Top 50 Songs, Tracks or {whatever you want to call them} of 2019 [50-26]

Ooh! I am a bit late on this one!
Greetings, fellow androids! This is DalekTurret32 with his Top 50 Songs, Tracks or whatever you want to call them of 2019.


Rules:

• The song must have been released in 2019, so Burnt Out Star by Pond will not make it onto this list.
• These are mainly from albums I’ve listened to, but there may also be some from albums that I haven’t listened to, or some non-album singles
• Like with my Top 10 UK Hits Of 2019, I’ll mainly focus on ‘one artist per song’ in order for this list to have more variety. A main artist can also go on this list with a featured credit as well.
• Songs already featured on my Top 10 UK Hits Of 2019 will not be on this list, though if my #1 pick from that list did, it would have been #45.

Before we start this countdown, let’s go through a list of some honorable mentions

• Temples - Hot Motion
• Kojey Radical - Can’t Go Back
• Mura Masa feat. Slowthai - Deal Wiv It
• Sharon Van Etten - Seventeen
• The Skints feat. Runkus - Armageddon
• JayKae - Heartache
• Yves V feat. Afrojack and Icona Pop - We Got That Cool
• Freddie Gibbs & Madlib feat. Yasiin Bey - Education
• Tame Impala - Patience
• Lone - Melted (Out Of Body Experience)

50. Pixx - Andean Condor (Album: Small Mercies)
Back in June, I was immediately hooked after first listening to this. It got to the point where I started to play this on repeat many times. Just a fun, dreamy song in which Hannah Rodgers (a.k.a. Pixx) compares herself to a species of vulture known as the Andean Condor. The chorus is also great, as is that synth solo that comes in before the 2nd verse. I wish the 2nd and 3rd choruses could have been as long as the 1st for more enjoyment, but other than, really good stuff!


49. The Chemical Brothers - Got To Keep On (Album: No Geography)
This goes to show that the Chems have a huge knack for great melodies. The way the synth lines blend with the repetition of the vocals is fantastic and it gets better when the bells come in.


48. Cate Le Bon - Magnificent Gestures (Album: Reward)
The plucky staccato guitar and the elegant sounding organ chords come together to make a colourful instrumental. The colour in this song is further backed up by the peculiarly high tessitura of Cate Le Bon. Oh, and did you know that the backing vocals on the chorus are provided by Kurt Vile.


47. The Twilight Sad - VTr (Album: IT WON/T BE LIKE THIS ALL THE TIME)
In this song, we see our protagonist struggling to cope with the departure of his (now former) lover and is developing trust issues though this struggle. James Graham’s vocals blend superbly with the thick textures of the gothic synthesizers to make this situation of sadness stand out.


46. Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds - This Is The Place (Album: This Is The Place)
Noel Gallagher and his band went for a more psychedelic approach back in 2017 with Who Built The Moon. This style carries over to this song, and with more of a disco sound to it. The production shines all over the song, especially in the chorus following that ascending slot machine sound.
Shame that it didn’t break the chart like the The Official Chart: First Look programme on BBC Radio 1 predicted.


45. Burial - Claustro (non-album single)
It is uncertain as to whether we will get another studio album from Burial (it’s been about 13 years since Untrue), but in this stand-alone single, he takes his signature moody style and blends it with some elements of early 90’s electronic music. The end result turns out to be a great bucket of ambience to soundtrack your night.


44. Georgia - Never Let You Go (Album: Seeking Thrills)
I know that the album this song was from came out in 2020, but the track was released in 2019 as a single, so yes, it counts.
Anyway, About Work The Dancefloor was a surefire contender for this list but upon listening to her recent album, this won me over in the end.
The synths oozing throughout the song are just fabulous, and they especially reach their peak in the chorus. Georgia’s vocal styles are also a great fit for this sound and she gives off a really good performance overall.


43. Danny Brown - Combat (Album: uknowhatimsayin¿)
Here, we have Danny Brown take some jazz fusion of elements of Joey Bada$$’ material and make a nice conscious rap tune out of it. We also have the executive producer of the album, Q-Tip of A Tribe Called Quest fame, providing a verse, along with his cousin Consequence, exploring the combat zone and showing the events surrounding it.


42. Bon Iver - Naeem (Album: i,i)
This is one of the more emotional points in the “i,i” album and this emotion is driven by these piano chords. These opening chords set the mood for this song perfectly. The repetition of ‘I can hear’ in the chorus shows us that we need to let go of our opinionated beliefs and realise that we are just as human as those who are unluckier than us. It especially feels powerful when the guitars and snare drums come in near the end.


41. The Big Moon - Your Light (Album: Walking Like We Do)
I have yet to hear The Big Moon’s new album at the time of writing this, but I have heard the lead single of that album and I can say that it is excellent.
The band switch from the typical indie rock style of their debut to a more atmospheric sound for this song. The keyboard and guitars compliment the tone nicely and the lyrical themes about finding hope when you’re down are delivered very well.


40. Four Tet - Dreamer (non-album single)
One of the many instrumental picks on this list. Four Tet can craft a lot of beautiful melodies and harmonies in his work and this is one of them. It’s a shame that this didn’t make it onto his new album, but oh well!


