Photo of Josh Dun and Tyler Joseph from their Facebook account.
Twenty One Pilots remain at #1 for a second week with “Drag Path”, while MISSIO hold at #2 again after spending a week at #1. Chicago-based Brigitte Calls Me Baby moves up two to #3 with their exhilarating “Slumber Party”, and Northern Virginia singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Talk in Waves also advances two spots to #4 with his heartfelt “Waiting for Me”.
Entering the top 10 are “Different Kind Of Love” by Young the Giant, moving up two spots to #9, and “Your Favorite Toy” by Foo Fighters, also advancing two spots to #10 and still going strong after more than 30 years! The Strokes are the biggest upward movers this week as their delightfully wry “Going Shopping” jumps seven spots to #20. Backed by a lighthearted, bouncy groove, Julian Casablancas muses about materialism, growing older, societal alienation and the push and pull of city vs. country living (all things I’ve wrestled with myself). There are no new additions to my chart this week.
DRAG PATH – Twenty One Pilots (1)
I REMEMBER WHEN – MISSIO (2)
SLUMBER PARTY – Brigitte Calls Me Baby (5)
WAITING FOR ME – Talk in Waves (6)
YOU GOT TO LOSE – The Black Keys (4)
LOOK OUT FOR ME – Turnstile (7)
BEDROOM POSTERS – Yellowcard feat. Good Charlotte (10)
DOUBLETAKE – Edgehill (3)
DIFFERENT KIND OF LOVE – Young the Giant (11)
YOUR FAVORITE TOY – Foo Fighters (12)
THE GREAT DIVIDE – Noah Kahan (8)
HEAVY FOOT – Mon Rovîa (13)
RIPTIDES – Death Cab for Cutie (16)
STARLIGHT – Cannons (14)
BURN FOR YOU RMX – Between Daze (15)
HULA GIRL – The Neighbourhood (9) 20th week on chart
SITE UNSEEN – Courtney Barnett featuring Waxahatchee (18)
Photo of Josh Dun and Tyler Joseph taken from their Facebook account.
Twenty One Pilots, comprised of singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and producer Tyler Joseph and drummer Josh Dun, have been my favorite music act for the past ten years. This week, their beautiful song “Drag Path” takes over the #1 spot, marking their 15th song to top my chart. They topped my chart three times last year alone, with “The Line”, “The Contract” and “City Walls”.
“Drag Path” was originally released last September as a bonus track on the Breach (Digital Remains) album bundle on the band’s official online store, with a slightly shorter version released as a single in February of this year, accompanied by a music video featuring scenes from Danish filmmaker and animator Tobias Gundorff Boesen’s 2010 stop-motion short film Out of a Forest. The band states the song is a continuation of the in-universe lore, connecting both to the end of the “City Walls” music video, as well as serving as postlude to the album Breach. “Drag Path” currently also tops the Billboard Alternative Airplay chart and peaked at #57 on the Hot 100. It also became Twenty One Pilots’ third-highest-charting single in the UK, peaking at #23, as well as their highest-charting single in Australia since “Heathens” in 2016.
In other chart developments of note, “LOOK OUT FOR ME” by Turnstile jumps four spots to enter the top 10 at #7, while “Bedroom Posters” by Yellowcard featuring Good Charlotte moves up two spots to enter the top 10 at #10.
I’m aware of the fact that women have been woefully under-represented on my chart of late, so am now remedying that with two new debuts by young female artists this week, starting with “drop dead” by American singer-songwriter Olivia Rodrigo, which debuted last week at #1 on the Billboard Hot 100. Her 2021 song “drivers license” reached #1 on my chart and ranks #8 on my 100 Best Songs of 2021 list. Hard to believe that was five years ago!
The second new entry is the delightfully catchy “To Love Somebody” by English singer-songwriter Holly Humberstone. The song was the lead single from her second studio album Cruel World, which dropped April 10th. From what I can tell, it’s her highest-charting single thus far, and also her first song to appear on my chart.
