20 great albums you may have missed in 2022
Even when you consider yourself a major music fan who knows what to look out for, is up on all the major releases, and constantly adds artists to your playlists before their big break, it’s impossible to check out everything that drops. In the streaming age when there’s simply so much music to listen to, it’s no wonder that sometimes a few releases slip through the cracks. To help you discover even more great 2022 releases before the year is through, Alt Press has rounded up some of the best albums from 2022 that you might’ve missed. From hyperpop upstarts to rising pop punk bands, these records are worth checking out.
Read more: The 55 best albums of 2022
The Best Albums You May Have Missed in 2022
Anxious – Little Green House
Growing up is hard. We all know this — and yet, it always feels a little less alone when a record comes along that encapsulates the pains of losing friends and feeling uncertain. Connecticut five-piece Anxious' Run For Cover debut does that with an ample mix of power pop and post-hardcore to absolute emo perfection. In a balancing act of pop sheen, brashness, and heart-on-your-sleeve lyrics, Little Green House opens its doors to you when you need to mourn old friends, reminisce on your hometown, and reflect on how much you've changed. —Sadie Bell
Backxwash – HIS HAPPINESS SHALL COME FIRST EVEN THOUGH WE ARE SUFFERING
This past Halloween, Backxwash unleashed her searing fourth studio album, HIS HAPPINESS SHALL COME FIRST EVEN THOUGH WE ARE SUFFERING, without one single. Across 10 tracks, the experimental rapper is uncompromising, offering abrasive flows over blackened beats. Over half of the tracks boast collaborations as well, including PUPIL SLICER, Ghais Guevara, and CENSORED Dialogue, among others. Safe to say, Backxwash concludes her dizzying gothic trilogy on a high note. —Neville Hardman
Big Joanie – Back Home
Following the release of their 2018 debut album, Sistahs, Big Joanie have been lauded as breakouts in the British punk scene. With Back Home, the trio traverse guitar pop, noise rock and tender folk in an expansive way that reveals they've matured as artists in the past four years. After supporting Sleater-Kinney, Bikini Kill, and IDLES, the band are on their way to becoming bonafide punk-rock stars. —Ilana Kaplan
Comeback Kid – Heavy Steps
By now, it's common knowledge that Canadian hardcore veterans Comeback Kid are among the genre’s most consistent acts, and their seventh studio album, Heavy Steps, is the perfect record to bring the classic act further into the future. With amped-up production from producer Will Putney and a commitment to writing their most immediate and concise material, Comeback Kid lean on what they know best — anthemic choruses, double-time drum beats, and melodically charged guitar riffs that are as memorable as they are visceral. Standout tracks include the title track, as well as the festival-ready anthems “Face The Fire” and “Crossed,” the latter of which features Joe Duplantier of Gojira. —Alessandro DeCaro
EKKSTACY – misery
While EKKSTACY’s debut album, NEGATIVE, felt markedly raw and dark, misery leans even further into the realms of post-punk and goth-rock. The tracks are draped in an ashen melancholy that speak on dread, death, and love, channeling the graveyard stomp of Joy Division and Bauhaus. But while EKKSTACY embraces the darkness, his new music casts a contagious spell. There’s a fantastic pop sense enlivening the tracks that’ll make you lose yourself in the music. Death looms, but there’s always time to dance. —NH
Enumclaw – Save The Baby
One day Enumclaw will play stadiums. Until then, witness their scrappy ascent to stardom with their tender and optimistic debut album, Save The Baby. The band possess a love for pop that rounds out their scuzzy sound, proving that they’re influenced by Pacific Northwest standards just as much as Kacey Musgraves. If anything’s for certain, it’s that Enumclaw are determined to chase their dreams to the very top — and they refuse to slow down until everyone knows their name. —NH
Fousheé – softCORE
