VFM’s Top Singles of 2013

Alright, so there were more than a couple of duds that stank up the charts in 2013. However, as we wait for the results of BBC’s Sound of 2014 Poll, our VFM writers cast their minds back over the Year of Miley and reminded themselves of the great songs that kept them sane…

***WARNING: CONTAINS ONLY AWESOME SONGS***

CHVRCHES- GUN

What a year it’s been for girls in the music industry. Scottish gal Lauren Mayberry and her band of merry men formed the band Chrvches a few years ago and last year they made my summer with their single “Gun” from their debut album, The Bones of What You Believe. I’ve already gushed about these guys to my friends, family and online family (including my lovely VFM relatives) but what’s once more right?

The reason “Gun” rocked my world this year was a collection of things. Firstly, there is the totally synthetic beat, which is so stark and electronic and yet feels deeply connected to nature. Also, let’s mention the fabulously sassy lyrics that tells tales of girls threatening their bad men with tubular weaponry as they run away from the scene. Who doesn’t like a pissed off Scot with a pistol? In a world of ten-a-penny electropop bands Chvrches stand out as one of the most exciting because they are both accessible and fantastic, appealing to the masses and self-appointed prestige music critics alike. “Gun” represents their sound perfectly: raw, obtainable and just so wonderful!
JamesTaylorrr

LITTLE GREEN CARS- SPIDER LEGS

An Irish mix of singer/songwriter and folk has finally pushed the Dublin scene’s image away from the bland banquet of The Script. Harper Lee, their second release has something for everyone. It is well worth sitting down and listing to this CD all the way through, as it seems to be one of the few indie releases these days that have paid good attention to song ordering.

The title track takes you by the hand with well crafted vocal hooks to set you completely in the mood for the next 15 minutes. You are introduced to their American gothic lyrical styles, it’s very easy to find yourself quoting lines from all of these songs! However it’s the last two tracks “Red (Demo)” and “Spider Legs” that really make this band stand out. “Red” is a beautiful a capella with strong ties to Americana folk. They truly show off their harmonizing here, allowing you to be haunted by these cold lyrics. “Spider Legs” makes you truly question whether you are listening to a guitar based band at all. Melodies that leave you with goose bumps, textures so delicate that make you feel that if you were to pause the track, it would shatter like glass. That’s why “Spider Legs” is my track of the year.
MattLightbound

NYPC- THINGS LIKE YOU

While I had some problems with their album, I do feel that in this, the third single off NYPC, the duo well and truly knocked it out of the ballpark.

With its stuttering riff and typical shouty vocals from Tahita Bulmer, this is a song that takes a while to announce itself. Instead it stands in your living room, and slowly inspects everything you own before turning your world on its head by shedding its dark cloak to reveal party clothes and shouting ‘SURPISE DUET!’ And yes, Morgan Quaintance’s added vocals on the irresistible chorus raise this from just a very good song to one of the best pop songs released this year. It plants trumpeting synths, churning guitars, and vocals and watches calmly as they come together and pay off, creating a dark pop anthem that hurtles with purpose towards the ‘replay’ button. NYPC were always good at creating music that sweeps you up and surrounds you, but this is beautiful.

“Things Like You” is a slice of musical perfection that commands you to dance and sing along, and you would be incredibly churlish if you declined its invitation.
LassoMagicaRescarte

DEAP VALLEY- BAD FOR MY BODY

Okay, so it hasn’t officially been released as a ‘single’, but coming from an album that’s had accolades thrown at it this past year, I think you’ll forgive me.

From the very first ring of that crisp distortion, I knew there was something special about these two girls from California. Intent on catching our attention at the biggest festivals this year, they’ve got the U.K sitting up and listening! Indeed, the duo has fast become one of my favourite bands and, judging by the time their debut album has lived inside my car’s stereo system, my favourite album of the year. So, why this song in particular?

The answer? Because it’s simple. Because it’s clever. Because it’s empowering. With its sharp, stabby verses, catchy refrains and explosive energy, this is a song for some good ol’ foot-stomping, air-punching, hairbrush-singing, head-banging female rebellion. And god knows we’re due for some Rock’n’Roll freedom. Lindsey Troy’s rough vocals are emotion-packed and her carefree attitude and lyrics something to aspire to. As is the duo’s stage presence and playing. Their song lyrics are blunt, bold, and (in this case) dare to criticise the hypocrisy of older generations. They sing about not being made ashamed by others for being young, for being a bit reckless; something I feel is more resonant in recent society than ever before.

There’s something raw about their music, an authenticity that’s been lost along the way. There’s a dash of Rock’n’Roll rebellion, a spoonful of classic rock ethos, and a whole heap of sticking it to the man; this is a song that (hopefully) marks a new era for girls with guitars and drumsticks everywhere. This is a band for the modern day feminist.

