dedex
Erwann S.
Staff

Reviews 63
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Album Ratings 5681
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Last Active 01-01-70 12:00 am
Joined 01-01-70

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 Lists
12.02.22 22 under 2204.30.22 ✊ May 2022 Song of the Day: LIVE 🍺 ♦
03.31.21 🎤 April 2021 Song of the Day: SING A ♦03.01.21 dedex Jazz! (Jazz Week 3)
12.17.20 🥳 2k soundoffs party + Overlooked 20 ♦03.31.20 Our Band Could Be Your Life dedexbinge
03.17.20 Songs of the dedexcade12.09.19 dedex's "Yet another 2019 list"

Songs of the dedexcade

ok this is gon b epic
101Lomepal
FLIP

HONOURABLE MENTIONS

Natalia Lafourcade - Hasta La Raiz
Alphabet Pony - Mind Games
Uncle Acid and the Deadbats - Bedouin
Lomepal - Lucy
Ariel Pink - Feels Like Heaven
Igorrr - Tout Petit Moineau
Jon Hopkins - Open Eye Signal
Four Tet - Angel Echoes
Joanna Newsom - Baby Birch
U.S. Girls - Pearly Gates
100Blood Incantation
Hidden History of the Human Race

INNER PATHS (TO OUTER SPACE)

PSYCH TECH DEATH METALZ

Let's start this with a recent love of mine. If there's one modern death metal band that I think has the best chance of revolutionising the genre in the 20s, it's Blood Incantation (I know, Gorguts). With clear OSDM influences, the band manages to pay homage to the greats of DM while pushing the envelope and adding a psych vibe no one but Venenum captured as well this decade. The clip really helped appreciating the song, as the camera is crossing cosmic landscapes to finally climb a bloody Egyptian tower. Idk why, but I always assimilated death metal riffs with Ancient Egypt, and BI perfectly nailed that, both in the video and in their music. Add the p s y c h for the space exploration, plus a final Demilich/wounded animal cry, and you've got one hell of a ride. Plus the bass is fretless so hell ya it's as crispy as good chicken.

"EUUUUUUAAAAAAAAARGH"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FcYzciq9GVs
99Hippocampe Fou
Aquatrip

AQUATRIP

CHILL FRENCH HIP HOP

Chill French rapper with an incredibly precise diction, perfect for people who wanna learn French. We used to jam this with doobies back in the dayz (s/o dexbro), and it's thus now ingrained in our friend group as an old-school classic. While he never went big, he's in that indie-star place that allows him to live off his dream, and it may seem like a normal thing for an artist, but that's fucking cool. Other than that, this is his chillest track where he delivers bars after bars of slightly conscious, no hassle sweetness.

"Je vous invite, à un petit aquatrip"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9k3o9sU_qeQ
98Ariana Grande
Dangerous Woman

GREEDY

CLUB ANTHEM

Shake yo ass owyeah. I would say this is a guilty pleasure, but I have no shame in admitting this is some damn fine and up-tempo pop. The bass is funky, the chorus is catchy as heck, and only the title track (something 'bout something 'bout something 'bout you MAAAAAAAKES ME FEEEEEEEL LIKE A WOMAN - ye don't be afraid to sing this even if you got a massive cock) could compete for Ariana's best song. It also was soothing to realize I could like stuff like that: now I could talk about music with nearly everybody, and I basically stopped being a prick. We sometimes forget, us sputnikers, that most people in the real world do not give the single shit about the music we listen to. So it's cool to be different, but let us try to understand what the plebe is listening to. Thanks Ari.

"And I'm GREEDY, cuz I AM SO GREEDAYYY"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CGq7eI7Y9Gw
97Lewis OfMan
Yo Bene

FLASH

70S ITALIAN DISCO INFLUENCED FRENCH SYNTHPOP

Some underlooked stuff. Friends were throwing this all the time at the faculty bar, so it accompanied many drunken afternoons. My last year at uni was a blast, and this was part of that year's soundtrack. It's typically the kind of tune that wears its influence on its sleeve yet manages to come up with a totally modern and fresh sound. The percussions are not the most original stuff but they're quite polished, the chords are jazzy and that sax hot dannnng. Most importantly: it makes you move. It's a cool and bouncy track to chill to with your mates, so jam this, pop the beers, prepare the doobies and enjoy the flash.

"POUM POUM POUM POUM"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Aq06LFpFpcE
96Booba
Futur

KALASH ft. Kaaris

FRENCH HARDCORE RAP

Le Duc abides. The most famous French rapper had to be here. His phrasing is now used by virtually every noob wanting to rap (basically he lets go of the determiner to fit the words he wants in his sentences). He's at his most unleashed and cliché, delivering bars after bars encapsulating his 2010s rich motherfucker attitude. And then, Kaaris comes in, and immediately shocked the entire country with his aggressive and now legendary verse (really, it's now considered as one of the best French rap verse of the whole decade). This was the moment Kaaris established himself as a the new challenger in the game, and his 2013 album (Or Noir) confirmed this status and sent him to the superstar sphere. I hated it at the beginning (didn't like French rap back then, only jammed punk, metal and Nas) but now it's a well-established banger.

"Moi et mes kheys on part sur la lune amuse-toi bien en Meurthe-et-Moselle"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oBbHo8b4FDc
95Netsky
2

COME ALIVE

EARLY 2010S DNB

Aaaaaaaaah, Belgian festivals. It's a small country but it sure is a great place to go to shows. Brussels and Antwerp are only 50km away, but each city has a lot of cool venues, from the small bar to the fat arena, and there are so many good shows (like 4-5 a month, not bad for such a small country). Aaaaand, on top of that, you have the Belgian festivals. Ofc there's Tomorrowland (never went there) but each scene has got its own festival (Werchter, Graspop, dunk!, etc.). My first festival was Pukkelpop, and the first night, Netsky closed the festival day. He brought his parents with him, and it was quite something to see them real proud (we were basically 50000 motherfuckers shouting for the hottest kid in the country), and see a Belgian dude making it so big. I don't listen to Netsky that often now but every time this goes on, I just have to jump. Good ol' dayz.

"AND MY HEART WILL COME ALIIIIIIVE"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0z7omu2UNVA
94Title Fight
Shed

SHED

POST-HARDCORE WITH MIDWEST EMO INFLUENCES

An important band for me, as I just couldn't get enough of The Last Thing You Forget, the band's pinnacle of pop punk/emo/post-hardcore blend. On Shed, they slowed down a bit, and only traces of pop punk could be found. They decided to go full post-hardcore/emo and this is the song where it truly shines. As each album slightly but quite logically drifts from the predecessor (and is only but a hint of the next one), Title Fight has, for now, 4 eras: their 3 albums and their seminal comp. Shed perfectly encapsulates the sound and theme of the 2011 album: this is the band at its most emo.

"Shed your teaaaaaaarZZZZZZ"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TZNQ5T4dXwY
93Oneohtrix Point Never
R Plus Seven

BORING ANGEL

PROGRESSIVE ELECTRONIC

It's just waves, you know. The heart is finally fed with what the mind has been eating with his two previous outputs. Idk how he does it, but he seizes what's in yo head to create fabulous soundscapes both weirdly futuristic and deeply nostalgic. Make me want to drift in the infinite nothingness. It's hard to write about electronic music. Sometimes you just gotta let the images in your mind do the talking.

"…"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qmlJveN9IkI
9265daysofstatic
We Were Exploding Anyway

DEBUTANTE

BREAKBEATY IDM POST-ROCK

A bridge between 65dos' first post-rock bangers to their latest ambient endeavours. If the subsquent compilation, Silent Running, and more importantly their No Man's Sky soundtrack (never played the game tho) were deeply marked by everything cosmic and outer spacey, this is the best spaceship launching track you could ask for. It's slowly building, some beats are here to remind you it's not gonna be an easy journey, and, finally, the explosion. How could a spaceship end up, except by exploding towards its ultimate goal?

"*cosmic waves passing by*"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R9L2ej1kxro
91Beach House
Bloom

MYTH

DREAM POP/ETHEREAL WAVE

The band's best iteration. If they sometimes struggle to fully capture me with their albums, some tunes of them do the job tremendously well. Here, the magnificient voice (has she ever sung better than that?) plus the final guitar section made this the obvious (yet it was complicated eh) Beach House choice.

