As the year draws to a close and I pause to reflect, I would have to say that my first instinct is that 2022 wasn't the greatest ever for me, in terms of new music.
But that is not to say that there wasn't any good stuff coming across the airwaves. In fact, I have managed to collate quite a large selection of highlights, including new music and music that is new to me, and also take the time to reflect on another way too large number of musicians that have left us...
It's Christmas!
Just to prove that I can occasionally step away from my traditional grinch-like persona over the festivities, I recently discovered a Christmas tune that I actually liked! That is as rare as the proverbial hens teeth, as you can probably count on one hand, the number of festive tunes that I actually really like. It's not a new one though and sadly I came across it in the wake of Mimi Parker's death in November. The song is Just Like Christmas and comes from Low's Christmas EP, from way back in 1999 (which was originally given away to fans).
Alvvays time
Originally from Prince Edward Island and Nova Scotia, but now working out of Toronto, Alvvays came onto my radar recently, following a live set they did for the excellent KEXP station in Seattle. They play a fairly dreamy strand of indie, a bit like The Sundays meets My Bloody Valentine. Their third album, Blue Rev, came out this year - below you can see the song Tom Verlaine from the album (taken from the aforementioned KEXP session).
Out of Africa
Earlier in the year, you may recall, I was very taken by a collaboration between Texas psych-funk band Khruangbin and Vieux Farka, son of Malian blues legend Ali Farka. You can read about the album, Ali, which offers recreations of some of Farka senior's work, here - and click below to
listen to Tongo Barro, one of my favourite tracks from it.
Japanese Punk
Everyone needs a bit of all-girl Japanese punk don't they? Well anyway, here is Otoboke Beaver - a band from Kyoto who have been together since 2009, but only came into my view a few months ago. They quit their jobs in 2020 to become full-time musicians, just in time for the pandemic! They are held in high regard; Dave Grohl no less, said of them, "It'll blow your mind, dude." Album, Super Champon, came out this year, containing songs with some amusing English titles, like, Dirty Old Fart Is Waiting For My Reaction, I Won't Dish Out Salads and Do You Want To Send A DM (parts 1 and 2) - with very few of them clocking in over two minutes long. Here is I Am Not Maternal, from a recent KEXP session.
Irish Indie
We naturally follow Japanese punk with a dose of Irish indie! NewDad are from Galway and were formed in 2018. They have released a handful of singles and EPs in that time, including this year's Banshee EP. The NME compared them to The Cure and Beabadoobee, and I can hear maybe even a little bit of Throwing Muses in there too. From it comes the song Say It.
Leeds lads
With members coming from several other Leeds bands in 2019, Yard Act properly arrived on the scene in 2022 with debut album The Overload. With a style described as post-punk and indie, but with elements of disco and hip-hop thrown in too, they are one of the more interesting bands to make a mark this year. The vocal style of lead singer James Smith is almost spoken rather than sung, as you can see in this single, 100% Endurance - also notable for having the BAFTA winning actor David Thewlis (Dragonheart, Seven Years In Tibet, Harry Potter, The Theory Of Everything) in the music video.
A Fitting Tribute
I think it is fair to say that most tribute concerts, well intentioned as they are, do not generally add up to the sum of their star parts. However, the concert at Wembley to mark the passing of Foo Fighters legend, Taylor Hawkins, is the exception that proves the rule. It featured a who's who of rock legends and was every bit as good and fitting a tribute as the bill suggested it could be. His bandmates were joined for a night of high emotion and thundering rock by members of Rush, AC/DC, Metallica, The Pretenders, Queen and of course, not forgetting Paul McCartney. It ended with the emotional rollercoaster of My Hero, including Shane Hawkins (Taylor's young son) putting in a powerhouse performance to truly commemorate his father.
