Best of 2019

The year -- and the decade -- are coming to a close. In the coming days I plan to compile a list of my favorite tracks from the 2010s, including some of the ones I flat-out missed in previous best-of-the-year lists -- nothing like ending the decade recapping your failures! But for now, I want to wrap up the year with a look at what I think are the top tracks of 2019. Here we go:

"Exits" - Foals

The band from Oxford by way of Peckham, London hits us with the perfect song for our time, and my runaway choice for song of the year. "Exits" is a dystopian portrait of a world gone horribly wrong. The distorted synths and jagged beats build to the song's climax, as a frustrated Yannis Philippakis sings "I wish I could figure it out/but the world's upside down." It's the sharpest, most urgent call to action against the imminent twin threats of authoritarianism and climate change -- and a perfect antidote to the dystopia we find ourselves living in.

Now here are ten more songs that deserve accolades this year:

"Viktor Borgia" - Stephen Malkmus

Former Pavement frontman Stephen Malkmus was sitting on an electronica album for years. It was appropriately called Groove Denied, and in 2019 it finally saw the light of day. The leadoff single "Viktor Borgia" -- and its accompanying video -- feel like a flashback to the earliest days of electro pop, with Malkmus doing his best to sound like early Human League or Gary Numan.

"Harmony Hall" - Vampire Weekend

Vampire Weekend has made a career out of this sort of twee loveliness. Sure, "Harmony Hall" is a bit too precious, but it's also an incredibly catchy piece of songwriting that dares you not to sing along. Many critics have heard the Grateful Dead in this track, and I can't help but sing the chorus of "Friend of the Devil" over parts of this song.

"Jesus' Son" - Priests

Washington DC's Priests dwell at the epicenter of this country's moral corruption. So it's no surprise that they would take aim at the absurd views of a megalomaniac in this song. I wonder who singer Katie Alice Greer is referring to when she belts out lyrics like "God came to me in a dream and told me that I'm Jesus' son/ I know this world is mean, it's lucky I'm the chosen one." The political implications of the album's red state name-checking title - The Seduction of Kansas - should give you a hint.

"Turn to Hate" - Orville Peck

Orville Peck came out of nowhere this spring -- I mean, nowhere -- and his identity remains shrouded in mystery. We know this much about the alt-country singer/songwriter: He's Canadian and he identifies as queer. Beyond that, he hides his true persona behind a fringed Lone Ranger mask. But Peck speaks volumes with his deep, rich baritone. His singing and songwriting on this track evokes Matt Johnson's best work with The The. Except the twang of Peck's Telecaster gives this tune an unmistakably country vibe.

"Johannesburg" - Africa Express

Damon Albarn may well be the King Midas of modern music: His forays from pop to electronica to world music always seem to pan out, and this latest venture is no different. Much like 2002's under heralded Mali Music, Africa Express is an Albarn-led collective featuring European, American and African artists collaborating and breaking new musical ground, in an attempt to level the playing field between the developed world and everyone else. This track features gauzy lead vocals from Super Furry Animals frontman Gruff Rhys married to the otherworldly sing-song of Lesotho singer (and shepherd) Morena Leraba.

"Stars are the Light" - Moon Duo

The Portland psychedelics put their guitars away just long enough to turn up the synths and sequencers on this shimmering beauty, and the result is an intoxicating.

"All Mirrors" - Angel Olsen

Olsen's haunting vocals stand out on this dramatic track, which evokes Kate Bush or PJ Harvey in their finest hours. Over a sea of theatrical synthesizers, the Asheville, NC art-rocker employs a repetitive melody as the song builds, dies down, and eventually reaches its climax. Stunning. Listen to it on full volume and in the dark.

"Until the Fire" - Ladytron

Liverpool's Ladytron blend the best of shoegaze and electronica on this urgent, dystopian stomp. Like "Exits" (at the top of this list), "Until the Fire" is seething with anger and fury. And despite acknowledging that something horrific is going on in the world, Ladytron isn't trying to sugarcoat it.