DRAG PATH – Twenty One Pilots (3)
I REMEMBER WHEN – MISSIO (1)
DOUBLETAKE – Edgehill (2)
YOU GOT TO LOSE – The Black Keys (6)
SLUMBER PARTY – Brigitte Calls Me Baby (8)
WAITING FOR ME – Talk in Waves (7)
LOOK OUT FOR ME – Turnstile (11)
THE GREAT DIVIDE – Noah Kahan (5)
HULA GIRL – The Neighbourhood (4)
BEDROOM POSTERS – Yellowcard feat. Good Charlotte (12)
DIFFERENT KIND OF LOVE – Young the Giant (13)
YOUR FAVORITE TOY – Foo Fighters (14)
HEAVY FOOT – Mon Rovîa (15)
STARLIGHT – Cannons (16)
BURN FOR YOU RMX – Between Daze (17)
RIPTIDES – Death Cab for Cutie (22)
FOOL’S GOLD – Buffalo Traffic Jam (18)
SITE UNSEEN – Courtney Barnett featuring Waxahatchee (19)
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.
I REMEMBER WHEN – MISSIO (2)
DOUBLETAKE – Edgehill (4)
DRAG PATH – Twenty One Pilots (6)
HULA GIRL – The Neighbourhood (1)
THE GREAT DIVIDE – Noah Kahan (3)
YOU GOT TO LOSE – The Black Keys (5)
WAITING FOR ME – Talk in Waves (7)
SLUMBER PARTY – Brigitte Calls Me Baby (9)
SWEET LOVE – Stephen Sanchez (8)
THE OLD LAW – Father John Misty (10)
LOOK OUT FOR ME – Turnstile (13)
BEDROOM POSTERS – Yellowcard feat. Good Charlotte (12)
DIFFERENT KIND OF LOVE – Young the Giant (14)
YOUR FAVORITE TOY – Foo Fighters (15)
HEAVY FOOT – Mon Rovîa (16)
STARLIGHT – Cannons (17)
BURN FOR YOU RMX – Between Daze (18)
FOOL’S GOLD – Buffalo Traffic Jam (19)
SITE UNSEEN – Courtney Barnett featuring Waxahatchee (20)
SONG OF THE FUTURE – U2 (21)
LOST YOUR GHOST – Two Feet (11)
RIPTIDES – Death Cab for Cutie (27)
YOU AND FOREVER – Bleachers (25)
HEADLIGHTS – In Color (28)
DYING TO LOVE – Bad Omens (29)
HOMEWRECKER – sombr (30)
BE WITH YOU – Muse (26)
WHO’S YOUR BOYFRIEND – Royel Otis (13) 20th week on chart
Well, I thought 2024 was a trying year, but 2025 turned out to be an even bigger shitshow! Between the death of my cat and the unending nightmare of the odious and spectacularly corrupt Trump regime, it’s a wonder I (and millions of others) survived this year intact. Thankfully, there was lots of great music to help keep us relatively sane.
As I do at the end of each year, I’ve compiled a list of my 100 favorite songs for the past year. I’ve previously posted my list of the 100 Best Indie Songs of 2025 (which you can read here), and now this new list represents a compilation of my favorite songs of 2025 (23 of which also appear on my 100 Best Indie Songs list.) I avoid ranking albums, as there are simply far too many I’ve either not heard or had the time to fully listen to, therefore any list I might compile would be woefully inadequate.
As a music blogger, I’m exposed to a tremendous amount of new music over the course of a year, both from the thousands of artists and bands I follow, as well as all the music I learn about from fellow bloggers. Despite this, I’ve heard only a tiny fraction of all the music released in 2025, which was clearly evident to me when I perused the year-end best song lists of music sites and publications like Consequence, The Fader, Rolling Stone, NPR, etc. Therefore, my list includes only songs I know, and I’m certain there are likely hundreds of great ones that should be included, except that I’ve never heard them. Among the thousands of songs I did hear in 2025, there were many outstanding ones, and it frustrates me to have to cull my list down to only 100, omitting quite a few that I really like. It’s also a challenge ranking them, because a song at #40 isn’t necessarily any better than a song at #70. Perhaps it’s a pointless exercise to even rank them at all, except for the fact that I love making lists!
