Category: Lists

Previously.

80. Bluejuice – Vitriol

Don’t you just love it when Australian hip-hop brings the funk? The lads who gave us “Unemployed” find themselves with a brand new job as professional party-starters- and hilarious video makers (you have not properly experienced this song if you have not seen the video).

79. Arctic Monkeys – Old Yellow Bricks

Another fabulous number from Favourite Worst Nightmare. The harmonies featured here are quite possibly the best on any Monkeys recording, and the guitar and lyrics are, as always, exceptional. Best line: “I want to sleep in a city that never wakes up…but Dorothy was right, though.”

78. Maxïmo Park – Your Urge

There’s something strangely enticing about this band and their music, and I think it lies predominantly with Paul Smith. His catchy hooks and his brilliant lyrics help define the band’s personality, and here is no exception. On this track, Paul deals with desperations and his both his interpersonal and intra personal struggles. A true standout of the magnificent Our Earthly Pleasures.

77. The John Butler Trio – Better Than

Surprisingly for a JBT song, there is not a guitar in sight here. Butler, instead, opt for a banjo, and creates one of the poppiest and catchiest songs the band has ever done in the process. The instrumentation is bright and layered, and the lyrics give out a positive and thoughtful message: “Life’s not about what’s better than.” Check out the Little Richard reference in the lyrics, too.

76. Tegan and Sara – The Con

My favourite Canadian lesbians served up one hell of a record in 2007, and with it came one hell of a title track. Taking cues from everyone from The Killers to Kate Bush, this track is one of many examples on The Con of the sisters’ old style given a new twist.

75. Maxïmo Park – Karaoke Plays

Another amazing tune from Our Earthly Pleasures. I find something interesting about this song every time I listen to it – it’s a very engaging little number, especially the big-arse chorus. The mix of both calm/intense contrast and heart-on-sleeve emotion is also a winner.

74. Bloc Party – Waiting for the 7.18

The first of a few Bloc Party tunes to make it in to the list. The best thing about this song, much like many of its brothers and sisters on the album, is that it makes you feel so ALIVE. It makes you feel so wide-eyed and in awe of everything. It’s a truly great thing to experience. On this track, Kele talks about his life and suggests we drive to Brighton for the weekend. He’s made me an offer I can’t refuse…

73. Arctic Monkeys – Teddy Picker

The drum intro pounds and the Arctic ones blaze into my countdown yet again with a song that just exudes cool without even trying. Bonus points for the tripped-out guitar break, courtesy of the amazing Alex Turner.

72. James Blunt – One of the Brightest Stars

A mix of Don Henley songwriting, Bee Gees harmonies and Reveal-era R.E.M. It might sound odd on paper, but this song is a complete and total winner. None of that annoying whine that was ever-present on “You’re Beautiful” and other rubbish Blunt songs is here, either – an easy bonus 10 points.

71. The Used – Paralyzed

Not since the days of the band’s self titled album have I been so excited about a Used song. Everything about this song, from the manic guitar hook to the wild vocal performance, right down to the horn section, is exactly what “In Love and Death” was lacking. To find such a vast improvement of a previous record all in one track is an exceptional feat, but Paralyzed pulled it off. Such a pity the album as a whole wasn’t as good as this.

70. Radiohead – All I Need

Further proof that Radiohead are rarely, if ever, at musical fault- especially when they’re making the music that they want to make as free agents. This is a beautiful number, probably my favourite song on the In Rainbows record. It has a spaced out, almost cinematic vibe that is a nice progressive statement of the album as a whole. Thom Yorke, again, fits the song perfectly.

69. Interpol – The Heinrich Maneuver

On a fairly disappointing record (Our Love to Admire), this song stood out head and shoulders above its counterparts on the album. Another infectious hook, Paul Banks showcasing his Ian Curtis/Michael Stipe lovechild vocals, is what made this song the Amercian summertime alt-anthem that it was. Worth checking out, too, is the video- you always pick up something new upon every viewing.

68. Josh Pyke – Sew My Name

Fewer musicians this year released music that was just plain lovely as Mr. Josh Pyke. Finally dropping his debut album in Memories and Dust, this gorgeous little love note was a highlight for its simple instrumentation and perfect vocal harmonies. Something Ben Lee could have done if his latest album didn’t suck so much.

67. Animal Collective – Peacebone

Obviously not the best song of 2007, but my god it was one of the weirdest. Whurrs and buzzes bring in the song along with the best non-sequitur of the year (“Bonefish”? “Boneface”?). While all this is happening, we somehow find the song itself in the middle of a ridiculously catchy 6/8 stomp that was, basically, a skullfuck to anyone who has never experienced experimental music. Confused? Scared? Wait until you hear Strawberry Jam. Animal Collective are just getting started.

66. Serj Tankian – Empty Walls

System of a Down are one of my all-time favourite bands, so it was going to be very hard for anything Serj Tankian released on his debut solo album, Elect the Dead, to not make my list. This track, the second single, stood out for me in particular – its soft-loud contrast in the verses and chorus, the multi-layered vocals of the bridge and the excellent video clip, creating excellent metaphors and drawing very clever parallels between the war and child’s play.

65. Josh Pyke – Fed and Watered

Josh Pyke is an excellent lyricist, despite occasionally becoming prolix. This flaw is proudly presented on his behalf in this song. But somehow, he makes it work on this song – a fast-paced and catchy tune that also showcases Josh’s love of vocal range- from the high-pitched “ahhhhh”s to the lower key bridge. If Josh keeps making songs like these to go on albums like Memories and Dust, he could well become the next Paul Kelly.

64. Jimmy Eat World – Big Casino

The Jimmy boys came back in a big way in 2007 with the excellent Chase This Light. You can argue if you like, but to me there were very remote few better opening tracks in 2007 than this. The urgency of the guitar, the anthemic guitar and the completely soaring chorus with Jim Atkins the driving force- to put it simply, they haven’t sounded this big or this great since Clarity.

63. Editors – Smokers Outside the Hospital Doors

If “The Back Room” saw English darlings Editors playing clubs and small venues, then “An End Has A Start” should have seen the band bound for the stadiums- at least, so the confidence and soundscapes found on the record would have you believe. This isn’t a bad thing, of course- the production was excellent and this song, in particular, saw the band better themselves completely.

62. Bloc Party – Hunting for Witches

One of the defining riffs of 2007 comes from this, another cut from Bloc Party’s amazing second record. While Lissack melts his fretboard, Kele preaches to all who will listen about a daunting future of Britain, torn apart completely by terrorism and racism. If you needed any reason why Kele Okereke is an amazing songwriter, then it can most certainly be found here.

