Daniel Kussy’s Top 5 Albums 2022

DANIEL KUSSY

I did not have Baritone/Bass Spanish post rock on my musical bingo card for the year of 2022. A collection of serenading bass riffs along with tense percussion drawn from post rock pillars like Archers of Loaf and Hüsker Dü, Leia Rodríguez’s emphasis on Low-end makes for a refreshing rock listen.

As rock music begins to see its mainstream renaissance by way of pop punk ballads, a trio of Chicago girls barely out of their teens wave the alt rock flag in one hand and hold the torch passed on from the era of Archers of Loaf, Pavement, and Guided by Voices.

From Up There

The emotional gravity of Ants From Up There bared its weight on my seemingly already heavy shoulders. The thorough details in the lyrics in tandem with a canvas composition with instrumentation that draws emotional peaks and valleys. It’s hard not to feel a void in the departure of frontman Isaac Wood just days before this album saw the light of day, though I’m excited to see which direction the Cambridgeshire group takes us.

A deeply personal listen carried by relatable experiences. The thorns in Ella Marie Coyes’ vocals are sharp enough to have the listener hear the pain in her incredible voice while her guitar playing breathes as if covered in ash.

“With Love snaps a perfect picture of the empathetic love that Stevens never compromises. It carries important lessons with each lesson and radiates the colour pink. For these reasons, With Love is for everyone.”

Written in the June/July 2022 Edition (Volume 33, Issue 3) of Stylus Magazine.