Tag: ROLE MODEL

My Top 30 Songs for August 10-16, 2025

On By EclecticMusicLoverIn Weekly Top 30's6 Comments

It’s a second week on top for “The Contract” by Twenty One Pilots, with “moody” by Royel Otis holding onto second place for a second week after two weeks at #1. The Black Keys move up two to #3 with “No Rain, No Flowers”, the title track to their 13th and latest album No Rain, No Flowers, which dropped this past Friday, while Talk in Waves moves up a spot to #5 with his jubilant ear worm “Feels Right”. Entering the top 10 are “Ripple” by English indie rock duo Good Neighbours, “Better Off Eventually” by Canadian alt-rock band Bealby Point, “Love Is A Fire” by English singer-songwriter Art Block and “London Town” by English rock band Healer.

Making their debut this week are songs by two legendary bands, the first of which is “Better Days” by pop punk band Yellowcard, who formed in 1997, broke up in 2017, then reunited in 2022. Their lineup has changed over the years, and now consists of Ryan Key (lead vocals), Ryan Mendez (lead guitar), Josh Portman (bass) and Sean Mackin (violin). Their music is notable for its distinct and unique sound due to their prominent use of Mackin’s violin. The song is the lead single and title track from their forthcoming eleventh studio album Better Days, due for release on October 10. The album was produced by blink-182 drummer Travis Barker, who played drums on every song.

The second debut, coming in at #30, is “Unravelling” by English alternative space rock band Muse, who since forming in 1994 have consisted of Matt Bellamy (lead vocals, guitar, keyboards), Chris Wolstenholme (bass guitar, backing vocals), and Dominic Howard (drums, percussion). Though I’m a pretty big fan of Muse, I find it always takes several listens for many of their songs to grab me, which was the case with “Unravelling”. But grab me it did, and I now like it a lot.

  1. THE CONTRACT – Twenty One Pilots (1)
  2. MOODY – Royel Otis (2)
  3. NO RAIN, NO FLOWERS – The Black Keys (5)
  4. BACK TO FRIENDS – sombr (3)
  5. FEELS RIGHT – Talk in Waves (6)
  6. BASIC BEING BASIC – Djo (4)
  7. RIPPLE – Good Neighbours (11)
  8. BETTER OFF EVENTUALLY – Bealby Point (13)
  9. LOVE IS A FIRE – Art Block (14)
  10. LONDON TOWN – Healer (15)
  11. PORCELAIN (LOSING ALL MY PATIENCE) – Somebody’s Child (7)
  12. NOTHING I NEED – Lord Huron (8)
  13. SCARS – Secret Postal Society (9)
  14. WHAT WAS THAT – Lorde (10)
  15. BLOOM BABY BLOOM – Wolf Alice (16)
  16. SALLY, WHEN THE WINE RUNS OUT – ROLE MODEL (18)
  17. JUPITER – almost monday ft. Jordana (19)
  18. UNDRESSED – sombr (20)
  19. BONNET OF PINS – Matt Berninger (12)
  20. ASSHOLE – The Lumineers (22)
  21. BACKSEAT – Balu Brigada (23)
  22. POLYESTER (YES SIR) – Sorry Ghost (24)
  23. TODAY’S SONG – Foo Fighters (27)
  24. FIVE MORE SECONDS – Seafret & KT Tunstall (29)
  25. CATCH THESE FISTS – Wet Leg (17)
  26. INCOMPREHENSIBLE – Big Thief (28)
  27. EMERGENCE – Sleep Token (21)
  28. LIGHT YEARS APART – Unobliterated (30)
  29. BETTER DAYS – Yellowcard (N)
  30. UNRAVELLING – Muse (N)

My Top 30 Songs for August 3-9, 2025

On By EclecticMusicLoverIn Weekly Top 30's8 Comments
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.

