#19

A Long Wait For Bad News

Wojtek The Bear

 

 

Album: N/A

 

If you like Scottish indie of the Frightened Rabbit/Twilight Sad variety, than Wojtek the Bear are the band for you. It was the jangly “A Long Wait For Bad News” that caught my attention, a powerfully emotional track.

 

#18

It’s Dark Now

Tom Williams

 

 

Album: What Did You Want To Be?

 

“It’s Dark Now” is a great track from rock singer/songwriter Tom Williams. The music video’s rather cute too, with Williams playing the track to the school children he teaches to play guitar.

#17

Tokyo

White Lies

 

 

Album: FIVE

 

I didn’t think that long-term gloom-merchants White Lies would ever get me on side again - they have grabbed me with anything since their 2nd album nearly a decade ago. But “Tokyo” managed to reel me in again, adding synth-pop to their doom-y sound.

 

Previous chart positions:

2011 Bigger Than Us - #24

 

#16

Longshot

Catfish and the Bottlemen

 

 

Album: The Balance

 

Catfish & The Bottlemen were one of the few rock acts that managed to get a Top 40 single in 2019 with “Longshot”, an accolade that was well deserved. They’re one of the biggest UK indie bands at the moment, and rightfully so.

 

Tokyo is another brilliant indie track that's come out of this year, I think I actually prefer it to most of their older stuff.

I was delighted when Longshot made the chart this year as well, a really fun indie piece.

#15

I Oh I

Pi Ja Ma

 

 

Album: Nice To Meet U

 

“I Oh I” by French duo Pi Ja Ma was playlisted on 6music at the start of the year, which is surprising given that it’s not a sound you would associate with the station, but I’m glad it did, as it’s an infectious, modern doo-wop song that’s just lots of fun.

 

#14

Lifted

Parker Bossley

 

 

Album: N/A

 

A great slice of Canadian pop-rock that came to my attention through BJSC.

 

#13

You Are Alive

Son of The Hound

 

 

Album: Cheers, Sound, Good Luck

 

Son of The Hound aka Mick McCullough, has been one of the stalwarts on the NI music scene for a long time, and this year he finally released his debut album under the moniker. Taken from the album is “You Are Alive”, a song that reminds me a lot of “Crimson & Clover” and other late 60s rock tunes.

 

Previous chart positions:

2018 The Also Rans- #49

 

#12

Crème Brûlée

King Hannah

 

 

Album: N/A

 

King Hannah are a Liverpool-based band who to date have only graced us with one single, but what a song it is. “Crème Brûlée” is like a cross between Lana Del Rey & The War on Drugs, with sultry vocals and a broody soundscape which you just can’t help but get lost in.

 

#11

Fishing For Fishies

King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard

 

 

Album: Fishing For Fishies

 

KG&TLW are a band that I have been aware of for quite a while without digging into their material, but that changed this year through their brilliant pro-salmon ditty “Fishing For Fishies”, a song that really catches a great part of their psychedelic sound.

 

Giving 'Fishing For Fishies' a play now, certainly a very fun track! The music video is... interesting as well :P

#10

What Are We Doing?

Egoism

 

 

Album: N/A

 

The Australian duo won us over last year with their fantastic single "Sorry", and in 2019 they delivered another dreamy shoegaze gem in the form of "What Are We Doing?". The song sees them delivering a powerful punch of a chorus, as well a some sumptuous harmonies from the two. Given their rate of singles over the past few years, we're surely due an album from them in 2020, and if it's of the strength of what's already come, then it will be one of our musical highlights of the year.

 

Previous chart positions:

2018 Sorry- #13

 

#9

Your Girlfriend

Blossoms

 

 

Album: Foolish Loving Spaces

 

Stockport based group Blossoms enjoyed a radio hit in "Your Girlfriend" over the summer without the song ever troubling the singles chart (something something guitar music is dead something something). It's a great little gem of a song about being in love with someone you can't be with.

 

Previous chart positions:

2015 Charlemagne- #14

 

#8

Bad Guy

Billie Eilish

 

 

Album: When We Fall Asleep...

 

"Bad Guy" has been one of the bone fide biggest songs of 2019 worldwide, in spite of, or possibly because, it doesn't sound like any other pop song out there this year. It's quite a claustrophobic song, underpinned by a banging hook and topped off by Eilish's hushed and confrontational delivery and dark yet humorous lyrics.

 

#7

Just Reflecting

Maps

 

 

Album: Colours. Reflect. Time. Loss.

 

I owe a lot of my musical tastes to hearing the first album by Maps back in 2007, with "We Can Create" being the record that first got me interested in more alternative types of music rather than just what was in the charts.

 

Twelve years on, and James Chapman is still creating music of beauty, with the song that most caught my ear this year being "Just Reflecting". The song harks back to the "nu-gaze" sound of his debut album, whilst adding sweeping orchestral soundscapes to create something incredibly majestic & cinematic.

 

 

Previous chart positions:

2009 Let Go Of The Fear- #19

 

#6

Skyward

Mark Hegan

 

 

Album: N/A

 

Formerly of much loved local band In An Instant, released his debut single under his own name, "Skyward", having re-located from Bangor to London. It's a song about feelings of isolation and of losing one's identity after uprooting oneself, which successfully melds electronic and rock elements in a great way.

 

#5

This Life

Vampire Weekend

 

 

Album: Father Of The Bride

 

Like another song in our top 10, "This Life" was a song that was all over the radio during the summer months without translating into a bona fide hit in its own right, mores the pity. The song is perhaps the most straightforward pop song that Vampire Weekend have recorded to date, a jaunty-sounding track that we've seen compared to "Brown Eyed Girl", whose lyrics belay a mournfulness that juxtaposes the sunny melody.

 

Previous chart positions:

2008 A-Punk - #1

2009 Horchata - #39

2010 Holiday - #34

2013 Diane Young - #7

2013 Unbelievers - #30

 

#4

Touch Off

UVERworld

 

 

Album: Unser

 

Japanese alternative-rock band UVERworld's song "Touch Off" rose to prominence in 2019 through its use as the theme to the critically acclaimed Japanese series The Promised Neverland. It's perhaps one of the few heavy-rock songs that manages to use a saxophone prominently throughout without sounding a bit weird.

#3

Zanzara

The Radar Station

 

 

Album: N/A

 

This song first came to my attention when the Belgian band in question were known as Sun Gods, although due to legal reasons the band are now known as The Radar Station.

 

"Zanzara" (which is Italian for mosquito), is a tender electro-stomper of a song that calls to mind the production of Prides or Bear's Den circa "Red Earth & Pouring Rain",with a songwriting style that draws fond comparisons with The Waterboys.

#2

I Could Have Been An Angel

Sean McConnell

 

 

Album: Secondhand Smoke

 

And just missing out on the top spot is "I Could Have Been An Angel" by Massachusetts country-folk singer-songwriter Sean McConnell. It's a song built around two separate narratives of two people who have taken the wrong turn in life, and trying to rationalise why they didn't have the power within themselves to be good. There hasn't been a song that has affected me emotionally in the same way in 2019, even now I get a little bit bleary eyed whenever the guitars swell up in the post-chorus.