Favorite Albums of January 2022

Kicking off the year in style before a packed February

Welcome to 2022! Looks like you’ve been here awhile so I won’t keep you waiting much longer. But before we jump into the music, a few small announcements. First off, as mentioned in the best of 2021 article, we’re moving over to a monthly release schedule. As a result of this, I’ll be covering both metal and non-metal music, but will still be listening to way more metal than is necessary because I want to find the best stuff out there. Lastly, one of the album covers is vaguely gross, my apologies, I didn’t make the album cover. Let’s get into it.

Wiegedood - There’s Always Blood at the End of the Road

Black metal often conjures up images of rituals in frozen woods. Wiegedood seems interested in doing something else. While other black metal artists maintain a high level of consistent intensity, often to the point of becoming white noise, Wiegedood manipulates that consistent pressure into something more propulsive and engaging. No song better encapsulates this new take on a decades old genre than FN SCAR 16, which feels a lot like getting chased through those snowy woods by a cult armed with automatic weapons. Few tracks, or albums for that matter, get the heart racing quite like this.

 

Party Cannon - Volumes of Vomit

I like that this album cover is gross to the point of becoming hilarious, that’s a tough thing to do. In many ways, the album cover actually is the perfect representation of Party Cannon’s irreverent style of brutal slam death metal. Volumes of Vomit is chock full of silliness. For instance, the track “Tactical Chunder” hears the lead vocalist proclaim “Satan’s pretty cool” before launching into some of the most unhinged death metal I’ve heard this year. What really makes the album work is the understanding that you can be silly and technically competent at the same time. Metal has always been melodramatic and absurd, and this is essentially the well-executed B-movie of death metal.

 

Som - The Shape of Everything

The more I listen to it, the less I feel like Som fits into the world of metal. While the guitars and drums are certainly heavy enough to count for it, the vocals are as shoegaze-y as anything that Slowdive has done. Unlike other bands that have tiptoed along this hazy line, like Deafheaven and Alcest, Som seems most comfortable sitting in this space rather than bringing in elements like harsh vocals to prove metal bonafides. It’s a great album to get lost in, and an excellent trapdoor to lure some metal-wary friends into.

Krallice - Crystalline Exhaustion

It’s always noteworthy when Krallice drops a new record. A big reason for the excitement when they drop is that despite their acclaim, they always find something to add to their repertoire. Crystalline Exhaustion sees them operating in a more atmospheric space, but don’t mistake that for them losing their edge. The presence of organ-like synths adds an air of eeriness to an album that would otherwise border on standard death metal fare. Of course, Krallice remains anything but standard, so we get some of the best death metal riffs of the year, encircling drum rhythms and pronounced bass-work to undergird this cold, desolate experience.

Celeste - Assassine(s)

After waiting for five years, the French sludge icons Celeste finally return with a signature entry into their discography. With this record, you can begin to see the loose webbing connecting Celeste with other French groups like Vous Autres. There’s a common depth of tone, propulsive kick drum and shorter, more comprehensible mid-range of harsh vocals that, when put together, becomes a gorgeous symphony of aggression. Assassine(s) takes this formula to a brand new height. The songs are layered and fluid, lingering just long enough in each moment to make the next feel earned and thrilling. It all adds up to a remarkably tight record that is sure to stand out as a gem in this storied group’s already impressive discography.

Det Eviga Leendet - Reverence

If the constant evolutions and fluctuations happening in the black metal space have you craving some down and dirty forest metal recorded in a bathroom, then Det Eviga Leendet has you covered. While the note about recording in a bathroom may do them a disservice, it’s the best way to represent the blown out, whitewater rapids that engulfs the record. But putting that aside, everything else about the record oozes experience. The whole thing is rife with stellar drumming and guitar work, and the vocals manage to hit that sweet spot just between a roar and a shriek. In a time when everyone else is reinventing black metal, Det Eviga Leendet is showing all the parts that didn’t need fixing.

The Weeknd - Dawn FM

I’ve made no secret of my fandom for The Weeknd, but up until 2020s After Hours, it seemed like my faith was misplaced. Fortunately, After Hours saw him live up to the promise he showed on Trilogy and Drake’s Take Care, and Dawn FM only sees him further establish himself as a pop icon capable of meeting both commercial and critical expectations. On the whole Dawn FM continues the drug-laden 80s vibe of its predecessor, but adds an additional layer of grime and velvet. Where After Hours was dancey and boisterous, Dawn FM is smothered and subdued, the whole album feels as though it takes place after the after party, and things aren’t going quite according to plan.

 

Earl Sweatshirt - Sick!

The past few Earl Sweatshirt projects have been works that I’ve appreciated for their ambition and willingness to buck popular hip-hop trends, but I’d be lying if I said that they were immediately enjoyable for me personally. That trepidation made Sick! feel all the more special when it was finally released. Compared to Some Rap Songs and Feet of Clay, Sick! is a more focused, slightly less experimental album, but what it lacks in surprise factor it more than makes up for in execution. The album brims with some of Earl’s best flows and hardest hitting lyrics, both of which are laid upon a bed of sumptuous and thrilling beats that make Sick! a must listen hip-hop project in 2022.

 

Pinegrove - 11:11

Pinegrove only continues to get better over the years. If last year’s Amperland, NY was a warm up, then this is a stellar gold medal run. They continue to excel at blending elements of emo with more traditional indie-style Americana. The resulting record is something that’s sure to please anyone who grew up between the years of 1990 and 2005, which includes me and probably most of you. 

FKA Twigs - CAPRISONGS

After releasing the best album of 2019, FKA Twigs has finally returned with a much more low key project. CAPRISONGS has been touted as a mixtape, but that term obfuscates the level of quality inherent in the actual music here. While it’s more casual, poppy and easy to engage with than her previous efforts, it’s no less ambitious or successful for it. Whether we’re considering the glitchy explosion of “Ride the Dragon” or the laid back slide of “Jealousy,” CAPRISONGS is yet another example of why FKA Twigs is one of the world's preeminent artists in any genre.