[TwistedElegance]

Crying For No Reason Katy B Little Red Written by Kathleen Brien, Gordon Warren & Guy Chambers Produced by Geeneus Rinse/Columbia

After an impressive debut in 2011's breakbeat-heavy On a Mission and the searing brilliance of its short-but-sweet follow-up, Danger EP (featuring the criminally ignored Diplo x Iggy Azalea collaboration Light As a Feather), Kathleen Brien took the best chunks of each to deliver her second album, Little Red. Gushing with the same emotive cross-breeding often attributed to Robyn, Crying For No Reason single-handedly exemplifies the Heartbreak On The Dance Floor subgenre. Opening with a consciously moody piano lick, it's merely seconds before the track is in feverish full swing, every throbbing drumbeat and overwrought line culminating in the best electro-ballad this side of We Found Love.

Partition Beyoncé Beyoncé Written by Terius Nash, Beyoncé Knowles, Justin Timberlake, Timothy Mosley, Jerome Harmon, Dwane Weir & Mike Dean Produced by Timbaland, J-Roc, Justin Timberlake, Beyoncé, Key Wane, Mike Dean & Boots Columbia

There is burning ambition behind Beyoncé's recent career arch. Aside from the deviant album release, her sound palette has broadened to include everything from chillwave to trap, and samples as far-reaching as a French-dubbed version of The Big Lebowski. There are darker and more universal forces at play here than before and she is all the better for it. Inhabiting the most self-assured freedom we've yet to encounter in her music, the sexual connotations of Partition's lyrics paint Beyoncé as a concupiscent prima donna whose lust knows no moral boundary, with the initial "Take all of me, I just wanna be the girl you like" feeding upon itself throughout until her demands almost sound like a threat. Cushioned by a powerfully rolling groove, it makes for an intoxicatingly disturbing effect that is little less than stunning.

Brooklyn Baby Lana Del Rey Ultraviolence Written by Lana Del Rey & Barry O'Neill Produced by Dan Auerbach Polydor/Interscope

It's hard to listen to Brooklyn Baby without wondering what it would have sounded like had it been released as a duet with Lou Reed as intended. Sadly, the rock legend passed away right as they were scheduled to meet. The end result, though, is still wickedly enchanting. As demonstrated on Born To Die and Paradise, Lana Del Rey's songs succeed as moods as well as tunes, carving her own unignorable niche along the way. Brooklyn Baby continues the tradition of finely crafted indie pop ballads like Video Games, American and Young And Beautiful, brimming with a sparkling, delightful melody and heartache harmonies.

Ain't It Fun Paramore Paramore Written by Hayley Williams & Taylor York Produced by Justin Meldal-Johnsen Fueled by Ramen/Warner

The amended Tennessee trio's upward curve continues. After the punchy fun of last year's Still Into You, Hayley Williams and co. kept the reinvigorated times rolling with the fourth single from their self-titled album. Since leaving founding members Josh and Zac Farro behind, the group has discovered tunes and melody on an entirely new level, even winning over non-fans who'd stuck them firmly in the shouty and rubbish camp. Anthemically tough and fearsome, Ain't It Fun has more intoxicating peaks than any single has a right to own. Taking the best aspects of alternative and rock, the song is a thoroughly disciplined slice of pop punk with no nasty additives, piled high with beefy riffs, searing tunefulness and even a gospel choir. A lifetime of stadium-hopping surely beckons.

That just leaves my number one, coming up soon!

[holyground]

Partition, Ain't It Fun, Brooklyn Baby, amazing songs. Reveal that #1!

[Gifted]

Great songs from #5 to #2

Brooklyn Baby and Ain't It Fun

[AshleeSimpsonFan]

Crying For No Reason in an incredible song! and Ain't It Fun isn't my favorite song from Paramore, but I like it anyway

[blackheart]

Brooklyn Baby

[Brandon]

Ain't It Fun & Partition

[DejaEntendu]

Crying For No Reason, Partition, and Ain't It Fun

I didn't know Brooklyn Baby was supposed to be a duet

[TwistedElegance]

Monument Röyksopp & Robyn Do It Again Written by Svein Berge, Torbjørn Brundtland & Robin Carlsson Produced by Röyksopp Dog Triumph

Whilst not quite as rewarding as a full-length studio release, fans hungry for Robyn since 2010's trio of mini-albums, the dazzling Body Talk series, were no less appreciative of new music from the ever-dependable Swede. Do It Again, a joint EP with Norwegian downtempo kings Röyksopp, certainly filled a void. But if portion-size was the concern, fears were swiftly doused once listeners took in Monument and Inside The Idle Hour Club - a staggering ten minutes apiece. Granted the latter is an instrumental, however its indispensability among the set is demonstrated on first listen. But if we've waited for anything in the last four years, it's Monument. Spellbindingly diverse, it's a haunting, smoky, late-night treasure, divided between the electronic duo's languorous backdrop (its velvety, barely-there beat) and flashy adornments (pan pipes, the outro's saxophone solo) but unified by Robyn's lonely wail. Not only does it tide fans over nicely until the next LP, but it puts Röyksopp & Robyn one confident step ahead of the atmospheric pretenders.


Thanks to everyone who took the time to view my countdown, I appreciate it very much.

[Superiore]

AMAZING Top 5

I loved your write-ups. They sound really pro

[TwistedElegance]

Originally posted by Superiore

AMAZING Top 5

I loved your write-ups. They sound really pro

Thank you so much!

[AshleeSimpsonFan]

Yaaay Monument so good! well deserved #1