"Fever"
BLACK KEYS
(Nonesuch)
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"Fever" was more subtle than any other Black Keys offering, but that didn't stop the Akron, Ohio-based rock band/duo from making it accessible. A moody indigo vibe peppered with psychedelic riffs sets this tune up like a Doors summertime excursion. Who knew that something so devilish as a fever could feel so good. Lyrically, the Black Keys compounds that idea.
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"Girls/Girls/Boys"
PANIC! AT THE DISCO
(Decaydance/Fueled By Ramen)
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Panic frontman Brendon Urie puts a stunning spin on “no holds barred” sexuality with this fiery synth rock jam. He confronts the song like a Brandon Flowers caught up in an Adam Levine sexcapade. So what if the music video mirrored one of the sexiest music videos of all time (D'Angelo's "Untitled"), Panic has rolled out something more infectious than a Maroon 5 sing-a-long. |
"Hideaway"
KIESZA
(Chronicles/Island)
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A boombastic throwback to ‘90s dance, “Hideaway” showcases big diva pipes and a delicious four-on-the-floor beat lathered in deep house. Kiesza's vocal delivery is strong enough to put her in the same company as Robyn S or CeCe Peniston.
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"Turn Down for What"
DJ SNAKE feat. LIL JON
(Columbia)
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With the synth build up of "Harlem Shake" and the crunk rap style of Lil Jon firing up uber-club ratchetness, "Turn Down for What" easily eclipses any club anthem produced this year. When the beat drops, so does the booty. It also serves as the perfect ready-set-go ice breaker for a dance culture so enslaved to the 160 BPM paradigms. |
"Love Never Felt So Good"
MICHAEL JACKSON feat. JUSTIN
TIMBERLAKE
(Epic)
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Almost anything in the vault of previously unreleased material of the late King of Pop sounds mediocre at best. Except this. The Timbaland remix, featuring a tech-designed duet with Justin Timberlake, is a stronger enhancement. There's "Workin' Day and Night" percussion and a funkier bottom tucked inside that makes the original John McClain/Paul Anka-produced version seem inferior. |
"Blank Space"
TAYLOR SWIFT
(Big Machine)
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With a subtle hip-hop beat in her possession, Taylor Swift's “Blank Space” is the perfect follow-up response to Lorde's “Royals.” Swift's classic pop songwriting style is still ever-present here, but it sounds like something that Katy Perry would have worn. |
"Birthday"
KATY PERRY
(Capitol)
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Pop princess Katy Perry turned up the sound of the Revolution on this Prince-inspired track. Fans totally got it, even when her label was too busy pumping the life out of "Dark Horse." Downloads of the non-single forced the label to eventually give it some marketing pull. By the summer of 2014, it was on the road to being the summer anthem of the year. That's until "Fancy" showed up. |
"Stay With Me"
SAM SMITH
(Capitol)
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"Stay With Me" is a Sunday morning gospel song wrapped in a sexual epitaph. It's the love stuff that Marvin Gaye and Aretha Franklin envisioned for the sanctified. And even if the background gospel choir (entirely designed by Smith's vocal stacking) helped gave the song it's winning edge, the song is robust and smart enough to become a timeless soul classic. Adding Mary J. Blige on the revised version guarantees that. |
"Take Me to Church"
HOZIER
(Rubyworks/Columbia)
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Powerfully juxtaposing religion for an addictive love, “Take Me to Church” is unapologetic in its comparisons to an addictive earthly love: “My Church offers no absolutes/She tells me, ‘Worship in the bedroom.” It's not totally clear if the Irish singer-songwriter is simply addicted to sex or just the company of a contagious spirit, but he doesn't quite fit in with the traditional conservative bunch. In his church, there's a deathless death and “no sweeter innocence than our gentle sin.” Thanks to the powerful bluesy rock and a haunting angelic chorus backing him, the song is almost unescapable from 2014's memorable moments in music.
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"Rather Be"
CLEAN BANDIT feat. JESS GLYNNE
(Warner Music Group)
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Another poetic tale of endless love now clutters up the space of the pop index. On Clean Bandit's breakout hit "Rather Be," the young and confident vocals of Jess Glynne are totally surrounded by a colossal pop-disco arrangement that defies the laws of evolution. It takes the charm of Anita Ward's "Ring My Bell" and slaps it across a zip line of brash violas and Studio 54 stardust. The urgency in the strings alone is enough to brand this as being neo-classical pop. Even on the 100th listen, "Rather Be" still has magnetic powers.
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