Features DIY Tracks Of 2013: 21-40

We’ve left most of this end of year business to you, dear readers, with the results of our 2013 Readers’ Poll being announced in the latest DIY Weekly. Still, there’s the not so small matter of tracks to contend with. We listen to a lot of music. We like lists. In a year of exceptional music, only the very best make the cut in our top 100 tracks of the year.

Catch up with numbers 100-81 here, 80-61 here and 60-41 here.

40. Blood Orange - Chamakay

Blood Orange morphs and mutates on ‘Cupid Deluxe’, an album all about transformation. Opener ‘Chamakay’ is the most extreme of these, with tropical percussion sitting alongside dove-like vocals from Caroline Polachek. Doubtlessly aware of just how cool it is, Dev Hynes avoids a common trend of making the whole thing alienating. It’s straight from the heart, pointing to Dev’s past while diving headfirst into the future.

39. James Blake - Retrograde

Crooning is James Blake’s game. He owns it. He’s monopolised the craft. Think about the days when nobody even knew he could sing. Now, on ‘Retrograde’, he rinses his detuned helium balloon vocals all over the thing. In turn, the murky synth backing splits senses and explodes into life, just when ol’ James pronounces, ‘suddenly I’m hit!’ In that split-second, ‘Overgrown’ becomes a special album, one worthy of glitzy prizes.

38. Sleigh Bells - Bitter Rivals

Sleigh Bells’ third proved that loud, brash and in your face doesn’t have to include the kitchen sink – Alexis ‘n Derek pared things back for the follow-up to the relatively tame ‘Reign Of Terror’, but turned it all up to eleven, not least in the pull-no-punches (pun intended) title track, slick beats and clever acoustic strums matched by Alexis’ badass vocals.

37. NONONO - Pumpin’ Blood

The whole wide world is still bloody whistling to this, and to think of it, somehow Nordic outfit NONONO’s ‘Pumpin’ Blood’ still doesn’t sound annoying. It hasn’t been struck by the Peter, Bjorn & John curse of becoming forever a reminder of dodgy green leather sofas. To this date, it remains an enlivening whistley charmer. Give it a year and ok, it might start getting irritating, but let’s enjoy it while it lasts.

36. Bondax - Gold

Strapped in for the summer, ‘Gold’ arrived just when buildings started to reflect sunlight and melt cars, around the time when everything was sticky, nasty, disgustingly hot. It’s an idealistic escape from all the realities of uncomfortable mid-season, showing off this exciting production duo’s knack for soundtracking weird boat parties on Ibiza while also doing something new.

35. Temples - Shelter Song

It’s the kind of song that historians might one day dig up and proclaim to be a remnant of the ’60s, but Temples’ referential nods are what makes them so exciting in the first place. ‘Shelter Song’ belts out the kind of riff that CAN and Kaleidoscope wish they’d penned, hoisting up James Bagshaw and crew as a group of tie-dyed triumphalists.

34. Pawws - Slow Love

Imagine if Chromatics ditched their ultra-cool Ryan Gosling-endorsed sheen and just got to the bloody point. It’d sound a little like Pawws. She expresses the same sentiment-filled declarations, only she doesn’t beat around the bush when describing a head-over-heels relationship.

33. Vampire Weekend - Step

‘Modern Vampires of the City’ was both a record about growing up, and Vampire Weekend’s coming of age. Taking cues from their hip hop influences (directly via an interpolation of Souls of Mischief’s 1993 song ‘Step To My Girl’) and literal baroque pop courtesy of harpsichord sounds, Ezra Koenig’s rhyme-spitting about losing wisdom teeth and whatnot is mesmerising, and sums up the record’s whole in one.

32. CHVRCHES - We Sink

Threats don’t come bigger or more formidable than Lauren Mayberry’s ‘I’ll be a thorn in your side / until you die’. In a record that sets itself free from jittering anxieties, ‘We Sink’ is the perfect example of CHVRCHES’ careful balance between angst, doubt and all-out euphoria. A cocktail of emotion, it’s positively potent.

31. Warpaint - Love Is To Die

If intimacy works in mysterious ways, as does ‘Love Is To Die’. From the grizzly, Tardis-like guitars that open to the layer-upon-layer of hushed vocals that eventually enter, ‘Love Is To Die’ is a song devoted to sharp contrasts. What’s usually ugly is made to sound like a breathless, beautiful exhalation. The confused to-and-fro of a relationship is detailed in gorgeous detail by the LA group.

