And I did watch the Glockelbar video ^_^

 

Hurrah! I hope it brightened up your mood :D

 

-x-

 

"It felt like you really knew me...now it feels like you see through me"

 

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21. Kissy Sell Out feat. Saint Saviour - Gimme Sin

The 2nd highest placed BJSC entry that is one of my own, which is fitting in this song contest heavy section.

I have known it since late 2012, but didn't get a chance to showcase and I'm just as into it now as I was back then.

Gimme Sin doesn't require a lot of thought, but it DOES require you to dance - Consisting of just two lines repeated throughout

And an extremely infectious disco/rave esque breakdowns featuring all around, this sounds like an old style garage record that sounds none too out of place today.

It's pretty awesome, I must thank the Guardian for introducing me to this little gem, indeed without that new music section, I wouldn't find anywhere near as much left-field dance to showcase to you in these lists.

 

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22. Bastille - Pompeii

Having known about Bastille since early 2012 (indeed the still beautiful Overjoyed was my EOY number 2 last year)

The prospect of them finding success was always one I would welcome

Pompeii was, right from the first listen, their most accessible & instant song, so it was always fairly clear this was going to be their breakthrough - its still very good though, opening and surrounded by Gregorian chants and vocals & a song that are indie-but-not-really, this was a pop song that even the alt crowd could get behind, a pretty nifty way of getting mass appeal.

Now for goodness sake release Overjoyed before I self-implode

 

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23. Youngblood Hawke - We Come Running

Speaking of pop/indie crossovers, that perhaps the first thing I noticed about the voters of this song, the wide appeal it reached towards all voters.

We can all get along just fine, eh?

Onto the song itself, It is, just like Pompeii, a pop song masquerading as an indie song that throws quite literally everything but the k*tchen sink into the chorus

Think Church bells, 'ohhh''s, childrens choirs. It could be a mess, but it succeeds almost completely.

 

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24. Le Youth - C O O L

If you'd have told me this could become a hit in the UK, I probably would've laughed.

It somehow passed me by in BJSC last year, but hit me in a BIG WAY this summer.

Reimaginging Me & U in a way that turns it into an urban/dance crossover smash and massively surpasses the quite lackluster original.

It became one of the most refreshing songs I heard on the radio this summer (Yes, even Kiss got behind it!) and remains a solid favourite.

 

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25. John De Sohn feat. Kristin Amparo - Dance Our Tears Away

Quite the surname, quite the video and QUITE the tune.

One of my favourite BJSC discoveries this year, thanks Adam. The

alone is enough to win you over - what with a dancing chicken and all and...a slightly odd ending.

The song itself is none the worse - an uplifting, euphoric trance song that couldn't live up to its theme of not worrying more.

 

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26. Mon Montis - Swept

And onto one of my favourite Unknown Pleasures discoveries of the year.

This group seems fairly ~mysterious~ to me so far, but this is certainly quite strong.

Lyrically weird (I often feel my body's filled with dynamite too) but wonderfully infectious with its powerful chorus and synthy production quite typical of Sweden.

In fact, Eurovision anyone?

 

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27. Prides - Out of the Blue

This was another quite wonderful UP discovery, the beginning synths are an instant win and

It's drum centric production and the slight military marching feel of it only add to its charm.

If you don't know it, think what may come about from a meet up between CHVRCHES & Bastille.

 

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28. Pure Bathing Culture - Dream The Dare

To keep with the general theme of this section, This was actually a song I wanted to send to BJSC/UP but never got round to it.

If you can make sense of these lyrics be my guest.

But as a song, its a really lovely, uplifting slightly folk-rock sounding song. When asked what this sounds like, Fleetwood Mac are the first that come to mind, but I think it has enough about it to make it stand out.

I found it lifted my mood a lot in the summer and stuck with me through the year.

 

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29. The xx - Sunset

I actually got this as a gift as part of last year's 12 Days of Christmas app. Safe to say, it was quite a worthwhile one.

I've never actually listened to a full XX album through fear I would be a bit suicidal in the end - though I do like them in smaller doses.

This, though, is stunning - the length is definitely worth it, starting out as a small, building guitar line that grows more sombre and mysterious as it builds.

Jamie & Romy's vocals are very, very powerful in describing a love lost relationship from both sides.The ending strikes you before you know it.

