2025 in Music, Part 2: Top 60 Songs

Thanks to NPR for “letting” me use this image without any permission.

Yesterday, we previewed the countdown and handed out some honorable mentions as well as some awards— some more ignominious than others. (It’s here if you missed it.) Today, we’ve got 60 songs, but until we get to our top 40, we’ll keep the list and any writeups as quick and brief as possible, because that is way too fuckin’ much writing for one man. I mean, every top 100 you see from other publications has like 10-12 collaborators on it. I just have me.

For similar reasons, I make no claim that this is comprehensive, just my favorite new music. I listen to what I can, and I’m pretty active and open about doing that, but I don’t have the kind of resources to be comprehensive. Maybe if I was being paid full-time to be a music critic, but I’m not and won’t be. Still, this is a pretty wide and diverse list— over the course of two days, we’ll mention well over a hundred artists, and despite my established personal tastes and biases, I think the list is pretty diverse and eclectic in terms of styles and tastes. So I don’t feel there’s any lack of trying on my part. If one of your favorites from the year didn’t appear on here, just assume I didn’t hear it. (What else are you gonna assume, that I did hear it and you’re wrong? I’m not wrong.)

And it’s tough to sort all these songs. It was a deep year in music. I gave my countdown a listen in order and it passed the first test of countdowns, which is “At no point did I hear a song and think ‘the song I just heard is clearly better.'” But I’ve also had times I looked at it and seen songs in the 50s and songs in the 20s and asked myself if the latter was clearly better than the former. (And I ultimately did make some edits after listening to it all the way through.) So if you find yourself disagreeing with the order of the songs, well, you’re probably right. And if you agree, well, you’re probably right too. At some point I had to stop fiddling with this and put it to bed.

And there will be playlists at the end. This year, we’ve added Tidal to the streaming services you can listen to the countdown on. I’ve also added a YouTube playlist, so I’ve included and I will include the music videos wherever I can. (Be warned that that means some of the videos have expanded non-song content, and at least one video was actually made for two songs, one of which is not on here.) I hope you’ll give them a listen. There are ten songs that are local to me in the Front Range area of Colorado and which you probably have not heard yet unless you also live here, so that should give you a fresh reason to check out the playlist even if you’re already familiar with most of it.

(If you missed the previous two years, you can use the “Music Countdown” column link at the top, or just look here and here.)

Without further ado: Let’s get to the good stuff.

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60. Genesis Owusu – “DEATH CULT ZOMBIE” – Not the big dancehall beat I loved from “Get Inspired,” but the punk guitar riff is pretty sweet and gives the song its own energy.

59. Cate Le Bon – “Mothers of Riches” – If it weren’t so late-breaking for me and I had more time to think about it, I might rate this higher. Breaking into the list at the last minute is in itself a good sign. Immediately reminded me of Kate Bush; Björk is another possible touchstone, though Le Bon’s voice and the baroque elements might even recall Nico.

58. This is Lorelei, MJ Lenderman – “Dancing in the Club (MJ Lenderman version)” – MJ Lenderman takes the original fast-paced electronic / autotune version of this song This Is Lorelei recorded, and turns it into the country-rock lament it is at heart.

57. Chappell Roan – “The Subway” – I put this on here pretty quickly, which made me feel at the time like it might have been a token pick for Chappell Roan. But like with “Good Luck, Babe!”, the more I listened to it, the more it grew on me.

56. Viagra Boys – “Man Made of Meat” – I feel like I would enjoy the living shit out of this if I were 20-30 years younger, and while I do still enjoy it and for good reason, the snark and the more juvenile elements don’t hit the way they did in my youth. But it’s a fun, energetic, dirty punk song from a band that also fits that description.

55. Black Helicopter – “Paralyze” – Let’s all boo Dave Shutton for giving me extra work right at the end of the year. But his favorite band released a new album December 1, which just got them in under the wire. He recommended this song because it’s much more on the hooky side than the usual noise, thrash, and other angry-young-man music he listens to, and he’s right. The big hooks make it catchy, the solo is short but great, and the style of singing throws it back to everyone’s favorite 90s indie bands (even the ones that are overrated, which this isn’t). I almost said “lo-fi”, for the obvious Pavement / Guided By Voices comparisons, but the singer’s voice also reminds me at points of J Mascis, and Dinosaur Jr. are decidedly not lo-fi.

54. Loaded Honey – “Tokyo Rain” – Two members of Jungle trade the disco for yacht soul. I don’t really think much more needs to be said than that.

53. St. Paul & the Broken Bones – “Fall Moon” – Some real throwback soul, for those of you missing Stax Records. Paul Janeway has that rare kind of voice these days that sounds like he still lives on whiskey and four packs of cigarettes a day, all the more astonishing when you see what he looks like.

52. The Savage Blush – “Mapatchli” – Our first of ten artists local to my Rocky Mountain High here, they describe themselves as psychedelic rock, but per the song title, there is a definite Central/South American bent to this song as well.