"Feel the Sun" - Josefin Öhrn & the Liberation

Swedish-born and London-based Öhrn shines on this dreamy swirl of synths and fuzz. And despite the title, it's the haze and shadows in this track that make it so beautiful.

"Green Eyes" - THICK

The all-female pop-punk trio from New York borrows sonically from tongue-in-cheek mid-90s acts like Blink 182. Sure, THICK likes to have fun, but they have an authenticity -- and an inclusivity -- that comes through in their music and live performances. And the music world is starting to take notice: THICK signed with iconic punk label Epitaph this year. This track tones down the energy long enough to showcase great overlapping singing -- and the frustration of what the band says is the "strange frustration of a partner projecting their emotional baggage onto you."

Best of 2018

It's a few days after the new year, and time now to compile my annual list of the best songs of the previous year. There's a lot to get to from 2018, but I'm starting big -- with my nominee for song of the year:

"Charity" - Courtney Barnett

An easy one for me. Straight ahead rock and roll with the guitar riff of the year. I saw her over summer in Prospect Park and her live set rocked even harder than the record. She plays left handed, and the parallels to Kurt Cobain didn't escape me. That said, this song leans more towards power pop than grunge -- at least on the studio version. But don't be fooled: This Aussie can flat out rock.

"Talking Straight" - Rolling Blackouts Coastal Fever

We'll stay down under for this one. Rolling Blackouts Coastal Fever have a name far more cumbersome than their sound, which again is guitar-forward rock and roll. Granted, they have three different lead vocalists depending on the song or the arrangement. Play this for a classic rock fan and I'll bet they'll like it, too. And they're hardly a one-off: There's a few other tracks off their album Hope Downs that could have easily made this list.

"Marble Skies" - Django Django

Kinetic synth-pop set to a Krautrock beat from this London via Edinburgh quartet. The frenzy of the verses and bridge give way to a triumphant chorus punctuated by an infectious keyboard riff. Fun fact: Django Django's drummer David Maclean is the younger brother of Beta Band keyboardist John Maclean. But that's where the comparisons end: Django Django sound like the more mellow Beta Band on hyperdrive.

"Semicircle Song" - The Go! Team

What do you get when you cross a drumline with Bollywood horns, handclaps and a double dutch chant? Pure joy. Sure, that combination sounds awful, but here, it works. This song from Brighton, England's The Go! Team makes me happy -- and I dare you not to share in my happiness! I first heard it aboard British Airways flying home from Paris and it added a huge injection of fun into what was otherwise the sad end to a wonderful trip. Thanks, Go! Team.

"Les Mirabelles" - MC Solaar

Speaking of Paris, here's the one-song soundtrack to my trip there aboard Air France. This moody and atmospheric affair by the master of French rap put me in the right mood for a week in Paris. MC Solaar's been at this game for three decades. He's a big star in France, and I've always thought the French language lent itself well to rap for some reason. This song works right up until the metal sounding guitar solo at the end.

"Tranz" - Gorillaz

I get that Gorillaz released a few other songs before this one, but this is the standout track on their latest LP The Now Now. It has the proper dose of moody menace that made Damon Albarn's post-Blur project so potent over the years.

"Middle America" - Stephen Malkmus and the Jicks

Have you ever heard such a catchy tune about middle age? Malkmus croons that he "won't be one of the watchers, I won't disappear." And on this track -- so far removed from his Pavement days -- he doesn't. He stamps his slacker mark all over us aging Generation Xers. A perfect song for the times.

"Sprorgnsm" - Superorganism

The London based collective Superorganism features Orono Noguchi -- a teenager from Maine -- on vocals. Strange. For me this song combines the best of Beck's slacker groove with the sound sampling The Avalanches.

