Jeannette Chin

DJ Koze - "Marilyn Whirlwind"
Being someone who likes to listen to electronic music because of the puzzle-piece like configuration of its elements, for me, the release of "Marilyn Whirlwind" marks the debut of a new level of possibilities in bass production. Through the blocky, symmetrical template of its 4/4 thud (via an almost engine-rev like bass and kick), Koze cleverly weaves in a diverse catalog of sounds as the track progresses. And further listens reveal subtle tempo changes and bass chord progressions. It's one of those tracks that appear repetitive on the surface, upon starting it, yet four minutes in you find yourself still listening to it. Pure audio alchemy.



John Hugar

Nine Inch Nails - "Came Back Haunted"
While How To Destroy Angels, and the soundtracks to The Social Network and The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo were certainly compelling, it was great to see Trent Reznor recording music under the Nine Inch Nails banner once again. This was easily the best track off of Hesitation Marks. In classic NIN fashion, the tension build up in the first verse, then is released in the chorus, like pent-up rage being spat at the listener. A well-deserved hit, and Reznor's best single in years.



Cliff Parks

Daft Punk - "Lose Yours"Lose Yourself To Dance (feat. Pharrell and Nile Rodgers) 
Sure "Get Lucky" was the song of the summer before "Blurred Lines" shamefully overshadowed it, but "Lose Yourself To Dance" was it for me this year. Nile Rodgers laid down the best guitar riff of the last few years for this Soul Train line dance worthy jam, and reminded us all why Johnny Marr named his son after him. Daft Punk's ambitious Random Access Memories was loaded with information and an album with a mission, but this jam was it's most straight ahead, pleasurable, and irresistible nugget. 

Shark? - "California Grrls"
A YouTube Vortex that either started with Thee Oh Sees or FIDLAR eventually introduced me to Shark? and the song “California Grrls.” It's a dark, guttural surf song made by tongue-in-cheek New Yorkers about a certain west coast sub-species. SPOILER: it's about girls from California. Super snide and catchy and accessible, too; it accounted for probably like 80% of my data plan the last couple months. Maybe I should have just paid for it instead of repeatedly smartphone jukeboxing it, but oh well ya live and ya learn. As a side note, “Minotaur” by Thee Oh Sees and “Cocaine” by FIDLAR are super-close runner-ups.

Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds - "Higgs Boson Blues"
Following my flip-flopping attitude toward my mid-year list, I am swapping out "Ya Hey" for "Higgs Boson Blues." Perhaps the Nick Cave and Vampire Weekend releases are not so different after all as they both deal with spiritual angst, dread, and longing in the Digital Age. Nonetheless, the chilling "ooohs" that propel the "Higgs Boson Blues" plunge deeper into the unnameable than most anything on Vampire Weekend's magnum opus (no easy feat).

The song icily reminds us that Martin Luther King Jr., Robert Johnson, Miley Cyrus, missionaries to Africa, and physicists at the superconductor in Geneva all inhabit the same world, where no thought, idea, or action is truly separable from any other. Great men die, pop stars float in swimming pools, and the universe carries on, fundamentally unaltered by our species' cultural shifts and scientific investigations.

Runners-Up: "Ya Hey," Vampire Weekend; "Afterlife,"Arcade Fire; "Down Down the Deep River," Okkervil River; "I Sat By the Ocean," Queens of the Stone Age



Nick Sessanna

Weatherbox – “Big News”
I have been repping this song all year and I don’t care who knows it. Between the impossibly irresistible guitar riff and singer/mastermind Brian Warren’s abstract-yet-relatable lyrics about how the entire world hates him, there’s really nothing about this song that isn’t flat out awesome. Listen and try not to get the alliterative “who got my bed bangin’ on the back of the board” stuck in your head for the next few hours. Recommended for fans of angular indie rock and 90s emo purists looking for something contemporary with sharp edges. Fans of Archers of Loaf, Say Anything, or Manchester Orchestra won’t be disappointed.



Click here for Part 2.

Bonobo - "First Fires (Maya Jane Coles Remix)"
Bonobo's most recent album, The North Borders, features a warm, downtempo sound that is as meticulously crafted as it is innovative and experimental, making it one of the best electronic albums of 2013. British deep house producer Maya Jane Coles' excellent rework of "First Fires" builds upon the melody with an entrancing bass line and dub rhythm and murky synths to make for a track that adds a driving feel while retaining the smooth, mellow feel of the original.



Jamie xx - "Untitled"
London DJ and producer Jamie Smith is most notably known for his work behind the scenes for indie pop band The xx. His solo productions, which includes a 2011 remix album of the late Gil-Scott Heron's Were New Here along with various singles apply the serene, nocturnal vibe of The xx to a more dance floor oriented sound. The latest track to surface from the young producer is an untitled and yet to be released cut ripped from a recent set in Berlin. With a shuffling rhythm, ethereal vocal slices and steel drum percussion, it's an undeniably gorgeous piece of melodic house from one of genre's most interesting artists.

 
Sei A - "I'll Take You There"
London based producer Sei A's latest EP, Make it Work, was released last week via Aus music and according to the label "blends pitch-shifted vocals, with muscular drums and hypnotic synths." The second track from the record's A-side, "I'll Take You There," is carried by a pulsing rhythm and thick bass line. The slightly slower tempo allows the groove to flourish and make way for vocal sampling that adds to the tracks dark, hard-hitting sound.



DJ Koze - "Magical Boy (Matthew Herbert Remix)
Berlin's DJ Koze is responsible for one of the year's most eclectic and adventurous sounding records with Amygdala. One of the album's standout tracks, "Magical Boy," features Matthew Dear's almost cartoonish sounding vocals and a sample of one of the best sounding bass riffs you'll ever hear. British laid-back house producer Matthew Herbert offers this sprawling, ten minute rework that churns along with bits of abstract samples and an incredibly soulful vocal from singer Rahel who absolutely kills it and gives the track a more pop-oriented feel.

 

Katy B - "I Like You"
UK pop singer Katy B is expected to release her new EP, 5 AM, November 4th and has already shared the title track. "I Like You," the latest single from the record, was produced by George FitzGerald, known for his 90's house inspired work and features a straightforward, driving garage flavored beat. With dark synth sounds coupled with a confident delivery, the hook-heavy track has undeniably British club feel that is bound to tear up dancefloors.



 Mount Kimbie - "Made To Stray" (DJ Koze Remix)

The excellent new album from Mount Kimbie, Cold Spring Fault Less Youth, has brought on a slew of remixes from names like Kyle Hall, Lee Gamble, and now Berlin's DJ Koze joins that list with a stunning reinterpretation of "Made To Stray." Like much of his 2013 LP, Amygdala, the track balances strange, almost psychedelic elements with precise rhythms that border on hypnotic. Stretching to over eight minutes, the blissful remix is as sonically adventurous as we've come to expect from the producer while retaining the warmth that make even his zaniest tracks a rewarding listen.