What Else Is There?

#1: Deerhunter - Coronado (3:19)

Piano? Saxophone? What is going here? Who has taken my Deerhunter and what have they done with them?! Surprisingly, of all the amazing moods that are contained on Halcyon Digest the track that deviates most from their usual sound ends up being the best. It starts out with just a few notes on the piano but quickly erupts into a full blown dance party while Bradford Cox shows up sporting his best Julian Casablancas impression. It isn’t often that rock bands are able to make a saxophone relevant (the last time this was done was probably 2006 in The Rapture’s “Get Myself Into It”) so let’s appreciate it when they do. 

Best Moment: Right at 0:12 when the whole band starts up together and doesn’t let us go until the very end.

#2: Caribou - Odessa (5:15)

While most fans of Caribou have been aware of Dan Snaith’s ability to create lush, psychedelic environments, I don’t think anyone saw “Odessa” coming. Not content to be simply a creepy kaleidoscope of noise, Caribou’s best track thus far is also completely and utterly danceable. It brings to mind images of a group of imps and demons performing a celebratory midnight campfire ritual.

Best Moment: Any time those two synths sneak in during the “She can say, she can say, she can say…” at 1:06.

#3: Ariel Pink’s Haunted Graffiti - Round And Round (5:08)

So Ariel Pink finally emerged from his basement to make a record that the rest of us could figure out. “Round And Round” sounds like a song lost in time. It starts out innocently enough with a few “nah nah nah nah’s” and a murky bass line, but after some creepy “here we go round”s the song transforms. I’m not sure who is on the other side of the phone call that’s received, but it prompts Ariel to launch into the most euphoric chorus of the summer.

Best Moment: “Hold on, I’m calling, calling back to the bowl!” first found at 1:57.

#4: Mark Ronson & The Business Intl - Bang Bang Bang (3:53)

Mr. Ronson was smart to save his hardest-hitting synths for his collaboration with MNDR’s Amanda Warner and everyone’s favorite A Tribe Called Quest member, Q-Tip. The contrast between Amanda’s icy tone and Q-Tip’s smooth flow is perfectly highlighted. Amanda’s French-English hybrid chorus is impossible to deny and she knows exactly when to slide right between Q-Tip to deliver a subtle, almost indifferent “…bang …bang …bang.”

Best Moment: 1:13 for Amanda’s “No way-ay, the clock is ticking for-ward / No way-ay, it’s just a cruel, cruel world.”

#5: Phantogram - Running From The Cops (3:57)

With one of the most aptly named songs on the list, “Phantogram” is really able to manifest the paranoia that one would have while being pursued by the authorities. The staccato bass line buzzes along urgently and Sarah’s ooh’s float along in the background while Joshua’s scared, warbly voice hastily makes its way through the darkness.

Best Moment: Right when the guitar creeps in for the first time at 0:30.

#6: Crystal Castles - Year Of Silence (4:53)

And winner of the best sample of the year award goes to “Year Of Silence.” CC takes a portion of “Inní Múr Syngur Vitleysingur” by Sigur Rós, slows it down and chops it up before laying down the most brutally chilling bass line I’ve ever heard. It sounds as if some sort of lumbering monster from the shadow world has been awakened in Iceland and it wont stop until it’s hunted each and every one of us down.

Best Moment: Right at 2:22 when the synth drops out and it’s just us and the shadow monster for a few bars.

#7: Matt & Kim - Cameras (3:32)

So Matt & Kim traded in some of their garage rock sound for a bit of slick, sparkly sheen you say? That’s not necessarily a bad thing. Matt sing-shouts and lays down synths disguised as horns and strings while Kim keeps the tempo with a set of bottles filled with varying levels of liquid. Dare I say it? “Cameras” is even better than 2009’s trash-can-banging stomper “Daylight.”

Best Moment: The strings hovering above Matt during the verse at 1:25. (Especially when they sliiiiiide at 1:41 & 1:46.)

#8: Everything Everything - MY KZ, UR BF (3:37)

On “My Keys, Your Boyfriend,” Everything Everything urgently recount last night’s debauchery on top of a shimmering synth soundscape. The result is the single most infectious assault my ears have weathered all year.

Best Moment: The almost-too-catchy chorus, starting at 1:13.

#9: Dr. Dog - Where’d All The Time Go? (3:54)

“Where’d All The Time Go?” finds Dr. Dog at their most desolate. Scott McMicken sings sadly about how easy it is for our loves and lives to slip away from us while the rest of the band harmonizes behind him. It’s perfect for those times when we need to surround ourselves with sorrow in order to reach the bottom before attempting to climb back out.

Best Moment: “She gets dressed up like a pillow so she’s always in bed!” at 1:36 and 2:53.

#10: Warpaint - Undertow (5:53)

Warpaint has been generating quite a buzz in recent months, and for good reason. The all-girl quartet excels at creating haunting and intimate concoctions. “Undertow” is the highlight from their first full-length album, The Fool, and it features soft, sprawling harmonies and conjures a plethora of dreamy imagery.

Best Moment: “Running, running, running, running from the troubles…” at 3:31.

#11: Deerhunter - Desire Lines (6:44)

Bradford Cox decides to take a break from vocals and lets Josh Fauver take the lead on “Desire Lines.” The song begins with two nostalgic guitars that climb up and cascade down on each other before giving way to Josh’s longing chorus. Finally, the song evolves into a sad dueling guitar jam before slowly fading into the night. Best Moment: The entire chorus, complete with heartfelt  “woah-oh”s, first appearing at 1:04.

#12: Arcade Fire - The Suburbs (5:15)

Arcade Fire’s third album The Suburbs has been all over everyone’s year-end lists, and the title track exemplifies why. It starts off with Win Butler lamenting the loss of his childhood feelings to a haunting piano. Slowly the rest of the band begins to layer new sounds on top, prompting goosebumps to rise progressively higher and higher upon the back of our necks as each new instrument appears. Best Moment: Right when the second guitar creeps in at 2:28 and 4:37.

#13: LCD Soundsystem - Dance Yrself Clean (8:58)

Could James Murphy have written a better opener for his tour this year? Very doubtful. Quite possibly the proudest moment of my whole summer was when I launched a grip of 100 glow sticks into the air when the beat was dropped at Treasure Island Festival. Best Moment: Said beat dropping at 3:07.

#14: Gorillaz - Rhinestone Eyes (3:20)

The best track off the new Gorillaz album features an incredibly addictive synth that sounds similar to what a plane with wings made of kazoos would sound like if it crash-landed onto a beach party full of zombies. Someone might be getting hurt, but it’s probably only the undead who already had it coming anyway. Best Moment: The second time the kazoo-plane makes its descent while Robo-Noodle yips in the background at 1:54.

#15: Robyn - In My Eyes (3:55)

While most other blogs have pegged “Dancing On My Own” as Robyn’s best song this year, I’ve made a different choice. “In My Eyes” finds Robyn begging us to realize that if we’d only look into her eyes, everything will be okay. While that action may not be possible through a pair of speakers or headphones, the twinkling keys and urgent sincerity in her voice has me believing her. Best Moment: “When you feel like it’s all pretend…” at 1:00, 1:48 and 2:48.