The 2022 Jester One Music Top 20 Countdown - #1

 #1. Forever Unknown - sad people, blue eyes

Track: sad people, blue eyes
Artist: Forever Unknown
Album: Say It Back

 

Another repeat artist and another local to put the 2022 Countdown to rest. Unlike last year, where I had never listened to Teenage Wrist before their new album dropped, Forever Unknown burst onto the scene in 2020 with their debut EP Study Hall and the song "Bury Me", which made it all the way up to #4 that year. I knew this group had incredible potential the first time I saw them live. I've watched them mature from high school teens trying to find a sound, to college rockstars who are just looking for the right break to make it big. Their live shows are fun and energetic, and singer/songwriter/do-it-all wizard Micah SD just seems to be getting better and better.

It is Micah's songwriting that really hooked me on their music. It is rare that I find lyricists who write about specific things that I have felt/am feeling, and it feels like almost every single one of their songs has a line or two that really pummels me internally.  When I was writing the review for Say It Back, the song that immediately jumped out of my speakers was "sad people, blue eyes". I must have gone back and listened to the song at least 10 times just that day alone because I was overwhelmed with the power and emotion of it all. Guitarist Blake Bennett has a screaming solo that I know I probably just listened to on repeat 100 times this year as well. 

Within a month of this album being released, I knew deep down this would be my #1 track, and "sad people, blue eyes" is far and away the most listened to song for 2022 for me. Say It Back also has a big lead on most played (and probably favorite) album of the year. The production is off the scale, and every song got significant play at one time or another this year. This is also the 3rd local song in the last 6 years to take the #1 spot, following Morning Theft (2017) and Lilieae (2020).

Previous five #1s:

2021: Teenage Wrist - Taste of Gasoline
2020: Lilieae - Level
2019: VNV Nation - Only Satellites
2018: Florence + The Machine - Sky Full Of Song
2017: Morning Theft - Skeleton Twins

The 2022 Jester One Music Top 20 Countdown - #2

 #2. Rammstein - Lügen

Title: Lügen
Artist: Rammstein
Album: Zeit

Three times Rammstein has released an album since the inception of J1, and all 3 have landed on the Top 20. "Frühling in Paris" hit #18 in 2010, while "Radio" climbed all the way to #6 back in '19. As much as I'd like to believe that my favorite artists will always be represented in a Countdown that I solely curate, that has not always been the case. For instance, Anberlin (one of my all time favorite artists) had released 3 albums and an EP since 2009 and none of them have landed here. It is what it is, and it was with much trepidation that I journeyed into a 2nd new Rammstein album in 3 years after going almost a decade without. The group has been doing it for almost 30 years... did they have another masterpiece in them?

Oh, you better believe it. From the opening track ("Armee der Tristen") to the sentimental closer "Adieu", this album is 10 bops and one track that is just OK. The first time I listened to the record, I was texting back and forth with my friend Frankie, lead singer of our local R+ tribute band and German native. We were comparing things we liked and disliked on the album, and I remember having to go back and listen to "Lügen" multiple times because I was so caught off guard by what I heard. I immediately knew this was my favorite track from the record. There's something haunting about the opening piano, and the drop in of guitars at the 45s mark. The song is about a person who lives their live by telling lies, and eventually gets to the point where they lie so much that they don't even know what is true anymore. There's even some heavy autotune thrown in on the last verse just to prove the point of things being fake. Total brilliance. Way to go, Rammstein. What more can be said?

Previous five #2s:

2021: The Struts - Another Hit of Showmanship (ft Albert Hammond Jr)
2020: Purity Ring - stardew
2019: The Broken Relics - Where The Creatures Roam
2018: The War On Drugs - Pain
2017: Future Islands - Ran

The 2022 Jester One Music Top 20 Countdown - #3

#3. Ronnie Martin - From the Womb of the Morning, The Dew of Your Youth Will Be Yours

Title: From the Womb of the Morning, The Dew of Your Youth Will Be Yours
Artist: Ronnie Martin
Album: From the Womb of the Morning, The Dew of Your Youth Will Be Yours

 

When I was a kid, I distinctly remember the first time I heard Joy Electric. There was nothing else like their blend of bubbly synth-pop on Christian radio, and the label they were on (Tooth and Nail) was almost exclusively punk, emo and hard rock. You never what bandleader Ronnie Martin was going to write about, but you knew it was going to be wholly different from anything else you'd ever heard. But Martin had essentially been out of music since 2014, and I honestly hadn't listened much to their newer stuff since high school. I saw that Martin had released a new record and came in with zero expectations but wanted to give it a spin just the same.

Blown. Away. It's honestly a shame that From the Womb...is only 7 tracks, because it is humongous and brilliantly produced, and Martin's vocals sound as good as they ever have. The opening synth line is legitimately hypnotizing and moves me in an emotional way that was totally unexpected. Even though I've listened to the song 40 or 50 times this year, the synth line still knocks me over every single time. Majestic song, possibly my favorite album of the year, featuring songs like "Sing Among The Branches" and "Snow Like Wool". 

Also, this easily smashes the record of the longest song (and album) title from Jr. Jr., whose 2013 hit "If You Didn't See Me (Then You Weren't On The Dancefloor)" hit #7.

Favorite line: "Lost in parties, hollow shapes, in brooding fashion pose. Pages turn, dispassion churns, you learn what's grave and dour - will fair colors bleed into yours?"

 

 

 

 

 

 

Previous five #3s:

2021: Acceptance - At the Edge of the Earth
2020: White Reaper - Real Long Time
2019: Smith & Thell - Forgive Me Friend
2018: Vesperteen - Medicine
2017: The Naked and Famous - Higher
 

The 2022 Jester One Music Top 20 Countdown - #4

 #4. Truslow - Abbey Dear

Title: Abbey Dear
Artist: Truslow
Album: Natural Killer

Truslow is one of my all-time favorite bands, and all 3 of his records have been absolutely fantastic. I feel blessed getting to hear the bands namesake sing every Sunday at church, but the talent in the band is absolutely abundant. I had already heard half of the songs on the record by the time that it dropped, but "Abbey Dear" was immediately the one I gravitated towards on first spin. It's interesting though - the first time I listened to it, I was unsure of what to think. What do you do when one of your favorite artists records a new album? You try to temper your expectations and just enjoy the music for what it is, and on first listen I did that and this was the only song that stood out. 

Since then, the album has been listened to backwards and forwards at least a dozen times this year and nothing shines brighter than James Truslow's anthemic ballad about his love for his wife. The song starts with a simple piano and just continues to build and build until the final chorus bursts through your speakers. After giving "Abbey Dear" a few spins on release day, I realized that this was the type of song that I would want to write for my wife, if I were a fantastically talented songwriter like James is.  I can't be the only one who feels this way. Of another note of interest, this is the 5th year in the last 7 where a local artist landed at #4.  (2016, '18, '20, '21)

Favorite line: "I'm just a bottle in the sea - my words, my songs they mean nothing to me. You are the current in the deep - your breath, your touch, every moment you speak..."

 

 

Previous five #4s:

2021: A Tiger Made of Lightning - Little Birds
2020: Forever Unknown -  Bury Me
2019: VHS Collection - Sign
2018: Curse of Cassandra - Re-Bind
2017: The Birthday Massacre - All of Nothing

The 2022 Jester One Music Top 20 Countdown - #5

#5. Silversun Pickups - Alone on a Hill

Title: Alone on a Hill
Artist: Silversun Pickups
Album: Physical Thrills

Every year there's a certain point where the Countdown goes from good songs to OMG songs. As much as the last 3 or 4 got listened to in the last year, there is a significant jump here to #5. In Silversun Pickups, we have a band that first hit in the inaugural year with "It's Nice To Know You Work Alone" (#15) and again in 2012 with "Bloody Mary (Nerve Endings)" (#19). Those two albums were so big for me that I genuinely thought the band was going to become an absolute all-timer for me, but things just kind of tailed off. Physical Thrills is the first SSPU album that didn't reach the top 5 independent charts, finishing its rise at #35, while failing to chart on the Billboard 200 at all.

All that being said, it also isn't one of my top favorite albums of the year, but I knew I was in love the moment I heard bassist Nikki Monninger's voice. She doesn't usually sing lead, and the song has a very simple piano and bass/snare opening that sounds nothing like the band's original sound. But the emotion in Monninger's voice is absolutely captivating as she sings about loneliness and emptiness. I listened to this song at least 10 times on the day it was released, and things never really slowed down from there.

Favorite line: "Isn't at all complicated? This isn't all about this wave that's crashing in."

 

 

Previous five #5s:

2021: Meryl Creep - Spiraling
2020: Empathy Test - Monsters
2019: Within Temptation - In Vain
2018: Andrew WK - Music Is Worth Living For
2017: Chris Cornell - The Promise

The 2022 Jester One Music Top 20 Countdown - #6

 #6. YUNGBLUD - The Funeral

Title: The Funeral
Artist: YUNGBLUD
Album: YUNGBLUD

The ride of YUNGBLUD has been a fascinating one to watch. The way he has blown up in the last 4 years has been nothing short of incredible. The British media treats him like royalty while people in the United States seem to have no idea what to think about him. Fortunately for him, Spotify is an English entity and funnels traffic towards artists who are popular in the UK, so his face seems to be everywhere you go in the rock world. I honestly hadn't taken the time to really listen to him before because he felt like another media hype product, similar to MGK and other pop-rockers, but as I've dug into him I've found myself relating to him more and more. The aesthetic immediately caught me, but it's the relevance of his lyrics that really nailed me. I remember I was driving to work one morning when I first heard "The Funeral" and I really haven't looked back since. The song bounces around and has a great feel and upbeat lyrics about how it's okay to feel what you're feeling in any given moment. Also, I really dig the quirkiness and rasp of his voice.

Favorite line: "Do you tell yourself that it's alright that you dream about the day you die?"

 

 

Last five #6s:

2021: Gang of Youths - the angel of 8th ave.
2020: TRVSS - All The Bugs
2019:  Rammstein - Radio
2018: Turnspit - Walk Away
2017: Assemblage 23 - Bravery

The 2022 Jester One Music Top 20 Countdown - #7

 #7. Best Foot Back - Give It A Go

 

Title: Give It A Go
Artist: Best Foot Back
Album: Give It A Go single

One of the last real interviews I did with Music in Motion last year was with Michael from Best Foot Back, who was just about to release their newest single. The band had plans to record new music in 2022 but it never materialized, making "Give It A Go" their most recent contribution to the sonic world. Although the song was released at the end of the autumn season, it definitely feels like a song that you'd be blaring while cruising in the summer. I had a hard time not cranking it up every time it came on one of my playlists. Every now and then I come across a song that just feels binge-worthy, and this was one of them - all the way up to the #7 spot this year.

Hint... this won't be the last local song on the Countdown, either...

Favorite line: "Hit the lights for my solo - better be in the front row. Stepping out of your shadow - breaking out on my own. Now I know I'm okay by myself so, I'm givin' it a go."

 

 

 

Last five #7s:

2021: '68 - Bad Bite
2020: King Princess - Ohio
2019: Cold - Shine
2018: Jukebox the Ghost - Everybody's Lonely
2017: Cold War Kids - Can We Hang On?

The 2022 Jester One Music Top 20 Countdown - #8

 #8. Spiritbox - Sew Me Up

Title: Sew Me Up
Artist: Spiritbox
Album: Rotoscope EP

Speaking of bands who have had meteoric rises, Spiritbox was nominated for a boatload of awards last year after they released their debut record Eternal Blue. The band was an honorable mention on last year's Countdown (for "We Live In A Strange World) and apparently wrote enough material for a 3 song EP less than a year after the album was released. All 3 songs rip hard and "Sew Me Up" has a tremendous 3 chord loop on the verses that is damn near impossible to not headbang to, while vocalist Courtney LaPlante again puts on a clinic for how heavy music should be sang when done clean. All 3 songs on the Rotoscope EP landed in the top 10 of US Hard Rock Digital charts.

Favorite line: "Hold on to hate, too hollow for anyone to just remain in shadow, pulling backwards to sew me up"

 

 

 

Previous five #8s:

2021: Manchester Orchestra - Bed Head
2020: Ships In The Night - Lost Times
2019: Billie Eilish - You Should See Me In A Crown
2018: Miller and the Hunks - Gravity
2017: Circle of Dust - Machines of our Disgrace

The 2022 Jester One Music Top 20 Countdown - #9

 #9. Ghost - Spillways

Title: Spillways
Artist: Ghost
Album: Impera

Ghost returns to the Countdown after landing at #20 in 2018 with "Dance Macabre", which coincidentally has become one of my favorite songs in the last 5 years in spite of not having a higher showing. The band continues to be both one of the most popular and divisive bands in the rock/metal landscape, with some writers going as far as to call them the "ABBA of metal". Regardless of their criticisms, Impera reached #1 in 7 different countries and top 3 in 7 others, including #1 on both the Billboard Top Rock, Hard Rock, Independent, and #2 on the Billboard 200. The band continues to play their enigma game, with singer Tobias Forge being the only named member in the band. "Spillways" has a catchy piano opening, rumbling bass and guitars, and a soaring chorus that make for an easy sing-a-long. The ability to blend their poppy sound with heaviness can be annoying sometimes but I feel like they nail it on at least 1 song off every album.

