#15

Wall of Glass

Liam Gallagher

 

 

Album: As You Were

 

Liam Gallagher released his first solo material in 2017, and it was the first single to come out of these recordings, “Wall of Glass”, that makes it to #15 in the countdown. Given that it was co-written/produced by Greg Kurstin, you could be forgiven for thinking that Liam would go all pop on us, but “Wall of Glass” is a stunning Britpop song, that despite being the kind of song that could have come out in the past 20 years, sounds so fresh in 2017 when there is a dearth of rock in the singles chart.

 

#14

Anymore

The Pains of Being Pure at Heart

 

 

Album: The Echo of Pleasure

 

The Pains… have had a song make my top 50 every year that they’ve released an album, and 2017 is no exception, with “Anymore” making the cut on this occasion. It’s a fuzzy warm indie-pop of the standard that you’d expect from the band at this point.

 

Previous chart positions:

2009 Come Saturday - #28

2011 Belong - #20

2014 Eurydice - #1

 

#13

Wearing Nothing

Dagny

 

 

Album: Non-album single

 

Norwegian pop now from Dagny. The Buzzjack Song Contest got me hooked on to “Wearing Nothing”, a romantic pop song with a chorus that doesn’t turn into the banger you’d expect it to, but insteads becomes more inward and infectious that way. Cute video too.

 

#12

Sick Kids

Fjokra

 

 

Album: N/A

 

Irish indie from Fjokra next. Fjokra’s modus operandi appears to be throwing as many different genres of music into the mix in the hope that something sticks, and in the case of “Sick Kids”, it very much does. There’s bits of 21 Pilots, Beck, Prince, easy listening, thrash metal & WWE entrance music thrown into the pot, and it is just an incredible mix.

 

#11

Play God

Sam Fender

 

 

Album: N/A

 

Sam Fender is being tipped for big things in 2018, and off the strength of “Play God”, it isn’t hard to see why. It’s the sort of emotional indie that saw Rag n Bone Man become so big in 2017, so don’t be surprised if it gets a renewed promotional push next year.

 

#30

You + Me

Public Service Broadcasting

 

 

Album: Progress

 

The album “Progress” by Public Service Broadcasting marked many firsts for Public Service Broadcasting. It was the first to use newly-recorded samples for many of the songs, it was the first to features guest singers on several on the tracks (including James Dean Bradfield). And interestingly of all, it marks the first vocal performance by “frontman” of PSB, J Wilgoose Esq on “You + Me”.

 

Featuring Lisa Jên Brown on co-lead vocals, the song is a tender ballad sung in both English & Welsh, telling of love that transcends dire circumstances and the ebbing of time. A rather unexpected track to come from PSB, but one of unexpected joy.

 

Previous chart positions:

2012 Spitfire - #3

2012 ROYGBIV - #19

2013 Signal 30 - #1

2015 Go! - #8

 

Did the album have a different name in Northern Ireland? Does Every Valley mean something rude in Irish? :unsure:

 

Did the album have a different name in Northern Ireland? Does Every Valley mean something rude in Irish? :unsure:

 

:o My mistake - for some reason I had it in my head that the album was named after the lead single when I wrote that, and not Every Valley. Not to self - always proof-read before hitting the "Add Reply" button.

Wall of Glass was a great first single from Liam! At least it got us some rock in the charts for a couple of weeks as well :)

:o My mistake - for some reason I had it in my head that the album was named after the lead single when I wrote that, and not Every Valley. Not to self - always proof-read before hitting the "Add Reply" button.

Whereas my chart commentaries never have such careless mistakes. Or perhaps they do :mellow:

Glad to see Ed Sheeran, Portugal The Man, Bicep, Ten Tonnes, Beck, SAINTE, Imagine Dragons, Catholic Action, Childcare, Japandriods, Liam Gallagher, Dagny, Fjokra and Sam Fender in your EOY chart so far!

