Top 15 Songs of 2019

15. Aristotle’s Denial – Joe Hawley and Cojum Dip

The one “normal” song from probably the most unique record of the year. The Talley Hall guitarist’s adventure with reversing audio and other effects is fairly novel overall, but this song alone proves that it was worth undertaking.

14. Eros – Viza

It’s not everyday that you simply scratch the title track for your album, but that’s exactly what Viza did. 10 years later, Eros has been fully realized and released to the world. While I wish the final lyrics weren’t screamed, the song is fantastic now that it’s out in the world.

13. The Partisan – Billy Sherwood

This album was difficult because it starts with a standout anthem which was immediately followed by a sharp enough tonal shift that I couldn’t get into it. Despite my inabilities to break through with the album, this first track is still one of my favorites of the year.

12. What’s the Plan – Hallam George and the Hallelujah Chorus

It’s always an exciting experience to find a single you love, look at the artist and find out that it’s their first release. Obviously, I’d rather have more to listen to, but the sky is the limits for what comes next for them. While it is slightly unpolished, the depth of the soundscape and talented instrumentation provide a wonderfully rewarding journey.

11. Haunt the Cartoon Heart – Bear Ghost

“A song about emotional instability, illustrated by a tumultuous relationship between a Ghost and his Heart who have both fallen for the same woman, but can’t find a way to reconcile their differences.”
Put simply, this is a ridiculously fun song from a ridiculous band.

10. Hurt So Bad – The Technicolors

A personal favorite track from a person favorite band released on my birthday and later given my favorite music video of the year, it’s no surprise that this track ended up as my most listened to song of the year. The fact that it’s only number 10 on this list shows just how exceptional all of the songs here are.

9. The Man Who Had It All – Magic Pie

As I said in my review of this album, this song grabbed hold of me at a time when nothing else could and got me excited for what was to come. This isn’t the first and won’t be the last of the tracks on here that open their album, but it’s the only one that led to an even stronger album. As a result, it works wonderfully as both a single track and as part of the greater project.

8. De-Evolve Again – Mounties

I honestly haven’t been able to make up my mind about Mounties’ album this year, but there are two songs that have earned spots in my most listened to playlists and keep me coming back to the album as a whole. While “You Were Right” was the initial holder of this spot, “De-Evolve Again” has been a constant grower over the past few months.

7. The Conspiracy – Rope and Ladder

There are so many different albums that I cannot wait to hear in 2020 and Rope and Ladders debut will be one of the first and most exciting. Official lead single “The Conspiracy” combines theatricality, technical proficiency, and talented songwriting to move through multiple sections that all carry their weight as well as introducing the central motif. This song effectively makes me think of the intensity of The Dear Hunter’s Act III combined with a production value more along the lines of Acts IV and V.

6. Dream State – Codename Colin

Ska is a beautiful genre and anyone who tells you otherwise is fooling themselves. It is an unrelentingly sunny type of music due to the unique rhythmic structure, but it can yield some extremely powerful anthems when that nature is paired with heavier riffing and dark lyrics. There are many excellent tracks off of this album that excel for different reasons, but “Dream State” is undoubtedly my favorite for its ability to combine the best parts of ska with the strengths of other genres.

5. If That’s What Love Means – A Bad Think

Length is a hard thing to get right. Make an album too short and it’s disappointing, make an album too long and it’s unwieldy. A Bad Think’s seventh studio album ended up proving too unwieldy to properly appreciate, but when broken up into smaller pieces it is truly incredible. This song best shows how talented they are at songwriting.

4. One Day – The Mute Gods

The best Prog Rock song of the year (excluding the ones on my AotY list) in my opinion was this single from the third release from the critically acclaimed Mute Gods. It is reminiscent of REM in all the best ways with its droning guitars and in the vocal inflection allowing it to sound like a page out of history while also earning its own distinct place.

3. B. Ritter – Cloud Caverns

I didn’t realize until I was writing up this list that half of Cloud Caverns are also members of Hotel of the Laughing Tree, responsible for one of my all-time favorite albums. There is next to no similarities between that work and this outside of sheer quality, but it’s always fascinating to make those connections. This song is hauntingly beautiful as it travels through a graveyard and the lives of three men. This song sends chills up my spine with it’s gorgeous ambiance and powerful lyrics combining to create multiple stunning moments.

2. This Could Be It For Me – Hotel Mira

Hotel Mira has come up a couple times on my recommendations and they’ve never quite clicked with me. That is, until I heard this song. I don’t think there has been a single song that lodged itself so firmly in my brain this year and earned as many repeat listens in such a short time. Time will tell if the rest of Hotel Mira’s upcoming work will grab me as strongly, but this shot was a complete bulls-eye.

1. Hey, Runner! – The Arcadian Wild

The first song on an album is one of the biggest challenges to approach. It has to be good enough to get people invested enough to listen to the whole album without being too good and leaving the rest of it feeling underwhelming.
As the best song of the year, “Hey, Runner!” set the bar for this album astronomically high and it simply couldn’t reach it. On the bright side, The Arcadian Wild did release the best song of the year.