sizzling talent. They have been mostly daubed with the alt folk brush by the media but through all its guises, dressed up in a stunning variety of deftly honed styles, this music is soul to the core. Through every country slide, foreboding folk veil and bluesy grind, there is just simple joyous soulful celebration of all the tiny touches of life. At times, this peaks in incredible soaring gospel sound, most obviously in ‘This Is How My Voice Sounds’ which goes from a simple key accompanied number to full room epic and back and back again. But also, less obviously in Tracksuite’s choice for the years Top 50 playlist, the sumptuous groover ‘Golden’, a teasing, swinging infectiously and gloriously optimistic heady singalong that is sure be an ear worm for life. As American UK puts it ‘This is blistering music that slips and slides along, scoring shots with every track. It’s hard to believe the duo are British, given the way they seem to have nailed that Southern States, soul country sound. It’s funky, slinky, sassy, in your face one moment and slithering away the next; chock full of stops and starts and changes of direction that keep you guessing at what is coming. It’s a remarkably assured debut album’ Before going on to nail it with a 10/10 score. Nuff said.

SOUL GLO - DIASPORA PROBLEMS

The first of three albums in the list with the word ‘problems’ in the title. Possibly reflective of the state of things post covid or possibly just entirely coincidental. Anyway, it tells much about my age that an album of this ferocity has failed to garner much of my interest in recent years. I think I’ve started to feel that intense hardcore noise music just struggles to deliver enough variety for my aural pallet, in both emotive range and musical style. The message doesn’t get through anymore. Then Soul Glo decided to up their game considerably and produce a major label debut that is bigger and braver in all the ways I needed it to be. Don’t get me wrong, these songs are as fierce as ever, but there’s maturity and depth at play. There’s always been a creative edge to their work but here it feels like they’ve given themselves enough space to really plough the psychological depths and push into those screeching high ends, while the band take the opportunity to really flex. One of the biggest tracks is the warning call ‘Jump!! (Or Get Jumped!!!)((by the future))’, an awesome high octane track of brain bleeding force and lyrical prowess and the perfect gateway into the album. They then slow it right down to more of a standard rap music pace for the next release but no less abrasive ‘Driponomics’ featuring the absolute class of Mother Maryrose on the verse. The stand out for Tracksuite has got to be the incredible closer ‘Spiritual Level of Gang Shit’. A steady builder that starts with the feel of performance poetry on a bass bed but then comes in with a mighty boom bap groove featuring the skills of McKinley Dixon and Lojii. Then right on queue kicks on to a double time and Pierce Jordan lays in with the screamo. And just when you think you’ve got the band and this track figured, Soul Glo bring in the horns! Both the song and the album play out with the track title sung on repeat to a riff that sounds almost like the end credits to an epic spaghetti western. It is nothing short of glorious.

ANDREW BIRD - INSIDE PROBLEMS

In every aspect, where Soul Glo are a challenge to the ears, Andrew Bird in this mood is a salve. Even though there’s a lot of similar introspection and soul baring going on (the album title couldn’t make this point anymore bluntly), there’s a very different means to the message. The production is absolutely exquisite for starters. Like the softest of warm winter comforts, it just wraps you up, makes you some soup and tells you everything is going to be fine. Pitchfork said ‘These 11 songs may be meant to chronicle a pointedly personal inner voyage, yet he’s wound up with a warm, collaborative record that feels like a balm for fear and loneliness’. Bird’s trusty violin is always to hand but here it never screeches like on last year’s brilliant These 13 alongside Jimbo Mathus. Instead it plucks gently and occasionally soars and otherwise just nestles in amongst the rest of the perfect instrumentation. As always I find it impossible not to make the comparison with the legendary Louden Wainwright III, but now he’s lacing songs like ‘The Night Before Your Birthday’ with both the sound and spirit of Lou Reed and the Velvet Underground as well as echoing Elvis Costello at certain times throughout. Uncut said ‘Inside Problems is a rather less meticulous and more spirited band set that examines the questions that keep him awake at night, in ear-snagging songs shot through with 70s country rock, chamber pop, Balkan and Appalachian folk and Tin Pan Alley eccentricity’. Yet there’s a timelessness to this album. In reflection of the greats previously mentioned, this album sits perfectly alongside iconic works of the 70s and 80s but songs like ‘Make A Picture’ is also a contemporary indie gem. Tracksuite’s pick for the playlist is track two ‘Lone Didion’, a real pace setter for the rest of the album. It’s a near perfectly rhythmic, toe tapper but with typically Bird underlay of darkness, written about the author Joan Didion around the time in her life she lost both her husband and daughter. Heartbreaking. Stunning.

