“So Cold” by Balu Brigada, the music project of multi-instrumentalist and writer/producer brothers Henry and Pierre Beasley, is still my favorite song and thus remains at #1 on my Top 30 chart for a third week. Moving into second place is the captivating “Bad Dreams” by Teddy Swims (aka American singer-songwriter Jaten Collin Dimsdale), while the darkly beautiful “Imposter Syndrome” by English alternative rock band Fake Empire moves up three spots to #5. Nashville band extraordinaire Cage the Elephant enter the top 10 with “Metaverse”, a great track from their latest album Neon Pill.

Two songs enter my chart this week, the first of which is the magical “It’s Amazing To Be Young” by Irish band Fontaines D.C., who’ve become one of my favorite acts. Their song “Starburster” was my #1 song of 2024, with “Favourite” ranking #8, both from their most recent album Romance, which was also my favorite album of 2024. As a now old man, I can attest to the fact that being young is most definitely amazing! The second debut is “Poor Sad Indie Everything” by Maryland-based shoegaze/indie rock band Icarus Phoenix. I featured the gorgeous song on a recent Fresh New Tracks post, and I absolutely love band frontman Drew Danburry’s enchanting vocals.

1. SO COLD – Balu Brigada (1)
2. BAD DREAMS – Teddy Swims (4)
3. YOU’RE MY DRUG – Talk in Waves (2)
4. THE LINE – Twenty One Pilots (3)
5. IMPOSTER SYNDROME – Fake Empire (8)
6. SAILOR SONG – Gigi Perez (5)
7. PEOPLE WATCHING – Sam Fender (7)
8. TAKE THIS HEART – Brian Lambert (9)
9. RUSHMERE – Mumford & Sons (10)
10. METAVERSE – Cage the Elephant (12)
11. SHE WANTS TO GO DANCING – Mt. Joy (6)
12. WHO’S A FRAUD? – Still Traffico (14)
13. SAME OLD SONG – The Lumineers (15)
14. WITHOUT A DOUBT – Charm School (18)
15. THE FAITHFUL HEART – Wons Phreely + The Horses (16)
16. AUTUMN LEAVES – Secret Postal Society (11)
17. STRAIGHT TO THE GROUND – Unquiet Nights (19)
18. WALLS – Frank Joshua (20)
19. LUTHER – Kendrick Lamar & SZA (21)
20. THE NIGHT BEFORE – The Black Keys (22)
21. BAD LARRY – Cloakroom (24)
22. MORTAL WOUND – The Veils (25)
23. AFTER ALL – Darksoft (26)
24. THE TURNAROUND – DelCobras (27)
25. TIME WAITED – My Morning Jacket (29)
26. DETROIT – Badflower (13)
27. DAY & NIGHT – Oli Barton (17)
28. SNAKESKIN – NAVE (30)
29. IT’S AMAZING TO BE YOUNG – Fontaines D.C. (N)
30. POOR SAD INDIE EVERYTHING – Icarus Phoenix (N)