#50. LET'S CALL IT A DAY
by Alex Lahey
I kinda like you, but I don't like you
You like yourself too much.
Anyone who knows Matt or I, will have guessed there's another Alex Lahey song coming up later on. Anyone who knows anything about Alex Lahey will know there's another Alex Lahey song coming up later on. But enough about later on. Here we have a brilliant indie rock pop song from a brilliant indie rock pop artist, it's 60s arrangement feel a stark contrast to it's "I don't wanna see where this could go" this is not a love song theme, and having taken many listens to her debut album I Love You Like A Brother, that juxtaposition is no accident. It's brilliant is what it is. (Jo Michelmore)
'Let's Call It A Day' had me hooked from the wonderful opening lines, "you're on my nerves and I'm three drinks in." Alex Lahey has a way with words that has you feeling everything she's feeling and in this case you feel like you're right there with her on one of those dates you can't wait to be over. You're sitting there and forcing your face not to scrunch up in pain because of every unnecessary word pouring out of the mouth of the creature sitting opposite you. You might disassociate and think about all of the Netflix you're going to watch when you get home. You might knock back those drinks a little bit faster in the hopes that the sweet, sweet alcamahol will make everything better. But you've already made your mind up... you don't want to see where this could go. Because you already know. This is going nowhere. Fast. (Matt Bond)
#49. DO WHAT YOU WANT
by The Presets
I'm feeling technicolour
Oh, go on, have another.
So I see on The Presets' Facebook page that they've just finished up a new album, so 2018 is looking better already knowing that. With The Presets you always know what you're going to get. Fun music to dance to that's got just the right amount of darkness lurking under the surface... perfect for those nights you find yourself out and about in the seedy parts of town at some ungodly hour. Also perfect for the gym, the car, walking to work, eating a sandwich or cleaning the house. The Presets know what they're about, they've been around long enough to know what their fans want and they deliver again and again. 'Do What You Want' follows The Presets formula in line with what's come before, but really, would you want it any other way? (Matt Bond)
I feel like I wrote my review of this song via text to Matt at the beginning of November, when this was first released. It was simple; "The Presets play The Presets really well". Harsh? Well I've always been known for my lack of subtlety, but harsh was never my intention. The Presets do play The Presets very well. They call it pub rock techno, I call it a masterpiece of their electronica; a thumping, pounding three minutes that is bound to get stuck in your head, it's exactly as The Presets have always been and should be, and that's a Presets I'll always really like. (Jo Michelmore)
#48. MISTAKES
by Basenji ft. Tkay Maidza
Falling out of place never felt so good 'till I met you.
Tkaaaaaaaaaaaaay. Slay. Basenjiiiiiiiii. Word that rhymes with Basenjiiiiiiii. Tkay took over the music world's consciousness in November, dropping 'Bom Bom' and 'Mistakes'. Both collaborations that are hopefully just a warm up for what's in store for Ms Maidza next year. While 'Bom Bom' was the reminder that Tkay is one mighty fine rap superstar, 'Mistakes' reminds us once more that she's no slouch in the singing department either. Another ready for the floor banger that will only serve to win her even more fans around the world, because this has worldwide club hit written all over it. Basenji delivers his best production yet with 'Mistakes' and if he wants to bring back Maidza for rounds two, three or four over the next couple of years, I'd be all for that. And I don't think I'd be alone there. (Matt Bond)
#47. BIG CITY
by Kingswood
You took my love and you took it all
How can you be so big and yet you feel so small?
I love it when this happens. A song that sounds like the country; that brings visions of long lonely roads, sunsets over deserts and sitting on steps in front of houses in the middle of nowhere and yet the clip inspires a whole different set of images in my mind. New Yorkers being New Yorkers, in the city of millions of stories, shot with a sepia tone to match the sounds Kingswood have made of yesterday. Apparently they have a way with visuals as well as sounds that I haven't appreciated until now, but I'm going to be making up for lost time and watching over and over again. (Jo Michelmore)
#46. SAY SO
by Ariela Jacobs
I've got a one way ticket and a one way flight
For I got high hopes for you and I.
Things that should be studied; the way Ariela Jacobs' music can walk the finest line between heartbreaking and heart warming, finding the perfect balance of both that leaves you in awe of her talent. 'Say So' is another addition to a catalogue full of tunes that pulls this feat off. You can feel as hopeful as Jacobs does as she sings about journeying into the unknown with a belief that everything will work out. At the same time you'll find yourself thinking about the odds of this happening. More often than not, things don't work out the way we want, especially when it comes to love. But you've got to take the risk, right? While we as listeners don't know how this particular risk paid off for our leading lady, we can only hope the best for her. (Matt Bond)
#45. LIABILITY
by Lorde
Baby really hurt me, crying in the taxi, he don't wanna know me
Says he made the big mistake of dancing in my storm...