FANTASTIC NEGRITO - WHITE JESUS BLACK PROBLEMS

A collection of songs that seemingly sprung from the almost accidental discovery that his ancestry leads back to the common law marriage of an indentured Scottish servant and an unnamed slave in Virginia in the late 18th century. The album, in its strictest sense, is a testament to the old adage of the power of love, celebrating the two people who Negrito calls Grandma Gallimore and Grandpa Courage. It is sometimes to the fore, like on back to back tracks ‘Nibbadip’ and ‘Oh Betty’, and a very difficult choice between them for the playlist (Nibbadip pipped it, mostly from the title). They are two mid sixties-esque soul pop belters absolute. He sings ‘Talk about a love, talk about a life. From Scotland Africa to VA. Grandma Gallimore she fell in love. With a man that had no name. He said please don't sell me Cuz I'm in love with woman. Freedom's in her eyes’. Ok, the sentiment has a certain contemporary sensibility but then ain’t love timeless? In ‘Oh Betty’ Negrito inhabits Grandpa Gallimore taking a bit more liberty with lustful tones for his beloved’s body as well as her voice while the tune grooves along a psych rock edge. Exclaim said ‘While White Jesus Black Problems is certainly an album that prompts further discovery of its deeper layers, it is also liberating in its musical profundity.’ That spiritual music that his ancestors must have sung for themselves and for each other is at the heart of all of these songs. Of course, if you’ve heard Fantastic Negrito, you will know that he then simply uses this as a springboard for the tracks to then jump their way through blues, funk, rock, gospel (of course) and aforementioned soul and psych. Mojo called it ‘A potent artistic tour de force, White Jesus Black Problems' message is ultimately a simple but life-affirming one: love can conquer all’. I’d simply say - it’s a trip.

LOGIC - VINYL DAYS

Logic the rapper, aka Sir Robert Bryson Hall II, has not dropped onto my radar before, despite being one of the most prolific producers out there over the last decade and a bit more. This could have something to do with this album, and apparently his final studio album release with Def Jam Records, having a not completely, but crucially different, sound to most of his previous work. Namely, for this listener, it throws back to the 90s and the heyday of Boom Bap, very much my hip hop and rap happy place. It’s a mighty 30 track heavyweight of Logic showing his appreciation to those who’ve inspired him and peers who’ve supported him. Woven together with regular skits, many of the tracks are short but they’re certainly no less punchy and the collection feels like a relentless turn in the ring with a formidable opponent under continuous verbal fire. After Morgan Freeman makes the album's introduction, the tracks come thick and fast, featuring a vast array of talent like Action Bronson, RZA, Royce Da 5”9’, The Game, Russ, Wiz Khalifa and more. At the time of writing, I’m still struggling to pick a single tune for the end of year playlist. ‘Blackwhiteboy’ is a furious example of the skills on show. ‘Quasi’ is thunderous. ‘Bleed It’ samples The Beastie Boys and the production is brilliantly referential of the bands early work and this could almost be a straight lift off their iconic ‘Ill Communication' album from ’94. ‘Therapy Music’ is suitably infectious. ‘Rogue One’ feels like peak Cypress Hill. ‘Kickstyle and Porta One’ echo Wu Tang Clan and Ice Cube. And on it keeps going, thankfully never letting up and even after the epic 10min plus closer ‘Sayonara’, where Logic says his fond goodbyes to the label, it feels like he’s being dragged off while still firing. It’s like he’s only getting started and this album is not an end but a new beginning.

