The Top 20 Songs of the Year...So Far

"Don't try me, I'm not a free sample"

                                                       --Shamir

The year is half over, and thank the music gods, it has been an amazingly good one so far. Several acts broke long hiatus..es? Hiatusi? Plus, plenty of new talent showed up to make the first half of 2015 one the best first halves on record.

Shall we begin?

20. Moon Duo

"Thieves"

Moon Duo have been around long enough to be an established name, but it wasn't until they added a third member (making the whole "Duo" thing a little obsolete) that they really came into an amazing sound. "Thieves" is one of many highlights on and album filled with deep grooves, and the eerily produced vocals make it that much better.
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19. Kendrick Lamar
"The Blacker the Berry"

"The Blacker the Berry" was the lesser known pre-album release when compared with the frustratingly lower-case "i." It is, however, infinitely its superior. With it's lyrical phrasing and brilliant use of sampling, Kendrick Lamar showcases just how ingenious he is, and how diverse the genre itself can be.
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18. Shamir
"Make a Scene"

Shamir burst onto the scene in such a spectacularly fun way, it's almost unbelievable that that many party songs could fit in one mind. But the simplicity of each beat, and strut-ready lyrics make everything just...just perfect. You can't listen to this without smiling.
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17. Sufjan Stevens
"All of Me Wants All of You"

Sure, Sufjan can dazzle with big horn and string arrangements; those bombastic musical-theatre-type productions were not only what made him famous, but also what proved he was a true genius. But he doesn't need to prove his cerebral capacity anymore than Mozart or Hawking, and in the end, his most moving work has always been the quiet closeness of him and a guitar. "All of Me Wants All of You" brings not only that, but incredibly touching lyrics as well. A patented Sufjan hit to be sure.
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16. A Place to Bury Strangers
"We've Come So Far"

While APTBS has gone on an insane garden path of musical style, now approaching Lynchian levels of random, their trademark has always been driving bass lines, marked with industrial drums and ear-shattering noise guitar. "We've Come So Far" has those in spades, and is one of the few songs to live up to the group's promise made on Onwards to the Wall and Exploding Head. If only their newest record had been filled with more like this.
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15. Moon Duo
"Night Beat"

The second entry from Moon Duo (Trio), "Night Beat" is like Electric Zoo being held in a funeral parlor. Hyper-repetitive but with such a smooth groove it becomes impossible to turn off. "Night Beat" is hypnotic and trance-inducing in a most appealing way.
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14. Sleater-Kinney
"Bury Our Friends"

Sleater-Kinney's new album, after a decade out of the scene, compares with their very best work, and while every song is good, "Bury Our Friends" is truly exceptional. The off-time chorus, the abrasive guitar mix, the seemingly random drums, all combine to prove these punk rockers haven't lost a step.
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13. Thee Oh Sees
"Web"

Thee Oh Sees Mutilator Defeated At Last was one of the very best surprises of 2015 so far. "Web" is both the album opener and the first single from that album, and what a hook to sink in. Amazingly well produced, the lightning guitars and eerie, psychedelic vocals mix for a near-out-of-body experience. Repeat listening is almost required.
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12. Viet Cong
"Continental Shelf"

"Continental Shelf" was the first single offered by Viet Cong, an insanely good nose-rock band made from the remnants of experimental group Women. The strange lyrical delivery almost hides the darkness contained in the droning organs and white-noise guitars. Like many of their other songs, the bass is driving and varied, and the chorus, both complex and non-recurring, is a trap that will ensnare even the most casual listener.
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11. METZ
"Acetate"

METZ is the sonic equivalent of a carpet bombing. They're not subtle, they don't follow the Geneva Convention, you can hear it for hundreds of miles, and their remnants can be found for decades after they've stopped. "Acetate" is no exception, with METZ' trademark ear-shattering guitar and cymbal combination, as well as barely intelligible screams making the heaviest and most hardcore song of the year so far.
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10. Lower Dens
"Non Grata"

Obviously, I can't make a list without at least one entry from a Baltimore band. Lower Dens, looking to one-up their hometown counterparts, Future Islands and Beach House, created an album with Escape From Evil that rivals the best the Mobtown scene has to offer. "Non Grata," though not a single, is so amazingly well constructed, with a bouncing bass line and catchy chorus, you almost don't notice the orchestral synths and peerless vocal delivery.
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9. Yowler
"7 Towers"

