Top Songs of the Year: Numbers 4 and 3

4.
“Peaceful Place” – Leon Bridges

Leon Bridges has come a long way since his 2015 debut album “Coming Home”. His fourth LP “Leon”, which came out in early October, is clearly his most intimate, very personal and simply his best work to date. My favorite cut from the album is “Peaceful Place”, a song Leon wrote about his former life as a homeless and addicted man (“I used to walk on the darker side”, “I felt alone/I felt so alone”) and that he has now finally “found something no one can take away”. Brilliantly mastered by Greg Calbi, the song’s lavish production underscores Leon’s bittersweet lyrics in the most stupendous way. Actually, our top four songs all belong to Number 1. And even though we all have different stories to tell and that he sings about specific memories, the fact that he found something that no one can take away, might as well work as a universal message.

3.
“I Just Want To Wake Up With You” – Helado Negro

Roberto Carlos Lange, aka Helado Negro, released his best album to date this year. Called “Phasor”, it came out in early February on 4AD Records. I love the quirkiness in his avant-pop compositions, his risk-taking and his personal, political, and also nature-conscious songwriting. His wonderful love song ” I Just Want To Wake Up With You” has accompanied us through the year, over and over again. There is so much to explore in his all-engrossing arrangement and his totally unique phrasing and singing. And the way he delivers the straightforward story is something he has perfected over the years. There is nobody like him. His show in Berlin in early March proved this in a remarkable way.