It may be 2019, but the lasting legacy of 1980s post-punk and new wave (and all its sub genres) is very much alive and well, probably due in part to the fact it sounds so awesome! I know of several artists and bands whose sound is heavily influenced by the electronics-dominant music of bands like New Order, The Cure and Depeche Mode, to name some of the biggest acts from that period. One such band that I have the pleasure of featuring today is House of Harm, a duo from Boston consisting of Michael Rocheford on lead vocals & Cooper Leardi on guitar and synths. With just a casual listen, they could be unfairly labeled a New Order or Depeche Mode cover band, but a closer listen reveals the guys to be skilled songwriters and composers, crafting outstanding songs that easily hold their own against the aforementioned bands.
House of Harm released their excellent debut EP Demo in June 2017, followed later that year with a darkwave single “Isolator”, and in November 2018, they dropped their second EP Coming of Age, featuring four gorgeous tracks. First up is “Past Life“, a brooding but beautiful song that really channels Depeche Mode both instrumentally and vocally. The guys employ lush swirling synths, razor sharp percussion, and layers of richly textured, chiming guitars to create a magnificent shimmering soundscape. Rocheford’s arresting vocals convey a sense of urgency and sad resignation as he laments “Let the past lay down tonight, I want it to, I want it to. Let the summer light catch your eyes. There’s someone new, someone new“.
About the track’s meaning, Rocheford told the webzine Vanyaland “The song is about spending time with someone you were formerly involved with and the struggles that come along with that.” Leardi added his feelings about the song: “‘Past Life’ was one of those songs that came to us like a lightbulb flash. All the elements were there. We were coming down from playing a string of shows, completely exhausted, and in one afternoon we wrote and recorded the whole song. It felt wrong to go back and change the magic we got that day, so the version you hear is just that. I can’t deny that there was a certain flavor in the air when we were working on it, something that reminds me of an ecstasy-fueled club in Ibiza or something… I think it puts us in a place and time, and that time is right now. I feel as though the song is there to say ‘We’re House Of Harm and this is what we’re about’.”
“Always” is an updated version of a track that originally appeared on Demo. Leardi’s exuberant jangly guitars are the highlight here, accompanied by sparkling synths and wildly crashing cymbals. Rocheford fervently sings “You always keep it still. You always speak until. You always turn it around and smile in pain.” The marvelous title track “Coming of Age” features a powerful driving beat and a deeply resonant mix of swirling and moody synths that create a dramatic backdrop for Rocheford’s impassioned, soaring vocals as he implores to a former loved one: “And would you still run at the sight of me? And do you still you feel that you’ve thrown it away? And would you still lie, if I ever told you? And would you still say it’s a coming of age?” “Valentine” sounds a bit similar to “Coming of Age”, but with a frenetic beat that’s classic post-punk/new wave. If this bouncy, high-energy song doesn’t get you up and moving, nothing will.
Coming of Age is a wonderful little EP, and if you’re a fan of 80s post-punk/new wave, you’ll like this record. The arrangement and production are flawless, and the music and vocals sound clear and perfectly balanced. My only criticism is that with just four tracks, it feels rather like a teaser, leaving me wanting more. Perhaps that’s a good thing, as I eagerly await what House of Harm will grace our earbuds with next.
Feather Weight is a fairly new band from Toronto, Canada who play music that incorporates elements of Garage Rock, Dream Pop and Psych. They’ve released only two singles thus far – their debut “Just Take the Pill” in May 2018, and “Volcano”, which dropped in late November – and I can unequivocally state I’m already a big fan of theirs. When their drummer Raymond Cara (who I know from his also being part of Toronto bands The Autumn Stones and Andrew LaTona & the Nightshades, both of which I’ve featured on this blog) shared “Volcano” with me the other day, it was love at first listen. In addition to Raymond on drums, the other band members include Alistair Bundale on lead vocals & guitar, Neil Culbert on guitar and backing vocals, and Jordan Quinn on bass and backing vocals. All are accomplished musicians who’ve been involved with other bands in the thriving Toronto music scene.
The song starts off with a subtle but intriguing little guitar riff, then a pounding drumbeat enters, leaving us anticipating what’s coming next. Suddenly, a gorgeous chiming guitar arrives, immediately engulfing our eardrums in a shimmering soundscape. The tempo adjusts to a gentle driving beat as more guitar is layered over the primary riff that continues throughout the song. Alistair’s passionate echoed vocals enter the mix and the result is a song so sublime it brings goosebumps. Given the perfection of this and their first single, I expect we’ll be hearing more fantastic songs from Feather Weight – and soon, I hope!
I asked Raymond about the song’s meaning and how they chose the vintage footage for the wonderful video. He told me it was actually from an old GM promo from the early 1960s for an electronics and car showcase. About the song’s meaning, he explained: “I would say a lot of the basis of this song deals with the pressure of human repression building up underneath and the process of liberating ourselves from that pressure. The way we framed the video is in a way to show a woman finding her liberation at a time when women’s roles were strongly defined by positions occupied in the home. I would think of this more though as an analogy for the meaning of the song rather than the actual point of the song. [But] even though we may find a sense of liberation, that doesn’t mean we are free. The human condition in the cultures and societies we have created foster isolation and alienation and cause many mental health issues, so at some level she is running a fool’s errand, so to speak.” Watch, listen, and prepare to be blown away by this marvelous song.
I’ve featured a number of international artists on this blog, and one of my favorites is Malaysian singer/songwriter Lyia Meta. Based in the beautiful capital city of Kuala Lumpur, Lyia is a stunning woman with a voice to match. With her deep, resonant vocal style, she’s become an international star, having won numerous music awards over the past three years, including the VIMA (Voice Independent Music Award, representing multiple countries in Southeast Asia) for Best Overall Female Act in 2016, the GLOBAL Music Award and Radio Wigwam (UK) Award for Best Female Artist in 2017, and the 2018 Josie World Music Artist Award, which was presented to her last September at the world’s largest independent awards show, in Tennessee. She also happens to be an amazingly talented visual artist!
In early 2018, Lyia released her enchanting single “Without Walls”, which I reviewed and liked so much it earned a spot on my Top 100 Songs of 2018. In December, she dropped her latest single “All of My Love“, a powerful pop/rock anthem written by award winning British singer/songwriter and producer Paul Michael Curtis. She usually writes her own songs, but said “All of My Love” really resonated with her when Paul pitched it to her. The song is the perfect vehicle for Lyia, as her commanding vocals hold their own against the soaring instrumentals.
The song has a throwback 80s feel, reminiscent of some of the pop-rock anthems of that period, but with an updated sound. The beautiful, sweeping instrumentals are marvelous, especially the piano and lush strings, and the hard rock guitar riffs add a nice bit of drama to the track. Lyia passionately sings of her longing for someone she still loves and can’t get over, despite the fact they’re no longer together. “But I’m still waiting, and I can’t let go. My heart is breaking and I want you to know. You’ve got all of my love, and all of my heart. I believed you when you said we’d never be apart.” It’s a great song, and so is the video, which features a dynamic mix of lovely and bittersweet visuals.
