And now, we have my second playlist of 2025, covering the stuff I was listening to for the first four months of the year! There’s some more catch-up from the end of 2024, but also a lot of new releases too! I really enjoy putting these together and talking about the music that I’ve been enjoying (and I’d even like to think that my ability to write about music is improving too), I just wish the whole “building playlists and getting it formatted and published” side of things was a little quicker.
Anyway, I’m off to enjoy the rest of my Memorial Day, but first, my usual quick reminders: a lot of these artists (especially the smaller ones) have Bandcamps where you can support them directly! And if you’re interested in these articles and would like to know when one gets published, I have an email list that I use to notify when new things get published! (It’s separate from my baseball mailing list too, for anyone on that one as well).
Note: Only one song is missing from each list, which might be a first for these? Alpha and Natsume’s collab “Idea” isn’t on YouTube, but it is on Soundcloud. Meanwhile, Alpha’s solo effort “everything” is not on Spotify (or their Soundcloud, for some reason), but there is the YouTube video in the playlist. Also, I'm still doing that 'album title in single quotes' thing to make formatting a little easier.
The Playlist (but as an article)
Great Grandpa: I didn’t really know what to expect from Great Grandpa’s ‘Patience, Moonbeam’ going in other than liking the early singles, which I saw getting some praise before the album dropped. I wasn’t really familiar with their earlier records (which were from a few years ago anyway, as the band has been on hiatus since 2019 or so), and while I pay some attention to big stuff in the indie rock scene, I feel like I usually don’t stray as far into the more folk-ish side of things? I don’t know, maybe people more in tune with those sides of things will have different opinions, but I think so far, ‘Patience, Moonbeam’ is my favorite album of 2025.
It all just sounds so amazing, lush and layered, warm and intimate. But it’s all in service of such pretty arrangements, too, full earthy guitars and stacks of voices and string sections. There are just so many small parts that stand out in my memory because of how good they sounds, but also how good they are in the song, from the cello mirroring the melody on “Never Rest”, to the pedal steel guitar on “Junior”, the mirrored vocal harmonies of “It’s funny how I need you/Damn” on “Emma” and “Doom”, the drums and pianos on closer “Kid” (really, everything on “Kid” is amazing, it can easily bring me to tears when it all comes together).
And the writing… all of those beautiful instrumental moments wouldn’t hit nearly as hard if they weren’t supporting fantastic songs. The melodies sound amazing while rarely doing the expected thing. And the range of emotions they hit along the way… picking a few songs to represent it here was so difficult, because they all feel like they pull in such different directions. “Ladybug” floats along on fuzzy synth and guitar like a sunny day, “Junior” is a rustic twilight with family by the woods, “Task” is a nervous but hopeful reunion with a friend you’ve lost touch with…
And then there’s “Doom”, marking the midpoint of the album with a somber choral opening, segueing into a twitchy guitar riff in seven-four time over anxious lyrics before shifting into a gut-punch of electric guitar and just visceral yells of longing. I don’t even know how to properly boil down “Kid” to its parts, it just throws everything at you in succession.
This is an album of huge feelings, and I think even if you don’t want to dig into the often very poetic lyrics, you’ll still feel the emotions it’s getting at, the wistful nostalgia or yearning loneliness or reconnection with friends or the processing of deep grief. It’s a lot, and the dramatic heights of the music really help drive it all home. It’s an extremely exciting and cathartic listen, and I can definitely see myself coming back to it the rest of this year and beyond.
Courting: My “Start of the Year” Playlists usually end up including a lot of music I found while browsing other places’ “Best of the Previous Year” lists, since early January ends up being when I have the most time to get through new things (as I’ve said in the past, I’m not really the most timely). This year, the 2024 release that ended up dominating my thoughts the most in the first few months wound up being ‘New Last Name’ by Courting.
‘New Last Name’ grabs you right from the opening notes of “Throw”, a raucous, high-energy opener that careens through ideas at breakneck pace for a four-and-a-half minute track, and really introduces you to Courting’s brand of poppy, electronic-infused indie rock. ‘New Last Name’ is full of these fun, anthemic numbers recounting stories of young adult love that sort of follow a narrative, and it’s all very propulsive and makes for a fun listen even if I’m not sure I’ve pieced together more than the general vibe of the story. Songs like “Throw”, “We Look Good Together”, and “Emily G” are just loaded with hooks that had wedged their way into my head and had me singing along after just one listen.
I enjoyed it all so much that I went back and checked out their debut album from 2022, ‘Guitar Music’, which is actually a very interesting predecessor. A lot of the fun quirks that decorate ‘New Last Name’ are actually very toned-down elements from their earlier days; the songs are awash in distortion and feedback, with heavier electronica glitches, post-punk instrumentals, and even hyperpop influences to the sound. And their lyrics are still very narrative, but with more of a talk-sung style that plays up bizarre, almost satirical characters and vignettes.
And then in March, just as I was pretty thoroughly engrossed in their music, they suddenly dropped their third album, the irritatingly-verbose ‘Lust for Life, Or: How To Thread The Needle And Come Out The Other Side To Tell The Story’. It strikes something of a midpoint between their prior two releases, moving back towards the post-punk and hyperpop bits of ‘Guitar Music’ but also holding onto more of the hooks and pop writing of ‘New Last Name’, as well as playing around with some of the more ambitious instrumentations from that album (there are some cool saxophone and string lines, for example).
On the whole… I think ‘New Last Name’ is still my favorite release (although it seems like that may be an unpopular opinion?). I think the choruses and riffs and melodies at their peaks are just all too big to deny there, plus I prefer the story there a little more (the referred to it as more of a play in acts in publicity material, and I kind of see it? I think it flows well). But I find something to appreciate in every release, and I’ll definitely be following along to see where they go from here.