"....oh let the ashes fly"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3lIyDxfUhxM
90Stromae
Racine Carrée

FORMIDABLE

BEAUTIFUL BELGIAN SONG

Tha Brusseleir homie Paul. Legend now in Belgium (Alors on danse was listened by basically everybody back in '09), this is the song which allowed him to be propulsed into the true Chanson française (even though it's Belgian, you know the deal). Catchy yet sad lyrics, grandiose instrumentation, and his damn beautiful voice. He famously clipped the song while seemingly drunk on a well-known roundabout in Brussels, without anybody knowing he was screaming the lyrics of an upcoming song (policemen stopped to ask him if he was ok and then let him go. Perks of being a star I guess.) Now, this is the kind of song everybody knows all the words.

"Bandes de macaques!"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S_xH7noaqTA
89Salut C'est Cool
Sur le thème des grandes découvertes

TECHNO TOUJOURS PAREIL

DUMB BUT FUN TECHNO

Some say it's dumb. Some say its post-modernist. I say this is fun shit to mindlessly jump to. It's dumb techno trance for shrooms lovers, but their absurd lyrics and high energy live shows cemented their place as one of the most important festival bands, both in France and Belgium (hell, they closed each fucking night of the 2016 Dour festival), and even managed to appeal to people who do not listen to techno at all. Salut C'est Cool, c'est cool.

"TECHNO, TOUJOURS PAREIL, BOOM BOOM DANS LES OREILLES ! MUSIQUE DE DEFONCEMAN, PAS DE MESSAGE, NORMAL, RIEN A DIRE !"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x537Cqg5nEI
88Mac DeMarco
2

ODE TO VICEROY

JANGLE POP

Welcome to the jangle. It's always jangly, but never twinkly (it's thus no sadboi shit). The surf guitar and the added p s y c h make for a dynamic yet relaxed track. On this particular song, he shows his underlying pop sensibilities. All these elements, plus the nostalgic knack both on the cover and the overall aesthetic, help create a sound that might not be timeless, but that would certainly please different generations. Plus look at this goofy face. Chill music made by a chill dude to chill with chill bros. Chill.

"'Cause oh, honey, I'll smoke you 'til I'm dying *epic guitar*"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6bfTTeZOrs4
87Run the Jewels
Run the Jewels 3

THURSDAY IN THE DANGER ROOM

JAZZY CONSCIOUS HARD-HITTING HIP HOP

This is where they, imo, finally attain what they solo careers hinted at. I don't dislike their albums, far from it, but I've always felt something was missing. On this one, they mix the beeeeest of both woooorlds (sorry, wrong song) and did what I wanted them to do since the beginning: political bangers with that hint of chillness. Mind me, that's what they (try) to do most of the time, but they never hit me as much as with this track. And gotta love these Kamasi sax, what a match.

"And I guess I'd say I'll see you soon, but the truth is that I see you now"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YxaNYGeaOjc
86Bon Iver
Bon Iver, Bon Iver

TOWERS

INDIE FOLK

The feelz man came back in 2011 with the folky album everyone and their mother was waiting for, before exploring (sometimes not very well) electronic additions in his music. Yet, his least experimental release this decade truly is his best one, and the best song here is one that may be about girlfriend-as-tower or his girlfriend climbing a tower or being in a relationship that feels like a tower or him and his girlfriend being distant towers. It's about his girlfriend and a tower. While that seems silly (it kinda is), the dude still pulled out a beaut of a song, with this twinkly and oh-so-beautiful guitar lick. Best Bon Iver this decade.

"Fuck the fiercest fables, I’m with Hagen"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A6xLTt8C4sc
85Godspeed You! Black Emperor
'Allelujah! Don't Bend! Ascend!

MLADIC

CRESCENDOS

Crescendocore at its finest: it's building and building and building before exploding and exploding and exploding. I was high af when I saw them, and my highness was building and building and building before exploding and exploding and exploding. No band captured the sound of impending doom as well as these Quebecois bros and girfs.

"*the sound of apocalypse*"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RXdF9uhVrI0
84Brutus (BE)
Nest

WAR

FURY AS A POWER TRIO

Belgium is a nice place music-wise. Sure, nothing to compare with the juggernaut countries, but it's a cool place nonetheless. The latest cool band to come out this cool place is (no, not Psychonaut) Brutus, and this is the track that best displays their uniqueness (yet everything they're remotely influenced by is clearly identified): a gritty female, voice, a punky pounding bass, furious drums and a guitar oscillating between shoegaze, post-hardcore, noise rock and something that resembles tremolo picking, and POOF, you have Brutus, the next best band.

"YOUR HATE WILL ALWAYS BE MY GUIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIDE"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DfGTa-yUMRc
83A.A.L. (Against All Logic)
2012-2017

I NEVER DREAM

FUNKY DEEP HOUSE

While Jaar's first microhouse projects all had a sense of anxiety, here he subdues it to put forward his funkier side. Mind me, this isn't a straight up happy banger: dread is still underlying, but now we can go to the dancefloor and try to forget about it. I Never Dream is his sunniest track, the one that truly wants to let go of all concern. If it reminds you of 90s bangers, it's normal: Jaar wanted to take old stuff and revitalize them in the wake of modern production and zeitgeist.

"I feel closer, closer, CLOSER CLOSER CLOSER CLOSER"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IqkYqg6k994
82Fleet Foxes
Fleet Foxes

HELPLESSNESS BLUES

PASTORAL AND PSYCHEDELIC CHAMBER FOLK

Are you waiting for your purpose in life? You might wait a goddamn long time. You're a snowflake in an avalanche. You're not unique. Maybe you were told otherwise. Bunch of lies. You're the master of your own destiny. Stand up, clean up your shit, and go do what drives you. Maybe that dream is to be like the man on the screen? In that case, you are running into the machinery you thought you escaped. It's all meaningless either way, but, please please please, try to enjoy the short amount of time you were given here.

"What good is it to sing HELPLESSNESS BLUES? WHY SHOULD IIII wait for anyone else?"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7HHgedNNQco
81Massive Attack
Heligoland

PARADISE CIRCUS (Gui Boratto Remix)

TRIP HOP/TECH HOUSE

Yeah sorry it's not the OG. This one immediately came up as the evident choice: it's longer and takes it time to reveal itself. And when it's revealed, oh boy (that bass at 3:05 mmmmmmmph). It sounds like a club hit at the age of the amorphous: it's bouncy yet not really dancy, feel good yet globally dark, and, as always with Massive Attack, ethereal. Let it go, again.

"But we like it when we're spinning"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wlQz-bbAhDc
80Stupeflip
Hypnoflip Invasion

STUPEFLIP VITE!

BLEND OF PUNK ATTITUDE, FRENCH SONG AND RAP

Baptême 2013 rpz. The main problem with Stupeflip is how people actually perceive them: even though they clearly have a punk attitude and a so-evident love for chanson francaise, they are labelled as rap. This leads narrow-minded French metalheads to pull out stupid shit such as "I don't listen to rap, but I like Stupeflip, it's not as dumb as these other rich, egoist and deadening motherfuckers like Booba", and narrow-minded rapheads to pull out stupid shit such as "Stupeflip is rap 101 for dumbasses who don't understand shit about the culture". Neither of these two groups is right, simply because Stupeflip ain't rap. They sure have a rap phrasing on some songs, but it's just a band that put all their influences in a blender and it happens that one of these influences is rap. Take it as a French band, and you won't say stupid shit.

"TU L'AS SEQUESTRE, BAILLONNE LIGOTE"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PdaAHMztNVE
79Anderson .Paak
Malibu

AM I WRONG (ft. Schoolboy Q)

BOASTFUL SYNTHY NEO-SOUL

It's time for the doooooooobie. Paak came up with one hell of a record in 2016: it takes influence from soul, R&B, funk and hip hop and delivers a groovy and soulful record to toke some reefer to. Typically the kind of track to simply chill to, and sometimes we desperately need it.

"Am I wrong to assume if she can't dance, if she can't ooh?"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UXGs56qgxxc
78Damso
Ipséité

MOSAIQUE SOLITAIRE

BELGIAN SADBOI RAP

Another Belgian homie hell yeah. Once Booba's protégé, he stood on his own and took the hardcore approach Booba and Kaaris popularized while adding his own sensibilities. It allowed him to reach massive success - Macarena being his biggest hit -, and this song right here helped him to attain this status (his new album is awaited as the messiah in Belgium). It's one of his slowest songs, and also one of his least hardcore ones (ie: he's not talking about destroying some ass): he talks about his loneliness as an upcoming star (yeah I know it's not original blah blah blah shut up) and do not hesitate to talk about his deep feelings (another factor that made him popular). But if one moment alone made me love this one, it's the beat explosion at 2:05. Putain de magistral.

