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Posted by: Jade 30th December 2023, 07:03 PM

Okay sure let's do one of these again...



Graphic design may not be my passion but listening to an awful lot of music is

This year will just be a presentation of my top 100 songs so I have the best chance of finishing this in a timely manner and not in June. Who would do that...

I'd say the banner above is a good representation of some of my very favourite albums this year, from L-R: Caroline Polachek, Lana Del Rey, Yves Tumor, Mitski, Overmono and Temples <3

I still need to actually finish number crunching as I'm using a points based system again, should hopefully be ready to go in a few days. God bless time off work at the moment.

Looking forward to sharing my highlights of the year with you all and endeavour to catch up on everybody else's threads ASAP.

Posted by: JosephCarey 30th December 2023, 09:34 PM

Excited to follow this *.* baby we don't stop and we don't quit for #1 x

Posted by: Jade 31st December 2023, 12:02 AM

may have outsold 'Manjobee'

thank you for commenting, Joseph excited to get started soon!

Posted by: Brer 31st December 2023, 03:49 PM

Hiipe x

Actually not quite sure off the top of my head what will be #1 this year unlike last year's

There'll be more songs here than last year that I've not heard yet so I will try and aim to listen to any I've not heard as they are posted ~

Posted by: PeteFromLeeds 1st January 2024, 06:44 PM

Interested to see what'll pop up here! Not listened to your personal chart too much (although I have watched the video in your signature a couple of times, very handy) so hoping to make a few discoveries here.

Posted by: Jade 2nd January 2024, 07:14 PM

Before number crunching I had two songs in mind that would likely take the crown but something else entirely is within the actual top 2, so it was a bit unpredictable for me as a compiler too

Thank you for the hype and willingness to check unheard music out, hope you find some good discoveries


Oh that's cool that you've checked out a couple of my recap videos! I'm really surprised that I've managed to keep them up for nearly 2 years now but I do love making them! I did notice a few artists in your EOY so far that I've charted (Peggy, Temples, Tom Odell, The Killers etc.) so would be great if there was a good discovery or two for you here away from those thanks for the comment!

Posted by: Jade 3rd January 2024, 04:01 PM

TOP 100 SONGS: 100-91



100. Chelsea Wolfe - Dusk | 147 points
99. THUS LOVE - Repetitioner | 149 points
98. The Beatles - Now And Then | 152 points
97. Björk & ROSALÍA - Oral | 154 points (peak: #10)
96. TETRICA - Brujería | 154 points (peak: #6)
95. Yves Tumor - Lovely Sewer | 155 points
94. Jasper Tygner - Limes | 158 points (peak: #10)
93. Vitesse X - Right Now | 158 points (peak: #8)
92. Caroline Polachek - Butterfly Net | 158 points (peak: #3)
91. Lana Del Rey - The Grants | 160 points

Chelsea Wolfe received my latest set of top points in the BuzzJack Song Contest. I was not familiar with her prior to 'Dusk' so I am eternally grateful to Jim and his nation Bronzil for introducing her to me. I recall being instantly enamoured with this song at the relevant listening session on SyncTube and it is still riding high in my personal chart now, sitting pretty at #10. 'Dusk' opens with lyrics depicting the fall of an empire and soon more explicitly develops into an intense love story, with lyrics such as "I would go through fire to get to you". Chelsea's vocals and the slow-burn start to the production are both very sensual and instantly hooked me into this mythical, passionate world. The explosion of distorted, shredding guitars from around the three-minute mark make for an extremely satisfying climax. THUS LOVE are a band who also came into my life in 2023. I discovered 'Repetitioner' thanks to the 6Music playlist and instantly fell for its 80s style indie-rock charms. The song is about recognising the patterns that form your life, both good and bad. It consists of three vocal sections, courtesy of lead singer Echo Mars who has a captivating voice. These portions are exactly the same as each other which only feels appropriate for a song called 'Repetitioner'. There is also a wonderful instrumental break that gives the listener extra time to absorb the beautiful riffs and drum work on this one. I really ought to get around to more of their discography. The Beatles have been my favourite group for a little over a decade now so the announcement of old-but-new music was incredibly exciting to hear. 'Now And Then' originally existed as a John Lennon demo back in the 1970s and was later given to the group by his widow Yoko Ono to work on in the 1990s. Unfortunately the standard of the demo was not up to scratch so this particular release was canned for a while. Film director Peter Jackson, who assisted the group with their Get Back documentary on Disney+ a few years ago, opened up possibilities for the 'Now And Then' project with the technology he had used for this other collaboration. Therefore, a new Beatles release was finally ready in 2023 with a little help from AI. I think the finished product is a very impressive clean-up job. A documentary was released before the song was heard in full and it was a goosebump-inducing moment when the world listened to those isolated Lennon vocals for the first time. I think the song is very heartfelt and sweet... and I'm a sucker for an orchestra on a Beatles song. Their impact remains strong as 'Now And Then' gave the group a brand new U.K. #1 hit over 50 years since their last - the first in my lifetime. I wasn't sure what to expect from a Björk and ROSALÍA collaboration in aid of a legal case against farm fishing in Iceland, but I couldn't wait for whatever it would sound like! 'Oral' was originally concocted about 25 years ago by Björk and underwent a reworking all of these years later, alongside Spanish singer ROSALÍA on vocals and Sega Bodega for production help. I'd say all three of these names are quite off-the-wall yet the final product is actually mid-tempo and melodic! I think these two fabulous women work really well together and the production is lovely and complimentary. I just adore the strings in particular. 'Oral' is about the confusion when you think you might have budding romantic feelings for someone but aren't totally sure. The chorus containing: "is that the right thing to do? Oh I just don't know" represents the dilemma of making these feelings known, or just keeping them as a fantasy. The "there's a line there, I can't cross it" resolution in the outro is probably the catchiest element of the song. My only negative is that the visuals are very uncanny valley ROSALÍA performed extremely well in my EOY countdowns last year thanks to the MOTOMAMI era and continues to make quite a few appearances this year despite not releasing a follow-up album yet. TETRICA's song 'Brujería' received the same amount of points as 'Oral' but places higher here by virtue of tie-break victory, as 'Brujería' peaked four places higher in my weekly chart, at #6. This is one of many entries unleashed by my BuzzJack Song Contest nation, Jadakissnia, in 2023 that will make the countdown. I very much employed a "Halloween all year round" attitude to the contest so it was no big deal that a song that translates to "Witchcraft" was sent closer to Easter than October. TETRICA have an electric post-punk, gothic sound which became even more appealing to me when coupled with the Spanish language. The lead singer also has a commanding presence in the video with her Bratz doll-esque styling. Unfortunately this entry did not set the contest alight as it was my first bottom 5 finish in the final ever (settling for 40th place) but at least it qualified!

