The Top 100 Local Songs of 2014.

The Misteries Bring The Goods At No. 1.

Just as we have at the end of the last two years, the Central Track staff has once again spent the last week reminiscing and pouring pretty tirelessly over the best locally-tied songs of the year. By now, of course, most folks expect as much from their local culture publications. Unlike in previous years, though, we've decided to do things a little differently in 2014. For one, the influx of notable tunes this year prompted us to double the length of our list — from the Top 50 to the Top 100 local songs of the year. At the same time, we didn't want to overwhelm our readers with a huge list of 100 tracks to take in all once, either. To that end, we're going to roll the thing out in daily chunks, unveiling more songs every weekday through the end of the month. It should serve to make the thing a little easier to digest — and give you time to check out the embedded streams of anything you might have missed throughout the course of the year. Really, though, you should give each of these songs a spin. They all deserve at least that much.

There's a greater than zero chance you've never heard of The Misteries.

That's OK. The local supergroup of sorts played only one show this year. And even when it did, the band was but one of over 40 that performed at The Prophet Bar as part March's third annual Big Folkin' Festival.

Point is, you shouldn't feel too bad if the band flew completely under the radar.

But you're probably more than aware of the band's individual members. Or, more likely, the dozen-or-so local acts with whom they perform. The band is the brainchild of Matt and Dan Mistery (Matt McDonald and Daniel Creamer, respectively), and filled out with a smattering of their Texas Gentlemen bandmates — who also back acts such as Wesley Geiger, Larry g(EE) and Leon Bridges — and Midlake drummer McKenzie Smith, who you might have also seen keeping time for Sarah Jaffe.

To put the bands deep and wide ties to the scene in better perspective, consider the fact that The Misteries was just one of the eight bands that Creamer performed with at the Big Folkin' Fest alone. He also manned the keys for Dovetail, J. Charles & The Trainrobbers, Wesley Geiger, Kirby Brown, Fortune Field, The Texas Gentlemen and Bad Mountain during the fest's two-day run. Unlike the rest of those bands, though, The Misteries see Creamer taking on the frontman role — and rather capably at that.

SEE ALSO:
• THE TOP 50 LOCAL SONGS OF 2013. // The Official Central Track Staff List.
• THE TOP 50 LOCAL SONGS OF 2012. // The Official Central Track Staff List.

And just like this particular version of the band was only seen in public once this year, the outfit only formally released a single song, too. Fortunately for The Misteries, the groovy, throwback-style ode to marijuana that is “Green Man” is straight-up righteous.

Really, there's a lot to like here, from the pop sensibilities of White Album-era Beatles to super slick arrangements and production from local studio wiz Beau Bedford (The Roomsounds, Larry g(EE) and Dovetail). At this point, this unit is as well-oiled a machine as they come, and that certainly comes across on this recording. Look no further than the big musical break that leads into the song's final chunk as evidence of how tight this group of players truly is.

Is the band's neo-psychedelic personification of weed a tad bit goofy? Sure. But it's also a lot bit killer, too. In any case, there's no denying that the band has more than enough chops to make the song, in our estimation, the best local release of the year.

Really, the band's penchant thus far for too-clever-for-their-own-good lyrics and its just-right blend of unquestionable and tasteful musicianship is wholly impressive. In this instance, that skillset finds the group sounding like Randy Newman fronting The Band — which is to say that there's just a je ne sais quoi here that makes the end result rather endearing.

It doesn't hurt that “Green Man” is a massive earworm, too.

It pretty much goes without saying: We're hoping this isn't the last we hear from The Misteries, either on record or on stage. This group's just too good to be one-hitter wonder.

