25. Oh U Went - Young Thug feat. Drake
In the midst of legal troubles galore, Young Thug managed to drop this fun track featuring Drake sounding like heâs poolside sipping on a fruity, refreshing drink. Maybe Slimeâs Saul Goodman-ass lawyer can get him out of this jam and Drizzy can figure out his tummy issues so we can get more collabs like this, but Iâm not optimistic. At least we have this!
24. Psychedelic Switch - Carly Rae Jepsen
Even on her B-Side âalbums,â Carly Rae doesnât miss. A 4-on-the-floor disco bop with whispers of early Daft Punk production ⊠this slaps.
I could have picked any song from Slow Pulpâs standout album Yard, but that grungy electric guitar immediately hits me like a ton of bricks, and Iâve been entranced since my first listen. Hailing from Madison, Wisconsin, they perfectly capture those quintessential lonely-midwestern-indie vibes that I so desperately crave.
22. Itâs Been a Little Heavy Lately - Joesef
With a song titled âItâs Been A Little Heavy Latelyâ on an album called Permanent Damage, youâd think Joesef would hit us with the saddest shit youâve ever heard in your life - instead, we get a breezy, upbeat, Tame Impala-influenced track. Joesef broke through this year in a real way and this song was absolutely the highlight.
21. Into Your Room - Holly Humberstone
Iâm always a fan of an artist expressing their desperation in an almost pathetic way - Holly Humberstone does exactly that on this song. âYouâre the center of this universe, my sorry ass revolves around youâ - YES! Over a bright 80âs-esque beat, Holly yearns, longs, and begs - while I nod my head in approval.
20. Jonathan L. Seagull - Sampha
On LAHAI, Samphaâs sophomore record, thereâs a joyful and cathartic release thatâs completely new to his music. I could have picked any song from the album to put here, but on âJonathan L. Seagullâ, we crescendo from an almost spooky sounding chorus of voices to an ethereal Sampha, alone, hitting a perfect falsetto as the beat drops. That little âlisten to your heart beat, beatâ in the background has lived rent free in my head for months.
19. Hollywood Baby - 100 gecs
Hyperpop lords 100 gecs are weird. âHollywood Babyâ is a weird song. Combining screaming, autotune vocals with screeching metal guitars on production that evokes memories of Sum 41 ⊠something about this just works.
18. STOP HURTING MY FEELINGS - LEILAH
Maybe my favorite new artist of 2023. LEILAH has only released a few songs and been featured on a few tracks so far in her career, including collaborations with Mura Masa, SBTRKT, and Speakers Corner Quartet, but she is clearly a force to be reckoned with. Her voice floats on the track, melding perfectly with a slapped bassline and tight, swung drums. Canât wait to see what she does in 2024.
17. Breaking Point - Leon Thomas
Any slow R&B song is going to be compared to DâAngeloâs â(Untitled) How Does It Feelâ, but this one really does it justice. Leon Thomas has come a long way from his Nickolodeon / The Backyardigans / Victorious era, developing into an esteemed songwriter for the likes of Ariana Grande and SZA. His debut album was exceptional, highlighted by this song, âBreaking Pointâ, where he sings honestly about what feels like the inevitable end of a relationship.
16. Stop (Askinâ Me 4Shyt) - Victoria Monet
Ms. Monet is a queen and demands you treat her as such. So stop asking her for shit! With clever wordplay like âDo I look like a tree to you? / Well, leaf me alone if I doâ, she requests her partner to get their own money and recognize her needs instead. The production of this track is so well done - lush, wide soundscapes with distant, echoing background vocals and live drum fills - not to mention the unexpected tempo changes throughout.
15. Freak Me Now - Jessie Ware
In three-and-a-half minutes of pure energy, Jessie Ware controls the dance floor, demanding everyone around her to keep the intensity up. Play this at the club and I will be feral. The beat doesnât change much, but Jessie is able to change her dynamics to create a captivating chorus / verse format. I never want this song to end.Â
14. hold me down - Noname
Listening to Noname often feels like a juxtaposition - the most beautiful, soulful, gentle production and tone with sharp, barbed lyrics about social justice, inequalities, and pain. âhold me downâ is no exception. âFirst black president and heâs the one who bombed us, yeahâ - DAMN. Maybe her best chorus ever, too!
13. After Midnight - Chappell Roan
I slept on this song all year but damn does Chappell Roan go hard on this. Bursting onto the scene out of nowhere this year, âAfter Midnightâ feels like a high school night your senior year - after years of working hard in school to achieve good grades, you just want to let loose and be a little crazy.Â
12. Mad At Me - Samia feat. papa mbye
I saw Samia live this last year. Near what I thought was the end of her performance of âMad At Meâ, I thought âI donât want this to end!â only for her to play the chorus one more time. That encapsulates how I feel about this song - Iâm sad when it stops playing. Samia floating over a thumping, poppy baseline is really all I could ask for.
