1. Janelle Monae ‘Make Me Feel.’
2. Childish Gambino ‘This Is America.’
3. Grand Champ 1990 ‘Photocopies.’
4. Young Fathers ‘In My View.’
5. George McFall ‘Autumn.’
6. Richard Thmpson ‘The Storm Won’t Come.’
7. Angelique Kidjo ‘Once In A Lifetime.’
8. Miles Hunt ‘On The Ropes.’
9. Tracey Thorn ‘Queen’
10. Broken Records ‘They Won’t Ever Leave Us Alone.’
11. Chvrches ‘Get Out.’
12. Christine and the Queens featuring Dam-Funk ‘Girlfriend.’
13. Mazzy Star ‘Quiet, The Winter Harbour.’
14. Mogwai ‘Donuts.’
15. St. Vincent ‘Fast Slow Disco.’
16. Lana Del Rey ‘Mariner’s Apartment Complex.’
17. Superorganism ‘Everybody Wants To Be Famous.’
18. Frontperson ‘Tick Tock (frontrunner).’
19. Ezra Furman ‘Suck The Blood From My Wound.’
20. Deva Mahal ‘It’s Down To You.’
21. Pale Waves ‘Eighteen.’
22. Grand Champ 1990 ‘Look For Me.’
23. Ride ‘Catch You Dreaming.’
24. Justin Levinson ‘I’ll Make It In Hollywood.’
25. Suede ‘Don’t Be Afraid If Nobody Loves You.’
26. Trials Of Cato ‘Tom Paine’s Bones.’
27. Arctic Monkeys ‘Four Out Of Five.’
28. Breeders ‘All Nerve.’
29. John Grant ‘Love Is Magic.’
30. Idles ‘Samaritans.’
31. Floirence and the Machine ‘Hunger.’
32. Gang Of Four ‘Lucky.’
33. Twilight Sad ‘I/m Not Here [Missing Face].’ (sic!)
34. Wolf Alice ‘Don’t Delete The Kisses (Charli XCX x Post Precious remix).’
35. Young Fathers ‘Toy.’
36. U.S. Girls ‘Pearly Gates.’
37. We Were Promised Jetpacks ‘Hanging In.’
38. Spiritualized ‘Here It Comes (The Road) Let’s Go.’
39. Field Music ‘Time In Joy.’
40. Cat Power and Lana Del Rey ‘Woman.’
41. Belly ‘Shiny One.’
42. Courtney Barnett ‘Namless, Faces.’
43. David Byrne ‘Everybody’s Coming To My House.’
44. Mogwai ‘We’re Not Done (End Theme).’
45. Breeders ‘Nervous Mary.’
46. Kendrick Lamar ‘All The Stars.’
47. Soccer Mommy ‘Your Dog.’
48. Pale Waves ‘The Tide.’
49. Jack White ‘Connected By Love.’
50. Manic Street Preachers ‘International Blue.’

To hear the top ten tracks head here

Lest we forget…

2017 Young Fathers ‘Only God Knows’

2016 Christine and the Queens ‘Tilted.’

2015 Courtney Barnett ‘Pedestrian At Best.’

2014 St. Vincent ‘Digital Witness.’

2013 Daft Punk ‘Get Lucky.’

2012 Grimes ‘Genesis.’

2011 Hiatus featuring Linton Kwesi Johnson ‘Insurrection.’

2010 eagleowl ‘No Conjunction.’

2009 Peter Parker ‘Swallow The Rocket.’

2008 Wedding Present ‘The Trouble With Men.’

2007 Emma Pollock ‘Adrenaline.’

2006 Long Blondes ‘Weekend Without Makeup.’

A few weeks ago I wrote about a creepy video from Low, but the reality is ten years ago they made a rather creepy video for their Christmas single ‘Santa’s Coming Over.’

Now ten years ago I found this more spooky than I do now, possibly due to the arrival of my own child and assorted nieces and nephews, but this is still unsettling. Then again, Christmas is traditionally a time for ghost stories, so goodness only knows what these kids are going to do…

Low’s 1999 Christmas album has become a classic over the years. ‘Just Like Christmas’ is the lead track, and there have been various covers of tracks from the album, including Jimmy Eat World, Snow Patrol and Tracey Thorn & Green Gartside. As far as I can find there wasn’t an official video but this is always lovely to hear.

I’d almost forgotten about this, but this was their 2016 Christmas single ‘Some Hearts (at Christmas Time)’ which is really, rather lovely. As next year is the twentieth (how?!?) anniversary of that Christmas album, who knows what festive specialities may come our way.

Gretchen Peters -‘Dancing With The Beast.’ (Proper)

It doesn’t contain the subtitle ‘Eleven tales of heartbreak and loss from the American heartlands’ but it could almost do. However – and here’s the impressive bit – despite the themes that lie within, this is an album that is possible to make a connection with. It’s a very human album, and one that instead of making listeners feel ‘oh I can’t bear this! it’s too depressing’ instead, it’s one of connections.

Those connections can be things like getting older, and finding that you’re getting lost in your hometown, the opening line of the record. ‘The years go by like days. Sometimes the days go by like years. And I don’t know which one I hate the most,” she sings in ‘Arguing with Ghosts,’ the opening track on the album.

This is very much a record from a woman’s perspective, and as a male writer, with all the privilege that still embodies, I mean that as a compliment. She has spoken how the 2017 Women’s March and #MeToo Movement ended up as bookends to her writing time, and the characters inhabit the songs may come from her imagination, but oh, are they real. Additionally, there’s the little matter of the most recent Presidential Election since her last album, which sharpens her perceptions, and indeed, those of us as listeners.

In ‘Wichita’ we have the Greek tragedy of the dumb girl disfigured at birth who is abused by her stepfather and eventually takes matters into her own hands. The title track is sung from the point of view of a woman in a relationship were her interactions with others are being controlled. With such strong writing and performances on the record, there’s barely a dud track. If forced to pick a standout, though, it could well be ‘Truckstop Angel.’ On this song, informed by an article she had read, and an observation at an Alabama truckstop, Peters sings from the persepctive of a truckstop prostitute. The roll of the dice within represents the chance that these women take when they get into a car or truck to have sex with strangers in order to survive.

It’s a beautifully arranged album, and the music provides a perfect foil that could make those words so hard to take on board. In a funny way, the album it begs comparison with is the latest album from Janelle Monae, Dirty Computer. At first glance (listen?) the records may appear poles apart. But they are spectacularly on the money with their assessment of life in the United States at this particular point in history.

A real accomplishment.

****

Dancing With The Beast is released on Proper on May 18.