It’s Hottest 100 crunch time, we’ve all devised Rivers Cuomo-like spreadsheets to try and cull down our list of favourite songs from the past year. A task that’s been damn near impossible because this yers has just been so god damn red hot in the music department.
If, on the off chance, you can’t think of an entire ten songs to fill up your list with. We’ve put together a list of ten suggestions that we think are worthy of your consideration, so without further ado.
Denzel Curry – ‘Bulls on Parade’ live on Like A Version
I don’t want to go around making false proclamations but industry whispers have led me to believe that it was actually Denzel Curry’s cover of ‘Bulls on Parade’ that reignited the Rage Against The Machine fire and forced them out of retirement. This cover is without a doubt the most incendiary Like A Version moment of 2019. Denzel Curry brought a nü-metal palette to the triple j studios and the nation lapped it up.
E^ST – ‘Talk Deep’
I sincerely believe that E^ST is one of Australia’s most interesting pop artists, and is poised for total domination. E^ST captures the nuances of relationships and growing pains in a way that is so completely compelling, and achingly relatable. ‘Talk Deep’ is a dizzying dissection of the beginning of new love and the overwhelming desire we all feel to overtalk everything all the time.
Fergus James – ‘Back To Life’
Love Rage Against The Machine?
Get the latest Rage Against The Machine news, features, updates and giveaways straight to your inbox Learn more
This is just a slice of indie-pop perfection. ‘Back To Life’ struck a chord with music listeners everywhere, and has racked up near 1.5 million streams on Spotify. 2019 was a huge year for James, who took out triple j’s SplendourUnearthed comp and released his debut EP, All of the Colours.
Lime Cordiale – ‘Robbery’
Lime Cordiale dropped three back to back slappers in 2019, ‘Robbery’, ‘Money’ and ‘Inappropriate Behaviour’. Whilst all three are worthy of your vote, we reckon it’s ‘Robbery’ that hits all the sweet spots. However, if you love each of these tracks as if they were your own children, fuck it, vote for em all.
Sampa the Great – ‘Final Form’
Sampa the Great dropped one of the finest Australian albums of the year, and one of the greatest Australian hip hop records of the decade with her ripsnorting debut, The Return. It is one mighty debut, and ‘Final Form’ is more than deserving of a place in your shortlist.
Jaguar Jonze – ‘Kill Me With Your Love’
Jaguar Jonze burst into Australia’s consciousness with her tenacious performance on Hermitude’s cover of Nirvana classic ‘Heart-Shaped Box’. She then went on to cement her status as one of the slickest names in Australian indie-rock. Jonze has mastered the art of luscious, guitar-driven pop and ‘Kill Me With Your Love’ is a testament to her finesse.
Ruby Fields – ‘Trouble’
Ruby Fields dominated the Hottest 100 last year, coming in at fifth place with her absolute scorcher ‘Dinosaur’. Fields must have been keen to keep that momentum going because she went on to drop the equally delicious ‘Trouble’. It’s a ripper.
Skegss – ‘Save It For the Weekend’
Aussie skate-punk darlings Skegss are no strangers to Hottest 100 success, reaching as high as 11th place in last year’s countdown. Their latest single ‘Save It for the Weekend’ might just be their most loved track yet and is tipped to place even higher this year. ‘Save It for the Weekend’ is no half-assed cash-in on slacker punk’s mass revival, this is an instantly likeable earworm which strikes the right balance between wild abandon and considered songwriting.
Polish Club – ‘We Don’t Care’
Polish Club rule over all our collective hearts. This song is unrelenting joy and one of our absolute favourite choruses of the year.
Tame Impala – ‘Borderline’
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vpbblMR_jUo
Honestly, it’s hard to believe that ‘Borderline’ came out last year. The concept of time does not exist to me when I think about Tame Impala’s release schedule. How did Currents come out five years ago? There is no way that ‘The Less I Know The Better’ has been spicing up our collective consciousness for half a decade. Anyway this song slaps, Kevin Parker forever.
Voting for Hottest 100 is open until 9 am Tuesday 22 January 2019. Head here for more information.
