The Top Kansas City Albums of 2022

The Top 25 Kansas City Albums of 2022

1. Joyce DiDonato- Eden

Concert review.

2. Bobby Watson- Back Home in Kansas City

Review.

3. Hermon Mehari- Asmara

Review.

4. Steve Cardenas- Healing Power: The Music of Carla Bley

Review.

5. SleazyWorld Go- Where the Shooters Be

6. Adam Larson Trio- With Love, From Chicago

Review.

7. Mister Water Wet- Significant Soil

8. Kevin Morby- This Is a Photograph

9. Blackstarkids- Cyberkiss

Concert review.

10. Making Movies- Xopa

11. LeVelle- My Journey Continues

Review.

12. Krista Kopper and Evan Verploegh- For the Trees

Review.

12. Matt McBane and Sandbox Percussion- Bathymetry

13. Daniel Velasco and Ellen Sommer- Flauta Andina - 20th Century Andean Music for Flute and Piano

15. Huerco S.- Plonk

16. Arnold Young and the Roughtet- Fear Is the Mind Killer

Review.

17. Mister Water Wet- Top Natural Drum

18. Rod Fleeman Trio- Saturday Afternoon: Live at Green Lady Lounge

19. Matt Villinger’s All Night Trio- All Faded

Review.

20. Dutch Newman- This Too Shall Pass, Pt. 2

21. Poor Bishop Hooper- Psalm 119

22. Katy Guillen & The Drive- Another One Gained

23. Isaac Cates & Ordained- Amazed

24. The Creepy Jingles- Take Me at My Wordplay

25. The Greeting Committee- Dandelion

The Top 10 Kansas City EPs of 2022

1. Adam Larson Trio- With Love, From Kansas City

Review.

2. Samantha Fish and Jesse Dayton- The Stardust Sessions

3. Jackoffs- Prime Specimen

Review.

4. Flora- Emerald City

5. Stik Figa and Conductor Williams- Valley of Dry Bones

6. Eddie Moore- Intuition

Review.

7. Atticus vonHolten- A Highway Tore Through Me

8. Blob Castle and Daniel Lima- Contempoétnico

9. Piss Kinks- A Tisket, A Tasket

10. Jake Wesley Rogers- Love

Links to previous annual surveys begin here.

Concert Review: Show Me the Body with Soul Glo, Wifi Gawd, Ebony Tusks and Piss Kinks at recordBar

Original image of Piss Kinks by There Stands the Glass.

A five-band bill at recordBar on Wednesday, July 13, confirmed that multi-genre shows are the best shows.  More than 300 people paid $25 apiece to experience the four-hour showcase of experimental punk and hip-hop.

The eventful evening opened with the farewell performance of the furious Kansas City quartet Piss Kinks.  Skin was bared, instruments were abused and ears were violated.

Ebony Tusks, a Kansas trio that seemingly shares my belief that Yeezus is the best Kanye West album, followed.  I’d previously witnessed the industrial hip-hop crew fizzle in front of befuddled spectators, but the members of Ebony Tusks had Wednesday’s crowd in the palms of their hands.

WifiGawd didn’t stand a chance following Ebony Tusks’ triumph.   I didn’t care for the marijuana-obsessed Washington D.C. rapper before Wednesday.  I like him even less after enduring his cliche-ridden outing.

Stage diving began in earnest during screamo revivalists Soul Glo’s dynamic set.  One of the breakout bands of 2022, the Philadelphians almost lived up to the hype.  Traces of Gang of Four make the headlining band Show Me the Body an even more interesting proposition.

Yet the atmosphere suddenly turned sinister during the New York band’s brief headlining appearance.  A couple creeps insisted on rubbing their sopping-wet t-shirts on each of the 200 people still in the building.  A young woman separated from her friends openly wept.

Violence on and around the stage resulted in at least two contested ejections and what appeared to be a fan’s broken nose.  The chaos appealed to me.  After all, both rock and roll and hip-hop are supposed to be dangerous.