51. Los Mocochetes – “Sun Will Shine” – Our second of ten blah blah blah, they describe themselves as “Chicano funk.” Yes, that’ll do. Thank you, very cool!

50. Peach Pit – “Magpie” – Honestly, this probably stretches how early you could be released and still fit into a 2025 countdown. But it’s part of 2025 to me. A simple little upbeat pop-rock ditty that’s no less effective in its simplicity. (Also, I did not choose this solely for the name.)

49. Panda Bear – “Ferry Lady” – I never was as much into the whole Animal Collective thing as so many of my age group; I did like a lot of Panda Bear’s solo work, although it wasn’t a regular listen for me. Anyway, this was my favorite of his songs this year. Pretty cheery while still being chill and dreamy in that Panda Bear way.

48. Lucy Dacus – “Ankles” – Boygenius is much more my style than any of the solo work, and Dacus probably would’ve been my least-expected solo artist of the three on here… but, hey, a good song is a good song, even if it’s in a style that’s not my typical preference. I think the second verse and the breakdown around it elevate the song for me. Agent of chaos, angel of death, one of three.

47. shame – “Quiet Life” – “shame are a British post-punk band…” say no more! Seriously, though, I like the genre for its combination of punk energy with more interesting and angular rhythms and structures, and I can’t pin anything particular I like about this song, it’s just the way it all comes together— in the rhythms, the particular singing, and the guitars. It feels to me like it gets down to the essentials of the sound and style they’re going for here.

46. Courtney Barnett – “Stay in Your Lane” – I feel like Courtney Barnett came along at just the wrong time for me to get into her— a decade earlier, probably would’ve been someone I enjoyed, but my thirties ended up, distressingly, largely being a musical desert (and not even that there wasn’t good music out there, but so little of it made an impact on me, and even what I probably would have enjoyed ten years prior or now just bounced off me). Anyway, this one is unique with its shifting tempos and energies and less traditional structure. Pretty cool.

45. Rocket – “Take Your Aim” – Rocket’s other singles are pretty good, too. Some good 90s-alt-inspired music here, with Smashing Pumpkins either as a particular touchstone or just a band they’ve opened for.

44. Turnstile – “SEEIN’ STARS” – This one sounds to me like Turnstile borrowed A Flock of Seagulls’ guitars and The Police’s bass, so naturally, it’s my favorite song on the new album.

43. Laufey – “Lover Girl” – Laufey seems to be expanding her throwback torch-song pop to add a little calypso feel here, or maybe I just hear steel drums and think “calypso.”

42. Obongjayar – “Just My Luck” – Just a pretty enjoyable, pretty breezy song from a Nigerian/English musician whose music branches across a lot of categories; I’d describe “Just My Luck” as light soul.

41. The Galentines – “Sweet Cream” – Our third local artist gives us a slice of tightly wound punk(ish?) with a groove. I think the precision of this track really makes it shine.

And now, that radio staple, the top 40:

40. Hotline TNT
“Break Right”
Raspberry Moon

Some good rock here whose low-key style throws back to 90s indie and alternative. Hotline TNT is described as shoegaze in some places, though I don’t really see it here; I suppose it’s down-tempo enough that you could stare at your shoes while listening to it. Pretty cool; it’s not very high-energy, but it doesn’t need to be to have an enjoyable groove.

Hotline TNT is also our only band on the countdown that elected to remove their music from Spotify, so you’ll have to look elsewhere to hear them.

39. Jean Dawson
“Rock a Bye Baby”
Rock a Bye Baby, Glimmer of God

Sounds to me like a Billboard R&B #1 of 1985. Dawson is at least going Michael Jackson-adjacent here and it works, but it’s also a pretty interesting contrast to last year’s number “Houston,” which seemed to be going for a much more hazy, spacey vibe. Anyway, this shit worked then for good reason and it works now.

38. Wishy
“Fly”
Planet Popstar (EP)

A little bit of low-key indie rock that’s pretty chill and with a good vibe. Saw them open for Momma this year, and that was a great show. The Ace of Base reference is sort of the opposite of Wet Leg’s Buffalo ’66 reference in “Wet Dream” (or Momma’s “Gold Soundz” reference in “Speeding ’72”), in that they both speak to a, ah, certain age demographic, although one was popular and probably not for this song’s audience in that demographic, and one was obscure and would have been more so for that audience, even if they didn’t think it was any good. I have no idea which one is more honest, and I’m rambling here and I like both songs, so who cares.

37. Dry Cleaning
“Hit My Head All Day”
Secret Love

The album won’t come out until next year, but to whet your appetite for it, Dry Cleaning gave us this single late in the year. I don’t know quite how to describe it— the instrumentation and more spoken singing give it a darker tone, more noir-ish. And the singer reminds me a bit of the Notwist. Hits the artsier side of post-punk for me, which can be a bit challenging at first, but is all the cooler if you’re on its wavelength.

