Sourhouse’s Tunes of the Year 2020
#10
LOGIC1000 – DJ LOGIC PLEASE FORGIVE ME
Oh man. Just wait for those synths to kick in. The rule with so many great 90s tunes was ‘the fewer notes, the better’, and Aussie DJ-producer Logic1000 embodies that theory here. Homages the sounds of that decade mix with its UK Bass underbelly, and guarantee this to get under your skin in an instant. I only came across this thing in January, yet from the get-go I knew this would be the benchmark dance track of the year. Nothing about that sentiment has changed.
#9
WORKING MEN’S CLUB – VALLEYS
Brutalist concrete grey meets Acid House laser-light green on the debut album from Working Men’s Club, and as their record is opened by the pounding drums of ‘Valleys’, you feel immediately transported to the beautified bleakness of West Yorkshire’s valley towns. Sydney Minsky-Sargent’s voice is so aggressively prosaic on here, behaving like a tannoy of modern life boredom, and it’s splashed against the bold, insanely catchy synths. In true Second Summer of Love Fashion, there’s even a clap-effect breakdown for good measure. The ultimate marriage of mosh pit and rave.
#8
CAR SEAT HEADREST – CAN’T COOL ME DOWN
Car Seat Headrest, or Car Seat Radioheadrest? Cause to be quite frank, Will Toledo’s voice sounds very much like a certain Mr Yorke’s on this one of the best things C.S.H. have released in years. Let’s make it clear, those similarities are not a detriment: as his anxious lyrics dance around the equally anxious synths and jittery drums, the band deliver an unparalleled anthem for nervousness. The way this thing builds once you’re past the halfway mark is majestic, whilst that chorus is something I feel in love with immediately – just listen to the switch in vocal production, giving it a rawness that only hammers home its lyrics.
#7
GORILLAZ, PETER HOOK, GEORGIA – ARIES
As if we hadn’t all been convinced that Gorillaz are the undisputed king of melancholic anthems, ‘Aries’ surely proves it once and for all. Joining their own esteemed roster of such tracks – see ‘Feel Good Inc’ and ‘On Melancholy Hill’ to name a few – it doesn’t just feel like that the definitive virtual band project has found its mojo once again, but that everyone involved poured their heart into this cut. Peter Hook, already a wizard on the bass, dazzles here with a classic riff that is packed full of warmth, whilst Georgia’s punchy, staccato drums give this thing a perfect dose of warming apprehension. As blue as its lyrics might be, I’m left feeling like everyone gave their all working on this track, creating an undeniable feeling of authenticity; a feeling that carries you every time you listen to it.
#6
COURTING – DAVID BYRNE’S BAD SIDE
It pains me to say this, but lets be honest: few things in Alternative and guitar rock feel genuinely original these days. But plucky Liverpudlian upstarts Courting seem to have pulled something out of the bag. ‘David Byrne’s Bad Side’ bursts with scathing cynicism that is just so fucking inspired, with lead singer Sean Murphy-O’Neill straining to keep his pub jeer voice from straight up shouting into the mic. Meanwhile, the guitars timbre along with grit and groove, echoing something that sounds like a lovechild between The Jam and Wire. By the time that witty sax solo comes in to close out the show, you’re left giddy and completely bowled over. Courting most certainly are a band to have on your radar right now.
#5
LADY GAGA, ARIANA GRANDE –
RAIN ON ME
Who’d have guessed that two of the biggest pop stars on Earth would collaborate like this? Grande and Gaga seemingly didn’t come within orbit of each other until this year, and then, when we needed them most (‘fuck you 2020 joke number 43’), they gave us this. There’s no ego clashing here, just two singers delivering the ultimate overcome-anything-tune.
Gaga’s talent for making anything uplifting excels here, with lyrics that are determined to climb out of the lowest of the lows. Its bombastic dance pop production drowns you with Chromatica’s grey-on-pink Drag Race-does-Star Trek campness, whilst both singers get to show off their talent in unison. Never in my wildest bi dreams did I imagine that this would be this good.