100. Blank-Men — “Mole-Man Therapy”
99. Snow tha Product — “1 Time”
98. Goodnight Ned — “50,000 Years”
97. Pageantry — “Spine”
96. Lou Charle$ — “RiCH KiD$”
95. iill — “Surface Friend”
94. Ghost Image — “The Way”
93. County Lines — “City Between Two Cities”
92. B. Anderson — “Peer Pressure”
91. Wesley Geiger — “As the Crow Flies”
90. Somebody's Darling — “Bad Bad”
89. Radioactivity — “Danger”
88. Bobby Sessions — “Buckle Up”
87. This Will Destroy You — “Invitation”
86. Final Club — “No Regrets (M.U.R.P.H.Y.)”
85. Vincent Neil Emerson — “Hesitation Blues”
84. Lecrae — “Say I Won't”
83. Luke Wade — “The Runaround”
82. Convoy & the Cattlemen — “My Window Faces South”
81. Centro-matic — “Salty Disciple”
80. Bad Mountain — “Union Hill”
79. Dorrough — “Beat Up The Block “
78. The Longshots — “Me or California”
77. The Paychecks — “Prison Bars”
76. Dead Flowers — “I'm Leaving”
75. Birdflower — “Bish at the Beach”
74. Bad Beats — “Floor of Love”
73. Rigor Mortis — “Flesh For Flies”
72. Yung Nation — “Molly on My Chest”
71. Black Milk — “What It's Worth”
70. Fishboy — “Bury My Body”
69. Sugarfoote & Co. — “Long Gone Daddy”
68. Sexual Jeremy — “Square Eyes”
67. Blessin' — “Green Song”
66. Mink Coats — “Another Notch in the Bible Belt”
65. -topic — “Pocket Dialed the Queen”
64. Unconscious Collective — “Kotsoteka”
63. Hot Coffins — “I H8 Black Magic”
62. Cashmir — “Numbers”
61. Fever Dreamer — “A Month of Sunshine”
60. The Fox & the Bird — “No Man's Land”
59. Street Arabs — “Maltese Falcon”
58. Power Trip — “This World (2014)”
57. Zach Witness — “Amen Love”
56. Terrence Spectacle — “Futon”
55. Nighty Nite — “Temporary Custodian”
54. Bethan — “Low Expectations”
53. Baring Teeth — “Mountain”
52. Sealion — “Heavy Fizz”
51. Various Artists — “Dallas vs. Everybody”
50. Bummer Vacation — “Aye Mas Tiempo Que Vida”
49. Moonbather — “Stars From Planes”
48. Kacey Musgraves — “The Trailer Song”
47. Catamaran — “Weekdays”
46. Buffalo Black — “Bad Seed”
45. Mountain of Smoke — “Wise Owl”
44. Chambers — “Inner Room”
43. The Phuss — “Straight Line Impala”
42.Dripping Wet — “Yearbook”
41. Sarah Jaffe — “Defense”
40.” Madison King — “Saved By a Son of a Gun
39. Ish D — “Keep Moving”
38. Wild Party — “Chasin' Honey”
37. Gollay — “Fight or Flight”
36. Blue, the Misfit — “Trillionaire”
35. Old 97's — “Nashville”
34. Party Static — “Poor Baby”
33. TEAM* — “I Like It”
32. Nayah — “Let it Go”
31. Oil Boom — “The Sneak Tip”
30. Spooky Folk — “Disheveled”
29. Parquet Courts — “Instant Disassembly”
28. Blackstone Rangers — “Frozen Echo”
27. Cozy Hawks — “L.A. Girl”
26. Brandon Fxrd — “Everything On Me”
25. Daniel Markham – “Disconnected and Flying”
24. Mystery Skulls — “Magic”
23. Sudie — “Heartattack”
22. Leon Bridges — “Coming Home”
21. Analog Rebellion — “Hot Shit”
20. Eat Avery's Bones — “Proboner”
19. Lily Taylor — “Across the Hills”
18. Booty Fade — “It Goes Down
17. A.Dd+ — “INNISHO”
16. Old 97's — “Let's Get Drunk and Get It On”
15. Howler Jr. — “Oh Dear”
14. Son of Stan — “The Lady That's Around Me”
13. Natural Anthem — “Paranoid”
12. St. Vincent — “Digital Witness”
11. Lord Byron — “Posh”
10. Danny Diamonds — “Hot Summer”
9. The Cannabinoids ft. The Outfit, TX — “Spic & Span”
8. Sealion — “Automobile”
7. Alsace Carcione — “Juke Joint”
6. St. Vincent — “Birth in Reverse”
5. Picnictyme — “Lift Off (feat. Sam Lao)”
4. Seryn — “Disappear”
3. Blue, The Misfit — “All Systems Go”
2. Leon Bridges — “Better Man”
1. The Misteries — “Green Man”