The Odinary Playlist’s Best Tracks of 2019
Listing down our favorite tracks from the year that closes the decade.
Di penghujung tahun ini kami ingin berbagi tulisan tentang tembang-tembang favorit kami di tahun 2019.
25. King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard: “Mars For The Rich”
These aussie weirdos are probably the most ambitious rock band of this decade. This year they released 2 albums which adds the number of their studio album catalogs to 15 in total, since their formation in 2010. The cool thing about King Gizzard is their desire of experimenting which leads them to not sounding the same in every release. They’ve tried different music styles throughout their career, ranging from psych-folk, jazz-prog, to “spaghetti western” music. On their latest album, Infest the Rats Nest, they take a swing at thrash metal. And the result is better than most modern thrash metal acts I know. “Mars For The Rich” is by far their best thrash attempt from the album. The song’s got no guitar solo— for a band with 3 guitarists — but features a whole section of bass solo, kelas anjir.
24. Algiers: “Can the Sub_Bass Speak?”
This ‘free jazz-inflected collage’ is a fully realized artistic statement by Algiers. The title, the spoken words, the sax, the drums. A powerful piece of art that we don’t hear & see too often in recent years.
23. Better Oblivion Community Center: “Dylan Thomas”
Two of everyone’s favorite indie songwriters from two different generations are teaming up to build a killer indie-pop/folk-rock machine. The sugary “Dylan Thomas” is the best candy you can get off their recent catalog.
22. Blood Incantation: “The Giza Power Plant”
Blood Incantation blends styles that make them interestingly more dynamics than a lot of their modern death metal contemporaries. This song is a proof for that. There’s middle-east inspired psychedelia in the middle of the song which I really love.
21. Freddie Gibbs & Madlib: “Crime Pays”
One of the finest pairs in hip hop is back with yet another Zebra-obsessed record. “Crime Pays” displays what we consider as Madlib’s best beat so far, and Freddie’s flows on this thing is very satisfying.
20. Carly Rae Jepsen: “Want You In My Room”
It’s your favorite pop star who sings atop of an 80’s inspired track produced by Jack Antonoff. The guitars remind us a lot of The Cure, and there’s also Daft Punk-inspired talkbox vocals during the chorus.
19. Zigi Zaga: “Kill the Noise”
“Kill the Noise” is a classy introduction to a band that’s filled by high-skilled musicians. It sounds like a polished magical jam session, and in some way, it has this Scott Pilgrim-esque quality to it.
18. NIKI: “lowkey”
Although the production feels very presently trendy, NIKI’s vocal approach kind of reminds us of our favorite divas from the early-mid 2000s. Once you hear the catchy chorus, it will stay in your head forever.
17. Anderson .Paak: “What Can We Do?” (feat. Nate Dogg)
The closing track to Ventura shows .Paak doing his best to match up a — pre-recorded — beautiful posthumous vocals by the late Nate Dogg. It’s very sweet and soul-crushing. That conversation at the end though </3.
Also, check this video of Anthony Fantano tearing himself out while dissecting this beautiful tune.
16. Mannequin Pussy: “Drunk II”
We were totally sold by Marisa Dabice’s raging vocal delivery on this thing. And that roaring guitar leads towards the end of this song are definitely one of the most standout musical moments of 2019.
PS: I recommend you not to watch the music video because it totally ruined the way I felt for this song.
15. Danny Brown: “Dirty Laundry”
This is Danny Brown doing shit-talking above a killer beat produced by the legendary Q-Tip. It’s weird to think about how Q-Tip could manage to produce such a fitting beats to Danny’s idiosyncratic rapping styles.
14. Neon Indian: “Toyota Man”
After 3 years without new music, our chillwave hero Alan Palomo is back with what I would say as his most creative work to date. “Toyota Man” captures Alan Palomo’s personal experience as a US immigrant from Mexico. The song smoothly blends some famous Mexican and US songs/anthems. It’s a joyful and creative form of political resistance.
12. American Football: “Uncomfortably Numb (ft. Hayley Williams)”
The twinkly math-riffs are still there, but the overall musical direction has shifted. In LP3 American Football present a texturally lush, rich in instrumentation with dreamy production music. “Uncomfortably Numb” is probably the most straightforward song in the record, but it’s the catchiest too. It opens with these delicate natural guitar harmonics that almost sound like glockenspiel, coated with a thin layer of atmospheric sound. Vokal saut-sautan antara Mike Kinsella and Hayley Williams during the first chorus is probably the best moment in the entire album, and the coolest thing about it, is the way it ends with a powerful question left unanswered: “How will you (I) exist without consequence” / “I’ll let you know”.
