Best Songs of 2019

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Let’s close the door on 2019 with some of our favorite jams of the year.

50. Shlohmo - The End

49. Tame Impala - Borderline

48. THREE1989 - When I fall in love

47. MC Kevin o CHRIS - Ela E do Tipo

46. Jade Imagine - The News

45. Roisin Murphy - Incapable

44. Digitalism - Infinity

43. The Voidz - Did My Best

42. James Blake - Can’t Believe The Way We Flow

41. Flatpocket, Twit One, Lazy Jones - Bucks O’Plenty


40. Vampire Weekend - Harmony Hall

39. Delicate Steve - Way Too Long

38. Toro y Moi - Ordinary Pleasure

37. Alberto Bof - Giulia

36. Seb Wildblood - sketches

35. Rebles - Sweetest Taboo (Soca)

34. Rubin Steiner - Computer Heartbeat

33. P Sol - 1973

32. Erlend Oye, La Comitiva - Paradiso

31. Gus Dapperton - I Got The Floor


30. Jean Tonique - too bad

29. Solange - Stay Flo

28. O’Flynn - Aletheia

27. Gratitude - We Are Here to Party

26. Toro y Moi - Freelance

25. Tierra Whack - Only Child

24. Albert Hammond Jr - More to Lifes

23. Grimes - Violence

22. The National - Rylan

21. Lone - Young Star Cluster


20. Willie Scott - Keep Your Faith to the Sky

19. Lipelis - What Is It?

18. CZARFACE - Face Off

17. Peter Cat Recording Co. - Floated By

16. Freddie Dredd - Cha Cha

15. These New Puritans - Infinity Vibraphones

14. Jai Paul - He

13. Kanye West - Follow God

12. Andras - Celestine

11. Hot Chip - Hungry Child


10. C.ZERO - SOMEBODY TELL ME

Somebody Tell Me has the underpinnings of a classic disco song. Where other modern takes on disco struggle to encompass the heart and soul of the music, Somebody Tell Me successfully captures the spirit of the 70’s using 21st century tools like petri dishes, stem cells, and plug-ins.

9. THE POLYVERSAL SOULS - ODO AGYE GYE ME

In all its Ghanian glory, this song doesn’t leave you hanging at any stage. It starts off with an upbeat, quirky, rhythm that leads into Lee Dodou attacking the first verse like a man on a mission. The harmony in which he sings this song is equally as powerful as the rhythm it sits on. Right as you think the song is readying for a soft landing, an organ solo breaks out, reminding you to live life to its fullest at every stage.

8. CATE LE BON - DAYLIGHT MATTERS

Daylight does matter. This song evokes just that, serving as a reminder that remembering and letting go are two different things. There’s a melancholy nostalgia embedded into the DNA of the song. But this song doesn’t require you to enjoy it in one way. The surface melodies and vocals are delivered in such a disinterested, calm, and charming way that on any given day it could either make me feel nostalgic or bob my head back and forth like I’m at a rap show.

7. ANGEL OLSEN - ALL MIRRORS

Angel Olsen awoke the spirits with All Mirrors. A dance between synths and strings lays the foundation of a haunting voice repeatedly singing, “At least at times it knew me”, while you sit there with your eyes closed, attempting to feel every one of the goosebumps poking out of your skin, unknowingly missing your stop on the M52.

6. TAME IMPALA - POSTHUMOUS FORGIVENESS

Kevin Parker is back with a juicy psychedelic melody that will spill out onto your hardwood floor, staining it for eternity. The synth’s on this song are relentless from beginning to end, except that the song doesn’t end when you think it does. Part two of the song comes in softer, like an apology text, showing you that there’s a more forgiving side of Posthumous Forgiveness.

5. THE QUIET ONES - MATAMBA

Matamba is like an eight armed ghost, grasping your appendages and moving you in a pattern that looks and feels like dancing, except that you have no control over your movement and sit back in amazement as you witness yourself grooving to the beautiful sounds of the tropics.

4. VAMPIRE WEEKEND - UNBEARABLY WHITE

Vampire Weekend are good at managing high expectations. Has anyone ever heard a bad song form them? This time around, Unbearably White stood out to me on the most recent album largely due to the melodic transition from verse to chorus and chorus to verse. Of course, we can talk about the lyrics and melodies always being an interesting trait in any Vampire Weekend songs, but the warmth of these transitions kept me coming back for more.

3. DUMBO GETS MAD - MAKES YOU FLY

Like most smooth jams, Makes You Fly starts off with a buttery saxophone. The difference in this track is that it manages to tease you in and out of a dream-like state for a good two minutes before Carlotta Menozzi and Luca Massaro smack you on the head with a coconut, right into a sun-kissed island where you dance the day away with everyone else on the planet that was currently listening to this song.

2. MOUNT LIBERATION UNLIMITED - THE ONE

The One is like the process of baking a cake. The song starts with a base layer of sweet, moist bread. The song then adds swirly frosting in the form of smooth, piercing guitar melodies that will leave your taste buds exploding. In the last act of the song, your mouth drops and your arms pump in the air like you’ve just discovered time travel. With frosting all over your moustache and sweet delights acidifying in your gut, you are met by a sharp de-acceleration that mimics you exiting a wormhole, realizing you’re back in the office, staring at a computer screen.

1. SOULEANCE - FRANCOIS

This is one of those songs that just keeps on giving. It’s the epitome of a smooth jazz-funk track that layers in delightful details without ever being overbearing. At the center of the song is a harmonica sounding instrument that weaves in and out of the song at the perfect moments leaving you with a smile on your face even after the 100th listen.

 
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