The last song of the album - an art in itself. It's the one the artists have carefully chosen so that you, the listener, will complete your listening experience with their desired, and hopefully indelible, last impression. Well, not all artists, but some do, and we have picked some of those songs. 31 album-closing songs that we love, without any ranking, just with a few words about how they made us feel.
(As posted for the #AlbumClosingSongs Twitter challenge which ran throughout January 2023.)
I think it's only fair to kick off 2023 with my favourite song of 2022. I never rated the live versions as highly, but they tweaked it to top-Radiohead-level perfection. And what's more, its lyrics also resonate a lot.
2. Dungen - "Sluta Följa Efter" (Ta Det Lugnt, 2004)
I had immense difficulty deciding which of my favourite Swedes' 2 fantastic album closers to pick. Went with this thick, melodic rocker - a fitting way to end this epic album.
3. Puressence - "India" (Puressence, 1996)
20-year-old me fell head over heels with this album back in the day. Those melting guitars around James Mudriczki's soaring vocals still sound so good to my 46-year-old self.
4. Portishead - "Glory Box" (Dummy, 1994)
It's Beth Gibbons' birthday today and this is the first song of hers I heard, as I imagine is the case for many. It was enough to make me fall in love with her voice and also an iconic closer to a classic.
5. dEUS - "Dream Sequence #1" (The Ideal Crash, 1999)
This starts quietly but gradually builds up to a perfectly balanced summary of everything that's great about the beloved Belgians - the ideal closer to (IMHO) their best album.
6. Low - "In Metal" (Things We Lost in the Fire, 2001)
I only grasped the full meaning of this song after having my sons and, added to the fact that it's just so beautiful, it became a huge song for me. It's still hard to believe she's gone.
7. PJ Harvey - "The Mountain" (White Chalk, 2007)
It was going to be between this and "The Dancer", but in the end, I went for the album I love more and this stunning, harrowing piece of magic by Peej. Hair-raising stuff.
8. David Bowie - "Lady Grinning Soul" (Aladdin Sane, 1973)
In honour of what would have been the legend's 76th birthday, I picked the song that probably got me into him, a song that really stops me on my tracks every time I listen to it.
9. Grandaddy - "So You'll Aim Towards the Sky" (The Sophtware Slump, 2000)
Some albums happen to have amazing opening AND closing tracks, and this is one of them. This woozy, spiralling beauty is a fitting, spectacular end to it.
10. White Hinterland - "Magnolias" (Kairos, 2010)
I posted this again for #5albums10 as it was one of my favourite songs of that year. A chillingly beautiful closer with gorgeous guitars and a fantastic change midway through.
11. The Irrepressibles - "In This Shirt" (Mirror Mirror, 2010)
Another huge favourite from 2010, it starts from a whisper and gains intensity until the strings and Jamie's immense voice lift it to heaven.
12. Spoon - "Chicago At Night" (Girls Can Tell, 2001)
The first Spoon song I ever heard, this was a favourite during a very important year in my life and takes me back instantly. So understatedly catchy, it stays in my head for days.
13. Appliance - "Pacifica" (Manual, 1999)
This Exeter band's sound was described as post-rock, but their debut closer also showed some Sonic Youth influences, resulting in this robust, driving song that I always keep coming back to.
14. The Beatles - "A Day in the Life" (Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band, 1967)
I don't think I need to say anything more about this song. 55 years after its release yet it still sounds cutting-edge. Just masters at work.
15. Raphel Saadiq - "The Answer" (Stone Rollin', 2011)
Apart from producing numerous hit albums, Saadiq has released some really good modern soul records and this is my favourite song of his. Really beautiful and timeless.
That's an epic way to end an album as seminal as this. That maelstrom of guitars you can just swim in, that backbone, that disorientating feeling. Marvellous.
17. The Chemical Brothers - "The Private Psychedelic Reel" (Dig Your Own Hole, 1997)
Ending a masterpiece of an album with a 9-minute epic? Why not. Euphoric, sprawling, you never want it to end, and it takes its sweet time.
An impossibly self-assured way to end a debut album but, let's face it, Bjork knew exactly what she was doing from Day 1. Those strings & beats erupt and come at you like lava trickling down a volcano.
19. Scott Walker - "Rhymes of Goodbye" (Scott 4, 1969)
One can safely say that Scott Walker was on a roll in the late '60s, releasing album after album of majestic songs, such as the gorgeous Scott 4 closer.
20. Jeff Buckley - "Dream Brother" (Grace, 1994)
From one legendary voice to another. Jeff Buckley only left us one album but made sure it was a masterpiece. There's an eastern-tinged atmosphere to this song and a last line that will forever sound haunting.
My favourite Beach House mode is dark and romantic, and this is very much in that mode. The irresistible closer to their best 2015 album was love at first listen.
Wild Beasts always sounded musically wise beyond their years, and in this fantastic closer that maturity extends to the universal theme of the title, every word hitting home.
Clinic didn't do melodic often but when they did it was really good, such as in this brilliant song that ended their 2nd album, nicely contrasting their intense and neurotic sound.
24. Ride - "Vapour Trail" (Nowhere)
It's been chosen by pretty much everyone else already, for a reason - it's an incredible song and would be my favourite of theirs if "Unfamiliar" didn't exist. When the drums come in, it's just blissful.
25. Roots Manuva - "Dreamy Days" (Run Come Save Me, 2001)
This is one of my fave 2001 songs but I hadn't realised it was the closing track of Roots Manuva's breakthrough album until someone pointed it out. That sample is genius.
26. Atoms For Peace - "Amok" (Amok, 2013)
This is my least favourite Thom Yorke project but, this being him, it still has 2 amazing songs. This starts out sparse but then 3 different vocal lines gradually blend together in a dizzying, beautiful crescendo.
The whole thing sounds a bit like advancing into a sea, calm and idyllic at first and then waves of feedback and noise coming at you, growing rougher as you go. Just pure SY.
28. Tindersticks - "The Not Knowing" (Tindersticks, 1993)
Just a clarinet (I think), a violin and Stuart Staples' voice. They didn't need anything else to make your spine tingle.
Bradford Cox makes an epic tribute to his late friend by blurring the lines between his two bands - it's probably the most Atlas Sound Deerhunter have sounded.
I don't think I've seen this absolute classic mentioned, which is strange, but still... Ending your debut with such a bang can only mean greatness awaits. And it did.
31. Radiohead - "Street Spirit" (The Bends, 1995)
Like I did in previous monthly challenges, I'm closing this one with my favourite band, and they do know how to close albums! Between 7 amazing closers, I just went with the one that made me love them.
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