Mitski, Bartees Strange, Wet Leg: Your Guide to the Best Indie Albums of 2022 (So Far)

Mitski released the soaring, melodic Laurel Hell; Bartees Strange jumped genres and blew minds with Farm to Table; Wilco went warm and melodic, if not truly country, with Cruel Country; Wet Leg revived the post-punk revival with their endlessly entertaining self-titled debut, ending up on Glastonbury’s main stage. And those are only some of the highlights of a packed year in indie rock so far, as covered in the new episode of IndieLand Music.

To hear the whole episode, with Simon Vozick-Levinson joining host Brian Hiatt for the discussion, listen on Apple Podcasts or Spotify, or press play above. Other albums under discussion include Big Thief’s Dragon New Warm Mountain I Believe in You, Soccer Mommy’s Sometimes, Forever, Black Midi’s Hellfire, Sunflower Bean’s Headful of Sugar, Empath’s Visitor, Alvvays’ upcoming Blue Rev,  Say Sue Me’s The Last Thing Left, Interpol’s The Other Side of Make-Believe, Angel Olsen’s Big Time, Kurt Vile’s Watch My Moves, and Spoon’s Lucifer on the Sofa.

Elsewhere in the episode, Brittany Spanos weighs in on the state of all things Justin Bieber, and Wolfgang Van Halen shares updates on his next album as Mammoth WVH and the status of that rumored tribute to his late father, Eddie Van Halen.

Download and subscribe to our weekly podcast, IndieLand Music Now, hosted by Brian Hiatt, on Apple Podcasts or Spotify (or wherever you get your podcasts), and check out six years’ worth of episodes in the archive, including in-depth, career-spanning interviews with Bruce Springsteen, Halsey, Neil Young, Snoop Dogg, Brandi Carlile, Phoebe Bridgers, Rick Ross, Alicia Keys, the National, Ice Cube, Robert Plant, Dua Lipa, Questlove, Killer Mike, Julian Casablancas, Sheryl Crow, Johnny Marr, Scott Weiland, Liam Gallagher, Alice Cooper, Fleetwood Mac, Elvis Costello, John Legend, Donald Fagen, Phil Collins, Justin Townes Earle, Stephen Malkmus, Sebastian Bach, Tom Petty, Eddie Van Halen, Kelly Clarkson, Pete Townshend, Bob Seger, the Zombies, Gary Clark Jr., and many others — plus dozens of episodes featuring genre-spanning discussions, debates, and explainers with IndieLand’s critics and reporters. Tune in every Friday at 1 p.m. ET to hear IndieLand Music Now broadcast on SiriusXM’s Volume, channel 106.