tove lo

Top 20 Songs of June 2014

The month that popped. As much as I love pop music, I seemed to listen to an inordinate amount of it June. This is only because some awesome pop tunes were released or came to my ears in June. This is a good thing. Here’s the list of my Top 20 Songs of June.

20. jj – All White Everything

All white indeed. Glad to hear them back with new material. They have a way with breezy electronica unlike any other act.

 

19. Kylie Minogue – Crystallize

Best Kylie song in years.

 

18. Kyla La Grange – Fly/Get It

I’ve heard a lot from Kyla La Grange this year, being exposed to her for the first time with the immaculate smashes “Cut Your Teeth” and “The Knife”. She just dropped a new album, and there a bunch of super-catchy electro-pop ditties on it. Her lilting falsetto works well with the dark-meets-light synth tracks. This is evidenced best on “Get It” and “Fly”.

Get It:

Fly:

 

17. Omar Souleyman – Wenu Wenu

Love this track, and was very fortunate to have seen Omar perform at NXNE’s Vice Island (with Le1f and Future Islands). Not the most demonstrative character, but this song is gitchy galore.

 

16. Lil Jon – Turn Down For What

Waaaay late to this party. Still, a massive pop/hop/club banger that I couldn’t turn down, no matter what.

 

BONUS VIDEO: Hilarious video of Star Trek set to “Turn Down For What”.

 

15. Charli XCX – Boom Clap

One of the best poppers around. Charli’s new single is a winner.

 

14. Le1f – Boom

“Boom” is hella catchy, and Le1f is really good live. An engaging showman.

 

13. Royksopp & Robyn – Monument

I think I may have been too quick to anoint “Every Little Thing” the far-and-away best track Royksopp and Robyn’s recently released EP. “Monument” definitely gives ELT a run for its money. Both are dynamic, slithering, pulsating electro-pop gems. “Monument” is even more of a slow-burn, an ode to shooting for the moon, a thriller of a pillar, a huge hoarder of brick and mortar. Royksopp and Robyn are a lethal combination.

 

12. Sia – Chandelier

I do believe Sia is the best pop songwriter of the past several years. Her touch has lifted so many huge pop singles to glory. She’s kept a massive hook for herself here, and “Chandelier” borders on the outermost limits of the atmosphere.

 

11. Tove Styrke – Even If I’m Loud If Doesn’t Mean I’m Talking To You

What’s with amazing pop stars from Sweden named Tove?! Tove Styrke has been away for a few minutes, but she’s burst back onto the scene with a hulking and dizzying dancer of a tune.

 

10. Foster The People – Best Friend

At present, I don’t love Foster The People’s second record. I quite like two songs from it, “Coming of Age” and the follow-up single, “Best Friend”. This is the song that most harkens back to the wonderfully catchy gaiety of their indomitable debut album.

 

9. The Griswolds – Red Tuxedo

Short, pretty, and unusually sweet, “Red Tuxedo” is a warm, sunny ballad that possesses just the right amount of nostalgia-laced ache.

 

8. Wye Oak – Glory

Best song I’ve ever heard from Wye Oak. “Glory” is wickedly catchy.

 

7. The Alternate Routes – Nothing More

What a fantastic melody. Thanks to TC for the heads up on this band!

 

6. La Roux – Let Me Down Gently (Sailors Remix)

One of my favourite remixes of the year. Sailors have done an exceptional job retaining the hooks and upping the playfulness quotient, contrasting the brooding original with this reflective yet skip-to-my-louing banger.

 

5. Ed Sheeran – Sing

It took me a little while to come around on “Sing”. A couple months actually. I was so in love with several of the songs from Ed’s debut record + (“The A Team”, “Drunk”, “Small Bump”, and “Lego House”) that I think I held whatever he released next to an unreasonable standard. And it’s not that “Sing” is necessarily an inferior song to those other tracks. It’s just different, a cocksure pop song designed for radio domination. Perhaps I just like it best when Ed Sheeran lets his voice, guitar, and preternatural way with melody shine through. “Sing” is not that simple, with its knife-sharp sheen and flawless Pharrell production, that it took a while for me to fall for its charms. Fallen I have. It’s just a song mate, and it’s a bloody catchy one at that.

