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2. Beach House - "Rough Song"

Coming off a string of three nearly flawless albums, Beach House had a lot to live up to with Depression Cherry, and, to my ears, it didn't quite hit the mark. I know many people enjoyed it, but aside from a few songs, it's a bit too meandering and unmelodic for me. Mere months later, the band surprise-released Thank Your Lucky Stars, which, while arguably more derivative, simply has the more compelling songwriting and feels less like a chore to listen to. The best tracks from each could probably be combined into a lovely collection, but neither alone stands up to Beach House's best. "Rough Song" is the biggest contender for becoming an all-time favorite: it's not a particularly surprising song, but it gorgeously harkens back to the mellow, lo-fi sound of their first two albums and features a pretty impeccably sultry vocal from Victoria Legrand.

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3. Amason - "Älgen"

I've been listening to Spotify's Discover Weekly playlists since they were implemented, and they've actually introduced me to some amazing songs, "Älgen" being a prime example. It's an exercise in contrasts that somehow comes together seamlessly: the relentlessly driving rhythm section juxtaposed against a laidback guitar melody that just barely keeps up, lackadaisical male vocals sparring with their more urgent female counterpart, effortlessly gliding synths leading into a frantic and jagged string interlude. It absolutely oozes energy and brightness. While the rest of this Swedish band's debut, Sky City, tends more to the mid-tempo end of the spectrum, I do enjoy it a lot. Still, the fact that it never quite manages to reach such effortless heights again keeps it just outside of my top 30.

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4. CHVRCHES - "Down Side of Me"

I'm conflicted on Every Open Eye because I find about 85% of it to be incredibly catchy and fun, but I also feel like it's ultimately just a slightly brighter and poppier rehash of CHVRCHES' debut. As easy as it is to listen to, it's also pretty easy to forget. Still, the album has its fair share of highlights, chief among them being "Down Side of Me," which stands out as a welcome reprieve from the relentless (and somewhat tiring) forward momentum of its surroundings. The subtle electronic backdrop allows Lauren Mayberry's bell-clear voice to take center stage, and it displays a remarkable amount of maturity and emotion when given room to breathe. Even though CHVRCHES clearly have hooks in spades, this track reveals that moderation sometimes trumps laying out every card at once.

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5. The Go! Team - "The Art of Getting By (Song for Heaven's Gate)"

This song opens like a twenty-first century "California Dreamin'," laying charming group vocals atop a droning organ melody and filling them out with handclaps, tambourine, and cymbals. Cycling through one bubblegum hook after another, it then layers upon itself, transforming into a massive wall of sound cacophonous enough to fill a stadium yet maintaining a rough-around-the-edges quality that just as easily calls to mind a group of friends drunkenly harmonizing in a stairwell. It's, quite literally, breathtaking: by the end, you'll feel as though you've run a marathon, in the best way possible. As a whole, The Scene Between is too bogged-down by filler and interludes to name it among the year's best albums, but this song still instantly brightens my mood every time I hear it.

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6. Anohni - "4 Degrees"

Serving as a teaser for the 2016 release of Antony Hegarty's debut under the moniker Anohni, this song arrived as a pleasant surprise at the end of the year. While I've grown to appreciate the somber atmosphere of Antony and the Johnsons more than I used to, it's still nice to hear Antony's idiosyncratic vocals on a track that isn't as obviously drenched in melancholy. Here, the listener is immediately grasped by the contrast between her soulfully commanding presence and the thundering percussion and swelling synths beneath. However, the song's catchiness only thinly disguises its cynical underbelly. "I want to hear the dogs crying for water/I want to see the fish go belly-up in the sea/And all those lemurs and all those tiny creatures/I want to see them burn/It's only four degrees," Antony sings, revealing that the song is as politically-charged as it is aurally pleasing.

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7. Nerina Pallot - "Handle"

The Sound and the Fury is Nerina Pallot's most consistent and inspired album since 2005's Fires. After a foray into more predictable avenues, it returns to the brooding nature of her earlier work and reveals a newly experimental bent while still remaining accessible. It should probably be in my top 30, but more than half of the songs were released last year in her monthly series of EPs and I largely prefer the originals to the reworked versions here. Still, it's certainly a solid collection and would serve as a good introduction to new fans. "Handle" provides one of its most haunting moments, built upon a somber piano foundation and Pallot's achingly plaintive voice. The song reaches its climax in a clash of eerie strings, creeping synths, and polyphonic harmonies as Pallot begs, "Tell me things are going to get better," before seemingly resigning herself to the fact that they are not.

