The Last 5 Years, #90 - 81

Meg Mac, Kira Puru + The Bruise, I Know Leopard and Kanye West!

#100 - 91

#90. YOUR LOVE IS KILLING ME

by Sharon Van Etten

Break my legs so I won't run to you

Steal my soul so I am one with you.

Yes, well, Sharon Van Etten. So, welcome to heartbreak. Ever found yourself liking someone who doesn’t like you back? Press play. Ever find yourself liking someone who liked you back then changed their mind? Press play. Ever find yourself liking someone who liked you, but maybe liked someone else a little better? Press play. Ever find yourself liking (insert beverage of choice here) a little too much because you found yourself in any of the above positions due to the person you liked so much? Press play. Ever find yourself liking a song so much that you press play over and over and over again because that song speaks directly to you and was probably written about you? Go on, press play again. (Jo Michelmore)

#89. HOLD THIS TIGHT

by I Know Leopard

All my friends and I, we own the night...

I remember loving this song for its super chilled, relaxed feel, for its swing along keyboards and Luke O’Loughlin’s strangely inviting vocals. I remember seeing the clip and feeling a little jealous, it was so laid back I wanted to find my own space of water and float for hours. But the thing I remember the most is hearing the lyrics and being completely captivated, because the lyrics celebrated friendship and that’s something not celebrated enough. Put all those things together and you got yourself one of my favourite Australian bands from 2014.  (Jo Michelmore)

#88. YOUNG IN LOVE

by Thelma Plum

'Cause we once where in love

And I once was all yours.

Thelma Plum's venture towards a more electronic sound paid off spectacularly with last year's Monsters EP. We were already not so young and in love with all things Thelma, but tracks like 'Young In Love' made sure we'd be fans for life. Ok, we were already fans for life. The beat provided by 'Young In Love' by producer M-Phazes works as the perfect accompaniment to Thelma's reflective lyrics and commanding vocals. The focus is wisely placed where it belongs... on that beautiful voice that we can't get enough of. If the rumours be true-mours, a debut album will be coming our way in 2015. More of this kinda goodness please. (Matt Bond)  

#87. SINCE LAST WEDNESDAY

by Highasakite

And he would never buy a weapon and bring it to our home

And he would never be foolish and lie about that now.

Highasakite appeared at number 77 in last year’s JJJ Hottest 100 and here they are at number 87 in our countdown. Someone who knows something about numerology might say something about that. Or perhaps not. This little band first came to my attention while I was scanning the googles after SXSW 2013, looking for who the googles were talking about. Up popped a band (whose name I had to read a couple of times) and when I found out they were Norwegian, well my love of that part of the world is no secret, so admittedly I was already hooked. You can compare them to indie rock all you want, but those hooks are all pop and the simple yet cutely odd lyrics have had me constantly captivated, since long before last Wednesday. (Jo Michelmore)

#86. THE LIAR

by Kira Puru + The Bruise

Don't talk to me about anger when I've got a loaded gun

'Cause I feel a quiver in my trigger finger now.

Speaking of voices we just can't get enough of... Kira Puru, ladies and gentlemen. Can any other artist rock a voice that's dripping with a 'don't fuck with me' attitude like her? I don't think so. Exhibit A - 'The Liar'. Case closed. Jo, Katie and I were first introduced to Kira Puru and The Bruise at BIGSOUND Live in 2012 and we were blown away by the band's phenomenal talent. The opening notes of 'The Liar' rang out, Puru laid down the law with the lines, "don't ask me what I'm feeling I've got answers up my sleeve and you and your denial ain't worth my while," and we were all hooked. The four-piece were so totally in sync, putting on a flawless performance of a track that's some hybrid heavy-soul-rock masterpiece. An incredible track from a band who should have been the talk of the town a long time ago. (Matt Bond)

#85. NEVER LET ME GO

by Florence + The Machine

And it's over

And I'm going under

But I'm not giving up

I'm just giving in.

Florence Welch has never shied from darker topics in her music. It's all violence and death and epic fantasy material and it's why I'm a big fan. Sure, she still covers relationships and love, human drama and all that jazz. But she goes about things in a way that's different to the indie/pop norm and I find it refreshing. Take 'Never Let Me Go' for instance. You're listening to it, amazed as always by the power of Florence's voice and all the other ear-pleasing sounds going on. And then you're listening again and again and you're thinking... so she totally drowned herself, right? Wow. That's bleak. Only in Florence's capable hands can a song, in which the central character kills themselves, called 'Never Let Me Go' which is actually about letting go be pulled off spectacularly. And that's more than enough for it to be named one of our favourite tracks of the past five years. (Matt Bond) 

#84. ROLL UP YOUR SLEEVES

by Meg Mac

So I'll go and I'll join the free

There's people there, they're just like me.

My love of sounds from the past is something I wear proudly on my sleeve. I was raised on sounds of the 60s and 70s, in my life. Whenever I have liked something current, someone would introduce me to wherever that sound had come from, because every sound has come from somewhere else, so my taste in music has become an interesting mix of old and new, ‘then’ and ‘now’. When someone from ‘now’ has an understanding of the ‘then’, it’s almost impossible for me to dislike it. So when Meg Mac’s voice from 'then' begins; “roll up your sleeves”,  I’m immediately drawn to the emotion, the bluesy piano screaming determination and that sense of courage in every hand clap is as encouraging as the line that repeats “everything is gonna be alright”. Meg Mac may be one of my newer loves, but with songs like this I expect she’ll be one that becomes the ‘then’ someday. (Jo Michelmore)

#83. OVER YOU

by Ingrid Michaelson ft. A Great Big World

Maybe if I tell myself enough

Maybe if I do.

You know what it is? It’s quiet and introspective. It’s simple and it’s so complicated. It’s darkness and it’s light and strength and a vulnerability you’ve never really known before. It’s courageous and it’s a little beyond comprehension. It’s difficult and confusing but it’s also humble and calm. It’s so many thoughts, but really only one and it’s emotional and passionate and it’s everything you were. It’s just a pop song, but it’s oh so relatable and it found its way into the depths of my past and it’s tear jerking and it’s beautiful and it’s exactly as music should be.  (Jo Michelmore)

#82. DOJO RISING

by Cloud Control

Then I'm gonna break your heart

Should have probably told you from the start

But I'm lazy.

For anyone that gets all traumatised by clowns, I feel I should have probably told you at the start. But I'm lazy? Seriously though, watch the whole thing. You may find the clown's fate cathartic or something. What am I, a doctor? Other than the general dreamy factor that runs throughout 'Dojo Rising', I find I really love the track because the narrator comes off as such a jerk. Like, an actual asshole that has no idea what he's doing with his life. Which doesn't sound like Cloud Control's Alister Wright, so it's just a great story and something so different from the stories that we're used to. (Matt Bond) 

#81. MONSTER

by Kanye West ft. Jay-Z, Nicki Minaj, Rick Ross and Bon Iver

Ok first things first I'll eat your brains

Then I'mma start rockin' gold teeth and fangs...

Worth the price of admission for Nicki Minaj alone. And how often do we get to say that anymore? It feels nice. (Matt Bond)

20 down, 80 to go. We'll be back soon with more goodness...