2022 Top Tracks
Track PuppyA great track can be great for all sorts of reasons. A new sound from a new artist. A return to form for an old artist. An intro, outro, verse, refrain, bridge or breakdown that gets your blood pumping. A comfy jam or avant garde grinder…
There’s no single recipe for what a top track sounds like, but they should all accomplish at least one thing: serve as a springboard into a whole sound world. Top tracks are not dead ends – they’re links in a chain that leads you on to the next adventure.
Genre and rank are a shitty way to divvy up music, so we’ve included some “vibe clouds” below to help you navigate 20 tracks to take into 2023.
Don’t miss the rest of the 2022 Year In Review.
Kraut Electro Dextromorphan Seabird Minimalism Flourescent Patchouli Footstep Blastoff
Tangerine Dream: “You’re Always On Time”
Tangerine Dream: “You’re Always On Time”
The legendary electronic music pioneers sound as fresh as ever on our highlighted track.
Damo Suzuki: “Ra”
Damo Suzuki: “Ra”
The krautrock icon and CAN alumnus teamed up with an eight-piece band of CAN acolytes in Berlin to make some magic.
Joyul: “Backstroke”
Joyul: “Backstroke”
Found sounds abound. Oddball percussion wrench the tracks out of the ether into something more reminiscent of traditional song form, but the soul of the music is experimental through and through.
John Beltran: “Em Trancoso”
John Beltran: “Em Trancoso”
In his recent 4-track EP Para Viajeros he brings a tropical flavor to house music. Heavy on percussion, hype without being hyper.
Modern Sand Sharp Classical Smooth Winter Avant Garde Defcon Cocaine Instrumental Glass Clean
Kali Malone: “Living Torch II”
Kali Malone: “Living Torch II”
This is a GRM production, so expect tracks with plenty of breathing room in the running time, allowing the compositions to evolve in unexpected ways.
Odeya Nini: “Pacific Wave”
Odeya Nini: “Pacific Wave”
Cave choral bliss. Shades of Karlheinz Stockhausen’s “Stimmung” meets indigenous soul.
Nakama: “Æ-b”
Nakama: “Æ-b”
Nakama Records is a quasi-collective organization of musicians that make records based on egalitarian principles. Respect.
Mary Lattimore & Paul Sukeena: “Altar of Tammy”
Mary Lattimore & Paul Sukeena: “Altar of Tammy”
Mary Lattimore plays harp and synthesizers. Paul Sukeena plays electric guitar, mellotron, Old Style rubber bridge. Perfect.
Joseph Petric: “Spirit Cloud”
Joseph Petric: “Spirit Cloud”
Petric supplements the accordion with a little backing synth, but the dedication to the pure and unadulterated possibility of his chosen ax is impressive.
Indie Lo Fi Hazy Pop Rock Dust Sun Leaf Pot Soul Beads Waterfall Bevnap Summer Chip Bowl Hand
Gold Dust: “Larks Swarm a Hawk”
Gold Dust: “Larks Swarm a Hawk”
In truth, strip away the extra layers of acid sweat and mushroom odor and you’ll find a pretty folk rock album that celebrates everything normcore about the genre.
Rose City Band: “Silver Roses”
Rose City Band: “Silver Roses”
More than a touch of the Grateful Dead in the mix. But Johnson introduces his own signature elements into a track you’ll put on repeat.
Olivia Sisay: “Good For Tonight”
Olivia Sisay: “Good For Tonight”
Our highlighted track tells a story of love: unrequited or quieted, but never quite enough.
Riffer Rocker Jammer Burner Bummer Stoner Hummer Goner Huffer Summer Drop The Charges
Disco Doom: “Mt. Surreal”
Disco Doom: “Mt. Surreal”
Shades of Pavement in the off-kilter pop swagger. Shades of SYR-era Sonic Youth in the confidence of sound experiments that know exactly where they want to land.
Weakened Friends: “Quitter”
Weakened Friends: “Quitter”
Weakened Friends trumpets a youthful sense of alienation and turns it into a sing-along postpunk anthem.
Evolfo: “The Changer”
Evolfo: “The Changer”
You could do the Mashed Potato (or the Twist, take your pick) to the fuzz-stomper title track of The Changer 7-inch.
Sweet Pop Sugar Shiny Spring Molly Dream Orchestra Beat Puppet Marble Countertop Teal Planter
Anna Fox Rochinski: “Cherry”
Anna Fox Rochinski: “Cherry”
Rochinski’s vocals have a dreamy, sped-up Julee Cruise vibe. You can hear the carry-over from her other project, QUILT, but the tracks on Cherry are an animal all their own.
Kevin Devine: “Albatross”
Kevin Devine: “Albatross”
Our highlighted track ramps up a quiet intro into a full-fledged rock n roll barnburner.
Hippo Campus: “Ride Or Die”
Hippo Campus: “Ride Or Die”
Shades of Animal Collective, but less house and more Modest Mouse. Every once in a while that band sinks into a world music groove that exposes beautiful overseas influences.
Layzi: “Shop Around”
Layzi: “Shop Around”
Layzi calls Boston home, but her sound is West Coast: wind in your hair, cruising along the PCH.
Sean Nicholas Savage: “Comet”
Sean Nicholas Savage: “Comet”
If you tightened up the production and slicked up the sound, the tune would not be out of place on the soundtrack to Space Jam.
Thanks to all the artists for being awesome. Catch more of HDN’s 2022 Year In Review. See you in 2023 with more Tracks from Hump Day News…
The band that scored Revenge of the Nerds (1984) is back with a new album, Raum.