Looking at this incredibly long list, it sort of makes me happy. As generically "indie" and standard it probably will appear to most people, this is probably the most diverse amount of music I have ever listened to. There are tracks on here that two years ago I would not have been caught dead listening to. And the fact I can fully enjoy them now is something I'm glad about. However, if there is something I missed (and trust me, I know I missed quite a lot), or I gave too much credit to some songs, let me know. I want to learn, I want to discover. Really.
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40. King Tuff-Bad Thing: Garage infused power pop perfection is the name of the game with “Bad Thing”, but how many people haven’t already said that about King Tuff in some fashion? But so many people saying something doesn’t make it any less true. In less than two and a half minutes, King Tuff makes one of the most additive guitar rockers of the year, an ear worm of the most evil and enjoyable form. It’s right there in the title and lyrics, but I doubt Tuffy was struggling with guilt when he made something this good.
39. Thee Oh Sees-Flood’s New Light: Thee Oh Sees doing straight up normal and catchy together is a rare thing, but that doesn’t mean they can’t do it. See “Flood’s New Light” for proof. Still filled with the same weird flourishes (John Dwyer’s falsetoo, off-kilter instrumentation), but the band manages to conform their sound in such a way that with “Flood’s New Light” that the song is a lot more straightforwardly approachable. The bouncy, tambourine filled drum work, the “bah bah bahs” that form the song’s chorus, the magnetic horn work; all work together to make one twisted garage gem.
38. Born Gold-Sky Bicycle: A complete flip on the aggressive, full body, intensive work Cecil Frena had been making for a while, “Sky Bicycle” showed Born Gold in a completely reconstructed, much more cerebral light. Good thing he pulled it off so well, otherwise there might have been problems. “Sky Bicycle” invokes its name; airy and bouncy, yet very tactile, with the production of the track feeling very real. Frena’s vocals have been twisted several octaves into the stratosphere, yet with his new sound it fits snuggly with everything to creative an off-kilter, but cohesive tune.
37. Electrician-All is Lost in the Light: Despite a year where we got two Mount Eerie albums, one of the best post-Mount Eerie tracks came from a solo project called Electrician. Simple strumming begets simple, pulsating percussion which begets powerful but pained paired together vocals which begets soft, subtle brass. All of which begets one very amazingly powerful song.
37. Royal Headache-Psychotic Episode: The manic, soulful wonder of Royal Headache’s debut album was no more prominent than on “Psychotic Episode”. The tormented content of the song is amplified by front man Shogun’s increasingly strained vocals, but at the same time nearly masked by the seam-bursting rhyme section and punk jangle of the guitar. Never claiming to reinvent the wheel, but making a damn fine wheel none the less.
35. Andrew Bird-Eyeoneye: Mr. Bird can do introspective, detached folk very well, but he can craft his own version of an indie rock bashers on occasion. That is exactly what “Eyeoneye” is and it is lovely. From the excellently piercing violin that plays throughout, to elegant, loose guitar chords, and extended science metaphor for relations, it is a distilled form everything that makes Andrew Bird’s music so captivating. All cobbled together and rising before exploding in the song’s final moments.
34. Cloud Nothings-Stay Useless: Cloud Nothing’s shift to grunge filled aggression is still something I am processing and will probably continue to process. However, if there was something to help show me that Cloud Nothings could dive into a more aggressive sound while still embracing their hooky past, it was “Stay Useless”. More powerful than anything Cloud Nothings wrote in the past, from the thick hooks that play in both the verse and chorus, and front man Dylan Baldi’s vocals which in their own scrappy way are in full force in “Stay Useless”. Not bad for a track about unabashedly collapsing into apathy.
34. Lambchop-Gone Tomorrow: Pained nostalgia and sadness are nothing new for Lambchop, but that doesn’t mean they can’t weave magic from those emotions still. See “Gone Tomorrow” for key proof. Simple acoustics coupled with lovely strings as Kurt Wagner recounts an abstract story of parting people. It’s the song’s outro, a looping, electronic gazed, quiet instrumental free-for-all ambiance that winds up being longer than the “traditional” part of the track, which not only cements the emotions of the track, but the wonder of the track itself.
32. Eternal Summers-Millions: It’s hard to conflate the Eternal Summers of the past with the Eternal Summers who made “Millions”. The chasm between the two on the indie pop spectrum is huge; one crafted simple, post C86 pop to hyper energetic, buzzing guitar pop being made now. But thank god it happened because the world deserves indie pop as great as “Millions”. From the top notch production that improves the track, front women Nicole Yun’s gorgeous and sharp vocals, and the hefty guitar jangle, “Millions” just comes together to form one of the best pop songs of the year.
31. Butter the Children- Lupus: “Lupus” feels brand new and classic at the same time. It feels like you’re hearing this music for the first time, even though the blurred together indie rock and shoegaze sounds are clearly there. All those factors just show how excellent of a track “Lupus” is. Jagged yet shimmering guitars over the crashing drums and front women’s Inna Mkrtycheva just soaring vocals come together to form something that is just refreshingly awesome.
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