The 30 best Vulfpeck songs of all time

With the release of Vulfpeck’s fifth studio album, The Joy of Music, the Job of Real Estate, it’s time to look back at a newly revised list of the top 30 Vulfpeck songs of all time. The Michigan funk group are still yet to release a bad album (although 2020’s offering came close in some places), and their best songs span all albums and even back into the early minimalist funk days of the EPs between 2011 and 2015.

After much deliberation, the list from 30 to 11 is:

Rank	Song	Album/EP
30	Christmas in L.A.	Thrill of the Arts, 2015
29	3 on E	JOM/JRE, 2020
28	Test Drive (Instrumental)	JOM/JRE, 2020
27	Fugue State	Fugue State, 2014
26	Mr. Finish Line	Mr. Finish Line, 2017
25	Cory Wong	The Beautiful Game, 2016
24	Business Casual	Mr. Finish Line, 2017
23	The Birdwatcher	My First Car, 2013
22	Sky Mall	Fugue State, 2014
21	Barbara	Vollmilch, 2012
20	Tee Time	Mr. Finish Line, 2017
19	1 for 1, DiMaggio	The Beautiful Game, 2016
18	Adrienne & Adrianne	Vollmilch, 2012
17	Welcome to Vulf Records	Thrill of the Arts, 2015
16	The Speedwalker	My First Car, 2013
15	Baby I Don’t Know Oh Oh	Mr. Finish Line, 2017
14	Hero Town	Mr. Finish Line, 2017
13	Daddy, He Got a Tesla	The Beautiful Game, 2016
12	Beastly	Mit Peck, 2011
11	Radio Shack	JOM/JRE, 2020

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10. Disco Ulysses (Instrumental)

from Hill Climber (2020)

Over the years Vulfpeck have gotten into a habit of releasing instrumental takes of songs in the album prior to their release. By being capable of being a song in their own right, these instrumentals often tend to be some of the band’s best – Christmas in L.A. is an arena-worthy fan favourite and the pristine Joe Dart disco basslines on Conscious Club were only made better by Christine Hucal’s wacky vocal performance. One of the more recent instrumentals, Disco Ulysses, features one of Joe’s most lip-smackingly delicious basslines yet, with it’s origins dating back to one of Jack Stratton’s earliest compositions. Joey Dosik is on hand with held disco piano chords whilst Theo Katzman and Cory Wong find two masterfully interlocked guitar grooves, and the result is a work of funk art. In many ways, Disco Ulysses felt like a return to the sound of the first few Vulfpeck EPs, with Joe dealing with basslines so good that they work just fine as the focal point of the whole tune without the need for a sax or melodic guitar, let alone vocals. That said, I’ll admit I was gutted when it was confirmed that a fully vocalised Disco Ulysses wouldn’t make it to 2020’s album. For now Disco Ulysses will have to remain at a nonetheless impressive tenth, but add Antwaun Stanley into the mix and you can expect it to rank even higher.

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9. Funky Duck

from Thrill of the Arts (2015)

It would be just plain disrespectful of me not to find a spot for the Funky Duck in the top ten. It’s a song that’s been delighting fans and newcomers alike for over five years, and – I think it’s safe to say – it’s the funkiest Vulfpeck song in history. Here is Antwaun Stanley in his home territory, belting out absurd descriptions of the titular bird in between outrageous vocal ad libs and a chorus hook to intimidate even the most capable Antwaun-wannabe. The fact that the band members interject with “he’s a funky duck” every bar can transform the song into a chant-like, religious experience when seen live. Jack Stratton, the man likely behind the lyrics of Funky Duck, also seems in his element, often breaking off into monologue mid-song when performing live to elaborate on the duck’s origin story (‘they stuck a tube down is esophagus and he said “I’m too young to die!”‘, Jack informed Madison Square Garden during the breakdown last year). And then there’s the role of Cory Wong, who is known to don a duck mask and run off into the audience mid-song, still playing a guitar riff through a wireless connection and sparking a pantomime search for the ‘funky duck’. It’s equal parts juvenile and hilarious, and shows Vulfpeck at their euphoric, carefree best.

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8. Half of the Way

from Hill Climber (2018)

Half of the Way was the lead (and best) single from the slightly lackluster 2018 album Hill Climber and showed vocalist Theo Katzman at the height of his powers. Written by Scary Pockets guitarist Ryan Lerman (who also happens to have written 15th-placed Baby I Don’t Know Oh Oh), the songwriting on Half of the Way is some of the strongest in years, with some carefully-voiced Katzman harmonies lighting up a joyous chorus. The song has often divided opinion amongst Vulfpeck fans for leaning too heavily towards a Theo-centric pop sound, but for me the lack of a slap bass or endless syncopation was no bother with a chorus so strong.