TAMI NEILSON - KINGMAKER

Fifth studio album from the Canadian born, now New Zealand settled fast becoming country legend Tami Neilson. She started off as part of the Canadian 5 piece family band The Nielsons before coming of age as a sole writer and performer. A powerful character in the industry, this is a complete album swipe at the patriarchy in country music. It’s a point that you wouldn’t feel needs made in 2022 but seemingly and sadly it does. Straight from the off the title track of the album, makes the point of this strong ambitious female voice in a male dominated industry. Immediately selected for the playlist, Kingmaker is a cinematic soaring epic, referencing more than a little of a former queen of country herself, Patsy Cline. Couple that with an award winning duet with none other than Willie Nelson on ‘Beyond The Stars’ and this album starts to twinkle with real class. She hammers home her attempt to readdress the sexual balance with the defiant ‘Ain’t My Job’ and the brilliant ‘King of Country Music’. Both sparse acoustically accompanied productions and the latter driven by a simple but extremely effective hand clap and a determinedly provocative vocal, singing ‘Daddy was a guitar, mama was a gun, the king of country music, the daughter not the son’. It sounds a bit like work song or an attempt to create a kids play song that intends to subvert any sexist indoctrination in young ones from the off. This infectious singalong swing style and hand clap continues on ‘Careless Woman’ she sings ‘A careless woman she played too much, she laughed too loud, she talked too much, too much, too much, she’s just too much - I wanna be her when I grow up’. Playing again to this idea that she’s talking directly to the kids and showing them they can think differently. Not afraid to turn those guitar amps up though, ‘Mama’s Talkin’ is a sassy swamp rocker showing this lady’s range and confirming The Guardians claim that the ’Kiwi queen remains an imperious talent’.

ODESZA - THE LAST GOODBYE

The first album in five years from Clayton Knight and Harrison Mills as Odesza. An immaculately produced mass of genre styles filtered through their never groundbreaking but perfectly honed brand of electronica. Eclectic in its sensibility, at times melancholic, always tender and at anytime as capable of a poignant headphones moment as it is of filling the big room. They are supported in this journey by a wealth of talent. It approaches softly to begin with, Julianne Barwick first narrates a cinematic intro before sliding into a choral soar as orchestral strings back her in building strength. The beats arrive on queue with ‘Wide Awake’ and never let up. They break, they pound in the downbeat, they clatter and swirl in tribal patterns and they throb with the heat of the dancefloor, and they are thankfully and formidably ever present. Comparable electronic duo The Knocks lend their skills to the stunning soul groover ‘Love Letter’. English singer songwriter Holly Lapsley Fletcher, monikered as Låpsley, lends her talents for some epic house gorgeousness on ‘Equal’. Icelandic maestro Olafur Arnalds sprinkles signature magic in chillwave beauty on ‘Light of Day’. However, it’s very difficult to see past the title track with vocal credits given to the great Betty LaVette, where it is in truth just exquisitely use of sampling her 1965 track ‘Let Me Down Easy’. This is just damn perfect blending of contemporary dance production and a voice of such quality that the near 60 year gap since the originals recording has faded into irrelevance with the result nothing less than a timeless classic. As I eluded to earlier, this album kicks down no new doors but why would you need it to? This is enough for tonight or for any night in the foreseeable.

DANGER MOUSE & BLACK THOUGHT - CHEAT CODES

In the same way as Odesza’s 'The last Goodbye’ shines despite any freshness in approach, the long awaited collaborative album Cheat Codes by super producer Danger Mouse and hip hop elder Black Thought is old school gold. As Exclaim said ‘Cheat Codes’e stands as Black Thought's most fully fleshed-out and accessible non-Roots project to date. Despite not veering too far outside his comfort zone or breaking any new ground, it holds the perfect blend of accessibility and complexity, supported by an energetic cast of guests’. 60’s and 70’s soul is by no means fresh hunting ground for hip hop sampling but these are choice picks. From Gwen McCrae’s ‘Love Without Sex’ setting the perfect tone to open, Doris & Kelley’s ‘You Don’t Have To Worry’, Kiki Dee, Hugh Masekela and more, this a treat for all those who might appreciate the vintage flavour. The Guardian said ‘Hip-hop has evolved exponentially as a genre, with ticklish trap beats and blurry cadences now selling like hot cakes. Cheat Codes, by contrast, is full of parchment and runes: obscure samples and fat breakbeats, vinyl crackle and crate-digger detail.’. Obviously, they also use their kudos to bring in a gamut of support with featured voices well known from the upper echelons of rap, Raekwon, Joey Bada$$, A$AP Rocky, Run the Jewels and more. The track for the playlist has not been chosen because, again, the choice is too rich. And I think that’s the word for this album - rich. Rich in talent, expertise and experience. It’s like velvet, fine wine and dark chocolate. It is for the connoisseur. To let The Glide have the last word ‘The chemistry shared between The Roots vocalist and Danger Mouse on Cheat Codes is so high caliber that it’s almost impossible to believe the two artists walk amongst the common man. The term “God Level” is thrown around a bit within the hip-hop community, and once people hear Cheat Codes, that saying is going to have a new definition’.

