Top 50 Songs of 2012

40. Bat For Lashes – “All Your Gold” (Capitol)
[Single; from The Haunted Man] Buy at iTunes

Bat For Lashes has taken many forms over the years, from witchy Kate Bush-esque new kid on the block, to stunning, shrieking siren. And now, it appears she has been reincarnated as a widescreen pop songstress. First came the controversial album cover, but more importantly, there’s the music. “All Your Gold” has creeping bass slightly reminiscent of the ever-lurking Gotye’s “Somebody That I Used To Know,” pretty much guaranteeing to be an unkillable earworm. Natasha Khan’s vocals in the song are — for the most part — delivered in agonized purring tones, compared to the much more dramatic vocals on 2009’s “Glass,” the standout song from her previous album. And choruses are given far more emphasis than spoken word interludes. If Bat For Lashes really has embraced being a pop diva, then she’s doing it with style. – Grace Barber-Plentie

39. Baroness – “Cocainium” (Relapse)
[from Yellow and Gold] Buy at iTunes

Baroness has a pretty neat trick of making a bruising, bombastic rock song appear from a gauzy mist as if summoning some kind of incredible, majestic swamp monster. It happened on “Rays on Pinion,” it happened on “Bullhead’s Psalm” (into “The Sweetest Curse”), and it most definitely happens on “Cocainium.” The primary difference here is that where those songs erupted into burly Southern metal, this one gracefully eases into an epic and heady psych rocker, punctuated by fluttering organs and a warm, embracing analog buzz. And that’s all before it gets to the most incredible melodies the band has ever written. Each passage seems to build to something bigger, the sum of its five minutes always reaching higher, but never sprinting to the summit. Baroness may not be a metal band in the strictest terms anymore, but when Allen Blickle’s snare breaks through at the 4:22 mark, it feels a lot like their heaviest moment on record. – Jeff Terich

38. Nas – “Cherry Wine” [feat. Amy Winehouse] (Def Jam)
[from Life Is Good] Buy at iTunes

Nas never needed much more than a solid beat to make a great song — just check last year’s standalone single “Nasty” to hear an emcee at the top of his game, throwing fire without interruption. But Nas has partnered well with other vocalists, notably Lauryn Hill on 1996’s “If I Ruled the World,” and a similar kind of magic comes together in “Cherry Wine,” a soulful, feel-good gem that features Amy Winehouse in one of the last recordings made before her untimely passing. The flipside to some of Nas’ more bitter reflections on his failed marriage to Kelis, “Cherry Wine” is more about moving on than dwelling, and finding the right person (“who likes the same champagne as me”). It tackles a heavy subject in a light-hearted manner, and as such shows that warmth can be a flattering quality in a hip-hop song. – Jeff Terich

37. Fang Island – “Sisterly” (Sargent House)
[Single; from Major] Buy at iTunes

Who else thinks there’s not enough feel-good prog-rock these days? Tastefully over-embellished guitar riffs? Check. Intense, layered, vocal melodies and a sweeping, sustained, vocal lead? Check. A steady, yet bombastic, rhythm section? Check. Fang Island may not have put a wholly unique stamp on “Sisterly,” but it’s a thrilling rock song pumped full of energy that a band just can’t fake. And, with lots of subtle undertones (chicken scratch guitars, and the aforementioned over layered vocals and bombastic drums), this track gets more fun with each listen. If that’s not enough fun for you, check out the track’s video, a sarcastic nod to the production of early music videos. – A.T. Bossenger

36. Perfume Genius – “Hood” (Matador)
[Single; from Put Your Back N 2 It] Buy at iTunes

Already known for his deeply moving and beautiful songs, Mike Hadreas is in top form on “Hood,” and then some. Pure melodrama is the only accurate way to describe this short but sweet song from his sophomore album (and easily the best one). With its painfully honest and male-centric — a rarity in love songs, even now — lyrics such as “Boy, I wish I grew up the second I first held you in my arms,” it lends itself well to being an anthem for heartbroken girls and boys to spin on repeat. While “Hood” is gender-specific, and full of enough double-entendres to prick sharper than the average hard-luck lovesong, its pain and longing is universal. Plus, the piano in it’s pretty damn good too. – Grace Barber-Plentie