"Ils ne me veulent pas du bien. Ils font bonhomme de neige, je fais bonhomme de chemin"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q2c7Ie1Sz1Q
77BADBADNOTGOOD
BBNG2

ROTTEN DECAY

NU JAZZ FUSION

New vision of an old take. Take traditional jazz instruments and overall aesthetic, but be influenced by modern music (you know, the kind young people actually listen to, like hip hop or electronica, or other genre no one cares about anymore, like post-rock). I realized lots of tunes here are good ones for doobie time, or remind me good doobie times. Eh.

"*jazzy shit happening*"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mCjQCqNmrfM
76XXYYXX
XXYYXX

ABOUT YOU

CLOUDY FUTURE BASS

Another nostalgia and drugged trip. I have no idea if what I'll say next is true, but I bet a shitton of FL Studio noobs were influenced by that guy. The album it's taken off is nothing special, but XXYYXX sublimed himself with this hazy and hypnotic track. I once listened to it with a friend of mine tokin' and watching Queens' sky full of stars. Special.

"Aaaaaaah, si je rêve aussi" (she's not saying that, but I always had an auditory hallucination with this one)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lG5aSZBAuPs
75Florence and the Machine
How Big, How Blue, How Beautiful

DELILAH

ART POP? YEAH OK LET'S GO WITH ART POP

I realized I loved her music during 2015 Werchter festival. With Bedex (yeah yeah really) and another mate, we decided to watch the last part of her show. The sun was slowly setting, the sky was exploding of orange, blue, yellow and red, and, most importantly, there was Florence Welch. Singing and dancing as if it was the last time she could ever do it, she displayed so much energy without ever negatively impacting her performance we all fell in love with such a devoted person. The kind of show that open your eyes on an artist.

"It's a different kind of danger, and the bells are ringin out"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gJ50rvySDCk
74Vald
XEU

REFLEXIONS BASSES

DEPRESSIVE AND INTROSPECTIVE FRENCH HIP HOP

Based on a Porco Rosso sample (this piano is *Italian chef's kiss*), this is a somber track, where Vald gradually spits more vein and tiredness while adding a drunkkenness to his voice. Talking about fame and all the moods it brings him (kinda like Damso in Mosaique Solitaire), he draws a somber painting of his life, the one we mere fans cannot really imagine. If he was first known for his silly songs (Bonjour, Selfie), Vald shows here he can rap about anything, and add a goddamn interpretation to it. A depressive reef session.

"Si mes désirs changent, faudrait quand même qu'un jour j'arrive à bien m'aimer"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4IwuGjm42hQ
73Carly Rae Jepsen
Emotion

RUN AWAY WITH ME

FUN ELECTRO/SYNTHPOP

OMFG THIS SYNTHSAX HELL YEAH. Kinda weird how she managed to appeal to people who are usually not very fond of mainstream pop. Idk how she did it, but she granted us with one of the best pop records of the decade, and started said album with the most bombastic, fun and exuberant song she could come up with. Her way to use 80s pop tropes in a completely modern way might however be the most impressive: this is the kind yo momma would have loved to dance to in the 80s. So go ahead, and make her listen to this. Unless she digs Wormrot.

"*EPIC INTRO SYNTHSAX*"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TeccAtqd5K8
72Mitski
bury me at makeout creek

FRANCIS FOREVER

LONELY LO-FI INDIE ROCK

Adventure Time nostalgia hot dang. I've first compared Mitski to Marceline Queen before realizing the mash-up was indeed done in the series. Feels nice. Tapping into universal subjects, it's her interpretation that helped her won over us listeners. She speaks with honesty, letting the abrasive music add an anxious vibe. But it's the energy she gives her riffs that takes her songs to the next level: as in Your Best American Girl, when the guitar lets go of any constraint, this goes from lonely indie stuff to masterpiece.

"I DON'T NEED THE WORLD TO SEEEEE THAT I'VE BEEN THE BEST I CAN BEEEEEEEE"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UMJm_97QXHA
71Liquicity
Escapism 3

MUFFLER - GONE WITH THE WIND

LIQUID DNB WITH CHIHIRO SAMPLES

'Member Liquicity? Twas the shit in the early 2010s. I grew out of the genre so I don't know if it's still alive and kicking (the YT channel is still there so I guess yeah). I always liked the rhythm imposed by drum'n'bass, and this subgenre was perfect for chill nights with bros. This is one of my fave of the genre, because a) it's gorgeous and b) CHIHIROOOOOOOOOOOOOOO. If you love the movie, give this a try and you'll be calm and chill.

PS: this song is not on the album showed here because I was really lazy to add a standalone song to the DB.

"*HORNS*"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=52CJxNx1lwM
70Uppermost
Origins (2011 - 2016)

FLY

FRENCH TOUCH

Another YT channel that helped me find cool songs in early 2010s: MrSuicideSheep. This one is, put simply, a banger reminiscent of Daft Punk's heyday, with the modern EDM knack. The comp it's taken from is nice, but all tracks do have the same template: starts quietly then burst into awesomeness. This is the most awesome this French dude has been.

"*DAFT PUNK VIBES*"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pB-rObkhG2U
69Nepal (FR)
444 Nuits

RIEN D'SPECIAL

NOCTURNAL CLOUDY FRENCH RAP

Damn RIP. He committed suicide 3 months ago, one week before the release of his first album. The dude was doing almost everything, from the modern beats to the melancholic rappin', and supervised his clips direction (this one is marvelous). The kind of dude you gotta listen to 10 times to truly understand what he's saying. Put your hoodie on, put this on and go wander in the streets. Quel gâchis.

"Rien d'spécial, ce son il a rien d'spécial, l'instru elle a rien d'spécial" How wrong you were.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NwIxIAztiag
68Big K.R.I.T.
4eva Is a Mighty Long Time

MIXED MESSAGES

SOULFUL SOUTHERN HIP HOP

The dude perfectly encapsulates the contradictory boastfulness and spirituality of southern hip hop, the focused flows and hooks of the 90s, the mindlessness of 2000s bangers, and adapts the whole lot to 2010s production and sound. The first album is just a jammy record you can throw to your ghetto homies, while the second one is an introspective soulful album to chill to. Enormous kudos: for a double album, this does not feels too long, even though the second half better suits my taste than the first one. Finally, he throws in different rap subgenres and masters them all. His masterpiece, and here is the first track that truly hooked me.

"Am I wrong to feel this way?"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZIHJyDY-nC0
67LCD Soundsystem
American Dream

CALL THE POLICE

POST-PUNK BUT DONE BY JAMES MURPHY SO IT'S DANCEY TOO

If This Is Happening is my favourite LCD album this decade, no song makes me move as much as "call the police". The slow building, the rhythm to drive on the autobahn, everything just FEELZ. Sure, it's not the trademark post-punky blippity James has been known for, but apart from his 2000s classics, no song of his makes me feel so much at once.

"It moves like a virus and enters our skin, the first sign divides us, the second is moving to Berlin"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zWKIWNJnlzI
66Monobody
Monobody

LIFEGUARD OF A HELPLESS BODY

JAZZY MATH ROCK OR MATH JAZZ FUSION

Criminally underlooked band. Mathy jazz fusion, and it's as awesome as it sounds like. The most impressive feature is how they manage to maintain melody in this Hawking-esque mathematical complexity. On top of that, they manage to put some non-Western music influences throughout the whole record, making it a bizarre yet addictive object. The link is part of their Audiotree session, make sure to check it out!

"*EPIC BASS INTRO, THEN THA CRISTALLINE GUITAR*"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9_Rj9dosXm4
65Alpha Wann
Une Main Lave l'Autre

OLIVE & TOM

CONSCIOUS AND MODERN AS HECK FRENCH HIP HOP

The best modern French rapper, hands down. This album will be heralded as a classic. This is where he goes full conscious, putting forward the difficulty of taking the hood out of the homie. He trafficked his voice to give this passe-passe (en français dans le texte) between the rapper he is and a kid hustlin' he could have become. And the moment the track switches beat in the middle, this is pure genius shit, thanks to the extremely talented (and now tastemakers) Hologram 'Lo and VM the Don.

