Category: Lists

1. Courtney Barnett – Sometimes I Sit and Think, and Sometimes I Just Sit
2. Kendrick Lamar – To Pimp a Butterfly
3. MAKING – HIGHLIFE
4. Julien Baker – Sprained Ankle
5. Jason Isbell – Something More Than Free
6. Sleater-Kinney – No Cities to Love
7. Royal Headache – High
8. Unknown Mortal Orchestra – Multi-Love
9. Turnover – Peripheral Vision
10. The Mountain Goats – Beat the Champ
11. Title Fight – Hyperview
12. Silversun Pickups – Better Nature
13. Citizen – Everybody is Going to Heaven
14. Grenadiers – Summer
15. Deafheaven – New Bermuda
16. Northlane – Node
17. Waxahatchee – Ivy Tripp
18. Death Cab for Cutie – Kintsugi
19. Carb on Carb – Carb on Carb
20. The Hard Aches – Pheromones
21. Jess Locke – Words That Seem to Slip Away
22. CHVRCHES – Every Open Eye
23. Best Coast – California Nights
24. Tanned Christ – Antipodean Sickness
25. Kissing Booth – Never Settle
26. José González – Vestiges and Claws
27. Sufjan Stevens – Carrie and Lowell
28. Jeff Rosenstock – We Cool?
29. High Tension – Bully
30. War on Women – War on Women
31. Wavves – V
32. Young Fathers – White Men Are Black Men Too
33. Jamie xx – In Colour
34. Kurt Vile – b’lieve i’m goin down…
35. Worriers – Imaginary Life
36. Miguel – Wildheart
37. Sleaford Mods – Key Markets
38. The Front Bottoms – Back On Top
39. Refused – Freedom
40. Dan Mangan + Blacksmith – Club Meds
41. Joanna Newsom – Divers
42. Hop Along – Painted Shut
43. Low – Ones and Sixes
44. Frank Carter and the Rattlesnakes – Blossom
45. Adventures – Supersonic Home
46. Girlpool – Before the World Was Big
47. Rolo Tomassi – Grievances
48. The Go! Team – The Scene Between
49. Marduk – Frontschwein
50. Marina and the Diamonds – FROOT

HONOURABLE MENTIONS: Baroness, Björk, City of Ships, Fourteen Nights at Sea, The Front Bottoms, Girls Pissing on Girls Pissing, Grimes, Jamie xx, Joanna Gruesome, Lou Barlow, Make Do and Mend, Miles Away, Rosetta, We Lost the Sea, White Walls.

 

Let’s wrap this one up, shall we? Don’t look back in anger – look back in pride at the 20 best songs to be released in 2016. If you are interested in songs 100 through 21: one, two, three, four, tell me that you love me more.

Thanks for reading!

– DJY, January 2017

20. Somos – Thorn in the Side

And the boy with the thorn in his side The Smiths so fondly sang of all those years ago grew up to be Michael Fiorentino, lead singer of (sadly now-defunct) midwestern alt-emo outfit Somos. It may be a generational and geographical leap, but the through-line is there – the off-beat vocal entry, sudden chordal shifts, the anthemic chorus destined to be reblogged for eternia. This tightly-wound, masterfully-spun tale emphasises the firm grip Somos held on melody, song structure and tone – lightyears ahead of the majority of their genre’s peers. Don’t get mad, don’t get even – just get sadder.

19. Mere Women – Numb

2016 was the year Mere Women reached down deeper and darker than they ever had before. This was thanks in no small part to the expansion of the line-up to feature a bass player, but also due to the bleak, unforgiving nature of “Numb,” which was their offering to a split seven-inch with hyped Melbournites Gold Class. The screech and scratch on Flyn McKinnirey’s guitar sound bristles against the cavernous sounds of the misanthropic, recalcitrant vocals and the bustling, stick-breaking rim-shots. “Nothing fills the void like you do,” pines Amy Wilson. The same, truly, can be said for Mere Women.

18. Cloud Nothings – Modern Act

“Here we are among the living,” Dylan Baldi reports after two years of silence. He’s at the helm of a new incarnation of Cloud Nothings, with a new guitarist to his right and a rejuvenated sense of perspective. The nihilist, implosive anger behind songs like “No Future, No Past” has been cautiously tweaked and shifted towards uncertain but determined hope: “I want a life/That’s all I need lately.” Having formed the group while still in college, Baldi has more or less grown up in public with Cloud Nothings as the soundtrack. “Modern Act” notes a fresh start and new beginnings.

17. The Hard Aches – Gut Full

Although they are not a blues act by any stretch, The Hard Aches are still able to dish out oh-lonesome-me break-up numbers quicker than you can say “today my woman left me.” It’s even an admission in the song in question: “We’ve seen this one before,” so goes the lyric. So what is it that puts “Gut Full” at the top of the entire Hard Aches canon? There are legs and lips that can’t be felt. There are stomach turns and fault lines. There are moments of complete futility and dissonance, culminating in complete catharsis. Essentially, it’s a full-body experience.

16. Camp Cope – Jet Fuel Can’t Melt Steel Beams

Wake up, sheeple. Camp Cope were all guns blazing for single number two lifted from their instant-classic debut. They’re mad as hell – and, as far as street harrassment from your unfriendly neighbourhood fuckboys is concerned, they’re not going to take it anymore. And really, why the fuck should they? The three women of Camp Cope and countless more of their ilk have been told to excuse or even warmly receive this building block of rape culture. “Jet Fuel” takes the power back in the most righteous way. Those singing it back at every show have made it their own.

15. The Avalanches feat. Danny Brown and MF DOOM – Frankie Sinatra

Let it never be said they didn’t do it their way. Ever. By divine means – or perhaps thanks to that old black magic – The Avalanches returned at long last smack bang in the middle of 2016 with this tuba-tooting, eastern-flavoured oddity. Immediately indicating their recalibrated focus on hip-hop, a feverish Danny Brown bowls himself over the song’s seasick oom-pa-pa while the instantly indelible sample hook digs in. Once the “My Favourite Things” detour seals the deal after MF Doom lays down a killer verse, it’s official: The hills are alive with the sound of The Avalanches. That’s life!

14. Ceres – Choke

Tom Lanyon is a dog chasing a car. “I don’t know what I would do/If I got you in my bedroom,” he admits in a restrained, confessional manner to a significant – albeit abstract – other. His words are carried by the guiding light of his guitar, seemingly the only object that can best channel his lovelorn, late-twenties confusion. When his bandmates join, his words become burning effigies. He no longer cares who hears or what anyone will make of his affirmations. In moments like these, one sees a long future with Ceres. One filled with alt-rock perfection like “Choke.”

13. Alex Lahey – Let’s Go Out

Imagine, if you will, Robyn kicking around South Yarra rather than Stockholm. She may have ended up writing “Let’s Go Out” instead of “Dancing On My Own.” She’s not fixated on an ex – just trying to get a friend with benefits out of her head. She’s not defiantly carving up the dancefloor – just grateful to be out of the house. It might feel like a long tram ride to get from Robyn to Alex Lahey, but it’s closer than you might think. Both are pop anthems – they just take very different routes there. Hey, remember that time…

12. Camp Cope – Lost: Season One

There’s many valid reasons that a plethora of young people admire and idolise one Georgia Macdonald – or Georgia Maq, with a Q, to friends. One finds a lot of them within “Lost: Season One.” There’s her intrinsic relatability – “maybe I’ll never get it” is chanted with just the right tinge of exasperation. There’s her quips and pop culture references – “still living like dogs in space,” indeed. Above all, however, is her striking honesty that bleeds into every word. It’s songs like “Lost” that cemented Camp Cope as a sacred text to many battling their own smoke monsters.

11. The Monkees – Me and Magdalena

Starring Ben Gibbard in the role he was born to play: Monkees ballad writer. Setting up a gorgeous lead vocal to the dark horse of the group, Michael Nesmith, this California daydream is bound to cheer up even the sleepiest of Jeans; resulting in a quaint, stunningly beautiful slow-dance to believe in. The heartstrings are tenderly plucked at with every lyrical image vividly springing to life between the creak of the piano and the tried-and-true vocal harmonies. “Everything lost will be recovered,” Gibbard philosophises through the voices of his heroes. Truly, “Magdalena” sounds like falling in love all over again.

10. Anohni – Drone Bomb Me

For many, the chilling and unequivocally beautiful voice of the artist known as Anohni was first made apparent on “Hope There’s Someone,” the opening number from Antony and the Johnsons’ breakthrough 2005 album, I am a Bird Now. Across sparse piano, we are presented with perhaps one of the most succinct and powerful opening lines of the era: “Hope there’s someone to take care of me when I die.” Call it cautious optimism, call it a morose sealing of fate, call it facing the inevitable. The only thing you can’t call it is not powerful – it’s the kind of moment in music that truly stops one in their tracks entirely; stunning in a quite literal sense.

A decade on, Antony and the Johnsons are gone. In their place stands Anohni, a lone and mysterious figure that has gone back into hiding behind blurred press shots and black veil costumes when performing live. Everything around Anohni’s voice has changed – icy synthesizer spikes stick out and impose above you like sharpened stalactites, a drum machine whirring off in the distance. Both are care of Hudson Mohawke and Oneohtrix Point Never, acclaimed experimental composers and producers in their own right, who smartly arrange the background and environment for Anohni’s voice to thrive in. The opening line and moment that begins “Drone Bomb Me,” however, is just as resonant and jaw-dropping as “Hope There’s Someone.” That voice – pained, desperate, soul intact but bruised nonetheless – cries out: “Love, drone bomb me/Blow me from the mountains, and into the sea.”

That alone would have finalised “”Drone Bomb Me’”s place as one of the top-tier singles of 2016. Still, we’re not finished. We’re thrown among the cacophony of faux-truimphant synth brass, clattering hi-hats and that wailing, pained voice. The accompanying video sees former supermodel Naomi Campbell dancing to the song’s incessant beat while also crying as she lip-syncs the at-times unbearably emotional lyrics. This imagery alone is “Drone Bomb Me” incarnate: It’s warfare you can dance to.

9. Urthboy feat. Okenyo and Sampa the Great – Second Heartbeat

You can always judge a person by the vibe of their city
I’ve always believed that
It’s deeper than it seems

– Joni Rush

When Tim Levinson began working on his fifth album under the moniker of Urthboy, he researched aspects of modern history in relation to Sydney, hoping to create a linear conceptual piece taking listeners from the 1950s to now. That’s not what he ended up with. Instead, he found there was a bigger – and, it should be noted, better – concept that came with weaving the stories of a bygone era with that of his own family. It was here that Levinson lucked upon the album’s title: The Past Beats Inside Me Like a Second Heartbeat, itself a line lifted from writer John Banville. “Second Heartbeat” is the album’s titular number of sorts – a centrepiece of both the album and of Levinson’s two-decades-and-change career.

Guiding listeners from Africa to Lakemba and right into this very moment, Levinson and his cohorts – Play School presenter-cum-nu-soul sensation Okenyo and hip-hop dynamo Sampa the Great – make it a journey worth embarking upon. Their inclusion also adds to the deeper subtext of The Past… serving as much a tribute to history’s intersections as it is to the women in Levinson’s life. Whether family by blood or by circumstance, each play a vital role in the record. When Okenyo and Levinson sing the line “I won’t walk this road alone” in unison, it sends a clear message: We’re all in this together.

8. Alex Lahey – You Don’t Think You Like People Like Me

Earlier in the countdown, we discussed “Boyfriend,” the twirling electro-pop dancefloor filler from Tegan and Sara. It’s a song that, conceptually, deals with a new romance between an openly-queer person and someone that’s lived their entire life as a heterosexual. When the latter is reticent about being seen in public with the former, the song poses this heart-wrencher: “I don’t wanna be your secret anymore.” It’s a unique subject matter, especially as the ideas behind sexuality and gender are becoming more fluid and ambiguous within queer discourse. Enter “You Don’t Think You Like People Like Me,” the breakout smash from indie-pop Melbourne ledge Alex Lahey. It’s a song that, while not exactly on the same wavelength as that of “Boyfriend,” is certainly within the same ball park. A hint: the term “people” within the song’s title might also be used in the same context of the evergreen double entendre “What do you mean, ‘you people’?”

People like Lahey are not the kind of people the song’s target normally find themselves staying over with – “long after my lights go out,” as our hero dutifully notes. It’s for this reason, however, that the pursuit becomes all the more engaging. It’s out of the ordinary. It’s fresh. It’s new. It’s exciting. It’s a little surprising. The same can all be said for Lahey and her amazing technicolour dream song, too. As her prolix confessional is matched up to guitars that jangle, rattle and roll, it grows greater than one could ever think possible of a three-minute pop song. This song was destined for bigger things the second it hit radio. We now see it for what it is – one of the year’s most cleverly subversive and progressively-minded indie smashes. Now, where’s that copy of Mulholland Drive gotten to?

7. Drake feat. Rihanna – Too Good

Consider the history of the male-female duet throughout pop music’s history. There are several ways about this trope, all presenting fascinating studies in dynamics. There are instances where both sides are smitten – “Islands in the Stream,” “Don’t Go Breaking My Heart.” There are instances where it’s acrimonious and gnashing – “Somebody That I Used to Know” with its devastating final blow, or “Nothing Better” with its artful dissection of the “baby please don’t go” myth. There’s even cases like “In Spite of Ourselves” and “Jackson” where, although it’s clear the two in question aren’t on the same page, there’s still a co-dependency that is keeping their connection stable through whatever comes their way.

What makes “Too Good,” the fourth collaborative effort between Drake and Rihanna, such an interesting case is that it’s not necessarily a song that can be pigeonholed into any of those categories. Its story is inconclusive. Its arguments are never settled because the characters both singers are portraying see themselves – for better and for worse – in the other. That’s why their verses open with the exact same line – “I don’t know how to talk to you.”

It’s as honest and as open an admission as one can make – and when it comes from one of modern pop music’s ultimate will they/won’t they duos, it adds an extra sense of drama and tension. The Popcaan-sampling cloud-dancehall – all Lydian mode finger-picking and snare syncopation – is one of the most strikingly-painted backdrops Drake has ever performed in front of. It only makes sense that he bring Rihanna into the picture – it feels, in a lot of ways, like the spiritual successor to their 2011 single “Take Care,” with that relationship having developed and unravelled in the intervening years. Truthfully, there is so much one could say about the case study of “Too Good”’s approach to relationships and interpersonal connectivity. There’s an ongoing dialogue here. At the same time, however, you may well be left with no choice but to quit your analysis and get to dancing.

6. The 1975 – Somebody Else

The odds were stacked against them. A passing-fad pop group that was more than likely about to get wiped out from the plague that is Second Album Syndrome. An album that was revealed to be not only over 70 minutes long, but saddled with one of the worst titles in the history of pop music. 2016 was not meant to be the year of The 1975. Still, as a recent Popjustice readers’ poll attested to, the English heartthrobs didn’t have “it,” and found it in 2016. One could attest this to several key moments that lifted I like it when you sleep… to a level of truly unexpected greatness.

The Bowie/INXS swagger of “Love Me,” the Stock Aitken Waterman bombast of “She’s American” or even the soul-choir bop of “The Sound” all come to mind. There is one moment on the album, however, that single-handedly validates The 1975’s evolution from bubblegum teen-mag centrefolds to indisputable hook-laden force. “Somebody Else” is the year’s best pop ballad by a considerable margin – a resplendent, neon-tinged moment of 21^st century heartbreak; where not even the glossiest sheen of production can cover the loneliness or desperation that lingers on every lyric.

