We begin our annual autopsy of the Sound of 2015 with some London lads influenced by Aaliyah and synthpop and their frontman’s tenure as Jakob on Skins. Hey, it worked for Fucking Drake…

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[5.56]

Scott Mildenhall: There are many ways into the UK pop scene: go to private school, go to BRIT School, have cult actors from soaps as your parents; neglect to mention any of these things. Years & Years frontman Olly Alexander satisfies none of them, but again, this is by no means a closed shop — a purely serendipitous appearance on a Magician top 10 hit is one thing that will be spoken about, an ongoing acting career less so, talk of which actively suppressed for reasons elusive. Getting on the Sound Of list is often one of the worst things you can do, but — and over 100 words in this is where the music gets a look-in — Years & Years actually sound like they might have appeal outside of Fearne Cotton’s head. Off-kilter electropop with appearances of indie could give them not only a key to the door, but a working one. “Desire” is distinctive and catchy, the sound of a band who like choruses, and that is a good start. On the downside its own isn’t the strongest. This doesn’t sound like The Big Single, and hopefully it’s not.
[6]

Will Adams: I was wondering what Daniel Bedingfield had been up to!
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Alfred Soto: By the sound of this British trio they think they’re too good to transform into One Direction, so they include enough distorted vocals and echo to persuade people of the continuing viability of Foster the People.
[5]

Megan Harrington: Years & Years err on the side of simplicity — a little plinking marimba, a 4/4 beat, and Olly Alexander crooning the titular lyric ad infinitum. “Desire” is unsophisticated but satisfying; you won’t miss it when it’s gone but you won’t mind it when it’s there, either. 
[6]

Rebecca A. Gowns: Serviceable pop music. More panache than the usual test-marketed single from a label-assembled group, but not enough oomph to leave a mark.
[6]

Katherine St Asaph: I’ll go with “you’re feeling nothing.” I’m certainly not.
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Thomas Inskeep: This year’s Bastille; whatever that phrase means to you will determine what you think of “Desire.” I remember when the Klaxons did this kind of thing and it sounded fresh.
[3]

Patrick St. Michel: A pure Red-Bull-vodka song, a house-evoking pop number that holds nothing back and primarily delivers a big ol’ hook. Years & Years manage it well, though, and this is the sort subtlety-shunning number built for drunken club release followed by lusty glances at someone across the floor. A bit too strong outside of that context, but “Desire” knows where it goes down best.
[7]

Daniel Montesinos-Donaghy: Pop house. Marbella, Huaraches, Lads On Tour, all that shit. We’re done here, right?
[3]

Dorian Sinclair: Alright, we’re about to take a look at my ~process~. I have, mm, three axes on which I tend to evaluate music. 1) Is it compositionally interesting? This isn’t, particularly. The production reminds me a bit of Marina & The Diamonds’ “Radioactive”, but Marina’s tapped into an urgency that this needed and failed to achieve. 2) Is it lyrically and/or vocally compelling (if it has vocals)? I dig the echo in the backing vocals, but the lead sounds pinched in his high range and the lyrics really don’t say anything I’ve not heard better-expressed elsewhere. 3) Could I dance to it? I’d dance to this. It wouldn’t get me on the floor if I wasn’t already there, though. Overall, this is adequate but there’s nothing in it to distinguish it from folks who do the same thing better.
[4]

Micha Cavaseno: Apparently British EDM is now threatening to turn into the new school of synthpop. I guess I have to glo up, overlook their cheap, endless reworkings of the same house grooves from the 80s, and look at the bright side. And this song has its bright sides, those synth-vox honks and haws from the sillier end of Cameo or Nu Shooz or the swoop of that angst-riddled chorus as it shoves up. Who knows, we might get to the point where we transcend the easy stuff.
[5]

Madeleine Lee: At its core, “Desire” is human, with finger snaps and claps as percussion and Olly Alexander’s voice left relatively unprocessed, save for some reverb to emphasize the space around him. This is the kind of song that comforts you by being a means to project your own feelings: by saying the words you don’t want to hear your voice say, or allowing you to bypass words entirely and spell them out with the shapes and motions of your body.
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Edward Okulicz: Sound of 2015, but a sound of more or less any time in the last 15 years, usually one-off hits by artists you forget about until you rummage through your old dance compilation CDs bought for a coin each from throw-out bins and smile. Timeless, in other words. I’m intrigued by the weird violence of the lyrics, which suggest that boring love constitutes abuse by neglect. The voice doesn’t make me feel it any more than I think about it, but it’s catchy and functional.
[7]

Josh Winters: There’s something quite liberating about hearing someone yell DESIREEEEE as if the very thing was wavering off the edge of a cliff. The track itself is solid (and a bit safe) Soundcloud pop-house, but Alexander’s unabashed shouts elevate its intended intensity to a higher level.
[8]

Brad Shoup: I like Kitsuné’s dedication to pop, and their roster of artists devoted to the right kind of too-much. So while this cut seems aimed at pop charts but not pop’s spirit, I can imagine that this pipsqueak and his act’s swinging house will end up whipped into a froth on some upcoming compilation.
[5]

Anthony Easton: The tom tom percussion is so solid that the rush seems grounded, and it helps launch that endless deeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeesire. I don’t want to lose anything in this.
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