All Punked Up’s 2022 Albums of the Year

There’s no better time to bring you All Punked Up’s staff picks for 2022 Albums of the Year than on the final day of 2022. With the pop-punk genre still going and growing strong, rock and alt-music more alive than ever, there were a lot of great albums released this year, but these were the ones (in no particular order) that stood out most to the staff at All Punked Up.

Recently, on The All Punked Up Podcast, John and Tyler shared their picks for Song of the Year, Album of the Year, Artist of the Year, and the album they are most looking forward to in 2023. For a more in-depth look at their picks, you can listen to that episode here. But without further ado, let’s get to the APU’s picks for Albums of the Year for 2022.

The Wonder Years – The Hum Goes on Forever

By: John Pearman

The Wonder Years return to form with their best effort since The Greatest Generation. The 12 Songs on this album speak to the loneliness and uncertainty of our post-Covid times.

Sueco – It Was Fun While it Lasted

By: Brittnee Thayer

From my first listen to every repeat, this album stays upbeat, refreshing, crazy, and certainly entertaining. With that classic pop-punk sound, mixed with some hip-hop and rap twists, the range of vibes definitely checks every box off for me in terms of sound and emotion. I do not see this album going stale for me anytime

State Champs – Kings of the New Age

By: Tyler Winters

State Champs’s Kings of the New Age album, for me, is miles and miles better than anything released this year. I feel like it got great reviews, but I feel like it deserved even more than it got.

Not only did they deliver the way State Champs normally do, but the execution of great lyrics, and great melodies, bringing out the emotion in just their music alone shows that they really outdid themselves on this one.

My favorite thing about this album is the subtle country music vibes this album brings. And most scene kids probably don’t hear what I hear, but it’s definitely there. They even went as far as to bring a country artist (Mitchell Tenpenny) on to collab on “Act Like That”. I really think there are a lot of songs on this album that could play well on country radio. Not because they sound country–because they don’t at all–but because the lyrical content is really close to country writing and that’s all that matters over on country radio. As long as the listener can connect to the story, it’s a recipe for success. And I think that’s just another reason why I liked this album so much because the lyrical content drew me in.

But nonetheless, this album without a doubt wins Album of the Year for me because it’s just an album that has everything I’m looking for in an album: melody, lyrical content, and musical emotion. And for good measure: it was also the top album I listened to according to my Spotify Wrapped results.

Pale Waves – Unwanted

By: Tyler Winters

I had been liking every single Pale Waves released in 2022, and after the release of their album Unwanted in August 2022, they solidified a spot as one of my new favorite artists. Unwanted is just a fantastic album from front to back. Heather Baron-Gracie’s voice is phenomenal. There’s something about the production on this album that highlights her voice; you can just tell she is a great vocalist. But dammit, pretty much every song on this album is catchy as hell and there isn’t one song that necessarily stands out too much from the others to where it seems like it may not fit on the album. Everything just really goes together and makes for a really nice cohesive album. I’d say this is what an album should sound like.

And not to get ahead myself, but this band is one to watch in 2023. They are from Manchester. And I don’t know what kind of effect that has on popularity in the U.S. nowadays since it’s easier than ever to find new artists, but I think they will get bigger in the U.S. next year.

I Prevail – TRUE POWER

By: Bree Budell 

There are not enough words to express my love for I Prevail’s TRUE POWER. I Prevail never disappointments when releasing an album. I’ll be honest from the moment from it was released I had it on repeat for days (we won’t talk about the fact I have streamed it over 700+ times). This album was one that helped me through some of the toughest times this year when I didn’t have the words to express how I was feeling. Each song has lyrics that you can easily relate to and a sound that keeps drawing you in. Honestly, hearing some of the songs live on their most recent tour with Stand Atlantic, Fit For a King, and Pierce the Veil, made me love this album even more.

We Came As Romans – Darkbloom

By: Bree Budell 

Darkbloom was the band’s first without their band mate Kyle Pavone, who the band sadly lost back in 2018. First time listening to the album you really get the sense of WCAR’s spirit of needing to carry on and to do in memory of their bandmate, and they did not disappointment! I think the biggest thing I loved about this album was the overall theme. It reminds the listener that even if you are going through your darkest and most difficult times in your life, you still have the possibility of potential personal growth. My favorite song quickly became “Holding the Embers” because of the lyrics of: “I’ll bury my fear at the end of the road. Every day is a new day, I try to believe it. Hope I have what I need to change”. These lyrics perfectly described what I was feeling as I was trying to work through some of my hardest and darkest moments the last couple years.

