There were so many songs I wanted to hype last month that I've opted for a quick turnaround on this post. Here is another handful of songs that might interest you. Taking a look at the list now, I'm shocked by how far this leans away from the EDM stuff that I tend to post here. Lots of indie/alt rock offerings this time around.
10 - "End of the Affair", Ben Howard
Ben Howard is back on my list. His most recent album (I Forget Where We Were) is phenomenal, if you're into Brit folk stuff. This is the third song of his that I've really enjoyed, the others being "Old Pine" and his BBC Live Lounge cover of Kiesza's "Hideaway". The first time I heard "Affair", the second half of the song really took me surprise. It reminds me of something I heard in my teen years, but I can't place it. I hate it when that happens.
9 - "Your Love Will Set You Free (C2's Set U Free RMX)", Caribou
So my kids have really gotten into living-room dance parties and they love high-BPM electronic stuff. Their favourite part is standing still, waiting for a drop to happen and then losing their minds. Pretty funny to watch. This song doesn't quite work for them because, well, what child wants to wait 120 seconds to go bonkers? Instant gratification please!.
8 - "Chasing Time (Pham Flip)", Azealia Banks
A friend of mine recently pointed out that if I were picking Azealia's I was on team Banks (as opposed to team Iggy). If tallying up songs I've actually downloaded onto my hard drive is what settles the dispute, then yes, I'm guilty as charged. Pitchfork named the video for "Chasing Time" one of their best of 2014 - feel free to check out some of their awardees, but be warned that there's some weeeeirrrrd stuff on that list.
7 - "Sweet Emotion", The Kooks
This song isn't winning any prizes for lyrical complexity, but it is winning awards for handclaps, exhales, tsch-tsch-tsches and catchiness. The long tail end of the song's a little weird too, but that bass and rhythm...like Letterman said, "I'll take all of that you got".
6 - "Hold Back the River", James Bay
The last time Brits were trumpeting James Bay, Henry Hudson might have been involved (Hey-yoooo). This James Bay, however, has been given the Brits' Critics Choice Award that has formerly gone to Sam Smith, Adele, Ellie Goulding and Florence and the Machine, among others. This could be a breakout year for Bay, whose music is starting to creep into TV shows already. Stay tuned...
5 - "Teach Me", Bakermat
With that high-hat opening, you'd be forgiven if you were expecting Simone Denny to launch into "Broken Bones" (btw I do recommend searching YouTube for "Broken Bones" and seeing the crazy accident videos that pop up). But this song features Shirley Caesar, a gospel music legend. Not sure how many times gospel and disco have been fused together, but this makes it at least once.
4 - "Disappearing", The War on Drugs
KCRW has such an awesome vault of live performances on YouTube. I heart KCRW. And, after giving the critically-acclaimed TWoD album Lost in the Dream another couple of chances late last year, I have really gotten into a few tracks beyond the no-brainer "Red Eyes". This one takes the cake at the moment, though "Under the Pressure", Suffering" and "In Reverse" are on the short list too. Definitely check out the comments below this video...lots of people cracking on the sloppiness of the solo. Hahaha.
3 - "On & On", Joey Bada$$ feat. Maverick Sabre & Dyemond Lewis
"Black Skinhead" aside, there's not a lot of rap music I'd have put this high up a monthly list in the last year+. But then Joey Bada$$ said "psychopomp". This song isn't as jaw-dropping as, say, Lupe Fiasco's "Mural" or maybe even NAS's "The Season", but it is strong. "Paper Trail$" is another nice JB track, in case this is your kind of thing.
2 - "Warm Foothills", alt-J
What a peculiar track. Joe Newman's vocals are spliced together with those of Conor Oberst, Lianne La Havas, Sivu and Marika Hackman, two of whom have appeared on my recent year-end charts. I'm not entirely sure whose idea it was to structure the song like this, but the final product is pretty amazing. It took me a while to warm up to This is all Yours (see The War on Drugs, above), but I'm there now. Oh and I just saw on Wiki that the album that kept alt-J out of the top spot on the Canadian album charts last year was a Leonard Cohen album. Seriously???.
1 - "First", Cold War Kids
Last and unleast is the most recent release from Cold War Kids. Yep, we're closing with some anthemic rock today. To bring up my kids again, this choice is actually unrelated to my boys and I cranking Muse's "Uprising" in the minivan and watching them pump their fists screaming "REVOLUTION"! Hilarity. I feel like "First" would be right at home on Alt-rock radio, but it doesn't seem to have been released as a single. The only former single of theirs that I had listened to with any regularity was "Louder Than Ever", which was supposed to tune me up for their Coachella '11 show. In the end, they lost the concert conflict battle to Lauryn Hill and Interpol so I'm still an 0-fer in the "seen them" column.
Happy listening!
