Unforgettable Tracks of 2022

Now that I’m doing monthly top 5 lists, it doesn’t makes sense for me to do the usual “best of the year” countdown; I’d just repeat myself (we all know Telefis produced my favorite albums of the year, for instance). Besides, I’ve already got the Listeners Choice Best of 2022 show Sunday on Twitch, and voting for that is open for a bit longer. However, 11 songs this year yet unmentioned absolutely captivated me, so I’ve got one last list in me for the final hours of 2022.

10. Keeley - Scratches On Your Face

2022 was a fantastic year for dreamy, swirly post-punk, and Keeley has excelled at that for years. I’m always impressed when artists can turn such dark subject matter into dark pop bops, but that’s pretty much her brand. The arpeggiated synths provide a great bridge between the harsher guitars and Keeley’s ephemeral vocals, resulting in a song that leaves it’s own mark in your brain, if not your face.

9. Mari Kattman - Is It Really That Bad?

In the past few years, Kattman has been a go-to artists for sharp vocals on top of brutal industrial and dance-worthy synth-pop, but that means sometimes her solo stuff gets ignored. Don’t make that mistake. “Is It Really That Bad?” has timeless lyrics that hit home a lot harder in the modern, lonely dystopia many of us find ourselves in. Combine that with hook after hook and you get one of 2022’s most memorable tunes.

8. Neonpocalypse - The Light

2022 has felt so long that it’s easy to forget this song came out this year, especially since it feels like a synth take on a classic Tones on Tail-type post-punk sound. But Alex Svenson started this year off right with a punctuated attention-grabber that swings through its runtime with toe-tapping ease. If you abhor the phrase “instant classic,” then we’ll just pretend I’m not calling “The Light” one.

7. Baltes & Zäyn - Apocalyptic

This song almost made it onto September’s Top of the Shock, and it’s grown on me with each passing month. Sometimes a synth-laden sci-fi dystopia is just what we need if it’s well-crafted, and the world-building and heartbreaking lyrics belong in the pages of a manga. This is one of 2022’s hidden gems, so don’t let it slip through your fingers.

6. grabyourface - HOWDAREU

I’ll be honest: I don’t usually go for this kind of aggressive industrial. But Moris Blak knows how to mix and master it into something breathtaking, and I couldn’t see these lyrics working any other way. Grabyourface remains one of the most authentic and direct musicians assaulting complacent ears, and they craft an anthem for those pushed long past disappointment and anger into direct action. Part condemnation, part warning, this rage cannot and will not be ignored.

5. Eva X - Body Talk

Sometimes I don’t understand other DJs/promoters. Eva X’s “Whipping Girl” took off last year, and with good reason. But this year’s follow-up, “Body Talk,” released ahead of her incredible album I Dream of a Reality, went mostly ignored. Are you people crazy? This is the perfect companion piece, maintaining a lot of the blunt sexiness but now focusing on a positive relationship. The delivery is thus brighter, but the heavy synths ground everything into a darkness similar to her other work. Are we all so obsessed with angry heartbreak songs that a good, old-fashioned “let’s bang,” tune doesn't do it for us anymore? Never let me get that jaded, please.

4. Fontaines D.C. - Skinty Fia

Sometimes once a band gets popular enough folks expect me to stop showcasing them, and yeah, Grammy award-winning D.C. Fontaines might not need my help, but since I haven’t seen this song on a single playlist other than my own, I must bring it up. The rambling delivery pairs with an expert musical build that’s more of a four-minute trance than a listening experience. Also, it’s impossible to listen to that baseline and not nod your head along with it.

3. SRSQ - Used to Love

Remember what I said about 2022 and dreamy music? “Used to Love” encapsulates all the other greats of the year into a seven and a half minute deep dive into melancholy. Suddenly, we’re all in our early twenties again, ripping up pictures of our latest breakup while blasting music we know will only depress us more. Often bands that remind me of Cocteau Twins merely succeed in making me pull out my copy of Treasure again, but SRSQ has enough of their own sound to keep Ever Crashing on repeat. It’s not easy to stand on the shoulders of giants, but SRSQ does it effortlessly and continues to reach beyond the sky.

2. iVardensphere - Indomitus (feat. Seeming)

Big shock, I know: PAT 626 loves a song featuring Alex Reed. But the fact that Reed wrote and delivered such incredible words as to break the “no lyrics” rule Scott Fox set for Ragemaker can’t be ignored. Meanwhile, Scott has crafted his most cinematic score yet, and someone needs to get this guy a job in movies/video games. This is the epic end credits opus that has us leaving the theater humming it and helping us to remember just how damn good the movie is.

1. Zola Jesus - Lost

There’s a misconception that DJs/journalists know about every major artist/release out there; my life proves how wrong that is. Yeah, I dig up a bunch of new artists, but meanwhile I’ve never heard of some of the larger acts of the past few years, like Zola Jesus for instance. A listener asked me what I thought of the new single, and I probably shocked him with my dumbfounded ignorance. Let this be a lesson: always introduce me to your favorite bands, because this song captured me this year and never let me go. I sing its brooding, way-too-appropriate-for-2022 chorus almost every day. If, like me, you weren’t on the Zola Jesus bandwagon yet, fix that now. And if you are, go easy on me for taking so long to get here.

Honorable Mention: Unwoman - You’ll Love Me When I’m Dead

Unwoman’s the subject of my next Are You Sleeping piece, so of course she gets on this list. Thing is, although I played a lot of her new stuff this year, all of the original tracks are only available on her Patreon right now, so I couldn’t justify putting any on this list. But consider this advice to support her, and get ready for the new album in 2023. She remains one of the most brutally honest musicians out there, unafraid to criticize the world, her listeners, and herself. There are a lot of artists out there who, as Benoit Blanc says, “mistake speaking without thought for speaking the truth,” but Unwoman knows the difference to a sometimes uncomfortable degree, and that almost always lands her a place on my favorites list.

If you think of a few tracks Pat missed, you can vote in the Listener’s Choice: Best of 2022 Poll before the show airs Sunday, January 1 on Twitch!