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THE BEST OF THE LAST DECADE (2016 - 2025)

  • kevpalowe8
  • 1 day ago
  • 7 min read

This post is as simple as it sounds. Although, the very observant among you will notice that my top 5 singles includes 2 entries from 2025....... that were my #1 & #3 in my 2025 ‘favourites’ post. Sometimes a little time/reflection gives us a different perspective than our initial reactions. I absolutely loved my #2 choice in 2025 and still do! At the time I struggled ranking the #2 and #3 choice one above the other. I went with my gut – a further 6 months reflection has made me think I got it wrong and would definitely now switch those round. I will still place my #2 choice of 2025 in my top 3, however........ just at #3 instead.

 

ALBUMS:

This is a list of the albums I gave a mark of 8 or more out of ten 2016-2023 and my top 3 lists for 2024 & 2025.

 

Alex Izenberg “Harlequin” (2016)

Radiohead “A Moon Shaped Pool” (2016)

EMA “Exile In The Outer Ring” (2017)

Rag ‘N’ Bone Man “Human” (2017)

Kamasi Washington “Harmony Of Difference” (EP) (2017)

George Ezra “Staying At Tamara’s” (2018)

XXXTENTACTION “?” (2018)

Black midi “Schlagenheim” (2019)

Coldplay “Everyday Life” (2019)

Wrekmeister Harmonies “We Love To Look At The Carnage” (2020)

Little Simz “Sometimes I Might Be Introvert” (2021)

Black Country, New Road “For The First Time” (2021)

Billie Eilish “Happier Than Ever” (2021)

Lankum “False Lankum” (2023)

English Teacher “This Could Be Texas” (2024)

Eunuchs “Harbour Century” (2024)

Little Simz “Lotus” (2025)

Ethal Cain “Perverts” (2025)

 

TOP 3 ALBUMS:

3. Rosalía “Lux” (2025)


2. Billie Eilish “When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go?” (2019)


1.      The Last Dinner Party “Prelude To Ecstasy” (2024)

 

 

SINGLES:

Here are the singles cited in my top 3 lists for 2016-2025


2016:

Twenty One Pilots “Stressed Out”

JP Cooper “September Song”

Rag ‘N’ Bone Man “Human”

 

2017:

Martin Garrix & Dua Lipa “Scared To Be Lonely”

Carmila Cabello “Havana”

Chainsmokers & Coldplay “Something Just Like This”

 

2018:

David Guetta & Sia “Flames”

Calvin Harris & Dua Lipa “One Kiss”

 

2019:

Panic! At The Disco “High Hopes”

Billie Eilish “bad guy”

Billie Eilish “bury a friend”

 

2020:

Sam Fischer “This City”

Sunflower Thieves “Hide & Seek”

Dua Lipa “Break My Heart”

 

2021:

Nathan Evans “Wellerman – Sea Shanty”

Sunflower Thieves “Sirens”

The Weeknd & Ariana Grande “Save Your Tears”

 

2022:

Cat Burns “go”

Sam Smith & Kim Petras “Unholy”

Sunflower Thieves “Lichtenberg Figures”

 

2023:

Olivia Rodrigo “vampire”

Doja Cat “Paint The Town Red”

 

2024:

Shaboozey “Bar Song (Tipsy)”

Teddy Swims “Lose Control” (2023)

 

2025:

Lola Young “d£aler”

 

There are also 2 tracks that would very well have made my top 3 list for 2024 singles were it not for the fact they were released very late in the year.



Lola Young “Messy”

 

 

TOP 5 SINGLES:

5. David Kushner “Daylight” (2023)


4. Olivia Dean “Its So Easy (To Fall In Love)” (2025)


3.      Eartheater & Shygirl “Shark Brain” (2025)


2.      George Ezra “Shotgun” (2018)


1.      Jade “Angel Of My Dreams” (2024)

 

Here are the comments I wrote about “Angel Of My Dreams” waaaaay back in 2024.

 

Nothing appealed to the ‘music analyst’ in me more than this track. The 1st time I heard it, it was like a 3 minute whirlwind, with so much jammed into that short space of time. A few seconds after it ended I actually said OUT LOUD to myself ‘hold on, fuck off a minute, what just happened?’. I will try to succinctly demonstrate why, although I could write something longer than my stupidly lengthy review of The Last Dinner Party album just on this 1 track. As a little fun experiment for yourself, the reader, why not listen to it once, read/watch my ‘nutshell’ analysis, then listen again and see if it makes a difference? (I’ve linked an audio only video as the video has sound effects and breaks in the track that are distracting).