One of the most exciting new artists I had the pleasure of discovering in 2018 is John DeFeo, a young singer/songwriter based in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida. His infectious and soulful blend of R&B, hip-hop and pop is fresh, honest and sensual, and I just love it! On top of all that, he’s also a thoughtful, kind and gracious guy. He released his first self-titled EP in 2014, a pleasing collection of jazz-infused pop songs, and followed up with Purple Heart in 2017, which saw him evolve to a more soulful R&B & trip hop sound. But the song that first captured my attention was “Unwind” (read my review here), a sexy and fun track from his 2018 EP Champagne Heart. I love that song so much it went all the way to #1 on my Weekly Top 30, and ended up at #16 for the year.
John was on a creative tear throughout 2018, releasing several new singles, his latest of which “Sigue Con El Amor” dropped in December. Man, this is one fantastic song, and I can’t gush about it enough! Once again, John delivers an enthralling and sensual track that pushes all the right sonic buttons for me. The spellbinding plucked guitar riff at the beginning immediately grabs hold and once that sultry Latin beat kicks in and John’s smooth, seductive vocals enter the mix, magic occurs. I love the deep bassline, and the crisp percussive synths and bits of funky guitar are great. I love this song, and have had it on replay for days.
John celebrates not only love, but also his Puerto Rican heritage by including both Spanish & English lyrics in the song, and its title “Sigue Con El Amor” translates to “follow with love.” With a Latin-infused hip-hop cadence to his captivating vocals, John croons “Big smile on my face. You can’t kill it, no nobody can take this energy. / Love is important. It’s a strong thing. Yeah yeah. El amor. El amor.” The beautiful and sensuous video, directed and edited by Luke Fowler, was filmed in sepia tones, and shows three exotic women seemingly resurrecting John from the dead and standing him up to a microphone, whereupon he sings the song as they dance around him. Footage of vintage cartoons of skeletons dancing is a nice addition. Watch and listen:
1. GUIDING LIGHT – Mumford & Sons (1)3rd week #1
2. HURT PEOPLE – Two Feet featuring Madison Love (2)
3. HIGH HOPES – Panic! At the Disco (3)
4. YOU’RE SOMEBODY ELSE – flora cash (6)
5. MY BLOOD – twenty one pilots (5)
6. THESE ARE MY FRIENDS – lovelytheband (7)
7. IN MY MIND – Draft Evader (4) 18th week on chart
8. WANDER – Vox Eagle featuring Pierre Fontaine (13)
9. IN THE WATER – The Underground Vault (14)
10. UH HUH – Jade Bird (8)
11. BACK DOWN – Bob Moses (16)
12. HAPPIER – Marshmello featuring Bastille (9)
13. LOADING ZONES – Kurt Vile (10)
14. “99” – Barns Courtney (15)
15. THANK U, NEXT – Ariana Grande (18)
16. DELTA BLUES – Jetstream (19)
17. FAST TALK – Houses (20)
18. MAKE IT UP AS I GO – Mike Shinoda featuring K.Flay (17)
19. NEW BIRTH IN NEW ENGLAND – Phosphorescent (21)
20. APOCALIPSTICK – Lazy Queen (22)
21. UNREALITIES – Dying Habit (11)
22. SUPERWOMAN SWAY – Brett Vogel (12) 17th week on chart
23. PRESSURE – Muse (24)
24. SUPERPOSITION – Young the Giant (25)
25. LOVE IT IF WE MADE IT – The 1975 (26)
26. NORTHERN LIGHTS – Death Cab for Cutie (27)
27. YOU SHOULD SEE ME IN A CROWN – Billie Eilish (23)
28. WORST NIGHTS – Foster the People (28)
29. LIGHT ON – Maggie Rogers (N)
30. CHANGE – The Revivalists (N)
Many artists choose to identify themselves by imaginative names that they feel help to define their sound or the image they wish to project, rather than their given names. Some that I’ve featured on this blog with particularly interesting names include Two Feet, Draft Evader, Ghostly Beard, Puzzle, Swilly, Melotika, Krosst Out, Twintwo, Random…, Infected Sun, DVR, 9fm, Cheddr, Def Star and Manipulant. Today I feature another one – a British composer and producer of instrumental electronic music who calls himself 1i2c (one eye to see).
Heavily influenced by the music of some of his favorites artists like Jean-Michel Jarre, Gary Numan, Kraftwerk, Tangerine Dream, Depeche Mode, The Prodigy and Royksopp, 1i2c is an imaginative and innovative composer whose music spans across a wide range of styles within the electronica genre. Born John Whitaker, the man is a prolific artist, having produced a tremendous output of music over the past three years, beginning with the release in January 2016 of his debut album The Great Distraction. In December (2018) he released his tenth album Winter, which, interestingly, also dropped on the 10th.
All of his releases have essentially been concept albums based on an overriding theme, with the sounds and titles of each track reflecting the theme indicated by the album title. For example, Power Struggle contains industrial techno songs with titles like “Electron”, “Incandescent” and “High Tension”, while Horror Show features songs with more of a psychedelic goth and darkwave vibe, titled “Monster”, “Lunatic Waltz” and “Doorway to Hell.” As we would expect, Winter features appropriately-named tracks such as “Cold Season”, “Chill” and “Deep Freeze”.
1i2c is adept at creating music that compels the listener to develop strong mental images of the subjects at hand. The album opens with “Northern Hemisphere“, a hypnotic track with a repetitive driving beat and glittery synths that conjure up images of an icy starlit night filled with Northern Lights. “Cold Season” starts off with a grinding synth that seems to evoke a creaking piece of machinery, struggling to start in the frigid air. One started, everything settles into a smooth soundscape of cool, gently pulsating synths. The stunning video shows sweeping vistas of snow-covered landscapes, gently falling snow and remarkable footage of bubble slowly being overtaken by feathery ice crystals.
“Fallen Leaves” is an enthralling melodic track with shimmery synths floating above a sensual throbbing beat, while dramatic soaring synths convey the fearsome power of nature on “Avalanche“. “Memories” features richly textured intricate synths set to an exuberant beat, with lots of pleasing flute sounds and crisp percussion. The majestic “Chill” delivers colorful keyboard synths fluttering above a sturdy foundation of darker beat-driven synths.
On “Winter’s Fury“, 1i2c employs fuzzy echoed synths to evoke the drama of a winter storm raging outside, while delightfully upbeat plucky synths give the feeling of being cozy, safe and warm inside. The track is marvelous, building to an exhilarating crescendo that imparts a sense of joy, making it one of my favorites on the album. The 7-minute long “Blizzard” delivers frenetic swirling synths and galloping beats that capture the danger and terrible beauty of a winter snowstorm that won’t let up.
The melodically complex “Silent Day” is anything but, with a contrasting mix of gritty and crystalline sweeping synths set to a strong drumbeat and deep bass. “Deep Freeze” is more experimental, with elements of rock and jazz that make for quite an interesting track. Harsher industrial sounds are paired with electric guitar and layered over an energetic galloping beat that builds to an exciting finish. The final track “Ebenezer” features fuzzy pulsating synths fluttering above a dense throbbing beat. The music intensifies as the song progresses, with added sounds of bells and what sounds like an advancing swarm of bees. Not sure what that’s meant to convey, but it sounds fantastic.
Winter is a terrific album, filled with well-crafted tracks that should appeal to lovers of electronic music – or anyone moved by beautiful instrumentals. 1i2c is a skilled composer and producer with an impressive catalog of outstanding albums, and I urge my readers to give some of them a listen.
