Columbia artists lead a list of Missouri's best music in 2022

To live in Missouri is to be aware, by degrees, that you are surrounded by stellar music. Any place that has served as the meeting ground for so many genres and types of people is bound to sing.

And yet in 2022, Missouri outdid itself. The bands and songwriters who call this place home offered one of the state's strongest musical years in recent memory.

Here are 15 truly notable records from the year, listed alphabetically by artist; Columbia acquits itself well, with seven spots here (and a number of other quality offerings just beyond this list).

18andCounting (St. Louis), "Some Sort of Future"

Creative polymath Stan Chisholm consistently churns out thoughtful work in a variety of media, creating curiosity and community around his art. On his latest, seven-song set, he unites a visceral, almost industrial style of hip-hop with thoughtful, jazzy flourishes and musical release valves.

Bruiser Queen (St. Louis), "Between You, Me and the Trash"

Morgan Nusbaum and Jason Potter always deliver the garage-rock goods; the pair has made a fine art of wedding huge pop hooks to gliding punk grooves. The duo's latest documents dumb luck and downtrodden character arcs, somehow converting disappointment into a propulsive force, pushing the band and its songs out into the world to try, try again.

Decadent Nation (Columbia), self-titled

A mid-Missouri rock institution, Decadent Nation roared back to life in 2022 with a self-titled record that shows off the band's strength and spirit. Searing guitars, flexible rhythms and Colin LaVaute's winding vocals define a sound that's built on hard-rock fastballs, but willing to throw the listener a satisfying change-up.

Dom Chronicles (Kansas City), "Still Learning"

Collaborating with producer House Party, the Kansas City MC creates an open and breathable hip-hop sound, drawing on influences from the '80s and '90s, then filling the space with compelling inner monologues that have outward-facing implications.

Samantha Fierke (Columbia), "Mirage"

The Columbia-raised singer offers a dynamic vocal jazz record; Fierke establishes an incredibly flexible and beguiling singing style while using their natural instrument to guide an ace backing band through traditional jazz tunes with modern flair, and vice-versa.

Molly Healey (Springfield), "Lotus"

For years, the singer-songwriter-string player — who plays mid-Missouri enough to count the region as a second home — has been fine-tuning a sound at the intersection of earthy folk and ethereal rock. "Lotus" represents the most realized version of Healey's sound yet, with songs of great connectedness expanding and contracting to enfold hymn-like harmonies, rock guitar, fiddle solos and slinky, pizzicato strings.

Hembree (Kansas City), "It's a Dream!"

Stretching out to fulfill every promise the word "pop" makes, Hembree's latest whirs into being, then pulls back to take a more atmospheric approach. "It's a Dream!" is exquisitely textured and viscerally oriented, guiding listeners into rhythms of revelry and relief.

The Hooten Hallers (Columbia), "Back in Business Again"

One of the great Missouri bands of any era is road-tested and rooted on its latest, a pitch-perfect expression of the band's blend of ragged blues, early rock and rip-roaring R&B. The trio takes steps toward the new here, especially in terms of splitting its vocals — but the gestures always wave back toward what makes The Hooten Hallers work: an unquenchable belief in the power of music.

The January Lanterns (Columbia), "For the Kids, When They're Older"

The full-length debut from this local duo approximates what Taylor Swift's "Evermore" might sound like if the whole record was a duet with Bon Iver's Justin Vernon, and not just one track. Husband-and-wife Andrew and Kristen Camp leave an inheritance for their kids, referenced in the record's title — and the rest of us — in songs that model what it sounds like for two voices to find each other in the dark of everyday living.

Forrest McCurren (Fulton), "Oh Me, Oh My"

McCurren's debut full-length houses all the main characters of modern country, but tells their story in a more abiding, ageless fashion. Following in the footsteps of St. Johns (Hiatt and Prine), he spins commonplace yarns in uncommon ways, prompting listeners to reconsider the rising and falling action of their own lives.

Kyren Penrose (Columbia), "Wildflower"

It only takes Penrose seven songs and about 22 minutes to deliver a superlative singer-songwriter record. The music on "Wildflower" is spare but purposeful; in the economy of Penrose's songs, every moment counts — and not only counts but leaves listeners different than the songwriter found them.

Andrew Ryan (St. Louis), "A Tiny Death"

One of St. Louis' leading songwriters evokes a kinder, gentler Paul Westerberg on his latest, gesturing toward life's harder edges, but experiencing gratitude as he revels in simple gifts. Ryan's work surveys the landscape of folk and rock, folding in gritty vocals and sing-along choruses, open-road beats and more insular, introspective moments.

The Sweaters (Columbia), "Not Again"

This indie-rock trio only sent its second member to higher education this fall, but the band has been lining up behind its college-rock forebears for years, mingling elements of The Smiths, Pixies and Walkmen into its own 21st-century sound. On "Not Again," the band creates compelling rock 'n' roll by chasing patterns of soft and loud, distance and closure.

Tidal Volume (St. Louis), "Rewrite the Bad Parts"

This St. Louis band with Columbia roots shows off both high pop-culture and emotional IQs on this 10-song set, drilling deep into the fleeting joys and lingering disappointments of this American life in a way that will keep listeners singing — and laughing — along with its emo-tinged indie rock.

William Russell Wallace (Columbia), "Confidence Man"

Like a great Springsteen or Hold Steady record, Wallace's freewheeling early-2022 record feels like being dropped into a world full of new yet familiar characters, then following them into every tangled plot twist. Literary in its scope, and sharp in its folk-rock sound, "Confidence Man" examines the twisted side of normal and the hopeful side of down-and-out.

Aarik Danielsen is the features and culture editor for the Tribune. Contact him at adanielsen@columbiatribune.com or by calling 573-815-1731. Find him on Twitter @aarikdanielsen.

This article originally appeared on Columbia Daily Tribune: 15 great records from Missouri in 2022 — including Columbia favorites