"Loading Zones" - Kurt Vile

Philly's own Kurt Vile released his eighth studio album late this year and this self-assured track was the first single. It features the virtuosic guitar work Vile is known for, but it's a beautiful piece of song craft with quirky lyrics and a great video of Vile driving a Chrysler LeBaron convertible and a 70s Pontiac Grand Prix through the streets of Philadelphia.

"IDGAF" - Sam Evian

New York singer songwriter Sam Evian released his second LP on Omaha's Saddle Creek Records, and it's obvious why Saddle Creek founder Conor Oberst would endorse Evian's dreamy music.

"Comeback Kid" - Sharon Van Etten

Sharon Van Etten has a lot on her plate these days. She's got an acting career in LA, a toddler at home in Brooklyn, and she's returned to college to pursue a degree in psychology. Despite that -- or perhaps because of it -- she's managed to complete her forthcoming album, the aptly named Remind Me Tomorrow. On this track - the LP's first single - she trades in her singer songwriter vibe for synths and  an uptempo beat to find the energy she no doubt needs to keep the pace in her busy life.

"On the Level" - Mac Demarco

Vancouver's Mac Demarco created the perfect lazy summer song. So easy, so atmospheric. And a keyboard riff that's nearly impossible to get out of your head.

"Darkness" - Pinegrove

Pinegrove is one of two indie bands from Montclair, NJ, who broke big this year (the other was Forth Wanderers). This introspective song was a staple of Sirius XMU, despite the band's self-imposed hiatus at the end of 2017 after lead singer Evan Stephens Hall was accused of sexual coercion by an unnamed woman.

"Mr Tillman" - Father John Misty

We'll keep the folk vibe going here with the latest from Father John Misty, who's real name really is Mr Tillman. Joshua Michael Tillman to be exact. The verses and chorus are repetitive, but the chord changes in each are beautiful and complex. Lovely.

"Lemon Glow" - Beach House

Baltimore's Beach House released their seventh studio LP -- appropriately named 7. The duo has mastered dreamy psychedelic pop -- trip-wave if you will -- and "Lemon Glow" was the #1 song on Sirius XMU for 2018. I can't disagree with the pick.

"Mourning Sound" - Grizzly Bear

A motorik beat grounds the latest from Brooklyn's Grizzly Bear. The verses build slowly, eventually lifting the veil on a gorgeous chorus that makes you feel like you're flying through clouds. Too bad it's from 2017. So why did it get so much airplay this year?

"Northern Lights" - Death Cab for Cutie

Seattle's Death Cab for Cutie have been responsible for a ton of great music over the years, but this newest single ranks among the best of it. The music is so good that I can forgive Ben Gibbard's oft-tortured lyrics: "I remember your silhouette/on Dyes Inlet". (He's the same guy who gave us the awkward analogy of a "goalie minding the net in the third quarter of a tight-game rivalry". Ugh!) That said, there was a lot of beautiful music made in 2018 -- almost as an antidote to the otherwise ugly times we're living in.

"Letting Go" - Wild Nothing

And to that last point, here's more gorgeousness from Blacksburg, Virginia's Jack Tatum, who records under the name Wild Nothing. Tatum released Indigo, his fourth Wild Nothing album, in 2018, and this synthy beauty was the album's first single.

"Messenger" - Pylon Reenactment Society

What can I say? After nearly three decades, there's new music from Pylon, or at least this Vanessa Briscoe Hay-fronted iteration of the iconic Athens, Georgia band. And it has the unmistakeable post-punk bite mixed with the groove that made the band famous the first time around It's not hard to hear Pylon's classics like "Stop It" when 63-year-old Briscoe Hay starts yelping and growling at the end of the song.

"Your Dog" - Soccer Mommy

Nashville's Sophie Allison, who records under the name Soccer Mommy, opens this song with the unforgettable line "I don't want to be your fucking dog/that you drag around", but it's the twisty sounding guitars that pull me into this song.

I hope you found music you loved this past year -- and I hope it continues in 2019!