36. Fontaines DC
“It’s Amazing to Be Young”
Romance (Deluxe Edition)

I do still like last year’s “Favourite” better, but my overall opinion on Fontaines DC has much improved since seeing them live in April. I didn’t quite vibe with them before, but I feel like I get it now. Anyway, I can’t speak for being young these days (maybe ever), but the energy and carefree attitude of it certainly helped carry me through the impoverished times and the struggles, minor in hindsight those may seem. I’m rambling again; I guess this song mostly works because Grian Chatten sounds like he means it.

35. The Beths
“Metal”
Straight Line Was a Lie

The Beths continue to be a great power-pop band, and unfortunately for your critic, that means I don’t have a lot new to say about them. They pretty consistently deliver in their music, though. I feel like I owe this writeup more, but if you’re familiar with their music, there isn’t much to say— the same catchy hooks and choruses and harmonies that put “Watching the Credits” so high on our 2023 list.

34. Deep Sea Diver
“Billboard Heart”
Billboard Heart

This is another one that feels 80s to me, but in an imprecise way. Maybe I like the grand, epic sweep of the sound. While their sound is largely more described as indie rock with power-pop and dream-pop elements, and influences of post-punk and new wave, I feel like, all the reverb and what have you aside, this song sounds big in a way that I wouldn’t call “dreamy”— maybe it’s just Jessica Dobson’s voice that makes it feel so big and majestic (especially on those choruses and “tied up in knots”), maybe it’s the lyrical imagery of things like open skies and oceans and the sun. But most likely it’s the way all of these elements come together.

33. Pulp
“Spike Island”
More

It’s funny, I was never a big fan of Pulp back when. Nothing against them, but even at their peak, their best music didn’t really make it to my neck of the woods swamp. But even as a latecomer, I know who they are and how highly regarded they are and their most notable works, which didn’t influence my decision here, but leading off their first new album since 2001, they deliver some great rock with some anthemic qualities, similar to some of their best-known tunes. Glad to have them back if they can still make music like this.

32. Matt Berninger
“Bonnet of Pins”
Get Sunk

I was never the biggest fan of The National in my younger days; they seemed too depressive for me. (I’ve famously said, or “famously” maybe meaning half a dozen people if that many remember it, that The National are to downers what Interpol is to uppers.) I’ve softened a bit over the years, though, and so has Berninger; what once came off as morose can, in your mid-50s, seem a lot more accepting. No longer do I find myself feeling like Berninger is moping, so much as treating all the lost loves and loneliness and etc. with a kind of wistful acceptance. Life, always like this.

31. Girl Tones
“Blame”
Blame (EP)

The two-hander of sisters Kenzie and Laila Crowe bring us this one— the simplicity of bands like the Black Keys or White Stripes, and a stripped-down sound reminiscent of the Pixies and other 80s indie bands. (One might say some of the same bands that influenced Nirvana, although they don’t sound like Nirvana.) The simplicity means both the guitar riffs and the drumming have to take the lead at certain points; beyond that, Girl Tones have a nice pop sensibility with some good harmonies that, if they aren’t as innovative as their influences, may make their work prettier and catchier.

30. Pink Fuzz
“Animal”
Resolution

Not sure how I’d describe this… post-punk, in a sense, maybe? (Isn’t it great that “post-punk” is such a catch-all term?) It’s got the attitude of punk, but not the tight and simple song structures. And good for it, because the guitar riff and the intense drumming are what really make this song. Also, this is our fourth local act this year.

29. Sour Magic
“Chocolate & Shrooms”
The Hive

Dark, funky, and jammy. Like, uh, a shot of Smith & Cross followed by a glass of Zinfandel, I guess. No, that sounds gross. Just trust me on this one, the latest on our countdown from my own locality.

28. The Bug Club
“How to Be a Confidante”
Very Human Features

I enjoy The Bug Club’s idiosyncratic sound; they’re “indie rock” in that way that they would have been “new wave” 40 years ago; that is to say, they’d be classified with other bands people who like them might like, even though they don’t much sound like anyone else. I think I still like last year’s “Lonsdale Slipons” better, but hey, this is a pretty good song too and a good example of their sound.

27. Arc De Soleil
“Riders of the Moon”
Lumin Rain

See you space cowboy… I think the best way I can describe this song is that it sounds like spacefaring music made by someone raised on Ennio Morricone soundtracks. Spaghetti surf space rock? I don’t know. It’s cool as shit, though!

26. Craig Finn
“Luke & Leanna”
Always Been

Craig Finn’s solo album this year features backing from the War on Drugs, trading in the meaty classic-rock riffs of the Hold Steady for more sheen and atmosphere. And appropriately, this song also moves past the topic of so many of Finn’s songs, the party kids in the party pit who party all night and party all day. “Luke & Leanna” is a tale of quiet domestic desperation, a life that’s found stability and routine but lacks passion. Leanna’s story is the same stuff so much literary short fiction is made of. And I, for one, found Finn’s newest subjects more compelling than much of his recent work (as much as I stand for Separation Sunday as an all-timer).

