Tag: sombr

Top 30 Songs for June 1-7, 2025

On By EclecticMusicLoverIn Weekly Top 30's7 Comments

English singer-songwriter & producer Frank Joshua remains at #1 for a second week with his lush single “Walls”, while Fontaines D.C.‘s “It’s Amazing To Be Young” advances a spot to #2. Rounding out the top five are “Bad Larry” by Cloakroom, “Mortal Wound” by The Veils and “The Turnaround” by DelCobras (who just released their second single “Untied (She’s the One)” this past Friday), all moving up two spots. The biggest upward mover this week is the majestic “back to friends” by 19-year-old artist sombr, leaping eight spots to #16 (I find it interesting that some artists name themselves and/or their songs in all lower case).

I have two wonderful debut songs this week, the first of which is “Feels Right” by northern Virginia-based artist Talk in Waves (the music project of singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Jake Mimikos). The exuberant pop-rock song is a joyous celebration of a budding romance, where everything’s coming together and just “feels right”. Jake has released an impressive amount of music since 2015, and I’ve featured him numerous times on this blog. I’ve loved all his songs, five of which have reached #1 on my Top 30 chart. One of them, “Like You Do”, topped my 100 Best Indie Songs of 2024 list, and his previous single “You’re My Drug” reached #2 this past March.

The second debut, coming in at #30, is the marvelous “Bonnet Of Pins” by silky-voiced singer-songwriter Matt Berninger, who’s also frontman of alternative indie rock band The National. I love his warm baritone singing voice so much, he could literally sing the phone book and I’m certain it would sound captivating. The song is from his new album Get Sunk, his second release as a solo artist which dropped this past Friday, May 30th.

  1. WALLS – Frank Joshua (1)
  2. IT’S AMAZING TO BE YOUNG – Fontaines D.C. (3)
  3. BAD LARRY – Cloakroom (5)
  4. MORTAL WOUND – The Veils (6)
  5. THE TURNAROUND – DelCobras (7)
  6. LAREDO – Leon Bridges (8)
  7. THE NIGHT BEFORE – The Black Keys (2)
  8. TIME WAITED – My Morning Jacket (4)
  9. SNAKESKIN – NAVE (9)
  10. POOR SAD INDIE EVERYTHING – Icarus Phoenix (10)
  11. NOTHING I NEED – Lord Huron (17)
  12. ARCHBISHOP HAROLD HOLMES – Jack White (12)
  13. BARBARIAN – AWOLNATION (13)
  14. PORCELAIN (LOSING ALL MY PATIENCE) – Somebody’s Child (14)
  15. LET THINGS GO – Caamp (15)
  16. BACK TO FRIENDS – sombr (24)
  17. ANKLES – Lucy Dacus (11)
  18. BASIC BEING BASIC – Djo (18)
  19. THREE SIX FIVE – Shinedown (21)
  20. EVERYTHING IS PEACEFUL LOVE – Bon Iver (22)
  21. SO LONG – Wavves (23)
  22. CATCH THESE FISTS – Wet Leg (25)
  23. METAVERSE – Cage the Elephant (16)
  24. RITALIN – Dexter and The Moonrocks (26)
  25. SPACEMAN IN TULSA – Counting Crows (27)
  26. TAKE THIS HEART – Brian Lambert (18) 19th week on chart
  27. RUSHMERE – Mumford & Sons (19)
  28. SCARS – Secret Postal Society (30)
  29. FEELS RIGHT – Talk in Waves (N)
  30. BONNET OF PINS – Matt Berninger (N)

