“Warm Foothills” - Alt-J (Infecious, 2014)
Dreamy and soft, worth every whispery breath by a spliced-together quartet of singers (Joe Newman, Conor Oberst, Lianne La Havas, and Sivu). The lyrics, drifting through idyllic countryside imagery, are adapted from John Bayley’s haunting Elegy For Iris, the English writer’s recounting of his final years with his wife, celebrated author Iris Burdoch. - DD
“Whirring” - The Joy Formidable (Atlantic, 2011)
The Joy Formidable are alt rock darlings that can whip out a head-banging breakdown out of nowhere. My more recent foray into prog metal and metalcore could be traced back to an unhealthy obsession with the last minute of this song. - BR
“Work” - Rihanna (Roc Nation, 2016)
"If you had a twin, I would still choose you" is the best dumb line Drake has dropped this decade, and it just so happens to land right in the middle of Rihanna's endlessly-mockable, effortlessly-sleek, remarkably-understated chart-topper of a single. Even for a Caribbean-flavored pop-house track like this, it still stings. "You took my heart on my sleeve for decoration" is a line that still leaves us cold. - ES
“We're goin' in. We're going down”- Cloudkicker (Cloudkicker, 2010)
As to be expected from what is essentially a studio project by a musician who could often be classified as post-rock rather than metal, this gem of djent riff mastery finds its stride in a claustrophobic atmosphere. One in which the battery of down-tuned looping guitars are suffocated by the rise and fall of hammering drums and pulsing synths. - JD
“Written in Reverse” – Spoon (Matador, 2010)
Eric Harvey hammers the piano chords which drive “Written in Reverse” like he’s a loan shark pummeling a client for all they’re worth. I can’t pretend to know what exactly Britt Daniel is talking about in this song, particularly when he devolves into tautology (“All I know / Is all I know”). But as is the case with just about every Spoon album, you can’t doubt this band’s convictions, or its rock ‘n’ roll bonafides. All I know, is that. - BE