My current favorite song is still “Homewrecker” by sombr, thus it remains at #1 for a third week, while Dexter and The Moonrocks‘ “Freakin’ Out” and Temper City‘s “Self Aware” hold at #2 and 3 for a second week. My friend Lyia Meta enters the top 10 with her powerful rock gem “Raging Halls”.
The sole new entry this week is “Hold Me In The Dark” by British singer-songwriter and guitarist Myles Smith, an immensely popular folk-pop artist with over 22 million monthly listeners on Spotify and 1.7 million followers on Instagram. His music is generally upbeat with infectious melodies, and his 2024 smash hit “Stargazing” has been streamed over 1.1 billion times on Spotify. Released in May, “Hold Me In The Dark” is included on his debut album My Mess, My Heart, My Life, which dropped June 16th. The talented 28-year-old also earned a degree in sociology from the University of Nottingham in 2019.
Not a lot of movement from last week for the majority of my latest chart, although there are five new entries. “Homewrecker” by sombr remains at #1 for a second week, while Dexter and The Moonrocks‘ “Freakin’ Out” inches up a spot to #2. “Repeat Offender” by Scottish band Gloom Is Okay enters the top 10 at #9.
There were at least eight songs I wanted to add to this week’s chart, but I had to cull my list down to only five as there were no other songs I was ready to drop. The first new entry is “Here” by English folk rock band Mumford & Sons, featuring American folk/alt-country singer-songwriter Sierra Ferrell. The song was originally recorded with Chris Stapleton and is included on the Mumford & Sons latest album Prizefighter, released this past February. This new version was recorded with Ferrell for an Apple Music Session on May 28th, and as much as I like Chris Stapleton, I like this version with Ferrell better. The song is currently #1 on the Billboard Adult Alternative chart.
The second new entry is “Heart Stop”, an emotionally powerful tune by alternative roots rock band The Revivalists. Based in New Orleans, the eight-piece collective is comprised of Ed Williams (pedal steel guitar, guitar), David Shaw (lead vocals), Zack Feinberg (guitar), Rob Ingraham (saxophone), George Gekas (bass guitar), Andrew Campanelli (drums and percussion), Michael Girardot (keyboards and trumpet), and Paulet “PJ” Howard (drums and percussion). Their 2023 single “Kid” topped my chart and ranks #9 on my Top 100 for that year. “Heart Stop” is the first in a series of singles they began releasing in April.
Coming in at #28 is “In The Stars” by legendary rockers The Rolling Stones. Formed in London in 1962, the band currently consists of original founders Mick Jagger and Keith Richards, along with Ronnie Wood since 1975 – all of whom seem to have discovered the fountain of youth! – as well as touring members keyboardist Chuck Leavell (since 1982), backing vocalist Bernard Fowler (since 1989), keyboardist Matt Clifford (off and on since 1989), bassist Darryl Jones (since 1994), saxophonists Tim Ries (since 1999) and Karl Denson (since 2014), drummer Steve Jordan (since 2021) and female vocalist Chanel Haynes (since 2022).(Wikipedia) The song is from their 25th and latest studio album Foreign Tongues, which dropped this past Friday, July 10th. The song is surprisingly good, with a guitar riff reminiscent of the one played by Bill Bottrell on Michael Jackson’s hit single “Black or White”.
Debuting at #29 is “no more regrets” by San Diego, California-based indie pop band almost monday, made up of Dawson Daugherty, Luke Fabry and Cole Clisby. I’m a big fan of their breezy dance pop, so “no more regrets” immediately grabbed my attention. Their single “Jupiter” reached #1 on my chart last fall.
The fifth new entry is “Freaking Out” (not to be confused with my #2 song by Dexter and The Moonrocks) by alternative pop-rock band Michigander. Founded in 2014 by singer-songwriter and musician Jason Singer in Michigan and now based in Nashville, the band includes Jake LeMond on guitar, Aaron Senor on drums, and Connor Robertson on bass. (I’ve previously reviewed music by Michigander as well as solo music by LeMond and Senor.)
I’m pretty confident that the majority of my fellow bloggers and readers – at least those few who even bother to read my posts – probably shake their heads at my music tastes and that’s okay, as each of us likes what we like at the end of the day. That said, my new #1 song this week is “Homewrecker” by sombr (born Shane Michael Boose), who turns 21 today. Over the past year he’s become one of my favorite artists, and “Homewrecker” is his fourth song to top my chart, following “back to friends” (which was #1 on my chart a year ago today and is my top song for 2025), “undressed” and “12 to 12” (which spent five weeks at #1).
