PULP RECAP: Top 16 Songs of 2019
By Adam Torres, Jamie Weiss, Wilson Huang, Rhea Thomas, Patrick McKenzie, Jocelin Chan, Chyui Wang, Lawson Wrigley, Haydn Hickson
16. Juicy - Doja Cat, Tyga (Adam Torres)
Doja Cat is no stranger to being playful: she proved this when she wrote a four-and-a-half minute track about being a cow and filmed its music video on Photo Booth. Juicy boasts that same playful spirit, but signals a thematic shift from rump steaks to a different genre of rump: Doja Cat’s own. She isn’t afraid to tell you that “she keep that booty booty / she keep that plump”.
Doja Cat has mastered the art of being tongue-in-cheek, but this hasn’t come at the expense of genuinely impressive musical output: Juicy is cheeky — if you’ll pardon the pun — but is a delight to listen to. Behind Doja Cat’s airy vocals, Juicy’s production is minimal: a smooth yet inoffensive R&B beat and an electronic, xylophonic keyboard riff almost round out the instrumentation. You’d expect to hear the keyboard accompaniment in the elevator of a ritzy hotel or as you peruse Buy Mode in The Sims. It’s soothing, so it means that when Doja Cat sings, there’s a complete coolness about what she says: she sounds casual and carefree. “Yeah”, she seems to muse, “I keep it juicy, but it’s no big deal. It’s chill”.
2019 has done well at pumping out feel-good self-love anthems, and Juicy is no exception. Just like Lizzo proclaimed in another juice-related 2019 hit, Doja Cat knows that she isn’t a snack at all: baby, she’s the whole damn meal.
15. Quits ft. Reo Cragun - Flume (Jamie Weiss)
You’ve heard of Flume before, yeah? Sydney icon, sells out shows across the world really likes eating ass? Well, I bet you haven’t heard a track this tasty for a while. Don’t get it twisted: the reason Flume’s in the public consciousness is because he’s one of the world’s best producers, and ‘Quits’, his latest collaboration with rapper Reo Cragun, is one of his finest works yet.
The track lures you in with a quiet piano pre-chorus, but when that drum claps in on the chorus? Man, that shit goes hard. Cragun is the perfect match for Flume’s characteristically bass-heavy production, his flurried delivery and pathos perfectly complementing Flume’s sparkly warbles. Cragun struggles to contain his anger at a girl who’s mistreating him (“Always gave you respect / You ain't give that back / Now she wanna make amends / And I don’t want that”) whilst Flume soundtracks his frustration with aplomb. Flume’s put out a lot of good music this year but for me, ‘Quits’ is easily the cream of the crop. Give it a listen.
14. The Runner - Foals (Wilson Huang)
Oxford indie rock band, Foals, fire it up in their single, "The Runner", from their new album, Everything Not Saved Will Be Lost: Part 2. Speaking to NME, Yannis, the band's singer, explained that the song was about both fighting yourself and beating your inner demons as well as persisting against extrinsic problems. Given the music video, one could easily see the song as a take on the escalating climate crisis. Foals supported the climate strikes and speaking to DIY, Yannis alludes "The Runner" as coming from imagery of fire from Part 1 tracks, "Sunday" and "I'm Done With The World (& It's Done With Me)".
At its core "The Runner", is an indie rock song, though it subtly blends in dance influences creating a song that is not as intense as "Black Bull". Compared to the rest of the song, the chorus delivers a more relaxed sound which sort of floats above with its higher pitch and softer tone more akin to Part 1 of their album. "The Runner" like the rest of Part 2 and Part 1 dutifully explores what it's like to exist in our current age. Overall "The Runner" delivers a balanced and emotionally charged sound that is spectacular in its outcome and one that is for anyone who enjoys indie/rock music.
