2013 Favorite Songs (40-31)

Continuing the countdown of my Top 50 Favorite Songs of 2013 with Numbers 40 through 31:

40. Joel Compass - "Fucked Up"



UK singer Joel Compass was one of the standout future R&B stars of 2013. His single "Fucked Up" is a stately dissection of regret, his voice projecting all the emotions the narrator is going through as he slowly realizes that one stupid mistake will cost him everything.

39. Queens of the Stone Age - "My God Is The Sun"



I was lamenting to a friend that I really didn't have many pure rock records on my lists this year. The only record I consistently went to was Queens of the Stone Age's brilliant return ...Like Clockwork. Single "My God Is The Sun" is just a driving track that gets my blood pumping.

38. Daughter - "Shallows"



Reminiscent of atmospheric bands from the 4AD heyday, UK trio Daughter masterfully use atmosphere and texture to draw you in deeply. From their evocative debut record If You Leave, "Shallows" is a gorgeous track of carefully intertwined echoing guitars and hushed percussion. Singer Elena Tonra's voice beautifully portraying a woman's loss of self after losing her lover.

37. Young Galaxy - "New Summer"



A stunning, slow-burn synthpop track about fleeting youth and escaping the rapid passing of time, "New Summer" is one of the most infectious, and wistful tracks that captured my ear.

36. Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds - "We No Who U R"



Dark, somber, and slightly sinister, "We No Who U R" is a veiled portrait of the all-encompassing purview of the Internet and social media. Cave's voice delicate, yet rich, almost resigned to life in this age. The words at the end "We know who you are/We know where you live/And we know there's no need to forgive" echoing out, almost in a mantra-like calm.

35. Tim Hecker - "Black Refraction"



Haunted and fractured piano piece from Tim Hecker's masterful record Virgins. The gorgeous melody plays against itself as it slowly decays into nothingness.

34. Young & Sick - "Continuum"



Young and Sick, a music and art collective based in LA, have very limited musical output, but what they have released is simply sublime. "Continuum" is a particularly lovely R&B influenced electronica track that slowly unfurls, like smoke off a cigarette.

33. BASECAMP - "Smoke Filled Lungs"



Nashville trio BASECAMP draw inspiration from R&B, bass music, and electronica, and come up with their own unique spin. From their debut EP, "Smoke Filled Lungs" is a blissfully atmospheric track that features one of the most emotionally compelling vocals I have heard in a long while.

32. Nero - "Into The Past"



Nero have always had a very cinematic outlook to their music. Their contribution to the soundtrack to Baz Luhrmann's The Great Gatsby takes things to the next level, with sweeping strings adding to the 3D extravaganza of the track. Simply stunning.

31. Boards of Canada - "Come to Dust"



Boards of Canada's latest record Tomorrow's Harvest is perhaps their most somber and grey record, lacking some of the playfulness of their earliest records. With tracks like the lumbering "Come to Dust," Boards of Canada still know how to create a palpable sense of dread and decay.