A Summer of Great Gigs
2022 was a time for us to return to live music. We hadn't been to a concert since 2019, but got to three great gigs across spring / summer 2022; two were originally scheduled for 2020 and had been postponed multiple times for obvious reasons - the third was too great an opportunity to miss when the tickets came on sale in late 2021. So it was that we found ourselves at The Forum for an evening of Mexican-Indie-Folk-Rock with
Calexico (right); followed by my favourite songwriter (Neil Finn) and his majestic band, Crowded House (video clip of Four Seasons In One Day - below), at The Roundhouse; last up in this trio of gigs was some hard rocking Californian punk, courtesy of Social Distortion (left), at Shepherd's Bush Empire.
And the Worst Gig....
Of course, all good things come to an end, as did our run of amazing live shows. Evan Dando has always had a bit of a reputation for not always 'showing up' to his gigs - but the opportunity to see The Lemonheads on tour for the 30th anniversary of It's A Shame About Ray, seemed too good to miss. So off we trooped, down to the 1865 in Southampton (lovely little venue, by the way) - to be hit by major disappointment. It is fair to say that it was a car crash of a show, and it would perhaps be way too kind of me to call Dando's performance 'shambolic.' Over half of the crowd had left well before the end, I think we only stayed out of a sense of morbid curiosity and some blind hope that it might get better. It did not.
Finding Old Gems
Every year I try and seek out stuff by bands that I am aware of, but don't really know much about and/or bands that have some link to another band that I already know and love. 2022 has been no exception and I will mention here, a couple of the bands that I have 'discovered' over the last 12 months.
Yo La Tengo: It is somewhat incredible that this New Jersey band has largely stayed off my radar, as they have been going for almost 40 years and have produced the kind of interesting, quirky indie stuff that I tend to like. Here is Autumn Sweater from 1997's I Can Hear The Heart Beating As One - https://youtu.be/38iyHpJtylg
The Delgados: This indie band were featured in a documentary on Scottish pop music that aired a few years back, which I ended up watching again this year. Here is I Fought The Angels from their last album, 2004's Universal Audio. https://youtu.be/VUdY2GS6Kvk
Bash & Pop: Tommy Stinson was in a band with older brother Bob, from the age of 11. That band would end up recruiting Paul Westerberg as singer and become The Replacements - perhaps one of the most revered, dishevelled and chaotic post-punk garage bands of the 1980s. When that all fell apart in the early 90s, he formed his own band, Bash & Pop. They lasted two years and one album - Friday Night Is Killing Me (which included contributions by Benmont Tench and Mike Campbell from The Heartbreakers). Over 20 years passed, with Stinson having long stints playing with Soul Asylum and Guns n Roses, before in 2016, Bash & Pop reformed, resulting in 2017s Anything Could Happen. Check out this great version of the Stones-y On The Rocks - https://youtu.be/f19h1sio9h8
A Beautiful Segue
We end this bit of the review with a beautiful live performance that ended up having added significance a few weeks after it was recorded. Performed at the Water Is Life Festival on 4th September - this is a stunning version of Days Like These by Low. It was to be their last performance as co-founder, Mimi Parker lost her battle with cancer on 5th November.
Remembering....
Now we remember all those from the music world we have lost in 2022. The list is long and (sadly) by no means exhaustive (and apologies if I missed anyone crucial off).
January:
Ronnie Spector (Veronica Greenfield) was a singer and founder of the all-girl Ronettes (Be My Baby, Baby I Love You) who also endured a nightmare marriage to Phil Spector. She passed following a short battle with cancer at the age of 78.
February:
This month we lost Mark Lanegan aged just 57. With a gorgeous baritone voice, he emerged on the grunge scene with the Screaming Trees, but also worked with Queens Of The Stone Age. // Gary Brooker, pianist and founder of Procol Harum, famed for their cryptic hit Whiter Shade Of Pale, died aged 76.
