Sunday, January 5, 2020

Top 20 Songs of 2019, Part 2

OK, down to the nitty gritty. Here, in reverse order, are my Top 10 Songs of 2019:


10. John Boswell - "Frost"

John Boswell is a new age/classical pianist from Los Angeles, California. I first became aware of him a couple of decades ago when my wife introduced me to his exquisite holiday album, Festival of the Heart. I don't even remember how I found out he put out a new LP in 2019, as he's not at all well known. But Night Magic is a lovely album, and this track in particular is top notch. (It's also a well named song, as the music definitely evokes a wintry feel.) Sadly, this is also the track I have no link for. You'll have to either buy the album, or track this song down for yourself. (If you want a taste of what Boswell sounds like, though, here's a link to the song "Festival of the Heart": John Boswell - Festival of the Heart.)


9. All Hail the Silence - "Stand Together" All Hail the Silence - Stand Together

This British/American electronic pop duo was one of the revelations of 2019. They have a retro-'80s sound to them, sort of like a two-man Depeche Mode. This is the first track from their delightful double LP Daggers. (Well, actually, some people call it "Daggers", and some just call it All Hail the Silence, just like some people call Led Zeppelin IV "Zoso", or Prince used to be known as Squiggle.)


8. Santana - "Do You Remember Me" Santana - Do You Remember Me

Ah, Santana! I really got back in touch this year with just how much I love Santana. I even saw Carlos and the guys live for the first time. They put out a new LP in 2019 called Africa Speaks. It had some great stuff on it, but was kind of inconsistent. This tasty little track comes from an EP they put out earlier in the year, though, entitled In Search of Mona Lisa. It grew from an experience that Carlos Santana had while viewing the actual Mona Lisa painting at the Louvre. He went on this whole vision quest thing where Mona Lisa reminded him they used to be lovers in a former life. Whatever, he's a kind of a weird dude. But he plays a great guitar, and this slow track features some of his most elegant (yet restrained) work, as he shows himself once again to be the Da Vinci of the electric guitar.


7. Screaming Orphans - "Shine" Screaming Orphans - Shine

Screaming Orphans is an Irish Celtic pop band comprising the four Diver sisters, and this lovely track comes from their latest LP, Life as a Carnival. This is one of those tracks that's got kind of delicate verses, but a more expansive chorus. For me, at least, it's all about the piano and the oh-so-graceful vocals. I'm not even sure which sister is singing lead here, but they all get in on the action anyway.  It's one of those songs that brought a smile to my face from the first time I heard it.


6. Adrian Belew - "Athough" Adrian Belew - Although

In this very Beatlesque track from Adrian Belew's (of King Crimson fame) new LP Pop-Sided, Belew tries to look at the bright side after a weekend gone wrong with a prospective new lover. We're not exactly sure what happened that weekend, but let's just say that things did not go well. (At one point, he describes it as a "train wreck". My sympathies, pal.) Luckily, this song went a lot better.


5. Mree - "In the Kitchen" Mree - In the Kitchen

Marie Hsiao (aka "Mree") is an indie folk singer-songwriter from New Jersey. Her EP In the Middle was one of the first albums I heard in 2019, and this was the first track on the EP. 2019 came and 2019 went, but this delectable and rather elegant song stuck with me all year.


4. Lily & Madeleine - "Pachinko Song" Lily & Madeleine - Pachinko Song

Lily & Madeleine are an American folk pop duo from Indianapolis. Their album Canterbury Girls was released early in 2019, and this track immediately became one of my favorites. It's a tale of a love relationship gone sour after a big jackpot win at a Tokyo Pachinko parlor. (Or maybe it was already going sour, and the jackpot just pushed it over the brink. Whatever.) There's also some stalking involved here, as our heroine runs amok throughout Japan, relentlessly pursued by her lucky-jackpot-winning lover. Good song.


3. Charly Bliss - "Hard to Believe" Charly Bliss - Hard to Believe

This Brooklyn-based indie band ruled the year with their excellent new LP Young Enough, and this high-energy love-gone-wrong song was my favorite track from that album. It's a really well structured pop rock song, with some nice driving guitar and a very relatable vocal performance from Eva Hendricks. I just like the way song moves.


2. Glen Hansard - "Brother's Keeper" Glen Hansard - Brother's Keeper

Glen Hansard is probably best known as one-half of the songwriting team that wrote the TONY-Award-winning Broadway musical Once. His folksy solo album This Wild Willing gathered much acclaim in 2019, and this was far-and-away the most memorable track from that album. It's a warm, feel-good track about both brotherly love and love between lovers. (Or maybe it's about incestuous love between transgender brothers, I'm not sure. But I think it's the first one.)


1. Foals - "Sunday" Foals - Sunday

This year was my first exposure to the British alternative rock band Foals. They released two LPs over the course of 2019, Everything Not Saved Will Be Lost, Parts 1 and 2. I found them both to be inconsistent, but there were some great tracks on each, including "The Runner" on Part 2, and particularly this one on Part 1. I especially like the lyrics for the chorus, which begin "Time away from me is what I need". Amen, brother.


So there you have it -- my Top 20 Songs of 2019.

Normally, I'd sit back and sigh now, in satisfaction of having finished writing my year-end list. This year, however, we've only just begun, as we've also just come to the end of another decade.

SO, coming up next, my Top 20 Albums of the Decade, Part 1. Maybe tomorrow? Who knows.