 61. Queens of the Stone Age – Sick, Sick Sick

Dark, sexy, confident, brooding- only one rock song had the winning combination of all four of these characteristics in 2007, and it was, unsurprisingly, Josh Homme and co. Massive guitar chug kept the backbone of the song, while everything else from random synth bleeps to Julian Casablancas was thrown in for good measure.

Thanks for your patience! I hope the final run is worth it. Thanks so much for putting up with me through list season. Same time next year, huh?

50 – 41
40 – 31
30 – 21
20 – 11

***

10. Worriers – Cruel Optimist
Spotify || Rdio || Bandcamp

The name Lauren Denitzio may not mean anything to you – but if you give her just 20 or so minutes of your time, she could change your life. After years of slugging it out with the perenially underrated punks The Measure [SA], Denitzio formed Worriers in 2011 – a revolving door collective of friends and musos that were up for something short, fast, loud and purposeful. On her debut LP under the Worriers moniker, she presents a set of songs that provoke and ponder as much as they exhilarate and astound. It’s not an easy task to allow the two factors to cooperate without one spilling into the other’s territory, but here it is made to look completely effortless. Cruel Optimist is the year’s shining example of quality over quantity.

THREE TOP TRACKS: Never Were, Cruel Optimist, Best Case Scenario.

LISTEN:

9. Justin Timberlake – The 20/20 Experience
Spotify || Rdio

In the movie Chicken Run, Mel Gibson’s character of Rocky returns just in time to (spoiler alert) save the day. Julia Sawalha’s Ginger slaps him in the face angrily when he arrives. “That’s for leaving!” she shouts. She then goes in for the kiss, adding “…and this is for coming back.” Pop fans were essentially Ginger when The 20/20 Experience dropped back in 2013’s first quarter. As angry as we got for the seven-year wait between FutureSex/LoveSounds and this, the frustration subsided as soon as the orchestra swelled and introduced “Pusher Love Girl.” The slick, sharp and surprisingly progressive album that followed certified that there is room for only one Justin at the top of the pop stratosphere – not even a disappointing sequel later in the year could knock this record down a notch. Dressed to the nines, scoring a perfect ten and turning it up to eleven – that’s The 20/20 Experience.

THREE TOP TRACKS: Mirrors, Blue Ocean Floor, Tunnel Vision.

WATCH:

8. Drake – Nothing Was the Same
Spotify || Rdio

He may have started at the bottom, but it’s lonely at the top. That was the message received on 2011’s game-changing Take Care LP – loud and clear, too. The song remains somewhat the same for its follow-up, although when you are following an album as important as Take Care, it’s somewhat forgivable to side-step in a way to take a moment and enjoy the view. Drake is just as despondent and disconnected from his supposed friends and increasingly-distant family, and he still talks us through each detail atop of cloudy, reverberating beats. He still keeps his ego in check, even when he knows it has the ability to get the very best of him. This may sound like Drake is stalled or running out of ideas. Au contraire – Nothing Was the Same is his moment of reflection, a balcony monologue recited while no-one else is around. It’s everything it can be… for now, at least.

THREE TOP TRACKS: Too Much, Hold On, We’re Going Home, Furthest Thing.

WATCH:

7. Dave Hause – Devour
Spotify || Rdio || YouTube

Dave Hause swears to tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth. He did it back in the day with his heartland-punk vehicle The Loved Ones (not to be confused with the legendary Australian band), and it continues here into his second solo LP. The stories are still vividly told, the characters constantly desperate yet laced with hope… and you’d better believe that’s Hause’s heart, pounding away on his sleeve. Musically, he begs and borrows (not quite stealing) from your Springsteens, your Pettys and both your Segers and your Seegers. Devour isn’t defined by these influences, though – they merely guide Hause on his path to creating something plainspoken yet powerful. This is as close as he as ever come to achieving true musical greatness. For those that feel honesty truly is the best policy.

THREE TOP TRACKS: Autism Vaccine Blues, The Shine, The Great Depression.

LISTEN:

6. Wil Wagner – Laika
Spotify || Rdio || Bandcamp

Who is Wil Wagner when we’re not looking? On-stage, he’s the boisterous and charging frontman of the Smith Street Band; delivering some of the most consistently excellent rock music this country has to offer. If you’re interested in perhaps scratching below the surface, however, then Laika is the album for you. Matching bedroom intimacy with the production finesse of Lincoln Le Fevre, Wagner delves into confessionals ranging from his shitty neighbours to his life on the road. The album takes its title from a tender recount of the namesake dog from its perspective; but perhaps a more fitting title track could have been found in “I’m Not Gonna Lie to You.” It reflects what a genuine product Wagner is – his warmth, his familiarity and his ability to tell both strikingly personal and worldly relatable stories. An exercise in the importance of being earnest.

THREE TOP TRACKS: How They Made Us, More Like Signals Midbest, Laika.

LISTEN:

5. Surfer Blood – Pythons
Spotify || Rdio || YouTube

Even with the ultimate dismissal of charges, the arrest of Surfer Blood’s John Paul Pitts in March 2012 threatened to destroy the band entirely. Their reputation in tatters, Pythons was released with next to no fanfare and minimal promotion. It slipped under the radar for most and garnered only a brief glimpse of attention – notably via a Stereogum piece, a revealing Pitchfork interview and a furious comment section over at (where else?) Brooklyn Vegan. And so it was: Surfer Blood – of all bands – released the single most underrated album of 2013. Those that actually stopped to listen to Pythons were rewarded with a smart and sprightly album that carried darker undertones and an air of unease – and it was this yin-and-yang that kept it so interesting. With Gil Norton behind the decks, the band dipped into both his production discography (Pixies, Ed Harcourt, K’s Choice) and key elements from their 2010 debut, Astro Coast, to create something that could not be pinned down definitively to either. An essential extraction from the “maybe” pile of 2013.

THREE TOP TRACKS: Gravity, Demon Dance, Weird Shapes.

WATCH:

4. Safe Hands – Montenegro
Spotify || Rdio || Bandcamp

Safe Hands released an album. For people that have followed the band from its mid-2000s beginnings, the previous sentence felt as though it would never be uttered – at times, at least. Still, here we are: Montenegro is the end result after roughly a dozen line-up changes and eight years under their collective belt. It was more than worth the wait – it may be the finest example of what is achievable within Australian music’s heavier field released this decade. It brushes off the normal nerves and jitters that come with the weight of a debut LP and storms through a set of blistering, rampageous metalcore that takes no prisoners and suffers no fools. It attacks with brute force, yet revels in enough subtlety to not be overcome by it. It is an intelligent, unrepentent and decisively bold album. Most bands wish their debut sounded as half as good as this. Montenegro is a case study in never giving up. This is the light at the end of the tunnel. At last, Safe Hands have arrived.