Favorite line: "Your desolation led you into this - Vile incarnation of consummated bliss. I know you need it now to make you feel ali-ive."

 

 

Previous five #9s:

2021: Assemblage 23 - Factory
2020: Apollo LTD - You
2019: Sleeping With Sirens - Leave It All Behind
2018: mind.in.a.box - Attack
2017: Bebe Rexha - The Way I Are (Dance With Somebody)

The 2022 Jester One Music Top 20 Countdown - #10

 #10. Andy Mineo - Been About It (ft Lecrae)

Title: Been About It
Artist: Andy Mineo ft Lecrae
Album: Never Land II

I've really tried to rediscover my love for rap/hip hop the last few years. The old school hip-hop that I grew up listening to every Saturday night on Planet HipHop and the music that is released in 2022 are two completely different products - so different that it's almost incorrect to label them as similar. Even with that in mind, there are still a LOT of good rappers making solid music that are still singing about relevant topics, and both Andy Mineo and Lecrae are two that I really respect in the genre. Granted, this song is 90% Andy with 'Crae just echoing a word here and there, but the beat on this song is phenomenal and there aren't a ton of distracting frills in between. The song clocks under 2.5 minutes and gives you a different treat with each bar. 116 Clique has so many great artists on their roster and I love finding more and more from them.

Favorite line: "They doin' nothin', got a lot to say. How you never had COVID, you still got no taste?" and "I went vegan for the weekend now I'm back to beef and broccoli"

 

Previous five #10s:

2021: Echo Image - Walk My Mind
2020: Loathe - Two-Way Mirror
2019: Fit For A King - When Everything Means Nothing
2018: The Night Game - The Outfield
2017: The National - Carin at the Liquor Store

The 2022 Jester One Music Top 20 Countdown - #11

 #11. The Weeknd - Gasoline

Title: Gasoline
Artist: The Weeknd
Album: Dawn FM

Every once and a while, a really big popstar ends up on the J1 Countdown. Even though I'm not a fan of the direction that pop music has taken, there are still really good artists making top notch music, and so The Weeknd breaks in at #11 this year. I enjoyed his performance at the Super Bowl a few years ago and I think he generally puts out decent music at the end of the day. Although I didn't enjoy the album that much, I liked the concept for the Dawn FM record, and every time "Gasoline" came on the radio and on my playlists, I couldn't help but sing along when it came to the chorus. The record itself landed at #1 in 12 different countries, and although "Gasoline" wasn't officially released as a single, it still worked its way up to #29 on the Billboard Hot 100.

Favorite line: "And if I finally die in peace, just wrap my body in these sheets, and pour out the gasoline... it don't mean much to me"

 

 

 

 

 

Previous five #11s:

2021: The Birthday Massacre - The NeverEnding Story
2020: Nightwish - Harvest
2019: Demon Hunter - The Negative
2018: Power Quest - No More Heroes
2017: Haim - Want You Back

 

The 2022 Jester One Music Top 20 Countdown - #12

#12. Coheed and Cambria - The Liars Club

Title: The Liars Club
Artist: Coheed and Cambria
Album: Vaxis – Act II: A Window of the Waking Mind

Show of hands... how many of you knew Coheed was still doing their thing? I remember how caught up the world was in the era of "The Favor House Atlantic" and Good Apollo IV, and how they slowly faded away. Well, that's not entirely fair, because each of their last 7 albums have reached (at least) #3 on the US Hard Rock charts and the Top 25 of the Billboard 200 charts. They just don't have songs that chart, which makes their reign of popularity even more unlikely. The fact of the matter is that Claudio Sanchez is an absolutely brilliant human being who writes incredible graphic novels and translates them into song. I don't even know how he exists - he's obviously some sort of alien.

Okay, I've written too much. I'm just glad that they're still chugging along because they are an admirable outfit. Anyways, "The Liars Club" and "Shoulders", the first single from Vaxis II are the highest charting Coheed songs since 2006's "Welcome Home", and deservedly so. The former opens with a startling synth line and a blasting chorus that makes it perfect for rolling the windows down and screaming along. Go, listen!

Favorite line: Oh, do you want me to lie? 'Cause I could do it, baby, I could do it - lie to you? I'm begging you. 'Cause life feels so much better when we just avoid the truth. Baby, are you okay to lie with me?"

