The Best Progressive Pop Music of 2022
Yeah, 2022 was a big year for stadium-packing pop stars—Beyoncé, Taylor Swift, Harry Styles, the Weeknd—with splashy new albums, a frenzy compounded by anxious Spotify reminders notifying users they’ve only listened to 37 percent of Midnights, so would they kindly consider continuing to 100? But beyond this commercial echelon was a bevy of weirder and wilder pop releases from this year: the cheeky collages of Grace Ives; the syncretic, near-devotional anthems of Asake; and the diaphanous “bad bitch” tunes of Shygirl, to name a few. Sorted alphabetically, the following list represents the year’s best in “progressive” pop music, including carry-overs from our main lists as well as additional selections. And while most of our picks fall deliberately outside the mainstream, we made exceptions for a few blockbusters that nonetheless nudged pop into more interesting terrain.
Listen to selections from this list on our Spotify playlist and Apple Music playlist.
Check out all of Pitchfork’s 2022 wrap-up coverage here.
(All releases featured here are independently selected by our editors. When you buy something through our retail links, however, Pitchfork may earn an affiliate commission.)
Asake: Mr. Money With the Vibe
Lagosian singer and rapper Asake has been fine-tuning his fleet-footed vision of Afrobeats for several years now, channeling the languid groove of South African amapiano, the meditative vocals of Nigerian Fuji music, and the communal elation of gospel. Guided by frequent collaborator Magicsticks, his debut album Mr. Money With the Vibe is full of lavish charm, with jubilant, multi-voiced choruses and winking lines that make agile use of Yoruban street slang. From the silky anthem “Terminator” to the superstar team-up of the “Sungba” remix with Burna Boy, it’s impossible to ignore Asake’s eclectic brew. –Marc Hogan
Listen/Buy: Amazon | Apple Music | Spotify | Tidal
Beabadoobee: Beatopia
On Beatopia, Beabadoobee is healing from messes made by herself and others, threading bittersweet realizations through the downy sound of early-2000s radio pop. Inspired by the dreamworld she created as a child, the 22-year-old pulls us into a free-floating and eclectic universe, meditating on self-care and relationships across the folk chants of “Beatopia Cultsong,” the bubbly bossa nova of “the perfect pair,” and the smudged pop-rock of “Talk” and “10:36.” Soothing and self-aware, it’s easy to get lost in. –Jane Bua
Listen/Buy: Rough Trade | Amazon | Apple Music | Bandcamp | Spotify | Tidal
Bladee / Ecco2k: Crest
To outsiders, Drain Gang might seem more like a cult than a music collective, with a dense symbology to decipher that feels like hypebeast hieroglyphics. But on Crest, Bladee, Ecco2k, and producer Whitearmor concoct a pure, pop-flavored iteration of their heady cloud rap and tap into a more universal frequency. Crest is a dreamy exercise in vulnerability, a dispatch from the internet trenches that, for once, doesn’t feel wrapped in disengaged cynicism; shining through a ravey, multicolored mist of love and acceptance, it pairs existential Auto-Tune chants with driving 8-bit beats that fizzle like candy. Overlooking Crest’s sparkling electronic wonderland, you might feel like no matter how much time you’ve wasted online, your real friends are out there somewhere waiting for you. –Sam Goldner