THREE TOP TRACKS: My Very Own Vesuvius, Alma Martyr, Montenegro.

LISTEN:

3. Jimblah – Phoenix
Spotify || Rdio

The best album to come out of Australia in 2013 was also its most damning portrayer. On his second album, James Alberts is merciless and unapologetic in his representation of alcoholism, drug dependency, broken families and media manipulation. He is disgusted with the way indigenous communities are torn apart and neglected. Phoenix is not a pleasant, reassuring listen. It’s tough to get through at times. This is what makes it so worthwhile – others within Australian hip-hop may speak more broadly and to a wider audience, but Jimblah is down to brass tacks the second he steps up to the mic. It’s certainly not always what one wants to hear, but Alberts sees a way out. He seeks clarity and closure, both a resolution and a revolution. The march starts here. The most important new voice in Australian music is speaking. It’s high time you paid attention.

THREE TOP TRACKS: TV, Fireproof, March.

WATCH:

2. Buke and Gase – General Dome
Spotify || Rdio || Bandcamp

Four hands, four feet, twenty fingers, twenty toes and two voices. That is what’s solely responsible for General Dome. Let that sink in once you’ve heard the layered, mathematical and intrinsic arrangements that are prevalent throughout the entire LP. Something doesn’t quite add up – and it’s perhaps this very sentiment that make Buke & Gase such an intriguing project. Performing on custom-made hybrid instruments and churning out a mechanical blend of avant-garde experimentalism and twists on rock tropes, the duo make music that doesn’t so much think outside of the square as much as it throws entirely new shapes at it, leaving dents all over the outside. The tiniest of earworms will pull you in and there is a very strong chance you won’t be able to get back out again. General Dome is an engrossing album, one with everything in its right place and yet one that projects that everything could fall apart at any given second. The best album of 2036 to be released in 2013.

THREE TOP TRACKS: Cyclopean, Hiccup, Houdini Crush.

WATCH:

1. Childish Gambino – because the internet
Spotify || Rdio || Website

In 2013, Donald Glover turned thirty years old. He also killed off Troy Barnes in Community, posted a series of Instagram photos detailing his inner anguish and defiantly released an album at Christmastime even though he was fully aware that his album was about as empty of the holiday spirit as something could possibly be. It was a particularly interesting year for a man adored for his character acting and writing, respected enough for his stand-up and incredibly divisive when it came to his hip-hop alter-ego, Childish Gambino. That he has given up the first two to focus on the latter is an incredibly bold move, and one that is firmly cemented on because the internet.

With the album’s release, he also attached a screenplay and a series of silent short films to accompany listening. A peculiar prospect, to say the least. So, has he made the right choice in putting all of his eggs in one basket? All signs are pointing to yes: On his most ambitious project to date, Glover pushes himself in every musical direction he can muster. The album features his most sweetly melodic and sentimental moments, as well as his most brash and blunt. It flash-cuts from one idea to the next, not pausing to let others catch up. Incredibly, in spite of nearly filling its disc space, it barely feels as long as it actually is.

In what was a mammoth year for hip-hop releases – Drake, Kanye, Jay-Z et al – nothing was as shocking as Gambino’s last minute victory over their (and everyone else’s) albums. because the internet is the sound of the clown crying. As the make-up chips away and falls off, the man behind it is finally revealed. Hold me close, my darling.

THREE TOP TRACKS: Telegraph Ave, 3005, Sweatpants.

WATCH:

Sorry for the delays, I’ll try and have this one done as soon as possible.

Parts one, two and three? Here, here and here.

***

20. Jen Cloher – In Blood Memory
Spotify || Rdio || Bandcamp

After two albums with her loyal backing band the Endless Sea, Jen Cloher reached dry land and hit the ground running. A truly independent project, In Blood Memory wiped the slate clean and saw the former folk-rocker kicking her boots into some wandering Crazy Horse jams, some Velvet Underground stomps and some classic Cloher tenderness. All across the course of just seven songs. It’s an impressive feat, and it serves as both a welcome return for longtime fans and a fitting introduction to those that weren’t paying attention the first time around.

THREE TOP TRACKS: Hold My Hand, Toothless Tiger, Name in Lights.

WATCH:

19. Lemuria – The Distance is So Big
Spotify || Bandcamp

On their third album, Buffalo’s sweethearts take listeners through a world of looking in from the outside – whether it’s getting lost in a different state, hiding true feelings in intimate moments or simply losing perspective of who you once were. It may be occasionally obtuse from a lyrical standpoint, but in a way that’s what gives The Distance is So Big such a large portion of its charm – once you’ve unlocked the song’s greater meaning, it grows in quality. It is an album that takes time to process, but is ultimately an album that confirms a Lemuria hat trick.

THREE TOP TRACKS: Oahu, Hawaii, Brilliant Dancer, Bluffing Statistics.

WATCH:

18. The Drones – I See Seaweed
Spotify || Rdio

Five years in the wilderness saw the Drones return with a new member – keyboardist Stevie Hesketh – and a solo album under the belt for both frontman Gareth Liddiard and drummer Mike Noga. Still, the more things change, the more they stay the same: Seaweed, the band’s sixth LP, is a strict continuation of the sprawling, agonized ventures through indie rock, alt-country and shattering noise that has come to define what the Drones are all about. Rather than being a re-hash, it feels as fresh as it ever did; and we are richer for having heard it.

THREE TOP TRACKS: Laika, I See Seaweed, Nine Eyes.

WATCH:

17. Deafheaven – Sunbather
Spotify || Rdio || Bandcamp

Exactly how the year’s most talked-about metal album came from such a specific point in left-field remains a true conundrum. Perhaps it was the fact that it was such a unique approach to the genre, tessellating the incessant fervour and melodrama of proto-black metal with the atmosphere and volatility of shoegaze. Furthermore, it pushed into spectrums that are normally untoward within the confines of either genre; resulting in an album that is endlessly fascinating. This is an album to obssess over the details of – and the best part is that you get out exactly what you put in.

THREE TOP TRACKS: Vertigo, Dream House, The Pecan Tree.

LISTEN:

16. Ra Ra Riot – Beta Love
Spotify || Rdio

“Now we’re getting closer,” sings Wes Miles with jubilation on the title track to his band’s third studio album. Ra Ra Riot are heading in the right direction on this album, embracing their poppier side with a flourish of keyboards and heavens-high falsetto. Although critical reception was sadly tepid, there was a confidence in Beta Love that could not be shaken – it’s the sound of a band refusing to take the loss of a key member (in this instance, cellist Alexandra Lawn) hinder their growth. The show must go on. With Beta Love, you’ll be grateful that it did.