Oakman: This was another band that I liked so much that I wound up delving into their backlog after I learned about them. My entry point was “Night”, the lead track off their 2022 EP ‘SCP’, and it really is a strong introduction to the group, just a perfect slice of shimmering dream pop and indie pop-rock, glittering synths and shiny nu-disco guitars forming a sonic canvas that feels like stars across the night sky. It’s just a perfect, sweet blast of aural candy, but also well-made and varied enough that it doesn’t wear me down at all in the way that some more cloying pop can; I have no problem just floating along with a full album, instead of getting burnt out.
The rest of ‘SCP’ is great, but short at six songs and twenty minutes; their first full album, 2024’s ‘Violent Oblivion’, manages to keep the trick up for twice as long, and it still doesn’t get old. Every song is just loaded with hooks and anthemic moments, each one keeping up their vibes shimmering and sweet and uptempo (with only brief dips into balladry) while also each feeling distinct. Picking songs for the playlist was legitimately difficult. Also… I know my appreciation for lyrics is weird and different than a lot of people, but I like Oakman’s approach; they’re French (which can really come through in the vocals), and I think they do a great job of English-as-a-second-language lyrics, which is something I’ve thought about before listening to other artists, but struggled to put into words until now? It’s a mix of immediately conjuring specific feelings with their word choices, but also getting new interest out of fairly traditional ideas for song lyrics by taking phrasing, emphasis, and approaches that stand out as “not something native speakers would say, but also not technically wrong, just… different?”. It’s hard to put into words, but I think it comes through on listening. Either way, both of these were great listens that I kept coming back to, either as pick-me-ups on bad days or ways to give already-good days an extra feeling of sweeping grandeur.
Flavor Foley: Electropop vocaloid supergroup Flavor Foley also dropped their debut album, after making the last three playlists here with singles. It’s kind of hard to say right now where ‘CARDIAC CONTREPOINT’ will land as an album in my estimations, because it’s only nine songs; the five pre-release singles (in the order they were released, even!), a sixth track that was released with the album’s announcement, and three more tracks that are all reworkings of some of the trio’s (Jamie Paige, Vane Lily, and ricedeity) solo efforts. As someone who had been following along with their groupwork from the start, this was maybe the least surprised I’ve ever been by an album release, with a relatively short track listing and basically no chance for things like surprise deep cuts or new favorites.
And yet… ‘Cardiac Contrepoint’ still works shockingly well! It helps that all of the songs are strong; there’s a reason that I’ve been hyping them up the last few playlists! But there’s also a solid thematic unity to them that keeps the whole thing feeling cohesive even as they bounce between synthetic voices, styles, and characters, writing emotional vignettes about things like loneliness, obsession, and longing. I knew I was going to include “Water the Roses” right after it dropped back in January, a bouncy, tinkling piano number about unrequited feelings, and it was the one I hinted at in my last article. But then they dropped “Queen of Venus” with the album announcement, and I just couldn’t leave that one off either; it lived in my brain for a few days straight, a pleading, robotic vocal synth trying to pray to the goddess of lust to be made human over a stuttering electronic hearty beat (it’s also the perfect compliment to another previous ode to robotic desire that I’m fond of, Jamie Paige’s “Machine Love”, as horny as that one is pure-hearted). It’s the perfect peak of this album, a sort of character study of pure emotions from distinctive characters in these semi-fantastical settings, and it’s part of why I think I’ll be coming back to this album again and again. And even the remade songs stand out in their own way, sounding fresh with new takes and polished production.
Also, they immediately followed-up the album by releasing a collaboration single with another producer, CircusP (“Electric Weekend Zone”), and the trio all seem to be teasing new music, although it’s unclear how much is as Flavor Foley versus just solo releases.* But they may be back here again relatively quickly…^
*Speaking of which, Jamie Paige also released the track ‘Dance Delightful’ as part of ‘MACHINA MORI’, a collaborative project centered around vocal synth Adachi Rei, which seems to be in direct conversation with “Queen of Venus”, so that’s fun!
^Edit: They released a new single the Friday before this went up lol
Confidence Man: ‘3AM (LA LA LA)’ was another one pulled from Best of 2024 lists. If you aren’t already some degree on board with big, silly electronic dance music, I don’t know that this will be the thing that wins you over, but I am fully invested, so it was in my regular rotation for a while. I suppose that Charli XCX’s ‘Brat’ is that natural comparison given it was also on a lot of those year-end lists, and yeah, if you liked that a lot, this will probably also do something for you, but it is a bit different.
Confidence Man are definitely a lot sillier and full of non-stop energy, with none of Charli’s detours into existential dread; I suppose you can mark it down points for being “less introspective” or whatever, but given that both seem to proposing “big, cathartic dance music as a way to keep your worries at bay for the time being”, there’s also something to be said for, you know… not actively reminding you of the things you’re trying to temporarily escape. It’s also quite a feat that Confidence Man are able to keep this energy up for a dozen tracks basically non-stop without it feeling too exhausting (relatively speaking). “I CAN’T LOSE YOU” is already an all-time dance music classic in my mind, and I was listening to it constantly for a week or so, but also shout-outs to “JANET”, with its big, obnoxious belted hooks, which I just love!
Beach Bunny: I liked Beach Bunny’s last album, their sophomore effort ‘Emotional Creature’, but said it felt like they were trying out some new things in their sound. Their third album, ‘Tunnel Vision’, feels like it takes what they learned from that and applies it to their original sound, which makes them all feel a little fuller and more polished, I think? There’s still the sort of surf rock touches to their indie rock/sorta power-pop sound, but it all sounds a little more fleshed out under that, too, and I like it.
And it helps that their characteristic strong hooks and muscular efficiency are here. It’s ten songs and under 30 minutes, but it wastes very little of that time, starting right away with some big ringing chords and then pulling you through back-to-back-to-back earworms, never dropping below a brisk strut. I almost wish it was a little longer, but I also appreciate the commitment to never being boring.
