Songs of the year, number 1: Billie Eilish - LUNCH (Official Music Video)

Billie Eilish's 'LUNCH' is taken from her third studio album, the critically acclaimed Hit Me Hard And Soft. Like much of the album, it's an initially unassuming piece that sees the previously electronica focused Eilish swap samplers and machines for guitars. I wasn't sure about this at first because it felt, on first listen, as though Eilish was being perhaps steered towards a kind of universal pop direction that ironed out her previously displayed (and very endearing) idiosyncrasies. I'm still not sure to what extent that's the case, or if it's simply that she was very young when she started out and that this is all part of the growing process, but I was slightly discombobulated on the first listen.

'LUNCH's strength as a single is that it is an insidious ear worm that lodges itself gradually over time, which then prompts you to return to the song again and again. And it's when you return to it that you begin to realise what a subversive slice of pop it is. At once funny and self depreciating, there's a sweetness at the heart of this girl crush anthem that makes it as irresistible as its melodies and hooks. It will be interesting to see what she does next. 

Songs of the year, number 2: Allie X - Galina [ft. Empress Of] (Official Video)

While I was personally disappointed by Allie X's 2024 album, Girl With No Face, it would be fair to say that it was a mood thing rather than a musical thing: Allie X has, this year, homed in on a kind of early 80s dark synth sound that just wasn't chiming with me, but which was perfectly serviceable from a musical perspective. It is, to be fair, very hard to dislike an artist who pens a mentalist slice of 80s industrial called 'Off With Her Tits'. 

The crystalline pop of 'Galina' also has its origins in 80s synth pop but it shimmers and shines in a way that sees it transcend its origins and become a dark pop anthem in its own right. The addition of Empress Of on the single version adds texture and additional layers to what was already a darkly complex piece. As is always the case with Allie X, the result is complex, sophisticated synth pop with a beating heart. Tremendous. 

Songs of the year, number 3: Charly Bliss - Nineteen

While Taylor Swift, for a number of good and bad reasons, dominated the news in 2024, her latest album, The Tortured Poets Department, seems to have divided opinion with some perhaps seeking a more obviously pop sound than what Swift chose to provide them with. 

As such, it was an odd moment when, later in the year, US band Charly Bliss released their album Forever, because it really does sound like the Taylor Swift album that never was. Or the lovechild of everything that was good about John Hughes movies and mid 1980s pop. 

In recent years Charly Bliss have moved increasingly away from the bouncy 'bubblegrunge' sound of their earlier releases and, by last year, were hurtling full speed towards planet pop. It's fair to say that Forever and, especially, 'Nineteen' bear the hallmarks of that collision.

An unashamedly romantic, full on pop ballad, 'Nineteen' isn't ashamed to be what it is: A sentimental pop song with a big heart. It was born to be the final slow song at teenage dances, the one you weep to when you break up with your first big love, the one you sing blind drunk on New Years Eve. In short, it was built to soak up your emotions like a sponge and throw them right back at you with stardust and glitter. 

Songs of the year, number 4: Wasia Project - Is This What Love Is? (Visualiser)

Young brother/sister duo Wasia Project are comprised of William Gao and Olivia Hardy. The swooping, soaring, dreamy indie anthem that is 'Is This What Love Is?' was released as part of the duo's 2nd EP Isotope earlier this year and instantly proved itself to be an atmospheric classic. While much is expected of the band they are, wisely, taking it slowly and building their sound at their own pace. It is fair to say that their debut album, when it comes, will have been worth waiting for. 

Songs of the year, number 5: Nick Mulvey feat. Golshifteh Farahani and Arooj Aftab - Freedom Now (Lyr...

While protest songs can sometimes come across as didactic and heavy handed, UK singer/songwriter Nick Mulvey's collaboration with Iranian superstar Golshifteh Farahani and Grammy award winning Pakistani artist Arooj Aftab has wisely stuck to a simple, universal message of freedom for all. The song was released in the first few months of 2024 as a fundraiser for the refugee charity Choose Love.

While it would be easy to try and suggest that the song is tying itself to specific battles around the world for freedom, with some suggesting it's for Palestine, or Ukraine, or for the women's rights movement in Iran, the beauty of the song is that it transcends all of the specific contexts anyone would seek to put upon it by sticking to a simple, straight forward message: Liberty. As they sing "Only Freedom will do."

Songs of the year, number 6: Pom Pom Squad - Spinning (Official Video)

Pom Pom Squad was unfortunate to see her debut album, 2021's Death Of A Cheerleader, a very credible, sophisticated slice of joyous punk pop, be eclipsed by the success of the similarly punk pop sounding Olivia Rodrigo and her album Sour. Rodrigo also shared Mia Berrin's interest in cheerleading iconography, and the word sour seemed to well represent Berrin's feelings when she heard/saw Rodriogo's work, not to mention the coverage of the young star all over the world's press. 

Three years on and Rodrigo has released two highly successful albums while Berrin has re-grouped, returning with her own second album Mirror Starts Moving Without Me. Her experiences over the past three years have informed her sound as well as her lyrics, with 'Spinning' striking a more sophisticated tone than 'Lux' or 'Red with love'. It's the sound of a young artist growing up and, while it's a shame that some of the wildness and youthful hedonism has gone, it's a sure sign that Pom Pom Squad is here to stay. 

Songs of the year, number 7: ZZZAHARA - GHOSTS (OFFICIAL VIDEO)

This charming slice of scuffed understated indie comes courtesy of US singer/songwriter Zzzahara, formerly guitarist with Eyedress, Simps and US Velvet. 'Ghosts' is a woozy tale of a post relationship haunting that has echoes of mid 1990s Pavement, but the vocals help it to soar above its influences, resulting in a shimmering anthem.