Music tastes are very subjective, and while I don’t understand how others cannot share my love for a particular song or artist, I fully realize that not one person will agree with all my song choices or rankings. I’m an unapologetic lover of pop, but also love dream rock, folk rock and alternative rock, so a lot of songs on my list reflect those genres. My favorite music artist this year was sombr (the hyper-talented 20-year-old American singer-songwriter and producer born Shane Michael Boose), who’s gorgeous, anthemic torch song “back to friends” is #1, while his equally great “undressed” is #11 and “12 to 12” comes in at #29. Also ranking highly are songs from favorite acts of mine who ranked highly on previous years lists, including Royel Otis, Lord Huron, Twenty One Pilots, Fontaines D.C., The Black Keys, Talk in Waves and Frank Joshua.
Most of the songs on this list were released in 2025, however, several were released in 2024 but didn’t ‘peak’ until 2025. Likewise, several songs released after November 1st are still moving up my weekly charts and won’t peak until early 2026, thus will appear on next year’s list. The few songs in this Top 100 that also appeared on my 100 Best Songs of 2024 list are indicated with an asterisk *. I’ve created both YouTube and Spotify playlists for this Top 100, which are included at the end of the post. Hopefully you’ll find some of your own personal favorites on it. Let me know what songs resonated with you in 2025.
BACK TO FRIENDS – sombr
THE FAITHFUL HEART – Wons Phreely + The Horses (my #1 indie song)
SO COLD – Balu Brigada
MOODY – Royel Otis
NOTHING I NEED – Lord Huron
NO RAIN, NO FLOWERS – The Black Keys
THE LINE (from Arcane League of Legends) – Twenty One Pilots
IT’S AMAZING TO BE YOUNG – Fontaines D.C.
IMPOSTER SYNDROME – Fake Empire
FIVE MORE SECONDS – Seafret & KT Tunstall
UNDRESSED – sombr
SAD IN CAROLINA – Dexter and The Moonrocks *
TIME WAITED – My Morning Jacket
ENSENADA – Sublime
WALLS – Frank Joshua
ANOTHER LIFE – Alabama Shakes
THE CONTRACT – Twenty One Pilots
FEELS RIGHT – Talk in Waves
ARROW – The Head And The Heart
TAKE THIS HEART – Brian Lambert
THE WEATHER – All Time Low
BAD DREAMS – Teddy Swims
CITY WALLS – Twenty One Pilots
METAVERSE – Cage the Elephant
SALLY, WHEN THE WINE RUNS OUT – ROLE MODEL
NEVER ENOUGH – TURNSTILE
PORCELAIN (LOSING ALL MY PATIENCE) – Somebody’s Child
JUPITER – almost monday feat. Jordana
12 TO 12 – sombr
PEOPLE WATCHING – Sam Fender
DRACULA – Tame Impala
THE NIGHT BEFORE – The Black Keys
BOBBY SOX – Green Day *
SUSHI AND COLA COLA – St. Paul & The Broken Bones
RUSHMERE – Mumford & Sons
CONTROLLER – Moody Moody
NEVERENDER – Justice feat. Tame Impala *
A TEAR IN SPACE (AIRLOCK) – Glass Animals *
ELEGANTLY WASTED – Hermanos Gutiérrez feat. Leon Bridges
BAD LARRY – Cloakroom
LOVE IS A FIRE – Art Block
YOU’RE MY DRUG – Talk in Waves
THE TURNAROUND – DelCobras
BASIC BEING BASIC – Djo
BACKSEAT – Balu Brigada
ARCHBISHOP HAROLD HOLMES – Jack White
SAILOR SONG – Gigi Perez
AUTUMN LEAVES – Secret Postal Society
IN THE LIVING ROOM – Maggie Rogers
MISTAKES – Caamp
DOWNSTAIRS – Matt Maeson
LONDON TOWN – HEALER
MORTAL WOUND – The Veils
DETROIT – Badflower
POLYESTER (YES SIR) – Sorry Ghost
LAREDO – Leon Bridges
CATCH THESE FISTS – Wet Leg
AS ALIVE AS YOU NEED ME TO BE – Nine Inch Nails
LUTHER – Kendrick Lamar & SZA
BETTER DAYS – Yellowcard
SAME OLD SONG – The Lumineers
SHE WANTS TO GO DANCING – Mt. Joy
STRAIGHT TO THE GROUND – Unquiet Nights
RIPPLE – Good Neighbours
BETTER OFF EVENTUALLY – Bealby Point
SNAKESKIN – NAVE
THE FATE OF OPHELIA – Taylor Swift
BARBARIAN – AWOLNATION
BONNET OF PINS – Matt Berninger
ORDINARY CREATURE – Of Monsters and Men
POOR SAD INDIE EVERYTHING – Icarus Phoenix
