2022 flipped the “out with the old, in with the new” mantra on its head as songs of ages past became young again through TikTok trends and Spotify searches. However, the world is always growing bigger and getting better, and it gets harder every day to spend your time taking chances on new things. The people of AROUSE thought that these 50 songs were chances worth taking, and some of us felt strongly enough to personally vouch for them. Here are AROUSE’s 50 favorite songs of 2022!
About You – The 1975
Acting as the lush, gorgeous centerpiece of their wonderful fifth studio album Being Funny in a Foreign Language, “About You” cements the fact that The 1975 is one of the most exciting bands working in music today. A thematic continuation of their 2013 cult classic “Robbers”, this gothic cut operates with maximum effect thanks to the excellent orchestral arrangement from Warren Ellis. Jack Antonoff tears out a page of production from his best Bleachers songs, giving the song a romantic, nostalgic feel, as if the song’s five and a half minutes exist in the stylized vacuum of a treasured snow globe. Matty Healy delivers his best Morrissey impression alongside a stunning guest vocal performance from Carly Holt, the wife of the band’s lead guitarist.
– Rachael Crouch
After the Earthquake – Alvvays
Ain’t No Thief – Viagra Boys
While most artists try to project a positive, clean image onto themselves when promoting music, the Viagra Boys take the opposite approach. After their first two albums, the Boys have made a name for themselves for their especially grimy take on the current wave of Post-Punk, both sonically and lyrically. Their third album Cave World‘s lead single, “Ain’t No Thief”, doubles down on this sound, while also managing to be one of their most exciting and loud cuts yet. The song follows their lead singer Sebastian Murphy as he’s accused of stealing multiple things from the people around him. Though he definitely did steal those objects, the accusation of stealing itself is enough to drive him raving mad. His ranting, accompanied with roaring guitars and a hard-driving electronic beat makes for a surprisingly danceable song with endlessly quotable lyrics. The song also makes a case for use of previously unfamiliar electronic sounds in their work, which ended up becoming extremely prevalent on Cave World. It’s the perfect blend of humor, complexity, and headbanging intensity.
– Luke McSherry
B.O.T.A. – Eliza Rose & Interplanetary Criminal
“She’s the ‘GODMOTHER’ of them all… The baddest One-Chick Hit Squad that ever hit town!” proclaimed the poster for Pam Grier’s 1973 blaxploitation flick, Coffy. The film was a landmark for strong female representation. Forty-nine years later, it would be the basis of a new milestone: the first time in two decades a song by a female DJ topped the UK Singles chart. Eliza Rose’s “Baddest of Them All” drew inspiration from that poster and Grier’s persona, and the result is entrancing, pulsating, and vaguely ominous. Mix in some synths worthy of the best ‘90s house music, and you’ve got a dance anthem that does Ms. Grier proud.
– Nigel Becker
Bad Habit – Steve Lacy
Basketball Shoes – Black Country, New Road
Big Time – Angel Olsen
“Big Time” is love wrapped in crisp, silky vocals and smooth, bluesy instruments. The second single off Olsen’s latest album, “Big Time” was co-written with Olsen’s partner, Beau Thibodeaux. The love shared between these two is embodied in every decision made with this track, and it’s hard not to feel part of this warm and welcoming serenade. Olsen’s signature vocals are on full display, and despite the country sound being a bit of a unique departure from her previous albums, it works perfectly here.
– Alex Casey
Billions – Caroline Polachek
Body – 070 Shake
Bread Song – Black Country, New Road
Cash In Cash Out – Pharrell Williams, 21 Savage, & Tyler the Creator
After over 20 years in the game, Pharrell could easily claim to be the greatest to ever do it and no one would bat an eye. “Cash In Cash Out” reaffirms his gift for collaboration by combining a crunchy beat with 21 Savage and Tyler, the Creator’s smooth vocal backflips. It’s the modern spiritual successor to classic Pharrell posse cuts like “Grindin’” and “Lemon”, tailor-made for feeling hard with the crew. 21 and Tyler sprinkle in some perfectly absurd bars (“She swallow all my kids/she a bad babysitter” comes to mind), but it’s Pharrell’s straight-to-the-point production that cements “Cash In Cash Out” as one of the best songs of the year. Banger.
– Connor Telford
Chaise Longue – Wet Leg
The viral hit that catapulted the Isle of Man-based rock duo to fame is so clever, inventive, and catchy that it even captured the ears of rock’s biggest legends. “When I heard [it] for the first time, I got really excited,” said the iconic Iggy Pop in a recent profile for The Guardian, “it’s cheeky, with a wicked groove, but it’s the vocals – they’re almost metronomic. You could ask 100 people to sing it and it wouldn’t sound the same.” He hit the nail right on the head – complete with tongue-in-cheek lyrics, an earworm-worthy bassline, Mean Girls references, and a deadpan vocal delivery that would make Bob Dylan jealous, “Chaise Longue” encapsulates everything that made the world fall in love with Wet Leg.