To borrow a phrase from The Simpsons, you can even pinpoint the second where vocalist Matt Healy’s heart rips in half. It comes in the song’s chorus, where he takes a voyeuristic, vicarious glance across a crowded dancefloor: “I’m looking through you/While you’re looking through your phone/And then leaving with somebody else.” Don’t it always seem to go that you don’t know what you got ’til it’s gone? Despite running over five minutes – an abnormality in the rush-hour of the pop world – “Somebody Else” leaves one entranced for its entire run-time. A masterful take on modern love using vintage synth-pop tactics – this is one of those rare songs that feels like the past, the present and the future. The alpha, the omega, The 1975.

5. Mac Miller feat. Anderson .Paak – Dang!

As humans, we are bound to falter and make mistakes. Sometimes, it needs to happen time and time again for the message to sink in. There are times where the biggest step one can make as an adult is resolving to do better – not just by yourself, but by the people in your life. The mantra of “Dang!,” which was the lead single to Mac Miller’s fourth LP The Divine Feminine, goes as follows: “I can’t keep on losing you.” Both Miller and his hook provider Anderson .Paak – who had one of the best years out of pretty much anyone in the field of entertainment – have duly noted their faults after repeated fumbles and fuck-ups. This serves as their final plea to a lover about to slip through the doorway – quite literally, in the instance of the song’s bright, shiny video.

Although they note that the relationship is worth salvaging for both parties, there is certainly an insistence that it is the divine feminine itself that is the guiding light of their union. Both Miller and .Paak weave their way in, out and around a glorious Pomo beat; all augmented sevenths on the keys and well-timed horn section sizzle that accentuates the exact right moments. There’s even a delightful bit of text painting as the chorus fades into a cavern of reverb to demonstrate the lover walking away, to which Miller calls out from afar: “Where the hell you goin’? Where you takin’ this trip to?” The creation of a song like “Dang!” may seem simple purely on surface value, but it reveals a remarkably intricate interior once one spends a little extra time with it.

It’s a song that works just as well being blared from the whip on a cloudless summer day as it does being reconstructed by a jazz troupe on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert. It’s one of the greatest achievements from either artist – particularly the former, who has certainly displayed a fair share of imperfections through previous LPs. “Dang!” is starting over, making good and – naturally – making love.

4. Ariana Grande – Into You

Good girls have gone bad more or less since the concept of pop music was introduced. We’ve seen teen idols grow into sex-positive twentysomethings time and time again – as Jane’s Addiction so succinctly put it all those years ago, nothing’s shocking. And why should it be? After all, it’s a natural reflection on the way that women and girls grow up and evolve their own perceptions and ideas. Ariana Grande began shedding her squeaky-clean image on her featured verse for “Bang Bang,” a song that is allegedly a Jessie J single but is about as much hers as “Monster” was a Rick Ross song. With Dangerous Woman, her big-business third LP, Grande fully embraced her new persona; replacing her cat ears for a leather mask and staking out her own righteous femininity. That alone is fine enough, but every starlet that has attempted to mature and failed (hi, Charlotte Church!) can attest to the fact that… well, it don’t mean a thing if it ain’t got that swing.

In other words, it’s all for nothing if you don’t have the songs to back it up. That’s where “Into You” factors in – a song that backs it up so confidently that it more or less steamrolls over her entire discography prior to its release. It’s a song that is both an exercise in what great dynamics can be in 2010s pop music as well as an exorcism of Catholic girl guilt to make way for a truly dangerous woman. Although that delicate quiver that made her voice so distinctive in the first place remains, it’s now channelling Mariah and Christina in a way that sees the student become a master in their own right. How about that final squeal towards the end so high in pitch that only certain species are able to pick up its frequency? How about that low whisper in the verses that are mixed to make it feel as though Grande is cupping a hand to your ear to confess her innermost secrets?

That’s not even touching the chorus, where she even takes a swing at the King by referencing Elvis Presley’s posthumous smash “A Little Less Conversation.” A younger, sweeter Grande would not have dared even mention His name; let alone subtweet the motherfucker for the sake of another Mariah reference. “Into You” was everything that pop music got right in 2016. It earned all nine figures of its YouTube views and every single-digit chart position. The numbers do not lie.

3. Pinegrove – Old Friends

“Old Friends” first surfaced on YouTube in an unrecorded sense back in 2015. In a unique live setting, we watch two friends under the guise of Pinegrove – one playing guitar and singing, one playing a keyboard with a built-in drum machine – sharing a moment together out in the wilderness, some trees surrounding them and a lake ahead. The song is performed unplugged – the keyboard presumably running off batteries – while the two nod in unison to the tinny beat.

It’s a very unique way to be introduced to a song – some might even consider it indelible. Even when the song was eventually given the full-band treatment and officially released at the start of 2016, those not hearing the song for the first time were immediately taken back to those surrounds of serenity and tranquility – away from city life, all but a few sidesteps from suburbia. It’s here that Evan Stephens Hall – the collective’s figurehead and chief songwriter – positions his storytelling and depictions of self. Even if you didn’t see Hall and his companion performing “Old Friends” out in the quiet of the reserve, you’re quick to pick up on exactly where Pinegrove are coming from.

This is a small town song; a hometown song. This is a song of late-running buses, port authorities and self-confinement in dark bedrooms. Anyone who’s grown up away from any sort of hustle and bustle will see the second set of footprints next to Hall’s as he wonders the town he knows “grounded in a compass.” It’s a song about remembering where you came from, and taking the good and the bad that comes from such a scenario. It’s about appreciating those that are there for you, and those that fade away with time. Sometimes, it slips away in an instant: “I saw Leah on the bus a few months ago” is followed – immediately, devastatingly – by the line “I saw some old friends at her funeral.”

The music of Pinegrove is bred out of rural, big sky loneliness. It’s built on simple, twangy chord progressions that are guided by scuttling percussion and gently weeping pedal steel. It’s a new voice and a new sound for alt-country, borrowing just as freely from tropes of indie rock and emo to create something distinct and special. “Old Friends” is the band’s finest moment – and the best thing about that is that it’s so clear there are dozens more like it just waiting around the corner.

2. Gretta Ray – Drive

When now-former Triple J breakfast hosts Alex Dyson and Matt Okine decided to surprise Melbourne singer-songwriter Gretta Ray with the news she had won a competition through the station’s Unearthed initiative, they did not head over to her place of work. Nor did they go to her place of residence. Instead, they ended up at a high school, Princes Hill Secondary College – where Ray is a student. It’s worth bringing up that the person that wrote and sang this very song – without doubt the finest song to be produced from this sunburnt country within the calendar year – is yet to complete secondary schooling. Yes, the very same person who assembled a striking, emotive and instantly recognisable folk-rock masterpiece in the spirit of Bic Runga’s “Sway” or Tracy Chapman’s “Fast Car” is five and seven years younger than when those two artists, respectively, wrote their definitive songs.

Age may be just a number, but it is entirely pertinent to the context of a near-perfect love song. “Making your tired eyes widen/And your cheeks turn rogue”? That’s love. “Whenever in your presence, I am present/Imagination has me seated at your side/It’s nothing short of bliss”? That’s love, people. Old love. True love. It might be fantastical, cloud-gazing infatuation from afternoons alone, but in the world of “Drive” it’s as real as it gets. Listening to “Drive” is a stunning, jaw-dropping experience – not at first sight, but a sensation that builds and brims with passion upon every repeated listen that the song demands of itself. There’s no egos at stake, no greater agenda, no notion that there is anything sinister afoot. This is a song that comes from the heart. A heart that is young, that is fragile, that cannot be easily replaced – and yet, it floats freely in the air, guided by the gentle breeze and a young woman in the midst of discovering her innermost feelings anchoring it to herself to make sure it doesn’t float away.

Young musicians have played a big part in pop music and its ilk in the past, but it was often under the guise of their music being originally written and created by other people. Of course, there is nothing wrong with that at all – every artist boasts different strengths, naturally. There is a lot to be said, however, of the fact that “Drive” is entirely of Gretta Ray’s doing. What kind of timeless numbers will she be releasing unto the world when she hits her twenties? It truly is anyone’s guess. In the meantime, however, Gretta Ray is loving you like this. It’s the best thing.

1. Kanye West feat. Chance the Rapper, Kirk Franklin, The-Dream and Kelly Price – Ultralight Beam

Let’s be clear about this: For many, many people, 2016 was a very tough year.

We lost heroes from the entertainment world that had served as beacons of hope. The U.S. election was more divisive and hate-filled than ever before. Racism, sexism, homophobia, transphobia, Islamaphobia… all things that should have rusted into relics of an unfortunate past became more prevalent and invasive than they have in decades.

Let’s also be clear about this: For Kanye West, 2016 was a very tough year.

The Life of Pablo, intended as an ever-evolving art piece, was deemed by many critics to simply be an inconclusive or unfinished symphony. His family was threatened upon several occasions, with paparazzi haunting his every step. Issues with mental health turned his live shows into erratic clusterfucks, leaving many fans confused if Kanye would ever be the same again.

As far as both are concerned: We needed “Ultralight Beam.” Hell, Kanye probably needed “Ultralight Beam” more than it ever needed him.

Think about it. There is so much to the idea of even the first few moments of this song. A child yells authoritatively: “WE DON’T WANT NO DEVILS IN THE HOUSE! WE WANT THE LORD!” A woman eggs her on: “YES, child!” West’s voice emerges from the darkness: “We on an ultralight beam/This is a God dream/This is everything.”

Even if one isn’t religious, one can appreciate the context of the child’s wishes. Good riddance to everything evil that is holding us back. The ultralight beam, as used in gymnastics, is essentially walking a tightrope – a difficult balance, easy to stumble and fall. A “God dream” – whatever it may be that you worship – is what will get you from one side to the other. A song like “Ultralight Beam” is a guiding light. It’s a signal of hope. It’s a refusal to be dragged down into the muck and the mire; to be cast aside in favour of a new world order. “This is everything.” This is our livelihood. This is our one chance to unite and defeat our adversaries.

Religious iconography is nothing new to the music of Kanye West – lest we forget his breakthrough hit almost 13 years ago was literally named “Jesus Walks.” As he delivers his sermon from the pulpit, however, there is a sense that he needs it more than ever. “Pray for Paris,” he solemnly says. “Pray for the parents,” he adds; the extra context of being a father himself adding to the emotional weight. Again, that may not be what gets you through these days and nights. Here, it doesn’t matter. As long as you believe in a greater good, and you believe in working towards it, you are welcome here.

Of course, West is not alone. He has a church full of believers by his side. Kelly Price steps away from the choir and delivers a resonant, soulful solo vocal. Chance the Rapper, in what can only be described as revelatory, goes in on the year’s most important and impassioned rap verse; dropping references to everything from Arthur to the Bible to himself. If you weren’t sold on young Chancelor Bennett being the future of hip-hop before this, then this is the moment that changes everything. In one final moment, Kirk Franklin sends a message out into the ether to explain what “Ultralight Beam” is really about; and who will get the most out of its message:

Father, this prayer is for everyone that feels they’re not good enough
This prayer’s for everybody that feels like they’re too messed up
For everyone that feels they’ve said “I’m sorry” too many times
You can never go too far when you can’t come back home again

There is a light. There is another world. There is a better world. There will be a revolution. “Ultralight Beam” is the notion of God incarnate. All that’s left to do is believe.

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Thanks for reading! You can now listen to the DJY100 in its entirety (save for the Beyonce songs, which are not on Spotify – boo!) by streaming the playlist below.

Top 40 hits! We’re almost done, so make sure you’re caught up on parts one through three by clicking on those words. You’re home and hosed after that – let’s crack on, shall we?

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40. The Drones – To Think That I Once Loved You

A few years ago, The Drones and Harmony went out on tour together and covered a Leonard Cohen number at the end of their shows. “Once Loved” feels, in its own way, like a continuation of that. It’s a waltz to the end that the late Cohen would have approved of, the vocalists of Harmony filling out the song’s misery the way the singers of “Famous Blue Raincoat” do. As the organ hums into a funeral dirge and the proto drum machine hypnotically clicks away, the band impressively show off their umpteenth route to reinvention and reanimation. Sincerely, G. Liddiard.

39. Saosin – The Silver String

The reunion of Anthony Green with Saosin felt more like closure than anything. After unceremoniously leaving the fold a decade and change prior, a drug-addled loose cannon at the time, Green returned as one of post-hardcore’s most celebrated vocalists – clean and sober, yet still with one of the most distinctive and dynamic voices the genre has to offer. “The Silver String” was the centrepiece and crowning achievement of the band’s comeback LP – a brilliant balance between the band’s burning belligerence and blackened beauty. A most unexpected of second winds, but unquestionably a most welcome one.

38. James Vincent McMorrow – Rising Water

In one of the more interesting trajectories of recent memory, James Vincent McMorrow quickly reworked his hirsute nu-folk leanings into stylish, synth-heavy slow jams. With his third LP, We Move, McMorrow did just that once again; adding some brighter pop sensibilities into the mix while still latching onto a firm stamp of identity. “Rising Water” brimmed and bubbled under an incessant beat and chugging bass, eventually toppling over into an irresistible chorus with just enough soul to keep a grip on McMorrow’s human touch. Perhaps the tide will turn again on album four? Who’s to say. For now, there’s this.

37. The 1975 – The Sound

It’s safe to say not many people could have anticipated one of the biggest, shiniest hits to come out of British pop in 2016 would have had the touchstones of artists like The Human League, Eurythmics or the Pet Shop Boys. How could a style long considered to be so distinctly on the nose come back in such a grandiose fashion? Leave it to The 1975 of all people – the uber-cool English outfit took on the revival with both hands on the steering wheel; cruising their own yellow brick road in pursuit of the purest of pop ecstasy. Fabulous.

36. Polish Club – My House

Sydney duo Polish Club are always in a hurry. There’s a fever-pitch urgency to practically all of their songs, their delivery coming with a pained sense of conviction. Whatever the twosome have to say, you’re gonna hear them – right now. “My House” comes at you with the speed of a freight-train. The guitar sparks against the steel of the rails, while the rush of drums clatters into formation in a manner that shouldn’t make nearly as much sense as they do. There’s barely time for the dust to settle before Polish Club are onto the next one. Keep up.

35. Cub Sport – I Can’t Save You

It’s interesting to note that Cub Sport, despite being in a relative stage of infancy, are already in a third act of sorts. Originally making indie chamber-pop as Tim Nelson and The Cub Scouts, the music took more of a bright, tropical turn when they became Cub Scouts. Now, as Cub Sport, the Brisbane quartet are more assertive and confident than ever before, allowing for the hooks to subtly sink in under cover of darkness as one is drawn to the bouncy synth towers like a moth to the light. As sophisticated pop tunes go, Cub Sport are currently untouchable.

34. Wolfie’s Just Fine – It’s a Job

In the video for “It’s a Job,” Jon LaJoie is nowhere to be seen. Instead, we follow a young boy on a fantastical adventure of monsters and wild things. It’s a visual metaphor of sorts for Wolfie’s Just Fine as a whole. Forget what you know about LaJoie’s previous endeavours – just imagine for a moment. What you’ll get in return is a lush, gentle folk voyage; bristling with new life and rustic, joyous harmonies. The whisper of the jazz brushes fall lightly against the intrinsic guitar patterns, and Wolfie’s Just Fine stakes its claim as LaJoie’s most worthwhile venture.

33. Violent Soho – Viceroy

Using the template of Interpol’s 2004 single “Evil” mixed with the dynamic payoff from the Pixies’ classic “Monkey Gone to Heaven,” Violent Soho carved out yet another piece of unfathomably catchy and teeth-gnashing guitar pop. If the song’s Kim Deal-worthy bass line doesn’t immediately get its claws into you, a trademark Soho “YEAHHHHHHH” will finish the job. 2016 saw the Mansfield quartet ascend to greater heights than ever thought possible, playing massive shows and scoring a couple of ARIAs for their troubles. It was choice cuts such as these from their WACO LP that made their further rise a certainty.

