Ten New Albums to Explore in Summer 2022

Let’s listen to some new music courtesy of ten bands with releases this year. Some of these bands are fairly well established, most have at least a few albums under their belt, and a couple are just getting started. Like my other posts of this nature, this is intended as an introduction to these bands through their new releases. I’m not that familiar with any of the bands and highlighted them based on a first impression. So, I’ll be exploring them more along with you.

Dragon New Warm Mountain I Believe in You by Big Thief – It’s fitting that a verbose title would accompany a sprawling 20-song double album. Big Thief is based in Brooklyn and put out their debut album in 2016. I first heard them on Sirius XMU with “Not”, off their 2019 record, Two Hands. Indie folk with a twang usually doesn’t interest me too much, but this is a charming song complete with a raging Neil Young-like guitar solo. Dragon… is their 5th album and seems to expand on their sound with a variety of instruments and styles. It’s both mellow and sweeping. Here’s “Simulation Swarm:”

Radiate Like This by Warpaint – These indie L.A. rockers have been around since the early aughts and just released their fourth album, Radiate Like This. Over the years I’d heard a couple songs that sounded intriguing, but never checked them out more. Their rock comes with moody, lush harmonies that shift in musical time and style. Chill out to “Champion.”

Angel in Realtime by Gang of Youths – After their studio debut in 2015, these Australian rockers, now based in London, released their third album in 2022. They’re a powerful band with an immediate sound that’s maybe a little overloaded in the arena-rock mode. Angel in Realtime is lyrically serious and poignant, however, in its theme of loss (in this case, the death of the lead singer’s father) as exemplified by “in the wake of your leave.”

Endless Rooms by Rolling Blackouts Coastal Fever – With a name like this, these guys must be from California or Australia. RBCF are from Australia and just released their third album. I bought their last album (Sideways to New Italy), after hearing their jangly guitar-oriented indie rock on the radio. The new album seems to continue their easy-listening guitar rhythms, but the words address themes of environmental devastation and class inequalities, reminiscent of fellow Aussies Midnight Oil. (They lack the urgency and anger of The Oil, Resist: Midnight Oil Goes on Its Farewell Tour with Superb New Album). They do tend to sound the same, despite having no front man and three rotating singers. Take a listen to “My Echo:”

Blue Skies by Dehd – This three-piece Chicago band released its fourth album in 2022; the follow-up to 2020’s Flower of Devotion which received Pitchfork’s Best New Music award. They’re sound shifters; unconventional melodies with reverb guitar and sparse vocals. Listen to the wailing “Bad Love,” “I was a bad love, Now I can get some, I got a heart full, I got a heart full of…. redemption:”

What Says by Doll Spirit Vessel – This is the debut from the three-piece indie band from Philadelphia. What Says was self-recorded in a cabin near Crater Lake, Oregon. They are led by Kati Malison’s magnetic vocals swirling over a musical blend of gentle and noisy. Here’s one of the more poppier numbers, “Train Brain Rot:”

We’ve Been Going About This All Wrong by Sharon Van Etten – Along with Big Thief, Sharon Van Etten has become a big player in the folk-rock movement. The American singer-songwriter had her first album in 2009 and now in 2022 celebrates her sixth release. She continues to expand her musical horizons framed by her elegant, yet rough-around-the-edges voice. “Mistakes” quickly caught my attention on Sirius XMU; it’s a long way from her earlier spare acoustic sound. This is a big pop song about dancing at home with a delicious Seinfeld reference, “I dance like Elaine, but my baby takes me to the floor, says more, more.”

“Conversation” by Mom Rock – Well, we know “Dad Rock” when we hear it, so here’s Mom Rock. They formed in 2018 at the Berklee School of Music and have just been named Rolling Stone’s 2022 Hot Band. I’m not sure there’s anything new here, but I always like to hear another young band that rocks out. They’re power-pop rock with just a few streaming singles out now. Take a listen to “Conversation:”

The Last Thing Left by Say Sue Me – South Korean pop culture continues to surprise me, particularly in film and TV. Parasite becoming the first foreign film to win the Academy Award for Best Picture (2020) and Squid Game just receiving a whopping 14 Emmy nominations. Music, not so much. I think of “Gangnam Style,” BTS, and the legions of other manufactured K-Pop groups. Thanks to Say Sue Me for showing me there’s more to South Korean music. They hail from the coastal city of Busan which could explain the surf vibe in their music. They’re a little lightweight for me with an unassuming, pleasant glow to their music. But they make me smile. South Korean indie rock. Who knew? Check out the sunshine guitar in “No Real Place:”

Skinty Fia by Fontaines D.C. – I highlighted these Irisk rockers in my very first post (Rock N’ Roll in the 2020s? – Try The Districts and Fontaines D.C.). Now they’re back with their third album after moving from Dublin to London. They’ve added choral elements, Irish traditional, and a little electronica to their hypnotic vocals and edgy guitars. The album’s theme is the group’s transition from Ireland to England. Listen to “Roman Holiday,” I don’t wanna see the Queen, I already sing her song:”