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This week’s show celebrates our top 32 tracks of 2018. So music with guitars is dead? We beg to differ – any one of these songs could have made our top 10 in another year; there was just SO much good music to choose from and I’m only sorry for the ones we left behind. So in reverse order:

32. Manic Street Preachers – International Blue

Lead single from the Welsh veterans’ 13th album Resistance Is Futile, which came out in April. An almost-certain number 1 single if the charts still had proper pop songs in them. Great performance at the RiZE festival in August – the first time I had seen them live in about 15 years. @manics

31. Gwenno – Tir Ha Mor

Ex-Pipette Gwenno Saunders followed up her excellent 2014 Welsh language album Y Dydd Olaf with Le Kov, an offering sung entirely in Cornish. This ethereal track was possibly the first Cornish-language song to get mainstream BBC TV airplay (on Jools Holland) and definitely the first to get regular airplay on Phoenix FM! @gwennosaunders

30. Daniel Whitehouse – Rattlebrain

Moody atmospheric indie from Sheffield singer/songwriter Daniel Whitehouse, released back in May. @danwhitehouse4

29. Queen Zee – Hunger Pains

An amazing live band from Liverpool who conjure up the spirit of early Manics or the much-missed King Adora (and I’m not just saying that because of any King/Queen connection). This is an advance single from their self-titled debut album due for release in February. @QueenZeeUK

28. Shame – The Lick

Hard to pick a single from the band’s excellent debut Songs Of Praise but this track has the perfect mix of pretentiousness and quality music for me. The rest of the album is considerably much more unpretentious and just as good for it. @shamebanduk

27. Whenyoung – Heaven On Earth

Limerick trio who I had the pleasure to interview at Latitude this summer. This track is from the band’s debut EP Given Up which came out in November. @whenyoungband

26. Franz Ferdinand – Glimpse Of Love (version)

This track is a new version of a song taken from the band’s discotastic recent album Always Ascending, which came out in February reaching no 6 in the UK album charts. @Franz_Ferdinand

25. Richard Ashcroft – Surprised By The Joy

Must put my hands up and say that The Verve really passed me by in the 90s – I was listening to too many other bands at that time (we were all spoiled for choice, weren’t we). However I’m loving his current album Natural Rebel and – having gone into the charts here at no 4 – lots of other people clearly are too. @RichardAshcroft

24. Gruff Rhys – Limited Edition Heart

I’ve been a bit late discovering Gruff’s solo stuff which is odd because I loved so many Super Furry Animals records – but this track, from his album Babelsburg which came out in June, is a real thing of beauty. @gruffingtonpost

23. Teleman – Cactus

The band’s new album Family Of Aliens, released in September, was a real breath of fresh air and this slab of electronic goodness was my favourite piece of it. @teleman

22. Public Service Broadcasting – White Star Liner

A busy year of gigs, festivals and more festivals but Public Service Broadcasting still managed to squeeze out this track, part of a four track EP which was debuted during their Titanic themed show in Belfast earlier this year. @PSB_HQ

21. Beach Riot – Good To Know (That I’m Still On Your Mind)

This Brighton band was a late discovery for me this year – a great fuzzy pop song (drenched in fuzz!) which appears on their debut EP which came out earlier this month. @wearebeachriot

20. Danny Goffey – Ancient Text

A single from the Supergrass drummer’s second solo album Schtick which came out in May. @DannyGoffey ‏

19. Honey Lung – Export The Family

Another brand new band for me this year – great single from the fuzzed up London four-piece, released in November. @honeylungband

18. Confidence Man – Better Sit Down Boy

Proper mid-2000s electroclash (do people still use that word or is it just me?) from the Melbourne duo who put on a, erm, very confident set at Standon Calling this year. You should definitely catch them live if you can. @confidencemanTM ‏

17. Boy Azooga – Jerry

A lot of people loved this band, winners of the Welsh Music Prize with 1-2-Kung Fu, but while most plumped for Loner Boogie I went for a more poignant track. @boy_azooga

16. They Might Be Giants – The Communists Have The Music

The Brooklyn duo continue to release a billion songs a year on their Dial A Song service and this one was my favourite – the single is also available on streaming services, although new album My Murdered Remains won’t be. @TMBG

15. The Good, The Bad And The Queen – Merrie Land

The title track from the Blur/Clash/Verve supergroup’s long-awaited second album of the same name which came out in November. One-third Damon’s “odd” lyrics, one-third Clash basslines, one-third creepy fairground music. @GoodBadQueen

14. Gaz Coombes – Deep Pockets

A single taken from World’s Strongest Man, Gaz’s 3rd solo album due which was released in May, debuting at no 12 in the UK album charts. @GazGoombes

13. Death Cab For Cutie – Northern Lights

A track taken from Thank You For Today, the band’s ninth studio album which was released in August. Not to be confused with Derby County FC. @DCFC

12. Grace Vonderkuhn – Worry

Singer/songwriter from Wilmington, Delaware. This brilliant grungy track came from her debut album Reveries which was released in February. @GraceVonderkuhn

