Artist: Sigrid
Song: High Five

Radio pop has made its tiring cultural imprint on me for decades ever since I was playing in my parents' living room as a kid. Once in a while however there is a flash of brilliance among the ever-dragging monotony of mainstream pop. High Five  is the front-running protagonist in my collection of favourite pop songs. It's breathing Alt-J through and through and its subtle syncopated synth parts made me smile in an instance. Somehow Norway just knows its pop music.

Artist: Wild Beasts
Song: The Devil's Crayon

Until their split-up Wild Beasts featured easily my favourite male voice and The Devil's Crayon  was my introduction to it. Despite the seemingly chaotic arrangements in the verse Tom Fleming's voice is a calming grace that pulls me in everyt time. Besides, the song is a brilliant piece of songwriting that does just enough. Just listen to the slight change in chord progression around the 3:10 minute mark. Indiscernibly subtle, yet unmistakably leading straight up into the song's climax.

Artist: Martha
Song: Into This

Universally adored punk rock band from England, Martha is about as likeable as it gets. And even though Into This  is probably not their flashiest song it certainly showcases one of Martha's biggest strengths: story telling. One might not like the music, but it's hard not to like the lyrics. Martha have become one of my favourite bands in the last couple of years and this so probably because their songs are not only fun, but more often than not also deeply relatable.

Artist: Gordi
Song: Something Like This

If it hadn't been for Gordi's gorgeous I'm done  I probably would have never come across this simple, yet beautiful record that for me only clicked at the fourth or fifth playthrough. But it stuck and still does to this day. Gordi's rather minimalistic songs are somewhat of an antithesis to my usual taste for harmony-overladen short-lived hits as I often lack the patience. But Gordi makes it work and her songs often are plain beauty that ease the storm inside me. Something Like This  is exactly one of those.

Artist: Chilly Gonzales
Song: Kenaston

I learned about Chilly Gonzales in the early 2000s through his tantalizing rap hymn Take me to Broadway. Little did I know back then that in truth he was a studied pianist and composer with a fable for the pop side of things. And in a strictly pop music sense his Solo Piano  pieces are as close to my ideal ideas of instrumental music as I could probably hope for. They're clear-cut pop songs presented in a graciously nuanced way without ever feeling cheesy. I don't know shit about classical music but Chilly let's me pretend I do.