32. Against Me! – Crash

After the intense emotional weight of 2014’s Transgender Dysphoria Blues, who’d have ever called that Against Me! would arrive back on the scene with perhaps the year’s defining power-pop number? Taking its cues from the likes of The Cars and Cheap Trick – heck, even “Jessie’s Girl” gets a look in – Laura Jane Grace and co. are having the time of their lives on “Crash.” Not just in the song’s hilariously lo-fi video, but in the song’s twisting and shouting backbeat and glam-tinged guitars. Just when you think you know all of the answers, Against Me! change the questions.

31. Camp Cope – Done

For those that didn’t get in on the ground level with the band’s 2015 demo single “Stove Lighter,” it was “Done” that served as their formal introduction into the world of Camp Cope. It’s a song that immediately sets down the foundations of the trio – the poetic imagery, the urgent strums, the fence-swinging drums and those quintissential bass riffs. With it came what any self-respecting Australian music fan would have put in their top five side one, track ones of the year. It bursts to life, screeches to a halt and and then springs immediately back into action – magic.

30. blink-182 – Bored to Death

Most were unsure what to make of the first official recording released by blink-182 since the departure of alien-truther Tom DeLonge. ome sloppy live performances and its midlife-crisis music video didn’t help matters. So, how did “Bored to Death” song endure? Simple – removing its elephant in the room in order to clear space for the earworms. Accepting the song as a slick, robust operation in combat-ready radio rock allows for its greater attributes to reveal themselves. It gets to the point where one doesn’t even need to have a history with blink-182 in order to appreciate its developmental excellence.

29. Bon Iver – 22 (OVER S∞∞N) [Bob Moose Extended Cab Version]

It takes over a minute before even the notion of a guitar appears on the opening number to Bon Iver’s divisive, difficult third album. Vernon’s voice is glitchy, warped, looped and turned into an instrument of its own. It’s cold and uncompromising in its approach, but therein also lies why “22” works. It stops you dead in your tracks upon your first listen – its glacial pace and stunning reveal serving as one of the year’s more arresting musical experiences. Bonus points: “22”’s single version, which allows for the ambience to linger just that little bit longer to full effect.

28. Jess Locke – Paper Planes

She may have received a bit of wider attention in 2016 through Triple J Unearthed and touring with The Smith Street Band, but anyone who’d paid attention prior knew it was well overdue. After two seachanges – first from the central coast to Sydney, and from there to Melbourne – Locke has finally found her place as one of the country’s most earnest and engaging songwriters. Tracks such as these are a clear showcase of her knack for simple, effective guitar parts and melodies that instantly roll off the tongue and take their place at the back of one’s mind.

27. Chris Farren – Say U Want Me

A serial tweeter and a Snapchat king, Chris Farren can go joke for joke with the very best. Even the title of his solo album from this year – Can’t Die – felt like a knowing wink; a punchline. In the midst of that album’s runtime, however, Pagliacci broke down in the doctor’s office. Despite its sunny overtones and big chorus, “Say U Want Me” has a fairly busted-up and lovelorn interior. Whether he cracks you up or you just want to give him a hug, it’s in your best interest to get Chris Farren into your life right away.

26. Basement – Aquasun

No longer Tumblr’s best-kept secret, English grunge kids Basement made a considerable step forward in 2016 with the release of their third – and easily best – album, Promise Everything. “Aquasun” arrived as the third single, and immediately made its presence felt. Its refrain was all of three simple words – “dive into me” – that some how managed to say more than a picture that paints a thousand. Its conviction and delivery nodded both to their emo-tinged past and their alt-rock present; resulting in a balance beautifully struck and a greater potential realised at the top of their game.

25. AJJ – Goodbye, Oh Goodbye

With a rejigged line-up and a slimmed-down new name, the band formerly known as Andrew Jackson Jihad kicked off the next chapter of their career in style. With “Goodbye, Oh Goodbye,” the folk-punks delivered one of their most urgent and infectious singles yet. Like The Decemberists after binging on Weezer, this clattering and sneering number threw all of the band’s defining traits at the wall – not just to see what would stick, but to create some sort of Rorschach test for newcomers. The deal was sealed with perhaps not only the greatest video of 2016, but of all time.

24. The Monkees – You Bring the Summer

XTC’s Andy Partridge used to only make plans for Nigel. This year, however, he made plans for Mickey and Peter as well – and the combination worked so well, it leaves you genuinely wondering why the connection had not been made sooner. This pure ray of sunshine was guaranteed to raise a smile every time it played out – which, if you were one of the few that paid close attention to the band’s Good Times! LP, was often. Throw in some double claps and a joyous outro and you have the magic of the Monkees recaptured in high definition.

23. H A N N A H B A N D – Bath Arms

“We are not without flaw,” cry out H A N N A H B A N D with a handful of their closest mates surrounding them. “But we’re trying.” How rare to hear such blunt and unrepentant honesty through the medium of song – and, by turn, how entirely wonderful. By now, the Sydney duo have their back-and-forth down pat – the baritone guitar rumbling over scattershot drums, both members yelling to be heard over the beautiful cacophony they have created for themselves. “Bath Arms” saw them take this arrangement to its logical conclusion with absolutely exceptional results. Here, H A N N A H B A N D are well past the point of just trying – they’re succeeding.

22. Balance and Composure – Postcard

In retrospect, it was good – great, even – for Balance and Composure’s comeback single of sorts to immediately begin with the sound of a thudding, early-model drum machine. It immediately cleared the scene of snapback-toting demo kids still hoping for a shot-for-shot remake of I Just Want to Be Pure. The Pennsylvanian quintet never needed them around, anyway – as “Postcard” so explicitly testifies, they had far bigger fish to fry. A left-field indie-emo hybrid with dark undertones and cleverly arranged beds of guitar, the song locks you into its spiralling dystopia and simply refuses to break its hold.

21. The Avalanches – Subways

There’s moments listening to Wildflower in which it feels like one is on an ever-continuing journey – a tunnel leads through to to another room through to somewhere else entirely. As “Subways” begins, we’re drawn underground into the darkness and into uncertainty. We surface for air in a technicolour dream-world – a roller disco to end all roller discos, with strings that immediately recall “Love is in the Air” and a children’s choir that immediately recalls “Gettin’ Jiggy with It.” A moment of joy incarnate in a year where we needed more of those than we could have ever anticipated.

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Like what you’re hearing? Check out the full Spotify playlist of the DJY100 right here:

Welcome back! I trust you’re caught up with 100 to 81? And 80 to 61, of course? If you’re not, then clicking on those numbers will assist you in your travels. Still, maybe you just wanna get to the pointy end. I ain’t gonna stop you – here we go!

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60. The Monkees – She Makes Me Laugh

Rivers Cuomo penning an original song for the surviving Monkees? It’s a premise cheesy enough to make Weezer purists cry “say it ain’t so” outside of its usual context. Still, that’s kind of why “She Makes Me Laugh” thrives. It’s not attempting to be something it’s not – something that has been the downfall of previous Monkees comeback LPs. This is vintage summer-of-love sweetness, all twelve-string jangle and classic close harmony that is only interested in revolution if it’s 45 a minute. Songs like this show the throughline from The Monkees to Weezer is shorter than you may have thought.

59. Jeff Rosenstock – Wave Goodnight to Me

As the lead in to the album many are now considering to be Jeff Rosenstock’s magnum opus, the post-internet DIY pioneer lamented at length over the demise of spaces and venues in his immediate community that have been dragged down and occasionally deleted from existence entirely. Anyone who’s had a space of that nature taken from them will feel the pain in lines like “I wish it didn’t hurt/I wish I didn’t care.” Bright, bold and quite literally brassy, “Wave Goodnight” shows how far Rosenstock has come – all the while paying tribute to the places that got him there.

58. Mitski – Your Best American Girl

In a matter befitting Ralph Wiggum, you can pinpoint the exact moment Mitski’s heart breaks on her breakthrough single lifted from the excellent Puberty 2. As her voice quivers beneath both the impending weight of her words and the full-scale escalation of the instrumentation surrounding her, Mitski confesses to her significant other: “Your mother wouldn’t approve/Of how my mother raised me.” Few songs quite wrangles the emotional spectrum while simultaneously tackling the bigger issues of biracial identity politics the way “American Girl” does. The more you listen to it, the more it becomes clearer that few songs probably ever will.

57. blink-182 – Cynical

This is the sliding doors moment in the history of blink-182. If only they had followed a song like “Cynical” to its natural conclusion across a whole album, perhaps California wouldn’t have ended up the laughing stock in-joke it became. Still, for something like 110 seconds, we get a glimpse of what may have been – Matt Skiba roaring through one of his best hooks ever committed to record, Mark Hoppus strumming away on some well-pronounced bass chords and Travis Barker firing off on every cylinder the only way he knows how. Sorry, not sorry: “Cynical” is blink-182.0 done right.

56. Urthboy – Hey Juanita

If you didn’t already know the story of Juanita Nielsen, you could have mistaken this highlight from Urthboy’s masterful comeback as merely a figment of his beautiful dark twisted fantasy. The fact it’s as real as the cold, dark streets from which she disappeared 40 years ago sends the song to the darkest place imaginable. It’s the details that push “Juanita” to its higher plane – Urthy’s lyrics, Jane Tyrrell’s sombre chorus and the lone trumpet that rings out from afar. Tying it together is a resolution and a promise to Nielsen: “We’ll never let them get away with it.”

55. PUP – If This Tour Doesn’t Kill You, I Will

Willie Nelson, famously, just couldn’t wait to get on the road again. PUP, meanwhile, couldn’t wait to get off it – like, literally, swerving the van off into a nearby inferno. After over 200 shows, the normally polite Canadians were ready to go to Cannibal Corpse levels of violence against one another. Amazingly, they all lived to tell the tale on their breakthrough second album, which was home to perhaps the best one-two punch of opening tracks all year. “Tour” is catharsis incarnate – a blistering burst of brilliance that is only made better when it’s immediately followed up by…

54. PUP – DVP

…the skidding, crashing and rousing “DVP.” Here, PUP throw to their love of hardcore and punk through the frantic pacing and Stefan Babcock’s royally-pissed vocal delivery. It’s offset, beautifully, by a cooing wordless refrain to go against the grain of furiously self-deprecating lyrics like “Get drunk and I can’t shut up” and the kicker: “She says I need to grow up.” Although the combined runtime is less than four minutes, PUP get more done in this window than some bands managed to do with entire albums this year. Don’t you dare dream it’s over. PUP are just getting started here.

53. RÜFÜS – Brighter

As great as Bloom – the second studio album from Sydney dancefloor-fillers RÜFÜS – was, it’s worth noting that all three of its massive singles were all released within 2015. By the time the album itself arrived in the first few weeks of 2016, it would have been safe to assume there was not a great deal left in the tank. That was, of course, before we heard “Brighter” – the album’s soulful, joyous opener that could pass in a different world as a deep-house version of the Hair soundtrack. Mixing the group’s high-end production aesthetic with the celebratory refrain of a gospel choir, the song now stands proudly as one of RÜFÜS’ finest achievements. Gotta wear shades for this one.

52. James Blake feat. Bon Iver – I Need a Forest Fire

To apply one of the buzziest phrases of 2016 to this track: Name a more iconic duo. These gentlemen have had dalliances in the past, but “Forest Fire” is perhaps their most fruitful collaborative effort committed to record thus far. Merging Blake’s hypnotic, glitchy murk that lies beneath his production with Justin Vernon’s soulful falsetto is entirely complementary, with both sides bringing out the very best in one another. The song burns slowly, but it shines so brightly that it’s hard to look away. Perhaps, one day, it will reach the logical conclusion of a full-length release from the two.

51. Tegan and Sara – Boyfriend

You can call the Quin siblings sell-outs as loudly as you want. The fact of the matter is that they can’t hear you over the sound of how awesome they are. Since ditching their indie-folk leanings and spending all of their Lego Movie money on more synthesizers, Tegan and Sara are now entirely immersed in the pop world. It’s tough going when you’re completely reinventing yourself in your 30s, but songs like “Boyfriend” make it clear that the destination was worth their journey. Equal parts confessional and catchy, this brisk banger tightly pulls together the twins’ past, present and future.

50. H A N N A H B A N D – Burn It Down

Punk rock has always been queer, but visibility of that element has never been more important than right now. With that in mind, consider “Burn It Down” as one of 2016’s anthems on that particular front. The abstract “it,” as elaborated on later in the piece, is the toxic nature of ‘being a man’ and the societal expectation that holds down so many people that identify as male. It’s attacked with some of Nathan Martin’s most scathing vocal delivery ever laid down, the baritone guitar working overtime to add fuel to the… well, you know. It all goes down here.

49. Cub Sport – Sun

The best thing about “Sun” in the context of it serving as an introduction to Cub Sport’s debut LP is just how effortlessly it leads you in. Every element of the song’s arrangement glistens, sparkles and shines. The warbling synthesizer trickles over the multiple layers of vocoder-treated vocal harmony, blending into a slow-motion dive into some kind of lush abyss. The Brisbane natives have made considerable leaps and bounds as a songwriting unit in the last few years, and that development has been crystallised in resplendent beauty within these vital few minutes. Get there fast and then take it slow.

48. The Avalanches – Because I’m Me

When you take over 15 years to follow up perhaps the most famous sample-based album of all time (save for perhaps Endtroducing…), you end up with a lot of time to dig through a lifetime’s worth of record crates. With the song that kicks off their massively-anticipated second LP in earnest, The Avalanches returned with two key obscurities – an a capella song from an anonymous 1957 LP and a string-tinged pop-funk groove from the early 70s – and a helping hand in the form of Camp Lo’s Sonny Cheeba. What followed was a breathtaking re-entrance, revelling in pure grandeur.

47. Ceres – Happy in Your Head

There is nothing you can do to Tom Lanyon that he hasn’t already done to himself. Rather than paint himself as the hero of his tales, he instead becomes a poisonous and unwelcome presence. “You don’t care,” he opines. “You couldn’t care less.” That comes not long after one of the song’s key refrains: “I am your 20 years bad luck.” Bummer, dude. Still, “Happy in Your Head” is sadness you can dance to. Ceres match the gloom of the lyrics with bright, forthright indie rock that makes for one of their finest singular moments. Come on, now – get happy.

46. Beyoncé feat. Kendrick Lamar – Freedom

Her estranged husband said it best some years before, so allow us to borrow his phrasing: This is a celebration of black excellence. Here stands Beyoncé Knowles and Kendrick Lamar – perhaps the two most influential and important people in black music right now. They are tall, proud, confident. They are mad as hell, and they’re not going to take it any more. This is the soundtrack to the procession marching down the street, ready to knock down the doors of anyone who dares stand in their way. This is the televised revolution. This is their moment. This is “Freedom.”

45. case/lang/veirs – Atomic Number

The three surnames that make up the sum of case/lang/veirs’ parts inspire the most vivid and illustrious of praises. Imagine, then, the magic that happens when they come together in such an angelic formation: “Atomic Number” is the opening number to their debut album, and it immediately explains why an idea so good on paper is even better when actually executed. The trio weave in and out of pure, poetic lyricism matched to a serene, gentle arrangement and a remarkable payoff in the form of their jaw-dropping three-part harmonies. Elements so pure, indeed – let’s hope this doesn’t end here.

