Growing up sucks, dude, especially if your family makes you feel unsupported or unloved or unwanted. I know nothing about Martinez's personal experiences in her youth, but the lyrical content of her debut album certainly indicates that she understands these struggles and wants those stuck in these homes to know that someone empathizes.
The album wastes no time getting into the circus/dollhouse theme, opening with the merry-go-round xylophone melody at the top of the album's title track. Martinez expresses frustration bordering on rage at her feelings being dismissed by an unnamed entity -- parents? A callous lover? Inattentive friends? Herself? It doesn't really matter -- the song's focus is her feelings of confusion and self-doubt as she works through her sadness alone.
"Dollhouse" is the first time we blatantly hear a family dynamic at play. She sings about being forced to smile in a family portrait while lamenting that life with her family once the camera is shut off is certainly not something to smile about. No doubt her younger fans will find this to be one of the more relatable tracks.
Martinez tackles alcoholism and addiction in "Sippy Cup." There are many songs about the horrors of addiction and the futility of intoxication when it comes to solving actual problems, but she found a creative way to tie it in with her album's overall theme. The same goes for "Carousel," which takes on the even more common theme of unrequited love - but again cleverly woven into the dollhouse theme.
"Soap" is the album's high point. It's about that moment immediately after something leaves your mouth and you wish it hadn't -- when your chest tightens and your heart swells and you can feel hot liquid rising in your throat. My favorite thing about it, though, is the meticulous production. Structurally, the song's "chorus" doesn't even have any words - just carefully-toned bubbles popping - and it's incredibly effective. It's also the best overall showcase of her powerful vocal range.
I had to listen to "Pity Party" a couple of times before it grew on me, as it samples what is, in my opinion, the greatest pop song of all time, and that is NOT to be taken lightly. Upon reflection, though, it's not an overused sample, and it ties in well with her voice, the album's theme, and the song's production.
"Mrs. Potato Head" is another difficult theme creatively spun into the childlike nature of the album. It's about plastic surgery, and she certainly doesn't pull punches about which side of the "is plastic surgery healthy" debate she falls on. The potato metaphor is a little silly at times (especially when she starts the bit about french fries and condiments), but it really does work in the context of the album.
This is a very strong debut, if not a slightly immature one. I'm excited to see how Martinez grows as an artist and I hope she continues to stay true to herself.
I did not appreciate this album nearly enough when my immature ears first heard it a decade ago. It's a well-executed fusion of jazz, house, and ambient sounds that has a kind of snarky sheen that makes it just cool enough to play at a party or to be featured as the soundtrack of a gritty cop drama that takes place in a futuristic dystopian city.
We open with "At Peace," which features a serious, monotone vocal sample scattered among the titular turntables and sax. It feels like the opening credits of a neo-noir film. "Passion," which follows, is another slow-burner à la some of Daft Punk's downtempo stuff (but with scratching and a sax).
"What If" is where we first hear the clearest attempt at straightforward jazz, with the sax melody at the forefront.
"Open Heart" takes a turn into something much more electronic. The sax is absent, and it's driven by computerized synth melodies and plunky air-puff snare sounds.
"Falling Up" and "Listen" are both ambient tracks, mixing in some woodwind sounds amid the scratching and beats. They recall early-'90s new age tracks.
The vocal samples return on "World Within," which quickly becomes a midtempo synth-rock groove, with the saxophone once again leading the melody.
This is a well-executed experiment and a great listen for a comfortable, chillout evening (maybe even an in-house date!), but I don't think there would have been more than one album worth of material here. For the one, though, I am grateful!
This would have been SUCH a good song without The Lonely Island's involvement. Their part is a reductive version of "America, Fuck Yeah", and it just feels exhausting, laborious, and obnoxious at this point. Tegan and Sara are great, though, as is the driving synth instrumentation.
What an odd but sweet little song. It's written from the perspective of a man who is glad that he's dying before his wife dies, so that he doesn't have to miss her. Seems a tad inconsiderate of her feelings, but whatever. It's the thought that counts. Good vocal performance from 78-year-old Campbell and good use of relatively minimal instrumentation.
