Don't underestimate this band. For every throwaway redneck chugger they deliver a song that grabs the heart and makes the soul weep.
19. Keep Your Head - See See (from Late Morning Light)
Thanks to the wonderful Shindig! magazine, a slice of brainy psych pop for the modern day with a melody that will occupy the head.
18. Too Much Of A Good Thing - Hurray For The Riff Raff (from Hurray For The Riff Raff)
The best support act of 2011 - in fact they blew the main players away. Simple, understated yet burning with things unsaid. Whatever 'IT' may be, Alynda Lee Segarra has IT (and don't say Information Technology).
17. Shoals - Bleeding Heart Narrative (from Bison EP)
First track from the wonderful 'Bison' EP, destined for big things. Epic at last year's Green Man Festival.
16. One For You, One For Me - Bright Eyes (from The People's Key)
Boy wonder Conor Oberst, no longer a boy but a man with a sophisticated and merciful take on how we should be living our lives. A goose bumper.
15. All The Same - Real Estate (from Days)
This got under my skin over many weeks, persistent and complex melodies. The Byrds meets The Smiths.
14. June Hymn - The Decemberists (from The King Is Dead)
I could have picked any from 'The King Is Dead'. Colin Meloy writes lyrics which can warm the heart and chill the blood. Here it's a simple rumination on the butterfly in his garden, but the themes are huge.
13. The Dream - Thee Oh Sees (from Carrion Crawler/The Dream)
One of the gigs of the year, advanced mayhem - there is no thrilling live sight than Thee Oh Sees just doing it.
12. Used To Be A Cop - Drive-ByTruckers (from Go-Go Boots)
A fine commentary on the complex choices facing beaten individuals. Seedy, nasty and with just a tiny glimmer of hope - it simply broods. There is no more honest and intelligent band than the Truckers.
11. God Is God - Steve Earle (from I'll Never Get Out Of This World Alive)
Written for and originally recorded by Joan Baez nobody does 'God' better than Earle. This is nothing to do with a religious God, just simply the logical observation that 'I believe in God, and God ain't me.'
10. Come To The City - The War On Drugs (from Slave Ambient)
This starts intensely and builds to a point where something has to give - but doesn't - it just ends, gloriously.
9. Try To Sleep - Low (from C'mon)
The best Mormon band since The Osmonds? I have no idea what they're trying to convey here, only that it's heavy and pregnant with meaning and comes with a melody that reminds me of clouds parting in a blue sky.
8. Time Spent In Los Angeles - Dawes (from Nothing Is Wrong)
The opener on their 'Nothing Is Wrong' LP. A celebration of their home city, if only someone would write one as good about Leeds.
7. Vomit - Girls (from Father, Son, Holy Ghost)
I love a slow builder and this just keeps on going, climaxing in a shattering Dark Side Of The Moon-type finale. No holds barred, but why is it called 'Vomit'?
6. Dawned On Me - Wilco (from The Whole Love)
The sunny side of the best band in the world. Although if you dig deeper into Tweedy's words you'll spot an obsessive mind at work. Maybe this is why I connect - and it's got whistling!
5. Lazy Bones - Wooden Shjips (from West)
Heads down, the finale to this had me nearly driving off the road. Propulsive, unshakeable, this is what all rock music should be about.
4. Hell Broke Luce - Tom Waits (from Bad As Me)
'Boom went his head away
and boom went Valerie
What the hell was it that the President said?
Give them all a beautiful parade instead
and left - right - left'
Deceptively optimistic, Pearson's album changes with the mood. This is like an open wound - he invites everyone in to examine the blood pulsing out of the vein.
2. Desert Raven - Jonathan Wilson (from Gentle Spirit)
Languid, with a riff to retire on, Wilson re-invented one of the glorious eras of pop music - unshamedly old fashioned and gratifyingly long.
1. One Sunday Morning (Song For Jane Smiley's Boyfriend) - Wilco (from The Whole Love)
A guitar figure and keyboard frills that subtly change EVERY time, this showcases Tweedy as a lyricist without peer. 12 minutes - it's too short! Mortality, loss, guilt, hope - it's all here. Song of the century more like.
