imagine dragons

Top 100 Songs of 2015 (40-21)

Each and every song that follows is amazing (to me). My Top 100 Songs of 2015 (40-21):

40. The Vaccines – Handsome/Dream Lover

The Vaccines deserve to be huge. I hope they find their way to that some day.

 

39. The Wombats – Greek Tragedy

Right up there with the best they’ve ever done.

 

38. Robert Plant – Rainbow

His voice sounds splendid singing this type of music.

 

Bonus: Bear In Heaven – Autumn

Frenetic and fantastic.

 

37. Imagine Dragons – Shots

Best song on their most recent record.

 

36. Kurt Vile – Pretty Pimpin

Favourite tune Vile has ever done. Undeniably catchy.

 

35. Hot Chip – Need You Now

Hot Chip are so reliable. This is an absolute banger with soul pouring out of every pore.

 

34. Dear Rouge – Black To Gold

Immeasurably slick. Nodding to M83 and sage for doing so.

 

33. Foals – Mountain At My Gates

A slow burner that took a bit of time to become massive in my head. And how it did. Wicked video too.

 

Bonus: Alvvays – Ones Who Love You

What a sweet, sombre melody. I can’t not sing along when I hear it.

 

32. Sufjan Stevens – Should Have Known Better

Sufjan tugs on heart strings unlike any other. The shift to a more relaxed, jubilant sound in the second half really makes it special.

 

31. Glass Animals – Gooey/Hazey

Sooooooo sexy. One album in, and Glass Animals already have a sound all their own.

 

30. Modest Mouse – Lampshades On Fire/The Ground Walks, With Time In A Box

The lead single, “Lampshades” is classic Modest Mouse, and the Indie-disco strut of “The Ground Walks” is a jolly ol’ romp.

 

29. Brandon Flowers – Can’t Deny My Love/Lonely Town

“Can’t Deny My Love” is the best song on Flowers’ second solo LP, but the bridge in “Lonely Town” is so strong I have to include it with the lead single.

 

28. Grimes – Flesh Without Blood/Kill V. Maim

Grimes’ latest album is one of the best of the year, a jaw-droppingly good electropop album, and these are the two best songs on it. Wish there was a studio version of Kill V. Maim to share. Alas.

 

27. Cage The Elephant – Trouble

Just came out the last month or so of the year, but won me over right away. Possibly the best song on their brand new record. I love it when Cage goes tender.

 

Bonus: Wolf Alice – Blush

“Punch drunk, dumb struck, pot luck, happy happy…” I love alternative music that sounds like this. Rare that it’s ever this good though.

 

26. Tame Impala – Let It Happen

I don’t think I’ll ever tire of this song. There’s so much to latch onto in this 7-minute-plus epic.

 

25. Christine and The Queens – Saint Claude/Paradis Perdu

I discovered Christine and The Queens not long before I went to Osheaga, and they became dear to me almost overnight. A revelation.

 

24. Jr Jr – Gone

This is happiness incarnate. I worry I haven’t ranked this song high enough. I don’t think it’s possible to quantify this much ebullience. I simply adore this song.

 

23. Jack U f. Justin Bieber – Where Are U Now/Justin Bieber – Sorry

When I roasted him, I ended the piece by saying all he needed was a hit and a lot of the negative stuff would fall away. He got it, with Skrillex and Diplo’s help, on “Where Are U Now”. It’s a gargantuan banger. #ThatDropThough. And then a few months later “Sorry” came along, the best song he’s ever put his name on.

 

22. El Vy – Return To The Moon

This is the sound of The National on vacation, fully relaxed and enjoying the sun, all the way from the moon. I’ve always wanted to hear Matt Berninger do a song like this. I really like the guitars in this song.

 

21. Years and Years – King

I’m not sure how big this song got in North America, but it should’ve been bigger. That chorus is really special.

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.