Songs of 2021 Part 3: Top Twenty

 So here we are, the final wrap-up of my songs of the year counting down my top twenty of 2021. Tomorrow (yes, definitely tomorrow as I've just finished the write-up) I will post my write-up of my top 25 albums of the year but for now, I will leave you with this final countdown, as well as a link to the playlist of all 218 songs that were considered for this top 100:

https://open.spotify.com/playlist/7838vV86DuryEfBs3uH10S?si=e94a7b2de6dd4afa

20) Y'a du Soleil - Christophe Maé (French Pop)

Another alumnus of my top 100 (#77 of 2016, with “L’attrape-rêves”), Christophe Maé actually did an excellent 2019 album that we somehow unfortunately missed and only put out this one song as a single this year. But it’s got enough bright, sunny vibes to lift it all the way to my top 20, with Christophe’s cheeky, charming yet soulful vocals leading the way as they did in 2016 and the album that I completely overlooked.

19) In the Morning (Grandmother Song) - Eliza Shaddad (Indie Singer-Songwriter)

You’ll likely hear more about Eliza Shaddad in my albums writeup as well, but this song was a clear highlight from a very powerful, personal album. This song has a quiet poignancy to it that adds to the stirring spirit as the song builds to its mournful climax. It’s quite a desperately sad song but an extremely affecting one as well.

18) Personal Shopper - Steven Wilson (Progressive Pop)

From sad and extremely affecting to… well, this. This 9-minute bit of pop-music-meets-social-commentary moves through various stages of high energy, fast-paced catchy motifs, spoken-word interludes, layered vocals that has a strangely Pink Floyd meets Brian Eno kind of feel to it at times, but always with a strong pop drive and infectious energy.

17) Folk of the Woods - Osi and the Jupiter (Pagan Folk)

Another change of pace, here. This neo-folk duo put out an EP last year that I thought was OK but not that memorable, so when this hit my radar as a lead single it blew me away given my lukewarm response to their previous effort. It has a dark, eerie kind of simplicity to its instrumentation and atmospheric vocals that is compelling as much as it’s quite affecting and even uplifting.

16) Bed Head - Manchester Orchestra (Alt Rock)

This song – a highlight from an excellent album that you’ll likely be hearing more about in my albums write-up – got a big boost in my final relisten to order this list because of a single isolated moment. Yes it’s compelling and entertaining rock music throughout but there’s just a transition that’s like a key-change and a double-time shift at once without seeming like either of them that just speaks to a superbly deft hand at songwriting and takes it to another level (literally in terms of the song’s progressive shift as well).

15) Can You Handle My Love?? - Walk the Moon (Power Pop)

As much as there’s plenty of dark and sad and obviously angry songs throughout my top 100, there’s always room for a bit of supremely upbeat and perky pop of which this is a prime example. From the get-go it’s a chirpy, melodic pick-me-up that just infects me every time with good vibes and a feeling that everything’s going to work out even though everything’s, of course, actually shit.

14) Le sang de mon prochain - La Femme (French Chillwave)

Another classic ‘me’ pick, this. Nice shuffling trip-hop beat underneath ethereal vocals that are harmonised to add a slightly spooky aesthetic. There’s definitely a kind of other-worldly feel to this (and not in the sense that Francophone music is alien and weird, although of course it is) that I find extremely compelling, and the production on it is top-notch to augment that eeriness.

13) Black Dog - Arlo Parks (RnB)

From Arlo Parks’ wildly but deservedly hyped Mercury Prize-winning “Collapsed in Sunbeams” comes this beautiful and heartfelt ballad about the heartbreak and frustration of trying to snap a friend out of suicidal depression. Parks’ raw, earnest vocals are subtly produced and layered over a simple guitar chord for the most part to make the arresting message of the song stand out in stark contrast against its deceptively simple construction.

12) Belicoso - Calva Louise (Punk Rock)

I was mildly disappointed to hear that this group, who in this song are full of fiery Spanish rage, are in fact British. Mainly just because this track so wonderfully fuses Latin vibes with a kickass, in-your-face grunge/punk aesthetic that it feels a shame it’s only part of their varied arsenal. The whole album that this came off was very enjoyable but this was understandably the big powder-keg that blew up for me and everything else just sparked a little.

11) Harmonia's Dream - The War on Drugs (Alt Rock)

Fair to say that the War on Drugs’ follow-up to my #1 album of 2017 was not only my most-anticipated album of the year but possibly my most-anticipated album from the whole six years we’ve been doing this music project. And I’m delighted to say, despite this being only one of two tracks on my top 100, it didn’t disappoint at all. This song was a particular highlight, emphasising their effortless progressive movements and Adam Granduciel’s affecting heartland vocals to maximum impact. Sweet, touching, and ultimately just extremely entertaining rock.