As we bid farewell to 2018 and welcome in the new year, many of us make resolutions to accomplish this or that goal in the hope we’ll be a better person. I’ve just about given up on any chance of regaining the physique I had at 40, so will instead make a greater effort to expand my musical horizons. Though I’m proud of my song choices that make up my Top 100 of 2018, it was eye-opening to read the year-end lists of other music bloggers. Quite a few lists contained songs I’d never heard of, and as I listened to many of those songs, I realized my tastes, though eclectic, are still rather mainstream.
With that in mind, I’m thrilled to feature an artist who is most definitely non-mainstream. In fact, his music is highly unusual, profoundly unorthodox, and even a tad deranged, befitting his wickedly awesome moniker Spaztic Robot. In the words of the creative man behind the curtain, singer/songwriter/musician Robbie Sparks, “Spaztic Robot is a mongrel. It’s a mixed breed. It’s the bastard son of a thousand albums, hundreds of novels, and the little devil that hides within the darkest crevice of one’s mind.” After listening to his music, I’d say that’s a pretty fitting description.
Based in Birmingham, England, Robbie Sparks was formerly with punk band Rebel City Radio, but after they broke up he started his own solo project Spaztic Robot. In 2016 he released his debut album Skip Rope Rhymes, which Vive Le Rock Magazine called ‘pleasantly unpleasant‘, The Ringmaster described as ‘invasive yet solemnly beauteous darkness‘, and Slap Magazine stated was ‘an album for those unafraid to embrace the unknown‘. On Halloween, 2018, he dropped his second album Spaztic Robot & The Epileptic Moth, released on independent label Killer Shark Records. Robbie reached out to me about a review, and I was so intrigued by his music that I wanted to also get some of his thoughts about his creative process and the album, to which he graciously agreed.
EML: Thank you for agreeing to discuss your music with me Robbie. I’ve listened to both of your albums several times and have to say your music is some of the most intriguing and distinctive I’ve heard. I hear similarities to such bands as Nine Inch Nails and Marilyn Manson, and even traces of Frank Zappa, but your music is certainly unique. Where do you draw inspiration from?
Robbie Sparks: Firstly, thank you for your generous words and for taking the time to absorb the songs, and for inviting me to be part of this interview.
I think my main inspiration comes from a desire to remain relatively sane. I find the writing process crucial for digesting ‘life’ and making sense of the whole damn thing. Scraps of loose paper litter my home, all full of scribbled nonsense. Really, they’re everywhere! Musically speaking I just enjoy absorbing new sounds. That’s not to say I discard what I listened to previously, not at all. I treasure it all. I guess you could say that each record I enjoy is another brick in an ever-rising wall that builds around me, and like in the old Atari game Pong, I’m just some mad dot inside that bounces back and forth pulling inspiration randomly with each hit.
EML: The themes and lyrics for many of your songs are very provocative, calling out politicians, societal hypocrisy, sexual deviancy and such. Are you wanting to provoke with your music, merely venting, or both?
RS: More than “provoke” I think it’s important to reflect…no matter how ugly the result may be. I’m conscious not to be overly negative, which if I’m honest I’ve always had a tendency to be, and I hope that the songs are seen merely as reflections and not statements. There’s a sense of closure about a statement, and if there is a fragment of hope to be found I try to keep it in the mix. It’s what we’re all clinging to after all.
EML: Your songs and melodies are very complex, incorporating multiple genres and lots of textures and layers that make for an incredibly compelling and interesting listen. Tell me a bit about your creative process for writing songs and developing their structures.
RS: Most of my songwriting begins with a simple melody or chord change. Once I have that, the lyrics take over and drive the song. The rhythm will change and the layers will flutter as and when the words dictate. You could say the lyrics take on the form of the conductor, and the textures of music rise and fall on its demand. It fascinates me that for us to understand ourselves, even at our most primitive, we rely on words. Like computer coding, our vocabulary offers our emotions and thoughts a body in which to exist, without which our minds would be nothing more than swamps’ farting gas. So it was important, right from the start, for the songs to develop in this way.
EML: Your instrumentals are really fantastic. Do you play and/or program all the music on your songs by yourself?
RS: Yes, everything I do is done in my home studio. Well, it’s more of a ‘space’ than a studio to be honest, in which a skeleton studio set up has been vaguely imitated. All the beats and most of the bass is programmed. Guitars, keys, and vocals are recorded live, although they do get manipulated as the parts start to intertwine.
EML: You include quite a few spoken vocals from other sources in some of your songs. How do you go about finding and selecting them?
RS: Most of the time I know roughly what I’m after, be it a quote from a writer, a sample from a philosopher, or a scene from an 80’s slasher movie, so I’m able to locate it relatively easily. I do however designate set evenings each week to the ‘creative process’. These evenings regularly drift into the early hours, and often little songwriting gets done, but these evenings take on a different form of productivity. It’s during these sessions that I will find myself reading manuscripts of obscure lectures or watching unworldly subtitled animations, and have no definitive recollection of the path I took to discover them, just a page in my notebook with loosely connected scribbles hinting that the journey has taken more than one detour.
EML: Have you performed your music live? If not, do you have any plans to do so, or even tour?
RS: Spaztic Robot has never been on the live circuit, and I don’t think it ever will be. There certainly aren’t any plans for it to happen. It’s not that there’s a lack of desire from myself to perform, in fact there have been times since my previous band Rebel City Radio broke-up that I’ve yearned for the adrenaline kick one gets from performing live. It’s simply that, logistically, I don’t have the time, personnel, or resources to make it happen AND do the songs justice at the same time.
EML: Completely understandable. Any plans for more music or album #3?
RS: I continue to write, and there have been no offers to tempt me away from Spaztic Robot, so another release is likely. A handful of songs are spawning anyway.
EML: Anything I forgot to ask that you’d like my readers and your fans to know?
RS: I’d just like to thank them for reading. If they’ve got this far they must be at least mildly intrigued…and that’s all I can ask for.
EML: And that’s all I can ask for too! Thanks so much for taking the time to so eloquently respond to my questions Robbie.
So let’s get to the album Spaztic Robot & the Epileptic Moth, definitely one of the best-titled releases of 2018. Robbie wastes no time in creeping us out with “Assholes“, a scathing attack on politicians and a brilliant track from a musical standpoint. Starting off with his echoed sing-song moaning, he lets out a devilish chuckle as the music expands with razor-sharp industrial synths that slice through the airwaves, accompanied by a sinister throbbing drumbeat. He ghoulishly sneers “Hey Mister, do I have your attention? See those two dogs sniffing each others’ assholes! “Lick it, lick it, lick it Mr. Fuckin’ Politician, whoo! /Word out on the street is you’d suck it for a couple of balloons.” As the song proceeds, Robbie adds tasty little sound effects like howling wolves, disquieting whispered vocals and snippets of sci-fi movie samples that serve to reinforce the creep factor as he continues to moan and/or wail. It all builds to an explosive climax at the end with a fusillade of screeching guitars and tortured screaming synths.
