UIC Radio’s Top 20 Albums of 2022

We’ve reached the end of yet another trying year, but like always, music has given us the energy to persevere. In a look back at the wild ride that was 2022, the bloggers, podcasters and DJs here at UIC Radio have collectively cast our ballots for the best music releases of this year. We’ve managed to whittle out list down to 20 top albums from all the countless impressive musical ventures we’ve witnessed in the last 12 months. Though this isn’t a reflection of all the talented artists and projects produced this year, we hope to provide readers with a little glimpse of the music that speaks to UIC Radio. Without further ado, allow us to present UIC Radio’s Top 20 Albums of 2022!

20. Versions of Modern Performance — Horsegirl

Matador Records released fantastic LPs this year, such as Spoon’s Lucifer on the Sofa and Interpol’s The Other Side of Make-Believe. Here at UIC Radio, the debut album from the Chicago trio Horsegirl, stood at the top. Versions of Modern Performance oozes chic guitars and ferocious grooves that satisfy any noise-starved consumers. There are hints of The Raincoats floating through the album, but Lowenstein, Cheng and Reece add their collective touches for a uniquely atmospheric photobook of delightful tracks. “Anti-glory” and “Option 8” deliver impulsive rushes for fantastic dance anthems, while “Live and Ski” and “Dirtbag Transformation (Still Dirty)” offer noisy tranquility on the LP. The instrumental interludes of “Bog Bog 1,” “Electrolocation 2” and “The Guitar is Dead 3” also give satisfying rests from the creative excitements flowing through Versions of Modern Performance. [Diego Basaldu]

19. rising — mxmtoon

mxmtoon is an artist that is certainly “rising” in her career. She dropped a new album midway through the year that immediately became the soundtrack of the summer. With bright flashes of pop mixed with realism and melancholy lyrics, this album will take you on the wide spectrum of human emotion, like all great works do. One minute you will be crying to mxmtoon lamenting her worries and woes of aging, and then you’ll be jamming to high energy disco-esque songs. She is fully earnest, completely relatable and the perfect artist to listen to if you’re figuring out who you are. The album is full of anthems for anyone stuck in the grey of aging into adulthood. This album, despite its subject matter, never dips into pessimism. It takes on heavy topics but packages them up in an optimistic, hopeful soundscape. I got to see her perform, and it was a concert to remember. rising is an album to give you a boost in your day and give you time to reflect on all you have. This album is what is carrying me into my twenties. [Maxxwell Guffey]

18. Blue Rev — Alvvays

One of my favorite questions to ask people about music is as follows: If you could choose any three living and/or theoretically active artists or bands to release a new album tomorrow, who would they be? The idea of this question is that it favors artists who haven’t dropped anything in a long time — if you’d asked me this question at the beginning of the year, you can be sure that one of my three would have been Alvvays, the Canadian dream pop group whose self-titled debut and sophomore album Antisocialites were two of my very favorite releases of the 2010s. Their triumphant return after five years has been hotly anticipated by many, and despite the lofty hopes and expectations, I’ve yet to encounter a single person who’s listened to Blue Rev and was in any way let down or disappointed. Where Alvvays and Antisocialites are more tightly focused affairs, Blue Rev finds Alvvays completely unleashed, wielding a far broader spectrum of sounds and textures than ever before. Blue Rev is noisier, and perhaps more colorful, than any previous Alvvays release; the guitars regularly fraying and bleeding around the edges, the synthesizers more enveloping and warped. Fortunately, some things haven’t changed, like Molly Rankin and Alec O’Hanley’s sterling songcraft and unparalleled melodic touch, Rankin’s staggering vocal performances and O’Hanley’s superb layers of arpeggiated guitars. Rankin also brings her charmingly droll and remarkably incisive lyricism to the party, her songs rendered with a very specific emotional profile that evokes a deeply felt and wistful pathos streaked with a cutting wit and a flair for the literary. If the first two albums were what pushed Alvvays up the mountain to begin with, Blue Rev is the sound of them conquering the summit as one of the very best bands on the planet. A record that astounds even more on the 20th listen than it does the first time. [Jacob Martin]

17. Once Twice Melody — Beach House

Oftentimes artists will take the opportunity that a new album provides to launch themselves and their brand into a new “era.” A new sound, a new tone, an entirely new persona. Beach house, however, isn’t here for the fads and trends and cycles of reinvention, instead slowly growing and building up to every new release. Once Twice Melody, the eighth studio album for Baltimore based duo Victoria Legrand and Alex Scally, perfectly pieces together elements from albums past and it all leads up to the same dream pop elements we know and love from this group, just at a whole new level. Legrand and Scally lead listeners through space and time, exploring themes they have been thinking about since their self-titled debut album, which was released in 2006. With lyrics like “The stars were there in our eyes,” “When you were mine we fell across the sky/ Backlit up against the wall” and “I reach into the darkness/ The universe collects us,” it’s hard not to ask yourself the same questions Legrand and Scally are asking themselves about the subjective perception of time and the vastness of the world around us.

