14. Alvvays - “Dreams Tonite”

Certain songs are immediately infectious, almost as if the artists plucked them from the ether of our shared human consciousness and simply birthed them into existence. Now some might call such a sensation “Pop” music, and I might be inclined to agree. However, I like to think that Pop music is simply a simulacrum of this sensation. Pop music tries to capture and in a sense copy this intrinsic resonance, but in the end it is just that – a copy, a an expensive farce accomplished by market research and deep pockets.

This song is different (and I understand that I have a bevy of biases at play here, but I’m going to go ahead and ignore them for the sake of romanticism). It’s more organic than Pop – more human and innocent. It doesn’t feel contrived or forced, but rather as if the beauty that usually only remains trapped and confined within the privacy of one’s soul suddenly found a way to burst free and populate the air like a warm summer’s breeze. It’s comforting and nostalgic all at once. It hearkens back to the feeling of one’s first crush or first real love. Universal and yet evanescent by nature – forever with us and forever out of our reach.