25. Vivian (Oblivion)
“Animals”
non-album single

Kicking off a stretch of three straight local songs, we have an artist whose name I’m not entirely sure of. The artwork on the single says “Vivian Oblivion,” but Spotify lists them as “Vivian,” Bandcamp and other pages seem to alternate both, and their website now seems to say just “Vivian,” although you still need to Google “Vivian Oblivion” to find out any information about them. In any case, that’s not as important as how cool this song is, with its big orchestral parts glammed up for some dance pop. Very theatrical. (Plus, the cover art is an elephant fucking a rhinoceros in bisexual lighting.)

24. On the Dot
“Lisbon”
Sea in Between

Local song #7 is some great power-pop that recalls 00s indie rock as well– those guitars that kick off the song remind me of Los Campesinos! as much as anything. And that chorus is catchy and anthemic. And maybe they’re in neighboring countries, but nevertheless, my fondness for “Cordoba” may have played a subliminal factor here. Anyway, a fun and very enjoyable throwback to those years for anyone who dug the music then.

23. YAN YEZ
“futurehUSband”
non-album single

Our eighth local song is another 80s-inspired track, and while I have been unable to successfully pin down specific touchstones, I keep finding myself thinking “climax or final scene of a John Hughes movie.” I felt like maybe some OMD, some Psychedelic Furs, although Cyndi Lauper may be an influence as well. Really, it’s the combination of that synth riff that sounds like it’s scoring the climax, and Nico Yañez’s heartfelt singing, that really comes together in a way that, for all its touchstones in a bygone, synthetic time, feels achingly real.

22. bar italia
“Cowbella”
Some Like It Hot

Our own Ben Hohenstatt compared this band and album to UK indie-rock of the 00s, but I think it throws back even earlier as well, to that early-80s era where “post-punk” and “new wave” weren’t fully defined yet, and a lot of rock that was off-kilter from the mainstream had a chance to get a foothold on the airwaves. (That said, if only one of us is right, it’s probably going to be him.) Maybe extremely British singing makes me think of the post-punk era. Or maybe it’s the riffs and the way the song always feels like it’s shifting out from underneath us, parts that are unexpected but still fit together well.

21. RAYE
“WHERE IS MY HUSBAND!”
album TBA

Well, I think this is a first for the countdown: A single released to preview an upcoming album that does not have a title or release date yet. Of course, that’s not why it’s on here; it’s because this kind of maximalist, horn-driven Motown throwback is so instantly catchy and the song never lets up. I am a sucker for when a song like this goes all out, and this one absolutely does. That made it pretty tough to rank; there are some songs in other styles I really like, some songs I valued for their personal resonance or emotional impact, but there might not be another song on the countdown as fun as this one, an instant party.

20. Kerala Dust
“The Orb, TX”
An Echo of Love

I’m not sure how to describe this song. Even after all the years I spent in Texas, I dunno what the titular orb is, but once I finally dug out the lyrics, I found an outlaw narrative, a western about a man trying to outrun his past and looking for something bigger. It’s electronic with a bit of trance, but it’s also driven a lot by its guitar riff, which gives it some of that western feel. More than calling it dance music, I find it meditative. And I guess I still have a weak spot for a squelchy electronic beat. It just vibed with me, you know? I’ll seek love and find grace.

19. Water From Your Eyes
“Life Signs”
It’s a Beautiful Place

I don’t think this song is so far afield I could truly call it strange, but it’s slightly sinister, off-kilter in a way I really dig, and it starts with that opening riff and the drumming, and then the second guitar seems to come in and go in an entirely different direction… and the noise blows by, and it’s the spoken words over the heavily rhythm-driven song, and that’s where it really hits: For how much it’s driven by the rhythmic parts, the rhythms of “Life Signs” don’t feel predictable at all. And then the actual singing comes forth in the chorus, with an actual melody.

It feels like a song designed to keep us off-balance and surprise us. And despite that, while the disparate parts come together in a way that surprises me when they arrive, they all still fit together well and coherently in the big picture. Just a very cool song.

18-17. Wet Leg
“catch these fists” / “mangetout”
Moisturizer

I couldn’t decide between these two as far as a favorite, so Wet Leg ends up being the only band that gets two songs on the top 60 this year.

Thematically, they’re both pretty much about being sick of dudes, and while I don’t like them as much as I did “Chaise Longue” or especially “Wet Dream,” Wet Leg remains, as ever, writing post-punk inspired music with punk energy, engaging rhythms, and a bit of wit and cheek in the lyrics. And they do it well.