35. Fiona Apple – “Hot Knife” (Epic)
[from The Idler Wheel] Buy at iTunes

There’s something tribal and thrillingly un-modern about this standout among standouts on The Idler Wheel. “Must be like the genesis of rhythm,” Apple surmises. And that rhythm is inevitably gonna get you. Coupled with the siren-like bellows of the chanteuse and her sister, Maude, “Hot Knife” cuts through one’s psyche. It combines an old-timey round scheme with the proto-feminist lyrics “If I’m a hot knife, then he’s a pat of butter.” The dissonant plunking of piano skitters about this proclamation. This vacillation of strong, Xena-like warrior to possessed woman is the kind of magic that keeps us under Apple’s spell. – Melissa Bobbitt

34. Ariel Pink’s Haunted Graffiti
“Only In My Dreams”
(4AD)
[Single; from Mature Themes] Buy at iTunes

“If at first you don’t succeed at love just dream a little dream about a girl so real.” So goes the opening of “Only in my Dreams.” Given Ariel Pink’s propensity for absurdist wit, I’m not completely convinced this girl exists even in his dreams. That said, with a synth line cleverly echoing Pink’s voice in the chorus, along with hooks flowing in all of the right places, there’s little denying this track sounds as though it might be a hit beamed in from another era. Pink is well versed in the makings of long-lost pop songs and “Only in my Dreams” is one of his finest to date. – Chris Karman

33. Killer Mike – “Big Beast”
[feat. Bun B, T.I. and Trouble] (Williams Street)
[Single; from R.A.P. Music] Buy at iTunes

Killer Mike isn’t one to shy away from voicing his opinions. On the whole of “Big Beast,” the aptly titled track that kicks off R.A.P. Music, Mike makes his intentions pretty clear. Amid all the stereotypes of luxury and hedonism within the Dirty South scene, Killer Mike shuts down the fantasies and misnomers and gets straight to casting Atlanta in a more realistic, if somewhat gritty and grimy light. It might be the Peach State, but it’s got a seedy side to it. Backed with an all-star cast of Bun B, T.I., Trouble and El-P, “Big Beast” is a song that goes harder than crack. It’s exciting, vicious and clever. It’s evidence once again that Killer Mike is and always has been the Dirty South’s best-kept secret. – Giovanni Martinez

32. Four Tet – “Lion” (Text)
[from Pink] Buy at iTunes

The newest track on Four Tet’s recent singles collection, Pink, “Lion” finds Kieran Hebden exploring contrast, its primary parts working for dual (cross?) purposes. The heartbeat of this cut seemingly starts in waltz time before the rest of his loops eventually carry it forward. It slowly unfurls to reveal the song’s core, a deep, warm melodic line that doubles as foreboding bass quicksand. Meanwhile, the clipped cheer that skims above the surface works as both a harmonic element and a percussive one. Thumb-organ sounds, some of Hebden’s favorites, weave in and out like gnats; an early 1990s snare sample springs out of nowhere and is gone just as quickly. In “Lion” Four Tet constructs a rare instance where dance music has both yin and yang instead of just four-to-the-floor momentum — and it has that in spades. – Adam Blyweiss

31. Tame Impala – “Elephant” (Modular)
[Single; from Lonerism] Buy at iTunes

As their names would suggest, Tame Impala’s two albums, Innerspeaker and Lonerism, find front man Kevin Parker at his most introspective. “Elephant,” the lead single from Lonerism, is a curveball by comparison: Parker focuses the attention on what he must view as his personality’s antithesis — the loudmouth, insincere, asshole who “talks like his opinion is a simple fact.” The thumping guitars perfectly fit the subject’s personality, but the real highlight of the song is the roller coaster, instrumental stampede that gets rolling at the 1:15 mark and keeps building until Parker bursts back onto the scene just shy of three minutes in. It’s arguably the most distinctive track on Lonerism, one that can’t be ignored, and one that’s hopefully a foreshadowing of things to come for the talented Australian troupe. – Donny Giovannini