This song's power lies in the connections it makes between today's headlines and those from 1963. There are many Americans who foolishly think we live in a "post-racial" society (whatever that means) and art like this is a direct rebuking of that idea. As expected, flawless vocals from Legend and flow from Common.
YAWN. Isn't everyone sick of Adam Levine's crap yet? He's been doing the same thing for 10 years. Can we agree as a society to move on? And what happened to you, Danielle Brisebois? You used to make such incredibly cool music!
Diane Warren has been nominated seven times for this award but has never won it. It's time. Nearly 30 years into her career, she's still writing flawless pop melodies that transcend audio -- you actually feel her songs in your chest. Rita Ora was a perfect choice to sing this song about reflecting on one's hardships and appreciating the person you've become as a result of them. Here's hoping tonight leaves you grateful, Diane.
The indisputable party anthem of the year. This song was so universally loved I'd go as far as calling this a modern classic, because I certainly don't think it's going away anytime soon. DJ Snake has impressively managed to create a signature sound amid the often reductive sea of EDM producers.
RAC is the Remix Artists Collective, started by Portuguese artist André Allen Anjos in 2007. His website indicates that original music production is new territory, and that this year's album is the first collection of those songs. This adorable, bouncy, indie pop tune provides an era-appropriate metaphor for those fake individuals in our lives who may or may not be hiding behind expensive Ray-Bans.
Raunchy, sultry, slick, and bassy -- this track makes itself known in the club like smoke creeping in under a door, subtle enough to make you wonder if something is burning but provocative enough to let you know it's time to move.
Falsetto vocals over a subtle drum & bass line lead suddenly (almost jarringly) into an angsty-teenage-white-boy chorus, but it's all in good fun. These dudes know what they are and clearly just enjoy making music together.
The bedroom producer is still very much alive in 2014. A Vine featuring a clip of music produced by Dawin got popular on Vine, and he found himself in demand, which led to the production of this track and its accompanying music video, featuring a group of Viners. He's now signed to Casablanca Records. Do ya thing, Dawin.
Doing something that recalls a very specific era or sound is risky. Bleached is the brainchild of sisters Jennifer and Jessica Clavin, with some other folks who join them to play live. Their post-punk sound recalls the SoCal rock of the early '90s, and goddamn is it done perfectly. This entire album is driving around with your friends in a convertible on a sunny day.
Lots and lots and lots of synthpop fans have waited nearly five years to hear another La Roux album, and this year she answered our prayers. Her sound matured - this album was decidedly more new wave and less dance - but she's still doing what makes all her fans love her: Writing lyrics that would make even Lisa Loeb go, "damn, that's relatable," and packaging them into flawless pop songs.
Like the Echosmith track from further up the list, this little steering-wheel drummer recalls college radio rock circa 2007, with a punk-rock drum riff, a savory guitar melody, and some ear-candy vocal motifs in the chorus.
I've been a pop music lover and armchair critic for 28 years now, and when I read the first reviews of this album, I expected to hear something absolutely revolutionary. People talked about 1989 like it was this year's Like A Virgin, or Purple Rain, or The Fame Monster - a total game-changer. When I finally got to listen to it, I found a collection of mostly mediocre pop tunes peppered with Swift's trademark charm and quirk, but nothing revolutionary. This one track, however, may actually be the most brilliant thing she's ever released. The production is flawless, and when you listen, you feel like something is chasing you, yet her vocals remain tender and vulnerable, appropriate to the romantic lyrics.
Loud, wall-of-sound production contrasts with soft-spoken, breathy vocals on this track from a New Zealand brother/sister duo. "I don't want to just be 'fine'" is such a brilliant lyric -- why settle for "fine"? There are better emotions and adjectives.
All feelings about the artist aside, "Fancy" was a legitimate landmark in pop music. It became a crossover hit right at the beginning of summer and undeniably had an impact on the direction of pop music and raised some important cultural discussions, the latter thanks mostly to the main artist's mouth. Charli XCX's inclusion was essential, so despite the main artist's missteps, it's a good thing this song made more people pay attention to her as well.
