glasgow

The Final Countdown: Top 20 Songs of 2015

The best of the best. I’ve an unwavering adoration for every song that follows. My favourite songs of 2015:

20. A Silent Film – Tomorrow

I played this tune a lllllllot in the spring months. Regretfully, it’s been criminally underappreciated/underheard. This is an epic alt-pop movie of a song.

 

19. Leon Bridges – River

Only came to my ears in December, but it was immediately compelling. Musically sparse, emotionally monumental.

 

Bonus: Twenty One Pilots – Holding On To You

Where was I when this came out three years ago? I’ve no answer for that, and I’m ashamed I missed this beast for so long.

 

18. Twenty One Pilots – Stressed Out/Ride

I’m not surprised Twenty One Pilots have become as big as they are. Schizo-pop has the ability to cross over if done well, and this duo does it exceedingly so. “Stressed Out” and “Ride” are absurdly catchy.

 

17. The Helio Sequence – Battle Lines

My favourite song from The Helio Sequence’s latest, eponymous record. Summers and Weikel have a preternatural ability to infuse emotion in their (always melodic and gorgeous) songs. “Battle Lines” is a giant exhale, a sanctuary of serenity. Time always seems to stand still when I listen to the best of The Helio Sequence. They remain one of my most treasured bands.

 

16. AWOLNATION – Hollow Moon (Bad Wolf)/I Am

Aaron Bruno and company are masters at Shizo-pop. “Hollow Moon” is a delicious slice of modern alt-pop, the type of song that appeals to the masses and gives classes in hook construction. Bruno is also a star at crafting interesting vocal harmonies; this is ever-apparent on the succulent “I Am”.

 

15. Marina and The Diamonds – I’m A Ruin

Far and away my favourite song on her latest LP. “I’m A Ruin” was a staple song for me throughout the year, and it’s among the very best that Marina Diamandis has ever released.

 

14. GRL – Lighthouse

One of the very best pop songs of the year.

 

13. Pure Bathing Culture – Pray For Rain

Portland strikes again. “Pray For Rain” is a hazy, sultry, foot-stomper and snare-pop romper. “Is it pleasure, is it pain, did you pray for rain?”

 

12. Best Coast – California Nights/Feeling OK

Mega-sized hits, both of them. “California Nights”: tempered, pensive, exploratory. “Feeling OK”: propulsive, energetic, incessant.

 

11. Bad Suns – Cardiac Arrest

I went nuts singing and air-drumming this slinky, sexy, sunny-day-at-the-beach anthem last year.

 

10. Houndmouth – Sedona

A grower. And how. Each time I heard “Sedona”, I liked it more. Eventually, I heard the simple truth that became obvious: “Sedona” is one of the best songs of 2015.

 

9. Glass Animals – Pools

One of the coolest songs of the year. One of the sexiest. The oddest. The warmest. The slipperiest. The slithery-est. The roam-freely-in-the-jungle-est. The earwormy-est. The sing-a-long-inside-your-yawn-est. Glass Animals, with only one album under their belts, are a band to be reckoned with. “Pools” is brilliant. (The video is too.)

 

Bonus: Broods – Superstar/Sleep Baby Sleep/L.A.F.

Slept like a baby on these tracks last year, but made up for it early in 2015 with copious plays. All three tracks are sensational pop songs, and I could’ve linked a few more from Broods’ first LP/EP. Extremely impressive work from the bro-sis Notts.

 

Depending on the day, each of the following songs could be my number one song of the year, such is how I value them. As it happens, today, this is how I’ve ranked them…

 

8. Chvrches – Leave A Trace/Never Ending Circles

Blissful, bombastic pop made by a group without peer. Chvrches dropped hit after hit on their debut, and apparently they felt like continuity was the best way forward, as their second LP moves along with nary an off-point blip on the radar. “Leave A Trace” is stunning. They couldn’t have come up with a better lead single. The staggering thing is, “Never Ending Circles” is just as good. Chvrches are well on their way to headlining duties as one of the biggest bands on the planet. I don’t think there’s a better pop-music-making group around.

