2015 Favourites: Top 10 Songs First Heard in 2015

2015 was a great year in the "music that I enjoy" genre, which is the only important genre. In addition to multiple catchy singles, there were even a few solid albums proving that albums still have some relevance. Give a listen, and maybe you'll find something new to enjoy!

10. B. Reith - Old School (2009):
    Nothing terribly special about this white rapper, but the song is a pleasantly blended orchestration of different styles.


9. Whitton - Rare Bird (2011):
   I like the interesting timbres of Whitton's voice.


8. Breakestra - Hiding (2008):
   Breakestra has done a nice job of recreating the spirit of funk, and this is a nice mellow song with understated horn parts to blast out the windows while driving through the suburbs of Fairfax County.


7. Lab Rats - Devil's Train (2007):
   I wish there were more extended story-based hip-hop songs that remain as aurally interesting as this one throughout.


6. Metric - Fortunes (2015):
   The album this song is on, Pagans in Vegas, continues to grow on me -- Metric successfully blends a necessary warmth into their electronica rock that keeps it from being too sterile. I like the pad that's injected during the chorus.


5. Mika - Promiseland (2015):
   This song mixes the classic elements of Mika's repertoire into a catchy single.


4. The Darkness - Mudslide (2015):
   I love this entire album (Last of Our Kind) as a fine example of "ridiculous rock". I especially love that this song is literally about a mudslide and features an off-interval homage to "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" in the middle.


3. Elizabeth and the Catapult - Shoelaces (2014):
   This song is a good showcase of the lead singer's voice combined with a loose, driving beat. Elizabeth and the Catapult's recent music reminds me of KT Tunstall, before her music became too static and unmemorable.


2. Muse - Reapers (2015):
   Drones completely redeemed Muse's previous disappointment, 2nd Law. "Reapers" is one of the best songs on the album, featuring an ABABCD through-composed form, crazy guitar licks, a great beat, and a laughably awful set of forgettable lyrics obsessed with world conspiracy theories.


1. Hilltop Hoods - Cosby Sweater (2014):
   The consistency of this twenty-year-old Australian hip-hop group is impressive, and this is easily my favourite song of the year.

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