Best Songs of 2019
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.