I admit, I thought I was clever when I figured out “mangetout” was supposed to be “man get out.” I even jokingly started pronouncing it like a French word. I learned much later mange tout is an actual French term for edible-pod peas, and then I noticed they actually say it as mange tout in the song. Well, I was clever once upon a time.

16. Foxwarren
“Listen2me”
2

This one is a simple little ditty from a band that formed in Regina, Saskatchewan, a touch of folk-inflected indie rock. It’s simple but it’s catchy. The simplicity means there isn’t a whole lot to talk about, musically speaking. But this is another song where thematic resonance strikes again. Would I like this so much if the lyrics didn’t speak to a lifelong frustration of mine? Probably not, but that’s what makes art personal, right?

15. Tyler, the Creator
“Ring Ring Ring”
DON’T TAP THE GLASS

I never really was into Tyler, the Creator— Odd Future became a thing a little bit after my time, and I never felt that compelled to check them out (and as I’ve mentioned before, any new music in the 2010s was more likely to bounce off me than not, even if I might have liked it at another time in my life.) My loss, I suppose, because what I’ve heard from DON’T TAP THE GLASS is energetic, innovative, and fun, throwing a bunch of disparate elements together to make a lot of cool and sharp tracks.

My favorite example of that is “Ring Ring Ring,” driven by its mix of the deep bass, funky riffs (including a sample of Ray Parker Jr.’s band, Raydio), Tyler’s voice going between rapping and crooning (and more than that), and that cool retro-dial tone… and a bunch of other sounds and parts that chip in here and there, that I couldn’t even possibly begin to cover here. It’s so stuffed with musical ideas that it’s the sort of thing it would take someone wildly creative to even imagine, let alone make work. A number of cool elements that add up to a sum still yet bigger than the parts.

14. supermodel*
“I Used to Live in England”
supermodel* ep (EP)

Multiple people I played this for immediately compared it to “Losing My Edge,” and that’s fair enough, with the spoken-word lyrics, ironic sense of humor, and the general production. The slinky riff is what immediately hooks us, though, and the ironic sense of humor works when you’re actually funny, which this song is. (“I said, ‘Ross, man, your band is pretty good too.'”) But, like LCD Soundsystem, it’s ironic humor with some self-awareness and that you can dance to. Funny and fun. Bells.

13. May Be Fern
“The Way We Do”
Three of Swords

Another local band, and another song that could’ve fit in the 80s section, with those highly melodic keyboards and the high vocal register that sounds almost childlike, recalling artists like New Edition or even Jackson 5.

I’m not sure how to describe the style of this song. The band’s website describes them as a “funk band,” and I would not, but there’s some yacht-smoothed funky elements here, enough to make the song swing. It’s also poppy and melodic, with Kate Fern’s powerful register (well-balanced by the harmonies) and Hannah May’s work on the Hammond the highlights for me. It’s also upbeat and uplifting, a groovy little love song at heart. And, as always, I’m a mark for a good key change at the climax.

12. Beach Bunny
“Tunnel Vision”
Tunnel Vision

I still like “Vertigo” better, but “Tunnel Vision” is quite good, more of what we’ve come to expect from Beach Bunny: self-reflective and psychoanalytical post-punk. That level of introspection— well, to be more accurate, that amount of therapyspeak— could get old if it was overdone, or if it wasn’t set to such killer hooks and drumming. Beach Bunny keeps putting singles near the top of the countdown for good reason.

11. The Beaches
“Last Girls at the Party”
No Hard Feelings

Well, the lightning in a bottle of “Blame Brett” would have been hard to recapture again, but No Hard Feelings, and this song, are pretty cool. Not even many bands try to make good power-pop / garage rock, and as always, The Beaches are up-tempo, with great riffs and harmonies and fills, and as always, with lyrics largely about their own messiness. The exact topics can change and even shift with time (the yesterday-aforementioned “Lesbian of the Year” being one example), but the beauty of The Beaches (beyond such well-structured power-pop), especially at a live show, is that, hey, we’re having a good time and maybe getting a little messy and making mistakes, but we’re all doing it together and we’ll all be okay.

10. Hamilton Leithauser
“Knockin’ Heart”
This Side of the Island

To be honest, I didn’t even know I had a Walkmen-sized hole in my life until I heard this solo effort from Leithauser. I was never the biggest Walkmen fan, though I spun Everyone Who Pretended to Like Me Is Gone and Bows + Arrows often enough, and “The Rat” is of course an all-timer. Maybe it’s that Leithauser’s voice is unique; maybe it’s that he gives it his all with it, and you’ll know it in the choruses and the “over you” in the verses.

It’s mellower than much of the Walkmen’s work, for sure— less loud than something like “The Rat”, less angry than a lot of their work— a simple love song of sorts by a presumably older and wiser Leithauser. It’s not a particularly inventive song, a pretty straightforward mid-tempo rocker, but it stayed with me all year, from the factory to the junkyard, to the portrait in the bell jar… I guess I needed this.

