We are now in the third month of 2022, and this year has already seen a healthy amount of new quality music releases. I feel like every Friday I wake up to a whole new group of albums to listen to across various different genres. These are 5 of my favorite releases so far, listed in no particular order.

Crest – Bladee & Ecco2k

            This past weekend saw the surprise drop of this album, and I can already tell I will be coming back to it frequently. The 2/3rds of the Drain Gain collective teamed up with frequent collaborator White Armor to produce the album and the result is what drainers have been asking for. The album still has much of the cloud rap qualities their known for, but they continue on with the poppier slant they have been on the past few years. Bladee is back with his signature flows, and Ecco2k’s autotuned vocals are as dreamy as ever. This album makes me feel like I’m floating a cloud, it is certainly not for everyone, but if your into that drain life like me, it’s perfect.

CRASH – Charli XCX

            The run Charli has been on since Vroom Vroom came out in 2016 is nothing short of incredible. Ever since that EP came out she has continuously released some of the best and most forward thinking pop music to ever exist. I was a little nervous about this album as it appeared she was going in a more ‘mainstream’ direction, and while these tracks are certainly more conventional then something you’d hear off Pop 2, it still sounds years ahead of anything else out right now. She is able to take the experimental qualities of her recent output and put it in a more digestible form that anyone can enjoy. I hope this album gets the mainstream recognition it deserves, because the entire music industry would benefit from it.

PREY//IV – Alice Glass

            It has been a few years since the split of Crystal Castles, and in the time we’ve been patiently awaiting for Alice Glasses comeback. It is finally here, and it was worth the wait! This album feels like the 4^th Crystal Castles album (as the title references) and it feels so good to finally hear it. This album is just as bit crushed as those albums and Alice’s autotuned vocals are as soothing as ever. Alice has gone through hell just to get this album out, and it is so nice to see it all pay off, while also reclaiming her past work in the process.

CAPRISONGS – FKA Twigs

            FKA Twigs is, in my opinion, the most talented artist on the planet right now. There is simply nothing she can’t do, and her discography up to this point is flawless, and this release lives up to her past work. This ‘album’ was technically marketed as a mixtape, but it is one the same level of quality as her albums, it is just not the grand artistic statement those records are, on this release Twigs is just having fun. For the first time in her career she actually sounds happy and the result is a dancey genre bending album that you could play at party and no one will look at you weird. I love the artfulness of an album like Magdalene, but it is so refreshing to hear some songs that a little more laid back from her.

Ants From Up There – Black Country, New Road

            When BCNR dropped For the First Time last year it quickly became one of my favorite albums of the year, and I wasn’t sure they could top it. Turns out it was silly to doubt them, because this album is a complete artistic achievement no matter what angle you look at it. The album has such a classic sound with traditional rock instruments mixed in with horns and strings, but it somehow remains to sound so fresh as lead singer Issac Wood’s dead pan delivery croons about girls dressed ‘Billie Eilish style.’ It’s an exciting record, but it can also pack an emotional punch, like on “Bread Song.” The fact the band was able to accomplish this on their second try is amazing, and the sky is the limit for them going forward, even with Issac Wood departing the band after this album.