VIEUX FARKA TOURÉ & KHRUANGBIN - ALI

An absolute delight of an album by Texan psych dub trio Khruangbin and Malian singer and guitarist Boureima "Vieux" Farka Touré, paying tribute to his late father, the legendary Ali Ibrahim "Ali Farka" Touré, with a stunning collection of lovingly crafted covers, poignantly and simply titled ‘Ali’. On first glance this team up might seem like an unusual one but the father and son are no strangers to collaboration. Toure Snr himself worked with Ry Cooder and Toure Jnr with Israeli composer and pianist Idan Raichel, jazz guitarist John Scofield and experimental US vocalist Julia Easterlin. According to the Guardian this musical union was apparently sealed in a London pub over fish and chips, but however it happened, we should be forever thankful because this is sonic match making with a heavenly touch. The Wire said ‘There is a genuine synergy here. Khruangbin have crafted oneiric Manding inflected backdrops as though they have found what they were looking for all along, and Touré settles into them like he’s just got home.’ Its the kind of perfect fusion where it becomes difficult to conceive that its made up of two separate entities, neither party disappearing in deference or feeling the need to over power the other, forcing the point. Instead its relaxed and at ease, with balance and poise it has a grounding and centring quality. The Line of Best Fit said ‘Both parties benefit from the collaboration on Ali: Touré gets to paint the songs he loves with a wider palette without diluting the power of the source material, and Khruangbin add some welcome grit to their smooth and hazy signature sound.’ It’s so good, it’s possibly to the detriment of future projects when they return to work individually again. Any track would work but Tongo Barra has that distinctive Malian folk groove and is by far the most upbeat of a wholly chill album and the selection for the playlist.

THE BOBBY LEES - BELLEVUE

The third studio album from Woodstock, NY’s punk quartet The Bobby Lees (named after Bellevue psychiatric hospital in Manhattan) released by Mike Patton’s Ipecac label. I am guessing this (perhaps questionable) title is used to reflect the unhinged energy and noise that this band creates. A noise that has gotten no small amount of buzz this year, with Henry Rollins, Iggy Pop and Juliette Lewis and well known others talking up this band. If your thing is raw garage rock energy, punk snarl and a seemingly endless creative energy, then this is the listening post for you. The Arts Desk said ‘There’s nothing like raucous and fiery rock’n’roll to replenish your soul and the Bobby Lees have enough of that to be prescribed by the NHS…a wild ride, full of adrenaline, snakiness and a general keenness to get lost in the moment’. For me the first immediate reference point was the Dead Kennedys, instrumentally in both ability and style. With worthy comparison to a band of that stature as a starting point, it was going to be very difficult for this album to disappoint. This point is underlined when When Sam Quartin takes over the vocal duties. With an impressive range she shrieks, growls and captivates in such a way that, I am sure, label boss Patton and former DK vocalist Biafra are nodding in approval. Distorted Sound said ‘The Bobby Lees have leaned into a new kind of confidence - a risk worth taking. They embody a level of chaos that might not be for everyone, bit it cannot be denied that they have found a sound they can pull off amazingly’. Tracks like ‘Ma Likes to Drink’ and ‘Death Train’ are fantastic full pelt manic punk moxie, the brilliance in ‘Hollywood Junkyard’ and ‘Monkey Mind’ is their ability to bewitch as well as torment, but Tracksuite’s pick of the bunch is ‘Dig Your Hips’, where all the aforementioned attributes come together gloriously.