Here is the Screaming Trees classic, Nearly Lost You - https://youtu.be/YpkJ6WBOA5M
March:
Having drummed for Alanis Morissette, Taylor Hawkins was contacted by Dave Grohl in 1997 and asked if he would like to join the Foo Fighters. The rest was history, until his tragic death while on tour with the band in South America.
April:
The Saints were an Australian punk band who actually had a single out even before The Damned and The Sex Pistols (the two bands who usually fight for the honour of first ever punk single). I'm Stranded is a classic and sadly underplayed - I'll put that right now https://youtu.be/OWeX65b5dOk (interesting intro with some very famous musicians talking about why it is important). Chris Bailey was the singer and guitarist with the band, passing in April at the age of 65.
May:
Evangelos Papathanassiou, known professionally as Vangelis, died in May aged 79. Famous for his soundtrack work on Blade Runner and Chariot's Of Fire, he also collaborated in later life on projects with NASA and the European Space Agency. // Irish music lost a legend this month in Cathal Coughlan. The Cork man rose to prominence in the early 80s with Microdisney (here's Town To Town - https://youtu.be/-Z9ZbvDaupY ), before leading The Fatima Mansions. // The world of pop mourned the passing of Andy Fletcher, a founder of pioneer synth legends Depeche Mode, who died aged 60 after suffering an aortic dissection.
July:
Paul Ryder was not quite as famous as his brother Shaun, but his part in the formation and success of Madchester legends, The Happy Mondays, is no less important. He played bass with the band from its inception in 1983 and also acted in several films, including 24 Hour Party People.
August: Jerry Allison was the last of The Crickets, passing just nine days shy of his 83rd birthday. He played on many of the big Buddy Holly classics, in fact Peggy Sue was named after his then girlfriend (later first wife), and was also a session drummer with the likes of Bobby Vee, Eddie Cochran and the Everly Brothers.
October:
West coast punk lost Darren Henley (a.k.a. D.H. Peligro), drummer with the Dead Kennedy's, having joined them just after their first album and playing on three albums and an EP. He was also briefly in the Red Hot Chili Peppers, following the sacking of original drummer Jack Irons (although he never appears on record). He died from a head trauma received after a fall. Some proper high-speed punk drumming here, in this live version of MTV Get Off The Air - https://youtu.be/a3_iLqC1ufI
November:
As mentioned above, Mimi Parker, co-founder of Minnesotan band Low (and husband of the other co-founder, Alan Sparhawk), lost her battle with ovarian cancer. // November also saw the passing of pub-rock, proto-punk legend Wilko Johnson, once of Dr Feelgood, noted for his staccato, percussive style of guitar playing. He had been diagnosed with late stage pancreatic cancer in 2012 and refused treatment - but it later transpired to be a less aggressive and more treatable form - which allowed him another decade. // Lancastrian, Christine McVie (nee Perfect), first made a name for herself as the singer in blues band Chicken Shack, before marrying John McVie and joining Fleetwood Mac. She wrote many of their classics, including Don't Stop, Little Lies and Everywhere. // A star of the tv show Fame (and singer of the theme tune), Irene Cara, died on 25 November aged 63 - she also co-wrote and sang the theme for the film Flashdance. // Keith Levene was an unsung hero of punk and post-punk - a distinctive and creative guitarist with PiL, he had also been an original founding member of The Clash. Levene passed away at home in Norfolk aged 65.
December:
We lost the grandad of punk, Jet Black (born Brian Duffy), just before Christmas, at the venerable age of 84. The Stranglers were formed above his Guildford ice cream shop in 1974 and he was still playing with them up until his retirement due to ill health, in 2015. // Then, to round it all off - we lost Terry Hall. With The Specials and Fun Boy Three (and later, The Colourfield), Hall formed a crucial part of the musical backdrop to my young life and burgeoning interest in 'modern' music. Although only 8 at the time, I can still remember watching the video for Ghost Town on Top Of The Pops. This one really hurt, with not only those memories, but also the knowledge of the message of love and equality that he always preached.
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