 

7. Metric – The Shade

Although Metric might have something to say about that. Six albums in, Metric keeps getting better. Which is just preposterous. When I first heard “Gimme Sympathy”, I thought that’d be their pinnacle. It still shines bright enough to light up a galaxy, but “The Shade” is its equal. That’s astonishing. Without a shadow of a doubt, Metric have cemented their place as one of Canada’s best bands of all-time. I adore their way with melody. More than anything else, they care about the quality of a song, an eternally endearing quality if there ever was one.

 

6. Day Wave – Drag

That I have “Drag” this high is a surprise in a sense. It came out of nowhere. But day after day, week after week, it spoke to me. After it spoke, it sung, and clung to the strings of the beating organ in my chest. The clinging of the strings, the singing shaped like wings, and the body finds a soul to squeeze.

 

5. Purity Ring – push pull

I remember hearing this song in January and knowing right away that it’d be one of my favourite songs of the year. The thought held true, and “push pull” remains an obsession. This is electronic music drawn on a hip-hop canvas and doused with an angelic aura. It’s Purity Ring’s best song to date. “I built a constellation lair, out of the moles that hovered there, a fever billowed in the wind, and I bade the sky therein…” is one of my favourite lyrics of the year.

 

4. Miguel – Coffee/Leaves

“Coffee” is my favourite Miguel song to date. And it’s probably the best song on Miguel’s latest. But the feeling that “Leaves” induces compels me just as much, and that’s why I think it’s worthy to keep company with the lead single. FWIW, the non-explicit version of “Coffee” is a lot more captivating than the explicit one (and the version featuring Wale). “Leaves” is based off a simple guitar lick, and is carried through the seasons by Miguel’s alluring vocal. In both songs, Miguel found a way to elicit emotions and make them clear, even if they pull in different directions. He’s at the peak of his powers here, and I get lost in that zenith each and every time I hear these songs.

 

3. Tame Impala – The Less I Know The Better

I’m fucking flabbergasted at how good this song is. I could describe the way I’ve been struck with awe by this majestic piece of music, but I feel like I should let the tune stand for itself, so the less I say, the better.

 

2. Wolf Alice – Bros

I love “Bros”. It’s a romantic love. A familial one. A familiar one. Each and every second of this song is a second in which I’m enthralled. “Ohhh, jump the 43, are you wild like me? Raised by wolves and other beasts, I tell you all the time, I’m not mad. You tell me all the time, I got plans…” is a lyric I hold so, so dearly. With one song (and a teflon-strong debut album), Wolf Alice have made waves without water. In a couple years, I wouldn’t be the least bit surprised to see them headlining arenas around the world.

 

1. Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds – The Ballad Of The Mighty I

This is my favourite Noel Gallagher song in almost twenty years. No big deal right. It’d be a stretch to say that Noel’s getting better with age as the music he penned for Oasis will live forever, but the fact that his material has not dipped in quality is truly amazing. I chalk it up to an obvious and simple sentiment: Noel Gallagher is one of the very few people on this earth that was born to write music. And not just any old music, but consistently catchy, consistently excellent, consistently melodic music. I believe that Mr. Gallagher is probably the best songwriter walking the earth right now. It’s also not a surprise that “The Ballad of The Mighty I”, the best and my favourite song from Noel’s most recent album, was made with a hand from the incomparable Johnny Marr. But make no mistake, Noel is captaining this ship. His vocal is stunning. The musical composition is transcendent. When you put them together, you get best-song-of-the-year type stuff. Noel Gallagher is a living legend. D’you know what I mean?

Top 50 Cover Songs of 2014 (25-1)

My favourite 25 cover songs of 2014 (with original artist in parentheses);

25. Alt-j – Fitzpleasure (A cappella)

Not technically from 2014, but a beautiful cover nevertheless.

