Here are 25 of the best songs that made me think, dance like
a dad, and poorly lip synch this year! Shake those buns!
25. King Tuff – “Headbanger”
A razor sharp guitar riff kicks off this upbeat rocker about
love in a record store. Bang your little head!
24. Scenic Route to Alaska – “Paris”
This local Edmonton bands really rocks out in a very
polished way. I love the howling vocal line.
23. Broncho – “Class Historian”
Another song that brings in you with a great riff! This time
it’s a goofy vocal stuttering that sounds really cool, not to mention catchy as
hell!
22. Band of Skulls – “Asleep at the Wheel”
Band of Skulls really blew me away with their rowdy set at
Sasquatch this year. “Asleep at the Wheel” kicked off the party!
21. Alt-J – “Left Hand Free”
It might be a made-for-radio label pleaser, but “Left Hand
Free” remains my standout from Alt-J’s mediocre 2014 release, This Is All Yours. There’s something
distinctly strange and awesome about such a creative, non-traditional band
producing such a straight-forward rock tune.
20. Sam Tudor – “Modern New Year”
I like to picture Sam lying on his back on a bare mattress
in his barren beige room singing this song to the ceiling. I should probably
direct the music video.
19. Mounties – “Tokyo Summer”
18. Shiba San – “Okay”
I generally try to refrain from posting about house and
dance music on this blog, but this song requires an exception. “Okay” defined
the summer of 2014, be it in the club, in the car, or in my headphones. There’s
nothing complicated about this 4 on the floor deep house track, but Shiba San really
struck gold on this one, quickly becoming mandatory club fodder for any
aspiring DJ.
17. Run the Jewels – “Angel Dust”
There’s just something about this duo of El-P and Killer
Mike that keeps bringing me back. This is grimy, dark, electronic hip-hop music
at its best. “Angel Dust” is straight from a ski movie intro with its heavy
bass drum and memorable chorus. EPIC.
16. Solids – “Traces”
Solids, a Montreal punk rock duo, hit hard and fast on this
loud and grungy song. The piano chords in the chorus add an interesting texture
to the typical guitar grunge noise.
15. Current Swell – “Keys to the Kingdom”
Current Swell have lots of amazing songs from previous
albums that I love, but “Keys to the Kingdom” was their key to mainstream
success. Aptly named!
14. Broken Bells – “Holding On For Life”
Probably the first song I heard from 2014! The falsetto
chorus is perfect, and nicely opposes the deep bass plucking that continues
throughout the track.
13. July Talk – “Headsick”
I guess I really liked radio hits from indie bands…
12. White Reaper – “Half Bad”
Crunchy, obnoxious, and oh so good.
11. The Rural Alberta Advantage – “45/33”
A real headbanger from RAA’s Mended with Gold. This track stood out from the rest with its
distinct jam outs and final volcanic explosion of rock.
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Drumroll……..the Top Ten!
10. New Pornographers – “You Tell Me Where”
While tracks like “Brill Bruisers” and “War on the East
Coast” are excellent, you must wait until the end of the New Pornographer’s
2014 release Brill Bruisers for its
best track. “You Tell Me Where,” like many New Pornographer’s songs, is a
builder. This song is a celebration, with AC Newman, Neko Case, and Kathryn
Calder all sharing vocal duties unlike ever before on a NP’s track. The song
hits you with a full on wall of pop rock sound, dynamically balancing various
melodies against a classic New Pornographers rhythm. The romantic lyrics “you
tell me where to be there, I’ll be there” are a celebratory change from AC
Newman’s mostly depressing lyrics from his latest solo work, and ends Brill Bruisers with a bang!
9. Francisco the Man – “You & I”
This is the opening track of Loose Ends, and completely sets the mood for what’s to follow. It’s
basically a mid-tempo guitar driven rock song set to a fantastic drum track
that marches in the verses and pounds in the chorus and bridge. The lyrics of
chorus tell of a tortured love, with “Laura, I love you. But I’m leaving.” The
chorus truly makes the song. It’s a soaring, melodic burst of energy that cuts
through the guitar and bass riffs and reminds us of how rock music can somehow
balance tormented feelings with melodic instrumentation. Francisco the Man, one
of my biggest musical discoveries of 2014, nails it on this track.
8. Arkells – “Come to Light”
I like “Come to Light” because it sounds like the Arkells of
old. By that, I mean the Arkells that brought us numerous rock gems such as
“Pullin’ Punches” and “Whistlerblower.” Whereas most songs on their 2014 album High Noon put too much sugar in my
coffee (if you catch my drift), “Come to Light” manages to balance a pop hook
against in a fantastic guitar riff that gives the song some edge. It’s that
edginess that brought me to like Arkells after Jackson Square, and that edginess is sorely missed on High Noon. That said, “11:11” is
definitely my guilty pleasure of 2014 ;) .
7. Tokyo Police Club – “Hot Tonight”
Speaking of guilty pleasures, can we please talk about this
chorus? One thousand fishing rods can’t even match the catchiness of this tune.