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7. Dean Town

from The Beautiful Game (2016)

If you haven’t already gathered, sunglass-ed bassist Joe Dart has something of a god-like reputation amongst fans. It is his name that audiences will scream the loudest and its his 3-minute total solos that fans will be begging for long before a concert finishes. Dean Town is the best of what Jack calls the ‘Joe set’ of tunes that put Joe in the front and centre of the performance – namely Daddy, He Got a Tesla, Beastly and Dean Town, all of which rank highly on this list. Like Funky Duck, Dean Town is another song that more than deserves its place in Vulfpeck folklore. Like all the best Vulfpeck songs, Dean Town was written by the band’s enigmatic keyboardist Woody Goss, and the tightly-written keys voicings have Goss’s jazzy fingerprints all over them. Dean Town is a parody of the Weather Report classic Teen Town and Dart’s bassline is as sprawling, ingenious and memorable as Pastorius’ and perhaps more. Despite the inherent inaccessibility of a 32-bar through-composed bassline, Dean Town has stood the test of time as one of the band’s biggest hits, and live recordings are electrified by an eager audience trying their best to sing along to all Joe’s noodlings. Notable performances include the band’s appearance on Live From Here back in 2018 – it seems the only thing that can make Dean Town even better is Chris Thile’s mandolin.

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6. LAX

from The Joy of Music, The Job of Real Estate (2020)

LAX blew me away earlier this month, and was the shining star at the end of an almost spotless Side A which featured two other top-30-worthy tracks in Test Drive and Radio Shack. LAX, however, which sees Joey Dosik take the lead with his characteristic combo of clean vocals and dirty saxophone, was without doubt a cut above the rest. Rumoured to have been recorded as a possible track for the 2017 album Mr. Finish Line, it seems unbelievable how Vulfpeck could ever have decided not to release this gem for a whole three years. It’s a song that sees every member playing to their strengths: Lerman’s songwriting is once again flawless; Stratton’s plopping little piano chords are a joy; Dart’s occasional flashes of slap bass are the cherry on top. And I haven’t even mentioned the rare Vulfpeck key change which, paired with a temporary switch to half time and the entry of Dosik’s sax ad-libbing, will leave you literally jumping for joy.

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5. 1612

from Fugue State (2014)

With just three live instruments and half a page of nonsensical lyrics, in many ways 1612 marked the pinnacle of Vulfpeck’s early years of minimalist funk. Originally used as a way to memorise the group’s AirBnB door code, the hook on 1612 not only did the job, but became the focal point of one of Vulfpeck’s most popular tracks of all time. The reason for that success – it must be said – is in large part thanks to the legendary powers of guest vocalist Antwaun Stanley. Right from his opening ad libs to the fadeout, Stanley’s one-take performance is one of his best ever on a Vulfpeck track, and his fun, energetic style is the perfect match to lyrics that try to rhyme “Ford Taurus” with “Ford Focus”. His falsetto runs, packed into every last moment of free time, are something to behold. Of course, it’s not just Stanley showing up on 1612. Joe Dart’s bass riff is probably the best my top five songs have to offer, and there’s a short keyboard solo to give the enigmatic and endlessly humble musical mind of Woody Goss a deserved moment in the spotlight. The popularity of 1612 may not be the most effective method of house security, but with a groove that tight no one seems to care.

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4. It Gets Funkier IV

from Hill Climber (2018)

I remember feeling a hint of disappointment as track 10 rolled around on my first listen of Hill Climber back at Christmas 2018. Despite some astronomical highlights (of course, Half of the Way and Disco Ulysses), the album sagged in places with a number of low-key, forgettable funk instrumentals that tried and failed to recreate the bass-led bliss of earlier EPs like Vollmilch and My First Car. Something just wasn’t quite clicking for me. Enter Louis Cole. I had never heard of him at the time, but what started with It Gets Funkier IV (the fourth iteration of the same tune dating right the way back to the band’s first release), ended with a full-blown Cole obsession that persists to this day. It’s not hard to hear why I was so excited; a snare heavy groove explodes into life, joining Stratton’s ridiculously percussive clavinet front and centre. This was by far the speediest (and therefore unfortunately not the funkiest) It Gets Funkier yet, but none of the team showed signs of struggling to keep up, with Wong’s lightning-fast wrists in particular being truly put to the test. The real magic, however, happens a 1:48. The band cuts out and at last Louis Cole’s intricate drum groove can be examined in detail but quite how he does it remains a mystery to me. Then there’s Joe Dart. If you thought Dean Town was awe-inspiring, IGF IV‘s bass solo will have you desperately fumbling for your inhaler. Combined, the two musicians couldn’t be tighter and in my view Dart’s relatively short bass solo will go down as the very best of his career. Of course, the payoff when the band re-enters after a typically audible Stratton count-in is astronomic, but even so – like any good funk song – It Gets Funkier IV is all about the breakdown. Rewind and scream.

