Thinkin Bout You – Frank Ocean
The voice is pitched until it sounds like a secret told through a fan.
Human Traffic
Friday does not begin so much as land, and Cardiff rearranges itself around five friends who have already decided the week was a mistake.
Master of Puppets – Metallica
In March 1986, Metallica released an album with no advance single and a cover that already told you the subject: hands in a red sky, and a field of white crosses on strings.
C.R.E.A.M. – Wu-Tang Clan
The sample is warmer than the room it describes.
I Bet You Look Good on the Dancefloor – Arctic Monkeys
The guitar is scratchy on purpose, a downstroke that sounds like the cable is part of the instrument.
Don’t You Want Me – The Human League
A bass synthesiser counts the listener in like a bartender who has seen this argument before, and Philip Oakey starts the story from his side, already certain he is owed something.
Killing in the Name – Rage Against the Machine
The beat bounces before the anger does.
Nothing Compares 2 U – Sinéad O’Connor
A drum machine keeps a slow, almost funereal pulse, strings enter like a room going cold, and Sinéad O'Connor's voice arrives bare, counting the hours since love left as if the arithmetic could bring it back.
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