70. The Mother We Share---Chvrches***
Pastel-colored pop of a very high accord, Mother's opening avalanche of layered synths leads into one of 2013's finest sing-a-long choruses.
69. So Clear---Junip
Jose Gonzales might never really lose his cool, but his band certainly does, So Clear's magnetic guitar hook ever-expanding until it can just about breath fire.
68. Uncle Ace---Blood Orange***
Ace has a groove that you just can't put down, Dev Hynes' stoic spoken word slotting in atop a cavalcade of 80's gloss, the mix eventually carried away by a blustery, head-spinning horns-and-strings outtro.
67. Reflektor---Arcade Fire
Producer James Murphy's finger prints on Arcade Fire's latest are never more apparent than on Reflektor, a moody, bass-driven powerhouse bolstered by a second-helf jam session.
66. Inhaler---Foals
Foals bare their teeth with this early Holy Fire single, which mercilessly drives up tension before exploding into a hurricane of distortion.
65. Eastern Gate---Fuzz***
Fuzz's debut disc is a gaudy cacophony of garage rock zingers, but none tops the opener, which waits almost two full minutes before slamming on the gas, and never looking back.
Days Are Gone sees the Haim sisters trying on all sorts of different clothes; I'm partial to this twang-tinged single, a callous break-up song that sticks in your head like an ex-lover.
63. BTSTU---Jai Paul
Kind of goofy to have a song that's existed (in various incarnations) since 2007 on this list, but the Jai Paul closer doesn't really give me a choice, the singer's hushed intimidations enrobed in falsetto coos, and a pounding electronic pulse.
One of the year's most savvy samples, Charli XCX does for Gold Panda's You what Kanye West did to Daft Punk's Harder Better Faster Stronger, lifting an irrepressible sound whole sale, and applying a heavy dose of radio-ready pop.
61. The Current---The Dodos
Carrier starts out strong and kind of plods through its closing act, but not The Current, a poppy tune that nonetheless conveys an ocean of longing and regret within its tightly-managed runtime.
Carrier starts out strong and kind of plods through its closing act, but not The Current, a poppy tune that nonetheless conveys an ocean of longing and regret within its tightly-managed runtime.
60. Say Yes to Me---Surfer Blood
The last few years haven't been too kind to Surfer Blood, but Yes breaks through the back stories and the general malaise of their latest album with its finely honed pop craft, and earnest pleas.
The last few years haven't been too kind to Surfer Blood, but Yes breaks through the back stories and the general malaise of their latest album with its finely honed pop craft, and earnest pleas.
59. Fall Back---Zola Jesus***
Every second of Fall Back is bigger than the last, strings stirring and simmering before ascending to heaven, all parts rotating around Nika Roza Danilova's brawny bellow.
58. Blurred Lines---Robin Thicke feat. T.I. and Pharrell
I know, I'm sick of this song too, but there was a time this summer when Thicke's falsetto come-ons were omnipresent for a reason; the second Pharrell ripped in to those three magic words ("Everybody get up!"), changing the station was nearly impossible.
57. Brainfreeze---Fuck Buttons
Intense doesn't even begin to describe Brainfreeze, an 8+ minute, all-consuming instrumental titan fueled by a menacing howl, and drums capable of turning brains into batter.
56. Track 3---Jai Paul
Sure, Jai Paul makes pretty wacky bedroom music, but it's bedroom music nonetheless; Track 3 puts to use reverb, bongos, and even a mini horn section, all in the name of its moody, brooding march.
55. I Am Here---Savages***
From the sonic Drain-O sludge of its opening, 'notes,' to the madcap fury of its conclusion, I Am Here is ever threatening violence, Jehnny Beth's impassioned pronouncements tearing through the track like a razor.
From the sonic Drain-O sludge of its opening, 'notes,' to the madcap fury of its conclusion, I Am Here is ever threatening violence, Jehnny Beth's impassioned pronouncements tearing through the track like a razor.
54. Shame Chamber---Kurt Vile
Kurt Vile has a way of writing songs so immediate that they feel wholly familiar on first go-around, Shame Chamber's beach bum glow dispersed in contented fashion before a nifty guitar solo takes us home.
Kurt Vile has a way of writing songs so immediate that they feel wholly familiar on first go-around, Shame Chamber's beach bum glow dispersed in contented fashion before a nifty guitar solo takes us home.
53. Heavy Feet---Local Natives***
Heavy Feet seems to pull you in two different directions, the rolling kinetics of Matt Frazier's percussion contrasting against hushed vocals that almost drip out of mouths, the two colliding in the resplendent hand-clap chorus.
Heavy Feet seems to pull you in two different directions, the rolling kinetics of Matt Frazier's percussion contrasting against hushed vocals that almost drip out of mouths, the two colliding in the resplendent hand-clap chorus.
52. Comrade---Volcano ChoirComrade makes you wait for it, noodling around gracefully for about a minute and a half before breaking out into the madcap beauty of its soaring chorus.
51. Contact---Daft Punk
Far-and-away the most impressionable instrumental track on Daft Punk's latest, Contact closes the album with colossal crashing drums and an ecstatic pairing of guitars and synthesizers.
50. Evil Eye---Franz Ferdinand***
For the life of me, I cannot figure out why Franz Ferdinand's latest was so ignored; Evil Eye is the exact kind of plodding pop on which they made their name, a dance-y, poppy march with just the lightest dash of darkness thrown in for good measure.
49. White Teeth Teens---Lorde
Pure Heroine is very rarely cluttered, this sense of space and expanse never better utilized than on Teens, a deliberately-paced star-gazer with echoing vocals and crisp, rolling drums.
48. My Number---Foals***
There are no stray sounds within My Number; Holy Fire's most successful single is tight as all get-out, each instrument and note perfectly calibrated to the tune's driving pop perfection.
47. A New Life---Jim James***
Jim James gets away with dewy romanticism that would make a cynic cringe, adorning New Life's sunny gallop with words of heedless affection, riding mirthfully off into the horizon on a wave of celebratory horns.
46. Girl Called Alex---Kurt Vile
About as moody as you're going to get from Vile, Alex wafts out of speakers like an ominous raincloud rolling in overhead, cloaking ears in shadows, and dark ruminations.
***Pictured Artist***
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