 

4. 5 Seconds Of Summer – She Looks So Perfect

Completely chock-full of hooks in every fathomable nook and cranny. This is a perfect pop/alt song.

 

3. Tove Lo – Over

On repeat throughout June, “Over” is a marvellous pop song. Tove Lo’s impassioned vocal dips and soars and prods and pleas in this gem of a tune. Sweden strikes again. (When isn’t that apt? Never.)

 

2. La Roux – Tropical Chancer

So many layers of pop genius here. This marks the third song that La Roux has released from her brand-new album, and it’s the third monumental track. “Tropical Chancer” sounds like a juggernaut now, and I believe it will hold up as one just like so many of the songs on La Roux’s debut have five years later. What an ear for absolutely perfect melodies and layers Elly Jackson has. The track earns bonus points with me for the subtle but amazing flute (flutish?) flourishes at 2:48. I’ve not an iota of doubt that “Tropical Chancer”, both the song and the album, will be among the best of the year in both categories.

 

1. Jessie Ware – Tough Love

For the longest time, I had La Roux’s “Tropical Chancer” as my favourite song of June. I listened to it a tonne, and found so many great layers to bask in. It’s a commanding, multi-layered pop masterstroke.

But I felt something different for “Tough Love”. I felt, after only a couple listens, like I was experiencing one of the songs of the year — a new school soul-electro-pop smash supported by shimmering, pristine, jaw-droppingly gorgeous production. I felt like I could see a part of Jessie Ware’s essence floating in, around, below, and above “Tough Love”. I felt like I could hear her spirit — decimated but unfathomably resilient in the hea(r)t of a tumultuous fire — crawling all over this sultry, sizzling, sexy track. Maybe more importantly than that, I think the power of this song tattooed something on me: a reflection, a foil, a consideration, a commiseration.

I can’t quite put my finger on it, and I’m not sure when or if I’ll be able to. That’s called “Tough Love”.

 

Top 20 Songs of March 2014

Here’s my list of the songs I played and enjoyed most in March. It was a sensational month for new music.

20. Trust – Capitol

 

19. Babymetal – Gimme Chocolate

Thanks for the heads up on this one Marc. It was only a matter of time until someone culled together (K)-Pop and Metal.

 

18. Isle of Rhodes – Oceans

 

17. Lily Allen – Air Balloon

Immeasurably better than “Sheezus”.

 

16. Lykke Li – Love Me Like I’m Not Made of Stone

I love this tune, her voice, that she may be the Swedish Lady Gaga, or actually Lady Gaga (google it; the resemblance is uncanny).

 

15. Foals – Providence

Yes, “Providence” has been out for quite some time, and yes, it wasn’t an early favourite — nothing grabbed me quite like “My Number” and “Inhaler” did at first. But the more I listened to this tune, the more I loved it. There’s a chance it’s the best song from their Holy Fire album. The build-up is absolutely stunning.

 

14. Beyonce – XO

Another tune that’s been out for a little while. I listened to “XO” quite a bit in March, and it never got old. On the short list of best songs B has ever done.

 

13. Chvrches – Do I Wanna Know?

This is a thrilling cover. It’s wildly different that Arctic Monkeys’ original, which puts it in a different class from most covers that play things safe. It’s the best of the plethora of covers Chvrches have released in the past year or so, and I think it’ll go down as one of my favourite covers of 2014. Chvrches show no signs of letting their dominant pop grip go.

 

12. Maximo Park – Brain Cells

I gave several other songs on Maximo Park’s latest album more time than “Brain Cells”. It was a mistake to overlook it. It’s so, so slick, and I really dig it.

 

11. Allie X – Prime

Pop music in the mainstream is hit or miss these days, as you’re just as likely to find a banger as you are a boring, rote tune. Residing on the periphery of the mainstream, though, are a bunch of exciting artists and songs that are yearning to break through and collect more ears. “Prime” is one such tune.

 

10. For BDK – What I Must Find

“What I Must Find” is another such tune. Dark, thoughtful pop done extremely well.

 

9. Hedley – Crazy For You

Simply, I think this is the best song Hedley have ever done. It’s super slick and eminently catchy. It’s Hedley gone Chromeo, and the vibe works wonders for the band.

