I still love “The Faithful Heart” by Australian-born and now L.A.-based artist Wons Phreely and his backup band The Horses with all my heart, and so it remains at the top of my chart for a fourth week. Sliding into second place is Green Day‘s “Bobby Sox, while “Arrow” by The Head and The Heart moves up two spots to #3. Moving up five spots to enter the top 10 at #6 is “So Cold” by New Zealand-born and now New York-based Balu Brigada, comprised of brothers Henry and Pierre Beasley. The biggest upward mover is “The Line” by twenty one pilots, jumping six spots to #23. Their beautiful song “Routines in the Night” is also at #10 again this week. The sole debut this week is the wonderful “Who’s a Fraud?” by English alternative pop-rock band Still Traffico, which I reviewed a few weeks ago.
THE FAITHFUL HEART – Wons Phreely + The Horses (1) 4th week at #1
It’s always fascinating to me how vastly different the various music charts can be, and also how long many songs now remain on each chart, and this particular week is a good example of just how much that is the case. “Die With A Smile” by Lady Gaga & Bruno Mars, which spent September, October and November in the top five on the Billboard Hot 100 before falling below that while the annual parade of vintage Christmas songs ruled the chart for most of December, is now at #1. On the Adult Pop chart, “Stargazing” by Myles Smith has spent seven weeks and counting at #1 (it peaked at #4 on my chart last November). Meanwhile, “Sad in Carolina” by Dexter and The Moonrocks has spent eight weeks and counting at #1 on the Alternative Airplay chart, “Arrow” by The Head and the Heart has spent six weeks and counting at #1 on the Adult Alternative Airplay chart, and “Mayday” by Three Days Grace has spent three weeks and counting at #1 on the Mainstream Rock chart. While “Stargazing” did quite well on both Alternative charts, even reaching #1 on the Alternative Airplay chart for a week, neither “Sad in Carolina”, “Arrow” nor “Mayday” have appeared on the Hot 100. The last time I can remember a song topping all those charts simultaneously was “Somebody That I Used to Know” by Gotye way back in 2012!
At any rate, the delightful “The Faithful Heart” by L.A.-based Wons Phreely + The Horses is still my current favorite song, thus remains at #1 on my Top 30 chart for a third week. “Sad in Carolina” holds at #2 for a third week after previously spending two weeks at #1, making it their seventh week in the top 2. “A Tear in Space (Airlock)” by English band Glass Animals holds at #3 for a second week, while Green Day‘s “Bobby Sox” inches up a spot to #4, and “Arrow” moves into fifth place. Entering the top 10 are “Autumn Leaves” by Welsh artist Secret Postal Society (the music project of singer-songwriter and guitarist Craig Mapstone), and “Routines in the Night” by twenty one pilots. “Die With A Smile”, which peaked at #2 on my chart early last month, moves back up three spots to #17.
Two fantastic songs make their debut this week, the first of which is the enchanting and cinematic “The Line” by twenty one pilots, giving my favorite music act two tracks on this chart. The song is from the Season 2 Soundtrack of the Netflix animated action-adventure series Arcane: League of Legends, which I previously had no idea about but is apparently enormously popular. The second debut is the smoldering rocker “Take This Heart” by Denton, Texas-based singer-songwriter Brian Lambert, which I reviewed a few weeks ago. It’s his fifth song to appear on my chart, two of which were by The Star Crumbles, his collaborative band with Marc Schuster.
THE FAITHFUL HEART – Wons Phreely + The Horses (1)
SAD IN CAROLINA – Dexter and The Moonrocks (2)
A TEAR IN SPACE (AIRLOCK) – Glass Animals (3)
BOBBY SOX – Green Day (5)
ARROW – The Head and the Heart (6)
IN THE LIVING ROOM – Maggie Rogers (7)
NEVERENDER – Justice & Tame Impala (4)
GILD THE LILY – Billy Strings (8)
AUTUMN LEAVES – Secret Postal Society (11)
ROUTINES IN THE NIGHT – twenty one pilots (12)
SO COLD – Balu Brigada (13)
A FRAGILE THING – The Cure (9)
DARKERSIDE – David Kushner (15)
YOU’RE MY DRUG – Talk in Waves (16)
DETROIT – Badflower (17)
SAILOR SONG – Gigi Perez (18)
DIE WITH A SMILE – Lady Gaga & Bruno Mars (20)
SHE WANTS TO GO DANCING – Mt. Joy (23)
DAY & NIGHT – Oli Barton (21)
HARDCORE ROMANCE – Beach Weather (10)
AFTERLIFE – Sharon Van Etten (22)
GIVING UP – Michigander (14)
PEOPLE WATCHING – Sam Fender (24)
BAD DREAMS – Teddy Swims (26)
FAVOURITE – Fontaines D.C. (19) 20th week on chart
As we enter the first week of the return of the despicable corrupt authoritarian that is Trump to the American Presidency, with its guaranteed upheaval, at least we have lots of great music to bring us a bit of comfort and solace.
