I'll be unveiling #101-#250 as 20-second snippets (totalling about 50 minutes) and then #51-#100 as longer snippets before the top 50 will be played in full! I'll be revealing the lower half of my top 500 in the meantime in this thread
For a look into what might be in the top section of my list, my mid-year list can be found here and in my first thread: https://pastebin.com/2jCNfvfk Last edited:
Like last year I have a list of songs from the previous year that I enjoyed listening to in 2020. The list is very much without any defining qualifiers of inclusion because some of these songs have vastly different degrees of relevance to 2020 to others
0171 - 1000 Words 0171 - SMTHN RL 220 KID & GRACEY - Don't Need Love 24kGoldn - CITY OF ANGELS Annie Hamilton - Kitchen Arlo Parks - Paperbacks Ava Max - Salt DIIV - Like Before You Were Born DIIV - Taker Doja Cat - Streets Doja Cat feat. Gucci Mane - Like That Foals - Sunday Hope D - Swim KAYTRANADA feat. Durand Bernarr - Freefall Nilüfer Yanya - Paradise Nyxen - Insomnia Poppy - Fill the Crown Post Malone - Saint-Tropez Sam Fender - Hypersonic Missiles SASSY 009 - Maybe in the Summer SebastiAn & Gallant - Run for Me The 1975 - People Tove Lo - Mistaken Tove Lo feat. MC Zaac - Are U Gonna Tell Her? TR/ST - Iris Zoe A'dore - Galaxy
This list is less consequential than last year's since I already love most of these originals and featured all but two 2017 songs in my last two years of EOY lists but nonetheless, these are some of my favourite 2020-released remixes/alternate versions:
Allie X & Della Casa - Downtown (2020) Angel Olsen - New Love Cassette [Mark Ronson Remix] Angel Olsen - (Summer) Song (essentially an acoustic version of "Summer") Dua Lipa - Don't Start Now [KAYTRANADA Remix] Dua Lipa - Future Nostalgia [Joe Goddard Remix] Georgia feat. Yung Baby Tate - Feel It Robyn - Honey [Avalon Emerson's Deep Current Reroll] ROSALÍA - A Palé [Gesaffelstein Remix] Tinashe & THEY. - Hopscotch Tinashe & ZHU feat. Ms Banks - Die a Little Bit
2020 remixes I really liked will be littered throughout the list as always!
As a change from only revealing my favourite songs of the year in my long mid-year and yearly lists, I've wanted to do so in a slightly different way for a while, having long accepted that weekly charts just don't work for me with every occasional impulse that I have to attempt to revive mine (as much as I do wish I had an extensive chart history that spans more than one year ). I began saving all the current music I liked on Spotify in late 2016 and this has been my method of keeping up with everything since. Provided I don't accidentally un-save a song and remove it from its original place in date order (I feel like most Spotify updates make it increasingly easier to do this ), it makes it really useful to decide what ends up in my end of year lists. So I've decided to isolate the 2021 songs I've saved in each month of the year and rank the songs after the end of the month, which should be a nice touchstone for when I do make an EOY list. I like the idea of having everything grouped amongst songs I've saved at the same time rather than by release date, though it might expose how late I am to some things further down the line In a way it's like what a chart might look like from me without any songs returning for a second week.
To start I have 65 songs that were released in January 2021 that I happened to save, which is more than expected and is indeed more than the 46 2020 songs I saved last January (and the 50 in January 2019, 38 in January 2018 and... 14 in January 2017 :p). I've shuffled the order of the top 7 songs since the end of the month so I'd call it a strong start to the year!