There’s no catching our breath as the punkish title track “Spaztic Robot” ensues with a barrage of staccato beats, frenzied psychedelic synths and furiously crashing cymbals that rain down like thunderbolts on steroids. Robbie cleverly weaves samples of vocals from horror films with his own fiendish utterances to create a vibe that’s wickedly fun, and befitting of the lyrics about a discarded tin can that transforms into a crazed robot. The delightful video is hilarious and campy, like some of the 50s sci-fi films it seems to parody.
“We CU!” plays like a nightmarish nursery rhyme, opening with a mysterious xylophone-driven melody as Robbie softly croons “Walk around the pond and spit at the fishes. If you hit a frog you can make a wish.” His vocals take on a fiendish air as he sings in a rapid cadence, broken by occasional chants of “we see you hide” in a menacing tone. Ghostly layered synths abound until a child’s voice repeatedly chants “Everyone gets a chance to die” before the song abruptly transitions to an upbeat, bouncy tune at the end.
Robbie takes a softer approach on the languid “Blasphemous Rumours,” though the subject matter remains rather bleak. It starts off with an eerie synth, then beautiful chiming guitars enter the mix as Robbie sings in hushed vocals about a woman who attempted suicide by slashing her wrists. The music continues to swell as he gently croons “I don’t want to start blasphemous rumours but I think that god’s got a sick sense of humour.”
“Pond Scum” is one of the most disturbing, but interesting tracks on the album. It opens on a fairly pleasant note with a vintage movie soundtrack sample, but then takes a sharp turn with an sonic assault of hellish synths. Like a violent crime scene set to music, it’s repellent but we can’t seem to turn away. Robbie’s vocals sound downright diabolical as he snarls the lyrics that speak to sexual depravity: “The hungry little fuckers are horny little fuckers. They’re feral little mouths and nothing left to stop them. They’re horny and they’re fucking, and they’re fucking and they’re horny.”
Many of his songs take sharp twists and turns, and the melodically complex “Shark Attack” is a perfect example of this. Magical synths convey an aura of fantasy like a Harry Potter movie, then gradually evolve to a mysterious deep bass-driven melody with Robbie chanting “shark attack” along with repetitive drawn-out psshh sounds. Though it has a bit of a creepy vibe, the song has an otherworldly beauty. “Back to Inferior Ways” hits us with barrages of bleak industrial noise that alternate with a rather lovely and sweeping beat-driven melody. Robbie’s vocals are sinister as he snarls the lyrics that are interspersed with sampled vocals.
As each track unfolds, I’m increasingly impressed by Robbie’s creativity, originality and musicianship. He surprises us with the hauntingly beautiful piano-driven composition “Blisters.” Built around a brooding piano riff, the song slowly builds with added organ and horn synths into a deeply moving soundscape, before ending with just a tinkling piano riff. “Windmill” features a haunting guitar-driven melody, punctuated by unsettling staccato beats, mysterious synths and sampled children’s voices.
“Demons” is a trippy song built around a hypnotic dubstep beat, with pulsating industrial synths. We immediately hear a young girl asking “Could you please help me find my dolly? I lost her, and really want her back.” It’s difficult to make out many of the lyrics Robbie is singing, but his eerie moans and wails lend a strong sense of unease. He throws in all kinds of samples, including a bit of Claude Rains’ dialogue from Casablanca, and a line from The Crazy World of Arthur Brown’s 1968 hit song “Fire”. Later on, a man’s voice says “Satan is all around you. Remember, one third of his angels were cast out of heaven into the earth. They’re here with us.”It sure helps explain the abundance of evil that exists in the world. Robbie closes the album with his psychedelic re-imagining of the Nirvana classic “Heart Shaped Box.” Using spacey industrial synths, deep bass, reverb-heavy guitar and only the sparest of vocals, he creates a mesmerizing and powerful instrumental track.
Spaztic Robot & the Epileptic Moth is a brilliant work of such incredible nuance and complexity, I found that it got better with each listen as I heard something new I’d missed previously. Robbie’s songwriting, arrangement and production skills are impressive, along with his outstanding musicianship. I love this album, and highly recommend it to anyone who likes music that’s outside the mainstream.
1. GUIDING LIGHT – Mumford & Sons (1)
2. HURT PEOPLE – Two Feet featuring Madison Love (4)
3. HIGH HOPES – Panic! At the Disco (5)
4. IN MY MIND – Draft Evader (2)
5. MY BLOOD – twenty one pilots (3)
6. YOU’RE SOMEBODY ELSE – flora cash (11)
7. THESE ARE MY FRIENDS – lovelytheband (12)
8. UH HUH – Jade Bird (6)
9. HAPPIER – Marshmello featuring Bastille (7)
10. LOADING ZONES – Kurt Vile (8)
11. UNREALITIES – Dying Habit (10)
12. SUPERWOMAN SWAY – Brett Vogel (9)
13. WANDER – Vox Eagle featuring Pierre Fontaine (14)
14. IN THE WATER – The Underground Vault (15)
15. “99” – Barns Courtney (16)
16. BACK DOWN – Bob Moses (17)
17. MAKE IT UP AS I GO – Mike Shinoda featuring K.Flay (13)
18. THANK U, NEXT – Ariana Grande (18)
19. DELTA BLUES – Jetsteam (20)
20. FAST TALK – Houses (22)
21. NEW BIRTH IN NEW ENGLAND – Phosphorescent (21)
22. APOCALIPSTICK – Lazy Queen (25)
23. YOU SHOULD SEE ME IN A CROWN – Billie Eilish (26)
24. PRESSURE – Muse (28)
25. SUPERPOSITION – Young the Giant (29)
26. LOVE IT IF WE MADE IT – The 1975 (N)
27. NORTHERN LIGHTS – Death Cab for Cutie (N)
28. WORST NIGHTS – Foster the People (N)
29. SHE’S KEROSENE – The Interrupters (19)
30. NINA CRIED POWER – Hozier featuring Mavis Staples (23)
2018 was another banner year for music, with seemingly more of it being produced and released by a greater number artists and bands than ever before. And despite the fact that as a music blogger I’m exposed to a tremendous amount of music, I know I’ve heard only a fraction of all the singles and albums released in 2018. I get enough proof of this just by reading other bloggers’ year-end best-of lists, where in some cases I literally haven’t heard any of their song choices! Consequently, each of our annual best-of lists are going to include songs we know, and I’m certain there are some truly great songs that should belong on my Top 100 Songs list, except for the fact that I’ve never heard them! That said, there were so many fantastic songs in 2018, and it frustrates me to have to cull them down to only 100, omitting scores of tracks I really like. All the songs on this list could easily be in the top 40, and a song listed at #30 isn’t necessarily better than one at #60.
It also goes without saying that everyone’s music tastes are very subjective, so it’s guaranteed that not a single person reading this will agree with my song choices or their rankings. My list essentially contains my favorite songs of the year. My music tastes, while eclectic, lean toward Alternative Rock and most variations of Rock (hard, metal, post-punk, folk, progressive, electronic, surf, garage), R&B and Pop, so my Top 100 song choices generally reflect those genres. I like some hip hop and rap, but cannot tolerate the mumble rap or much of the other shitty hip hop, bro-country and pop music currently dominating the Billboard Hot 100. I’d rather listen to “Disco Duck” for an hour than three minutes of Cardi B (sorry Cardi B lovers). I’m not a music critic, and while I make every effort to recognize the cultural and artistic merits of music that came out this year, at the end of the day this is a list of songs that moved me personally – that gave me chills or that I simply enjoyed listening to over and over. Some were critically acclaimed, but many were not, and that’s OK. I love them, and that’s what matters to me.
