Who: Marina & the Diamonds What: Froot Why: I always feel awkward for liking Marina on here, but whatever. Marina finally did a mini-disco song! Quite funky. I enjoy that she really utilizes her vocal acrobatics to go from one register to the next quickly in the song. Especially her goofy way of saying "shepherd's delight." It does have some nonsensical lyrics, but I can mostly forgive them because they're not THAT bad and she did write the song by herself. I already know this is gonna be a better record than Electra Heart, thank GOD. Also: Save the space for Best of 2015
Who: Mark Ronson What: Uptown Funk (feat. Bruno Mars) Why: Okay Bruno, if your next album contains songs like this I will become a HUGE fan. Locked Out of Heaven gave me hope with album 2 but then eh. This song is TRUE funk and it's awesome. I really don't even feel the need to say too much more. It's just a funky jam and if 2015 is full of more of these I will be a happy guy. Also: Uh idk we'll see.
Who: Meghan Trainor What: Lips Are Movin' Why: This has all the non social justice appeal that All About that Bass was lacking and less of that weird kinda rap (only one verse thank God), so I automatically like this song better. Not that I hate social justice songs, but AATB was kinda crap even though it was a jam. I just think this is more of a jam with the low note sax. The "call and response" of the chorus is pretty addictive and fun. Also: I guess we'll see in 2015.
Who: Metronomy What: Call Me Why: I was pretty surprised that Metronomy's new album had vocals in it, since their previous stuff really didn't have any (or maybe like 1-2 songs, don't entirely remember). It kinda reminds me of Something About Us by Daft Punk, but even softer. I like Metronomy most when they do upbeat songs that you play as you drive on the highway, so I was pleasantly surprised that I liked this song as much as I did. Also: Boy Racers, Love Letters, and I'm Aquarius
Teen Heat is perfect, I included it in my best of too. Also love Gimme a Chance, Goddess, Can't Do, Someone New, Two Weeks, Tough Love, Blue Eyes, Sexotheque & Froot.
Who: MisterWives What: Reflections Why: I got really into this song in around October and jammed to it pretty much the whole month and then stopped, so I felt obligated to include it. I don't really like her voice in the verses, but the chorus is great. It really makes the whole song, lyrically and in production. Also: Vagabond
Who: MO What: Slow Love Why: Her album never clicked with me which was sad because she seemed like the type of musician I'd be totally into. Her voice sounds really crisp on this song, namely in the verses. It sounds like a woman is calling out from the fog in the "let me love you" section and I think that's a neat effect. The production is really groovy and the xylophone in the 2nd verse is cool. It's a pretty haunting song. Also: I wanted to put XXX 88 here but it didn't come out in 2014, so check that song out too.
Who: Paloma Faith What: Mouth to Mouth Why: You may or may have not noticed but I didn't have any Ns or Os. Paloma's album was pretty good, but kinda like all her albums the standout tracks are great and everything else is pretty forgettable. Paloma singing a disco-infused track singing to a potential lover "in da club" is quite different from her usual sad songs. A personal highlight of mine is towards the end when she yells the "mouth to MOUTH!" and then it goes right back into the chorus again. Also: Only Love Can Hurt Like This and It's the Not Knowing
I forgot to mention The Knocks! I haven't cared for any of their recent singles except for "Comfortable." It was this close to making my songs list. It's so addictive.
Froot is great! I still can't decide if I "really like it" or "love it" though. I too felt weird for liking her but in the last couple years I've honestly lost my love for her. Even TFJ, which was once an album I could listen to all the way through, doesn't move me like it used to. Then again, I haven't listened to it in awhile.
Who: Paolo Nutini What: Better Man Why: I used to not be a big fan of Paolo until his album last year, but kinda supported him because my family is from his hometown in Scotland. This album was a lot more open and diverse, and AWESOME. This track is one of the pivotal songs on the album and shows off Paolo's songwriting and production skills. Once Paolo starts singing the "and you'll either love me!" section, I can get pretty emotional. But you didn't hear that from me. Also: Numpty, Iron Sky, Scream, Let Me Down Easy, and if you like Janelle Monae then check out their collab Fashion
Who: Phantogram What: Fall in Love Why: I need to listen to the whole album more to get into it, but Fall in Love is a huge highlight. The throbbing beat and soaring vocals are reminiscent of nighttime. It could very easily be sampled for a hip hop or rap song and I kinda would like to see that! Also: Never Going Home and Howling at the Moon
Who: Pharrell Williams What: Come Get it Bae Why: I think Pharrell saved this track from being on Miley's album because, let's face it, it's better than everything he contributed to for her album. Pharrell's falsetto and then the pairing of his and Cyrus's vocals make the song very fun, as does the lyrical content of poppin wheelies and riding motorcycles. It's quite the jam! I enjoy Miley's "wait a minute!" leading to the end of the song. Also: Happy (but you know that), Gust of Wind, and I quite enjoyed Brand New.
