Month: April 2026

My Top 30 Songs for April 26-May 2, 2026

On By EclecticMusicLoverIn Weekly Top 30's4 Comments
Photo of Matthew Brue and David Butler by Rob Martinez

One of my favorite music acts is MISSIO, a hyper-talented and insanely creative duo from Austin, Texas comprised of singer-songwriter, musician and producer Matthew Brue and songwriter/producer and musician David Butler, who record music with the help of their silent partner, producer and frequent collaborator Dwight Baker and drummer Jaydon Bean. I’ve written about them numerous times and have reviewed three of their albums (my review of their magnificent 2019 album The Darker the Weather // The Better the Man has garnered nearly 4,000 views, making it my most-viewed album review ever).

Their boisterous, hard-charging single “I Remember When” takes over the #1 spot on my latest chart, and is their fifth song to top my chart after “I See You” and “Underground” in 2019, “Can You Feel the Sun” in 2021 and “Time” in 2024. About the track, which is the lead single from their forthcoming sixth album Love & Heartbreak, the guys explained: “The world is changing/transitioning at such a rapid pace that it feels impossible to keep up with right now. There’s a general apathy that everyone feels but no one seems to be talking about. We want to talk about it. ‘I Remember When’ reminisces about those nostalgic feelings of growing up when life felt easier, when the summertime made us feel free and alive. Maybe it’s just the natural progression of age but life feels harder to resonate with as we experience some of the harsh realities of the world we all share right now.“

In other chart developments of note, “Doubletake” by Edgehill advances two spots to #2 (the song is currently #1 on the Billboard Alternative Airplay chart), and the stunning “Drag Path” by Twenty One Pilots jumps three spots to #3. The song confirms for me that they remain my current favorite band, a position they’ve held since 2016.

Two songs make their debut this week, the first of which is “Freakin’ Out” by another Texas act, alternative indie/country rock band Dexter and The Moonrocks. Formed in 2021 in Abilene, Texas, the band consists of cousins Ryan and Ty Anderson, James Tuffs and Ryan Fox. It’s their third song to appear on my chart, following “Sad in Carolina”, which reached #1 in late 2024/early 2025, and “Ritalin”.

The second new entry is “Going Shopping” by American rock band The Strokes. Formed in New York City in 1998, they consist of singer Julian Casablancas, guitarists Nick Valensi and Albert Hammond Jr., bassist Nikolai Fraiture and drummer Fabrizio Moretti. The song is from their forthcoming seventh studio album Reality Awaits, due for release on June 26th. Earlier this month, the band performed at the Coachella Music and Arts Festival, and on the second weekend of the festival they concluded their set with a performance of their 2016 single “Oblivius” accompanied by an onscreen montage of footage accusing the CIA of overthrowing foreign governments, Israeli bombings in Gaza, and condemning US involvement in foreign affairs, including the war in Iran.

  1. I REMEMBER WHEN – MISSIO (2)
  2. DOUBLETAKE – Edgehill (4)
  3. DRAG PATH – Twenty One Pilots (6)
  4. HULA GIRL – The Neighbourhood (1)
  5. THE GREAT DIVIDE – Noah Kahan (3)
  6. YOU GOT TO LOSE – The Black Keys (5)
  7. WAITING FOR ME – Talk in Waves (7)
  8. SLUMBER PARTY – Brigitte Calls Me Baby (9)
  9. SWEET LOVE – Stephen Sanchez (8)
  10. THE OLD LAW – Father John Misty (10)
  11. LOOK OUT FOR ME – Turnstile (13)
  12. BEDROOM POSTERS – Yellowcard feat. Good Charlotte (12)
  13. DIFFERENT KIND OF LOVE – Young the Giant (14)
  14. YOUR FAVORITE TOY – Foo Fighters (15)
  15. HEAVY FOOT – Mon Rovîa (16)
  16. STARLIGHT – Cannons (17)
  17. BURN FOR YOU RMX – Between Daze (18)
  18. FOOL’S GOLD – Buffalo Traffic Jam (19)
  19. SITE UNSEEN – Courtney Barnett featuring Waxahatchee (20)
  20. SONG OF THE FUTURE – U2 (21)
  21. LOST YOUR GHOST – Two Feet (11)
  22. RIPTIDES – Death Cab for Cutie (27)
  23. YOU AND FOREVER – Bleachers (25)
  24. HEADLIGHTS – In Color (28)
  25. DYING TO LOVE – Bad Omens (29)
  26. HOMEWRECKER – sombr (30)
  27. BE WITH YOU – Muse (26)
  28. WHO’S YOUR BOYFRIEND – Royel Otis (13) 20th week on chart
  29. FREAKIN’ OUT – Dexter and The Moonrocks (N)
  30. GOING SHOPPING – The Strokes (N)