Yowler is not an act you'll find...anywhere, really. Neither her debut album, The Offer, nor the name itself has a Wikipedia page. There wasn't really a tour. And with only 8 guitar-and-vocal songs about water, who could really blame "them." But that's not to say listening to "7 Towers" isn't an overwhelmingly moving experience. With each syllable, you feel the power Yowler is describing in such detail. The sparseness of Death Valley and the verbosity of Tolstoy contained in a single sound.
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8. Lightning Bolt
"Horsepower"

Before my discovery of Lightning Bolt (I'm a little late to the party, I'll admit), I had never heard such an immense sound created by only two people. "Horsepower" starts off fast and only gets faster, each bass note pounding like a thousand armies marching, and drums so intensely performed it's no small wonder Brian Chippendale's arms don't fall off, his indiscernible cries only highlighting the sheer intensity of the effort. The song builds and builds until it explodes in a crushing wave.
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7. Jamie xx
"Obvs"

Jamie xx' debut solo effort is brilliant. That's not news, it's just plain fact. But it's brilliance isn't in the club-ish sampling of songs like "Gosh," or guest-filled rap-overs like "I Know There's Gonna Be (Good Times)." It's in songs like the subdued and gorgeously produced "Obvs," which hosts an airy and uplifting call-and-response between a guitar and steel drum. Who does that? It's ingenious, and addictive, and a truly beautiful sound.
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6. Young Fathers
"Shame"

Since TV On The Radio won't be putting out an album this year--and probably not coming to a city near you--Young Fathers' "Shame" will more than substitute. The minimal, highly repetitive lyrics and "do-doo-doo" backing are so damn catchy and bouncy you won't even notice how depressing the subject matter is. It's made by the choir-esque breakdown that then slams back into song's chorus--a moment so amazing it alone deserves a spot on this list.
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5. Drenge
"We Can Do What We Want"

Drenge is, by a wide margin, the best act of the year so far. Their newest album, Undertow, is also the best so far. It is highlighted by damn-near every song, but single "We Can Do What We Want" is unforgettable. What starts as a simple beach-rock guitar phrase, becomes a grunge breakdown, becomes a brit-punk groove as heavy as a million suns. Eoin Loveless' vocal delivery is brilliant, and his brother Rory's drumming is Bonham-esque, making this song one that is on repeat often.
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4. Hot Chip
"Huarache Lights"

Hot Chip is a band that has been, and always will be, capable of the most awesome summer beats in the dance industry. Part Bee Gees, part LCD Soundsystem, with a little En Vogue mixed in for good measure, "Huarache Lights" is the hands-in-the-air-like-you-just-don't-care song of 2015. It's robotic breakdown and sparse bridge make the finale pay-off that much sweeter. If you're looking for hooks to last the ages, you can never go wrong with a little Hot Chip.
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3. Kendrick Lamar
"King Kunta"

It's no surprise that Kendrick Lamar could write a song as instantly gratifying as "King Kunta," but the fact that such a song exists means there might yet be hope for the barren wasteland that is the popular music industry. There has never before been a bass so bodacious, or a hook so insanely satisfying as Lamar provides in "King Kunta." If you didn't believe in his ability to change the face of rap before, you certainly will after this. We Want The Funk!
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2. St. Vincent
"Teenage Talk"

In a year when St. Vincent has no plans to release an album, this Record Store Day single is so immensely beautiful, the stark contrast it makes with her most recent, self-titled album is overpowering. I will admit, it's nostalgic lyrical content does come at exactly the right time for my 10 year reunion, only compounding its effect on me, but it's guaranteed to do the same to you. It's simple, poignant lesson: the past is great, but living there isn't worth giving up the future; is so fantastically delivered with simplistic synth patterns and soft vocals that it will make you break down. "Teenage Talk" does nothing but prove that Annie Clark is a musical genius of the highest caliber.
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1. Shamir
"On The Regular"

It's always so nice to have an album so delightfully absurd and fun top the list. "On the Regular" is Shamir's calling out of all those "gangstas" that made fun of him for his counter-tenor voice and personality, and it is amazing. If you don't find yourself giggling at lines like "step to me and you will be handled," as delivered in a jaw-dropping bridge, there's something quite seriously wrong with you. Highlights include "really really? Really really?" and the aforementioned bridge, which is so beautifully presented, and placed so appropriately within the song that you are blown away by such writing talent. Where has Shamir been? His album, and "On The Regular," in particular, have arrived like they were summoned by a Bat-signal made of hater blockers.
Listen! Dance!!