Top indie songs of 2022: soundtrack of summer! (Volume 2)

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A few more suggestions for top indie songs of 2022, summer edition!

“Holiday Romance” – The Photocopies (Holiday Romance EP)

Top indie songs of 2022, summer edition: "Holiday Romance" by The Photocopies

I don’t know how there could be more perfect jangle pop for the summer. Fuzzy guitars, a bubblegum hook and shimmering harmonies. The Photocopies’ “Holiday Romance” is Teenage Fanclub playing from your neighbor’s garage in a fever dream. Download “A Holiday Romance from exiled London artist Sean Turner and play at top volume.

“One Easy Thing” – TV Priest (My Other People)

Listen to "One Easy Thing" by TV Priest

Next, TV Priest has moved into more melodic territory with their second release, My Other People. Charlie Drinkwater’s bellicose Johnny Cash baritone grows into the opener “One Easy Thing” as he bellows the terrific refrain, “I am waaaaiting.”

TV Priest available to purchase now.

“Blood in the Wine” – Aurora (The Gods We Can Touch)

Top indie songs of 2022, summer edition: "Blood in the Wine" by Aurora

At a certain age, you start to care a lot (okay, a little?) less about what people think about you. I am clearly not the target for Aurora; I honestly don’t care if she appears on the Frozen 2 soundtrack. Any woman in 2022 who is the President and CEO of her music and personal brand deserves the world’s respect.

Aurora’s hooks are undeniable. Kate Bush would be proud.

“Blood in the Wine” by Aurora (from The Gods We Can Touch)

Learn more about Aurora and The Gods We Can Touch at her website.

“Silver Spring” – PEEL (PEEL EP)

Listen to "Silver Spring" by PEEL

Counting both Vol 1 and Vol 2 of my top indie songs of 2022, we’re at least ten songs in without a real shoegaze tune. Obviously that has to be remedied: I downloaded PEEL by happy accident last year, so I direct you to their criminally ignored EP from 2021.

The PEEL EP is a filthy marriage of Ride and The Stone Roses. Maybe you chanced upon “Memory Loop” in the last year or two? It is all top shelf. You can’t listen to “Silver Spring” or “DYNA” too often or too loudly.

Buy the PEEL EP.

“Best Life” – Alex Cameron (Oxy Music)

Listen to "Best Life" by Alex Cameron

I don’t know a ton about Alex Cameron, something of an iconoclast and provocateur. But “Best Life” is about as summery as summer gets, from Cameron’s fourth album Oxy Music, which you can find here. His ironically titled, Oxy Music marries a bit of the 80’s with some of the social conflict of the 2020’s.

“Gary Borthwick Says” – Neutrals (Bus Stop Nights EP)

Top indie songs of 2022, summer edition: "Gary Borthwick Says" by Neutrals

Hey it’s getting too serious in here. How about some post-punk with brainy lyrics from Oakland’s Neutrals. The very best part of “Gary Borthwick Says” is the picture it draws of someone we’ve all known from our past, and a part of ourselves we may not want to admit to. Garage band entry for one of the top indie songs of 2022.

Buy Neutrals’ smart post-punk from Bandcamp.

“Wild Eyed & Loathsome” – Crows (Beware Believers)

Top indie songs of 2022, summer edition: "Wild Eyed & Loathsome" by Crows

Let’s take a trip back in the hot tub time machine to the fall of 1991, shall we, when little-known grunge rocker Kurt Cobain said he wanted to write a Pixies knockoff. I can still remember taking the yellow vinyl promotional 12″ of “Smells Like Teen Spirit” and cranking it in our college radio station’s production room.

THAT is what I hear in multiple spaces when I listen to Crows engrossing Beware Believers. Something very atmospheric and Interpol-y is happening, along with the knockdown of early 1990’s grunge. “Wild Eyed and Loathsome” also ends with a tasty little walkaway during the last ten seconds.

Get your copy of Beware Believers at Bandcamp.