The Swedes are still making the best dance music on the planet. One part tropey song used to put your viewers in Italy and one part EDM, with an almost cartoonish vocal performance. What's not to love?
Charli XCX's big break should have come last year when Icona Pop's "I Love It" became the jam of summer 2013, but it took being featured on Iggy Azalea's summer 2014 hit to finally make people start paying attention to her. Whatever path she's had to take, she deserves every bit of her success, as she is an excellent songwriter and composer and is usually the true backbone of any song she's "featured" on. This track was written by Charli and a handful of Swedes and was intended for Hilary Duff, but let's all be thankful that didn't happen.
Lyrics about the plight of those affected by colonialism presented almost as a children's song. It begins as a clap-along, but by the two minute mark it reaches an emotional fervor that recalls African tribal music (yet, oddly, not in a way that feels cringy or appropriated).
This has been a great year for both soundtrack songs and Sia, and this one ended up being my favorite of both. She managed to completely reinvent a song from the original Annie film that is obnoxious at best and turn it into something new and relevant.
You may recognize Vulfpeck as the band that scammed Spotify out of nearly $20k. All shenanigans aside, they are wicked talented musicians -- the kind of guys you can tell just get a kick out of hanging out and jamming together. This song has such universal appeal that it was equally loved by the rock-obsessed bass-playing friend who pulled it up at a party one night, and my mother, who thinks Pharrell Williams is the pinnacle of current pop.
I have no particular reason for loving Rita Ora, but I really do. Her fashion and vocals always seem to be on point. This song has the build/crash production that is endemic in modern pop, but there is a certain sensibility in the melody and in her delivery that makes it special.
I'm eventually going to have to take a trip to Sweden to track down the source of all the musical brilliance of its people. Is there something in the water? Is there some underground temple in a glacier that I have to track down and then perform a ritual of some sort? I digress; this woman's voice is incredible and the lyrics of this beautiful song should feel poignant to anyone 25 or older.
Sia is simply a brilliant pop song writer, of which her extensive resumé is proof. She claims that it started as a pop song like any other that she's written, originally intended for Rihanna, but that when it finally "came out," it had become something more personal and she chose to keep it for herself. This track extends beyond simply existing as a song; it is a performance. When she performs it live, she does so with her back facing the audience, which adds to the song's melancholy power. It is the raging, yelling inner turmoil of the outspoken extrovert who feels empty inside.
Kiesza is bringing back everything that was great about house music in its early-'90s heyday. We have a totally sexy bassline that actually carries the melody instead of supports it, flawless, high-pitched vocals, and a few breakdowns that feature the aforementioned and nothing else. Her follow-up single, "Giant In My Heart," is more of this pulsating goodness, and in true '90s club goddess fashion, she's only in her own video as the club singer.
If I believed in the christian god, I might actually think Nicki Minaj is the second coming of Jesus. How could someone possibly take a sample from one of the most overplayed songs in music history and actually make a totally fascinating new song out of it? Speaking of her only as a rapper, she is unparalleled in the current scene; there's a damn good reason everyone wants her to feature on their songs.
Mary J. is arguably one of the greatest singers of all time, so it shouldn't be any surprise that she can sing house music just as well as the R&B (and, more recently, jazz!) that we already know her for, but OH MY GOSH. How incredible does she sound over these synths and drum machines?! I want an entire album of this, because it makes me audio intoxicated.
Clean Bandit are a group of extremely talented musicians who collaborated with a handful of singers on an album that combines house music and UK garage styles played with the sensibilities of classical music. Strings and pianos in dance music are nothing new, but Clean Bandit makes sure they're never riding backseat to a synth or a drum machine -- rather, they are co-pilots. Jess Glynne's smoky voice was a perfect choice for this cute love song.
So simple in structure, yet this is a veritable emotional abyss. I've been lucky enough to see Wet live twice now, and the quiet strength of their performances is nothing short of stunning. Sure, 2014 was probably the perfect year for me to hear a song about having the inner strength to let go, but isn't that catharsis the entire reason we listen to music?
