As a complement to my Top Five Albums of 2020 list, here are the songs whose endless replays helped me get through this year.
Honorable mentions
- “Trouble’s Coming” by Royal Blood: Sneering vocals, a relentless beat and dance-rock vibes from the two-member powerhouse band. (Full song review in Monthly Playlist: Sep. 2020 edition)
- “Shameika” by Fiona Apple: Rollicking, lively tale of an important figure from Fiona’s childhood. (Full song review in Monthly Playlist: Apr. 2020 edition)
- “The Valley of the Pagans” by Gorillaz feat. Beck: Classic indie rock jam from the virtual band and co-conspirator Beck. (Full song review in Monthly Playlist: Oct. 2020 edition)
- “What’s Your Pleasure?” by Jessie Ware: A pulsing disco-dance track that features Jessie’s sultry, breathy vocals. (Full album review here)
And now for my top five songs of the year:
5. “Your Love (Déjà vu)” by Glass Animals
Clocking in at #5 is this early single from British pop band Glass Animals’ Dreamland album that was released this year. As we talked about in our review of the album, the singles from Dreamland were really good and everything else was so-so. Well, “Your Love (Déjà vu)” is one of those ridiculously good songs in the first category, featuring crisp hip-hop like beats, electric vocals from singer Dave Bayley and an all-around fun vibe. This is as catchy as the Glass Animals get – don’t miss this one.
Read our full song review in the Monthly Playlist: Feb. 2020 edition.
4. “The Adults Are Talking” by the Strokes
Over the year, we’ve highlighted “Bad Decisions” and “Brooklyn Bridge to Chorus” from the Strokes’ The New Abnormal (2020) album on our Monthly Playlists; but as we come to the close of the year, it’s the album opener “The Adults Are Talking” that most stands out to me. The Strokes get your feet tapping and your head bopping along from the first seconds of the classic, clean drum line, and it only gets better from there. The icing on the cake is a particularly good vocal effort from Julian Casablancas, especially in the sky-high falsetto at the end. As the first sound you hear on The New Abnormal, “The Adults Are Talking” provided a symbolic sigh of relief to Strokes fans everywhere that the band is alive, well and perhaps better than ever.
Read our full album review here.
3. “Don’t Start Now” by Dua Lipa
Unless you’ve been living under a rock for the past year (which, let’s admit, not a bad plan for 2020), you would have heard Dua Lipa’s mega-hit “Don’t Start Now” at some point. The irrepressible dance-pop number has graced radio stations, talk shows, award shows and all other COVID-ready media; in any other year, it would have likely been on the playlist of every club in the world. Dua Lipa’s entire Future Nostalgia album is an homage to the fun and vivacity of 1970s and 1980s music. And “Don’t Start Now” is the album’s shining disco ball of a crown jewel, with its pulsing bass line, Dua’s staccato vocals, random cowbell, handclaps and so on.
Read our full album review here.
2. “WAP” by Cardi B feat. Megan Thee Stallion
Perhaps the most talked-about song of the year – for one reason or the other – is “WAP” by Cardi B featuring Megan Thee Stallion. The powerhouse song by the two reigning queens of rap instantly shot to fame with its sexually-explicit lyrics, inciting the wrath of right-wing ghouls everywhere. I consider “WAP” to be iconic, unapologetic and more feminist than most things that claim to be. Cardi and Megan spend the entire song detailing exactly what men should do to please them. The reverse has been covered in songs by men about women ad infinitum; so why should boys have all the fun?
Read our full song review in the Monthly Playlist: Aug. 2020 edition.
1. “XS” by Rina Sawayama
As I mentioned on my AOTY list, Rina Sawayama’s SAWAYAMA was undoubtedly the best debut album of the year, and the brightest star on the tracklist is the gaudy, poppy “XS”. Rina’s whole vibe is a cool mixture of 90s / early 00s music across all genres, and this song follows that make-up too. Her breathy, slightly nasal vocals – reminiscent of Christina Aguilera or Britney Spears – sync perfectly with the rock-tinged instrumentals brings to mind the early 00s pop-rock acts (Good Charlotte, Simple Plan) which were all the rage back in the day. Lyrically, too, “XS” does well. As the name cleverly suggests, is a critique on the excesses of capitalism (“Cartiers and Tesla X’s, Calabasas, I deserve it / Call me crazy, call me selfish, I’m the baddest and I’m worth it”) – to which Rina cleverly alludes in the song’s music video. All in all, a great effort and – for me – the song of the year.
Read our full song review in the Monthly Playlist: Apr. 2020 edition.
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