WITHOUT A DOUBT – Charm School
ASSHOLE – The Lumineers
GILD THE LILY – Billy Strings
SPECTER – Bad Omens
LIGHT YEARS APART – Unobliterated
LET THINGS GO – Caamp
RITALIN – Dexter and The Moonrocks
SO FAR SO FAKE – Pierce the Veil
THE FEAR – Future Theory
THE SUBWAY – Chappell Roan
SPIKE ISLAND – Pulp
WRECK – Neko Case
MOTHER – Lyia Meta & Mark Allen Lanoue
BLOOM BABY BLOOM – Wolf Alice
DAY & NIGHT – Oli Barton
LUCY – Mt. Joy
WHO’S A FRAUD? – Still Traffico
HORNETS – Western Jaguar
ANKLES – Lucy Dacus
HESITATE – Meltt
GIVING UP – Michigander
THREE SIX FIVE – Shinedown
RELATIONSHIPS – HAIM
AFTERLIFE – Alex G
GET THE MESSAGE – The Paradox
DANG – Rainbow Kitten Surprise
SUGAR ON MY TONGUE – Tyler, The Creator
WHAT WAS THAT – Lorde
AFTERLIFE – Sharon Van Etten
Honorable Mention (these songs would rank #s 101-115):
Photo of Twenty One Pilots from their Facebook account
One of my favorite music acts for the past ten years is Twenty One Pilots, comprised of the dynamic duo of singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Tyler Joseph and power drummer Josh Dun. Their latest single “The Contract” is my new #1 song this week, marking their 13th song to reach the top of my chart, and their third in just the past year, following “The Craving” last September and “The Line” this past March. The lead single from their forthcoming eighth studio album Breach, to be released September 12th, “The Contract” starts the final act of the narrative begun on their 2015 album Blurryface and continued through Trench, Scaled And Icy, and last year’s Clancy.
The song is a frenetic and electrifying mash-up of music styles, something Twenty One Pilots have incorporated into many of their songs over the years. As Kory Grow observed in his article about the single for Rolling Stone, the song “ping-pongs between pop, rap, emo, and drumline practice.” While I love that about the song and their music in general, some do not. Paulo Ragusa, a writer who’s obviously not a Twenty One Pilots fan, trashed the song in his article for Consequence Sound, calling it “a complete mess, a sloppy hodge-podge of genres and styles that directly compete with one another from moment to moment.” Well, to each their own I say, as “The Contract” takes its place among a long line of songs I love by this talented duo.
In other chart news, Lorde enters the top 10 with “What Was That”, and we have two new debuts. The first is “Five More Seconds”, a wonderfully exuberant collaboration by English duo Seafret and Scottish singer-songwriter KT Tunstall, which enters at #29. Seafret, based in Yorkshire and comprised of singer Jack Sedman and guitarist Harry Draper, released three albums and a number of singles from 2015-2023 and saw their debut 2015 single “Atlantis” go viral on TikTok over the past three years, eventually racking up over 1.1 billion streams on Spotify alone. KT Tunstall burst onto the British music scene in 2004 with her debut album Eye to the Telescope, which spawned the hit singles “Black Horse and the Cherry Tree” and “Suddenly I See”, which won the Ivor Novello Award for Best Song in 2006. “Five More Seconds” marks both Seafret and KT Tunstall’s first new music in two years.
The second debut is “light years apart” by Unobliterated, the music project of England-born and now Portugal-based singer-songwriter and musician Gary Taylor. In my review of the song upon its July 11 release, I described it as “majestic”, with a haunting melody driven forward by a strong pulsating groove and layered with swirling atmospheric synths and warm guitar notes to create a mesmerizing backdrop for Taylor’s arresting vocals that masterfully convey a sense of both despair and hopeful optimism.