Many bloggers and critics list songs in the year they were released, while Billboard and some other charts place them in the year they were ‘hits,’ which is what I prefer. Many of the songs on this list were released in 2018, however, a number of them were released in 2017 but didn’t chart until 2018. Also, because there are always a few songs that overlap from one year to the next, I always wrestle with how to rank them, as well as whether to list them in only one year or two. One example of this dilemma is “Without You” by L.A. band Disciples of Babylon, which spent the last week of 2017 and first week of 2018 at #1 on my weekly chart. It seems the fairest thing to do is include those songs on lists for both years if they spent enough time on the charts or ranked highly in each year. I suppose that at the end of the day it’s all silliness, but this is the way I choose to do it. The songs in this Top 100 that also appeared on my Top 100 Songs of 2017 are indicated with an * I wish I could have written a narrative for all 100 tracks, but being a slow writer who agonizes over every word, it would have taken me until mid-January to finish this post!
1. BROKEN – lovelytheband Unquestionably one of the most exuberantly catchy ear worms of 2018, this debut single by L.A.-based three-piece lovelytheband actually came out in 2017 as an exclusive release to Billboard that April, but didn’t chart until the beginning of 2018. It ended up being the #1 song of 2018 on the Billboard Alternative Chart, and is my personal pick as well. The song speaks to the idea that everyone’s flawed and has problems, and of finding someone who’s just as fucked up as you, and trying to make a go of it: “I like that you’re broken, broken like me. Maybe that makes me a fool. I like that you’re lonely, lonely like me. I could be lonely with you.” I love the chirpy synths, intricate guitars and strong drumbeat, as well as lead singer Mitchy Collins’ irresistible, quirky vocals that had me listening to the song again and again.
2. I FEEL LIKE I’M DROWNING – Two Feet I was blown away the moment I first heard the dark and sultry “I Feel Like I’m Drowning”, and quickly became a big fan of singer-songwriter Two Feet (born Zachary William “Bill” Dess) and his soulful, bluesy sound. This man can play guitar, and his songs are accompanied by some of the deepest bass grooves around, giving them tremendous heft and impact, and his vocals have a seductive, yet vulnerable quality that’s incredibly appealing. The song is about drowning in a toxic relationship, but could have also described his own mental state early in the year as the pressures of fame and professional commitments took their toll on his emotional well-being. Fortunately, he’s doing better and about to go on tour with Panic! At the Disco starting in January 2019. I had the good fortune of seeing him perform in L.A. in November, which you can read about here.
3. SIT NEXT TO ME – Foster the People * Foster the People are one of my favorite bands (see the header pic on my Twitter page), and I adore “Sit Next to Me.” The third single from their third album Sacred Hearts Club, it was released in July 2017 and debuted on my weekly chart that September. It reached #1 in on my chart in December 2017 (though by that time it had barely made the top 10 on only the Billboard Alternative Chart), and ended up at #20 on my Top 100 Songs of 2017. In January 2018, the song began to fall on my weekly chart, but kept rising on the Alternative Chart, eventually peaking at #3, and remaining in the top 10 for nine months until September 2018! It continued to hover in the 20s on my chart for several months, jumping back into the top 10 in July. I never tired of hearing it, and when I saw on my Spotify Wrapped report for 2018 that it was my most-played song of the year, it confirmed for me that it was also one of my favorite songs of 2018.
Song intros are important in setting the tone for a song, and “Sit Next to Me” has one of the most enthralling openings of any song I’ve ever heard, immediately grabbing hold and leaving me wanting more. It starts with a delicate shimmering synth and Mark Foster’s ethereal vocals, then bursts open into a breezy ballad loaded with gorgeous sweeping synths, subtle guitar and Mark Pontius’ perfect drumbeats. I love Foster’s fervent vocal style that includes lots of soaring falsettos and beautiful harmonic choruses. The song was inspired by his time spent in the L.A. bar scene. Foster explained in an interview with Rolling Stone: “Everyone was trying to look cool, say the right thing and be at the center of the universe. It was like a fashion show. In that environment, I felt alone in a room packed with people. I kept waiting for someone authentic to come walk through the door and sit next to me.” About the song’s slow rise and longevity, he stated: “I’m just kinda shocked. It’s kind of crazy to me that it’s been on the radio for so long and it keeps continuing to grow. I guess it’s a sleeper.“
4. THIS IS AMERICA – Childish Gambino One of the best songs of 2018 is Childish Gambino’s “This is America”, with its highly provocative lyrics and alternating mix of African-folk inspired melodies and pulsating hip hop-driven trap beats. But it was the brilliant companion video produced for the song that had the greatest impact, driving home the lyrics with shocking and often disturbing visual imagery, and quickly going viral the moment it was released on May 5th. Childish Gambino is the artistic name for the music project of the multi-faceted and incredibly talented actor, writer and singer Donald Glover. He packs a lot of symbolism into the video to address issues like racism and gun violence in America.
Things start off pleasant enough, with Glover/Gambino dancing about shirtless, but using grotesque smiles and exaggerated poses that some believe invoke the racist caricature Jim Crow. He sings “We just wanna party. Party just for you. We just want the money“, possibly referencing Black peoples’ historic role as entertainers for White people. Events take a violent turn when he walks up to a man who’s sitting on a chair playing guitar with his head covered by a hood, and shoots him in the head. A little later, he nonchalantly mows down a choir of singers with an automatic weapon. In both cases, he hands the guns over to someone holding a red cloth, giving the impression that the guns are being handled with greater care than the people he’s killed. The shooting of the choir is thought to represent the 2015 massacre at the Emanuel AME Church in Charleston, South Carolina. Glover/Gambino and a group of kids clad in school uniforms dance throughout much of the video, smiling as violence erupts around them. At the end of the video, he’s shown running for his life from an angry white mob.
5. BAD BAD NEWS – Leon Bridges And speaking of soulful, Leon Bridges is like a breath of fresh air with his throwback R&B style that echoes some of the great soul singers of the 60s like Sam Cooke, Marvin Gaye and Otis Redding. It’s a reflection of my advanced age, but I loved so many of the artists and music coming out of Detroit (Motown), Memphis and Philadelphia from the early 60s to the late 80s, and wish more Black artists would make music like this. In any case, “Bad Bad News” is fantastic, with jazzy guitar, gorgeous brass, crisp percussion and deep bass set to a soulful, hypnotic beat. Add Bridges’ smooth vocals, and the result is a little piece of sonic heaven. He sings about overcoming others’ lack of faith in him, and making it on his street smarts, honesty and belief in himself: “Ain’t got no riches, ain’t got no money that runs long. But I got a heart that’s strong and a love that’s tall. Ain’t got no name, ain’t got no fancy education. But I can see right through, a powdered face on a painted fool./ They tell me I was born to lose. But I made a good good thing out of bad bad news.“
6. ALL THE STARS – Kendrick Lamar/SZA The positively gorgeous “All the Stars” is one of many outstanding songs featured on the soundtrack for the hit superhero film Black Panther. A stylistic departure for Kendrick Lamar, the song is highly melodic, with vibrant sweeping synths and orchestration, set to a captivating beat. His vocals are mesmerizing and powerful as he sings the biting lyrics about duplicity and betrayal. And SZA blows our minds and eardrums with her bewitching soulful vocals. She passionately sings about her inability to resist another’s charms despite the fact he’s no good for her, always putting her faith in love and the stars, and when her and Lamar’s amazing voices are combined, it’s sheer bliss. I’ve listened to this song countless times and it never fails to cover me with goosebumps. The lush and colorful video is visually stunning, and one of the best of the year.