  1. THE CONTRACT – Twenty One Pilots (3)
  2. MOODY – Royel Otis (1)
  3. BACK TO FRIENDS – sombr (2)
  4. BASIC BEING BASIC – Djo (4)
  5. NO RAIN, NO FLOWERS – The Black Keys (7)
  6. FEELS RIGHT – Talk in Waves (9)
  7. PORCELAIN (LOSING ALL MY PATIENCE) – Somebody’s Child (5)
  8. NOTHING I NEED – Lord Huron (6)
  9. SCARS – Secret Postal Society (10)
  10. WHAT WAS THAT – Lorde (11)
  11. RIPPLE – Good Neighbours (13)
  12. BONNET OF PINS – Matt Berninger (8)
  13. BETTER OFF EVENTUALLY – Bealby Point (15)
  14. LOVE IS A FIRE – Art Block (17)
  15. LONDON TOWN – HEALER (18)
  16. BLOOM BABY BLOOM – Wolf Alice (19)
  17. CATCH THESE FISTS – Wet Leg (12)
  18. SALLY, WHEN THE WINE RUNS OUT – ROLE MODEL (21)
  19. JUPITER – almost monday ft. Jordana (22)
  20. UNDRESSED – sombr (23)
  21. EMERGENCE – Sleep Token (16)
  22. ASSHOLE – The Lumineers (25)
  23. BACKSEAT – Balu Brigada (26)
  24. POLYESTER (YES SIR) – Sorry Ghost (27)
  25. RITALIN – Dexter and The Moonrocks (14)
  26. RELATIONSHIPS – HAIM (20)
  27. TODAY’S SONG – Foo Fighters (29)
  28. INCOMPREHENSIBLE – Big Thief (30)
  29. FIVE MORE SECONDS – Seafret & KT Tunstall (N)
  30. LIGHT YEARS APART – Unobliterated (N)

My Top 30 Songs for July 27-August 2, 2025

On By EclecticMusicLoverIn Weekly Top 30's5 Comments
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.

  1. MOODY – Royel Otis (1)
  2. BACK TO FRIENDS – sombr (2)
  3. THE CONTRACT – Twenty One Pilots (4)
  4. BASIC BEING BASIC – Djo (5)
  5. PORCELAIN (LOSING ALL MY PATIENCE) – Somebody’s Child (3)
  6. NOTHING I NEED – Lord Huron (6)
  7. NO RAIN, NO FLOWERS – The Black Keys (14)
  8. BONNET OF PINS – Matt Berninger (9)
  9. FEELS RIGHT – Talk in Waves (10)
  10. SCARS – Secret Postal Society (11)
  11. WHAT WAS THAT – Lorde (12)
  12. CATCH THESE FISTS – Wet Leg (7)
  13. RIPPLE – Good Neighbours (15)
  14. RITALIN – Dexter and The Moonrocks (8)
  15. BETTER OFF EVENTUALLY – Bealby Point (16)
  16. EMERGENCE – Sleep Token (18)
  17. LOVE IS A FIRE – Art Block (19)
  18. LONDON TOWN – HEALER (20)
  19. BLOOM BABY BLOOM – Wolf Alice (21)
  20. RELATIONSHIPS – HAIM (17)
  21. SALLY, WHEN THE WINE RUNS OUT – ROLE MODEL (26)
  22. JUPITER – almost monday ft. Jordana (27)
  23. UNDRESSED – sombr (28)
  24. ARCHBISHOP HAROLD HOLMES – Jack White (13)
  25. ASSHOLE – The Lumineers (25)
  26. BACKSEAT – Balu Brigada (29)
  27. POLYESTER (YES SIR) – Sorry Ghost (30)
  28. IT’S AMAZING TO BE YOUNG – Fontaines D.C. (22) 19th week on chart
  29. TODAY’S SONG – Foo Fighters (N)
  30. INCOMPREHENSIBLE – Big Thief (N)

My Top 30 Songs for July 20-26, 2025

On By EclecticMusicLoverIn Weekly Top 30's9 Comments
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.