Close your eyes, take a deep breath and allow yourself to melt into Once Twice Melody. [Meghna Dasgupta]

16. Boat Songs — MJ Lenderman

MJ Lenderman is an artist that is new to me as of this year. His 2022 album Boat Songs stuck out to me most accurately because of its name (if you know me at all, you know that I just really enjoy boat imagery). With song titles like “Hangover Game,” “You Have Bought Yourself a Boat” and “Six Flags,” I was sold before I even gave it a listen.

Boat Songs is shoegaze for people who listen to grunge. It’s packed to the brim with gloomy atmospheric melodies and dark concepts that are approached with a not-so-serious energy. Lenderman experiments with fuzzy production sounds that accurately mimic what comes out of your car speakers when the aux cord isn’t fully plugged in. Mesmerizing. The way that he playfully engages with distortion is honestly refreshing, too. MJ Lenderman is making sad and weird popular again, and Boat Songs is a showpiece. [Julia Soulsby]

15. Crest — Bladee and Ecco2K

Crest is a collaborative project produced by Whitearmor with vocals performed by Bladee and Ecco2k. It is an almost whimsical sounding album with lyrics which are uplifting and personal to the artists. Whitearmor’s production on this project is very cohesive and allows for the album to be incredibly enjoyable if listened from beginning to end (This is the best way to listen to the album in my opinion). The project offers more with each listen and the addition of the prerelease “Girls just want to have fun,” which came out two years before the album, adds context and gives a proper setting to a fan favorite song from Bladee and Ecco2k. [Coleman Earnest]

14. DECIDE — Djo

Unlike many children’s television stars before him, Stranger Things’ Joe Keery’s venture into music has been anything but immemorable. Performing under the stage name Djo, Keery’s sophomore album DECIDE places fame, social media, love and change under a microscope. Nostalgic yet mature in its certainty and message, the album begins with the lyrics “Love and hate decide/ Money grows and dies/ People never change/ But I have to try.” He has a decision to make and it’s not going to be easy, but he has to try if he wants to change for the better. From there, listeners are taken on a journey of deep, self-contemplation as Djo lets us into the inner workings of his brain through funky, psychedelic rock that’s reminiscent of the 80s. It’s the perfect album for anyone finding themselves at a crossroads within their life and very being.

Though I personally believe there are no skips on this album — every song is its own unique journey —“Gloom,” “One and On,” “End of Beginning” and “Change” are real stand-outs. My favorite lyrics from the album come from “Change,” Djo dreamily sings, “But every mistake I’ve ever made/ Has led me right here/ It’s easier to refuse to change/ Year after year/ Something’s happening to me/ A change that I can see.” If you’re on a mission of self-discovery, or even self-healing, this album is a must listen. Djo ends the album with the fact that “we all wanna be someone one at the end of the day” and though that personal change he seeks is within reach, he’s still “working on it” and that’s okay. [Sheri Tarrer]

13. Ivory — Omar Apollo

Omar Apollo’s Ivory is sweet, sorrowful and sexy — an intense look into the 25 year old singer-songwriter’s heart and mind. After a number of acclaimed EPs, 2022 marked the year Apollo finally released his debut album and Ivory is just the beginning for this wonderful talent. The album’s opener, “Ivory,” sounds like Apollo is painting the listener an auditory picture, it perfectly sets the tone for the emotional roller coaster that is the album as a whole. From rock to R&B to ballad to latin trap, Apollo seamlessly navigates different genres on his journey of young love and loss. “Invincible (feat. Daniel Caesar),” “Petrified,” “Tamagotchi” and “Evergreen” are favorites of both longtime listeners and new fans. Ivory leaves listeners wanting more of Apollo and his gorgeous voice; I can’t wait to see what he does next. If you’d like to read more about Ivory, check out my article on it! [Sheri Tarrer]