Commentary is less daunting without looking down the barrel of 100 or so songs so here goes... my first #1 belongs to Julien Baker's "Hardline". I liked boygenius' song "Bite the Hand" quickly (which I always seem to hear when I'm in IKEA lol) but I was surprised to find "Hardline" to be so instant after unfairly thinking the rest of her solo music would sound as kind of... stoic as "Appointments" (not necessarily a bad thing but it took me a while to get into it). This song sounds as precarious as its lyrics - there's something about those heavy organ chords at the start that make it so easy to just sink into its doom. It reminds me of "Breathe Me" in the release that comes with the instrumental chorus. Last year I really warmed to Baby Queen's debut "Internet Religion", which I'm sure Spotify would sort alongside "Mad at Disney" or something but instead reminds me more of "Give Yourself a Try" [s]without Matty Healy's generally insufferable persona[/s] in how she dresses some scathing and depressing commentary in such a warm and fuzzy song. Her EP was quite solid ("Buzzkill" and "Pretty Girl Lie" were highlights), but her first single of this year "Raw Thoughts" is perhaps the most worthy follow-up to "Internet Religion", aptly matching its breathless energy and impressive lyricism. I've keenly anticipated a full album from HUGE DANNY L Harle for a long time - his work across his two amazing EPs, one-off singles, production for other artists and remixes have made him one of my absolute favourite producers. Last year's "Dreaming" hinted at something harder and reminiscent of happy hardcore compared to the sugary-sounding singles he'd released before. "On a Mountain", one of the first tastes from the album, lands somewhere in the middle. Unexpectedly the vocalist is not co-writer (and "1UL" vocalist) Eyelar but Georgia Twinn, who delivered my second favourite song titled "I Don't Mind" last year (cue money/pole emojis). London Grammar's 2017 album had enough really lovely songs on it to make me hold them in a higher regard than I'd previously thought and the singles from their new album have also been pleasantly interesting and quite distinct from each other. "Lose Your Head" has become my favourite so far, I really like the build-up of textures which makes the chorus sound almost chant-like. A more recent grower in Odette's "Amends" is #5. It's her first in a while to resonate with me so strongly and I think it's down to the interesting twists in the melody and especially the chorus, which feels like it grows in intensity each time. The saxophone makes things all the more lush. I've been a fan of Bicep's music from the second I heard "Glue", which is probably the perfect introduction to their sound. Their music is so sparse and repetitive that it could sound simple to some, but I love the indulgence in how the songs develop and their new album Isles certainly delivers on that front. Even after three of its best tracks were released last year, there are still highlights to be found in its new songs; my two favourites are album closer "Hawk" and "X" featuring Clara La San (of their previous collaboration "Saku" which was #79 in my EOY). I think "Mariners Apartment Complex" marked a really important shift in Lana Del Rey's music because everything from her since has sounded so good. Even when I didn't find myself as intensely in love with NFR! as a whole as a lot of others did ("Venice Bitch" set too high a bar obviously) I think Jack Antonoff has more than proven himself to be a great collaborator especially in Lana's case. I'm quite looking forward to Chemtrails Over the Country Club (COCC if you will) if the title track is anything to go by. She has a knack for memorable choruses and "Chemtrails"' hook is really catchy and becomes more charming over its runtime. Aly & AJ are demanding that we "Listen!!!" ahead of their new album When The Pawn Hits The Conflicts He Thinks Like A King When We All Fall Asleep Where Do We Go When The Fire Goes Out. "Listen!!!" is one of my favourite offerings from their solid recent string of releases and it sounds closer to their 2017 EP in sound (very pleasing to me as "I Know" from their EP is my favourite single of theirs). I liked the previous two songs she's released since her 2019 mixtape but it feels like Slayyyter is properly back with "Troubled Paradise". It's more straight-forwardly conventional than maybe ever before for her but she's certainly not alienating me with a chorus as huge as this one. Broods have returned alongside Bad Sounds in the very good sounds of "Move Into Me". I don't have much to say about it other than that it took me a while to place that the twinkly piano reminds me of Flight Facilities' "Two Bodies" and that Georgia Nott is one of my favourite voices (and people) and a worthy addition to anything. And that somehow "Hospitalized" is two years old.
Elsewhere: my favourite offering from Maggie Lindemann's recent pivot into pop rock (which is unexpectedly an Alex Lahey and Gordi cowrite), Mall Grab and Ross From Friends with quite long songs that I couldn't tell you how they sounded from the title but are very good, a fantastic new remix of one of my favourite songs from Perfume Genius' last album, Blanck Mass in unusually short form thanks to the single edit of new song "Starstuff" and ELIO's Charger (which already sounded like "Gone" before Charli XCX made a new version of the song) among other songs...
1
Julien Baker
Hardline
2
Baby Queen
Raw Thoughts
3
Danny L Harle
On a Mountain
4
London Grammar
Lose Your Head
5
Odette
Amends
6
Bicep feat. machìna
Hawk
7
Lana Del Rey
Chemtrails Over the Country Club
8
Aly & AJ
Listen!!!
9
Slayyyter
Troubled Paradise
10
Bad Sounds feat. Broods
Move Into Me
11
Still Corners
White Sands
12
Ben Böhmer & Tinlicker feat. Felix Raphael
Run Away
13
Maggie Lindemann
Crash and Burn
14
Smerz
Believer
15
Digitalism
No Holiday
16
Bicep feat. Clara La San
X
17
Royal Blood
Typhoons
18
FKA twigs, Headie One & Fred again..
