Previously:
100-91,
90-81,
80-71,
70-61,
60-51,
50-41,
40-31,
30-21
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20. Los Campesinos! - Avocado, Baby
A riotously fun song with clever lyrical wordplay that hits its highest points during the second and third choruses, merging some ramped-up disco beat drums and exuberant children to create LC!'s best song since You! Me! Dancing! At times, it can sound almost unintelligible amid all the fun it's having. It's not "fun" in the Japandroids sense of the word, but the energy is produces is vibrant and enjoyable just the same.
19. Autre Ne Veut - Play By Play
A blend of funky soul vocals and mid-80s roller rink music comprise one of the more unique-sounding songs on this list. Arthur Ashin sings with visceral passion, cranking out every line like it's the most urgent thing he's ever sung. There's a bit of Twin Shadow influence present, too. On some of Anxiety's tracks, Ashin's overeager singing can be a bit of a distraction or hindrance. Here, it's meshed perfectly with music that swells around him, building as he practically slurs his words in near-desperation. It's difficult to top the emotional input in this track.
18. Cults - Shine A Light
Cults' debut made its mark by sounding like it wasn't taking itself seriously, sampling soundbites from actual cult leaders and splicing them into their songs and making the most of the lightness of Madeline Follin's voice. It's a bit of a departure, then, for Cults to turn around and take things a bit more seriously on Static. And it doesn't always work, but when it does, you get a song like Shine A Light. The sound is maximized (by Cults standards), with Follin's voice tinged with an echo to fill the gaps where she isn't actively singing. The whole thing feels very airy, tethered to the ground only by a lively bass riff, which is often mastered ahead of the guitar.
17. Phosphorescent - Song For Zula
You might find a lot of year-end lists where this song will be ranked first. It's also entirely possible that, come next March or May or whenever, I may decide 17th is too low for it on my list, as well. It's a song that at times is almost impossibly beautiful, musically, which is put in stark contrast with Matthew Houck's scratchy, imperfect vocals. That's part of Phosphorescent's charm, though: perfection in imperfection. Houck's lyrics are stunning, referencing Johnny Cash in a scathing takedown of the idea of love and the heartbreaking aftermath it can cause.
16. Daughter - Winter
Elena Tonra's voice beckons. Alternating between cooing and demanding, Tonra is arresting and the main reason why this song is such a success. There's a sort of instrumental effect in the opening moments and behind the first verse's vocals that almost
feel like a winter wind, a cold and disaffected ambience. Shortly before the 1:50 mark, the song shifts into a completely new gear for a few moments, and it's as animated as the band gets at about any point on the record. The song's a careful mix of peaks and valleys, doling itself out in controlled bursts. As with a few songs before it on this list, the theme here is relationship decay, fertile ground for storytelling. What elevates this particular song above the others isn't any one particular aspect of the song, but the way all of its pieces and movements blend together to make it an unassuming success.
15. Baths - Phaedra
For those unfamiliar with the story of Phaedra from Greek mythology (as I previously was), her tale revolves around the domino effect of extramarital attraction. Things vary depending on the exact version you read, but the ending is never good; it always ends with someone dying, sometimes even with Phaedra taking her own life. It's a heavy subject, and Will Wiesenfeld's Baths project doesn't try to spin it any other way, carrying over the name as a constant reference in a song about recognition of mortality. The drum machine is the star here, transforming a simple piano lick and fuzzy bass to create some sort of macabre dance track, over which Wiesenfeld sounds gleefully glum.
14. Lorde - Buzzcut Season
Ella Yelich-O'Connor would've been sitting pretty if all anybody ever really heard from her was Royals. That's not to say she should have been content with that, or that that was the more desirable scenario. In fact, it's the existence of songs beside Royals that provide me with the inclination to believe Lorde will be around for a long time. For now, she's a teenager writing about teenage things in a precocious way, and that's what will make you take initial notice. Stay a little longer and you'll hear a song called Buzzcut Season, the fifth track on her debut LP, and start to believe that these songs are well-written for an artist of any age. Replay the song and you'll hear those teenage feelings coated in a syrupy, somber feeling of a life that is and will continue to be ever-changing, and the slightly defeated recognition that maybe everything isn't as real or genuine as it appears. Heavy stuff, and none of it sounds forced.
13. Sigur Ros - Rafstraumur
A band that further carved out its own niche with songs containing beautifully crafted build-ups created another monster in Rafstraumur, a five-minute force that builds up one of the band's finest crescendos. And, even better, the song lingers at the top of that peak for a long time, milking every last drop of that soaring high before taking a breath, dropping down and then jumping right back on that elevator to the top. It's a fantastic sound, even apart from Jonsi's Icelandic vocals. It adds a rough edge to the soaring beauty Sigur Ros are typically known for, creating a song that's more like operatic rock than fanciful, worldly folk.
12. Disclosure - Help Me Lose My Mind (f. London Grammar)
Hey, Hannah Reid is back! Set apart from the rest of London Grammar but credited as such, Reid lends her sugary vocals to a Lawrence Bros. beat that's excellent in its simplicity. It doesn't need to be intrusive and the song is served well by its understated musicianship, because Reid is the star. We'd heard previously how her voice was beautifully molded to more britpop/indie inclinations on London Grammar's LP, but, as it turns out, that divine alto suits dance/house music just fine, too. Her presence just
makes this song, and any attempts at covers or remixes would rob the song of the full potency of her voice. The most impressive thing about this track, Reid aside, is how excellent an example it is of Disclosure's ability to turn dance music into a listenable, marketable, radio-playable single. It isn't the
best example, but more on that later.
11. Arctic Monkeys - Snap Out Of It
When I listen to this song, I picture some back alley gang battle from the '60s, some leather jacket affair you might hear if the world of West Side Story were flipped on its head. Its lyrics don't deal with anything of the sort, rather it's a song about cautioning a friend (or object of affection?) against "settling down or giving up," because "it don't sound much like you, girl." Seemingly laced with jealousy, it sure feels like a ploy to keep this woman available, but that might be the more jaded side of me talking. They aren't lyrics that'll slay you with their complexity or intense imagery, but they're direct and, combined with the feel of the music, make this track one that's simultaneously a little bit fun, a little bit envious and a little bit overconfident (at least, from the main character's perspective).
