1. 'Good Luck, Babe!' - Chappell Roan
Utterly haunting, strange, beautiful, and anthemic, this was the song that broke Roan to a wider audience, and it already feels like an evergreen classic - as weirdly poppy and uncannily original as Buddy Holly once was. Given the many great women performers doing top work this year, to come out of almost nowhere with a totally great song is amazing, but she did it. Lyrics, performance, music - it all came together on so many levels, and left us shivering with awe. Song of the year? Yes.
2. 'Powdered Sugar' - The Boxer Rebellion
This vaguely obscure band based in LA but with some British interest has been on the periphery of breaking into the top tier of mournful, poetic guy bands who do neo-new wave music, for years, with songs on TV shows often. They are sometimes cruelly compared to Coldplay or even Radiohead. But actually, their lyrics, vocals and catchy sad-indie-pop, is not the same as those bands give us - this band has its own vibe, closer to Simple Minds, if toned down a few notches of flamboyance. This new song is especially icy, melancholy, exquisitely catchy, and gorgeous, with its chiming guitars and synths, and the image of kisses as like "powdered sugar" and the "sweetness of another" makes it beautiful.
3. 'Whiskey - Arooj Aftab
Fans of world music will know that Aftab is the great crossover artist of her generation - she combines an awareness of music and poetry from India and Pakistan, with contemporary sounds (including soundscapes) from many genres. With a wonderful rich voice, a super-charismatic stage presence, and a dreamily romantic approach, her new album has an almost Norah Jones meets k.d. lang sound - jazzy, with harps, and sumptuous production.
4. 'Who Goes There?' - The Smashing Pumpkins
The Cure had a remarkable return this year, and therefore somewhat obscured other great indie bands' returns, including Pixies and the Pumpkins. If you don't like their lead vocals, you'll hate this. Yes, it is nasal. But it is also top-rank romantic dreampop, with some great lyrics, and feels worthy of their 90s pomp.
5. 'Classical' - Vampire Weekend
Having never really changed as much as music journalists claim, the best aspect of this band is that they sound like rich millennial brats from the American East Coast, creating upbeat songs between Boston classes or martinis, lifted from the clear DNA of Paul Simon... and, erm... Paul Simon. But what makes them different is that they have their own jouissance, tone and focus: chiefly, a tragic view of history and a comedic hope of life. This is both terribly catchy and very smart, like a mandolin, accordion, drumkit falling down the stairs with a Wurlitzer and achieving a PhD.
6. 'TK421' - Lenny Kravitz
Does anyone take him seriously? Who cares. Kravitz remains maybe the coolest, sexiest guy to play guitar since Hendrix. Or so he thinks. Anyway, this Prince-like Funkadelic track is so danceable and fun, you may even forget it is a celebration of a certain Star Wars stormtrooper. Murder on the dancefloor indeed!
7. 'May Ninth' - Khruangbin
Probably the hippest group I could ever namecheck, I hope I score some points for just knowing about them, lol. This is so dreamy, light, melodious, cool, easy-listening, with beautiful vocals, you can just chill to it, you know, when you need to. The cure for much of the anxiety of the year.
8. 'Lucid Girl' - Thee Sacred Souls
Pitch-perfect stylishly-made, and impeccably produced homage to R and B chillout/makeout classic tracks from the 60s and 70s, this is so lovely, divine, rich and unforgettable, you won't forget it anytime. Try driving across America with it on repeat.
9. 'Your Name in Lights' - Simple Minds
I am a maniacal Simple Minds fan. This may not be in your top ten, but it very cleverly takes elements of all the key eons of their career, especially referencing 'Alive and Kicking' and the early cold new wave inspired by Kraftwerk. It takes a few plays to really get it, and then you'll want to find a disco that will play it so you can wave your arms in the air and move like Young Kerr. And yes, it has the anthemic soaring bits. We have to now admit this band is classic.
10. 'Cognitive Dissident' - The The
Back after decades away, with recovery from serious throat issues, here comes the original weird outcast maverick from the 80s, angry as hell, and with a songbook of endlessly potent hits, each a bit eccentric and brilliant... but his weakness was becoming preachy, didactic and obvious... which this song would be, except, post-Trump getting elected, it has an odd new resonance - he's an anti-vaxxer/conspiracy guy himself in some ways... so who does he side with, really? "West is East" indeed.
11. 'Lady' - Zoe Saldana, Mark Ivanir
One of the weird songs from Emilie Perez, the wildly-controversial Mexican sex-change cartel boss musical that did well at Cannes and is now on NETFLIX. Despite the lyrics barely making sense, in the context of what the characters later do, or think, it's incredibly catchy. I can't get it out of my head, and it does encapsulate the divisive arguments at the heart of the film.
12. 'The Commons' - Amble
Trigger warning: this song is so sad it is hard to accept. Based on the story of a suicide who leaves a "letter on a train" for a "stranger to turn and read" - with no date or name - the gentle thoughtful lyrics and vocals, and folksy guitar strumming, render the whole package gut-wrenching yet achingly inspiring, for some reason - it is a superb song in a low-key, and heralds the Irish group as potential future big players, in the sort of genre that Fleet Foxes and others are stars of.
13. 'Lowdown' - Michael Kiwanuka
Imagine if the Beatles, at their most LSD-addled, wrote a comedown song, and got Bob Dylan to play on it too, you'd get a sense of this exquisitely late 60s sound - but somehow, Kiwanuka makes the territory his own. Really satisfying. It has that downbeat, sad-happy feel.
14. 'Archbishop Harold Holmes' - Jack White
White at his most intense captures the insane mania and devilish personae at the core of old-school rock and roll - its nihilistic strutting energy and bizarre statements. This is probably one of his finest nutsy-cuckoo performances, and the whole thing sounds like Led Zep and Robert Johnson met at the crossroads and wrote a song with the Devil. Hilarious and exciting, even if inspired by a popular musical.
15. 'The Feminine Urge' - The Last Dinner Party
One of the best new UK bands, with fantastic quasi-60s dramatic notes here, this could also be a Smiths song, almost, although it is at times almost a Motown girl group song. It soars, with attitude and angst, and immense charisma - erotic, funny, and punky, in a luscious way. A hot new anthem. Loads of fun and musical talent here,
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