13. A BOY IS A GUN* - Tyler, the Creator (Rhea Thomas)
As one of the more vulnerable notes off of Tyler the Creator’s latest release, IGOR, ‘A BOY IS A GUN*’ becomes one of the tracks that guides and shapes the emotional journey presented In the tightly written album. Like other songs featured on the album, the lyrics create a beautiful blend of sincerity, fear and uncertainty exploring IGOR’s emotional development and resolution.
The music video for ‘A BOY IS A GUN*’ shares an equally artistic vision as the album, colour graded to perfection and following Tyler’s character of Igor as he yells and falls while witnessing his lover lounging around and eventually leave the large estate. There’s a strong sense of intimacy surrounding this track, tinged with a sense of anger and loss made clear in the lyrics and characterisation . The track itself features samples of ‘Bound’ performed by Ponderosa Twins, peeking between the twinkling synth line and soul piano foundation. The musical highlights of this track lie in the gaps and phrases; there’s a stammering fragmentation throughout the song broken up by the refrain line: “No, don’t shoot me down” and the various sound effects and silences surrounding it that give it a vast cinematic effect. Effectively weaving through the various sonic layers in the track, silence and acapella become features of the track that emphasise the textural differences between the gunshots and smooth harmonies. ‘A BOY IS A GUN*’ fits seamlessly into the concept album and is an obvious highlight (out of many also obvious highlights…) that make this album so unbelievably good.
12. Self-Immolate - King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard (Patrick McKenzie)
Off of the prolific genre-transgressing Melbourne psych band’s second album of 2019 and fifteenth overall comes a smasher of a track that shows how Stu and the boys have really gone full thrash metal – at least until they release another folk album. Conceptually about a (very real) Earth facing ecological destruction followed by a mass exodus to Venus, the second single from Infest The Rats’ Nest opens with a short-but-furious solo from main drummer Michael Cavanagh. The speedy strumming and blast beats that follow bring to mind a chaotic visage of the mosh pits and walls of death this track is sure to create wherever it’s performed. Befittingly, Stu’s over the top guttural vocals are pulled forth like the chants of a manic individual whose only desire is to burn: “I have gone insane-o/I lust for volcano/Be with molten lava/Give me my nirvana”. Is this satire or mere absurdity? Perhaps a comment on the perils of climate change if the world continues to ignore it? Whatever the situation may be, as with many King Gizz songs sonic texture is king and all the Gizz-isms are invariably present here as a result. From the screeching tones of the intermittent guitar shredding to mid-verse key changes that dial the intensity up a thousand-fold, King Gizz’s sound on Self-Immolate remains remarkably dense despite having only been recorded with three of the band’s usual seven members.
11. C.U.D.I (Can U Dig It?) - Cosmo's Midnight (Wilson Huang)
Indie electronic duo, Cosmo's Midnight, bring the summer vibes with their 2019 hit "C.U.D.I (Can U Dig It)" after their debut album, What Comes Next, in 2018. With lyrics as diverse as "can you dig it?" and "can you dig it with me?" along with persistent melodies, "C.U.D.I (Can U Dig It)", is essentially a repeat of itself over and over. Cosmo's Midnight, formerly known as Cosmo & Pat, cleverly utilise catchy guitar riffs and soft band-like sound typically heard in some variants of indie music in a track that is undoubtedly all about enjoying life. This type of sound, rather uncommon in dance music, is similarly found in UK indie dance trio, Friendly Fries, who also remixed "C.U.D.I (Can U Dig It)".
Though it may seem like "C.U.D.I (Can U Dig It)" was made by hungover hipsters from Bryon Bay, it was, in fact, written when the brothers were hungover on New Year's Day after attending the Last Dance festival in Wollongong. In true laid back style, speaking to triple j, Pat said of the backing vocals, "It's me and three other mates." Described on Spotify only as "twins from sydney [sic] who make music, hope you like x", the brothers, deliver a funky summer anthem inhibiting a laid back and chill Aussie feeling.