The 1975 – Being Funny in a Foreign Language

By: Ian Thompson

Following the polarized response to 2020’s Notes on a Conditional Form, The 1975 return with a more concise and focused effort with Being Funny in a Foreign Language. With some help from Jack Antonoff behind the boards, the band (mostly) halts the genre-hopping experimentation that’s dominated their recent output in favor of a return to form with a more mature outlook while still trying new things. Through a musical backdrop of the band’s love for the 80s, folk-rock influenced cuts, and even coming full-circle on the incredible “About You” (a continuation of the band’s 2013 hit “Robbers”), vocalist/guitarist Matty Healy is as witty, introspective and self-aware as ever. Being Funny contains some of his most creative and colorful storytelling next to some of his most raw, vulnerable, and brutally honest lyrics to date. Being Funny may be the band’s shortest album to date, but it also shows that sometimes less is more. And with less, they’ve delivered one of the best albums of 2022.

Machine Gun Kelly – mainstream sellout

By: Julia Pearl

mainstream sellout by Machine Gun Kelly was the album of the year for me. 5 tracks from the record were my top 5 Spotify songs on my Spotify Wrapped. I’ve never had all top 5 songs come from one record before. As someone who typically likes heavier music, mainstream sellout was a bridge for my partner and I to meet on to enjoy pop punk music together. From the more meaningful lyrics to the funnier ones, the entire album is hard hitting, witty, & a bop from front to back. When I just want to let loose and jump around, I play WW4. My favorite lyric is “10 fingers, just two, both hands f*ck you — 10 toes, black boots, stomp the sh*t out of you”. I don’t know why exactly, but it’s just so catchy, funny, & also helps release a lot of anger to reenact the lyrics. Overall, my top song would have to be “5150”. That song really speaks to how much life can affect you & make you feel or seem just crazy (although, at some point, we’re all at least a little 5150). It also reminds me of how easy it is to be stubborn & want to stay in the same place instead of getting help and trying to improve.

Goalkeeper – I Wish I Met You Sooner

By: Noah Cross

This album is filled with some of the best new wave pop punk songs that came out this year! With songs like “Sooner”, a love song anyone can relate to, all the way to my personal favorite on the album “Talk About” about the struggles of a relationship. This album is front to back a masterpiece that will hold up for many years to come.

Stand Atlantic – f.e.a.r.

By: Tyler Winters

Another album I’m adding to my Album of the Year pick is Stand Atlantic’s f.e.a.r. I absolutely love Stand Atlantic. We’ve had vocalist Bonnie Frazier on the pod in the past and I brought up the fact that I felt the pandemic really diminished the potential of their 2020 album Pink Elephant. At that time, I felt Pink Elephant should have made Stand Atlantic huge and the talk of the pop-punk/alternative music world. But due to the world being shut down and tours going extinct, the hype for that album never got as big as it should’ve. Fast forward to May of 2022 and Stand Atlantic releases the follow-up to Pink Elephant with f.e.a.r. And what a great follow-up it was as it contained super punchy pop-punk songs, great collaborations, earworms of melodies, and perfect song execution. This album should be on everyone’s Album of the Year list.

I still think this band is slept on to some degree, and I just don’t get it. This band should be bigger than they currently are. They should be on every festival and every bigger band should be wanting them on their tour. Bonnie and company really know how to write a song and a great album, and f.e.a.r. is a great example of that.

Cherie Amour – Spiritual Ascension

By: Tyler Winters

One album that I continued to go back to time and time again was Cherie Amour’s Spiritual Ascension. It was an album that was late to the party in 2022 as it was just released in November, but I just couldn’t get enough of this one. Cherie Amour is on my list of artists to watch out for in 2023, and they should be on yours as well. There really is no other band like them. There’s no other band that has their sound. I think it’s safe to say that they’ve somehow created a melting-pot of a genre as there is, without a doubt, a mixture of pop-punk, post-hardcore, R&B, rap and hip-hop, and hard rock influences on just about every track. It sounds like a lot, but they really do a great job of pulling in all of those genre elements to create an addicting listening experience.

And for what it’s worth, I also feel like they haven’t reached their true potential just yet. So even though they released this new album in 2022, I’m sure whatever they release in 2023 is going to be their biggest stuff yet. I feel like they have such a unique sound that it’s all going to come together for them in their next releases. Cherie Amour should be on your radars.

Kailee Morgue – Girl Next Door

By: Tyler Winters

Kailee Morgue released her new album Girl Next Door at the end of October 2022. Kailee is definitely an artist that you guys want to keep on your radar. If I were to categorize her music, I’d say she’s a nice blend of emo-pop meets pop-punk with a little alternative and 90’s influences sprinkled in. This album encapsulates everything a good alternative pop album should be. And most, if not every song on this album is radio ready.

What I really love most about this album is the collection of songs that really dig deep. And although the lyrics on this album are extremely vulnerable, Kailee has a way of hiding the darkness with a more happy and energetic type of music approach which is executed perfectly. I expect big things from Kailee Morgue and truly think the sky is the limit for this artist.