Previous five #12s

2021: Romy - Lifetime
2020: Alright Years - Something I Can Dance To
2019: Bloody Hammers - From Beyond The Grave
2018: Fashion Week - Tell Me Something
2017: Incubus - No Fun

The 2022 Jester One Music Top 20 Countdown - #13

#13. Judah & the Lion - scream!

Title: scream!
Artist: Judah & the Lion
Album: Revival

I can say without a doubt that I never, ever expected Judah & the Lion on the Top 20. I've never liked any of their music, I don't care for their style or their attitudes, and even though my best friend Tessa has tried to get me into them over the years, it has never really stuck. But, if you give me a new song and tell me I should listen, I absolutely will. That's where this one comes in. It's a very simple arrangement with an extremely relevant lyrical message about holding on in the midst of the chaos of the world. It doesn't hurt that Judah keeps screaming "Lonely!" on every chorus. I feel you dude. I still couldn't make it all the way through the album, but this is a genuine jam. It got me through some rough times at the end of the year and is definitely worth a #13 showing.

Favorite line: "Lonely - this planet tends to get so woe-is-me, and 'round and 'round we go, so hold me..."

 

 

Previous five #13s

2021: The Dirty Nil - Blunt Force Concussion
2020: Slimfit - Pineapple Pizza
2019: Vesperteen - Operate
2018: Marshmello & Bastille - Happier
2017: Greeley Estates - Calling All The Hopeless

The 2022 Jester One Music Top 20 Countdown - #14

#14. The Regrettes - Anxieties (Out of Time)

 

Title: Anxieties (Out of Time)
Artist: The Regrettes
Album: Further Joy

It's been a female-heavy Top 20 this year, and Lydia Night is another one of those great singers with a unique and powerful voice. The Regrettes are another artist who I think is going to really explode soon, and Further Joy showed more clever lyrics that resonated a little deeper than their two previous albums. "Anxieties" definitely feels like a song born of the COVID-19 pandemic, about getting through hard times and winning the battles over the voices in your head. Also, this could totally be my favorite video of the year. It paints a picture of the madness within our minds in a clever and quirky manner that is most enjoyable.

Favorite line: "Are we just forever running out of time? Missing how it feels to really be alive? Knock me down, I won't back down."

 

 

Previous five #14s:

2021: beabadoobee - Last Day On Earth
2020: The Anix - Renegade
2019: Rome - Uropia O Morte
2018: Solar Fake - The Pain That Kills You Too
2017: DREAMCAR - Kill for Candy

The 2022 Jester One Music Top 20 Countdown - #15

 #15. TRUSS - Drown

Title: Drown
Artist: TRUSS
Album: Reset My Head

TRUSS returns to the Countdown after landing at #6 back in 2020 with "All The Bugs". The band took all of their original material from their live EP, added two fantastic new ones and packaged it all together with a ton of polish for their debut studio EP Reset My Head. The album is gritty and punching, just like a real life TRUSS show, and ends with the emotional "Drown", a song that resonates heavily with the suicidal voices that have plagued my entire life. At one point, singer Hannah Crandall continuously utters "I need to clear my head!" as the guitars build to a crescendo. This is a band that I feel has an incredibly bright future.

Favorite line: "You might think it's enthralling, but it's nothing special - clearing out what I had been through my shedding skin"

 

 

 

Previous five #15s:

2021: AFI - Begging for Trouble
2020: The Unlikely Candidates - High Low
2019: Syrian - We Are Stars
2018: Plushgun - Lukewarm
2017: Ex-Nihilo - Enemy
 

The 2022 Jester One Music Top 20 Countdown - #16

 16. Silent Planet - Panopticon

Title: Panopticon
Artist: Silent Planet
Album: Iridescent

I always get excited when a metal artist releases a great song or album. The early countdown years had a lot of metalcore, djent and deathcore artists, and somewhere along the line I just felt like the quality of releases diminished. In an interesting bit of irony, Silent Planet was never a band that I enjoyed much until I heard this record. It's hard not to get pumped up by the 40 second electronic drum intro before singer Garrett Russell screams "PANOPTICON!" The song is relentless and the album follows suit accordingly. I am always a fan of dystopian futuristic writing, especially when it related to the idea of living in a simulation.

Favorite line: "We sleep with pixels in a dream machine - but we lose ourselves and retreat to screens, retreat to screens."