9. Sparks
“Do Things My Own Way”
MAD!

Wild to me that these guys are still at it well into their 70s (well, Ron turned 80 earlier this year), and not only that, but still making great music! It would be hard for most rock bands that have been around over 50 years to believably sing about doing things their own way, since they usually become institutions and dinosaurs by then, but Ron and Russell Mael might be the lone exceptions.

How do you describe a Sparks song? They have such a unique approach that seems to defy conventional songwriting and genre. This one is pounding and intense, but in a way that’s confident and cool.

This one gets bonus points for its thematic relevance to me; I’ve long done things my own way, sometimes against the best advice, sometimes out of necessity, and largely because the best advice was often bad and the life others wanted to steer me into would have left me crawling out of my skin. And it’s mostly worked out for me. Sometimes when doubts about that creep in, I need a reminder: I’m Howard Hughes in Jordan 2s. Damn right, baby.

8. Jack White
“Archbishop Harold Holmes”
No Name

At first, I didn’t think I liked this as much as lead single “That’s How I’m Feeling.” But the more I listened to it, the more I got into its rhythms, and the more I appreciated the story being told. White’s narrator is perhaps a throwback variation of but no less recognizable as a classic American grifter: Part religious snake-oil salesman, part Harold Hill. (I don’t think “Harold Holmes” sounds so similar by accident.) And yet, amidst the flimflam (obvious as soon as he promises a “financial blessing” and says “you must first bring seven friends,” like any good MLM or chain letter), there’s a little bit of sincere wisdom in here: I’m here to tell you that love is trying to help someone else.

The rolling, fast-moving narrative, matching our narrator’s motormouthed salvation sales pitch, gives the song a unique energy, while still being recognizably Jack White in so many ways, like that classic chorus. It’s just such a fun song. And I highly recommend checking out the video; you’ll be delighted to discover who plays the Archbishop.

7. Momma
“I Want You (Fever)”
Welcome to My Blue Sky

My favorite of theirs since the singles on Household Name, Momma delivers on some killer grunge-inspired rock (the band has called The Breeders their favorite band) time in and time out. “I Want You (Fever)” is a great, energetic throwback rocker, with a pretty straightforward theme: Break it off with your girlfriend already.

But it’s not so much pining as it is aggressive and confident. Everybody knows that this is going down, we’re the talk of the town. Maybe Momma’s (or singer Etta Friedman’s, I suppose) paramour hasn’t “officially” broken it off with her (or his) girlfriend, but Friedman is confident about where they stand now, and that she is desired by the target of the song— it’s just a matter of pulling off the Band-Aid. Just a great, confident rocker from a band that always brings the energy— one of my consistent favorites since 2022, a hell of a good time live, and a band that deserves to be big. (Momma is the only band to appear on the countdown all three years.)

6. The Velveteers
“On and On”
A Million Knives

The local song of the year from what might be Colorado’s coolest band right now, the Velveteers combine punk aggression and garage loudness with a double-drummer attack that makes everything hit hard. That’s the whole band: lead singer/guitarist Demi Demitro and two drummers, Baby Pottersmith and Johnny Fig. What would you call that, a power-up trio? A superpower trio?

Nothing against a bassist, but the music is definitely powered up here, with some gnarly guitar work from Demitro to counterbalance the bombast and intensity of the drumming. (And, for what it’s worth, production by the Black Keys’ Dan Auerbach, one of the albums that got him a Grammy nomination for Producer of the Year.) And it all comes together in a tour de force of a song here— short and simple from the musical standpoint, but packed with enough energy and power in just 2:27 for a song three times as long. Probably the song of the year most deserving, in the sum definition of the term, to be labeled kick-ass.

5. Nation of Language
“Inept Apollo”
Dance Called Memory

The best way I can describe this song is that Nation of Language sounds like the coolest 80s band you’re a fan of. I can’t quite pin down the influences: There’s a lot of New Order here with the melody, harmony, and atmosphere, but it’s also poppy and epic like OMD, haunting like Echo and the Bunnymen, and maybe there’s even a bit of LCD Soundsystem’s “Someone Great” in there, in particular the lamentations of the lyrics. The sound is also warmer than some of those bands, but I can’t place who that reminds me of. (Tears for Fears if they were more mellow? Depeche Mode if they were less beat-driven?)

I have to admit, on this one I less think about it and more get caught up in the vibe and groove, in just settling into the space it creates. It’s poppy and atmospheric at once. And as far as lyrics go, the big “How many miles ago” that kicks off the chorus is some perfect pop construction. It’s just a great pop/rock song that sounds like some of the best bands of days of yore.

4. Illiterate Light
“Payphone”
Arches

Here’s another one I may struggle to explain why it rates for me higher than many similar songs, especially as it’s more well-done than innovative. (It is pretty impressive sound for just two people, though. It’s also one that came out in late 2024 but didn’t land in my world until 2025, so it goes here.)