7. PAIN – The War on Drugs The War on Drugs are one of the best bands making music today, and I love their beautiful and lush melodic sound. The second single from their phenomenal, highly-acclaimed album A Deeper Understanding, “Pain” is one of my favorites among their many brilliant songs. (The album’s first single “Holding On” was #9 on my Top 100 of 2017). As I’ve alluded to earlier in this post, I know I love a song if it gives me chills, and “Pain” brings them in spades. The guitars and synths are so gorgeous they literally bring tears to my eyes, and lead singer Adam Granduciel vocals are brimming with heartfelt urgency that touches the soul. He told Q Magazine that “Pain” was inspired by the physical agony he endured from a ruptured disc. (Having recently suffered with pain from a back sprain myself, I can empathize.) It’s one of several tracks on A Deeper Understanding where he touches on the excruciating experience. “I couldn’t sit to work and I couldn’t stand up to play guitar,” he said. “The idea of chronic pain and what it does to the mind is scattered throughout the songs.”
8. CLOSER – IAMWARFACE London-based electro-rock band IAMWARFACE has released only a handful of songs, but are among my favorite UK bands. Their aggressive name is a fitting metaphor for their bombastic, high-energy, groove-based sound. They released their debut single “Say My Name” in 2016, a phenomenal track that literally left me speechless the first time I heard it, and it ended up at #14 on my Top 100 Songs of 2016. I didn’t think they could top that song, but I was wrong. In July they released “Closer”, and I was stunned as I heard the opening mysterious throbbing synth chord that slowly builds into a dramatic soundscape, enveloping us as lead singer Matt Warneford implores to someone with whom he seems to have an obsessive and destructive relationship. With that, the music explodes into a maelstrom of grinding synths, fuzzy guitars, buzz-saw bass, and thunderous percussion, punctuated by almost violently crashing cymbals that emphasize the feelings of desolation expressed in the bitter lyrics. Warneford’s emotional vocals seem filled with despair and resignation over a love affair that now lies in tatters. “Feel I’m walking on shattered glass. This romance just has to end, to reset, erase, begin again.” My body is covered from head to toe with chills by song’s end, overcome by the fierce beauty and power of this monumental track. The video is dark, ghostly and breathtaking.
9. LIVE IN THE MOMENT – Portugal. The Man Following up on their monster hit “Feel It Still”, which was my #1 song of 2017, Portugal. The Man struck gold again with “Live in the Moment.” The second single from their album Woodstock, it’s an exhilarating track, with a hard-driving beat, sweeping synths, chugging guitars and soaring choruses dominated by John Gourley’s wonderful tenor vocals. The song lyrics are pretty deep with lots of hidden meaning, but they basically touch on subjects of religion and mortality: “Let’s live in the moment. Come back Sunday morning. Got soul to sell. When you’re gone goodbye, so long, farewell.” Toward the end it transitions to an almost church hymn with a dominant organ riff and chant-like vocals produced by computer text-to-speech software that sing “Oh, God, I can hardly believe my eyes. Wake up everybody you know. Come and watch the garden grow. I’ll see you when you get there.” The imaginative video shows the band riding in a car with a giant puppet of a guy skateboarding on top, being chased by another with a policeman puppet on top of that car. I love it.
10. DIZZY – The Million Reasons “Dizzy” is an outstanding rock song by Chicago band The Million Reasons, and I loved it at first listen. The song is about a relationship in which both parties are blinded by an obsessive and possibly irrational desire for each other. It opens with an enthralling guitar riff that immediately pulls us in with the promise that something really beautiful is about to unfold, and as the music swells into a soaring anthem, we’re not disappointed. The instrumentals and lead singer Scott Nadeau’s fervent vocals are perfection, and by the time the chorus arrives with Mike Nichols’ jaw-dropping solo from his screaming guitar and Nadeau’s raw, impassioned wails, I’m left covered with chills and gasping for breath. This is truly one of the most beautiful rock songs I’ve ever heard.
11. JUMPSUIT – twenty one pilots I fell head over heels in love with twenty one pilots in the summer of 2015 when their fantastic single “Tear in My Heart” bored itself into my brain. I rarely purchase albums these days, but I bought Blurryface and played it non-stop the rest of that year and during much of 2016. “Tear in My Heart” ended up as my #1 song of 2015, and “Stressed Out” was my top song for 2016, with “Ride” placing at #3. Needless to say I, along with millions of other die-hard fans, eagerly anticipated the arrival of new music by twenty one pilots, and “Jumpsuit” didn’t disappoint when it debuted last July as the lead single of their forthcoming album Trench, which dropped in October. Like Blurryface, Trench is a concept album, and tells the saga of the fictional evil city of Dema ruled by nine bishops, referred to as “Nico and the Niners” in the companion single of that name that was released concurrently with “Jumpsuit”. The bishops impose the religious cult of Vialism upon their citizens, and they do everything in their power to prevent them from leaving the walled city. Because they are unable to see the color yellow, the only way to escape is by wearing a yellow garment. twenty one pilots lead singer Tyler Joseph’s alter ego is a character named Clancy, whose escape attempt is described in “Jumpsuit”. The song is a metaphor for the struggle with mental illness, with the evil city of Dema representing mental illness, and the bishops representing the internal struggles of a person suffering from mental illness.
When researching about the song, I learned it was co-produced by Joseph and Paul Meany, front man for the alternative rock band MUTEMATH (who toured with twenty one pilots on their Emotional Roadshow Tour). Given its subject matter, “Jumpsuit” is darker, edgier and more complex than many of their previous songs. It opens with Joseph’s altered vocals shouting “cover me“, referring to his jumpsuit. As the song progresses, the music alternates between barrages of Joseph’s heavy bass guitar riffs and Josh Dun’s pounding drums, and soothing interludes of hushed vocals, lush synths and haunting piano. Joseph’s vocals gradually build to a goosebump-inducing crescendo towards the end as he desperately wails “Jumpsuit, jumpsuit cover me!“
12. NINA CRIED POWER – Hozier featuring Mavis Staples Irish singer-songwriter Hozier burst onto the music scene in 2014 with his massive hit “Take Me to Church” and self-titled album Hozier, which in addition to “Take Me to Church” generated several more singles. Exhausted from nearly two years of touring, he took a break in 2017 and then began writing new songs this year, but it would be four years before he followed up with a surprise release in September of a four-track EP Nina Cried Power, which includes the title track. (He plans to release a full-length album in 2019.) “Nina Cried Power” is a magnificent and stirring gospel-infused ode to Hozier’s love of American rock and roll and it’s roots in R&B and gospel, with tributes paid to artists like Nina Simone, Joni Mitchell, Billie Holliday, James Brown and Mavis Staples, who lives up to her reputation by adding her powerful vocals to the song. In addition, legendary musician Booker T. Jones contributed his organ-playing to “Nina Cried Power” and other songs on the EP and forthcoming album. It’s a stunning masterpiece in my not-so-humble opinion, yet failed to connect with very many listeners for reasons I cannot fathom. It was a hit only on the Billboard Adult Alternative chart, where it reached #1.
