Tracks of the Year 2018

Each month I pluck twenty tracks from obscurity and provide them with a wider exposure among the worlds music fans in my undisputed role as leading social media influencer...

As the year ends I review these and create a best of list comprising my top 40 tracks of the year. This year I have already praised these songs and want to offer you alternative views so I have sought the wisdom of fanatics, critics and internet trolls from the comment section of YouTube... 

40) The Poison Tree by The Good The Bad And The Queen
"I want to cry amigos" Pablo Landin

39) Sweet Release by The Coral
“They now sound like Franz Ferdinand” Jamie Lester

38) Sometimes by Cub Sport
“Who let this guy...thing...out of the 80’s box? You know, there’s a reason we quit listening to this crap and dressing like idiots on Miami Vice.  Go forward and stop retrograding everything” Nathan Boyd

37) Faces by Holy Holy
“This is so repetitive... "Faces are faces and faces are places, Places are faces and faces and faces..." Its just someone singing "faces and faces and faces and faces over and over. Please no more, make it stop.” Maxx

36) Everybody Wants To Be Famous by Superorganism
"Maybe the worst song I ever heard" tullguy

35) Like This (Radio Edit) by Protoje
"im a Chinese men,not America,smokeing ganja,not crack,我也没干什么坏事儿你们凭什么抓我,卷一个大的我头脑不会发昏" Sahvy Hsu

34) Spooky by The Nextmen Vs Gentlemen’s Dub Club featuring Hollie Cook
“The Doctor Who melody works ridiculously well” Subculture

33) Scream Whole by Methyl Ethel
“Good Song. But nothing new here” Liam Welsh

32) We Belong Dead by Slash
“Slash is literally the last person on earth I would have expected on a dubstep track,but man he’s absolutely killing it” saniopurulent

31) Dylan & Caitlin by Manic Street Preachers
“Turning into The Beautiful South” Mike Thorpe

30) Severed by The Decemberists
“Who are you and what have you done with my favourite alt-folk band?” Floyd

29) Worship by Golden Features

"This is a style in itself" ABII

28) Surface To Air by Django Django featuring Self Esteem

"Utter utter dippy shite" Johnny Christmas

27) Walking All Day by Graham Coxon

"This song is how I feel today - shit" Johnny Grogan

26) Seize The Day by The Herbalist

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25) Pulsar by Ride

“Love this cover of Sweet Child O’ Mine” Chris Waistle

24) Rudeboy by Nextmen Vs Gentlemen’s Dub Club

“Cultural Appropriation at it’s finest” Laura Hayes

23) The Heart Is A Muscle by Gang Of Youths

“Meh, Arcade Fire did it better” Jesse Delaney

22) Our Love by Sloan Peterson
"💖" Erin R

21) Call If You Need Me by Vance Joy

"Australia's answer to Chris Isaac" Julie Norgrove

20) Black Flowers by Reverend and the Makers

“Mucking Fagic” Ian Buchanan

19) Bad Got Me Good by Gin Wigmore

“Experiment with psychobilly please :)” Malcolm Scally

18) Black Moon Rising by Black Pumas
"Sounds Like Ceelo Green at his worst. also out of tune." teragraML

17) Star Treatment by Arctic Monkeys
"Play it on 1.5x and hear Alex rapping" Anjastuh 

16) I Am A Dog by Ball Park Music
“I just don’t like that chorus lyrics. I just don’t like it” The lead singer’s dad

15) Walking To Oman’s by Fraser A. Gorman
"No more Bob Dylan's hairstyle" leql

14) Jinglin’ Janglin’ by Fort Knox Five
No comments 0👎

13) My Antidote by Slash, Myles Kennedy & The Conspirators
“Heard it all before...This band are so boring.” Dan Kozak

12) 1933 by Frank Turner
“Personally I believe the political message to this song to be a pretty cliche and over exaggerated but I enjoy the song so meh” legoWithASliceOfCheese

11) Talking Straight by Rolling Blackouts Coastal Fever
"Not bad, nothing new" Lukas

