20. Pet Shop Boys - "Vocal"
On their massive return to form record Electric, the Pet Shop Boys once again hit the dance floor with a bevy of club ready tracks. The rave-inflected closing track "Vocal," hits all the right buttons: an infectious melody, pounding drum beats, and more wry vocals from Neil Tennant.
19. Jade De LaFleur - "Jaded"
Carefully controlled and minimal in its execution, Jade De LaFleur's exquisite ballad is a haunting exploration of the search for love. Every emotion is laid bare over an icy facade that wants to let warmth in, but keeps pushing it away.
18. AlunaGeorge - "Your Drums, Your Love"
While AlunaGeorge didn't get the huge push that Disclosure did, they still, for me, are the more warm and inviting of the two records. More pop oriented than Disclosure's debut record Settle, Body Music had many charms. One of which was single "Your Drums, Your Love," a slinky, slippery mid-tempo ballad that feels like the aural equivalent of a bowl of soup on a cold day. Tasty.
17. Esben and the Witch - "The Fall of Glorieta Mountain"
Gorgeous vocals, atmospheric guitars and electronics punctuate this haunting track from the UK trio. Its stark beauty and hold on tone and mood is simply breathtaking.
16. Justin Timberlake - "Blue Ocean Floor"
Justin Timberlake always impresses me more when he goes outside his comfort zone. While there are a ton of other tracks on The 20/20 Experience I easily could have placed here, the one track on there that I always came back to was "Blue Ocean Floor." Over a minimal backing of backwards sounding piano chords, keyboards, and breathy vocals, Timberlake laments love lost. It is a quiet masterpiece.
15. Phoenix - "SOS In Bel Air"
Channeling their best ELO, Phoenix kick things into high gear with this blast of over-the-top pop.
14. Disclosure ft. AlunaGeorge - "White Noise"
Built around a sproingy bass line, this slamming track from Disclosure was a constant go-to party track for me. Plus I love the lyric: "if you want to get tough/then let's play rough."
13. Lapalux ft. Kerry Leatham - "Without You"
Languid and haunting, Lapalux's single "Without You" sounds like film noir as music. Dark shadows lurk in every corner of this track, smoke trails off the ends of cigarettes into nothingness, and an enveloping fog covers everything in loneliness.
12. Jon Hopkins ft. Purity Ring - "Breathe This Air"
Purity Ring's Megan Jones adds her wistful vocals to this thumping, minimalist techno track from producer Jon Hopkins. While the track appears as an instrumental on his brilliant album Immunity, this version with vocals makes an already great track even better.
11. BANKS - "This Is What It Feels Like"
BANKS' warm vocals are the perfect foil to the icy production work (courtesy of Lil Silva and Jamie Woon) on this track which is all glacial synths and groaning bass, which appears to be a slowed down sample from Ginuwine's "My Pony."
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