13. THE JOKE – Brandi Carlisle One of the most beautiful and moving songs of 2018, Brandi Carlisle’s “The Joke” is a poignant ode to the delicate boys and striving girls who continue to struggle in our society. She explained her inspiration for the song: “There are so many people feeling misrepresented. So many people feeling unloved. Boys feeling marginalized and forced into these kind of awkward shapes of masculinity that they do or don’t belong in…so many men and boys are trans or disabled or shy. Little girls who got so excited for the last election, and are dealing with the fallout. The song is just for people that feel under-represented, unloved or illegal.” Carlisle has a strong, beautiful voice and – at the risk of sounding like a broken record – her stirring, passionate vocals on “The Joke” send chills up and down my spine. Hearing her sing the defiant lyrics “Let ’em laugh while they can. Let ’em spin, let ’em scatter in the wind. I have been to the movies, I’ve seen how it ends. And the joke’s on them” in her gorgeous voice, backed by soaring instrumentals highlighted by beautiful strings courtesy of the late Paul Buckmaster (a music genius who arranged Carlisle’s album By The Way, I Forgive You as well as such legendary recordings as David Bowie’s “Space Oddity,” The Rolling Stones’ Sticky Fingers and many of Elton John’s early hits), is a religious experience indeed. Music doesn’t get any better than this!
14. LOADING ZONES – Kurt Vile I became a fan of Kurt Vile a few years ago when I really got into his wonderfully cool song “Pretty Pimpin’,” which ended up at #19 on my Top 100 of 2016. This past August, he returned with a new single “Loading Zones”, which I like even better. Vile’s layered, intricate guitar work is fantastic, and I love the talkboxy wah-wah riffs toward the end. He’s also quite the wordsmith. He sings of driving around his “dirty little town” of Philadelphia, running errands and parking for free in loading zones as he tries to stay one step ahead of the parking meter police, humorously played by actor Kevin Corrigan and Matt Korvette of the band Pissed Jeans in the entertaining video. He defiantly declares “I park for free! One-stop shop life for the quick fix / before you get a ticket / That’s the way I live my life” – leaving little doubt he’s the coolest musician around today.
15. PINK LEMONADE – James Bay I’ve liked James Bay and his music since his first breakthrough single “Hold Back the River” in 2014, but wasn’t what I’d call a huge fan. With his signature hat and long hair, and pleasing low-key folk-rock style, he quickly built a huge following. Then, in early March he released “Pink Lemonade” and appeared on Saturday Night Live, revealing a major change in both his look and sound. When I watched his performance on SNL, I nearly fell out of my chair! James had ditched the hat, cut his hair and replaced his casual clothing style with a hot pink sequined shirt and black leather pants, and he looked hot! As my friend Anthea commented – “who knew all that beautiful bone structure lay hidden beneath the hat and long hair!”
Not only that, I loved the song’s exuberant, harder rock vibe, with scratchy guitar, heavy bass and a driving beat. The song actually has a rather rough, gravelly production sound, which some felt detracted from its overall quality. My feelings are mixed about it, and perhaps James wanted a more rugged sound. In any case, many seemed to prefer his mellower folk ballads to this edgier sound, so “Pink Lemonade” was not as successful as his other singles. Oh well, their loss, as I love it and couldn’t hear it enough. The songs is about escape and not wanting to commit to a relationship, and the official video for the song is cleverly done, showing scenes of James building a rocket ship in the garage. But I’m sharing the video of his riveting and charismatic SNL performance instead, where he seems to channel John Mayer with the swagger of an early Elvis Presley. This is definitely my guilty pleasure track of 2018!
16. UNWIND – John Defeo John DeFeo is a soulful and talented R&B/hip hop artist based in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, and he released one of the hottest singles of 2018. From his marvelous little EP Champagne Heart, “Unwind” is one steamy tune! From the moment I first heard that funky opening guitar riff and deep bass-driven beat, I was hooked. With a sensuous mellow dance groove that aims straight for the hips, the track echoes Justin Timberlake’s “Rock Your Body”, only it’s better and sexier. John sings to a woman he’s got the hots for, reassuring her that he also respects her and wants to get to know her better, not just have sex: “So right don’t talk shit, I bet you think I just wanna f**k. There’s more to it, please don’t confuse my vibe. Don’t get it twisted. If you’re down, I’m down. Tonight I’m gonna show you a good time. Me and you take a shot we can unwind.” I had this song on repeat all year!
17. WHATEVER IT TAKES – Imagine Dragons Imagine Dragons have been releasing music pretty much non-stop since the fall of 2012 when we first heard their breakthrough single “It’s Time”, and have ruled the rock and alternative charts ever since (although they seem to have also become the band some people love to hate, similar to Nickelback). Be that as it may, “Whatever it Takes” is an awesome song, overflowing with dynamic instrumentals, lush synths and soaring anthemic choruses that have become part of Imagine Dragons’ signature sound. And there’s no denying Dan Reynolds’ ability to stir our emotions with his commanding, powerhouse vocals. I really like his rapid-fire rapping on this song. The third single from their monster album Evolve, “Whatever it Takes” is about living life to the fullest, doing everything in your power to achieve your dreams, with no regrets at the end of your life.
18. GOLD RUSH – Death Cab for Cutie Death Cab for Cutie have been making music for 20 years, characterized by their pleasing, unconventional instrumentation and band front man Ben Gibbard’s distinctive vocal style. “Gold Rush” was inspired by Gibbard’s feelings about the ever-changing face of his adopted city of Seattle, which has seen tremendous growth in terms of jobs, construction and population over the past decade or so. In an interview with NPR, Gibbard explained “As I’ve gotten older, I’ve become acutely aware of how I connect my memories to my geography and [how] the landscape of the city changes. I’ll walk down Broadway and walk past a location that used to be a bar I’d frequent with friends, or somewhere where I had a beautifully intense conversation with somebody that I once loved very much. The song is not a complaint about how things were better or anything like that. It’s an observation, but more about coming to terms with the passage of time and losing the people and the moments in my life all over again as I walk down a street that is now so unfamiliar.” The lyrics he wrote for “Gold Rush” are some of the most poetic of any song in 2018: “Digging for gold in my neighborhood. (Gold rush) Where all the old buildings stood. (Gold rush) And they keep digging it down and down (Gold rush) so that their cars can live underground.” The song is built around a sample of Yoko Ono’s 1972 song “Mind Train”, with a chugging guitar-driven beat. The rich and varied layered instrumentals are marvelous, especially the recurring little piano riff.