Top 30 Songs for May 25-31, 2025

On By EclecticMusicLoverIn Weekly Top 30's9 Comments

London, England-based Frank Joshua – an enigmatic but enormously talented singer-songwriter and producer who, wanting his music to speak for itself, shares no photos of himself – has become a favorite of mine on the strength of his gorgeous baritone voice and beguiling adult contemporary music style. The prolific artist has released a staggering amount of music over the past four years or so, including three albums, an EP and 43 singles! Every one of his songs is a captivating feast for the ears, and I love them all. I’ve previously written about four of them, most recently this past February when I reviewed his marvelous single “Walls”. After a long but steady climb, the song has finally reached #1 in its 14th week on my chart. It’s his first song to top my chart; his singles “Bluebell Wood” reached #6 in 2023 and “Winter Cowboy” reached #3 in 2024. Since “Walls”, Frank has released two more singles, including “These Words” which dropped this past Thursday, May 23rd. All of his singles have been released via British music label Numen Records.

Although Frank writes some of his songs, like the majority of his singles, “Walls” was written by his frequent collaborator Simon Pitheakley, and produced by Tony White. And like all his songs, this one’s a beauty, with gorgeous reverb-drenched bluesy guitars accompanied by warm piano keys, soaring orchestral synths and gently crashing cymbals layered over a sensuous pulsating beat. It all creates a glorious cinematic backdrop for Frank’s melancholy yet captivating vocals which are both passionate and heartfelt. It’s become my favorite of all his songs, and I never tire of listening to it. The poetic lyrics speak of the challenges of growing older and maintaining a long-term relationship, in which there’s often a tug of war between the comfort and security that comes from being with a devoted loved one, and the primal urge to be independent and free of responsibility or commitment – something I’ve long struggled with myself.

In other chart news of note, The Black Keys hold at #2 with “The Night Before”, and Fontaines D.C. move up a notch to #3 with “It’s Amazing To Be Young”. Maryland shoegaze/indie rock band Icarus Phoenix enters the top 10 with their beautiful song “Poor Sad Indie Everything”, and “Nothing I Need” by Lord Huron is the biggest upward mover this week, jumping eight spots to #17.

The one new debut this week is “Scars”, a heartwarming song of love and empathy by Welsh artist Secret Postal Society, the music project of singer-songwriter, composer and multi-instrumentalist Craig Mapstone. In addition to being a talented, hard-working artist, Craig’s a thoughtful, generous and kind soul, and though we’ve never met in person, I’ve grown quite fond of him on both a personal and professional level. It’s his third song to appear on my chart, the first being “Something From Nothing/Points of Light” in 2022 and more recently “Autumn Leaves”, which spent 19 weeks on my chart from late November 2024-early April 2025, peaking at #3 in March.

  1. WALLS – Frank Joshua (3)
  2. THE NIGHT BEFORE – The Black Keys (2)
  3. IT’S AMAZING TO BE YOUNG – Fontaines D.C. (4)
  4. TIME WAITED – My Morning Jacket (1)
  5. BAD LARRY – Cloakroom (5)
  6. MORTAL WOUND – The Veils (6)
  7. THE TURNAROUND – DelCobras (7)
  8. LAREDO – Leon Bridges (9)
  9. SNAKESKIN – NAVE (10)
  10. POOR SAD INDIE EVERYTHING – Icarus Phoenix (13)
  11. ANKLES – Lucy Dacus (14)
  12. ARCHBISHOP HAROLD HOLMES – Jack White (15)
  13. BARBARIAN – AWOLNATION (16)
  14. PORCELAIN (LOSING ALL MY PATIENCE) – Somebody’s Child (17)
  15. LET THINGS GO – Caamp (18)
  16. METAVERSE – Cage the Elephant (8)
  17. NOTHING I NEED – Lord Huron (25)
  18. BASIC BEING BASIC – Djo (21)
  19. TAKE THIS HEART – Brian Lambert (11)
  20. RUSHMERE – Mumford & Sons (12)
  21. THREE SIX FIVE – Shinedown (22)
  22. EVERYTHING IS PEACEFUL LOVE – Bon Iver (23)
  23. SO LONG – Wavves (24)
  24. BACK TO FRIENDS – sombr (29)
  25. CATCH THESE FISTS – Wet Leg (28)
  26. RITALIN – Dexter and The Moonrocks (26)
  27. SPACEMAN IN TULSA – Counting Crows (30)
  28. STRAIGHT TO THE GROUND – Unquiet Nights (19)
  29. IMPOSTER SYNDROME – Fake Empire (20) 19th week on chart
  30. SCARS – Secret Postal Society (N)