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3. Wait for the Moment

from My First Car (2014)

Ask any self-respecting Vulfpeck fan what the best Vulfpeck song is and they’ll more than likely cite the now 7-year-old Wait for the Moment, and with good reason. Wait for the Moment is a warm blanket of a song, and makes for excellent company on a cold and rainy winter’s night. A subtle layer of noise creates a strange but comforting feeling of nostalgia before a supremely lazy Dart bass entry. With Stratton taking care of the unforgettable looping chord sequence, Goss is free to roam about on organ, caressing the keys where he sees fit in the gaps of Stanley’s debut vocal appearance. WFTM also has perhaps the most poignant lyrics in a Vulfpeck song – not a difficult feat, but child-like lines such as “I don’t feel time when I sleep / So I snuggle up in my sheets / And wait for a brighter day” perfectly find a cosy if somewhat lonely mood. The groove builds, and so does our sympathy, as the only way poor Antwaun can seem to get a phone call is when someone “butt dials” him. Dart (now immortalised as “bass man”) chips in with a bass solo that is humble, melodic and simply unforgettable. WFTM may lack a strong hook besides the keys part, but what it does have is a nuanced mood much unlike any other Vulfpeck song, and with it the band temporarily found a new purpose. Rather than making you smile or dance, WFTM has the power to make you feel just a little bit less alone.

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2. Outro

from Vollmilch (2012)

Few songs – let alone Vulfpeck songs – have a stronger emotional hold on me than Outro. For years, the wordless 5-minute jam has soundtracked the endings in my life. It’s been something of a personal ritual of mine to listen to it on the sunny bus ride home from the last day of the school year, and you can be sure it was played on repeat in late March 2020. I like to feel I do that not just because of the unassuming title. Instead, Outro inherently feels like an ending. Stratton’s triumphant piano intro feels like a finish line fanfare, and the following groove from Vulfpeck’s founding four members deserves to be set to film. I imagine the chords fading in as the two protagonists tie the last of the plot’s loose ends and finally make ammends despite everything. The end credits only start rolling 40 seconds in, when a debutant Joey Dosik slaps you in the face with a staggeringly high saxophone entry that soars over the looping chord sequence like fireworks. It has to be one of my favourite musical moments of all time. A truly dazzling display of colour and explosion follows, all from the gritty, porcine squeal of Dosik’s magical sax. His solo lasts the whole song and brings with it both ecstatic relief and a hint of desperation for the past now gone. In many ways, that ecstacy is where the transcendtal, filmic power of Outro lies, as Dosik finds yet higher notes and tighter licks. It sounds strange to say about a song without words, but through Outro Dosik has taught me to find the positives in an ending, celebrate the things that are gone and cherish the future as much as I do the past. I’ve never heard or felt anything quite like it.

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1. Animal Spirits

from The Beautiful Game (2016)

Ask me for the best Vulfpeck song and you know where I’ll be sending you. Animal Spirits is Vulfpeck’s essence distilled into a three-minute pop song, and there’s simply no way to fault it as far as I’m concerned. Katzman’s layered falsetto has more than a hint of Jackson 5, but Dart’s basslines are more than worthy of comparisons to Wilton Felder’s genuinely iconic holy grail of basslines in I Want You Back. Positioned at the front-end of Vulfpeck’s seminal album The Beautiful Game, the opening polyrhythm is best enjoyed after the palette-cleansing classical clarinet solo in the album opener, The Sweet Science. From there, it’s just bliss. Unlike Wait for the Moment and Outro, Animal Spirits is a highly intricate composition, offering a fresh delight at every turn, be it a flutter of pristine Katzman backing vocals or a delicious rumble of passing notes in Dart’s bassline, and that’s to say nothing of the chorus, which has a truly irresistible hook backed up by a cameo from vocalist Christine Hucal. To top it all off there’s a mind-blowing breakdown which puts Goss and Stratton’s thumping piano duet firmly into the limelight. A dazzling Dart bass line joins in and before we know it Stratton has counted us into a stellar finale, packed with chord changes and a rapidfire stream of lyrics that offer a surprisingly deep (albeit absurd) level of astrology and economics references. Animal Spirits leaves not a second wasted, and concisely sums up the Vulfpeck philosophy that I’ve fallen in love with: don’t take yourself too seriously and do what you love.

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