​30 Best songs of 2014, part II

The Growlers, “Going Gets Tough”

The Growlers must be taking in a lot of Jimmy Cliff lately. The standout of their album “Chinese Fountain” finds the beach goth goons channeling that same sunshiney optimism with this rocksteady-reminiscent gem.

Hiss Golden Messenger, “Saturday’s Song”

Understated and breezy, M.C. Taylor’s ode to the weekend matches the peaceful, easy feeling of a hard-earned day’s rest. Complete with whistle-clean guitar lines from Merge labelmate and phenom William Tyler, the song recalls the laidback feel of Clapton’s “461 Ocean Blvd.,” though the looming of the coming Sunday morning paints the song with a smattering of soft drear.

Woods, “Moving to the Left”

Woods’ biggest sonic move forward from its lo-fi freak folk origins signals a modernization, though the band isn’t too quick to shed its Byrdsian influences, and for good reason. The chiming guitar jangles, watery, vibed-out vocals and swampy wah-wah quacks still hold some of that old flower power.

St. Vincent, “Digital Witness”

Marked by the same syncopated funk of her collaboration with Talking Heads’ David Byrne, Annie Clark’s manifesto of the Selfie Era is razor sharp. Lambasting the “look at me” culture, each murmured Valley Girl “yaah” is a barb.

Chet Faker, “Talk is Cheap”

Rising above what could have been a career defined solely by a fluky Digable Planets cover, Chet Faker, the nom de band of Aussie Nick Murphy, asserts more than just his staying power with one of the sexiest tunes of the year. With all of the key ingredients (a distant, cloying saxophone, suave electric keys and a head-heaving backbeat), Murphy constructs a slow jam that’ll last all night, if not all year, long.

Flying Lotus ft. Kendrick Lamar, “Never Catch Me”

The chameleonic producer enlists everybody’s favorite rapper for the beacon of his heavily jazz-inflected concept album. Simultaneously anxious and coolly contained, and topped off with an eye-popping solo from bassist and confidant Thundercat, “Never Catch Me” is as serpentine as the title suggests.

First Aid Kit, “Stay Gold”

For their move up to the big leagues, the Swedish duo takes their signature fluttering harmonies to orchestral heights with this heartstring-tugging plea for just a little constancy.

Alvvays, “Adult Diversion”

Endeared with a mid-fi scrappiness, the garage poppers set themselves far apart from their peers with subtly sophisticated guitar lines and an innocence that’s only half feigned.

Bahamas, “All the Time”

Taking a break from his soft-as-can-be crooning, Afie Jurvanen, under his misleadingly tropical Bahamas moniker, cranks up the gain for one of his beefiest songs to date. Jurvanen isn’t afraid to show a little fretboard flash, as waves of distorted guitars crest and crash around his aggressive solo leads.

Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings, “Stranger to My Happiness”

Shining up the same pomp that propelled “Dancing in the Street” a half-century ago, the 21st Century soul sister delivers more of the immaculate retro-soul that she and her label, Daptone, have masterfully honed over the last decade.

Kendrick Lamar, “i”

Lamar’s 2014 output has been sparse, to say the least, but his message of self-love (no, not that kind) is strong enough to let that slide. Set to a retooled version of the Isley Brothers’ Swiffer-selling funk gem “That Lady,” the egoist anthem rides high on good vibes.

Hurray for the Riff Raff, “The Body Electric”

Alynda Lee’s update on the classic American murder ballad makes riverside killings seem awfully enticing.

Damien Jurado, “Silver Timothy”

Accented by Latin percussion, the Seattle singer-songwriter jams himself down the rabbit hole with this heady number, letting it fizzle and trip over itself.

James Vincent McMorrow, “Cavalier”

Flicking the switch on the airy folk on which his name was built, McMorrow reintroduced himself as a post-everything electro-R&B cooer early this year. With his glassy falsetto, McMorrow flits through the vacant space, giving way to a horn-heavy deluge.

St. Paul & The Broken Bones, “Call Me”

Why Otis Redding decided to resurface in the body of a husky Alabaman pastor, we’ll never know. Don’t question it; just ease back and enjoy some of the best soul shouting since Muscle Shoals boarded up.