All of which is a roundabout way of saying here's a no doubt very limited selection of some of the better tunes I heard this year...you no doubt have yer own!
So, with Best Coast narrowly missing out on the Top Ten with their track 'Heaven Sent' which sounds suspiciously like the Friends TV theme...
10) 'Nobody Really Cares if You Don't go to the Party' by Courtney Barnett Previously filed under 'Please everyone stop telling me I should really like her because that's just putting me off giving her a fair crack'. So...why now? For starters - what a belter of a title. Catchy, full of attitude and possibly enough to get me interested. Though she probably doesn't care...
9) 'Fossils' by Circa Waves Remember when we had so much good music we were concerned about indie-landfill? Well, perhaps these chaps may have fallen into that pit a few years ago but right now a blast of perky, indie guitar from some drainpipe jean-clad, messy-haired scamps will do just fine, thanks.
8) 'Darkest Ocean' by All Tvvins
Sounding a fair bit like Empire of the Sun or M83 if they'd decided not to release a meandering double-album and gone a bit pop instead. All Tvvins (no, me neither) have released a spritely, lively little number that only gets slightly potty-mouthed when they get to the chorus. Yes, there's unfortunate modern-production Bastille-like tendencies to overlook, but 'tis the season of goodwill after all. Have you also noticed that the new loud-quiet-loud sound for bands is keyboards rather than guitars? Not like in my day etc...
7) 'Weathered' by Jack Garratt Releases a fine single, catches my ear, lodges a place in my top ten and then he goes and spoils it all by doing something stupid like winning The BRITs Best Newcomer Critics' Choice Award. Tut!
I'd like to think his brand of sensitive-male-solo artist balladry leans more towards the skittery beats of The Xx and Alt-J than Ed Sheeran mind. But time will tell.
(I'm not selling these very well am I?)
6) 'The Wolf' by Mumford and Sons Speaking of which, will this be this year's equivalent of the Mariah-moment that lives on in infamy among seasoned TTT-readers? Possibly, though Mumfords did get in the TTT's before with their first single so I suppose I've got form.
'The Wolf' though, doesn't sound like them - as was proved when I fatally heard the track on the radio without knowing who it was and then, when I found out, it was already far too late. How was I to know...it has electric guitars and not a banjo in sight! And when a tune makes you think of Sugar and not twangy, beardy hipsters with their annoying trust-fund girlfriends then that's a step in the right direction isn't it?
5) 'Take Me to Church' by Hozier 'Oh, Elton's released a pretty good tune, hasn't he?....What, it's not Elton. Sounds like him!...In that case, it's just a poor copy, isn't it? Not so keen...It's being played everywhere, sick of it but it is growing on me again...What do you mean it's about sexual equality? May listen to the lyrics then...Oh, it's rather good isn't it...and the video's fairly powerful...and it's being used as a protest song against the likes of those good Christian public servants like Kim Davis who refuse to do their jobs, yet they think it's written for them...isn't it great.'
...was pretty much my thought process on this.
4) 'Like an Arrow' by Lucy Rose Sometimes twee can be bloody kick-ass too, y'know. Inoffensive as it seems this is one of those tracks that'll bury its way into your brain and not let go. Some fearless jumping off cliff edges by Lucy in the video too - and when was the last time you saw Marcus Mumford do that, eh?
3) 'Dreams' by Beck
One day our favourite Scientologist woke up and thought he'd capitalise on all that Grammy-based goodwill he'd earned from his Morning Phase album and write the next iTunes advert soundtrack and coin it in. Except the ad doesn't exist and there's an undercurrent of an anti-corporate tirade about crushing dreams, with sweary-bits, wrapped in the most chart-friendly emperor's clothes yet. But he still made it. and. it. is. marvellous.
2) 'I Followed You Home' by Eliot Sumner 80's-style power keyboards kick it off, building the foreboding tempo, then guitars crash in, adding to the uneasy, dangerous atmosphere that fits perfectly with the song's stalker lyrics. Then Eliot starts singing and, if you're slow on the uptake like me, you'll think the voice sounds familiar, especially the 'ooo-ooo-ooo's - maybe the accent? but not realise who it is. Then you'll check the surname, watch the video and realise there's a lot of the father in the daughter and then it'll dawn on you you've fallen in love with the new single from Sting's daughter. Huzzah!
1) 'King' by Years and Years So if the theme of this year's TTTracks is stumbling accidentally upon tunes you'd usually not even consider, this is probably the opposite. I spent most of the year hearing or reading about Years and Years but never getting round to listening to them, not even when this had been number one. Wasn't until watching Glastonbury that I finally got to see what a good live band they were and that they were making unashamedly joyous pop music. In fact, their penchant for a good tune is so great that you could have easily also had 'Shine' as your number one for this year too. But never mind all that, they sealed it with a frankly camp as Christmas bizarre-bonkers performance on Strictly. I mean, who doesn't want to see their tune of the year used to soundtrack a scenario where Brendon Cole sexually harasses several female dancers in a typing pool???
And on that note...
If you fancy a listen to this little lot and a few more besides...head on over here why don't you?
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