And the top 10 kicks off with -

 

#10

Better Sit Down Boy

Confidence Man

 

 

Album: N/A

 

Australian band Confidence Man make fun, uplifting pop music with a lack of cynicism, but a large dollop of attitude. "Better Sit Down Boy" is the kind of song you could imagine Girls Aloud taking straight into the chart 10 years ago if it were given a Xenomania lick of paint. It's a fun, un-guilty pleasure from start to finish.

 

#9

Redbone

Childish Gambino

 

 

Album: 3005

 

Ah "Redbone", or as it's also known, the song that spawned a million memes (Man Getting Hit By Redbone was my favourite). With its instantly recognisable unique instrumentation and the soulful vocals of Donald Glover, "Redbone" sounds like it was an old R&B classic from the 70s that had only been re-discovered, yet was very much a product of the here and now. A fantastic song from a genre that I usually am not too fussed on.

 

#8

Holding On

The War on Drugs

 

 

Album: A Deeper Understanding

 

Well, "A Deeper Understanding" was so full on bangers that it's no surprise to see another song from the album make our list of favourite songs of the year. "Holding On" sees The War on Drugs at their heaviest, with its driving, America rock somewhat tempered by its glockenspiel-inflected rhythm.

 

Previous chart positions:

2014 Red Eyes - #8

2014 Under The Pressure - #33

2017 Strangest Thing - #26

 

#7

That’s The Truth

Lauren Bird

 

LINK

 

Album: The Inbetween

 

There are a few songs that I consider to be a 'Asda Car Park' song. What this means is that it is a song that when I listen to it in the car, I get so emotional, and my eyes get so bleary, that I need to turn the car into the nearest car park (which is usually an Asda one for some reason) to allow me to compose myself and recover my vision before continuing on my journey. We in Northern Ireland are used to road safety adverts on TV that warn of the dangers of drink-driving, and rightly so. However, there is yet to be one that warns of the dangers of listening to emotional music whilst driving, and I feel that this is a major oversight.

 

This brings us nicely on to "That's The Truth" by Strabane singer/songwriter Lauren Bird, a song that for us at least, fits the very definition of an 'Asda Car Park' song. It's a beautiful, emotional, ukulele-lead song that contains one of the most beautiful, yet tragic, lyrics we've heard in a song all year - "I'd rather be nothing than be a burden to you".

 

 

Previous chart positions:

2015 Goodbye, Goodluck - #36

 

#6

Twist Your Arm

Ten Fé

 

 

Album: N/A

 

Having seen Ten Fé play the song "Twist Your Arm" live at The Great Escape, I had a feeling that when they finally released a studio version of the song, it would become a real favourite, and gosh darn, those boyos went and made sure I kept that promise to myself.

 

Given their versatile sound and live presence, I imagine Ten Fé to be a modern day successor to Primal Scream, and "Twist Your Arm" is one of those songs that helps to cement that belief, as its dancey, droozy sound sounds like it owes a debt to songs from their "Screamadelica" album, "Come Together" in particular due to its use of a gospel choir. I also got some David Bowie "Memories of a Free Festival" vibes, and for some reason that I couldn't put our finger quite on, a little bit of Simple Minds as well.

 

 

Previous chart positions:

 

2015 Make Me Better - #1

2016 Elodie - #13

 

"Redbone": What a fantastic song from Childish Gambino! I really love this song since I heard it when I watched Get Out.

"Wall Of Glass": The best song from his album. I really like it.

The Ten Fé song sounds a bit like something from Screamadelica covered by Hurts. That, of course, makes it a good thing.

Some fantastic songs here Brett including Redbone, Wall of Goass and Holdin On!

I've not disliked any song Confindence Man has put out yet they are so unbelievably talented :wub:

 

Redbone too!

#5

Shine On Me

Dan Auerbach

 

 

Album: Waiting on a Song

 

A solo outing from 1/2 of The Black Keys, "Shine On Me" is a sunny, guitar-pop song that feels like a lost George Harrison single. An unexpected delight, and a fun music video too.