Yves Tumor has been a revelation for me over the past couple of years. Their latest album Praise a Lord Who Chews but Which Does Not Consume; (Or Simply, Hot Between Worlds) is easily within my top three of 2023. I may be a bit late to the party but I am here to stay now. 'Lovely Sewer' is an album track also featuring the uncredited vocal talents of Kida. The song appears to explore a fractured friendship where not all hope is totally lost, potentially explaining the juxtaposition of the title. I was instantly hooked by the bassline, the two vocals contrasting against each other and that unexpectedly tender outro music. Jasper Tygner was a name I'd seen floating around the forum by some other electronic music aficionados on here. However, it had taken me a while to get into anything of his, until 'Limes' came along that is! This song takes soothing layers of looped vocals and couples them with equally laidback beats. The vibes here are immaculate. Elsewhere in the electronic world, I discovered Vitesse X a couple of years ago, after awarding Kath's BJSC entry 'Us Ephemeral' my bronze medal in the contest. The following year 'Right Now' was a bit of a slow burner but eventually impacted the top 10 of my personal chart. This song personifies living in the moment which Vitesse X takes to the extreme in the video - diving into that cold ocean with not a whole lot to cover her. I love her breakbeat influences, those bleeps and really pretty lyrics that make for perfect electronic escapism. Caroline Polachek's latest album Desire, I Want to Turn Into You was released as early as Valentine's Day 2023 and has kept its Album of the Year status for me right until the end. 'Butterfly Net' is a breathtakingly beautiful album track from it. This song is about loss and Caroline has explained that the "butterfly net" she references is her "foolish attempts to hold onto something intangible". Her vocals express these feelings as incredibly as ever and even morph into a choral style for a bit during the latter half of the song. Danny L Harle, who is also taking the reigns on our next Eurovision entry for Olly Alexander, is here on production duties and gives this a sixties feel in the process. That organ reminds me of the stellar 'A Whiter Shade of Pale' by Procol Harum and the percussion elsewhere also drives the song along perfectly. Lana Del Rey continues to be a prolific artist as she was already on to her ninth studio album in 2023, named Did You Know That There's a Tunnel Under Ocean Blvd. I was a fan of the title track and especially 'A&W' so couldn't wait to hear even more from this era. She once again knocked it out of the park with 'The Grants'. This promo single is about family and the memories we make and will carry with us forever. The bridge is particularly emotional when Lana makes direct references to her own family members, such as "My sister's first-born child" and "My grandmother's last smile". It's a beautiful, haunting reminder to cherish precious memories with your loved ones. This gospel-influenced opening track begins with a false-start from singers Melodye Perry and Pattie Howard, who had previously been backing singers for Whitney Houston. Lana liked the imperfection of this and wanted to keep it in. They follow this up by tackling the lyric properly - singing "mine" now instead of "mind". Lana then takes over and provides stunning vocals throughout.

~~~

- I incorrectly posted Paramore - 'Figure 8' as #100 at first when they should've been #101, however, so the writing for them didn't totally go to waste...

I was eagerly anticipating Paramore's sixth studio album This Is Why after the title track and follow-up 'The News' both reached the top spot in my chart last year. Thankfully it did not disappoint and soon became my favourite record of theirs since Brand New Eyes, released way back in 2009. 'Figure 8' is merely an album track but one that made a big impression on me from the word go. The song is about lead singer Hayley Williams' experience of being in a toxic relationship and the turmoil that comes with it. She displays an impressive range throughout and really lets go for the soaring chorus. Elsewhere, fellow band member Zac Farrow goes to town with the drumming. I am so excited to see them live for the first time supporting Taylor Swift in the summer!

Posted by: Brer 4th January 2024, 01:54 AM

I have to stan the heavily post-punk / adjacent vibe of this so far of course *.* 'Repetitioner' was my favourite of the songs here I had already heard (that ear candy riff <3) but 'Lovely Sewer' was an excellent first listen and may be a contender to be my fave of these 10 with more listems, also finally hearing 'Oral' after being a flop fan and procrastinating on it, I was slightly taken aback by ROSALÍA singing mostly in English but her accent when singing in English meshes really well with Björk's so a great choice of collaboration. Hooray for Björk picking this song out of the vault at last! (and appropriate then that it's in the same section as 'Now And Then', hooray for that just about doing enough to make an appearance here). Loved Paramore leaning into a post-punky vibe for 'This Is Why' and 'Figure 8' was one of my immediate standout album tracks too. I thought most of your BJSC entries of the year were a bit underrated but especially 'Brujería', no way that deserved to be your lowest final finish to date </3 I think I would actually have it in my top 3 2023 Jadakissnia entries!

I had heard enough of 'The Grants' via reaction content on YouTube to have a good idea that I was a fan of it but also one I had not yet got around to sitting down and listening to on its own, it is a really gorgeous tune, she picked the singles/promo singles from this album brilliantly. 'Right Now' is a very good earwormy electronic pick too (even also kind of fitting in with the post-punk vibe a little bit when listening to it amongst these other songs). Unfortunately as much as I loved Caroline's album overall I have never managed to get into 'Butterfly Net', her vocals sound great on it as they do on the rest of the songs but nothing else about the song really grabs me, was the clear weak link of the album for me oops!

Posted by: Jade 4th January 2024, 10:50 AM

*.* I had forgotten that you wouldn't have heard 'Lovely Sewer' yet so I'm thrilled that you're instantly a fan! Yay for positive feedback for Björk/ROSALÍA too, that one does seem to have garnered a lot of praise on the forum in the relevant thread. You should be familiar with the remaining ROSALÍA songs now! Oh yes, when number crunching I was happy that 'Now And Then' managed to cling on with just two months worth of a chart run. The direction for This Is Why was a bit more alt-leaning than I expected in its influences but no complaints whatsoever here either *.* ooh, I feel like I'm not too clued up on what your thoughts regarding my BJSC entries would be this year, although I do remember you giving 'Kill Tone' an 18. Well then, I'm glad 'Brujería' did have a small handful of big fans! I seem to remember Michael posting in my national thread that he would've voted for it if he'd been in the contest that month

I didn't realise that you wouldn't have heard 'The Grants' yet either! I totally agree, all three of those pre-album singles made my top 10 my expectations for the album were sky high based on this trio and I remember feeling a little disappointed on first listen but in time I did grow to appreciate the album a lot. Yay, there are lots of electronic picks to come *.* BJSC, 6Music and Electronic Track of the Week have been instrumental in helping me love that type of music even more. Nooooooo 'Butterfly Net' is not the weak link of Caroline's album, I refuse to believe this take </3 awww, well, there's more Caroline to come so hopefully more positive words regarding her next appearance

thank you for commenting!! <3

Posted by: Dappy New Year 4th January 2024, 11:11 AM

Now and Then is naturally my fave of that first section, even with me not being so hugely invested in The Beatles as an act it felt like a big moment of the year in music.
Brujeria I quite liked the vibe of although I don't think it ended up getting my points. will have to give the electronica tracks here a proper listen too.

Posted by: Jade 4th January 2024, 11:39 AM

Glad you took to 'Now And Then', Dan! It certainly did feel like a magical 'Running Up That Hill (A Deal With God)'-esque moment, in the sense that a legendary act got a new moment to shine at the top of the chart. Hope you may find a good electronic discovery or two here, thanks for commenting!

Posted by: Sergej 4th January 2024, 01:31 PM

Hi there Jade!

I'm very excited for this one!

Really like seeing "Now and Then" from your list so far.

Great so far!
Really need to continue my Year-End list, a reminder.

Posted by: Jade 4th January 2024, 01:39 PM

Hey Sergej!

Yay, pleased that you will be following along

Great to see quite a bit of love for ‘Now And Then’ so far ❤️ can exclusively reveal that it will not be the only #1 single to appear.

Thank you for commenting 💖

Posted by: k👠th 4th January 2024, 01:51 PM

Jade

Fab start! Butterfly Net is a big fave of mine from Caroline's album and great to see Jasper Tygner and Vitesse X here I expect both their stars to rise this year! Vitesse X apparently has 2 albums (1 electronic and 1 alt) on the way *.* The gorgeous Right Now is one her best. I love the combination of the chopped vocals and shoegaze riffs. It should be pretty high in my incoming countdown

Posted by: Jade 4th January 2024, 01:58 PM

Kath!

Why thank you *.* glad to find another ‘Butterfly Net’ fan in the thread 🦋❤️ so happy you’re following along as I can rely on you to stan some of the alt electronic stuff too <3 thanks again for introducing Vitesse X to me! Very excited for new releases this year *.* Oh yes I was supposed to highlight the chopped vocals as well but must have got lost in another train of thought what a tune! Very pleased to hear that you’ll be doing a countdown again this year as well 🤩 will absolutely be following along

thank youuuuuu for commenting 💗

Posted by: Jade 4th January 2024, 05:01 PM

TOP 100 SONGS: 90-81



90. Snow Strippers - Just A Hint | 162 points
89. Overmono - Arla Fearn | 166 points (peak: #15)
88. Depeche Mode - My Cosmos Is Mine | 166 points (peak: #10)
87. Radost Moja - Pej Solntse | 169 points
86. Villager - Never Gonna Be | 170 points (peak: #9)
85. Lana Del Rey - Peppers (feat. Tommy Genesis) | 170 points (peak: #7)
84. 1tbsp - Best of Me | 171 points
83. The Smile - Bending Hectic | 172 points
82. The Kills - 103 | 173 points
81. VTSS - Make You Scream (yunè pinku Remix) | 176 points (peak: #5)

Snow Strippers are another act that I discovered via Kath's nation in BJSC. It was a banner year for them as EOY champions and this included sending winning entry 'Under Your Spell'. I took to this one in a big way, awarding it 10 points, then made sure to keep a look out for more. The Detroit-based duo soon delivered further essential electronic music as part of their Night Killaz Vol.1 EP, released just a month ago. 'Just A Hint' is likely one of the shortest tracks in my top 100 as it clocks in at just 2:14. However, it packs in a lot to get excited about in that runtime. The production boasts in-your-face, witchy bass and the muffled, chopped vocals complete the package to present a solid Crystal Castles type effect. The random wolf-whistle in the song and DIY video help to inject more of a carefree edge to it. Overall, it's a fleeting banger. Overmono have been another electronic duo committed to delivering the goods. Their debut album Good Lies was one of my favourites of the year and even saw a bit of commercial success, charting at #11. 'Arla Fearn' is an album track that only peaked at #15 in my chart but had a healthy, slow-burn type of run as it continued to become more of a standout on the album upon further listens. The bassline here is phenomenal and I can definitely hear Burial influences throughout. Overmono decide to crank up the BPM a bit for the final minute of this one which makes for an exciting finish. Expect quite a few more from these two elsewhere in the countdown! Depeche Mode released their 15th studio album Memento Mori last year and their first without keyboardist Andy Fletcher, who sadly passed away in 2022. I am a big fan of the Violator album and several other Depeche Mode singles elsewhere, so was definitely looking forward to a new project from them. 'Ghosts Again' was a good start but I was even more taken in by 'My Cosmos Is Mine'. I found the dark, foreboding synths and equally intense vocals pretty irresistible. The song was written shortly after the Russian invasion of Ukraine and therefore explores powerlessness in the face of that and the reactions that come with it. Dave Gahan begins the song with Martin Gore joining him for the more chanty "no war, no war, no war..." bridge. It pleases me greatly that a band who formed over 40 years ago are still producing material that I enjoy enough to place within the top 10 of my weekly chart. 'Pej Solntse' by Radost Moja dates back to 2014 but was relevant to my chart in 2023 as I decided to send it to the BuzzJack Song Contest last year. My nation had once often unleashed witch house entries to the competition but those had been thin on the ground in recent years, so it was time to bring it back. This song is a particularly noisy, aggressive example of the sub-genre that I hoped would make as good an instant impression on others as it had for me. It ended up finishing in 13th place so not bad at all! Unfortunately this song is not available on streaming platforms so instead I was represented only by cursed fanmade visuals in the contest that feel inspired by The Ring. This electronic-heavy section continues with producer Alex Young aka Villager. I seem to recall 'Never Gonna Be' taking its time to hit me but it eventually made its way up to #9 in my chart! The vocal sample in this song appears to discuss insecurities in a relationship. This material is transformed with infectious 2-step garage production, further bouncy synths and some percussive elements. 'Never Gonna Be' was apparently born out of Villager trying to hunt down the sample from Overmono's 'So U Know' and instead ending up on the source material for this song. It's no wonder I'm a fan if he cites Overmono as an inspiration.

Lana Del Rey is the first artist to make a double appearance this year and there is still more to come from her later. 'Peppers' is the penultimate track on her latest studio album and credits rapper Tommy Genesis due to sampling her song 'Angelina'. The subject matter in question is none other than Angelina Jolie in her Lara Croft role, hence the mentioning of her braiding. I think the hook on this song is one of the most fun moments on the album and the biggest earworm. It certainly felt like a bit of a swerve when I reached that point of the record. I also love the production and a more sassy, carefree side of Lana lyrically, she even states "throw caution to the wind" in this song, which perfectly encapsulates this more free-spirited point of the album. I am pretty sure that 1tbsp was an artist I discovered through the Electronic Track of the Week polls on this forum and subsequently popped up in my Release Radar playlist on Spotify thanks to that initial exposure. His real name is Maxwell Byrne and I was instantly hooked on the groovy indie-house flavours of 'Best of Me'. The laidback, textured production really reminds me of something MJ Cole would do - in a similar universe to something like 'Sincere'. The looped vocal samples are effortlessly warm alongside this. He deserves more attention! The Smile are a Radiohead side project, a band I really need to explore more of outside of the genius OK Computer album. As for this project, I really liked 'Waving A White Flag' from their last album but hadn't yet checked it out in full. I must listen to their next one as 'Bending Hectic' could be my new favourite to date. It begins with dissonant, sparse guitars and the unmistakable haunting beauty of Thom Yorke's vocals. This song appears to use vehicle imagery which I also remember being present throughout OK Computer. Here, the subject seems to be in a car and is forcing himself to turn around to escape death. Sonically, this song is a wild ride as the aforementioned strings swell and suddenly every element becomes more intense for the final couple of minutes. The experience is haunting and worth all 8 minutes of that run-time. The Kills are not to be confused with a certain 'Mr. Brightside' band. Instead they are a duo with a female vocalist, Alison Mosshart. I binge-watched all of Peaky Blinders in the summer which familiarised me with some of their older music. Now they have released their first studio album in 7 years and '103' is a fantastic cut from it! The title represents the temperature in Fahrenheit as the band tackle themes of increasing inhabitability while also discussing a warped love story. Mosshart's vocals are powerful here and the guitar work from fellow member Jamie Hince is also sounding massive. Bonus points for a cool video shot in a custom-built 3D studio. VTSS and yunè pinku are two female DJs who are killing it at the moment. I have particularly been following the latter so was intrigued when she popped up in my Release Radar playlist as part of a remix. I liked this on first listen and it subsequently scraped into my chart. However, it turned out to be an almighty grower and eventually ended up peaking at #5. The unsettling lyrics such as "Imma make you scream, make your head disappear" mesh perfectly well with the haunting 90s-style beats. I ended up putting this one straight on my Halloween playlist for some added electronic representation there. Definitely expect more to come from yunè pinku!

Posted by: PeteFromLeeds 4th January 2024, 08:29 PM

Just giving Grants a listen now - a very reflective song, which goes well with the vocals and piano! Nice to see Now and Then make it in as well - grew on me a lot as I listened to it and great to see them get a number 1 after so many years!

Posted by: Jade 4th January 2024, 10:11 PM

Ooh I'm happy you chose 'The Grants' to listen to, did think it could potentially be your cup of tea with its gospel influences.

'Now And Then' kept hitting me more on further listens too once "omg a new Beatles song exists" thoughts were out the way and I could digest it more the #1 moment was incredible!

thank you for commenting *.*

Posted by: Ansel 4th January 2024, 10:42 PM

Hey Jade loving the Paramore/Yves Tumor/Caroline Polachek appearances so far! Hoping to see more from all 3 later on too. Also great to see Oral here, I got way more into it than Björk's last album and Rosalía is a great addition to it. While I couldn't really get into The Grants, Peppers is a definite Ocean Blvd highlight for me!

Posted by: Jade 4th January 2024, 10:51 PM

Hey Ansel

Yay, I knew you were also a fan of Caroline and Paramore but had forgotten about the Yves appreciation too, the taste *.*

I think I charted at least one song from Björk's latest album but agreed that it was easier to get into 'Oral' than anything I heard from it! ROSALÍA can pretty much do no wrong tbh x

Shame that 'The Grants' wasn't really your thing but I'm so here for the 'Peppers' appreciation, love that she snuck a bop in there before the album was over x

thank you for commenting!!

Posted by: jimwatts 4th January 2024, 11:51 PM

Hi Jade, loads of good stuff so far! 'Repetitioner' probably my pick of them which I discovered from your chart - thank you for that! - the guitar is certainly reminiscent of 80s indie (House Of Love were the first band I thought of) and that solo is wonderful. 'Now And Then' was also a big hit for me and made a glorious conclusion to The Beatles' canon after all those decades in the vaults. Of the Lana songs, 'The Grants' I'm a big fan of with the lyrical theme of family and swooping chorus, 'Peppers' not quite so much but it's a fun swerve. Several others so far came close to making my chart and although 'Fly To You' was the breakthrough one for me from Caroline, 'Butterfly Net' wasn't far off.

p.s. I wondered if 'Dusk' might sneak in, and I make it on 147 points from a 05-03-03-06 run excluding this week, wouldn't that put it at #100?

Posted by: Jade 5th January 2024, 12:08 AM

Hi Jim,

Happy to have introduced you to the brilliant 'Repetitioner' I think I remember you pointing out House Of Love before in the PopMaster thread, need to re-familiarise myself with 'Shine On'. Pleased to see further love for 'Now And Then' in here <3 I've just done the Beatles rate and sadly didn't have room for it but just testament to how glorious their discography is on the whole. Interesting that the back-to-back posts from Ansel and you have the opposite Lana opinions love hearing everyone's thoughts. 'Fly To You' is fab from Caroline too of course!

Oh bloody hell you're right I was trying to be so careful but there was a lot of work to do from scratch so bound to mess something up somewhere. Looks like I had it 10 points out, oops, may need to make a sneaky edit tomorrow or something.