Don't Judge Me
19
San Mei
In the Machine
20
Rose Gray
Easy
21
Ashnikko feat. Kelis
Deal with It
22
Mall Grab
Nonstop Feeling
23
HAERTS
Shivering
24
Jazmine Sullivan feat. Anderson .Paak
Price Tags
25
Middle Kids
Questions
26
Issey Cross
Who
27
FRITZ
Die Happily
28
dvsn feat. Miguel
He Said
29
Charlotte Cardin
Daddy
30
Virgil Abloh feat. serpentwithfeet
Delicate Limbs
31
Perfume Genius
Your Body Changes Everything [Boy Harsher Remix]
32
Alice Glass
SUFFER AND SWALLOW
33
Tate McRae
rubberband
34
Blanck Mass
Starstuff [Single Edit]
35
ELIO
CHARGER
36
Taylor Swift
right where you left me
37
Avalon Emerson
Rotting Hills
38
Georgia Twinn
Raccoons
39
LANKS
Cold Blood
40
Poolside & DRAMA
I Feel High
41
Ashnikko
Good While It Lasted
42
Ross From Friends
Burner
43
JPEGMAFIA
FIX URSELF!
44
Bicep
Sundial
45
Run The Jewels feat. Pharrell Williams & Zack De La Rocha
This month Danny L Harle ranks two spots higher than he did in January with the immense "Interlocked" at #1 - his highest of six songs from Harlecore making the list this month. "Interlocked" was co-produced by "DJ Mayhem" (Hudson Mohawke) and has L Devine on vocals, as well as a writing credit from Lauren Mayberry of Chvrches (now that's a collaboration I'd like to hear, if only for harley's sake). Danny also claims #5 this month with "Do You Remember", which is appropriately titled considering how much it sounds at once like five different early 2000s songs that would have been uploaded on SteveAATW's YouTube channel. KSHMR is a name I've known in passing for years without hearing much of his music other than Tiesto and his 2015 banger "Secrets"... or so I thought, because I recently discovered that he was one half of the Cataracs and the only member in the final two years of their activity (meaning that he is solely responsible for producing eternal Selena banger "Slow Down"). Ahead of his 2021 debut album I came across the lead single "The World We Left Behind" featuring his frequent collaborator KARRA and I've unexpectedly kept coming back to it. I don't know what to say about it other than that it's a total rush of euphoria. The Best Band on Earth Wolf Alice are back. If anything can be learned from "Yuk Foo" and Visions of a Life, it's that their new album could sound nothing like the lead single and, to be honest, "The Last Man on Earth" being largely piano-led is perhaps even more of a disorienting return. I think there is something in the arrangement that admittedly holds me back from being wholeheartedly won over (as far as their own songs go I feel like "Silk" is a distant cousin which to me has the edge over this in how much more substantial it is in hooks from the start) but that feels unfair to get hung up on when Ellie's lyricism and presence is as strong as ever and when the second half of the song sounds as huge as it does. I also really like that the lyrics can read as this sardonic criticism of individualism while the song sounds so universal. Like Danny, Julien Baker is in my top 10 for a second time: "Favor" is another very good cut from Julien's very good album, this time with her boygenius bandmates involved. I called "Troubled Paradise" the most conventional that Slayyyter has sounded but "Clouds" is similarly quite straightforward if even more subdued - worlds away from anything like "Alone", "BFF" and "Candy" which I first encountered her through but nonetheless a direction I can get behind. Franky Wah had two songs in my 2019 EOY ("Time After Time" and "Hide") and he's kept up the good work and general resemblance to CamelPhat with Anjunabeats release "Should Have Seen It Coming" featuring AETHO. Not even a year after her first solo album, Hayley Williams has released another album and it's quite good, perhaps without the same variation in sounds as the first (it's very acoustic). The single (or the song put on 'the playlists') "My Limb" is something of an outlier and is naturally my favourite song on it, it reminds me more of "Over Yet" on the last album with the fast chorus. I first came across Norwegian Sámi band ISÁK in 2018 via Popjustice's New Music Friday playlist featuring their song "In Comparison" and have liked their music since, including their previous collaboration with Alan Walker in 2018 on the song "Lonely" (which Steve Aoki did a new version of in 2019 which has just about double the streams of the original). Their new collaboration "Sorry" is really impressive and less characteristic of his usual style (honestly, "The World We Left Behind" sounds more like him), I was surprised to see it released as a commercial single. I'm yet to know for sure if Allie X is officially releasing her older songs as a project or anything but I do know for sure that her 'new' single "GLAM!" was intended for her debut CollXtion I and it certainly sounds like it. Her music is so reliably solid across the board that there's at least one song I really love on all four of her projects but after getting less out of last year's Cape God than I expected, particularly after "Fresh Laundry", it's nice to hear a 'return' to the full-throttle synthpop of songs like "Prime" and "Sanctuary" from CollXtion I.