Is it that I came of age in the 80s and 90s and so the word “payphone” is like a sleeper activation phrase? (As well as rock that sounds like it could have come from the 90s?) Is it that my time on the streets has me relating to the situation all too well? Is it how urgent and immediately catchy that opening riff is? Is it that I get hooked by a song that opens “Fake tits and Diet Coke,” even though I don’t like either of those things?

Maybe it’s just that I know what it’s like to be down on your luck and on the run. I am reminded of how many people found Uncut Gems unbearably stressful, even too stressful to continue, whereas my reaction was more along the lines of “Yeah, I’ve been there.” Hard to get stressed by a movie when you’ve lived so much of your life without steady ground under your feet that that seems like the normal state of things.

Maybe it’s the mysteries of the song. Why is this guy going to ground and on a payphone to the only one he can trust? Who’s Big Red? As you probably know from some of my opinions on narrative storytelling, leaving questions like this unanswered is a good way to stoke the imagination.

I don’t know exactly, but the song has a lot of forward momentum, matching the lyrics with the feel of being on the run, and maybe that’s why it’s so effective and I perk up whenever it’s on. “Payphone” is full of energy, giving us the joy of music and creating a picture of the kind of scene we usually only get from the movies.

3. clipping.
“Keep Pushing”
Dead Channel Sky

I knew Daveed Diggs was a Hamilton guy and a guy I’ve seen on TV who can also sing; I didn’t know he was also an MC, and long before those other things yet. clipping. formed in 2009 and Dead Channel Sky is their fifth full-length album.

An interesting wrinkle to clipping.’s craft is that they follow a rule to never rap in the first person. That gives the song an almost philosophical feel; the lyrics help, with each verse starting with “When it all…” and giving Diggs’ narration the sense of a historian. The song starts by setting up a seeming social collapse before quickly moving into a street narrative, with the dope pushing itself and Diggs providing advice to a rising kingpin. It’s also thick with wordplay and metaphor and reference; clever for clever’s sake can be tedious, but Diggs’ rapping all fits together so well and with the beat, that it never feels forced. The rhymes are tight, the lines tell a story and are intelligent but not for its own sake.

That electronic squelch beat is a huge draw for me, too. I guess sounds like that bring out my inner cyberpunk— they add to the song’s narrative of deep-seated urban decay. And, of course, the title and theme of the song— most literally applying to drug dealers, but in any walk of life, the important thing is to never give up.

I will say, the radio-friendly edit would be a fun version for me, with its digital stutter, if it didn’t censor too much from the song. It doesn’t reach the Lo-Fidelity All-Stars “Battleflag” effect of the electronic stutter being more interesting than the swear words (I don’t even think there are swears in “Keep Pushing”), because it censors so much of the narrative and even the “dope” in the choruses.

If you’d told a younger me that one of my favorite songs of the year would be by a rapper who was in Hamilton and referencing Guantanamo Bay, I would have either slapped you or stared at you like “What the hell is Hamilton?” because that hadn’t come out yet. Anyway, great song. Get it to every jerk in the section, ugh.

2. Wolf Alice
“White Horses”
The Clearing

I’d heard some buzz about Wolf Alice– Mercury Prize finalists this year and all that (and winners in 2018!)— and I thought “Bloom Baby Bloom” was fine, but it didn’t really grab me. Then late in the year I heard third single “White Horses” and was immediately hooked. Even the verse’s slight resemblance to the verses of Savage Garden’s “I Want You” didn’t deter me, not with the way that two-part chorus soars. Ellie Rowsell takes a back seat to drummer Joel Amey for most of the song, but she comes in to rev us up for the chorus with that crooning, almost haunting “Know who I am, that’s important to me…” which ends up segueing beautifully into Amey’s proper chorus. (I also daresay Rowsell’s singing here is a bit reminiscent of Kate Pierson.) It’s all so pretty and melodic and got me hooked, even on first listens when I didn’t really know what it was about but knew the vibe was something that spoke to me.

Learning more about the song only furthered my bond to it. The song is sung by Amey because the lyrics are about him; he’s a dark-skinned Englander who didn’t know much about his heritage, as his mom and aunt are both adopted, but was frequently asked “the question in the taxi” (cab drivers asking if he was from where they are from due to his skin). He eventually learned his grandmother was from St. Helena, a tropical island some 1,200 miles off the western coast of Africa (“the island that they kept from me”). An answer to the question in the taxi, but what does it mean for Amey?

Well, Rowsell’s pre-chorus segues into Amey’s lyrically as well as musically. Even as “Do what I can to the wood from the trees” and “Let the branches wrap their arms around me” seem in direct opposition to Amey’s “I do not need no rooting,” his next line connects them: “I carry home with me.” If you know who you are and you accept it, you can be at home anywhere– especially if you have the love of a family behind you.