thank you for commenting x

Posted by: Brer 5th January 2024, 12:16 AM

Only 4 songs I'd not heard yet from this section - 'Arla Fearn' was easily my favourite of those and immediately up with my favourites from the whole list so far have to stan the Burial-esque late night grimey vibe (similar to my fave songs from James Blake's latest album). Also loved 'Peppers', I remember thinking when I saw the features for Lana's album that a Tommy Genesis collab could either be a hot mess or iconic, definitely more the latter thankfully *.* (a bit of a shame it was just a sample rather than a new collab but I didn't know the original Tommy song anyway tbf). Loving the production throughout especially with the western esque switch on the back end. Snow Strippers delivering another solid short banger there, it's not quite as great for me as their BJSC song but that was a high bar since it was one of my 18s, I will say I like the video just as much though, their videos despite being obviously low budget just have something of an X factor to them that makes them so fun to watch. '103' was the last one I'd not already heard and it's decent but not a huge standout from one listen, the songs at positions ending in 2 being a bit cursed for me so far it seems

Faves from the ones I did already know are The Smile (I loved their debut album and this one is up there with the highlights from that as well, especially in the second half, what an epic *.*) and Radost Moja (which is also in my top 3 of your BJSC entries of the year - actually probably my fave tbh even though it didn't quite get my 18 - and you already guessed what the third one is at least this one did a bit better than Odd Nosdam and TÉTRICA although still deserved top 10). The other 4 are all good tunes too, Depeche Mode still on top form so many decades into their career, I didn't know the Villager track was so inspired by Overmono but it certainly makes sense after listening to it again, I remember not being too keen on the 1tbsp songs from Electronic Track of the Week but I did like the ones that made your chart a lot more with this one being quite the groover (I wish I could find what language the vocals are in though, that's been bugging me and I can't find an answer online, I think it must be either Russian/Ukrainian or Portuguese? -is just a made up language-) and I think I've still been a fan of literally everything I've heard from yunè pinku with this remix being no exception!

(also yes I did hear all of ROSALÍA's other releases of 2023 already at least! which there were not enough of tbh, hopefully a more prolific 2024 coming for her)

Posted by: Addy! 5th January 2024, 12:20 AM

Vandal Moon to slay please with both 'Satellite' and 'Heroine Dancer'

Posted by: Jade 5th January 2024, 10:49 AM

Right, I have now swapped out Paramore for Chelsea Wolfe in the 100-91 post following my maths fail and written some additional words, but kept the writing for 'Figure 8' as a bonus #101 part so it didn't go completely to waste hopefully the rest of this will be smooth sailing now.

Ah I'm so pleased that you really enjoyed 'Arla Fearn' *.* that may not be the only Overmono album track to feature so I eagerly anticipate further thoughts on them. As for James Blake... potentially more on him later, too. also happy to hear that you could get into 'Peppers'! The original Tommy song was brand new to me as well. I forgot that you gave the Snow Strippers BJSC winner a gold medal, that is indeed a high bar! I marginally prefer 'Just A Hint', which is just so obviously up my street, but both are fantastic. Their videos are indeed very DIY but certainly have a charm to then. Aww okay, poor brave The Kills just had a look at what the next song ending in a 2 position is and I will only be accepting kind words for this one

Oh yes I remember you appreciating the first era from The Smile, glad 'Bending Hectic' has impressed you too! Radost Moja is a fabulous choice of favourite Jadakissnia 2023 entry tbh. I love it to bits, it was probably hampered a bit by not being available on Spotify in terms of spamming potential but I do have the MP3 ripped into my BJSC entries playlist now at least. A top 10 position would've been amazing, I guess you like to reiterate that the glass ceiling for witch house entries tends to be low top 10 - #15 and this did achieve a place in that ballpark I guess I'm glad I stuck with 1tbsp as well after not initially voting for their songs in ETOTW, forced to stan "groover" as a descriptor also. Oh I'm not sure what the lyrics outside of the "wanna give you all my love, give you the best of me" part are either, hopefully that mystery is solved one day. Agreed that yunè pinku cannot seem to put a foot wrong so far *.*

thank you for another in depth comment! I really appreciate it and all of the responses in general <3


They had a really good year in my 2022 EOY, let's see if that is the case for this year too

thanks for popping in, Addy!!

Posted by: Jade 5th January 2024, 03:46 PM

TOP 100 SONGS: 80-71



80. Julien Bracht - Counting Days | 176 points (peak: #3)
79. Overmono - Is U | 177 points
78. Clark - Vardo | 178 points (peak: #13)
77. DJ Koze - Wespennest (feat. Sophia Kennedy) | 178 points (peak: #7)
76. Aphex Twin - in a room7 F760 | 180 points
75. Heartworms - 24 Hours | 182 points
74. Kesha - Eat The Acid | 183 points
73. Geo22 - Alchemy | 184 points
72. Joanie - Kerosene | 189 points
71. Doja Cat - Demons | 191 points (peak: #10)

I was introduced to the talents of Berlin-based producer Julien Bracht when Chez entered the gorgeous 'Nocturne' to an edition of Club Bizarre that I hosted last year. That was Chill Out themed but I've subsequently discovered the stompers that he can produce as well. 'Counting Days' is a techno banger that is right at home on the HATE YouTube channel. The energy is full-throttle with the pounding synths and heavy kick drums. Lyrics such as "I don't want to go back to the feeling of being hurt" add an emotive, eerie layer. The "I count my blessings every day" chorus line is also a total earworm. 'Counting Days' remains on YouTube but has bizarrely been taken down from streaming services and replaced with a 2:19 version called 'Count My Blessings', hmm. Overmono swiftly return with a second appearance in the countdown! The duo put out 'Is U' in the lead up to the release of their debut album and continued to raise my hype levels in the process. This track samples 'Gladly' by Tirzah, an underground electronic artist who is currently a part of my weekly top 40 with the song 'F22'. Overmono take this reference point and chop it up into catchy yet emotional sections - the title for instance stems from the longing line "all I want is you". Just like 'Arla Fearn', which placed at #89 in the countdown, I also sense some Burial-esque crunches in the production alongside an absolutely killer bassline once again. Overmono may enjoy Doberman themed artwork but canine inspiration doesn't stop there, as Clark put out two records this year - named Sus Dog and Cave Dog. The former album was a very positive introduction after discovering the song 'Town Crank' and wanting to hear more. The latter companion album is home to 'Vardo', which has peaked at #13 in my chart but experienced a very healthy run so far. This track puts me in a similar headspace to 'Bending Hectic' earlier in the countdown with the rather helpless sounding "falling off the edge" lyric and Clark's similar vocal style to Thom Yorke in general. 'Vardo' also has a satisfying build-up with the charging synths gradually becoming more intense over time. I am impressed with how prolific he has been this year and will definitely continue to keep tabs on his work. DJ Koze first came to my attention in the BuzzJack Song Contest when RabbitFurCoat's nation Utopia unleashed 'Pick Up' by him. I completely fell in love with this song and awarded it the full 18 points, even declaring it as my favourite entry of its respective year at the time. I haven't been too hot on keeping up with his releases but 'Wespennest' did come to my attention and is also pretty irresistible. This is a German-language electronic song with a title that translates to "wasp's nest". If you aren't fluent in German, like myself, then there's still a feel for this theme with actual buzzing noises towards the end. 'Wespennest' incorporates firm but upbeat synth grooves and drum machines. Sophia Kennedy delivers a really standout and dark energy to the song with her vocal contributions. This is a very electronic heavy section that even includes a pioneer in the legendary Aphex Twin. He brought out a new EP called Blackbox Life Recorder 21f / in a room7 F760 which impressively registered a spot in the official U.K. top 100 singles chart. 'in a room7 F760' is absolutely my highlight from the project! We have typical Aphex Twin discordance that just somehow pulls together magically. This song boasts frantic beats, cowbells and a general feel that would slot right into some kind of dystopian video game. It is satisfying to witness him still putting out material that feels this high quality.

Heartworms aka Jojo Orme has very quickly become a firm favourite for me ever since I discovered and sent 'Consistent Dedication' to a Nuggets song contest on the forum. '24 Hours' is part of a four-track EP that also included the aforementioned entry. Heartworms delivers her usual doom-laden spoken word style and this time discusses the struggles of teenage growth, which is illustrated in the video with the school setting. Her imaginative lyrics, such as the childhood innocence of "believing teeth became money" and the more amusing "Radiohead playing radio whack" make me hang on to every word. I adore the satisfying pay-off at the end from the intense guitars that have built up. I also appreciate the dark, electronic influences that are apparent throughout. Kesha was back in 2023 with her latest album Gag Order. This was preceded by the release of two songs together, 'Eat The Acid' and 'Fine Line'. I was really taken aback by how impressed I was by 'Eat The Acid' in particular. I wasn't expecting her to go down the route of darkwave minimalism balladry but she did just that to excellent effect. The song is about advice to "not take LSD" by her mum although some lyrics e.g. "everything you saw just can't be unseen" could be related back to other trauma. The accompanying visualiser is so dark, raw and uncomfortable, especially when it can be connected to the very public ordeal where she has been silenced by powerful individuals, just as the claustrophobic imagery shows. What a slam dunk. Geo22 are an electronic duo who came into my life this year. Kathaldazia won the BuzzJack Song Contest with their track 'Magic' and I enjoyed it enough to award 11 points. I then discovered 'Alchemy' and fell in love with this song even more. It was later sent to an edition of Club Bizarre, the anonymous dance contest on the forum, by Nate aka Y'all Starlight and somehow only finished in 18th place. Robbed! 'Alchemy' has a darker feel to it than their BJSC winner, with the mysterious looping sound of choral chanting throughout and thumping techno beats. Apparently it has been dubbed as "knightcore" on TikTok so make of that what you will. 'Kerosene' by Joanie is the first #1 hit in my chart to drop out! This was another of my entries from the BuzzJack Song Contest last year. YouTube recommended the video to me and I was instantly hooked on her dark synth-pop sound and commanding presence. I soon found out that Jessica Winter, who is still to come with a song of her own, was behind the glittering production. It all comes together in a drama-filled ("I can feel my heart burning"), moody but inviting Goldfrapp kind of style. I was pretty disappointed when this finished outside of the top 20 in the contest but it did receive a few top scores which always feels special. Doja Cat released brand new album Scarlet last year following the juggernaut Planet Her era. This album didn't quite scale the same commercial heights but did produce some interesting experimentation. 'Demons' is a departure from her pop-leaning moments and instead centres more on her rap side. In the song she addresses criticisms of her being "demonic" or "selling her soul" head on. She does this in her own jokey style, particularly in the second verse when her flow switches up. I absolutely love the distorted production and sinister string loop that accompanies these lyrics and the video is truly a work of art. These visuals pay homage to horror films such as Poltergeist and The Shining - it's genuinely pretty terrifying viewing.

Posted by: k👠th 5th January 2024, 04:32 PM

Argeed on the Burial comparisons for Overmono, especially with 'Arla Fearne'. My chart rarely experiences "album bombs" but it did with this one: 'Arla Fearne', 'Sugarushhh' and 'Calon' all made an impact as album tracks. Really interesting to hear Villager's 'Never Gonna Be' was partially inspired by them as well! I adore that track. Such an overused stock sample, but he really worked it and took it in so many fun directions. Also had no idea 'Is U' samples Tirzah. Look at me being educated like this *.* I actually gave her latest album a listen recently after loving 'No Limit' and 'F22' from 6Music - and it's quite good!

Bre's description of 'Best of Me' is on-point It wouldn't sound out of place at a Sunday Funday DJ set at my favorite mountain bar here in Cape Town. I've came back to 'Just a Hint' quite a lot recently - it's Snow Strippers' 2nd biggest hit on my chart now. I prefer it over Iglooghost's 'Collision Data' which I voted for instead during their faceoff in the ETOTW poll. That synth melody is so infectious.

I also noticed that 'Counting Days' (the very first ETOTW winner #neverforget) was replaced with an inferior version and title on streaming services How bizarre! Really enjoying 'Vardo' at the moment too, it re-entered my chart just last week.

'in a room7 F760' is a masterclass in how you do an electronic instrumental and 'Alchemy' was a banger fit for a rave in a castle. I would have given it higher points in Club Bizarre, had I not played it about 50 times before it was entered 'Eat the Acid' was a return to form + a very welcome swerve from a teen icon of mine

Loving the write-ups Jade and whew this taste, I can't cope

Posted by: Jade 5th January 2024, 05:55 PM

Hello again, Kath

Yessss there's this certain crunch sound embedded into Burial's work that feels present with some Overmono stuff, top tier reference point tbh <3 nice that they achieved an album bomb for you as well, it really was one of the best of the year one of those other two tracks you mentioned may still be to come... haha, glad to have provided some educational info *.*

Groover the new groovy biscuits I fear. Glad that you've been returning to 'Just a Hint' quite a bit <3 it was my most listened-to song in the month of December so does seem to have quite an addictive quality for me. Omg @ that, there is a song I voted for in ETOTW over another and it didn't make the cut in my countdown yet the one I snubbed is quite high up, oops

IKR what a mess!! Is it the TikTokification of it or something with more of an obvious title and shorter run-time? Who knows, glad the longer one is still on YouTube at least. Happy you're enjoying 'Vardo' too *.*

I'm actually listening to 'Alchemy' right now and "banger fit for a rave in a castle" fits it like a glove tbh haha yes I always find it a bit of a dilemma when I am really familiar with something that has been entered and did prioritise discoveries in that instance, but it did get a bronze at least. Omg yes the Animal era is so nostalgic <3 but yeah 'Eat The Acid' is easily the best thing I've heard from her during adulthood.

Ahhhhhh thanks so much, I'm happy you're enjoying the words and choices *.* dreading going back to work next week and having less time to work on this but will do my best

Posted by: PeteFromLeeds 5th January 2024, 09:03 PM

Eat The Acid is such an interesting song - I can't say I expected the join themes of discovering God and being warned not to take acid/LSD come into the same song, and I can't say I expected it to sound like that, but it certainly made an impression on me - one of those songs that I can pretty much recite completely even if I've only heard it a couple of times.

Posted by: Ansel 5th January 2024, 09:34 PM

Here to share in the Eat The Acid love too! So unexpected but I love how brooding and raw it sounds, along with the whole of its parent album.

Posted by: Jade 5th January 2024, 10:11 PM

Pleased to hear that you guys really like 'Eat The Acid' as well, it's so striking.

thank you both x

Posted by: Brer 6th January 2024, 03:06 PM

Only 3 songs I hadn't already heard from this section and I really liked all 3 of them (actually think I'd put them all in my top 5 of this batch!) - I actually didn't realise that Clark dropped an entire second album which shows how little I paid attention near the end of the year oops but I've been enjoying all the songs I've heard from him in your chart and 'Vardo' may be my favourite yet, has a really strong entrancing vibe, it's reminding me a lot of something else but can't quite place it (possibly Amtrac and/or Totally Enormous Extinct Dinosaurs?) Heartworms is also a really promising artist, she gives me shades of Wolf Alice and Let's Eat Grandma but still having quite a unique more post-punk leaning overall vibe of her own, and I think '24 Hours' is also my favourite song I've heard to date from her, hoping 2024 will see her deliver a full album. And then I remember thinking the clip of 'Eat The Acid' sounded really good in your recaps so yay for finally getting around to hearing that in full, it is a really heavy song that maybe wouldn't be one I'd want to casually put on repeat (and I especially don't think I ever need to see that visualiser again, I know that the discomfort is the point but still x) but it's a powerful piece of art and wild to think this is a lead single from the same artist who led off previous albums with songs like 'TiK ToK' and 'Die Young', not to diminish her earlier poppier work (not all of it is to my taste but she did have some bangers) but her range is really impressive. Have seen she's guesting on Lil Nas X's comeback single next week which seems like quite an interesting prospect!

My faves of the ones I already knew are 'Demons' and 'in a room7 F760', I know the former is quite divisive but I think she nailed the 2edgy4me aesthetic absolutely perfectly on it, a cathartic banger and really enjoyed the Baby Keem esque flow in the second verse. Also definitely one of the best music videos of the year *.* Agreed with you on the latter being the best track on the Aphex Twin EP, an amazing moment to see him in the singles chart again even if just by a quirk of the tracklist limit rules. Also loving the double serving of techno stompers in this section from Julien Bracht (I'm going to trust your judgement and not bother seeking out the 'new' version of this one x) and Geo22 (still don't understand how this one did so much worse than their BJSC song when it's much better imo sorry Kath) and although I had heard 'Is U' before I had kind of forgotten it so was good to revisit, I wouldn't say this one is quite Overmono's best work unlike their song in the previous section for me but they don't really ever miss, I do think the vocal sample is used really nicely on this one (and I didn't know / forgot that was a Tirzah sample!) - I know there's definitely at least one more Overmono track to come that I like even more than 'Arla Fearn' though! 'Wespennest' also nicely fits the mould of entrancing ambient vibes (that slotting between 'Vardo' and 'in a room7 F760' was not helping me stay awake last night listening to these songs after a long day as much as I do like them haha).

Hate to say it but the song in the 2 position is my least favourite for a third section in a row so the curse is real but that is more telling of the quality of the rest on this occasion as I do like 'Kerosene' a lot more than 'Butterfly Net' and '103', it was just one of my lower rated Jadakissnia BJSC entries of the year (2 points), a good pop song but not one that really stuck with me in the same way a lot of your entries do. Jessica Winter would have better to come in the year

(also aw at 'Figure 8' being shunted out of the top 100 but 'Dusk' is a brilliant intense tune too - I am sure you must have heard 'Be All Things' from her before as it was a decently big hit in my chart so I do want to recommend you revisit that one and see if it sticks with you more this time (edit: actually you don't have a scrobble for it on last.fm so maybe you missed that one in which case I highly recommend it as a first listen x))

Posted by: Jade 6th January 2024, 04:29 PM