THE CONTRACT – Twenty One Pilots (3)
MOODY – Royel Otis (1)
BACK TO FRIENDS – sombr (2)
BASIC BEING BASIC – Djo (4)
NO RAIN, NO FLOWERS – The Black Keys (7)
FEELS RIGHT – Talk in Waves (9)
PORCELAIN (LOSING ALL MY PATIENCE) – Somebody’s Child (5)
Photo of Otis Pavlovic and Royel Maddell by Shervin Lainez
I’m still loving “moody” by Royel Otis a lot, thus it remains at #1 for a second week, while sombr‘s “back to friends” holds at #2 for a second week after spending three weeks at #1. Twenty One Pilots and Djo move up one spot each to #s 3 and 4 with “The Contract” and “Basic Being Basic”. Entering the top 10 are “No Rain, No Flowers” by The Black Keys, jumping seven spots to #7, and “Scars” by my favorite Welsh artist Secret Postal Society, moving up a notch to #10.
Two songs make their debut on my chart this week, the first of which is “Today’s Song” by rock legends the Foo Fighters, entering at #29. In a note accompanying the single’s release, band frontman Dave Grohl stated it’s a tribute to former band members including recently fired drummer Josh Freese, founding drummer William Goldsmith, guitarist Franz Stahl and late drummer Taylor Hawkins, who died in 2022. The second debut is the quite lovely “Incomprehensible” by Brooklyn, New York-based indie folk band Big Thief. Formed in 2015, the band now consists of vocalist-guitarist Adrianne Lenker, guitarist Buck Meek and drummer James Krivchenia. (Founding bassist Max Oleartchik left the band in 2024.) The song is the lead single from their forthcoming sixth studio album Double Infinity, set for release on September 5th.
MOODY – Royel Otis (1)
BACK TO FRIENDS – sombr (2)
THE CONTRACT – Twenty One Pilots (4)
BASIC BEING BASIC – Djo (5)
PORCELAIN (LOSING ALL MY PATIENCE) – Somebody’s Child (3)
NOTHING I NEED – Lord Huron (6)
NO RAIN, NO FLOWERS – The Black Keys (14)
BONNET OF PINS – Matt Berninger (9)
FEELS RIGHT – Talk in Waves (10)
SCARS – Secret Postal Society (11)
WHAT WAS THAT – Lorde (12)
CATCH THESE FISTS – Wet Leg (7)
RIPPLE – Good Neighbours (15)
RITALIN – Dexter and The Moonrocks (8)
BETTER OFF EVENTUALLY – Bealby Point (16)
EMERGENCE – Sleep Token (18)
LOVE IS A FIRE – Art Block (19)
LONDON TOWN – HEALER (20)
BLOOM BABY BLOOM – Wolf Alice (21)
RELATIONSHIPS – HAIM (17)
SALLY, WHEN THE WINE RUNS OUT – ROLE MODEL (26)
JUPITER – almost monday ft. Jordana (27)
UNDRESSED – sombr (28)
ARCHBISHOP HAROLD HOLMES – Jack White (13)
ASSHOLE – The Lumineers (25)
BACKSEAT – Balu Brigada (29)
POLYESTER (YES SIR) – Sorry Ghost (30)
IT’S AMAZING TO BE YOUNG – Fontaines D.C. (22) 19th week on chart
Photo of Otis Pavlovic and Royel Maddell by Shervin Lainez for Flood Magazine
We have a new #1 song this week, as well as four new debuts. Over the past year, I’ve become a fan of Australian act Royel Otis on the strength of their infectious guitar-pop sound and charming, laid-back persona. Formed in 2019 by Royel Maddell (who rarely shows his face) and Otis Pavlovic, the Sydney-based duo draw from elements of indie pop, indie rock, new wave, pop rock, post-punk and psychedelic rock in the creation of their music. They released two EPs in 2021 and 2022 to little notice until the song “Oysters in My Pocket”, from the second EP Bar n Grill, gained traction in late 2022. Their third EP Sofa Kings, released in 2023, proved more successful, with the breakthrough title track marking their first appearance on American charts and eventually peaking at #12 on the Billboard Alternative Airplay chart. In late January 2024, they released their electrifying cover of “Murder on the Dancefloor”, the 2001 disco pop hit by British singer-songwriter Sophie Ellis-Bextor which they performed on the Australian radio station Triple J for their Like a Version program. The song went viral and reached #1 on the Billboard Alternative chart, as well as my own Top 30 chart. I couldn’t get enough of it, and it ended up ranking #4 on my 100 Best Songs of 2024 list. The guys quickly followed with their debut album Pratts & Pain in February 2024, which debuted at #1 on the Australian Albums Chart, and went on to win four awards at the 2024 ARIA (Australian Recording Industry Association) Music Awards. They also released a wonderful cover of The Cranberries’ classic “Linger”.