Elsewhere, Madison Beer delivers a very impressive debut, perhaps unexpectedly to anyone who hadn't heard the pre-release songs or to those who only judged her by whatever her conspirators on TikTok have incriminated her for ("Blue" and "Effortlessly" are my favourites of the new tracks); Gorgon City & DRAMA reunite after last year's brilliant "Nobody" with "You've Done Enough" which I was happy to see quickly make the UK chart (and more recently/importantly the ACI ~); Katy B's first high-profile release since 2016 (!!!) in a vocal mix of Mercury Prize-nominated jazz drummer/composer Moses Boyd's "2 Far Gone" (a really good fit for her). Dua Lipa's "That Kind of Woman" is #28 after the anachronistic Jacques Lu Cont remix placed one spot higher in my 2020 EOY.
I've capped the list at 100 songs because I saved slightly more than that in February, and I think I'll cap each list at a round number when they exceed 100 songs from now on. I'm also going to aim to keep the posting of the monthly lists within the next month so watch this space
My plan for getting the next monthly list done in the immediately following month was unsuccessful once again I've had the actual list ready for like two weeks but I've been busy and have really procrastinated in making my commentary coherent - I'd have probably have ditched it altogether if this wasn't the most excited I've been so far about my list's top 10! I also have 140 songs in my list this month (yes I can be busy and still listen to too much new music for my own good), so the year is properly in full swing
#1 is Ivy Rose's "I've Been Watching You", which I came across on the triple j Hitlist without having heard of it/her previously. It's one of the most impressive debut singles I've heard in recent times and a frustrating case of not being able to pinpoint what it is that it sounds so much like other than that it's vaguely '80s. My best guess is that it sounds like a Bonnie Tyler song, whereas her voice's inflections otherwise remind me of LAUREL. Since Ivy is American, it turns out that her triple j relevance is justified by this song's producers being Nick Littlemore and Peter Mayes of Pnau. Nick's wife stumbled upon Ivy's YouTube covers (the oldest of which is of "Fade Into You", the most recent is of Lil Peep's "Falling Down" [s]maybe she's the original voice of Gaullin - Moonlight[/s] with numerous Radiohead, Lana and Daughter covers in between) which led to Nick and Peter producing her upcoming EP. Speaking of Lana, a close #2 is "White Dress", which made a solid first impression but has really won me over in the past two months like the Chemtrails album on the whole. Even with the strange controversies she seems to invoke (which, if I'm going to weigh in, seem mostly innocuous other than the 'question for the culture'), I was surprised to see this album met with such a muted response after the overwhelming critical consensus that NFR! got. To my ears Chemtrails is sonically within the same world and after revisiting it I (probably unpopularly) find it to be just about as good on the whole I will say I wouldn't feel the same enthusiasm if it wasn't for how fucking good "White Dress" is though. I really like her vocal approach and like "Chemtrails" (song), it's the song's endless succession of hooks that keep me coming back (to the Men in Music Business Conference). Laura Mvula is someone I've always felt I should make more of an effort to become more familiar with ("Overcome" alone is reason enough) and her two new singles "Safe Passage" and "Church Girl" really confirm my need to do so. Both songs draw from familiar, vaguely '80s sounds while feeling distinctive and structurally free, which I really like. "Church Girl" is safely my favourite of the two, the chorus is sublime. I only got around to listening to Jazmine Sullivan's [s]glorified EP[/s] album in March and my main takeaways were that I should have had "Lost One" much higher than #347 in my EOY and that the song I had to hear again after was "The Other Side". Jazmine's voice is a force in itself but it's the nostalgic quality of that song's melodies (again without reminding me of anything in particular) that draw me in so much. Lyrically it feels like a feature-length film in a single song. Boys Noize, Kelsey Lu and Chilly