Continuing what’s been a fantastic year for music is another month worth of great tunes. At this point I’ve already added about as many songs to my iTunes library as I have throughout 2016, and there’s still albums to come from LCD Soundsystem, The Killers and potentially CHVRCHES too – so things can still get better!
Here’s my pick of the bunch from this month:
Lorde – “Perfect Places”
Melodrama was a great album, with lots of tracks that are easily some of the best pop tunes around this year, but this is a strong contender for the top spot.
It features a longing sense of hope and expectation from nights out, or perhaps just life in general, and carries with it the sense of despair that those dreams never quite get realised. It hits home pretty hard.
And through this all there’s an incredible sense of the song being an anthem, with Lorde’s voice leading the charge of the many that feel just the same. In the end it’s a song that is so relatable and delivered so well it’s hard not to get attached to it.
Maggie Lindeman – “Pretty Girl” (Cheat Codes x CADE remix)
For all of MFR’s ills, sometimes when there’s a decent song in the charts it’s okay to hear it a couple times a day – and this is one of those.
I think the base song for this remix is standard pop fare, but the remix gives its pitch and its rhythm a tweak to make it that bit more lively and delivers its message better.
Bakermat – “Don’t Want You Back” (feat. Kiesza)
Kiesza had a lot of good songs when she first made her mark on the music scene a few years ago and then disappeared, but thankfully returns on the upbeat track.
This is much in the same vein of other Bakermat and Klingande-style songs, having a bouncy and jazz influenced dance track which leaves a spring in your step and a hook in your ear.
It’s hard not to feel things are a bit more cheery when you have this song of defiance playing in your ears, so definitely a good one if you’re in need of a pick-me-up.
The Killers – “The Man”
Almost every time The Killers come back with new music they manage to make it sound completely new but with the same flair that the band have carried since the days of Hot Fuss in 2004.
“The Man” is, again, another song based on hyping up a bit – with Brandon Flowers taking on a much more masculine role than his softer voice might normally suggest.
It’s a nice mix of modern electronic sounds and The Killer’s rock style, hitting a middle ground rather than the more M83-style of their excellent songs from a few years ago. It bodes well for their new album anyway!
Major Lazer – “Particula” (feat. Nasty C, Ice Prince, Patoranking & Jidenna)
Major Lazer’s new EP “Know No Better” came with a few songs that have made their way into people’s minds, with the title track and “Sue Cara” both featuring a bit of star power and being decent in their own right. But there’s one I like in particula.
This tune is just perfect Major Lazer though, with slow choruses, bridges that have a great beat, choruses from rapper Ice Prince that are phenomenally catchy and beg you to singalong and then a drop that’s fun as anything too. It’s a perfect song from front-to-back and easy to get stuck on repeat.