  1. MOODY – Royel Otis (2)
  2. BACK TO FRIENDS – sombr (1)
  3. PORCELAIN (LOSING ALL MY PATIENCE) – Somebody’s Child (4)
  4. THE CONTRACT – Twenty One Pilots (8)
  5. BASIC BEING BASIC – Djo (5)
  6. NOTHING I NEED – Lord Huron (3)
  7. CATCH THESE FISTS – Wet Leg (6)
  8. RITALIN – Dexter and The Moonrocks (9)
  9. BONNET OF PINS – Matt Berninger (10)
  10. FEELS RIGHT – Talk in Waves (11)
  11. SCARS – Secret Postal Society (12)
  12. WHAT WAS THAT – Lorde (13)
  13. ARCHBISHOP HAROLD HOLMES – Jack White (7)
  14. NO RAIN, NO FLOWERS – The Black Keys (18)
  15. RIPPLE – Good Neighbours (17)
  16. BETTER OFF EVENTUALLY – Bealby Point (19)
  17. RELATIONSHIPS – HAIM (20)
  18. EMERGENCE – Sleep Token (21)
  19. LOVE IS A FIRE – Art Block (22)
  20. LONDON TOWN – HEALER (23)
  21. BLOOM BABY BLOOM – Wolf Alice (24)
  22. IT’S AMAZING TO BE YOUNG – Fontaines D.C. (14)
  23. BARBARIAN – AWOLNATION (15)
  24. LET THINGS GO – Caamp (16)
  25. ASSHOLE – The Lumineers (26)
  26. SALLY, WHEN THE WINE RUNS OUT – ROLE MODEL (30)
  27. JUPITER – almost monday ft. Jordana (N)
  28. UNDRESSED – sombr (N)
  29. BACKSEAT – Balu Brigada (N)
  30. 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:

Top 30 Songs for July 13-19, 2025

On By EclecticMusicLoverIn Weekly Top 30's3 Comments

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.

  1. BACK TO FRIENDS – sombr (1)
  2. MOODY – Royel Otis (4)
  3. NOTHING I NEED – Lord Huron (2)
  4. PORCELAIN (LOSING ALL MY PATIENCE) – Somebody’s Child (3)
  5. BASIC BEING BASIC – Djo (6)
  6. CATCH THESE FISTS – Wet Leg (7)
  7. ARCHBISHOP HAROLD HOLMES – Jack White (5)
  8. THE CONTRACT – Twenty One Pilots (13)
  9. RITALIN – Dexter and The Moonrocks (11)
  10. BONNET OF PINS – Matt Berninger (12)
  11. FEELS RIGHT – Talk in Waves (15)
  12. SCARS – Secret Postal Society (14)
  13. WHAT WAS THAT – Lorde (16)
  14. IT’S AMAZING TO BE YOUNG – Fontaines D.C. (8)
  15. BARBARIAN – AWOLNATION (9)
  16. LET THINGS GO – Caamp (10)
  17. RIPPLE – Good Neighbours (19)
  18. NO RAIN, NO FLOWERS – The Black Keys (26)
  19. BETTER OFF EVENTUALLY – Bealby Point (22)
  20. RELATIONSHIPS – HAIM (23)
  21. EMERGENCE – Sleep Token (24)
  22. LOVE IS A FIRE – Art Block (25)
  23. LONDON TOWN – HEALER (28)
  24. BLOOM BABY BLOOM – Wolf Alice (29)
  25. THE TURNAROUND – DelCobras (17) 19th week on chart
  26. ASSHOLE – The Lumineers (30)
  27. THREE SIX FIVE – Shinedown (18)
  28. WALLS – Frank Joshua (20) 21st week on chart
  29. LAREDO – Leon Bridges (21)
  30. SALLY, WHEN THE WINE RUNS OUT – ROLE MODEL (N)