The Very Best Of ‘Track Of The Day’ 2019
Of almost 250 songs I reviewed this year, here is my ”Best Of ” playlist, even it makes no justice at all, I have appreciated every single second of every track I chose freely without conditions, I hope I’ve been helpful in some way. Grazie mille, have a great 2020!!!
- TOPOGRAPHIES “Open Up”
‘A dour and enticing post-punk shiver from a band with a huge potential to explore and develop.
- THE SECRET FRENCH POSTCARDS “Black Hole”
‘…in and out, ominous, droning and clanging bass pulses underlying a gripping eerie and dark atmosphere loaded by deep monotonous emotionless vocals weighted with repressed sorrow, resentment, and fear.’
- WITCH OF THE VALE “Trust the Pain”
‘an intriguing and distinctive blend between the alluring Erin‘s folk-tinged ethereal voice, brimming with deep uncanny melancholy, and the extraordinarily intense and immersive, at once spellbinding and unsettling, synth laden ritualistic shadowy soundscapes shrouded in mystery and magic, delving into the heart-of-darkness of the soul.’
- SECRET ATTRACTION “All Night”
‘a hazy blanket of rarefied, trance-inducing wistful synth swells that soar and whine blissfully around the simultaneously rich and soulful, sensual and androgynous romantic croon imbued with confusion, desire, and distrust.’
- DESOLATION YEARS “Worlds Apart”
‘achingly dismal baritone vocals weighted with loss and loneliness explore the profound and burdensome sadness and darkness that envelops each of us as we drift through it, even though engaged in a committed relationship.’
- ILL HUMANS “Whatever”
‘absorbing and haunting, deals with love, loss, and spirituality…cold forlorn vocals, sprinkled with sullen guitar fades and swelling liquid keyboard notes, getting lost in a bottomless dim pit of bitterness, pain and despair.’
- PORTRAYAL “Clearing Houses”
‘…building a poignant climax of slow-burning aching intensity that ebb and flow together with detached, anxious and dire vocals into a dim cul-de-sac of alienation, mental-anguish, and helplessness with no way to get out.’
- Eminencé Grise “Kondogbia”
‘the duo sprinkle their sound with rich sonic nuances ranging from new wave and psychedelia to shoegaze and folk. Poignant and introspective,“Kondogbia” uncoils ominous melodic post-punkish basslines that relentlessly pulses infused of dark flair…’
- REPO MAN “Air”
‘Steeped in gripping, visceral and bleak melodrama, “Air” is the dangerous dim sound of impending doom.’
- JE T’AIME “A Million Suns”
‘sharp, bleak yet fresh post-punk at its finest and sheer form, instantly catchy while fully maintaining its grit and edge from the first to the last note, releasing all its energy and emotional charge, to create hopelessly magnetic, fascinating and gloomy atmospheres.’
- KISS OF THE WHIP “Levitation”
‘A fascinating slice of energetic, obscure and brooding darkwave stunningly entice to listen and dance.’
- PLASTIC ESTATE “Cremation”
‘An utterly gripping four minutes of superb poignant and evocative new wave from an increasingly promising band.’
- POLYCYTHEMIA ‘Больничные койки/Hospital beds’
‘ dramatic ineluctable sense of melancholy and pain embodied by the intoxicating magnetic tone of the plaintive vocals drowned in devastation, desolation and utter fascination into a first breath of life.’
- PAINTED MIRROR “Sorry (Not Sorry)”
‘Sam Morgan‘s somber vocals furrow imperiously crooning and mourning, together with flickering sparkling wistful guitar slivers and harmonious aching synth drones that lacerate the icy bleak surface, drowned in misunderstood sorrow and emptiness shadowed by a vast lonely existence of nostalgia.’
- LOST ECHOES “Darkness”
‘pushes the band towards fascinating shadowy goth-tinged boundaries while maintaining their distinctive melodic and emotionally gut-wrenching immersive qualities, a worthy challenge.’
- THE HOWLING FOG “The Needle’s Falling”
‘…gloomily pervaded with unbridled energy and haunting loss as deep magnetic vocals, sharpened by heavily aching shards of searing guitar bleeds, seep louder unto uncompromising and ruthless anxiety, dripping with anger, and regret, dwelling in dead-end obscurity.’
- HERLIGHTS “Toys”
‘…dreary, pensive mood of deep reflection instilled in tired, tense restrained vocals that suddenly ebb and flow, together with stinging guitar swirls and nimble drums, vibrating with fervent bold vigor and upbeat passion, as sudden harsh realities take a completely different perspective.’
- DONZII “Sand”
‘Both unremitting and mechanical, energetic Italo-disco style kicks and bombastic snare drums propel the feverish groovy beat onward into the darkness in search of the eternal night…’
- SMALL PLANETS “Tonight”
‘…spanning from dream pop, shoegaze, post-rock, and new wave, building seductively intense and emotional soundscapes bursting with both energetic yet introspective, pure impassioned fervor combined with strong melodic sensibility.’
- FIGURE SECTION “Disfigured Section”
‘…chilling, alienated and obscure…an overall sheer icy cold delight’.
- FRAGILE ANIMALS “Waiting”
‘…sucks you into a gripping and seductive swirl of energetic yet sparkling luscious guitar riffs…the enticingly wistful voice glides and straddles introspective whispers and soaring catchy epic harmonies casting shadows about her sanity.’
- CLOUZOT “Drops”
‘…icy spacious synths, both unsettling and paralyzing at once, rise and flow dramatically, injecting layers of intense emotional distress over upset, anxious vocals, caught in impending doom, ripe with claustrophobic fear and pain.’
- CITRUS CLOUDS “A Pastel Sky”
‘…floating seemingly carefree, whimsical female/male vocal harmonies touch, tease and distance themselves waving a spell of mesmeric rapture under a pastel sky…Immaculate guitar-driven pop, genuinely rooted in its influences, but utterly infectious and distinctive.’
- ALONE IN MY ROOM “Rain Man”
‘…immersive and hypnotic “Rain Man” spirals down into a thick, murky endless night exploring the darkness of existential dread.’