10) Lay It Down by Black Gold Buffalo

"Nice sound" DX Satellite Rock

9) You Worry Me by Nathaniel Rateliff and the Night Sweats
"This song is the bane of my existence. Its literally on every radio station and it sucks." blumpkinfest

8) Your Love Is My Favourite Band by The Vaccines
"This band is terrible" Malori Williams

7) Me and Michael by MGMT
“*Michael and I” Nick Steinbring

6) Bullet Proof by This Is The Kit
"So magical, I'm in love, I love it 😍" The Brokenscene Queen

5) Silvery Sometimes (Ghosts) by The Smashing Pumpkins
"2079" Cambaudio

4) Out The Window by Confidence Man
“This song is like the whole of summer 1990 distilled into a single track.  Love it.” Steve Berry

3) Tieduprightnow by Parcels
"Surely they aren't Australian?" Inaya Zubair

2) In The Air by The DMA’s
"Emotional Chav" 3 incher

1) Tranquility Base Hotel And Casino by Arctic Monkeys
“Jazz??? My ass this is elevator music at best!!!” Tamar Wahab

Old Indie Kid's Mixtape December 2018

These are the twenty tracks that have pushed their way to the top over the last month just in time to appear on my final monthly mixtape.  But expect plenty more over the next month as I will work on the end of year best of mixtapes and maybe a few bonus playlists from my Eighties retrospectives.  Years 1977 to 1984 are already out there and I will turn my attention to 85 next.

Merry Christmas

1) My Antidote by Slash featuring Myles Kennedy and The Conspirators
Slash appears on my playlist twice in subsequent months.  A huge return to form after 25 years of obscurity.  This is pure rock music and reminds me of "You Could Be Mine" era GN'fR!!!!

2) Lips Like Sugar (Transformed) by Echo & The Bunnymen 
This is a re-recording of a 1987 single but much better than the original which I hadn't heard before.  Taken from an album of re-recorded hits by E&TB.

3) New Direction by Sloan Peterson 
Indie rock in the best tradition - short, punky, spunky, catchy riffs and great lyrics.

4) My Friend's A Liquid by Psychedelic Porn Crumpets
Perth band who have dialled down the fuzz guitars and are headed in a more commercial direction - for them.  Now they sound as commercial as King Gizzard and The Lizard Wizard.  KG&TLW have taken 2018 off after releasing five albums in the previous year but I expect they have been recording at their usual work rate so expect new albums soon. 

 5) Something For The Pain by She Drew The Gun
Marxist pop so probably not very popular but another great protest song.

6) My Hands by Running Touch 
A dark and deep dance track by this Melbourne producer.

7) Santa's Comin' Down The Chimney by Confidence Man
A very catchy beat and one of the cheekiest Christmas singles since The Darkness sang "Christmas Time - Don't Let The Bells End".

8) Hope You Found What You've Been Missing by Cults 
Haunting tune from Cults - do I hear sleigh bells in the mix?  Crafty bastards - that always works on me at this time of year.

9) The Poison Tree by The Good The Bad And The Ugly   
After eleven years this band resurfaces with four grumpy men moaning about Brexit Britain and the music is largely unbearable.  This closing album track is the exception - a real Damon tearjerker.

10) Bison On The Plains by Grandaddy 
A new single from the recently reformed American band.

11) Back For Good by The Wedding Present 
Perth will host a friendly game next year between Man Utd and Leeds Utd.  In this warm up The Wedding Present (Leeds) take on a Nineties hit from Take That (Manchester). 

12) Stars Around My Heart by Steve Mason
Feel good music from the former Beta Band head honcho.

13) She Works Out Too Much by MGMT  
An album track taken from the Little Dark Age album about the breakup of a relationship caused by gym membership.

14) All My Friends Are Falling In Love by The Vaccines 
New single not included on their 2018 Combat Sports album.   

15) For The Record by Winston Surfshirt 
Australia's Winston Surfshirt release some fresh Summer vibes.

16) Rudeboy by The Nextmen Vs Gentlemen's Dub Club featuring Gardna
Taken from the excellent Pound for Pound album.

