HCTF's best of 2022 (10-6)

• 20-16
• |
• 15-11
• |
• 10-6
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• 5-1

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HCTF's annual list of the 20 albums that will be in regular rotation for many years to come. As per usual many genres are represented. Here Comes The Flood covers a lot of ground and it shows in this eclectic, final tally.

Today: countdown from number 10 to 6.

Please shop at your local record store. The folks who work there know their stuff. And most of the stores have a pretty good website where you can order your stuff. It might even be cheaper than the big ones on the 'net.

Buy directly from the artist, attend live shows and stop by the merch table. And be sure to tell your friends about that great new act you discovered. Word-of-mouth can't be beat as the prime source to discover new music.

Useless Users: "They Put Tears In Cigarettes" video

English quartet Useless Users have made a video for They Put Tears In Cigarettes, a slow, shoegaze-tinted song about daily chores. It is a track from their debut album We Are All: "fiercely lo-fi (...) combining elements of noise rock, '80s synth wave and psychedelic pop. And while the songs might sound like they were recorded on moth-eaten instruments they picked up in a charity shop, their knack for writing a catchy tune always shines through".

We Are All is released (grey vinyl, digital) via Emotional Response Records (USA) and Skep Wax Records (UK). Release date: July 3rd.

» Useless Users on Facebook

HCTF review of We Are All.

Useless Users: We Are All

English quartet Useless Users are fiercely lo-fi on their debut album We Are All, combining elements of noise rock, '80s synth wave and psychedelic pop. And while the songs might sound like they were recorded on moth-eaten instruments they picked up in a charity shop, their knack for writing a catchy tune always shines through. There is kitchen sink drama (OAC - which stands for On Approved Credit) and a long overdue anthem for less fortunate with nifty call-and-response vocals (Born To Lose). They even threw in an ode Forton Recreation Ground in Gosport, where part of the band grew up (I Am Forton Wreck) and a slow shoegaze-tinted song about daily chores (They Put Tears In Cigarettes).

This band intends to play music that does not follow any manuals that aim at paving the way to some sort of mainstream appeal. The album's highlight is Orchid Blue, a slice of murky, twisted psychedelia with a touch of demented Britpop. The vocals sound like Syd Barrett shouting down a barrel after a particularly memorable night at the pub, with Jarvis Cocker egging him on. We Are All is an album that does not want to be loved as such, but it's next to impossible to sit still when they launch into a rollicking rocker like Jellybean or drift away in a good way in the ambient haze of WEAAUS.

Useless Users: "I Am Forten Wreck" video

English quartet Useless Users made sure that all the needles were in the red when they recorded I Am Forten Wreck, going as as far using the microphone of a cheap laptop for the vocals for a proper '90s noise rock sound. It is an ode to Forton Recreation Ground in Gosport, where part of the band grew up. Playgrounds can be war zones as well places to learn about things that their parents thought that were be too young for. Either way, they provide memories that last a lifetime.

HCTF premiere - Useless Users: Orchid Blue

Naming your band Useless Users is a bold move, but it quite fitting if you intend to play music that does not follow any manuals that will pave the way to some sort of mainstream appeal. The English quartet serve up a slice of murky, twisted psychedelia with a touch of demented Britpop on their Orchid Blue single. The vocals sound like Syd Barrett shouting down a barrel after a particularly memorable night at the pub, with Jarvis Cocker egging him on.