It's not exactly the most uplifting thing to listen too, but the power conveyed through such a minimalist technique is masterful.

 

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30. The New Division - Kids

I didn't have enough time to get into this at the tail end of last year when I sent it to UP, so here it is as a compromise.

Consisting of little over two verses, its main strength is the production - with a spacey, synth breakdown appearing after a chorus.

And then it all going a little bit ravey and dubstep on us halfway through before the final synthy breakdown is brought back.

It's quite a beautiful listen that still sounds as good well over a year since I first heard it.

"What happened to the dreams we had at night? The dreams that we all thought would change our lives?"

Edited December 29, 201311 yr by Father Walrus

Btw, I'll be starting the top 20 tomorrow with a slightly different, more focused format (so it won't take up to an hour to post like these groups of 10, thank God).

Edited December 29, 201311 yr by Father Walrus

Yay for Royals, Only Teardrops and Hero, so glad I sent that to UP, I didn't expect it to do as well as it did! Looking forward to the rest of the chart!

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20. Ellie Goulding - My Blood

 

"It drowns a love I thought I knew"

 

Starting the top 20 off is Ms Goulding, I've always been quite a big fan and seeing her have commercial success is a very good thing - its just a shame that 'Commercial Ellie' & 'Dark Ellie' often seem like two different people to the public, and of course its the former image that is bought. This persona is NICE and all, but its missing something for me. Since no song released by her has made my top 100 this year, I like to pretend that this was the massive hit instead.

 

This, alas, remains an album track for now but I can only hope she releases it as a single soon. It was one of a handful of very dark tracks that made Halcyon so good, this one I fewlt really showcased her vocals excellently, I also love its absence of any massive synths/techhy stuff in favour of acoustic guitars, pianos and a backing choir. It's purely made, brilliant stuff.

 

(And this reminds me I might have forgot to include Figure 8 in here, oops. Ah well)

 

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"Come be my role model"

 

I know very little about this band although this song and that other song that was entered into BJSC earlier this year (This is MUCH better than that btw) tell me two different things about them. That seemed a bit poppy, but this is an intriguing yet wonderful throwback to early 00s indie, with its extremely infectious guitar riff and synth combination, this is a wonderful sort of Hard Fi/Strokes combination that is pretty irresistable.

Edited December 30, 201311 yr by Father Walrus

Yah!! for Mons Monti, mind you I do prefer Moderat over it :D

Moderat wins on the music video, but Swept beats it for the song :P

 

-x-

 

I dedicate this section to YOU, Haus <3

 

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18. Autre Ne Veut - Counting

 

"Everything you say is breaking up"

 

Taking the SILVER medal in BJSC discoveries this year (which is sort of ironic in a way lolz) is this beauty. This track has so many things done with it. Starting with wailing vocals and clock like synths before descending into very sad vocals before the chorus reverts into a synthy, loud explosion (plus a surprised rooster at 2:03) yet it all comes back to the sad vocals at the end. It's really a very...sad but gorgeous listen, I've said that word a lot but I can't describe it in any other way. It comes with a very hypnotizing music video featuring a picture of the Scream that starts to move

 

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"I'll be waiting...Nothing Comes"

 

In other BJSC related news, this is the highest and still my favourite of what I've sent this year (and coincidentally its the only one that did anything big yay). I cannot possibly find the adjectives to describe how amazing this is the listen to - starting off with low chants and a sad piano, and make no mistake this ain't the happiest track to listen to if the title didn't already tell you that, and very hushed vocals. It gives the appearance of a slow, atmospheric piano ballad before launching into life with blazing euphoric synths - songifying an outpouring of grief. Please give it a listen if you're unfamiliar. It is also worth plugging this dance remix which I initially considered sending instead. It doesn't match up of course, but adds a slightly creepier, atmospheric touch to the song, doing out with the piano:

 

Edited December 30, 201311 yr by Walrus Lang Syne

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"You appear to face a decision I know you fear"

 

CHVRCHES' little simple, electro-pop numbers really are a winning formula, and this is but one of them. Not quite as good as their one song still to come, but still a great tune with Lauren's vocals definitely coming far more to strength here, against an excellent almost Sci-Fi-esque synthy background.