44. Chance the Rapper feat. Lil Wayne and 2 Chainz – No Problem

Chancelor Johnathan Bennett met Kanye West – he’s never gonna fail. He also, by chance, has met other hip-hop luminaries such as Lil’ Wayne and 2 Chainz. This, at the very least, means he’s never gonna have a shortage of homies to call up when he wants to take the party to the next level. On “No Problem,” the big fella puts together one of the year’s most celebratory numbers – the kind that works best when you’re roaring down a freeway with the windows down; or dancing like Ellen DeGeneres up and down the aisles. Zero problems, all love.

43. Bon Iver – 715 – CRΣΣKS

Among the leet-speak and coded phrases that shroud the tracklist of Bon Iver’s 22, A Million, a little digging reveals at least part of the mystery. 715, for those of you playing at home, is the area code of central and northern parts of Wisconsin. It’s where Justin Vernon grew up, and a location that has served as a central focus of many Bon Iver songs in the past. Here, Vernon returns to this scene – albeit not in a rustic, folksy manner; but armed only with a unique pitch-correction harmonizer and weighty lyrical conviction. It’s for Justin, forever ago.

42. David Bowie – Girl Loves Me

“Where the fuck did Monday go?” asks the The Thin White Duke; who died on a Sunday. He couldn’t have known that far in advance, surely. Could he? Even so, the foreboding prophecy of his swansong, Blackstar, is truly to great to ignore. Here, Bowie has one last proper trick up his sleeve – a trap/mumble-rap inspired downward spiral through A Clockwork Orange jargon and jarring, unconventional string arrangements. It’s one of Bowie’s weirdest songs – ever – and should be commended for its free-form experimentation and creativity. That, above it all, is what the Starman should be remembered for.

41. Beyoncé feat. Jack White – Don’t Hurt Yourself

You’ve heard Queen Bey sing. You’ve heard her belt out notes like nobody’s business. You’ve heard her whisper sweet nothings and send her vocals to the sky. What you’ve never heard, however, is her literally screaming with rage the way she does on “Don’t Hurt Yourself.” As Jack White muscles in on a drum kit, Knowles grabs the mic and asks one simple question: “WHO THE FUCK DO YOU THINK I AM?” There is so much righteous, unshakable rage as Beyoncé crowns herself with a title Samuel L. Jackson would wholly approve of: Bad motherfucker. We’re just getting warmed up.

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Catch up with the DJY100 thus far with this Spotify playlist:

Why hello there! Very excited to be sharing part two of the best songs of 2016 with you right about now. Of course, if you haven’t read through part one, that should be your first port of call. Click through on “part one” in the sentence you just read. And now – onto the hits!

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80. DJ Snake feat. Justin Bieber – Let Me Love You

Instead of pushing Purpose up the hill in 2016, JB instead spent the year as a key team player. It was a surprising move for the young man commonly considered to be pop’s bratty only child; and it didn’t go either unnoticed or unrewarded. DJ Snake has spent the last couple of years pushing the Venn diagram of pop and EDM further and further together to create amazing technicolour soundscapes. That evolution continued in its fully-realised form on “Let Me Love You” – with Bieber’s emotive flair and Snake’s drop-heavy Eastern gurgle, this team-up was entirely complementary and wholly fruitful.

79. Tim Heidecker – In Glendale

If Randy Newman had attempted to write a song like “I Love LA” a little later on in the piece with a bit less of a chip on his shoulder, he may well have ended up with “In Glendale.” The title track to Heidecker’s solo album is more wry and playful in its inter-city takedowns, accented by cheerful horns and some instantly-memorable “la la la”s. It’s corny and a little daggy, but that’s a reflection on Heidecker himself – rather than enter this project with an over-importance on earnestness, he’s striking a balance through knowing winks and broken fourth walls.

78. Oathbreaker – Second Son of R.

The ambience and restraint of “10:56” into “Second Son of R.” on Oathbreaker’s stunning second LP Rheia isn’t so much the calm before the storm – we’re practically building up to a natural disaster here. The Belgian outfit quickly asserted themselves as the year’s must-watch metal band, serving up breathtaking epics such as these that even dared defy the immediate margins of the genre. As vocalist Caro Tanghe reveals the devastating final lyric – “You’ll never know the person that I am” – she literally breaks into hysterics and shrieks until the song skids to a halt. Truly, truly unforgettable.

77. The Finks – Jamie’s Got a Baby

Relationships with single parents, as anyone who’s survived small-town Australia will attest, have the potential to get messy and inextricably complicated. Rarely, however, does this get brought up in the medium of song. Enter Melbourne lo-fi hopefuls The Finks, who cleverly weave such a story through sunken barroom piano, croaking cello and drums so quiet they sound as though they were recorded while the titular baby was asleep in the other room. Bonus points for including the sledges “tosser” and “total prick” into what is otherwise a gentle, introspective slow-dance. Aerosmith could definitely learn a few pointers from this “Jamie.”

76. The Peep Tempel – Rayguns

In one of the best double-meaning one-liners of 2016, Blake Scott warns that “the regime is coming – and they’re all on ice.” It’s just one of the many endlessly-quotable lines spat through the speakers in the two-and-a-half minutes it takes for “Rayguns” to complete its veni vidi vici cycle. Between “social Mick” and workers in “Tony’s little factories,” no-one is safe. Much like in Ezekiel 25:17, The Peep Tempel strike down with great vengeance on the lead single from their third LP. Truthfully, it’s songs like “Rayguns” that have allowed them to get to this point to begin with.

75. CFO$ – The Rising Sun

Thanks to the work of production and songwriting team CFO$, the WWE is in a real renaissance period in regards to its wrestler’s entrance themes; arguably not seen since the glass-shattering, wall-breaking heyday of the Attitude Era. Of all the great new themes to emerge in 2016, one stood tall above the rest – the baroque/drum-n-bass hybrid you never knew that you needed, which brings NXT superstar Shinsuke Nakamura to the ring every night. Its melodramatic flair and big beat is matched head-on with its unmistakable army of violins, which make for strange bedfellows but ultimately worthy adversaries. Championship material.

74. REMI feat. Sampa the Great – For Good

“For Good”’s groove was been locked in well before either Remi Kolawole or Justin Smith were born. The bongos are hypnotic, the bass-line is more a strut than a walk and the upstroke guitar funk is so cool you just know there’s a lit cigarette still ashing away in the headstock. Out front, Kolawole is doing what most sharp-dressed mid-20s dudes are doing: chasing tail. To borrow from Craig David, however, Rem is slicker than your average. “For Good” is the proof in the pudding – and when Sampa the Great hits back in the third, the deal is sealed.

73. Touché Amoré – Palm Dreams

“What was it that brought you west?” After the passing of his mother, Touche Amore’s Jeremy Bolm is California dreaming – and the sky, indeed, is grey. He openly ponders her life in juxtaposition with his, each word crashing against urgent waves of guitars and brisk drums. “Palm Dreams” may be one of the more accessible moments of Stage Four – thanks partly to its catchy “on my own” refrain – but in no way does this blunt the emotional impact; nor does it lessen the songs surrounding it. It’s a worthy centrepiece of what may be Touche’s crowning achievement.

72. Thao and the Get Down Stay Down – Astonished Man

It’s been a couple of years since we heard from tUnE-yArDs – album four when? – but its figurehead, Merrill Garbus, has her fingerprints all over this slinky, left-field experiment in pop from Thao and the Get Down Stay Down. Though that’s her chopped up vocals, inverted harmonies and buzzing synth-bass, it should be stressed this is just as much Thao Nguyen’s moment as it is Garbus’. Probably even moreso, given what a huge sonic risk Nguyen and co. have taken here. It’s completely paid off in their favour – “Astonished Man” is an abstract analogy you can dance to.

71. case/lang/veirs – Best Kept Secret

In a year where the idea of democracy as a working structure was seriously brought into question, the self-titled collaborative effort from Neko Case, kd lang and Laura Veirs showed why we need it more now than ever. On “Best Kept Secret,” it was Veirs’ turn to take the lead with a gorgeous ode to an old, dear friend; with the other two more than holding their own as her key harmony vocalists and back-up singers. When they fire off a big-swinging “da-da-da” around midway through, it’s a sweetly triumphant moment that showcases the complementary nature of this three-way dance.

70. Major Lazer feat. Justin Bieber and MØ – Cold Water

Diplo hit paydirt twice in 2015 across two inescapable singles: “Where Are Ü Now,” the dolphin-cry EDM smash that turned pop on its head entirely; and “Lean On,” the million-selling moombathon marathon that turned into an evergreen song of the summer. For “Cold Water,” it made perfect sense to combine the guest stars of these breakout smashes. This simple math meant big numbers, as the hook-laden jam immediately made its presence felt on daily radio rotation and a permanent high-end fixture of the weekly Spotify charts. Songs like this cement Diplo and co. as mastermind curators and new dance-pop mainstays.

69. The Drones – Private Execution

At least previous Drones album openers – “Nail It Down,” “I See Seaweed” – took a moment to build up to their moment of bludgeoning cacophony. On “Private Execution,” you’re dropped in immediately; left to fend for yourself. This new-look version of the band – a returning Christian Strybosch, a synth-wielding Steve Hesketh – are rewriting the rulebook nearly 20 years on from their original formation. A headspin of odd time signatures, bass snarl and belligerent noise simultaneously leaves listeners gasping for air and begging for more. Forget going straight to DVD – “Private Execution” is an instant cult classic.

68. Japandroids – Near to the Wild Heart of Life

At the start of 2016, there was a genuine worry Japandroids had gone completely M.I.A., never to return. In the final quarter, all systems were go once again; and the race toward album number three began at long last. The Canadian duo came charging out of the gate with its lead single and title track, resuming business as if the last three years had never happened. A classic blend of urgency and earnestness, “Wild Heart” recharges the batteries, fires off on all cylinders and serves as a timely reminder of why celebration rock matters. It’s time to get fired up.

67. Bruno Mars – 24k Magic

In a parade of P-funk synths, rim-spinning grooves and B-boy braggadocio comes “24k Magic,” Bruno Mars’ all-80s-everything comeback special. Few pop artists genuinely sounded as though they were having as much fun as the pint-sized Filipino chart-buster, who took the lessons learned from his Mark Ronson collaboration, the inescapable “Uptown Funk,” and took it to lofty, vocoder-laden heights. It’s nigh-on impossible to be unhappy as this track cranks through your system, bass booming and fingers pointed skyward in a bout of Saturday night fever. Bruno, unquestionably, knows how to do it – trust him and hop in the lowrider already.

66. King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard – People-Vultures

Admittedly, it’s difficult to pick a highlight from Nonagon Infinity – an endlessly looping, seamless album; you could arguably present the entire piece as the standout. Still, there’s something pretty darn righteous about when the song slows to a quarter rhythm and the septet go full Sabbath and prepare to unleash hell in the name of science fiction and the sweet leaf. It’s one of the more creative passageways of the Nonagon loop, switching up the pace and throwing in a few curveballs for good measure. Bonus points for the double-drum assault that even Bill Ward himself would approve of.

65. DJ Shadow feat. Run the Jewels – Nobody Speak

When it comes to DJ Shadow, diehard fans are quick to point to the legacy of his modern classic, Endtroducing; while other detractors will point out that it was 20 years ago and (perhaps fairly) ask what he’s done for us lately. Enter the coolest single Shadow has been attached to in a considerably long time, reinforced by the unstoppable force that is Run the Jewels. The record crate sifting for Shadow resulted in reworking Caterina Valente’s “Ol Man River” into pure 2016 swagger – a left hook, sure, but one that’s still guaranteed to knock you the fuck out.

64. Solange feat. Sampha – Don’t Touch My Hair

For too long, Solange Knowles has been looked over. Disrespected. Undermined. Trivially and unfairly compared to her immediate family. In 2016, Solange took back the power and made the album of her career – a Miseducation for a new generation; delving into identity and racial politics with bravery and defiance. Although she keeps it 300 in the delivery on this striking centrepiece of said album, A Seat at the Table, it’s very evidently done through seething, gritted teeth and the iciest of stare-downs. With “Hair,” Solange has made a huge turning point artistically – at long last, she is untouchable.

63. Danny L Harle feat. Carly Rae Jepsen – Super Natural

The second that UK bubblegum-bass producer Danny L. Harle posted a snap with Canada’s Pitchfork pop-star Carly Rae Jepsen, it was flooded with comments hyperventilating over what these two could possibly come up with. Spoiler alert: It was worth every last “OMG!!!!!!” In a perfect world, “Super Natural” would have been the inescapable song of the summer – a glistening, glossy moment of glory that makes no bones about its starry-eyed affection or its candy heart stuck to the sleeve. When Carly pleads “you gotta believe in me,” no-one is more believable. They just fit, Danny and her. More, please.

62. The Hard Aches – Glad That You’re Gone

Ben David is never the hero of his tales. Yes, there are wrongdoers that surround his every decision, but he’s in among them on the same level making the same damn mistakes over and over – “No-one’s as selfish as I am,” he laments at one point; “I’m lonely as fuck,” he confesses at another. Still, out of this vicious cycle comes glimpses of hope. With a charged chord progression and the impeccable Alex Upton keeping time, The Hard Aches dish out another key life lesson – at long last, the protagonist is being the change they want to see.

61. Drake feat. Wizkid and Kyla – One Dance

The impact of “One Dance” cannot be minimalised – at well over a billion streams, the song was easily the most popular track purely on objective charts and graphs. From a subjective standpoint, it’s worth noting the cultural exchange of a Canadian rapper taking elements of African and Jamaican music to create something unlike any other song released in this or most other years. With “One Dance,” Drake took his global empire literally – it’s a fascinating study in music as a language and as a dialogue. The fact it’s a banger is secondary to this, but it certainly helps.

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Listen to all the top songs of 2016 so far via the Spotify playlist below:

I know a lot of you are keen to see 2016 go, but let’s not forget all the greatest music that got us through the best and worst of times. Here it is, the DJY100, segmented as always into 20-song parts for your complete digestion.

This supplementary playlist was put together last week to give honourable mention to the songs that just missed out on the countdown. You can check it out here:

As always, DISCLAIMER: This is not a list of the most popular songs, nor is it a list curated by anyone except myself. These are, in my view, the best songs of the year. Disagreement and discussion is welcomed, but ultimately if you have any real issues with any songs that are ranked too low, too high or not at all… make your own list!

– DJY, December 2016

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100. Safe Hands – The Great Affair

It was around ten years ago that Safe Hands first emerged in a fit of twentysomething rage and discordant abandon. It’s more than a little curious, then, to find the band almost unrecognisable in its current-day formation; delivering a versatile and robust sound best described as post-hardcore in every possible sense. “The Great Affair” is one of Safe Hands’ most intricately personal and uniquely resonant songs to date – a pained reflection on self and its direct intersection with those held dearest. The band are still throwing themselves against the wrecking ball. This time, however, it’s to save someone else.

99. Every Time I Die – The Coin Has a Say

If punk rock was the WWE, Every Time I Die would be someone like Kane – they’ve been around longer than nearly everyone, and yet they can still turn in a menacing performance as well as they did a decade ago. “The Coin Has a Say” is more hell, fire and brimstone from a band that seemingly has an endless supply of the stuff. By the time Keith Buckley shrieks “I can’t go back to what I was,” no-one is safe – a pummelling breakdown shifts the gears and sends the entire shebang into a glorious tailspin. Mosh harder, dumbfucks.

98. Alex Lahey – Ivy League

Higher education isn’t for everyone, but many are raised under the illusion of it being the sole option to advance one’s career. So when Alex Lahey sings “I went to B Grade University/And I got myself an arts degree,” it strikes a chord with a mass of millennials faster than you can say “literally me.” This song is for every single person that has put up with shithead lecturers, slumped over a computer in the library trying to stay awake and held down a meaningless job just to keep the cycle going. Hey, at least you can dance to it.