The lovely and endearing “The Faithful Heart” by L.A.-based Wons Phreely + The Horses maintains its firm grip on the #1 spot for a second week, while “Sad in Carolina” by Texas sad cowboy music band Dexter and The Moonrocks holds at #2 for a second week after previously spending two weeks at #1. English alternative pop-rock band Glass Animals move up to #3 with their enchanting “A Tear in Space (Airlock)”.
Three songs enter my chart this week, starting with the very cool “ROCKMAN” by alternative indie rock singer-songwriter Mk.gee (born Michael Todd Gordon in New Jersey but from what I can tell is now based in L.A.). He began releasing singles in 2017, as well as two EPs in 2018, a mixtape in 2020 and his debut album Two Star & the Dream Police in February 2024. Sadly none of them charted in the U.S. until his latest single “ROCKMAN”, which is currently #26 on the Billboard AAA (Adult Alternative Airplay) and #30 on the Rock/Alternative Airplay charts (Billboard has way too many charts!). That said, Mk.gee’s star has risen exponentially over the past year, with him garnering a coveted spot as musical guest on Saturday Night Live on November 9th. He’s also amassed 2.3 million monthly listeners on Spotify and 288,000 followers on Instagram.
The other two debut songs are by acts I’ve recently learned about, and I loved their music right off the bat. Coming in at #29 is the beautiful “Here We Go Again” by Welsh pop-rock band Set the Tone. The song was released at the end of November, and I reviewed it in late December. One of their previously-released songs, “Do You Really Wanna Know?”, ended up on my 100 Best Indie Songs of 2024 list. And last but certainly not least is the mesmerizing and gorgeous “Imposter Syndrome” by English alt rock/synthwave band Fake Empire. I became a big fan the instant I heard this song, which I also wrote about in a recent Fresh New Trackspost.
THE FAITHFUL HEART – Wons Phreely + The Horses (1)
SAD IN CAROLINA – Dexter and The Moonrocks (2)
A TEAR IN SPACE (AIRLOCK) – Glass Animals (4)
NEVERENDER – Justice & Tame Impala (3)
BOBBY SOX – Green Day (5)
ARROW – The Head and the Heart (6)
IN THE LIVING ROOM – Maggie Rogers (7)
GILD THE LILY – Billy Strings (10)
A FRAGILE THING – The Cure (8)
HARDCORE ROMANCE – Beach Weather (9)
AUTUMN LEAVES – Secret Postal Society (14)
ROUTINES IN THE NIGHT – twenty one pilots (15)
SO COLD – Balu Brigada (16)
GIVING UP – Michigander (11)
DARKERSIDE – David Kushner (17)
YOU’RE MY DRUG – Talk in Waves (18)
DETROIT – Badflower (19)
SAILOR SONG – Gigi Perez (20)
FAVOURITE – Fontaines D.C. (12) 19th week on chart
DIE WITH A SMILE – Lady Gaga & Bruno Mars (13)
DAY & NIGHT – Oli Barton (23)
AFTERLIFE – Sharon Van Etten (24)
SHE WANTS TO GO DANCING – Mt. Joy (25)
PEOPLE WATCHING – Sam Fender (26)
CAN’T SLOW DOWN – almost monday (22) 19th wk on chart
After spending two weeks at #2, “The Faithful Heart” by Australian-born and now L.A.-based singer-songwriter Wons Phreely, backed by his band The Horses, ascends to the #1 spot on my latest Top 30 chart. I loved it at first listen, as well as the charming video they made for the song, and wrote about it in late November, which you can read here. But to summarize, Wons wrote the lyrics for “The Faithful Heart”, with the beautiful music written by singer-songwriter and musician David Skeet (who’s one half of the music duo Winter Swim and also produced and mixed the track). He said he was inspired to write it after thinking of a childhood friend he’d grown up with in Australia who, like himself, had moved on to a bigger city in search of greater opportunities and figuring out how to make their way through life. I love that sweet little piano riff at the beginning, those glorious chiming and jangly guitars, and Wons’ earnest vocals that rise to an endearing falsetto, backed by lovely harmonic choruses. I can listen to this song on endless repeat.