#4
SLOWTHAI –
BB (BODY BAG)
If Slowthai practically performed a land invasion of the British music scene in 2019, this was the year he conquered it. Countless features and a string of fantastic singles secured that victory for sure, but it’s on ‘BB’ that you really feel he’s celebrating said victory. Accomplishment and class exudes from every second of its laid-back Grime vibe, whilst his flow and lyrics are scorching.
Slowthai’s image for me is one often associated with a certain English grubbiness that he embodies so well, but this is proof that when he wants to deliver something with polish and world-beating credentials, he’s more than capable. Without question his most professional, most complete and fully-realised release to date, and one who’s ego and brawn are so good to listen to.
#3
JESSIE WARE –
SOUL CONTROL
Allow me to be a little more pretentious than I usually am for just a moment: one does not simply name a song ‘Soul Control’. You do not just casually write something with that title without being willing to work your arse off to earn it. When you make something heavily inspired by the Post Disco and Boogie sound of the early 80s, you have to pay your respects to those genres, and those are genres where words like ‘soul’ and ‘control’ convey the immense expectations of gold-plated dance floor heaven.
It seems like Ware was fully aware of all of this, because ‘Soul Control’ achieves an inspired, almost legendary quality right from the get go. The synths are electrifying, the hooks are virulent, the beat grabs hold of you like nothing else, and the result is euphoric, unrivalled dance music heaven. Songs this good make you question how on earth they can be legal to listen to.
#2
CHARLI XCX –
FOREVER
In case you’ve missed the memo, Charli has been casually reinventing what pop is supposed to sound like for the last half a decade, so it’s only natural that a moment like this was going to come along eventually. See, so far, all of her explorations into Future Pop and Bubblegum have a wonderfully absurdist quality to them.
‘Forever’ is not cut from the same cloth – it hurts, it’s a painfully real song about loss, memories and moving on. As its huge synths distort into infinity and her vocals float into the aether, you’re carried along a turbo-ride of nostalgia and a longing for warmth. For a generation so often looking to label its position within the world, identify with an identity and ‘live through something’, ‘Forever’ is the sonic conceptualisation of exactly how that feels.
If she and her style had had any doubters, I refuse to accept they could be left unconvinced by ‘Forever’. A song so tenderly on the pulse of today.
#1
MEGAN THEE STALLION ft BEYONCE –
SAVAGE (REMIX)
I’ve done my best to keep the references to this groundbreakingly horrendous year to a minimum whilst writing this article, but I’m afraid I have to break that rule for this song. There’s a very good reason, however: seeing as we’ve been spending a lot of time inside this year, so many of the usual big Hip Hop bangers I’d whack on when I need to feel some hype haven’t hit the same. You need to be out and about to enjoy them properly. Little did we know that Megan and Beyonce had just the remedy for that.
The original version of Savage is a solid tune, a perfect showcase all the appeal of the ‘Hot Girl Meg’ style. But then comes in Queen B to elevate it to legendary status. That line “Imma flip my hair and look back while I twerk in the mirror” nails it: this song was born to be listened to on your own, loud and proud whilst dancing in your bedroom. Plenty of tunes have the power to make you feel good about yerself, but ‘Savage’ is the equivalent of a personal trainer for self love. It forces you to celebrate everything about you. There’s no expectation here to look a certain way or have a certain body type or match some vain expectation; whatever you’ve got, you are that bitch, and ‘Savage’ is the place to flaunt it.
In all the times that this year has had me feeling angry, scared, alone, ugly, whatever, ‘Savage’ has been a saving grace. That chorus is to die for, so assertive and sexy, whilst Beyonce’s whispering adlibs add so much to Megan’s fierce flow. Not a single line on this thing could be interpreted as anything less than iconic; Megan and Bey are like life coaches for Gen Z attitudes.
Don’t get me wrong, ‘Savage’ would still be just as good in any other year, but something about what we’ve been through in 2020 confirms how much we needed its energy. Feeling good about yourself is a full time job in this day and age, and thank fuck we have anthems like this to help us out.
Certification: Personal Favourite
Personal Favourite is the highest accolade I award to music, recognising it as one of my favourites of all time.
And that draws Sourhouse’s Tunes of the Year 2020 to a close. Make sure to look out for our Albums of the Year list dropping on Friday, and in the meantime, dig into the playlist of all the tunes featured here:
