best of may

Top 20 Songs of May 2015

Here are my top 20 songs of May, 2015:

20. Garbage f. Brian Aubert – The Chemicals

 

19. Carly Rae Jepsen – I Really Like You

 

18. San Cisco – Run

 

17. Grimes – REALiTi

 

16. James Bay – Hold Back The River

 

15. Belle and Sebastian – The Party Line

 

14. Flagship – Life Underwater

 

13. Unknown Mortal Orchestra – Can’t Keep Checking My Phone/Multi-Love

 

12. Scott Helman – Bungalow

 

Bonus: Metric – Clone/Lost Kitten

Revisited Metric’s last LP in May, and played these two tunes a bunch. Synthetica is a fantastic record.

 

11. Twenty One Pilots – Tear In My Heart

Rare to find this much cheek and fun in a song by an American band. Refreshing.

 

10. Florence And The Machine – Ship To Wreck

 

9. Mumford and Sons – Believe

Took me quite to get into this track, and though I don’t love it like I do “Babel” or “”Little Lion Man” or “The Cave”, it’s still a cool tune.

 

Bonus: London Grammar – Strong (High Contrast remix)

The original is brilliant, so even a passable remix (this is more than that) would sound great.

 

8. Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds – Dying Of The Light

Legend.

 

7. Elliphant – Love Me Badder

Shame this probably won’t break in North America. Super catchy pop song.

 

Bonus – Jann Arden – Good Mother

Forever and always special to me. The melody, the lyrics, and Jann’s comforting, pleading, heart-piercing vocal.

 

6. Death Cab For Cutie – The Ghosts of Beverly Drive/You’ve Haunted Me All My Life/Little Wanderer

From what I’ve gathered so far, DC4C’s last record with Chris Walla is pretty dope. The first two singles and this trio of songs are really, really good.

 

5. Future Islands – The Chase

A new song by Sam T. and co. is always welcome. And, per usual, it’s a banger.

 

4. Brandon Flowers – Lonely Town

I don’t think any song on Flowers’ quite good new solo record can touch lead single “Can’t Deny My Love”, which is a monumental pop smash. If anything else can come close though, it’s “Lonely Town”, particularly the bridge (2:03-2:30), which I played on repeat. The bridge is a massive hook in an already stellar earworm.

 

3. Day Wave – Drag

A song to get lost in. Sun meets shade and fun finds fade. I have a feeling this song will linger with me for quite some time.

 

Bonus: Imagine Dragons – Shots

This tune was #18 in my top 20 from February, but I’ve come to listen to and dig it vastly more than that ranking signifies. “Shots” is a beast, plain and simple. My favourite song from Imagine Dragons’ latest album.

 

2. The Vaccines – Handsome/Dream Lover

These two tracks couldn’t be more different, and that speaks to how talented The Vaccines are and how varied their songs can be. “Handsome” is frenetic, full of English cheek, with an irresistible melody that on several occasions made me smile from ear to ear. “Dream Lover” plays at a much slower pace but is just as catchy. It’s a haze of distorted guitars and harmonies. I love lead singer Justin Young’s vocal on that song.

 

1. Metric – The Shade (I Want It All)

I’ve always loved Metric. They were early adopters of a synth-pop sound that blew up in the early 2000’s. Way more substance than style (though they’ve had that in spades since the jump), Metric always came to the party armed with a bevy of hits. Something happened though when they released their fourth studio album, Fantasies. They dropped what I think is a perfect pop song: “Gimme Sympathy”. It’s a song so good most bands would kill to have written something half as good. I was so happy for Metric. I’d felt like they’d become one of the best bands in the world, with an unrivalled ear for dashing pop songs. I thought they’d never come close to the greatness of “Gimme Sympathy”, but that was okay, because they crafted something otherworldly, and they have a shit tonne of other super songs to keep it company.

I may have been a bit early in thinking they couldn’t touch “Gimme Sympathy”.

When I first heard “The Shade”, I thought it was a huge risk to have that video game-ish sound effect feature so prominently in a song — a lead single to boot. By about the third listen or so though, the effect seemed to retreat a bit into the background, and the true beauty of “The Shade” stepped out of its shadow. It’s incredible. The verses, the chorus, the vocal, the music. Everything is wonderful.

Moral of the story: Metric are preternaturally gifted at songwriting, and I’ll never doubt their ability to achieve perfection again. Stars.

Top 20 Songs of May 2014

May was absolutely absurd. The top 8 (!) songs listed were all worthy of being number 1. The rest of the top 15 could easily be top 3 songs in another month. In short, I heard and loved a bunch of stunning songs in May, and it might go down as the best music month of the year.

20. Bear Hands – Giants

Sweet chilli heat, the groove, the beat.

 

19. John Legend – All Of Me (De Hofnar Bootleg)/All Of Me (Tiesto Remix)

I’m not sure which remix I prefer more. I think it’s the De Hofnar one, but I can’t be sure. Tiesto came to play here.

De Hofnar Bootleg:

Tiesto Remix:

 

18. Eagulls – Possessed

Static electricity caught by a lint-remover.

 

17. The Subs f. Colonel Adams – Trapped

A bone-rattling house bang-show.