10. Wave Racer - Summer Rain ft. Kwame (Jamie Weiss)
Wave Racer (real name Tom Purcell) is one of Sydney’s most well-regarded DJs and future bass producers; a label-mate at Future Classic of artists like Flume, SOPHIE and Nick Murphy (fka Chet Faker). Kwame (real name Rich Kwame Amevor) is one of Sydney’s hottest hip-hop talents, with huge tracks like ‘WOW’ and the recent single ‘STOP KNOCKING @ MY DOOR!’ getting millions of spins. These two together on a track? Pure fucking bliss.
After two year’s hiatus, Wave Racer’s ‘Summer Rain’ is an appropriately sunny, bubbly bop that sees his legendary production chops complemented by Kwame’s charismatic vocals. Kwame jumps on the track with some of his most funny bars yet (“Had to call in Liam Neeson / So everybody know she taken / Dodging haters like the Matrix /It's back to bed like we was famous”). Not only can he rap, but he can also get a dreamy chorus going (“I saw you dancing in the summer rain / You were looking weird, you were moving kinda strange / Don't know what it was, but I had to know your name / So thank you for your time and I can't believe you came”). Purcell perfectly contrasts heavy bass with bright, bubbly synths and polishes Kwame’s vocals to a squeaky shine. ‘Summer Rain’ is sure to light up pool parties and dancefloors all summer/
9. 7 Rings - Ariana Grande (Jocelin Chan)
For all the controversy that has dogged Ariana Grande’s “7 Rings”, the song remains an absolute bop. Coming on the back of “thank u, next”, an (at the time) unexpectedly wholesome thank you letter to her exes, “7 Rings” picks up where the final verses—which saw Grande assert that she will focus on herself—left off. Revamping that classic Sound of Music number, “My Favourite Things”, into a trap pop style, Grande gives a list of all of her own favourite things which she buys for herself and her friends. The sample cost her 90% of royalties from the single but is easily the best thing about it—there’s something exhilarating about “My Favourite Things”, which once spilled so innocently from Julie Andrews’s lips, become dark and seductive at Grande’s hands. She indulges in her financial independence and singleness; without a partner on the scene, she is free to spoil her friends with “six matching diamonds”. But for all of the song’s grooviness, it would be remiss to ignore the controversies that surrounded it. Most notably, Grande came under fire for appropriating Japanese aesthetics in the music video and promotional material (one memorable parody came from USyd’s very own People of Colour Revue). This was compounded by her ill-advised tattoo, which was meant to say “7 Rings” in Japanese but ended up being the name for a barbeque grill. Grande would do well to learn from her mistakes from this single and educate herself on these areas in future.
8. bmbmbm - Black Midi (Patrick McKenzie)
A five-minute panic attack of a song built entirely around one utterly djent-sounding chord? Yes please! Possibly the most exciting and wild track from UK band black midi’s exciting and wild debut album is surprisingly danceable. Although lead vocalist Geordie Greep seems to improvise new lyrics every time the song is performed, the track’s instrumental elements mostly remain the same. For one is the aforementioned chord; yes it stays repeated throughout the whole song, synced up with every second kick drum of a slow four-on-the-floor beat. Meanwhile, the only consistency in Greep’s frantic muttering is a repeated phrase seeming to address an unnamed woman who ‘moves with a purpose’. The lyrics don’t offer much more by way of exposition besides being insane in their conviction, desperate to convince the listener about how magnificent this unexamined purpose is. Frenetic drummer Morgan Simpson adds occasional flourishes to the simple groove, phrasing fills in time with either the lyrics or ever-present chord. All this is until bmbmbm’s breakdown – meltdown? – shortly after the three-minute mark, where any calmness and civility goes straight out the window as the groove becomes accompanied by furious 32nd-note drum fills, insane amounts of swirling guitar distortion, and a well-placed sample of a ricocheting bullet. Greep’s vocals can’t seem to handle the heat as the panic attack becomes a terrifying fever dream, and his screams cut out before the main groove returns a final time with robotic fizzling sounds in the background like a blown-out mixing console.
