Hi friends and fiends,
Wishing all of you a super happy, dare we say #blessed New Year! Looking back, 2022 was a lot. We welcomed (or dealt with) tons of change, post (can we say that yet?) pandemic life, exciting music discoveries, new opportunities, and we’re looking forward to so many exciting things to come in the wild world of all things Indiemono. The start of the New Year always puts us in an introspective mood – an opportunity to reflect on the past before moving boldly into the unknown.
If there’s one thing we’re certain of, it’s that 2022 was an exciting year of new music. Our 2022 Monthly Indie/Alternative playlist collection turned out to be one of the most varied, eclectic, and inspirational we’ve seen yet, making us all the more eager to jump into curating our selections for 2023. To give a bit of homage to all the great tracks we’ve discovered this year, our team of Spotify playlist curators just dropped our Best of 2022: New Indie / Alternative Songs featuring our top 100 favorite indie and alternative songs of this past year. To give you a little taste of all the indie goodness on this playlist, we’re sharing our top ten placements with you below:
It’s Random – Dora Jar
2022 really ushered in our obsession with singer/songwriter Dora Jar, so it’s only fitting that this eclectic track gets our top pick. Perfectly balancing a sense of soft dreaminess with an edge, we’re still going to be blasting this track with the windows down into the New Year.
Where’s everyone going when they walk around?I wanna know everything you’re thinking ’boutIt’s random, it’s rotten, it’s ridiculousI’m trying to focus
Invincible – Omar Apollo, Daniel Caesar
I mean, I don’t think you could name a more iconic duo to make a song together if you tried. Sensual, emotional, and dripping with lyrical vulnerability, this is definitely one of our recurring 2 am songs when we’re really feeling some type of way. Another collab in 2023 guys? Please??
If I were to go (go, go, go)Tell me, would you notice me?If I were to go (go, go, go)Tell me, would you notice me?(If I were to)
Cocoon – Jadu Heart
This track manages to be simultaneously laid back and cinematic, which should feel pleasantly familiar if you’ve been following British psych-rock duo Jadu Heart over this past year. With echoing lyrics, layered production, and a contagious sense of easygoingness, we’re definitely keeping Jadu Heart on our radar in the New Year.
I see a houseI see a morningI see a futureI see a daughterOh I see a lifeI look in her faceShe looks just like youShe looks just like you
Ur Mum – Wet Leg
If you favor a punky indie sound and haven’t listened to this track by Wet Leg yet, where’ve you been? Punchy lyrics stab right into the heart of the problematic trope of the manchild — something we definitely don’t have any time for in 2023. To get the full scope of the tongue and cheek storytelling of this track, be sure to check out their music video.
When I think about what you’ve becomeI feel sorry for your mumYou say we’re all having funDo you know you’re the only one?
Mercury – Steve Lacy
While we have to admit that a certain track from Steve Lacy’s iconic Gemini Rights album was cruelly overplayed in 2022 (you know the one), this track doesn’t immediately make us think of trending Tik Tok audio as soon as we put it on. And with a single this good, that is something we’re definitely thankful for this year! Lacy’s musical prowess goes without saying, and we are eagerly awaiting what this rising star has up his sleeves for this year.
GeminiI’m a myth and I’m a legendWhom never winsAnd might not ever play againKeep falling in (keep falling in, yeah)Love so fast and back out againSpeedingWhen I should ease in
Free – Florence + The Machine
Both refreshing and comfortably familiar, this track by the legendary indie rock supergroup Florence + The Machine scratched an itch we didn’t know we had this year. Anytime we hear Florence Welch’s warbling vibrato it immediately feels warm and nostalgic, and this is the track we’d choose for our main-character-in-an-indie-movie moment.
But I hear the musicI feel the beatAnd for a momentWhen I’m dancing, I am free
The Lightning II – Arcade Fire
Another track that’s nostalgic element is one of its great strengths coming in at our 7th placement. Our longstanding love affair with Arcade Fire goes way back to when we first launched Indiemono, and we aren’t bothered in the slightest if this release falls into the Indie Sleaze trend, which we expect to keep rising in 2023.
I heard the thunder and I thought it was the answerBut I found I got the question wrongI was trying to run away but a voice told me to stayPut the feeling in a song
October Passed Me By – girl in red
With emotional lyricism, folky finger-plucking guitar rhythms, and airy vocals, this track is our favorite sad girl anthem of this past year, hands down. Here’s to hoping that singer-producer of girl in red Marie Ringheim will be back to make us feel emo in a brand new way this October!
I made you my whole world
I made you my whole world
Screaming at the top of my lungs, “I love you, my girl”
Always in the back of my mind, you’ll be my girl
50/50 – Your Neighbors
This is the first electronic-driven indie song on this list, and it’s one of our top choices to put on when we need a little pick-me-up. Bright, catchy, and with intricately layered production elements, you can’t help but groove a little with this track playing, and it’s definitely on our personal Dance Party playlist.
Headaches, throbbing, lottery
(Shoo shoo)
Back yourself off me
No, I don’t wanna hear you
Ears are grated
White noise
That’s the reason that I put you in the rearview
PIRATE RADIO* – Jean Dawson
It couldn’t be the Top Ten of 2022 without mentioning our fav genre-bending rising star, Jean Dawson. The combination of folky instrumentals and Dawson’s vocal delivery that shifts effortlessly between soft and powerful creates an epic, completely unique sound, and we can’t wait to see what’s next for this artist in the coming months.
Pull up, nobody panicWhy did you vanish?Hold up, needed a hand andNobody had itAll of it’s golden, my body is floatingI’m still aliveMy paddle is broken, I’m out in the openI’ll never dieI’ll never
Make sure you’re following us on Spotify to get full access to our curated playlist archives. Got a song you’d think would be a great fit for our playlists? Submit your released track for playlist curation with Indiemono for free!
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