 

16. Lykke Li – No Rest For The Wicked/No Rest For The Wicked (Klangkarussel Remix)

The more I hear from Lykke, the more I listen. She’s got it.

 

15. X Priest X – Enemy Mind

I adore the bass-y house undertones in this pop marvel. Keep your friends close, keep Enemy Mind closer.

 

14. Manic Street Preachers – Walk Me To The Bridge

A forceful re-emergence for possibly the most underrated band around.

 

13. La Roux – Let Me Down Gently

I had fears La Roux missed the boat. This teaser release assuaged those fears at once. Don’t call it a comeback, even if it’s been five years.

 

12. Bear’s Den – Sahara Pt. 2

In a bear’s den,

you must watch your yen.

For if not, you will lose,

Something hairier than your shoes.

 

11. Manchester Orchestra – The Mansion/Cope

If this is Manchester Orchestra’s mansion, it’s replete with standards of fear and bushels of beards.

If this is how Manchester Orchestra cope, they’ve steel reinforced what it is to hope.

This is rock music.

This is bloody fantastic music.

 

10. Ask Embla – Legion

I asked Embla, and she said she must pop. (And lock in hits, like this song.)

 

9. Naughty Boy f. Sam Smith – La La La

Heard it. Then was Ricked it. Then listened some more. Then got on page with all else who’ve heard. This track is absurd.

 

8. Betty Who – Lovin’ Start

I had a lovin’ start with this Betty Who track, which then progressed into a lovin’ middle. The end is out of sight, but I’m positive it’s lovin’ too.

 

7. Robyn & Royksopp – Every Little Thing

“Every Little Thing” is, for my money, the best song on the EP from Robyn & Royksopp. There’s groove, there’s pulse, there’s a move, a protruding pulse. The singles from the EP, “Do It Again” and “Sayit”, don’t hit nearly as hard as this track. This song is blood and beats and mud from cleats.

 

6. Paloma Faith – Only Love Can Hurt Like This

Only a piece of pop dynamite as explosive as this could place this high in a month so strong. The music is irresistible and Paloma Faith lays down a mammoth vocal.

 

5. Beth Jeans Houghton & Samuel T. Herring – Pelican Canyon

This? From a random road trip?! I’d hate to see what these two could come up if they had endless time together. (Huge lie. I’d love to see, hear, and feel more from them.) Beth Jeans Houghton lulls like a luscious lullaby, while Sam T. Herring is the base to which the melody abides. I believe this is what the best kind of collaboration looks/sounds/feels like.

 

4. Marc Anthony – Vivir Mi Vida/Khaled – C’est La Vie

Is this Marc Anthony’s best ever song? It’s a legit question, and I think it might be. I really dug “You Sang To Me”, but the passion in “Vivir” exudes a freedom that I haven’t heard in any of his previous tracks. The song’s sun is so strong it leaves a full-body tan even if fully clothed, which this song makes sound completely ludicrous. This is the type of heat that never brings sorrow, only the excitement of tomorrow.

As good as Marc Anthony’s version of the melody/song/idea is, (Cheb) Khaled’s is equal to the task. This is exactly what euphoria sounds like. It’s what frolicking looks like. It’s what the the World Cup feels like. Is it too late to change this year’s official song?

 

3. Allie X – Bitch

“Prime” and “Catch” were the first two releases from this new artist, but I think “Bitch” is the best of the bunch. The distorted chorus is just tremendous.

“Bitch” is neither male nor female. “Bitch” is no dog. “Bitch” is of a moment, a moment where pop is transfused by electronics, enthused by histrionics.

 

2. La Roux – Uptight Downtown

I’d thought for quite some time that La Roux really dropped the ball by waiting so long to release a follow-up album, after all, 2009 (when they debuted) was eons ago. The duo built up so much momentum, with majestic stompers “Bulletproof”, “In For The Kill”, “Quicksand” (a.k.a. the hits) combining with “As If By Magic”, “I’m Not Your Toy”, “Cover My Eyes” (and more) to form what I felt like (and still feel now) was one of the best pop records of the decade. I thought it was a huge mistake to let that buzz dissipate — music fans can be fickle, and five years between albums is an eternity in this day and age.

Oh ye of little faith.

La Roux (now apparently just singer Elly Jackson) rendered all of that concern a waste. I can’t prove that La Roux travelled via wormhole, but it can’t be dismissed. When your comeback single is as sensational as “Uptight Downtown”, a song so current, yet so of another time, it’s hard to think about why it took so long between efforts.

“Uptight Downtown” sounds like a wave, and the wave is warm and unrelenting. Some may find this track repetitive. Some might not see its utter, complete, eargasmic dominance. Some may be in tune. Some may be before the zoom. Some might be after it. Whatever to some, here’s the sum: this track is one that sounds like it’ll battle the test of time with conviction.

La Roux knows the streets are lined with people, people who want to move, move, move.

The people always want to dance, even if they’ve changed their shoes, shoes, shoes.

 

1. Manchester Orchestra – Trees

Rock. Song. Of. The. Year.

That riff. That fucking wall and plaster and stone and foundation shattering riff. That attention to melody and rock out to the point of felony. Those insurmountable mountains of hooks. Those shadow stealing nooks.

This is why I love music.