 

24. Sam Smith – How Will I Know (Whitney Houston)

Mr. Smith covered a bunch of tunes in 2014, and this was my favourite. He takes an already great pop song/melody, sung by a likewise preternaturally gifted singer, and makes it sound sensational in a way that only he can.

 

23. Jason Isbell and Amanda Shires – Born In The USA (Bruce Springsteen)

So, so different than the original. It actually sounds like a new song, such is its wayward exploration of one of The Boss’s best tunes.

 

22. Hot Chip – Atomic Bomb (William Onyeabor)

Hot Chip make everything they touch fun, including this cover.

 

21. Grouplove – Ways To Go/Spiderhead (Cover of their own song)/(Cage The Elephant)

I love that Grouplove spontaneously covered their own song before they tackled the Cage tune, for which they issue all kinds of justice. Grouplove imbed an alt-country soul to maybe the best song from Cage’s latest album, and it works out great.

 

20. The Cure – Hello Goodbye (The Beatles)

The Cure covering The Beatles? Yes please, I’ll have some of that.

 

19. London Grammar – Pure Shores (All Saints)

“Pure Shores” is one of the best pop songs of the late 90’s/early aughts. William Orbit’s production on the track is magical. It’s All Saints’ best song by a mile, and I love that it’s been given a new sound almost a decade and a half after its release. Hannah Reid’s pristine voice sounds great guiding this cover to its beach.

 

18. Sufjan Stevens – A Little Lost (Arthur Russell)

Sufjan for all of the feels. Always.

 

17. The Honey Ants – You Can Call Me Al (Paul Simon)

The most genuine and heart-warming this song has yet sounded. The harmonies in this version are gorgeous. Paul Simon, Al, and those wishing to be called Al should all be proud.

 

16. Capitol Chidlren’s Choir – Father Father (Lauren Mvula)

I really wish this troupe would do more covers, as everything they do is golden. But, I guess, you know, school and all.

 

15. Kiesza – What Is Love (Haddaway)

Wonderfully-sung, stripped down version of the untz-untz classic.

 

14. Foster The People – Hold On, We’re Going Home (Drake)

Really, really dig this brooding, auto-tune employing, synth-heavy cover that Mark Foster and his people have cooked up.

 

13. Henry Green – My Number (Foals)

Where the original is a jittery, ooh-laden alt-pop gem, the cover is a cavernous, deep breath of a song. I like the turn down. It’s peaceful here.

 

12. Local H – Team (Lorde)

If you’re wondering what a Lorde track would sound like with a hard rock facelift, here lies your answer. It works.

 

11. Avec Sans – Running Up That Hill (Kate Bush)

Running Up That Hill is a classic song. Placebo’s mid-aughts cover (featured most notably on The O.C.) is astounding(ly good). You’d think it’d be pointless for another act to have another go at it, right? Wrong. Whatever the motivation, I’m glad Avec Sans made this cover. The synth work on this cover is phenomenal.

 

10. Say Lou Lou – Instant Crush (Daft Punk)

A warmer, more personal take on one of the better songs from Daft Punk’s last album.

 

9. Arctic Monkeys – Feels Like We Only Go Backwards (Tame Impala)

I love the original. The lyrics, melody, and music are all fantastic. But when Alex Turner drops his signature croon on a track, he makes it his own, and that’s that. This is an amazing cover by a brilliant musician.

 

8. Nazca – Survivor (Destiny’s Child)

Jaw-dropping cover. Adds a healthy serving of emotional resonance that the original can’t touch. I know the original was a huge hit for Destiny’s Child, but it sounds kind of dated at this point. Frankly, this cover is better.

 

7. Red Hot Chilli Pipers – Wake Me Up (Avicii)

If you like bagpipes, this is your jam. When I first came across this tune, I thought the Red Hot Chilli Peppers had done the cover. Then I learned to read, and then I realized the tune’s by an aerophone-wielding collective of Scots. This instrumental cover is brilliant.

