I was wary of writing any kind of top anything list. I haven’t been able to listen to a lot of albums in full, and I’ve mostly been subsisting on singles with an occasional album stick in here or there. For example (and this might be considered appalling to anyone following this year’s music) I have not actually listened to the whole Fleet Foxes album. Yes, it’s true. With so few full albums under my belt, I couldn’t possibly think my opinions are well-formed enough to create any kind of top album list. So I decided that I would create a year end list of songs that you probably haven’t heard but should. If you have heard them you may already love or hate them. If you haven’t give them a listen! These are songs that flew under the radar for the most part and songs I think deserve a little more attention. But remember, this is only a drop in the bucket of great songs from this year, and these are gleaned from my personal library and not the massive collective of songs that are out there. I don’t claim that this definitive, these are just the top songs I wanted to share! So, if you know a good song that I missed, feel free to share it with me too.

I’ll be counting down to the New Year with three of these songs each day, with the final three on the last day of the year. Enjoy.

First off we have a runner-up. This song didn’t quite make it on the list, but it’s worthy of notice nonetheless. The band Department of Eagles didn’t make it on very many of the end-of-the-year lists, but their haunted new album ‘In Ear Park’ attracted a lot of attention in the indie circles. I’m not entirely sold by them just yet. As far as experimental/freak-folk music goes they’re on the less-listenable end of my scale, but of course experimental stuff always pushes the boundaries of acceptance. So I’d say, don’t write them off, give them a listen yourself and decide. Anyway, this a good song that’s just a few inches closer to typical, though it didn’t creep up quite far enough to make the list.
Runner-up- No One Does It Like You- Department of Eagles

For me a great song needs to have excellent lyrics as well as a unique sound, some aspect that sticks in your head, and a passion that comes through in the singing and the instrumentals. I loved this song the first time I heard it because it’s dreamy, and magical, and I adore the way and it soars through the upper stratosphere, skimming over snowy mountain ranges and the deep blue sea. It ended up at the tail end of my list just because it’s not as hummable or catchy as some of the other songs, and it’s not one that gets me as excited when it pops up on shuffle, even if that doesn’t diminish the delight of listening to it when it does. I give you number fifteen from the album ‘Alpinisms’.
15- Connjur- School of Seven Bells

This song alternates between raucous and quiet, and it manages to be quite catchy along the way. The guitars are upbeat (and in fact whirring), the cymbals are clashing, the tambourines are dancing all the way through, and the lyrics are hopeful without compromising the autumn-approaching-winter feeling of the song. From ‘Kids Aflame’ it’s number fourteen, ‘Whirring’.
14- Whirring- Arms

This song is gorgeous and elusive. It would probably have placed higher on the list but the list was already full when I remembered. That’s it’s only problem; it’s a little forgettable. It’s not a song I think of very often, but when I do listen to it the gentle, bittersweetness of it all ensnares me and makes everything melt away. It’s a feather on the air and while you can see you can appreciate its silken, softly glowing beauty, but all too quickly it slips away. From ‘The Sparrow and The Crow’, it’s ‘I Don't Feel It Anymore’, also known as number thirteen.

Listen to it here:
13- I Don't Feel It Anymore (Song of the Sparrow)- William Fitzsimmons