MUSIC

North Carolina's Superchunk have been on a solid roll in the last decade since coming back strong with Majesty Shredding in 2010. Their singular indie brand of pop-punk has taken on different shades since then, and Wild Loneliness is another win for the group's nuanced songwriting. Both cohesive in sound and experimenting dynamically, the record proves that Superchunk will continue to be only themselves until their final day.

The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Inductees are an interesting bunch this year, all top-notch groups and artists overdue for entry. Since each are a bit older, if you haven't checked out these albums by these classic artists, there's no better time than right now. Or at the very least, you have until the November ceremony. Here are the best albums from the inductees in 2022.

Since the dawn of the 2020s, a handful of albums stand out as potential options for the worst album of the decade. Maroon 5's most recent has received some of the lowest ratings, despite its popularity (JORDI has a 48/100 on Metacritic). But despite some better average ratings, Drake's recent output has come under fire for its extremely low quality. From Views to Scorpion to Dark Lane Demo Tapes, critics have been slowly dropping worse and worse reviews, topping the trend off with 2021's Certified Lover Boy. Here's what critics had to say about this Drake album.

The story behind Lil Nas X's collaboration with NBA Youngboy, entitled 'Late To Da Party,' is an unfortunately common but no less interesting one. From the first few seconds of the track, you can immediately tell the direction of Lil Nas X's vitriol. For those who have not yet heard it, the opening hook is just 'f*ck BET' four times in a row. Here's the story of the first single from Lil Nas X following his debut LP Montero.

It's the same case with most middle-aged bands: as you become more of a legacy act, the music can lose a bit of its former vigor. With Unlimited Love, guitarist John Frusciante rejoins the band yet again after over ten years of break, but unfortunately, it becomes abundantly clear that the band is mostly relying on a tampered version of their past selves to coast by.

Serious music always piques the interest of the critics, but Confidence Man is all fun and all the better for it. For those who like dance music, this one is a must-listen, as a near-constant flow of euphoria with each track.

The story of Bill Fay is one of the most peculiar and touching in all of singer/songwriter history. After returning to music as a septuagenarian, this early-1970s folk artist finally peaked with the 2020 album Countless Branches. Here's how Fay only came to produce his fifth album in 50 years.

Since the first collection of Soccer Mommy songs came out on Fat Possum Records in 2017, songwriter Sophie Allison has routinely turned out studio albums that continue to develop her remarkable skills. With Sometimes, Forever, Soccer Mommy's third album, Allison proves that she cannot get a miss with the critics. Each has generated a higher Metacritic score than before, with this newest record currently sitting at 84/100. Here's the lowdown on this exceptional indie group.

Aldous Harding successfully followed her minor breakout album, Party, with a 2019 record that appeared on several Best of the Year lists from prominent critics, including topping the list from the highly regarded British online newspaper The Independent. Since following Designer is undoubtedly an impossible task, her 2022 album instead just tries to strike the balance point between accessible and enigmatic, with Designer leaning towards the former and Warm Chris coming across mostly as the latter. The verdict will come down ultimately to personal taste; for detractors, Warm Chris could either be too easy or too difficult a listen.

Dan Bejar, frontman of Destroyer and also a member of The New Pornographers, has not stopped making music since his 1996 debut as the sole writer of Destroyer's We'll Build Them a Golden Bridge. Part of the ease in his constant songwriting seems to stem from gradual shifts in new directions, and that ideology led to a potent art-pop/rock sound displayed in his best albums, Kaputt (2011) and Poison Season (2015). With album #13, Bejar's Destroyer keeps trying to revolutionize, indulging in experimental sonic forays that, while interesting, do not always make LABYRINTHITIS a cohesive experience.

The collective formerly known as 'British Sea Power' saw an opportunity to shake things up when reflecting on their association with centuries of colonization perpetuated in their home country. Since the early 2000s, they have always raged against the powers that be in their own quiet, subtle way (their first album, after all, is called The Decline of British Sea Power). However, the sentiment of anti-nationalism has never been more than a passing element in Sea Power's music.

Crystal Castles' founding member Alice Glass has apparently lived in the shadow of her former band long enough. After five years separating her debut EP and her 2022 full-length as a solo artist, Glass' time out of the spotlight is over. In a stunning clash of electronic sounds, Glass distances herself from the less-angular indie electronic sound of Crystal Castles to become a force all her own.

Shamir’s 2022 album Heterosexuality was another deviation from this challenging artist, a diverse statement from someone never content to repeat himself. If this album caught your attention but didn’t quite work for you, another Shamir album that flew under the radar might be a better listening choice. Shamir’s self-titled album finds the balance between experiment and cohesion arguably better than his first record, and at a tight 27 minutes, the album is easy to digest and repeat. Here’s everything to know about Shamir’s 2020 studio album.

Among the many great albums of this new decade, there has to be one at the bottom of the pack. So far, a handful of 2022 records reach right to the end, like new efforts from Machine Gun Kelly and Jack Harlow. However, one record from last year has them both beat: the last album from Maroon 5. Of all major releases from the past two-and-a-half years, this one is rated extremely low and placed right at the bottom of the entire 2020s pile.

The list of great 2022 albums truly does not stop! Already, a bunch of new greats have emerged among the last three entries of The Best Albums of 2022. If you've already heard the albums on these three lists, here are a bunch more to satiate the new music needs!