As for the wonderful video they made for the song, Wons drew inspiration from some of the quirky and popular one-shot videos by American alternative pop-rock band OK Go, and challenged himself to dance on film. With the help of choreographer friends, Wons and his band spent months coming up with inventive dance steps for a non-dancer like himself, with two of the guys guiding him through an entertaining routine as if he were a human-sized marionette. Once they mastered the choreography, they turned their attention to finding the right location to shoot the video, which in Los Angeles is always a challenge, especially when you’re on a tight budget. They settled on a laundromat, where they managed to film the sequence in one shot.
In other notable chart developments, “Neverender” by French electronic music duo Justice and Australian band Tame Impala, “A Tear in Space (Airlock)” by English alternative pop-rock band Glass Animals and “Bobby Sox” by legendary punk-pop rock band Green Day, each move up two spots to #s 3, 4 and 5. “Gild the Lily” by Michigan-based singer-songwriter and bluegrass musician Billy Strings advances three spots to enter the top 10 at #10, while “So Cold” by New Zealand alt-pop duo Balu Brigada jumps six spots to #16, making it the biggest upward mover this week.
The lone debut, entering at #30, is “Bad Dreams” by Georgia-based Teddy Swims (born Jaten Collin Dimsdale). The song is the first single from his forthcoming second album I’ve Tried Everything but Therapy (Part 2), due for release on January 28th. “Bad Dreams” is Swims’ third song to appear on my chart; “Lose Control” went to #1 in February of last year, while “The Door” spent two weeks at #4 in November.
THE FAITHFUL HEART – Wons Phreely + The Horses (2)
SAD IN CAROLINA – Dexter and The Moonrocks (1)
NEVERENDER – Justice & Tame Impala (5)
A TEAR IN SPACE (AIRLOCK) – Glass Animals (6)
BOBBY SOX – Green Day (7)
ARROW – The Head and the Heart (8)
IN THE LIVING ROOM – Maggie Rogers (9)
A FRAGILE THING – The Cure (3)
HARDCORE ROMANCE – Beach Weather (4)
GILD THE LILY – Billy Strings (13)
GIVING UP – Michigander (12)
FAVOURITE – Fontaines D.C. (10)
DIE WITH A SMILE – Lady Gaga & Bruno Mars (11)
AUTUMN LEAVES – Secret Postal Society (16)
ROUTINES IN THE NIGHT – twenty one pilots (17)
SO COLD – Balu Brigada (22)
DARKERSIDE – David Kushner (20)
YOU’RE MY DRUG – Talk in Waves (21)
DETROIT – Badflower (23)
SAILOR SONG – Gigi Perez (24)
NOBODY’S SOLDIER – Hozier (14)
CAN’T SLOW DOWN – almost monday (15)
DAY & NIGHT – Oli Barton (25)
AFTERLIFE – Sharon Van Etten (28)
SHE WANTS TO GO DANCING – Mt. Joy (29)
PEOPLE WATCHING – Sam Fender (30)
MIND GAME (3:33) – Collette McLafferty & John Serrano (18)
We’re now into the first full week of 2025, and last week’s top four songs remain in place, with Dexter and The Moonrocks‘ boisterous “Sad In Carolina” holding on to the top spot for a second week. The song is now in its fifth week at #1 on the Billboard Alternative Airplay chart, making it their most successful single yet. “The Faithful Heart” by Wons Phreely + The Horses, “A Fragile Thing” by The Cure and “Hardcore Romance” by Beach Weather remain at #s 2, 3 and 4. Entering the top 10 are “Arrow” by The Head and the Heart, finally breaking loose and jumping seven spots to #8 (the song has spent the past three weeks at #1 on the Billboard AAA chart), and “In The Living Room” by Maggie Rogers, which advances five spots to #9.