My Top 30 Songs for April 19-25, 2026

On By EclecticMusicLoverIn Weekly Top 30's9 Comments
Photo of The Neighbourhood from their Facebook account

It’s a fairly quiet week for my latest chart, as The Neighbourhood remain on top with their charming “Hula Girl” and there are no new entries (though 16 “new” songs entered my chart over the previous five weeks). MISSIO move into second place with their exhilarating “I Remember When”, Twenty One Pilots‘ “Drag Path” jumps four spots to #6 and “The Old Law” by Father John Misty moves up a spot to enter the top 10 at #10. The song is the highest-charting for him, as well as his first to appear on my chart. And because there are no new debuts, nor did I want to drop any songs from my chart, the songs at numbers 25-30 remain stuck in place. That’s certainly no reflection on their quality, as they’ll all be rising in the coming weeks.

  1. HULA GIRL – The Neighbourhood (1)
  2. I REMEMBER WHEN – MISSIO (3)
  3. THE GREAT DIVIDE – Noah Kahan (2)
  4. DOUBLETAKE – Edgehill (4)
  5. YOU GOT TO LOSE – The Black Keys (5)
  6. DRAG PATH – Twenty One Pilots (10)
  7. WAITING FOR ME – Talk in Waves (7)
  8. SWEET LOVE – Stephen Sanchez (8)
  9. SLUMBER PARTY – Brigitte Calls Me Baby (9)
  10. THE OLD LAW – Father John Misty (11)
  11. LOST YOUR GHOST – Two Feet (6)
  12. BEDROOM POSTERS – Yellowcard feat. Good Charlotte (15)
  13. LOOK OUT FOR ME – Turnstile (16)
  14. DIFFERENT KIND OF LOVE – Young the Giant (17)
  15. YOUR FAVORITE TOY – Foo Fighters (18)
  16. HEAVY FOOT – Mon Rovîa (21)
  17. STARLIGHT – Cannons (19)
  18. BURN FOR YOU RMX – Between Daze (20)
  19. FOOL’S GOLD – Buffalo Traffic Jam (22)
  20. SITE UNSEEN – Courtney Barnett featuring Waxahatchee (23)
  21. SONG OF THE FUTURE – U2 (24)
  22. THE WRECKAGE – Silversun Pickups (12)
  23. WHO’S YOUR BOYFRIEND – Royel Otis (13)
  24. HEATHER – Secret Postal Society (14)
  25. YOU AND FOREVER – Bleachers (25)
  26. BE WITH YOU – Muse (26)
  27. RIPTIDES – Death Cab for Cutie (27)
  28. HEADLIGHTS – In Color (28)
  29. DYING TO LOVE – Bad Omens (29)
  30. HOMEWRECKER – sombr (30)

My Top 30 Songs for April 12-18, 2026

On By EclecticMusicLoverIn Weekly Top 30's4 Comments
Photo of The Neighbourhood from their Facebook account

The Neighbourhood take over the top spot on this week’s chart with their captivating “Hula Girl”. The song is from their fifth studio album (((((ultraSOUND))))), released last November. I’ve been a big fan of this Los Angeles-based alt-rock group since first hearing their song “Sweater Weather” back in the summer of 2013 (it became my favorite song of 2013 and 4th favorite song of the 2010s). Formed in 2011, the band still consists of all five original members: heavily-tattooed vocalist Jesse Rutherford, guitarists Jeremy Freedman and Zach Abels, bassist Mikey Margott and drummer Brandon Fried, and I’m happy they’re still putting out exceptional music. In March they embarked on a worldwide tour which will conclude in their hometown of Los Angeles in December. “Hula Girl” is their third song to top my chart, after the aforementioned “Sweater Weather” and “Stargazing” in 2021.

