2022 got off to an unusually slow start for me, as far as connecting with new music. Fortunato Durutti Marinetti’s Memory’s Fool, released in March, was both the first record that grabbed me and the one that I returned to most often. To give you an idea of what it sounds like, imagine if Robert Forster grew up listening to Bill Callahan/Smog, and made a record with Robert Wyatt producing, and you’ll be pretty close. Right up there at the top of my most-played pile, next to Fortunato, is Courtney Marie Andrews’ Loose Future, which didn’t come as much of a surprise to me given how hard I fell for her last one, the stunning Old Flowers. Although, getting the chance to see her and her band perform the Loose Future material live last fall (more on that below) definitely helped seal the deal.
A couple of records that did surprise me, in terms of how much time I ended up spending with them, were the latest Jeanines, Don’t Wait For A Sign: a pure comfort listen whenever I needed it this year, which was often. And Free Time’s Jangle Jargon, which barely made a blip in the indie world but seems like it would appeal to Destroyer fans — the way it evokes that project’s Thief and Streethawk eras — and definitely fans of Twerps, whom they uncannily resemble on standout track “That’s Rare,” and whose former frontman Marty Frawley guest stars on the album. It’s an addicting one. I also want to give a special nod to the Morteza Mahjubi compilation, Selected Improvisations From Golha, Pt. I, even if it might not fully qualify as a 2022 release (it was released digitally and on cassette in 2021, with the vinyl ultimately landing this year). I discovered it via a Steve Gunn tweet in November and it’s since become my go-to morning record — equal parts ghostly and jaunty, improvised piano pieces from 1950s/60s Iranian national radio broadcasts that are sure to get your bones rattling.
I also saw more live music in 2022 than I have in years, both for obvious Covid-related reasons and because I decided I needed a break from school, and therefore had more time and energy than usual to make it happen. Of the shows I caught, my favorites were Quivers, who made it over from Australia in support of last year’s glorious Golden Doubt, and Courtney Marie Andrews, who played to an adoring, capacity crowd at Cambridge’s Middle East in early November. Something these two acts had in common was an obvious love of playing music with their respective bandmates, which translated into an infectious onstage energy, in both cases, that left me feeling a lot lighter at the end of the night. Picking a favorite single moment is easy: it was the absolutely devastating centerpiece of Andrews’ set, “Near You,” a song I wasn’t familiar with prior to the show but which left a raw, empty feeling in the pit of my stomach that I can still viscerally recall (you know, in a good way). In a very different way, catching Kraftwerk and their synchronized screen show at The Wang Theater ruled, too. As did seeing Berlin resident Ned Collette, not once but twice, after catching Collette fever last Spring when I picked up the reissue of his debut, Jokes & Trials, and subsequently deep diving into his back catalog.
But that’s enough out of me. So, without further adieu, here are the records I enjoyed the most this year. If we reviewed the record here at Dusted, or I covered it in a different context elsewhere, I made sure to link to it.
Courtney Marie Andrews — Loose Future (Fat Possum)
Michael Beach — 2022 EP (Goner)
Blue Ocean — s/t (Dandy Boy)
Jackson Reid Briggs — Out Of Line EP (Self-released)
Thomas Bush — Preludes (Mamma’s Mysterious Jukebox)
Laura Cannell — Antiphony Of The Trees (Brawl)
Sarah Mary Chadwick — Flipped It (Kill Rock Stars)
Chronophage — s/t (PPM)
Ned Collette — Jokes & Trials (Feeding Tube/Sophomore Lounge) REISSUE
Sarah Mary Chadwick continues to be a forever queen. There are like five +++ lyrical/vocal moments that break me every time. "I'm scared i'm scared i'm scared i'm terrified." It's nice to hear her playing more songs with a big bombast. I adore most all of her songs regardless..
Sometimes you’ve got to give in to a little make believe in order to give this life some meaning. Sarah Mary Chadwick is admittedly not known to be one of the most best givers of a positive pep talk through her song, but “Looked Just Like Jesus” is a pretty great imitation of how you can go about finding a reason to enjoy the moment out there in this wretched world. This doesn’t mean that blind faith needn’t come without a shit-eating grin, as she recounts tales of an old boyfriend her mother claimed to have looked like Jesus despite never actually having physically seen his face, or the fashion of carrying on like you have. “Well, if you’re trying to walk with God / Well, it pays to wear good shoes / Something resilient and impervious to truth / And something that’s stylish / Because no one likes looking like shit / You never know who’s around,” she harps over a sunken piano, though there's something about those errant streams of synths and keys twinkling every so often as well. Sure, just about everything can easily be explained scientifically, but only you can ascribe the beauty within the chaos in a way that makes you the overseer of all things magical and divine.
Directed by: Sian Stacey
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Sarah Mary Chadwick’s Messages to God will be released September 15th on Kill Rock Stars.
characters that are actually lesbians because I say so <3 part 2
1. shauna shipman — had sex with and then married her best friend’s boyfriend because she couldn’t have her. then literally consumed her remains so they could be intertwined forever. do I even need to explain any further.