Check out Deap Vally’s debut album, Sistrionix!
Alicia Ballard

FOALS- BAD HABIT

“Bad Habit”, a single off Foals’ third studio album, Holy Fire, is one of those tracks that you can keep playing again and again, yet it still feels fresh as the first time. Holy Fire as an album was a tremendous follow-up to their critically acclaimed predecessor Total Life Forever, and even though the album holds some great tracks such as “My Number” and “Inhaler”, I have to go with Bad Habit being my song of the year. I think it’s hard to describe music without sounding a little pretentious—so bear with me on this—but it’s just a song that stays with you. Yougetme? It’s a track filled with poignant lyrics, but because it’s quite upbeat you miss that the first time round. And that’s what I like in my music! Layers. Like an onion. “Bad Habit” was the perfect soundtrack to my own memories of 2013, and if you’ve not checked it out—do so.
CatSmith92

CARO EMERALD- LIQUID LUNCH

My favorite single of 2013 has to be “Liquid Lunch” by Dutch performer Caro Emerald. The song was released on 21 May 2013 as the second single from her second studio album The Shocking Miss Emerald. Caro Emerald’s music has been described as a fusion of Jazz and pop and that is clearly shown in “Liquid Lunch”. It’s Jazzy, upbeat, beautifully sung and is such a fun song. Liquid Lunch is a tongue in cheek song from one sassy gal. What makes “Liquid Lunch” different from other contemporary pop music songs is that not only does it have a mix of jazz but it also breaks away with the running theme of singing about going to the club, instead focusing on a more realistic and relatable aspect of what happens when we have a little too much fun on a night out. It is a song aimed for anyone who has gone out with a group of friends (maybe just to get something to eat) and woken up the next day with a banging head ache and an empty wallet. It is the ultimate hangover song.
KerrySlater

So there you have it! What were your favourite tunes of 2013? Leave us a comment below!

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Review: The Problem With NYPC

New Young Pony Club, or NYPC, as they are now to be known, are amazing.

The new album from NYPC, titled… NYPC.

I’m sorry if that’s not the most objective statement, but you try being an unsuccessful punk with awful hair that you hated at the age of 14 and hearing The Bomb for the first time and realising that Tahita Bulmer, that wonderful wonderful woman, with the most badass hair and clothes ever, had gifted you pop punk. You try not LOVING THEM.

So the news of a new record, three years after the awesomeness that was The Optimist, turned me into a gibbering wreck, kneeling in front of my letter box to recieve the package of musical love that was to arrive from Paradise, care of Royal Mail.

I have to admit though, that at first listen, I wasn’t keen on the album- none of the new songs in the first half really grabbed me. The crystal, clear cut melodies of Sure As the Sun didn’t really do anything for me, and Now I’m Your Gun just felt like we’d travelled back to Fantastic Playroom and unremembered everything that made NYPC more than your average arrogant pop outfit.

And then I listened to it on a CD player instead of on my rubbish laptop, and just… yes. NYPC were totally back. They’ve managed to mix the punky, obnoxious and delightful elements of their debut (Most evidenced on Hard Knocks) with the elegant, dark sound scapes of The Optimist (as on the previously reviled track Now I’m Your Gun) and made it into beautiful songs that sound like the ridiculously over saturated sunset that graces the cover.

There’s still beauty- I mean, what is Things Like You if not pop at its most beautiful, without getting all schmaltzy? And there’s still darkness. And there’s still laugh out loud hilarious lyrics. And there’s still things that should be obnoxious (such as repeating sounds at different frequencies on I Came Through For You) but which just make you smile.

And therein lies the problem with this album- it’s still. We haven’t moved anywhere. We haven’t really progressed. You can remove up to three members, and have a sort of new title, but the music hasn’t really matured. It’s still as good as it ever was, because NYPC know what works for them, but then, where’s the risk? And if you only ever cater towards the sounds that you know you can do well, where’s the bad? But also, where’s the moment of supreme awesome?

This is a record that I have waited three years for, and which still only comes with the grudging requisite ten tracks, which is beginning to look a little stingy, guys. One of the most hilarious things about NYPC’s career is that every time a new album comes out, critics laud it as being such a departure from their previous work. I am beginning to believe that its just been so DARN LONG between the albums that the critics forget exactly what the last records sounded like, and so yes, it is a departure- but a departure from a train station whose tracks are essentially just one, three year long, circle.

And what really annoys me is that The Optimist, which did actually make some efforts at wing-stretching, is now being retroactively called ‘Bulmer flounder[ing] amid feelings of loss and bitterness’. But that loss and bitterness was what made it different, and a stronger album than Fantastic Playroom! And if we criticise that while praising an album that shows next to no growth, what example are we setting for musicians? That trying to do something new is overrated?

This is a worrying trend in music that needs to be corrected. Bands used to release an album every year, and you know what? They found different sounds to fill those albums with. Now we have a new album every three years, and its essentially exactly the same. Yes, I can tell the musical difference because I’m an obsessed nerd, but no one sane can.

Let’s say that you wanted to listen to a Punk rock/New Wave Blondie album- you have Parallel Lines. And you ONLY have Parallel Lines. Plastic Letters is a mix of punk rock and the fifties rock’n’roll pop that filled their first album, and Eat to the Beat, which follows, it essentially just New Wave and Pop. Subsequent Blondie albums get even wilder and weirder.

Let’s say you want to listen to a punk/pop/dance NYPC record.

Please see: every album NYPC have ever produced.