What an excellent Power Pop year 2022 is already.

Here are the fifteen best records so far.

01. Young Guv – Guv III

You wanted the best; you got the best, the hottest band in the world!
They really should have Young Guv tour with Weezer. Who would sell the most t-shirts then?

02. Tom Curless – Person of Interest

Almost Ready for the Future was one of my favorite records of 2020. Its follow-up, Person of Interest, released early 2022, is even better. The songs Tom Curless writes gain in strength, power, and expressiveness with every release. Take “Something for Nothing”, Bob Mould or Rick Springfield would be king if such a melody came to them. But it didn’t. It blew to Tom Curless and, trust me, that’s no coincidence.

03. The Summer Holiday – Acqua

The Summer Holiday is a great band, and Acqua is a masterpiece. If fun. (the band) would have been a Power Pop band; their records would have been half as good as the ones Michael Collins releases.

04. Cheap Star – Wish I Could See

Rémi Vaissiere and his star cast. Wish I Could See offers a master class in writing sophisticated Power Pop songs but is perhaps even more of a master class in how to perform those sophisticated songs. Impeccable!

05. Freezing Hands – It Was A Good Run

Fourteen of the greatest (Garage/Power) pop songs!

06. Buzzard Buzzard Buzzard – Backhand Deals

If this is what Britpop sounds like these days, then I like contemporary Britpop.

07. Chris Church – Darling Please

Darling Please didn’t seem good enough when Chris Church recorded the songs over a decade ago. Fortunately, last year he took the time to polish and refine the ten songs, and the new result, released early 2022 by Big Stir records, is great. GREAT!

08. Trevor Blendour – Falling In Love

On Falling In Love, Trevor Treiber sounds like Buddy Holly backed by a surf-punk band. How catchy do you want pop music to be?

09. Lund Bros – Across State Lines

Chris and Sean Lund have released another excellent record with Across State Lines. Immaculate Heavy Power Pop.

10. Goodman – How Close Are You to the Ground

He should be the talk of Power Pop Town but he isn’t and I don’t get that. Like all his others, this record showcases what our beloved genre sounds like when a new generation takes a spin on it. Beautiful, challenging, critical and with both feet in the present tense.

11. Afterpartees – Familiy Names

No-Nonsense Power Pop from the lowlands.

12. SPINN – Outside of the Blue

Sweet Sweet Jangle Pop from Liverpool.
Again.
Sweet Sweet Jangle Pop from Liverpool.
That’s all you can ask for, can’t you?

13. Hoodoo Gurus – Chariot of the Gods

And that in the ‘end’ you suddenly come up with an outstanding record again. How is that possible? And why don’t more old heroes do that?

14. Lannie Flowers – Flavor of the Month

FLAVOR OF THE MONTH is both a completely new collection and the long-awaited physical media debut for the songs that made up Lannie Flowers’ celebrated March To Home Singles Series in 2019 all newly remixed by Lannie, the King of Southern Spiced Quality Pop, himself.

15. Eytan Mirsky – Lord, Have Mirsky!

Eytan Mirsky chooses on Lord, Have Mirsky! deliberately for a richer, more extensive sound palette. As a result, his music starts to show more and more similarities with the songs of Nick Lowe.

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And there is much more.

Check the Sweet Sweet Music Blog Best Power Pop Songs of 2022 Spotify Playlist!

Image by Sabeth Elberse Studio