In other charts developments of note, the lovely “Exit Wound” by Ships Have Sailed, a longtime favorite act of mine from Los Angeles, enters the top 10.
And I’m thrilled to add the captivating “The Endless Border”, by Belgian four-piece Velvet Jesus, to my chart this week. I can’t remember how or where I learned about it, but I love the song’s enchanting Middle Eastern sound and beautiful intricate guitar work. Based in Leuven, the band is comprised of Anton Fannes (lead vocals, guitar, synths, samples), Bart Catoor (bass, samples, backing vocals), Christophe Vandewoude (guitar) and Peter De Clercq (drums). They released their debut single “Qatar” in 2023, which they followed a year later with their album of the same name. The band states that their latest single “is about the strange world of today, and in particular how one population imposes a border on another, while a national border is nothing more than a line on a map.”
HOMEWRECKER – sombr (2)
GOING SHOPPING – The Strokes (1)
FREAKIN’ OUT – Dexter and The Moonrocks (4)
HEADLIGHTS – In Color (5)
SELF AWARE – Temper City (6)
RIPTIDES – Death Cab for Cutie (3)
DROP DEAD – Olivia Rodrigo (7)
GOOD2B – Goose (8)
UNTIL THE SUN EXPLODES – Sublime (9)
EXIT WOUND – Ships Have Sailed (11)
REPEAT OFFENDER – Gloom Is Okay (12)
IN MY ROOM – Julia Wolf (10)
RAGING HALLS – Lyia Meta (18)
RIDE LONESOME – Beck (16)
PICKING DRAGONS’ POCKETS – Modest Mouse (17)
BACK IN LOVE – Suki Waterhouse (21)
MARATHONS – Sorry Ghost (22)
ONLINE – Western Jaguar (23)
DOORS – Noah Kahan (25)
DRAG PATH – Twenty One Pilots (15)
PRIVATE – The Neighbourhood (27)
REIN ME IN – Sam Fender & Olivia Dean (28)
SLUMBER PARTY – Brigitte Calls Me Baby (13) 21st week on chart
BEDROOM POSTERS – Yellowcard feat. Good Charlotte (14)
The Strokes remain on top for a second week with “Going Shopping”, while sombr moves into second place with “Homewrecker”. Three songs enter the top 10: “Good2B” by Goose, “Until The Sun Explodes” by Sublime and “In My Room” by Julia Wolf, at #s 8, 9 and 10, respectively. Scottish band Gloom Is Okay are this week’s biggest upward movers as their darkly beautiful “Repeat Offender” leaps 10 spots to #12.
Four songs make their debut this week, beginning with “Private” by Los Angeles alt-rock band The Neighbourhood, which enters at #27. The song is from their fifth studio album (((((ultraSOUND))))), which also features “Hula Girl” that spent two weeks at #1 on my chart in April. I can’t think of a single song of theirs I haven’t loved, and “Private” is no exception.
Next up is “Rein Me In”, a beautiful song by English singer-songwriter Sam Fender, with added vocals by English singer-songwriter Olivia Dean, who won the Best New Artist Grammy earlier this year (which should have gone to sombr, but I digress). The song is a remix of the original from Fender’s third studio album People Watching. “Rein Me In” was released in June 2025 as the sixth single from the album and eventually became Fender’s first song to reach #1 on the UK Singles Chart in February 2026, as well as winning the Brit Award for Song of the Year. It also topped the charts in Australia and Ireland, reached #2 in New Zealand, and became Fender’s first song to appear on the Billboard Hot 100, peaking at number 64.
Entering at #29 is “Who Will You Follow” by American alternative metal rock band Evanescence. Formed in Little Rock in 1994, the band has undergone some lineup changes over the years and now consists of founding member Amy Lee (lead vocals, piano, keyboards, harp), Troy McLawhorn (guitar), Tim McCord (guitar, bass), Emma Anzai (bass, backing vocals) and Will Hunt (drums). They released their debut album Fallen in 2003 and followed with five more albums at the rate of one every three to six years. “Who Will You Follow” is the second single from their sixth and latest album Sanctuary, which dropped June 5th.
Coming in at #30 is “Go Fuck Urself” by English techno punk band Fat Dog. Formed in 2020 during the COVID-19 lockdowns, the band consists of Joe Love, Chris Hughes, Morgan Wallace, and Ellis D, and is known for their boisterous live performances. The provocative and deliciously catchy song was released as their eighth single on May 11th and I love it!
