Although the first four months of 2005 have been littered with great releases, there are still enough songs from 2004 to chew over. Here’s a couple of my favorite house tracks of last year, ranging from twisted to irresistible.

Caro- My Little Pony

Released and covered in the Rubber Room a couple months ago, Caro’s “My Little Pony” is a delicious transformation of a kid’s plastic toy into a slick and twisted seduction with lyrics like “I love the way you shake your tail.” While the gallops gleefully play the song off as a novelty track, it’s quickly apparent it’s more than it. The slinky bassline, funky square synths, and cowbell breakdown ensure that the song is not merely a “one-trick pony,” but at very least, a damn enticing one.

[visit a website here, buy it here]

James T. Cotton- That’s How I Like It (Illusions)

Psychedelic, if only for lack of better description, “That’s How I Like It” features a barrage of aqueous pressure, excruciating bird chirps (ala Hitchcock’s Blackmail), unrelenting handclaps and, a vaguely prurient, as well as probably demented, male voice. Not only content to wreck the momentum of “That’s How I Like It”’s italo-disco instrumentation (the arpeggio-ed keyboard line and handclaps), there’s an undeniable sense of weight throughout the track. Contorting house’s hedonism into its darkest recesses, James T. Cotton (Tadd Mullinix) makes the body into an abject monster.

[visit a website here, buy it here]

Moodymann- Shades of Jae

Off of Moodymann’s compilation of singles, Black Mahogani, “Shades of Jae” slowly tempts, using Bob James’ “Spunky” as the propulsion for the song. The jazz-inflected Rhodes, clipped shouts and healthy doses of background cheers instantly create an inhabitable space. But by the 4 minute mark, the song’s bass-beat kicks in and remakes “Shades of Jae” as not merely catchy, but also as a song that begs for a collision with the dance-floor.

[visit a website here, buy it here]