Also, it helps that the lyricism here is solid; Lili Trifilio can usually be relied on for solid ideas and turns-of-phrases, but there’s a very specific vibe she hits here very well, the kind of restless anxiety that can only come from some level of awareness and maturity. “Clueless” is just an amazing song, the kind that I know I’ll be revisiting for years, a reflection on time passing and the stresses and profound sadness that brings while also eschewing blind nostalgia or mawkish sentimentality. That’s the definite high point, but I feel like there are other times I heard something while just minding my business and found that it resonated with me (although it’s a little hard to find while skimming the lyrics; I think part of her talent in lyrics is in match less poetic, fairly direct phrasings and matching them well to musical ideas). Either way, ‘Tunnel Vision’ is definitely my favorite release of theirs yet!
Bartees Strange: Bartees Strange’s ‘Horror’ is an interesting comparison, as another third album from 2025 that I kept revisiting. It’s another case where I think the songwriting displays a great amount of mature anxiety in its approach, but it also feels so different; ‘Tunnel Vision’ is a hyperactive train of thought jotted down like a diary entry by someone trying to process their emotions, while ‘Horror’ is a melancholy storytelling approach of someone with a better handle on what they want, but who also knows all the obstacles that are in the way. Strange reflects on the difficulties of moving on from a mutual separation, finding someone looking for the same things as you, looking for a place to settle down versus uncertainty, the challenges of balancing your work and life… And again, those sentiments never feel like they’re too much (for as heavy as they seemed, just dropped here in description), it’s just one person recounting their struggles in a compelling and relatable way.
It also helps that the songs themselves sound so good. I appreciated his second album, but I feel like I never really got into the individual songs in the way I did with some of my favorite release. In contrast, there were multiple songs on ‘Horror’ that I was singing to myself after one listen; the climax of “Sober” immediately grabbed me, as did the frantic energy of “Wants Needs”.
It also helps that Bartees plays around with a ton of his influences. It’s still an indie rock record, but you’ll have songs dipping into country slide guitar, or electronic dance beats and hushed reverbed vocals, or hip hop braggadocio and delivery, or fuzzy soul guitar grooves and layered choral voices. It’s a really fun thing seeing where the album will take you next, and it actually feels worthy of being labeled “alternative” rather than just “indie rock” (I don’t know, or maybe I’m just weirdly hung up on those distinctions?). But it makes for a nice album to revisit again and again, and it’s another one of my early 2025 favorites.
Gloomy June: Every now and then while looking for new music, I’ll stumble upon a pop-rock group that stands out to me in a way that’s hard to describe. Like, describing music in text is difficult, so when there’s an unusual hook to their style, or a very strong album I can recommend, it makes my job a little easier. Instead, I just find myself listening to their stuff over and over, singing it to myself while I go on walks, putting it on by default when I just need something to listen to for a bit, that sort of thing.
Bay Area quartet Gloomy June is that this time. I found their single “picking scabs”, and from the opening notes, I was immediately drawn in. Their sound, while maybe not the most cutting edge, is extremely refined indie rock with tinges of 2000s emo and pop punk. And it combines with their songwriting, which is just incredibly tight; loaded with hooks and catchy riffs from the drop, instantly memorable, intriguing emotional storytelling, it’s all here. It’s just impeccable pop songcraft that I love listening to, and have to admire.
I devoured their back catalog, which was not too deep unfortunately (I think about ten songs when I started?). I kept putting them on and wishing for more, and they delivered, slowly ramping up to their first full album, the self-titled “gloomy june” coming in, uh… June. I’ll save that for the Summer Playlist when I can make a full evaluation, although I’ll take lead single “picking scabs” here as a teaser. In the meantime, that gives me a chance to show off some of their other stuff. I’m excited to see where this new group goes from here.
Fabiana Palladino: This was another one pulled from a few year-end lists, although it still feels like it might have been under-covered. Fabiana is the daughter of esteemed session musician Pino Palladino, and after a decade-plus of doing her own session and background work, she finally released her own self-titled debut album, a hazy glimmering dream of R&B and sophisti-pop. The production is just great, everything feels so lush and atmospheric, with crisp synths and smooth bass gliding through through hazy, velvety soundscapes. This is a perfect album for just throwing on in a chill night, to savor or to make what else you’re doing to wind down for the evening more pleasant.
Rebecca Black: Yes, this is that Rebecca Black; she’s spent the last several years putting out her own dance-pop music independently, experimenting with electronic and hyperpop sounds. If you’d like an example, here’s a remix she released a few years ago to commemorate the ten-year anniversary of her biggest hit (that remix is deliberately over-the-top, I just really like the whiplash it gives you; this song might be a better introduction to the modern Rebecca Black sound, or at least, the two of them will give you a more complete picture of what I’m talking about).
Anyway, Black released her second album ‘Salvation’ back at the end of February, and it’s pretty short at just 21 minutes, but it hits hard in that time. It’s pushing a lot of that big, electronic pop sounds of 2010 in a more explosive direction thanks to Black’s penchant for hyperpop, and all seven of its tracks have parts that worked their way into my brain. This might be a controversial opinion, but I actually think ‘Salvation’ kind of ruined Lady Gaga’s new album (which came out just a week later) for me. I just think the dark, sharp, neon-dancefloor sounds better follow up on the promise of “Disease” and “Abracadabra” than the rest of ‘Mayhem’. (Although Black does give her inspiration a name drop in “TRUST!”, which is nice. That actually may be why I made that connection, now that I think about it…)
Du Blonde: ‘Sniff More Gritty’ is a great album with some strong, crunchy garage rock, even with a ridiculous name (I mean, that was my thought when I first saw it, so I can’t say I blame you if it’s yours as well). But that sense of humor is all over the album, whether it’s in small touches (like a quick angelic chorus after the line “smoke myself to heaven”, or some of the cheeky British wit in the lyrics) or the big stuff like the most raucous song on the album (including a feature from Laura Jane Grace) being an ode to the occasional quiet evening inside. I think it ends up providing a nice sense of balance, both to help balance some of the heavier parts of the album (like struggles with mental health and addiction) but also to help play up the “strutting rock star” image that gives this one a lot of energy. Also, it helps that a lot of the songs here are just really catchy and just fun to listen to. I wasn’t really familiar with Du Blonde before this one, and I may have to dig through their older releases sometime in the future.