Hailing from New Jersey, Fousheé blends gritty pop-punk with R&B, but also hyper-pop and even nursery rhymes into her sophomore album softCORE. Featuring playful, taunting lyrics like "You’re so cute but you’re dumb" and "I looked so good he died,” softCORE is chaotic, angsty, and confident in the best ways possible. The singer-songwriter, who also notably co-wrote Steve Lacy's No. 1 hit "Bad Habit," has had a buzzy year opening for him on tour as well. So big things ahead for Fousheé, for sure. —IK
Frost Children – SPIRAL
On the SPIRAL opener "FOX BOP," the sibling duo Frost Children propose we "break into a house and swing on all the chandeliers." That's exactly what their very online, cheeky, maximalist hyperpop-meets-punk makes you want to do. Their latest record since becoming a staple in the New York DIY scene, SPIRAL is like a sonic sugar rush. That is, if you're downing Pixy Stixs on Pixy Stixs. It's genuinely an escapist blast, as well as a look into how it can feel to discover one's identity in a perpetually online world. One listen will elevate you into the coolest corner of the metaverse. —SB
Hazy Sour Cherry – Strange World
If you need a helping of saccharine indie rock, look no further than Hazy Sour Cherry. Hailing from Tokyo, the foursome cut their teeth in the city's DIY scene before coming together in 2018 to create doo-wop-influenced, surf-rock-inspired, purely radiant guitar music. Strange World is full of sweetness and tongue-in-cheek tunes, like "I Wanna Kill Your Girlfriend." Singing about wanting to dance and perfect days over sweet riffs and warm tones, Strange World is essentially a blissful summer day wrapped up in a record. —SB
Holy Fawn – Dimensional Bleed
On Dimensional Bleed, Holy Fawn continue to expand upon their signature blend of sludge metal, shoegaze, black metal, and post-rock. However, this time around, they incorporated more electronic elements that further enrich their transcendental audio experience. Throughout Dimensional Bleed, Holy Fawn guide listeners through peaks and valleys, whether that’s through delicate ambiance and minimalism to colossal climaxes filled with walls of guitars and crashing drums. Guitarist/vocalist Ryan Osterman provides several staggering performances, seamlessly transitioning from dreamlike vocals that soar with lush reverbs to nightmarish fry screams (like on the title track) that rival even the most intense Norwegian black-metal bands. Dimensional Bleed is a dark and moody release, with cavernous qualities and tremendous weight. —AD
Horsegirl – Versions of a Modern Performance
Chances are the trio behind Horsegirl were a lot more productive than you in high school — and a lot cooler, too. The teenage band, built on the kind of omg-I-finally-found-someone-who-gets-me friendships you can only discover in youth, came up in the Chicago DIY scene and broke out last year when their song "Ballroom Dance Scene" made waves on alternative radio. Their whirlwind success kept going this year with the release of their Matador debut, and it's basically meant to be played over blaring speakers in basements, when you're kicking back with friends. Inspired by '90s favorites like Pavement and Sonic Youth, they're keeping post-punk alive and well. —SB
Moor Mother – Jazz Codes
Moor Mother's sophomore album Jazz Codes dives further into the brilliant mind of an experimental artist who isn't afraid to take risks. Embedded within the album's 18 tracks is a heady swirl of jazz, R&B, hip-hop, and spoken-word. Philadelphia-born Camae Ayewa is no stranger to ambitious work, and Jazz Codes might just be her richest project yet. —IK
Pool Kids – Pool Kids
The hooks on Pool Kids' self-titled release are triumphant and will transport you right back to pop punk's glory days. The Tallahassee emo scene hometown heroes sound very much present, though, even as their sound pays homage to the acts they grew up on. They're tight as hell, the production is pristine, and there's a certain exuberance in hearing singer Christine Goodwyne's vocals that deserve to be heard in a stadium relay with all of her biting, earnest sentiments about a breakup. Trust us: Put on "That's Physics, Baby" in your room, scream and cry along, and you'll feel as if your heart has just been broken, too — but this and their anthemic guitars could put it back together again. —SB