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8. Deradoorian - "A Beautiful Woman"

Although I've never been able to get into Dirty Projectors beyond a handful of songs, I've always loved Angel Deradoorian's voice and was intrigued by the announcement of her first solo album, particularly after hearing this song. At its core, it's pure pop, with one of the most immediate choruses I've heard all year. However, Deradoorian also injects psychedelia and world music into the mix by blending African-inspired percussion with vocals that have been warped and twisted to create unpredictable melodies that snake around and pile on top of one another in a groovy whirlwind of sound. Unfortunately, the rest of The Expanding Flower Planet isn't nearly as interesting to me.

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9. Bully - "Trying"

Bully are a young band out of Memphis, Tennessee who might not be doing anything particularly innovative or unexpected with their sound but who have released a pretty damn solid debut fusing punk rock and pop. Alicia Bognanno is a charismatic frontwoman, and "Trying" is a prime example of how seamlessly her vocal persona can alternate between sweet and aggressive. In a genre so often dominated by men, Bognanno's lyrics are also refreshing for their emphasis on female experiences: "Oh, I can't get out/Invisible handcuffs locked on me/Been praying for my period all week/And relief that I just can't see/I question everything/My focus, my figure, my sexuality/And how much it matters or why it would mean anything."

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10. Department M - "Bleak Technique"

In 2009, an English band called Grammatics released their debut album to fairly little attention, though I happened to think it was one of the best albums of that year and near flawless all around. Unfortunately, the band disintegrated barely a year later, leaving so much untapped potential to go to waste. For the past three or so years, frontman Owen Brinley has been sporadically releasing tracks from his new project, Department M, and an LP is finally on the horizon for 2016. Though more minimal and electronic than Grammatics, Department M still places Brinley's effortlessly elastic vocals and cryptic lyrical wordplay at the forefront. Of the three singles released this year, "Bleak Technique" stands out for its glossily foreboding atmosphere, sleek and sophisticated synths, and understated male/female vocal interplay.

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11. Punch Brothers - "Forgotten"

Chris Thile is probably one of the more talented people making music today, and though I love his primary band, Nickel Creek, I had never checked out any of his other projects until I decided on a whim to give The Phosphorescent Blues a spin. It's an inventive and ambitious album (complete with a ten-minute opener that cycles through enough movements to feel like a mini-album of its own) but one that hasn't quite connected with me as much on an emotional level. "Forgotten," though, does succeed at tugging the heartstrings, maybe for the simple fact that its relative straightforwardness allows the beauty to shine through more. Amid gently-plucked and bowed strings, Thile's warm falsetto floats above a sea of hushed harmonies, culminating in a lullaby-esque chorus.

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12. The Decemberists - "Lake Song"

What a Terrible World, What a Beautiful World is fairly standard Decemberists, but even when this band rests on their laurels, they're still capable of turning out some impressively-crafted songs. "Lake Song" successfully marries the band's simpler, more folk-oriented side to their love of bombast and complexity. Fully reliant on acoustic instrumentation, it's sweeping in all the right places, and every crescendo and decrescendo feels natural. It's one of those songs that's so comfortable and quietly grand that you almost believe it must have written itself - until, of course, you come across one of Colin Meloy's signature lines ("You, all sibylline, reclining in your pew/You tattered me, you tethered me to you") and realize that a whole lot of effort probably went into crafting such perfection.

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13. Brandon Flowers - "Between Me and You"

This is an example of a song that so proudly wears its influences on its sleeve and is so unabashedly a pastiche to the synth-tastic '80s that you can't help but love every moment of its earnest clicheness. Brandon Flowers' voice simply oozes charm and charisma, which is also part of what makes this style such an easy sell. No matter how thickly the dated electronic flourishes and cheesy synth-strings and reverb-laden background vocals and overly sentimental lyrics are slathered on, you buy into every last syllable that he utters. The whole of The Desired Effect is insidious that way: even if it ultimately doesn't have anything new to say, good luck trying to shake its melodies out of your head.

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14. Fielded - "Madly"

There are better songs on this EP (namely "City of the Dazed" and "Reign"), but they've been out for so long at this point that they feel like old news to me. Of the tracks I hadn't heard previously, "Madly" is the clear standout. It rather ingeniously combines the bones of a big, anthemic pop song worthy of any powerhouse diva with a more experimental sonic palette. The mad genius behind it all is Lindsay A. Powell, who has actually been making weird, deconstructed pop songs for more than a decade now (see Cake Bake Betty) and whose experience shows. Her vocal control and range are impressive and her production is slick but never overwrought or generic. If you like what Grimes is doing with pop music, I suggest you give all of Boy Angel (as well as Fielded's prior full-length, Ninety Thirty Thirty) a spin.