30. Royal Blood - Come On Over

Not since Death From Above 1979 have two men made quite such a glorious din. A growling, thumping grizzly bear crashing through a forest of wussy woodland critters and slender saplings, there’s a hip swinging swagger to their decibel-laden delights. Add more than a touch of the effortless cool of QOTSA’s Josh Homme, and ‘Come On Over’ is less an invite, more a direct threat.

29. Chlöe Howl - Paper Heart

It was never going to be timid. Chlöe Howl is pop royalty when it comes to killing the dreams of jerks the world over. She cuts the cord here, proclaiming that she’s no longer going to be messed about by silly boys with chinos and rubbish hairstyles. It’s all cast under the light of a massive synthy pop track (what else?), proving that there were indeed ‘No Strings’ attached when Chlöe first arrived on the scene.

28. Thumpers - Unkinder (A Tougher Love)

Thumpers thought that giving ‘Unkinder…’ a lyric video might help with egging people on to singing along. They figured if the words were there, they could encourage an old fashioned karaoke session. As it turns out, this song is so giddy, so beaming and brimming with energy, that the works flicker by too quickly. Not to worry: Thumpers have still landed with a song that fully realises their excitable goals in one fatal blow.

27. Arcade Fire - Afterlife

On ‘Reflektor’, Arcade Fire are faced with the barefaced fact that they often go on a bit. Most of the time, it’s for the better. How else would they have been able to come up with the title-track? But then again, ‘Afterlife’ is a counterpoint. It’s the sound of Win Butler getting to the point, reaching out and grabbing pop purity without a second glance. Ok, it edges 7 seconds shy of the 6 minute mark, but this is Arcade Fire at their succinct, supreme best.

26. Tegan & Sara - Closer

It’s not as if Tegan & Sara have ever been averse to the odd tune, but with their latest full length ‘Heartbreak’ it’s as if someone flicked a switch. Opening track ‘Closer’ is what hundreds of hopefuls will spend a lifetime looking for - a near perfect pop song. “I won’t treat you like you’re typical,” they sing. Too right, ‘cos this is a long, long way from the mundane.

25. Bastille - Pompeii

You might not think you know it, but we can almost guarantee that you do. That’s because ‘Pompeii’ – just like Bastille themselves – has been bloody everywhere this year. From Made In Chelsea adverts, to the top of the charts, there’s no denying that this little glorious pop ditty has wormed its way into the ears, minds and hearts of many unsuspecting listeners over the past twelve months. After all, who can deny the power of Dan Smith and his ‘ey ey oh ey oh’’s anyway?

24. CHVRCHES - Gun

For some listeners, it’s easy to get lost within the sugary sweetness of Lauren Mayberry’s vocals and dizzyingly upbeat synths, but rise from that spell you’re put under and you’ll discover that her tongue is sharper than you’d imagine. ‘Gun’ is a shining, menacing classic that seems to bear more than just a casual grudge. Managing to make Annie Lennox seem adorable, this is intelligent and volatile electro-pop at its finest.

23. Drenge - Bloodsport

Baby-faced boys from just outside of Sheffield couldn’t do any harm, right? Think again. ‘Bloodsport’ is the equivalent of a pocket full of knives, full of risks and jagged, deathly goodbyes. It’s a fleshed-out, gore and guts shock to the system. Live, this thing pretty much takes hold, soars into heady, razored heights.

22. Peace - Lovesick

A dreamy anthem for lovers, this is Harry Koisser’s chance to lay his intentions on the line for all to see. A simple, straight-forward message bathed in woozy guitars, from one indie hearthrob to his beloved, it’s a feel good track for everyone involved. Unless you’re Harry’s landlord; he’s probably not the best tenant for you…

21. Haim - The Wire

Stumbling points are no match for Haim. Any brief misstep is toppled by a band who’ve morphed and evolved in order to stay ahead of the pack. ‘The Wire’ is all about conquering the odd mistake, giving defeat the finger. Haim’s 2013 has been all about this experience. From diabetic episodes to accusations of being Tories, they’ve still landed a #1 album, they’ve still been one of the bands of the year.



Check back tomorrow for the top 20 DIY’s Tracks of the Year.