My Favorite Songs of 2020

It was fun recapping songs I missed back in 2019, but it's time to turn my head forward on this god-forsaken shitty year and give you my non-anticipated list of my favorite songs of 2020. Despite this year being universally hated by everyone, we were treated to some fantastic music, including...

9. Elder Brother, "Projector"

"Projector" begins with the narrator breaking a mirror, to which he quips, "seven years / what's seven more?" What a perfect sentiment for an incredible garbage year, in which seven hours seemed to last seven days. At it's heart, "Projector" is a breakup song, but the track doesn't follow the old tropes and blueprints. Instead we're given flourishing guitars, blooming vocals, and yearning lyrics - the ghosts of better days past. However, "Projector" never sounds brooding or stuck; the melody is glistening and hopeful. It's no coincidence that vocalist Dan Rose ends the song on the couplet "I wanted nothing more / than to be your something more / I wanted nothing more / than to be." Simply being might be the best thing we could have achieved this year. 

8. Yours Truly, "Funeral Home"

Yours Truly hails from the other side of the Pacific, and the Australian pop-punk outfit crafted one of the most catchy tunes of 2020 with "Funeral Home". 'Catchy' and 'funeral' might not seem like they make sense together in a song, but the track is built around an earworm of a guitar hook, and singer Mikaila Delgado's buttery-smooth voice melts all over the lines. The production on "Funeral Home" is fantastic; strings and synths pepper the background, and hand-claps hit in the perfect spots. It's an addicting song, and considering "Funeral Home" is from their debut LP, I can't wait to see what they do in the future. 

7. Sir Sly, "Material Boy"

Orange County outfit Sir Sly has been around since the early 2010s, with songs appearing in movies and TV shows and even trailers for video games. "Material Boy" is, on a the surface, a happy-sounding synth-pop jam, but the lyrics uncover something more haunting and personal. Singer and lyricist Landon Jacobs dives into politics, religion, therapy and the evilness of capitalism here, which makes "Material Boy" one of the most resonant tracks of 2020. The duality of the incredible catchy, boppy music paired with lyrics such as "no longer Christian / but I'm still afraid of judgement" and "I opened up my heart and found a spiritual void" begs a deeper dive. If you had any questions about whether synth-pop can also be music for the modern thinking person, look no further than "Material Boy".

6. Hot Mulligan, "*Equip Sunglasses*"

I attended three concerts in 2020. Two of them were pre-covid, and one of them was a drive-in Halloween show that featured Lasing, Michigan's own Hot Mulligan. The show was outside and it was freezing, but Hot Mulligan came on that stage with piss and vinegar, lead singer Nathan "Tades" Sanville half screaming, half singing through the entire set. Sanville's vocal stylings on "*Equip Sunglasses*" might not be for everyone, but you can feel the raw emotion right away. The track begins with a simple drum beat before the vocals blast in like a kick in the mouth, complimented by a simple but addicting guitar lick. The track never lets up after that, and after 2 minutes and 46 seconds of electricity, you'll be smashing the repeat button, middle fingers in the air, saying  fuck you, 2020.

5. Soccer Mommy, "Circle the Drain"

"Circle the Drain" might be the definite 2020 song, with Sophia Regina Allison penning lines such as "I'm trying to seem strong for my love / For my family and friends / But I'm so tired of faking". Who among us in 2020 hasn't felt like they're going through the motions, yet "falling apart these days"? The track's mood echoes the lyrics; it's a midtempo dream jam, layered up with droning pads, acoustic guitars, tape clicks - and is that a glockenspiel? Even though the song is effect-heavy, it never sounds crowded, with everything being stripped away to let Allison's tranquil voice breath in the last chorus line. "Circle the Drain" ends with the sounds of water bubbling down a drain, a metaphor for lost time, and an indication of where we'd all like the year to go.

4. Pinegrove, "Dotted Line"

Evan Stephens Hall is an incredibly gifted songwriter, and he may also be a fucking douchebag. Both things can be true. His personal choices notwithstanding, "Dotted Line" is a beautiful song, built on a reassuring chorus line - "I don't know how / But I'm thinking it'll all work out". Simplistic, pie-in-the-sky thinking perhaps, but strangely comforting in a year full of controversy, disaster, and uneasiness. "Dotted Line" follows the formula of what makes Pinegrove such an arresting band; it seems like a simple folk song, yet its incredibly intricate in rhythm, structure, and production. Hall should be given credit for writing poetic, tangible, relatable lyrics, but he would be nothing without the band at large; drummer Zack Levine plays a sparse yet complex groove, and keyboardist and vocalist Nandi Rose Plunkett scatters the track with complimentary piano chords and elevates the entire experience with an incredibly lovely harmony. 