"Mille deux par mois ou trois cent la plaquette, le calcul est vite fait"

Not on YT :( But it's on Spotify!
64Four Year Strong
Enemy of the World

FLANNEL IS THE COLOR OF MY ENERGY

THA BEST OF EASYCORE

Nobody cares anymore about easycore (and those who cared back then finally have something somewhat resembling a beard), but this is the genre's finest installment. Instead of having distinct chuggy chugchug parts followed by whoa-whoa's chants (ie ADTR), why don't you immediately mash these two up? Take pop punk's playfulness and summer feelz, add some metalcore toughness and you've got this juggernaut. However, let's (try to) be honest here: everything about this is ridiculous and edgy: the genre name, the album cover, the track title, even the music itself. But don't you ever think you weren't ridiculous and edgy when you were adolescent. This will make you happy, shout and mosh, and that's all you could expect from a genre named easycore. A song, and an album, to drink endless beers to.

"I think I'm having a heart attack, a full blown arrest of the cardiac"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g6al_Rg8oAU
63Touche Amore/Pianos Become the Teeth
Split

PIANOS BECOME THE TEETH - HIDING

SCREAMO GONE SOFT AND SAD :(

The Lack Long After was a tsunami for me. It was deeply emotional, lyrics-wise as well as how the music was conducted. The duality of the guitars, at times beautifully intertwining, at others brutally pouncing allows the record to breathe and the listener to fully embark on the journey. Then the split with Touche Amore, another fave babe, came out when this track redefined the band: Kyle reduced his screaming and allowed himself to sing, and the rest of the band chose to convey emotion in a much subtler way. While subsequent records would prove to confirm this trend within the band, this is the perfect bridge between the two main phases of the band. Full of beautiful and memorable moments, charged in emotion, this is one sad motherfucker.

"There's no good in your eyes anymore, and it makes you want to drive home, drunk and alone"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bukD0KQDwIY
62Gorguts
Colored Sands

LE TOIT DU MONDE

TECH DEATH METAL

The masters of headfuckery came back in 2013 to headfuck all the headfuckers. It's dirty, technical yet not too obtuse (for Gorguts eh, it's no Sum 41) and it's showing once more why this band has been revered for so long. This first drum kick is the perfect introduction to an hour-long journey into the trve progmasters' head. My favourite dm song of the decade (inb4 dm aficionados comin', yeah it's too low for your taste).

"FORTRESS OF MIST AND PEEEEEEAAAAAAAAKSSSSSSSS"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7LQd0IoJ25M
61O'Brother
Garden Window

LO

SLUDGY, POST-HARDCORE-INFLUENCED ROCK

Tbh it's a standard heavy rock song. But it's one of the best standard heavy rock song of the decade (cue QOTSA). Another criticism would be that these dudes love Thrice a tad too evidently, but a Thrice sucker would be more than pleased with that. Really, all you can do is listen to this. Be pumped by the Thrice'n'sludge-hard rock. Where else could heavy yet not obtuse music could go than this direction?

"LOOOOO, my eager eyeEEEEEEEZ will know the truuuuuuth come the day that it’s pouring from MY LIFELESS MOUUUUUUTH"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0W0YRm3qm1s
60State Faults
Clairvoyant

SACRAMENT

SKRAMZ INFLUENCED FROM BLACKGAZE - WHICH WAS INFLUENCED BY SKRAMZ

Taking me by surprise last year, State Faults released one hell of a screamo record, and it had been long since I last enjoyed an American screamo. The energy, the beauty, the despair. However, what is the most interesting here is how they reflect the decade's heavy endeavours. Indeed, 2013 was when a band took influence by screamo to popularize blackgaze and shake the heavy scene. 2019, when a screamo band was influenced by blackgaze and release the best heavy album of the year. Nothing is lost, nothing is created, everything is transformed. I could have chosen Olive Tree, the most Deafheaven song of the album, but the way this one starts with a bang and then goes into a mosh part I would actually love to die into is just too much for me. And it can also be described with the Lavoisier quote: ever-changing, and ever-transforming.

"Love is a roooOOOooOooOooOooOse"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kj9D5E-NHFg
59Featurecast
Run for Cover

MORNING SUN

LIQUID FUNK

Another early chill 2010s jam discovered through Liquicity. The vocals, the piano and this synth (?) make this the one liquid dnb track I come back the most often. Perfect feel-good jam on a sunny morning (hence the title, genius).

"I believe it has begun, underneath this morning sun"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_raBnX4fP7A
58Eric Prydz
Opus

OPUS

PROGRESSIVE HOUSE

A mammoth. This 9-minute long is but a journey, building upon itself to burst into one of the most exhilarating climaxes I've heard. This is the kind of tune with no lyric, yet everybody can imagine a story. I imagine the life of a person, from birth to death, and everything in between: laughs, cries, shouts. And you, what do you hear?

"*driving on tha autobahn, from 100 to 180 km/h*"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iRA82xLsb_w
57Hiatus Kaiyote
Tawk Tomahawk

NAKAMARRA

LAIDBACK NEO-SOUL

Pass the boof. The videoclip, shot in the Australian desert, is a beaut and helps immerging into this chill sound. Soft keyboard, crispy bass, simple but perfectly fitting guitars, and, oh god yes, this sweet sweet voice that won't leave your head.

"Watch me struggle with your words"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ozr4KsZBTvQ
56PNL
Dans La Légende

JUSQU'AU DERNIER GRAMME

DISENCHANTED FRENCH CLOUD RAP

Y'know that kind of artist/band. The one you absolutely hate the first time you listen to it, but, as time passes by, you start to appreciate it. Idk why but now these brothers' songs are deeply ingrained in my brain, and I can't help but like 'em. Some parts are still laughable for sure but idgas, these guys managed to talk about their deep feelings without sounding like lil bitches. This is the album's closer and, as well as the previous two tracks, perfectly displays that sensibility: if you don't pay attention to the lyrics, it might sound like an aerial rap song. But the crushing self-realization lyrics are what make this French rap group one of the greatest of the decade, and for sure the one that changed the game the most.

"J'croise les mêmes cafards dans le même bat', j'ai les mêmes plats pour les mêmes pâtes"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w4owJamctrI
55Fuck Buttons
Slow Focus

HIDDEN XS

DRONY AND UK BASSY PROGRESSIVE ELECTRONIC

Another constant buildup that reminds me of a long space journey. I like spaceships. If Opus is the straight way to Planet Banger, this one is the more raucous way to the Psych Planet. If Opus is the build-up to your greatest party ever, this is the build-up to your impending doom.

"*this motherfucking sample hasn't left my head for the past 7 years*"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=47C9K9IEjMg
54Gang of Youths
Go Farther in Lightness

THE DEEPEST SIGHS, THE FRANKEST SHADOWS

WHOLESOME AUSSIE INDIE ROCK

Yeah, gotta be there. Although the album is too long, GADDAYM when it hits, it fucking hits you like the meteorite hit these dinos back in the days. The good cuts here are absolutely phenomenal - this song being my personal fave - and The National vibes sure help me instantly love this. And for once it's not only whiny not-an-adolescent-anymore-but-too-fucked-up-to-be-a-real-adult lyrics (i still love you OtIP) but truly heartbreaking prose. Basically the most Darkness in the Edge of Town record since 2014's Holy Vacants. Or since 1978, you choose. It's just a human band, pouring their heart in an album, and knowing how to write hooks. The kind of band you didn't know you needed.

"'Cause not everything means something, honey, so say the unsayable, say the most human of things"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9URhKk22xbM
53Destroyer
Kaputt

BLUE EYES

SOPHISTI-POP

The sax. The synths. The voice. The gentle guitar. The lush. This is some damn fine pop, and, without any doubt, the classiest record of the decade. While the album is full of great tunes, this is the one that resonate the most iwith me, as the female vocal is pure heaven and is a direct trip to the brightest side of the moon. This guy wrote poetry for himself, yet his music deeply spoke to mounds of motherfuckers like me.

“I won’t and I never wiiiiill, BLUE EYEEEEEES"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Su-N-iH8CgI
52FKA Twigs
Magdalene

HOME WITH YOU

ART POP/PROGRESSIVE POP? I NEVER KNOW WITH HER

Her prettiest and classiest tune. The glitchy bits make this profoundly human record an almost-robotic one as Twigsy is singing about love and relationships. Elsewhere on the record, she sings about losing her lover, then about how this process helped her take ownership of herself again. This growth theme climaxes on "home with you", where she accepts, rediscovers and finally loves herself. And, finally, the big strings elevate the end of the song, as if the instruments are taken to a flight towarsd the blue sky.