THREE TOP TRACKS: Is it Too Much, Binary Mind, Dance with Me.

WATCH:

15. Polar Bear Club – Death Chorus
Spotify || Rdio || YouTube

The gruff vocals of Polar Bear Club’s Jimmy Stadt occasionally provoked joking suggestions that he should clear his throat. Death Chorus is strange, then, in that it shows what they sound like with the aforementioned throat cleared. Vocal issues resulted in Stadt dramatically shifting his range and style, and pairing this with the introduction of three new members gave the band an entirely new lease on life. The album is an emotional strike-force that offered up boisterous energy and new-found conviction across a batch of ten punchy, forthright songs. What could have ended disastrously has instead given us the band’s best LP to date.

THREE TOP TRACKS: For Show, Blood Balloon, Upstate Mosquito.

WATCH:

14. Lorde – Pure Heroine
Spotify || Rdio

2013: The year of our Lorde. The introverted pop starlet may not have been the obvious choice to start some kind of musical revolution this year, but what gratitude that it fell to her. A quietly defiant and brassy voice of a disaffected, often apathetic youth, Lorde certainly knows how to make boredom sound utterly thrilling as she coos, cries and whispers over whirring synth and clattering drum patterns. Artists twice her age are still yet to attain the kind of left-of-centre pop precision that is found on Pure Heroine. That alone may be the scariest thing about this album – it’s merely the beginning.

THREE TOP TRACKS: Buzzcut Season, Tennis Court, A World Alone.

WATCH:

13. Kanye West – Yeezus
Spotify || Rdio

“And Jesus entered the temple and drove out all those who were buying and selling in the temple, and overturned the tables of the money changers and the seats of those who were selling doves. And He said to them, ‘It is written My House shall be called a House of prayer but you make it a den of robbers.’” – Matthew 21:12-16

In 2013, Kanye West overturned the tables. Not since his earliest, hungriest days has he sounded this furious at the world around him. On his sixth album, he takes down organised religion, institutionalised racism and struggles with alcoholism. It’s not a pretty sight, but you’ve already got Graduation for that. Also of note: One of the final things Lou Reed did before his passing was give this album his seal of approval. Take from that what you will.

THREE TOP TRACKS: I am a God, Black Skinhead, New Slaves.

WATCH:

12. Balance and Composure – The Things We Think We’re Missing
Spotify || Rdio || Bandcamp || YouTube

Too post-hardcore for the alt-rock crowd and too alt-rock for the post-hardcore crowd, Doylestown’s Balance and Composure have often been left in somewhat of a grey area from a musical perspective. What they display on their second studio album, The Things We Think We’re Missing, is that it is space worth exploring: like some bastard child of War All the Time and The Devil and God are Raging Inside Me, the album takes the loud-quiet-loud dynamic and applies it liberally to pedal-stomping angst and lovelorn brooding. A fresh, striking and shining example of what modern rock is capable of.

THREE TOP TRACKS: Back of Your Head, Tiny Raindrop, Parachutes.

WATCH:

11. The Dear Hunter – Migrant
Spotify || Rdio

How’s this for a puzzling prospect: A side-project-cum-full-band, based entirely around a single conceptual storyline, manages to make their absolute best record to date with a collection of non-canon songs. Ironic? Maybe. Whatever the case, Migrant was an album that was nothing short of majestic; matching the ambition of previous albums and veering it into breathtaking new territory. Each song is full to the brim with remarkable melodies, flourishing arrangements and a spirited warmth. With Migrant, the door has been kicked wide open for Casey Crescenzo and co. Who knows where it may take them next?

THREE TOP TRACKS: The Kiss of Life, Whisper, An Escape.

WATCH:

What you missed: Part one and part two. What comes after two again? Ahh, yeah. Three, sir! THREE! Enjoy.

***

30. Daylight – Jar
Spotify || Rdio || Bandcamp

In a great contrast to their band name, Jar proved to be one of the year’s most notable exercises in rainy-day miserablism. Stomping on their Big Muffs and defying diction like it was 1992, Jar is the kind of album that proves that there was a point to the post-grunge movement. For every Puddle of Mudd and Creed that we had to put up with, albums like this show us how it’s actually done. It’s a delicate balance between inspired and derivative – that much is a given. It is, however, what makes Jar thrive as an album.

THREE TOP TRACKS: In on It, Outside of Me, Sponge.

WATCH:

29. Waxahatchee – Cerulean Salt
Spotify || Rdio

From its strikingly intimate introduction – just the voice of Katie Crutchfield and her electric guitar – you would know within seconds whether this was going to be an album that one treasures and constantly revisits. It manages to have this kind of power without any of the music itself coming across as forceful, resonating brilliantly within its own immediate space. It’s an honest and occasional heartrending indie rock affair that details leaving youth behind and entering the next stage of life with trepidation and uncertainty. Albums like Cerulean Salt – and, more importantly, artists like Waxahatchee – matter.

WATCH:

THREE TOP TRACKS: Lively, Dixie Cups and Jars, Swan Dive.

28. Violent Soho – Hungry Ghost
Spotify || Rdio

We almost lost them there for a second: Their debut, We Don’t Belong Here, was a greatly promising and rousing lo-fi rock record; but its mostly-re-recorded eponymous follow-up was a case of too many cooks spoiling the broth. With some time away and some serious mileage under their belts, the band approached their third album as a compromise between their blistering debut and their more polished sophomore. The result was their best material to date: A pissed-off rock record that wasn’t afraid of a bit of melody to be mixed in with the grit. Hungry Ghost has elevated the band to the top of the food chain – catch a show and you’ll see why.

THREE TOP TRACKS: In the Aisle, Okay Cathedral, Covered in Chrome.

WATCH:

27. RÜFÜS – Atlas
Spotify || Rdio

Of all the Australian acts to top the ARIA album charts in 2013, RÜFÜS were potentially the most left-field. A slowburner within Sydney’s dance scene, the trio have matured and developed substantially in the lead-up to their debut; and Atlas is the kind of record that makes every second count. Moving away from the current dance obsession with a musical “drop,” RÜFÜS instead shift their focus towards the release – favourite subtlety and nuance over the swinging-hammer brutishness of their contemporaries. It pays off in spades: Atlas is one of the more important Australian albums of the last few years, genre regardless.

THREE TOP TRACKS: Desert Night, Unforgiven, Tonight.

