THE BEST OF ELSEWHERE 2022: THE READERS' CHOICES

From where we sat near the stereo, 2022 was an extraordinary year for music.

All those “lockdown” albums started pouring through so there were plenty to choose from when it came to particular favourites.

Yep, a lousy year for many, especially those like us who endured a seemingly endless and dull second lockdown in Auckland.

Last week we posted our picks of the best of the year in reissues and this week we have Elsewhere Best of 2022 for your consideration.

But we also threw it open for you to tell us your favourites.

And we thank you for offering your choices.

Here is what people told us . . . and where Elsewhere had reviewed the album we have highlighted it with a link to our original review (some choices were also in our Best Of Elsewhere list so I've marked those "also BOElse") and most of these can be found on Spotify or bandcamp.

Thanks to everyone who made the time, you have given us all some fine suggestions for the holiday season.

Looks like a lot of listening on the horizon . . .

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Ross the Word Warrior says

One wanders with the sobering perspicuity of age into the thrall of Elsewhere’s annual reflections … where the past becomes clearer, the present, hopeful. In this light, one reflects on the death of a musician held close, to bright new sparks lighting the road ahead.

The addition of someone Perfect into one of Britain’s seminal blues bands in the late ‘60s precipitated what would become one of the great rock/pop ensembles of all time. My appreciation of the talents of Christine McVie picked up a notch with the release of Bare Trees in 1972; her growing melodic/lyrical writing talent along with keyboard skills really came to the fore here. My personal Fleetwood Mac favourite then, and now, around half a century later, resides in the song Homeward Bound.

From Fleetwood’s standard percussive intro to McVie’s propulsive keyboards and Kirwan’s/Welch’s pointed guitars, it is just awesome to see a band humming like this. Although the song is largely about life on the road, listening in 2022 it appears she is expressing our future more clearly than ever. Here I am on the mortal cusp, and like the song hopefully it is neat and tidy!

Carson McHone: Still Life. Every song presents itself as a perfectly formed gem but Hawks Don’t Share or Fingernail Moon for the itinerant grazers. Banner carrier.

Blood Orange: Four Songs EP. Personal but like being wrapped in a warm blanket.

Te Kaahu: Rangirara. Be still my beating heart. (BOElse)

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A different Ross tells us . . .

Dom says

Things Happen That Way by Dr John. Work in progress when he died in 2019, but finished & released this year.

Lovely laconic lazy life assuring grooves perfect for summer

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Jeremy identifies the following

Kevin Morby - This Is A Photograph - his best yet?

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Ralf has two interesting choices

Michael Wollny - Ghosts
Piano trio reimagined. Fresh, inventive and surprising.
I don’t know anyone who plays piano like Michael. Play loud.

Anja Garbarek - The Road is Just a Surface

A sonic and often sinister soundscape, mixing sweet melodies with modified voice to give it an unsettling edge. Great listening experience. From 2018

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Blair sends this from rainy Spain and admits he can't follow the instructions!

Chloe and the Next 20th Century - Father John Misty

Josh Tillman seems to ignore the past 70 years of music history and instead go music hall , torch or even Weimar Republic era cabaret all the way through except for the striking exception of "Goodbye Mr Blue" , a pastiche on "Everybody's Talkin" that he seems to get away with. Yes probably eclectic is the word, but he pulls it off in a great fashion .

Have the sense he is someone that will be around a long time.

Things are Great - Band of Horses -  This is very much the Ben Bridewell show but in this iteration of Band of Horses he seems to have added some real vigour via new players across the guitars and rhythm section . There are echoes of the Cure with the flanged  guitar lines on "Crutch" but elsewhere the guitars crunch alongside Bridewell's unique vocal stylings. It's high energy stuff but very rewarding.

Teethmarks - S.G Goodman - A recurring issue with so much music these days via streaming etc is where to find out about anything that fall into your orbit (though Elsewhere is always a good start :-) . This is a case in point. Shana Gail or "S.G" Goodman is a native of Kentucky but with roots very much in the south (think early Lucinda Williams). This is no laid back or straight country though , there is a real thrash at times reminiscent of the Replacements with accompanying great back beats. Believe it or not I found out about her on Marc Maron's podcast.

And now for 2 x quick mentions as it has to be done (loosely filed under Reissues)

Live at the El Mocambo 1977 - The Rolling Stones  - if Graham's definition is things you will be listening to for years to come then, having waited a mere 45 years think I'll be listening to this till the day I shuffle off the planet. Simply extraordinary, Rolling Stones Mach III at full tilt , even more so given the backstory of zero shows in 1977 except for these and Keith's ongoing troubles .

It's the great Charlie and Bill looseness (hear Bill dart up the fretbaoard when Keith does his Chuck Berry, hear Charlie fire up the Black n Blue funk cuts) Even Ronnie is good and for once makes sense. Not forgetting Billy Preston, Ollie Brown or Jagger being part of the band and very politically incorrect in the process rather than the stuck up old git preening out the front . Rolled Gold indeed. (BOElse)

Get on Board - Ry Cooder, Taj Mahal - speaking of mortality, when these two guys go the world will be a poorer place indeed. Iconic, legendary musicians get back together  for the first time since the 60's for a nostalgic trip through the Sonny Terry/Brownie McGee 1952 set but this is no laidback armchair exercise, they tear it up with assistance from Cooder's son Joachim.

