It's now December, which means that it's officially Listmas. Which means that it's time for my 9th annual rundown of my 50 favourite songs of the year, which for this period is 2016. Which song will find it's place on the wall of fame, joining my favourite songs of the past few years? Past list toppers have been:

 

2008. Vampire Weekend - A Punk

2009. Empire of the Sun - Walking on a Dream

2010. French Horn Rebellion vs Database - Beaches & Friends.

2011. The Vaccines - Norgaard

2012. The Asteroid's Galaxy Tour - Heart Attack

2013. Public Service Broadcasting - Signal 30

2014. The Pains of Being Pure at Heart - Eurydice

2015. Ten Fé - Make Me Better

 

And last year - the top 10 went a little bit like this:

 

1. Ten Fé - Make Me Better

2. All Tvvins - Thank You

3. Cheerleader The Sunshine of Your Youth

4. Enya Echoes in Rain

5. The Chemical Brothers Go

6. Suede Outsiders

7. Silences The Sea

8. Public Service Broadcasting Go!

9. Courtney Barnett - Pedestrian At Best

10. The School All I Want From You Is Everything

 

And to whet your appetite, here's a few hints as to the identities of the songs that have made the list -

 

- Only three songs that made the UK Top 75 have made my top 50

- Two songs are in a language that isn't English

- 38 acts are appearing in my year-end top 50 for the 1st time. This includes one act that you might have expected me to have featured at some point since I've started doing this list, but is in fact only appearing for the 1st time this year.

Going to kick this off this evening with numbers 50 to 46. Any predictions as to who's going to feature on the list this year? Who are you expecting to see, and who do you think will nab the #1 spot?

#50

Lazarus

David Bowie

 

 

Album: Black Star

 

One of the greatest songwriters and performers of the past 50 years, David Bowie tragically left us at the beginning of the year. He did however grace us with one final album before he died, which contained “Lazarus”, an ambitious and experimental single with can be read as Bowie grappling with the reality of what’s going to happen to him. A brilliant swansong to a brilliant career.

#49

Midnight Gold

Nika Kocharov & Young Georgan Lolitaz

 

 

Album: Eurovision Song Contest Soundtrack

 

 

A track from the Eurovision Song Contest? Surely not!

 

Georgia’s entry to the contest this year was one of the surprise packages, given that it made the final despite its remarkably non-Eurovision-y sound, sounding more like the Brit-rock sound of The Music or Kasabian than anything else that has graced the stage in recent memory. But I absolutely loved every minute of it, especially the moment halfway through when it goes dance-rock on us.

#48

In The Dark

Brash Isaac

 

 

 

Album: In The Dark EP

 

 

Andrew Cameron has been involved in lots of bands around Belfast for many years now, but this year he decided to go alone and form the new project Brash Isaac. His first single, “In The Dark”, is a joyous guitar-pop single for those who are fans of acts like Counting Crows.

#47

Burn

Yakima

 

 

 

Album: Yakima E.P

 

 

File this under the “Sounds like Suede” category. Glaswegian 4-piece Yakima released “Burn” earlier this year, a song whose wistful guitar melody=ies remind me of Suede at their most melancholic.

#46

I’ve Been a Bad, Bad, Boy

Darren Hayman

 

 

 

Album: N/A

 

 

Indie-pop stalwart Darren Hayman released this intriguing little single as a 7’’ fanclub single at the start of the year. It’s got a throwback retro-sound, almost Scott Walker-esque, and rather short and sweet.

 

#45

Life Itself

Glass Animals

 

 

 

Album: How To Be a Human Being

 

Art-rock-y music up next from Glass Animals, with “Life Itself”, a sleek number that might not hit you instantly, but gets under your skin after a few listens.

 

Previous chart positions:

2014 Gooey - #19

#44

Tilted

Christine & The Queens

 

 

 

Album: Chaleur Humane

 

French singer-songwriter Christine & The Queens caught everyone’s attention in 2016 with “Tilted”. Not just for the song itself, a passionate yet captivating minimalist-pop track, but also the highly intricate choreography that she performs to accompany it. It brought the track into the top 40, and helped to sell bucketloads of copies of the album too.

#43

Re-arrange

Biffy Clyro

 

 

Album: Ellipsis

 

Hard to believe that this is the first Biffy Clyro track to enter one of my year-end top 50s since “Mountains” back in 2008, but that’s the way the dice roll sometimes.

 

“Re-arrange” is one of the more poppy songs that Clyro have released in a while, a stripped back ballad with a simple chord structure and an affecting vocal performance from Mr Neil.

 

Previous chart positions:

2008 Mountains - #5

#42

Karate

Babymetal

 

 

Album: Metal Resistance

 

The J-pop meets metal power of Babymetal went mainstream in 2016, with the band selling out Wembley (breaking the record for biggest merch sales in 1 evening in the process), entered the UK top albums chart, and more or less became the most successful Japanese act on a worldwide scale in over 30 years. “Karate” shows just what makes those girls so special in the first place.

 

Previous chart positions:

2014 Gimme Chocolate! - #47

#41

Guilty Flowers

Ward Thomas

 

 

 

Album: Cartwheels

 

Ward Thomas made history this year when the became the first British country band to have a #1 album in the UK. The highlight of that album for me was the brilliant “Guilty Flowers”, a song that tells the story of a woman whose partner left another woman for her, only to be surprised a few years later to find out that he has left her for someone else, with the “Guilty Flowers” that he brings her as a present being the clue that he is being unfaithful.

Lazarus is a great song to start th list off with!

 

Midnight Gold :o What a song!

 

Life Itself and Tilted are both catchy as well, something really different from the norm!

 

Guilty Flowers & Re-Arrange both made my chart, but neither were able to make my EOY. Both great though :music:

Karate

 

And yes at you putting in a Eurovision track, Midnight Gold was easily one of the highlights this year.

#40

We Held Hands Once, But Then She Got Embarrassed

Hello Bear

 

 

Album: I Don’t Know…It’s Fun Though, Isn’t It?

 

We’re heading to Norwich next for pop-punkers Hello Bear. “We Held Hands Once…” is an infectious little Green Day-esque ditty about being with someone who reminds you of various types of sweets. A fabulous little track.

 

#39

Swooner

The Zolas

 

 

Album: Swooner

 

Canadian indie-pop next from The Zolas. “Swooner” is a song whose title tells you everything you need to know about the song – it’s a euphoric song full of guitars, synths, and manys a good time.

#38

Shape Up

Stop The Wheel

 

 

Album: Too Old For This…

 

Now this is an intriguing little song indeed from an Italian singer-songwriter. The song starts off as your typical acoustic singer-songwriter number until the 1 ½ mark, when a wonderful counter-melody comes in and lifts the song into another plane entirely. Not a song that’s likely to grab on first listen, but one that will grow on you over time.

 

#37

Get My Bang

Wild Beasts

 

 

Album: Boy King

 

The great thing about Wild Beasts is that every album sees them evolving the sound slightly, yet still retaining that special spark that made me fall in love with them in the first place. Although their last album wasn’t as impactful on me as their unforgettable sophomore album, the lead single of their latest album, “Get My Bang”, got me all excited about them again. More electronic that they’ve been, the song is sleek, surprisingly dance-y song from the Kendal boys.

 

Previous chart positions:

2009 Hooting & Howling - #4

2011 Reach a Bit Further - #25

#36

Cold To See Clear

Nada Surf

 

 

Album: You Know Who You Are

 

American alternative-rock legends next with “Cold To See Clear”, a song with a driving energy & a glorious chorus. Brilliant stuff.

Hi Brett,

 

Babymetal and Ward Thomas both fab :wub: