45rpm’s top 25 tracks from the first three months of the year… but who comes out on top?

And so we’ve come to the end of the first quarter of 2018 and, while all the tracks featured so far are definitely still amazing (and definitely worth reading the reviews of!), some have undoubtedly proven themselves to have more staying power than others.

And so, for those of you who are new to the site, too lazy or uninterested to look back through every entry, or simply would like a reminder of the quarter that was, I’ve assembled this handy list for you.

Contained herein are 20 of my favourite tracks featured in Entries 1 -11, as well as five tracks not previously featured for various reasons explained below, but which continue to be played on heavy-rotation in 45rpm HQ.

And so, without further ado, in typically tease-y reverse order, here is my countdown to my top 25 tracks from January to March 2018:

25. Palm: ‘Pearly’

In a Nutshell:
Crazy art-rock from a band who have no formal training on their instruments. If that sounds chaotic, you should hear the glorious mess they make.

What to find out more? Read the full review of Pearly by Palm in E09.

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24. Heart to Break: ‘Kim Petras’

In a Nutshell:
The first of the five tracks featured here not to appear on a previous entry, Heart to Break never quite made the cut just because it seemed too… poppy. And, after all, how much can you write about something that is simply just a great pop track.

But. Do you remember at the end of 2015 when all the music journos you like started, out of nowhere, putting Carly Rae Jepsen’s Emotion in their top albums of the year? And you were kinda shocked but, after a few listens, forced to agree? Well, this would easily sit amongst anything on there. And with only a few singles to her name so far, Germany’s Kim Petras has got some serious potential.

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23. Many Rooms: ‘Danielle‘

In a Nutshell:
A song about haunting subjects, delivered in the most haunting of tones, Danielle will stay with you long after the final notes are quietened.

What to find out more? Read the full review of Danielle by Many Rooms in E03.

***

22. Cosmo Sheldrake: ‘Wriggle (Edit)’

In a Nutshell:
Few people could convince me to ‘get my wriggle on’ in quite so affable and emphatic a way as this musical polymath from Hampstead. I like Cosmo almost more than I can justify.

What to find out more? Read the full review of Wriggle by Cosmo Sheldrake in E06.

***

21. Chris Dave and the Drumhedz: ‘Job Well Done’

In a Nutshell:
Simply the coolest, sleekest funk chops from the drummer behind the likes of D’Angelo, Anderson .Paak and Robert Glasper.

What to find out more? Read the full review of Job Well Done by Chris Dave and the Drumhedz in E01.

***

20. Dermot Kennedy: ‘Moments Passed’

In a Nutshell:
An impassioned ode to lost-love, Moments Passed is singer-songwriting at its most ground-breaking and gut-wrenching.

What to find out more? Read the full review of Moments Passed by Dermot Kennedy in E09.

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19. Everything is Recorded: ‘Close But Not Quite’

In a Nutshell:
Track number two of five which haven’t previously featured, this one didn’t make the cut because, to be honest, I was convinced I already knew it on hearing it for the first time (which, of course, was only half-true). It sounded so much like a song that had been either infused into my consciousness through tradition or which I’d played over and over from Sampha’s excellent Process record only last year that it never occurred to me to include it on a new music review site.

Put simply, it is a duet so powerful it transcends the grave as Sampha reimagines Curtis Mayfield’s The Makings of You with the help of Producer, Richard Russell.

***

18. Yazmin Lacey: ‘Black Moon’

In a Nutshell:
Fusing world, jazz and funk influences into one saucy melting pot, Black Moon is the audio equivalent of a jerk chicken; spicy, full of character and guaranteed to have your body jiggling and jiving in ways you didn’t expect possible.

What to find out more? Read the full review of Black Moon by Yazmin Lacey in E04.

***

17. nothing, nowhere: ‘Ruiner’

In a Nutshell:
A rap track for those who don’t like rap, Ruiner is a melancholic take on home-town disenchantment and lost love.

What to find out more? Read the full review of Ruiner by nothing, nowhere in E07.

***

16. Tom Misch: ‘Water Baby (feat. Loyle Carner)’

In a Nutshell:
For anyone who’s already a fan of Misch’s soul / jazz textures, Water Baby‘s addition of Carner’s desperate lyrics and a tasteful Crusaders sample, will only have served to whet the appetite for today’s release of Misch’s full-length, Geography.

What to find out more? Read the full review of Water Baby by Tom Misch in E03.

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15. Poppy Ackroyd: ‘The Calm Before’

In a Nutshell:
In many ways the title aptly alludes to the storm that should follow The Calm Before. It is the sound of a complex, powerful gauntlet being thrown down to the establishment figures of the ambient genre.

What to find out more? Read the full review of The Calm Before by Poppy Ackroyd in E06.

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14. SOPHIE: ‘Faceshopping’

In a Nutshell:
Do you remember the sweets, Nerds? They were odd-shaped little buggers, not entirely pleasant on the palate at first but you’d soon eat enough of them to feel a little bit sick and head-achy. Well, this = them.

What to find out more? Read the full review of Faceshopping by SOPHIE in E06.

***

13. Nailah Blackman: ‘O’Lawd Oye’

In a Nutshell:
Excellent, eccentric (and somewhat bawdy) Chewbacca-bating from the daughter of Soca royalty.

What to find out more? Read the full review of O’Lawd Oye by Nailah Blackman in E10.