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Mike aka Sludgie says

I had been thinking that this year had nowhere up to the level of what I thought was a stellar 2021 - when I noted down what I had bought and played I had to conclude that there were quite a few remarkable records.

The first two were technically released last year but did not get released in NZ till this year Ada Victoria's A Southern Gothic and Lady Blackbird's Black Acid Soul got a lot of play here.

Next would be Big Thief's New Warm Mountain I Believe in You, The Deslondes' Ways and Means, The Delines' Sea Drift, Robert Glasper's Black Radio III, Mel Parsons' Slow Burn, Spoon - Lucifer on the Sofa, Ferris & Sylvester - Superhuman and Dr John - Things Happen That Way. 

Then there were the re-releases where I indulged myself in many of Blue Note's classic and tone poet series, outside of that there was the fantastic Tom Petty Live at the Fillmore set, Tall Dwarfs - Unravelled, Jesse Davis' debut, Prince and the Revolution - Live, The Pernice Brothers - Discover a Lovelier You and Kimmie Rhodes and Willie - Picture in a Frame.

So overall a pretty good year.  

Next year already promises some good stuff with the new Sunny War  

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John M has this to say

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Derek picked all locals

SJD - Sweetheart
Endlessly inventive intelligent pop music with heart and surreal soul. When the opening track's called 'My Exploding Head' you know you're in safe hands.

The Beths - Expert In A Dying Field
There's nothing I don't like about this. Such great songs, such cool arrangements, they're in danger of giving indie rock a good name. (BoElse)

Tall Dwarfs - Unravelled: 1981-2002

Like a hallucinogenic holiday in a strange and silly land. I know it's all reissues but god is it wonderful to hop in the Tall Dwarfs' time machine.

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Sean chooses

The Afghan Whigs - How Do You Burn?

The Smile – A Light for Attracting Attention

Big Thief – Dragon New Warm Mountain I Believe in You (BOElse)

Aldous Harding – Warm Chris (BOElse

Beach House – Once Twice Melody

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Tim tells us his top picks are

Tall Dwarfs – Unravelled 1981 – 2002  A very nice box set

Deadmoon – Going South – Live at The Glengarry Tavern I was lucky to get one of these nice releases with lots of inserts etc.

Kikagaku Moyo – Kumoyo Island

Dry Cleaning -  Stumpworks  Their recent gig at The Tuning Fork was a highlight of the year. (BOElse)

Chris Forsyth – Evolution Here We Come

The Black Angels – Wilderness of Mirrors

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Cam cuts to the chase with

Roy Montgomery - Camera Melancholia

Dartz - The Band from Wellington, New Zealand

Womb - Dreaming Of The Future Again

Thrashing Marlin - WIldlife

The Strange Girls - It's OK To Be Happy (compilation)

MEDaL - Sequela

Mulchzoid - Glitch

Mr Sterile - Never Mind The Threat, Here's The Distraction

Tofujuice - Who Am I When I've Lost My Place In The World

And Honourable Mentions?

Kraus - Fire! Water! Air! Kraus!

Pumice - Phylis

Haven't really had a chance to listen to these two much but on first impressions they're solid continuations of worthwhile projects.

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Jos says

these are some of the most recent albums I have played more than once, that's a pretty good yardstick for me  :)
After Hours by Delicate Steve
Cloud 10 by Chip Wickham
People in Cars by Curse of Lono
Dry Cleaning by New Long Leg, and their new one
Violet by Robohands
Jaguar Sound by Adrian Quesada
Los Dedos by Los Dedos
etc etc

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Robin is highly focused with

the two most lyrically engaging and musically interesting were SJD’s Sweetheart and Don McGlashan’s Bright November Morning.

(By chance I recently watched an episode of one of those Kiwi music TV shows from the 1970s and the only NZ song was by Space Waltz. Everything else by everyone was a cover. Crikey we’ve come a long way and now have a great depth in NZ music)    

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Tony is pithy

Here’s a vote for “Kingmaker” by Tami Neilson. (BOElse)

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Alec isn't ashamed to say

There is always one…a traditionalist…stuck in the 70s and not coming out…linear songs, albums, guitars, though in reality I listen to a lot of the digital soup these days, and not just out of curiosity. But lets face it–pop songs by under 30s are not necessarily written for Goldcard Holders. Anyway two that I have played a lot are…

Only the Strong Survive by Bruce Springsteen

Reminds a little of Ruby Turner’s Motown Songbook, could have been a plodder, but Brucie has ace players and sings the songs straight enough, with some nice horn work reminiscent of Southside and Little Steven’s sound. 

Live at the El Mocambo 1977 by The Rolling Stones

“Love you Live” had nice cover art, and only one side I really played–the El Mocambo songs, they had a vitality about them that the expanded tracks here confirm all these years later. BOElse)

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And fashionably late from the USA Dave with

Sarah Shook and The Disarmers NIGHTROAMER : On this crunchy, grungy, rockin’ album Sarah Shook sings like Chrisse Hynde's lost little sister after she crawled through the wreckage to become sober.

Avantdale Bowling Club TREES : This is my favorite jazz album of the year. It is also my favorite rap album. And I’ve never had a favorite rap album before! It’s like Dark Side Of The Moon in that it should be on the charts the next 741 weeks. Truly amazing! (BOElse)

Jeb Loy Nichols THE UNITED STATES OF THE BROKEN HEARTED : Maybe JLN’s. best between the so relevant lyrics and the dubby undertones in the timeless music. 

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And Perdo the Swift is even more fashionably later with