20 Songs of 2015: Part 1 of 4
Over the next few days I’ll be posting my 20 favourite songs of the year. Songs are alphabetically ordered and otherwise not ranked.
Amateur Best – ‘Leviathan’
Much as I love Amateur Best’s debut No Thrills there’s no denying it was a bit of a downer, a nebulous concept album about an aspiring DJ that was in actuality an album length examination of depression and mental health. The Gleaners isn’t a complete volte face but generally finds Joe Flory feeling a bit more chipper, never more so than on the truly infectious “Leviathan”. In a series of comics drawn to accompany the record Flory said “If you're feeling a bit shit and you need something to keep you going then you need a mascot to cheer you on. Mine is a unfathomably powerful sea creature that lives inside of me and will never, ever, surrender. That's what ‘Leviathan’ is all about”. The song is just as much fun as that description sounds.
Courtney Barnett – ‘An Illustration of Loneliness (Sleepless in New York)’
Courtney Barnett has a Malkmusean knack for making the seemingly mundane and nonsensical appear somehow compelling, and although the strength of her tunes certainly plays a big part in this there’s something genuinely captivating about her scattershot approach to songwriting. On a record that sees her debating the benefits of buying organic vegetables and informing us “I much prefer swimming to jogging”, ‘An Illustration of Loneliness’ is one of her more lyrically focused efforts, dealing as the title suggests with a lonely night in a New York hotel, and is a highlight of the excellent Sometimes I sit and think, and sometimes I just sit.
Justin Bieber – ‘Sorry’
On Purpose, Justin Bieber strives for artistic maturity while simultaneously attempting to apologize for his past misdeeds and immaturity. In neither of these goals is he entirely successful, and the former is often hampered by the latter, but when everything clicks it’s clear just how far he has progressed from the likes of ‘U Smile’. Pick of the bunch is the absolutely massive ‘Sorry’, which manages to overcome some admittedly clunky lyrics (“I’m not just trying to get you back on me”, anyone?) by virtue of being so damn catchy.
Deerhunter – ‘Living My Life’
After the visceral thrill of Monomania’s noisy garage rock it’s possible to view Fading Frontier as a bit of a cop out, a regression to the band’s comfort zone and essentially a more accessible update of Halcyon Digest’s dreamy indie-pop; it’s certainly the easiest Deerhunter record to listen to, with songs like the single ‘Breakers’ and closer ‘Carrion’ containing proper singalong choruses most bands would kill for. There’s nothing wrong with a band taking a formula and perfecting it though, and the record’s undoubted highlight ‘Living My Life’ sounds like the purest distillation of the Deerhunter sound as their has ever been.
Dutch Uncles – ‘Be Right Back’
Aside from being one of the best live bands around at the moment, Dutch Uncles continue to create great records and this year’s O Shudder is possibly their best album yet. On a record with many standouts closer ‘Be Right Back’ is the pick of the bunch, a slow burning affair which, with the help of a string section and additional vocals from Stealing Sheep, builds from languid beginnings and lyrics about escalators and fire exits to an anthemic close.
Playlist of songs below (will be updated as each part is posted)
https://open.spotify.com/user/jhowlett/playlist/6W6JitCKU18tL97Idc04Aw