GOING SHOPPING – The Strokes (1)
HOMEWRECKER – sombr (4)
RIPTIDES – Death Cab for Cutie (2)
FREAKIN’ OUT – Dexter and The Moonrocks (5)
HEADLIGHTS – In Color (3)
SELF AWARE – Temper City (7)
DROP DEAD – Olivia Rodrigo (6)
GOOD2B – Goose (11)
UNTIL THE SUN EXPLODES – Sublime (12)
IN MY ROOM – Julia Wolf (16)
EXIT WOUND – Ships Have Sailed (17)
REPEAT OFFENDER – Gloom Is Okay (22)
SLUMBER PARTY – Brigitte Calls Me Baby (8) 20th week on chart
BEDROOM POSTERS – Yellowcard feat. Good Charlotte (9)
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):
With their expansive and eclectic sound, alternative indie rock band My Morning Jacket have been making innovative music for more than a quarter century. Formed in Louisville, Kentucky in 1998, the band currently consists of founding members Jim James (lead vocals, rhythm guitar) and Tom Blankenship (bass), as well as Patrick Hallahan (drums & percussion), Bo Koster (keyboards, percussion & backing vocals), and Carl Broemel (lead guitar, pedal steel, saxophone & backing vocals). The introspective and lovely “Time Waited” takes over the #1 spot on my latest Top 30 chart. The song is from their latest and 10th album is, released on March 25th. It’s their second song to reach #1 on my chart, their previous being the gorgeous “Feel You”, which also ranks #6 on my list of 100 Best Songs of 2020.
About the song, James told Stereogum: “I made a loop of that piano intro and listened as I went for a walk, and all these melodies started coming to me. For a long time, I didn’t have lyrics, but then I had a dream where I was in a café and a song was playing, and the lyrics to that song became the lyrics to ‘Time Waited’ — the melodies just fit perfectly. And the lyrics are about how flexible time is, how we can bend and warp time, especially if we are following our hearts, the universe and time itself can flow to work with us.” In addition to that beautiful piano, I also love the marvelous guitar work.
In other chart news of note, The Black Keys advance two spots to #3 with “The Night Before”, and English singer-songwriter Frank Joshua climbs three spots to #4 with “Walls”. Two songs enter the top 10: “The Turnaround” by Philadelphia power pop trio DelCobras, and “It’s Amazing To Be Young” by Irish alt-rock band Fontaines D.C., whose song “Starburster” was my favorite song of 2024.
Two songs make their debut, the first of which is “Ritalin” by Texas rock band Dexter and The Moonrocks, who’s previous single “Sad in Carolina” went to # in late December-early January. The second new entry is “catch these fists” by English indie rock duo Wet Leg, comprised of Rhian Teasdale and Hester Chambers. With a winning combination of infectious melodies, ascerbic lyrics, and their quirky deadpan vocal style, they burst onto the music scene in 2021 with their critically acclaimed eponymous album Wet Leg, which spawned two hits, “Chaise Longue” and “Wet Dream”. “catch these fists” is the lead single from their forthcoming second album Moisturizer, to be released in July.
TIME WAITED – My Morning Jacket (2)
METAVERSE – Cage the Elephant (1)
THE NIGHT BEFORE – The Black Keys (5)
WALLS – Frank Joshua (7)
TAKE THIS HEART – Brian Lambert (3)
RUSHMERE – Mumford & Sons (4)
BAD LARRY – Cloakroom (9)
MORTAL WOUND – The Veils (10)
THE TURNAROUND – DelCobras (11)
IT’S AMAZING TO BE YOUNG – Fontaines D.C. (12)
STRAIGHT TO THE GROUND – Unquiet Nights (8)
LAREDO – Leon Bridges (14)
IMPOSTER SYNDROME – Fake Empire (6)
SNAKESKIN – NAVE (15)
POOR SAD INDIE EVERYTHING – Icarus Phoenix (16)
ANKLES – Lucy Dacus (17)
LUTHER – Kendrick Lamar & SZA (13)
ARCHBISHOP HAROLD HOLMES – Jack White (20)
BARBARIAN – AWOLNATION (21)
PORCELAIN (LOSING ALL MY PATIENCE) – Somebody’s Child (23)
LET THINGS GO – Caamp (24)
BASIC BEING BASIC – Djo (22)
THREE SIX FIVE – Shinedown (26)
EVERYTHING IS PEACEFUL LOVE – Bon Iver (27)
SO LONG – Wavves (28)
NOTHING I NEED – Lord Huron (30)
PEOPLE WATCHING – Sam Fender (18) 19th week on chart
Alt rock band Cage the Elephant have been one of my favorite acts for well over 10 years, and I’ve loved most of their music. Founded in Bowling Green, Kentucky in 2006, the band relocated to London, England in early 2008, then moved to Nashville in 2009, where they remain today. Their current lineup consists of founding members Matt Shultz (lead vocals & rhythm guitar), his brother Brad Shultz (rhythm guitar, keyboards), Daniel Tichenor ( bass, backing vocals) and Jared Champion (drums, percussion), as well as Nick Bockrath (lead guitar, keyboards, backing vocals) and Matthan Minster (keyboards, rhythm guitar, backing vocals), both of whom joined the band in 2017. Since 2008 they’ve released six critically acclaimed albums, two of which – Tell Me I’m Pretty in 2017 and Social Cues in 2020 – won Grammy Awards for Best Rock Album.