97. The Knocks feat. Justin Tranter – Tied to You

There may be some die-hards that remember Justin Tranter from his time at the front of Gaga-approved glam-rockers Semi Precious Weapons – but, then again, there’s a pretty good chance neither of them are reading this. Of late, Tranter has reinvented himself as a songwriter to the stars; enlisted on bangers for Bieber and Britney alike. With “Tied to You,” however, Tranter got to relive his pop-star days for a few glorious minutes of windows-down joy. The hook is a pure sugar rush, its twirling release a trumpeting confetti cannon waiting to happen. Don’t keep this peacock in its cage.

96. Dinosaur Jr – Tiny

It’s been 11 years since the original line-up of Dinosaur Jr. decided to start hitting things together again – and, truth be told, it’s as good now as it ever was. Their latest, Give a Glimpse of What Yer Not, shreds as hard as any of their late-80s classics; this opening cut serving as a prime example. The guitar radiates, the bass rumbles and the drums splash about – an archetypal Dino jam in the best possible way. By the time J pulls out a certifiably shit-hot guitar solo out of thin air, we’re well on our way to perfection.

95. Beach Slang – Punks in a Disco Bar

Spare a thought for Beach Slang. This is, after all, the band that battled through losing half their line-up, playing the worst show of their career, getting their gear stolen and nearly breaking up. How did they survive? How else but the sheer power of rock & roll. “Punks” makes its presence felt immediately with a piercing T-Rex riff before launching it forth into the stratosphere with a charging rhythm section and James Alex’s distortion-heavy rasp. “The words I scream,” he testifies, “are meaningless or holy things.” When a song like this kicks in, you’re likely to believe the latter.

94. Sampha – Blood on Me

Through working with big names like Kanye and Drake, British singer Sampha has had a few years of coolness by association. With “Blood on Me,” the lead single from his forthcoming debut LP, he forges his own path and proves beyond a shadow of a doubt that he has gotten to this point entirely on his own merit. Although originally penned as dystopic, surrealist fantasy, the song has since drawn scarily-close parallels with racial tensions in the United States. It adds even further depth and a greater impact as the emotion swells around the minor-chord piano and that indelible chorus.

93. Kari Faux – Fantasy

A double bass creaks in the darkness. Solitary finger clicks keep some semblance of time as a monotone voice decrees defiantly, “I’m no man’s fantasy.” Welcome to the world of Kari Faux, unquestionably one of 2016’s most fascinating discoveries. On the centrepiece of her debut LP, Lost en Los Angeles, Faux adds a little avant-garde to a hip-hop groove and a jazz-heavy arrangement to meld into something that’s unmistakably hers. There was a lot going on musically in 2016, so it’s not for nothing that it’s stressed how unique and prodigious Faux’s music is. Get in, get lost, get out.

92. Paul Simon – Wristband

Paul Simon’s always had a sense of humour – who could forget him singing “Still Crazy After All These Years” in a turkey costume on SNL? Here, he gets a modern refurbishing of his sound care of Italian outfit Clap! Clap!, weaving in a story about getting locked out of a concert venue that somehow ends up with Simon ranting about class warfare to a giant bouncer. Believe it, you’ll want to be there to see how this gets from A to B. The tongue-in-cheek hook is complemented by the percussive undercurrent, and a folk hero survives a Madonna-level reinvention.

91. Rachel Maria Cox – A Phone I Can’t Use

Most love songs tend to come straight from the heart. Then again, “A Phone I Can’t Use” isn’t most love songs. Hell, it isn’t even really most songs – who writes pop songs without a chorus? Regardless, “Phone” is focused more on the more obscure details of the body. It’s bloodshot eyes, dead legs and scooped-out bone marrow. The heart only comes up when it’s skipping a beat. It’s all a bit odd, which is perhaps why it works so well. 2016 saw Rachel Maria Cox properly come into their own as a songwriter and performer. It all began here.

90. Wolfie’s Just Fine – I Forgot

Yep, that’s Jon Lajoie. He of The League and of “Show Me Your Genitals” fame. And yes, he’s made a non-comedy album. In a bluntly honest Facebook post, he confessed to lamenting over the transition from joke songs to Wolfie’s Just Fine; worried he would lose fans in the process. The reality is that anyone who can’t appreciate the work Lajoie has put into this project – specifically this track, the album’s second single – wasn’t worth keeping as a fan to begin with. A stomping nu-folk charmer that shimmers and shines from cavernous darkness, “I Forgot” is instantly memorable.

89. A Tribe Called Quest – The Space Program

“Let’s make something happen.” On their first transmission in over 18 years, A Tribe Called Quest use this chant as a defiant, impassioned call to arms. No longer will black America be made to feel like aliens in their own country. This land is their land – and the universe belongs to them. This is science fiction. This is down-to-earth reality. This is hip-hop. As many years that have passed, “The Space Program” truly makes it feel as though Tribe never left us. So long as we the people are still out there, celebrating their legacy, they never really will.

88. Lonelyspeck – All My Skin on the Air

Very little is known about Lonelyspeck, an Adelaide-based singer/beatmaker in their early 20s. It would be easy to play up the relative mystery behind the enigmatic figure – who doesn’t love a good PR guessing game? – but the fact of the matter is that there is a much bigger talking point at hand. Perhaps not since Collarbones has the marriage of emotional vulnerability and icy, scattered production worked so effectively and impressively. “All My Skin on the Air” is one of the best songs to emerge from the underground of indie electronica in this country for quite some time.

87. King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard – Rattlesnake

It’s been said the greatest of journeys begins with a single step. King Gizzard are about to embark on a new year in which they plan to release five albums – no, that’s not a typo. First cab off the rank is February’s Flying Microtonal Banana – also not a typo – and it seems Gizz have put their best foot forward with “Rattlesnake.” Across seven-plus minutes, they lock into a hip-shaking gridlock and refuse to let go. And why should they? Its propulsive, hypnotic build brims with energy; the odd notes accentuating each and every twist in the tail.

86. Paul Dempsey – The True Sea

“The True Sea” is officially the longest song that Paul Dempsey has ever recorded across half a dozen Something for Kate albums and two solo LPs. As such, it’s inherently grandiose – all shimmering ambience and tactical restraint before undertaking an exhaustive, vast musical journey. It’s fitting the song implements Dempsey’s book-smarts and deals conceptually with the idea of things greater than comprehension – “It makes the ocean/Seem like a drop in the ocean,” he repeats over and over. Dempsey has always had a knack for pondering the universe while creating private ones of his own doing. A true talent.

85. Radiohead – Daydreaming

A Moon Shaped Pool was either the most underrated or most overhyped LP of 2016, depending on whom you asked. One thing there was a fairly solid agreement across the board on, however, was the merits of its piano-laden second single. A focus on the core of Radiohead’s strengths – Jonny Greenwood’s imaginative arrangements, Thom Yorke’s unmistakable lilt – saw the band stripping back; gently floating through the haze of minor-chord melancholy. The stunning Paul Thomas Anderson-directed video certainly assisted, but it’s worth noting “Daydreaming” stands just as solidly if you simply close your eyes and drift off with it.

84. Danny Brown feat. Kendrick Lamar, Ab-Soul and Earl Sweatshirt – Really Doe

Posse cuts can either make you look like a mastermind curator (Kanye, “Monster”) or like the single weakest rapper alive (Big Sean, “Control”). Across a swatting, imposing beat, With “Really Doe,” a standout of the Atrocity Exhibition LP, Brown asserts himself as the former. He also showcases his tactical abilities – he leads the charge, yes, but he’s also happy to be a team player in his own operation. King Kendrick arrives with a bombastic hook and a dynamite verse to boot; while Earl’s now-famous verse sported a handful of the year’s most quotable lyrics – take your pick, really.

83. A Tribe Called Quest – We the People….

A sign of how terrifying 2016 got: Q-Tip was one of the few people to say the phrase “Muslims and gays/Boy, we hate your ways” with any semblance of irony. What’s scarier is that this banger was assembled well before the mass hysteria kicked in on these issues, meaning that ATCQ really were the heroes that 2016 needed. The centrepiece of “People” is a flawless verse from the late, great Phife Dawg – this album truly is a celebration of his legacy as much as it is Tribe’s. “Fuck y’all know about true competition?” he goads. Not a lot, Phife.

82. Justin Timberlake – Can’t Stop the Feeling!

A pop star in his late 30s adding a sugary, feel-good single to the soundtrack of an animated kids movie? Gee, aren’t you “Happy” no-one’s tried that before. Despite the obvious Pharrell parallel (say that three times fast), Timberlake and Max Martin must be commended for the wonderland of bright, major-chord joy assembled here. It skips, hops, jumps and even slides into this secret passageway right before the chorus hits. All Troll-ing aside, “Can’t Stop the Feeling!” is one heck of an adventure, and if it wasn’t cursed by overexposure perhaps more would have given it the credit it deserves.

81. The John Steel Singers – Midnight at the Plutonium

Somewhere over the rainbow kraut and beyond the overpass, The John Steel Singers unleashed the funky dance-punk odyssey that they seemingly always knew they had in them and no-one outside of their immediate circle could have ever seen coming. As honky-tonk piano tinkers against a “Billie Jean” drum beat and a Chic bassline, the party truly kicks off as the late night turns into the early morning. With the release of the album came the announcement of an indefinite hiatus – and what a glorious way to send yourself out. From Berlin to Brisbane, “Plutonium” was ready for the floor.

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That’s all until next week! You can listen to all of these songs by checking out the playlist below:

You can also follow along on the hashtag #DJY100 on Twitter.

See you next week for part two!

The hardly-anticipated second half of the list! Part one, of course, is available here. Thanks so much for reading and thanks to all the people that make these shows possible!

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25. New Found Glory @ Factory Theatre, 27/2

Hey hey, my my, pop-punk will never die. Not while NFG are still calling the shots and are still killing it live. With The Wonder Years and Bayside in tow for a triple-crown treatment, this all-ages bonanza felt like a summer’s worth of index-wagging sing-alongs wrapped up into three hours.

24. Frank Turner and the Sleeping Souls @ Metro Theatre, 11/4

It’s hard not to get swept up in the fist-wielding excitement of a Frank Turner show. The Wessex boy knows how to rile up a crowd and how to get them to sing as if they’d never sing another song in their lives. Cheesy? Sure, but so what? FTHC forever.

23. Mates @ Lansdowne Hotel, 25/1

In which the boys from Palms throw the most bonza bash you could ever hope to attend. With extended family from Brisbane, Melbourne, Adelaide and Perth all making the trek, this full-day bill was stacked out with some truly killer live acts. Exhausting, but oh so worth it. Onya, mates.

22. AC/DC & The Hives @ ANZ Stadium, 4/11

Two of the great rock & roll live acts of different generations clashed for the first – and potentially last – time. Us air-guitaring bogans were overjoyed at the sight. Whether suited up or dressed for school, both brought a big-swinging, high-voltage show for a crowd that couldn’t get enough.

21. Mark Ronson @ Hordern Pavilion, 28/7

It’s tough to make the Hordern feel like anything other than the dead-weight airplane hangar that it is. Trust one of the coolest dudes in music to make the place feel like it was an old-school block party. A full-band extravaganza that traversed genre, style and a myriad of hits.

20. Ryan Adams & Jenny Lewis @ Enmore Theatre, 23/7

He’s had a tumultuous history with shows in Australia – lest we forget the lighting dramas of that Cardinals tour – but on this night, Adams was all class. Delivering a jumbo 2.5-hour set, Adams covered as much ground as humanly possible. Even the divine Jenny Lewis couldn’t truly compete.

19. American Football @ Oxford Art Factory, 5/7

Even with the tickets bought, the venue entered and their gear set-up, it didn’t feel real that American Football had actually come to Australia until they actually began to perform – and didn’t they just perform. A magical evening that many had waited the better part of their lives for.

18. Courtney Barnett @ District01 Gallery, 11/3

Before Sit and Think took over hearts and minds across the world, Courtney and her CB3 played the whole thing from start to finish at a secret launch show in a tiny art gallery. The kind of gig you’ll tell your grandkids about when they discover this classic LP themselves.

17. making @ Black Wire Records, 11/9

To launch their long-awaited debut album, the Sydney noisemakers packed as many bodies as humanly possible between the bear-claws for one of the most sweaty, intense and powerful performances that room has ever seen. It was a monumental payoff for a band that has worked tirelessly to carve its niche.

16. Mew @ Manning Bar, 2/12

Another pinch-yourself moment – after 20 years as a band, Mew finally played in Australia. It was as purely joyous as one might have expected, all dreamy soundscapes and dazzling visuals. It was truly worth the wait – it felt like falling in love with this band all over again.

15. I Love Life @ Metro Theatre, 12/9

For many, I Love Life felt like the end of summer camp. It was our last chance to see many of the Weekender’s international drawcards – Iron Chic, Andrew Jackson Jihad and The Sidekicks – as well as celebrate a year of Throw Me in the River. True love reigns.

14. Death Cab for Cutie @ Sydney Opera House, 1/8

The band name and the location alone should be indicative of justifying the position this reached in the list. It ended up being the perfect setting to experience songs both old and beloved and newly-discovered. No Walla? No problem – the new five-piece live set-up worked a treat. Truly splendid.

13. Poison City Weekender @ Various Venues, 4-6/9

The family reunion added a few new cousins from overseas and rejoiced at the return of hometown boys done good. For three days of the year, Melbourne is the centre of the universe and the bands of Weekender are the only bands ever. What a time to be alive, folks.

12. Blur @ Qantas Credit Union Arena, 25/7

It actually happened. The white whale that is Blur finally migrated back to Australian shores for a killer run of big, beautiful shows. A show that was just as exciting for those getting their first taste as to those old enough to have been last time ’round. ‘Erewe, ‘erewe, ‘erewefookengo.

11. Mogwai @ Sydney Opera House, 2/3

You can argue whether the Opera House concert hall has seen better acts grace its stage, but none have been louder than these Glasweigan veterans. The kind of immense live experience that left one melting into their seat, at a complete loss for words. A momentous and truly special performance.

10. sleepmakeswaves @ Metro Theatre, 13/6

After 55 shows that took them across the world, Sydney’s great post-rock hope arrived back in their hometown to play their biggest headlining show to date. It was ambitious, certainly, but lest we forget that sleepmakeswaves have always aimed for the stars and shot for the moon. It’s what has drawn people to them from the very beginning. From the opening moments of this show, it was clear these four were out for blood. Having had the stage promptly warmed by This Will Destroy You, Gay Paris and Serious Beak, the band powered through a heartfelt and white-knuckle intense set that had a very-packed room in awe. An unforgettable evening that cemented this band as one of the biggest and brightest that we have.

9. Caribou @ Sydney Opera House, 3/2

When performing in the concert hall of the Opera House, many international acts play as respectfully and reverentially as possible, which is both understandable and commendable. Sometimes, however, an act comes along that turns the place on its head – not in a manner that is disrespectful, but one that is truly transformative and exciting. When Dan Snaith and co. arrived for Caribou’s biggest show on Australian turf, not only did they bring family members that flew all the way fro Canada to see it, they brought their world of progressive, expansive dance music to surrounds that had never quite seen the likes of it. The formalities of the venue were thrown out the window as we rose to our feet and raved unto the joy fantastic. Maybe it shouldn’t have worked, but by some divine intervention it delivered big-time.

8. Puddles Pity Party @ Giant Dwarf, 22/3

Explaining the concept of Puddles Pity Party to someone not in on it is a daunting task – a seven-foot, fifty-something selective mute clown that exclusively does cabaret covers? Whatever floats your boat. It’s this complete left-of-centre weirdness, however, that draws people in to begin with. Those that dare to stick around are rewarded with a show unlike pretty much anything out there, all Pagliacci misery and dark, oblique humour. One moment he’s trying to get an unsuspecting audience member to sing “Yesterday” karaoke style, the next he’s mashing up Celine Dion and Metallica like nobody’s business. You’ll never see anyone quite like Puddles in the live setting – it’s heartbreaking, it’s life affirming and it’s entirely fascinating. It’s his party and he’ll cry if he wants to.