There is a person. A person with a heart bigger than you can imagine, a mind deeper than you have seen, a story more intense than you suspect. There are the invitations, there are the memories, there are conversations, there is rejection, there is a heart, lying on the floor. There is a piano, there is a voice, there is Lorde, telling tales, asking a question and saying the words. And the answer is that anyone who tells you that you are a liability is probably actually the liability themselves. (Jo Michelmore)
Don't you wish you could write a song like 'Liability'? Seriously, the lines about going home to the only person Lorde can depend on and dancing with them, but to a stranger all they'd see if a girl dancing alone and your head explodes as you scream, "SHE'S DANCING WITH HERSELF BECAUSE SHE IS THE LOVE OF HER LIFE," are as good as it gets. I also wish I could find whoever hurt Lorde enough to write something so dangerously reflective on her life and make them pay. Who hurt you, Lorde? Where do they live? What's their pattern of life? What would hurt them the most? Okay... going too far haha. Totally wouldn't hunt them down and make them suffer in the name of our Lorde. Ah well... another supporting piece of evidence to make the case that Lorde will be knocking our socks off for a long, long time to come. (Matt Bond)
#44. TOP OF THE WORLD
by Kimbra
We go so good together
Search all my life to find better.
Yes, Kimbra... get it! Take us all to the top, to the top, to the top of the wooooorld. If this didn't get you so pumped for the release of Kimbra's third album, Primal in 2018, I just don't know what to say to you. I'm sorry? I'm disappointed? Who hurt you? Why you gotta be like this? 'Top of the World' is ambitious, out of this world pop that shows one of our fave Kiwi songstresses is showing no signs of slowing down when it comes to exploring and developing her sound. I genuinely love it more and more with each listen and maybe we're going to have to put it in next year's list too, because give it a couple more months and this is going to be one of my most listened to and loved songs of... well, ever. Don't even get me started on the video. Daaaaaaamn girl. LOVE. (Matt Bond)
The first time I heard this song, I'm going to admit I had no idea who it was. I had visions of hearing something new, discovering some sounds by some up and coming. But then something clicked, something sounded strangely comfortable and I actually looked at my phone to find that so familiar name... Kimbra. Ah yes, I should have guessed, because these days, one doesn't hear her voice on all the radios like we did five years ago, one finds Kimbra experimenting and playing with her sound, forging new and alternate paths to where her previous incarnation was leading her. I'm still happy to follow her along, because her confidence in her ability is so alluring and while her sounds seem to be slightly different with every new release, they've all got the stamp of Kimbra amongst them, which makes new discoveries wonderfully comfortable. (Jo Michelmore)
#43. RUN
by Foo Fighters
They say that nothing's free, you can run with me
If you wanted to.
It's funny, because every now and then for the past hundred (give or take a few) years, the cool music people and the words I read about all the songs and the bands (and maybe because I have an opinion) all the people make me feel like I should always be on the lookout for new things, or indie things, or cool things when sometimes the thing I like is right in front of my face, being pushed down my throat by the TV and the radio and the record company with all of the ads. And even though the members of the Foo Fighters don't need another two hundred of my dollars to fill a stadium, does that mean I shouldn't like them? No, it doesn't. Because even though they have all the luxuries and all the commercial success, they still write music I like, and I'll never apologise for what I like. And this? I don't just like this, this is rock and I fuckin LOVE this. (Jo Michelmore)
#42. GHOST
by Husky
It's these moment in-between that I need the most.
Who doesn't love a bit of Husky on the daily? The Melbournian indie outfit returned earlier in the year with their third album, Punchbuzz, with 'Ghost' earning a ton of well deserved play on the j's. It could be the group's best track yet and certainly their catchiest. 'Ghost' has been a bit of an ear-worm for me since first hearing it and I'm really not complaining about that. I'd rather have this than 'Coco Jambo' or Paris Hilton's 'Nothing In This World'. With smart writing and a very nice blend of rock and light electronic touches, 'Ghost' gives us a Husky at the top of their game. Surely there's a place in the Hottest 100 for this one? (Matt Bond)
#41. AMATEURS
by Holy Holy
And I couldn't find the words I needed
I needed nothing.
Think of a list of all the greatest Australian bands you know. There are hundreds of them, thousands, and a lucky few have made it into the echelons of legendary status. They've played and played and played and if you're lucky enough, you will have seen some of them in tiny clubs or bars and if you're really lucky you'll have seen them grow with thousands of others at festivals and stadiums. Some cities claim them as their own, some cities name bridges after them, some cities steal them from other cities. Now name those bands. And place Holy Holy right at the top of the list. Amateurs they are not, legendary is what they will be. (Jo Michelmore)
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