3. Taylor Swift, "Exile" (Featuring Bon Iver) 

I never, ever would have thought that a Taylor Swift song would crack my favorite songs of the year list, nor would I ever have thought a Bon Iver song would do it. But hell, it's 2020 after all! Swift's album Folklore caught me by complete surprise, and if I was creating a top albums of the year would definitely be in the top three. The formula here is smart - Swift is a talented songwriter, and she surrounded herself with other talented people; frequent collaborator Jack Antonoff of Fun. fame and indie rock darling Bryce Dessner of The National. "Exile" features Bon Iver's only member, Justin Vernon, who is no stranger to huge collaborations, being featured on albums from Kanye West to Eminem to Bruce Hornsby. Here, Vernon shares vocal duties with Swift, creating a bleeding-heart back and forth duet about two ex-lovers seeing each other again. "Exile" boarders hokeyness but never crosses that line due to some fantastic lyrics: "I can see you starin', honey / Like he's just your understudy / Like you'd get your knuckles bloody for me". The chorus is cathartic, with sweeping strings, glistening piano chords, and layer on layer of gut-punching vocals.

2. Into It. Over It. - "Brushstrokes" 

Into it. Over It. is Chicago's Evan Wiess, who released his fourth studio album Figure this year. It's a fantastic album full of incredible songs, and "Brushstrokes" is my personal favorite. The track starts out with an insane drum groove played by Adam Beck (who also drums for Chicago punk band Sincere Engineer), before Wiess chimes in, joined by minimal acoustic guitar and synth pads. It's an incredibly moving song that equates a toxic relationship to a painting that seems beautiful from a distance but flawed when viewed up close. What makes "Brushstrokes" so lovely and addicting is not only how good the drum groove is, but how the song keeps layering sound over sound - joining the fray in the second verse is a deep bass, electric guitar, and an explosion of harmony in the chorus. Weiss sings deeply and emotionally, and the song fades on a deep bass distortion feedback into another fantastic song, "We Prefer Indoors". Figure took four years to create, but it was worth every hour. 

1. Jillette Johnson - "I Shouldn't Go Anywhere"  

Nashville's Jillette Johnson has been on the scene since 2012, but I hadn't heard of her until Spotify recommended I listen to "I Shouldn't Go Anywhere", and I'm glad it did - this is an incredible song. "I Shouldn't Go Anywhere" starts with a fuzzy, full bass line and muted guitar, and then unleashes the voice of Johnson herself, which drips like honey. Johnson's voice is the centerpiece here, but the instrumentation is wonderful as well; the lush, blusey guitarwork is a highlight, the drums are subdued but full, and the synth adds a huge flair. The lyrics find our heroine at the bar, drinking away the anxiety over a relationship, knowing she shouldn't go see him, yet wanting to do it anyways. It captures the moments of justifying toxic relationships perfectly, and the way the song dances between major and minor keys and dissonant and resolute tones amplifies the emotional nature of the track. "I Shouldn't Go Anywhere" is a heartbreaker, it's my favorite song of 2020, and it's a good reminder of the year as a whole as we were forced into lockdown and told that we shouldn't go anywhere. 

How did I miss these in 2019?!

I've never done a post like this, but before posting my top songs for 2020, I'd like to make a look back to 2019 and highlight some songs that I completely missed last year. Songs that for, whatever reason, escaped my radar. Without further ado...

Twin Peaks - "Dance Through It"

Chicago's own Twin Peaks have been on the indie scene for some time now, releasing their fourth studio album last year. "Dance Through It" has a relentlessly funky bass line, killer electric piano fills, and a gang-style chorus that begs to be sung along with. The lyrics are perfect in this garbage year of 2020 as well, describing a gal who has "problems everywhere she goes" and "pretty bad news rainin' down", but instead of being sad, decides to dance. Perhaps it's a simple solution to 2020, but dancing can't hurt, right?

Cory Wong - "Starting Line"

Cory Wong holds the title for "best song of 2019" for me, so it's no surprise that he would appear again on one of my lists. I didn't fully explore Wong's catalogue until 2020, and I was lucky enough to see him in 2019 pre-COVID. He performed "Starting Line" at that show, and its one of the most infectious, happy, funky songs I've heard in some time. Emily C. Browning's bubbly voice is a perfect compliment to the music, which is full of life and spunk. Definitely a cure for the 2020 blues. 

Mannequin Pussy - "Drunk II"

"Drunk II" is the antithesis of a song like "Starting Line". Autobiographical in nature, Marisa Dabice waxes poetic about a relationship gone sour with passion, anger and remorse. The chorus sees Missy's friends telling her she's strong, but inside she's broken, she's pissed, and she doesn't want to be or act strong. "Drunk II" captures the internal struggles of breakups and heartbreak perfectly, living between the moments of 'too drunk to remember you're broken up' and 'leave me the fuck alone'. Raw emotion and raw power seethes on this track. 

