greendemon's Advent Calendar 2022: *COMPLETE*

[greendemon]

I was going to do an end-of-year list of my favourite artists in 2022, but thought this would be more fun

So, instead, I have chosen 25 artists whose music I've enjoyed in 2022, put them in random order and hidden them behind numbered doors in my virtual advent calendar (also known as a spreadsheet with white text!). Every day from now until the 25th, I will reveal one artist and highlight a song of theirs I have enjoyed this year.

Because choosing just 25 artists would have been too difficult, I decided to make my life a bit easier by sticking to a theme (if I run this again next year, I'll probably pick a different theme). As such, this is an advent calendar of 25 of my favourite female solo artists and female-fronted bands. (A guaranteed 100% Biffy-free zone )

This isn't an all-time list at all - these are just artists whose music has helped get me through the year. Some of them were totally new discoveries, some are acts I already knew and loved, some are established acts other people here know more about than I do, and all of them (with one exception) have released music in 2022. Genre-wise, they run the gamut from pop to metal. And - because even I don't know which one will be revealed each day - they are not in any kind of order.

First door to be opened a bit later on today...

1. Wet Leg
2. The Mysterines
3. Arch Enemy
4. Sylvaine
5. Hatchie
6. Alvvays
7. Ithaca
8. Oakman
9. Amyl and the Sniffers
10. Brutus
11. Nilüfer Yanya
12. Momma
13. Blood Command
14. The Linda Lindas
15. The Interrupters
16. Soccer Mommy
17. Sonja
18. MUNA
19. Just Mustard
20. Rolo Tomassi
21. beabadoobee
22. Let's Eat Grandma
23. Softcult
24. Eliza & The Delusionals
25. Pale Waves

[Razzle Dazzle]

Sounds fun, i expect some growling lol

[TheThorne]

This should be good expecting a lot of my favourites

[greendemon]

Dec 1, 2022 15:02:36 GMT 1 Razzle Dazzle said:

Sounds fun, i expect some growling lol

There will be growling! But not today


1. Wet Leg



First up is a band that needs no introduction on here. The breakout stars of the British female-fronted indie scene, Isle of Wight-based Wet Leg went viral last year with their debut single, Chaise Longue, following up with several more singles and their self-titled debut album in April. Living under a rock as I do, I managed to completely miss them until 'Wet Dream' was shared in the indie forum here and, liking what I heard, I checked out their earlier singles. Had I started with 'Chaise Longue' I might have written them off as a novelty band but their album showcases a varied blend of influences and genres including Britpop, punk, grunge, post-rock, psychedelic rock and folk, all hanging together convincingly thanks in no small part to their irreverent, Mean Girls-quoting, sarcastic lyrics.

Highlights: My favourite is still 'Oh No' (which reached #8 in my first chart), but all the singles are great. From the album, I also really like 'Convincing' (Hester's voice is stunning!) and 'Piece of S***'

[Shireblogger]

Great selection. Wet Leg in my Top 10 acts of 2022.

[TheThorne]

'Wet Dream' is still my favourite

[Good Old Days]

Dec 1, 2022 14:58:22 GMT 1 greendemon said:

As such, this is an advent calendar of 24 of my favourite female solo artists and female-fronted bands. 

Did you include any acts, which I heard before ?

[greendemon]

Dec 1, 2022 18:54:50 GMT 1 Good Old Days said:

Dec 1, 2022 14:58:22 GMT 1 greendemon said:

As such, this is an advent calendar of 24 of my favourite female solo artists and female-fronted bands. 

Did you include any acts, which I heard before ?

Possibly, though maybe not ones you would like!

[Panda]

Great start. Wet Leg were the number one act on my Spotify Unwrapped, though they didn't feature in the top 5 songs.

[greendemon]

Time to open door #2...


2. The Mysterines



Another relatively new band, The Mysterines have been around with their current line-up since at least early 2020, but thanks to lockdowns etc. didn't release their debut album, Reeling, until March this year. They have gone on to be one of the most hyped British bands this year, receiving widespread acclaim for their album and selling out their headline tour. I became aware of them in January when I heard 'Dangerous' and was instantly impressed by their grungy sound and Lia Metcalfe's deep, brooding vocals which add an almost bluesy tone. Reeling is full of great songs, pulling from a range of influences (including some of my favourite genres) but Lia's voice is really what takes them to the next level for me.

Highlights: The Mysterines have made my chart 3 times this year - twice in the initial Q1 chart ('Dangerous', #37; 'Life's A b**** (But I Like It So Much)', #52), and once in Jun-Jul ('All These Things', also #37). I actually now think 'Life's A b****' might be my favourite - it reminds me of the Foos' 'All My Life' but is very different at the same time. One of their heaviest songs and a total banger.

[greendemon]

Finally getting to some growling


3. Arch Enemy



One of the longest-established artists in this selection, Swedish melodic death metal giants Arch Enemy have been around in some form for over 25 years. Founded in 1995 as a supergroup by former members of metal bands including Carcass, Mercyful Fate and Carnage, the band has gone through multiple line-up changes since then, and has had a female vocalist since 2000 with the recruitment of Angela Gossow (who herself stepped down in 2014 and was replaced by current vocalist, Canadian Alissa White-Gluz). I can't pretend to have a long history with this band - I only really discovered them within the past year or so, when material for their 11th album, Deceivers, started to emerge - but something about the way they integrate the savagery of death metal with more melodic influences drawn from 80s heavy metal, thrash and even power metal spoke to me. The album has picked up a lot of plays and they are definitely one of the bands I plan on exploring more in 2023.