Their charming single “moody“, released on May 9th, is a love song of sorts, detailing a problematic relationship with a woman who drives the singer crazy in both good ways and bad. She’s jealous, bitchy and cranky, yet he’s hopelessly in love with her: “She’s always givin’ it to me. Late nights, she always accusin’. Last time, she said she would kill me. My girl’s a bitch when she’s moody. But she’s my everything. She’s all that I need.” I love the song’s languid laid back groove, highlighted by Royel’s terrific guitar noodling and Otis’ sweet vocals, and it ascends to #1 on my latest chart.
The joyoustly upbeat “Feels Right” by northern Virginia artist Talk in Waves, who’s no stranger to my charts, enters the top 10 at #10. And as I noted above, four songs make their debut this week, three of which are spelled in all lower case letters. Entering at #27 is “jupiter” by San Diego-based indie pop band almost monday, comprised of Dawson Daugherty (vocals), Cole Clisby (guitar), and Luke Fabry (bass), and featuring L.A.-based indie pop singer-songwriter Jordana. The song was originally included on their 2014 album DIVE as a recording by only the band, but a new version with Jordana singing backing vocals was released in January on a deluxe version of DIVE. It’s the third song by almost monday to appear on my chart, following 2020’s “broken people” and last year’s smash hit “can’t slow down”.
The second debut, coming in at #28, is the relentessly catchy “undressed” by sombr, whose single “back to friends” just spent three weeks at #1 and now sits at #2. The song continues the theme exploring the challenges of moving on from a failed relationship that was first introduced in “back to friends”. Next up is “Backseat” by New Zealand-born and now New York City-based duo Balu Brigada, comprised of multi-instrumentalist brothers Henry and Pierre Beasley, whose single “So Cold” spent three weeks at #1 on my chart in March. Though a long one, running nearly six and a half minutes, “Backseat” is a compelling, melodically complex song that’s sure to be another hit for the talented brothers.
Last but certainly not least is the delightful “polyester (yes sir)” by L.A. indie pop-rock band Sorry Ghost, which I featured in a recent Fresh New Tracks post. As I noted in that post, the charismatic band – comprised of Dan Anton (vocals), Matt Polito (guitar and vocals), Tate Silver (drums) and Sean Duong (guitar and vocals) – have a cheeky sense of humor and frequently delight their fans and followers with hilarious and endearing video reels of themselves on Instagram and TikTok. I love the song’s mellow vibe that sits in a sweet spot between sunny and melancholy, as well as the colorful blend of jangly and chiming guitars accompanied by pleasing harmonies.
