Sourhouse’s Tunes of the Year 2022
The world’s on the brink, and music doesn’t know what to think.
A word from the editor:
A theme continued to come up in the songs I was considering for the Tunes of the Year list: nostalgia. A need to look back and pull from the past. It’s something I’m perfectly happy with, if only to piss off people who spend too much time worrying about how groundbreaking the stuff they’re listening to is and dunking on others for the crime of enjoying what they enjoy.
But it’s symptom of something more severe: what the living fuck is the world we’re in? 2022 made some of my best memories, but outside of the personal level, not a week went by without an aura of everything spiralling out of control. Spring was a political mine field, summer turned the UK into the Costa Del Sol, Autumn was so warm it never quite felt right. No point in this year has felt truly comfortable or normal. No wonder we’re looking to the past for a sense of escape.
The cuts on the 2022 Tunes of the Year list tell the story of a world unsure of what to make of itself. It contains personal triumphs and anguish at peoples failures, plenty of dancier tunes to lose yourself in, and a lot of music that works for the sheer pleasure of making something enjoyable to listen to. The likes of Björk, Kendrick Lamar, Megan Thee Stallion, Arctic Monkeys and FKA Twigs adorn the 25 selections, whilst this year’s playlist adds in the many more that soundtracked the year that was.
Anything release from 1st December 2021 to 30th November 2022 qualifies, so that everything has had a chance to reach my ears.
-Munro Page, writer of Sourhouse Music
Positions #25-#21
#25 CENTRAL CEE – DOJA
Where better to start on an uncertain year with a track that is almighty in its divisiveness. I’m undecided on how well Central Cee is supporting the queer community with a line like “How can I be homophobic? My bitch is gay”. Fuck me though, it’s undeniably iconic. Add that to the sample of Eve’s ‘Blow Your Mind’, reworked to tremendous effect, and you have the year’s best Marmite song. In that regard, I’m happy to announce that I support the spread.
#24 LEWSBERG – SIX HILLS
Lewsberg describe their main inspirations as “counterculture and big city cynicism of the 60s and 70s”. To say it translates to ‘Six Hills’ would be an understatement. Velvet Underground beat, ironic singing and terrifically charming lyrics blend to make a cool yet unpretentious Post-Punk cut. Props to Shalita Dietrich on bass for keeping that note for all five and a bit minutes of this thing; it churns the song along with a deep, rollicking thrum perfectly.
#23 FRENCH MONTANA, DOJA CAT, SAWEETIE – HANDSTAND
Persuasive language is everything. Doja and Saweetie tell me I “need a project bitch”, and I’m convinced. Even amongst the many stone-cold bangers both have put their name too, this is one of the most catchy choruses they’ve been on yet. ‘Handstand’s beat pops with punch and colour, and even if French Montana gives us nothing, the girls are all worth it.
#22 TIERRA WHACK – STAND UP
Just listen to the tick of that bass. Power hungry, anticipating a fight, dripping with swagger. Tierra soon joins, as though the first 10 seconds of ‘Stand Up’ were just a warm-up, and brings the same level of killer delivery. It’s her voice that rules everything on the mix, all-present across all frequencies, and it has an amazing assertiveness to it. This is bragadocious Hip Hop no doubt, but it’s a far cry from the more stereotypical tracks from the genre. Tierra is a self-made goddess on ‘Stand Up’.
#21 ADWAITH – ETO
The enormous, anthemic opening moments of Adwaith’s ‘ETO’ ring like the sky opening, an eye-to-eye horizon, heaven on earth. If you’re getting a religious tone from that description, the lyrics follow suit; dedicating oneself to love and shouting out for it. Yet, nothing about the track feels remotely corny or contrived, as its airy sound takes pickings from Dream Pop and Noise Rock. Thanks to that rockier underbelly, you feel as though ‘ETO’ will find a happy home on festival stages for years to come, and with a hook as easy to get into as the one on that chorus, singing it together in a crowd promises to be sacred experience.
Lyrics translated from Welsh to English by R*E*P*E*A*T fanzine.