And, while Amey says “My sister treats apathy like blasphemy” about his indifference to this information, I understand. The question of our bloodline is not as important as the question of where we belong— as he also says, “It’s my choice to choose who I see as family.” Amey concludes, as one must, that questions of identity and heritage are often superficial ones, and not the questions that necessarily make family.

I choose you, yeah, I choose you, yeah. We choose our families, and we have to know ourselves well enough to know what’s important, what we need from them. Know who I am; that’s important to me. And similarly, the people we want to be family are the people who know us and who love us and accept us for who we are, not because they have to. Let the branches wrap their arms around me.

“White Horses” made an incredible push for #1 at the end of the year, but my #1 song was released as a single in early January, and it’s stood the test of time for the entire year, so I decided to honor that.

1. DARKSIDE
“S.N.C”
Nothing

I feel like sometimes my top picks are pretty obvious based on my tastes. 2023 is a great example; my initial top pick and revision both have their roots in the power-pop and punk / post-punk I love. Sometimes, though, a song finds me and brings me to where it’s at.

That description might be a little unfair to “S.N.C”, because there are a lot of elements that certainly appeal to me. It’s groovy as hell, immediately opening with that riff that locks us in 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦’𝘴 𝘯𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘯 𝘮𝘺 𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘥 and sets the tone. It gives the song an instant appeal like my favorite pop and only gets better from there.

But I think “brings me to where it’s at” is also fair for those opening seconds, because it sounds almost like we just dropped into the middle of the song, without any kind of introduction or setup. DARKSIDE and Nicolas Jaar’s brand of electronic, more chill music isn’t usually my thing, but that instant groove that starts the song lets us in or tells us to get on its level, and the grooviness gets even better about a quarter of the way into the song, when the riff I saw another blogger describe as “Stevie Wonder clavinet” kicks in. It’s not the kind of instrument you hear much at all anymore 𝕀 𝕕𝕚𝕕 𝕚𝕥 𝕗𝕠𝕣 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕣𝕦𝕤𝕙, and that throwback sound adds some incredibly funky texture to the mix. And then the vocals come in– not the initial verse, which I assume is Nicolas Jaar but I’m not sure, but that big, hazy, out-of-time transmission crooning what is in fact what the titular acronym stands for, if you can make sense of it. And then the next voice comes in with that refrain.

For a song that’s long by pop standards (almost 6 minutes) but not that long compared to, say, classical music or progressive rock, “S.N.C” s̸͉̈́t̸̤́î̵̗l̵̨͆l̴̻̍ ̶̹͘ǹ̵̝ǫ̵͛ ̷̟̿c̷̣͑e̶̥͑n̷̪͛t̸͇͒ē̷͔r̸͕̈́ has a surprising number of movements and layers. And it all cascades together at the peak toward the end, the last refrain 𝕀 𝕕𝕚𝕕 𝕚𝕥 𝕗𝕠𝕣 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕥𝕚𝕞𝕖 𝕠𝕗 𝕞𝕪 𝕝𝕚𝕗𝕖 𝕒𝕟𝕕 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕥𝕙𝕣𝕚𝕝𝕝 where all the instrumentation explodes into a jam together. (I should mention– there’s a shorter radio-version single that is still pretty good but disrupts the flow and pacing of the song.)

Sometimes it’s hard to explain why a song draws me in. “S.N.C” seems to bring me into its world rather than meeting me in mine. Maybe it’s that it’s somehow both chill and funky. Maybe it’s something about how all the different layers 𝕀 𝕕𝕚𝕕 𝕚𝕥 𝕗𝕠𝕣 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕞𝕠𝕟𝕖𝕪 to the song, along with the occasional haziness and decay, suggest each part is poking into our reality from another one, Yankee Hotel Foxtrot-style. Maybe it’s just what I first said here– “S.N.C” brings me in, rather than meeting me where I’m at. At my age, that doesn’t happen too often anymore t̸̮̑h̵͖͌e̶̐ͅr̷̪̋e̷̘̒’̶̘̓s̸̖̑ ̵̳͐n̴͈͗ơ̶̦t̸̡̉h̴̛̪i̵̪̐ņ̵̑g̸̛̭ ̴͎̃i̵̠͋ ̴̖̈́c̶͓̐a̷̺͗n̷̮̆’̷̢̃t̴͇̍ ̵͇̿s̴̹͝ȩ̶͝e̷͕͗; I’ve lived a full life, and not just as a music connoisseur. Sometimes it feels like I’ve seen it all, heard it all, and then something like “S.N.C” shows me there’s still music out there I didn’t expect, that draws me into something new, that still grows my world.

Maybe I’m thinking about it too much.

Maybe 𝕀 𝕕𝕚𝕕 𝕚𝕥 𝕗𝕠𝕣 𝕥𝕙𝕖 it’s not something to explain but something to experience.

Maybe there’s
                          n
                           o
                            t
                             h
                               i
                                n
                                  g
                                     on my mind
                                                            .

𝕒𝕝𝕝 𝕣𝕚𝕘𝕙𝕥