Charly Bliss - "Hard to Believe"

This track by Brooklyn-based Charlie Bliss might fall off the radar relatively quick, but there's something about Eva Hendricks' voice that draws you in and keeps you listening to this track over and over. Perhaps it's meant to be that way, as the band tweets, "this is a song about being addicted to a bad relationship." The song is built around a catchy guitar riff, before Hendricks' syrupy voice bleeds over the track. Once she sings "I'm kissing everything that moves", you're stuck.

PUP - Bloody Mary, Kate and Ashley

PUP is one of those bands I've been told to check out a thousand times by my friends, and for some reason I could only get into one or two of their songs on previous attempts. Maybe it was the spirt of 2020, but I revisited 2019's Morbid Stuff once again this year, and finally, everything clicked. Every single song on this album is golden, but the one I keep coming back to is one that apparently isn't getting a lot of attention (well, if you believe YouTube comments, anyways).

"Bloody Mary, Kate and Ashley" seems like typical pop-punk on a first listen, but I'd actually peg the song as more math rock - the verse of the song randomly throws a 5/8 line into a 6/8 signatures, and that random non-continuity continues throughout the track. The first time I sat down to play this one on drums I had to listen to it at least 10 times before I could even attempt it, and I still don't really have it right. Melodically, the song bounces between major and minor keys, drawing tension as vocalist Stefan Babcock paints a picture of a demonic séance (while completely trippin' balls). The chorus is absolutely belted, and while the track might not get as much attention as "Kids" or the title track, "Morbid Stuff", it's my favorite on the album.

Best Songs of 2019

6. Lizzo – “Juice”

Despite what you think about Lizzo’s in your face, butt-shakin’ attitude, there’s no denying that she released one of 2019’s best pop records. Juice is arguably the best song on the album. Starting with an irresistible guitar riff accompanied by guiro, the song is undeniably dripping with self-esteem, self-love and a tinge of throwback funk. The high point of the song happens towards the end, where the instruments completely cut out, and Lizzo, accompanied by rototoms and cowbells, smirks “Somebody come get this man, I think he got lost in my DMs”. The music may harken back to another time, but this is pop music for the 2010s indeed.

5. Masked Intruder – “Mine All Mine”

Saccharine isn’t the word that comes to mind when you see a picture of Masked Intruder, a pop-punk band who shtick is that they’re criminals. Each Intruder dons a different color mask, and are accompanied live by a police officer, who goes from hardass to hardcore as the show goes on. (At Riot Fest, he was dancing in his Speedo by the end of the set). Costumes aside, Masked Intruder is creating some of the most sickly sweet pop-punk rock in recent memory. Mine All Mine is a prime example, with Beatles-esque harmonies, hand claps, and doo-wops. The song invokes the spirit of early rock and roll by way of Green Day, which wouldn’t work if the musicianship and singing weren’t absolutely on-point. Lucky for us, they are.

4. The Band Camino – “Hush Hush”

It wouldn’t be one of my end of the year lists without The Band Camino on it. This Nashville-based outfit has been consistently creating some of the best rock music for years now, and 2019 saw them sign with Elektra and prepare to release their first physical album, entitled Tryhard. Some of the songs are reworked versions of previous releases, but Hush Hush a is new – and brilliant – piece of music. Jeffrey Jordan’s unique singing soars once again over a shuffle of drums and a chorus of distorted guitars. Also – there’s a guitar solo. A guitar solo! The Band Camino is only getting bigger, and all their recent and future success is completely earned.

3. Pure Bathing Culture – “Devotion”

Portland’s Pure Bathing Culture is a dreamy, two-piece indie pop band who are picking up brilliantly where Chairlift left off. 2015’s Pray for Rain is one of the decade’s best releases, and the band didn’t slow down, releasing Night Pass in 2019. The lead single, Devotion, is an ethereal delight – Singer Sarah Versprille’s voice has never sounded stronger, yet still maintains its otherworldly nature. Perhaps the most noticeable part of the song is Daniel Hindman’s guitar, playing a complex, effected, echoey lead line that morphs throughout the entire song.

2. I Know Leopard – “Heather”

I Know Leopard hails from Sydney Australia, but it’s clear they’ve been studying UK synthpop. However, Heather isn’t a cheap imitation – the song stands brilliantly all on its own. The chord structure is simply hypnotic, the melody perfect, the synth sounds on-point. Singer Luke O'Loughlin hits every note flawlessly, even in falsetto, over an inspired bass shuffle. This is an intrepid piece of songwriting, and a work of a band who knows their influences but has crafted something unique and undeniably addicting.

