It’s the time of the season when I like to sit down, make a big list of all the year’s best tunes, and then write some stuff about them. And then mercilessly foist it all on you.

2022 was, for me at least, an especially good year for music. I mean, obviously I say that every year because I’m an incurable exuberant, but this year in particular really was very good indeed. As in, it was actually a bit painful getting this down to 20 songs, and a busy December has meant I’ve had to do it in more of a hurry than I’d have liked.

I’ll post the longlist in the comments, in case anyone is interested, but this is where I ended up landing. 20 songs that lifted my heart, nodded my head and put a spring in my step across the year. Hopefully one or two of them may do likewise for at least someone else on here. And if they can’t do that, they can at least confirm a few suspicions as to the ongoing death of music.

1. Free – Bakar

A mid-year discovery that proved an ideal soundtrack to virtually every situation and » Continue Reading.