"I, didn't know that you were lonelyyyyyyyyyYYYYYYYYYY"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p2Rro6TQgpU
51Lil Ugly Mane
Uneven Compromise

UNEVEN COMPROMISE

NIHILISTIC EXPERIMENTAL MEMPHIS RAP

An 11-minute epic summarizing everything Travis Miller's tried to convey with his music. Divided into four extremely different parts, he navigates between the most nihilistic and the most down-to-earth, always letting his fascinating beats shine and match the lyrics. If this sounds obnoxious, there's a good reason: this is the logical end of hip hop. Everything has been done, so the only thing left undone is to deconstruct what was carefully built. All that's left is pure darkness. While LUM's music seems evil, it is not: it's exposing the evil. If one of your mate changes in the worst possible, what do you do? You gotta let go, you can't save their lives. 'Cuz deep down you know they ain't lying to you when they tell you how monstrous they are.

"Motherfuckers can't win cause I'm trying to fail"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iHnNLfc0OX0
50Thee Silver Mt. Zion Memorial Orchestra
Fuck Off Get Free We Pour Light on Everything

WHAT WE LOVED WAS NOT ENOUGH

EPIC CHAMBER POST-ROCK

A celebration of the failure and death of Western society. Sublimed by the female violonists' voices, Menuck delivers his best-ever sung performance and apocalypitcally describes the process by which our world will fall. What we loved was not enough to save us, but kiss it quick, and rise again. This may sound like a distress call. But the next generation, inheriting the world we poorly left while our children were dying, might build a new paradigm, a new society, where, finally, we can feel again.

"And the day has come, when we no longer feel"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bp1aP_CEq44
49Brand New
Science Fiction

CAN'T GET IT OUT

INTROSPECTIVE ALTERNATIVE ROCK

The bleakest they've ever been, which is fitting given how dark their timeline was after this album's release. Jesse blends everything he can't get out: lyrics and new material, his ever-present depression, his burdens. The question is now: how do evaluate a monster's art? When shit hit the fan, is you still a fan? If you still wanna jam some BN but don't want to support Jessy Rapey, illegally download their records so you don't give him your money, and then you can jam it with a calm mind.

"Sometimes I can't get it out"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gkRY1U-OeIk
48Nekfeu
Cyborg

VINYLE (ft. Alpha Wann)

ANGRY CONSCIOUS FRENCH HIP HOP FT. ARCHIE SHEPP

Nekfeu always wanted to be conscious, but he regularly fell into a naive well: wanting to support everybody decreases the power of your discourse. Surrounded by African-French friends, his speeches often sound like a subpar version of his friends' difficulty to make their voices heard in an insidious French society. It's when he is helped by said friends he shines: Alpha Wann raps about the more subtle side of being a young black man in a white-governed country. This allows Nek le Fennek to focus on his classic multisyllabics, the rhetoric hiding being the words. The symbol of that newfound lyricism is Archie Shepp: jamming with beatmakers, the legendary Black Arts Movement jazzman brings the soul of the hard-hitting piece.

"J'essaie d'oublier mais oublier c'est plus dur qu'apprendre"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ixQtCf-x630
47Thrice
Major/Minor

ANTHOLOGY

ONCE POST-HARDCORE, NOW ALTERNATIVE ROCK

Starting with a bang. What a beautiful bang. Self-referencing several songs of the band's past catalogue, Dustin speaks about the relationship with his wife. Others on the Internet have declared this song talks about Dustin's relationship with God. Ugh. Since literally every Thrice song deals with faith, I prefer to see this through the lens of marital love. Cleverly titled "Anthology", this is one epic song "anthologyzing" Thrice's previous lyrics into one song. So, if everything they are saying here was already said, what's left? This guitar, and this band's music shining one last time before becoming a softer copycat of themselves

"Oh, you know me, oh and I know you, and I know that we can see this through"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YoItyo561co
46The Tallest Man on Earth
The Wild Hunt

YOU'RE GOING BACK

CONTEMPORARY FOLK

That dude stole from Sade, booooh. If every dude with a guitar could steal like this Swedish bro and come up with such a personal and heartfelt song, we could stop being butthurt and purely enjoy how well one can transform a song to a particular style. Yes, this song nails everything that makes folk great: soulful delivery and lyrics, discrete yet not that simple guitar playing, and most importantly: the goddamn feels. And these feels are brought to us by one man only, his voice and his guitar.

"I could roll you to hell, I could swim from your heavens"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BqXnzqB1sik
45M83
Hurry Up, We're Dreaming

WAIT

EPIC DREAMY POST-ROCK

If "Midnight City" is the normie choice, "Wait" is its "I'm a music nerd" counterpart: errybody loves it and makes it their top choice. The superb clip helped this song skyrocket to one of the best of the decade. The reason it works so well though, is how it spoke to all grieving souls: you don't have the time to waste your life worrying for the loved ones who arent' there anymore. If you hold them close to your heart, they will never leave you. All you gotta do is "Wait" to be reunited with them.

"Give your tears to the tide"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lAwYodrBr2Q
44Submotion Orchestra
Fragments

BLIND SPOT

JAZZY DOWNTEMPO WITH WUB WUBS

If "Finest Hour" is - bad pun incoming - their finest hour (haha epic), none of their song matches this one's emotion. The band poured their heart and soul into this beaut of a track, organically rendering a subtle blend of smoky melancholia and summery optimism. As one, big bass, drums, synth, strings, brass and Ruby's gorgeous vocals rise in an epic finale they always had in them, but never fully displayed due, maybe, to shyness or discretion. Now, boldness prevails.

"So bless us aaaaAAAAAAAALLLLL"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0iHH98oSujg
43Animals As Leaders
The Joy of Motion

TOOTH AND CLAW

SPACEY DJENT FUSION

Best wank ever. An instrumental tune reminds us why we listen to music in the first place: we like it for what it is, not for what it represents. Without any concept to cling to (apart from the tracklist and the album cover), all we have left is the music. And what a gorgeous music this is: a spacey jazzy djent wankfest with latin music elements that manages to avoid obnoxiousness. This is the jazziest and prettiest AAL has ever been, and the interludes are thus allowing the crunching polyrhythmic riffs to punch harder than ever. The interplay between heavier and lighter sections is the biggest win here, and proves the uniqueness of a band in a genre where musical pretentiousness is as common as incest in Charleroi. To be a virtuoso is one thing, but this is of no use if you can't bring emotion and beauty to the notes you're hitting. Instrumental progmetal done fucken right.

"*as epic as a first jizz*"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9P4GsF1zdzM
42The Dillinger Escape Plan
Option Paralysis

FAREWELL, MONA LISA

TDEP MATHCORE

Can you calculate infinity? Of course not, otherwise you should immediately pull your fingers out of your arse and get shit done. In the meantime, The Dillinger Escape Plan calculated the infinite musical madness they could come up with to smash listeners with an electric piece of work, glooming the already frenzy music with comments on our madder-than-ever era. Raging the death of idealism, Puciato spits the abhorrence he has for a world in need of conformism at the expense of greatness. Adding a infuriating hook to that discourse, TDEP once again proves why they are one of the most important heavy band music has witnessed.

"Don't you ever try to be, more than you were destined for, or anything worth fighting for"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YY-JkeXK4dU
41Maybeshewill
I Was Here For a Moment, Then I Was Gone

RED PAPER LANTERNS

MATHY POST-ROCK WITH ELECTRONIC LAYERS

If I ever am talented enough (spoiler: I amn't and I won't ever be) to truly write songs, I'll take influence from these guys. A masterclass of building furtive layers never replicating what was already done, they never forget why they write music: because they fucking love and respect this art. This is one of the most sincere and brilliant homage you could hear from the past 10 years. Subtly rising and evoking euphoria, this is one track to spend your Spring afternoons to.

"*that tapping section at 1:59*"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AxrBPsPNqPM
40'68
Two Parts Viper

WHAT MORE CAN I SAY

NOISY SLOW-BURNING GARAGE EMOTIONS

The classic Josh Scogin epic slow burn closing the album. While the music gradually rises into a gigantic epic, Josh's vocals are becoming more strained and tearing. This is the kind of song where the deeper meaning still is unclear to me. But it never fails at bringing me emotions I can only have with music. I just press play, and then, everything is fine. At the same time, it's not fine. Bravo for tearing me apart Lisa, uh Josh.

"At least in my dreams, I still believe we can *tears*"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0fm4gIkbtRg
39Swing
Marabout

PLANER

CHILL, WEST COAST INFLUENCED BELGIAN HIP HOP

Sometimes all you need is a chill song to heal your soul. You've got one chance on this damn planet, right? Although you gotta cope with the constant bullshit, all you want sometimes is just take a break, and chill. No song encapsulate that feeling as well as Swing's.