1. Cody Fry, Cory Wong, Dynamo – “Better”

Cody Fry is a Nashville-based multi-instrumentalist and singer. Cory Wong is a Nashville and Minneapolis-based funk guitarist. Dynamo is a Nashville-based jazz and funk touring band. Together, these three artists have created the best song of 2019. Better is a sonic masterpiece from the very beginning, as an infectious bassline, funky guitar, and blasting drums take us into a full-fledged horn section, all leading up to Cody Fry’s absolutely stunning voice. Every musician here is firing all cylinders – the backup singers, Sharon Cho, Greg Breal, Abigail Flowers and Hollie Hammel are confident and lush, Josh Baylock and Ryan Conners on keyboards are in the zone – and Cory Wong is Cory Wong – bringing his unmistakable brand of funk guitar into the mix throughout. The musical breakdown of the song is incredible, with almost each instrument playing the exact same complex rhythm, until a solo guitar shreds away from the mix. Fry has written something truly unremarkable here.

Best Songs of 2018

Hello wonderful internet,

It's December 31, 2018, and that once again means I come back to this blog and give out my top songs of the year. This annual posting is much inspired much by my pal Jake who does a similar list every year, as well as all the wonderful people who share music with me throughout the year. And now, to the list!


11. The Decemberists - Once in My Life




Admittedly, I fell off the Decemberists bandwagon a bit after their release of the so-so double album What a Terrible World, What a Beautiful World and thus largely ignored their 2018 release I'll Be Your Girl. While the latest album isn't a return to form, it does have several anathematic tracks, including this, the first cut. In this simple yet beautiful song, Colin Meloy asks a question posed by both emo kids and dead-eyed adults alike: "For once in my life, could just something go right?" Backed by the beautiful voice of Jenny Conlee, the song doesn't aim for the complex, but nails the universal.

10.  Father John Misty - Mr. Tillman




Allegedly, Father John Misty (real name: Josh Tillman) holed himself up in a New York Hotel room for 2 months while he wrote the material for God's Favorite Customer. "Mr. Tillman" is written from the perspective of his frazzled hotel concierge, as we the listeners get some perspective on what exactly Josh Tillman has been doing in said hotel room. From leaving his passport in the mini fridge to sleeping on the balcony to mistaking hotel guests for extras in a movie, it seems Tillman has gone slightly off the deep end. How much of the song is auto-biographical is up for debate, but what makes the track so interesting is three fold: the narrative, the instrumentation and the chord progression. Adding bells and a choral-like drone adds to the mood of the song, which  rolls from major to minor to major to minor key - constantly flipping moods, not unlike Mr. Tillman himself.

9. 5 Light Years - Mae



Taken from Mae's newest full-length since 2008's Singularity, "5 Light Years" is a sonic rocker that never stays quite in one lane. Just when you think you're listening to a straightforward jam, the track veers off into near-dubstep territory in the chorus. Driven by some fantastic guitar work from Zach Gehring, the track is both pleasantly familiar yet experimental - and refreshingly cohesive. It's a shame Mae couldn't replicate this formula on the album it came from.

8. The Paper Kites - Give Me Your Fire, Give Me Your Rain



Australia's The Paper Kites released two albums in 2018. The first, an acoustic, meandering album entitled On the Train Ride Home, the second, a proper follow up to their last album titled On the Corner Where You Live. Songwriter Sam Bentley stated in concert that the albums were inspired by people watching in New York City. "Give Me Your Fire, Give Me Your Rain" is a lush, warm, lovely song that evokes the feeling of a tight embrace on a cold night. Every instrument drips with reverberated dreaminess, and Bently's voice melts over the whole track.


7. Charlie Puth - Boy




Nothing makes an 80's baby feel old like this line: "You won't wake up beside me / 'cause I was born in the 90s". In Boy, Puth questions how his lover can treat him like a kid when he's treated them so well. The track is pure pop magic, with sexy synth lines, an irresistible hook, and yes, even an electric piano solo. Last but not least is Puth's buttery voice, which does ironically sound quite young here. In a refreshing move, Puth both co-wrote and plays most of the instruments on the track.


6. Hold On (I Was Wrong) - Video Age




This funky little number from Louisiana's own Video Age sounds like a lost relic from the 80s. A Prince-like guitar permeates the track, while a funky synth line bounces to and fro. Completing the essence of the decade are well placed bass slaps and a 3-note synth bell sound. Some might say we should bury all this new 80s nostalgia, but as long as fresh songs like "Hold On (I Was Wrong)" keep coming out, I say bring it on.

5. Backstreet Boys - Don't Go Breaking My Heart




Here's a band I definitely didn't see going on any "year's best" lists, but here we are. This infectious tune has everything you could want in a pop song - great harmony, powerful drum lines, and a simple tune that gets stuck in your head. There's something about that synth arpeggio in the chorus that wraps the entire song up in a neat little package. It's the boy's first album since 2013, and a welcome return to the airwaves. Backstreet's back, all right.