Paper Rabbit: I mentioned their twee, jangle-pop album ‘Havre de Grace’ in my last playlist, which was a solid listen. That came out in late August, so I wasn’t expecting new stuff so soon, but they’re already released a couple singles this year. And one of them, “Heavyweight”, is a muscular power-pop jam of a track, balancing strong and clean guitar riff with airy glockenspiel tinkling. I’m going to be playing this one through the summer, and I’m really excited to see what’s next here.
Sorry Darling: On a related subject, we’ve got another small-but-strong power-pop release from one of my Bandcamp discoveries from last year (albeit from the Start of 2024 Playlist). I’ve kept listening to their debut EP ‘See Through This’ since then, and was thrilled to see them follow that up with new single “Made Room for Silence” and three-song EP ‘Passionate Kisses’ to start the year. It was tempting to just include all four of them, but that seemed excessive, so I narrowed it down to the single and the titular song “Passionate Kisses”, which is just such a fun song, with its driving melodies and riffs coupled with lyrics that are equally empowering and self-indulgent. I really hope we see more from them soon, like a full album.
St. Lucia: I’ve included St. Lucia on these playlists several times (including putting their last album, ‘Utopia’, at the top of my End of 2022 Playlist), and it’s probably fair to say they’re one of my favorite bands at this point. They released a new album back in March, ‘Fata Morgana: Dawn’, and it’s definitely my least-favorite of their five proper albums… but also probably the best-case scenario for that happening? I don’t hate it or anything, and there are still plenty of highlights (“Rolling Man”, “Falling Asleep”, the epic penultimate track “Going to Space”), I just… don’t like it as much as I liked their first four records, that’s really it. I think it’s mostly a case of mismatched interests; the direction they took here is much more inspired by things like ‘70s and ‘80s soft rock and yacht rock. I think they do a good job of it too, the production is as solid as ever, there are catchy songs and everything, it just doesn’t grab me as much as their first four records. It happens sometimes, not much you can do.
However, in an interesting twist, the group has already released a related follow-up due later in the year, ‘Fata Morgana: Dusk’, and also already released the first single from that project that indicates that album will have its own unique sonic identity (although it fell after the cutoff for this playlist, so it’s not included here yet), so I guess watch this space?
CHVRCHES: Speaking of bands I really like, Chvrches released a tenth-anniversary edition of their sophomore album ‘Every Open Eye’, which included a new track cut from the original release, “Up In Arms”. I’m always thrilled to hear more from them, and here’s to hoping album five is progressing smoothly.
Snail’s House: I include electronic producer Snail’s House on these playlists a lot, since he tends to release EPs and singles pretty regularly. But this one is special, as he tends to keep to specific sounds on each release, and with this one, he returns to one of his main subseries with ‘Alien Pop V’. I think the initial three Alien Pop EPs were my first exposure to his music, and it remains my favorite things he does, bursting with hyperactive energy and futuristic synths and electronic sheen that actually feels worthy of its name.
cute girls doing cute things: And I’m following that up with another Japanese electronic producer, but this time, one who’s new to me. 2023’s “LOVE·LY” and it’s follow-up, 2024’s “LOVE·ME” are both pure shots of music adrenaline, non-stop, bouncy, up-tempo dance music that’s walls of big synth sounds blasting out catchy melodies and beats. Even without introducing vocals or lyrics or really ever really slowing down, they regularly introduce new musical ideas and change-ups to keep you engaged (especially things like mid-song key changes, drops, and dynamic shifts to new sections within the piece), and nothing ever really feels like it’s overstaying its welcome. Of course, it probably also helps that neither goes past the 30 minute mark, enough to leave you wanting without wearing you down with its constant rush. Both albums also kind of flow from one thing to the next fairly easily too, so I found it pretty easy to get lost in the flow when I put it on while doing other things, like exercise or trying to get work done. It can feel very motivational, in a way! I don’t know if this is the type of thing that will win over people skeptical of electronic dance music on the whole, but within that field, I think both records are pretty exemplary!
The Dare: And one more bit of electronic party music for this block. This was yet another thing I pulled from everyone elses’ Year-End lists. I don’t know that I have as much to say about it as other things, other than it really is just a solid slice of cheesy, sleazy, 2000s electroclash, and I enjoyed that a lot. Stuff like “Girls” and “I Destroyed Disco” are really fun club jams.
Future Releases: I usually have a section where I include songs from upcoming albums that are likely to appear on future iterations of this list, so let’s take care of these now!
-I think the thing exciting me most right now is The Beths, who just released new song “Metal”, a jangly bop that’s equal parts marveling at the wonders of life and venting about the frustrations of wearing down. No announcement on more yet, but the follow-up to ‘Expert in a Dying Field’ feels like it’s happening soon, and I am SO pumped to hear it!.
-Chappell Roan finally officially released “The Giver”. The country direction is a twist, and I’m not sure if it’s a one-off experiment or not, but it’s at least fun. In isolation, it doesn’t seem obvious how it will fit on an album with last year’s “Good Luck Babe”, but an extremely wide range of genre experiments might also be interesting. Of course, there’s also no indication they’ll even both be included on her second album… whenever that ends up releasing… We shall see.
-There’s also still no word on synthwave maestro Gryff’s next album, but he’s been teasing more to come, and he released “The Feeling”, a big ballad-y duet with Seersha. I don’t know, I find that a lot of synthwave stuff can blend together sometimes, but something about Gryff’s style seems to completely avoid that issue; a big, ‘80s-style ballad should not hold me as well as this one does. I’ve loved his recent singles, so I’m hoping his follow-up to ‘Calypso Drip FM’ can live up to them.