Gonzales are a trio of artists I don't know quite enough about off the top of my head to provide that much background on but I don't think I'd have foreseen this collaboration based on what I've heard from the first two. Nonetheless I've come to really love their collaboration "Ride or Die", particularly when it all kicks into gear about halfway through. Sega Bodega racked up four entries in the top 100 of my EOY last year with three songs he produced on Shygirl's amazing ALIAS EP and his own song "Make U Stay". He's made another big impression on me with his production on Donna Missal's new song "sex is good (but have you tried)", which is far more understated than the aforementioned songs but has really captivated me the more I hear it thanks to Donna's delivery. I listened to Japanese Breakfast's 2017 album at the time (probably because it's quite short) and I liked it without returning to it much outside of "Machinist" and "The Body Is a Blade". Ahead of her new album I'm a lot more excited based on "Be Sweet" and her April-released new song "Posing in Bondage" (this is the weird part of finalising these lists so long after the actual releases of these songs because follow-ups have already been released by this point ). Like Laura Mvula, Mykki Blanco is another artist whose songs I know and guest appearances elsewhere have had me waiting on a new project to have a proper entry point into their music for quite a while. They have such a commanding, disarming presence which is exhibited very clearly on the very fun "Free Ride" (produced by FaltyDL & Hudson Mohawke, who continues to be peripherally involved in my lists). It's maybe a little too short for its own good - I wouldn't argue with the 'what I wouldn't do for love' chorus being repeated a few more times. I can't say I've been as interested in Julia Michaels' solo career as I was in 2017 (particularly after the completely overlooked "Uh Huh") but last year's "Lie Like This" was a real return to form with the very reliable Monsterz & Strangerz on board. They've also produced the follow-up in "All Your Exes", which starts out less excitingly but really delivers in the chorus - the switch-up is much appreciated.
1
Ivy Rose
I've Been Watching You
2
Lana Del Rey
White Dress
3
Laura Mvula
Church Girl
4
Jazmine Sullivan
The Other Side
5
Boys Noize & Kelsey Lu feat. Chilly Gonzales
Ride or Die
6
Donna Missal
sex is good (but have you tried)
7
Japanese Breakfast
Be Sweet
8
Laura Mvula
Safe Passage
9
Mykki Blanco
Free Ride
10
Julia Michaels
All Your Exes
11
Everything Everything
SUPERNORMAL
12
Julia Stone
Fire in Me
13
Zara Larsson
Need Someone
14
Half Waif
Party's Over
15
iris & SKAAR
voodoo voodoo
16
ZHU & Yuna
Sky Is Crying
17
The Veronicas
GODZILLA
18
Sweet Trip
Walkers Beware! We Drive Into the Sun
19
Gary Numan
I Am Screaming
20
Kero Kero Bonito
The Princess and the Clock
21
Lana Del Rey
Tulsa Jesus Freak
22
Ronnie & Clyde
In the Garden
23
Bebe Rexha
Sacrifice
24
King Stingray
Get Me Out
25
Cody Frost
verbal warnings
26
Octo Octa
Find Your Way Home
27
Aly & AJ
Pretty Places
28
Two Feet
Fire
29
Grace Mitchell
MANGO
30
Lana Del Rey
Yosemite
31
Odette
Herald
32
Denzel Curry & Kenny Beats feat. Joey Bada$$
'Cosmic'.4a [The Alchemist Version]
33
YONAKA
Ordinary
34
Donatachi
Cry
35
Jodie Harsh
My House
36
Pearl Charles
Only for Tonight
37
slowthai feat. Deb Never
push
38
Lauren Faith
It's All a Blur
39
Death From Above 1979
One + One
40
Nicole Millar
Are You Kidding?
41
Robin Schulz & Felix Jaehn feat. Alida
One More Time
42
Jorja Smith
Addicted
43
Skegss
Valhalla
44
Hadiya George
Hot Flavor
45
For Those I Love
Birthday / The Pain
46
Ladyhawke & Broods
Guilty Love
47
Trans-X
Living on Video [Claptone Remix]
48
Viagra Boys
Girls & Boys
49
lau.ra feat. JessB
Don't Waste My Time
50
Montaigne
Technicolour
51
Solomun feat. ÄTNA
Tuk Tuk
52
D'Arcy Spiller
Wolf Blood
53
Nasty Cherry
Her Body
54
Sumner
Stranded
55
Mette
Petrified
56
Perfume Genius
Describe [A. G. Cook Remix]
57
Raissa
COLD FEET
58
JIMMY EDGAR & Semma
CHEETAH
59
Chloe x Halle
80/20
60
Franky Wah feat. LOWES
Not in Love
61
CLEWS
Want You That Way
62
Lana Del Rey
Dark But Just a Game
63
Prudence
Good Friends
64
Danny L Harle & DJ Mayhem
Shining Stars
65
Sycco
My Ways
66
Alex Mills
Want You to Want Me
67
Tkay Maidza
Where Is My Mind?
