David Bowie
Lazarus
Who but Bowie could turn his own death into an artistic event? Coming just before the Blackstar album that heralded his passing in January, the Dame wrote his own epitaph within this elegant gothic howl before anyone else had the chance.
The 1975
Somebody Else
Matt Healy and his magpie outfit have been the band of the year, and this was their most gorgeously agonised moment, a dreamy synth ballad about the singular pain of your ex hooking up with another.
Christine and the Queens
Tilted
The outsiders’ anthem of 2016 celebrated imperfections, social awkwardness and gender bending with an irresistible blend of joyful abandon, synth-pop sorrow and Magic Marker make-up.
Alex Newell & DJ Cassidy
Kill the Lights
Commissioned for the now-cancelled TV series Vinyl, this pastiche was meant to be a white-hot disco monster that has all of Seventies New York under its spell. And you know what? We were convinced.
Let’s Eat Grandma
Deep Six Textbook
Somewhere between Kate Bush, the Cocteau Twins and a nursery rhyme, this eerie crawl of a song by two 17-year-old Norwich schoolgirls nails the excitement and otherworldliness of adolescent friendship.
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Rihanna feat. Drake
Work
The on-off couple wowed the Brit awards with their X-rated performance of Work, easily the year’s steamiest song. One four-letter word, repeated five times, has never sounded sexier.
Radiohead
Burn the Witch
Driven along by staccato strings with an ominous sense of drama, this is rock music by way of Krzysztof Penderecki. The Trumpton-meets-Wicker Man video was great too.
The Early Years
Fluxus
Gorgeous, ambient-electronic pop — imagine Movement-era New Order crossed with To Rococo Rot — from the long-awaited second album by the post-rock quartet.
The Lemon Twigs
These Words
From Brian and Michael D’Addario, brothers from Long Island, a wonderfully innocent tune about ignoring trends and living in their own world. That world involves dressing like the Bay City Rollers and sounding like Supertramp.
Leonard Cohen
You Want it Darker
While Bowie turned his death into high drama, Cohen used his encroaching end as a chance for a moment of bone-dry wit. “I struggled with some demons,” he croaks, before adding: “They were middle-class and tame.”
Hear these and more at spoti.fi/essentialtracks