 

6. Les Claypool’s Duo De Twang – Stayin’ Alive (Bee Gees)

This cover is batshit crazy. It’s unlike anything I’d heard, cover or otherwise, in 2014. It’s incredible.

 

5. Chvrches – Do I Wanna Know? (Arctic Monkeys)

Chvrches’ more-than-two-years-hot-streak knows no bounds. And it doesn’t apply to just their own stuff, but everything they touch. This cover is sensational. The synth work by Iain Cook and Martin Doherty is sublime. No synth-based cover of this song could’ve been constructed in a better way.

 

4. Manchester Orchestra – Escape (Jimmy Buffett)

Do you like pina coladas? Do you like cover songs that come from the deepest part of left field that they have to climb over the wall, into the bleachers, out of the stadium, down the street, and into another area code? Do you like getting caught in the rain? Do you have half a brain? If you find yourself answering yes to any of these queries, you’ll probably like this song. Hell, if you just listen to this song, you’ll probably like it. And I’ll like you. Life is simple sometimes.

 

3. Sturgill Simpson – The Promise (When In Rome)

What do I hear when I listen to this Sturgill Simpson cover? A beautiful fucking song. The original is a slinky synth-pop ditty in the vain of Erasure or Pet Shop Boys. It’s a really cool track. This cover couldn’t give two shits about cool. It’s a grassroots promise, and it conveys the gravity of that commitment in a profound, heart-rattling way. Extremely impressive.

 

2. Todd Terje f. Bryan Ferry – Johnny and Mary (Robert Palmer)

Bryan Ferry is a fucking force on this cover. Not because he’s yelling at the top of this lungs, but because his vocal is stranded on an island of pain, where life’s experiences — the tumult of reflecting on those experiences in particular — is the only hope of getting off. If a man is wise with no one to share his wisdom with, is he still wise?

All that power and I haven’t even touched on Todd Terje’s awesome track. The vibe he’s constructed is a perfect match for Ferry’s pensive, aching vocal. It’s sparse when it needs to be, filling when it should be. “Johnny and Mary” is a classic song. I feel like this cover can already be called that too. Mighty, mighty stuff.

 

1. The Tea Party – The Maker (Daniel Lanois)

Hands down, my favourite cover of the year. It’s the ode to deep water. It’s Daniel Lanois’ melody and lyric. It’s Jeff Martin’s typically teflon-strong vocal. It’s reminiscing about the fields of Abraham. It’s the cymbal. That purposeful, perfectly timed cymbal. It’s The Maker.

Whose maker? Mine, yours, this song’s, all song’s, all things.

It’s the guitar. It’s the best song on The Tea Party’s latest and long-awaited new record. It’s that one of the best bands in Canadian history is back together. It’s that all three of them are brilliant musicians.

All of it, moving.

Usually, I’m taken aback by covers that alter the source material in very obvious ways. That’s what makes a cover stand out. Why do it if you can’t bring something something fresh and original to the project.

What touches me and astounds me so much about this cover is that The Tea Party don’t really change things that much. It’s not a dance version of a country song. It’s not a rock version of an a cappella tune. The melody is unchanged.

The original is — although I only discovered it in 2014 — one of the best songs a Canadian band or artist has ever produced. Of this I’m sure.

And yet, I’m completely transfixed and transported. At their best, The Tea Party have always had that power. They’ve proven that on songs like “Psychopomp”, “Fire In The Head”, “Release”, and “Save Me”.

For a band that have issued some of the best and most original rock music of the last 20 years to produce a cover this affecting is a fucking marvel.

It had been 10 long years since The Tea Party last released new music. If it proves to be a one off, and they never make another record again, they should find solace in this cover.

They took a piece of art that already, wonderfully, gracefully, existed in the artistic consciousness. They didn’t make it better. They didn’t make it fresher. They made it their own. They gave us a reminder. Of what music is capable of. Isn’t that the point of it all?