26. Major Lazer – Free the Universe
Spotify || Rdio

Making music for wasted bros to lose their collective shit to isn’t quite rocket science – any douchebag with a laptop can get away with calling themselves a producer. That said, there’s an art form to it – and Major Lazer have it downpat. No-one can touch them, whether they’re providing the soundtrack to a Saturday night rave (“Mashup the Dance”) or a Sunday afternoon blaze (“Get Free”). The album also sports a guestlist that’s nothing short of insane. How crazy are we talking? They enlist one of the best singers in pop music to say the words “bubble butt” over and over.

THREE TOP TRACKS: Scare Me, Bubble Butt, Mashup the Dance.

WATCH:

25. Cloud Control – Dream Cave
Spotify || Rdio

The concrete jungle of London is as far a cry from the Blue Mountains as you can possibly get. How interesting, then, that Dream Cave – the long-awaited second album from expats Cloud Control – felt at times like a homecoming. Given, they’ve leapt down the proverbial rabbit hole here to push their sound into weird and wonderful territory; drenched in reverb and bold musical shifts. The core essence of the band, however, carries over from 2010’s Bliss Release – they still thrive on indie pop tinged with psychedelia and heavy on all-in vocals, projected loudly so it can be heard outside of the square. One of the year’s most warmly welcome returns.

THREE TOP TRACKS: Moonrabbit, Dojo Rising, Ice Age Heatwave.

WATCH:

24. Arcade Fire – Reflektor
Spotify || Rdio

There’s simply no other way to put it: In 2013, Arcade Fire became rock stars. What brought them into the limelight was their single most ambitious album to date – and anyone who has heard any of the band’s previous albums will know that this is a statement not made lightly. From its kitchen-sink production to its fearless genre-hopping, Reflektor is a rarity in that it’s a double album that justifies its existence. A new Arcade Fire album is still received with the religious fervour it has in the past – but there’s a lot more people in the church now. Praise be.

THREE TOP TRACKS: Normal Person, Here Comes the Night Time, Reflektor.

WATCH:

23. David Bowie – The Next Day
Spotify || Rdio

The Thin White Duke celebrated his 66^th birthday by announicing his first album in a decade and immediately dropping the lead single. Oh, how very fucking Bowie. After years of secret studio sessions and persistent rumours that his health was deteriorating, The Next Day was the year’s biggest comeback by a considerable amount. It didn’t take long to see why – the album has a confidence that is untoward of men even half Bowie’s age, striding through brassy rock and spaced-out pop with finesse and ease. Let’s hope we don’t have to wait until 2023 for more. We need him.

THREE TOP TRACKS: Valentine’s Day, I’d Rather Be High, The Next Day.

WATCH:

22. Paramore – Paramore
Spotify || Rdio || YouTube

One of Hayley Williams’ favourite pieces of clothing back in the day was a homemade tank-top with the phrase “PARAMORE IS A BAND” written on it. It was a message to everyone that derided them or only focused on Williams: the members of the band weren’t guns for hire. Following the departure of the Farro brothers in 2010, these cynics began to reappear. What happened next, however, could never have been anticipated: Paramore released their best LP to date. Refusing to be pigeonholed, this versatile pop affair was equal parts sugar and spice; resulting in a dynamic and defiant listen. Paramore is a band.

THREE TOP TRACKS: Ain’t It Fun, Fast in My Car, Still Into You.

WATCH: 

21. Savages – Silence Yourself
Spotify || Rdio

Savages are the kind of band who make songs that will make you wanna walk the streets at night with a switchblade in your hand – it’s dark, it’s sinister and it’s achingly cool. Tracing the post-punk movement to its earliest and most exasperate period, Silence Yourself maintains the rage with substantive force; making it a hell of a mission statement and especially impressive for a debut album. There’s a reason none of the band are looking at you directly in the eye on the album cover: You wouldn’t be able to handle it if any of them did.

THREE TOP TRACKS: Husbands, She Will, City’s Full.

WATCH:

Howdy.

Here’s where we left you last. Now, on with the rekkids!

***

40. King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard – Float Along – Fill Your Lungs
Spotify || Rdio || Bandcamp

Releasing three albums over the course of eighteen months is a level of hyperactive productivity that you just don’t find in many bands. The wildly weird septet have leapt from spliff-toting garage psych to gun-slinging spaghetti western in their brief yet illustrious time as a band, but it’s here that they fully realise their astronomical potential. Not only sporting the single best opening track of 2013, King Gizzard put together their strongest pound-for-pound material yet across warped guitar, banshee vocals and some spiralling moments of slow-mo bliss. When it comes to tripping the light fantastic, this is a band that truly emphasises the last part.

THREE TOP TRACKS: Pop in My Step, Head On/Pill, Float Along – Fill Your Lungs.

WATCH:

39. Northlane – Singularity
Spotify || Rdio

When it came to the heavier spectrum of Australian music in 2013, you simply could not go past the efforts of a crew of Western Sydney twentysomethings with a metric shit-tonne of ambition and the musical chops to pull it off. Not only did Singularity completely trump its predecessor – their 2011 debut, Discoveries – but it sonically took the band onto a different plain entirely. Drawing a striking contrast between atmospheric ambience and scorched-earth catharsis, the album is a full-scale assault on the senses. Invigorating and undeniable by nature, Singularity is indicative of not only a truly impressive present but as an incredibly bright prospect.

THREE TOP TRACKS: Worldeater, Masquerade, Quantum Flux.

WATCH:

38. Charlie Parr – Barnswallow
Spotify || Rdio

Perhaps the most un-2013 album to be released in 2013: An album of barnyard stomps, croaky storytelling and blues in its most traditional style. Although this is far from Parr’s first rodeo – it marked his eleventh studio album in twelve years – it’s a record that sees a strength in songwriting that has never shone through quite this way. An energy builds with washboard percussionist Mikkel Beckman and harmonica/mandolin player Dave Hundreiser; while the characters in each track are painted so vividly, you feel their every movement. Essentially, Barnswallow is a direct response to “They don’t make ’em like this anymore.” Actually, they do.

THREE TOP TRACKS: Badger, Jesus is a Hobo, Henry Goes to the Bank.

WATCH:

37. The Dillinger Escape Plan – One of Us is the Killer
Spotify || Rdio

After sixteen years in the game, you would at the very least be understanding if the output of The Dillinger Escape Plan was on any kind of decline. Instead, the band made a return this year that proved beyond any shadow of a doubt that they were still a merciless, (literally) fire-breathing beast to be reckoned with. The rage is very much maintained on their fifth and potentially best LP; barely allowing for a moment to catch one’s breath before tearing into the next vitriolic, bile-laden exercise in off-kiler chaos. If any metal album was going to tear you apart in 2013, it was more than likely going to be this one.