 

 

 

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"Guns Hidden Under our Petticoats"

 

Catchy 'landfill' indie pop like this doesn't often come about in the charts once in a while, so when one does I'm always bound to take notice. What's distinct about this is undoubtedly his Mancunian twang; whether its a good thing or not will depend if it annoys you or not, but it definitely adds to the appeal for me. Always tempting me to sing along in the accent, its a stupidly infectious, sly little number that had well earned success this year.

Edited December 30, 201311 yr by Walrus Lang Syne

I dedicate this section to YOU, Haus <3

 

18. Autre Ne Veut - Counting

 

Perfection. Both of them :heart:

 

And 'My Blood' :o I really, REALLY wish she never did '... Days' and just fleshed out the original era some more :( There was still so much she could have done with it.

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"I don't really wanna go anywhere"

 

Another BJSC entry-that-never-was that actually did become one in the end, that I was a little bit too scared to send myself. This is a simply gorgeous, under-the-radar little song about a fear that many can relate too and sounds all the more touching in a song. The lead singer's voice may be, like with The 1975, divisive but to me at least, it excellently conveys the sadness and fear the song encapsulates. Accompanied with an equally heartbreaking video featuring a man in a rabbit costume (indeed something you'd normally associate with happiness), I would challenge you to not feel at least a bit touched by the end of the song.

 

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"You don't want to offend me"

 

Another song that I loved even before it became a hit in the charts, but that really only strengthened my love for it, purely because its never the sort of song I'd expect to be a big hit in the UK, advert or not. Looking at the lyrics, this song seems fairly...sinister, the fact that there is only one verse repeated throughout makes it all the more mysterious. It should get repetitive but it doesn't, deftly melding R'n'B & electro beats to excellent effects that intensify slowly, getting more engaging as you go in, if anything's it's far too short.

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"I'm waking up"

 

I do love when a song does everything it can to make the actual song sound just like the title. You already know that the verses are building up to something, but when that powerful chorus hits, the full waking up has happened and the song is fully in gear. It's Time was nice and all, but this is the song shows the true depth of the group and offers something quite fresh considering the genre they fall into. It did take a while to fully click with me, but with its very strange chart run in which it never really - ahem - erupted but never really went away, it just grew on me more and more.

 

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"I've walked these miles but I've walked 'em straight lined"

 

And thus ends the trio of BJSC/UP entries that I liked anyway but only started to fully love when they became hits, yay for commercial whoreism! This was the track that introduced me to this group and still my favourite, Hannah's voice is like a more delicate version of that of Florence & The Machine's which is a very good thing, as you said earlier Mikey, her voice just lifts this above level and truly brings goosebumps as it goes further. Just an amazing track which I'm sad didn't get the same attention as Strong did. Must make a mental note to listen to their album too.

 

-x-

 

Top 10 will start tomorrow hopefully! Attempt to predict it if you wish, I doubt you'll get it right. :D

Edited December 30, 201311 yr by Walrus Lang Syne

I would have no idea where to start with predicting your top 10 but this is a very nice top 20 so far. Radioactive and Wasting My Young Years are both amazing, agreed TOTALLY on picking My Blood as a highlight, one of the best even on an album of Halcyon's strength and Counting is just a beast of a track.

 

Surprised to see The Royal Concept up so high, my favourite of theirs is World On Fire (has some lovely instrumental bits that are almost reminiscent of M83) but I think I remember Goldrushed being fairly good, On Our Way was far from their best.

Each of my top 10 gets some vintage 2003 WORD ART *.*

 

-x-

 

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"We were schooled by the way of the gun"

 

I LOVE concept bands, well I love concept anythings really but acts like Kids of the Apocalypse instantly have my interest. From their videos to their anonymous personas, these guys are a little bit different. Their actual identity remains shrouded in mystery for now, but could more be to come? Anyway, this is by far the most intriguing and captivating debut single I've heard all year - starting out as a sort of dark dubstep EDM song with a solitary lyric of 'Don't let the sun go down' before the ghostly sound of a children's choir takes over for a section followed by more of the dance/dubstep with added horns and ending with a sad piano. It's clear this is targeting the audience with a message and the video made up of MTV footage of...less than pleasant things exemplifies it.

 

It's very short and is merely a teaser into them, but it made enough of an impact on me to finish 10th and I simply CAN'T WAIT to hear what else comes from them. (Indeed, Some of you may be hearing them again sooner than you think ^_^ ) and hope to God that these guys get some attention next year.