***

12. Cole Swindell: ‘Break Up In The End’

In a Nutshell:
Another new entry, this so nearly made it in as a Quiet Riot on a number of occasions. I think I was intimidated by its sheer Country and Western-ism. But I was wrong to be so.

Put away your preconceptions and Break Up in the End is simply a beautiful poem, written by a man so totally devoted to someone who’s not right for him. Charming and heartbreaking in equal measure.

***

11. Ernest K: ‘Cuss, Fight, F*ck’

In a Nutshell:
Provocatively dropped on Valentine’s Day, Ernest K’s Cuss, Fight, F*ck is a sort of love song for the swipe-right generation. Definitely smooth enough to charm me into bed, though.

What to find out more? Read the full review of Cuss, Fight, F*ck by Ernest K in E07.

***

10. Chromeo: ‘Bedroom Calling (feat. The-Dream)’

In a Nutshell:
The penultimate new entry, Canada’s electro-synth kings, Chromeo are a massive favourite of mine – not least of all because they are an amazing live show. Truth be told, this track didn’t make it as I’ve been waiting for the new album (entitled Head Over Heels – for which details have only just emerged) to pick my favourite cut and go wild over it on here. But now I’ve lost patience.

For a majority of the music-listening public that probably still only know Chromeo as the blokes who have music on fruit squash commercials, Bedroom Calling is the wake-up call designed to catapult them into the stratosphere. Better pick it up!

***

09. Baxter Dury: ‘Miami (Dennis Bovell Dub)’

In a Nutshell:
With INXS guitar licks, drums that sound like they’re falling down a flight of stairs and a strings arrangement that sounds like a pit of writhing pythons, Reggae bassist Dennis Bovell’s remix gives Dury’s Miami the sort of steroid injection a song that sneers ‘you don’t know how successful I am’ deserves.

What to find out more? Read the full review of Miami by Baxter Dury in E04.

***

08. S. Carey: ‘More I See’

In a Nutshell:
The final of our new entries, this track didn’t make it cos I was just wrong.

Imagine, if you will, driving a long journey on a cold but bright Winter Sunday morning, listening to this on repeat. I pray you will then feel a fraction of the joy I feel every time I hear More I See.

***

07. Lorde feat. Run the Jewels: ‘Supercut (El-P Remix)’

In a Nutshell:
A completely different beast from the uptempo original, the creeping, skin-crawling creature that is El-P’s take on Supercut is part predator, part scavenger and all RTJ muthafuckin’ masterpiece.

What to find out more? Read the full review of Supercut by Lorde and Run The Jewels in E09.

***

06. Sarah Shook and the Disarmers: ‘Good as Gold’

In a Nutshell:
Sing-along, feel-good vibes from ‘country-punks’ Sarah Shook and the Disarmers, Good as Gold is the perfect soundtrack to kicking off your weekend or, if you prefer, kicking your partner out the house.

What to find out more? Read the full review of Good as Gold by Sarah Shook and the Disarmers in E06.

***

05. FINNEAS: ‘Break My Heart Again’

In a Nutshell:
They say the definition of insanity is doing the same thing and expecting different results. I think it’s anyone who doesn’t appreciate how lovely and sad and amazing Break My Heart Again is.

What to find out more? Read the full review of Break My Heart Again by FINNEAS in E05.

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04. Jeremy Dutcher: ‘Pomok Naka Poktoinskwes’

In a Nutshell:
Pomok Naka Poktoinskwes leaves me literally breathless at its conclusion, such is its sheer power. The song’s message, though communicated in a near-extinct language, comes through absolutely crystal-clear.

What to find out more? Read the full review of Pomok Naka Poktoinskwes by Jeremy Dutcher in E10.

***

03. Sevdaliza: ‘Soul Syncable’

In a Nutshell:
Soul Syncable combines Bjork and Portishead-influenced production with melodies from Sevdaliza’s Iranian background to both imposing and innovative effect.

What to find out more? Read the full review of Soul Syncable by Sevdaliza in E03.

***

02. Dessa: ‘Fire Drills’

In a Nutshell:
Fire Drills is a call-to-arms for female empowerment set against an aurally stunning, Kashmir-sized backdrop of koras, strings and hip-hop beats.

What to find out more? Read the full review of Fire Drills by Dessa in E07.

***

01. AIR CREDITS: ‘SAFE ROOM’

In a Nutshell:
And so to our winner; 45rpm’s no. 1 track reviewed in Q1 of 2018 – SAFE ROOM by AIR CREDITS.

It’s hard to communicate succinctly, the sort of paranoia such a seemingly sedate track gives me. It’s a paranoia I both fear for its paralysing effects and embrace because I know it’s borne of love.

Ultimately, though, this track – like Dessa’s and Jeremy Dutcher’s, above – feel like they are communicating a message that is about far more than just music, and that’s what makes them truely noisy… even though they’re all quiet.

What to find out more? Read the full review of SAFE ROOM by AIR CREDITS in E04.

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The Outro:
And so we reach a cease-fire for this week. Click here to listen to the 45 RPM Spotify Playlist in full.

If you like what you hear (or even if you don’t), feel free to engage in dialogue with me @45rpmPodcasts on Twitter.

Next week, normal service is resumed when I’ll be returning with five more selections for your consideration. Until then, thank you for coming and go in peace.