39. TNGHT - Gimme Summn (Album: II {EP})
This track starts off weird with the ascending discordance of a synth pattern, and everything gradually begins to fall apart as the song progresses. It goes to show how many boundaries experimentation in music can break.


38. Sleaford Mods - Subtraction (Album: Eton Alive)
The fuzzed guitar may only have three unique notes, but it comes together with a drum pattern to create a greatly-composed piece of minimalism. We even get a bunch of quotable lines from Jason Williamson, such as “The only change I like sits in my pocket” and the repeated “Rushed the bar / As I lay dead on your street” line in the outro.


37. Bat For Lashes - Jasmine (Album: Lost Girls)
Natasha Khan comes in with a haunting, poetic performance to describe a girl who is dangerous and whom many should beware. The lyrics are very subtle and combine many gloomy images to show this, such as ‘a body bag on eucalyptus hills’. Khan delivers the lyrics in an almost similar manner to a siren to make the song feel more cinematic.


36. BROCKHAMPTON - IF YOU PRAY RIGHT (Album: GINGER)
Here, we have a minimalistic beat that wouldn’t sound out of place in the Saturation trilogy, as well as a snappy trombone. Our group of rappers bring in some fire flows and bars over this. The pitch-shifted effects in the post-chorus add to the moments of weirdness that BROCKHAMPTON succeed in generating.


35. Fat White Family - Fringe Runner (Album: Serf’s Up!)
You know you’re in for a psychedelic banger when that bassline comes in. The line about ‘that feeling’ provided by the one and only Dr. Johnson is very subtle and fuses into the druggy vibe of the music well. Those synth stabs in the instrumental breaks that sound like they came from a 90’s video game were unexpected, but they unusually mix well into that part of the song.


34. Floating Points - Bias (Album: Crush)
The album as a whole may sound relaxing, but this track feels a little more pulsating. The drum pattern mixes the sounds of 2-step garage and drum ‘n’ bass together with a pretty ominous, off-kilter synth tone. I like how the tone of this track contrasts with those of the other cuts from that album.


33. James Blake - Assume Form (Album: Assume Form)
The opening track to James Blake’s brilliant album. It sets the emotionally driven tone of the album well with its angelic piano and Blake’s quivering vocal style. The way he delivers these lyrics reminds me of what FKA twigs would do on her album many months later (we’ll get to her BTW).


32. JARV IS… - Must I Evolve? (Album: Beyond The Pale)
One of the most unusual events in the UK charts was a Jarvis Cocker song from 2006 nearly reaching the Top 40 in the last month of the decade. The song that did so (Running The World) was fantastic, but not as fantastic as my #32 pick.
This starts off slow with Jarvis Cocker asking himself if he should adapt to the ongoing changes throughout life and society. The demonic chant of the backing vocals commanding him to do so establishes an excellent call and response between him, thus creating some tension due to the different mindsets of both Cocker and the chanting.
As the tempo increases, so does the tension, and Cocker sells this feeling fantastically.


31. Slowthai feat. Skepta - Inglorious (Album: Nothing Great About Britain)
The intense organ harmonies accompany Slowthai’s aggressive vocals fantastically. He comes in with great references to Trainspotting and, on the chorus, Inglorious Basterds. Skepta comes in with a really amusing verse to contrast with the vocal tone of that of Slowthai.


30. Vampire Weekend - Sympathy (Album: Father Of The Bride)
Like I said in my Top 50 Albums Of 2019, this song is just bursting with amazing flamenco flavour. The guitar and drums mix wonderfully with Ezra Koenig’s vocals to create a lot of energy, as do the eerie chants in the instrumental break.


29. Rammstein - Deutschland (Album: Rammstein)
Starting off with a synth line that sounds like it came from an 80s video game before adding in some energetic electric guitars to convey a sense of drama. The song shows huge praise towards Germany while also showing hints of personification told through subtle references to its history. This is further backed up by the excellent call and response between Till Lindemann and the backing vocals.


28. Hot Chip - No God (Album: A Bath Full Of Ecstasy)
A nice, uplifting song to end the album on. It shows the character losing hope and becoming more anxious but has regained that sense of hope thanks to his newfound love. The lyrical topic reminds me of P!nk’s Walk Me Home in some way. We also get some good texture expansions near the end, one of which includes orchestral string arrangements, to add a layer of catharsis from the emotional themes that surround the rest of the album.


27. Metronomy - Insecurity (Album: Metronomy Forever)
Metronomy don’t need no introduction for this one; they just jump straight into the first verse with a catchy, amplified guitar line. It focuses on a man trying to prevent his insecurities from getting the best of him during some minor issues in a relationship. This all comes in with some great guitar solos and a synth touch in the 2nd verse that calls back to their Summer 08 era to create a full can of upbeat guitar pop.


26. Kate Tempest - Holy Elixir (Album: The Book Of Traps And Lessons)
Kate Tempest is a very compelling rapper and this track is proof of that. She tells a historical tale involving the evolution of a society in the 1st verse, before meeting a woman who claims to be ‘holy elixir’ who comes up with theories of what the human species was made from. The dark production backs the poetic imagery very well and succeeds in getting the listener hooked into the auditory experience.



And that's it for Part 1
The next 25 will be revealed in a week or two, so stay tuned for that!