2022 - What a year it was / still is. This isn't the place for a news retrospective, this is all about the music. Specifically the music released on albums from the independent scene over the last 12 months. I've agonised with the order (a bit - not too much) for a chart style countdown. These are my arbitrary rankings on the day I hit publish and I’m not expecting anyone to agree with my choices or rankings. (You can bloody well write your own blog if you disagree). Have a read below, nod at the ones you know, and maybe discover something new. As always support the underground scene, play them, follow them, share their music and catch them at a gig if you can.
I’ve attached a Spotify playlist for this blog with a favourite song from each album. But Bandcamp is where most of these artists will see a benefit so I've included links for digital or physical copies if you can afford to purchase something for your collection.
#30 The New Nostalgia - Bleed & Bloom.
Bleed & Bloom is the debut album from Amsterdam’s The New Nostalgia. Modern Rock N Roll is rarely this angry and humorous, at the same time. It’s bouncy, smart, and full of dirty riffs.
Favourite song: Ibis Budget
Twitter: @newnostalgiauk
Bandcamp: https://thenewnostalgia.bandcamp.com/album/bleed-bloom-2
#29 Holy Coves - Druids & Bards
Creeping through the mists off the Isle of Anglesey comes the dark brooding alternative rock beasts known as Holy Coves. These songs build up until the listener is ensnared in their B.R.M.C by The Black Rebel Motorcycle Club and Come Down by Dandy Warhols are good reference points for the sound of this album. They are continuing their UK tour in February 2023 after main man Scott sustained an injury. They have also been championing new music and giving up and coming bands a leg up which is what we love to see in this new music community.
Favourite song: The Hurt Within
Twitter: @holycoves
Bandcamp: https://holycovesmusic.bandcamp.com/album/druids-and-bards
#28 Hey Calamity - Desperation
All your South Australian dream pop and shoegaze needs are catered for here. Swathes of synths wash over you and soaring guitars ring out. It has a big sound that I've been digging lately. The songs deal with emotions and gets as gothic as The Cure in the early 80's in many places, especially on the songs Running In Circles, and Words Don't Mean A Thing.
Favourite song: Ocean In Between Us
Twitter: @heycalamity22
Bandcamp: https://heycalamity.bandcamp.com/album/desperation
#27 Chris Boddington - Dirty Bit
An album that will take you back to the 90s with 8 banging tunes influenced by artists such as Prodigy, Orbital, Propellerheads, Death In Vegas, Roni Size, 2 Bad Mice, SL2, and The Chemical Brothers. The beats are big, and the sounds are a bit dirty. Chris has also just released a second album of the year called Can't Complain which delves into funkier upbeat territory.
Favourite banger: Phoenix
Twitter: @chrisbodmusic
Bandcamp: https://chrisboddington.bandcamp.com/album/dirty-bit-album-2-2022
#26 Professor Yaffle - Let There Be Light
Liverpool's Professor Yaffle have created yet another sublime trippy album. I love the Andy Warhol smoking Cyberman cover art and you can get carried away with this excellent album that runs for an impressive 66 minutes. Within you will find everything from electronic noodling, swathes of organ, jazzy horns and the deftest touches on the percussion front. It's got the inventiveness of early Boo Radleys under the influence of Nick Drake.
Favourite song: Wandering Star, Pt 3
Twitter: @ToffeeYaffle
Album Link: https://www.professoryaffle.co.uk/product/let-there-be-light/
#25 Kevin Robertson - Teaspoon Of Time
Second solo album from Kevin Robertson, front man of Aberdeen’s The Vapour Trails. An album of light psychedelic pop ear-worms reminiscent of Teenage Fanclub and Belle and Sebastian.
Favourite song: Misty Dew Soaked Mountains
Twitter: @Kevinrol17521365
Bandcamp: https://kevinrobertson.bandcamp.com/album/teaspoon-of-time
#24 Triangle Rain Club - Triangle Rain Club
Harking back to the scuzzy alternative rock scene of the late 80s and early 90s, Chicago’s Triangle Rain Club is heavily influenced by The Cure, Sugar, Dinosaur Jr, Sebadoh, and most prominently The Jesus and Mary Chain on the gruff vocal delivery. This debut album contains 10 short melodic songs drenched in feedback and is easily digestible with a running length of 27 minutes. Play on repeat!
Favourite song: In My Head
Twitter: @RainClubBand
Bandcamp: https://trianglerainclub.bandcamp.com/album/triangle-rain-club
#23 Thousand Yard Stare - Earthanasia
Formed in 1988, Thousand Yard Stare were a band I had heard of and I loved 0-0 a.e.t. but I didn't get into them until their previous album. Then Earthanasia came along and blew me away with the quality of the tunes. It is a varied album and a joy to listen to. Released on their own fantastically named Stiffed Aardvark label in October.