*Note: strobe lights are featured heavily in the video*

 

 

 

 

Previous five #16s:

 

2021: PEABOD - Love Everybody (ft Tedashii)

2020: Sir Sly - Material Boy

2019: Blindside - Gravedigger

2018: Good Charlotte - Shadowboxer

2017: Demon Hunter - Raining Down

 

The 2022 Jester One Music Top 20 Countdown - #17

 17. Grumpy Plum - I Don't Care

Title: I Don't Care
Artist: Grumpy Plum
Album: I Don't Care single

The first Ohio entry to this year's Countdown comes from Cleveland's Grumpy Plum. The slop-pop trio released an EP in the summer of '21 and followed it up with two standalone singles featuring their new lineup, including the acerbic and abrasive "I Don't Care". At 1:23 it is the 2nd shortest song to ever land on the Countdown, but not a single second is wasted on this anthem to a terrible relationship. It's actually good that the song is so short, because you're gonna want to rewind back several times to catch each of singer Tallulah Swasey's brilliant barbs. Zing, zing, zingers.

Favorite line: "You can block me and forget me, I upgraded to a cat"

Previous five #17s: 

2021: Porter Robinson - Look at the Sky
2020: Corduroy Brown - To My Younger Self
2019: SYML - Clean Eyes
2018: Superorganism - Everybody Wants To Be Famous
2017: Tinashe - Flame

The 2022 Jester One Music Top 20 Countdown - #18

#18. The Foxies - Overrated

 

Title: Overrated
Artist: The Foxies
Album: Who Are You Now, Who Were You Then?

The first time I heard The Foxies, I knew I loved Julia Lauren Bullock's voice and delivery. I just get so tired of the mumbly, whispery female singers that have over-saturated the radio, so when I hear signers like that (or Aimee Interruptor) I get excited. Their album just dropped in September and has a few bonafide bops that might make their way into the 2023 Countdown, but the lead single "Overrated" was what caught my ear in '22. Fun, upbeat, and talking about someone who immediately wants too much out out of a relationship. I can only hope their live show is as energetic as the video for this song.

Favorite Line: "One day you will wake up and the things that made you happy make you numb - is that really living now?"

 

 

Last five #18s:

2021: Daymare - Control
2020: Little Hurt - Alaska
2019: James Truslow - Overwhelmed
2018: The Raquels - Just a Txt
2017: Andrew McMahon In The Wilderness - Fire Escape

The 2022 Jester One Music Top 20 Countdown - #19

#19. Bad Omens - Like A Villain

 

Title: Like A Villain

Artist: Bad Omens

Album: The Death of Peace of Mind

It's always interesting seeing the twists and turns that a Top 20 Countdown will take. Sometimes it's songs from bands I love, and sometimes it's an artist I don't care for from an album I didn't even like. It only takes one, right? I honestly haven't listened to a lot of Bad Omens in my life because I usually can't get too far into their songs, but the moment the chorus of this song hit, I knew I was in love. The lyrics hook me in and the passion in singer Noah Sebastian's voice resonates deep within me. The album landed at #2 on the US Heatseekers chart and #11 on the US Hard Rock chart as well.

Favorite Line: "I don't wanna know all your secrets cuz I'll tell - it's hard enough being alone with myself. I don't know how long I'll be holding on."

 

Last five #19s:

2021: Royal Blood - Typhoons
2020: The Broken Relics - Goodbye Tennessee
2019: Sigrid - Sucker Punch
2018: Rick Springfield - In The Land of the Blind
2017: The Head and The Heard - Rhythm & Blues

The 2022 Jester One Music Top 20 Countdown - #20

 #20. Halestorm - The Steeple

Title: The Steeple

Artist: Halestorm

Album: Back From the Dead

 

I wasn't a huge fan of Halestorm when they first came out - in fact, I felt like they were just going to be a flash in the pan. But they have steadily grown on me since their 2nd album dropped and Back From the Dead might be their best offering yet, with hits like "Strange Girl", "Back From the Dead" and "I Come First". The album landed at 36 in the US and #2 in the Hard Rock charts while hitting #9 in the UK. Lzzy Hale is a true rock queen, a warrior for women's rights and a mental health champion, and I admire the hell out of her. I wish more bands had a sound more like theirs these days, but at the end of the day this song just flat out rocks. 

Favorite Line: "A choir's singing in my heart today, like a thousand angels breaking the silent parade. To the ones I call my own, I'm back where I belong."

Last five #20s:

2021: Grabbitz - Pigs in the Sky
2020: Seether - Dangerous
2019: Vampire Weekend - Harmony Hall
2018: Ghost - Dance Macabre
2017: Liam Gallagher - Wall of Glass