68
Hayden James, Gorgon City & Nat Dunn
Foolproof
69
Warpaint feat. Gang of Four
Paralysed
70
Dua Lipa
We're Good
71
Claptone
Zero
72
Jess Locke
Halo
73
Royal Blood
Limbo
74
Xan Griffin
Nostalgia
75
Rebecca & Fiona
Rivers
76
Charlotte Adigéry
Bear with Me (and I'll stand bare before you)
77
Grouplove
Deadline
78
Noname
Rainforest
79
BURNS
Can't Let Go
80
ROSÉ
On the Ground
81
The Knocks feat. Mallrat
R U HIGH
82
salem ilese
(L)only Child
83
Cloud Nothings
Oslo
84
Lil Nas X
MONTERO (Call Me by Your Name)
85
Julien Baker
Ziptie
86
Slowly Slowly
Anywhere
87
Allison Ponthier
Cowboy
88
Rag'n'Bone Man
All You Ever Wanted
89
CLOVES
Manic
90
Polish Club
Stop for a Minute
91
Lily Papas
Freak
92
Max Leone
the craziest thing i've ever done
93
spill tab
PISTOLWHIP
94
FRITZ
Sweetie
95
Gordi & Alex Lahey
Dino's
96
Dimension feat. Clementine Douglas
Sensory Division
97
St. Vincent
Pay Your Way in Pain
98
Genesis Owusu
Easy
99
The Midnight
Neon Medusa
100
Middle Kids
Cellophane (Brain)
101
Kito, VanJess & Channel Tres
Recap
102
Danny L Harle & DJ Mayhem
All Night
103
Julien Baker
Relative Fiction
104
Choomba feat. LP Giobbi & Blush'ko
Say It
105
MAY-A
Time I Love to Waste
106
London Grammar
How Does It Feel
107
Perfume Genius
Just a Touch [Danny L Harle Harlecore Remix]
108
The Million
Last Call
109
Madison Beer
Stay Numb and Carry On
110
Kaskade & Ella Vos
Miles to Go
111
Rostam
4Runner
112
BROCKHAMPTON feat. Danny Brown
BUZZCUT
113
SACHI
Take Me Back
114
Liar Liar
Pretending
115
Otosan & Shadow Child feat. Carrie Baxter
Right Here
116
F-POS feat. Goldfang & Moody Beach
Classic
117
Tinashe & TOKiMONSTA
I'm Every Woman
118
LÂLKA feat. BRUX
Atomic Blonde
119
Tainy & Miguel
Sunbathe
120
Justin Bieber
Hold On
121
Odette
I Miss You, I'm Sorry
122
Tricky feat. Marta
Like a Stone [Trentemøller Remix]
123
Jade Bird
Open Up the Heavens
124
Made in Paris feat. Simonne Jones
Wonderlust
125
Zara Larsson
Poster Girl
126
Shygirl
SIREN [Basement Jaxx Cruise Mix]
127
Georgia Mae
Let You Go
128
Idris Elba & Inner City feat. Steffanie Christi'an
Little Simz angles for a third consecutive top 100 appearance in my EOYs with "Introvert", which actually might have already outranked her previous entries "Wounds" and "where's my lighter". I really love how she treats the music with the same vitality that her lyrics and delivery have, and though it feels banal to call this song cinematic, it's definitely less insular than her last two projects have been. She's not credited as she usually is but Cleo Sol's hook is a highlight each time it returns. As I mentioned last month, Japanese Breakfast's "Posing in Bondage" is very very good. I listened to the shorter, demo-like version she released in 2017 and this new version sounds otherworldly in comparison. There's a lot of interesting elements in the production which are put into sharpened focus as the track develops - I think this song on its own warrants her comparison of the album to Homogenic (though I'm not so sure about the rest of the album... but I'll get there in June I guess). The last two pre-release songs from Aly & AJ's May-released album "Symptom of Your Touch" and "Don't Need Nothing" are easily my two favourite tracks on it. I think the album needs a few more knock-out tracks on that level for me to have the same enthusiasm that a lot of others have for the album but it's cohesive and solid as per usual. Like Marina and Bonnie Anderson before her, this is not Slayyyter's first time at the rodeo or her first time in the top 10 of these lists, and I think "Cowboys" is my favourite of the singles from her album. On first listen it was the unexpected turn in the melody on 'rodeo' that had me instantly sold but more listens have revealed the really fun lyrical moments scattered through the song. Laura Mvula and Aly & AJ aren't the only ones with double entries in my top 10s; Doss is a newer name to me who joins them with "Puppy" and "Strawberry" (and "Look" further down). "Puppy" is the euphoric, trance-inspired sound that I feel like I've tried to hear in Porter Robinson's music (probably an unfair comparison) whereas "Strawberry" really surprised me by sounding more like an electronic trip