12. Dream Sequence — Ugly Nate

“Dream Sequence Out Now!” is a common phrase heard in the studio. Ugly Nate’s Dream Sequence is without a doubt, the most awaited and celebrated album release of 2022 here at UIC Radio. Not only because the album is the perfect combination of bright lyrics and blazing rhythms, but because Nate Herrera is UIC Radio’s Production Director and one of our very own DJs. Tune in to Ugly Radio! Dream Sequence is the debut album from Ugly Nate, a five-piece band currently playing Chicagoland shows featuring Nathaniel Herrera (Vocals/Guitar), Japneet Chhabra (Drums), Zach Vaz (Guitar), Matthew Aggari (Keyboard) and Cole Burrell (Bass). They describe themselves as “young minds taking inspiration from artists like Car Seat Headrest and King Krule.” A repeated conversation we have with UIC Radio members is how unbelievable it is to live the everyday life with someone so talented. Our classmate, our production director and our friend also happens to be an incredible artist. The coolest part about it is that we also get to meet all the band members and it’s never a surprise to see them in our own studio! What a privilege. I asked Nate Herrera to describe Dream Sequence and its creation process, he said “Dream Sequence is about being haunted by the past and learning to move on. It was made mostly in my bedroom/apartment and various basements by me, with help from my bandmates.” Lasting a total of 28 minutes, Dream Sequence, showcases a rollercoaster of emotions, with recurrent explosions of instruments that feel like feelings that had been held inside for ages and the soothing nature of love-ish songs. Embodying the beauty of indie music, the album has masterpieces like “Manic Pixie Dream,” which starts the album strongly, “Comforter,” which with a raw approach will definitely give hopeless romantics goosebumps, and my personal favorite “Heartline.” which somehow feels like a hug.

Give it a listen, and hunt for some of my favorite lyrics: “I’ve been meaning to say you feel like home to me,” “I’ve been thinking of a future, that I can’t see,” “I’m so glad you hurt me/ Thanks for the content” and “When I’m with you, f*** butterflies/ I feel like the whole f****** zoo.”

Do I have to say more? Dream Sequence Out Now. [Daniela Guerrero]

11. SMITHEREENS — Joji

Coming off of his 2020 album Nectar and the lead single “Glimpse of Us,” there were high expectations for Joji going into his latest project SMITHEREENS. Unfortunately we were delivered an uninspired compilation of songs, half-baked ideas and demos. Although there are a few standout tracks like “Die For You,” the album leaves much to be desired. Hopefully this will just be a transitional project leading to something more complete and ambitious in the future. [Nate Herrera]

10. Harry’s House — Harry Styles

Harry Styles’ album Harry’s House is a love-letter to a naivety, whimsy in adulthood and eating ‘sushi’…

The solo artist, now three albums into his career, experiments with funky bass lines and tight-harmonies to set the soundtrack to the modern 20 year-old femmes life. The album jumps themes, eras and subtly pays homage to a diverse set of predecessors.

When you first step into Harry’s House, you hear a funky, colorful tune reminiscent of the early Disney days of A.N.T. Farm. You hear layered vocals and instrumentals that build up to the ultimate release of Styles’ wailing vocals. The sweet, bouncy tune of “Music For a Sushi Restaurant” enjoys a ‘meal’ between lovers then allows for a reluctant release into the somber “Late Night Talking,” “Grapejuice” and “As It Was.” While the rhythmic, deeply layered and innuendo coded musical themes continue, the mood shifts from a bouncy naivety to a more mature and reflective tune. “Little Freak” gives the audience one of the last lustful tastes of Styles’ and transitions us into a deeply nostalgic, reminiscent, tear-invoking set. The last 7 tracks on the album surround ideas of reflection on many areas of his life — from family to old lovers to childhood and back, Styles’ comprehensively picks at heartstrings that virtually everyone can sing to the tune of.

Overall, Harry Styles’ Harry’s House is an album to be adored in 2023 and reflects the current cultural shift in ideals to a more mindful, nostalgic and thought-provoking creation. [Belle Petajan]

9. Hellfire — black midi

I have too many words to say about black midi. This blurb is literally a shortened version of a much much longer piece that I have written about the band’s 2022 release Hellfire. To keep it short(ish), Hellfire is a masterpiece. With the new addition of a horn section and the occasional orchestral embellishment, this album has taken black midi’s sound to the next level. As a concept album about hell (in a general sense), every track takes the listener through haunting and painful stories from the point of view of several different characters. It begins with an evocative death march, followed by a crazy display of energy and emotion, and concludes with a theatrical depiction of a man losing his head (almost literally). In comparison to black midi’s previous releases, this one in particular feels like they are starting to understand themselves as artists now more than ever. With incredibly tight vocals, instrumentals and writing, Hellfire is by far my favorite black midi album to date.