So, although there’s a standard song-like structured at the centre of the song, it’s padded out a little with something that results in a more arch-like structure, something much less common in pop music (and actually much more common in progressive rock). This is further punctuated by the outer sections that surround that main song being contrasting in terms of timbre, tempo, arrangement etc. This arch as follows: Short a cappella (tag #1), slow ‘angel of my dreams’, main song, slow ‘angel of my dreams’, short a cappella (tag #2). I call them ‘tags’ (as in tag-ons) because they are extremely short.


Lyrically, the track seems to be about the singer (and it’s safe to assume Jade is singing about her own experiences here) achieving her childhood dream of being a huge pop star but consequently entering a massive love/hate relationship – finding the industry treats her as more of a commodity than a human. We can guess the dream was a childhood one because of the childish language used ‘you don’t care’, ‘it’s not fair’ etc. While she can be heard singing these lines various times, each section is punctuated with announcement of these lines in what is presumably Jade’s voice but filtered through an effect that makes it sound disturbingly robotic. What was once the innocent childish voice dreaming of fame and claiming ‘its not fair’ has become an emotionless robotic cog of the machine that churns out pop hits. This is further emphasised by the contract in the vocal of the ‘verses’ of the main bit of the song. In the 1st verse, it’s basically rapped as she explains the problem she’s facing ‘you only care about money’ ‘selling my soul’ etc., with a fair amount of tone and expression. This is Jade's voice astutely contemplating the situation (and it doesn’t sound good). By the 2nd verse, it’s changed. She lists all the riches her work has bought for her bosses – it’s sung - but in monotone, devoid of expression - she’s inside the machine, a cog - puppet. There’s also more than one voice. They are in harmony – but both monotone. Its liike there’s several Jade’s just churning out the same thing. Its loaded with meaning...... and very disturbing.


While we’re on ‘melody’ – its not bad at all. The main chorus-bit is a good melodic figure. Every bit of the melody throughout expresses the lyric brilliantly. At times when the singer expresses something positive (e.g., ‘I’m in heaven’, ‘love when you call me a star’) the melody reaches for heights and when its negative (e.g., ‘you don’t care’, ‘it’s not fair’) it’s moves downwards right to the depths. This is part of the genius of the chorus melody. When the exposition of ‘angel of my dreams’ is announced we are right at top reaches, the peak of the melody. As the actual love/hatred relationship the singer has with this supposed angel is exposed, the melody literally spirals downwards. The shape of this melody is entirely in contrast with the monotone passages where the singer has become the puppet. The harmony does something similar – switching between major (happy) and minor (sad) chords. This is particularly effective during the line ‘when the camera flashy, I act so happy’ which is sung over a minor chord that is surrounded by major chords, so it explicitly stands out. The melody gravitates around the 2nd & 3rd note of the chord. This is striking because the 3rd note is what determines the major of minor status so having the melodic line accentuated it creates real emphasis. Also, in a minor scale the 2rd note is right next to the 3rd – a semitone (rather than a whole tone) apart. We call this chromaticism (when notes are right next to each other) and this has been used traditionally in music to represent tension, unease etc. The lyric suggests the singer is instructed to ‘act happy’ in these moments, and she expresses it in that child-like manner, reminding herself and us of that child that dreamed the dream............ but NOT the reality.

I’ll finally refer back to the structure because it gives us the overall picture. So, there’s a song in the middle. A song about a person that is living their childhood dream, struggling with gratitude at her angel for granting it, loathing it’s darker side, and falling deeper and deeper into the mechanics of it, turning from human to puppet. This is hinted at right from the outset as that #1 tag of the structure is actually a line from the classic track “Puppet On A String”. There is a slow rendition of the chorus at the beginning and end like bookends to the main song. It seems to me this is ‘exposition’ – it sounds dramatic and ‘glorious’ as it announces the angel at the beginning. It’s recapitulation (which is preceded by a orchestral sounding climatic figure – kinda like the whole thing is rewinding) is the same but we are now aware of all the tensions explored in the main song. I love this – it is an exact rendition of what we heard the 1st time around....    but it doesn’t sound so ‘glorious’ now – instead it’s steeped with bitter irony. Then there’s the final tag #2. Just 2 notes......... well they’re harmonised so there’s technically 4. The conclusion by outward appearances is ‘I’ll always love you’ (rather than ‘hate you') – but it’s just 2 notes, and without the music behind it, the harmony is ambiguous. So the conclusion of ‘I’ll always love you’ sounds uncertain - perhaps deflated.


Here’s a video to try and help bring some of these words to life a bit. Again, I suggest you give the track another listen once you’ve finished reading to the end.



........... and at the moment this ended on my very 1st hearing, I was flabbergasted in a way I’m not very often on my 1st listen to a pop track. Well done. And, consequently, whether you like the track or not, whether you agree with me or not, I think its fair to say, I have made my case fairly well.


 

Kev Lowe (May 2026)

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