MOODY – Royel Otis (2)
BACK TO FRIENDS – sombr (1)
PORCELAIN (LOSING ALL MY PATIENCE) – Somebody’s Child (4)
THE CONTRACT – Twenty One Pilots (8)
BASIC BEING BASIC – Djo (5)
NOTHING I NEED – Lord Huron (3)
CATCH THESE FISTS – Wet Leg (6)
RITALIN – Dexter and The Moonrocks (9)
BONNET OF PINS – Matt Berninger (10)
FEELS RIGHT – Talk in Waves (11)
SCARS – Secret Postal Society (12)
WHAT WAS THAT – Lorde (13)
ARCHBISHOP HAROLD HOLMES – Jack White (7)
NO RAIN, NO FLOWERS – The Black Keys (18)
RIPPLE – Good Neighbours (17)
BETTER OFF EVENTUALLY – Bealby Point (19)
RELATIONSHIPS – HAIM (20)
EMERGENCE – Sleep Token (21)
LOVE IS A FIRE – Art Block (22)
LONDON TOWN – HEALER (23)
BLOOM BABY BLOOM – Wolf Alice (24)
IT’S AMAZING TO BE YOUNG – Fontaines D.C. (14)
BARBARIAN – AWOLNATION (15)
LET THINGS GO – Caamp (16)
ASSHOLE – The Lumineers (26)
SALLY, WHEN THE WINE RUNS OUT – ROLE MODEL (30)
JUPITER – almost monday ft. Jordana (N)
UNDRESSED – sombr (N)
BACKSEAT – Balu Brigada (N)
POLYESTER (YES SIR) – Sorry Ghost (N)
I feel guilty including a Spotify playlist anymore, but here it is in case anyone cares to check out any of the songs:
20-year-old artist sombr has a firm grip on the top spot as his song “back to friends” spends a third week at #1, while Australian duo Royel Otis move up two spots to #2 with “moody” (I find it fascinating that a lot of acts today use all lowercase letters for their names and song titles). Twenty One Pilots (who for many years also spelled their name in all lowercase) advance five spots to enter the top 10 at #8 with “The Contract”, followed by Dexter and The Moonrocks‘ “Ritalin” and Matt Berninger‘s “Bonnet of Pins”, coming in at #s 9 and 10, respectively. The Black Keys are this week’s biggest upward mover with “No Rain, No Flowers”, jumping eight spots to #18.
The lone new debut this week is “Sally, When The Wine Runs Out” by ROLE MODEL, the music project of American singer-songwriter Tucker Harrington Pillsbury. Born in Maine and now based in Los Angeles, he began his music career in 2016, rapping under his first name Tucker, but soon changed his stage name to Dillis, under which he released an album Moth. In early 2017, he again changed his name, this time to ROLE MODEL, and switched from rapping to singing. He released his debut EP Arizona in the Summer that December, which earned him a following online and captured the attention of the late rapper Mac Miller, who invited him to Los Angeles to work with him on a music project. ROLE MODEL was subsequently signed to Interscope in 2018, and continued releasing singles and two more EPs, culminating in the release of his debut album Rx, though none of them charted.
In July 2024 he released his sophomore album Kansas Anymore, featuring a more country folk sound. He followed this past February with a deluxe edition of the album, Kansas Anymore (The Longest Goodbye), accompanied by the sweet single “Sally, When The Wine Runs Out”. Like many songs these days, it became popular on TikTok, undoubtedly helped by Tucker’s good looks and charming persona, and is his first song to chart in the U.S. and several countries, including Canada, the UK, Ireland, New Zealand and Israel.
BACK TO FRIENDS – sombr (1)
MOODY – Royel Otis (4)
NOTHING I NEED – Lord Huron (2)
PORCELAIN (LOSING ALL MY PATIENCE) – Somebody’s Child (3)
BASIC BEING BASIC – Djo (6)
CATCH THESE FISTS – Wet Leg (7)
ARCHBISHOP HAROLD HOLMES – Jack White (5)
THE CONTRACT – Twenty One Pilots (13)
RITALIN – Dexter and The Moonrocks (11)
BONNET OF PINS – Matt Berninger (12)
FEELS RIGHT – Talk in Waves (15)
SCARS – Secret Postal Society (14)
WHAT WAS THAT – Lorde (16)
IT’S AMAZING TO BE YOUNG – Fontaines D.C. (8)
BARBARIAN – AWOLNATION (9)
LET THINGS GO – Caamp (10)
RIPPLE – Good Neighbours (19)
NO RAIN, NO FLOWERS – The Black Keys (26)
BETTER OFF EVENTUALLY – Bealby Point (22)
RELATIONSHIPS – HAIM (23)
EMERGENCE – Sleep Token (24)
LOVE IS A FIRE – Art Block (25)
LONDON TOWN – HEALER (28)
BLOOM BABY BLOOM – Wolf Alice (29)
THE TURNAROUND – DelCobras (17) 19th week on chart
The cinematic anthem “back to friends” by sombr holds onto the top spot for a second week, while Lord Huron‘s “Nothing I Need” remains at #2 again after spending two weeks at #1. Irish pop rock band Somebody’s Child moves up a spot to #3 with their beautiful “Porcelain (Losing All My Patience)” and Australian duo Royel Otis slide into fourth place with “moody”.