11. Tyler, the Creator: “EARFQUAKE”
As a follow up to Grammy-nominated Flower Boy (2017), Tyler returns with a very ambitious concept record, IGOR. The lead single “EARFQUAKE” is his finest hit that also features quirky lines by Playboy Carti.
10. FKA twigs: “cellophane”
After four years of near-total musical silence, FKA twigs is back with — as always — a forward-thinking piece of art-pop ballad. Recorded in just one take, here she pushes her voice to an area that separates her from the whole art-pop game. The performance is just stellar. I don’t know what else to say about this track, I’m literally at a loss for words on this overwhelming beauty.
10. Purple Mountains: “All My Happiness is Gone”
Serves as a comeback project by David Berman after years of retreat and a decade long of career hiatus, Purple Mountains and its eponymous debut album is now officially the soundtrack to one of the most tragic stories in the history of independent music. The band’s first-ever single “All My Happiness is Gone” is a happy song with wryly depressing lyrics. The type of musical irony that David Berman had always come with since the 90s. The fact that the album came out just a month before Berman ended his life, makes it hard not to think of it as a suicide note.
9. Cloudburst: “Crimson Mask”
Coming from our own beloved country, Cloudburst with their latest S/T record has stepped up the game in Indonesian contemporary hardcore scene. This track is our personal favorite banger of the year. It’s filled with twisting guitar riffs, proggy drum patterns, and a really fun slappy breakdown with a bonus of Slayer-esque guitar solo.
8. 100 gecs: “stupid horse”
100 gecs is a duo full of surprises. This year they came with a very creative album that incorporates sounds from a wide range of genres. Haven’t heard “pick it up” for so long, and I don’t remember if there was any good new ska band / ska record in the past decade. “stupid horse” is the answer to our longing for a great modern ska song.
7. Lana Del Rey: “Fuck it I love you”
NFR is hands down Lana’s best record. Among the solid tracklist, our personal favorite falls to Fuck it I love you, which contains a heap of pleasing oddities. We love every sonic spices added into this song, and her listless presence fits the song very well.
Dari permainan vokal yang dissonant dan pada beberapa part malah semi-mumbling, mengisi musik yang moody, gitar yang dimainkan begitu subtle, serta bebunyian quirky di akhir chorus dan yang menjadi favorit saya: beat drumming ala trip-hop yang menopang sisa lagu. Sebuah konstruksi yang membuat tembang pop ini menjadi benar-benar membius.
6. Squid: “Match Bet”
Another promising new act hailing from London, and once again, their debut EP is brought to us by Speedy Wunderground. In Town Centre, Squid brings eclectic punk/rock references into their sound, pushes themselves a little bit, and the result is astonishing. Match Bet is a post-punk / krautrock-driven track with dynamic instrumentation. There’s a horn sound that emerges near the end of the song that helps the song get a bit grander. Great snobby badass energy. Also, extra points for the cowbell!
Squid and some other new bands like black midi and Black Country, New Road are proofs that there’s something interesting going on within the UK indie music scene, and they are the carrier of the everyone’s hopes on the future of good rock music.
5. black midi: “Talking Heads”
black midi is my favorite newcomer of the year (and everyone’s too!). They sound like Talking Heads, and Slint, and King Crimson, and Fugazi, and Genesis, and Sonic Youth, and Butthole Surfers, and Swans, and Bad Brains, and Lightning Bolt, and Television, and Scott Walker, and Girl Band, and whatever art-experimental-kraut-math-no-wave-noise-post-punk-rock band you could name, and they incorporate some free jazz too, and yet they barely sound like any of them separately. They’re something fresh and new. There’s even this one meme saying their debut full-length Schlagenheim is like what everyone thought of Screamadelica when it first came out. What the fuck? What the fuck are they really?
Knowing just how weird the music they had put out thus far, got me thinking even harder when they dropped something as poppy, vibrant, and vivid as “Talking Heads” into the table. The main pattern reminds us of typical Vampire Weekend creation, and as usual, the drumming is real beast. I don’t know what else to say. These young lads from London are the real mind fuckers.
They’ve just released an even weirder song which features storytelling about going to 7-Eleven by bassist Cameron Picton. The song is full of crescendos and weird sounds, from banjos to ___. Check it out here.