7. TV on the Radio @ Sydney Opera House, 8 + 9/6

2015’s Vivid ended with an emphatic bang thanks to a two-night stand from one of the most consistently-lively and vibrant live bands in the greater indie-rock spectrum. TV on the Radio have always stepped it up when they bring their albums to the stage, and naturally bringing it to the grandest stage in Sydney meant that we were in for an absolute treat. Best of all was the differing setlists across each show – Monday got a righteous “Blues From Down Here” and a ripping “Dancing Choose,” while Tuesday was treated to a jammed-out “Forgotten” and a stunning rendition of “Province.” Neither show was shortchanged, however – it was yet another affirmation of this band’s evergreen excellence. Long may they run.

6. Nas @ Enmore Theatre, 23/1

From the moments the lights went down and the sound of the New York City train started ricocheting off the walls of the Enmore, it was all too apparent that this was going to be a show that ranked significantly-high in this list. On a run of mostly sold-out dates, Nasty took it old-school – not just with his one-MC/one-DJ set-up, but by celebrating the 20-year anniversary of his debut LP, Illmatic. The years might have rolled on since that all-important time for hip-hop, but these songs have managed to stand the test of time in a big way – and, unlike many of his peers from the era, Nas still knows how to run a tight live show. His flow is effortless, the beats sound huge even without the flash of a live band and his commanding presence negates any need for hype-men. Simple, smart and sensational. Time is illmatic, and lllmatic is timeless.

5. Paul Simon & Sting @ Qantas Credit Union Arena, 13/2

No, this list hasn’t been written by a 60-year-old who gets to one gig every season (even though this and the next entry may have you believing otherwise). This was a show that needed to be seen in order to be believed – there, on stage, were two men that are simultaneously two of the most revered and reviled pop stars of bygone eras and generations. You’ve either grown to love these two men through their original acts with which they rose to fame – Simon & Garfunkel and The Police, respecitvely – or you count them among the more punchable in the history of popular music. Not a word of a lie: This was the kind of show that could have made a fan out of the most hardened cynic. When you’ve got nearly three hours’ worth of time with both gentlemen, they present a united front that is hard to deny and showcase a legacy that’s impossible to ignore. Where else on earth could you get hits like “Roxanne,” “Call Me Al,” “Every Breath You Take” and “Bridge Over Troubled Water” smashed out of the park like nobody’s business? These two are an odd couple, but they ended up complementing one another beautifully. Forget about your cred and embrace the delightfully-daggy.

4. Fleetwood Mac @ Allphones Arena, 24/10

Speaking of which: There comes a time in every self-respecting music fan’s life where they come full circle from adoring their parents’ record collection to despising it, right back to loving it all over again. In tandem with this comes one’s appreciation for Fleetwood Mac; at once one of the uncoolest and most beloved acts in the history of pop music. With the classic five-piece line-up back together again, with Christine McVie back in the fold for the first time in nearly 20 years, this was an evening of celebrating the mile-long list of hits that the Mac has accumulated in their time together. They’re still faultless performers – Mick Fleetwood flurries across the kit like a man a third his age; Lindsey Buckingham is a six-string wizard – and the songs themselves hold up substantially. They’ve soundtracked lives from generation to generation, and it’s all too apparent that they mean so much to both everyone on stage and everyone in attendance – of which there are thousands on this night alone. By the time McVie ended the night out with “Songbird,” solo on the piano, and Fleetwood shared a good-night speech, there was not a dry eye in the room. This is the legacy that this band will leave behind. The Mac is most definitely back.

3. Sun Kil Moon @ City Recital Hall, 23/3

“It’s not really going to be three hours, is it?” This was overheard in the foyer on a quite peculiar Monday night in Sydney’s glorious City Recital Hall, as the times read that Sun Kil Moon would be on stage at 8pm sharp and would finish at 11pm. “It’s only approximate,” came the response. “I give it two, tops.” Oh, how they would eat their words later on when Mark Kozelek and co. made good on the sign’s promises and delivered a three-hour performance that was equal parts comedy and tragedy. We were expecting a high level of emotion due in no small part to the songs we had come to love from the project’s 2014 breakthrough Benji, and indeed we got that. What also fell into place, however, was Kozelek’s dark, unnerved sense of humour shining through the cracks; whether that was encouraging his bandmates to sing backing vocals without microphones and covering “I Got You Babe” with both an usher at the venue and a woman picked out of the audience. The evening danced between the seriously strange and the strangely serious – see a particularly-aggressive version of “War on Drugs: Suck My Cock” for a shining example of the latter – and the fact it never felt like three hours says volumes about Kozelek’s abilities to entertain his audiences. He might be one of the more noted grumpy arseholes in music; but, dammit, he’s our grumpy arsehole. We got you, babe.

2. Drake @ Allphones Arena, 25/2

The million dollar question lingered for nearly five years: What was it going to take to get Drake out to Australia? He’d had a string of hits on the radio here, had a massive raise in profile due to the success of Take Care and Nothing Was the Same and was soon to properly enter the cultural lexicon full-time. By the time he arrived, he had arenas full of screaming fans waiting for him. As the trumpets of “Trophies” signalled his arrival, it was clear that the wait was more than worth it. Better yet: In the years since Australia first discovered Drake, he had evolved from underground king to rap superstar – and he had the high-energy live show to back it up. All swagger, all confidence, all hits, all the time. The response was deafening – this was a crowd that knew every word to every song, even those that had just come out a week prior via the If You’re Reading This, It’s Too Late mixtape. It was equal parts Beatlemania (pointing out girls in the crowd during “Hold On, We’re Going Home”) and block party (a booming “All Me” with 2 Chainz, “Know Yourself”). A pop show with street cred and a hip-hop show for the masses. This was the best of both words – and now that Aubrey knows what an Australian audience is capable of, he’ll keep on coming back.

1. Against Me! @ Metro Theatre, 30/5

Imagine a night surrounded by friends – old new and ones you haven’t met yet. Imagine a night where no matter who you are – black, white, gay, straight, trans, cis – you are accepted, you are welcomed and you are loved. Imagine a night of singing so loudly you fear you might not ever be able to speak again. Imagine the perfect amalgamation of great songs, great sound, great energy, great company at a great venue. Actually, why imagine? It happened – all thanks to Against Me!, who performed a headlining tour for the first time since Laura Jane Grace’s transition. Not only were the excellent Joyce Manor and Mere Women in tow, but AM! themselves were riding high on the back of their excellent 2014 LP, Transgender Dysphoria Blues. They exuded confidence and energy, and their all-inclusive nature reflected on the huge vibes being spread about the crowd that had packed the place out. This was a night that meant a lot to people – from those that have been following the band for years to those that have just arrived in their world, everyone was made to feel welcome. Everyone in attendance mattered. Everyone in attendance belonged. That’s the power of punk rock. That’s the power of music. If every Saturday night was like this, perhaps Sydney wouldn’t be seen as being in such dire straits. Sometimes, it just takes some clapping hands and some angry balled fists to make the gig of the year happen.

***

PHOTO CREDITS:

25. Alicia Stephenson, The 59^th Sound
24. Kyleigh Pitcher, Songbird Photography via AMNplify
23. Ted’s Records
22. Jason Reed, The Guardian
21. Olivia Hadisaputra, Music Feeds
20. Annette Geneva, Music Feeds
19. Jared Leibowitz, theMusic.com.au
18. Emeilia Portellos, XXIV Magazine (photo not from show)
17. Zach Penhall, ZK Photo (photo not from show)
16. Kevin Bull, MewX.info
15. Peter Zalunzy, Blunt Magazine
14. Clare Hawley, theMusic.com.au
13. Ian Laidlaw, Beat Magazine
12. Mikey Hart, FasterLouder
11. Tommy Jackson, Getty Images (photo not from show)
10. Peter Sharp, theMusic.com.au
9. Belinda Hedges, the AU review
8. Emily Connolly, The Chronopages (photo not from show)
7. Peter Sharp, theMusic.com.au
6. Mark Hebblewhite, theMusic.com.au
5. Don Arnold, Yahoo! News/WireImage
4. Pat Scala, Sydney Morning Herald (photo not from show)
3. user:totoro81, Flickr (photo not from show)
2. Jared Leibowitz, theMusic.com.au
1. Belinda Hedges, the AU review

This is it, folks. Over the top. Presenting the 20 best songs of 2015. Thanks so much for reading and taking an interest in my little nerdy list! See you next time, I’m sure.

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80-61
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20. Carly Rae Jepsen – I Really Like You

2015 may have been the year Carly Rae Jepsen turned 30, but her third album proved that she still knows how to rock the cradle of love – or, at the very least, “like” – better than many of her barely-legal contemporaries. “IRLY” did bigger business on Popjustice than Billboard, but it felt like the kind of song that deserved to take over the universe. There’s enough power in the snare to set off the Richter scale, and that amazing technicolour chorus feels like a ride on a super-fun happy-slide. “I know this isn’t love,” sighs Jepsen. Au contraire, mademoiselle.

19. Tired Lion – I Don’t Think You Like Me

In the 2000s, a documentary was made about the music of Perth entitled “Something in the Water,” so named on account of having no other way to explain how they manage to make such consistently interesting and exciting music over that way. There’s something about the immediacy, attitude and energy in “I Don’t Think You Like Me” that harkens back to that time. Best believe, however, this ain’t no cheap nostalgia pop – it’s a vital blood-rush of pedal-stomping alt-rock that ran rings around near everything that emerged from this great southern land afterward. Tired? This kitty’s just getting started.

18. Refused – Elektra

They say the classics never go out of style, but they do. Somehow, baby, we thought we’d never hear another classic from these punk-shaping Swedes. 17 years removed from “New Noise,” however, we got just that. The backlash was swift and forceful, but Refused were not going to go down without a fight. It’s their head-spinning time signatures, howling guitars and the simple but all-important mantra (“nothing has changed”) that truly set “Elektra” apart. The song is fearless, defiant and a great reflection on a band adapting and evolving. Will history be kind to Refused 2.0? One can only hope.

17. Waxahatchee – Under a Rock

No-one quite trims the fat the way Katie Crutchfield does. Give her 132 seconds to work with and she’ll brew up a soaring melody, warm beds of guitar layering and an uncanny songwriting ability that allows for “Under a Rock” to simultaneously feel urgent and bustling as well as quaint and restrained. For a song that centres its key lyrics around the word “maybe,” it’s a song that’s remarkably sure of itself. Nothing goes to waste and nothing feels out of place. Crutchfield has been thriving in this economy since P.S. Eliot, but as Waxahatchee she has scaled new heights.

16. The Mountain Goats – The Legend of Chavo Guerrero

If the crossover-cool of CM Punk didn’t get the cool kids back into wrestling, John Darnielle’s Beat the Champ effort surely would have drawn some backs off the way and toward the squared circle. Here, he mixes memoir storytelling a la The Sunset Tree with a brief history on one of Mexico’s most celebrated professional wrestlers. The way that Darnielle shifts from being a young mark, glued to the television, to an adult reflecting on both his and Guerrero’s life is a pure masterstroke. “Legend…” is a top-rope maneuvre that is worthy of a huge pop and a major push.

15. Purity Ring – Begin Again

Syncopated synths chime out with all the subtlety of a car alarm. The kick-snare sounds as though it’s being hurtled through the stratosphere. By means of perfect contrast, Megan James’ sweet and sunny delivery is on the perfect teetering point of unassuming and self-reserved. It’s love that’s being rekindled, flourishing before our very eyes. The kind that has the power to move the heavens and the earth, as demonstrated so vividly through Corin Roddick’s wide-net production aesthetic. “Begin Again” is the kind of pop song that presents an immediate accessibility without compromising what made Purity Ring great to begin with.

14. Turnover – New Scream

It’s a familiar feeling, that which wanders the halls of the second single from Turnover’s Peripheral Vision LP. A mix of helplessness, despondency, confusion and dysphoria. This might be why “New Scream” strikes such a chord – not only for its relatable nature, but how Turnover works through it. The melodies will linger for days on end, while the guitars shimmer and shine radiantly over the gloomy interior. For what can feel like a truly low moment, “New Scream” chases that high and catches it. Songs like this truly make you wonder why Turnover didn’t phase into this style sooner.

13. Mew – Water Slides

When you’ve been making dreams come true with your oft-imitated dream-pop for nearly twenty years, it’s a considerable feat to still be writing songs on par with your most beloved singular moments. Although six years separated +- from No More Stories…, Mew picked up exactly where they left off, sweeping listeners off their feet with floaty, pristine soundscapes. With the inimitable Kimbra providing subtle but touching harmonies, “Water Slides” gently eases you into Mew’s private universe of cavernous echoes and gliding, glassy keys. When it connects, it simply cannot be beaten. No-one does it quite like Mew. No-one ever will.

12. Brandon Flowers – Can’t Deny My Love

The reason Flowers’ debut solo album, Flamingo, didn’t quite inspire any great fanfare was that it went the opposite way of Icarus – it flew as far away from the sun as possible; taking no risks, placing no bets. Several years removed, Flowers tried again with far greater results. “Can’t Deny…” is unquestionably in the same league as The Killers’ best, but the key difference is that he’s not playing the same game. Bombastic percussive rhythms, Chic guitar funk and even a dab of blink-and-you’ll-miss-it slap bass… this is what separates Brandon Flowers, solo artist; and allows him to thrive.

11. Tame Impala – Let It Happen

The voyages of Kevin Parker’s one-man band studio sessions have always lent themselves to long-form exploration – see the six-minute “Apocalypse Dreams” from Lonerism, or the seven-minute “Runway, Houses, City, Clouds” from Innerspeaker. No surprise, then, that Tame Impala’s longest single to date also doubles as one of their key crowning achievements. It’s a dazzling, dizzying and at times breathtaking journey through flanged-out drums, twirling keyboard melodies and a stressful fake-out of record-skipping. Considering how much is packed into a regular-sized Tame Impala track, you’d best believe the kitchen sink is clattering around somewhere in the back of this fucker.

10. The Weeknd – Can’t Feel My Face

Abel Tesfaye might have started his 20s as an underground king, but he arrived in the middle of them as a pop commodity so hot that he is figuratively engulfed in flames in his breakout hit’s now-famous music video. Perhaps the most exciting thing about “Can’t Feel My Face” is how it heralded The Weeknd’s arrival into the mainstream without entirely compromising what made The Weeknd to begin with. There’s the left-field touchstones, for a start – the grid-locked beats, the insurmountable depths of synth layering and that unmistakable vibrato-laden MJ vocal quiver. It hooks up with some new tricks – a cleaner aesthetic, a funkier rhythm section – and road-trips into some kind of pop utopia. This is the kind of chart smash to not only get fucked up to, but get fucked up on – it’s as addictive as any substance, snorted or smoked.

9. Kurt Vile – Pretty Pimpin’

This slacker veteran has been telling tales as tall as his lanky frame and as long as his frizzy mane for the better part of this century, emulating the likes of Neil Young and Daniel Johnston while still forging forth in an ongoing quest for his own identity. His rambling ways lead him to this, the opening number from his top-tier b’lieve i’m goin down… LP, as well as its lead single. “Pretty Pimpin’” is, as George Constanza might pitch it, a song about nothing… seemingly, at least. Vile mumbles something about brushing his teeth and his hair, living his life like a son of a gun and whatever else have you, the guitars twanging about and the kick-snare keeping a striding pace. Delve a little further, however, and one can find themes of dysmorphia and detachment – on the outside of his own life, somehow looking in from a different perspective. “Pretty Pimpin’” runs deeper and deeper with every listen… and, b’lieve it, there’s quite a few listens to be had.