Okay, I’ll admit that was a weak metaphor. This song serves little purpose
other than to get the people dancin’. And I love it.
6. Eagulls – “Tough Luck”
Riff of the year! The lead guitar and the bass pass this
amazing riff back and forth over the course of this grimy post-punk, noise rock
song. Somehow lead singer George Mitchell’s assured yelp works perfectly in
this setting, and I like to think of his howl as an instrument rather than a
voice. In fact, I can only barely make out a few words over the course of the
song, and it doesn’t matter in the least. However, that jangly, clearly plucked
guitar part remains the central unifying force in the track, and continues to
be my favorite riff of the year.
5. Vacationer – “The Wild Life”
Vacationer nailed a cool jungle, tribal feeling with the
drum part of this extremely catchy tune. This mid-tempo bouncy beat sets the
track apart from other indie pop songs, bringing a totally fresh
instrumentation to a tired genre. The sentiment of the lyrics suggesting the
wild and spontaneous nature of life perfectly compliments the drum circle vibes
of the beat. Go ahead and clap along!
4. The War on Drugs – “Under the Pressure”
When I started to put together this list, I knew I had to
put a War on Drugs song somewhere in the Top 5. But I struggled to name a
single song from their beautiful 2014 album, Lost in the Dream. I think that sums up the true beauty of that
album, since the entire album feels like one long song. In so many ways,
listening to the album is aptly compared to being “lost in a dream.” The albums
drifts and floats in the air; it feels non-material, as if it just belongs,
just as a feeling or emotion simply exists. “Under the Pressure” manages to
capture this feeling over the course of its 8 minutes. The simplicity of the
piano part flawlessly captures a somber, yet optimistic mood, while the drum
parts moves the track forward and keeps it focused. I like to think of the
first part of the song as that period right before you fall asleep. Your brain
is still chugging along, dissecting the day, but slowly and surely you begin to
tire of this, and you descend towards sleep, becoming Lost in the Dream.
3. Generationals – “Would You Want Me”
If you know my musical taste at all, you know I’m a sucker
for riffs. And male falsetto. “Would You Want Me” checks both of these boxes.
Last year Generationals made my list with their “breakout” single, “Put a Light
On.” While that song blew me away with interesting rhythms and cool
instrumentation, “Would You Want Me” is much simpler. Nonetheless, this
simplicity captures a joyousness beyond its bars. The song starts with the
central riff played by an electric marimba-esque computer. This riff gets
reused throughout the track before exploding into a chorus of faux trumpets at
the end of the track, which makes me smile every dang time. Just wish they
skipped the fade out, fade out, fade out, fade
out, fade out, fade out.
2. Alvvays – “Archie, Marry Me”
Probably the biggest new band on the Canadian indie scene in
2014, Alvvays captured our ears with their catchy blend of dream pop. “Archie,
Marry Me,” the lead single from their debut sef-titled album, is the perfect
exemplar of their sound. The song tells of a love beyond material wealth, with
lead singer Molly Rankin repeatedly pleading some chap name Archie to marry
her. Dude Archie, just do it man. Seriously though, I love how Rankin sings, it
seems so nonchalant, yet dreamy and reverbed out. It cuts through the distorted
muck from the lead guitar part, and is clearly the key to Alvvays’s 2014
critical success. The video is pretty cool too!
1. Cloud Nothings – “I’m Not Part of Me”
Cloud Nothings had been on my radar since their 2011 release
Attack on Memory, a loud, straight
ahead emo/no-wave storm of sound. Whereas that album lacked little on the noise
front, I felt it lacked a level of maturity and finesse. With their 2014 album,
Here and Nowhere Else, Cloud Nothings
brought everything together with a new level of production, song writing
maturity, and general energy. “I’m Not Part of Me” is the climax of this
brilliant album.
The song is grounded with a steady guitar and bass chord
pattern, and like the rest of the album, it driven forward by drummer Jayson
Gerycz’s animalistic rhythms. He is one of my new favourite drummers based
solely on his performance at Pitchfork festival this year:
Lead singer Dylan Baldi kicks off the song with the line: “it starts right now”, which is odd given that this comes on the last song of the album, but acts as a succinct intro to the pounding groove that follows. Lyrically, “I’m Not Part of Me” is essentially a break-up song, but whereas Baldi’s previous break-up tracks were negative and self-deprecating, “I’m Not Part of Me” is celebratory, with Baldi coming to terms with the past and rejoicing what lies in his future. However, I don’t read this song as a breakup with another person; instead I see this as Baldi breaking up with his past self. This is apparent in the chorus: “I’m not, I’m not you, you’re a part of me, you’re a part of me.” As much as Baldi might want to avoid being that person that he used to be, it’s that past identity that made him who he is and who he is going to be. In my opinion, long as that future person keeps making incredible rock tracks like this one, I’ll be a very happy camper. Congratulations Cloud Nothings, you ruled 2014 in my books.
Here is the full spotify playlist of my top 25 for your streaming pleasure: LINK