MEAT WAVE - MALIGN HEX

Chicago based post hardcore trio Meat Wave released their fourth album Malign Hex via Swami and Big Scary Monsters on the 14th October. Of note, this album actually pre-dates the pandemic, delayed after being recorded in 2019. They have released fresher material before this with the EP ‘Volcano Park’ coming in the midst of things back in 2021. Weirdly though this album has a darker, more introspective feel giving it a surreal portentous quality. Crucially, it’s an edge that suits them better and they have nailed it here. Yes, there’s punk anger in spades but a whole lot more going on. It's easy to compare them to post punk scene contemporaries like Melkbelly and Dehd but here there feels like greater heft to the sound. There’s a math rock sensibility at times, a krautrock mesmerism and even a post everything nihilism but the sound I hear most (and again this brings in the 90s influences I’ve referred to a few times now) is an old favourite in alt metal band The God Machine. In fact Meat Wave’s Chris Sutter’s vocals are so similar to The God Machine’s Robin Proper Sheppard’s distinctive style that it’s plain spooky. More than that though, amongst the angst, there’s the anguish. In the way The God Machine did better than anyone at the time, underneath the harsh edge is real pain, like a creature alone in a harsh world that really just wants love and understanding but will lash out if cornered. This delicate balance is the making of this album, that it can work in the mosh pit and continue to effect on deeper levels is its real power. You feel this in every single track but screams out in ‘Honest Living’, ‘Waveless’, ‘Jim’s Teeth’ and the pick for the playlist, the brilliant ‘What Would You Like Me To Do?’ Scene Point Blank said ‘There’s a lot going on with this record. It’s abrasive, but sometimes catchy. It’s heavy, but sometime dynamic. It’s arty, but never pretentious. It’s raw, intense, carefully composed noise-punk’.

LOYLE CARNER - HUGO

And to rap things up (Ha! Had to get at least one dad joke in), third studio album by London rapper Benjamin Gerard Coyle-Larner (who performs as Loyle Carner) has taken a huge leap forward in production maturity, songwriting craft and introspective depth. There were glints of Carner’s genius on his first two records with ‘Yesterday’ and ‘Stars and Shards’ shining out on his debut ‘Yesterday’s Gone’ and 'Ottolenghi (feat Jordan Rakei)’ and ‘Loose Ends (feat Jorja Smith) showing off an ability to skilfully lean towards contemporary jazz soul on the follow up ‘Not Waving, but Drowning’. Now with ‘Hugo’ he has found his full strength, returning to an old school sound at times that first flexed on his earlier ‘A Little Late’ EP but also keeping things chill with a lighter creative touch in trickling beats and soft keys. He clashes this sound with some of the harshest spat vitriol at those who have wronged him and the combination of these seemingly opposing forces in the sound are what give it its potency. The first single ‘Hate’ gave a clear announcement of his intentions to step back into the limelight before the album dropped. Although it doesn’t shy away from throwing verbal attack on those deserving, it’s a bit of a deceptive title, as it ends throwing grace on all those equally deserving. The Observer said ‘Like Michael Kiwanuka, Carner’s first two albums were occasionally terrific but his third is a masterpiece.’ Strong words that Tracksuite can't argue against. Tracks like ‘Georgetown’ and ‘Speed of Plight’ kick furiously while feeling suitably reflexive. ‘Homerton’ and ‘Blood on My Nikes’ are pure RnB beauty. All tracks feel intrinsically Carner while all the time nodding in respect to past greats. Tracksuite’s choice for the playlist is the soaring ‘Nobody Knows (Ladas Road)’. The Line of Best Fit said ‘A clear cut statement on what it feels like to be alive in these troubling times from an artist who is carefully cementing himself as one of the most compelling and earnest young talents.’ What filters through on all of Carner’s music, despite the frustration and animosity, is this man’s capacity for love. He appears not as a character playing a part, like a lot can in this genre with bravado in place of bravery, but as bluntly truthful with all the frailties and all the charm of the human condition. Like all of the music on this list, at the heart of it all is its heart and I can’t think of a more apt finishing sentiment.

You have been reading Tracksuite’s Best Albums of 2022. Thanks for taking the time.
Look out for Tracksuite’s Top 50 Tracks of 2022 playlist coming soon…

Much Love

D@Tracksuite

For those who need a little more, see below for more albums of note.

Big Thief - Dragon New Warm Mountain I Believe In You