The Best Fit Fifty: Tracks of 2011

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40. Tyler, The Creator – Yonkers

Before the pitiful misogyny, pre-teen immaturity, and try-hard photographer baiting, there was this. Fundamentally unsettling, totally gripping, and with the best video of the year.
-Josh Hall

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39. Laura Marling – Sophia

For an artist still so young and seemingly timid in appearance, ‘Sophia’ was an absolute ball buster of a song and without question cemented Marling as one of the UK’s most cherished folk acts. Her voice infinitely more mature than her 21 years would ever suggest, the world weary introduction slowly builds into a towering kiss-off – a giant “fuck you” to the none believers (- me included). The world, it would seem, is hers for the taking. And who are we to argue?
-Richard Thane

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38. WALLS – Sunporch

London duo WALLS outdid themselves with ‘Sunporch’, the first track to appear from their sophmore album Coracle. It’s a song which rises and falls in all the right places, with masterfully crafted processed noises and beats wrapped ingeniously around live instrumentation. It’s a complex, technically impressive tune with a beating heart and a throbbing soul – a much more dance orientated sound than we’ve previously come across from the duo, but one which we’re very excited about getting to know more intimately.
-Francine Gorman

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37. When Saints Go Machine – Let Me Love You For Tonight

A cover of Kariya’s 80s synth-rave track, the apparition of ‘Let Me Love You For Tonight’ marked not only a prelude to the release of the Danish four-piece’s album Konkylie, but provided further affirmation of this collective’s ability to add their inimitable touch to whatever they please. With stunning vocal work, a complete revamp of the original track’s time signature and a trademark sense of melancholy thrown into the mix, this song perfectly demonstrates why 2011 has been the year of When Saints Go Machine.
-Francine Gorman

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36. Fanzine – Roman Holiday

I make a lot of mix-tapes (read: iPod playlists). Sometimes, they see the light of day and are burned to CD, handed to friends and loved ones with pride and a genuine hope that they will too grow to love the music contained within. ‘Roman Holiday’ has probably appeared on every playlist that’s been dreamt up in my tiny little mind in the six or so months it’s been kicking around the internets. “I can make it through the day because of you” croons lead singer Jock over a blistering guitar line, just before a sing-a-long chorus so huge (“please just come back and stay at home / don’t trust those shady guys from Rome”) interjects and cements itself into the mix-tape of your mind. Like, totally man.
-Richard Thane