hop song. I think I put Xiu Xiu's "A Bottle of Rum" too low in my February list but they can make up for it with "Sad Mezcalita" from their new album ending up so high this month. It features Sharon Van Etten who I admit to being very unfamiliar with but who I think I prefer in darker tracks in the vein of this and Hercules & Love Affair's "Omnion", which was the first song I heard her voice on. A similarly moody, spoken-word-featuring top 10 entry comes from Real Lies' "Late Arcades", who have very much been delivering in the moody, spoken-word electronic music department with "White Flowers" in 2018, last year's amazing "Boss Trick" (which I only heard recently) and this year's "Oh Me, Oh My (Nicotine Patch)"; needless to say I hope they continue doing so. Closing out the top 10 is Sydney-born artist THE BLOSSOM, who made a promising first impression on me with "CLOVES". I feel like their music has a lot of crossover potential and a BROCKHAMPTON member featuring on their EP makes a lot of sense in that regard.
Admittedly this might be my weakest month of these lists so far but I still have quite a long list for May. I'll try and get June done sooner rather than later because as always I'm really looking forward to doing a mid-year chart.
Prospa's "Ecstasy (Over & Over)" was one of the more distinct dance tracks that were able to break into the UK chart last year (I'd forgotten it made #77 at all really) and their latest single "WANT NEED LOVE" is quite special. Like "Ecstasy" it has a singular chorus but it manages to achieve a lot in its runtime to make up for it. It reminds me a lot of "Another Chance" down to the two kicks before the final section. I've really enjoyed Agnes' recent singles, which could quite easily be filed alongside Dua Lipa and Jessie Ware's recent material (though "Fingers Crossed" skews more towards Ava Max to the extent that you could sing the chorus of "Kings & Queens" over it and it would fit). 2019's "I Trance" hinted at something more self-indulgent, however, and her new song "24 Hours" certainly leans into that Junior-era Röyksopp synthpop sound. MØ properly returns with "Live to Survive" which... sounds a lot like the Agnes song. I found her last album to be very solid and I really like that she's so chameleonic, but I have no issues with her following in the direction of straightforward pop songs like this one. Admittedly I'm quite cynical towards the recent resurgence in popularity of pop punk when the mere mention of Paramore automatically garners 100,000 likes/reblogs but for the most part, the songs are usually good in their own right. In the case of WILLOW's [s]"t r a p s o u l"[/s] "transparent soul", the execution is as accomplished as her pivot to this sound is smart (and generally more interesting - from what I've heard I don't think her previous non-"Whip My Hair" material is for me). The fast verses and huge chorus are hard to resist and the vocal performance is really fantastic. Somewhat in the same territory is girl in red, who I also prefer in huge chorus mode as evidenced by "rue" landing in my top 50 of 2020 and the quirkier "Body and Mind" being an instant favourite on her debut album (beyond being the playlisted track on the album release week). Sydney sister duo CLEWS have been on my radar for quite a while and "Overluck" is their best offering so far. They seem to have a knack for memorable choruses and this is another one. The more I hear of Erika de Casier's recent music, the more I'm made aware that I should have gotten into her music months ago. I've taken the most instantly to the Sade-sounding "Someone to Chill With" so far. I've realised that my greatest issue with MARINA's music since Love + Fear was the songs themselves, considering that "Ancient Dreams in a Modern Land" instantly became my favourite song of hers in years by just... sounding like "Mowgli's Road" or maybe more specifically like "Personal Jesus". The social critique in her new songs leaves a bit to be desired and I'm honestly not sure what she's really getting at on "Ancient Dreams" but the song (especially the post-chorus) has the playful, whimsical hallmarks of her best material.