-I think The Happy Fits have a unique sound within the indie rock space, and listening to their new song “Everything You Do” just made me think, “Ah, I missed this”. I hadn’t realized I felt that way? It’s also interesting, since they’ve even changed up their sound a big, adding two new members. Curious to see where this one goes.
-Fickle Friends are another indie pop-rock group that’s become one of my favorites to revisit, and their recent singles (including playlist pick “Swoon”) have been growing on me. Again, I anxiously await an official announcement.
-I think the next release as of the time of this list’s publication will be Kicksie’s ‘BIG SUCKER’ the first week of June, and early singles “MY CAR” and “PRETTYGIRL” have really been working their way into my head. The latter has a sort of funky groove that I don’t usually associate with Kicksie’s music, while the former is a more standard alt-rock jam that I’ve come to expect from her; I’m picking “MY CAR” for this playlist, because I just love that fuzzy guitar solo.
-I was having a hard time picking between the first two singles from slick, jazzy indie-pop group Similar Kind’s upcoming debut album (“search party” and “let me go”), but in the end, I decided they’re different enough that I wanted them both here. I’m hoping the rest of the album has this energy!
-Post-punk indie rockers Bad Sun announced their fifth album, ‘Accelerator’, for an August release. They’re perpetual under-the-radar underdogs for me; I don’t think I’ve ever thought one of their releases was one of my year-end best, but I’ve liked every single one of them, and can throw any of them on basically whenever. So yeah, curious to see where this goes.
-The New Pornographers released their first song in two years, “Ballad of the Last Payphone”. It’s exactly what it says, and very much what you’d expect from them (as a complimentary).
-I feel like the blurbs in this section are starting to take up more room than I intended, so I’ll just throw out some other names that I’ve mentioned in past playlists who fall into this category this time: Ripe (“Try Not To Look”), Madison McFerrin (“Ain’t It Nice”), The Midnight (“Love Is an Ocean”), South Arcade (“Supermodels”), Maryze (“Versed”), Able Machines (“Identity Theft”), Chris Farren (“Cause of Death”), Sub-Radio (“I’m in Love!!”) and Long Island (“fragile”).
Rachel Chinouriri: ‘What A Devastating Turn of Events’ was another album I saw appearing on Best of 2024 lists, usually proclaiming it the big revival of Britpop. I figured “Sure, I liked Oasis a good bit, I’ll check it out”, and… it’s closer to Blur, which was always more of an “appreciate” than a “like” for me. Still a lot to enjoy though, even if it wasn’t what I was expecting going in (but also, it’s hard not to like a song as well-made as “Never Need Me”). Of course, if you are more of a fan of the Blur-side of Britpop, this will probably be right up your alley.
Irish Basement and Gut Health: At some point, I decided I was really in the mood for Dance-Punk music, so I went digging through the tag on Bandcamp (I know that’s probably not how most people search the site, but I think it’s fun to do every now and then!). These two groups were what wound up scratching that itch, and in very different ways.
‘Heaven or Hell’ by DC-based Irish Basement is a little darker in its sound, heavy in reverbs and effects to kind of get an atmosphere, smooth and kind of gothic at times, with more traditional song structures. Meanwhile, I checked out the EP ‘Electric Party Chrome Girl’ and the album ‘Stiletto’ from the Australian-based Gut Health, and they’re a lot more experimental, jagged and bouncy in their sound, with lyrics that are usually a little more stream of conscious and peppered with yips and yells (to put if more concisely, Gut Health hew a little more closely to the “punk” half of Dance-Punk, while Irish Basement is more… “Dance-Post Punk”,h). I’m not always in the mood for this kind of style, but when I was, these were great records to just bop along to.
Porcupine: I thought I discovered their album ‘Our Chemistry Is a Tightrope’ through some year-end list, but I could not find any list that included it, so uh… I have no idea where I found it. Maybe just browsing Bandcamp? Either way, it was a solid, short-and-sweet indie/math rock album with a lot of fun guitar parts, so give it a shot.
Star 99: I covered this San Jose indie rock quinet’s last album back in 2023, and I don’t remember having a ton of thoughts about it, but I did like it enough to give it a shout-out. I was even happier with new follow-up ‘Gaman’, which takes their garage-rock style power pop in a much more emo direction (like, in the Midwest Emo sense; is West Coast emo a distinct “thing”?).
Korrine: I feel like I remember their last album, 2023’s ‘Tear’ getting some critical buzz, but their new record ‘A Flame In The Dark’ didn’t seem to. I don’t really know why, it seems more or less in line with their last two releases, some very solid goth-y, post-punk synth rock. If you liked those albums, I’d recommend this one as well.
Baby Teeth: I wasn’t familiar with Baby Teeth before randomly stumbling on their 2023 album ‘Carry On Regardless’, and it’s a kind of shocking thing to find. Maybe that’s it’s just that I’m kind of displaced from this era, but they sound like a band displaced from time, like they were playing on ‘70s AOR stations next to ELO or Todd Rundgren or Hall & Oates or whatever else, but were somehow forgotten until recently. I’m not really sure there’s a better term to describe that sub-genre (they call it “fine Chicago pop”, which I think is a reasonable descriptor), it’s kind of fallen under the broader “classic rock” umbrella for my whole life (and really, most of the band’s existence; this was a reunion album following their initial four-album run from 2005 to 2012, although I haven’t dug into those yet).
It’s weird how that style feels like it’s been less subjected to nostalgic revivals than other older genres, for as popular as it was back then. And while it’s not something I seek out a lot, it does make for a nice change of pace every now and then, in addition to being fun to try and pick out influences and stuff. It also helps that Baby Teeth’s music has some strong pop-nerd songwriting fundamentals and production here, plus some fun storytelling in the lyrics. I don’t know, maybe I just need to dig a little harder into other corners of Bandcamp now, see if there are other artists digging through history and making throwbacks to overlooked styles.