4. Leaning on You - PREP




By all accounts, PREP should be one of the dorkiest bands in existence. They're mainly composed of skinny, nerdy looking white guys from London. Yet, here we have one of the funkiest, dance-inducing songs in recent memory. "Leaning on You" starts out with an odd-sounding synth run which then quickly comes in-time with a drum fill straight out of Phil Collin's catalouge. (This was even more dramatic when I saw the band in concert as I had never heard the song before). PREP's most excellent talent is perhaps their singer, Tom Havelock, and he's at his absolute best in this song, especially in the dramatic, uplifting chorus. Truly a pick-me up song.

3. The Band Camino - Daphne Blue



I've seen The Band Camino twice - once in a tiny venue called The Cobra Lounge, and then again at Subterranean. Their latest show was moved from Schuba's to Lincoln Hall and already sold out before I could get a ticket. Why bother mentioning this? The Band Camino is exploding in popularity, and anyone could see why. Their songs are catchy, emotionally driven, well-composed pop-rock - there's something here for everyone. "Daphne Blue" stars out with a killer guitar hook, explodes into a pre-verse, and then in comes in the unique voice of Jeffery Jordan, heart laid bare. Almost all of the band's songs are about some of heartbreak, but if they keep pumping out songs like this, bring on the drama.

2. Tiny Moving Parts - Caution



I have to thank Jake for this one, as he's been a Tiny Moving Parts fan for a long, long time. For some reason I decided to give them a listen randomly and I've been hooked on their album Swell ever since. "Caution" is the finest track from that album, a powerful emo/math rock song that shows off the band's talents. The fact that Dylan Mattheisen both plays the guitar and sings in this band is nothing short of mind blowing, as he taps and strums his way through the track while screaming emo sentiments such as "THIS IS LOVE!". I've air guitared to this song more times than I'm willing to admit -  "Caution" is one of the most powerful tracks I've heard in some time.

1. Oso Oso - Reindeer Games


I'm not 100 percent sure why I love this song. Perhaps its the earnestness of Jade Lilitri's voice, who is the main singer/songwriter for the project. Perhaps its because the song reminds me of early 2000s bands like Anberlin, Motion City Soundtrack, and Copeland, and by proxy, simpler times. Perhaps because sometimes, I want things to stay exactly how they are, so I sing along with the chorus with all my heart: "If you want, we can just stay here / wrap me in your claws, I can be your reindeer". Whatever it is, I've been listening to this song on repeat since I found it and I'm not sick of it yet.

Top Songs of 2017

It's that time again, time to write my yearly blog post about my 10 favourite songs of the year off the coattails of Jake. Thanks to Spotify, it was easy to track the songs I've listened to the most this year, so most of these songs are taken from that list, with some shuffling around in order of my current preference. There were a couple songs I loved even more than the 10 found below, but since I'm limiting songs that came out in 2017, I couldn't include those in the list (and actually had to re-write it several times because of this). Anyways...


10. dvsn - "Think about Me"



A dvsn song took the number ten spot in last year's list, and while last year's song was about fucking, this year's number 10 is still just as sexy with a bit darker subject matter. "Who's gonna make love like I do? Yeah, nobody," says Daniel Daley. Sounds like last year's relationship may have gone south. "Think about Me" pounds with some of the deepest bass I've ever heard over a fat synth lead. Keeping time through the song is an amplified, electronic water droplet - evoking a scene of reminiscing about a lover in the bath.

9. Minus the Bear - "Last Kiss"




Minus the Bear has mostly been a reliable band for me, with 2007's Planet of Ice being not just my favourite album of theirs, but also one of my favourites of all time. That's why it was so disappointing to me when afterwards they dropped a couple of ho-hum releases. With VOIDS, that pattern isn't completely rectified, and even though "Last Kiss" isn't on quite the same level as their best songs, it's still a reminder of why they're one of the best math rock bands in the game. What makes "Last Kiss" particularly interesting is that it's a downer song. Minus the Bear loves to talk about sex, but "Last Kiss" laments the end of those times. Starting out with screeching guitar riff that bleeds into a complex yet danceable drum beat, "Last Kiss" maintains a dark mood throughout yet never loses the groove.

8. Bantug - "Just Like a Dream"




There isn't much information available on the internet about Bantug - just that she (or the group) hails from Nashville. I randomly stumbled across this track on Spotify, and what I immediately noticed was the slick production of the drums. "Just Like a Dream" is an interesting combination of shoegaze meets math rock with airy synth sounds and intimate singing. "Some things aren't supposed to last," bemoans the vocalist - albeit more aggressively as the song ends.

