Jim Carroll still no longer writes about music. You’ll find him on Twitter and Spotify and he edits RTÉ Brainstorm where he’s turning academics and researchers into journalists.
See all Guestlist of 2022 choices
See Jim’s previous choices from 2021.
Here are Jim’s 10 tracks of the year.
1.
Beyonce – Break My Soul
Look, stop pretending this isn’t the best thing you heard all year. Don’t give me that kind of guff! Don’t pretend you didn’t hear this and go ‘wow’. A track which truly slayed. The album is life-affirming in all the right ways and – for the pointyheaded among you – is the sound of Bey reclaiming house music as a black art form.
2.
Jessie Ware – Free Yourself
2022 was the year of realising we were all still here and still wanted to move. So much of the music which stood out for me this year was the stuff which sparkled and glittered and shone and thrilled like this, a tune to shake all your troubles away.
3.
Rosalia – Chicken Teriyaki
We were always heading to a point where a Catalan flamenco singer would knock sparks out of a song which blurred all the genre lines and sounded like 23rd century country-and-eastern. Her album Motomami was full of bangers just like this.
4.
Charlotte Adigéry & Bolis Pupol – Ceci n’est pas un cliché
Another album which provided plenty of sport round our way these last 12 months was Topical Dancer from this Ghent duo. Released on Soulwax’s Deewee label, Adigéry and Pupol specialise in smart and tart dancefloor pop with pointed, blunt and they-said-what? lyrics
5.
Harry Styles – Music for a Sushi Restaurant
An absolute peach of a tune from one of the most glorious pop albums of recent times.
6.
Confidence Man – Lovin’ U Is Easy
Stlll can’t understand why Confidence Man aren’t a much bigger deal than they are, especially with a live show like theirs and sweet-as-a-nut tunes like this one. An act who seem blessed with the ability to soundtrack good times.
7.
Channel Tres – Just Can’t Get Enough
Funky, sultry, sticky banger which goes to town on Teddy Pendergrass’ ‘”‘The More I Get, The More I Want’.
8.
Spiritualized – Best Thing You Never Had
Yeah, me neither. I didn’t realise 2022 was going to a year when these space cadets would concoct and conspire to make an an album to rouse the dead. A riotous, righteous ruction.
9.
Fontaines D.C. – Jackie Down the Line
Could have chosen any of a rake of crackers from Skinty Fia, the band’s most compelling, durable and exciting album to date. This is dark and sharp, an indicator of new songwriting muscles coming to the fore.
10.
Diana Ross & Tame Impala – Turn Up the Sunshine
It’s on the Minions soundtrack which is easily the soundtrack of the year too. Sounds fucking joyous, which is all I ask of a tune these days. Diana Ross at The Point was sheer joy too. By contrast, Tame Impala played in a field in Co Laois. I know who had more fun.
See all Guestlist of 2022 choices
