Staff Picks: Best of January 2022

Collage of various artists. 2022

Swarthmore’s month-long winter break meant that Orpheus Review writers had way too much free time: we filled this free time with as much music as possible, so here are some favorites from the past month.

Clare

My playlist Nick Drake et al., which is just all these really great acoustic guitar songs that are folk-y and meditative, was heavily played this January. I struggle with transitions and quite a lot happen in January, which is why I often find myself gravitating towards stripped-down, transportive music during this time. My favorites from the playlist include Nick Drake’s “Hazy Jane I”, Plas Teg’s “Graduate”, and Labi Siffre’s “Watch Me”. 

Tiffany

Winter break had a lot of highs and lows, and during these times, I found myself drawn toward sounds of comfort, which for me, meant lots of guitar, from soft acoustic singer-songwriters to more energetic rock/alt. Albums I kept on repeat included When the World Stopped Moving: The Live EP by Lizzy McAlpine (‘Angelina’ has to be my song of the month), I Don’t Wanna Lose by Kate Bollinger, Any Shape you Take by Indigo DeSouza, and also a bit too much Lana. I became (and still am) absolutely addicted to the electric guitar in DeSouza’s single ‘Hold U’, and from there, spent a lot of my winter break looking for music with great bass-lines or guitar solos. A few songs in my January circulation included ‘Elephant’ by Tame Impala, ‘Romanticist’ by Yves Tumor, and ‘disco banger but you’re crying in the bathroom’ by Blu DeTiger.

Ben

Over break, I played Final Fantasy VII Remake, and since finishing it, I’ve been playing the game’s soundtrack over and over again. It’s hard to recommend soundtracks to people, especially when it’s a many-hour, multi-disk affair like this one, because enjoyment of soundtrack music is often tied to experience with the media it’s from, but so much of Remake’s soundtrack is musically interesting, with emotional cues, multi-phase boss fight tracks that develop deceptively simple themes in intricate ways, and a fantastic main theme with vocals by YOSH from Survive Said the Prophet. I’ve also been listening to a lot of Tech N9ne, an aggressive rapper from Kansas City who’s always been bubbling just below mainstream popularity. His at times harkens back to the cool beats of the ‘90s, but other times leans on the edge of modern alternative rap and horrorcore. His stuff is downright scary at times. In particular, I’ve been listening to Sickology 101 as part of my go-to schoolwork music.

Katie

Spending the vast majority of January back in your hometown means reuniting with friends and listening to familiar music together. One friend of mine has, within her extensive CD collection, a much loved copy of Clean, Soccer Mommy’s first studio album. Driving around while playing some of Sophie Allison’s best songs makes me feel transported to the not-so-distant past in a good way, like I’m embracing all these emotions of being a teenage girl plainly and boldly with a bit of ironic edge. “Scorpio Rising” and “Your Dog” are long-time favorites off the 2018 indie rock album, but lately I’ve been listening to “Skin” and “Wildflowers” with so much more appreciation.

Tristan

Denzel Curry is stepping into 2022 with style with his new single ‘Walkin’. Paired with a music video where Denzel plays a Han Solo-esq lone ranger, traversing a seemingly endless desert, he raps about systemic racism, generational trauma, therapy, a world full of cruelties, and perseverance over a beautiful vocal sample. His newest album ‘Melt My Eyez, See Your Future’ is set to drop this summer, featuring artists such as JID, 6lack, slowthai, Rico Nasty, and T-Pain with contributions from Jpegmafia, Kenny Beats, Thundercat and more. If ‘Walkin’ is any signifier of what we are in for, Melt My Eyez will be an amazing chapter in Denzel’s discography.