As well as our Top 100 tunes of the year posts over the past five days, each of the MM contributors have put together their own lists. Fifth to go is Starbie…

20. Shearwater – You As You Were

19. Richard Hawley – Seek It

18. Sigur Ros – Varud

a

17. Howler – Back Of Your Neck

16. Milo Greene – 1957

a

15. Foals – Inhaler

a

14. The Maccabees – Pelican

13. Beach House – Lazuli

a

12. Alt J – Breezeblocks

a

11. The XX – Angels

a

10. Bullet for my valentine – Temper Temper
Going back to my roots here; you can’t do without a good guitar riff or a head banging drum beat, this is one of my essential driving tunes. I feel a certain empathy with the lyrics too, I’m sure they weren’t really written about me.

9. Bat for Lashes – Laura
I love the simple piano music of this song, especially the intro and the way it builds to a crescendo. Her voice is haunting too, a much more sophisticated Lana Del Ray. This is a glass of wine in hand, relaxing song.

8. James Levy & the Blood Red Rose –  Sneak Into My Room
A real mellow chill out tune. Reminds me of laid back version of the Divine Comedy.

7. The Rapture – Children
Just love the sort of electro pop base line running through this and for me a good sing and dance along song.

6. Tom Williams & the Boat – Teenage Blood
A modern twist on a country classic. It is a catchy and memorable song with great harmonies, even if it has a slightly depressing theme.

5. Alabama Shakes – Hold On
I must confess to thinking that this was a male vocalist, but love the gravel voice all the same. Bit of a head banger but in a country style, love the underlying guitar rhythm.

4. Of Monsters and Men – Little Talks
I found it difficult to choose a favourite as anything from these always lifts my mood. However this one just edged it for the catchy nature of the chorus, and for the fact that I thought they were saying ‘sh*t will carry on’ which I thought was a good point of view to have.

3. We Are Augustines – Juarez
Love this, love his distinctive voice. Best line for me ‘I got jukebox tears under turquoise skies’ no idea what it means though.

2. First Aid Kit – The Lion’s Roar
There is something about this folk style that really appeals. It is a very profound and beautiful song.

1. Black Moth – Blackbirds Fall
Long live the guitar riff! Heavy but with a funky tune and words you can understand. With an album produced by Nick Cave, not surprising they are getting glowing reviews. Raw power describes them well.

You can find downloads, streams, or videos for all the other tracks above by checking out MM’s Top 100 tunes here: 100 – 81, 80 – 61, 60 – 41, 40 – 21 and 20 – 1.

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