The moment I heard Hellfire, I knew it would be sitting pretty at the top of my album of the year list — and that is exactly what it did. Earlier this year, I had the pleasure of seeing them play in Chicago two nights in a row at The Empty Bottle and Thalia Hall (two of my favorite venues in the entire city), and it was like nothing I had ever experienced. After two very different nights with two very different sets, I can say that I have experienced first-hand black midi’s mastery of their craft. [Julia Soulsby]

8. CRASH — Charli XCX

CRASH is one of Charli XCX’s most interpersonal pieces of work yet. It documents the numerous “crashing” relationships occurring within her life: with her previous boyfriend, Atlantic Records and the abstract experimentalism of her previous music. It’s one of the best pop albums released this year with the dancefloor inducing “Lightning” and “Used To Know Me” to Charli and Rina Sawayama leaving us begging for more with their collaboration on “Beg For You.” If there’s anything about CRASH, “it’s Charli, baby” unapologetically. [Bradley Gambosi]

7. Midnights — Taylor Swift

Taylor Swift describes her tenth studio album Midnights, released in October of this year, as a collection of stories “of 13 sleepless nights.” As Swift enters a new era of midnight blues, starry nights, vocal effects and classic synths, we see a firm departure from the indie/folk “imaginary/not imaginary” worlds created with her back-to-back 2020 releases, Folklore and Evermore. The album notably features long time collaborator Jack Antonoff as a producer and co-writer, Aaron Dessner of The National as a co-writer and producer, as well as Lana Del Ray who is featured on the fourth track of the album “Snow On The Beach.” Returning back to her Pop music roots, this time with a twist, Swift is undaunted by the task of building a new world with themes of love, loss and self reflection. Swift cites lead single “Anti-Hero” as one of her favorites off the album. It dives into all of her deepest personal insecurities; the theme of reflection in this album is evident with lyrics like “I stare directly at the sun but never in the mirror/it must be exhausting always rooting for the anti hero.” Track 11, “Karma” is a personal favorite of mine. The lyric, “Karma is a relaxing thought/ Aren’t you envious that for you it’s not?” promises that if you have been wronged you have nothing to worry about because karma has your back.

Meet this album at midnight and lose yourself in the warm haze of true love, heartbreak, and everything in between. [Meghna Dasgupta]

6. Ants From Up There — Black Country, New Road

An album not for the faint of heart. Ants From Up There is the sophomore album from Black Country, New Road, following their equally impressive debut album For the first time, in 2021. The band is the definition of a sum greater than its parts, featuring seven members consisting of Isaac wood (lead vocals, guitar), Tyler Hyde (vocals, bass), Lewis Evans (vocals, flute, saxophone), May Kershaw (vocals, keys), Georgia Ellery (vocals, violin), Charlie Wayne (drums) and Luke Mark (guitar). This album was released in February and all year I just kept coming back because it fills a place in my heart that no other album this year has come close to replicating. Standouts for me include “Good Will Hunting,” “Mark’s Theme,” “The Place Where He Inserted the Blade” and “Basketball Shoes.” The album, as triumphant of a display of the group’s potential, is bittersweet as lead singer Isaac Wood announced his departure from the group going forward. It’s hard to imagine what direction the group will take with their next project, but I will anxiously await whatever it may be. [Nathan Groves]

5. The Forever Story — JID

Four years ago, a rapper from Atlanta named JID dropped his second studio album, DiCaprio 2, supported by the single “Off Deez,” featuring his mentor and the man who signed him to Dreamville Records, none other than J. Cole. The song was set up with a classic dichotomy: Up and coming young gun delivers a strong first verse only for the older veteran artist to come in and show everyone how it’s done on verse 2. Unfortunately for Cole, JID’s first verse on “Off Deez” is so spectacularly ferocious that it’s all he can do just to try to keep up — the student was already the master. Four long years later, we finally got JID’s third album, and The Forever Story finds his mastery on fuller display than it’s ever been before. Colored heavily by the long tradition of Southern hip-hop, the songs here span a wide array of moods and rhythms but always come complete with a truckload of heart and soul as JID captivates with a series of stories about his youth and upbringing. The sheer versatility and skill that JID showcases across the record never cease to amaze, seemingly employing a different vocal cadence and flow on every track, each one just as convincing as the last. It’s simply a thrill to listen to JID rap, his charisma magnetic, his wordplay clever and satisfying, his stories gripping and his hooks always sticky. Front to back, The Forever Story is easily the best JID project to date, and even comes complete with a dozen more features, all of whom bring their A game but none of whom manage to outshine the man himself at any point — four years later, he still can’t be sonned. [Jacob Martin]

