hard to pick an album but these are my favourite songs this year:
^great hooks, interesting direction for Kevin Parker to take Tame Impala in stylistically. I way prefer the more synth heavy sound than guitars for this stuff. Perfect blend of looking backwards and to the future production wise. absolutely killer mix which I suspected would be Tom Elmhirst but turned out to be Parker. love the reverby clicks all over the album.
^I appreciate there's so many areas where hip hop is pushing production and music forwards but another year passes where I still can't stomach it. This album got my interest purely because Elmhirst mixed it and this song in particular as its essentially a soul record with hip hop low end. great performances, cool vocals and insane bass.
^this time Kevin Parker + Tom Elmhirst but a slightly funkier direction courtesy of Mark Ronson. Funk has made a welcome (to me) return to the mainstream ever since Uptown Funk and this song does some cool stuff with it. Almost Lennon esque psychedelic vocals, modest but appropriate guitar playing and great synth programming. Killer mix.
^arguably England's best songwriter with a beautiful song about Amy Winehouse. Massively recommend watching the movie "AMY" which is heartbreaking but does a great job making sense of addiction, as well as showcasing Winehouse's unbelievable talent and personality. Couldn't believe how great this song was given its fairly low key attention. Stephen Street produced and mixed (I think).
^Slightly disappointed with Noel's album due to too many Oasis B sides that sound like they're from 1994. This song however is exactly what Noel should be doing - way more in line with the music he likes. Production from FSOL/Amorphous Androgynous, I think Noel described the genre as "space jazz". Cool arrangement and shows off Jeremy Stacey's drumming who must be one of the best and most underrated drummers on the planet.
^was yet to see the hype about The Weeknd but this song really blew me away. Written with Max Martin (and therefore mixed by Serban) its concise pop writing while sounding very "2015". Funky music, Michael Jackson-esque vocals, hooks everywhere.
^Alan Moulder mix. Good balance of catchy/dancy.
^Greg Kurstin (co written of Hello by Adele) teaming up with Beck, clearly wanting to write a hit and delivering. Serban mix. Funky guitars, poppy hooks everywhere. Beck smashing it.
^Another Moulder mix, Ariel Rechtshaid (HAIM) production. Sounds predictably 80's, great poppy hooks.
^Blur's surprise comeback album. Varied album stylistically but lots of Graham Coxon which is always a pleasure to listen to. This song sounds very typically Blur without sound tired.
EDIT: I CLEARLY CAN'T COUNT/READ
