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Thursday, 6 December 2012

Top 112 Songs of 2012 - #70 - 61



The Temper Trap!




#70. Spiritus
by Lisa Mitchell (AUS)




Heart is lost,
Like a lost little one... 


From the very first notes of this song, you know you’re in for a super cute three minute treat. The clip is so adorable it almost makes me a little uncomfortable and even though Matt and I have had many discusssions about why she wrote a song about Shannon Noll (Matt said it right in his original review; “Enunciate, darling. Enunciate!”) somehow I still love this song. (Jo Michelmore) 


Young one, it's a big suck, in my love, my love, my love, my love, Shannon No-ooh-oh-ooh-oh-ooh-oll! Misheard lyrics can't stop me from falling for Lisa Mitchell's charms on 'Spiritus.' This one is as much a road-trip essential as it is a beach BBQ and drinks with friends requirement. You stay bouncy and free-spirited, Lisa Mitchell. (Matt Bond)   


Ooo what a catchy, happy little song. Is it being used in an advertisement? If not, it should be. (Katie Langley)


#69. We Own The Sky
by Neon Wolf




Don't you see, time will pass,
And we'll start it again. 


One more song tailor-made for the summer that makes you want to get out there and start loving life with a team of mates, running riot through the streets. Neon Wolf emerged this year as one of our favourite new acts, with 'We Own The Sky' becoming their signature song in my mind. It's everything you want in an indie anthem; bright and youthful with an easy to grasp, booming singalong chorus that makes you fight the urge to jump around and dance. It's a fight you're bound to lose. The music video captures the mood of the song perfectly and just makes you love an already amazing rock track just a little bit more. Here's another act you can expect to hear so much more from real soon. We can't wait! (Matt Bond)  


How many great bands was I introduced to this year? We’re only up to number 69 and I’ve already mentioned numerous times, damn, this was such a great year in music. Neon Wolf put themselves at the top of my favourite new Irish bands with We Own The Sky, which is quite simply, awesome straightforward rock music. Guitars and drums and a chorus to remember, a clip that captures a slice of day to day life, I’m left humming this one long after it’s over. Singing along to rock songs like this make you feel exactly like what the title says; like you own the sky. How delightful.  (Jo Michelmore) 



#68. Stone Cold Lover
by The Hello Morning (AUS)




I saw right through your face when I first met you...


I feel head over heels in love with The Hello Morning at BigSound earlier in the year. As we entered the Black Beard lodge I had goose bumps. And no, it wasn’t the air-conditioning. The vocals just get me straight in the heart. Sometimes I don’t know if it makes me want to laugh or cry. It’s amazing to me that I can feel so much from this song and this band. (Katie Langley)


One of my favourite live music moments of this year involves climbing the stairs of the Black Bear during BigSound, finding a perfect viewing spot at the side of the room and being slapped in the face with the awesomeness of The Hello Morning. Stone Cold Lover is a perfect example of what I saw that night, the intensity of six musicians all playing together, the layered sound of loud, loud instruments and a powerful vocal, this is a band that you need to keep your eyes and ears on, because if they keep releasing songs like this one, they’ll become some of Australia’s newest favourite sons soon. (Jo Michelmore) 


Like the lovely ladies of It's My Kind of Scene, it was seeing The Hello Morning at BigSound live that sold me 100% on their brand of bluesy rock. If I had heard 'Stone Cold Lover' before that night, I would have been a fan immediately anyway. It's the right kind of rock to kick back and listen to with a couple of beverages at the start of the night, before you put it on again later, beverages consumed, for a good dance. (Matt Bond)    


#67. Wise Up
by Ruby Boots (AUS)




Oh you've been leaning on your luck,
And your number is up...


Oh I remember totally falling in love when Matt first intoduced Ruby Boots to our top 20 in June this year. Another retro inspired country tinged band (this has been such a good year for all the things I love in music!) I couldn’t help but love this track when I first heard it. A clip set on a train, full of drama and pretty dresses, I think I became Ruby Boots newest and biggest fan this year. (Jo Michelmore) 


From the opening verses bittersweet descending vocal line, performed so beautifully by Bex Chilcott, I was already in love with Ruby Boots and 'Wise Up.' Country-folk infused with a surprisingly hearty amount of percussion, this has been on high rotation for the majority of my year. I just can't get enough of it. There's also a powerful lesson in the video. Don't cheat on your partner on the train. That's just silly. And you will get stabbed. (Matt Bond)  


#66. Pistol
by Mia Dyson (AUS)




Use this pistol on my heart,
Take me out before it starts. 


