Top 25 Tracks of 2014

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”

Whereas Mounties’ first hit “Headphones” is tiresome and slightly annoying, they really nailed the riff on “Tokyo Summer,” capturing a perfect slice of summer deck season.

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…

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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!

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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