“Metaverse”, the third single from their latest album Neon Pill, ascends to #1 on this week’s chart. It’s their second single from that album to reach #1, after last year’s title track “Neon Pill”, and their eighth song to reach #1 on my chart. The song seems to be about the struggles of being in a band and striving for perfection but sometimes failing to achieve it: “It’s a natural progression. No need for affection. Just a perfect deflection when you got no perspective. Every day spent far from my family. Double check, checked out, I’m half asleep. What the hell? Oh, well, that’s life. What the hell? I keep running and running.“
There are lots of really lovely songs out now, and one of the best is the poignant “Time Waited” by My Morning Jacket, which moves up two spots to #2. The song is from their latest album is, released on March 25th. Two songs enter the top 10, the first of which is “Bad Larry”, by northwest Indiana stoner emo band Cloakroom. From their latest album Last Leg of the Human Table, the song has a bit of a Lord Huron sound, courtesy of achingly beautiful twangy guitars and the velvety-smooth vocals of lead singer Doyle Martin. The second is the gorgeous “Mortal Wound” by British indie rock band The Veils, from their seventh and latest album Asphodels. And speaking of Lord Huron, the L.A.-based indie folk rock band’s latest single “Nothing I Need” is the lone debut song this week. Fronted by singer-songwriter Ben Schneider, they’ve become one of my favorite bands since the release of their magnificent 2021 album Long Lost.
METAVERSE – Cage the Elephant (2)
TIME WAITED – My Morning Jacket (4)
TAKE THIS HEART – Brian Lambert (1)
RUSHMERE – Mumford & Sons (3)
THE NIGHT BEFORE – The Black Keys (6)
IMPOSTER SYNDROME – Fake Empire (5)
WALLS – Frank Joshua (8)
STRAIGHT TO THE GROUND – Unquiet Nights (7)
BAD LARRY – Cloakroom (12)
MORTAL WOUND – The Veils (13)
THE TURNAROUND – DelCobras (14)
IT’S AMAZING TO BE YOUNG – Fontaines D.C. (15)
LUTHER – Kendrick Lamar & SZA (11)
LAREDO – Leon Bridges (20)
SNAKESKIN – NAVE (17)
POOR SAD INDIE EVERYTHING – Icarus Phoenix (18)
ANKLES – Lucy Dacus (19)
PEOPLE WATCHING – Sam Fender (9)
SAME OLD SONG – The Lumineers (10)
ARCHBISHOP HAROLD HOLMES – Jack White (22)
BARBARIAN – AWOLNATION (23)
BASIC BEING BASIC – Djo (25)
PORCELAIN (LOSING ALL MY PATIENCE) – Somebody’s Child (26)
The rousing garage rocker “Take This Heart” by Denton, Texas-based singer-songwriter Brian Lambert remains at #1 for a second week, while “Metaverse” by Nashville alt-rock band Cage the Elephant moves up two spots to #2 and “Rushmere” by English folk rock band Mumford & Sons holds at #3.
Four songs make their debut on my chart this week, starting with the upbeat and gentle “Let Things Go” by Columbus, Ohio-based folk band Caamp, comprised of Evan Westfall, Taylor Meier, Matt Vinson and Joseph Kavalec. Their songs have always performed well on the Billboard AAA (Adult Alternative Airplay) chart, with three reaching #1; “Let Things Go” currently sits at #5 on that chart.
