Gotta Stop Living in the Past

17. Justice

The Party

When Justice released their first LP in 2007 The Party wasn’t instantly the most popular track. As far as electro goes there wasn’t the screaming energy of Phantom nor the over the top happiness of D.A.N.C.E. or the pounding bass of Stress. But with time The Party emerged as the most definitive example of contemporary electro. The bass line was amped up and the distorted beat bounced as a showcase of the sound. Then there was fun, the cheekiness of Uffie’s voice representing the whole tongue in cheek genre. And finally, overwhelming French snobbery. Now that’s electro.

16. Kings of Leon

Charmer

Charmer is not aptly named. It’s a song that doesn’t come with a smooth sound. It's less the distorted riffs that make it rough than the loud, pained screaming that punctuates each line. It’s not surprising that this hick rock belter usually comes towards the end of a Kings of Leon set due to the recovery time for Caleb Followill’s throat to recover.
There's a paranoia fuelled energy behind this song, and the way the bass line keeps ganging up there's no guarantee you can’t be convinced it’s not out to get you.

15. Aesop Rock feat. John Darnielle

Coffee

Coffee is the closer off of None Shall Pass, Aesop Rock’s finest production to date. And it’s chock full of the verbose, rambling lyrics (when you read these lyrics they should be in paragraphs) that still hold meaning for those willing to listen. Coffee is named after the most token avatar of society’s lack of socialising, cities full of city dwellers packed in tight ignoring each other.

The words stretch beyond that, but it will require being Aesop Rock or John Darnielle (who offers a spooky closing verse) to decipher them. With layers of words and symbolism it’s a worthwhile challenge just to reflect on some lyrical mastery.

Oh, and have you heard this beat?

14. Pepe Deluxe

Go For Blue

Working completely samples-less, Pepe Deluxé is instead a traditional producer, writing and having recorded the parts for each enthusiastic sounding instrument and them machéing them into beaty, break-filled tunes. On Go For Blue it’s the organ and the guitar that play the lead roles, with the excitable sounding former written as the perfect foil for the stoned sounding latter. The whole sound is full of vibrant, psychedelic atmosphere held beneath the enigmatic evangelist preaching the diversity of the rainbow.

13. Arcade Fire

Intervention

Indie Rockers the Arcade Fire provide multi-instrumental masterpieces on their studio album Neon Bible. With more than half a dozen talented musicians performing together, it is the organist on Intervention that completely dominates. It’s easy to appreciate the irony that comes with using a church organ so heavy handed on a song protesting oppressive religion.

Lead singer Win Butler takes the vocals for the song with the expected, but still powerful emotion laden performance. The organ, guitars, percussion, violin and other strings are all spot on here, showing off highly effective production work on an orchestrated thriller.

12. Of Montreal

Heimdalsgate Like A Promethean Curse

Of Montreal prefer to express most of their feelings artisticly, often on roller coaster style blazes of blaring, distorted chords and electro-punk melodies. Despite the constant cries of “Chemicals” on Heimsdalsgate, they are referring not to mind altering drug influences but instead promoting their love of endorphins, the brains natural power to leave its owner feeling self satisfied. Something, given the quality of this song, Of Montreal probably felt soon after its completion.

11. Battles feat. Joell Ortiz

Leyendecker (Dj Emz W.231 Remix)

Battles always bugged me. Their album was good - no doubt - but there always seemed to be this potential that was imprisoned by some desire to be obscure and proggy. The beat was there, the drums were tribal and rhythmic; the guitars were like muzzled pit bulls. But some crucial feature seemed missing and it all seemed to collapse on itself.

Enter DJ Emz and Joell Ortiz. With a bit of tweaking Leyendecker became beautiful, hypnotic hip-hop; almost definitely the best math-rock hip-hop track I’ve ever heard. It’s like they lassoed all that potential up into something awesome. And while Joell Ortiz doesn’t deliver the best lyrics I’ve ever heard he has to earn points for the line ‘I punched the king of the jungle in his face; I’m a Leyendecker’.

10. The National

Mistaken For Strangers

Matt Berninger is a story teller, one with a deep, weary sounding voice that immediately captivates. In the same way a burning house can be beautiful his baritone croons stumble between the backing music in a way that seems more graceful than it should. This track, from the album Boxer, is faster than most of its peers but just as dark. This suits the protagonist being told of, who is confusedly and namelessly wandering streets in the same fashion that the resonating run on sentences capture. A contemporary masterpiece.

9. Digitalism

Pogo (Maximized By Punks Jump Up)

It’s not hard to see how this electro track got its name. What gives it away? Well, there’s the springing snare that provides a constant lift throughout the whole piece. Or it could be the the keys of the keyboard being bounced up and down in head nodding waves. Pogo is a light song, poppy in its melody and with hand claps and European sounding ‘wa-ohs’ throughout. The pace is relentless, and it’s not a song that builds up to a crescendo, but rather a song composed completely of crescendos. Each of which will make you want to jump.
The Punks Jump Up remix is even more addictive, longer, jumpier and spongier. Having done a share of quality remix work this year this is probably their stand out.