There are three new debuts this week, starting with “The Contract” by my favorite music act Twenty One Pilots, comprised of the dynamic duo Tyler Joseph and Josh Dun, entering my chart at lucky #13. The lead single from their forthcoming eighth studio album Breach, to be released September 5th, “The Contract” starts the final act of the narrative begun on their 2015 album Blurryface and continued through Trench, Scaled And Icy, and last year’s Clancy.
Entering at #29 is “Bloom Baby Bloom” by English alt-rock band Wolf Alice, consisting of Ellie Rowsell on lead vocals, Joff Oddie on guitar, Theo Ellis on bass and Joel Amey on drums. The song is the lead single from their fourth studio album The Clearing, to be released August 29th. And coming in at #30 is “Asshole” by Denver, Colorado-based alternative folk rock band The Lumineers, now a duo consisting of Wesley Schultz (lead vocals, guitar) and Jeremiah Fraites (drums, percussion, piano). Also dubbed “First We Ever Met” to mollify radio censors and self-righteous Puritans, “Asshole” is from their fifth and latest studio album Automatic, which dropped February 14th.
BACK TO FRIENDS – sombr (1)
NOTHING I NEED – Lord Huron (2)
PORCELAIN (LOSING ALL MY PATIENCE) – Somebody’s Child (4)
‘With its sweeping cinematic ‘wall of sound’ arrangement and lush orchestration, the beautiful anthem “back to friends” by alternative pop-rock artist sombr is exactly the kind of song I love, so it was only a matter of time before it reached the pinnacle of my top 30 chart. The music project of talented and charismatic young singer-songwriter Shane Michael Boose – who will turn 20 on July 5th – sombr was born and raised in New York City but now based in Los Angeles. The gorgeous song was released in late December but as so often happens these days, it went viral on TikTok this past Spring along with his other single “Undressed”, and began appearing on multiple charts around the world, including the Billboard Hot 100 and other American charts. Currently enjoying a long stay at #1 on the Alternative Airplay chart, “back to friends” surpassed 100 million streams on Spotify in April and has now garnered more than 381 million streams.’
The straightforward, relatable lyrics describe feelings of heartbreak resulting from learning someone you thought you had a strong romantic and emotional connection with turns out to not share the same feelings, something I’m confident nearly all of us experienced at one time or another during our late adolescence or early adulthood. “How can we go back to being friends when we just shared a bed? How can you look at me and pretend I’m someone you’ve never met? The devil in your eyes won’t deny the lies you’ve sold, I’m holding on too tight. While you let go, this is casual.”
In other chart news of note, “Moody” by Australian duo Royel Otis is the biggest upward mover again this week, jumping nine spots to enter the top 10 at #6. Also entering the top 10 are “Basic Being Basic” by Djo, the music project of American actor and musician Joseph David Keery, who starred in the Netflix hit series Stranger Things, the comedy film Free Guy and season five of Fargo, and “Catch These Fists” by English indie rock band Wet Leg.
Two songs make their debut this week, the first of which is “No Rain, No Flowers” by Nashville-based blues rock duo The Black Keys, who are certainly no strangers to my chart. The marvelous ear worm is the title track and third single (after “The Night Before”, which recently peaked at #2, and “Babygirl”) from their forthcoming 13th studio album No Rain, No Flowers, scheduled for release on August 8th. Entering at #30 is “London Town” by English alternative indie rock band HEALER, a great song I recently reviewed. It’s their third song to appear on my chart, after “Bones” in 2023 and “War” in 2024.
BACK TO FRIENDS – sombr (2)
NOTHING I NEED – Lord Huron (1)
ARCHBISHOP HAROLD HOLMES – Jack White (4)
PORCELAIN (LOSING ALL MY PATIENCE) – Somebody’s Child (5)
ECLECTIC MUSIC LOVER 