Saoirse Dream: I don’t think I liked it as much as her last album, but Saoirse Dream’s self-title album is a worthy successor on the whole, exploring her hyperpop sound a little more. I think this might be another case where the long-lead time lowered my enthusiasm (about a third of the album, including some of my favorite songs, have appeared on past playlists as early singles), but that’s kind of just how music can be these days. It’s another one that may grow in my mind down the line as I come to see it more as a cohesive whole. Relatedly, I also checked out ‘peer2peer’ by webcage, the collective Catherine Egbert is in when she isn’t doing Saoirse Dream stuff. It’s from 2021, I just missed it somehow, but it’s kind of interesting to look back on since four years can be a long time for a genre as young as hyperpop.
Chayla Hope: I mentioned on my End of 2024 Playlist that Hope’s ‘Damn, Feelings’ was one of my favorite albums of the set, but I also got to make a last-minute addendum right before I published saying that her follow-up to that would be releasing in February. ‘Mess of a Woman’ is a good enough sophomore solo effort, although I think I still do prefer her debut. I think ‘Damn’’s conceit of being songs built around huge, emotional moments in life made it stand out, especially with Hope’s penchant for big melodies. But it was also clearly a deliberate choice to move away from that to something smaller here, and I think she still does solid pop writing within that space. This is also another case where two-thirds of the track list was released as early singles beforehand, and it kind of did bug me here (especially since the album is only nine songs to begin with), but we’ll see if it gives me greater appreciation over time as I get to thinking of it as a more cohesive whole. Either way, not a bad sophomore effort, and I’m definitely curious to see where she goes from here!
Charly Bliss: As I mentioned last time, their 2024 album ‘Forever’ really grew on me; when I first heard it, I enjoyed it, but wasn’t sure it made a huge impression. But I kept coming back to it, remembering some part of a song and putting the album on to satisfy the urge to hear it again, then finding something else I liked, and so on. It made me want to check out their earlier stuff, so I picked up their previous record, 2019’s ‘Young Enough’. Sure enough, it was very similar; a ‘90s alt-rock power pop record that immediately registered as good, but which was so catchy that it wormed its way into my head. I was making notes for this playlist and thought I couldn’t remember any songs (since I looked at it back in January and forgot it for a while), but sure enough, on re-listen, every track made me go, “Oh, right, this one! This one’s pretty good too!” I think I still like ‘Forever’ a little more on the whole, but there’s definitely room in my life for more of this sound!
ok seashells: This is another one I mentioned last time, specifically their debut album from last July, ‘𓆩♡𓆪’. I wasn’t expecting this producer to put out a follow-up so soon, but she dropped ‘𓆩♡𓆪 𝟸 𓆩♡𓆪’ back in February, and I was in. It’s another album of vocaloid and kawaii future bass music blown up to the symphonic or prog rock scales. This one is a little more grounded around a story about a failed or failing relationship, which is an interesting approach, although I’m not sure how closely I followed it? The different vocal synths are definitely characters in dialogue, but I’m not sure how much is narrative versus figurative. This is another straight-forward rec; if you liked the last album, this is more of that, exploring new corners of a fairly unique sound that I’m not really sure anyone else is really tackling?
Scarlet Bandit: I could have sworn this one was from earlier in the year, but no, another End of 2024 pick here. If you enjoyed throwback glam rockers Scarlet Bandit’s album from last time, they released a follow-up EP, “VENGEANCE AND VANITY”, back in January. Definitely worth checking out if you want more of that sound!
Diva Bleach: Yet another artist that I highlighted on my last playlist (I noticed this stretch of the playlist developing a theme and just ran with it), although I got to add in a last-minute editor’s note that their first full album had just released while I was finishing my writing. And “Can You Keep a Secret?” is a pretty decent first album! Some solid 2000s pop-punk/emo energy if you need more of that, with several songs that would be solid singles. I enjoyed it, and am curious to see what they do next.
Oceanus: I mentioned this electronic act in my last playlist, and while delving more into their back catalog, I found out they released a baseball-themed future funk EP back in 2022 and had to check it out! It was indeed right up my alley, and while I wondered how much the baseball theme could come through on a 15-minute release of dance music with no lyrics, I wound up surprised; there are the titles, a lot of related vocal samples woven in (including some straight from broadcasts), and even touches like organ sounds. It almost felt like, I don’t know, the soundtrack to a baseball-themed computer game from the ‘90s that I would have played a ton of as a kid, and I appreciated it!
Bad Snacks: Her EP “Home Music” is a nice little electronic record, with some chill songs to vibe to (I feel like that phrase might be overused in a lot of spaces, so know that I use it with only the UTMOST of chill and/or vibe songs). “Iiwannabe” is a definite highlight.
Andora and alpha and Glitch Cat: Back to some of the recurring electronic producers of these playlists, both of whom released some singles or EPs. They’re all solid, but I don’t have a ton to say on them individually; they’re here mostly to give us a little electronica block in the song order.
Japanese Breakfast: Michelle Zauner finally gets around to following up her big 2021, when she dropped the Grammy-nominated ‘Jubilee’ (and also scored the video game ‘Sable’, which was really good!). ‘For Melancholy Brunettes (& sad women)’ feels like a very different direction, going very singer-songwriter and almost literary in its subjects, and drawing on some ‘70s soft rock and chamber pop in styles. It sounds very warm and well-produced, I love how it sounds, and on the whole, I’d say that I appreciate it… it’s just also, much less my thing than ‘Jubilee’ (and there’s definitely nothing like “Be Sweet” here). It happens, sometimes artists just go in a different direction. It still might be worth checking out on your end if that sounds good, though.