1
Prospa
WANT NEED LOVE
2
Agnes
24 Hours
3
MØ
Live to Survive
4
WILLOW feat. Travis Barker
t r a n s p a r e n t s o u l
5
girl in red
Body and Mind
6
CLEWS
Overluck
7
Erika de Casier
Someone to Chill With
8
MARINA
Ancient Dreams in a Modern Land
9
LUMP [Laura Marling & Mike Lindsay]
Animal
10
Georgia & David Jackson
Get Me Higher
11
CHAII & Party Favor
Oh Nah Yeah
12
Biig Piig
American Beauty
13
Kate Nash
Misery
14
ZHU & Arctic Lake
Yours
15
Daya
The Difference
16
Nicki Minaj feat. Drake & Lil Wayne
Seeing Green
17
Garbage
Wolves
18
Red Moon
Thirsty
19
Erika de Casier
Busy
20
Go_A
SHUM
21
Jorja Smith
Home
22
Liz Lawrence
Down for Fun
23
Lil Nas X
SUN GOES DOWN
24
Pond
America's Cup
25
Aly & AJ
Hold Out
26
HAERTS
Days Go By
27
Ngaiire
Closer
28
LAUREL
Let Go
29
JEFFE
Home
30
Doss
On Your Mind
31
Olivia Rodrigo
jealousy, jealousy
32
Garbage
No Gods No Masters
33
renforshort & glaive
fall apart
34
Tirzah
Sink In
35
Duran Duran
INVISIBLE
36
Jorja Smith feat. Shaybo
Bussdown
37
Xiu Xiu
Killing Distance
38
Little Simz feat. Cleo Sol
Woman
39
D-Block Europe & RAYE
Ferrari Horses
40
Alok, Sofi Tukker & INNA
It Don't Matter
41
Sharon Van Etten & Angel Olsen
Like I Used To
42
Georgia Twinn
Moth
43
Julia Jacklin & RVG
Army of Me
44
Jorja Smith
Weekend
45
Olivia Rodrigo
good 4 u
46
Seaside
State of Grace
47
Lauren Sanderson
QUEEN BEE
48
Q
If You Care
49
Jorja Smith
Digging
50
CFCF
Life Is Perfecto
51
Molly Sandén
DOM SKA VETA
52
KUČKA
Afterparty
53
Spellling
Little Deer
54
Warpaint
Lilys
55
Billie Eilish
Your Power
56
Middle Kids
Stacking Chairs
57
Saweetie
Fast (Motion)
58
Winnetka Bowling League & Sasha Sloan
barcelona
59
Laura Mvula
Got Me
60
Sycco
Time's Up
61
Big Scary
Bursting at the Seams
62
St. Vincent
Down
63
For Those I Love
You Stayed / To Live
64
Dizzy Fae
360 Baby
65
Slayyyter
Over This!
66
Gorgon City
Tell Me It's True
67
Lana Del Rey
Blue Banisters
68
Devault feat. EVAN GIIA
Pockets
69
The Veronicas feat. Allday
Life of the Party
70
Wave Racer
What Are We Waiting For?
71
Baba Ali
Black Wagon
72
Aly & AJ
Lucky to Get Him
73
M-22 feat. Rhea Melvin
Gravity
74
Natalia Gordienko
Sugar
75
HEALTH & Nine Inch Nails
ISN'T EVERYONE
76
Shapeshifter
Ritual (Under Your Spell)
77
Ódú
Men Like Me
78
Sugababes
Run for Cover [MNEK Remix]
79
Emotional Oranges feat. Becky G
Down to Miami
80
Paul Oakenfold, Azealia Banks & Zach Salter
Hypnotic [Benny Benassi & BB Team Remix]
81
Olivia Rodrigo
brutal
82
Kinder
Bus Stop
83
42 Dugg & Roddy Ricch
4 Da Gang
84
Nicole Dollanganger
Whispering Glades
85
Tommy Trash feat. Daisy Guttridge
hiiigh
86
BROCKHAMPTON
THE LIGHT
87
Nicki Minaj
Fractions
88
Hooverphonic
The Wrong Place
89
The Veronicas
Sugar Daddy
90
Skrillex, Starrah & Four Tet
Butterflies
91
Minnie-Oh
Homesick
92
City Girls
Twerkulator
93
Tion Wayne & Russ Millions feat. ArrDee, E1 (3x3)...
50 latest reviews
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