Pretty Sick – Makes Me Sick Makes Me Smile
Making riot grrrl-inspired music since she was 13, the now-22-year-old Sabrina Fuentes has been one of the coolest artists in New York for years. It wasn't until this year that her band Pretty Sick finally released their debut album (out on Dirty Hit), which feels as if it's an amalgamation of her downtown scene coming-of-age memories, both lyrically and in terms of its unbridled, '90s alt-rock-inspired sound. If you've been on the lookout for a New York rock star in the making to follow, this record proves Fuentes is it. —SB
quinn – quinn
quinn has become one of hyperpop's brightest stars over the past few years, inspiring a devout following — all while still in high school. After dropping multiple projects under different pseudonyms, the 17-year-old's 2022 self-titled release might be her most mature yet. More muted than her earlier glitchy tracks, quinn maintains her experimentalist production while dipping further into R&B-inspired melodies and even some sunny-sounding acoustic guitars ("two door tiffany" being a standout). She sings about both having impostor syndrome and being called a prodigy, but quinn continues to make a case that she's always been and always will be the latter. —SB
Ravyn Lanae – HYPNOS
Ravyn Lenae's R&B fame has been a slow but steady burn the past few years. With her debut Hypnos, she pours her anxieties and doubts into 16 tracks teeming with psychedelic soul, downtempo R&B, and Afrobeats. The result is a confident, creative exploration that highlights the ease of her vocal prowess and solidifies her as a rising star in the R&B space. —IK
Soul Glo – Diaspora Problems
On Diaspora Problems, Philly hardcore punks Soul Glo refined their riotous energy and cacophonous spirit into their most cohesive work yet. From the moment the opener “Gold Chain Punk (whogonbeatmyass)” kicks off, Soul Glo hold nothing back. Rapid-fire vocals that meander between frantic shrieks and intricate rap patterns serve as the perfect counterpart to the onslaught of abstract guitars and blast beats. Soul Glo still find time to experiment with trap and electronic production as well (“Driponomics,” “Coming Correct Is Cheaper”), resulting in an innovative and musically diverse journey through utter chaos. —AD
Special Interest – Endure
Call their music no wave, disco-gone-punk, or funk-hardcore if you must. Special Interest would rather their listeners walk away with a message. Take “(Herman’s) House,” for one, which was inspired by the Angola Three, or “LA Blues,” where frontperson Alli Logout stresses living in the moment with a droning series of vignettes. After 44 minutes of frenetic groove, it’s easy to imagine the band commanding an all-out rave inside a warehouse, where the ground quakes underneath their joyous stomp and a blazing perseverance diffuses the darkness. —NH
They Hate Change – Finally, New
Given the choice, They Hate Change will always go bold. One listen to their debut album, Finally, New, and it’s a testament to the hip-hop duo’s reverence for genres without borders, endless ambition, and being DIY to the bone. How else could they write, produce, and record a 13-track stunner in a 150-square-foot bedroom? Whether they’re shouting out 100 gecs (“Some Days I Hate My Voice”) or Poly Styrene (“X-Ray Spex”), Finally, New is music for raves, highways, and smoke sessions alike. —NH
Underoath – Voyeurist
Released within the first two weeks of 2022, it wouldn't be surprising if Underoath’s ninth studio album, Voyeurist, slipped your mind. However, it's among their best work to date. Voyeurist, which is the second release to feature founding drummer and co-vocalist Aaron Gillespie after his initial departure in 2009, shows the now-legendary post-hardcore sextet diving into their darkest material yet. Whether it's the unrelenting, barnburner of an opening track “Damn Excuses” or the complex, progressive, and atmospheric metal of “Cycle" featuring Ghostemane and the seven-minute closer “Pneumonia,” Underoath are unified in dwelling in the shadows to create emotionally unsettling music. —AD
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