The Wombats: Even as a pretty big fan of The Wombats, I was fairly indifferent to their last release back in 2022 (which was also their fifth album together, as a point of comparison for that St. Lucia write-up earlier). I went back to my playlist from then for a refresher on my thoughts from back then, only to find that I didn’t even write a blurb for it; I remember feeling like it was a little directionless though? So I did think that their new record ‘Oh! The Ocean’ was an improvement, even if it’s still not up to their first four albums. It’s definitely got a little bit of a darker feel with some notes of midlife discontent, which I suppose makes sense.
And finally, a few more quick shout-outs of stuff I found on Bandcamp but didn’t quite get a full paragraph on:
Flight Attendant: This synthpop duo’s album ‘Under the Powerlines’ is full of darker, vibe-ier pop tracks, but their arrangements also make heavy use of strings (particularly solo violin), which gives them a unique and interesting, almost-folk-y texture at times. Maybe this falls under sophisti-pop too? That’s not a label I get to break out often.
Pacifica: ‘Freak Scene’ is a fun record of 2000s-esque alt rock from an Argentinian duo making their full-length debut. “Anita” feels like it could have been a minor breakout hit from the era that gets remembered fondly these days.
The Crystal Furs: Another throwback, their album ‘In Coastal Light” sounds like the jangly psychedelia and surf rock of the ‘60s, and I appreciate it a lot (adding to that feel: there’s a protest song about Robert Moses, which feels era-appropriate). Again, there are a lot of good singles here too!
2DCAT: ‘Fantastic Voyage’, their 2022 album, isn’t going to revolutionize synthwave or anything, but it’s a solid listen! There are enough catchy songs to help it stand out from its field.
Arcadia Grey: ‘Casually Crashing’ sits at the intersection of Midwest emo and Pop-punk, with songs dealing with malaise in catchy song structure, but left deliberately rough and punkish rather than polished to the sheen that “pop-punk” sometimes conveys. It’s a lot of fun!
Guidon Bear: ‘Internal Records’ is an interesting album of an indie folk duo also playing around with some lo-fi synths, and it’s definitely a sound you don’t hear super often.
Andrew Huang: I don’t think it’s quite as polished as Knower or Sungazer, but Huang’s 2021 album ‘Spacetime’ is the same sort of “very proficient musician exploring pop and electronic sounds with some more complex and jazzier bits” lane, and it’s another good listen. The sci-fi theming is a nice touch too.
The Playlist (but as an actual list, after a brief mailing list interruption)
| Artist | Song | Release |
|---|---|---|
| Great Grandpa | Ladybug | Patience, Moonbeam |
| Great Grandpa | Doom | Patience, Moonbeam |
| Great Grandpa | Kid | Patience, Moonbeam |
| Courting | Throw | New Last Name |
| Courting | We Look Good Together (Big Noise) | New Last Name |
| Courting | Emily G | New Last Name |
| Courting | Tennis | Guitar Music |
| Courting | Loaded | Guitar Music |
| Courting | Pause at You | Lust for Life, Or: How To Thread The Needle And Come Out The Other Side To Tell The Story |
| Courting | Namcy | Lust for Life, Or: How To Thread The Needle And Come Out The Other Side To Tell The Story |
| OAKMAN | Night | SCP |
| OAKMAN | Fantasy | SCP |
| OAKMAN | Ricochet | Violent Oblivion |
| OAKMAN | Acte Manqué | Violent Oblivion |
| OAKMAN | Proper Attitude | Violent Oblivion |
| FLAVOR FOLEY | Water the Roses | Cardiac Counterpoint |
| FLAVOR FOLEY | Queen of Venus | Cardiac Counterpoint |
| FLAVOR FOLEY | Paparazzi Murder Party (ROUNDTABLE REPRISE) |
Cardiac Counterpoint |
| CircusP x FLAVOR FOLEY | ELECTRIC WEEKEND ZONE | single |
| Jamie Paige | Dance Delightful | single |
| Confidence Man | I CAN'T LOSE YOU | 3AM (LA LA LA) |
| Confidence Man | CONTROL | 3AM (LA LA LA) |
| Confidence Man | JANET | 3AM (LA LA LA) |
| Beach Bunny | Tunnel Vision | Tunnel Vision |
| Beach Bunny | Clueless | Tunnel Vision |
| Beach Bunny | Pixie Cut | Tunnel Vision |
| Bartees Strange | Sober | Horror |
| Bartees Strange | Lie 95 | Horror |
| Bartees Strange | Wants Needs | Horror |
| gloomy june | picking scabs | early release (gloomy june) |
| gloomy june | Pisces | single |
| gloomy june | Good Times | single |
| gloomy june | Always Gonna Let You Down | Popsick-EP |
| gloomy june | Tinderbox Heart | Popsick-EP |
| Fabiana Palladino | Stay With Me Through the Night | Fabiana Palladino |
| Fabiana Palladino | Shoulda | Fabiana Palladino |
| Rebecca Black | TRUST! | SALVATION |
| Rebecca Black | Twist the Knife | SALVATION |
| Du Blonde | Dollar Coffee | Sniff More Gritty |
| Du Blonde (ft. Laura Jane Grace) | Solitary Individual | Sniff More Gritty |
| Paper Rabbit | Heavyweight | single |
| Paper Rabbit | Burden | single |
| Sorry Darling | Passionate Kisses | Passionate Kisses-EP |
| Sorry Darling | Made Room for Silence | single |