Making their debut this week are the enchanting “She Wants To Go Dancing” by Los Angeles-based alternative roots rock band Mt. Joy, entering at #29. The single was released last October, but took a while to appear on my chart, unfortunately. It’s their sixth song to appear on my Top 30. The second debut, at #30, is “People Watching” by English singer-songwriter Sam Fender. Released in November, the song has a pleasing and fast-paced anthemic groove similar to his 2021 hit “Seventeen Going Under”, which went to #1 on my chart.
SAD IN CAROLINA – Dexter and The Moonrocks (1)
THE FAITHFUL HEART – Wons Phreely + The Horses (2)
A FRAGILE THING – The Cure (3)
HARDCORE ROMANCE – Beach Weather (4)
NEVERENDER – Justice & Tame Impala (7)
A TEAR IN SPACE (AIRLOCK) – Glass Animals (8)
BOBBY SOX – Green Day (10)
ARROW – The Head and the Heart (15)
IN THE LIVING ROOM – Maggie Rogers (14)
FAVOURITE – Fontaines D.C. (5)
DIE WITH A SMILE – Lady Gaga & Bruno Mars (6)
GIVING UP – Michigander (16)
GILD THE LILY – Billy Strings (20)
NOBODY’S SOLDIER – Hozier (9)
CAN’T SLOW DOWN – almost monday (11)
AUTUMN LEAVES – Secret Postal Society (18)
ROUTINES IN THE NIGHT – twenty one pilots (19)
MIND GAME (3:33) – Collette McLafferty & John Serrano (12)
Photo of Dexter and The Moonrocks from their Facebook account
It’s hard to believe we’re sailing into 2025, and I think it’s highly appropriate to paraphrase Bette Davis (as Margo Channing in the 1950 film classic All About Eve) here by saying “Fasten your seat belts, it’s going to be a bumpy year!”
Hailing from Abilene, Texas, four-piece rock band Dexter and the Moonrocks is comprised of James Tuffs on lead vocals and rhythm guitar, Ryan Anderson on lead guitar and backing vocals, Ty Anderson on bass, and Fox on drums and backing vocals. According to their website bio, they were formed when “a former fry cook, oil field operator, concrete surface decorator and kids’ baseball coach met up in a small town in West Texas and started playing country western music together (as one does in small town West Texas). But something didn’t feel right – so their roots in country began to cross-pollinate with the rock and grunge music they heard their parents playing at home. ‘Grunge and country are honestly so similar,’ says Fox. ‘Look at Johnny Cash’s cover of ‘Hurt’ by Nine Inch Nails. Both speak to the oppressed and the depressed – country with twang and grunge with a bite. A pair of boots can mean cowboy or combat. We are huge fans of artists like Zach Bryan, Tyler Childers and Noah Kahan – and when you take that sound and plug it into amps with electric guitars, you get Dexter and the Moonrocks. We took a bet on ourselves, and it’s paying off immensely,’ he continues. ‘We believed we had something special, and if we could just get people to pay attention they’d fall in love, and we did just that.’ ‘It feels like a fever dream, and it’s definitely helped the health of my knees’, says Ty’s cousin guitarist Ryan Anderson, who never plans to decorate concrete again.”
Describing their sound as “sad cowboy music”, they released their debut single “Couch” (which has been streamed over 17 million times on Spotify alone) in late August 2021, followed by their self-titled EP that November. The rousing ear worm “Sad in Carolina”, one of six songs featured on their latest EP Western Space Grunge, released on Nashville-based label Severance Records this past July, is my new #1 song in a week that straddles the new year. Judging from their prodigious social media posts, the guys appear to have a wicked sense of humor. And on their Spotify account, they wryly state “Our entire lives we dreamed of being pool cleaners, but we guess this will work.” I’m confident it most definitely will!
In other chart developements of note, the endearing “The Faithful Heart” by Wons Phreely + The Horses – which I love with all my heart – moves up two spots to second place, while “Bobby Sox” by Green Day advances two spots to enter the top 10 at #10. Debuting this week are two songs, the first of which, entering at #27, is the delicious “So Cold” by New Zealand alt-pop duo Balu Brigada, the music project of multi-instrumentalist writer/producer brothers, Henry and Pierre Beasley. The song was released last June, but I only learned about it – and them – a few months ago when it appeared on the Billboard Alternative Airplay chart. I honestly liked it when I first heard it, but inexplicably, it’s taken until now for me to add it on my chart. I now love it, along with many of their songs. Balu Brigada opened for twenty one pilots on the North American leg of their Clancy World Tour, which ran from mid-August to mid-October.