This is the last time I'll talk about French-speaking hip hop here. A Brussels homie is perfect to conclude that chapter. Although I'm pretty sure none of you listened to any of the French/Belgian songs, this is the one you must listen to.

"Dans le fond, tout c'qu'on veut, c'est être libre, libre de pouvoir faire c'qu'on aime, sinon à part ça, dis-moi à quoi ça sert de vivre ?"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R44R1Vciu7E
38David Bowie
Blackstar

LAZARUS

DAVID SAYING GOODBYE

January 8th, 2016, David Bowie releases his newest LP, 3 years after his grand return.
January 9th, while in "blocus" (basically the studying/exam period of the year in Belgium), I listen to this for the first time.
January 10th, David Bowie dies. I spend three hours listening to the album front to back while doing everything but studying. The man is fascinating, the way he managed to stay (somewhat) relevant throughout a 40 year-old career and his constant experimentation with his own sound deserve nothing but praise.

Most of the time, you don't know how to say goodbye. This man created a whole album out of it, and we had to wait for his passing to realize he was asking not to grieve, but to embrace the death present in life, and the life that pervades in death.

"Oh, I'll be free, just like that bluebird"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y-JqH1M4Ya8
37Mogwai
Hardcore Will Never Die, But You Will

RANO PANO

ONE BIG MUFF BUILD-UP, 5 MINUTES

It's a simple song, really. One riff for 5 minutes, and you build around said riff to express your composition ideas. Mogwai was always known for its build-ups and crescendos, but it's on this very track they decide to push further their philosophy to its paroxysm: everything coming up after the 15 second mark is but an addition. Once again, Lavoisier is the man: nothing is created, nothing is lost, everything is transformed. Mogwai will never die, but you will.

"*BIG MUFFING*" (short digression: in French, *muff* sounds like *meuf*, which is a slang word describing a woman. So saying Big Muff out loud is pretty funny)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NAsGYzkXbPY
36Cult of Luna
A Dawn to Fear

LIGHTS ON THE HILL

POST-METAL

If Mogwai emphasized creation through juxtaposition, Cult of Luna goes one step further. While their Scottish counterparts did explode their tune, the titans decided to make an apocalypse out of it. The build-up is not the purpose here: on the contrary, it's only there to make the gargantuan climax sound better. Maybe when Black Midi said "She moves with a purpose", they were talking about Lights on the Hill. That riff (you know, the one at 5:30) was the band at its most heavily emotional, after the subtlety of Salvation and the epicness of SAtH. But here, they bring the two altogether to reward us all in one of the most epic piece recently written. Chauncey buildups.

"*that precise moment at 10:55 when it all starts again, but better*"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QTAyS6mmOR4
35Haru Nemuri
Haru to Shura

NARASHITE

ABRASIVE J-POP FOR YOU NERDZ WHO WANNA KNOW WHAT J-POP CAN OFFER

J-pop done by a girl who doesn't hesitate to rap/speak really fast, or add some post-hardcore vibes. Awesome. If you wanna know what the cool kids will listen to in 5 years, give this a listen. And if you wanna listen to some Japanese music that doesn't sound "too" Japanese (u coward), this might be a perfect gateway. I never thought I would need this album in my life, now I do.

"DISTORSION DISTORSION DISTORSION DISTORSION DISTORSION DISTORSIOOOOOOOON"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XY9QHQlfNQ8
34Japandroids
Celebration Rock

THE HOUSE THAT HEAVEN BUILT

NOISY SUGARY GARAGE ROCK

Japandroids are deeply pop at their core: the noise and saturation are only there as a mask, as if a truly pretty girl wanted to hide her beauty behind everything remotely non-beautiful. Yet, what the band really celebrates here is not inner beauty; rather, they idolize bromance. It's just two bros, rocking out. So do the same thing these brothafromanothamotha are telling you (after the quarantine ofc don't be silly): go out, and turn those restless nights into restless years.

"When they love you, and they will (AND THEY WILLLLL), TELL 'EM ALL THEY'LL LOVE IN MY SHADOWS"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TRVCtbfuDqw
33Altar of Plagues
Teethed Glory and Injury

A BODY SHROUDED

INDUSTRIAL POST-BLACK METAL

Of all the non-mainstream genres I listened to this past decade, none was more prolific and interesting than black metal. And of all the releases that marked the genre, A Body Shrouded is the most impressive. It's as nasty as DsO, as important as DFHVN, as beautiful as Alcest, as industrial and drony as Murmuure. It takes everything remotely linked to black metal: dissonance, manic shrieks, ambient, drone, chants, might, and the fusion of utter beauty and absolute ugliness, to create a maelstrom of the darkest and deepest emotions. Above all else, it's the grandest black metal work released this decade, standing heads and shoulders above the putrefied mass.

"TOOORN FROM THE BODY, A PART OF ME, YOU NEVER KNEEEEEW" and also when the rhythm changes at 2:22

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A7GO1XkFPk4
32Queens of the Stone Age
...Like Clockwork

I APPEAR MISSING

STONER ARTELNATIVE ROCK

A blissful yet somber psychedelic take on a coma Homme had following a knee operation, this is the band at its most vulnerable. Nobody expected them to release a superior record to Songs for the Deaf, but they proved everybody wrong in 2013. No need of a concept record, nope, they simply released their most diverse and moving set of songs. Sometimes rock bands are at their best when they are at their ghostliest. A track that hasn't stopped haunting me for seven years.

"Shock me awake and tear me apart, pinned like a note in a hospital gown"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C9OfBcjyxKY
31The Chemical Brothers
Further

SWOON

PROGRESSIVE HOUSE

Once again, let's go back to Werchter 2015. Having only heard the band's first two albums (the highest rated on Sput, eh), I went to the show, quite drunk and high - as it was the last one of the night. The beginning of the concert was cool, I was gently moving around while the band displayed animations of giant kidtoy (?) robots. Then, they played Swoon. Never in my entire life have I ever been so blissed by a song I never heard of before. The energy, alcohol and weed I was previously fed of immediately burst into newfound energy. I jumped, and jumped and jumped in genuine joy, and was instantly enamoured with the track that made me feel so good. Maybe it was the perfect moment for that song to pop in, idk. What remains is the memory of a pure blast, and very few songs can touch that precise feeling of empowerment and love.

"Just remember, to fall in love. There's nothing else"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CCp_3zw-CxA
30Weyes Blood
Titanic Rising

ANDROMEDA

BAROQUE POP

Titanic Rising was my favourite album of 2019. Reminiscing of the great baroque and chamber pop of the late 60s, yet with topics and production deeply 2019, I nonetheless always had trouble explaining "why" I love it. Now I think I get it: I just think it's one of the most beautiful albums I've recently encountered. Maybe it's not good enough of an explanation, but sometimes you just gotta let the feelings talk. A song to listen to with your mama, because life's so short all your moments with her have to be the best ones.

"If you think you can save me, IIIIIIII dare you to tryyyyy"

https://twitter.com/danwhg/status/1195355067072892930?s=21 perfection
29Every Time I Die
Ex Lives

REVIVAL MODE

SOUTHERN METALCORE

ETID are tough boys, because they blend two tough boyz genre: southern rock and metalcore. They're like the Vegeto version of the genres: both are heavy, yet complements each other as the muddiness of their rockers shines thanks to the swagger of their core, while the technicality of the metal never feels like wankershit thanks to the soul brought by their south roots. When the two come together as one, they are the funniest, messiest, coolest and craziest band out there, pleasing all kinds of heavy lovers.

"I've got debts piling high, I've got addictions and ex-wives. But I've stayed true, so I thank you for BEARING WITNESS WHILE I WASTE MY FUCKING LIIIIIIIIIFE"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AEp-Owhqbr0
28Childish Gambino
"Awaken, My Love!"

ME AND YOUR MAMA

PSYCHEDELIC SOUL FUNK ROCK

This song did me a great disservice: it was so good I hoped for a second "Awaken, My Love!" would be a groundbreaking record. Turned out it was great, but not mindblowing. While most people's choice for this record would be "Redbone" (still classic af), I was more drawn in by how "now" this song sound. As the decade saw countless of artists taking older styles of music to make them sound fresh and new, very few achieved such a glaring mix. It's too aware of modern music to truly sound like a 70s tune, yet too respectful of the elders to vibe like the most modern jams. The hardness with which the song is nourished creates this bizarre mixture of frightening and uplifting, without ever letting one of those emotions get the better of the other.