11. Dream Wife – Hey Heartbreaker

Anglo-Icelandic trio who have been growing in stature this year, not least by counting the number of times the Dave TV channel uses their music for trailers! Debut album Dream Wife came out in January and this track was one of a number of singles released from it. @DreamWifeMusic

10. Gurr feat Eddie Argos – Christmas Holiday

What madness is this? Christmas songs aren’t meant to go into best-ofs, are they? This offering from Berlin duo Gurr with Eddie Argos on guest vocals came out this month and for me is up there with the rest of the Christmas classics. @gurrband @eddieargos

9. Idles – Danny Nedelko

From the band’s fantastic second album Joy As An Act Of Resistance which came out in August reaching the heady heights of no 5 in the UK album charts. I caught them at Latitude and also this year at an amazing live performance at Chinnery’s in Southend too back in April – unlikely we’ll be seeing the band play venues as small as that again. @idlesband

8. Salad Undressed – Evergreen

Salad returned to our record shops this year in the guise of Salad Undressed, a semi-acoustic offering from Marijne, Paul and Donald with a brand new album of songs, Good Love Bad Love. This was the standout track. @salad_band

7. Sleeper – Look At You Now

After a couple of years of gig-comebacking, a first new single in 22 years from Sleeper and a great indication of what’s to come from The Modern Age, their new album out next year. Amazing production from Stephen Street too. I’ve caught them a few times since they started touring again 18 months ago – and was lucky to be front and centre for their recent BBC Maida Vale session too. @Sleepertweeting

6. Art Brut – Wham! Bang! Pow! Let’s Rock Out!

It’s really wrong for me to say I was surprised by the quality of Art Brut’s new album – their first in seven years – but I was certainly delighted that they delivered more of the same great humour, with added brass this time too. And while I don’t quite party like Eddie Argos any more, the title track is probably a good indication of what I’d do if I did. @Art_Brut_

5. Metric – Holding Out

Without much fanfare Metric still seem to pump up one indie anthem after another, and this is their best in recent years. I’m still crushing on Emily Haines after I interviewed her at Reading back in 2009, full of beans while swigging champagne out of a great big bottle while everyone else around her was drinking sponsored “energy” drinks! @Metric

4. Johnny Marr – Spiral Cities

I always make myself very unpopular when I talk about my meh-ness for the Smiths, who really did say nothing to me about my life when I was a teenager. However I’ve always been a fan of the post-80s music of Mr Marr and his current album, Call The Comet, shows he’s getting better and better as time goes on. Was an extremely lovely guy when I unexpectedly interviewed him with the Cribs back in 2010 too! @Johnny_Marr

3. Piroshka – Everlastingly Yours

Lush’s Miki Berenyi back with a new band and a new album, Brickbat, to be released in February on Bella Union. I love Lush but this first track has the masterstroke of less shoegaze, more strings and brass, and it’s a real slab of gorgeousness. @Piroshkaband

2. Courtney Barnett – Charity

A track taken from her second album Tell Me How You Really Feel which was released in May, reaching no 9 in the UK album charts. Just an easy feelgood track which is a joy to listen to. @CourtneyMelba

Salad at the Islington Academy 2, November 2018

1. Salad – The Selfishness of Love

Having already featured a track from the acoustic version of the band, I’ve plumped for a full on electric track for my track of the year – their first new single as a full band for 21 years, released in November. And I’m unashamedly putting two Salad tracks in my top 10, because they’re just such different offerings.

Always lumped in with Britpop although frankly sounding nothing like Oasis or Ocean Colour Scene, Salad produced two wonderfully spiky albums in the 1990s and if this single is anything to go by, new album The Salad Way (due in early 2019) will be more of the same. @Salad_band

And here’s the order we played them in on the show!

Salad – The Selfishness of Love
Courtney Barnett – Charity
Piroshka – Everlastingly Yours
Johnny Marr – Spiral Cities
Metric – Holding Out
Art Brut – Wham! Bang! Pow! Let’s Rock Out!
Sleeper – Look At You Now
Idles – Danny Nedelko
Salad Undressed – Evergreen
Gurr feat Eddie Argos – Christmas Holiday
Dream Wife – Hey Heartbreaker
Grace Vonderkuhn – Worry
Death Cab For Cutie – Northern Lights
The Good The Bad And The Queen – Merrie Land
They Might Be Giants – The Communists Have The Music
Confidence Man – Better Sit Down Boy
Danny Goffey – Ancient Text
Beach Riot – Good To Know (That I’m Still On Your Mind)
Public Service Broadcasting – White Star Liner
Gaz Coombes – Deep Pockets
Teleman – Cactus
Gruff Rhys – Limited Edition Heart
Richard Ashcroft – Surprised By The Joy
Franz Ferdinand – Glimpse Of Love (version)
Whenyoung – Heaven On Earth
Shame – The Lick
Queen Zee – Hunger Pains
Daniel Whitehouse – Rattlebrain
Boy Azooga – Jerry
Gwenno – Tir Ha Mor
Manic Street Preachers – International Blue
Honey Lung – Export The Family