THREE TOP TRACKS: One of Us is the Killer, Understanding Decay, Prancer.

WATCH:

36. Caves – Betterment
Spotify || Rdio || Bandcamp || YouTube || Soundcloud

If you’ve ever seen – or, at least, seen any footage of – Caves live, their set up is very simple. One guitar, one bass, one drum kit and two microphones set up so that vocalist/guitarist Lou Hanman and vocalist/bassist Jonathan Minto are facing one another. Betterment, the band’s second album, is the recorded embodiment of this set-up. You’ve got grinding bass to your right, buzzsaw guitar to your left, pounding drums in the middle and defiant shout-along vocals over the top of the whole thing. It’s raw, it’s unapologetic and it’s a fucking fun listen. High-fives all ’round.

THREE TOP TRACKS: ❤ Koala, Build Against, I Don’t Care, I Don’t Care.

LISTEN:

35. Aluka – Space
Spotify || Rdio ||Bandcamp

Everyone from Bobby McFerrin to Anna Kendrick has explored the majesty of a capella over the years, but few have kept the spirit and the warmth of it alive quite like Aluka. The Melburnian trio finally released their debut album in 2013, going to great lengths to provide stunning vocal arrangements in the most peculiar of places. Recorded across hallways, stairwells, depots and even in their cars, producer Nick Huggins captures each song in its essence and meticulously crafts it into its own environment. Space is a thoroughly rewarding experiment in the power of a voice and a voice alone.

THREE TOP TRACKS: Station, TipToe, Swim Down.

WATCH:

34. The National – Trouble Will Find Me
Spotify || Rdio

Is this at all surprising as an entry? Really, were the sharpest-dressed men in all of indie rock ever going to deliver something short of exceptional? When your last two albums are as seminal, moving and brilliantly-written as 2007’s Boxer and 2010’s High Violet, one can only assume the next time around will follow suit. This is exactly what happened – from its intimate, striking confessionals to its all-in jaunts through rockier musical territory, Trouble Will Find Me comfortably held its own as one of the year’s most anticipated and subsequently beloved albums. They deserve nothing less as a band.

THREE TOP TRACKS: Graceless, Sea of Love, Don’t Swallow the Cap.

WATCH:

33. Speedy Ortiz – Major Arcana
Spotify || Rdio

Perhaps the most curious aspect of Major Arcana, the debut album for Northampton noisemakers Speedy Ortiz, is how it manages to capture the squirming discomfort and musical disarray of the indie rock movement through the 90s – and, yet, it comes out the other side sounding fresh and raucous rather than tepid and old-hat. It certainly isn’t the first record of its kind, and studies show that it will most certainly not be the last. What it is, however, is one of the finest examples in recent years of striking the balance between influence and inspiration. A truly outstanding rock record.

THREE TOP TRACKS: MKVI, Tiger Tank, Fun.

WATCH:

32. Seahorse Divorce – Seahorse Divorce
Spotify || Bandcamp

“I’ll start the story at the end,” offers vocalist Joshua Coxon during “Recurring,” the opening track of his band’s eponymous debut. From there, he and his exceptional crew of bandmates take us through a slew of lush math-rock excursions in sound matched to poignant and searching lyricism. As far as debut efforts went throughout the year, Seahorse Divorce proved to have some of the strongest replay value. It revealed a greater sense of character and some truly smart songwriting along the way. It ultimately didn’t even matter where the story started – as long as you were around to listen to it.

THREE TOP TRACKS: Summarise Proust, Recurring, Rogers Street.

WATCH: 

31. Panic! At the Disco – Too Weird to Live, Too Rare to Die!
Spotify || Rdio

Despite being four albums in, Panic! At the Disco have never made two records in a row with the exact same personnel as the one before. It’s this that lends the band to being somewhat of a blank canvas at times – they have explored most of pop’s wider spectrums in greater depth than most of their contemporaries, yet have rarely stayed for more than a spell. Here, vocalist Brendon Urie – along with mainstay drummer Spencer Smith and new bassist Dallon Weekes – try on roller-disco grooves, Kraftwerk-esque robo-pop and bi-curious kiss-offs. It’s queer by nature, and this is perhaps its greatest attribute.

THREE TOP TRACKS: Girls/Girls/Boys, Vegas Lights, Far Too Young to Die.

WATCH:

I was originally going to put this together with a look back at how I feel about these songs now, but that would mean writing about 2007 200 times and I don’t think I have the energy for that anymore. I have been making my top 100 lists since 2005, although the 2005 list is long gone and I can only remember the top 3 (I Predict a Riot, All the Young Fascists and Bedroom Talk, respectively).

This was my first year of writing blurbs/annotations for each song. I have a few others that I’m going to throw up over the course of the year, but for now I wanted to present – unedited – one of my first proper attempts at music writing from when I was sixteen years old. It’s not pretty for the most part, but it’s at least an insight into what I was like at the time. So, enjoy – if you can, that is!

P.S: I apologise in advance for the Korn.

– DJY, January 2014

***

100. Kaiser Chiefs – Love’s Not A Competition (But I’m Winning)

All things considered, this was probably my favourite Kaiser Chiefs track on the new album. “I Predict a Riot” was my number one song of 2005, but Yours Truly didn’t really live up to the expectations. The singles were good, but unfortunately didn’t make the cut. This one, however, was a lovely Morrissey-esque number that describes the turmoil found in love, and is a worthy inclusion in the top list.

99. Muscles – Ice Cream

“WOOO! AHHH!” Let’s face it, if you’re a fan of Australian music, dancing and Triple J (preferably all three at the same time), it was very hard to escape this little tune. It was, of course, the Midnight Juggernauts that lead the Australian dance scene in 2007, but it was this small-time Melburnian that managed to do it with twice the gusto and two-thirds less people. If this song doesn’t restore your faith in ice cream saving the day, I have no idea what will.

98. James Blunt – I’ll Take Everything

You could use this track alone to show how much James Blunt has progressed as both a songwriter and musician since Back to Bedlam. With a great beat, infectious chorus and heart-on-the-sleeve vocals, this was a real surprise on first listen to All The Lost Souls – I actually prefer this over all the singles on Bedlam, and this hasn’t even been released as a single! Pity, it could do well.

97. Common (feat. Lily Allen) – Drivin’ Me Wild

Everything about this song is – Common, as an MC, can rarely put a foot wrong, if ever; and Lily Allen provides a killer hook that you just can’t help but sing along to. This stands both as one of the best hip-hop songs of the year and a standout of Common’s extensive career.