4. Weyes Blood: “A Lot’s Gonna Change”
This is the majestic opener and the key mood setter to Weyes Blood’s latest cinematic record Titanic Rising. It’s my favorite track off the album, so beautiful, lush and optimistic. I don’t think I can get over the emotional and uplifting strings arrangement being played throughout the song.
3. Black Country, New Road: “Sunglasses”
ENGLAND IS ON FIRE! In the last three years we learnt that some of the greatest punk rockers of today apparently hailed from Bristol. Earlier this year, we were presented with surprising acts like black midi and Squid (who comes from London and Brighton, respectively). And now it’s these enigmatic young lads from London under the name Black Country, New Road who help light up the fire. Their renowned single, “Sunglasses”, is lit as fuck. It’s an adventurous twists and turns of post-rock music with a very solid spoken-word delivery by their frontman Isaac Wood. I’m particularly impressed by the lyrics here, fucking A.
“It describes a series of events, loosely connected, all yet to happen,” says frontman Isaac Wood. “The song was intended to be highly inspirational. The lyrics are sometimes concerned with symbols of wealth or affluence but they are not written from a critical or even external position.”
2. Big Thief: “Two Hands”
2019 was quite a year for Big Thief. They ambitiously put out two records within months — after recorded them separately in two different places within weeks — , and both got critically acclaimed. The first one, U.F.O.F. captures Big Thief’s exploration with soundscapes while the second record, Two Hands, contains songs that are road-tested and have been played numerous times in various live or studio sessions.
There are many great songs worth mentioning for a wrap-up list like this from both records, such as the otherworldy “Contact” — also kudos to them for kicking the song off by calling my name — , the delicate and atmospheric song about an alien friend “UFOF”, the instant classic “Forgotten Eyes”, not too mention “Shoulders” with its heartfelt yet lyrically aching chorus, and ultimately “Not”, the song that appears on everyone’s year-end list for its emotional rawness. But if I have to pick just one song that tops them all, in my personal opinion, it has to be “Two Hands”.
This is from their latest record, the titular track. I don’t know if it’s their best, but everything here feels so on point. That speedy guitar arpeggios literally got me on my first listen, so quirky and very hypnotizing. Also, the singing stick with me so well. I mean, dude, that girl Adrianne Lenker, she’s crazy. Her voice here, is like a blanket that I would wear for the whole winter. So warm and comforting.
1. Sharon Van Etten: “Seventeen”
When it comes to a single song, there’s one song that particularly resonates with me deeper than anything else I’ve heard in the past year: It’s “Seventeen” by Sharon Van Etten. This is not about something revolutionary — groundbreaking, if you will— nor is it the “perfect” indie-pop tune, but it’s about a powerful work of art that reflects on the artist’s personal backstory. It’s a song that comes after Sharon’s long journey of a young and blossoming kid who left her zone in the early 20s to become a quiet café folk darling to being a respectable rockstar in the current indie music game. Sharon herself admits that the song is a love letter to the city where she grew up in: New York. You can hear a great longing for something, especially during the bridge where she sings “I know that you’re gonna be”, which also lands on my #1 favorite musical moment of the year. It’s also worth to mention that its music video is probably the best movie I’ve seen in recent memory.
“Seventeen” is an instant classic in my music library and now it has grown to be my personal anthem to the year that closes this decade.
Some Honorable Mentions:
- Billie Eillish: “bad guy”
- Blanck Mass: “Love is a Parasite”
- Brittany Howard: “Stay High”
- Charli XCX: “Blame It On Your Love” (feat. Lizzo)
- The Comet Is Coming: “Blood Of The Past” (feat. Kate Tempest)
- Georgia: “Never Let You Go”
- Guerilla Toss: “What Would the Odd Do?”
- GLOO: “Lux 2”
- Jenny Hval: “High Alice”
- Julien Baker: “Conversation Piece”
- Katy Perry: “Never Really Over”
- Lightning Bolt: “Don Henley In The Park”
- Lim Kim: “Yellow”
- Little Simz: “101 FM”
- Lizzo: “Juice”
- Megan Thee Stallion: “Hot Girl Summer” (feat. Nicki Minaj & Ty Dolla $ign)
- Moon Duo: “Lost Heads”
- Mooner: “Menenggala”
- The National: “Rylan”
- Pop Quiz Kid: “Grey Grey Eyes”
- Richard Dawson: “Jogging”
- Show Me The Body: “Forks And Knives”
- Solange: “Stay Flo”
- TOOL: “7empest”
- Vampire Weekend: “Harmony Hall”
