With half the year already gone…yup, really, we thought now is the perfect time to take a look back through this year’s weekly round-ups of the hottest tracks and pick our Top Five. It’s been tough, it’s been a hell of a year so far musically speaking, but after a lot of debate we settled on the tracks below:
FRANKIE | PROBLEMS PROBLEMS
What we said about it: The best track of the week comes from LA-based newcomer Frankie, who apparently wants to “bridge together the sound of Stevie Nicks and Joni Mitchell with Alanis Morissette and The Spice Girls”. It’s tough to say whether she’s achieved entirely what she was aiming for with her debut track ‘Problems Problems’, but what we are left with is a song that feels like a preppy, pop version of Banks – think the almost motown-lite vibe of 2014 rising star Ariana Grande’s debut, just gone a bit dark and quirky.
VÉRITÉ | COLOURS
What we said about it: With vocals that are instantly reminiscent of a poppy version of indie UK songstress Banks, Colours is a bold, percussion-heavy song that blossoms thanks to it’s undeniably anthemic chorus and VÉRITÉ’s transcendent use of her falsetto that makes for one of the best pop track’s we’ve featured on the playlist this year so far.
PRIEST | BROKEN
What we said about it: A hauntingly melancholic slice of electro-pop from Florida-based duo Priest has nabbed the top spot on this week’s NOISE BOX. It’s thanks to Madeline Priests dreamy vocals, production that harks back to the synth-filled haze of the late eighties and a vibe that makes us wish we were listening to the track on a Sony Walkman while strolling through the neon streets of Tokyo at 1am.
COLLEAGUES | TALK IT OUT
What we said about it: Packed to the brim with glittering 80s synths, this instantly catchy pop effort from Colleagues is one of those rare songs that has both the ability to make you want to get up and dance, and make you want to down a glass of wine and stare vacantly out of a window while it rains. It’s a magic formula, and one we know you’re going to love.
LOLA MARSH | SIRENS
What we said about it: A song that could have easily been torn straight off the soundtrack to Tarantino’s Kill Bill, Sirens sounds like a song Lana Del Rey and Tori Amos would record if they ditched their imaginary husbands and embarked on a Thelma & Louise-style road trip across America together to start a new life in California. Basically, what we’re trying to get across is that it’s fucking cinematic.