– Rachael Crouch
Climate Crisis Redux – Wasp Factory
In terms of bands that have been around the block of the Columbus DIY scene, Wasp Factory have looped the circuit more than once, and it shows in this recording. Starting out with a blast of noise and vocals that create a sound that feels like a sense of impending doom, “Climate Crisis Redux” channels the frustrations, fears, and annoyances of a participant in the DIY scene and regurgitates them in a masterful manner. The instrumental itself matches this tone perfectly, both being abrasive and loud at times as if one is hyperventilating, but also slowing down in certain sections like a person catching their breath mid-panic attack. This feeling is further added to by the vocals that build on that very feeling. Boiled down, “Climate Crisis Redux” feels like a sonic interpretation of the all too familiar emotions of dread, panic, and just being fed up, feelings most have dealt with and relate to easily.
– Izzy Davis
Concorde – Black Country, New Road
Concrete Over Water – Jockstrap
“Concrete Over Water” is a generally conventional song for the first minute and 50 seconds of its 6-minute runtime. The song begins with echoey vocals over keys that sound as if an early Internet computer making a lullaby. Suddenly, a parade of dog-human hybrids begins to yelp and chant a sort of lead-up to the eventual beat drop, a whirlpool of electronic keys and synths with hard-hitting drums. Then the beat clamps down, and after an intimate, acoustic verse, we do it all again. It’s delightful and just as weird as it sounds.
– Brady Virtue
Dressed Up – A-Go-Go
East Point Prayer – Vince Staples, Lil Baby
Reminiscing on his tumultuous past and rise to success, East Point Prayer sees Vince Staples and Lil Baby floating on a melancholic, spaced-out beat from producers Kenny Beats and Reske. The song sees Vince open up about his current anxieties that come from his success, brought on by his rough and misguided past. Lil Baby provides a smooth, melodic feature that brings an introspective yet triumphant feeling. The last line candidly sums up the theme of the song: “I can’t keep on going back and forth, I gotta let it be”.
– Alex Lopez
Eat Men Eat – Black Midi
Father Time – Kendrick Lamar
Fish Tank – June Henry
Freight Yard – The Garden
“Freight Yard” is without a doubt a staple for The Garden. Its lyrics convey the band’s confidence through self-expression and their unforgettable attitude. Throughout the song, the pair bring a vengeful energy, making sure to stay far from anything soft or slow. Fletcher Shears showcases this theme with pounding drums.
– Izzy Furl
Gary Ashby – Dry Cleaning
Girls – The Dare
Good Will Hunting – Black Country, New Road
Grimace_smoking_weed.jpeg – Chat Pile
Quickly becoming one of the most talked about things in metal, Chat Pile is what happens when Frankenstein’s monster is assembled out of thrown-out Arby’s beef and class consciousness. Their 2022 full-length debut God’s Country is 9 tracks of harrowing sludge detailing the reality of living in a capitalism-wracked American South, and while it sounds funny on the surface, “grimace_smoking_weed.jpeg” is a terrifying account of a heroin addict overdosing and experiencing haunting visions of the McDonald’s mascot. Following a few spoken word verse/chorus pass-throughs, the bulk of the track’s length consists of a 5-minute combo musical and mental breakdown, with one of the most theatrical vocal performances the metal world has seen in years. Capping off one of the year’s most notable heavy releases, “grimace” is an exercise in brutal, unfiltered realism.
– Rohan Rindani
HAHAH – Bladee
Bladee said it himself: “cause- cause it is crazy.”
– Aidan Lawler
Happiness – The 1975
Jimmy Neutron – Enumclaw
Just Wanna Rock – Lil Uzi Vert
Lil Uzi Vert collaborated with Jersey producer MCVertt to create a song worth playing on repeat. Coming in at a streamlined two minutes and four seconds, the track steadily heats up with adlibs sure to fire up any listener and keep them coming back to experience its energy. Undoubtedly, “Just Wanna Rock” will powers its listeners to get up and move.
– Izzy Furl
Kill Her Freak Out – Samia
Know Your Name – The Backseat Lovers
Magenta Mountain – King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard
“Magenta Mountain” is the perfect track to imagine the start of your fantasy journey, setting off on a quest in a unique and puzzling land that promises treasure and discoveries like no other. The track’s concept originated from a dream band member Stu had, after which he kept trying to convince his band members that this mysterious place would be proved real one day. This daring and exciting voyage is set to ethereal keys and lyrics that bring the listener along on the narrator’s fervent quest to find the elusive Magenta Mountain.
