My picks for the best twenty songs of the year. So many emotionally-packed great tracks that tug at your heart in their simplicity yet undeniable beauty and genius:
1. Free (Sault):
the mysterious collective continues its winning streak with this effortless, breezy global pop track that serves as the perfect background filter for their pop/funk intentions.
2. wyd (Remi Wolf):
co-produced by Jared “Solomonophonic” Solomon, it features the grooviest bass and most electric synths, and compared to the rest of the album, it moves fast as hell. The track is a great example of Wolf’s ability to create an upbeat vibe yet remain introspective at the same time where Wolf weaves in her struggles with alcohol dependency while sounding as happy as can be. (NYULOCAL)
3. Gated Windows (Twin Shadow):
we’ve been awaiting his return to Bowie-esque pop for some time and here it is, in all its triumphant glory.
4.Vex (Slowthai):
that, “calm down darling/ your pum pum’s loose…” line is the zinger of the year.
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5. Sailor’s Superstition (serpentwithfeet):
near the album’s midpoint, dark forces arrive to interrupt Wise’s reverie. In “Sailors’ Superstition,” he sees the beginning of the end on the horizon, bidding his partner to keep their love low-key, not to “whistle on [their] ship” and tempt the “rascals of the air.” Anyone who’s seen a horror movie knows this is the moment when something finally goes wrong. (PITCHFORK)
6. The Other Black Dog (Genesis Owusu):
a sultry, uptempo synthwave track with a constantly rising tension. The beat warbles as we meet the first of the story’s two black dogs. This hound is representative of depression, and it’s a damn menace. Owusu relentlessly delivers fear and a sense of the walls closing in, to great effect. The song is alluring and danceable, and even though the darkness is palpable, it’s irresistible to turn away. (STILL LISTENING MAGAZINE)
7. Herald (Odette):
showcases Odette’s new sonic palette and situates her on the verge of epiphany. The track possesses a modern-meets-medieval style of production with its bouncy rhythm harps, wind instruments and piano. “I wondered if this was death / And I thought it was happiness,” she sings, realizing she wants freedom from a stagnant relationship. It is a terrific starting point for the album. (BEATS PER MINUTE)
8. Sierra Nights (Kevin Abstract feat. Ryan Beatty):
a hazy, slow-building song. Abstract does a little rapping near the end, when the energy really builds up, but this is mostly a mellow and expansive pop song about love. Abstract tells his whole origin story — growing up in Texas, moving to California with his friends, doing a bunch of drugs, getting famous — but he does it through the point of view of someone who’d in love and who can finally really talk about it. (STEREOGUM)
9. Paprika (Japanese Breakfast):
you can feel that specific buzz in the opening track “Paprika,” which layers martial snares, bubbling orbs of synth, and horns that practically announce “I’m here!” The lyrics colorfully illustrate the blessing and the burden of getting to express yourself creatively for a living: “How’s it feel to be at the center of magic/To linger in tones and words?/I opened the floodgates and found no water, no current, no river, no rush.” But Zauner clearly had no trouble finding inspiration for the song itself, which comes to life with a playful sense of grandeur that’s hard not to get swept up in, waltzing yourself around the house, tingling with wonder. When she’s on, her energy is completely infectious, and the beginning of the album thrives on this current while accommodating numerous styles. (PITCHFORK)
10. Aye (Sam Fender):
an immersive ditty. Fender calls out the comfort people with power find in being just a bystander. The song references many tragic images such as watching Jesus get nailed to the cross and watching the horror of kids being assaulted by Jeffrey Epstein. (THE POSTATHENS)
11. Strange Love (Cautious Clay feat. Saba):
"This song is about the push and pull of identity in late capitalism," says Cautious. "We're constantly told we need x, y or z to let the world know who we are, inundated with information about what the latest and greatest and coolest is. I love fashion and clothes and putting them together to telegraph myself to the world, but sometimes it's hard to separate what I like from what I'm being told to like. I think it's a struggle lots of people can relate to." (BROADWAY WORLD.COM)
12. Juniper (Katy Kirby):
originally included on a self-titled release three years ago, Kirby reinvigorates “Juniper” with an even keener production this time. The song was inspired mainly by Greta Gerwig, Lady Bird and the mom-daughter bond and though that historically ties into so many conflicting emotions, it’s a thrilling rush as musically it explodes towards the end.
13. New Heart Design (Turnstile):
feels like a homage to punk and new wave but the riffs are so fresh and crunchy that it’s like a whole new genre explosion to the ears.
14. Put It Down (Jazmine Sullivan):
the new standard for hood soul hook-up rules.
15. OG! (JPEGMAFIA):
though he makes ditties to stand out, OG! literally is pulled out from a different hat with its old-school beats and bragging.
16. Ivy (Taylor Swift):
overrun with metaphors but mostly in an enticing, thematically fitting way, full of good Swiftian dark-fairytale grist. It’s fun to puzzle out gradually the secret that all the images are concealing—an engaged woman being drawn into a clandestine affair. And there are several very good “goddamns.” (SLATE)
17. Bye Bye (Genesis Owusu):
the ease to which Owusu swivels so many styles in one track is mind-boggling.
18. Cosmic (Denzel Curry & The Alchemist feat Joey Bada$$):
sometimes all a good song needs is a revisionist take with the homies to ascend to greatness. Here’s a stunning example.
19. Brown Shoulders (McKinley Dixon feat. Ms. Jaylin Brown):
would probably fall victim to some degree of forgettability too, but Ms. Jaylin Brown’s feature on the track gives Dixon’s relatively lower energy flow room to breathe and create a pleasant sonic symbiosis towards the track’s closing moments. It’s a high note to go out on, too, considering the gloomy atmosphere its successor employs, with suspenseful sax, gloomy piano, and a really haunting effect curated by some excellent strings. (STILL LISTENING MAGAZINE)
20. Chemical Romance (Gallant):
embodies what it feels like to realize you’ve caught the feels for someone—a complicated concept, slightly embarrassing, exhilarating, and scary all at the same time. This natural feeling arises upon attraction, which is why Gallant reassures his significant other, “Baby, butterflies are justified.” Marvin Gaye once sang “half a love is all I feel,” and Gallant continues singing about such unrequited love as he sings, “You won’t let no chemical deceive ya / It’s only gonna leave you brokenhearted.” (BC HEIGHTS.COM)
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