8. The Shins

Phantom Limb

After so many years of making melodic pop it’s no surprise The Shins have dug deep enough to unearth gems like this. A soft, lush song that builds beautifully along tambourine garnished guitar strums into stirring, crooned chorus. Phantom Limb is a spaced out song that starts with a dissolving ambience. While it’s not a happy song, but instead a song of disconnection, it still sounds like a comforting though when James Mercer regales a round of outstanding lyrics. Overall it sounds effortless, but ends an instant classic.

7. EL-P

Flyentology

The beat for this track is amazing! The murky bass; the atmosphere of the whole song is polluted by whines, hums and pissed off organs. It has a progressive mechanical feel to it, like it could be the soundtrack for the montage of a construction line of grimy, oil splattered robots working together to assemble engines or star-ships, at night. Yet all throughout there is a recurring buzz, a bothering insect orbiting from out of range on one side to the other that provides a more organic contrast.

Trent Reznor is on hand to provide chorus vocals, boosting the industrial feel. But EL-P’s delivery and sophistication shine through the bleak futuristic tale told:

‘I know I haven't been walking a humble path; I know I cursed at your name and then laughed; And though I found it inane to bend calf; The servitude of grovelling framed as pained task’

How tight is that shit!? Flyentology is a tale of religious paranoia and it’s artistically explained so well it’s spooky. The subtle piano strokes during moments of self reflection are a genius touch.

6. The Apples in Stereo

7 Stars

The Apples in Stereo have been around long enough to get a good feel of indie pop and what makes a good song. By their calculations it’s fifty percent rollicking melodies and fifty percent vocoders and extensive vocal distortion techniques. You can’t argue with this, they’ve all got distinguished looking beards.
The addictive organ and extensive distortion tweaking make this a super happy song, but by far the best bit is all the echoes added to vocoder enhanced chorus, turning one voice into what sounds like a crowd singing those eight lines along with you.

5. Okkervil River

Unless It's Kicks

Will Sheff, lead singer of folky, rock Okkervil River, has a voice where everything he says sounds important. So imagine the intensity that comes with 120 seconds of his escalating lyrics spat over a spiking quadratic equation of a riff. As you listen you’ll notice the maracas grow in strength, the banjo pop in and out like an attention demanding child and the tambourine burst into a steady, prodding presence. And then... the song breaks down, leaving just a single strumming guitar playing hide and seek over the stunted rumble of another. Finally, without warning that rumble turns into an explosion of all the instruments combining to peak for one final wail. But it is a very meaningful wail. Because everything that Will Sheff sings sounds very important.

4. Rihanna

Umbrella (The Lindergh Palace edit)

In a song famously rejected by both Mary J Blige and Britney, Rihanna shows exactly how she can own one of the pop songs of the decade. Like most pop songs, it’s more about the feeling than the throw-away lyrics. But in her voice she exhibits enough subtle modesty to pull off dismissive lines like ‘In the dark you can’t see shiny cars’ but ‘you can stay under my umbrella’ and make them sound meaningful.

The Lindergh Palace edit only slightly tweaks the song, removing the superfluous Jay-Z rap and adding, potent, nostalgia style strings to a clubbier version of the song. The head embedding ‘ella ‘ella ‘ella, eh eh eh stays. As it will with you.

3. Feist

I Feel It All

There are many things I love about Feist. I love her album, of which almost any song could be chosen as a standout. But I really love her whispy voice and on this one its no-nonsense monologue is delivered on a spring (the season) sounding introspective pop ballad. I also love the way she can turn what sounds like inner turmoil into radio friendly pop hits, complete with xylophone! I love the way that over-distorting an acoustic guitar with the power of a triangle and that aforementioned xylophone can sound so average until coupled with that raw but so pretty and human sounding vocalist. It can make the most introverted feel connected. And that’s why this is a great song. I’d also definitely put one through her.

2. Maxïmo Park

Our Velocity

This poppy slice of post-punk indie is a slightly hard to genre-fy but 100% catchy. It starts with a simple electronic organ backing the track, rearing into audibility and hurtling keys down like Tetris blocks. The bassline is simple and effective in a nod your head during the verses and jump up and down like a loony during the chorus kind of way. Then there’s the guitar, big and strong, ripping out riffs in air-guitar inspiring waves.

Our Earthly Pleasures, of which this is the lead single, is a matured offering by Maxïmo Park and Paul Smith’s voice is a solid example of this evolution. It’s distinctly subdued over the out of control synths playing in the background until every other part of the song is built up. Then like a spring uncoiling he sheds the limitations and becomes one with the energetic instrumentalism. He’s in charge now, and you’re arrested by the riffs as his voice raises and he carries this one at high energy until the very end.

1. Apostle of Hustle

My Sword Hand's Anger

This is my song of the year, coming from relative obscurity (in that I’m surprised no one else has really noticed this band). But, take a deep breath. You’ll need it. Over that rapidly beating heart come the first chimes of Spanish sounding guitars from Broken Social Scene’s lead guitarist, Andrew Whiteman All of his talent is displayed here, every note is perfect. Then, like stampeding hooves the drum beat grows louder and our story begins. But even as the singing starts it’s the guitar that take centre stage and strums breathlessly as the lyrics are second thoughts, saddled on its back. There is no pause between each riff, it rises and falls gracefully through a perfectly weighted song. This tune will leave your chest feeling tight until its last gasping breaths (and yes, it does actually end with gasping breaths).