8. Courtney Barnett – Depreston

At the start of 2014, Courtney Barnett would incorporate a then-brand-new song into the tail-end of her setlists, telling a seemingly everyday and non-descript story about looking for a house out in the suburbs of her now-native Melbourne. Fast forward a year and the song, “Depreston,” has evolved into a set staple. The story, now fleshed out with greater and more intimate detail, echoes the sentiment of her contemporary Darren Hanlon in the sense that each house that was once a home to someone can still tell their story long after that person has left. When Barnett confesses that she “can’t think of floorboards anymore,” it’s not on account of house-hunting exhaustion – although certainly a contributing factor. Rather, it’s about her seeing the bigger picture, gaining a new outlook on the places she seeks out toward the end of the tramline. It’s a moment of quaint reflection, and in turn has rightfully evolved into the closest thing she may ever have to an anthem.

7. Justin Bieber – What Do You Mean?

In the first season of Workaholics, the character of Jillian Belk asks her longtime crush (and fellow Justin Bieber fan) an all-important question: “Are you a true Belieber?” You don’t need to know the context. All you need to know is that this is a figure of 2010s pop stardom that has built a fanbase around what can often simply be deemed blind faith. As is well-documented, the coming-of-age singer has given his fans precious little to justify their “Beliebing” in the long-haul wait between his overlooked Believe album in 2012 and his second-coming revival circulating around November’s Purpose. Thankfully, his striving for redemption and re-invention that began earlier in the year with “Where Are Ü Now” meant that, by the time “What Do You Mean?” hit the airwaves, the floodgates were once again wide open. Emerging from the metronomic tick of a clock, soon surrounded by muted rave-synth and watery pan-pipes, Bieber and his A-team of producers certifiably swung for the fences with this single. It paid off in dividends, and lead to a full-on conversion from tabloid whipping boy to poptimist pin-up. So, are you a true Belieber? Post-”What Do You Mean?,” all you can do is nod your head yes.

6. Alpine – Foolish

The interesting thing about Alpine has been their chameleonic shifts through sound and style; rapidly evolving somewhat of a defiant nature toward the boundaries of genre moulds across their first two releases, the Zurich EP and their debut album, A is for Alpine. Three years on from the latter, it was high-time that the winds of change bristled again. It had to be something seismic – something to leave everything that came before it choking on dust. Enter Christian O’Brien, matching up Nile Rodgers guitar swagger and near-unrecognisable chord inversions to not a Stratocaster, but a classic nylon-string. Everything around “Foolish” falls into place around this (up)stroke of genius – Tim Royall’s synth-orchestra straight out of a French pop handbook, Ryan Lamb and Phil Tucker’s inseperable rhythm section groove. Then, of course, there’s the twin magic of Lou James and Phoebe Baker, losing themselves in the sheer romance of it all and channelling their desires into every last breathless coo and come-on. Alpine have always been somewhat of the Voltron of Australian indie-pop. Here, they have defended the universe to the point where they may well have eradicated all evil. How wonderful life is, now “Foolish” is in the world.

5. Turnover – Take My Head

Sometimes, a hook is so deceptively-cheerful that it completely distracts from the immediate subject matter and the further lyrical content. Do you think you’d have ever sung along as loudly to “Semi-Charmed Life,” for instance, if you knew the entire time just how fucked up it was? This is definitely the case with “Take My Head,” which is surely the poppiest song that Turnover have ever put their name too. By chance, it’s also simultaneously their most graphically morbid: “Cut my brain into hemispheres/I want to smash my face ’til it’s nothing but ears.” Jesus. Even Cannibal Corpse would blush at a rhyming couplet like that. Somehow, there’s something about the way Turnover pull it all off that distracts enough from their misanthropy and cements its status at the top of their songwriting achievements. Borrowing from The Cure circa-”In Between Days,” all chirping lead guitar and brisk drums, Turnover have lit a candle in their dark, dark world. Is it a mirage? Merely fantasy? It all depends, really, on what “Take My Head” does for you as a listener. It’s out of the band’s hands now. See where it takes you.

4. Adventures – Heavenly

“There’s much more here to see than you think,” sings out Reba Meyers on “Heavenly,” the lead single from Adventures’ debut LP that arrived less than a fortnight into the new year. If there’s anyone who knows about there being more than meets the eye, it’s Meyers: Not 12 months prior, she and fellow Adventures bandmates Jami Morgan and Joe Goldman released I am King, the skull-crushing and riot-starting second album for Code Orange, the metallic hardcore outfit that is ostensibly their ‘day job.’ This dramatic shift is less Superman to Clark Kent and more Hyde to Jekyll, such is its unexpected nature of transmogrification. Perhaps the most fascinating aspect of it all, however, is just how damn good Meyers and co. are at both ends of the spectrum – much like a song like “My World” from I am King makes one want to headbang until their neck is detached, “Heavenly” makes one want to exude their flood of emotions in a wave of pedal boards and sticky-sweet vocal harmony. It’s indie rock with a beating heart and enough soul to save Bart, Milhouse and their entire respective families. It’s not afraid to show its innermost feelings, and it invites you to do the same. Opening up to “Heavenly” might have been one of the most constructive things a music consumer could have done with their entire year.

3. Kendrick Lamar – King Kunta

There’s a moment after the second line in “King Kunta” where another voice that isn’t Lamar’s flies past. It’s a voice talking a mile a minute down in the mix, so it’s difficult to pick up exactly what he’s saying the first few times. It’s revealed, verbatim, to be a man proclaiming “It’s Kendrick, man! He’s back in the hood!” There’s a frantic element to his voice, mixed to sound as if he’s running past to warn the others. He might as well be shouting “the British are coming.” Such is the fear that Kendrick Lamar strikes into the hearts of men – both fictional and real-life. He arrives on the scene with little more than a funky bass walk and a hat-heavy drum strut and gives them so much power that they practically turn into a steamroller. Lamar is the only hip-hop artist right now, save for maybe Kanye at a stretch, that could successfully and convincingly drop a line like “I run the game” and actually have some weight behind it. “King Kunta” wasn’t just the biggest hip-hop song of 2015 – it was an unwieldy, snarling beast unto itself. Nothing hit pop radio with such force and such anger. Nothing could pull together Jonny Greenwood-style guitar chime, minor-chord detours and a truly Funkadelic outro the way this masterpiece did. Kendrick remembers how you were conflicted, but it was never about “King Kunta.” Few things have ever been so clear cut in the world of hip-hop.

2. Unknown Mortal Orchestra – Multi-Love

There has never been a more open-minded and informative time to be discovering things about love, sex, relationships and intimacy. We are developing further into the grey areas that exist in this spectrum and disambiguating them in order to gain a greater knowledge of such matters. Only in this environment could a song like “Multi-Love” thrive from a purely thematic and conceptual standpoint. The music itself is not being brought into question – this is a hooky, groovy single of alt-leaning and head-nodding pop that stretches from the east (the subtle ring of the sitar) to the west (the hi-hat triplet that also served as the year’s most distinctive drum fill). When it comes to the lyrical content, however, things become even more fascinating. The entire story behind the album is documented in a fantastic Pitchfork feature, but the Cliffnotes version reads thus: frontman Ruban Nielsen, happily married, has his world turned upside down when a woman he bonded with at a show comes to stay with his family. He begins to question everything about his own desires and whether it is right – and, indeed, even possible – to truly love more than one person. Gender fluidity plays its part (“She don’t want to be your man or a woman”), as does the idea of the bizarre love triangle (“We were one/then become three”). Even a few years ago, this would have been found to be quite a challenging topic to address in this medium. “Multi-Love” is both a product of its environment and a sign of the times. You’lll be half-crazy, all for the love of it.

1. Sweater Season – Top Heavy

At the time of writing and recording “Top Heavy,” the four people that make up Sydney’s Sweater Season had only played together for less than a year. They had – at a generous pinch – played all of half a dozen shows. Let that sink in for a moment as this impeccably-crafted piece of hazy-eyed, warm-blooded and sun-drenched piece of shoegazing indie-spectrum mastery settles its way into the back of your mind. What could well have been a classic single from a band several years and releases into their career has instead sprung from the very first song released by a ragtag crew of outer-suburban Sydney kids. It doesn’t seem to make any kind of sense at first. How did this fall into place so perfectly? How could this band have known what it was that they had on their hands? Honestly, who can say. It ultimately stems from the fact Sweater Season, for all their shyness and introverted ways, are sure of themselves. They know exactly what it is that they are after from a sonic standpoint, and they actively pursue it. “Top Heavy” builds up to its chorus steadily, the release coming through a hook that must be sung as loudly as humanly possible. Its key lyric of self-deprecation – “I think we could do this if I wasn’t acting so senseless” – hits home to anyone who has struggled with their own actions or questioned their own abilities. By the time the bridge rolls around, and Jacob Rossi draws out the stunning couplet “Lying awake all night/Hoping to start a fight,” it feels like the universe has some how sped up and slowed down at the same time. There is a world unto itself that exists within the structure of “Top Heavy.” It’s enough to leave one truly at a loss for words when pressed on exactly how they struck such riches at a time when they could well have been figuring out exactly what it is they wanted out of playing with one another. There’s just too much here to dismiss it as a fluke. Sweater Season have arrived.

Before you venture into the top 40: Make sure you catch up on parts one through three.

You can do so here, then here and then finally here.

What top 40 hits await? Let’s see…

40. Silversun Pickups – Nightlight

Nearly a decade on from Carnavas, SSPU are still finding new ways to refine and utilise their wide-spectrum take on alternative rock. As far as singles go, “Nightlight” is one of their most direct and focused efforts – the snares roll with military precision, the guitars know just when to chime and when to gurgle… and we haven’t even gotten to that clenched-fist chorus yet. The fact this didn’t set radio alight the same way “Lazy Eye” or “Panic Switch” did is one of the year’s bigger mysteries. Not to worry – think of it as our secret to keep.

39. The Go! Team – What D’You Say?

To some, The Go! Team are has-beens. To some even more cynical in nature, they’re never-weres. To the right ears, though, they’re unquestionably coulda-been-champions – one of the most underrated groups of the entire 2000s that deserved the throne and barely got a place at the table. Their (figuratively) fizzing comeback was all kinds of triumphant; detailing a new lease on life and grabbing it by the reins. Across scattered drums and cooed hooks, it truly feels as though the ten years after Thunder Lightning Strike never even happened. “What D’You Say?” Hell yeah – that’s what we say, Team.

38. Ceremony – The Understanding

A band once brimming with the purest of anger has turned cold – almost emotionless in their iciness. A band that once screamed “Pack your fists full of hate/Take a swing at the world” now quietly and gently pleads to an estranged lover over and over: “Baby, say that it’s over.” So what keeps Ceremony being Ceremony aside from purely a recognisable name? Put simply, their chameleonic nature has never failed them. They arrive in this faded, world-weary new territory with purpose and intent. “The Understanding” feels like the seventh stage of grief – it’s letting go in slow motion.

37. Jack R Reilly – Submerged

The solo career of Sydney-via-Kiama’s Jack R. Reilly has consisted of a handful of demos, scattered phone recordings and more than a few revisions of the same song. Indecisive? Perhaps. Uncertain? We’re getting closer, it seems. What joy, then, that “Submerged” – Reilly’s first proper single in years – sounds like he’s never been more sure of anything in his life. Given, it’s a guarantee of letting your past haunt you and your vices rule you; but there’s lots to be said about the way it’s conveyed. To borrow a phrase from Dallas Green: In the water, Reilly is beautiful.

36. Courtney Barnett – Pedestrian at Best

The chorus that came back to bite the armchair philosopher herself square in the arse. The riff that signalled an arrival of a contest/reality-free Australian music star – the first in awhile. The verses – part beat poetry, part near-gibberish (the song, after all, was previously known as simply “Blah” on setlists) – that split audiences right down the middle. As far as lead singles go, you probably couldn’t have picked a more bloodthirsty, guitar-smashing rager to separate the squares from the pedestal-putters. Naturally, it worked: It was here that the Clown of 2013 became the queen bee of 2015.

35. Obscura Hail – Shaky Execution

Sean Conran is the kind of songwriter who forgets better songs than you’ve ever thought of; a prolific whiz-kid with the perspicacity of an English major, the technical proficiency of a music major and the uncanny ability to shift from character to character of a performing-arts major. The chorus – sweetly harmonic, typically verbose – will win you over first. The out-of-nowhere half-speed blues outro will seal the deal. Other dudes with acoustic guitars put in half the effort of “Shaky Execution” and get well-over twice the credit. Unlike them, Conran makes songs that truly feel like home. Bless him.

34. Citizen – Cement

To note the elephant in the room – yes, the Devil and God are unquestionably raging inside Citizen on the opening number of their left-turn second album. Still, let’s face it: Anyone in Citizen’s line of work not at least partly-inspired by Jesse Lacey and co. is straight-up kidding themselves. Onto more important things – the crawling bass-line, seeth-and-snarl guitars and alt-rock detours throwing lefts when you’re expecting rights. “Cement” marked a major turning point, sending Citizen to the point of no return. Not that you’d ever want to go back after writing something as great as this, of course.

33. Florence + The Machine – Ship to Wreck

The contrast between how one feels about Florence Welch and her trusty Machine when you’re not listening to her music and when you are is equivalent to going from 0 to 100 in 3.5. Outside of the heat of the moment, it’s safe to say Welch’s music is comfortably in the “good, not great” zone. For the three-and-a-half minutes that “Ship to Wreck” is on, however, you somehow turn into a grand-gesture hairbrush diva. There’s something about the endorphins that are unleashed with each and every listen – Welch hasn’t delivered with such impact since “Rabbit Heart (Raise It Up).”

32. Jason Isbell – 24 Frames

It’s always been a bit of a cliché that country singers are god-fearin’ men, but even Dawkins would tremble at Isbell’s depiction of the man upstairs as “a pipebomb, ready to blow.” In what ended up being the best country track of the year, the newly clean and sober Isbell mined his past to deal with his present; resulting in a collision of worlds that complement one another in a true yin-and-yang fashion. On an album filled with striking honesty and clearly-needed reflections on family, faith and the future, “24 Frames” quietly asserted itself at the front of the pack.

31. Ceremony – The Separation

Five words, one question. “Can you measure the loss?” It rings out into the ether countless times on this stunning single from Ceremony’s darkest, coldest album to date. It’s never answered aside from a few sparse piano notes. It just hangs there amid the busy traffic of churned guitar and rolled snares. It could be considered rhetorical, but it could also be the realisation dawning that the answer is no. Reductive comparisons to Interpol might have been casually tossed off by detractors, but the emotional gauntlet “The Separation” runs is difficult to deny. We’re not in Rohnert Park anymore, Toto.

30. Postblue – Glow Like Crazy

A chorus that starts with the line “Sunny day, but that’s alright” is especially intriguing when it stems from a band that was previously only happy when it rained. Now based in Melbourne and sporting former Hopeless vocalist Brett Sutton on lead guitar, Postblue have dramatically shifted into jangle-pop territory after a few spins of 16 Lovers Lane and Born Sandy Devotional. It chimes out beautifully and dives into its crystallised, shimmering chorus seamlessly. Postblue have been in this neck of the woods for three minutes and are already doing it better than bands struggling with it for three years.