I’m not wild about the official video so am sharing the lyric video instead:

In other chart developments of note, “I Remember When” by Austin, Texas-based duo MISSIO advances two spots to #3, while “Slumber Party” by Chicago-based alt-rock band Brigitte Calls Me Baby enters the top 10 at #9, and “Drag Path” by Columbus, Ohio duo Twenty One Pilots rises three spots to #10.

Three songs make their debut this week, starting with “Headlights” by Nashville-based alternative pop band In Color, entering at #28. Formed in 2024, the band is comprised of Holden Clontz, Matthew Hastings, Val Hoyt and Miles Laderman. Inspired by an eclectic array of acts ranging from The Beatles, U2 and Coldplay to Michael Jackson, Kings of Leon and Switchfoot, they released their debut single “Headlights” on Valentine’s Day 2025. They followed with several more singles as well as an EP Snow Day, that October. They’ve continued releasing more singles, but as so often happens these days, “Headlights” went viral on social media and has now amassed nearly 13 million streams on Spotify alone.

The second new entry is the darkly beautiful “Dying To Love” by American alternative metalcore band Bad Omens. Formed in Richmond, Virginia in 2015, the band presently consists of vocalist and producer Noah Sebastian, guitarist Nicholas Ruffilo, guitarist and producer Joakim “Jolly” Karlsson and drummer Nick Folio. The song is their third to appear on my chart, following “THE DEATH OF PEACE OF MIND” in 2023 and “Specter” in late 2025/early 2026, both reaching the top 10.

The third debut is “Homewrecker”, the latest single by New York-based artist sombr, who over the past year has already scored three #1 songs on my chart: “back to friends” (my #1 song of 2025), “undressed” and “12 to 12”, which recently spent five weeks at #1. He put on a great show at Coachella yesterday, which I livestreamed on YouTube.

  1. HULA GIRL – The Neighbourhood (2)
  2. THE GREAT DIVIDE – Noah Kahan (1)
  3. I REMEMBER WHEN – MISSIO (5)
  4. DOUBLETAKE – Edgehill (4)
  5. YOU GOT TO LOSE – The Black Keys (6)
  6. LOST YOUR GHOST – Two Feet (3)
  7. WAITING FOR ME – Talk in Waves (9)
  8. SWEET LOVE – Stephen Sanchez (10)
  9. SLUMBER PARTY – Brigitte Calls Me Baby (11)
  10. DRAG PATH – Twenty One Pilots (13)
  11. THE OLD LAW – Father John Misty (12)
  12. THE WRECKAGE – Silversun Pickups (7)
  13. WHO’S YOUR BOYFRIEND – Royel Otis (8)
  14. HEATHER – Secret Postal Society (14)
  15. BEDROOM POSTERS – Yellowcard feat. Good Charlotte (15)
  16. LOOK OUT FOR ME – Turnstile (16)
  17. DIFFERENT KIND OF LOVE – Young the Giant (17)
  18. YOUR FAVORITE TOY – Foo Fighters (19)
  19. STARLIGHT – Cannons (21)
  20. BURN FOR YOU RMX – Between Daze (22)
  21. HEAVY FOOT – Mon Rovîa (24)
  22. FOOL’S GOLD – Buffalo Traffic Jam (23)
  23. SITE UNSEEN – Courtney Barnett featuring Waxahatchee (25)
  24. SONG OF THE FUTURE – U2 (28)
  25. YOU AND FOREVER – Bleachers (27)
  26. BE WITH YOU – Muse (29)
  27. RIPTIDES – Death Cab for Cutie (30)
  28. HEADLIGHTS – In Color (N)
  29. DYING TO LOVE – Bad Omens (N)
  30. HOMEWRECKER – sombr (N)

My Top 30 Songs for April 5-11, 2026

On By EclecticMusicLoverIn Weekly Top 30's6 Comments
Photo of Noah Kahan from his Facebook account

Noah Kahan holds the top spot for a third week with his beautiful inspirational song “The Great Divide”, while The Neighbourhood hold at #2 for a second week with their winsome “Hula Girl”. Rounding out the top five are “Lost Your Ghost” by Two Feet, “Doubletake” by Edgehill and “I Remember When” by MISSIO. Singer-songwriter Stephen Sanchez enters the top ten with his throwback doo wop-inspired “Sweet Love”.

