Top 119 Songs of 2019, #110 - 101

#119 - 111

#110. I FEEL BETTER BUT I DON'T FEEL GOOD

by Alice Skye

It might not seem like much but I'm hurting now

I’ve said this sentence so many more times in my life than I care to admit. Alice Skye says it in a much, much prettier way than I ever could and makes me feel much more better-er and almost close to good-er-er when I hear it. And this is why music is so important and this is exactly why I love so much music so much. (Jo Michelmore)

#109. DEMON

by Mark Harding





And people say it's the land of opportunity

Mark Harding has this amazing talent, a way of painting pictures with sounds that transport me to familiar places I’m not sure I’ve been, beats of confident hesitation and slow notes I almost mistrust. Lyrics that transport me to so many places, some of them beautifully bathed in golden light, some of them hazy and gloomy; his music is so comfortably Australian it makes me homesick for places I’ve never been. If only I had his talent I could explain how much talent he has. (Jo Michelmore)

#108. GIVE ME THE NIGHT
by Essie Holt





I won't find the key to your feelings
But I know that I'm going to break in

“You look up, you look down, you look up, you look down (repeat)” It was those words that hooked me on this song from the first time I heard it, which is funny because it’s exactly how the whole song feels; poppy and light, with a shadow overriding, dancing with your back against a wall. Essie Holt has managed to capture atmospheric and equally grounded, moody and overjoyed all at the same time and she’s managed to squish it all into two minutes and fifty one seconds of greatness. (Jo Michelmore)

#107. IN MY ROOM
by Frank Ocean


 


Quit being violent with me
You make me violent

I’m not going to pretend I’m on the Frank Ocean can do no wrong bandwagon, but I’m not going to pretend I don’t at least sorta kinda maybe like pretty much everything he does. Last month a couple of new Ocean tracks were released to much twitter fanfare, but as hopefully everyone has figured out by now, Twitter is pretty dire as a platform (said by someone who uses it to get the ‘news’). I probably couldn’t tell you the name of the other one (DHL?) but ‘In My Room’ holds a nice vibe, it’s pretty chill, dope one might say. Or not?  (Matt Bond)

#106. SKIN
by San Cisco





Was it the way I behaved
To try and make you stay?

San Cisco, you reliable teen babes. Sure they’re likely young adults now, but they’ll always be teen dreams to me. Remember when they were releasing stalker anthems and then super dreamy indie bops and it’s like 10 years later and now here they are... releasing stalker-y, super dreamy indie bops. I can dig it. Like their contemporaries, Ball Park Music, San Cisco only get better with age as they bestow gems like ‘Skin’ on us that reflect their maturing world view. There’s beautiful guitar lines in this too. What more do you want? (Matt Bond)

#105. SAD DAY
by FKA twigs





Take a chance on all the things you can't see

Art. What is it? What’s it all about? Is there such thing as musical art? Yes, obviously. That’s why we callperformers musical artists. It’s not like how Subway has sandwich artists who are unable to express themselves in any unique ways. Musical artists can get all experimental if they want and as an example of this, here’s FKA twigs and her trippy beats and it’s all very arty... but it’s also just good music that, like the title suggests, is going to make you have a sad day. Or since art is subjective, maybe you’ll take this in a completely different interpretive direction and be happy? See. Art. (Matt Bond) 

Perhaps I haven’t been paying as much attention as I should, but I’m unsure what happened to FKA Twigs in the years between LP1 and her second album, Magdalene, released late this year. The reason I mention this is because I’m unsure at what point exactly she became Kate Bush. For the younger kids playing along, Kate Bush was an art/baroque rock/pop singer/songwriter from the 70s and 80s who sounded much like….FKA Twigs. Has anyone seen either of them in the same room at the same time? No? Has anyone noticed bushes are made of sticks and...twigs? The FKA Bush conspiracy theory continues. (Jo Michelmore)

#104. SILVER
by DMA'S





It's funny that I think of you right now
Knowing all the years that turned to clouds

Never one to shy away from admitting they are extremely late to the party, I can finally say in 2019 I’m a big fan of DMA’S. I can’t even explain how I’ve managed to avoid them all this time. Not listening to the radio much helps. But I did hear ‘Silver’ and now I’m kicking myself for not getting into them sooner because this makes me really, really happy. Like smile on the face happy. Are all the DMA’S songs this romantic? I look forward to finding out for myself. (Matt Bond)

#103. NICK CAVE
by Thelma Plum





I don't hate her, I hate you
It's not her fault, this one's on you

A little bit awkward and a whole lot sad. This reminds me of some of Thelma Plum’s earliest releases that captured that first sentence so well, as only she can. It’s kind of crazy to think Plum has been releasing for the last decade and we’ve only just seen the release of her debut album, but it’s also genuinely amazing to see an artist that can still capture the same magic in a song after all this time. ‘Nick Cave’ finds Plum is the role of the other woman, albeit reluctantly and willing to call old mate out on being a dick for putting her in this position. Unenviable and forgivable...  but working at Mrs. Flannery’s? Don’t know about that, Ms. Plum. So much to love and one of the best singalong choruses of the year. (Matt Bond) 

 

 

There is a special something that incredible artists and incredibly good pop songs all share – the ability to be relatable. There is a line in this song that tells the tale of one of the most relatable situations anyone with a social media account will have either been in, or dread. And if you’ve heard the song, you know the line, which is as amusing as it is horrifying, much like social media itself. Thelma Plum's brand of pop is exactly as pop should be; totally relatable, totally incredible, totally the best. (Jo Michelmore)

#102. THE REAL THING
by Client Liaison





Everybody's a winner
But there's more to reach than just the finish line

I’ve never been quite sure whether Client Liaison are absolutely taking the piss and have made a very successful career out of it or whether they’ve managed to travel through time and bring their fashion to the future, that is now, with them, or whether the other option, they just really like the 80s. To be honest, I’d be happy with any of these options, because those 80s synths and mullets are a welcome feel, in any decade. They manage to make pop positive without being overbearing, keeping dance battles and funk riffs alive in a world that can sometimes feel too much number 101 than number 102. Don’t tell me you don’t love it. No offence Lana. (Jo Michelmore)

#101. CALIFORNIA
by Lana Del Rey





You said to a friend that you wish you were doing better
I wanted to reach out, but I never said a thing

Over the past couple of releases, Lana Del Rey has really carved out her own space in the musical world. She knows what her brand of music is and she’s not afraid to stick to it... in fact she keeps getting better at making the music that is so uniquely her with each new album. Maybe that’s why “Fucking Norman Rockwell” finds itself on the nominees list for Album of the Year at the next Grammy Awards. And it’s really no surprise it’s up for top honours when it has songs like ‘California’ that take a detour from your standard pop fare to tackle how to be a good friend to someone struggling with their mental health. There might be the standard Lana Del Rey dreamy vocals and vintage references in the lyrics for days but it’s sweet and effective and worth every single replay it has you hitting. And it’s probably the least California inspired song to have California in the title, so that’s a nice change of pace too. (Matt Bond)