– Alex Casey
Mother I Sober – Kendrick Lamar
Orange County Punk Rock Legend – The Garden
Band mates and brothers Wyatt and Fletcher Shear started their musical career in Orange County, California. The track expresses how the pair grew from their exposure to the county’s punk scene and affirm their reputation as legends from their hometown.
– Izzy Furl
Poppin – Yeat
Yeat’s melodic voice on this cracked beat saved a multitude of individuals’ lives. The song of 2022 spring semester for the vlone, ski mask-wearing gangbangers who go by the names of Kyle and Jake.
– Hannah Gillespie
Runner – Alex G
Simulation Swarm – Big Thief
Softly – Arlo Parks
It takes a savvy songwriter to meld heartbreaking lyrics with upbeat production, but the effect can be mesmerizing (here’s looking at you, “Dancing on My Own”). In 2022, Arlo Parks contributed an entry to the sunny/sad pop canon with “Softly,” a gorgeous portrait of a romance in its dying days. Its gloriously specific lyrics (“Stealing me traffic cones, smiling at babies”) mark a continuity with her 2021 debut Collapsed in Sunbeams, yet Parks has some tricks up her sleeve: a hypnotic chorus, with an Alunageorge-esque flair at the end, and a more unabashed pop sensibility than was to be found even on Sunbeams’ most radio-friendly cuts. “Has something changed?” Parks wonders. It sure has.
– Nigel Becker
Somewhere Near Marseilles/Bad Mode – Hikaru Utada
Following their grandiose and instrument heavy 2018 album Hatsukoi, Hikaru Utada returns to the smaller electronic sound that defined their early career. Hungry to make something “sonically very weird again,” Utada delivers on this with the closing track on BADモード (“BAD MODE”), the twelve-minute acid house epic “Somewhere Near Marseilles.” Co-produced by Floating Points, “Somewhere Near Marseilles” finds Utada cautiously longing for a distant lover over a smooth and laid-back synth line. As Utada urges their lover to meet halfway, the song swells and bubbles with fun synths, percussion, and bass before simmering back down to its conclusion. The track is subtle and relaxing but still consumes you with its energy. Flirty and bright, genuine and cozy, “Somewhere Near Marseilles” is Utada at their best.
– Luke Turner
Spud Infinity – Big Thief
Sugar/Tzu – Black Midi – AROUSE’s #1 song of 2022
A live staple for almost two years before it released, AROUSE’s number one song of the year perfectly showcases why Black Midi are the band to watch – lightning fast riffs, wailing sax leads, and a spiraling, building song structure construct a futuristic story of a boxing spectator looking for his own violent opportunity to get into the spotlight. A microcosm of everything appealing about the band, the eccentric vocal delivery from Geordie Greep along with the blistering percussion of Morgan Simpson all work together in harmony to create our top track of 2022.
– Rohan Rindani
That’s Physics, Baby – Pool Kids
2000s pop-punk is in the midst of a revival, and Pool Kids are one of the genre’s best-kept dirty little secrets. “That’s Physics, Baby” stakes their place as a younger, more online Paramore, complete with wet guitars, howling-yet-precise vocals, hooks the size of diving boards, and that tiny sprinkle of melodrama that ties the whole affair together. If the world was caught up, every Hot Topic would be playing “That’s Physics, Baby” from their speakers, and every customer would be singing along. Pool Kids sound like they’re on the edge of an emotional outburst, but that’s how we really know that the kids are alright.
– Connor Telford
The Flag is Raised – Bladee, Ecco2k
The Place Where He Inserted the Blade – Black Country, New Road
There They Were – Eric Chenaux
Walkin’ – Denzel Curry
Welcome to Hell – Black Midi
X-Wing – Denzel Curry
You and Me on the Rock (In the Canyon Haze) – Brandi Carlile
Yuck – Charli XCX
Sonically, “Yuck” from Charli XCX’s fifth studio album CRASH utilizes distorted and modulated guitar-like chords behind very forward and effortless vocals. Wavering, silly synths contain a contagious crying and falling ‘wah’ that transport the listener from phrase to phrase. A groovy bassline and a simplistic drum pattern flatter Charli’s relatable expressions in this song where she details the flirtatious encounters with a boy that simultaneously makes her blush and makes her nauseous. The dichotomy in her feelings towards this specific romance is reflected in how endearing, uneasy, and unconventional the instrumentation is; the butterflies make her sick!
– Collin Meek
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