MUSIC

As of July 2022, the classic Beatles album A Hard Day's Night, their defining third record and first all-original output, is now 58 years old. Unsurprisingly, it's as great as the day it came out, a pinnacle of gently aching ballads and exuberant British pop. Here's everything you need to know about every song from A Hard Day's Night, each one composed by the undefeated songwriting champions John Lennon and Paul McCartney.

Spiritualized, the spacey project by J. Spaceman (Jason Pierce), redefined space rock for the indie era with 1997's Ladies and Gentlemen We Are Floating in Space. Pierce's iconic project has remained a staple of the usual album cycle, always turning in a new solid effort every four years, which stayed consistent since Pierce is the sole writing member of the group. And after another four years, he is back like clockwork with Everything Was Beautiful, which despite being on schedule is a very special effort. Here's the lowdown on this new Spiritualized album!

Fontaines D.C. seemed to appear out of nowhere with their 2019 debut album, Dogrel. Critics gave this new band some of the best reviews of the year, and amazingly, they have received equally great review since then. The Dubliners nearly match the reviews of their debut masterwork with 2022's Skinty Fia, reaching an astounding 85/100 on Metacritic. Check out the scoop on the newest voice of Ireland below.

More new albums of 2022! Here are 13 records to add to the best of 2022 list, which you can find other entries of on these past lists. The list is nearly up to a top fifty, so keep checking back to see every album that ends up on the mega-list. Happy listening!

Six long years and everyone's favorite rocking psych-dream-pop band finally is back! Warpaint's heavier edge has been tamped by age and life, but their new songs are as engaging as ever. Check out all the highlights of Warpaint's new record, Radiate Like This, below!

In need of a new look, aspiring musician Ciara Mary-Alice Thompson branched out from her Irish indie roots into something immediately identifiable as a pop star in the making. Drawing from classic country and folk-pop, her witty songwriting puts equal focus on sound and hooks, making layered, well-produced music that is not without its uniquely charming quirks. Check out what you need to know about CMAT below!

There's no doubt that Belle and Sebastian are an essential indie band. With a stellar opening trio of albums released just before the turn of the 21st century, this Scottish band subtly revitalized indie pop for a new era with a craft and poetry straight from the Smiths handbook. With most of this band's albums being above the average for their genre, they had a lot of pressure put on their return after a 7-year-long studio absence. And while fans should be placated by 2022's A Bit of Previous, the record's unassuming nature is a bit of a letdown compared to albums like If You're Feeling Sinister.

European electro-pop has yet to make a resurgence in an artist who truly champions the genre while taking stock of the fundamental references that built the genre. With Charlotte Adigéry and Bolis Pupul's Topical Dancer, the wait for that resurgence is over! Here's everything to know about this amazing new album.

With more great reviews for Two Ribbons, left-of-center pop duo Let's Eat Grandma solidify their position as the go-to alternative pop option of the indie world. With a now-famous story charting the course of their third album, the British pop group is also equally as musically successful here, which is a tough but true statement following their critically acclaimed second album, I'm All Ears. With more human emotion than ever before and a great balance of catchy singles and memorable album tracks, Two Ribbons does much more than just keep this duo afloat.

Silent Alarm is the classic go-to record from post-punk revival band Bloc Party, period. If you don't know them (or if you do), it's the record to reach for 99% of the time. With that said, it was only a matter of time (in this case, just over 17 years) that they returned to the Silent Alarm sound for a nostalgia trip. While this English band certainly performs their self-imitation with some sonic success, it should not resonate with most people as any more than just that: a throwback attempt.

Following Sharon Van Etten's Remind Me Tomorrow, which came out in 2019 and marked her highest-charting album to date, We've Been Going About This All Wrong keeps the singer/songwriter's heartbreaking heart-on-your-sleeve lyrics and matching sonic palette intact. The indie artist definitely will not be topping the charts with this one, but taken on its own level, this 2022 album is moving and meaningful.

The follow-up to 2021's Ignorance was always going to be in the shadow of this great album. Considered one of the best records of the year, Ignorance fused Canadian songwriter Tamara Lindeman's penchant for classic folk with Fleetwood Mac-styled production and arrangements. The opening track, a slow and intentional light jazz-inflected number called 'Robber,' was a career highlight for Lindeman, and the rest of the album had not one miss on it. With that in mind, Lindeman's similar companion album from 2022, called How Is It That I Should Look At The Stars, is an understandable downgrade despite its quality sound.

With the release of the single 'Call Me Little Sunshine' (catch the sunshine=lucifer connection?), Ghost re-announced their presence on the path to album #5. IMPERA began life with this classic Ghost single, but when the full album came out, it revealed itself as so much more. Balancing their commercial '80s pop-metal nostalgia appeal with a unique freshness, IMPERA is unquestionably the best that the hard rock world will see in 2022.

Kurt Vile's small role in the Philadelphian rock band The War On Drugs unexpectedly turned into a successful solo career with his 2010s albums. By the time B'lieve I'm Goin Down came out in 2015, he cemented his music as the perfect balance between indie rock weirdness and stringed instrument mastery. On his ninth album, (Watch My Moves), he hits the balance once again, and while the record can be excessive at 73 minutes in length, it has some really good material on it.

Kae Tempest (formerly Kate) first transferred their skills in poetry and spoken word into music with 2014's Everything Down, and a Mercury Prize nomination later shaped the course of an exciting career. Their second album, Let Them Eat Chaos, was also nominated, already cementing a legacy of literate observations on the state of the world. With album #4, Tempest turns the focus inward, and the results are as phenomenal as ever. Here's what to expect from Tempest's new album, The Line Is a Curve.