Highlights: Most of the album is great - I particularly enjoyed 'The Watcher' which reached #10 in my most recent chart, and is insanely catchy! - but for Haven purposes I'm going to highlight the last single, 'In The Eye Of The Storm', which is one of the most 80s-influenced songs on Deceivers and just great fun to listen to. I also love 'House of Mirrors' and the album's closer, 'Exiled from Earth'.



(Though that being said I wonder if 'The Wolf You Feed' might not be the best thing Alissa has done this year...!)

[Razzle Dazzle]

Yeah 'The Wolf You Feed' is my fave, i like the music of Nita Strauss and the vocals of Alissa so a perfect combo

[greendemon]

Agreed, it is a fantastic track. Nita is an incredible guitarist and it's great to hear Alissa doing some more clean vocals (which she is also very good at!)

[greendemon]

Staying within the broad church that is metal, but from one extreme to the other...

4. Sylvaine



I actually had to go and double-check I hadn't mentioned this artist here before, but I don't think I have! Kathrine Shepard AKA Sylvaine is a Norwegian-American multi-instrumentalist, composer and singer, who writes, arranges and produces her own songs, plays most of the instruments in her recordings, has an incredible voice and vocal range and is just disgustingly talented, basically Her one-woman project, Sylvaine, has been active since 2014, producing music that has variously been described as ambient post-metal, atmospheric black metal and blackgaze. Nova, her fourth LP, came out in March and is an absorbing blend of shoegaze, dream pop, choral music and folk with post-rock, black metal and her ethereal vocals. She reminds me a lot of Myrkur - another one-woman metal project I've always enjoyed - but honestly I think she's even better. In a year when blackgaze has become just about my new favourite thing (typified by artists such as Alcest and MØL, both of whom Sylvaine has worked with), this album has been one of my most-played.

Highlights: Like a lot of post-rock and post-metal, Nova works best as an album played from beginning to end, which is one reason why I never charted any of the singles. Lead single 'Nowhere, Still Somewhere' is a good introduction to the album's style (and is one of its dreamier moments).

[Good Old Days]

She is very beautiful lady.

[greendemon]

Starting the week off with something a bit poppier...


5. Hatchie



Harriette Pilbeam is an Australian singer-songwriter who has been releasing music as Hatchie (a family nickname) since 2017 but I probably don't need to say too much about her as I know a few people here are fans. She first caught my attention a few years ago with the sparkly, dreamy vibes of her Sugar & Spice EP, which was followed up by her highly-acclaimed debut album, Keepsake, in 2019, which established her as one of the most promising new artists riding the wave of 90s nostalgia that emerged in the 2010s. Hatchie's second album, Giving the World Away, was released this year, heralded by some fantastic singles - 'This Enchanted', 'Quicksand' and 'Lights On' - and is similarly 90s-inspired, integrating dance music influences with her brand of dream pop and shoegaze. In some ways I miss the more effervescent feel of her earlier music but there's still a lot I love on the album.

Highlights: My favourite moments on the album are the first three singles, but my highlight is definitely 'Quicksand' which reached #27 in my first chart - the payoff of the chorus is so satisfying! It still gets a lot of plays. Honourable mention would be 'This Enchanted' with its video referencing Romeo + Juliet's instantly-recognisable angel wings.

[greendemon]

Technically it's the 7th now but oh well


6. Alvvays



Canadian five-piece Alvvays have been around since 2011 and again are well-known to members of the indie community here as purveyors of jangly indie pop such as 'Plimsoll Punks' (I'm sure one of their earlier singles was used in a contest at some point but can't find any evidence of it now!). After a couple of great albums, a series of unfortunate events followed by the pandemic stopped them from releasing anything since 2017 and I have to admit I'd forgotten they existed until they reappeared this year with their long-awaited third LP, Blue Rev, which might be their best yet. I've been revisiting some of their older material alongside diving into the new release and it just emphasises how much their sound has developed.

Highlights: Despite being less than 40 minutes long, there are 14 tracks on the album and they manage to incorporate so many different styles - often within the same 3-minute track! I love 'Easy On Your Own?', 'After The Hurricane' and the Smiths-y jangle of 'Pressed' but my highlight has to be 'Pharmacist' which is a contender for my favourite shoegaze song of the year.

[Panda]

Great to see Alvvays in here. One of the albums of the year for me.

[greendemon]

A day late but we're back to the growling!


7. Ithaca


A new discovery for me this year, London-based hardcore/metalcore quintet Ithaca formed in 2012 and released their second album, They Fear Us, in the summer. I stumbled upon the title track by chance and later found out that their bassist is the brother of someone I went to uni with, so I checked out more of their music on her recommendation. In general I've never been an avid fan of metalcore but this album really impressed me with its combination of savage riffs and ferocious, angry lyrics with some really quite beautiful and delicate melodic elements. Vocalist Djamila Boden Azzouz spends about as much time singing on the album as she does screaming and is great at both.

Highlights: It's hard to pick a recommendation - the entire album is great as a whole - but the singles are standouts. I think I marginally prefer 'Camera Eats First' - which addresses the media's role in distorting body images and relationships with food - with its stunning transition from the heavier opening to a gorgeous melodic closing section, and some face-meltingly good guitar work.

(The video has a content warning and with good reason - it is pretty intense and not recommended for anyone with a history with eating disorders)



#8 has already been pulled out of the hat so will be up later...

[Good Old Days]

Dec 7, 2022 1:00:27 GMT 1 greendemon said:

6. Alvvays

It's the first act, which I know. Two their songs ("In Undertow" and "Archie, Marry Me") were included in my long "Like" playlist (more than 3000 songs) on Youtube.