7. Jesus Forgive Me, I Am A Thot - JPEGMAFIA (Chuyi Wang)
Though abrasion is usually the name of the game when it comes to JPEGMAFIA’s aggressive hip-hop bangers, the lead single off his latest record All My Heroes are Cornballs and the highly anticipated first follow-up to a wildly successful 2018 sees Peggy improve not only his production chops but also his artistic versatility. Opening with a mash-up of chaotic and disjointed samples, JPEG throws you in the deep end almost immediately with a psychedelic and subversive instrumental, counterpointing between chopped and screwed vocal stabs and a washed-out guitar riff. Yet, just a minute into the track, a split-second instrumental break triggers a whiplash into noisy overdrive, with harsh clanging metal tones and Peggy’s forceful delivery evoking industrial hip-hop’s caustic roots. Just as quickly as the energy ramps, however, it mellows back out into one of the tightest RnB hooks all year. Production elements aside, Peggy’s lyrics still drip with a kind of self-aware internet irony, although his singularly boastful persona seems to have matured to embody a kind of cynical disillusionment instead. Evoking rap polemics of the past, JPEG takes aim and fires not only at the current state of political hysteria in the United States, but also the seemingly willful ignorance exhibited by other public figures, with a brashness that’s hard not to love.
6. Sunflower - Vampire Weekend (Rhea Thomas)
‘Sunflower’ is literally the bop I was waiting on for this summer. In collaboration with Steve Lacy, this track sums up the peak of the latest release from Vampire Weekend and strangely resembles one heck of a vocal pitch workout. Opening with a grooving bass and guitar riff, the track introduces crisp hi-hat and snare work before the poppy vocals begin. Evolving into lush harmony and chordal work, there is an amazing sense of textural variety and contrast in this one track and showcases one of the most cheeriest of guitar effects; that extra reverb, kind-of-country twang that washes through the whole two minutes. Other tracks and earlier albums acquainted Vampire Weekend with the dense, muted but nonetheless, extremely nostalgic indie rock that certainly gets a lot of people in the warm and fuzzy feeling - now scratch that and add a little dance to it. As one of the more *different* tracks off of Father of the Bride, the song dabbles in modern psychedelia and funk which seems to be at its peak right about now. Coming to a close with almost a slower kick-line ending, the song reeks with a feeling of carefree laziness: ‘“What day demands a date?” Well I don’t know’. The track is paired with an equally ditzy music video following Ezra Koenig around the Upper West Side, but is notably directed by Jonah Hill, featuring cameos of Jerry Seinfeld. As one of the shorter tracks on the album, it’s fresh, it’s light and I wish it would last all summer long.
5. bad guy - Billie Eilish (Jocelin Chan)
Seventeen-year-old Billie Eilish sent shockwaves through the Internet with “bad guy” earlier this year. Her success would see covers bloom all over YouTube (including, memorably, by Seth Everman and some household items), the moniker “Billy Eyelash” enter contemporary discourse, and Billie herself roll around with puppies on Buzzfeed—and no wonder. The song, so gloomily nonchalant, is immediately captivating. Eilish’s whispery vocals are right at home among the driving trip-hop beats, eschewing the more clichéd floatiness of her first single, “Ocean Eyes”. At the 2:30 mark, the toe-tapping gives way to a droney coda and Eilish’s voice in both your ears, spine-tingly ASMR-style. The insouciant lyrics—and that iconic “duh!”—are teenagey without being cringey; “My soul? So cynical,” she sings, with just enough irony in her voice to get away with it. The accompanying MV deserves an honourable mention too for embodying the song in the best way: Eilish kicking through a yellow paper backdrop, spitting her Invisalign into a waiting hand; Eilish crammed into a careening go-kart; Eilish lit in red, seated on the back of a man doing push-ups. All in all, it’s a fun song that turns its nose up on the world, and marks a new phase in Billie’s ever-developing sound.