"LEEEEET ME INNNNNNTO YOUR HEART"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_hZCsgcKa-g
27Daughters
Daughters

THE HIT

NOISE ROCK

You know why. Instantly hitting, instantly classic, and never losing its effectiveness. To be honest, I don't fucking care what Alex's saying in this song. I just want one of the most epic riffs of the decade hit me like the CRS hit the Gilets Jaunes: with pleasure and nastiness. Love at first sight.

"*that fucking riff*"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KSMaZiWV0yA&t=1s
26Tyler, the Creator
Flower Boy

GARDEN SHED

PSYCH NEO-SOUL WITH THA CRISTALLINE GUITAR RIFF

The moment a goofy and promising dude turned into an important artist. While many have praised for how intelligent it *may* be of a coming out, all I can focus on is the way Tyler established himself into a producer first and foremost. This is his song, but he doesn't steal the spotlight. This is clever, because by letting others shine - here, Estelle and this beaut of a 'tar - his bars have more impact, because he finally knows how to compact his thoughts to let the music do the talk. Letting go of his previous goofiness, he allows himself to truly be himself, instead of being what he'd like to be seen to be. Thus, he gains in honesty and vulnerability, and couple that with the most gorgeous production he's done, and you got one song for the ages.

"AYO"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-VgLwAjz4oA
25Vektor
Terminal Redux

COLLAPSE

THRASH METAL POWER BALLAD

"Ride the Lightning" lit a torch: it was now acceptable for thrashheads to display the softer side of their persona. Starting as a soft lullaby (even though the vocals are not "clean" per se), the song transforms into a monster of Spanish guitar, epic leads and thrash heaviness. Yet, this musical saga serves the overall story Vektor has been telling throughout. This is the moment the pursuit of absolute order has deprived humanity of the traits that make them profoundly human. For the elite to be fulfilled, they need all of humanity to go towards their goal. This ultimately hinders human happiness and free will. That such a dark and dramatic story can be told in music in such a humane way is what earned Vektor his place within thrash metal's pantheon.

5:04 fuck me

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E0ij3L7GhDw
24Elder (USA-MA)
Reflections of a Floating World

THE FALLING VEIL

PSYCH METAL

Ride the cosmic wave. Fuzzy and epic, this might well be the best stoner song of the decade. Taking influence from the holy trinity of cosmic riffs (Sabbath, Floyd, Zep) but applying the formula to modern day production and heaviness, Elder displays a juggernaut of a song, psychy as well as proggy, without ever forgetting to be groovy. Headbang blissfully my child, as you've started the heaviest and haziest ride you've ever taken.

"As we walk the path it fades"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j6yXdPhI3mQ
23Deftones
Diamond Eyes

SEXTAPE

SONG TO HAVE SEX TO IF SHE DOESN'T DIG CURTIS MAYFIELD

Classic Deftones, giving us yet another song perfect for a night drive. If the song title, and the lyrics to an extent, hint at a Kardashian-style ass pounding, the music itself makes the emotions ride mentally instead of physically. More erotic than it is actually sexual, this song achieves what we all want to achieve before doing the boom-boom: promise an unforgettable moment without ever letting the partner down in the execution.

"TONIIIIIIIGHT"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f0pdwd0miqs
22Alvvays
Alvvays

ARCHIE, MARRY ME

SHOEGAZEY TWEE POP

Warning: this song is more addictive than crack. If Rankin's vocal performance is what make all proper souls fall in love with this, the songwriting is what transcends it to Appalachian levels. From the soft guitar strumming to the bold soundscapes, everything is at the service of the singer's voice, giving weight to the underlying sweetness. No other band could make a marriage proposal sound so fun, so goddamn it Archie, marry her.

"HEYYYY HEYYYYYYY, MARRYYYYYYY ME AAAAAAARCHIIIIIIIIE"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZAn3JdtSrnY
21Torche
Admission

ADMISSION

STONERGAZE OR SLUDGEPOP

One-two fun punch with Alvvays. It's a simple standard rock song, yet it does everything a simple standard rock song should accomplish to become a timeless classic. It's repetitive enough to immediately stick to your mind, powerful enough to make you jump like a mindless motherfucker, and has simple and catchy lyrics sung by a voice that only wants thousands of other to join in unison. Really, I just can't get enough of this song.

"STILL I WILL PRETEND I DON'T NEED TO LOVE AGAIN"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9dc0n5UkMOI
20Amenra
Mass VI

A SOLITARY REIGN

CATHARTIC POST-METAL

Their most heart-wrenching track, and it should be telling given how depressively helpful this band always was. If you start detaching yourself from your loved ones and feel trapped under the belly of this horrible machine, please let "A Solitary Reign" carve out your cold rotting heart. Agony rarely sounded this blissful.

"I SEE DISTANCE IN YOUR EEEEEEEEYES"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CD7bxyzFbC4
19Tame Impala
Lonerism

APOCALYPSE DREAMS

PSYCHEDELIC ROCK

What do you dream about when you think of the apocalypse? Do you have blissful dreams of the ground opening up to swallow the evil, or horrible nightmares of your unavoidable demise? Do you dream? And if you do dream, do you dream about your solitary wander through Earth or the joyous companionship society has gracefully given us? Either way, D R E A M.

"Do you really live without the fear that everything is changing?"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KQH2Kq1QXaI
18Trophy Scars
Holy Vacants

EVERYTHING DISAPPEARING

BLUESY POST-HARDCORE

Is it how blues was supposed to evolve? Maybe not, yet Trophy Scars gave us the best blues record of this past decade. While beforehand the blues additions were mere, well, additions, now it feels like the post-hardcore and prog touches are built on top of the muddy 12 bar chords. The gritty and smoky vocals may not be to everyone's taste, but they add intensity to the band's stellar musicianship. Fortunately for those who do not dig Tom Waits-grimy-like vocals, the female guest vocals are gorgeous and add a more spiritual and calm atmosphere to the "hell yeah gimme that Jack" vibe. Blues is named for the feeling the songwriters have when pouring their soul to music. Whether you feel down or joyful, remember you are not alone.

"OH LAUREN, PLEASE DON'T WATCH ME, AS I WALK OUT THAT DOOR, AND EXPLODE INTO NOTHING"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ggxCFMtjAjo
17Parquet Courts
Wide Awake

ALMOST HAD TO START A FIGHT/IN AND OUT OF PATIENCE

LEFTIST POST-PUNK

As one dude said in Our Band Could Be Your Life : "ye punk and protest bands are more present during conservative eras" (approximate quote). It's fitting then, that bands like IDLES or Parquet Courts met relative fame. Although they do not share the same discourse, they are two sides of the same coin. If IDLES are loud and angry Brits taking all the abrasive elements of punk to punch you in the ballsack, Parquet Courts are the hipster and pedantic Brooklynites not agreeing with the dominants of this world and taking all the artsier bits of punk to revolutionize the world by preaching instead of fighting. Maybe one day, the smart boys will line up with the tough men and come up with trve change. For the time being, Parquet Courts brings a more nuanced brick to the revolution wall.

"If it stops I'm, if it stops I'm, if it stops I'm having an unshakable nightmare"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l-Bka7yNyKA
16Chill Bump
*Hors Serie*

CHILLIN' WITH THE BUMP

CHILL ENGLISH-SUNG FRENCH HIP HOP

Y'all have a personal favourite that doesn't mean a lot in the grand scheme of music? Here is mine. Cool underground hip hop hailing from France, but they be rappin' in English so y'all can understand shit for once (and the dude is French-English so he doesn't even have a shitty froggo accent). I don't think any band represents 2012 so well for me: finishing high school and entering uni, chilling with mates, drink and smoke, the infamous iTunes' animations. This was our soundtrack of that transitioning time. It's not totally unknown, but they will for sure never make it big, and it's more than likely it will stay that way. At the very worse it will remain a personal favourite. s/o to my boy Bedex.

"You're now chillin with the bump"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AkYMPnPkBn8
15Kvelertak
Kvelertak

OFFERNAT

BLACK'N'ROLL

One of the most fun fun fun, brainless, wicked and brutal record of the decade. If you fuse black metal, hardcore punk and some whack'n'woll riffiness, you possibly got a landmark record. It shook waves in 2010, but, unlike Alcest's "Ecailles", it didn't create a whole subgenre. Maybe in a parallel universe black'n'roll became a parody of itself, but in our timeline, it remains Kvelertak's prerogative, and this is the record where they do it best. An anomaly in the black metal sphere (because it's fun and cool and while we all love bm, it's neither cool nor fun) that will be remembered for how effortlessly it throws bangers after bangers.