| St. Lucia | Pie In The Sky | Fata Morgana: Dawn |
| St. Lucia | Rolling Man | Fata Morgana: Dawn |
| CHVRCHES | Up In Arms | Every Open Eye (Anniversary Re-release) |
| Snail's House | MeteorGirl | Alien Pop V-EP |
| Snail's House | Moon Rabbit | Alien Pop V-EP |
| cute girls doing cute things | HEART CONNECT | LOVE-LY |
| cute girls doing cute things | CANDY OVERDOSE | LOVE-LY |
| cute girls doing cute things | MOVE | LOVE-ME |
| cute girls doing cute things | INFINITE | LOVE-ME |
| The Dare | Girls | What's Wrong With New York? |
| The Dare | I Destroyed Disco | What's Wrong With New York? |
| The Beths | Metal | single |
| Chappell Roan | The Giver | single |
| Gryff (Feat. Seersha) | The Feeling | single |
| The Happy Fits | Everything You Do | upcoming album |
| Fickle Friends | Swoon | single |
| Kicksie | MY CAR | upcoming album |
| Similar Kind | search party | upcoming album |
| Similar Kind | let me go | upcoming album |
| Bad Suns | Communicating | upcoming album |
| The New Pornographers | Ballad of the Last Payphone | single |
| Ripe | Try Not To Look | single |
| Madison McFerrin | Ain't It Nice | single |
| The Midnight | Love Is an Ocean | single |
| South Arcade | Supermodels | single |
| Maryze | Versed | single |
| able machines | Identity Theft | single |
| Chris Farren | Cause of Death | single |
| Sub-Radio | I'm in Love!! | Single |
| LONG ISLAND | fragile | single |
| Rachel Chinouriri | Garden of Eden | What a Devestating Turn of Events |
| Rachel Chinouriri | Never Need Me | What a Devestating Turn of Events |
| Irish Basement | Heaven or Hell | Heaven of Hell |
| Irish Basement | Every Dive Bar | Heaven of Hell |
| Gut Health | Lethargic | Electric Party Chrome Girl |
| Gut Health | Uh oh | Stiletto |
| Gut Health | Restless | Stiletto |
| porcupine | Character Flaws | Our Chemistry is a Tightrope |
| porcupine | The Heels | Our Chemistry is a Tightrope |
| Star 99 | Kill | Gaman |
| Star 99 | Pushing Daisies | Gaman |
| Korine | Screaming In The Night | A Flame In The Dark |
| Korine | Anhedonia | A Flame In The Dark |
| Baby Teeth | Old Money & Old Metal | Carry On Regardless |
| Baby Teeth | Try to Hold On | Carry On Regardless |
| saoirse dream | montage | saoirse dream |
| saoirse dream | something cool | saoirse dream |
| webcage | groupie | peer2peer |
| Chayla Hope | Delusional | Mess of Woman |
| Chayla Hope | Midnight Drive | Mess of Woman |
| Charly Bliss | Blown to Bits | Young Enough |
| Charly Bliss | Hard To Believe | Young Enough |
| ok seashells | 𓆩♡𓆪 4 and 3 𓆩♡𓆪 | 𓆩♡𓆪 𝟸 𓆩♡𓆪 |
| ok seashells | 𓆩♡𓆪 HUMAN DANCING 𓆩♡𓆪 | 𓆩♡𓆪 𝟸 𓆩♡𓆪 |
| Scarlet Bandit | ROCKSTAR GIRLFRIEND | VENGEANCE AND VANITY |
| Scarlet Bandit | HOLLYWOOD IS HAUNTED | VENGEANCE AND VANITY |
| Diva Bleach | Obsessed | Can You Keep a Secret? |
| Diva Bleach | Kiss Her Goodbye | Can You Keep a Secret? |
| Oceanus | Home Run | HOME RUN-EP |
| bad snacks | trustfall | Home Music-EP |
| bad snacks | iiwannabe | Home Music-EP |
| Andora (feat. 梓川) | Echo | Single |
| Andora (feat. Will Stetson) | Ego | single |
| alpha | everything | single |
| natsume & alpha | Idea | single |
| Glitch Cat | electroCUTEd! | thoughtless-EP |
| Japanese Breakfast | Orlando in Love | For Melancholy Brunettes (& sad women) |
| Japanese Breakfast | Mega Circuit | For Melancholy Brunettes (& sad women) |
| The Wombats | I Love America and She Hates Me | Oh! The Ocean |
| Flight Attendant | Island in the Sky | Under the Powerlines |
| Flight Attendant | Dreamland | Under the Powerlines |
| Pacifica | Anita | Freak Scene |
| Pacifica | Hotel Bar | Freak Scene |
| The Crystal Furs | Winter Stars | In Coastal Light |
| The Crystal Furs | Mr. Moses | In Coastal Light |
| 2DCAT | Star 2000 | Fantastic Voyage |
| 2DCAT | Come Back To Me | Fantastic Voyage |
| Arcadia Grey | everything is miserable & i am brooding alone in my dark, dark room |
Casually Crashing |
| Arcadia Grey | Pdaddy Hoodie | Casually Crashing |
| Guidon Bear | TV Screen | Internal Systems |
| Guidon Bear | Dissociation Nation | Internal Systems |
| Andrew Huang feat. Dana Jean Phoenix | Interstellar | Spacetime |
| Andrew Huang | The Hill | Spacetime |
| Mystery Friends | Rising Star | ON THE FLOOR! EP |
| Mystery Friends | Pretend | ON THE FLOOR! EP |
| Great Good Fine Ok | Forget You | Single |
| Wilder. | Young | single |
| Good Neighbours | Ripple | Single |
| Trauma Club | Dream of Death | single |
| Paragon Cause | Disconnected | Autopilot |
| SYM1 (feat. Moistbreezy) | Right 1 4 Me | single |
| Quentyn, CHRNS feat. Zay | Innocence | Enroute |
| Mass Minor | Deadendrive (Dark Mode) | Dark Mode-EP |
| DOSSEY | This Feeling (Full Version) | Animal (EP) |
| June Jones | Be Honest | single |
| Magana | Beside You | Teeth |
| Father Koi, Whisper Doll | golden | talk sweet, strike gold-EP |
| ghost piss | He Didn't Love Either of Us | Dream Girl |
| Atomic Tom | Human | single |
| The Weeknd | Dancing in the Flames | single |
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