17) Out Of Place by The Delta Riggs 
Aussie indie rockers who are not evolving musically at all.  However, if you liked them last time then you will again.

18) Brighton Pier by Razorlight 
Over ten years since their last album and Razorlight are back and on top form.  I've enjoyed all the new tracks I've heard so far and will be listening to their new album soon to check if its as good as I hope.

19) Leave Me Lonely by Hilltop Hoods 
New track from the biggest group in Australian Hip Hop.  Get ready for their new album The Great Expanse in February 2019.

20) Zombie Bastards by Weezer
Taken from Weezer's Black Album - an instant classic "Die! Die! You Zombie Bastards!"

Mixtape June 2018

Half way through the year already so I have now selected 120 songs/tracks to soundtrack 2018 and I will continue to plow through new releases to uncover the best new music.  I found the Spotify algorithms were delivering me very predictable suggestions for new releases so I reviewed and unfollowed a few hundred bands trying to mix it up.   

Confident Music For Confident People 

1)  Out the Window by Confidence Man
This is a storming tune - sounds like Primal Scream circa 1991 meets the Polyphonic Spree.

2) Anything U Want by Needshes
Indie disco track hailing from Tashkent, Uzbeckistan. 

3) Your Love Is My Favourite Band by The Vaccines
Another great tune from the London band.  Love a song that mentions listening to the chart countdown.  Takes me back to the 80's with my tape recorder and finger hovering over the pause button.

4) Long Wave by Bonny Doon
This Detroit band take things in a more relaxed direction.

5) Walking To Oman's by Fraser A. Gorman
Australian musician has just released this beautiful downbeat track ahead of a new album.

6) Far Away Truth by Albert Hammond Jr.
Whilst The Strokes are on hiatus we still have Albert Hammond Jr. releasing music of a very similar nature.

7) Little Dark Age (Ghost Vision Remix) by MGMT
A remix of the title track of MGMT's last album.  I'm trying to find out who is behind this remix and it appears they might be related to UK duo Psychemagik and I will be delving deeper into their music.

8) Star Treatment by Arctic Monkeys
This new album has divided and alienated their fans.  I personally love it as Alex Turner is surely the best lyricists of his generation and he fills the whole album with his wordplay delivered via a trans-Atlantic lounge lizard crooner character.  Welcome to Smoothcore. 

9) Cactus by Teleman
The definitive song about finding freedom via cactus impalement.  Don't try this at home indie kids.

10) Bells & Circles by Underworld & Iggy Pop
Iggy Pop rants like a madman about the golden age of air travel when he could smoke on planes and pull air hostesses over an pounding Underworld track.

11) Contradiction by Alborosie ft. Chronix
Chronix appeared on three new singles this week collaborating with Alborosie, Richie Spice and Protoje - popular guy.

12) Dare (Friction Remix) by Gorillaz
This month I have been mostly enjoying drum n bass artist Friction.  Gorillaz have also just returned with a new song this month.

13) Break Me by DMA's
Time to chillax again.  Sydney's Madchester wannabes offer such an opportunity with some retro shoegazing music.

14) Sweet Release by The Coral
Merseyside rockers are currently touring with the Manics and although they vanished from my radar fifteen years ago they have actually been releasing albums all the time - to my total ignorance.

15) Smack My Pitch Up by The Traffic
I do not know who this band are but they play a great instrumental version of The Prodigy tune.

16) Tracks (Back To You) by Bootleg Rascals
Australian group who describe themselves as "Taco slinging dub warriors".

17) Younger by The Hails
Smooth grooves and indie rock from this band from Florida.

18) Never Start by Middle Kids
Sydney trio who have just released their debut album on the Domino label.

19) Easy Jesus by Naive Set
Guitar indie pop from Amsterdam.

20) The Perfect Life Does Not Exist by Ball Park Music
Playing out this month are Ball Park Music with yet another great song lifted from their Good Mood album.

Mixtape May 2018

I'm back again with twenty new songs that have tickled my fancy over the last few weeks.
I don't appear to have personally uncovered any new bands this month but there is a high supply of great new music from established artists. 

