Whether you're one for catchy beats and unstoppable ear worms, gritty electro-pop tunes, synth-rock numbers or a more mellow and soulful sound, you're likely to have found something to satisfy your needs within the Canadian music scene this year.
Even though the likes of Justin Bieber's "Boyfriend," Carly Rae Jepson's "Call Me Maybe" and Drake's "Take Care" snagged most of the major headlines, chart positions and the occasional award nom, other Canucks like Grimes, Neil Young and Metric pumped out stellar must-hear tunes away from the direct shine of the spotlight.
Check out the slideshow below for Spinner's Best Canadian Songs of 2012:
Best Canadian Songs Of 2012
10. Patrick Watson, "Lighthouse"(01 of10)
Delicate and mildly eccentric pianist Patrick Watson has built his reputation on gauzy, beautiful and slightly cracked compositions, and "Lighthouse" from his Adventures in Your Own Backyard album is probably the most perfect realization of this. There's a cinematic, magical realist tone to Watson and his band guiding us through the dark of night on a search for a lighthouse in the woods. You'll know when they find it. That's when the trumpets, strings and drums blind you with their light. — Aaron Brophy (credit:Flickr:villunderlondon)
9. A Tribe Called Red "Look At This"(02 of10)
A Tribe Called Red's story is worth merit on its own -- the Native Canadian DJ trio has matched traditional powwow drumming and chants with various EDM sub-genres to create some new and unique. None of which would matter it the experiment sucked — but it doesn't and "Look At This" best exemplifies Tribe's signature sound. Though they're connected to the Mad Decent crew, this isn't something trendy for hipster idiots walking around Coachella in headdresses. What Tribe are doing is tapping into a thousand years worth of primal beatmaking and the resulting music is something worthy of that heritage. — Aaron Brophy (credit:Flickr:John Paillé)
8. The Weeknd "The Fall"(03 of10)
In 2011, Abel Tesfaye announced himself as one of the era's most exciting artists via three online mixtapes, capped off with the late-December release of Echoes Of Silence, which included this typically dark-hued rumination on his sudden success. Like an avant-R&B Icarus, The Weeknd's voice soars high, dodging dubby handclaps and druggy sonics as he tries to prepare himself for the inevitable collapse. Oh, and even if his narrator sounds unreliable, claiming "I ain't scared of the fall," Abel won't be facing it anytime soon considering his major-label re-release Trilogy went Top Five despite having already been doled out for free. — Joshua Ostroff (credit:Alamy)
7. Neil Young "Walk Like A Giant"(04 of10)
While much of Neil Young and Crazy Horse's Psychedelic Pill album is made up of simple jams designed to please the wake 'n' bake crowd, the 16-plus minute confessional "Walk Like A Giant" is much more. Outwardly disguised as yet another Neil guitar epic, he uses the song to evaluate the hippie dream and his contribution to it. The uncomfortable conclusion that Young comes to — as the song slowly fades out with four minutes of noisy globs — is that he hasn't done nearly as much for the world as he'd hoped. — Aaron Brophy (credit:AP)
6. D-Sisive "When We Die Together"(05 of10)
Rap's mope king D-Sisive has capped his appropriately cult-worshipped Jonestown album trilogy with "When We Die We Die Together," which might be his most moving song in a discography full of them. This narrative tale of helpless children and lonely widows subverts the uplifting la-la-las found in Of Monsters and Men's "From Finner" and uses them to create the ultimate lost-hope singalong. D-Sisive lays it out plain — it sucks for all of us — but for four and a half minutes we can at least share each other's pain. — Aaron Brophy (credit:Flickr:thecomeupshow)
5. deadmau5 "the veldt"(06 of10)
Deadmau5 has often been accused of phoning it in, something he's encouraged with his just-press-play interviews and >album title goes here< album titles. The Ray Bradbury-inspired single could best be described as livestreaming it in — he broadcasted the 22-hour creation of "The Vedlt" online and then found its vocalist/lyricist Chris James on Twitter. More pop structured than his usual EDM dancefloor jams, "The Veldt" is an ambient number held aloft on a bed of late-'90s trance synths to deliver an unexpected emotional payload. It must've launched countless e-puddles this year. — Joshua Ostroff (credit:Alamy)
4. Metric "Dreams So Real"(07 of10)
Metric are known for either soaring electro-pop, stadium rock or a combination thereof — which is why Synthetica centerpiece "Dreams So Real" stands out so starkly. Riding a distorted modulating synth line, Emily Haines reveals a rare vulnerability, questioning her achievements this far: "Thought I made a stand," she sings, sadly. "Only made a scene." But then Jimmy Shaw's guitar chimes out and you realize that her worry that "the scream becomes a yawn" is unfounded. Her scream became a whisper, one that simply pulled us in closer to hear. — Joshua Ostroff (credit:Alamy)
3. Carly Rae Jepsen "Call Me Maybe"(08 of10)
When people defend pop as a genre, this is a masterclass in why. The failed "Canadian Idol" contestant certainly benefited from boarding the Bieber express, but Jepsen's already-released, pretty-much-perfect song was what got her the ticket — and it won Team Biebs over the same way it won over the rest of us. Its cotton-candy lightness is given substance with violin stabs, subtle beats and an all-time-classic hook, earworming its way onto the playlists of every archetypal "Breakfast Club" clique, even the too-cool Judd Nelson one. — Joshua Ostroff (credit:AP)
2. Rufus Wainwright, "Out Of The Game"(09 of10)
Rufus spent several years delving ever deeper into the first half of his baroque-pop one-man-genre, but on this title track he finally gets back to the pop part. This is not to say that you'll be confusing Wainwright with Rihanna — in fact, tsk-tsk lyrics like, "does your mama know what you're doing?" could very well be referencing pop's current queens. But producer Mark Ronson, well-schooled in working with retro-infused artists, imposes a pop structure upon Rufus that, ironically, makes him feel perfectly contemporary. — Joshua Ostroff (credit:Alamy)
1. Grimes "Oblivion"(10 of10)
"Oblivion" is one of those songs with lyrics completely removed from the music itself. Montreal avant-pop auteur Grimes' vocal chirps are a perfect match for the bubbly electro beats. That is, until you realize that she's chirping about breaking your neck (or perhaps having her own broken) and that the beats are way weirder than you first realized. Though the guerilla video of her dancing at a football game helped the song go viral, "Oblivion" was simply the purest distillation of her ability to turn some of the year's strangest music into some of its most accessible. — Joshua Ostroff (credit:Getty Images)