"*don't understand Norwegian, but love that part where we goes "WRAAAAAH"*" and that fucking break too

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IQHlHpavkXw
14The Wonder Years
The Greatest Generation

THERE, THERE

POP PUNK

The Wonder Years always knew how to pull out fantastic openers. This is their best one, opening their best album, and also the best pop punk record of the decade. The band is at its most upbeat, and serves not only as an introduction to the LP, but also as a statement of everything pop punk is about. Concluding the trilogy of growing up (can't be more pop punk than that innit) and established The Wonder Years as the most important pop punk band of our generation.

"I'M SORRY I DON'T LAUGH AT THE RIGHT TIME"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tnsl4QPwtJo
13IDLES
Joy as an Act of Resistance

DANNY NEDELKO

PUNK

This sounds like what punk should be in 2018: the Pistols' angriness, The Fall-like's post-punk as well as some noisy and post-hardcore riffs, the whole lot being a maelstrom of energy encapsulating most of what happened during the last 40 years of enraged Brit music. And they didn't make the mistake to not make this a fun, energetic and adventurous record that pours its heart out. Join this heart with the pompous leftist's big ideas, and maybe there will be once more a strong left political force. It doesn't exist yet, maybe it will never exist, but those who will listen to this band won't forget the heart they show. And we all know the heart is a muscle, the strongest of 'em all.

"YEAH YEAH YEAH YEAH HEY HEY HEY HEY YEAH YEAH YEAH YEAH HEY HEY HEY HEY DANNY NEDELKOOOOOO"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QkF_G-RF66M
12Clever Girl
No Drum And Bass in the Jazz Room

ELM

JAZZY EMO MATH ROCK

An underground cult classic. While the tags immediately bring American Football in mind, Clever Girl manages to create its own sound. Instead of reminding cold Autumn afternoons with their music, they bring a sunny-yet-chill-Spring-mornings atmosphere. On top of that, the absence of vocals allows the music to show a much happier tone than their counterparts: while emo is a genre known for its sadboi themes, this is seamlessly flowing among happy tunes, whether is straight-up bombastic mathy rock or hazy and chill brass-led tune. Such a distinctive sound compared to their counterparts, as well as the mystery of a band that only released one record, are the pillars of Clever Girl's cult following. The second best 'did one record and then disbanded' band, after Gospel.

"PA LA PA PA"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lztAP0jNLds
11Scale the Summit
The Migration

ATLAS NOVUS

A JOURNEY

Or how technical music can be more than a mere spit to all bad musicians' faces. If it's so high on the list, it's because it can evoke so many memories I never had. The fitting artwork sure helped build these moments that never happened: a forest of moving trees should never be more than a wet dream of a virgin who has been reading too much Tolkien for his own sake. Yet, these mates managed to make your mind wander into unknown countries. The most invigorating and colourful journey you could go on.

"*aaaaah yeah*"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q0kUpcCSzn8
10Rolo Tomassi
Time Will Die And Love Will Bury It

A FLOOD OF LIGHT

EVERYTHING HEAVY MUSIC IS CAPABLE OF

Some motherfuckers are dense, but no motherfucker is as dense as this song. A true Wall of Sound surrounding you and leaving no place to escape. The most important aspect of this is how balanced between good and evil it is: Eva Spence fluctuates between the purest lullabys and the evilest shrieks, and the four musicians are capable of pulling both some of the most neckbreaking moments of recent core memory as well as some chilling ambient sections. In the same vein, the cover art is particularly fitting and reflects what's happening musically: the background image is beautiful and serene but is blurred and distorted by the lines on top. This is unique. So unique it won't create any wave of bland followers, but will remain as one of the heavy scene's most important 2010s releases for how utterly beautiful it is.

"AND I FALL INto your opeeeeen aaarms soundly embraced heeeere"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H8q8wBWofqg
9Flying Lotus
You're Dead!

NEVER CATCH ME (ft. Kendrick Lamar)

JAZZY WONKHIPHOP

FlyLo has always been obsessed with death. First dedicating his groundbreaking "Cosmogramma" to his deceased mother, he seeked the understanding of what follows after death on my favourite LP of his, "You're Dead!". Kendrick is on fire here, spitting some of his best bars into an ebb-and-flow maze of a tune, always adapting to the previous second to lay the foundation of the next one. Together, they replicate the horrible feeling one have during a funeral: the heart is racing, yet the body is petrified.

"Tell me I can live long and I can live wrong and I can live right"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2lXD0vv-ds8
8Kayo Dot
Coffins on Io

THE MORTALITY OF DOVES

GOTHIC JAZZY DARKWAVE

I was once driving in the Champagne region with my sister to get to our aunty's place. It was already dark, and the road was crossing through a somber forest. When "The Mortality of Doves" came on, very few tracks ever felt as fitting, as the moody dark jazz piece captured the essence of an environment that seems hostile yet never actually threatens you. A journey through cosmos and subconscious. Let's all take a ride to the space highways.

"LOST!"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s3FaV9PnTU4
7Kendrick Lamar
To Pimp a Butterfly

HOW MUCH A DOLLAR COST

KENDRICK

Album of the fucking decade. So much to unravel with each listen, both musically as well as lyrically. But apart from that, why is it the best record of the decade? From a popularity point of view, it was massively succesful; artistically, it was extraordinary ambitious; and said ambition was met with a meticulous care and respect of music and poetry. When a record checks these three boxes, you can be sure you are facing a special piece of art truly representative of its time.

"Know the truth, it'll set you free. You're lookin' at the Messiah, the son of Jehovah, the higher power, the choir that spoke the word, the Holy Spirit, the nerve of Nazareth, and I'll tell you just how much a dollar cost: the price of having a spot in Heaven, embrace your loss—I am God"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y8kEiL81_R4
6Sufjan Stevens
Carrie and Lowell

SHOULD HAVE KNOWN BETTER

THIS IS NOT MY ART PROJECT. THIS IS MY LIFE.

It's ok and healthy to be sad about a close relative's passing. Allow yourself to properly grieve.

"I should have wrote a letter and grieve what I happen to grieve"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lJJT00wqlOo
5The Menzingers
On the Impossible Past

GATES

SADBOI SHIT

Another deeply nostalgic song. Can't help but love that 2012 summer. No wonder it spoke to me (and tons of others) back then: the nostalgic, lonely, broken hearts lyrics and performance (these chords man) immediately bring the feels, especially when you're an 18-year old boy thinking he's already an adult. The kind of timeless song you just can't explain your love for.

"SO I'M MARCHING UP TO YOUR GATES TODAAAAAYYYY TO THROW MY LONELY SOUL AWAYYYYY"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P1aWag0Nl9E
4Burial
Rival Dealer

COME DOWN TO US

AMBIENT DOWNTEMPO FUTURE GARAGE

A dark, drenched in rain, night jam. From the Lana Wachowski's speech to the NASA scientists bits, this one is filled with hopeful melancholy. As Bevan said, it's a track to help someone to believe in themselves, to not be afraid, and to not give up, and to know that someone out there cares and is looking out for them. The soundtrack to your next lonely night. And yeah, Rival Dealer > Kindred, fight me Bedex.

"Excuse me, I'm lost…"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RsF0BoJSeqA
3Deafheaven
Sunbather

DREAM HOUSE

BLACKGAZE

A solar eclipse in summer. It's so primitively peaceful at its core. It's also beautiful and tragic, the grandiose take of a groundbreaking moment in music. Like if the best dream you never had was translated into music.

"I want to dream"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RWyVhIBmdGw
2The National
High Violet

SORROW

NATIONALCORE

One of the best 21st century bands at the top of their game, lyrically, compositionally and emotionally. Every person loving this tune does so for different reasons, proving once again The National are a band you can't help but deeply connect with.

"Cause I don't wanna get over you"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vGrnVqoU3U4
1La Dispute
Wildlife

KING PARK

SONG OF THE DEDEXCADE

I was surprised to realize no track released the past decade had more impact on me than La Dispute's King Park. While I've always liked the band, this is their absolute peak; the kind of peak bands can only attain once in their lifetime. Carried by Dreyer's lyrics and vocals, the band plays with chord progression and dynamics to help rise this heartbreaking tale to epic proportions. Crushing song that bring the feelz, due both to the lyrics and the music. A perfect cocktail, a band at its very best, and my Song of the dedexcade.

"I FELT THE BURDEN OF MURDER IT SHOOK THE EARTH TO THE CORE"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H8IT-xrQRqk
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