The second debut, entering at #28, is “Three Six Five” by long-time Florida rock band Shinedown. Formed in 2001, the band presently consists of founding member and front man Brent Smith, as well as Barry Kerch, Zach Myers and Eric Bass. They’ve garnered the most #1 singles on the Billboard Mainstream Rock charts with 20 and counting, and every one of their singles have reached the top five on that chart.
The third debut is “Everything Is Peaceful Love” by American indie folk band Bon Iver. Originally founded in 2006 as a solo project by singer-songwriter Justin Vernon, Bon Iver eventually became a band consisting of Vernon, Sean Carey, Michael Lewis, Matthew McCaughan, Andrew Fitzpatrick and Jenn Wasner. The sweet, uplifting song is from their fifth studio album SABLE, fABLE, released on April 11th.
Entering at #30 is the fourth and final debut, “So Long” by San Diego-based indie rock band Wavves. Like Bon Iver, Wavves was originally formed as a solo project in 2008 by singer-songwriter Nathan Williams, but ultimately grew to become a full band, and after several lineup changes now also includes Alex Gates, Stephen Pope and Ross Traver. Their first new music since their 2021 album Hideaway, “So Long” was released on February 28th, and will be included on their forthcoming ninth album Spun, set for release in June. I love the song’s exuberant pop-punk sound that’s reminiscent of songs by Green Day, Blink-182 and The Orwells, and it marks their first appearance on my chart.
TAKE THIS HEART – Brian Lambert (1)
METAVERSE – Cage the Elephant (4)
RUSHMERE – Mumford & Sons (3)
TIME WAITED – My Morning Jacket (5)
IMPOSTER SYNDROME – Fake Empire (2)
THE NIGHT BEFORE – The Black Keys (8)
STRAIGHT TO THE GROUND – Unquiet Nights (9)
WALLS – Frank Joshua (10)
PEOPLE WATCHING – Sam Fender (6)
SAME OLD SONG – The Lumineers (7)
LUTHER – Kendrick Lamar & SZA (13)
BAD LARRY – Cloakroom (14)
MORTAL WOUND – The Veils (15)
THE TURNAROUND – DelCobras (16)
IT’S AMAZING TO BE YOUNG – Fontaines D.C. (17)
WITHOUT A DOUBT – Charm School (11)
SNAKESKIN – NAVE (19)
POOR SAD INDIE EVERYTHING – Icarus Phoenix (20)
ANKLES – Lucy Dacus (21)
LAREDO – Leon Bridges (22)
SO COLD – Balu Brigada (12)
ARCHBISHOP HAROLD HOLMES – Jack White (24)
BARBARIAN – AWOLNATION (25)
BAD DREAMS – Teddy Swims (18)
BASIC BEING BASIC – Djo (29)
PORCELAIN (LOSING ALL MY PATIENCE) – Somebody’s Child (30)
Brian Lambert is an affable, thoughtful and talented singer-songwriter from Denton, Texas who refers to himself as a “Friendly Neighborhood Rock and Roller”, and is also one of the most prolific musicians I know of. When Covid put a halt to playing live, he challenged himself to writing, recording and producing a new song every week for a year, an ambitious feat he went on to accomplish in 2021. Since then, he’s continued his prodigious output, writing and recording numerous songs both as a solo artist and in collaboration with a host of other musicians, including his frequent musical partner Marc Schuster (with whom he also has a side band called The Star Crumbles).
His lively, eclectic sound runs the gamut from rock’n’roll, indie folk and garage rock to grunge, punk and synthpop. In addition to a dizzying array of singles, he also released a terrific album Wild in September 2023 and EP Everything’s a Business in June 2024. I’ve featured him many times on this blog, most recently this past January when I reviewed his single “Take This Heart“. Inspired by the 90’s music of some of his favorite bands like Soul Asylum, the Goo Goo Dolls and Better Than Ezra, “Take This Heart” is a smoldering, foot-stomping garage rock banger of a love song. Brian wrote the music and lyrics, played all instruments and self-produced the track. I love it, and am pleased to finally place it at the top of my latest chart.
Entering the top 10 are “The Night Before” by The Black Keys, “Straight to the Ground” by Northern-Ireland rock act Unquiet Nights, and “Walls” by English singer-songwriter Frank Joshua, at #s 8, 9 & 10, respectively.
