the weeknd

Maybe it’s me, maybe it’s how much good new music is constantly being released, maybe it’s Maybelline. Maybe it’s an amalgam of everything. Whatever the case, I never have a shortage of (good, really good, great) music to listen to. Here are my favourite songs from March. (My god Wintersleep, you are incredible).

25. Future/Weeknd – Low Life

24. Macklemore & Ryan Lewis f. Leon Bridges – Kevin

23. Monster Truck – Don’t Tell Me How To Live

22. Ria Mae – Gold (JordanXL Remix)

Bonus: Rabbii – Hang Us High

21. Holy Esque – Hexx

20. Tinie Tempah – Girls Like

19. The Thermals – My Heart Went Cold

18. Miike Snow – I Feel The Weight

17. Run River North – Run or Hide

16. Ra Ra Riot – Bad Times

15. Jordan Klassen – Baby Moses

14. 2 Chainz & Lil Wayne – Gotta Lotta

Best use of a sample in forever. So cheeky and so funny. Scatman John would be proud.

13. Yeasayer – Silly Me

12. Bleached – Wednesday Night Melody

11. All Saints – One Strike

Nice comeback tune.

10. Wintersleep – Spirit/More Than

Could be the best Canadian band around.

9. case/lang/viers – Atomic Number

Neko wins at whatever she does. Really digging this tune.

8. Mothers – It Hurts Until It Doesn’t

Love the melody and how the tempo slows to a crawl and builds again.

7. Lumineers – Ophelia

Very solid comeback single.

6. Sundara Karma – A Young Understanding

Such an earwormy tune. I’m going to take note of this English band.

5. Fifth Harmony – Work From Home

Absurdly stupid lyrics, but the song is the embodiment of incessant. Wickedly catchy.

4. Wintersleep – Lifting Cure/Who Are You

My love for this band knows no bounds. These two songs are bloody brilliant. I love the melody, lyrics, and music of Lifting Cure, and Who Are You is such a wonderfully simple, guitar-led ditty. Wintersleep can write any type of song and slay it.

3. Frightened Rabbit – Get Out/Death Dream

Triumphant first two singles from the Scots’ latest LP. Frightened Rabbit’s combo of melody, relatability, and rootability (making up words as I go, no biggie) is ever charming.

2. The Boxer Rebellion – Big Ideas

I don’t love every single song these guys put out, but when they hit, they hit huge for me. This is one such behemoth. Love the build up and the guitars.

1. Wintersleep – Shadowless/Metropolis

Shadowless and Metropolis are the beating heart of Wintersleep’s indefatigable new record. They’re two of the best songs that will be released in 2016, and they’re two of the best songs that Wintersleep have ever created. There are only a select number of songs any given year that are so powerful that they elicit a physical and emotional response. Shadowless is one such song. I feel fortunate to have seen their intimate show in Hamilton at The Casbah this March. I was lucky enough to meet all the members of the band I tried to impart to them how much I love their music. Artists need to know they’re fighting the good fight. I can only hope this band keeps making music and touring.

As I seem to mention every year, crafting a strict Top 100 Songs of The Year list is an impossibility for me, because I listen to and like way more than 100 songs. So in order to shine a light on some of the songs that are still very good but don’t crack my top 100, I’ve issued lists recognizing the “honourable mentions” the past couple years. This is the first of those lists for 2014. More than anything though, these lists serve as a record keeping endeavour, so when I look back at 2014 some years down the line, I’ll be able to re-visit all the songs I was into. Having something neat and tidy to refer to at any time appeals to me, and that’s a big reason why I compile these lists. If anyone else who reads them discovers/likes something new, that’s great too.

Without further ado, here is the first of four lists detailing the best songs of 2014, Honourable Mention style, in alphabetical order.

Allie X – Prime