Sometimes a song is fascinating just because someone had the idea for it to be made. Whoever thought to have an 18-year-old excellent dancer with marginal singing talent cover a relatively unknown '90s house track should be given some sort of pop culture award. Basically, this is on the list because the production team did a nice job with it, and Pitbull was here and I didn't run away screaming.
A song like this would never have existed even four years ago. The concept is simple but powerful: A teenager lamenting the prevalence of gender roles in no subtle manner. The video is addled with predictable clichés and his voice is pretty weak, but the message is strong and clear. In some ways, Generation Z really does have their shit together.
It may be the death of EDM music, but I'll be damned if it isn't a perfect snapshot of what it's like to be out clubbing with your friends in 2014. One of those rare pop culture moments when youth culture is represented realistically instead of in some watered-down, processed manner. Admit it: You have a friend that sounds exactly like this girl, and you hang out with her all the time and love her anyway.
Even Bruno Mars' obnoxious stage persona can't outshine Mark Ronson's brilliant production on this callback to Prince's mid-'80s stuff. I even hear a little Zapp & Roger in there.
Some songs need to be shouted rather than sung. I fell in love with this track after seeing these dudes tear it up on Letterman. Their sound is an interesting blend of early-'00s indie rock and early '90s SoCal surfer rock. The simple guitar structures and bouncing rhythm make my head nod and put a giant smile on my face.
Call it experimental, or parody, or whatever you must, but this beat is killer. If you look closely at her face at 2:51, I think you'll see she isn't taking herself too seriously. Side note: I asked a Chinese-speaking friend if there are actual words in this song, or if it's all onomatopoeia, and she said that Ms. Wang is repeating the words for "hen," "rooster," and "little chicken." Go figure.
Lots of young talent on this year's list. Singer/songwriter Becky Gomez is just 17 and got famous after posting some of her remixes on YouTube. Dr. Luke produced this debut single for her, and it's a solid pairing.
British trip-hopper FKA twigs' debut LP is somewhere between Cocteau Twins, Julee Cruise's Twin Peaks music, and Madonna's "Ray Of Light" era, and I am here for all of it. Incredible voice, amazing production, and an ethereal ambiance maintained throughout.
MisterWives' lead singer, Mandy Lee, is American, but sings like a Scandanavian, and that's pretty rad. I'd call this track "indie disco" in that it almost directly lifts the riff from The Emotions' "Best Of My Love," but has a definite modern rock tinge.
Troye Sivan is a YouTuber who has built a sizable audience with his open-book lifestyle and endearing, relatable personality; he engages his viewers to the point of making them feel like they are his close friends. He also happens to have a pretty damn incredible singing voice, which we all knew thanks to his occasional cover videos. (Here he is covering a song that will appear later in this countdown, in fact.) He very quietly worked on an album and then dropped this debut single near the end of summer, to everyone's surprise. It features his very placid voice over modern minimalist electronic production, and personal yet relatable lyrics.
I've been making these year-end top songs lists since 2003, and this is the first time I have ever included a cover. I love it because of all the risks that are not just taken, but clearly dominated. Covering a song is a risk no matter what, and the more well-known and beloved the original, the higher the standard the covering artist will be held to. A solo artist covering a song originally sung by multiple singers is also a challenge. This takes the original to such a different place, and in such a creative way. If MØ's name sounds familiar to you, it's because she is featured on Iggy Azalea's new song.
Indiana is British singer Lauren Henson, whose breathy voice reminds me of fellow Brit Alison Goldfrapp. The production on this track actually calls to mind Goldfrapp's 2006 Supernature LP as well. Man, that was a great album.
Emo bands are going through something weird right now. (Have you heard anything by Taking Back Sunday lately?) Their members are getting older and seemingly less angsty, and it's being reflected in their music. They're still just as creative in their songwriting and performance, the music just isn't as angry or sad. It's fascinating.
This track sounds like someone found a throwaway from am AOR record from 1980 and decided to record it with only slightly modernized production. It has a certain sensibility from that era that I can't discern exactly, but you'll know what I mean when you listen.