Favourite song: Square Peg Round Hole
Twitter: @wearetys
Bandcamp: Earthanasia LP | Thousand Yard Stare (bandcamp.com)
#22 Lines of Flight - Signs of Life
10 songs recorded in isolation using ipads and whatever they had about the house. Helen and Matthew are both from Leeds and they met online and created this album together / apart. Lines of Flight released a song per month during 2021 so the album is already familiar. But now they are collected together on a beautiful sky blue vinyl that allows you to wallow in the ethereal vocals and dark gothic pop.
Favourite song: Birthing Bell
Twitter: @linesof_flight
Bandcamp: Signs Of Life | Lines of Flight (bandcamp.com)
#21 Voldo - Melting Pot
Choons straight out the Banger Wardrobe, delivered in a melting pot of genres and styles. Great songwriting accompanied by beats, samples, guitars, banjos, piano, in fact, anything that fits the mode. A modern day trip hop Odelay.
Favourite song: Caley Line
Twitter: @voldomusic
Bandcamp: https://nunnyboy.bandcamp.com/album/melting-pot-album
#20 The Lazy Eyes - Songbook
Sydney's psychadelic pop band mix the late 1960's with the early 2020's combining The Beatles with Tame Impala to create an immersive album that will have you grooving and grinning in equal measure.
Favourite song: Fuzz Jam
Twitter:@TheLazyEyesBand
Available from: Official Site - The Lazy Eyes
#19 Lossline - When I Look Out I See No Stars
If you’re looking for sad bleak delicate songs set to ethereal soundscapes interspersed with upbeat sad bleak sing-a-longs that make you question the point in existence, then look no further than the Manchester’s Lossline. An excellent album from the most unhappy-go-lucky band in the Northeast.
Favourite song: Death Masks
Twitter: @losslines
Bandcamp: https://lossline.bandcamp.com/album/when-i-look-out-i-see-no-stars
#18 Jay Tennant - Forever Roses
An album of indie guitar anthems containing seven previous singles to soundtrack the night. Poker Polka sounds like Shed Seven hitting the casino disco, Spectre is the new music scene’s alternative Bond theme, full of menace and espionage imagery. Jay hasn’t stopped releasing new music and has already released another four new songs likely to appear on the follow up album in 2023.
Favourite song: Spectre
Twitter: @jaytennant_
Bandcamp: https://jaytennant1.bandcamp.com/album/forever-roses
#17 The Finest Drops - To Live Between The Worlds
An album of gothic jangle psychedelic shoegaze that was the soundtrack to my two days of covid fever. I rediscovered it when compiling this list and it’s a great album regardless of your rapid antigen test results. The Finest Drops hail from Newcastle-upon-Tyne and this album is available on CD or pay what you want for a digital download on Bandcamp.
Favourite song: For Another Time
Twitter: @MrStuRobson & @DavidNHewitt
Bandcamp: https://thefinestdrops.bandcamp.com/album/to-live-between-the-worlds
#16 Andrew Johnson - Sunrise Empire
My favourite of Andy’s new albums this year. Full of breezy indie pop nuggets embracing a range of instruments, styles, and influences.
Andy is a favourite of mine, my most streamed artist of the last few years, and one of the most prolific songwriters around. Subscribe to him on Bandcamp and you will get exclusive albums and singles throughout the year (digitally and through your letterbox). Honestly you will never need to tweet “I need new music” ever again.
Favourite song: Oversquared
Twitter: @itmustbeandy
Bandcamp: https://andrewjohnson1.bandcamp.com/album/sunrise-empire
#15 Cigarillo - Deodorant
Nearly two years after I first heard RTL2 / Everyone Loves Janet, the debut album Deoderant is released to great joy amongst those lucky enough to dip into Cigarillo’s take on Britpop. The songs are varied, inventive, smart and each gives a few knowing winks to your favourite bands of the 90’s. Expect more from Adelaide’s End of The Pier record label next year, as they have several albums in the pipeline.
Favourite song: The Forecast Was Wrong
Twitter: @eotprecords & @BenTOGM
Bandcamp: https://cigarillo.bandcamp.com/album/deodorant
#14 Gabriel’s Dawn - Gabriel’s Dawn
Midlanders Gabriel’s Dawn released three brilliant singles back in 2021 all are included on this melodic summery jangle pop album. Sweet melancholy female vocals cuts through the chipper tunes giving it a Belle and Sebastian vibe. Ten songs of love, hope, despair, stalking and defiance. Gorgeous jangle pop of the highest order.