7. Sylvan Esso - "Die Young"



Hailing from North Carolina, Sylvan Esso is not the name of a person, but the moniker of an electronic duo. "Die Young" begins with a haunting faux-synth voice and rippling bassline before singer Amelia Meath fades into view, singing how she had planned to die, but now has to wait for her lover to die before she can. This disturbing yet beautiful sentiment hums over the deep bass of the track. I first heard this track in a bar in Sydney and listened to it on repeat as I wandered the streets at night.

6. Rubblebucket - "Not Cut out for This"



I checked out Rubblebucket after seeing a Facebook post from someone who's musical tastes I admire, and I was not disappointed. Although they're described on Wikipedia as a "funk and jam band", Rubblebucket reminds me less of Phish and more of Arcade Fire. Starting out with a horn solo (honestly I can't tell if it's a trumpet or trombone), the song takes a turn into electronic territory with the introduction of an arpeggiated synth. The singer's voice reverbs through the track, warning the listener "I got no heart, I got no soul". The blend of upbeat drum grooves and dancy synths combined with the vocalist's warning - "I'm not cut out for love" creates a dichotomous, wonderful tune.

5. Sufjan Stevens, Bryce Dessner, Nico Muhly, James McAlister - "Mercury"



While Planetarium doesn't quite hold up as an album (it's far too long and diverse to be considered cohesive), "Mercury" is a standout track and a welcome return from Sufjan Stevens, who is responsible for my favourite album of 2015. Mercury is a melodious, beautiful and unique song that benefits from Sufjan's voice echoing throughout as if he's singing into a cavern. Stevens and company strip back the production and let the piano and guitar compliment the wonderful, longing, desperate voice until about halfway through. Then, guitar delay that The Edge would be proud of intertwines with soft strings and the gentle tap of piano keys. Deeply intimate yet strangely intangible, "Mercury" never tries to be too much - it simply is.

4. HAIM - "Right Now"



I'm not sure who pissed off the Haim sisters, but whoever they are. they're absolutely skewered in "Right Now" - one of the most ultimate "fuck off" songs written in recent memory. (In fact, HAIM has been known to throw some added "fucks" into the song during live performances). "Right Now" starts out with a keyboard and drum machine as Danielle Haim sneers and spits in the face of the dude who wronged her and now wants her back. The song eventually builds into a gated drum whiplash that Phil Collins himself would be proud of. The pattern heavily resembles "I Don't Care Anymore"- fitting, as this is one of Collin's most aggressive songs.

3. Great Good Fine OK - "Holding You"



Taken from what might be my favourite album of the year, "Holding You" starts out with an instrument I didn't know existed until I saw GGFO back in January - a synth marimba. The distinct sound bleeds into the entire soundscape of the track; a synth-laden ode to a lost love. “Holding You” – much like every song from Great Good Fine OK’s III – is sharply produced, evoking visions of glitter and strobe lights. Although the track’s lyrical content is gloomy – or at the very least, evocative – the song never loses its overall upbeat feeling.

2. Superbody - "Patricia"



Anyone who knows me at all knows I love any 80's throwback song, and "Patricia" encapsulates that experience perfectly. From the jangly guitars to the synth solo to the pulsing, electronic drums, "Patricia" exploits the best part of synthpop to it's benefit. I've tried to pinpoint who exactly vocalist Robert Gregg McCurry is channeling in this song, but I can't place it. Somehow, he makes his voice sound vintage without actually being a rip-off. "Patricia" chronicles the singer's obsession with the titular character and the struggle between the heart and the brain.

1. The Band CAMINO - "My Thoughts on You"



The success of "My Thoughts on You" lies in its simplicity and its sincerity. Built off two intrinsically interesting piano chords, the song swells with strings into vocalist Jeffery Jordan's honest, raw voice. Backed with a simple drum track and gated fills, "My Thoughts on You" is an intimate examination about how and why people stay together even after they've hurt each other. "Between the fights," Jordan sings, "I still need you". The fact that Jordan barely nails the high notes in the song never comes off as annoying, rather adds to the genuineness of the song. This earnest, emotional song is my favourite of 2017.

Top 10 Songs of 2016

Once again, I've decided to ride the coattails of Jake and compile a top 10 list. This year I opened up to a lot of different styles and genres and got some really great recommendations from some people with amazing music tastes. Below are 10 songs I couldn't stop listening to, ranked in order of how much I liked them.

10. dvsn - "With Me"


"With Me" doesn't really beat around the bush. The opening line is simply "Fuck with me now", so you clearly know what kind of song you're getting here. That lack of subtlety combined with the incredibly deep bass that runs throughout the entire song and the funky synth lines that pepper throughout the chorus, and you have yourself one incredibly down to earth song. There is no pretense here. dvsn wrote this song simply because they/he wants to fuck someone, and who can't appreciate that?