Four new songs by music heavy hitters enter my chart this week, starting with “you and forever” by American pop-rock band Bleachers, coming in at #27. Formed in 2013 by singer-songwriter, musician and producer extraordinaire Jack Antonoff, the group has included his longtime touring musicians Mikey Freedom Hart, Sean Hutchinson, Evan Smith, Michael Riddleberger, and Zem Audu since 2023. The song is the lead single from their fifth studio album Everyone for Ten Minutes, scheduled for release on May 22nd.

Next up is “Song of the Future” by legendary Irish rock band U2, who since forming in 1976 has consisted of Bono (Hewson) on lead vocals, the Edge on lead guitar, keys and backing vocals, Adam Clayton on bass and Larry Mullen Jr. on drums and percussion. They’ve been putting out music since 1979, including 15 studio albums, 12 EPs and 85 singles. Their first new music in two years, “Song of the Future” is from their Days of Ash EP, released February 18h, which they’ve since followed with Easter Lily EP this past Friday, April 3rd.

Entering at #29 is “Be With You” by English alt-rock band Muse, which since their formation more than 30 years ago has consisted of Matt Bellamy (lead vocals, guitar, keyboards), Chris Wolstenholme (bass, backing vocals), and Dominic Howard (drums, percussion). The song is the second single (following last year’s “Unravelling”) from their forthcoming tenth studio album The Wow! Signal, to be released June 26th.

Last, but certainly not least, is “Riptides”, the latest single by American indie pop-rock band Death Cab for Cutie. Formed in 1997, the band has undergone a few changes in lineup over the years and now consists of Ben Gibbard (vocals, guitar, piano), Nick Harmer (bass), Dave Depper (guitar, keyboards, backing vocals), Zac Rae (keyboards, guitar), and Jason McGerr (drums). “Riptides” is the lead single from their forthcoming 11th studio album I Built You a Tower, due for release on June 5th.

  1. THE GREAT DIVIDE – Noah Kahan (1)
  2. HULA GIRL – The Neighbourhood (2)
  3. LOST YOUR GHOST – Two Feet (4)
  4. DOUBLETAKE – Edgehill (5)
  5. I REMEMBER WHEN – MISSIO (6)
  6. YOU GOT TO LOSE – The Black Keys (7)
  7. THE WRECKAGE – Silversun Pickups (8)
  8. WHO’S YOUR BOYFRIEND – Royel Otis (3)
  9. WAITING FOR ME – Talk in Waves (10)
  10. SWEET LOVE – Stephen Sanchez (11)
  11. SLUMBER PARTY – Brigitte Calls Me Baby (12)
  12. THE OLD LAW – Father John Misty (14)
  13. DRAG PATH – Twenty One Pilots (19)
  14. HEATHER – Secret Postal Society (15)
  15. BEDROOM POSTERS – Yellowcard feat. Good Charlotte (16)
  16. LOOK OUT FOR ME – Turnstile (17)
  17. DIFFERENT KIND OF LOVE – Young the Giant (18)
  18. ZOMBIE – YUNGBLUD (9) 21st week on chart
  19. YOUR FAVORITE TOY – Foo Fighters (29)
  20. TO SPACE – Kings of Leon (13)
  21. STARLIGHT – Cannons (24)
  22. BURN FOR YOU RMX – Between Daze (25)
  23. FOOL’S GOLD – Buffalo Traffic Jam (26)
  24. HEAVY FOOT – Mon Rovîa (27)
  25. SITE UNSEEN – Courtney Barnett featuring Waxahatchee (30)
  26. HUMAN – Brandi Carlile (20)
  27. YOU AND FOREVER – Bleachers (N)
  28. SONG OF THE FUTURE – U2 (N)
  29. BE WITH YOU – Muse (N)
  30. RIPTIDES – Death Cab for Cutie (N)