4. MOTOMAMI — ROSALÍA

Following her breakthrough with 2018s El Mal Querer, Rosalía soars to new heights as an artist through her experimental stylings with MOTOMAMI (“biker chick”). The consistent mash up of genre and constantly shifting gears sonically within most songs takes anyone on a thrill ride through the entire 16 track album. From soaring piano power ballads such as “Hentai,” to the thumping Latin beats on “La Fama,” the journey of MOTOMAMI shows all the lengths of Rosalía as a singer. [Bradley Gambosi]

3. Dawn FM — The Weeknd

The Weeknd in his prime, post Super-Bowl 2021, dropped the most cohesive, ethereal album of his career to start out 2022. It’s got everything. Pop. New Wave. Club hits. Breathtaking transitions. Narrative. Commercial Breaks. Jim Carrey. This album takes listeners on a nostalgic radio experience through listening to the album in tracklist order with interludes of Abel and Jim Carrey doing “ad reads” for the 103.5 Dawn FM radio show. As a show host in UIC Radio, the sonic experience hits home. It was a great album to start the year off. I got to see him perform live on his stadium tour in Soldier Field this summer. Hearing it shouted at the top of lungs by thousands in a stadium is amazing, but using this as the soundtrack to your midnight drive is the best experience. I am certainly looking forward to Abel’s conclusion of his album trilogy. First it was After Hours. Next, we’ll see what comes after the dawn. [Maxxwell Guffey]

2. God Save the Animals — Alex G

2022 brought us the new album God Save the Animals from indie legend Alex G, the follow up to his last album, House of Sugar, from 2019. As the title implies we get a heavy amount of religious imagery throughout the album. One of my favorite examples of this being on “S.D.O.S” where we get the amazingly absurd lines like, “If God is my Designer Jesus is my Lawyer.” Like many of his previous albums, we get a lot of interesting blends of sonic choices from song to song. It features more straightforward songs like ”Runner,” “Mission” and “Early Morning Waiting,” as well as more experimental songs like “No Bitterness,” “Cross the Sea” and “Blessing.” However, the real standout moment on the album for me is the song “Miracles,” where we get a very personal view into Alex G’s life, and perhaps one of his most impressive feats from a songwriting perspective. The song explores topics of faith as well as bringing to light the first child he and his partner Molly Germer are soon expecting. Certainly his most focused album thematically and still remains true to his DIY style. I look forward to seeing what direction he takes his music going forward. [Nathan Groves]

1. Dragon New Warm Mountain I Believe In You — Big Thief

Ever since their very boldly-titled debut album Masterpiece in 2016, the indie folk rock outfit Big Thief has been a seemingly omnipresent force on the indie circuit, having released four albums in four years before taking a couple years off during the pandemic. However, anybody who thought that Big Thief have simply been taking a vacation since 2019 was proven sorely mistaken back in February, as they returned with a sprawling 20-track double album that stands as the band’s most ambitious and diverse project to date, Dragon New Warm Mountain I Believe In You. Despite having released a spectacular solo record as well during Big Thief’s downtime, primary songwriter Adrianne Lenker somehow found the creative juice to pen some of her best material to date on this album, supported by the exquisitely tasteful and spirited playing of her bandmates. Despite the lengthy runtime and sheer scale of the track list, Dragon New Warm Mountain never truly drags on account of its perfect pacing, the band always knowing exactly when to change speeds or take a left turn, and boy are there a whole lot of left turns to take. This is an album packed with achingly beautiful ballads, country-tinged romps brimming with personality and some of the most percussive and satisfying guitar tones you’ll ever hear, all performed with the typical death-defying conviction and telepathic unity that Big Thief is known for. It has always been a question of when, not if, Big Thief would release the album that becomes known as their magnum opus and cements their status for good as one of the defining acts of their era; now there isn’t any question at all. [Jacob Martin]

Happy New Years from our family here at UIC Radio to yours. Here’s to another year full of good music and vibes.