If you don't like this track, you've had a shitty year, because it's the kind of song you hear once and it infects your brain for the rest of the day, even if you hate it. Thankfully, I do not hate it -- Jessie J may be the most understated artist in current pop music. Ariana has had quite a year, and certainly not without reason; her vocal range is quite impressive. There was probably no need for Nicki to be on this track, but no complaints from me -- she's always welcome.
Phantogram's Voices was one of my favorite albums this year. It has the David Lynch quality that The Raveonettes were always so good at, but with a trip-hop sensibility. This particular cut had my favorite hook on the album.
Twenty seconds into this track on my first listen, I was instantly reminded of the Jon St. James project Bardeux, which is a very VERY good thing. This track is everything I want in a Hi NRG song, from flawless female vocals to razor-sharp drums and synth kisses. Electric Youth's voice may sound familiar to you thanks to the vocals she provided on College's "A Real Hero," from the soundtrack to Drive.
This track produces such a guttural reaction in me. You know that great tingle you get in your stomach after telling someone off when they really deserve it? It's like someone took that feeling and compacted it into four minutes of music.
Expertise from across the musical spectrum collaborated on this track. Brothers Louis and Michael Biancaniello, who worked with '80s and '90s pop/R&B acts like Mariah Carey, Shanice, and Narada Michael Walden, co-wrote "Amnesia" with Joel and Benji Madden from Good Charlotte, and Sam Watters of '90s R&B group Color Me Badd. The song's lyrics are morose, and the production appropriately builds to emotional crescendos in the chorus while quieting down for the intimate verses. It's a great showcase of 5SOS's talent -- they are actually a real band, after all.
Introspection is a rare commodity these days. It was refreshing to hear a song where someone decides to focus on self-improvement rather than blaming an ex or beating themselves up in pointless, unconstructive, self-centered hysteria. The video is hilarious.
Driving synths and breathy, gritty vocals are at the core of this indie pop headbanger. Panama Wedding's debut EP Parallel Play is damn solid, from this rhythmic jam to the softer and more intimate, carefully-constructed synth bubbles of "Uma" and the soft, glowing, "Feels Like Summer," four songs just feels criminally short. This makes my list not just because it's the single, but because it's the best one to crank while driving around at night.
This track marries several genres in one ear-pleasing package. The beat and syncopated rhythm recall calypso, the guitar riff is super new wave, and it's wrapped in a bow of modern R&B.
There's been no shortage this year of white people emulating historically black musical styles. Very occasionally, it's done in a way that borrows rather than appropriates, such that the artist is doing something unique and artistically relevant, rather than making a cheap photocopy. This is a fine tune -- it's sexy, the production is airtight, and the vocal performance is the ultimate king.
He probably has no idea, but Nick Jonas is the modern-day Nick Kamen: a gorgeous face making sign-of-the-times pop music. Note: This is not a complaint. I don't even mean to imply that his work is meaningless; if you were dating Miss Universe then you'd probably be able to honestly sing a song like this too.
Upon first hearing this, I thought I'd somehow missed a college radio track from 2007. You can imagine my surprise to learn that this was indeed from 2014 and that the group's eldest member is 21. These kids have a sound that's poppy but still distinguishable from other Top 40 artists -- the kind of sound that lets your brain think, "I'll bet this is an Echosmith song" even if you've never heard it. Family bands are just in sync in a way that bands with unrelated members may find it chemically impossible to be.
It's a rare and beautiful thing to pull off a truly genre-bending album while retaining a core sound, and that is exactly what Phantogram has done here. I found this album in my inbox, sent by a friend whose recommendations I trust (as he has yet to mislead me; it was he who convinced me to give Daft Punk another chance when Random Access Memories was released last year). I was expecting synthpop based superficially on the band's name and the album cover, but the first track proved a pleasant surprise and the rest of the album went with the flow.
"Nothing But Trouble" is a straight-up trip hop song, the likes of which I've heard nothing similar to since '90s tracks by Sneaker Pimps, Portishead, and Tricky. All the grinding, industrial elements are over a crunchy drum track, which contrasts very nicely with Sarah Barthel's airy vocals.