10) Something Ain't Right - Tash Neal (Funk)

Yes in another year where Cory Wong was constantly firing both barrels of his glorious funk gun at us, it was Tash Neal who brought us the best funk song. This is a great bit of smooth and complex funk songwriting and composition that’s coupled with a socially-aware protest spirit that makes it both a great bit of music and a very relevant and timely one.

9) Family Friends - Wild Pink (Synthfolk)

You’ll definitely be hearing more about Wild Pink’s album when it comes to my next write-up but this particular track is a perfect encapsulation of their warm, smooth and expansive folk sound that’s comforting and enveloping.

8) Awaken - Spellling (Art Pop)

The second track from Spellling to make my top 50, this is a perfectly orchestrated bit of her artistry. Her quirky vocals are used to their fullest and most earnest impact, punctuated beautifully with a rising swell of strings and staccato cello beats in the refrain.

7) Los Andes - Lolaa (Latin Pop)

Another artist making their second appearance on this particular top 50, Lolaa were really a pop revelation when I heard their sassy but warm Latin-flecked synthpop, and this track with its infectious salsa beat and catchy chorus is an obvious inclusion at the top end of my year.

6) Inheritance, Pt. 2 (Hindsight) - Musk Ox (Gothic Chamber Folk)

A very much less obvious inclusion, this 17-minute piece of dark chamber folk from Canadian trio Musk Ox now holds the record for the longest song to grace, well, pretty much any tier of my top songs list, even just my top 100. But it’s such a masterful work of mood-building and composition that it’s hard to deny it any spot. What I love most about it though is the scratchy timbre of the violin and cello throughout that showcase them in their most raw, rustic glory.

5) The Shining But Tropical - Wild Pink (Synthfolk)

Yes, more Wild Pink love, a band you’re definitely going to be sick of hearing by the time I’m done with you (just stop reading, Mother, if you’re that stroppy). Very much an alternate side of the same coin from Family Friends, this track has a more obvious and accessible rock drive to it while retaining the warmth and smooth folk that runs through all of their work.

4) The Mauritian Badminton Doubles Champion, 1973 - Hamish Hawk (Alt Rock)

Jez landed this monster title on my ‘desk’ (our email thread where we send each other music) and I was immediately intrigued. While the song itself is a wonderful bit of quirky and infectious songwriting, Hawk’s idiosyncratic rock finds its zenith when he brings in the titular analogy – absolutely the most bonkers bit of lyricism of the year. There’s no doubt in my mind that this song came into existence when a friend of Hamish made a bet that he couldn’t possibly include a particular phrase in a song lyric and Hamish responded “you know what, I’ll not only include that phrase, I’ll make it the title of a song” and here we are.

3) Sacred - Elder Island (Vapor Soul)

I loved this excellent bit of music that balances soulful crooning with outstanding electronic trip-hop beats and production from the get-go, but it was nice to get a little reminder note that I left myself in my spreadsheet while drunk and listening to music one night that said “This song is so. Fucking. Good” or otherwise I may have completely forgotten or neglected how good it is. Thanks, drunk Sam.

2) My Friend of Misery - Kamasi Washington (Jazz Metal Cover)

The highest of all the covers on the excellent Metallica Blacklist, this track finds itself in the enviable position of my runner-up song of the year for a number of reasons. Firstly, Kamasi Washington’s complex, byzantine jazz composition is hugely entertaining throughout. Secondly, and thirdly, the original track from the black album is almost certainly the weakest, so there’s a high degree of difficulty in adapting it to make it worth listening to. Washington goes above and beyond that to completely transform it and make it sound like this is its proper and correct form. It’s also just a perfect example of that controlled chaos that I love – syncopated, free-flowing, and ultimately reined in perfectly.

1) Heat Above - Greta van Fleet (Hard Rock)

But topping the list is a song that was an absolute show-stopper the first time I heard it. This was my first time hearing Greta van Fleet at all and have since seen them become the year’s whipping boy of all the internet’s worst musical gatekeepers. This song feels like an anomaly in their oeuvre however, as the band’s overall resemblance to Led Zeppelin and frontman Josh Kiszka’s vocal similarity to a young Robert Plant genuinely aren’t apparent from this track. There’s more of a prog rock feel to this track than the pure hard rock and Kiszka’s absolutely towering performance on this song brought me more to a wailing Janis Joplin than to Plant. But not to spend my song of the year writeup defending it or the band rather than celebrating it, it’s just a powerful and stirring bit of rock music that always makes me want to hit that repeat button and listen again. It’s held up for me since March as the obvious winner of my year of music and several dozen relistens have done nothing to dampen my enthusiasm.