“Goodbye Mr. Blue” – Father John Misty (Chloe and the Next 20th Century)

Top indie songs of 2022, summer edition: "Mr. Blue" by Father John Misty

Finally, let’s wrap with a delightful song for a summer evening. I have no real prior history with FJM, though he keeps good company with Fleet Foxes and Damien Jurado. Chloe and the Next 20th Century is charming from start to finish but “Mr. Blue” has particularly delicate vocal touches to highlight the sweetest lyrics.

End your summer evenings with Choe and the Next 20th Century.

Top indie songs of 2022: soundtrack of summer! (Volume 1)

how stop dandelions spreading

All things considered, summer 2022 is still miles ahead of 2020. No corona…just a divided country, peak anxiety and climate change. Good times! So, for the balance of July and the torpid month of August, here are some of my top indie songs of 2022 to bump until Labor Day.

Just Mustard – “Seed” (Heart Under)

Top indie songs of 2022, summer edition: "Seed" by Just Mustard

Ireland’s Just Mustard is routinely described as noisy, dark shoegaze. Honestly I don’t hear the gaze but OHHH THE PEDALS. I can’t think of a song that better reflects Salt Lake City’s 107 degrees this month than Katie Ball competing with the undulating throb of “Seed.”

Buy Heart Under at Bandcamp.

“Dancing Blue” – Kikagaku Moyo (Kumoyo Island)

Listen to "Dancing Blue" by Kikagaku Moyo

…and now for something completely different. Kikagaku Moyo channel a bit of desi pop from their studio in Tokyo for a perfectly loopy and carefree song from their May release, Kumoyo Island.

“Sick of Everything” – Gorgeous Bully (Am I Really Going to Die Here)

Listen to "Sick of Everything" by Gorgeous Bully

Manchester’s Gorgeous Bully presents 90 seconds of pure low-fi pop bliss for your summer errands! Buy Am I Really Going to Die Here, GB’s first full-length since 2018’s Closure.

“Dear Claire” – Love, Burns (It Should Have Been Tomorrow)

Listen to "Dear Claire" by Love, Burns

Okay, now I’m getting on a roll. I could do this all night but it’s after twelve, so just a couple more. At about 2:30 into “Dear Claire,” Phil Sutton of Love, Burns lays down the loveliest jangley Jazz Butcher guitar line since Mr. Fish himself passed away. So roll down the convertible car top and let the organ of “Dear Claire” bless your entire neighborhood. Hat tip to Janglepophub for flagging the new release.

It Should Have Been Tomorrow is available here.

“Lighthouse” – Mattiel (Georgia Gothic)

Top indie songs of 2022, summer edition: "Lighthouse" by Mattiel

Ignore the ill-conceived cover art and you’ll absolutely be smitten by the horns and Mattiel Brown’s triumphant reflection of Chrissie Hynde on “Lighthouse.” BTW Chrissie is 70 this year. Yes, that makes me feel old — but Mattiel is all youth and Southern vim.

Buy Georgia Gothic.

“Sweet Company” – Vicky Farewell (Sweet Company)

Listen to "Sweet Company" by Vicky Farewell

Vicky Farewell’s “Sweet Company” is unadorned 50’s retro and tenderly un-ironic. How can you listen and not swoon?

“You and me, strong as can be
You walk by my side, so much joy to your stride
How lucky to be in sweet company
Patiently waiting, you’re so amazing.”

Hear Vicky Farewell’s full debut.

“The Dripping Tap” – King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard (Omnium Gatherum)

Top indie songs of 2022, summer edition: "The Dripping Tap" by King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard

I feel like I’ve reached an age where I shouldn’t have to type the words “King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard,” much less say them out loud. However the epic scorched earth hooks of “The Dripping Tap” are impossible to ignore. If you play just one 18-minute prog anthem this summer, it should be this banger from Melbourne’s King Gizzard. Definitely one of the top indie songs of 2022. Listen to King Gizzard’s masterful Butterfly 3000 or Omnium Gatherum here.