_____________________________________________________________________________________
Curtis Sindrey
_____________________________________________________________________________________
Song: In The Dark
Artist: Reignwolf
Released: December 1, 2013
There’s an evident sense of rawness in most of Reignwolf’s output and his newest track “In The Dark” is no different. Whether it’s the gritty guitar riffs, his raw, yet soulful howls or the attitude that this track entails, take The Black Keys’ sound, crank it up to 11, and you have Reignwolf.
_____________________________________________________________________________________
Song: Recovery
Artist: Frank Turner
Album: Tape Deck Heart
Label: Xtra Mile Recordings
Released: March 5, 2013
What’s better than marrying punk and folk? Maybe some cake; but in lieu of that there’s Frank Turner’s first single from his newest album, Tape Deck Heart, which begins with some acoustic strumming and lyrics that make you think that he might be hanging out with the wrong crowd. But it soon boils over into an instantly catchy chorus of “It’s a long road up to recovery from here, a long way back to the light // A long road up to recovery from here, a long way to making it right” and instantly you feel for the guy. Frank Turner is the everyman and he, well, maybe more so the lyrics that are ultra charming.
_____________________________________________________________________________________
Song: Reservoir
Band: Pup
Album: Pup
Label: SideOneDummy/Royal Mountain Records
Released: September 17, 2013
Everything about this song is ferocious. The post-hardcore influence is evident throughout this track and it adds a strong punch to the Toronto-based quartet’s power pop sound.
This song motivates you to take charge of your own happiness and to not give a shit about people trying to bring you down and below this bonafide party song, there’s a message that says that your happiness is your own responsibility.
_____________________________________________________________________________________
Song: Royals
Artist: Lorde
Album: Pure Heroine
Label: Lava, Republic Records
Released: March 8, 2013
“Royals” made Lorde a household name and when you think about it, there’s no better song to do that. “Royals” is a song where Lorde proclaims her love of music, specifically hip-hop, but detests its blatant materialism and instead says artists should make music for the music, not the bling, and that’s is an important message for an industry dead set on cultivating images for artists. Lorde is here to break that down and create something new.
_____________________________________________________________________________________
Song: New Slaves
Artist: Kanye West
Album: Yeezus
Label: Roc-A-Fella/Def Jam
Released: June 18, 2013
Slavery was a dark time in world history and while it was abolished internationally in 1808 and in the United States in 1865, we still have slaves, albeit instead of humans owning other humans, corporations and brands own us. We’re slaves to products, pitches and always striving for an ideal image of ourselves.
When Kanye raps, “used to only be niggas, now everybody playing,” solidifies this message in the song. In the past, black people used to only be slaves, but with the rise of materialism, whether you’re black, white, yellow or brown, anyone can now be a slave.
Kanye urges the listener to rise above materialism and while that will fall on some deaf ears, Kanye will tear shit down and air shit out while society crumbles.
Aesthetic Magazine | Album Reviews, Concert Photography, Interviews, Contests 
Wow Sasha this list is pretty bad. Four songs? Seriously dude…You couldn’t even include a Jhene Aiko song? She’s killing it this year.
Posted by Patrick Lucas | December 16, 2013, 11:13 pmSorry that I couldn’t satisfy you with an inherently subjective list that makes me shorten a year’s worth of music into five songs. Jhene Aiko and so many other people that didn’t make this list were awesome this year.
Posted by Sasha | December 17, 2013, 11:18 am