Most soundtrack standouts tend to be from the cult classics (Amelie is my personal weakness) so I’ve decided to see which recent songs have had the most impact on me. These are just a few of my favourites from the last 5 years:

5. – ‘Brown Shoes’ from ‘Sing Street’ (2016)

This preppy, rebellious rock song comes from the 2016 Movie ‘Sing Street’. Set in 80’s Dublin, the movie follows Conor (Cosmo) Lawlor. The lyrics reference several scenes where the headteacher is especially cruel to him and are a blatant middle finger to the corrupted system Cosmo was hurt by.

4.– ‘The Fools Who Dream’ from ‘La La Land’ (2016)

A heartfelt piano ballad sung by Emma Stone, ‘The Fools Who Dream’ has a push and pull to the melody that captures your attention right from the start. Emma’s character sings this during an audition as she tells the story of her daring aunt jumping into the river.

3. – ‘Mystery of Love’ from ‘Call Me By Your Name’ (2017)

This ethereal acoustic lullaby from Sufjan Stevens is up there as one of the most beautiful tracks I’ve ever heard. It plays in the movie when Elio and Oliver go hiking in Bergamo, softly in the background as you hear Elio cheering. The scene itself is so heart-warming that it would be near criminal to overlook this track.

2. – ‘Tell Me’ from ‘Lost River’ (2014)

Johnny Jewel brings in none other than Saoirse Ronan for a vocal feature on this song, which is possibly one of the best things about it. The sparkly, minimalistic instrumental is enhanced by Saoirse’s soothing vocals. Saoirse’s character (Rat) practices it alone in her room and there’s something honest about the way it’s written. There are no grand performances here, just a girl in love.

1. – ‘Easy’ from ‘Baby Driver’ (2017)

Although this is in fact a cover of a Commodores song, Sky Ferreira brings her own charm to the track. She sings as Baby’s late mother, with this song being on a cassette that he holds dear throughout the film. Played near the end, Baby is going deaf and wakes to barely hear his mother’s voice in the car. The song continues to play when he is getting arrested, which never fails to tug at my heartstrings. This song always feels to me like a slow Sunday morning when sunlight is just filtering through the room, I’ll never get tired of hearing it.