19. WORLD GONE MAD – Bastille Another stellar song in 2018 was Bastille’s powerful anthem “World Gone Mad.” Though it was featured in the fantasy crime film Bright, the song was written by band front man and lead singer Dan Smith to address social injustice and the strong political divisiveness and turmoil afflicting so many countries, particularly Britain where it resulted in Brexit: “So this is where we are. It’s not where we had wanted to be. If half the world’s gone mad. The other half just don’t care, you see. You don’t wanna fuck with us. British to the very last.” Many of the lyrics also perfectly describe the current fucked up political situation in America, where we’re led by an evil, racist and narcissistic sociopath whose divisive rhetoric encourages nationalism and xenophobia, which is why it resonated so strongly with me. The song was a modest hit, charting only on the Billboard Alternative Chart, however I think it’s Bastille’s best song since “Pompeii”.
20. SAFARI SONG – Greta Van Fleet Speaking of powerhouse vocals, after bursting onto the music world in early 2017 with their explosive head-banger “Highway Tune” (which ranked #6 on my Top 100 Songs of 2017), Greta Van Fleet came roaring back with another fantastic hard-hitting single “Safari Song.” The astonishingly-talented young band from Michigan consists of brothers Josh Kiszka (a diminutive guy with a gargantuan bluesy voice that sounds disarmingly like an early Robert Plant) and twins Jake (guitar) and Sam (bass) Kiszka, and Danny Wagner on drums. In addition to the Robert Plant similarity, their guitar-driven blues-rock sound has also been compared to Led Zeppelin.
21. GHOST – Badflower 22. ONE FOOT – WALK THE MOON * 23. HANDYMAN – AWOLNATION 24. IN MY MIND – Draft Evader 25. SOBER UP – AJR featuring Rivers Cuomo 26. LOS AGELESS – St. Vincent 27. TWO HIGH – Moon Taxi 28. KINKY – Oli Barton & the Movement * 29. HUNGER – Florence + The Machine 30. &RUN – Sir Sly 31. MY BLOOD – twenty one pilots 32. NATURAL – Imagine Dragons 33. YOU WORRY ME – Nathaniel Rateliff & the Night Sweats 34. WITHOUT YOU – Disciples of Babylon * 35. GUIDING LIGHT – Mumford & Sons 36. ZOMBIE – Bad Wolves 37. SUCH A SIMPLE THING – Ray LaMontagne 38. ALL MY FRIENDS – The Revivalists 39. NEVERMIND – Dennis Lloyd 40. UH HUH – Jade Bird 41. FOUR OUT OF FIVE – Arctic Monkeys 42. HURT PEOPLE – Two Feet featuring Madison Love 43. BURN THE HOUSE DOWN – AJR 44. I ONLY LIE WHEN I LOVE YOU – Royal Blood 45. SCARY LOVE – The Neighbourhood 46. BODY TALKS – The Struts 47. HAPPIER – Marshmello featuring Bastille 48. BETTER NOW – Post Malone 49. SHE’S KEROSENE – The Interrupters 50. RED MOON SKY – Face of Stone 51. LIVING IN THE FUTURE – Dawes 52. 44 – Oli Barton & the Movement 53. THE NIGHT HAS AN ALIBI – Wons Phreely + The Horses 54. SAY AMEN (SATURDAY NIGHT) – Panic! At the Disco 55. SEVERED – The Decemberists 56. RUN FOR COVER – The Killers 57. WHEN THE CURTAIN FALLS – Greta Van Fleet 58. FEVER PITCH – Rainbow Kitten Surprise 59. CELEBRATE – Dirty Heads featuring The Unlikely Candidates 60. THOUGHT CONTAGION – Muse 61. GUIDE YOU IN THE DARK – Reckless Jacks 62. DEVIL – Shinedown 63. HAPPY HOUR – Weezer 64. PANIC – Agency Panic 65. COLORS – Beck 66. RX(MEDICATE)- Theory of a Deadman 67. CITY LOOKS PRETTY – Courtney Barnett 68. THE GOLD – Manchester Orchestra 69. ANGELA – The Lumineers 70. ALL ON MY MIND – Anderson East 71. HI HELLO – Johnny Marr 72. THE BIGGER THEY FAIL – The Autumn Stones 73. PASSION – AWOLNATION 74. WORKS EVERY TIME – Mini Mansions 75. CRAZY – From Ashes to New 76. LIFE TO FIX – The Record Company 77. SUPERWOMAN SWAY – Brett Vogel 78. YOU’RE SOMEBODY ELSE – flora cash 79. TIDAL WAVE – Portugal. The Man 80. SHAME – Elle King 81. BEST FRIEND – Sofi Tukker, NERVO, The Knocks & Alisa Ueno 82. FAVORITE COLOR IS BLUE – Robert Delong & K.Flay 83. UNREALITIES – Dying Habit 84. I HOPE YOU’RE HAPPY – Blue October 85. WANDER – Vox Eagle featuring Pierre Fontaine 86. RIDE OR DIE – The Knocks featuring Foster the People 87. HUMILITY – Gorillaz featuring George Benson 88. SORRY – Nothing But Thieves 89. FLAWLESS – Dorothy 90. MY MY MY! – Troye Sivan 91. WITHOUT WALLS – Lyia Meta 92. REMEMBER TO BREATHE – Hannah Clive 93. GOD’S PLAN – Drake 94. LUCID DREAMS – Juice WRLD 95. MAKE IT UP AS I GO – Mike Shinoda featuring K.Flay 96. YOU SHOULD SEE ME IN A CROWN – Billie Eilish 97. BORN FOR GREATNESS – Papa Roach 98. PATAGONIA – Patawawa 99. SILVER LINING – Mt. Joy 100. TRANSITION – The Winachi Tribe
1. GUIDING LIGHT – Mumford & Sons (3)
2. IN MY MIND – Draft Evader (1)
3. MY BLOOD – twenty one pilots (2)
4. HURT PEOPLE – Two Feet featuring Madison Love (6)
5. HIGH HOPES – Panic! At the Disco (7)
6. UH HUH – Jade Bird (4)
7. HAPPIER – Marshmello featuring Bastille (5)
8. LOADING ZONES – Kurt Vile (8)
9. SUPERWOMAN SWAY – Brett Vogel (9)
10. UNREALITIES – Dying Habit (10)
11. YOU’RE SOMEBODY ELSE – flora cash (11)
12. THESE ARE MY FRIENDS – lovelytheband (12)
13. MAKE IT UP AS I GO – Mike Shinoda featuring K.Flay (16)
14. WANDER – Vox Eagle featuring Pierre Fontaine (17)
15. IN THE WATER – The Underground Vault (18)
16. “99” – Barns Courtney (19)
17. BACK DOWN – Bob Moses (20)
18. THANK U, NEXT – Ariana Grande (21)
19. SHE’S KEROSENE – The Interrupters (13)
20. DELTA BLUES – Jetstream (23)
21. NEW BIRTH IN NEW ENGLAND – Phosphorescent (25)
22. FAST TALK – Houses (26)
23. NINA CRIED POWER – Hozier featuring Mavis Staples (14)
24. BODY TALKS – The Struts (15)
25. APOCALIPSTICK – Lazy Queen (27)
26. YOU SHOULD SEE ME IN A CROWN – Billie Eilish (28)
27. SHAME – Elle King (22)
28. PRESSURE – Muse (N)
29. SUPERPOSITION – Young the Giant (N)
30. ALL MY FRIENDS – The Revivalists (24) 18th week on chart
ECLECTIC MUSIC LOVER 