It's at "Never Going Home" that the album takes its first surprising turn. Suddenly, the trip hop has become shoegaze-style noisy indie rock with Josh Carter singing and sounding very much like a modern Phil Collins. The lyrics are a beautiful desperate plea to a "dying" lover, though it's not explained if this impending death is literal, or merely the potential end of a relationship. It works either way, much like one of my favorite songs of all time: Shakespears Sister's "Stay." Definitely the high point of the album for me.
Barthel is back on vocals for "The Day You Died," another breakup tune but with more traditional pop sensibilities. The trip hop beat still looms in the background.
"Howl At The Moon" is a flawless trip hop track that stands above its peers thanks to its slightly higher-than-average BPM for that genre. Again, Barthel's vocals are flawless and contrast perfectly with the instruments.
Not sure what I was expecting from a song called "Bill Murray," but according to Carter: "We named it ’Bill Murray’ because we always pictured a sad Bill Murray for the visuals of that song. We want him to be in the music video." Hmm, okay, cool. Very pretty downtempo song; I'm sure Bill is honored.
There's something here for lovers of all kinds of alternative pop music. While not every single track has a memorable personality, there are some shining moments, and the overall listening experience is pleasant, almost soothing.
I had to wait for the right day to listen to this album, since I knew it would be a moody experience. Prior to my full listen, I'd only heard "Pompeii" and "Laura Palmer," so I was expecting brooding, full-wall-of-sound indie pop that really only works when it's grey outside, and by that benchmark, I'm a satisfied customer.
"Pompeii" is such an unlikely radio hit in 2013, but damn is it refreshing to finally see some new faces charting well on the Hot 100 instead of the career tributes we've been stuck with for the last 6 or 7 years. Every now and then a song like this pops up, something that's unique enough to briefly become a massive hit, but then we never hear from the artist again (see: Tinie Tempah, Taio Cruz, Far East Movement, etc.). I fear that's the path our dear Bastille is headed for, but I can still hope for the best. The song's true signature is the chanting riff that drives through most of it, which I haven't heard since the '90s.
Unfortunately, one of the pratfalls of creating a unique sound is that it's easy to create an album of 12 songs that run together and are indistinguishable. Lorde is an excellent example of someone who escaped this trap, but Bastille seems to fall right into it, at least for the first half of their album. "Things We Lost In The Fire" and "Bad Blood" are both mid-tempo and pretty forgettable. The production on "Overjoyed" ventures into Owl City territory.
My ears didn't particularly perk up again until "Oblivion," the first true ballad on the album. Vocalist Daniel Smith's performance isn't really different here than on the rest of the tracks, but it's a nice change of pace to hear him without loud instrumentation and backing vocals.
"Flaws" could become a college romance anthem if it reaches the appropriate audience. It's by far the most interesting lyrical content on the album, wherein the singer challenges his lover to drop all pretense and have a completely unguarded moment together.
My only complaint about "Laura Palmer" is that there isn't more direct allusion to the brilliant Twin Peaks. It's a pretty song though, and certainly follows the same sonic formula as "Pompeii." The music video is also worth a watch.
Bastille definitely creates a mood with this album and remains consistent through and through. It's worth a listen on a melancholy day.
It's a rare and beautiful thing to pull off a truly genre-bending album while retaining a core sound, and that is exactly what Phantogram has done here. I found this album in my inbox, sent by a friend whose recommendations I trust (as he has yet to mislead me; it was he who convinced me to give Daft Punk another chance when Random Access Memories was released last year). I was expecting synthpop based superficially on the band's name and the album cover, but the first track proved a pleasant surprise and the rest of the album went with the flow.
I had to wait for the right day to listen to this album, since I knew it would be a moody experience. Prior to my full listen, I'd only heard "Pompeii" and "Laura Palmer," so I was expecting brooding, full-wall-of-sound indie pop that really only works when it's grey outside, and by that benchmark, I'm a satisfied customer.