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15. Marika Hackman - "Ophelia"

We Slept at Last is an extremely pleasant album that never really clicked with me as much as I wanted it to. Although I adore its dark, slightly foreboding feel, a few too many songs are just sleepy as opposed to compellingly ominous. Still, there are enough gripping moments to recommend it. "Ophelia" is a very well-written folk song that starts off kind of scrappy and bare bones before adding tasteful layers of electronics and percussion to create an ethereal ambiance. Hackman's voice is quite wispy and light, but it carries emotion well, and her knack for subtle melodies means that her songs have a way of unassumingly worming their way into the listener's head.

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16. EL VY - "I'm the Man to Be"

Overall, the collaboration between The National's Matt Berninger and Ramona Falls' Brent Knopf doesn't really work for me, though I appreciate Berninger's willingness to lend his vocal and lyrical talents to something so different from his primary band. This song, however, is kind of irresistible. As is often the case with Berninger, it has lyrics that, on the page, read rather embarrassingly but are somehow successfully pulled off anyway ("I'm peaceful because my dick's in sunlight, held up by kites," anyone?). It's got about three different hooks, a charming interlude wherein the maid intrudes on their hotel-room-turned-recording-studio, and Berninger being more vulgar and sarcastic than ever. What's not to love, really?

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17. Dengue Fever - "Deepest Lake on the Planet"

I first heard this band ages ago and was thoroughly mesmerized by their sound but somehow became distracted enough by other things that I entirely forgot about them. Enter Spotify (naturally) reminding me of the brilliant "Tiger Phone Card," and a little research informed me that they released a new album this year. Since I last heard them, they've managed to refine their fusion of Cambodian pop and psychedelic rock even further, as there are some truly magical sounds on The Deepest Lake. The quasi-title track provides a sprawling canvas across which singer Chhom Nimol just does her thing with minimal interference. Her distinctly Cambodian vocal stylings twist and turn hypnotically, her control so impeccable that it's nearly inhuman. All one can do is sit back and get lost inside her bewitching croon.

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18. Alex Winston - "Down Low"

In 2014, I discovered Alex Winston's brilliant debut, King Con, and have been patiently awaiting her follow-up ever since. It's yet to arrive, but she's released a string of compelling singles that are much more bombastic and unashamedly poppy but still retain the charming quirkiness of her earlier work. Not to mention the fact that her voice has quietly become something of a force to be reckoned with. One need look no further than "Down Low" for evidence of this. A downbeat, electronic ballad, it's immaculately crafted and produced, and Winston's voice runs the full gamut of its capabilities to dazzling effect without ever seeming showy or overblown. Let's keep our fingers crossed that her next LP sees the light of day some time before the end of 2016.

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19. Majical Cloudz - "Downtown"

Honestly, the only thing I knew about Majical Cloudz before actually hearing their music was that they've collaborated with Grimes in the past, which makes the sound of their own work all the more surprising. Devon Welsh and Matthew Otto have perfected the art of crafting minimalistic and heartfelt electronic ballads, to a point that it's almost detrimental: even though they're always beautiful, their songs do tend to blend together. "Downtown" follows the same formula but also has that unexplainable "something" that makes it stand out. It's just so... smooth. Welsh's voice is so easy to listen to and so full of yearning, and his captivating delivery makes the slow build-up to the song's climax - where he exclaims desperately, "I'm going crazy/Crazy for you" - worth it.


20. The Mynabirds - "Hanged Man"

I adore Laura Burhenn's voice, and her last album under the Mynabirds moniker, Generals, was very good. Unfortunately, Lovers Know is underwhelming in comparison, mostly because it lacks the conviction and aggression of its politically-charged predecessor. Still, I could probably listen to Burhenn sing just about anything and be satisfied with her smoky and nuanced delivery. The penultimate track, "Hanged Man," nails the hazy, melancholic atmosphere that in other songs veers into dangerously bland territory. The subtly epic swell of the chorus and the enigmatic yet evocative lyrics ("August came on like a love song . . . Glint of gold in her hair/All her devil-may-care/But she never stays long") contribute to its captivating effect.

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