2. jackie taylor — what else was I supposed to take away from the toothbrushing scene in the pilot? see also: every interaction she had with shauna, literally ever
3. lottie matthews — if not gay then explain every interaction with laura lee. and nat. and shauna. and mari, leven. I rest my case.
4. imogen heaney — I know what you are, little miss “token ally”
5. taylor jewel — I know a bitch who’s in love with her best friend when I see one
6. betty cooper — veronica doesn’t put betty in the basement. she‘ s not afraid of her shine. she let’s her bejeweled.
7. veronica lodge — do you guys remember that episode where veronica’s sister accused her and betty of murdering jughead because “that’s the kind of thing that secret girlfriends do”? cause I do. and I think about it all the time.
8. rikki chadwick — her and emma were literally in love
9. kiarra carrera — “kiarra belongs with pope” “kiarra belongs with JJ” no, kiarra belongs with SARAH. friends to enemies to friends to lovers you will always be famous
10. abby littman — fellas is it gay to stare longingly at your best friend while she’s with her girlfriend? or to kiss your other friend in front of her at a party to make her jealous?
11. maya hart — that girl never wanted lucas or riley’s uncle, and she never wanted to “be riley” she wanted to be with riley. in this essay I will
12. sarah cameron— sorry (not really) but that girl just does not belong with a man
MUSES FROM VARIOUS FANDOMS. SERIES/BOOKS/MOVIES/MYTHOLOGY.
Rikki Chadwick:
fandom: h2o just add water
birthdate: October 1
zodiac sign: libra
appearance: blonde, blue eyes, fair skin, tall
nationality & ethnicity: australian
species: human-mermaid
FC: canon fc, cariba heine
Persephone:
fandom: greek mythology
species: goddess of spring & queen of underworld, wife to hades
appearance: changeable; dark hair, brown skin, dark brown eyes, sharp features
fc: simone ashley
Aphrodite:
fandom: greek mythology
species: goddess of love, beauty, pleasure and fertility, wife to hephaestus, lover to ares, adonis and others, mother to many
appearance: changing hair color, originally auburn, but also strawberry blonde, golden blonde depicted, smooth skin, womanly, curvy body
fc: larsen thompson, rose bertram
Poppy North:
fandom: night world series
species: made vampire (unknown witch before)
appearance: short curly red hair, striking emerald eyes, freckles on nose (before turning to vampire), elfin stature, delicate figure
personality & more information: here
age (canon): 16 (age of death & turning to vampire), born ca. 1980/1992 / age flexible
nationality: american
ethnicity: caucasian
FC: sadie sink
Lily Bloom:
fandom: it ends with us/it starts with us-fandom less
full name: lily blossom bloom
appearance: red hair, blue eyes, pretty lips
personality: brave, bold, caring, compassionate, kind, outspoken & more information here
age: mid-late twenties / age flexible, born ca. 1993/1997
nationality: american
ethnicity: caucasian
FC: abigail cowen
Mary-Lynette Carter:
fandom: night world series
full name: mary-lynette carter
appearance: tanned skin, dark & shiny hair, blue eyes
personality: smart, spunky, little nosy, intelligent, compassionate, very protective, responsible, serious, sincere, caring, loyal, good listener, stands up against social injustice & prejudice; more information here
age: 17/18 (age flexible), born ca. 1979/1991
nationality: american
ethnicity: mixed race
FC: bruna marquezine
Wednesday Addams:
fandom: Wednesday/Addams family
full name: Wednesday Friday Addams
birthdate: 10/13/2006 (year flexible) , on Friday the 13th
appearance: dark shiny hair, dark eyes, lighter skin tone (resembles mother Morticia Addams)
personality & more background information here
age: teenager 16-18 years old
nationally: american
ethnicity: mixed race
fc: jenna ortega
Sarah Lynn:
fandom: bojack horseman
full name: birth name: Sarah Lynn Himmelfarb changed to Sarah Lynn
appearance: brown hair, freckled, green eyes
age: ca. born 1984, age flexible (20-30s portrayed)
personality & background information here
nationality: american
Fc: beren saat/cartoon image
ethnicity: unknown
Katara
fandom: avatar-the last air bender/legend of korra
appearance: dark brown hair, blue eyes, brown skin, curvy body
personality: caring, compassionate, fiercely protective of loved ones, independent, resilient, hard working, smart, fun loving, orderly
ethnicity: water tribe, southern water tribe
background: she’s sokka’s younger sister, and later Aang’s wife and mother of their children (or AU ending)
ships based on chemistry, preferably with Zuko/Aang. OCs are welcomed too.
Camila Dunne:
fandom: Daisy Jones and the Six
full name: Camila Dunne née Martinez
born: 1949; death date: December 1, 2012 aged 63
appearance: short, dark brown hair, brown doe eyes,
Musician and artist Sarah Mary Chadwick on how art doesn’t change your past https://thecreativeindependent.com/people/musician-sarah-mary-chadwick-on-how-art-doesnt-change-your-past/?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=tumblr