1) Tracers by Johnny Marr
Guitar-fest heralding the return of Johnny Marr and his third solo album since striking out under his own name.  Actually his real name is John Maher but he adopted his stage moniker to avoid confusion with the drummer of The Buzzcocks.

2) The Lovecats (TC & Benny Remix) by The Cure
The Cure's 1990 remix album Mixed Up was my first introduction to this seminal band and I quickly hovered up their back catalogue (except Faith /Carnage Visors (1981) which I couldn't stand).  Twenty eight years later The Cure are preparing a special edition of Mixed Up and this previously unreleased remix of their 1983 pop single is a welcome discovery.

3) Fascination by Confidence Man
Funky Australian electro taken from their debut album Confident Music for Confident People.

4) Surfing In The Sky by The Vaccines
High tempo crashing drums and guitars with soaring melodies and chipper vocals make this an infectious slab of punk pop rock n roll.

5) I Am A Dog by Ball Park Music
This song is on high rotation in our household and it's my wife's new favourite song. The dog likes it as well.

6) Burn It by Sunflower Bean
New York band have released their second album produced by Jacob Portrait of Unknown Mortal Orchestra.  Thankfully this record has avoided the weirdness that has spun Unknown Mortal Orchestra into their current unlistenable experimental direction.

7) Into My Arms by Band Of Horses
A cover of the classic 1997 love song by Nick Cave and The Bad Seeds.

8) Bad Got Me Good by Gin Wigmore
This is a timeless breakup anthem which I can't listen to without imagining it's being sung in a 1930's Speakeasy.  Maybe it isn't timeless if I think it has a specific time?  It's great anyway.

9) Sundials (976-DUB) by Django Django
A dub remix of Django Django - I'm in blissed out heaven!

10) Serotonin by GUM
Keeping things on the calmer side GUM's latest single sounds like Spiritualized playing Screamadelica.  Relax, Man.

11) When You're Ready (Karizma Remix) by Winston Surfshirt
Winston Surfshirt's debut album has been given the remix treatment and Sponge Cake Rebaked has been released.  This track was remixed by Karizma - an artist on Spotify who had one follower.    I'm now number two in the Karizma fanclub so I'll let you know how their career develops!

12) Blaze Away by Morcheeba & Roots Manuva
This collaboration sounds good on paper and happily it doesn't disappoint on wax.

13) Better Than That by James
Manchester survivalists James are back with an upbeat single, top vocals and drum n bass rhythms.

14) Right Here, Right Now (Friction One In The Jungle Remix) by Fatboy Slim
Keeping it Massive - a tasty d&b remix of the Fatboy Slim track that was turns 20 this year! 

15) Pablo Picasso by Jack White
Ex White Stripes man covers one of my favourite songs originally recorded by the Modern Lovers in the early 1970s.  I prefer the original but this cover is a fun re-interpretation.  In Jack White's mind he is Jimi Hendrix.

16) TiedUpRightNow by Parcels
Berlin based Australian group specialising in five piece harmonies and funky disco.  Beloved by Daft Punk who co-wrote their previous single.

17) Loaded by Miles Kane
Miles Kane is one half of The Lost Shadow Puppets.  The other half is Alex Turner who will release the Arctic Monkeys long awaited sixth album next month. 

18) For Now (Confidence Man Remix) by DMA's
The Oasis fixated Sydneysiders have released a second album and this baggy inspired track is remixed by fellow Aussies, Confidence Man. 

19) Everything's Gone Green (live) by Peter Hook & The Light
I'm currently reading Peter Hook's book Substance - Inside New Order which is a gripping read about the music, the tour antidotes and the inter-band rivalry. I often wondered why Hooky left New Order but after a few chapters of this book I'm surprised they lasted so long.  This is a live recording of New Order's first programmed tracked.  It was the forerunner to the dance hits Temptation and Blue Monday.

20) She Taught Me How To Fly by Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds
This song is so catchy I had to included it so it can be stuck in your heads as well.