What are you supposed to love more... Mia Dyson's control over her mesmerising voice or the honesty in her punch you in the heart/kick you in the face lyrics? "What I had and what I lost, what I want and what I got." She's a storyteller, unlike any other in the music industry today and 'Pistol' is her finest performance on the must-buy album, The Moment. Just imagine if she had emerged in the sixties or seventies. We'd be talking about her as one of the biggest rock stars of all time. (Matt Bond)    


This is about as good as a rock ballad gets. I could say a lot more, but really, Mia and her incredible rock voice says it all; “use this pistol on my heart, take me out before it starts”. That’s some deliciously heart wrenching rock lyrics there. Mia? Love. (Jo Michelmore)


I believed every word that Mia sung. What a beautiful voice, with just the slightest gruff-ness when the feeling called for it. (Katie Langley)


#65. Need Your Love
by The Temper Trap (AUS)




She is my salvation in the dawn...


If someone had told me when I heard Sweet Disposition for the bazillionth time four years ago that The Temper Trap would be responsible for an indie rock album I’d fall in love with in 2012, I may have slapped them. The big, big synths and the powerful drums make Need Your Love still sound like The Temper Trap, but took them in a slightly new-ish direction, similar enough to previous work to not be offensive but strong enough to stand on it’s own. It still has that rock anthem type sound because they do that so well, but my favourite part is probably the sudden end, because I don’t expect it and that’s what makes me hit play again for another listen, every time. (Jo Michelmore)


I know it’s a little bit stalker-ish, but this song has me contemplating whether or not I should sing the chorus to my train crush. I really do need his love. Thank you Temper Trap for inspiring me. (Katie Langley)


One day, we will be toasting the success of a Temper Trap arena tour. 'Need Your Love' is the definition of stadium rock, a song that should be enjoyed by a hundred thousand people singing along with the larger than life rockstars in front of them. If there is any musical justice, The Temper Trap will get to that level very, very soon. Seriously... Nickelback can play stadium shows. Nickelback! (Matt Bond)  



#64. Stars
by Grace Potter and The Nocturnals




I lit a fire with the love you left behind,
And it burned wild and crept up the mountain side. 


Heartbreak, thy name is Grace Potter. But when it sounds this good, I'm cool with having that beating little red thing ripped out a million times over. While the standard album version of 'Stars' is excellent, it's the stripped back beauty of the piano/vocal VEVO presents performance that leaves me floored by this powerhouse vocalist and lyricist again and again. The opening lines, "I lit a fire with the love you left behind, And it burned wild and crept up the mountain side," could be my favourite opening lyrics of 2012. Simple. Beautiful. Devastating. (Matt Bond)  


Anyone who knows me knows how much I love simple piano and vocal. Don’t know me? Well, now you know, I love simple piano and vocal, so it’s difficult for me not to love this song. I adore the simple warm up type sounds at the beginning, I love the restrained strength of Grace’s voice in every chorus and I love the simple heart breaking lyrics, which are just made for a dramatic scene in a final episode of some TV show; “I can't look at the stars, they make me wonder where you are, stars, up on heaven's boulevard”. Way to make a girl get teary Grace.  (Jo Michelmore)


The perfect karaoke song. And don’t forget the twang, y’all. (Katie Langley)


#63. Driftin
by Y LUV




I'm driftin away, oh...


Opening piano melody that puts a smile on your face? Check. Introduction of get off your butt synths and electronic drum kit? Check and check. Shout out loud 'I'm driftin away' moments littered throughout the song? Yes. I mean... check! There isn't a thing about 'Driftin' that I don't love, that doesn't keep a smile on my face for five minutes. Y LUV? It's just too easy when the music is this good. (Matt Bond)  


#62. Anything Could Happen
by Ellie Goulding




Stripped to the waist,
We fall into the river... 


This is the song that you play first thing in the morning. The song you play as you stretch and get ready for the day. The song you play to set you off on the right track because anything could happen. (Katie Langley)


Well, she proved that Anything Could Happen when she hooked up with Skrillex didn’t she? Thankfully that ended quickly and now everything is ok in the world of pop again. I love the simplicity of this perfect little electro pop number, it doesn’t ask much of its listeners and yet it gives so much. This is what pop music should be. (Jo Michelmore) 



#61. Boy
by Bertie Blackman (AUS)




And in the dark, he felt divine,
He clicked his tongue, and curled his spine. 


Quirky and cute and sweet and fairy tales and unicorns and underlying darkness and unexpected themes and charming and a little bit eccentric and fabulous. These are all the reasons Bertie Blackman should be a little more mainstream popular than she is. Boy is the perfect example of all these things and it’s perfectly awesome. (Jo Michelmore)


There’s a cuteness and sense of whimsy about this song. The same can be said about the film clip. (Katie Langley) 


Bertie Blackman is in that exclusive 'can do no wrong' category of singer-songwriters. I actually believe she is incapable of doing anything that borders on average. Have a listen to 'Boy.' How could you not love that? Ha, trick question! You can't not love it. (Matt Bond)

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