9. Melano - "Traveller"


 Melano is a music producer from Norway, but that's really the only thing I know about him. My brother turned me on to this song, and what we have here is an electronic track full of some very nice emotion. In a world of Skrillex-like insanity, "Traveller" makes subtle yet powerful use of piano and violin, especially in the verses. The chorus is catchy as well, making the perfect use of "whoo!" And for all you kids who like the bass to drop, this one has that tried and true snare buildup as well.


8. Frightened Rabbit - "Get Out"


This excellent tune from Scottish rockers Frightened Rabbit does a great job with mixing subtlety and straight up rocking out. I'm talking about volume my dear. The beginning of the song makes a great use of synth and a guitar distortion as the singer describes his lover's thumb and forefinger as the "arch of the church" (this isn't the first time church has been used as a metaphor for love you cannot escape). Our narrator cannot escape this person, leading us to the blasting chorus. Wordplay abounds here as "get out my heart" is the first line we hear, although that line is followed up with "she won't". Later on in the second verse, the last line before the chorus, he sings "I don't want you to..." leading directly into "get out my heart". A great lyrical study in love you simply cannot outrun or refuse.
(Random thought - this guy has an amazing accent).


7. The 1975 - "The Sound"


This uptempo dance number by the retroesque The 1975 may not make a lot of sense lyrically, but damn if it doesn't get my feet tapping and my voice singing. Oddly enough as a drummer, I appreciate the restrain on the drums in this song. What really gets me is the use of the piano and synths, especially the evolution of the repeating chord pattern throughout the song that comes to a head in the chorus. The ending guitar solo is worth clicking "play" alone. I dare you not to air guitar it. I dare you.


6. Michael Penn - "Anchors Aweigh"


 For those who don't know, Michael Penn has been working in music for quite some time, releasing a Billboard top 100 song entitled "No Myth" in 1989. Penn shifted to television and movie scores and began working as a composer for HBO's "Girls" in 2012. I've never watched "Girls", so I have no reference for this song in the context of that show. What stuck out to me when I first heard this song is the beautiful acoustic guitar intro and Penn's voice, which is some sort of amazing combination of grit and clarity. There's something oddly magical about this song, the way the chorus dances into a hard, distorted guitar solo, into a minor-key bridge, and back to that lovely verse again. The lyrics evoke dreamy images as well: In her wake the spirits dance / Like starling murmurations / Though the light they pray they might behave /Spinning through an open sky / And out into creation.

5. Honne - "The Night"


HONNE is an electronic R&B duo from London, who's full length album would probably hovering around #1 in my 2016 list. "The Night" is my favourite offering from that album, a slow tune about convincing a lover to stay the night. What I love most about this song is the play between the underlying guitar work which recalls some of the best staccato R&B riffs from the 70s and the long, low analoug synth chords. That push and pull throughout the entire song - along with the driving beat - make this track stand out. Perhaps the most underrated thing about HONNE is their singing - the slightly rough yet soulful voice creates a powerful soundscape.

4. PREP - "Who's Got You Singing Again"


This funky tune from London's PREP sounds like a Doobie Brother's song took a hard left at Herbie Hancock-ville. In other words, it's brilliant, and an amazing feel-good song  The wah-wah synth bass creates an amazing canvas for PREP's singer to create a stunningly-smooth vocal performance. "Who's Got you Singing Again" also contains one of the best uses of a flute in recent music history - sparingly in the chorus, then a little more in the bridge, and then a straight up "What a Fool Believes"- type outro.

3. Francis and the Lights - "May I Have this Dance"


Francis of Francis and the Lights sounds a bit like a Phil Collins/Peter Gabriel hybrid, already earning about 500 stars in my book. "May I Have this Dance" follows our narrator in a heartfelt apology, asking who he's wronged to give him one more chance to make it up by dancing. The raw passion in "May I Have this Dance" is amplified by the synth here, which has almost no attack, creating a bit of a wah-effect. The desperation in Francis' voice is both chilling and admiring, as he pleads to "have this dance". It's a powerful visual picture as you can almost see him in the dirt down on both knees.

2. Skott - "Wolf"


"Wolf" is a song about desire and longing for something you desperately want, and that desire and tension is mirrored in the music. The simple piano note in the melody gives way to a flurry of harp and violins, but the star here is Skott herself, The chorus here is jaw-dropping and mind blowing, as Skott soars higher and higher, singing I'm a wolf / howling / on your doorstep / calling out . Synth arpeggios roll over her voice, and the second chorus gives way to a horn part that mimics the melody. It's a deeply intense, emotional song that should be reserved for late nights.

