Halftime Report: My 15 favorite songs of 2013 thus far

7. “After You,” Pulp feat. James Murphy

Pulp is no My Bloody Valentine, but the Britpop band hasn’t released much in the way of new material since 2001. Teaming up with the former mastermind behind LCD Soundsystem was probably a good way to get things rolling, even if it’s just a one-and-done single with a neo-disco beat—which is evidently a trend in 2013.

6. “Hey Tonight,” Free Energy

This Philly band is about 1/4 sleazy ’70s rock riffs, 1/4 cowbell, 1/4 handclaps and 1/4 hormones. Nothing on the group’s sophomore effort quite matches the awesomeness that is “Bang Pop,” but this tune is an exuberant ode to the practice of trying to guilt someone into spending the night.

5. “Where Are We Now?,” David Bowie

I am loving Bowie’s new album. This slow, plaintive, cryptic, contemplative ballad—full of references to locations in Berlin and a sense of the inevitable march of time—was a strange choice for The Next Day’s first single. By contrast, the rest of the album is a pretty rockin’ affair. This one probably won’t be my most-listened track by the time December rolls around, but for now, it’s oddly bewitching.

4. “Complicated Creation,” Cloud Cult

No other band I can think of is more deserving of wider recognition than this artsy, earthy Minnesota collective that makes big, rousing, inspirational anthems. The band’s ninth studio album is all about how to overcome the negative thoughts inside your own head and live life as a positive person…which would be pretty hippie-dippy, touchy-feely stuff were it not backed by some surprisingly muscular music. As usual, it’s a mix of intimate folk-rock, eerie electronica and carefully arranged orchestral pop. It’s a complicated balancing act, but so is life. “Some days you give thanks, some days you give the finger,” songwriter Craig Minowa concludes at the end of this somewhat hyperactive track. More…

3. “Inahler,” Foals

If I’d had known that “math rock from Oxford” could kick this much ass, I’d have started listening to this English band a long time ago. Granted, what I like about this tune probably aren’t the math-rock aspects—the complicated, rhythmic guitar patterns—but that raging, metal-ish riff that kicks in at the end of each chorus. YEAH! MATH METAL!!!

Foals is performing Aug. 11 at the Outside Lands Music and Arts Festival in San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park. [tickets]

2. “Hearts and Minds,” Son Volt

Compared to the direction Jeff Tweedy has taken Wilco in, fellow Uncle Tupelo vet Jay Farrar has stayed truer to his alt-country roots. But this is a throwback to the Son Volt’s rootsy debut: an acoustic waltz featuring double fiddle and, as always, Farrar’s earnest voice. More…

[mp3 available in exchange for an email address at sonvolt.net

Son Volt is playing July 30 at The Fillmore in San Francisco. [tickets]

1. “Nanobots,” They Might Be Giants

Twelve-year-old me is thrilled that these guys are No. 1, and that 34-year-old me can still fall in love with a nerdy pop song about killer microscopic robots. Reportedly, it’s an allegory about how children eventually grow beyond their parents’ control, so there’s something for us adults to relate to here, too. More…

They Might Be Giants is performing Oct. 27 at the Rio Theatre in Santa Cruz. [tickets]