‘Night’ is a reflection of Zola Jesus’ discography in many ways. Beginning with a haunting organ that sets a sombre mood, paired only by shrieking whispers, it immediately captures both the industrial fury of 2009’s The Spoils and the tormented emotion of 2017’s Okovi. Though ‘Night’ was released as part of Zola Jesus’ 2010 compilation album Stridulum, it has a stunning art-pop glimmer that seems eons away from The Spoils. As the track builds, it exudes with delightful synth passages. Though the track calls back to heavier work in passages, it explores brand new ground. Zola Jesus sings about animalistic behaviour; lust and desire, yet it feels innocent and calm. ‘Night’ is a beautiful pairing of synth-pop and noise music, making for a delicious slice of goth rock.

- Sean Tayler

#94: The Strokes - Under Cover of Darkness

For a while it seemed like The Strokes would never live up the mature, yet endearing rock of their debut Is This Is. Writing this in 2020 with a very promising new record by The Strokes imminent, we know that this is false. Yet back in 2011, The Strokes wowed with their track ‘Under Cover of Darkness’, an incredibly reflective track that had their continued potential on full display. As singer Julien Casablancas contemplates, “Everybody’s singing the same song for ten years / Will you wait for me?” He's ready to do something new. That new thing would soon become another band known as The Voidz, but it won’t be curtains for The Strokes just yet.

- Sean Tayler

#93: Soccer Mommy - Death by Chocolate

Soccer Mommy’s ‘Death by Chocolate’ is simplistic yet enchanting. Melancholy-romantic lyricism, sparkly synths and stripped-back electric guitar express the all too familiar sensation of love that kills. Here, Soccer Mommy’s Sophie Allison explores the trouble with love that’s a little too sweet. What she winds up with is a gorgeous lofi rock track that’s a sign of the intimate and clean music she would continue to release. Death by Chocolate perfectly demonstrates Soccer Mommy’s ability to relay feelings of intoxicating infatuation.

- Luke Hipwood

#92: My Bloody Valentine - New You

Grooving, mediative synths cascade you into ‘New You’; a track that fits perfectly around the halfway mark of My Bloody Valentine’s third album m b v. To suggest that this record was highly anticipated would be the understatement of the decade. Following directly on from the Irish rock band’s second album Loveless, widely considered to be one of the greatest albums of all time, m b v had a lot to live up to! Despite having broken up and regrouped for the record, My Bloody Valentine seemed no need to distance themselves from Loveless. Even the artwork to m b v is remarkably similar. Yet despite the comparisons to their previous work, this record and its standout track ‘New You’ did not disappoint. Their luscious shoegaze has only increased in complexity over time, presenting ‘New You’; an infatuating enigma of a rock song.

- Sean Tayler



#91: LÂLKA - Shut Up

When people claim that pop music is the new punk rock, they’re talking about LÂLKA. In the same vein as Charli XCX’s experimental awakening, LÂLKA is Australia’s answer to high intensity, bass boosted bubblegum-pop music taking the electronic underground by storm. ‘Shut Up’ is a short and sharp three minutes of empowered bliss. LÂLKA takes no hostages with her fierce, roaring pop. It’s a reaction to the oversaturation of bland commercial pop, and the way in which women of colour are expected to swallow their anger - as if the emotion is not afforded to them. Here, LÂLKA reclaims her space and does so in an absolutely thrilling pop song with punk sensibility.

- Sean Tayler

#90: Half Waif - Back in Brooklyn

Detailing a return home to comfort from heartbreak, ‘Back in Brooklyn’ sees Half Waif’s Nandi Rose Plunkett find her roots. As one of the more stripped back tracks from 2018’s Lavender, Plunkett had to double her energy to elicit an immensely beautiful song from little to no production. Soft piano scores Plunkett coming to terms with her herself once again, “Through all that I’ve lost, now I know myself so well”. ‘Back in Brooklyn’ leaves me speechless at how minimalistic, yet enchanting Plunkett can be. Though the song ends before its exit would be welcome, Plunkett leaves the listener with a haunting final verse, “I called you up when I got back / Where have you been? Don’t ask me” - a line that so openly depicts a return to friends, family and to self, after being swept away in love.

- Sean Tayler

#89: U.S. Girls - Time

For the better part of the 2010’s, U.S. Girls, the solo project of Meghan Remy, experimented with a variety of lo-fi and indie rock records to acquire a sound that felt uniquely her’s. With these ambitious, explorative records under her belt, 2018 saw the release of Remy’s best record yet, In a Poem Unlimited. This album was a rock record unleashed from genre constraints, blending together elements of disco music and psychedelia. The record explored a conceptual dance party within the Cold War Era in the United States, 1970-something. In a Poem Unlimited’s best song is its closer; ‘Time’, a nearly eight minute long psych-disco banger that infuses an array of instrumentals that could fit quite neatly in either a jazzy dive bar or at the start of the film Mulholland Drive. The entire second half of the track features no vocals and is entirely a jazz infused vibe that leaves an impression of the record long after the listen has concluded.

