Top 100 Songs of 2018 - #90 to #81

Camp Cope, Leon Bridges + Lana Del Rey!

#100 - #91

#90. NEVER LET ME GO

by Sarah Blasko

Some days you'll see me at my worst I know

A side of me that I cannot control.

How did Sarah Blasko manage to put such an obvious sax in a song without anyone noticing and how did she manage to make an instrument that I find so cringeworthy, sound so good? Questions I will never know the answer to. Never stop making me ask the questions Ms Blasko, never ever stop. (Jo Michelmore)

And here we have Australian icon and all around musical genius, Sarah Blasko. Six albums into her career and Blakso is still killing it with tracks like 'Never Let Me Go' that show she's as effortlessly cool as ever. It's quirky and fun, it's sleek and sexy, it's all of the things that we've come to love about Sarah Blasko over the years that makes us want to hear more and more from her for years to come. (Matt Bond)

#89. HOW TO SOCIALISE AND MAKE FRIENDS

by Camp Cope

Maybe I'll tell everyone I cried while you

Sleep next to your wife for the rest of your life.

I'm here for Camp Cope being over taking shit and it's nice to see that a whole bunch of like-minded music fans are out there. 'How To Socialise and Make Friends', the title track from the punk trio's 2018 LP of the same name takes you on a bit of a journey of understanding just how Camp Cope have gotten to the point of being over the previously mentioned 'shit'. It's packed with not only a healthy dose of cynicism and sarcasm, but also reflection and a self-awareness that leads to the triumphant realisations in the song's final moments. How it actually gets the title is all kinds of clever too. (Matt Bond)

#88. WHEN I DREAM

by San Cisco

Why does it feel so good to be self-destructing again?

So, I'm not going to talk too much about the music video for 'When I Dream', which features far too many shots of a rattlesnake considering there's no pay off... but how about that song? So good. San Cisco haven't disappointed since they burst onto the scene with 'Awkward' all those years ago. How many years is it now... four? Eight? Twelve? We don't do research around here anymore. Anyway, we've loved the music of San Cisco from the first and we'll love it to the last, because these crazy kids know what they're doing. And they must be huge in Mexico now if the comment section of the clip on YouTube is anything to go off. So, uh... felicidades, San Cisco! (Matt Bond)

#87. WAITING

by KIAN

If you got a moment to spare

I've got something to say.

KIAN is seventeen, with a seventeen year old’s haircut and a seventeen year old’s sense of style (these are both amazing things that should be captured as they happen), but that’s about all of him that suggests his age ends in teen. ‘Waiting’ is a track so far beyond his years, it’s subtle build and remarkable lyric are so deserving of the JJJ Unearthed High trophy they won this year, but more importantly, they are an indication that KIAN has a future bigger than his hair ahead of him. (Jo Michelmore)  

#86. LANDMINE

by I Know Leopard

Wait, tell me that it isn't true

You were just running out of better things to do.

I obviously thought we were heading into extreme country territory during the first few bars of ‘Landmine’ and then the beat kicked in and suddenly we’re on a light up dancefloor somewhere in the late 70s. What a great place to land surrounded by brightly coloured polyester and futuristic metallic synths! Is there a better place than 70s soft rock? Well, there probably is, but I'm happy here with layered vocals and soft unoffensive guitar solos. Can we all hang around here a bit longer? I always looked so good in flares. (Jo Michelmore)   

#85. BAD BAD NEWS

by Leon Bridges

But I can see right through

A powdered face on a painted fool.

Once you let old school rhythm and blues into your life, they never leave. Once you understand the sound of soul, it never goes away. Once you know who Leon Bridges is, you will never get enough. Bad Bad News? Nope. Best news ever. (Jo Michelmore)  

#84. BIG THINGS

by Tkay Maidza

Steering my own wheel, I'm driving blind

But it's worth fighting for.

Tkaaaaaaaaaay! Slay. Big things have come her way over the past couple of years and here we have Tkay Maidza reflecting on that with the opening track to her 2018 album, Last Year Was Weird, Vol. 1. The reggae vibes are srong on this one and Maidza puts those showstopping rap skills on hold to show off her vocal pipes. As summer officially kicks off in Australia, you don't need to look much further for your sunny season anthem. With 'Big Things', Tkay's got you covered. (Matt Bond)


TKAAAAAAAAAAAYYYYYYY! Oh, it’s been so long since I’ve written words about one of our favourites and I could not agree with her more; Last Year Was Weird (Vol 1). I just spent the year hanging out, while Tkay spent the year releasing amazing things, running about the world playing things, winning things and on this track, having her Dad play bass with her on things. Every year though, she’s right, isn’t she? “Take it as it comes there’s no time to waste”. She's wasting none. Damn right Tkay, damn right. (Jo Michelmore) 

#83. MARINERS APARTMENT COMPLEX

by Lana Del Rey

Don't look too far, right where you are, that's where I am

I'm your man.

What I like the most about Lana Del Rey is that, even as she continues to develop as a songwriter, her music maintains the same identity that drew fans to her in the first place. You only need to hear the first piano notes that open 'Mariners Apartment Complex' to know this is one of Del Rey's tracks and you're about to experience something special. We've moved away from the overly dramatic Americana themes that defined her first two albums and seem to be getting a real look at who Lana Del Rey, the individual, is. Sure, we're not getting opening lyrics like, "my pussy tastes like Pepsi Cola," but we are getting the jaw dropping, "you took my sadness out of context, at the Mariners apartment complex, I ain't no candle in the wind." Now that's a kind of darkness I can get behind. (Matt Bond) 

#82. CALL ME AGAIN

by Mark Harding

I never knew you were suffering...

When he's not recording or on tour with Little May, Jack River, Annie Hamilton and, I don't know, another forty-five other Australian acts, Mark Harding's delivering the goods all on his own. This year Harding released his first EP, all good, which featured songs like last year's Beautiful (with a capital B) 'Grow' and introduced us to some new stunners like 'Call Me Again'. There's a nice little build throughout the song that keeps the focus on Harding's voice and the song's story, which offers a good lesson on having a friend's back and being there for them. Even if you're not right there with them. (Matt Bond)

#81. I DON'T LACK IMAGINATION

by E^ST

I'd rather dream 'bout all the things we'd see

Than have you see me.

Well, it’s true, imagination is something she doesn’t lack in. You should hear the track that’s coming up later in this countdown. *Spoiler Alert. (Jo Michelmore)