Favourite song: I Don’t Believe (In The Summer Of Love)
Twitter: @GabrielsDawn
Bandcamp: https://gabrielsdawn.bandcamp.com/album/gabriels-dawn
#13 Shader - Everything Is Connected
The debut album from Stoke-on-Trent band Shader. Roughly two-third of songs were previously released as singles over the last few years. So as a follower of the band it is instantly familiar to my ears and the new songs are also brilliant making this a very strong collection of indie guitar anthems. Favourite song: Time Is Right
Twitter: @SHADERUK
Available from: Shader - Official Store (tmstor.es)
#12 Skylights - What You Are
York band Skylights have filled their debut album with indie anthems that have been blasting out of stadium tanoys over the last couple of years. Y.R.A., Enemies, Outlaw and Britannia are examples of epic sounding terrace singalongs perfect for ramping up the tension. Elsewhere Darkness Falls and Driving Me Away are delivered as acoustic versions with Julia Violinista providing the strings. A monster of a debut and you sense they will take things even higher in the near future.
Favourite song: Y.R.A.
Twitter: @SkylightsYRA
Available from: Shop - 42's Records (musicglue.com)
#11 Shoes On Now - Deadhead
A punk rock concept album about gardening. My teenage self would shudder with embarrassment at this idea. But as a middle aged dad losing the battle with Mother Nature each weekend trying to make my scrubby sandy patch of land resemble a garden, this tickles me. It is very funny, frantic, and strangely addictive. There are some great song titles such as Pockets Full Of Poo Bags, and Rats In The Compost. My highlight is the touching punk opus No One Can Help Me, which is an expose on father-son relationships, stubborn male pride, and the desire to leave a legacy. "Shoes On Now" has also become a phase I've taught my dog this year, to alert him a walk is iminent.
Favourite song: No One Can Help Me
Twitter: @shoes_on_now
Bandcamp: https://shoesonnow.bandcamp.com/album/deadhead
#10 Sunzoom - Sunzoom
Sunzoom's album opens with a hippy chant reminisicient of 60's throwbacks The Cosmic Rough Riders. Elsewhere a former Beta Band member plays on Pour Me Another Wine. The songwriting is of a high order demonstrated through the vivid imagery on Anytime Soon based on the experiences of a D-Day Veteron, and his personal family experiences on The Place Where The Long Shadows Grow. There are beautiful Beatlesque harmonies, and string arrangements, and whether you soak it up on your headphones or blast it out loud, it's clear Greg is very happy experimenting in the studio and it's mind blowing for a debut album. As Palpatine said to Anakin, "We will watch your career with great interest..."
Favourite song: Hell No
Twitter: @SunzoomMusic
Album link: https://cargorecordsdirect.co.uk/products/sunzoom-sunzoom
#9 Lyon Tide - Life Pop Bang
There’s a wonderful combination of mature songwriting and synth pop on the second album from West Midlands band Lyon Tide. From the beat driven opening banger Chemical Burn, through the 1980s singalong of Life Pop Bang, and the minimalist approach taken on Silent Words sung by Julia Faulkes. There is haunting melancholy on album closer One Way Love and previous single Alone, where the vocals take centre stage over the percussion and soft synthetic swirls as the music briefly rises in the middle and then fades away - quality songs.
Favourite song: Alone
Twitter: @LyonTide
Bandcamp: https://lyontide.bandcamp.com/album/life-pop-bang
#8 Dean Dovey - Journey To The Sun
A truly outstanding album from the Bard of Birmingham. The production is awesome transforming the songs into the full HD Widescreen Surround Sound epics. Dean is an excellent songwriter and there are no weak links in his ten-track debut album featuring previous singles, If Only, Shout, Wishing Well, Journey To The Sun, Borrowed Time, and Loving Heart. The new album tracks are pure quality as well and I'm constantly changing my mind about a favourite song which shows the strength of this album. At the time of writing, I'm going with the epic album closer Where The Light Comes In, which ends with a female backing vocalist, a horn section and a big cheeky nod to The Smiths and The Beatles.
Favourite Song: Where The Light Comes In
Twitter: @deandoveymusic
Bandcamp: Journey To The Sun | Dean Dovey (bandcamp.com)
#7 Sean Buckley (& Friends) - Featuring
Favourite song: Pull (with James Willows)
Twitter: @Mintball
#6 Narcissus - A Sense Of Place
The debut album from Manchester band Narcissus is a slab of ultra cool dark electro bangers with more hooks than a secondhand pirate store. The beats, bleeps, strings, guitars, samples, and vocals combine to create music that is utterly compelling. Guest vocalists Becki Fishwick plays an integral role elevating the songs to the next level in the same way that Denise Johnson lifted Primal Scream. Ten songs - all killer no filler - it’s a riot.