Top 30 Songs for May 18-24, 2025

On By EclecticMusicLoverIn Weekly Top 30's10 Comments

There are several really beautiful songs on this week’s list, starting with “Time Waited” by My Morning Jacket, which holds the top spot for a second week. Three more are “Walls” by English artist Frank Joshua, moving up to #3, “Bad Larry” by Northwest Indiana shoegaze band Cloakroom and “Mortal Wound” by English/New Zealand indie/rock band The Veils, which advance two spots to #s 5 and 6. None of those three songs have appeared on any charts as far as I can tell, which is a travesty. “The Night Before” by The Black Keys moves into second place, and “It’s Amazing To Be Young” by Irish alt-rock band Fontaines D.C. jumps six spots to #4. Two more gorgeous songs, “Laredo”, by Texas singer-songwriter Leon Bridges and “Snakeskin” by English singer-songwriter NAVE, enter the top 10 at #s 9 & 10.

There are two debuts this week, the first of which is “back to friends” by sombr, the music project of astonishingly talented 19-year-old singer-songwriter Shane Boose. Born and raised in New York City, he’s now based in Los Angeles. The song was actually released last December but as so often happens these days, it recently went viral on TikTok and began appearing on American charts. I’ve grown to love the song, and also love his follow-up single “Undressed”. The second debut, bringing up the rear at #30, is “Spaceman in Tulsa” by legendary alt-rock band Counting Crows. The song is from their eighth album Butter Miracle, The Complete Sweets!, which dropped May 9th. Still fronted by Adam Duritz who’s now 60, they sound as good as ever.

  1. TIME WAITED – My Morning Jacket (1)
  2. THE NIGHT BEFORE – The Black Keys (3)
  3. WALLS – Frank Joshua (4)
  4. IT’S AMAZING TO BE YOUNG – Fontaines D.C. (10)
  5. BAD LARRY – Cloakroom (7)
  6. MORTAL WOUND – The Veils (8)
  7. THE TURNAROUND – DelCobras (9)
  8. METAVERSE – Cage the Elephant (2)
  9. LAREDO – Leon Bridges (12)
  10. SNAKESKIN – NAVE (14)
  11. TAKE THIS HEART – Brian Lambert (5)
  12. RUSHMERE – Mumford & Sons (6)
  13. POOR SAD INDIE EVERYTHING – Icarus Phoenix (15)
  14. ANKLES – Lucy Dacus (16)
  15. ARCHBISHOP HAROLD HOLMES – Jack White (18)
  16. BARBARIAN – AWOLNATION (19)
  17. PORCELAIN (LOSING ALL MY PATIENCE) – Somebody’s Child (20)
  18. LET THINGS GO – Caamp (21)
  19. STRAIGHT TO THE GROUND – Unquiet Nights (11)
  20. IMPOSTER SYNDROME – Fake Empire (13)
  21. BASIC BEING BASIC – Djo (22)
  22. THREE SIX FIVE – Shinedown (23)
  23. EVERYTHING IS PEACEFUL LOVE – Bon Iver (24)
  24. SO LONG – Wavves (25)
  25. NOTHING I NEED – Lord Huron (26)
  26. LUTHER – Kendrick Lamar & SZA (17)
  27. RITALIN – Dexter and The Moonrocks (29)
  28. CATCH THESE FISTS – Wet Leg (30)
  29. BACK TO FRIENDS – sombr (N)
  30. SPACEMAN IN TULSA – Counting Crows (N)