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"You step out of the stone faced crowd"

 

I'm not sure why this stuck with me so much during the year. It may be a fairly standard dance record to some, but for me, it essentially did everything the almost-as-good All I Know did from the last year and did it just that little bit better. The production by them is almost as good what with an explosion of techy synths everywhere and Baby Blue's (though I know nothing of her own material) voice has some genuine sincerity which makes it convincing. Just a very good dance song that will probably be forgotten by many soon overall really.

The WordArt is offending me but other than the countdown is going great! :lol:

The WordArt is offending me but other than the countdown is going great! :lol:

 

Yeah, I can't be bothered with them any more. They're a chore to upload. SOZ GUYS :(

 

-x-

 

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"High dive into frozen waves where the past comes back to life"

 

The dance SMASH...that never was :( Not sure what happened there, but it remains a tune. It could be seen as a Titanium rip-off, but when that was so good, is that a bad thing?

For what it's worth, I do think there's enough here to make it stand on its own. Foxes' powerful and Zedd's synth breakdowns and rather unique football chant-esque backing vocals compliment each other brilliantly. It has all the makings of a dance epic and succeeds in almost all areas, lets hope its a club classic in years to come.

 

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07. A Thousand Falls - Lost

 

 

"Step out of the Shadows, Fade into the light"

 

Probably the most obscure track in my top 10, so much so that I had to upload it myself to Soundcloud. It is a great shame as Lost really is the sort of thing that deserves to be blaring out of speakers at Wembley stadium. Give it a listen and you'll understand - it is just everything a hard rock anthem should be, guitars that blare left right and center and don't let up, the few vocals that the song has, despite sounding worryingly Nickelback-esque at points, succeed in carrying the song (in all truth a song like this really doesn't need vocals), this is the sort of six minute pure rock epic that doesn't waste its time with other genres, and it just doesn't come about very often these days, so is mightily refreshing when it does.

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A MASSIVE discovery from Unknown Pleasures which I have no idea why I couldn't give it my fifteen points (there is a reason I couldn't give it twenty). I've always been a fan of instrumentals and particularly ones which venture off everywhere throughout the track. Make no mistake, this is hardcore dubstep, starting with some pampering, synthesised voices before dropping big time with loud synths and unbelievably immense bass drops.It all goes in a whirlpool for four and a half minutes but leaves you craving more.

 

-x-

 

That's all for now, I'll do the top 5 tomorrow hopefully.

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"It's the best of world's feeling like nothing can go wrong"

 

Thank you dearest Arrs, wherever you are, for providing me with my favourite BJSC discovery of the year. Some of you outside of BJSC may be familiar with this from an advert I believe, anyway, this is a simply irresistable slice of European pop, everything about this is ridiculously infectious - the synths, the chorus and of course the whistling. But also the aura of happiness that surrounds the track - there's no hidden message here (though perhaps the title isn't the most reflective of this), its just about being happy and enjoying yourself in the World - which really couldn't be more appropriate in any context. They don't come much more uplifting than this.

Edited January 1, 201411 yr by Chez Walrus

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"Never took your side, never cursed your name"

 

And now onto a song that just about summed up why I loved this group so much last year - As I said in Recover's commentary, they make simple, catchy electro pop songs for all audiences to enjoy, this is no exception, but its definitely a shining example - it could very easily be straight out of the 80s and not sound of place, the chorus is extremely infectious & it works so well with the brilliant synths that it may leave you with a slight feeling of goosebumps. This really is a reflection of everything great about CHVRCHES and serves as a perfect introduction to their back catalogue to anyone.

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"I wanna make this plain"

 

I've used the term 'beautiful' far too much in this countdown, but THIS is the song that really is just that. I rarely use the term 'sexy' to describe music, but I can't really think of another term here as this really is SEX SONGIFIED, but that only adds to underlying passion of this song. The vast array of orchestral instruments here serve to this songs strengths, and in particular the start and end instruments of the song are really goosebump-inducing. But really the strength here is Rhye's absolutely stunning vocals that ooze with passion and sincerity. He clearly means every word he's singing and really makes the song an intimate, gorgeous experience. I'm guessing I SHOULD check out his album right?