20.

Cadejo & Nucksai - Leave Me Alone

Back in 2021, everyone's favourite eclecto-funk trio, Cadejo, started teaming up with iconic rapper Nucksai for live shows with the promise of collaborative material later down the line. In May 2022, they delivered, and they did not disappoint. Leave Me Alone is a hard-hitting, chant-heavy funk jam. Clocking in at just under two minutes, this song absolutely screams live music madness, as evidenced by the version featured on the band's live album, SINCERELY YOURS, which came out later in the year.

19.

Hunjiya (feat. pH-1) - TALK2ME

With her 7-track EP, KHAMAI, Hunjiya moved further away from her folksier roots into a bigger and brighter neo-soul sound. The smooth-as-hell production and smart-pop style fit Hunjiya like a luxurious suit, with her soulful voice sounding right at home. TALK2ME is a tight, crispy ode to sharing your feelings and the frustrations that arise from trying and failing to do so. It's a gorgeous song and one that elevates Hunjiya's already incredible voice.

18.

Silica Gell - No Pain

After playing seemingly every single festival in the country (except for one), everyone's favourite indie boyband took their fame to a new level. Then, in August, they released what is probably their most infectious song to date, No Pain. Opening with an absolute earworm of a guitar riff and then moving on to slightly obscured vocals about... I'm actually not sure what this is about but I can't help but sing along anyway.

17.

Kirara - Pulling Off The Stars

At the tail end of last year and after months of teasing new material, electronic producer Kirara released her magnum opus - 4. The album is nothing short of a masterpiece, as laid out in our 9.9-rated review. The whole thing weaves together such a thumping, astral electronic tapestry that picking out a highlight is almost impossible. At various points in 2022, we might have chosen a different track (believe me when I say we played Bearded Juggling Lady TO DEATH), but at this moment, Pulling Off The Stars is our pick. With its 80s video game aesthetic and nods to traditional music, Pulling is a perfect representation of 4; floor-filling dance music that's dripping with ideas.

16.

Kisnue - Ungodly Hour

This year, Kisnue returned with a revamped lineup (in fact, is now a solo project) and some fresh new sounds. While we adore his new direction, Ungodly Hour is very much the Kisnue we've all come to know and love. This sweet and softly-delivered synth-tinged indie track about late-night rendezvous (rendezvouses?) reminds us of Phoenix. A great song for 3 am.

15.

Soullette - Oh My God !

2022 will be remembered as the year the world got to meet the new Soullette. The singer has been working on the scene since 2017, yet with the release of her 2022 EP Birthday, the singer showed a new wilder side. The 4-track release was deep with southern hip-hop-influenced beats, neo-soul grooves, sassy self-loving lyrics, and a fresh, experimental approach. Lead single Oh My God ! is a squelchy R'n'B banger full of surprising little sounds. Soullette's natural, soulful voice takes centre stage as she delivers cleverly fun lyrics.

14.

Se So Neon - joke!

Another song that was released right at the end of 2021 was Se So Neon's joke! and it sees the high-profile three-piece return in full pomp with a riotous funk-fused track. The song is backed with an equally stylish video, with Se So Neon dressed in medieval court clobber doing weird stuff around a country manor. This song finishes with a dick-melting guitar solo, proving that So!YoON! is nothing short of a guitar god.

13.

NoSo - David

It's hard to believe that this is from the first album by LA-based singer-songwriter Baek Hwang, aka NoSo (the name being a shortened version of North/South, a nod to their Korean heritage). After finding some fame with a jaw-dropping Tiny Desk performance, NoSo has been described as one of the most exciting songwriters on the scene, poetically describing their experience as an Asian-American and as a queer person. Album highlight, David, is about seeing the world through the eyes of an attractive white man and being the object of desire for the girls that NoSo has often longed for. It's a touchingly confessional song, a sign that a new powerful voice has arrived.

12.

Wooze - Coward

The weird and wonderful art-rock style of the Korean-British two-piece Wooze is difficult to define, but there's a heavy helping of 70s-style camp glam daftness, ala Spark, twinned with a brute/chic artiness, ala also Sparks. Cowardly Custard is a great example of their crunchy, debonair irreverence. "I'm a brute in a suit and a helluva hoot. For whom do you root; the boot, the fruit?" they sing behind cataclysmic guitars and chest-caving rhythms.

11.

Pop Ents - Self Help / Ballad of the Band Breakin' Up

Seoul's funnest band returned this year with their first full-length album, Best Seller, bookended by the two contrasting tracks we've chosen for this list. Album opener Self Help sees the boys in a rare reflective mood. With backing vocals provided by Chorion, Self Help is, as you might have guessed, about mental health and even touches on themes of suicide. Conversely, Ballad of the Band Breakin' Up is Pop Ents and their self-deprecating humorous best as they sing about ending a band that is "getting paid in experience and beer" and accepting defeat after Dave's mum said, "the church wants their PA back."