The second debut, coming in at #30, is the enchanting “Afterlife” by Sharon Van Etten, along with her backing band The Attachment Theory (consisting of percussionist Jorge Balbi, bassist Devra Hoff, and multi-instrumentalist Teeny Lieberson). The song is the lead single from her forthcoming seventh studio album Sharon Van Etten & The Attachment Theory, due for release February 7, 2025. I love Van Etten’s voice, and it’s her fourth song to appear on my chart, the previous three being “Seventeen” in 2019, “Like I Used To” (with Angel Olsen) in 2021 and “Mistakes” in 2022.
SAD IN CAROLINA – Dexter and The Moonrocks (2)
THE FAITHFUL HEART – Wons Phreely + The Horses (4)
A FRAGILE THING – The Cure (1)
HARDCORE ROMANCE – Beach Weather (3)
FAVOURITE – Fontaines D.C. (5)
DIE WITH A SMILE – Lady Gaga & Bruno Mars (6)
NEVERENDER – Justice & Tame Impala (8)
A TEAR IN SPACE (AIRLOCK) – Glass Animals (10)
NOBODY’S SOLDIER – Hozier (7)
BOBBY SOX – Green Day (12)
CAN’T SLOW DOWN – almost monday (9)
MIND GAME (3:33) – Collette McLafferty & John Serrano (13)
We’ve reached the last full week of 2024, and the Cure‘s “A Fragile Thing” remains at #1 on my Top 30 for a second week. Dexter and The Moonrocks also hold at #2 for a second week with “Sad in Carolina, while Beach Weather moves into third place with “Hardcore Romance”. “The Faithful Heart” by Wons Phreely + The Horses climbs four spots to #4, while “Favourite” by Fontaines D.C. moves down two to #5. “A Tear in Space (Airlock)” by Glass Animals moves up three spots to enter the top 10 at #10.
Three songs make their debut this week, beginning with “Detroit” by Los Angeles-based alternative hard rock band Badflower. Released this past summer, the song took a while to fully grow on me, which is weird since it’s a really good, high-energy anthem. It’s their second song to appear on my chart, the first being their 2018 masterpiece “Ghost”, which peaked at #2 and ranks #21 on my 100 Best Songs of 2018 list. Formed in 2015, the band is still comprised of the four original founding members singer/guitarist Josh Katz, lead guitarist Joey Morrow, bassist Alex Espiritu and drummer Anthony Sonetti.
Entering at #29 is another song that’s been out awhile, “Sailor Song” by American singer-songwriter Gigi Perez. (Coincidentally, it was released on July 26, the same day as Badflower’s “Detroit”.) She’s been putting out music since 2021, but “Sailor Song” is her first song to chart after going viral on TikTok a few months ago. It’s reached #1 in the UK, Ireland and Latvia, and the top five in New Zealand, Norway, Sweden, and the Billboard Hot Rock and Alternative Songs chart. Thus far, it’s reached #22 on the Hot 100. The infectious and endearing song is a love ballad about falling for a woman who looks like the actress Anne Hathaway.
The third debut is “Day & Night”, by London-based singer-songwriter Oli Barton. A supremely talented artist, Barton’s made numerous appearances on my Top 30, most recently this past fall with his previous single “You Just Played My Mind”, which spent 15 weeks on my chart. I’ve loved every single one of his releases, and the ebullient “Day & Night” is no exception!
A FRAGILE THING – The Cure (1)
SAD IN CAROLINA – Dexter and The Moonrocks (2)
HARDCORE ROMANCE – Beach Weather (4)
THE FAITHFUL HEART – Wons Phreely + The Horses (8)
FAVOURITE – Fontaines D.C. (3)
DIE WITH A SMILE – Lady Gaga & Bruno Mars (5)
NOBODY’S SOLDIER – Hozier (6)
NEVERENDER – Justice & Tame Impala (9)
CAN’T SLOW DOWN – almost monday (7)
A TEAR IN SPACE (AIRLOCK) – Glass Animals (13)
SUPERSAD – Suki Waterhouse (11)
BOBBY SOX – Green Day (12)
MIND GAME (3:33) – Collette McLafferty & John Serrano (16)
ECLECTIC MUSIC LOVER 