Haley Blais

If there was an Olympic gold medal for best upbeat, sad indie pop song this year, it would go to Haley Blais for "Small Foreign Faction." "I never wanted anything and I never got it," Blais croons lightly over guitar and keys, as the song builds in both emotional and musical intensity. But her mellow facade breaks loose toward the end, the vocal harmonies brilliantly upstaging the rest of the elements, allowing the emotion to take over. "Nothing like a chain reaction and sadly I don't know how to start it," Blais belts, the guitars distorting around her words.  But that's exactly what this song is, as I'm already about to start it over again. For the fourth time.