The Music Note

I've been meaning to compile one of these lists for a while now. A selection of songs that were my personal favourites throughout 2013, all of which feature regularly on my day to day playlists, yet still sound as fresh and innovative as the moment I first heard them. In the near two years that I have been writing this blog, I have been fortunate enough to have discovered some fantastic music from both emerging and established bands, many of which are unsigned or on independent labels. The list below features a selection of these tracks, along with key songs from more mainstream and universally recognised bands - all in all, a delightfully random mix of good songs. 'Ain't Messin 'Round' - Gary Clark Jr. On 'Ain't Messin 'Round', bright horns and momentous grooves offset perfectly against Gary Clark Jr.'s soulfully raw vocals. A furiously addictive guitar solo provides further edge to the whole structural arrangement. The track may well be the ...

On 'Quarter Life Crisis', James Craise's soulful vocals deliver lyrics that are raw and honest. Lines like "Dreading Sunday, knowing that it's Monday / When I wake, it's more than I can take" are universally relatable, and succeed in being comforting rather than pessimistic. Though this is mostly due to Craise's impressively powerful vocal range, the track has a strong, flowing structure that adds further depth to the lyrics. A delicate piano is the dominating instrument, while strings and unison vocals add an effective intensity and richness to the song.

  Released as the second single from their 2006 album Ganging Up On The Sun , I initially found this Guster track to be somewhat of a grower, especially in comparison to the rest of the album, the majority of which I warmed to almost immediately upon the first few listens. However, there is something so subtlety endearing about the song, a quality that perhaps refreshingly, isn't glaringly obvious on first impression, that over time the track gradually featured more and more frequently in my Guster listening marathons. All aspects of the song - vocals, lyrics, instrumentation, tempo, structure - all contribute to an overall captivating listen, with verses that feature lines of "Shining like a work of art / Hanging on a wall of stars / Are you what I think you are" leading into choruses that offer up equally dreamy lyrics - "You're riding with me tonight / Passenger side, lighting the sky / Always the first star that I find". Though, the defining moments occu...

Michael Jackson's music is so widely known and admired, that it is debatable as to whether any of his songs can be classed as underrated, especially for hardcore fans of his work. That being said, I do think there are certain tracks that fly under the radar and are often overlooked in favour of the universally recognised classics such as 'Thriller', 'Billie Jean' and 'Man In The Mirror'. Below is a list of what I feel to be underrated Jackson songs, most of which have been selected based on listening to Jackson's catalogue as a whole, while others have been chosen because I feel they are underrated on the specific album on which they appear. 'I Can't Help It' ( Off The Wall ) On Off The Wall , an album largely made up of uptempo disco tunes, 'I Can't Help It' is an understated gem. Co-written by Stevie Wonder, the soulful track is dominated by an irresistibly seductive bass line that draws the listener in from the start. ...

"I'm running away with you / That's all I ever do" sings Peter Doherty on 'For Lovers', a song that is lyrically uncomplicated, yet beautifully sentimental.  The instrumentation is also simple but effective, with a piano arrangement that adds depth and a further poignancy to the track's lyrics.  Doherty's lingering vocals effortlessly deliver lines of "Meet me at the railroad bar / About 7 o'clock / We joke while the sun goes down / Watch the lovers / Leaving town", that progress into a soulful chorus backed by drums and guitar.

'Big Winter' is the song that initially got me hooked onto Brooklyn based band, Robbers On High Street.  The track appears on the soundtrack to the 2005 film 'Just Friends', and it was while watching this film that I heard the song for the first time.  Instrumentally warm and melodic, I instantly liked what I heard and knew I had to track down the song and discover more about the band behind it.  The lyrics are simple yet effective in delivery, as lines of "That's why it's so hard for me / To have to say goodbye / To take off and fly / To where the sun shines" ride high over strings that progress into a sublime guitar solo. The album on which 'Big Winter' appears, 2005's  Tree City,  is also a much recommended listen and other key tracks from this record include 'Japanese Girls', 'Amanda Green' and 'Love Underground'.

I blame a lack of consistency and over experimentation for the disappointment that was Christina Aguilera's fourth studio album Bionic .  I felt the album was trying to be three albums at once, which wasn't helped by the poor track listing that split the album into strict sections of electro/dance and ballads.  The clash of genres and arguably poor production resulted in a chaotic mess, which may have worked if the album's material had indeed been used towards three separate recordings. (Furthermore, it seems ironic that 'Birds of Prey' - probably the most interesting of the electro tracks, features only on the deluxe edition of  Bionic - the standard version of the album could have benefitted from this song being on the track list, rather than appearing on another disc as a bonus track.) Among bizarre songs like 'I Hate Boys' and 'Vanity', the latter of which include lyrics of "I'm not cocky, I just love myself, bitch!",  Bionic ...

'You Make Loving Fun' -  the fourth and final single to be released from 1977's  Rumours - is not only a great pop song, but a fine representation of the musical era from which it came.  Aside from rich, melodic verses, it's the chorus that makes the track so joyous - Christine McVie's vocals glide effortlessly over a funky groove, perfectly timed against harmonic backing vocals.  The result is a glorious, uplifting sound, which is further enhanced by Lindsey Buckingham's impressive guitar work.

If there is one song on The Killers' latest album  Battle Born that indicates a return to their former sounds pre- Day & Age , then 'The Rising Tide' is surely it.  Opening with an impressive 40 second electro infused intro that wouldn't sound out of place on debut  Hot Fuss , the track then evolves into a surge of rocking guitars, powerful vocals and atmospheric lyrics, reminiscent of the Springsteen influence that was ever so present on 2006's Sam's Town.  ' The Rising Tide'   has all the qualities of a future single, and is one of the standout tracks on what is admittedly a grower of an album.

Taken from Guster's sixth studio album Easy Wonderful , That's No Way To Get To Heaven is, in terms of arrangement a simplistic, yet powerful song.  I like how the instrumentation is layered; the track starts with just guitar, but further elements are gradually introduced at key moments of the song's progression. The appearance of piano and vocal harmonies in particular, add a lovely warmth to the overall production of the song, and with lines of "One half of me is still shaking / The other half is still waiting for a lover", the clarity and strength of Ryan Miller's lead vocal is evident throughout.

More Than This  was the first single to be released from Roxy Music's final studio album, Avalon , in 1982.  Not only is it one of my favourite Roxy tracks, I also think it's the song which best represents the band's transition into the smooth and more polished sound which was so present in their later work.  Bryan Ferry's vocals blend effortlessly through verse and chorus, with lines which contribute to the atmospheric feel of the track - "Like a dream in the night / Who can say where we're going...Why the sea on the tide / Has no way of turning".  Just as impressive is the instrumental outro, which, led by lush synths and layers of guitar, more than makes up for the absence of vocals in the final few minutes of the song.

Taken from Josh Rouse's fourth studio album 1972 , ‘Comeback (Light Therapy)’ has an irresistible bass line that draws the listener in from the start. The track depicts the struggles of seasonal affective disorder; "The sun is gonna shine in June / The doctor says I'll feel better soon” sings Rouse, followed by grooving horns that climax into an equally addictive chorus. The song's timeless feel is intensified in the bridge, with the uplifting vocal line “I miss my serotonin and my days are going nowhere fast” soaring alongside a sublime flute arrangement.