4. Money Machine - 100 gecs (Chuyi Wang)
Pop music is dead, because 100 gecs just killed it and rebirthed its next iteration. At just under two minutes, Money Machine feels like a kind of revelation in ways that its garish presentation and incredibly brief runtime won’t initially reveal. Relying on a kind of hyper-exaggerated pastiche of what the music industry has deemed trashy, unrefined, and outdated, this lead single bounces with the bumping 808 backbone of every generic “Playboi Carti Type Beat” whilst spritzing it up with a fine layer of pure audio insanity. The vocals here are pitched-up and autotuned with reckless abandon like an early SOPHIE track on uppers, creating a grating and glitchy synthetic texture that becomes a unique instrument in itself. The MIDI-sequenced guitar riff that sits in the mix alongside thick Serum pads feels as out-of-place as it is hilariously janky. And then we get to those damn lyrics… I think you’d be hard pressed to find a better opening verse in any 2019 song, especially when Money Machine begins with the line ‘Hey lil’ piss baby, you think you’re so f*cking cool, huh?’ 100 gecs is unadulterated, unrefined fun, exposing in one fell swoop the safe and boring choices made in modern pop production whilst pushing its most controversial elements to their sonic extremes. And it’s fucking glorious.
3. Gone - Charli XCX & Christine And The Queens (Lawson Wrigley)
Charli XCX feels right at home on the pulsing bass sounds that her duet partner, Christine and the Queen built her second album ‘Chris’ upon. It’s a new turn for Charli XCX who has built her brand around being a wild party girl. On her latest LP ‘Charli’ saw Charli expose a very honest vulnerable side. ‘Gone’ is an excellent precursor to her introspective turn. Charli has always been good at sad pop music but something about ‘Gone’ is just so refreshingly realistic. This pulsating war-cry is an alliance of excellent vocal play, led by Charli’s scepticism and mistrust and very quickly joined by Christine’s mischievous musings they are a match made in heaven. It’s a thumping and roaring call for help, for an escape from the perils of it all. Finishing off with a phenomenal dance-break , it is the star of this eclectic self-titled album.
2. The greatest - Lana Del Rey (Lawson Wrigley)
Lana Del Rey has always been ahead of the game ever since her breakthrough single ‘Video Games’ and after releasing her latest LP ‘Norman Fucking Rockwell’ she is finally garnering the critical praise she deserves. Nestled as a second track to one of the singles is ‘The Greatest’, one that shows off her excellent song writing abilities. Lana embodies the soft rock sounds, encompassing her influences into a sound that is quintessentially Del Rey. She sings about California, ‘him’, being in love, New York, all aspects that summise the character that is Lana Del Rey. She oozes with nostalgia in every couplet and so carefully voices this helplessness that surrounds younger generations about their future. It’s solidified by an outro for the ages, concluding Lana’s nostalgic journey. From Hawaii’s missile alert, climate change, the downfall of Kanye West, populating future planets, she wraps up her criticisms of the failings of modern society with “I hope the live stream’s almost on”. It’s ironic considering the music video for ‘The Greatest’ premiered on live stream. Oh Lana… yes the world’s on fire, but can’t we hear you croon about it all one last time?
1. Dance Monkey - Tones and I (Haydn Hickson)
There are very few Aussie pop artists that shake the local music scene to its very core. Sia’s done it. Delta’s done it. But, no one’s done it for a while now, until this year. Tones and I takes the top spot for the best song of 2019 for her record-breaking smash hit, Dance Monkey. Written about the phenomenological experience of busking, this banger is equally depressing as it is danceable. Its insanely catchy and repetitive chorus works to the songs advantage by thematically reflecting the repetitive nature of busking. Get lost in Tones & I’s world as her vocals captivate and entrap you into sweet, indie bubblegum pop. Toni has become the first Australian to lead Spotify’s Global Chart, she’s racked in her 13th week atop the ARIA Singles Chart, the longest-ever streak at No. 1 by an Australian artist, and she’s just hit number 1 in the UK! If global domination was on her bucket list, she can certainly tick it off.