Top 25 of the Year: 5-1

5. The Death Set - I Miss You Beau Velasco

If you’re thinking that our list this year has been noticeably lacking in a particular instrument, you’d be correct.  2011 hasn’t been a great year for guitars and little of the music we’ve listened to has centered around them.  One album however which had face-melting frettery very much at it’s core was The Death Set‘s ‘Michel Poiccard’.  Our favourite song from the record, ‘I Miss You Beau Velasco’ is a fitting tribute to former bandmate Beau who sadly died from an overdose in 2009.  We all know that songs dedicated to someone’s memory can often suffer from being depressing, insipid and middle of the road, but ‘I Miss You…’ carries none of these traits. There’s a hint of sadness in the melody of the track, and a little mystery in the largely unintelligible lyrics but this is still powerful, scuzzy music that retains the anarchic spirit of the group – a song to celebrate, rather than mourn.  With talented producer XXXChange at the helm there’s some interesting electronic touches too, especially in the light, melodic top line and the breakdown which sounds like it might be a heavily processed harpsichord.  Hands down, the best indie song of the year.

4. Niki & The Dove - Mother Protect (Goldroom Remix)

It’s surprising to us that we still haven’t seen Niki & The Dove receive the push they urgently need to get them to the next level. With Fever Ray largely off the radar, the time seemed ripe for the group to swoop in and fill the Swedo-electronica void that Karin Dreijer Andersson had left empty, yet they still seem on the cusp. However things progress, it’s clear that remixes will continue to play a key role in their marketing campaign; we’ve already seen strong efforts from Mylo (‘Gentle Roar’) and Fake Blood (‘The Drummer’).  But neither of these came anywhere close to Goldroom‘s take on ‘Mother Protect’, whose utterly gorgeous piano house rework was in our opinion, the finest example of its genre this year.  There’s several reasons we found it so outstanding: how well Goldroom works with the unusual vocals; his choice of chords and how they progress; the pacing and the build; how all the elements are so very well balanced.  Summing up popular dance’s shift towards all things house, this remix is a good indicator as to what can be expected to dominate in 2012.

3. Björk - Virus

When, at the end of 2010, Björk announced that ‘Biophilia’ would be a multi-faceted project inclusive of and not limited to a ground-breaking concert, an album, an app series, the creation of several brand new instruments and the exploration of the universe, we have to admit that we were slightly worried that the music might suffer.  Turns out that we needn’t have been concerned, and in fact, ‘Biophilia’ would be her most consistent album since ‘Vespertine’.  Our favourite from the collection is ‘Virus’, an emotive and mellow beauty of a song, the like of which only Björk can muster.  Employing the gameleste, a custom instrument created for the album combining a gamelan and the celeste, the backing gently tinkles and chimes complemented only by a few bass notes.  This leaves plenty of scope for Björk’s vocals, subdued and hushed for much of the track, slightly freer in the latter parts, to really make an impact and remind us all that no one has a voice quite like hers.  Sitting alongside the likes of ‘Unravel’, ‘All Is Full Of Love’, ‘Cocoon’ and ‘Desired Constellation’, we reckon ‘Virus’ will come to be regarded as a classic.

2. College - A Real Hero (Feat. Electric Youth)

Can a song that was originally released in 2009 really be considered one of 2011′s best?  Well, we’re going with a resounding yes, when that song is included as part of the soundtrack to one of the most popular films of the year and impacts upon millions of new listeners.  This is exactly what happened with French synth-wizard College’s ‘A Real Hero’, featuring prominently in Drive.  It’s a track which is lushly retro, without sounding cheap or formulaic, and we think this is down to it’s simplicity.  ’A Real Hero’ is essentially just a S&V track (that’s a hot new genre we just invented, Synth&Vox), but one that conveys tangible emotion and makes us envisage the following kinds of things: Climbing into bed after returning home exhausted, directly into the arms of a lover / running along a beach with a group of friends as the sun sets / cuddling a litter of puppies – basically anything blissful and amazing, just like the song.  This is exactly how it’s employed in Drive providing  the film’s heartfelt 80′s feelgood moment, and subsequently, cementing the song firmly in our heads and hearts.

1. Jacques Greene - Another Girl

And so, to our top pick of the year.  It’ll probably come as no surprise to regular readers of this blog who is responsible for our favourite musical moment of 2011.  Jacques Greene has worked tirelessly this year with several of his releases getting us hot under the collar (he also featured at number 7 in our chart).  With the ‘R&Bification’ of dance being a defining movement during the last 12 months,  no one proved themselves to be more adept at it than this unassuming man from Montreal. ‘Another Girl’, sampling Ciara‘s ‘Deuces’, joins the dots between several genres with notable influences from house, techno, garage and funky making their presence known, whilst keeping the vocal hook “You got me feelin like a….” firmly at it’s centre.  Greene works with warm synths akin to those of Joy Orbison‘s classic ‘Hyph Mngo’, but imbues the whole track with much more soul and narrative, taking us on a gradually building journey which is expressly euphoric without ever becoming cheesy.  According to iTunes we’ve played ‘Another Girl’ 102 times this year and we’re still not sick of it.  If that’s not a testimony to it’s placing as our choice cut of 2011, then we don’t know what is.  Jacques Greene – we salute you.

• Another Girl
• Best of 2011
• Bjork
• College
• Drive
• Electric Youth
• Goldroom
• Jacques Greene
• Niki & The Dove
• The Death Set