 

8. Lorde – Team

“Team” beat me down with repeated listens. I thought “400 Lux” should’ve been Lorde’s follow-up single to her massive “Royals”, but after being bludgeoned over the head with “Team”, I can see why it was chosen as a single. It’s a bit more radio friendly, sunnier, safer than the darker “400 Lux”. ‘Tis a business after all.

 

7. Rudimental f. Emeli Sande – Free

Emeli Sande carries this slow-burning, electro-pop-soul song to the heavens. It gets better and better and better with each listen.

 

6. Jon Hopkins – We Disappear

This song is several months old, and one that I enjoyed last year. Only recently, however, have I truly experienced the depth, beauty, and soul-rattling feeling of “We Disappear”. It’s a rare occurrence for electronic music, especially a song with no vocals, to be doused with such emotion, colour, and humanity. That “We Disappear” so starkly accomplishes these things is testament to its wonder, to Jon Hopkins’ skill.

 

5. Coldplay – Magic

“Magic” is my favourite Coldplay song in many moons. Frankly, I didn’t think they had this type of tune in them. I’m wondering if this sets up a new era for the band; “Magic” has left me very intrigued with how their forthcoming album will sound. I love absolutely everything about “Magic”. The minimalist production (for the first three quarters of the song), the subtle aural tricks , and most of all, Chris Martin’s vocal — his best effort in eons — are all fabulous. Everything is so compelling here, I don’t even care how or why they chose this trick. Seeing is believing, but sometimes, listening makes sight a moot point.

 

4. Future Islands – Fall From Grace/A Dream of You And Me

I could write a kajillion words on how much I love Future Islands, how I think their new album, Singles, is absolutely brilliant, about what they make me think and feel, about Sam T. Herring, about how they’ve ensnared a whole legion of new fans, but for now, I offer, simply, the music…

Fall From Grace:

I dare you to not be mesmerized by this performance. Friendly advice: stick around after “Fall From Grace” to hear one of the best songs they’ve ever released, “Inch Of Dust” (another live powerhouse).

A Dream Of You And Me:

 

3. Tove Lo – Habits

“Habits” was number 20 song in my Top Songs of January list. I’ve played it ad nauseam since then, and I’m completely and utterly smitten. “Habits” is a massive, gargantuan hit. It’ll go down as one of the best (pop) songs of 2014. Sweden strikes, yet again.

 

2. Sam Smith – Nirvana

“Nirvana” is a song from the latter half of 2013 that I found a couple months ago and threw in a playlist, not remotely knowing what I hand in my hands, what the song had in store for me. I think “Nirvana” is just perfect. The melody, musically and vocally, is beyond top-flight. The lyrics are simple and extremely powerful. And then there’s the real bread winner, Sam Smith’s haunting, immense, voice. It took a few listens, but once I’d really, actually, listened to “Nirvana”, I knew that the world had been gifted its next superstar singer. I’m not sure I’ll ever love another Sam Smith song like I love this one, but the wonderful thing is, I’m not pulling anything off the table with this guy. He has the talent to concoct an album-of-the-decade type of release. My interest has been piqued by the voice of this freak.

 

1. Future Islands – A Song For Our Grandfathers/Sun In The Morning/Back In The Tall Grass

A Song For Our Grandfathers:

What can I say? How about this… Amidst the stunning, jaw-dropping, bunch of tunes Future Islands have released over their four albums, “A Song For Our Grandfathers” could be their most important. It’s a slow-jam rife with emotion, an ode to family, to the yin yang of reflection and action. The ideas within are always and fundamental, of and for life. This is a pantheon track, not just for Future Islands, but for 21st Century music. This is not post-wave, dad-rock, synth-pop, or Indie. This is art. The best of it.

Sun In The Morning:

This tune is absolutely gorgeous. I don’t want to be reductive about it, but it’s great enough to be a wedding song. I think it may be bigger than that. It’s about love. It’s elemental.

Back In The Tall Grass:

I think “Back In The Tall Grass” is the most immediate, singlely (new word alert) song on album that’s called, and filled with, Singles. I heard it live a few months back for the first time, and it had me weak-kneed from the jump. There is no type of sound or style that Future Islands can’t do, no type of banger they can’t create with aplomb or a plum. Seriously, at this point, I’m not sure how they do it. But then again, when you’re the best band in the world, you should retain some sense of mystery about how you conjure your spells. It’s not my job to question, it’s my job to get down and dance.