11. Hiding Out In The Open - Feist
Feist asks the hard questions from the jump here - âeverybodyâs got their shit / but whoâs got the guts to sit with it?â Her fantastic album Multitudes is all about emotional vulnerability and reassessing / analyzing relationships in a post(?)-COVID world, and this song feels like a proper thesis statement. The actual production is fairly simple - an acoustic guitar and a few synths - but what really makes the song is the swirling, ever-present background vocals and harmonies. I specifically adore the moment where the music stops and all of Feistâs voices come together to quietly sing â...until you whisper it in my ear.â
10. Princess Going Digital - Amaarae
Cannot tell you how many times the line âI been going out like a bad bitchâ rattled through my brain this year. Thereâs no one who really sounds like Amaarae, and this song broke my brain. How does it sound like itâs from both 1997 and the year 3000? Itâs also perfectly titled - it really does sound like a princess in a digital world.
9. Inside Out - Kwaku Asante
Kwaku Asante really canât miss for me, but I was especially entranced by the soulful âInside Outâ. Over soft chords and a gentle beat, Asante sings about how deeply in love he is. This song feels like a hug and forces you to throw on a pair of rose-colored glasses - you canât be sad when this comes on.
8. What Was I Made For? - Billie Eilish
Weâve all heard it, but damn, Billie really did something here. This might be the single best vocal performance of the year. Did I sob when this song was used in Barbie? Maybe. Did I cry multiple times this summer listening to it afterwards? Whoâs to say! I also had no idea how literal the lyrics were until more recently than Iâd like to admit - oops. Regardless, she popped off.
7. Cinnamon Bread - Ryan Beatty
Thereâs something that makes me feel so comfortable about a song called âCinnamon Breadâ, and that truly describes Ryan Beattyâs music as a whole. On this album Calicio, Beatty is constantly telling stories of specific, intimate moments that simply feel like home. âYou galloped on the piano keys like a Liberace fool / you hummed a little out of tune, and somehow you sounded cool.â
Little Simz is here to TALK HER SHIT on Gorilla. Backed by grand, royal horns and an old school boom-bap bassline and drum beat combo, Simz confidently (and honestly) raps, frequently conjuring up jungle-based lines to play on the Gorilla theme.
"Big time driller, monkey to gorilla"
"Run through the jungle, they should've never let her"
"Beatin' on my chest, goin' apeshit"
"Cuttin' through the jungle in a all-black fitted"
5. bad idea right? - Olivia Rodrigo
Conjuring up memories of mid-2000âs Avril Lavigne, Olivia Rodrigo simply rocks the fuck out here. Listening to Olivia as a 27-going-on-28 year old man takes me right back to high school. Which was now 10 years ago. Fuck! Anyways, catch me screaming out YES I KNOW THAT HEâS MY EX BUT CANâT TWO PEOPLE RECONNECT? in my car. How do you do, fellow kids?
4. Something Different - Gareth Donkin
Gareth Donkin is like if you mixed the groove of Michael Jacksonâs 1979 classic album âOff the Wallâ with the soul of prime, Doobie Brothers-era Michael McDonald. This album is bursting at the seams with bops, but âSomething Differentâ takes the cake here. Dude is 23 and arranging songs like this in his bedroom ⊠goddamn. Come for the fun, upbeat tunes with tight harmonies and effortless melodies - stay for the minute-long instrumental outro, where Donkin really flexes his production skills.
3. Chosen to Deserve - Wednesday
Is it country? Is it punk? Is it indie? I donât know, man - it just fuckinâ rocks. Lead singer Karly Hartzman goes through memories of her childhood, but not in a self-reflective way - she clarifies that she wrote this in the context of â...sitting down with your romantic partner and filling them in on all the not-so-fun parts of your past.â My favorite part of listening to Wednesdayâs FANTASTIC album Rat Saw God is how specific they are in their storytelling, with lines like âmy friends all took Benadyl âtil they could see shit crawlinâ up the walls.â Just a beautiful, punk-ass love song.
Iâve listened to this approximately one million times this year and it truly never gets old. So catchy, so fun. Truly feels like doing a popper. Not that Iâve, uh, ever, uh, done anything like that, but like, itâs what I IMAGINE a popper would feel like in a club (which is exactly what Troy intended!).
1. My Love Mine All Mine - Mitski
Youâve heard it on TikTok a million times, but it still resonates with me so deeply - I had to crown âMy Love Mine All Mineâ my song of the year. I could write all about how incredibly beautiful this song is, but Mitskiâs description really sums it up better than I ever could:
â...I was thinking about, âWell, what do I have thatâs really actually mine, that canât be taken away?â And I know this is corny, but I was really thinking itâs this love I feel in me, that Iâve created in me, that Iâve built in me, that Iâve held on to, and itâs mine for as long as I want it, for as long as I donât give it up or let the world take it from me. And I really do believe it, to love is the best thing I ever did in my life, better than any song Iâve ever written, better than any achievement by far. To love is truly the best and most beautiful thing I ever did. And then as I was thinking about that, I started thinking about how sad it was that [once I die], I canât leave behind this most beautiful thing that I have. I guess it sort of dies with me. So I wanted to write a song about how I wish that when I die, I could at least leave all this love behind in the world.â