There are two new additions this week, the first of which is “Basic Being Basic” by Djo, the music project of American actor Joseph David Keery, known for his roles as Steve Harrington in the Netflix series Stranger Things and Gator Tillman in the fifth season of the crime drama series Fargo. The song is from his third album The Crux, which was released April 4th. His sleeper hit song “End of Beginning”, which went viral on TikTok and has been streamed over 1.4 billion times on Spotify, spent 15 weeks in my Top 30 last year, and ranks #43 on my 100 Best Songs of 2024 list. Djo is about to embark on a 36-date tour of the U.S. and Europe that will start in Salt Lake City on April 21st.
The second new entry, debuting at #30, is “Porcelain (Losing All My Patience)” by Irish alternative indie rock band Somebody’s Child, fronted by the charismatic singer-songwriter Cian Godfrey. The beautiful song is from their wonderful second album When Youth Fades Away, released on March 28th, and accompanied by an endearing video showing Godfrey singing and dancing to the song in London’s Waterloo Station. I don’t normally include videos for other songs on my charts other than the one at #1, but this one’s so charming I want to share it.
TAKE THIS HEART – Brian Lambert (3)
IMPOSTER SYNDROME – Fake Empire (1)
RUSHMERE – Mumford & Sons (4)
METAVERSE – Cage the Elephant (5)
TIME WAITED – My Morning Jacket (7)
PEOPLE WATCHING – Sam Fender (2)
SAME OLD SONG – The Lumineers (6)
THE NIGHT BEFORE – The Black Keys (13)
STRAIGHT TO THE GROUND – Unquiet Nights (11)
WALLS – Frank Joshua (12)
WITHOUT A DOUBT – Charm School (10)
SO COLD – Balu Brigada (9)
LUTHER – Kendrick Lamar & SZA (14)
BAD LARRY – Cloakroom (16)
MORTAL WOUND – The Veils (17)
THE TURNAROUND – DelCobras (18)
IT’S AMAZING TO BE YOUNG – Fontaines D.C. (19)
BAD DREAMS – Teddy Swims (8)
SNAKESKIN – NAVE (22)
POOR SAD INDIE EVERYTHING – Icarus Phoenix (23)
ANKLES – Lucy Dacus (24)
LAREDO – Leon Bridges (27)
WHO’S A FRAUD? – Still Traffico (15)
ARCHBISHOP HAROLD HOLMES – Jack White (26)
BARBARIAN – AWOLNATION (28)
YOU’RE MY DRUG – Talk in Waves (20) 19th week on chart
THE LINE – Twenty One Pilots (21)
THE FAITHFUL HEART – Wons Phreely (25) 21st week on chart
BASIC BEING BASIC – Djo (N)
PORCELAIN (LOSING ALL MY PATIENCE) – Somebody’s Child (N)
Not many changes to my latest Top 30, as Fake Empire‘s “Imposter Syndrome” holds onto the #1 spot for a second week, and there are no new debuts this week. Sam Fender moves into second place with hs touching “People Watching”, while Texas-based singer-songwriter Brian Lambert moves up two spots with his sultry rocker “Take This Heart”. “Without A Doubt” by Kentucky-based “No Wave Post Punk” rock band Charm School enters the top 10.
IMPOSTER SYNDROME – Fake Empire (1)
PEOPLE WATCHING – Sam Fender (3)
TAKE THIS HEART – Brian Lambert (5)
RUSHMERE – Mumford & Sons (6)
METAVERSE – Cage the Elephant (7)
SAME OLD SONG – The Lumineers (8)
TIME WAITED – My Morning Jacket (9)
BAD DREAMS – Teddy Swims (2)
SO COLD – Balu Brigada (4)
WITHOUT A DOUBT – Charm School (11)
STRAIGHT TO THE GROUND – Unquiet Nights (13)
WALLS – Frank Joshua (14)
THE NIGHT BEFORE – The Black Keys (16)
LUTHER – Kendrick Lamar & SZA (15)
WHO’S A FRAUD? – Still Traffico (10)
BAD LARRY – Cloakroom (18)
MORTAL WOUND – The Veils (19)
THE TURNAROUND – DelCobras (21)
IT’S AMAZING TO BE YOUNG – Fontaines D.C. (22)
YOU’RE MY DRUG – Talk in Waves (12)
THE LINE – Twenty One Pilots (17)
SNAKESKIN – NAVE (25)
POOR SAD INDIE EVERYTHING – Icarus Phoenix (26)
ANKLES – Lucy Dacus (27)
THE FAITHFUL HEART – Wons Phreely (23) 20th week on chart