29. Selena Gomez – Good for You

When this comeback single dropped with its thudding beat and A$AP Rocky cameo, it was reasonably entertaining – if not entirely captivating – slightly-dark club-oriented pop. For whatever reason, a new version of the song – no A$AP, no overwhelming beats – was released with the music video. It was here the song took on a new life: Quieter, subtle and wholly intimate. Gomez may as well be singing directly into your ear. It makes the whole thing feel sexier, which is what you want out of a song that casually mentions leaving “this dress a mess on the floor.”

28. The Front Bottoms – Cough It Out

In a haze of weed, indecision and watching the world go by, Brian Sella lead listeners through his private universe on the best Front Bottoms song to date. Owing as much to The Weakerthans as it does to their outsider-indie peers, “Cough It Out” rollicks along with rich harmony, sugary-sweet glockenspiel and some of the most captivating, vivid lyricism Sella has ever penned. “I don’t care if you’re not sorry/I forgive you” is true love; “I like the time it takes to get somewhere” is a succinct reflection on life’s journey. Bands like this matter. Songs like this are why.

27. Speedy Ortiz – The Graduates

When “The Graduates” was initially released, lead singer Sadie Dupuis wrote about how her late father had said it was his favourite song she had ever written. It added sentiment to the song, certainly, but it’s worth clarifying that this is Dupuis’ crowning achievement as a songwriter with or without any outside blessing. It’s a meditation on the pains of growing up, wed in unholy matrimony with the dawning that some things in life will never change, even after the cap is thrown up in the air and you move on out into the quote-unquote “real world.” Keep on living.

26. Unknown Mortal Orchestra – Necessary Evil

Most of UMO’s third LP, Multi-Love, deals with the idea of love-songs from unconventional standpoints. Here, it hones in on two people that are clearly meant for one another and feel nothing but affection for the other person. It’s their own insecurities about themselves, however, that have the power to destroy everything – “Loving me,” confesses Ruban Nielson, “could be your fatal flaw.” The call-and-response of the titular phrase and a perfectly-understated trumpet is one of the truest bits of pop genius of the entire year; while the percussive backbeat and whirring keys also play into the song’s masterful execution.

25. Jack Ü feat. Justin Bieber – Where Are Ü Now

In the year we were allowed to Belieb again, it all started here. Skrillex and Diplo decided to take a chance on the much-maligned pop troublemaker, soulfully pining for a flickered-out flame before transforming into the biggest, bassiest and brightest drop on radio in 2015. This renaissance for three people that have all served time as pop music’s public enemy number one was the kick in the pants needed for each. Many imagined the warped vocal sample as a dolphin, diving out of the water. “Where Are Ü Now,” in turn, is the trio’s Free Willy jump into pop freedom.

24. CHVRCHES – Leave a Trace

Aside from making some of the sharpest, smartest and most easily-identifiable pop of the 2010s, CHVRCHES know how to properly meld sugar and spice. It was something the band picked up on previously in singles like “Recover” and “Gun,” and it returned to their focus here on one of the true standouts of their make-or-break second LP. “You talk far too much for someone so unkind,” Lauren Mayberry coldly states, twisting the knife slowly so that the pain lasts longer. Glassy synths ricochet off each word and, rather than stunt the message, they lift it up. Such is CHVRCHES’ craft.

23. Sleater-Kinney – A New Wave

What a twist: The best bass-line of the year came from a band that doesn’t have a bass player. The third single from S-K’s glorious comeback LP was a party-starter, a hip-shaker and a high-kick inducer for the ages; belying both the trio’s collective age and their extended absense away from making music together. Carrie Brownstein can still howl with the best of them, Corin Tucker is still a clever and unique guitarist and Janet Weiss still beats her kit like it owes her money. “A New Wave” fades out, but you can’t help but imagine them jamming continuing endlessly.

22. The Hard Aches – I Get Like This

How’s this for therapy? In coming to a realisation about a vicious cycle in his behaviour, Ben Clennett wrote one of the catchiest and most anthemic choruses in not only his arsenal, but all of Australian music this year. Hyperbole? Like hell – if you’ve been in a room where all you can hear are the screams of this refrain, you’ll know its power. What began as a four piece and then a trio came down to two core members, and this back-to-basics approach paid off in spades as far as their songwriting was concerned. Let’s fuck it up, boys.

21. All in a Year – Neanderthals Invented Cake

It takes the right amount of twists, turns, detours and idea development to take your conventional alt-rock song and turn it into something worthwhile and memorable. There was no greater example of such inventiveness this year than these twenty-somethings out of Newcastle of all places. The striking chord progression,  Grohl-sized drum hits and fever-pitch vocals were a complete rush of blood; an adrenalin kick and a left-of-centre hook that made All in a Year far slicker than your average grunge revival. “Neanderthals Invented Cake” proves that a rose by any other ridiculous name would still kick just as much arse.

***

Next week – the thrilling* conclusion!

* – thrills not guaranteed

“We’re at the halfway point! Doing great so far!”
“‘We’? What’s all this ‘we’? I’m the one doing all the hard work!”
“Break time’s over – here we goooooo!”

Part 1
Part 2

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60. Courtney Barnett – Dead Fox

On the occasions that Courtney Barnett does sit and think, she’s got a lot on her mind: The persuasive nature of a lover. The flora and fauna of her immediate surroundings. A truck driver bumper sticker warning that becomes one of the year’s most simply-sweet pop choruses. She’s just watching the world go by and letting her stream of conscience guide her meek but acute observations – not least of which is the gently-devastating suggestion we “mull over culling cars instead of sharks.” However brisk, “Dead Fox” gives listeners a lot to think about and a lot to talk about.

59. Georgia Maq – Mulder It’s Me (Something Terrible’s Happened)

Although the X Files reference is ultimately as apposite to the song as The Simpsons reference was to “What Do You Mean (The Bank’s Out of Money)” – i.e. not very – it’s worth bringing it around to the fact that Georgia Maq wants to believe. She’s drawn to the good in people even when they’re at their worst and she finds truth when surrounded by bullshit. When she drops the bombshell of the final line – a nod to Joan Osborne as much as it is to religious hypocrisy – you’ll want to believe, too. Truth’s out there, y’know.

58. Dan Mangan + Blacksmith – Offred

Once a whimsical, heart-on-sleeve acoustic troubadour, Dan Mangan sought at least a degree of separation 1on his fourth album. Turns out he didn’t need to look all that far – it was found as early on as its opening number. That’s still his distinctive husk and inventive finger-picking in the midst, but he’s shrouded by echoing reverb, whirring microsynth and various creaks and whispers that call from the shadows. It’s just enough to remove Mangan from his past and send him into the great unknown. “Offred” is the sound of beginning again – something we all have to do sometimes.

57. Death Cab for Cutie – Little Wanderer

On Transatlanticism, Ben Gibbard waxed lyrical and extensively-metaphorical on a love defined by the space between on its title track. As supremely beautiful as it is, it’s also fascinating to see the other side of what is ostensibly the same coin: Direct, from-the-heart messages of longing and pining as a new love spreads its fire across oceans and continents. No matter how many photos are sent or hours counted, nothing compares to the third verse’s ultimate payoff, as the wanderer wanders back. This is a love song accepting of reality’s fate, and perhaps that is what the world needs now.

56. Death Cab for Cutie – No Room in Frame

The split of Ben and Zooey felt like the split of Tom and Nicole for the Tumblr generation – and, although he’ll never say it, “Frame” deals with the former comprehending it. The honesty that comes with a first line like “I don’t know where to begin” is palpable; while the reveal of the chorus’ “No room in frame/For two” feels uniquely devastating. It’s arguable that Death Cab have always thrived on bleakness, adding a touch of sepia in darker corners. With Gibbard at a low, then, the music is given the chance to fly. The empty room fills again.

55. The Paper Kites – Revelator Eyes

A stylistic transition from indie-folk to folk-rock might not feel like some sort of drastic leap, but even the notion of these harmonious wunderkinds plugging in is enough to pique interest. A sun-kissed guitar sets over a cruising drumline and glassy keys, taking cues from 70s AM radio classics and the less-hypercolour side of 80s pop to create their finest song since breakthrough “Young” from years prior. Say what you will, but seeking out new territory and challenging their established sound is something to be commended – especially when they enter this next phase with such confidence and finesse.

54. Camp Cope – Stove Lighter

A more pedantic ear might grumble away at the low volume, the poor mix or even the slightly out-of-tune guitar. As far as being a introduction to the world of Camp Cope, however, it’s – as Sherri Bobbins might put it – practically perfect in every way. The dynamic is fascinating – Kelly-Dawn Helmrich’s upper-fret bassline slides up and down, almost of as if it’s avoiding the questioning nature of Georgia Macdonald’s lyricism or the authoritative hat-heavy bash of Sarah Thompson. Although all three operate on different levels, they tessellate in stunning fashion. The spark has been lit.

53. Brian Wilson feat. Nate Ruess – Saturday Night

Although both men symbolise great left-field pop of their respective eras, 2015 wasn’t exactly a career-best year for either; both turning in confused and ultimately disappointing solo efforts. When the two locked in together, however, they created this ray of sunshine that felt like the great lost Beach Boys single or a what-may-have-been for the late, great Format. The harmonies and key change are vintage Wilson; while the wide-eyed romanticism is right up Ruess’ alley. Yes, “Saturday night on Hollywood Boulevard” is the single cheesiest thing to end up on record in 2015. That’s entirely what makes it so endearing.

52. Brendan Maclean feat. Sarah Belkner – The Feeling Again

Brendan Maclean – much like Peter Cetera – is a man who will fight for your honour and do it all for the glory of love. Sometimes, however, that’s simply not enough to keep a relationship from crumbling. Admitting defeat is one of the most honest, important things a person can do in that situation, and Maclean articulates it beautifully in a song that – unlike Peter Cetera – doesn’t blow 80s-cheese chunks. With a masterful build toward the end and some stunning harmonies, Maclean dutifully signs off on what was clearly a huge time in his life. Feel it.

51. Blur – Go Out

Dave Rowntree struts purposefully through the backstreets of the city. Alex James holds down the fort with one of his thickest-sounding bass-lines on record. Graham Coxon lets his inner Andy Gill screech, crash and snarl all over the laid out path. Among it all, Damon Albarn resumes his post up front as if nothing’s ever changed, equal parts loudmouth tourist and perfectly-paranoid introvert. Of all the comeback LPs that could well have gone tits-up, Blur’s ranked toward the top. The fact it triumphed – and sported this career-best single – says a lot about the drab four’s uncanny abilities.

50. Carb on Carb – Take Your Place in the World

Auckland’s Carb on Carb are authentically New Zealand in the same way our indie exports are authentically Australian – uncompromising in their approach, a broad and unmistakable accent lilting the vocals and a true sense of being born out of a vibrant, versatile scene. The highlight of their exceptional debut arrives at the very end, ensuring its final moments count for all they’re worth. As the impossibly-busy drums scatter across a strident chord loop, it’s contrasted by lyrics that are at once confused, distressed and enraged. It’s here, notably, that Carb on Carb take their place in… well, you know.

49. Gallows – Bonfire Season

Word association with Gallows in the past has invariably lead to adjectives like “cutthroat,” “breakneck” and other dangerous terms involving the anatomy. On their first album without the Carter brothers involved, Gallows decided to see what would happen if they tried something that would lead to terms like “slithering,” “brooding” and maybe even – dare it be said? – “sexy.” Naturally, “Bonfire Season” confused the hell out of pretty much everyone. Once the shock wore off, however, it became ever more apparent there’s still so much we don’t know about Gallows. Curiouser and curiouser.

48. Sweater Season – Decay

“All I want is to be happy.” What a simple, perfect sentiment that is. We can run the gauntlet of emotional turmoil time and time again, but when you boil down the spectrum there’s really no greater endgame. Sweater Season took this little idea that could and churned it through their pretty soundscape of guitar noodle and subtle dynamics. What they ended up with was something as quaintly beautiful as that unforgettable lyric – a hazy, introspective and masterfully-executed ballad of sorts which eloquently showed a different side to what people came to know the band for. Happiness is.

47. Jamie xx feat. Young Thug and Popcaan – I Know There’s Gonna Be (Good Times)

Who’d have guessed: the windows-down summer cruise anthem of the year came from a pale, gaunt twentysomething Brit, normally found glooming about with a couple of other sad-sacks. He wasn’t alone, of course – the odd team of Young Thug and Popcaan kept flavours sizzling and the swagger off the charts – but his big-swinging beat and dancehall vibes certainly did their fair share of the groundwork. It was completely uncharacteristic, and perhaps that’s why it made such an impression – it’s so cool that a lyric like “I’mma ride in her pussy like a stroller” glides right by.

46. Daniel Johns – Aerial Love

The first words out of Daniel Johns’ mouth on his first work post-Silverchair are “I’m ready.” Yes, it’s just as pertinent to the romance the track alludes to, but a bigger-picture perspective can also see it as an acceptance of one chapter of his life and another beginning. Twenty years on from Frogstomp, Johns has traded in Zeppelin and Nirvana worship for state-of-the-art beats and a hitherto-unseen sense of rnb bravado. It’s initially confusing, naturally, but it perseveres and it works its way into your head. We have arrived, ladies and gentlemen, herea at the day after “Tomorrow.” Let’s fly.

45. Northlane – Leech

Bands not previously invested in politics that are suddenly the opposite are often told to stay in their lane – and, in the case of bands like Muse or Shihad, rightly so. There’s something about Northlane’s all-too-environmentally aware “Leech,” however, that separates it from the pack. It could be the twisted Midnight Oil reference. It could be the desperate cries of “Show me a way out!” that precede one of the heaviest sequences on their entire LP. Above everything else, it could just be the signalling of Northlane’s evolution of their ideas; moving into their next phase with rage maintained.

44. Royal Headache – High

Love is a drug – and, despite all his rage, Tim “Shogun” Wall is still fixin’ for the stuff: “You get me high,” he sings as clear as day. The return of Royal Headache after years in the wilderness was signalled by this, the big-business title track to their long-awaited second album – and, as far as comebacks go, it felt all the right kinds of triumphant. It was brisk, it was upfront and it was the perfect mix of vintage soul and pierced-speaker garage rock. This, folks, was the sound of Royal Headache learning to be Royal Headache again.

43. Unknown Mortal Orchestra – Can’t Keep Checking My Phone

Exactly what was going through Ruben Nielson’s mind when he decided to pair some of his most confused, desperate and paranoid lyrics with the ultimate homage to 70s roller-disco funk is really anyone’s guess. That’s the thing about Nielson, though – and, to a similar extent, the thing about UMO. It’s better to not question motive and to simply let their sense and sensibilities guide you. “Phone” is stunning on first listen – it sparkles as it twirls, each spin inducing a further state of hypnosis. Once you’re under, they’ll take you anywhere and everywhere. Welcome to their boogie wonderland.

42. Daniel Johns – Surrender

Not to get all LATFH on the matter, but the best showcase of Daniel Johns’ evolution from rock-star to pop futurist was not on his debut LP, Talk. It wasn’t even one of the first two singles that sprung from his Aerial Love EP. Rather, this non-single cut from the latter ended up working wonders for arguing the case that Johns has had this kind of sultry swagger in him for longer than we could have anticipated. The beat pops and cracks, snapping itself around John’s heavens-high falsetto and cooing refrains with absolute style. We’re not in Newcastle anymore, Toto.

41. The Weeknd – The Hills

2015 was the year that we lost Wes Craven. It was also the year, strangely enough, that an allusion – a tribute, even – to his work managed to top the pop charts and take commercial radio to what Barney Gumble could only describe as “strange new levels.” From a songwriting perspective, “The Hills” was born out of darkness. There are no heroes here – only villains. Each scream; each sub-bass thud feels like a massacre. In the hands of a lesser performer, this could have tanked. The Weeknd, however, refuses to loosen his grip until we are… well, weakened.