Favourite song: Friends In High Places
Twitter: @narcissushq @beckifishwick
Available from: Shop - 42's Records (musicglue.com)
#5 Lewca - Friday Night Rockstar
Friday Night Rockstar is an incredible collection of witty autobiographical songs from the life of my favourite Geezer. There’s a mixture of genres here, smooth R&B grooves, drum n bass, and hedonistic party music undercut with self-deprecating lyrics. Lewca and S.O.A.P. have collaborated with some of the cream of the new music scene to create this album which includes contributions from Ben Todd, Ben Samama, John Michie, Orange G, James Willows, Oh! Paulo, Ambre, Mondo Trasho, Zar Acoustic, Victory Flow and Shark Star. What a squad of talent to draw from!
Full review: Old Indie Kid: Lewca - Friday Night Rockstar - Album Review
Favourite song: Friday Night Rockstar
Twitter:@Lewca
Bandcamp: https://lewca.bandcamp.com/album/friday-night-rockstar Released 16/12/22
#4 Joe Adhemar - About The Soul
Joe Adhemar’s fifth album of the decade is delivered from an artist at the top of his game. Joe’s production on his synth heavy album is quality here as he tackles different genres with ease. Listen on quality headphones to unlock deeper levels beyond my limited hearing range! Good Day For Falling (reggae), Georgio (disco), About The Soul (soulful techno), Power Lines (Electro-Waltz). He has found his preferred baritone vocal style which unites this collection despite the variety of styles on each song. Joe’s songwriting tackles subject matter including relationships with the environment, partners, friends, an electronic music pioneer, longing for return to earlier times, mental health, wealth inequality and err…power lines. (Probably some symbolism that was lost on me there).
I recorded a show with Joe Adhemar and Moby Tanner where Joe explains his album with us in a track-by-track review. https://www.mixcloud.com/inyourearsmusic/joe-adhemar-about-the-soul-album-introduction-with-old-indie-kid-and-moby-t/
Favourite song: When Our Lungs Are Empty
Twitter: @joeadhemar
Bandcamp: About The Soul | Joe Adhemar (bandcamp.com)
#3 The Shed Project - The Curious Mind Of A Common Man
The Rise of The Sheds continued this year, with the release of the long awaited debut album filled with new music anthems - A Day In The Dam, My Life, Lucky Number, Bedtime, One Shot, Feel My Love, Friend, Modern Way. It's an album of highs influenced by their heroes The Stone Roses and the Madchester scene. Roy is a legend and top dude on twitter always supportive of others. He says the next album will blow this one out of the water - hope we get to hear it in 2023.
My full album review here: Old Indie Kid: The Shed Project Debut Album
Favourite song: Don't Wait For No One
Twitter: @project_shed
Bandcamp: https://theshedprojectuk.bandcamp.com/album/the-curious-mind-of-a-common-man
#2 The Heavy North - Electric Soul Machine
One of the best bands I discovered during the initial lockdown of 2020 were Liverpool’s The Heavy North. Kenny’s distinctive vocals and the 70s soul infused blues rock sound are a killer combination. It amazes me that they don’t have a residency at Las Vegas already. Following on from the fabulous Dive Bar Blues EP the Electric Soul Machine album was a long time coming, delayed by vinyl pressing problems but worth the wait when it arrived. It’s already a classic of the 2020s with brilliant songs including Darkness In My Eyes, Awake, Satisfy You, No Good, and As Long As You’re Here With Me. And this legendary band are back in the studio at the moment working on the follow up.
Favourite song: Satisfy You
Twitter: @TheHeavyNorth
Bandcamp: https://theheavynorth.bandcamp.com/album/electric-soul-machine
#1 The Shop Window - A 4 Letter Word
The Maidstone Massive released their second album at the end of November and have taken out top billing with my album of the year. I love this band and also awarded them second place for their debut album last year. The Shoppies have turned the jangle up to eleven and have written a collection of gorgeous indie pop love anthems. Ten blissful jangle pop songs stepped in a love of the alternative music of the late eighties to mid Nineties. Whilst music can’t be adequately conveyed using words, I tried, and you can read my full review here: Old Indie Kid: The Shop Window A 4 Letter Word
Favourite song: Circles Go Round
Twitter:@theshopwindow1
Bandcamp: A 4 Letter Word | The Shop Window (bandcamp.com)
So that wraps up another year of awesome independent music. My partner in broadcasting crime, Moby Tanner and I will be back for a final radio show later in December. We will be counting down the top 100 songs as voted for by the new music twitter community and Louis Tomlinson’s fans. It will be the final ever #indie100cup show (cross my heart and hope to die), on InYourEarsMusic. I hope you can catch that show and see which songs made the final cut.
Thanks for reading and please share my blog to help raise awareness of the brilliant talent that exists on the underground scene. And check out some of the albums you haven’t heard yet.
Cheers Danny @oldindiekid1