96. KoЯn – Kiss

One of the more twisted, darker tunes on the band’s untitled album. The song finds Jon Davis in a dead-end relationship, continually being “pushed away”. Sure, it’s an idea that’s been used before, but KoЯn belt this one out as if their lives depended on it. Essentially, the elements of this song are what was lacking in the band’s last three records, which disappointed pretty much everyone. Give Untitled a chance – it’s actually really good.

95. The John Butler Trio – Gov Did Nothin’

“Now I don’t wish to offend, no I don’t wanna start a fight/But do you really think the Gov would’ve done nothing/If all those people were white?”. An amazingly epic triumph from Johnny B’s latest, the dreadlocked guitar hero enlists a cast of thousands to tell a tale that is outspoken, political and powerful. Grand National is a great album, but this song rose head and shoulders above pretty much everything else on it.

94. Horsell Common – Good From Afar

Pretty much nothing hit me in the face quicker than this song in 2007. Horsell Common have always been a great band, but the urgency and heaviness found on this song matches nothing else they’ve done. The big “HEY! HEY!” chant, the pounding drums and that riff- it stuck in heads, hearts and moshpits throughout the year, and deservedly so.

93. Linkin Park – What I’ve Done

This signalled the return of Linkin Park to the airwaves. There’s no strings attached here, no hidden meaning, no complex layers – just a mainstream rock song that happens to kick arse. That’s all there is to it, and that’s why it works.

92. Foo Fighters – Erase/Replace

The Dave has been unleased after the calm that was disc two of In Your Honour. The Fooeys here are tight, energetic, loud and a whole lot of fun. How the hell they can go from the calm gentle bridge to the absolute rip-snorter of a final chorus is beyond me. Still awesome after all these years!

91. The Red Paintings – We Belong in the Sea

Another beautiful number from an incredible band. The Feed the Wolf EP felt a little too thrown together with two covers and two different versions of the same song, but the two originals found on the EP are unbelievably good. The song features Trash McSweeney at his arguably most heartfelt, and the instrumentation is perfect for the song’s mood. It’s almost as if the band can do no wrong.

90. The Chemical Brothers – The Salmon Dance

If you did not dance, laugh, or even smile at this awesome little number, your heart is dead. Nothing else needs to be said here.

89. Arctic Monkeys – Brianstorm

The Monkeys wasted no time getting right back into our heads with this little ditty at the very beginning of the year. Everything about this song is simply electric, hardly stopping at all for breath- and the addition of the organ was a really nice touch. This song alone is proof that Favourite Worst Nightmare was neither a second album flop or a carbon copy of its predecessor.

88. Blaqk Audio – The Love Letter

Originally, the Blaqk Audio tune that made the cut was lead single “Stiff Kittens.” But upon further listening to the album, no song stood out more than this stunning, emotional ballad with AFI overlord Davey Havok in fine form. For a side project, B.A. has done outstandingly well. This is Davey and Jade’s Postal Service to AFI’s Death Cab- still the same high quality of music, just in the eletronica kingdom.

87. Midnight Juggernauts – Tombstone

Daft Punk. There, I said it. I didn’t want to, but it’s incredibly hard to think of this song and not think of the French pioneers. Having said that, Tombstone is a hit, with a simple robotic hook and a wave of synth that could bowl any indie kid over, and bring the stiffest body in the room onto the dancefloor. The fact that something this good in dance music comes from here in Australia is just the cherry on top! PARTEH!

86. Operator Please – Zero! Zero!

What a fantastic way to kick off the album. This basically sums up what the band is all about- viciously hyperactive pop music with twistedly good lyrics washed over it. Operator Please and Red Bull would be a daring combination, and one I’m more than willing to try at the Big Day Out.

85. The Presets – My People

The Presets kicked back into our consciences with yet another dancefloor anthem. The energy and production here are top-notch, and Julian’s howl makes for one hell of a hook. It’s more of the same power-techno-pop that we’ve heard from Presets singles in the past, and while not a lot has changed, it’s good to see the boys haven’t dropped their game.

84. Radiohead – Faust Arp

Everything about this song just works. Jonny Greenwood’s Nick Drake-esque finger picking teamed up with Thom Yorke’s complex lyrics and stripped-back vocals and the subtle introduction of the beautiful string section. This is easily the most simple song on In Rainbows, but at the same time it is also one of the true standouts.

83. Liam Finn – Second Chance

The son of the legendary Neil Finn made some cracking tunes whilst in Betchadupa, but nothing quite as extraordinary as here. Now out on his own, the bushy-bearded Kiwi blasts us with glorious alt-pop with plenty of diversity and energy. If you like what you hear, I highly recommend going out and buying his album I’ll Be Lightning – he deserves all your support!

82. Battles – Leyendecker

I could go on for ages about how amazing this band is and how much I dig their songs. But only one thing needs to be said to justify the song and its place in my top 100: “Ahh ahh ahh ahhhhhhhhahh oooh ohh ooh oh oooooooooooooooh oooooooooooooooh.”

81. Faker – This Heart Attack

Not sure what happened with Faker this year. This Heart Attack was a fantastic little ditty, catchy as all hell and a great return to form. But Be The Twilight has sunk without a trace and I have barely heard from them since. Oh well, I can always go back to “Teenage Werewolf.” Ahh, memories.

We’re moseying on out of list season for another year, but before we do there’s still one last big mountain to climb. It’s time to count down the top 50 albums of 2013. Yes, there has been a billion of these over the past month or so – surely you can stomach one more without it turning into that scene from The Meaning of Life. Right? I hope so, anyway. Without further ado!

***

HONOURABLE MENTIONS: Endless Heights, Janelle Monae, Dumb Numbers, Rosetta, Horrorshow, The Civil Wars, Sigur Ros, Au Revoir Simone, Pluto Jonze, Drumgasm, The Internet, Eleventh He Reaches London, Heights, City and Colour, Little Scout, Eminem, Austin Lucas, Arctic Monkeys, Tired Pony, Queens of the Stone Age, GROUPLOVE, The Uncluded, The Front Bottoms and Red Fang…

50. The Wonder Years – The Greatest Generation
Spotify || Rdio || YouTube

Few bands quite understand the joys, the plights, the struggles and the occasional existential crises that come with your twenties quite like The Wonder Years – mostly because they’re right there along with you. Over four albums, the band have evolved into spokesmen for pop-punk not just being for angsty, bedroom-dwelling teens. It can progress, mature and occasionally stir the extreme sides of the emotional spectrum. The sextet still find themselves struggling through small-town bullshit, life on the road and that unshakable fear of missing out. It’s in how they deal with it through the majesty of song that makes The Greatest Generation such a rewarding listen.