1. Jadu Heat - "Late Night"


What keeps bringing me back to "Late Night" is the fact that I've never heard a song quite like it before. The chord progression itself is enough to give pause and say "damn", and that's before the guitar riff (you'll know it when you hear it) becomes an ear-worm. Then when you think the song can't get any better, the funkiest bass guitar slaps this side of the Chili Pepper's version of Higher Ground come for you. Jadu Heart also features both a male and female singer, who are featured separately on verse but come together for a dreamy collaboration on the choruses. Between the bass, the obscure chords, the excellent guitar run, the random synth stabs and the singing, this is one of the most original songs I've heard and my favourite of 2016.

Top 5 Albums of the Year

I'm only posting a year in review of music because Jake did it first. Here it goes!

5. And So I Watch You From Afar, Heirs

I came across And So I Watch You From Afar on a random website which listed their 2009 self-titled release as the best album of that year. After listening to it myself, I was extremely hooked. Here was an instrumental band with energy, passion, and better yet, they were Irish and still relatively undiscovered in the States. After being somewhat underwhelmed by their 2013 release All Hail Bright Futures, I was hesitatingly anticipating Heirs. However, the album comes as a return-to-form for the band, eliminating the wacky reggae rhythms from their previous release in favor of hard-hitting, energetic jams. From the lightning guitar work of Animal Ghosts to the tribal drums and chants of Wasps, this is a raw, passionate album with little filler (A Beacon, A Compass, An Anchor is the albums low-light, a nifty tune that tends to drag too long for its 6:17 run time). The band is even more energetic live, which only adds to the brilliance of the album after seeing it in person.

4. The Velvet Teen, All is Illusory

I assumed the Velvet Teen may have been as good as dead after the release of 2010's EP No Star. After waiting patiently for 5 years, fans were finally satiated with All is Illusory, and the album didn't disappoint. A few missteps (Taken Over is about 9 minutes too long, All is Illusory is too boring) don't drag the album down for me. Pecos is a brilliant piece of work that highlights the band's unsung hero; bassist Josh Staples, GTRA is a retro-sounding throwback to arena rock, and the opening song Sonreo features a crazy-harpsichord sounding loop effect, benefiting from madman drummer Casey Dietz's slick, awe-inspiring fills. Dietz actually seems to be holding back on the album, which, after clearly being the star of 2006's Cum Laude! is probably a good thing for the band, as the entire lineup is showcased a lot better on All is Illusory than ever before.

3. You Blew It, Pioneer of Nothing

It seems stupid to put a 3-Song EP this high on my list, but when checking out my Last.FM charts for this year, I saw that the opening track on this EP, Lanai, was actually my highest played song of the year, and the second track, Bedside Manner, was my second most played.  Lanai is actually my most played song ever, a testament to how much I enjoyed this EP. I entered into You Blew It! fandom relatively late in the game, having thought emo/pop-punk was a dead genre to me. I have Jake to thank for my love of You Blew It!, and the three songs on this album are a solid testament that emo doesn't have to be whiny or simple. The songs here are complex, evocative and lovely. I haven't yet heard the band play any of the three live, but I did get to see them play a secret show in a garage in Chicago, which is a highlight in itself.

2. Chon, Grow

I'm not sure what it says about me that two of my five favorite albums of the year are instrumental - or that I'm in an instrumental band myself - but anyways, Chon created not just one of the best albums of the year, but probably of the best 10 years with Grow. The guitar tone particularly shines with an amazing clarity over some of the most complex and fascinating arrangements in modern rock to date. Grow is a music lover's dream, an album where you simply shake your head the entire way through, thinking, "How did they write this?" Musical complexity aside, Chon have created a wonderful, introspective album that never loses an overarching sense of joy.





1. Sufjan Stevens, Carrie and Lowell

I fell of the Sufjan bandwagon after Come on, Feel the Illinois! I love that album to death, and I appreciate 2010's The Age of Adz for what is is - an experimental electronic bit of work - but 2015's Carrie and Lowell is a near perfect album and has set me firmly in place back on the Sufjan train. In it, Sufjan bears his soul, opening up about his abandonment by and death of his mother, which was hinted at on other albums but never explored in depth until now. His mother's presence haunts the music here, which is low-key and deeply, agonizingly personal. Here is a man who's entire life has been shaped and molded by these events, and continues to struggle with them later in life (I imagine Freud would have a field day with this album).  Doubts and fears permeate the tracks, which touch on the human experience in all its forms; birth, love, anguish, illumination, self-doubt, kindness, tragedy, and death. This isn't an album you put on at a party, but its an important one nonetheless, as it deals with the human condition in a way that hasn't really been done before. In modern music.
Carrie and Lowell is poetic and prophetic, elaborate and spiritual, haunting and breathtaking.

[pete]