2014 - "Meteghan" - Arthur Comeau

Part electro, part hop-hop, this laid-back and très drole track is a sort of homecoming for a talented gars de chez nous. 

Meteghan is home for me too; and you're all invited to visit once this shitstorm passes...

Other favourites from 2014: 

"Fade Out Lines" - The Avener 

"Under the Pressure" - The War on Drugs

"Only Human" – Delphic 

2013 - "Get Lucky" - Daft Punk

Pharrell Williams: I'm loving' this retro disco vibe, but this doesn't sound at all like Daft Punk. 
Breakdown: Hold my quarantini.

Maybe not quite "September" groovy, but not bad for 2013.

A fine throwback, instantly catchy and thoroughly funky. 

Other favourites from 2013: 

"The Messenger" – Johnny Marr 

"Reflektor" - Arcade Fire

"Summer Breeze" – Pepper the Crow

"Cool Kids" - Echosmith

2012 - "Motion Sickness" - Hot Chip

The minute and a half intro spins and stuns, setting the stage for a muscular electro groove. Oscillating synths and throbbing bass build and build and build. Should have been a single and still one of my fave running songs.  

On the London trip where we saw George Michael's (unbeknownst to us) last concert, there were two artists we should have seen that week: Suzanne Vega and Hot Chip.  

Other favourites from 2012: 

"The Page" - Chromatics

"Where Is It Going?" - Orbital

"Take A Walk" – Passion Pit

"Doused" - DIIV

2011 - "Midnight City" - M83

It may be cheesy, but the explosive synth riff in the intro that's also the soaring chorus makes the dopamine overflow. How good is this Gouda? Well, the greatest 80s tune outside the decade very handily makes my desert island six pack o' tracks. 

Shout-out to M83's more subtle, dreamier "Kim & Jessie", a close second from 2008, a shimmering homage to 80s synth-pop and John Hughes' films, dressed up with an indie twist.

I have to give "Helena Beat" a little love here, it would have made it in almost any other year this century. 

Other favourites from 2011: 

"Helena Beat" -  Foster The People 

"Set Fire to the Rain" - Adele

"Called Out in the Dark" – Snow Patrol 

"All you Need is Now" – Duran Duran

2010 - "The Suburbs" - Arcade Fire

Montreal wasn't producing many good hockey teams since the turn of the century, but the city made up for it with music, with the likes of Sam Roberts and Arcade Fire.
  
Who would have thought romanticizing the ennui of the suburbs would sound so damn great? The tune is strummy and cheery, the lyrics and video nostalgic, showing a group of friends riding bicycles without helmets, partaking in hijinx and tomfoolery. A beautiful postcard of yesteryear and every 'burb from Dartmouth to Delta. 

Who hasn't tossed their bike to see how far it would go before crashing?

Other favourites from 2010: 

"Ready To Go" – Arcade Fire

"Stylo" – Gorillaz 

"Doubt" – Delphic 

"History" – Groove Armada 

"Paradise City" – Massive Attack