Previously:
100-91
Spotify Playlist
90. Young Galaxy - Out the Gate Backwards
There's something slightly haunting about this song. "Haunting" seems like a strange word, given the song's lean toward being uptempo and danceable, but the way the transfixing keyboard lick blends with Catherine McCandless's vocals - given that slight, empty church echo treatment - makes the song feel partially spectral.
89. Unknown Mortal Orchestra - Swim and Sleep (Like a Shark)
The first time I was exposed to UMO was in September 2012 as openers for Grizzly Bear. Their lo-fi sound was a bit peculiar on its own, but combined, with the rather unique acoustics of Radio City Music Hall, the band sounded almost disembodied. I'm not sure if I was sold right then, but I was definitely curious. That curiosity persisted early into this year, when the band released their follow-up to their self-titled 2011 debut. There weren't many tracks that held up, but this one did. Devoid of a chorus and instead operating on the back of a happily gritty guitar lick and plodding drums, Swim and Sleep is fun to listen to multiple times, even if its lyrics are about something decidedly less fun.
88. Youth Lagoon - Mute
Youth Lagoon - performance name of Iowa native Trevor Powers - released a supersoft collection of indie pop songs on his 2011 debut, The Year of Hibernation. It was tender and airy, with plenty of space to float around in each song. When YL returned with new material this year - first with Dropla and then with Mute - the change was immediately noticeable. Most of the gaps had been filled in with activity, thickening up the thin atmospheres that were once (and apparently only briefly) his staple. Mute is the best use of that space-filling drive, creating a sound bigger than just about every song on Year of Hibernation combined. Most of the time, it works beautifully. It's a little busy, but never overwhelming. The song's transition to its even-grander, sweeping finish can be a little grating to listen to sometimes, as some sort of hellish calliope takes over for a spell after about a minute and a half. It undermines some of the more beautiful parts of Powers's musical layers with discord; every single second of the song doesn't click, but the ones that do connect squarely.
87. Quadron - Hey Love
Danish duo Quadron self-describe as producers of "electronic soul," a descriptor that seems contradictory on a cursory glance. "Soul" has always seemed to imply something raw, bare and openly emotive without grandeur; it's all about plain stating. Adding their own twist to this concept, these Danes manage to keep the soulful aspect of their music plain, even atop music that sounds like it was copped from some fascinating Caribbean night club and 1920s dance hall hybrid.
86. Portugal. The Man - Modern Jesus
"You don't need sympathy / They got a pill for everything / Just take that dark cloud / Wring it out to wash 'em down." "Who cares if hell awaits? / We're heaving drinks at heaven's gate." Portugal have lots of fun with words on this, the second-most upbeat song on this year's Evil Friends. It's a song that acknowledges lots of the world's ills, but only for long enough to say "fuck 'em." They don't quite pull this sort of thing off as well as, say, Japandroids, but the result is plenty fun just the same.
85. The Head and the Heart - Shake
The entirety of this indie-country/folk outfit's standout builds up to its conclusion, where a beautiful harmony erupts after three and a half minutes of sweet lyrics and down-home musical stylings. It's a quality that renders me a bit impatient on future listens, as sometimes I feel like I'm just going through the body of the song to get to its end. That sells the body short, though, as the whole song is really a very pleasing tune that's punctuated by its end more than defined by it.
84. Mutual Benefit - Advanced Falconry
It would be easy to characterize part of the beauty of this song as saccharine; Jordan Lee's vocals have a piercingly vulnerable feel to them, one that would almost lend itself to weakness in the eyes of more callous listeners. In fact, I sense more genuine feeling and honesty here than anything fake, and the lyrics feel earnest. It may take a couple listens to click, and this is one definitely better suited for headphone listening.
83. Waxahatchee - Lips and Limbs
A song that is, lyrically, deeply sad usually struggles to find the happy medium between being either "emo" or just feeling overwrought. Katie Crutchfield's Lips and Limbs, though, hits the sweet spot easily. A quick tune that chronicles a drunken couple's trip home, undercut with notions of issues plaguing the relationship that both are trying to drown out through drink or by "sharing gravity to suppress." It's not exactly a mixtape-worthy song, but everything that conveys feeling doesn't have to be.
82. Suede - Hit Me (not on Spotify)
Nearly 25 years after they first formed and three years after reuniting following a seven-year absence, British rockers Suede returned this year with Bloodsports, an album that would've been perfectly at home in the late '80s or early '90s that still seems to work for today's audiences. It's a song about sex, not of S&M and literal hitting but of being overwhelmed by someone's presence, energy or (for lack of a better word) aura. The song's highlight is its chorus, a proud lyrical belting over guitars and cymbals and an understated synth backing. It really is so very end-of-'80s style, but its accessibility keeps it from feeling like a novelty.
81. The Strokes - One Way Trigger
I know, I'm surprised this song is on the list, too. When I first heard One Way Trigger some months ago, I was sad. To me, this sounded like the absolute, final death of the band I had come to associate so closely with 2000s lo-fi beach rock, if Angles hadn't already sort of done that. But after letting the track cool for a few months, I came back to it and heard something different. True, it does sound more like something The Strokes would experiment with and either leave as a demo or slap on a B-side, but as a finished product, something about it works. The A-Ha-ishness of it feels fun. The falsetto chorus could definitely rub some listeners the wrong way, and that's where your opinion of the song will hinge. If you like the chorus, as I've grown to, you'll probably enjoy the song. If you don't, well, I can't say I blame you. We'll always have
Someday.