Who: QT What: Hey QT Why: I actually have a Q in the list wow. I don't really know how to explain this song very much... girly glitch-pop...? That's suitable to me. It's just a really... cute song and that's all I really have to say. Also: Nothing I think?
Who: Redinho What: Making Up the Rules (feat. Vula) Why: Redhino was one of my favorite discoveries of last year. I really like his strong use of vocoder and how his album went through a lot of different electronic sub-genres. I found out about him from Brendan Reilly (also the girl on this track does live stuff with the Jaxx). I like this one a lot because of the warbling opening sounding like a desolate space song. It's infectious, and then Vula's organic vocals paired with Redinho singing into the vocoder make the song really nice. He kinda reminds me of Daft Punk. Also: Jacuzzi, Get You Off my Mind, Playing with Fire, and Searching
Who: Róisín Murphy What: In Sintesi Why: My girl Ro actually released this year! This collab EP with her man is compromised of five Italian cover songs and one original song - this is that original song penned by Ro. I like it the most because of the ominous underlying beat paired with the icy keys. Roisin's whispers in the song make the song very mellow and chilling, and yet still somewhat... disco-like? It's nifty and I'm excited for her 3rd studio album. I think she may release this year! Also: Ancora Ancora Ancora and Pensiero Stupendo
Who: Royksopp & Robyn What: Sayit Why: These two had a great mini-album last year. I think I'm gonna make a Robyn n' Robot playlist soon because a lot of Robyn's songs with robots are really cool or cute. This song is extremely electronic and mixes Robyn's vocals in with a robot and how they want each other. Also: Do it Again and Monument
Who: Sam Smith What: I've Told You Now Why: Sam Smith's album was okay. I particularly like this song because his vocals are bit clearer and sound less whiny. The chorus is the closest thing to getting whiny, but it's actually kinda suppressed and sounds nice. The instrumentation is a simple drum and guitar beat with some strings and it slowly builds up the whole song. Also: Lay Me Down and Nirvana
Who: SBTRKT What: New Dorp, New York (feat. Ezra Koenig) Why: I found myself really disappointed in SBTRKT's sophomore album, but there were some good songs. This one kinda focuses more on the guest vocals from Vampire Weekend's Ezra Koenig singing with either a girl or a presumably lower pitched version of himself. The song uses some xylophone, steel drums, maracas, and some pretty interesting instruments. Also: The icy Problem Solved with Jessie Ware and Temporary View with Sampha
Who: Shakira What: 23 Why: Shakira's self-titled wasn't her best, but had some good moments. 23 is a very open and beautiful song about her boo Pique backed by only an acoustic guitar (well for most of the song, then there's some other instruments). Shakira sounds beautiful on the song too, probably because it is the most open on the track. The scatting in between the chorus and next verse is nice too. Also: Empire
Who: Sheppard What: Geronimo Why: This song has strong US-hit potential. It's such a fun song! Just hanging out with some of your friends and chanting out the chorus is really fun. The combination of the dude singing in most of the song and the girl's "bombs away" section is pretty cool. Also: Their album was... really odd. I kinda like A Grade Player and Find Someone though.
Who: Sochi Boys What: Put it in Putin Why: This is by far my favorite novelty song of the year. It came out around the time of the Winter Olympics and basically just makes fun of Putin by panning him as a gay dude. It's a huge jam and the dude's voice is actually pretty good! I seriously recommend this song for a laugh. Also: idk how these people even came together so I have no clue if they do any other songs.
Who: SOHN What: Veto Why: This was my favorite track from the producer's album, probably in huge part due to the epic into to the song. The whole song is very intense with the warbling, droning beat and the strong vocals. Towards the end of the song, the production pretty much comes to a halt and the song ends on a nice decrescendo. Also: Artifice and Bloodflows
Who: Sophie What: Hard Why: Lemonade was a bit to noisy and weird for my liking, but I like Hard. It's very twinkly and pretty. The quick spoken-word parts of the song are really interesting. Also: I like Bipp most of Sophie's stuff.
Who: Sophie Ellis-Bextor What: Runaway Daydreamer Why: THIS Sophie seems to work better with her disco-pop jams than these weird slow songs, but the album Wanderlust had some good to it. I like this one a lot because it's the most dreamy of the songs on the album. That's about it; it's just a cute, harmless song. Also: Young Blood and Love is a Camera