THREE TOP TRACKS: I Just Want to Sell Out My Funeral, Passing Through a Screen Door, We Could Die Like This.

WATCH:

49. Citizen – Youth
Spotify || Rdio || Bandcamp

Believe it or not, there are still some bands who are keeping the dream alive for those that grew up with Taking Back Sunday, Jimmy Eat World, Something Corporate and Matchbook Romance. Citizen may well wear their influences explicitly, but it would be foolhardy to discredit Youth, their debut LP, as simply a product of its environment. Repeat listens will slowly but surely reveal a record with its own identity; intertwining elements of melodic hardcore and alternative rock while tapping into raw-nerve emotion to amalgamate into something vital, fresh and poignant. For those with pain and sadness a little more painful and sad than the rest.

THREE TOP TRACKS: The Summer, Roam the Room, The Night I Drove Alone.

LISTEN:

48. Foot Village – Make Memories
Spotify || Rdio || Bandcamp

Easily one of the year’s weirdest albums also turned out to be one of its most wonderful. Essentially a furious drum circle, the four percussionists that make up this Los Angeles band build up rhythms and beats only to tear them apart, slowly and vigorously. It’s primitive and barbaric, making it a perfect album to inhabit oneself in and lose track of the outside world entirely. Full of thunderous tom rolls and shrieked, quasi-philosophical mantras (“Why is there a God/And why is there not?”), Make Memories will certainly do just that over time. Indelible ones, too.

THREE TOP TRACKS: The End of the World, 1600 Dolla Bill, AIDS Sucks, Make Money.

47. Defeater – Letters Home
Spotify

Without an acoustic guitar in sight, Defeater delivered a straight shot of their thinking-man’s hardcore on album number three. Letters Home is a take-no-prisoners affair; a full realisation of the band’s capabilities and songwriting integrity that encapsulates both their notable past and prosperous future. The high-concept lyricism follows on from the previous two records; delving further into the main character’s family history and their father’s trials and tribulations, with results that are nothing short of white-knuckle intense. It’s delivered with the conviction and fury of men possessed, awakening a fire in the belly that is becoming increasingly difficult to find within the genre.

THREE TOP TRACKS: Hopeless Again, Bastards, Bled Out.

WATCH:

46. Touché Amoré – Is Survived By
Spotify || Rdio

“I was once asked how I’d like to remembered/And I simply smiled and said ‘I’d rather stay forever.’” So begins Is Survived By, an album of surmountable emotional weight and stunning introspection. By means of contrast, 2011’s Parting the Sea… was the kind of record that smacked you around the head brutally for 20 minutes and then left without any further explanation. Impressive, sure; but what would happen if they let those ideas sink in for a little longer? Is Survived By was the answer – and it proved that we’re dealing with one of the most consistently interesting bands in hardcore today.

THREE TOP TRACKS: DNA, Just Exist, Harbor.

WATCH:

45. And So I Watch You from Afar – All Hail Bright Futures
Spotify || Rdio || Bandcamp

It’s been said that actions speak louder than words. Northern Ireland quartet And So I Watch You From Afar like to put this theory into action by, for the most part, letting their music do the talking – and boy, is it loud. Sounding like Battles on happy pills, All Hail Bright Futures is a rousing and rambunctious collection of bounding, galloping avant-garde guitar-pop. Of their three albums to date, it is easily their most energetic – there’s simply no such thing as a passive listen to Bright Futures. You’ll be hoping the sun stays in your eyes as long as possible.

THREE TOP TRACKS: Ambulance, Big Thinks Do Remarkable, The Stay Golden Parts 1-3.

44. Kirin J Callinan – Embracism
Spotify || Rdio || Bandcamp

Perhaps “eccentric” is a phrase a little too obvious, but let’s just say that few people in Australian music have as vivid an imagination as Kirin J Callinan. The peculiar performer has taken his time in building towards this debut solo effort, swerving in his musical departures constantly in order to not be cornered into any particular style or sound. This continues here, moving through terrifying, dark ambience and the occasional pop hook thrown in just to mess with your head even further. Just when you think you know all the answers, Embracism goes right ahead and changes all of the questions.

THREE TOP TRACKS: Victoria M., W II W, Embracism.

WATCH:

43. Beyoncé – Beyoncé

As December drew to a close, most felt that it was safe to start doing their end-of-year lists. Nothing much else to see here in 2013. Then, of course, this happened.

Mrs. Carter essentially broke the internet with the release of her fifth album; but when the hype subsided, this was genuinely worth getting excited about. After a decade of being a singles artists, releasing phenomenal radio smashes attached to patchy, inconsistent full-lenghths, Beyonce finally graduated to being an album artist. Expanding a full spectrum from her darkest and nastiest to her brightest and bubbliest material, this eponymous affair topped off what was already a spectacular year.

THREE TOP TRACKS: XO, Partition, Drunk in Love.

WATCH: 

42. Neko Case – The Worse Things Get, The Harder I Fight, The Harder I Fight, The More I Love You
Spotify || Rdio

There’s a scene in the film Cool Runnings in which Yul Brenner asks his soon-to-be teammate, Junior, to look in the mirror. “Let me tell you what I see,” he says. “I see pride! I see power! I see a bad-ass mother who don’t take no crap off of nobody!” One must imagine that something similar happened to Neko Case in-between 2009’s Middle Cyclone and her lengthily-titled sixth album. Rich in alt-country melody and open-book honesty, it ranks as one of her finest efforts to date across her extensive discography. Pride and power are the orders of the day – and things can only get better from here.

THREE TOP TRACKS: Man, Nearly Midnight, Honolulu, Night Still Comes.

41. Death Grips – Government Plates
YouTube || Soundcloud

Another year, another round of Death Grips doing whatever the fuck they want, whenever the fuck they want. Apropos of nothing, they dropped their third studio album all over the internet – whether you caught it on YouTube, Soundcloud or even through a download link on the band’s own website, there was no escaping it. They made sure it was heard, too – raging on with their snarling, abrasive take on industrial-tinged rave-hop ensured that they would blow any speaker system you dared to play them through. The creative juices seem to be relentless when it comes to this trio; and those not yet on board only have themselves to blame.

THREE TOP TRACKS: Whatever I Want (Fuck Who’s Watching), This is Violence Now, You may think he loves you for your money but I know that he really loves you for your brand new leopard skin pillbox hat.

WATCH:

***