- Sean Tayler



#88: Rosalía - MALAMENTE

Spanish contemporary R&B singer Rosalía found something entirely original in her 2nd album EL MAL QUERER. For lead single ‘MALAMENTE’, Rosalía repurposed the clapping of her flamenco roots to substitute a trap beat. In creating something new without sacrificing her culture, Rosalía won over the world; including her influence and eventual collaborator, James Blake. If you need any idea of the size of emotion conveyed through ‘MALAMENTE’, take a peek at the copious wealth flexed in its music video. This is Rosalía’s world now, we’re simply living in it.

- Sean Tayler

#87: Tyler, the Creator - Who Dat Boy (feat. A$AP Rocky)

Tyler, the Creator and A$AP Rocky are a match made in heaven; in between cuddling and watching Smack DVD, it’s surprising that they had the time to create such an intense snap of a track. Between the impeccable flow and natural swagger that is a problem of the Jaws style opening, ‘Who Dat Boy’ is one of the highlights of both Tyler and Rocky’s discography thus far. Aside from this, their collaboration excitingly marked the beginning of rumours surrounding their long-awaited collaborative album, Wang$ap (if either of you are reading this, please - we need it).

- Viktor Zivcec



#86: Local Authority - Oil Rigs

The final year of the 2010’s saw the introduction of a new band, Local Authority. Over the course of their debut Negative Space, out via 4000 Records in Brisbane, Local Authority channelled a sound that blended the post punk, shoegaze and doom rock of their influences. Their sophomore single, ‘Oil Rigs’, is one of their best; a song that morphs shoegaze through the retrograding shimmer of a film reel. Originally written as excerpts in lead singer Jacque McGill’s diary, ‘Oil Rigs’ feels intimate and personal, an expression of human desire that flickers in your mind long after the song has ended.

- Sean Tayler

#85: Deerhunter - Desire Lines

This isn’t the song to listen to if you’re having a mid-twenties existential crisis (or maybe it is) - it hits you right in the soul. ‘Desire Lines’ is atmospheric and melancholic. The lyrics are simple, but they really make you think about maturing into an adult and all the accompanying emotions that come with adulthood. About halfway through the track, listeners are blessed with some psychedelic instrumentals to really get the feel-train going. Interestingly, the track features Lockett Pundt on vocals, and not Bradford Cox. Put some good headphones on and experience the emotion that ‘Desire Lines’ has to offer.

- Prianka Thomas



#84: Julia Jacklin - Don’t Know How to Keep Loving You

It’s not often we’re given a song that deals with the trials and tribulations of falling out of love. These days, love songs are all the rage. The ugliness of “after” is a distant nightmare for the fool so head-over-heels. Julia Jacklin’s ‘Don’t Know How To Keep Loving You’ so delicately yet so crushingly deals with the prospect of powerful love beginning to fail. Slow-burning instrumentation and a blunt yet poignant vocal delivery present these themes as something natural and sad. It’s a fact of life, a part of nature that not every relationship will work forever. Jacklin wears her broken heart on her sleeve, and it’s as devastating as it is beautiful.

- Dylan Hewitson-Bevis



#83: ANOHNI - Drone Bomb Me

Those familiar with ANOHNI’s earlier work as Antony and the Johnsons will know that her music has always flirted with social politics in a broader sense, but 2016’s Hopelessness saw her embrace her ideals fully to deliver one of music’s cohesive political statements. This is most perfectly articulated in lead single ‘Drone Bomb Me’, a song written from the perspective of the innocent victim of a drone bombing. ANOHNI’s voice is beautiful and heartbreaking, a passionate warble which recalls legends like Nina Simone and Jeff Buckley while remaining entirely unique and instantly recognisable. The song’s lyrics are profound and disturbing, as Anohni embodies a child who begs “Let me be the one / The one that you choose from above / After all, I’m partly to blame” – it’s what a sadistic military may think of their victims, that their death may be significant through its service to the attacker’s cause. Despite the horrific subject matter, co-production from big name experimental electronic producers Oneohtrix Point Never and Hudson Mohawke gives the song an upbeat feel which makes it feel like it may almost be at home in a club. ‘Drone Bomb Me’ succeeds at disarming the listener with its incredible beauty, and will remain a timeless song by a phenomenal talent.

- Nathan Dowrick

#82: SZA - Broken Clocks

SZA’s ‘Broken Clocks’ remains one of the several highlights of her excellent 2017 album CTRL, which landed her on many best albums lists that year. As the record is filled with many of the singer’s confessions regarding relationships and desire, it details her time as a stripper while also involves her reflecting on what seemed like a bad breakup that she tries to rekindle when the man begins contacting her again. Looking back on these times, the ‘Broken Clock’ she speaks of can be seen as a metaphor of her bad decisions in this relationship and the desire to not return to her life as a stripper again, shown by the track’s opening line “Running fast from my day job.” However, SZA’s personal growth shines when she says there’s “still love” for her former flame, contrasting another album highlight ‘Prom’ which speaks of her admitted immaturity in the relationship. While her voice is layered over mixed samples of male voices, this production fitted with her lyrics raises nostalgic feelings, making ‘Broken Clocks’ an excellent anecdote of SZA’s personal experiences.

- Tom Palmer



#81: Rostam - Bike Dream