Harry Styles, Yeat, Bad Bunny, Arctic Monkeys, Kendrick Lamar, Beyoncé – and this is only a small part of the artists who delighted fans with new albums last year. There were a lot of good releases: pop, new wave, rock, hip-hop, electronic, experimental music. We are talking about the records that have beautified and changed the musical landscape of 2022.
According to most music critics, the best hip-hop album of the year is Kendrick Lamar’s Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers. And we really don’t want to argue with that. On his fifth and first full-length release since 2017, the rapper reveals his soul to fans and pours out much of what he has built up inside of him. Kendrick speaks loudly and directly about social hypocrisy, toxic masculinity, black community issues, and religion. And most importantly, the artist’s texts remain addictive no worse than a good book.
Harry Styles’ third solo release, “Harry’s House”, contains 13 songs. The singer worked on the disc for three years in three countries at once: the United States, Great Britain and Japan. The album exudes a touch of charisma and a weightlessness that has propelled Styles above his former One Direction bandmates and made him one of the most compelling pop artists of our time. Pitchfork reviewers scolded the record for its lack of meaning, but we still believe the release deserves its due attention.
Listen to <a href=”https://music.yandex.ru/album/21320827″>2 Alivë</a> — <a href=”https://music.yandex.ru/artist/6527372″>YEAT</a> in Yandex Music
In 2022, American recording artist Yeat released 2 Alivë, a massive album featuring guest appearances from Young Thug, Gunna, and Ken Car$on. It built on the success of the previous release, Up 2 Më, which was innovative in terms of sound. Despite the rapper’s newfound popularity and recognition in the music industry, Yeat also remains an enigmatic personality, giving interviews in a ski mask and reluctantly sharing his life with journalists and on social media. Already in the first seconds of listening to “2 Alivë” you understand which artist is playing in your headphones.
This year has been a really successful year for Bad Bunny: Spotify and Apple Music recognizing him as the best artist of 2022, endless music award nominations and shooting in an ad campaign for Jacquemus. The artist decided to consolidate his success with his fourth full-length album “Un Verano Sin Ti”, which is steeped in Caribbean rhythms. In particular, styles like reggaeton and mambo. The novelty consists of 23 songs: both solo and recorded with other artists.
Listen &amp;lt;a href=”https://music.yandex.ru/users/gagarinstam/playlists/1039″&amp;amp;gt;Drake & amp; amp; amp; amp; amp; 21 Savage – Her Less&amp;amp;lt;/a&amp;amp;gt; — &amp;amp;lt;a href=”https://music.yandex.ru/users/gagarintam”&amp;amp;gt;music republic& amp;amp;lt;/a&amp;amp;gt; in Yandex Music
In 2016, 21 Savage was a very promising newcomer and released the revolutionary release “Savage Mode”. Drake launched Views in the spring of the same year, reaching a million in its first week. For his birthday in October 2016, 21 Savage receives a Ferrari from the Canadian, but in reality he receives much more: a true friend. After six years and several joint tracks, the rappers release the album “Her Loss”. Drake delivers catchy choruses, while 21 Savage freshens it up with signature droning verses. There is only one guest: Travis Scott. Production was handled by Tay Keith, 40, Boi-1da, Wheezy, Metro Boomin, and even Lil Yachty.
Listen &amp;lt;a href=”https://music.yandex.ru/users/russifymusic/playlists/1035″&amp;amp;gt;Arctic Monkeys – The Coche&amp ;amp;lt;/a&amp;gt; – &amp;amp;lt;a href=”https://music.yandex.ru/users/russifymusic”&amp;amp;gt;russifymusic&amp ;amp;lt;/ a&amp;gt; in Yandex Music
Arctic Monkeys album “The Car” is richly arranged, vintage aesthetically, recorded with great attention to detail, yet music that is demanding on the listener. If the boundaries of the genre are defined, there will be orchestral rock, baroque pop and even lounge pop, and critics, assessing the sound of the release, give references to the works of David Bowie, Scott Walker, Serge Gainsbourg and Jacques Dutron. Now we have saddened musicians who like to build cinematic universes, nostalgic for the past and wearing velvet suits.
Listen to <a href=”https://music.yandex.ru/album/20469486″>Dawn FM</a> — <a href=”https://music.yandex.ru/artist/611169″>The Weeknd</a> in Yandex Music
The album was mostly recorded between 2020 and 2021. Dawn FM features vocals by Jim Carrey. On the first track, he says, “You listen to 103.5 Dawn FM. You’ve been in the dark for too long. It’s time to step into the light and embrace your destiny with open arms.” The recording also featured Tyler, the Creator, Lil Wayne, Quincy Jones and Josh Safdie. The record consists of 16 tracks. The album was produced by The Weeknd, Max Martin, Oneohtrix Point Never, Oscar Holter, Calvin Harris and Swedish House Mafia.
This year, Beyoncé released her first studio album in six years, “Renaissance,” in which she sings an ode to iconic African-American musicians and LGBT culture, and invites people to kick back, dance and have fun. Both the title of the album and its minimalist but spectacular cover point to something ambitious and far-reaching. In fact, the album has not only the subtitle “Act I”, and this is only the first work of the next trilogy. “Renaissance”, which fully corresponds to the name, is dedicated to the rebirth.
Listen &amp;lt;a href=”https://music.yandex.ru/album/20612913″&amp;amp;gt;CAPRISONGS&amp ;amp ;lt;/a& amp;amp;amp;gt; — &amp;amp;lt;a href=”https://music.yandex.ru/artist/2369980″&amp;amp;gt;FKA twigs& amp;amp;lt;/a&amp;amp;gt; in Yandex Music
This year British singer FKA Twigs has shared a new mixtape “Caprisongs”. The recording was attended by The Weeknd, George Smith, Daniel Caesar, Shygirl and many others. The executive producers were the artist herself and El Guincho. FKA Twigs shared that she started recording her friends’ FaceTime conversations during quarantine and then weaved them into a new album. “This is my response to the state of the world lately, the buzz of a podcast in the background that has become the soundtrack of our lives,” the artist described the album.
Listen &amp;lt;a href=”https://music.yandex.ru/album/20615156″&amp;gt;DS4EVER&amp ;amp; lt;/a&amp;amp;gt; — &amp;lt;a href=”https://music.yandex.ru/artist/659595″&amp;amp;gt;Gunna&amp ;amp ;lt;/a& amp;amp;amp;gt; in Yandex Music
American rapper Gunna released his third studio album Drip Season 4 this year. He closed the era of “Drip Season” projects, which began in 2016. The project shows us how Gunna is a strong player and an integral part of the industry. Not everyone manages to bring together such industry giants in their project. Guest artists include Young Thug, Future, Lil Baby, 21 Savage, Kodak Black, G Herbo, Yung Bleu, Chris Brown, Roddy Ricch, Chlöe and Nechie. From a velvety voice to incredible instrumental works – work on this project lasted several years, and in the end we got, if not a 100% hit collection, then truly high-quality and sincere music.
British indie pop band Florence and The Machine return this year with their fifth studio album, Dance Fever. The name of the album, which translates into Russian as “Dance Fever”, refers to the phenomenon of choreomania. Choreomania is a medieval mental epidemic, expressed in a group ritual of dancing until exhaustion. Vocalist Florence Welch heard about the phenomenon while she was reading during the pandemic lockdown and was instantly captivated by the idea of it. There are 14 tracks on the new Florence and The Machine album. Critics received the release positively: on Metacritic it has 87 points out of 100.
