Half Way Through – FAVE SONGS of the first half of 2022
15
HITSUJIBUNGAKU : “光るとき (Hikaru toki)”
from Heike Monogatari OST (an anime)
Sounding like The Cranberries meets The Sundays in Tokyo, the lyrics are all in Japanese of course, but the song and melody are completely timeless and beautiful
14
JOCKSTRAP : “Concrete Over Water”
from a forthcoming LP TBA
“I’m glad you take me as I am/ Whatever shape with woman, man
Black or blue, a filthy cheat I am/ And you still come to see the band
Light and dark at once/ So dazzling dark because of its bright..”
13
SABA : Come My Way (feat. KRAYZIE BONE of Bone Thugs ‘N’ Harmony)
from Few Good Things
“Blood, I mean a vessel
I’ma tell him to be careful ’cause a copper wanna kill him/ And the family in the ghetto
From the bottom of the barrel, I’ma run it like a pharaoh
N***a, this is for the peasants who be worried bout the peso”
12
BLACK COUNTRY, NEW ROADS : “Good Will Hunting”
from Ants From Up Here
“She had Billie Eilish style/ Moving to Berlin for a little while
I’m tryna find something to hold on to
Never text me nothing But she wants to tell me
She’s not that hard to find
And message me if you change your mind”
11
HIKARU UTADA : “Somewhere Near Marseilles ーマルセイユ辺り”
from Bad Mode
“I’m in London, you’re in Paris/ So shall we try to plan a rendezvous vacay?
We can take a spot with easy access/ Maybe somewhere near Marseilles
I’m gonna give it to you/ I’ll get a room with a view”
10
YEULE : “Too Dead Inside”
from Glitch Princess
“I can’t stop relying on the darkness of my own demons, unholy
Memories, the curse of teeth that bites into my flesh
And bleeds out of me the bloody mess l made
The love that always fades/ The flowers that remain”
09
SOCCER MOMMY : “Shotgun”
from Sometimes, Forever
“Cold beer and ice cream is all we keep/ The only things we really need
‘Cause I like dessert and alcohol/ And watching as you get drunk and you’re stumbling in the hall
So whenever you want me I’ll be around/ I’m a bullet in a shotgun waiting to sound”
08
DESTROYER : “June”
from Labyrinthitis
“A snow angel’s a fucking idiot somebody made/ A fucking idiot someone made in the snow
Then you look up by chance from the disco dance/ You’re doing into the light of the moon
It’s June and you’ve improved/ Yеs, you are renewеd”
07
BEACH HOUSE : “Masquerade”
from Once Twice Melody
“Her eyes masquerade, fade to black/ They’ll come at night to take her back
Light each candle, here tonight, then gone forever”
06
FONTAINES D.C. : “Jackie Down the Line”
from Skinty Fia
“What good is happiness to me/ If I’ve to wield it carefully?
For care I’ll always come up short/ It’s only right
I don’t think we rhyme/ I will wear you down in time
I will hurt ye, I’ll desert ye/ I am Jackie down the line”
05
KENDRICK LAMAR : “Mother I Sober” (ft. BETH GIBBONS)
from Mr. Morale and The Big Steppers
“I know the secrets, every other rapper sexually abused/ I see ’em daily buryin’ they pain in chains and tattoos
So listen close before you start to pass judgement on how we move
Learn how we cope, whenever his uncle had to walk him from school
His anger grows deep in misogyny/ This is post-traumatic black families..”
04
NILUFER YANYA : “Midnight Sun”
from Painless
“Love is raised by common thieves/ Hiding diamonds up their sleeves
Always I did it for you/ Never felt so sure
You’re my best machine/ You’re my midnight sun/ Always I did it for you”
03
THE SMILE : “Free in the Knowledge”
from A Light to Attract Attention
“Free in the knowledge that one day this will end/ Free in the knowledge that everything is change
And this was just a bad moment/ We were fumbling around
But we won’t get caught like that”
02
BIG THIEF : “Simulation Swarm”
from Dragon New Warm Mountain I Believe in You
“Flicker, fever, fill the form with a warm gush, now I wanna touch like we never could before. I’d fly to you tomorrow, I’m not fighting in this war
I wanna drop my arms and take your arms/ And walk you to the shore”
01
CAROLINE POLACHEK : “Billions”
from a forthcoming LP TBA
“Headless angel/ Body upgraded
But it’s dead on arrival/ Oh, billions
Twisted, manic/ Cornucopia/ Yeah, my cup overfloweth
I never felt so close to you”
Five more gems :
ARCA : “Cayó”
BOLIS PUPUL and CHARLOTTE ADIGERY : “Ceci n’est pas un cliché”
SKY FERREIRA : “Don’t Forget”
ROSALIA : “La combi Versace” (feat. Tokischa)
SHYGIRL : “Firefly”