Yeah Clark has been the Röyksopp of the year I guess in terms of prolific electronic acts happy to hear that you enjoyed the sound of 'Vardo', will have to listen out for potential soundalikes. Heartworms really is awesome, I am bad at making music threads but did feel compelled to create one for her EP and I'm glad she does seem to have a handful of fans on here. '24 Hours' is a good pick of favourite, I'm pretty sure I've enjoyed everything she's released so far - an album definitely can't come soon enough. Kesha's musical journey has been fascinating to witness for sure. I'm glad 'Eat The Acid' delivered in full for you, definitely seems to be the most popular pick of that section on here <3 intrigued for the Lil Nas collab and hope it goes top 10 so I can tick off one of my 2024 chart predictions

Yeah 'Demons' seems to be very marmite on the forum but I did know you were a fan at least *.* she is one of the most reliable mainstream artists for high quality music videos tbh, absolutely killing it on that front. Aphex Twin's EP making the top 100 was a fun chart geek birthday present Oh the Julien Bracht re-upload is still the exact same song but shorter, better than nothing but why apologies for not helping you stay awake with 'Wespennest', especially if you checked out the full 8 minute version

Aw damn, I remembered that you gave 'Kerosene' points so hoped that was enough to escape the wrath of the 2 curse this time but apparently not

Oops, I'm too much of a perfectionist and couldn't clear my head until it was fixed :') at least Paramore legitimately made my list last year haha. Will make a mental note to check out that Chelsea song!

thank you for commenting Brer *.*

Posted by: Jade 6th January 2024, 04:29 PM

TOP 100 SONGS: 70-61



70. Overmono - Sugarushhh | 191 points (peak: #7)
69. Luke Black - Samo mi se spava | 192 points
68. Heartworms - May I Comply | 193 points
67. Fat Dog - King of the Slugs | 196 points (peak: #5)
66. Yves Tumor - God Is a Circle | 196 points (peak: #1)
65. Tara Lily - Double Time | 199 points
64. The Chemical Brothers - Skipping Like A Stone (feat. Beck) | 201 points (peak: #7)
63. Shygirl & Cosha - ​​thicc | 201 points (peak: #2)
62. Romy - The Sea | 202 points
61. Everything Everything - The Mad Stone | 203 points

Overmono register yet another appearance in the countdown as album track 'Sugarushhh' begins the top 70. The lyrical content of this song, which is sampled from 'No Pair Without 2' by Marie Dahlstrøm, injects a melancholic feel with words such as "hold me when I'm hurtin' deep inside". But the rush of love is still in the air, as you might expect from the title, with moments like "know that I wanna be with you". The sentiment and downbeat execution really tugs on my heartstrings and I also love the slow burn acid bass production throughout. It feels like a bit of a tease as it never quite develops into a drop but I think it fits the mood of this album track just right. Luke Black is the first participant from the latest edition of the Eurovision Song Contest to appear in the countdown. I was immediately drawn to the synth-heavy industrial production of 'Samo mi se spava' which sounded unlike anything else in the contest. I also felt that Luke's vocal choices brought another unique and interesting layer to the package. The song title translates to "I just want to sleep" as he wishes to escape the misery of life. But he concludes that we cannot close our eyes in the face of evil and must fight against it, much like in a video game which he brings to life on stage in post-apocalyptic fashion. Luke represented Serbia in the contest and unfortunately couldn't quite replicate the success of fellow quirky, fabulous entrant Konstrakta the year before, instead settling for 24th place in the final. Heartworms is swiftly back in the countdown with her distinctive post-punk meets gothic style. 'May I Comply' was born out of frustration as she was going through a break-up and also putting her dad's needs over her own while living with him. The result of this pent-up anger is a thrilling vocal delivery mixed with the unnerving back-drop of dark guitars and electronic grooves. Her lyrics have a bite to them as ever, with the most memorable line probably being: "maybe it's a different world-view, where Churchill was a woman and Hitler was a Jew". I already feel like I have a strong sense of her musical identity despite only having a fairly small discography to work with so far. Heartworms really lets loose in the video, directed with a monochrome vision once more by Gilbert Trejo who was also behind the visuals for '24 Hours'. 'May I Comply' was a recent standalone release following her A Comforting Notion EP. Here's hoping for an album in the not too distant future! Fat Dog are a band who have built up a positive live reception after opening for groups such as Viagra Boys and Yard Act. They released debut single 'King of the Slugs' off the back of this goodwill which I discovered via 6Music. I was blown away by the sheer chaos that unfolds during the seven minute runtime. Their post-punk meets rave style is as in-your-face as that mix sounds although there is a short cool-down period in 'King of the Slugs' to really enhance the effect of the final portion. I love the eccentric lyrics and visual direction too, well the parts of the video I can make out when not being attacked by strobes anyway, whereby the frontman is quite literally getting crowned. I cannot wait to hear more of what they have to offer as this debut suggests incredible potential. 'God Is A Circle' by Yves Tumor is the next personal chart #1 single to drop out in the countdown. However, its position was hampered a little because the opening weeks of its chart-run occurred in late 2022, so didn't count for this. I adore the intense soundscape of this single, from the fierce bassline to the looped panting that is used throughout. 'God Is A Circle' is about the struggles of a toxic relationship. Yves paints a claustrophobic picture where they feel trapped socially and unable to let their guard down. The music video is incredible, it sees them rise from the grave and deal with some shocking behaviour, e.g inspections from fascists. Their sound is incredibly exciting - this was the song that got me hooked and I'm so glad that the album lived up to expectations, I would highly recommend it.

'Double Time' by Tara Lily is another wonderful 6Music discovery that I made in 2023. She is trained in jazz and has also explored R&B music but this release shows an ability to make electronic music work. This breezy yet mysterious D&B offering, with glimpses of piano here and there, is about how fast-paced life is and facing up to your mortality. She defiantly sings "I'm not afraid to die" while exploring the streets of Mumbai and Goa on a motorbike in the beautiful music video. The Chemical Brothers are celebrating 35 years since formation this year and all these decades on they've certainly still got it. For That Beautiful Feeling is their tenth studio album and bagged them another top 10 album chart position. 'Skipping Like a Stone' was the fourth single to be taken from the record and features Grammy Award winning musician Beck on vocals. I find this song to be a complete joy, from the comforting lyrics (especially the ending point of "I see the sun now") to the classic festival-ready Chemical Brothers rave sound in the production. I also enjoy the presence of Beck on the song and feel he contributes a slight psychedelic edge. The music video gives a literal feel for the stone in the title as we watch it on a cosmic journey. My appreciation of rocks is sky high at the moment between the exposure of this and Everything Everywhere All At Once. I do listen to an awful lot of dark music but this is not always the case and Shygirl with a little help from Cosha is very much here to bring the fun! Shy has been unlucky in my chart so far, stalling at #2 a grand total of three times with 'Cleo', 'Come For Me' and now 'thicc', but this one has a great chart-run so far nevertheless and is still within my top 10. 'thicc' is a euphoric club banger that feels straight out of the 90s with its colourful music video. Both ladies are praising their relevant love interests with Shygirl doing so in her typically cheeky fashion and Cosha opting for the blissful "you make me feel alive" line on the chorus. Further electronic talents Sega Bodega and recent BJSC entrants Karma Kid also worked with them on production duties. I am definitely turning into a bit of a stan with all of these fantastic releases and a memorable Glastonbury set. I am also a big fan of The xx and was very excited for the release of band member Romy's solo album Mid Air this year. It houses a lot of good stuff but 'The Sea' is my favourite. This dreamy single tells of finding and losing love by the ocean through a sapphic lens. Romy has also stated that she was inspired by a trip to Ibiza for bandmate Oliver's 30th birthday when she wrote it. 'The Sea' has a gorgeous bassline which was co-produced alongside man of the moment Fred Again.. and Stuart Price. Moving forward, let's hope the latest information about The xx releasing new music actually comes to fruition this time. Everything Everything knocked it out of the park with their two releases in 2023 and this has resulted in Mountainhead becoming my most anticipated album of the year at the moment. 'The Mad Stone' is the second barmy but brilliant pre-album single. It appears to discuss the rot that comes with late stage capitalism plus our doom-scrolling world of social media, but done in their quirky, creative way from the perspective of a salesman. My ultimate highlights of the song have to be the quickfire falsetto delivery of the post-chorus plus the choral-style vocals that accompany the chorus itself. They unsurprisingly still have one more song to come!

Posted by: k👠th 6th January 2024, 04:36 PM

Posted by: Chez Wombat 6th January 2024, 06:20 PM

Ooh The Sea is really great, I narrowly preferred some of the other singles but that was definitely a highlight of what I didn't already know.

Had not heard the Julien Brecht one, but it's sounding really good. He was a bit of a late revelation late last year (or year before last now :x). I did very much appreciate the horror film references in the Doja Cat video, even if I did prefer Paint the Town Red & Attention from her singles this year.

Posted by: jimwatts 6th January 2024, 07:03 PM

Yay for the 'Dusk' addition, I hadn't expected you to squeeze in a commentary too! I'm delighted you were enamoured with the song and discovery - I thought you may have known Chelsea's previous BJSC song 'Feral Love' but it looks like it was just before your time - hope to find a few more gems in 2024!

From the last 20 songs, I'll add to the 'Eat The Acid' love - I hadn't been waiting on a Kesha comeback or heard any hype about it when it popped up midway through my NMF listen that week and I thought hey this sounds interesting, with that hypnotic looped refrain line and lyrics suggesting some near-death experience that perhaps mirrors her own public ordeal. 'Kerosene' is a fine synth pop song which got my second BJSC bronze, 'Is U' has been a bit of a grower and my favourite I've heard so far from Overmono, same with 'Vardo' for Clark, and I enjoyed all the pre-album Chemical Brothers singles but 'Skipping Like A Stone' has gone on to become something of a Buzzjack multi-chart hit which is pretty cool!

Posted by: Jade 6th January 2024, 07:48 PM

I think I charted almost all of the singles from Romy's album so fair

Glad that you made a good discovery out of 'Counting Days' returning the favour of you introducing me and others to 'Nocturne'. I would also recommend: 'Do You Love Me?', 'Coast' and 'Walking Alone' from this year if you haven't heard them! I did think the 'Demons' video would be up your street *.* 'Attention' may or may not still be on the way...

thank you for commenting, Chez <3


I thought it only fair for poor Chelsea! I will note down 'Feral Love' as another to check out on top of the one Bré suggested.

I hadn't listened to a Kesha album since Warrior in 2013 but did see the artwork for Gag Order on social media and was quite intrigued for the direction off the back of that. However, I definitely wasn't prepared to love 'Eat The Acid' as much as I did! God bless NMF sometimes. Oh yes I remember you being a big supporter of 'Kerosene' glad you're into both of those electronic tunes too! I would not have expected 'Skipping Like A Stone' to be a multi-chart favourite but I'm here for it <3

thank you for commenting, Jim *.*

Posted by: Ansel 6th January 2024, 10:19 PM

Favourites from that last section for me are definitely Samo mi se spava and The Sea. Serbia are killing it recently with Konstrakta and then Luke Black, more of that this year please! And the chilled dance sound of The Sea is gorgeous, such a perfect late summer song.

Posted by: Jade 6th January 2024, 11:10 PM

I totally agree! I didn't get the Konstrakta entry at first but then it grew on me massively and I was stanning by the final will never forget a Sims version of it that made its way to my TikTok FYP :') glad you're a fan of 'Samo mi se spava' + 'The Sea' too <3

thank you for commenting *.* x

Posted by: Brer 7th January 2024, 05:30 AM

Lies xx

~

Well the 2 curse is lifted as 'The Sea' is actually one of my favourites from this section! I think that is my favourite song that Romy has dropped as a solo artist so far, I always say I love a good melancholy banger and while it might be a stretch to call this song that as it's not really a 'banger' it still scratches that itch with the contrast between the sad lyrics and tone and the deep house style production.

Anyways, 5 more new songs to me here and I already have to eat some words from my last comment as I think I like 'May I Comply' even more than '24 Hours', the instrumental on this one is so up my street in particular (I like that she lets it play out for a good minute and a half before coming in with the vocals) 'Double Time' is a really nice breezy drum n bass-y pop track, giving me some Jorja Smith vibes 'The Mad Stone' is definitely a less instant offering than the immediate 11/10 megabanger of 'Cold Reactor' but there are still elements of it that I like a lot (especially the backing vocals and the usual zany EE lyricism and delivery coming through on the post-chorus, so basically what you said haha) and I expect it'll come together for me more with more listens, I'm being a flop fan once again having not listened to this until tonight anyway (luckily I heard 'Cold Reactor' on Radio 1 very soon after its release so that kept me up to date with the start of the era at least ) but I'll definitely make sure to check out the album promptly when it arrives! 'thicc' definitely sounds like an earworm and indeed feeling the 90s vibes from it, the instrumental drop feels a little on the generic side by Shygirl/Sega Bodega standards but I think it works well enough, I guess this is not really a song to overthink. 'Sugarushhh' is unfortunately going to be my pick for the weakest song in this section as I do think it sounded cool but ultimately a bit unsatisfying as it did feel like a lot of buildup without much of a payoff - maybe if it flows well into the following song on the album I'd appreciate it more in that context

From the rest that I already knew my other big faves are 'God Is A Circle' (was an instant fave to date from Yves when I first heard it, really stands out with the heavy breathing sounds throughout) and 'King Of The Slugs' which is an absolutely unhinged epic and a fantastic first impression of a band who could very well be another future big favourite for me, I remember saying on first listen that it reminded me of IDLES but actually Viagra Boys is probably a better comparison so it makes a lot of sense that they've toured together, and I did stan the last Viagra Boys album so that's high praise from me! 'Samo Mi Se Spava' was in my top 10 of Eurovision last year (originally ranked it 8th and moved it up to 7th when I finally did a full re-ranking after hearing all the studio versions and the DNQs not too long ago), it was great to hear a song with this style of production on the Eurovision stage *.* (so thank god it did narrowly qualify! although the song it just kept out ended up being my favourite of the DNQs and I ranked it only one place lower in my overall ranking so I wish they could have both made it in really x). I didn't really care much for 'Skipping Like A Stone' on first listen and I still think the verses aren't really up to much but after hearing it again on the album and checking out the music video I've grown to appreciate it more and really like the chorus of it now (nice comforting lyrics and a euphoric uplift in the instrumental), overall still not near the best on the album for me but happy to see The Chemical Brothers on here with something at least!

Posted by: Jade 7th January 2024, 12:00 PM

*.* hooray for the 2 curse thawing out, the power of Romy.

Oh wow I'm glad you took to 'May I Comply' so much! I agree that the long instrumental intro is a really inviting start. I'm not sure that I've seen any discussion about 'Double Time' on the forum until now but do think it would go down well on here, happy that was the case for you. 'Cold Reactor' was a very high bar indeed, a #1 hit for me to 'The Mad Stone's still very respectable #3. I had forgotten that you hadn't actually heard this one yet so hooray for a positive review. I know what you mean about the 'thicc' drop being a bit on the generic side but I do think it suits the mood of the song too. Poor brave 'Sugarushhh' although my first listen of it was in the context of the album indeed. At least you were a big fan of 'Arla Fearn'!

'King Of The Slugs' made me think of IDLES as well when I first heard it. I'm happy you were back on board with Serbia's Eurovision output this time as I remember you not really caring for Konstrakta the year before. Thank goodness it qualified indeed! I'm pleased that 'Skipping Like A Stone' turned out to be a bit of a grower even if not a top tier favourite for you on the album.

Thank youuu for commenting

Posted by: Jade 7th January 2024, 04:02 PM

TOP 100 SONGS: 60-51



60. Rosegarden Funeral Party - Gates of Heaven | 205 points
59. Drab Majesty - Vanity (feat. Rachel Goswell) | 212 points
58. NNHMN - Nrl | 213 points
57. Sufjan Stevens - Shit Talk | 217 points
56. Art School Girlfriend - Waves | 221 points
55. ROSALÍA - TUYA | 225 points
54. Clark - Clutch Pearlers | 229 points (peak: #10)
53. MRD & TDJ - Memories of You | 229 points (peak: #8)
52. Austin Millz & Sabrina Claudio – Inhale / Exhale | 231 points
51. Zach Bryan - I Remember Everything (feat. Kacey Musgraves) | 233 points

'Gates of Heaven' by Rosegarden Funeral Party dates back to 2021 but appears in the countdown as I sent it to the BuzzJack Song Contest in 2023. I wanted to kick off a brand new year of competing in style and felt like I had struck gold when stumbling on this song. I came across the band through the comments of a "gothic music recommendations" TikTok video and whittled down my choices from their back catalogue to the most memorable song. 'Gates of Heaven' finished in a frustrating 11th place although this was a unique position for Jadakissnia. It fared better in my weekly chart as it was the first of my BJSC entries to chart at #1 there in a while. Rosegarden Funeral Party are fronted by Leah Lane who has a divine voice and is also a talent on the guitar. 'Gates of Heaven' feels like a time machine back to the 80s with hints of both Siouxsie and the Banshees and Blondie in its execution. The lyrics relentlessly search for solace and hit a particularly claustrophobic peak during the spoken word section. This entry ends on a high with an electrifying guitar solo that gradually fades out. Drab Majesty also offer some gothic magic albeit in more of a ballad form and with a blend of shoegaze. I heavily associate Slowdive with the latter genre so Rachel Goswell from the band, Queen of gazing at shoes, was a smart choice of collaborator. This gut-punching duet criticises the darker side of today's social media landscape, with lyrics such as "anxious minds are under so much influence". But there is a more general "vanity kills" message here too that stretches back to way before the days of online influencers. The video strikes an emotional chord as there are flashbacks to childhood innocence throughout. Andrew Clinco aka Deb Demure delivers a striking vocal as ever and Rachel Goswell compliments him beautifully throughout. The final third of the 6 minute runtime is particularly layered and spine-tingling with its more explosive guitar section. 'Nrl' by NNHMN, pronounced as 'Unreal' by Non Human, was another of my BuzzJack Song Contest entries. This was one of ten qualifiers for Jadakissnia out of a possible ten which was impressive in itself, although this entry did finish quite a bit lower than 'Gates of Heaven' in the final, settling for 34th place. This dark electronic German duo describe this song as "the pursuit of a vision, both personal and musical. The transmission of a cosmic solitude opera station." I can get on board with the thought of darkwave opera. I was instantly captivated by the spooky beats and muffled vocals, which talk of quite a romantic and thrilling pursuit of love in lyrics like: "can I get away with you? it would be an act of art". This song is full of tension throughout, especially when the vocals grind to a halt and introduce melodic instrumental breaks. Sufjan Stevens released a gorgeous new album titled Javelin this year, which he dedicated to his late partner Evans Richardson. The 8-minute tearjerker 'Shit Talk' was my highlight of the project. It depicts the breaking down of a relationship that hasn't quite ended yet but seems to have run its course. The storytelling is tackled in an amicable way, with lyrics such as "I will always love you but I cannot live with you". The vocal production on this is absolutely beautiful as Sufjan is assisted by warm backing vocalists that come and go. The folky guitar sounds very The National inspired so it checks out that it is played by Bryce Dessner from the band. There are also bells sprinkled throughout and an ambient final section which I found particularly moving coupled with the "I will always love you" words in the lyric video remaining there even if they weren't being sung any more. Art School Girlfriend also provided an essential record this year in Soft Landing. The album track 'Waves' particularly grabbed me with its dreamy chorus and swirling chilled shoegaze style production. The lyrical content seems to suggest a fractured or unrequited romantic connection, but offers hope through: "trust that it gets better". I find all components, including the watery imagery, to be very relaxing.

ROSALÍA is no stranger to releasing droplets in between her album cycles and 'TUYA' was exactly that, a standalone single post-MOTOMAMI. This affectionate song feels soft but self-assured. ROSALÍA's vocals absolutely shine on 'TUYA' and sound particularly ethereal during the water scene in the video just before the second chorus. The music video is a visual feast as she, armed with her dog, takes us through Tokyo, a city she adores. I do think reggaetón beats can get a bit samey but ROSALÍA freshens up the production as ever, especially with the bass-heavy climax. Clark returns to the countdown with the second single from his first of two album releases last year, Sus Dog, executive produced by Thom Yorke. Clark gives his vocals a run for their money with his falsetto delivery that is almost as enjoyable as the wordplay in the title. The bouncy production is wonderfully textured with its electronic and percussive elements. The lyrics are about social awkwardness and insecurity but a press release from Clark insists that it's self-deprecation. I guess a song with this title was never going to be too humourless. The video is also pretty psychedelic. Song #53 in the countdown was my introduction to Norwegian DJ MRD, who was later sent to the BuzzJack Song Contest. 'Memories of You', a collaboration with Canadian DJ TDJ, is lifted from his album Løvehjerte. This 7 minute epic is a real mish-mash of genres, incorporating the trance revival as well as techno beats, post-punk guitars, breakbeats and more. The track begins with MRD's own hurt as he claims to fall back on his own misery and also adds: "you forgot to say I'm sorry". The vocals of TDJ are introduced at the half way point with "you are not... the one you were before" so the anguish is there from both parties. The track then morphs into a glorious dark instrumental break and the voices battle against each other. Finally, it's TDJ's time to shine once more as her vocals glide over the upbeat final couple of minutes. What a rush of a collaboration. Austin Millz and Sabrina Claudio provided another essential team-up for me. As you might expect, 'Inhale/Exhale' uses breathing metaphors to express Sabrina's desire towards a love interest. She is smooth and sensual in her delivery as ever and compliments the slinky beats of Austin Millz just perfectly. It is pure dance-pop euphoria. The music video is also stunning as Sabrina dons glittery body paint for the cameras. Country artists Zach Bryan and Kacey Musgraves together provided an unlikely favourite for me, with Billboard Hot 100 #1 hit 'I Remember Everything'. This single walks us through a relationship that the two characters in the song once had and the wildly different perspectives they share about how alcohol came into it. I find Zach's vocal performance here so captivating and yearning, while Kacey's frustrated response ("You're drinkin' everything to ease your mind, but when the hell are you gonna ease mine?") adds some further fire to the storytelling, in an equally gripping fashion. This was a slow-burner but in time I totally fell in love with everything about it, including the sparse guitar and orchestral arrangements in the production. I do hope this can be a future top 10 hit in the U.K.

Half way there back to work tomorrow unfortunately so I'm not sure if I can keep up such an efficient pace but will try my best. x

Posted by: Roba. 8th January 2024, 09:42 PM

Hey Jade, My faves so far

100. Chelsea Wolfe - Dusk | 147 points
98. The Beatles - Now And Then | 152 points Ooh low for you here, wonder how it'll have done with a bit more time of release
97. Björk & ROSALÍA - Oral | 154 points (peak: #10) this was an interesting track and video. Not one I'd likely ever listen to again but it stood out in a good way.
90. Snow Strippers - Just A Hint | 162 points I do need to hear more from them!
81. VTSS - Make You Scream (yunè pinku Remix) | 176 points (peak: #5)
72. Joanie - Kerosene | 189 points
71. Doja Cat - Demons | 191 points (peak: #10)
67. Fat Dog - King of the Slugs | 196 points (peak: #5) uhsting/Jack's chart impact
63. Shygirl & Cosha - ​​thicc | 201 points (peak: #2)
60. Rosegarden Funeral Party - Gates of Heaven | 205 points sadly didn't make my top 100 although I still listed it nonetheless in the outside songs, a great find this was though!
51. Zach Bryan - I Remember Everything (feat. Kacey Musgraves) | 233 points would like this to go top 10 officially but would appear that won't be on the card unfortunately

Good stuff

Posted by: Ansel 8th January 2024, 09:57 PM

Favourites from that last section have to be Sufjan and Rosalía! Also loved seeing Kacey Musgraves get such a big hit (even if it is as a feature), definitely a fave from the recent country hits.

Posted by: PeteFromLeeds 8th January 2024, 10:03 PM

I've not heard any Drab Majesty songs since Ellipsis so giving Vanity a listen now - certainly a very sombre song, agree that the instrumental at the end rounds the song off well.

Posted by: Jade 8th January 2024, 10:17 PM

Unfortunately breaking my daily streak of posting a section as I'm knackered but more hopefully coming soon

Hey Rob

Yeah 'Now And Then' does feel pretty low although I'm glad it did make it in at all after just two months of 'sales'

'King of the Slugs' was an amazing 6Music discovery for me *.* Jack serving taste for charting it also

Glad you were a fan of 'Gates of Heaven', just had a look back over that contest and I see you gave it 12, thanks for the support <3

hoping and praying it somehow goes top 10 eventually although top 20 is still an amazing achievement nevertheless ofc!

thank you for commenting! <3


I did wonder if you'd approve of those two *.* same here, not the biggest country fan but did get into her star-crossed album so I'm thrilled she's had some success here <3 Zach seems cool too.

thank you for commenting! x


I really regret not giving 'Ellipsis' an 18 (think it got 12?!) as it's become such a post-contest essential, it's on my driving playlist anyway, glad you appreciated the effective ending of 'Vanity' too!

thanks for commenting!

Posted by: Brer 9th January 2024, 07:19 PM

Only one song that I'd not heard already from this section but it is a very good one - I had hoped that I'd love 'Shit Talk' with all the acclaim the album and especially that song has got on here and elsewhere and it did not disappoint, absolutely beautiful song, instantly one of the best I have heard from him I'd also only heard the MRD/TDJ song once before so didn't remember it too well but that's also great, a proper melancholy banger this time and I do really like MRD's incorporation of post-punk sounds, quite unique for a techno artist.

Have to love the back-to-back of moody gothic tunes opening up this section *.* 'Gates Of Heaven' was actually even better than I remembered it being upon relistening to it now, so I may have to retroactively demote 'Brujería' to only my 4th favourite Jadakissnia entry of the year (though it did get more points from me, I gave that 11 and Rosegarden Funeral Party 10). I didn't actually make the connection that Sarah Goswell was from Slowdive but that makes a lot of sense, 'Vanity' another excellent track from Drab Majesty, and actually find it to be oddly catchy despite how downbeat it is. My other big fave in this section is of course 'I Remember Everything' if you couldn't tell from me posting about it dozens of times on the forum over the past few months with its slow rise up the UK charts I didn't expect Zach to top 'Something In The Orange' for me especially so soon but he knocked it out of the park with this one and Kacey fits perfectly on it too (despite me not being a fan at all of any of the previous country songs I'd heard from her, though I did quite like a couple of her poppier songs), was such a breath of fresh air to get a genuinely excellent country song reach #1 in the US after the other country #1s of the year were, er, not that. And very reaffirming that it's become the biggest UK crossover hit of the bunch! Can only hope that more popular country music continues to take notes from Zach's more folk & rock influenced sound now.

I like all the other songs here too yay - Sabrina Claudio and ROSALÍA are two of my favourite female vocalists and they make nearly anything they're on sound great with these songs being no exceptions even if they're not necessarily the most memorable songs in either of their discographies for me (although the video for 'TUYA' ), this Clark song just sounds really cool (it's like a more abstract version of the vibe of songs like Dua Lipa's 'Be The One' and Jessie Ware's '110%' if that makes any sense? ), Art School Girlfriend put on her best London Grammar impersonation for this song and 'NRL' was another very underrated Jadakissnia entry, got 8 points from me (one of four songs which got between 5 and 8 points from me which feel quite interchangeable in my ranking of your entries of the year, I think this may be my favourite of those four so my 5th favourite of the year overall but that may just be because it's the one I've listened to most recently haha).

Posted by: Jade 9th January 2024, 07:47 PM

I'm glad that 'Shit Talk' was a good discovery for you it was the album track I was most intrigued for after the rave reviews on here and it delivered so much. I agree that MRD adopts quite a unique fusion of genres, he's been such a great discovery this year. Haha, the moody gothic back-to-back feels very on brand. Ooooh I'm happy that 'Gates of Heaven' is aging well for you a year on <3 I feel like my nation is more associated with synths than guitars so it was fun to try something like that. I agree that 'Vanity' is oddly catchy, the "if the valve breaks, then the earth quakes" line in particular would get stuck in my head a lot when I made the relevant recap videos Haha may have gauged that you were a bit of a Zach fan I was intrigued by 'Something In The Orange' after knowing your history towards country music but could never have prepared for how much this duet would hit me, wonderful stuff!

Agreed that ROSALÍA and Sabrina could pretty much sing the phonebook and make it sound great. I get what you mean re. Clark and the 'Be The One'/'110%' comparisons with the production, they all give light synthy frolicking through the fields energy agreed that 'NRL' was underrated if I say so myself x thanks for all your support in BJSC as ever, taste twins ftw.

aaaand thank you for commenting!! Another section should be dropping soon after feeling more like a functioning human today

Posted by: Jade 9th January 2024, 08:23 PM

TOP 100 SONGS: 50-41



50. Sam Quealy - Seven Swords | 236 points (peak: #10)
49. FLESH & PEAKi - Veiled | 236 points (peak: #5)
48. RAYE - Escapism (feat. 070 Shake) | 238 points
47. James Blake - Fall Back | 241 points
46. Kap Bambino - Forever | 245 points
45. Mitski - I'm Your Man | 246 points
44. Mr. Sosa - Tamagotchi Fantasy | 249 points
43. KOMPROMAT - Niemand | 250 points
42. Zanias - Simulation | 252 points
41. Daughter - Be On Your Way | 253 points

Sam Quealy was brought to my attention through Kath's Electronic Track of the Week polls on this forum. I was instantly hooked, therefore cast 'Seven Swords' a vote in the relevant week and subsequently charted it within my top 10. Kath later unleashed this stomper to the BuzzJack Song Contest where it rightfully smashed. I love the electro-pop sensibilities here mixed with thumping techno beats. It feels like we're building a video game character with the fierce visuals and in the lyrics, where "one destiny..." almost sounds like a tagline. She delivers these stop-start sentences in an alluring way that builds tension alongside the production. Sam Quealy worked with Marlon Magnée, of La Femme, on the accompanying album so I must give it a spin at some point. FLESH & PEAKi provided another foray into witch house for Jadakissnia this year following 'Pej Solntse' earlier in the countdown. I really had the bug for the sub-genre all over again. 'Veiled' is thankfully available on streaming services but it didn't perform as well as the absent 'Pej Solntse' nevertheless, settling for 30th place in the final. This song is gloriously immersive with its layered dark production. The small but impactful pocket of lyrics seem to include the words "you will never see things how they truly are..." which only adds to the spooky, mysterious aura here. RAYE and 070 Shake not only achieved a U.K. #1 hit together but also a chart-topper in my own weekly rankings! I can recall RobBot from this forum saying off-site that he thought this song would be up my street. It took a bit of time but in the end he was right and I fell hook, line and sinker for its charms. RAYE is a master story-teller here as she walks us through her pain following a heartbreak, announcing that she doesn't want to feel anything so she'll "stick to sipping". I love the intensity of the kick drums and synths together in the production while this is all playing out. My favourite part of the song is RAYE's delivery of the final chorus where she takes her vocals to a particularly passionate place, I still get goosebumps every time. I love her insistence that the outro should be played on the radio too, she's 100% correct. 070 Shake also adds a welcome, trippy presence to the song. RAYE achieving this success as an independent artist who now creates the music she really wanted to make was such a triumphant moment to witness. Playing Robots into Heaven by James Blake feels like a seriously underrated album from last year. It doesn't help that it shared a release date with other electronic titans such as The Chemical Brothers and The xx's Romy. I wanted in on all the action so made sure to check all three out that week, plus Olivia Rodrigo's hotly anticipated follow-up to SOUR! I enjoyed this quartet to varying degrees but James won out. 'Fall Back' turned out to be my favourite song on his new album. It immediately pulled me in with its standout drum machines and continued to impress with a Burial-esque stamp to the twisted deep house production. The lyrics largely consist of the title chopped up but he also adds ominous additional sprinklings here and there, like "can't be sad, might not come back from that", which gives it an emotive edge. I admire his continued willingness to experiment with his music. Kap Bambino were behind my penultimate BuzzJack Song Contest entry of the year. 'Forever' performed better than 'Veiled' earlier in this section but still didn't quite light up the contest, finishing 26th. I was immediately enticed by the witchy electronic production and the vocal processing; the combination really reminded me of Crystal Castles. The energy is so harsh and frantic so it's no surprise that this song made such an instant impression on me. The lyrics are just as spooky as the rest of the package with mentions of curses and ghosts. The music video maybe isn't quite so scary - it includes an octopus-themed ride at a funfair because, well, why ever not.

Mitksi's seventh album The Land Is Inhospitable and So Are We was one of my favourite records of the year. 'I'm Your Man' is an album track that caught my attention in particular. The lyrics appear to be the self-deprecating reflections of a woman whose previous relationship went pear-shaped. The biblical musings are particularly powerful, especially: "you believe me like a God, so I betray you like a man." The production is gentle and cinematic like much of the album. I adore the addition of dog barks later in the song after the "I'll meet judgment by the hounds" lyric, it's really atmospheric, then the added choral vocals right at the end give me chills. I'd highly recommend this project from her! I'm delighted that she's found some commercial success with it. Mr. Sosa was another Electronic Track of the Week discovery for me this year. I was hoping to love 'Tamagotchi Fantasy' because I was obsessed with my tamagotchi as a kid, plain and simple. I did like this from first listen but it was a slow burner nevertheless that eventually turned into love. Now I think this is one of the most adorable dance songs of the year! The lyrics, along the lines of: "when you touch me it's ecstasy, I come to life with your hands on me", complete with pitched up vox, are dreamy. The production is enjoyably full-throttle too. I found the video, where both humans and horses alike seem to be having a great time, equally charming. KOMPROMAT register the third and final appearance of one of my BJSC entrants in this section. They represented Jadakissnia for the final time this year and bagged a half-decent 21st place in the final. This project is the love child of Vitalic (whose previous BJSC entry 'Waiting For The Stars' was a huge favourite) and Rebeka Warrior. The former provides swirling dark synth production that effectively builds throughout. Rebeka contributes a deadpan delivery of the German-language lyrics, the title of which translates to "no one". The two marry together very well in a haunting way, alongside some pretty cursed visuals. Zanias first came to my attention as a member of LINEA ASPERA when their excellent song 'Malarone' was entered into BJSC several years ago. Her solo music has been a revelation in more recent times. 'Simulation' is about hedonistic pleasures that may give a temporary high, but eventually lead to a crash landing. She sets these introspective words to glorious darkwave beats and snare drums, with an echo effect to boot. Zanias is a striking presence in the video and puts those synths to good use on the dancefloor, an art form that is a temporary high in itself. I first knew the band Daughter as a teenager when my friend was obsessed with the song 'Youth'. However, it would take until adulthood to finally check out an album of theirs, the latest one Stereo Mind Games. This was off the back of the stunning 'Be On Your Way' which is the latest personal chart #1 to drop out here. Honestly #41 feels a bit too low for something I adore so much but the numbers don't lie and I do cherish the remaining 40 tracks too. This song is like a warm hug as it takes an optimistic outlook on a break-up, ultimately having a confidence in the passage of time. The imagery throughout is gorgeous and delivered in an ethereal way. I particularly love the line: "So I'll meet you on another planet if the plans change". The arrangement of the song is stunning and begins with a sparse introduction that makes the experience feel so intimate. That then morphs into a combination of rising synths, strings and percussion that really hits hard throughout the rest of the runtime. 'Be On Your Way' will always remind me of the Easter meet-up with Bal, Bré, Joseph and Lotti from here as it was played on Bal's TV towards the end of our time together while we were listening to music. Those bittersweet feelings of having a great time but having to part truly hit!

Posted by: Ansel 9th January 2024, 10:45 PM

Like you've said, Escapism is a great piece of storytelling - so nice to see RAYE continuing to do well after all the label troubles she had, and with something that sonically stands out so much! Seven Swords was a great Kathaldazia banger too, as expected.

Posted by: jimwatts 10th January 2024, 07:50 PM

'Memories Of You' it will appear very high in my countdown, but as I was already taken in by songs from both MRD and TDJ (also still to come on my EOY), the idea of a collab between them was an exciting one, and it's true to both their styles with them both shining on it. I've only recently seen the lyrics added to Spotify after I'd tried to decipher them, but that break at around 4:30 for the middle eight with both their vocals is gut wrenching.

Plenty of other highlights in the last 10 songs, not least 'Escapism.' deservedly proving popular in these EOYs. I may have voted too soon in the ETOTW poll Sam Quealy appeared in, but I did cast a vote to Mr. Sosa in the respective week as I spotted there was a bit of a tune afoot! KOMPROMAT of course got my 18 in BJSC, love the twinkly synths and hypnotic feel - I'd restricted my weekly chart to songs from the last 3 years, but expanded it to the last 5 for the last few weeks, so that made my top 10, and if I'd done so earlier, Kap Bambino's frenzy of a tune might have made my top 15 too despite getting 10 from me - that contest was stacked!

Posted by: Jade 10th January 2024, 10:34 PM

quite, I'm so happy that she's been able to properly explore the music she truly wanted to make and do so well with it too. What a year it was for Kathaldazia *.*

thank you for commenting <3


Looking forward to the witnessing the MRD impact in your chart! Totally agree that the middle eight of 'Memories Of You' is such a moment.

Yes it's wonderful that 'Escapism.' is so popular on the forum, transcending music tastes. It's funny that me, you and Kath all admit to having a moment where we voted for a song in those polls that we later changed our minds about, that growing power. Thank you for the KOMPROMAT (and Kap Bambino!) support, the 18 swap with you was a highlight of the latest contest *.*

thank you for commenting <3

Posted by: Brer 11th January 2024, 07:46 PM

Jadakissnia entries dropping out thick and fast now! Good that Odd Nosdam is among the top 2 of them here though. FLESH and Kap Bambino are another two of the songs that are close for my 5th-8th faves of the bunch, the former got 8 points from me and the latter 7, but I think I do actually like the latter more now! 'Veiled' is another very good witch house track but perhaps a little overshadowed by Radost Moja whose song feels a bit more distinct, while 'Forever' has only grown on me over time, as I commented at the time it's good to have a Crystal Castles style song that doesn't have the baggage of being attached to Ethan Kath. As I'm sure you could guess from it being a very rare one of your entries I didn't vote for 'Niemand' is my least favourite but it's still decent, hopefully 2024 will kick off with you returning to my votes anyway Sam Quealy is another great BJSC entry in this section ofc, the bullet point style vocal delivery over banging production reminding me a lot of my own Minuit Machine entry. Also love the music video for this one (and for 'Forever', both among the most memorable visuals of the year in the contest).

BJSC aside I had actually already heard all the other songs in this section too but still gave a relisten the other day to refresh my memory - not going to turn down an excuse to relisten to 'Escapism.' being one of the best big mainstream hits of the decade so far and 'Be On Your Way' which still gives me goosebumps every time (and indeed feeling like an even more special song now with the memories of the Easter meetup attached) Shocked to see them both outside the top 40 here when they were both #1s for you, although I suppose the former had some of its run stuck in 2022 iirc? I can see why the Mr. Sosa song was a slow burner for you as it was sounding better than I remembered on this relisten as well, another fab melancholy banger. James Blake of course serving fire as ever, there was another song from the album with similar vibes that I liked even more ('I Want You To Know') but 'Fall Back' is definitely up with my faves on the album too (and a real shame the album ended up being quite overlooked, both commercially of course but also quite disappointing I haven't seen it mentioned much in the year end album writeups / videos :'(). I wasn't initially sure this Mitski era would be for me since I only got into her previous album which was quite a new sound for her and this was more a return to her older sound / more country influence but ended up enjoying this album just as much if not more than the last one and 'I'm Your Man' is one of the best from it, all the references to dogs in the lyrics leading up to the barking dogs sample at the end is a nice touch. And was cool to see you taking so much to that Zanias song, I ended up liking the followup 'Metrics' a bit more but this one is still a fab dark synthpop song.

Posted by: Jade 11th January 2024, 08:01 PM

I thought you may approve of Odd Nosdam still being in the running *.* I totally get what you mean about the Radost Moja song feeling more distinctive (who could forget the cursed fan-made visuals also) even if I love both a lot, so I understand why it performed better in the contest. Intrigued to see what you will think of my first entry of 2024! I'm excited to go orchestral again, I don't think I have been down that route since Somnium, so it's been a good 5 years now. Oh yes I see what you mean about the delivery comparison between Sam Quealy and Minuit Machine, perhaps bullet points are the key to a top 3 hit

Ooh yes I hadn't thought about 'Escapism.' having a split run, that definitely would've harmed it a bit. I was shocked about Daughter's position here too as it was a big favourite but I think my chart runs at the start of the year were a bit more ruthless as a lot of #1s from early 2023 have dropped out, including 'Kerosene' and 'Gates of Heaven' too. Glad 'Tamagotchi Fantasy' has proven to be a grower for you too! I'm also disappointed by the lack of acknowledgement of James' album in EOY lists :'( at least you get it x I agree that Mitski's latest album is an improvement on Laurel Hell even if 'The Only Heartbreaker' remains such a big favourite. 'Metrics' is a good'un too tbh <3 haven't heard a bad Zanias song to date.

thank you for commenting x

Posted by: Jade 11th January 2024, 08:37 PM

TOP 100 SONGS: 40-31



40. Dua Lipa - Houdini | 254 points
39. ROSALÍA - LLYLM | 258 points
38. Beyoncé - AMERICA HAS A PROBLEM (feat. Kendrick Lamar) | 265 points
37. Slowdive - the slab | 266 points
36. ROSALÍA & Rauw Alejandro - VAMPIROS | 275 points (peak: #3)
35. Waterbaby - Strawberry Jam | 275 points | (peak: #1)
34. Doja Cat - Attention | 284 points
33. Taylor Swift - Say Don't Go (Taylor's Version) (From The Vault) | 295 points
32. Eartheater - Pure Smile Snake Venom | 297 points
31. HighSchool - Colt | 303 points

I was eagerly anticipating a brand new album cycle from Dua Lipa after Future Nostalgia became my favourite record of 2020. Finally the wait was over in late 2023 as lead single 'Houdini' was released with assistance from Kevin Parker and Danny L Harle on production. This trio excited me greatly and thankfully they did create some magic together. Dua was back with freshly dyed red hair and upbeat pop synths, but with a more psychedelic edge than her previous releases. 'Houdini' is of course named after the famous escape-artist and she creates parallels between his acts and her own attitude to dating, as she confidently delivers: "prove you got the right to please me" otherwise she'll "go Houdini". The production peaks in the final minute or so as the synths become more layered and trademark Tame Impala style guitars get some time to shine. Just like 'Don't Start Now', Dua continues the trend of this lead single peaking at #2 in both the official U.K. chart and in my own weekly personal chart. ROSALÍA released a standalone single entitled 'LLYLM' at the start of the year to promote her collaboration with Coca Cola. I managed to buy a few cans of this limited edition flavour and honestly... wouldn't recommend, but I did preserve the empty pink cans, so have some ROSALÍA merchandise that wasn't just purchased at her tour. I was a little worried that this was going to be a sell-out English language moment to capitalise on the success of 'DESPECHÁ', but it instead turned out to be Spanglish. It sounds like ROSALÍA is down bad with an unrequited crush in this song as she states: "cover me in a dream, I'll be yours or fantasy". The Spanish verses have a flamenco feel to them with the handclaps alongside ROSALÍA's signature vocal style. The chorus morphs into a more poppy, breezy English language singalong. I do enjoy the fun of this but must admit that my favourite section of the song is the darker middle 8. 'AMERICA HAS A PROBLEM' was one of my favourite tracks on Beyoncé's latest album RENAISSANCE, so I was delighted that not only was it receiving a push, but also a remix alongside my favourite hip-hop artist. Kendrick Lamar rides the beat effortlessly and contributes a fun, poetic flair. When I first saw this song title I thought the contents would be politically motivated, but instead, it's a celebration of self-love and worth. Beyoncé is comparing her own addictiveness to drugs and states: "you can't get no higher than this" to a love interest. I admire the way she slips between rapping and singing throughout and completely owns it. I really enjoy the mixture of hip-hop beats and fun pop melodies, with a lot of hi-hat for good measure. Slowdive arrive as a band in the countdown now following the appearance of a Rachel Goswell feature earlier. I associate a lot of their material with being quite hazy shoegaze, but 'the slab' shows off a heavier side to their talents. This song mixes irresistible guitar melodies, drums and muffled vocals which come together to provide a very atmospheric feel. The band said they wanted 'the slab' to quite literally be a "slab of music" and effectively convey a dense sound. 'VAMPIROS' is ROSALÍA's highest placement in my EOY this year, outdoing #1 single 'LLYLM' despite a peak of #3 itself. This was one of three songs to be taken from a joint-EP called RR alongside now ex-flame Rauw Alejandro. Lyrically they swerve stereotypical loved up comparisons and instead opt for vampiric imagery, where they are immortal and take on the night together. I thought the production of this song was easily the most interesting on the EP with its experimental reggaeton sound that noisily explodes later on. My favourite ROSALÍA vocal moment is probably her wailing-style noises in the lead up to the production breaking down at the end. 'BESO' was the hit of the project but this darker companion had my heart and thankfully got a music video of its own in time.

'Strawberry Jam' by Waterbaby is the first of two back-to-back #1s from my chart to drop out now. This was Jadakissnia's biggest hit in the BuzzJack Song Contest last year and sole top 10 result of 2023, finishing in 9th place. This London-based sister duo provide 7 minutes of heaven with a track they describe as a "mood swing". They invite the listener through a range of moods and scenarios, right now: "feels a lot like learning how to drive, it gets easier every time" feels the most relevant to me, minus the occasional bump in the road. I love the building experimental electronic sound throughout and ethereal Kate Bush style vocals. I'm thrilled that this translated so well in BJSC. Just one of my song contest entries remains now. Doja Cat achieved her first chart-topper for me with 'Attention'. I was instantly hooked on this time warp back to the 90s, from the gorgeous trip-hop production to the walking-down-the-street music video, reminiscent of something from the time like 'Unfinished Sympathy' or 'Bitter Sweet Symphony'. She began the Scarlet era with a pivot back to rap, where she takes on criticism - for example the change in her appearance - head on and with humour in places, such as "I just paid your bill with a reply". She tackles the chorus in a contrasting, delicate fashion coupled with the beautiful sounds of a harp within the production. I'm happy that she didn't compromise her artistic vision here to score a hit as this was the perfect lead for me. 1989 is my favourite Taylor Swift album (making up the holy trinity alongside folklore and evermore) so it was unsurprisingly the re-recording project I was looking forward to the most. 'Say Don't Go' ended up being the vault track that grabbed my attention the most. I adore the melody, crashing drums and Taylor's range of vocals here, from the lower register in the verses to the echoey extras that accompany the chorus. This song was written alongside Diane Warren and seems to detail a relationship that was fragile and insecure. The following lyrics: “Halfway out the door, but it won’t close. I’m holding out hope for you to say don't go" encapsulate Taylor's own longing so well, while the other party had lead her on. I first discovered Eartheater when 'Scripture' was entered to an edition of BJSC that I hosted. This sound excited me a lot and I'm so glad I continued to follow her. In 'Pure Smile Snake Venom' she takes the mature approach of admitting "I choose not to bite you, in spite of my venom welling up" after she has been wronged. I admire her serpentine vision in the lyrics, plus the colourful themes of the video, which feels up close and personal yet also intense. Sega Bodega kills it on production duties as ever with the light-and-shade approach to the future garage production, which works very well alongside the sensual vocals. I was late to the accompanying album Powders but it's well worth a listen. I discovered HighSchool through the track 'Only A Dream' but ended up loving 'Colt' even more. It is gloriously gothic in mood yet also fuses italo-disco sounds in amongst the distinctive guitar work. The song is about the fragility that comes with the start of a new relationship - the mixture of daunting feelings and butterflies. I feel like the repetitive "I'm falling in love" section towards the end is so effective at capturing that vulnerability. This song was later sent to an edition of anonymous guitar contest Nuggets on the forum but I couldn't bring myself to penalise it despite already knowing it, so it received my top marks.

Posted by: PeteFromLeeds 11th January 2024, 08:51 PM

Giving Colt a listen now, it's sounding pretty nice! The electronic sound combined with those guitars and drums (and of course the distorted vocals) make for an enjoyable listen.

Posted by: Ansel 11th January 2024, 09:33 PM

That whole recent section really loved what Kendrick brought to AMERICA HAS A PROBLEM, the original doesn't sound right now and I also really like that they extended the song to fit him in rather than cutting out part of Beyonce's verses. Initially I was all about BESO when RR came out but eventually switched to VAMPIROS, love the dark industrial sound that makes it feel so late-night.

Posted by: Jade 11th January 2024, 10:15 PM

Glad you're liking the sound of 'Colt', Pete agree that its mix of sounds is really special <3

thank you for commenting!


I did think this was easily the most BuzzJack-friendly section so far #LetsGoLadies x omg same, I always have to listen to both 'AMERICA HAS A PROBLEM' and 'Bad Blood' in remixed form now! Totally agreed that it's well thought out and properly embeds him into the song <3 glad that you got into 'VAMPIROS' as well, what a stomper!

thank you for commenting *.

Posted by: Popchartfreak 12th January 2024, 10:32 AM

We don't have a lot of chart overlap these days, but there are some! The Grants is a goodie, Now & Then a big chart-topper for me, Houdini is fab, and a couple of others, so I may well end up with a 10% overlap yet when I get round to doing my 100 (I usually wait for tracks to drop out my charts so they get full runs)!

Posted by: Jade 12th January 2024, 06:44 PM

Oh yes, I have seen The Beatles and Dua flying high in your chart but didn't realise you were a fan of 'The Grants' too, excellent some more mainstream stuff is still on the way including a #1 hit

Will be sure to look out for your own countdown! Thank you for commenting

Posted by: Sergej 12th January 2024, 08:01 PM

Hi Jade!

Here are some of the songs I've liked so far:

69. Luke Black - Samo mi se spava | 192 points
64. The Chemical Brothers - Skipping Like A Stone (feat. Beck) | 201 points (peak: #7)
63. Shygirl & Cosha - ​​thicc | 201 points (peak: #2)
62. Romy - The Sea | 202 points
51. Zach Bryan - I Remember Everything (feat. Kacey Musgraves) | 233 points
48. RAYE - Escapism (feat. 070 Shake) | 238 points
40. Dua Lipa - Houdini | 254 points
39. ROSALÍA - LLYLM | 258 points
38. Beyoncé - AMERICA HAS A PROBLEM (feat. Kendrick Lamar) | 265 points
34. Doja Cat - Attention | 284 points
33. Taylor Swift - Say Don't Go (Taylor's Version) (From The Vault) | 295 points

Great list so far!

Can't wait for the top 30!

Posted by: Jade 12th January 2024, 08:23 PM

Hey Sergej

Glad you're a fan of all those more Eurovision may be on the way...

thanks for commenting! x

Posted by: Brer 12th January 2024, 09:21 PM

Only the 1 song I'd not already heard again in this section, that being 'Say Don't Go', and after finally hearing it I am now sad this never got a chance to chart in the UK, think I do immediately like it more than all the ones that did, maybe about on par with 'I Can See You' for me!

Quite a few big faves for me dropping out here - glad that I did get around to listening to Slowdive's album as it is pretty excellent throughout, 'alife' is the one for me but 'the slab' is probably my 2nd favourite song from the album. 'AMERICA HAS A PROBLEM' was already one of my faves from 'RENAISSANCE' but Kendrick managed to elevate it even more, matching the energy perfectly *.* and hooray for a double appearance for ROSALÍA, 'VAMPIROS' is my favourite of her handful of releases for the year so nice to see it the highest here, appreciating the slightly unorthodox song structure on top of just being a really solid reggaetón banger. I guess we're probably unlikely to see any more RauwSALÍA collabs oop so glad they did get a few songs together out while they lasted, I do think Rauw is one of the most consistent male reggaetón/Latin pop artists maybe second only to Bad Bunny. 'LLYLM' like 'TUYA' is another one that I kind of forget happened sometimes but it still sounds great every time I hear it, particularly the middle 8 as you pointed out with her unexpectedly throwing it back to her original flamenco vibes, but I always forget how much I like the chorus as well despite it being the most 'basic' sounding part of the song, I'm not sure I'd want her to go too hard on English language material but she did kind of nail it on this occasion with some very evocative lyrics. And 'Attention' was a bold choice of lead single for what turned out to be a really good album imo from Doja, I've always thought she was underrated as a rapper (as opposed to a pop artist who raps) so glad she chose this to highlight that side of her more, even if it naturally got overshadowed by the more commercial followup.

'Houdini' didn't completely blow me away but it's still Dua doing what Dua does best and a perfectly good lead single that's keeping me hyped for the new album to hopefully be in a similar ballpark of quality to her last one (hopefully minus the couple of dud songs this time ) 'Strawberry Jam' 'only' got 5 points from me in BJSC but after relistening I think I'd also rank it ahead of FLESH/PEAKi in my favourites of the year from you, I can see why it was your biggest hit in retrospect even though I remember it doing better than my expectations at the time, it has quite a cool ~mystique~ to it. And this section rounding out with 2 more songs I know mainly from other song contests as the Eartheater one was in the PopJustice contest (got 7 points from me there, I don't find it to be her most memorable song ngl but still a very cool sound) and HighSchool in Nuggets as you mentioned, my only complaint about the latter was you picked the absolute perfect clip from it for your chart recaps which built me up to expect a song I absolutely stanned but then I thought the rest of the song didn't quite live up to that but still very good don't get me wrong x

Posted by: Jade 12th January 2024, 09:33 PM

So glad that you're a fan of 'Say Don't Go' as well <3 I didn't quite know what to expect with our recent disparity in 'Anti-Hero' opinions, so yay for Taylor taste back on track

Slowdive's album is fab indeed <3 I really need to check out more of their older material, I know quite a few songs from their 90s album Souvlaki for example but have never listened the whole way through. We lucked out so badly with the Béy/Kendrick remix! Could never get into 'CUFF IT' but love 'BREAK MY SOUL', this and 'ALIEN SUPERSTAR' so yay for pretty great representation on the whole in terms of top 40 hits. Happy you snapped with me on 'VAMPIROS' being your #1 from the RR EP! I'm not quite as familiar with Rauw but his presence is pretty cool on the songs with ROSALÍA. I get what you mean re. 'LLYLM', it does have quite an enjoyably basic chorus even if that's not the most flattering descriptor lmao. I agree that Scarlet is a good album, it's still within the top 10 of my latest album chart - this era feels pretty underrated outside of 'Paint The Town Red' but I guess serving the quality is what matters more.

Fingers crossed for DL3 to serve! My pop girl excitement is truly unlocked right now with both her and Ariana releasing albums soon. I must confess that I didn't see the hit potential of 'Strawberry Jam' at all but am so glad it was there, it's beautiful and their new one 'Butterfly House' is almost as good <3 I think 'Mona Lisa Moan' will probably overtake 'Pure Smile Snake Venom' in my affections in time since belatedly checking out the latest Eartheater album - a total swoon moment <3 haha apologies for my supposed video editing talents raising your expectations xx

thank youuuuu for commenting *.*

Posted by: Jade 12th January 2024, 10:40 PM

TOP 100 SONGS: 30-21



30. Odd Nosdam - Kill Tone | 311 points
29. The Killers - Your Side of Town | 313 points
28. Avalon Emerson - Astrology Poisoning | 316 points
27. Headache - The Beginning of the End | 317 points
26. bdrmm - Mud | 318 points
25. yunè pinku - Night Light | 325 points
24. Overmono - Good Lies | 336 points
23. Caroline Polachek - Billions | 338 points
22. Käärijä - Cha Cha Cha | 340 points
21. Everything Everything - Cold Reactor | 341 points

'Kill Tone' by Odd Nosdam ranks as the highest placed Jadakissnia entry this year. It dates all the way back to 2007 when it was released as part of the Level Live Wires album. It is classified as instrumental hip-hop but I'd also definitely describe it as electronica. I was drawn to its mix of relaxing yet haunting sounds. 'Kill Tone' contains some of the most soothing instruments imaginable such as the piano and the harp, yet also minimal vocal portions that sound like somebody in anguish. The baby themed visuals also feel cursed. Overall I think it was a unique moment in my nation's back catalogue, albeit one that didn't quite set the contest alight, finishing in 25th place. The Killers also provide a song that conjures mixed feelings, both melancholic and hopeful. Brandon's vocals are yearning and paint descriptive pictures through his words such as: "Serrated edges of the blade are scraping over the leather, I guess we couldn't keep it together". During the chorus there is a stylistic choice to process his voice in a way that reminds me of Julian Casablancas on Daft Punk's 'Instant Crush'. I can see why this decision may be polarising but I personally think it's an effective touch, alongside a wonderful melody. The overall moodboard is an 80s dream with references like New Order, Depeche Mode and Pet Shop Boys embedded within. This was bound to be up my street. Avalon Emerson is an electronic producer who was new on my radar in 2023. I found 'Astrology Poisoning' irresistible with its mellow surface yet cynical undertones. There are lovely, chirpy synths in the production, plus a delightful vocal delivery, but the lyrics discuss the less fun sides of life as a DJ and even the rise of climate change. I think: "The walls we put up, sneaking up on us, and the world is a f***, and accelerating" is so frank and brilliantly said in particular. The video is also very well crafted and beautiful to watch. I must check out more. Headache's 'The Beginning of the End' is the next #1 single from my personal chart to drop out. This was a BJSC discovery, via dandy*'s nation Fljótavík, which outdoes all of my own entries in the countdown - no mean feat. I was gripped enough at the semi-final stage of the contest to award this song a bronze medal but became utterly enamoured on subsequent listens; it received my top marks in the final with ease. I already knew of Vegyn, who provides the mesmerising trip-hop production, but the Headache project was new to me. The AI vocals are so unsettling as they discuss a dark state of mind. My favourite lyric, that I used in the recap videos for my personal chart, is: "one morning you wake and you want to shave your head because the insects living up there have started to throw parties they aren't inviting you to", that is just so harrowing. I was thrilled that this standout spoken-word experience turned out to be a big hit in the contest. It's within my holy trinity of such songs alongside 'Everybody's Free (To Wear Sunscreen)' by Baz Luhrmann and Self Esteem's 'I Do This All The Time'. bdrmm have really grown in my affections over the past couple of years. Their sound heavily leans into shoegaze although 'Mud' feels more sprawling than the past material I know. It's a quietly devastating track about loss and accepting the end before it's even arrived, this is apparent in lyrics like: "and it feels like it's getting closer to the end of me and you". I'm not sure what is more haunting out of the reverb-heavy vocals and the powerful instrumental. Both marry together for essential listening either way.

yunè pinku has been a total revelation in the world of electronic music and 'Night Light' is my favourite of hers to date. It peaked within the top 5 of my weekly chart and achieved a very healthy, long run on the whole. I adore the relentless bassline on this song and her ethereal vocals. There's an urgent feel here, as she discusses reaching a point in technology where a robot will fall in love with the person who is going to destroy it. There's this otherworldly cyber-pop feel but also a throwback trance edge to it too, a sound which was very en vogue last year. The video is well worth a watch also! Overmono have of course been an essential electronic presence this year too, with yet another appearance in the countdown. 'Good Lies' is the title track from their debut album. This one samples 'No Harm' by Smerz, a fellow duo in the dance world. This reference point is utilised to euphoric effect with "I wanna feel you" in particular feeling like a warm moment. The swirling energy here is infectious and a bit of a light-hearted breather amongst some of the darker leaning tracks on the album. That soft chorus is such an earworm. 'Billions' by Caroline Polachek is a 2022 song and overdue chart topper for me. It somehow went over my head during its initial release and Bré was flabbergasted, thinking that it seemed so up my street. I later revisited it, after getting into 'Welcome To My Island', and something finally shifted upon watching the music video for the first time. I honestly have no idea what I was thinking at first, as this is nothing short of excellent! The trip-hop production is divine and Caroline effectively illustrates thoughts about the "overabundance in the world" through the lens of Greco-Roman mythology. The lyrics are a quirky thrill throughout, from "sexting sonnets under the table" to "Twisted, manic, Cornucopeiac". Her vocal delivery is on point, the shift to her lower register complete with elongated note during "...but it's dead on arrival, ohhhh" does something to me that is indescribable. The choral finish is a beautiful touch as well. The music video is a feast for the eyes with the mystical presence of grape-crusher Polachek. It was close but no cigar for Käärijä who settled for 2nd place in this year's Eurovision Song Contest, behind the almighty Loreen. However, he did take home the gold in my personal chart, the first Eurovision chart-topper since 'ZITTI E BUONI' by Måneskin two years prior. It was nice for my favourite to be a contender again after France's entrant in 2022 unfortunately bombed. Only in Eurovision could there be a Finnish singer/rapper in a skimpy green outfit delivering a dance-pop industrial metal song to rapturous applause. Käärijä walks the audience through a night out in these lyrics, coupled with the thrill of banging dance beats and thunderous guitars. The result is infectious fun with a stupendously catchy chorus to boot. It gave me chills when the audience so loudly chanted along with the "cha cha cha cha cha cha CHA"s at merely the semi final stage of the contest. Surely a Eurovision legend in the making! The icing on the cake was a Finnish-language song making the top 10 of the U.K. singles chart. The potential of 'Cold Reactor' by Everything Everything is hampered here due its late October release. This track was my longest running number 1 of the year, clocking up 7 weeks. Perhaps it will be back with a vengeance in my 2024 EOY too as it is still riding high in the top 3! 'Cold Reactor' is a piece of the dystopian puzzle that is shaping up to be upcoming album Mountainhead. The band hone in on the isolating impact of existences purely lived through screens; lyrically this is told in off-kilter ways such as "I haven't left the house in nearly thirty thousand days", the average life expectancy for a man. I adore the new wave meets indie pop execution of the production, especially as the synths swell right at the end. I feel like I am being kept on my toes throughout, as the delivery is fairly laidback in the verses despite the lyrical content but it grows into a faster-paced rhythm in the lead up to the chorus. I also enjoy the backing vocals which feel like an instrument of their own. The video expands on the Mountainhead imagery, whereby those at the bottom of the mountain have a pretty thankless existence. It was a cracking start to the era and I'm glad Radio 1 eventually added it to their playlist!

Posted by: Sergej 12th January 2024, 10:53 PM

29. The Killers - Your Side of Town | 313 points
23. Caroline Polachek - Billions | 338 points
22. Käärijä - Cha Cha Cha | 340 points
21. Everything Everything - Cold Reactor | 341 points

Like these songs on here! "Cold Reactor" currently is gaining on my chart, might be in my Year-End list next year?
"Cha Cha Cha" definitely will be in my Year-End list this year.

Posted by: Jade 12th January 2024, 11:05 PM

Käärijä nation unite 💚

Awesome to see 'Cold Reactor' progressing in your weekly chart! Perhaps one to watch in both of our 2024 EOYs.

thanks for commenting again Sergej, the enthusiasm is appreciated

Posted by: jimwatts 13th January 2024, 07:55 PM

From your 40-31, 'Houdini' is fab and will surely appear in more of these EOYs than not, 'LLYLM' has that breezy production which I maybe found more instant than the reggaeton for ROSALÍA's subsequent songs here, not that I disliked them, 'Strawberry Jam' got 11 from me in a strong contest but ended up probably second only to 'Niemand' from your BJSC entries of the year for me as there's so much to admire in it, from the backwards vocals at the start onwards, but my favourite is from HighSchool - I'd already found 'Only A Dream' a standout song from those I didn't know on your "best of 2022" playlist, but when I heard 'Colt' I instantly found it even better with its mixture of late 80s influences.

In 30-21 it has to be The Killers, referencing New Order, Depeche Mode and Pet Shop Boys (the holy trinity of 80s music generally) is a recipe for good things and it's true to their influences. 'Night Light' was a sparkling relentless follow-up to 'Fai Fighter' for yunè pinku and hopefully there'll be more like those to come from her, and 'Cold Reactor' would be somewhere in my theoretical weekly top 20 by now as I'm intrigued by the lyrical theme and details within the music I probably haven't noticed yet!

Posted by: Jade 13th January 2024, 08:11 PM

Oh yes I just spotted 'Houdini' in your EOY too one of those songs that definitely unites a wide range of music tastes on the forum. I can understand that re. 'LLYLM', tbh I don't always go for reggaeton production but ROSALÍA is an exception due to her more experimental angle, although even the more commercial 'Con Altura' was a bop. Happy to hear that you hold 'Strawberry Jam' in such high regard, their new song 'Butterfly House' is really good too. Oh wow, I had no idea that anyone else had taken a look at that playlist so I'm pleased that you made a good discovery in 'Only A Dream' via that!

It's a shame that The Killers didn't want to take this specific mood-board any further than 'Your Side Of Town' as it's such a good style for them <3 but grateful we did get that song! Excited to see what 2024 may bring for yuné pinku, what an exciting name right now. Ooh excellent, always happy to hear 'Cold Reactor' praise <3

thank you for commenting! x

Posted by: Brer 13th January 2024, 08:21 PM

Oh that 21-23 section absolutely ate 3 of the best songs from the whole countdown so far, shame 'Cold Reactor' having its run split between two years will probably block it from having as high an EOY position as it deserves but #21 from only a couple of months is still great of course, having been a stan of Everything Everything since day 1 it's brilliant that they are still putting out songs that contend to be among their best ever for me and I could tell this one was that from my first listen (on Radio 1 while driving), it's so addictive. I don't often find myself listening to songs on repeat but I have done that a few times with this one! Although even with that I've never really picked up on the meaning of the lyrics so that was interesting to read your commentary, I tend to assume their lyrics are mostly poetic but largely incomprehensible babbling haha (but they make it sound great ofc x), I guess I'm missing out on a whole other dimension of their appeal by not trying to analyse the lyrics but tbf I don't really do that with a lot of music in general, I am too smooth brained. Definitely don't need to understand the lyrics to appreciate the absolute megabanger that is 'Cha Cha Cha' of course, I expect and hope Käärijä has embedded himself in the canon of Eurovision legends who will keep appearing or being referenced in the contest in future years, I'm at peace with it losing to Loreen but I do really wish it had won, nonetheless what a moment that a mixture of hyperpop, industrial and rap without a word in English managed to appeal so widely across the continent and even going top 10 in the UK. And haha at you mentioning my surprise at you not initially loving 'Billions' as I was certainly going to bring that up in this reply but excellent that it did eventually click for you, I liked 'Bunny Is A Rider' but this song was the first signal for me that this would be a special era from her, stanning the 'Teardrop' esque production and her vocals are just perfect throughout, also love the 'say say say say something to me' mini hook and an actual good use of a choir at the back end.

Also a couple of other big faves for me here, 'Fai Fighter' and 'Night Light' was a note perfect back to back of singles from yunè pinku both perfectly capturing that vibe which I think you described better than I ever could, and it's great that the Headache song proved to have so many big fans (wow at it outdoing all of your own entries here, after almost doing the same on Rich's EOY!), Vegyn of course was a past entrant of my own but even I must say this song was better than the one I sent, a real stopped in my tracks moment. 'Good Lies' was one that took a few listens to fully click with me (iirc another one I've heard on Radio 1 in the car which helped it to grow on me) but it is another big earworm from them although their best song still to come here! And 'Kill Tone' was a great pick from the archives for the BJSC, like you mentioned the mix of relaxing and unsettling just hits *.* (although scarred for life by the video x).

Now we've had all the Jadakissnia entries and I've been dripfeeding this throughout I think I'll finalise this as my ranking of them

1 Radost Moja
2 Odd Nosdam
3 Rosegarden Funeral Party
4 TÉTRICA
5 NNHMN
6 Kap Bambino
7 Waterbaby
8 FLESH
9 Joanie
10 KOMPROMAT

Also enjoyed both the Avalon Emerson and The Killers songs (the vocal processing on the latter is the kind of thing that is sometimes on a fine line with being offputting for me - sorry Troye Sivan - but it works well on this song for me), bdrmm was the one from this section that I'd not heard before and although I have given it a listen now I feel like it's one that demands multiple listens to form a strong opinion on really so I'll leave that as broadly positive but no specific comment x

Posted by: Jade 13th January 2024, 08:36 PM

yes it's unfortunate that it'll work out that way for 'Cold Reactor' but at least still a lot more representative than the official chart EOY for late in the year releases I haven't been a fan of EE as long as you, I think I only got into them properly from 'Distant Past' onwards, but hard agree that 'Cold Reactor' is up there with their very best. The concept for their new album is shaping up to be really cool, but tbh the most important lyrics to know across both songs so far are:

At the very top, there was a screen that showed a picture of a
Man who stood there looking at a picture of a man who stood there
Looking at a picture of a picture of a man on a screen
And he was looking at another picture of a man who stood there
Looking at a picture of a man who stood there looking at a
Picture of a picture of a man who was the double of me



'Tattoo' was a good winner but 'Cha Cha Cha' taking the crown would've been such an iconic moment as well. Hopefully he will be to Finland what Måns Zelmerlöw is to Sweden in terms of being wheeled out for appearances LOL at me getting in there first with your 'Billions' bewilderment sorry for being such a flop at first, rectified now. I've definitely got into 'Bunny Is A Rider' a lot more now than I did when it first came out too! Also definitely agree that "say say say say something to me" is a 'Billions' highlight <3

Forced to stan Queen pinku. It's amazing indeed that Headache resonated with quite a few people in such a way, I guess it is such a unique entry! R1 and 6Music are real ones for playing Overmono tbh. Happy that 'Kill Tone' allowed me to receive an 18 from you last year, let's see if I can get my hands on one of those this year...

Nice to see your list written out like that although oops at Persephonia saying no to the synth girlies x

Happy that you're team pro robo-Brandon Flowers as well. It's funny you mention Troye tbh... stay tuned. Definitely come back to the bdrmm song again because it was a slow burner for me!

Thank youuuuu for the detailed comment as ever, glad you enjoyed this section so much!

Posted by: Jade 13th January 2024, 08:38 PM

TOP 100 SONGS: 20-11



20. SWIM - U Were Mine | 345 points
19. Overmono - Blow Out | 368 points
18. Yves Tumor - Echolalia | 372 points
17. House of Harm - Roseglass | 377 points
16. Mitski - The Deal | 379 points
15. Vandal Moon - Heroine Dancer | 383 points (peak: #3)
14. Jessica Winter & Jonathan Snipes - All I Need | 383 points (peak: #1)
13. Daniel Avery - Going So Low | 387 points
12. Troye Sivan - One Of Your Girls | 394 points
11. Cameo Blush - Out There (feat. yunè pinku) | 411 points

I believe 'U Were Mine' by SWIM was another Electronic Track of the Week discovery last year. I instantly fell for its loopy house charms. The vocal sections appear to be melancholic and reflective with chopped up lines such as "take your place..." and "...the days when u you were mine"; the execution is quite a sad banger vibe. The production is a satisfying mix of both thumping and twinkly, with the vocal portions turning this into an earworm. The Australian DJ keeps the visuals simple through a hazy blurred lens of ravers tinted blue, which seems to be a signature aesthetic. Overmono register an impressive fifth and final appearance in the countdown with their first ever #1 in my weekly chart, 'Blow Out'. A chart-topper felt overdue for them after quite a run of top 5 hits over the past couple of years! This track was the first that the electronic duo worked on post-album release, debuting it at Coachella the day after completion. They come out swinging with an attitude-filled sample of 'Can't Stop' by Reddo & Brodinski, a trap song in original form which provides a new feel to the table. The production starts off pretty in-your-face with huge sounding bass in particular, but develops a softer touch throughout with a dreamy additional layer of floaty synths. I was intrigued by the fact that Yves Tumor's follow-up to 'God is a Circle' was going to be called 'Echolalia' as I'm familiar with the term through quite a lot of research into autism; it is the involuntary repetition of words and sounds made by others. This theme is woven into the stuttery vocals where syllables are turned into hooks of their own. The lyrics of 'Echolalia' detail a thrilling lust towards a figure that they see as godly, hitting the right notes in the delivery. The post-punk production is a great companion, particularly the bass riff that is sampled from 'Lobotomy' by NEON. Their visuals are striking as ever, as we see Yves tied down and nailed by the heart. I recall this being a slow burner in my chart but it was too catchy and cool to resist in time. Boston trio House of Harm were originally a BJSC discovery but have continued to make appearances in my chart since. 'Roseglass', taken from their sophomore album Playground, is the band's best result to date after peaking at #2. This song has a gothic, darkwave flair in its crashing synths but also contains pop sensibilities in the melodies. 'Roseglass' is about being an outsider and trespassing unfamiliar territory in the hope of a brighter future. These themes are delivered through commanding, haunting vocals and in a raw style visually, where unsuspecting people at a market are presented in an uneasy way. It's a stunning package that deserves a lot more attention! Mitski achieved her second #1 to date with album track 'The Deal'. Here, she is filled with so much pain that she doesn't wish to have a soul any more, so she can stop feeling. "I can't bear to keep it", she says. Mitski's delivery makes me hang on to every word as usual and the production is equally memorable. The instruments are pretty sparse for the most part but the drums end up collapsing towards the end in the most breath-taking fashion.

Queen Of The Night by Vandal Moon was one of my favourite albums of 2022. I didn't see new material coming as soon as the following year but very much welcomed it. 'Sad Sad Girl' was a solid start to their 2023 releases but it was subsequent singles that really held my attention. 'Heroine Dancer' was a smash in my chart, peaking at #3. It later returned for a second run after Addy's nation Bøtanikkä sent it to the BuzzJack Song Contest, where I of course awarded it top marks. Vocalist Blake Voss sounds as dark and alluring as ever as he sings about a magnetism towards someone despite their differences, with the following longing words in the chorus: "dance with me lover, I need your smile, take me home". The visuals bring the dancefloor themes to life with a nostalgic club video. Their sound still comprises of dark 80s-style synths and industrial percussion, with a chorus that is throbbing and unforgettable. I discovered Jessica Winter through BJSC and also Jonathan Snipes in a roundabout way, as he is part of thrilling hip-hop group clipping. 'All I Need' initially scraped into my chart but was such an infectious grower that it eventually rose all the way to #1. I love the throwback acid house sound in the production. The snappy bullet-point words like "Food. Shelter. Find a mate. Danger." that surround the title of the song are delivered in a fierce way. 'All I Need' then cools off a bit with some lovely vocals while she is "dancing in the shadows". However, the beat continues to pulsate throughout and provides a very satisfying drop when the moment comes. I was a huge fan of Daniel Avery's album Ultra Truth last year and couldn't wait for more with swift follow-up release More Truth. 'Going So Low' is the opening track and features the uncredited vocal talents of Georgia. This is a thrilling electronic sound, containing a dark dissonance that slowly builds into a stomper of a chorus with massive production and looped vocals. 'Going So Low' also boasts a sudden breakbeat outro, a similar sonic choice to one of last year's biggest hits 'Miracle' by Calvin Harris and Ellie Goulding. Troye Sivan first came to my attention musically about a decade ago when he was breaking free from his YouTuber tag and released 'Happy Little Pill'. That song performed well in my chart and it's been a pleasure to watch his career flourish ever since, achieving his highest ever U.K. solo peak just last year with 'One Of Your Girls', a #11 hit. I love the lush synth-pop sound of this song complete with Drive-style robotic chorus. Troye said it was written about his experience of quite a few straight-presenting guys wanting to get with him and then later freaking out about it and dropping him. He further added that he didn't want to make any kind of statement here but was just channelling some sad musings into a song, with the robot effect representing his mood about the subject well. This kind of sound is right up my alley and was really refreshing to hear on the chart show. The video is simple but stunning with Troye owning his beautiful drag look, which has a particular y2k feel later on. 'Night Light' may be my favourite solo yunè pinku offering to date but her feature on Cameo Blush's 'Out There' would be the first #1 in my chart for both acts, with an impressive run that breaks 400 points here. This is an experimental electronica song taken from the EP Ultimate Grey. The textured production is blissful with its half-time rhythms and yunè pinku offers a warm presence with her vocals. My favourite lyrics are "Is this life enough? When you've stifled doves in trees, in a biblical tease" which feel particularly poetic.

Posted by: LewisGT 13th January 2024, 08:54 PM

I was also very excited to hear Dua's comeback. I thought that 'Dance The Night' was a fun way to tide us over during the wait but it did feel like ages since 'Don't Start Now' kicked off her last campaign. With 'Future Nostalgia' becoming such an instant classic and already feeling like it's been highly influential on the pop music that has followed in the last couple of years, I felt like I had no idea what direction she was going to go with to follow-it up. ''Houdini' feels like a promising start but I'm still very intrigued to hear more. I have to agree that the last minute or so of 'Houdini' is pretty special and it's what initially won me over on the first listen.

'Say Don't Go' was probably my least favourite of the new 1989 tracks but I'd rank them all pretty similar. I don't feel like there was a bad one between them and they were all worthy additions to a classic pop album. I've always been a big apologist for the 'Reputation' era so I'm hoping that it's next to get the Taylor's Version treatment as I'm desperate to hear what the vault tracks are going to sound like.

I will have to check 'Billions' out. Aside from the her two songs with Charli that I adore, Caroline Polachek has been such a blind spot for me. I've heard so much about how great she is but I'm yet to really take the dive into her work and give it a proper go.

Posted by: Jade 13th January 2024, 10:37 PM

Yes Dua's affiliations with Barbie were fun to bridge the gap! It really did feel like ages since 'Don't Start Now', I associate that song with walking to and from work back when I was in the office 5 days a week pre-Covid, which feels like an alternate universe now so good to have her back with a new album cycle! I agree, it's a great start and has left me wanting more ASAP. Her second single last time, 'Physical', is my favourite Dua song so here's hoping for another strong follow-up *.*

Aww okay, fair! I'm with you though, I actually think the 1989 vault tracks are the most consistently strong yet, no surprises when it was my favourite album of hers anyway. 'Getaway Car' and 'Don't Blame Me' from reputation are two of my favourite album tracks of hers overall - intrigued to see what the focus track for that TV will be!

Ooh okay, hope you enjoy 'Billions'! I was a bit late to the party myself but love all the different shades to her sophomore album.

thank you for commenting, great to have your thoughts now too

Posted by: Lunar 14th January 2024, 01:04 AM

Hey Jade!

Escapism is one of my favourites from your countdown so far. It felt like such a moment when it reached #1, and it’s been so nice to see RAYE shine as an independent artist! Houdini is another of my favourites of the year as well, Future Nostalgia is honestly one of my favourite albums of all time so really looking forward to seeing what Dua brings this year *.*

Say Don’t Go is also my favourite of the vault tracks, it’s stunning <3 also noticed from your commentary we have the same top 3 taylor albums!

My other favourites from your recent sections are Cha Cha Cha and One of Your Girls. Looking forward to seeing your top 10!

Posted by: k👠th 14th January 2024, 11:25 AM

Jade

Catching up on your 70-31 section

Very apt description of 'Sugarushhh'. I always felt the song could be a minute or so longer but it's great for what it is. Great to see 'Good Lies' and 'Blow Out' so high too! I'm loving how Overmono have got a proper fanbase on Buzzjack now

Happy Shygirl made it in with another #2 smash for you, and Romy's 'The Sea' which should place highly on my EOY, thanks to the fantastic TDJ remix. 'Waves' is a fab shoegaze-y deep cut from Art School Girlfriend.

That write up for 'Memories of You' *.* Come through Pitchfork journalist Jade!! I still can't believe MRD never did a single push for it, or even made it a focus track during album release week. It's a lot stronger than 'Let Her Go' and the CAIVA collab that were released instead.

Sam Quealy making the top 50



She is such a kook Her album is worth a listen! It's a lot of fun and a bit of a hodgepodge of vastly different pop subgenres. I think my favorite outside of 'Seven Swords' is the fabulous 'Klepto'.

'Tamagotchi Fantasy' was a really cute Eurodance swerve from Mr. Sosa. I love the music video with the horse! I also grew to love this one more and more with repeated listens. It took over 2 months before it peaked at #5 on my chart! I never could get into 'LLYM' sadly, it was giving Shawn Mendes vibes somehow 'AMERICA HAS A PROBLEM' was my 2nd fave of this Beyoncé era after 'BREAK MY SOUL', a shame it didn't smash more on the charts. Also really love 'Pure Smile Snake Venom' and 'Colt' - both tracks deserved better on my chart in hindsight.

Posted by: Jade 14th January 2024, 11:25 AM

Hey Lunar!

Happy to hear that you're a fan of 'Escapism.' too <3 I totally agree that it was one of the most memorable chart moments last year, was so chuffed for her. I see that 'Houdini' hasn't dropped out in your countdown yet so looking forward to seeing how high it can get there! Ooh that's high praise for Future Nostalgia *.* it is a fab album though, was so lucky to see her live during that era!

Ooh the absolute taste of that snap favourite vault song + top 3 Taylor albums I find evermore underrated in discourse about Taylor albums but it's so good!

Just saw that 'One Of Your Girls' made it into your countdown as well, yay *.* good to hear that you're a 'Cha Cha Cha' fan too!

thank you <3 shall get to work on it today

Posted by: Jade 14th January 2024, 11:45 AM

Ooh a wild Kath comment just as I'd finished replying to Lunar hey Kerthhh again *.*

Happy it's not just me who really likes 'Sugarushhh' (soz Bré x at least we all stan 'Arla Fearn') ~ excited to see what's to come next, here's hoping their fans (both on here and outside!) continue to grow and we can get the sophomore album into the top 10, #11 was great but so frustrating </3 they are just so consistent with the bangers!

Shygirl is well overdue a #1 hit for me now oops! Tbh it took ROSALÍA ages after lots of near-misses and now she collects them like infinity stones so watch this space xo ooh shall definitely keep a look out for Romy in your chart *.* and I'm glad that 'Waves' is a highlight from Art School Girlfriend for you too, the whole album was such a pleasant listen but that one really melted me in particular <3

Pitchfork journalist era omg!!!



thank you though, glad you're enjoying the write-ups <3 'Memories of You' does feel like a missed single opportunity especially as that kind of trance sound is so hot right now!

That GIF okay you've fully convinced me to check out Sam's album - will do this week as it's so dead for new album releases anyway! 'Tamagotchi Fantasy' does feel like something that should be instant on paper (like it was for Jim) as it's so energetic and cute but yeah needed some time with it! Omg lmao at Shawn Mendes, I get what you mean though as much as I enjoy it yessss that's such a fab top 2 from Beyoncé's latest album *.* I have such a soft spot 'PURE/HONEY' but really love both of those too.

thank you for commenting

Posted by: Brer 14th January 2024, 01:10 PM

2 songs that I'd not heard in full yet from this section (hoping I will have already heard all of the top 10 but we'll see!) - both tracks that I had a good idea would be good based on your recap clips and the artists involved and indeed both not letting me down, those being SWIM (yass more melancholy bangers inject these into my veins x) and the always amazing Daniel Avery, bonus points to the latter for having a whole amazing jungle switchup on the back end which wasn't spoiled by that recap clip *.*

After being more critical than I'd like to have been about some of Overmono's other songs on the list let me gush about 'Blow Out' which is definitely my favourite song to date from them (so yay for it also being their highest here!), really perfecting their formula imo with their stickiest vocal sample yet and effortlessly somehow incorporating both some of their grimiest and hardest sounding production with some of their most serene and beautiful My other big faves from this section are the two gothy song contest faves who I'm very happy to see continuing to get hits in your chart, especially House Of Harm ofc since they are a proud alumnus of Persephonia, 'Roseglass' is another masterpiece of The Cure worship from them. And then I definitely appreciated the switchup to a more dancefloor ready sound from Vandal Moon on 'Heroine Dancer', yass them serving more tunes this year after their excellent 2022, although they do seem to have gone a little quiet again now without sign of a new full album just yet, hopefully 2024! Both of these bands need to escape obscurity ASAP pls xx

The Jessica Winter track as I alluded to earlier is an absolute bop I knew I recognised the name Jonathan Snipes when I first saw it but took me Googling it to remind myself he was from clipping., this one is quite a departure from the sound he curated for them but we stan the versatility! And 'The Deal' is another great pick from the Mitski album, builds to an almost Chelsea Wolfe esque level of intensity *.* 'Echolalia' is one I actually underrated a fair bit when it first came out (not that I disliked it but it didn't immediately stand out to me nearly as much as the other singles from Yves' album) but it's sounding a lot better to me now! And 'Out There' is, as with all things yunè pinku, another goodun, Cameo Blush is definitely a name I need to look out for in the future as well based on the couple of songs you've charted from him.

Obviously you know my thoughts on the Troye song, we're all allowed one miss sorry, I tried to like it xx

Posted by: Sergej 14th January 2024, 02:55 PM

Glad that you like "One Of Your Girls" reaching the top 20 of the year for you!

Posted by: Jade 14th January 2024, 03:48 PM

Soooo glad that you enjoyed both the SWIM and Daniel Avery songs! I had a good feeling about the latter, due to Daniel being a good friend of your playlists/charts too, but you never know.

I agree that 'Blow Out' is incredibly sticky, relentlessly so *.* glad you've been on board with that one to such an extent. I'd definitely recommend checking out Good Lies as part of an eventual album catch-up even if that song isn't part of it! I am eternally grateful that your nation introduced me to House of Harm! 'Feel My Heart Beat' and now 'Roseglass' have been two particularly special post-contest songs from them. I'm unsure if Vandal Moon are capable of putting a foot wrong tbh. Oh yes, this is a good point though, where are they hopefully more to come soon!

yes I was really shocked by the revelation that he was from clipping. based on the (amazing!) stuff I knew by them as well, what an unexpected but fab team-up. Oh yes, I see what you mean with the Mitski/Chelsea comparison, that ending is just wild in the best way <3 ooooh happy to hear that 'Echolalia' has grown on you further now, more good news on top of you making a good discovery out of 'Lovely Sewer' in this countdown. Cameo Blush definitely seems promising so far, agreed! I think I only know three songs but all good'uns.

Lol, indeed no worries, it was a tall order as soon as the 'Nightcall' comparisons started coming in

thank you Brer for the comment *.*


a good result for Troye especially considering it was released quite late in the year.

Thanks Sergej

Posted by: Jade 14th January 2024, 03:50 PM

TOP 100 SONGS: 10-01



10. Vandal Moon - Satellite | 440 points
09. bar italia - Nurse! | 451 points
08. Billie Eilish - What Was I Made For? | 452 points
07. Temples - Meet Your Maker | 465 points (peak: #1, weeks on chart: 15)
06. Peggy Gou - (It Goes Like) Nanana | 465 points (peak: #1, weeks on chart: 16)
05. Confidence Man x Daniel Avery - On & On (Again) | 478 points
04. Men I Trust - Ring of Past | 556 points
03. Lana Del Rey - A&W | 578 points
02. Temples - Cicada | 633 points
01. Heartworms - Retributions Of An Awful Life | 896 points

Vandal Moon are the only act who can boast a top 10 position in both my 2022 and 2023 EOY countdowns, so being prolific paid off. 'Satellite' feels like a punchier cousin to 'Heroine Dancer' this era, with it clocking in at less than half the run-time of that. I'd say the throwback sound this time shifts more to the 90s, with an incredible industrial feel. Vandal Moon slap the listener around the face immediately with a harsh synth-punk execution. They keep up this exciting energy for most of the run-time, save for a short cool down to maximise the effect of the drop. Their lyricism slips into intense fantasy as usual with the opening words stating: "Satellite, you control me just like a dream would". Once again Blake Voss has one of the most commanding vocal styles around. I'd say his delivery here is less gloomy than in 'Heroine Dancer' as it suits this track better. I also enjoy the raw visuals that even include a couple of swift appearances of a grey cat, the way to my heart. bar italia, a three-piece band who recently signed with label Matador, were brand new to me in 2023 thanks to 'Nurse!' being playlisted by 6Music. I was intrigued by this song and it quickly scraped into my chart. However, this was only scratching the surface and in time it blossomed into a multi-week number one. 'Nurse!' appears to be a good entry point into the group as all three members have a share of the vocals. Nina Cristante starts proceedings with an unorthodox, detached but charming vocal style that reeled me in, alongside equally peculiar yet dreamy sounding guitar choices. I quickly fell for their lo-fi pop meets art rock style. The baton then passes over to fellow band members Sam Fenton and Jezmi Tarik Fehmi, who keep up the good work. The former takes on the chorus in a low-key yet seductive way as he details a thrilling moment in time with a partner. The lyrics: "You said, "I'm coming alive", haven't felt this way since you were twenty-one" ignite a particular euphoric feeling within me. Fehmi then moves the track to a more intense place for the climax, with an angsty delivery of "I can't leave it alone and get you out of my head" on top of a layered, noisy backing. It's amazing that a song that is so laidback for the most part conveys so much feeling but these guys just have a certain magic about them. The video is simple but effective too as they watch the world go by together. 'What Was I Made For?' by Billie Eilish has the honour of being the only song in my top 10 that I own on cassette. She sold this format for a generous 99p in a bid to achieve a U.K. #1 single and indeed made it happen, another soundtrack chart-topper following 2020's 'No Time To Die'. I thought emotive piano ballad 'What Was I Made For?' was beautiful from day one but appreciated it even more after its impact within the Barbie movie. The story arc for 'stereotypical' Barbie reaches a point where she feels disillusioned by the world and her purpose in it as a woman. She meets the creator of the dolls who tells her to close her eyes and just... feel, this is enough. A montage of feminine euphoria then ensues, set to this beautiful song, which later inspires her to take control of her own life. The emotional weight of it all hits hard, with the existential song itself encapsulating Barbie's spiritual journey and Billie's own struggles with finding a purpose. Her angelic vocals have never sounded better in such a stripped back form. The video is also memorable as well, as she is dolled up like a Barbie and chooses miniature outfits, but is hit by unpleasant weather phenomena throughout. This song was a wonderful contrast to the otherwise mostly upbeat soundtrack that feels more akin to the colourful, fun world of Barbie. I first discovered the band Temples through BJSC but their latest album, Exotico, was the first record of theirs that I checked out in full. It is a concept album about a mythical island which was perfect escapism to accompany my holiday earlier this year. 'Meet Your Maker', which places at #7 in the countdown, was an immediate album track highlight and multi-week #1 in my chart. It feels clearly influenced by Egyptology with lyrics such as "Dancing closer to the fire, water higher than the Nile" plus production with an Eastern flair. The execution is magnificent throughout, with the instrumentation providing a psychedelic edge and the vocals sounding urgent, riding the melodies of the production effectively. It is a dark, exciting moment on the album that I wish would get a single push. Peggy Gou achieving a commercial break-through was certainly not on my 2023 bingo card, but loved to see it. The stunning 'I Go' was a top 3 hit in my chart a few years ago and she finally got that #1 with '(It Goes Like) Nanana', a fabulous introductory track for a wider audience. She managed to peak at #5 in the U.K. chart with an impressive long run to boot. While 'What Was I Made For?' may be the only song in my top ten that I have on cassette, it is Peggy who receives the accolade of sole vinyl single that I own from this upper echelon. '(It Goes Like) Nanana' was the dance anthem of the summer. It transports the listener back to the 90s with its Eurodance sound which feels very reminiscent of ATB. The feel-good lyrics are extremely catchy and Peggy makes them feel hypnotic with her vocal delivery. The sun-kissed rave chords, drums and synths matched with a beachy video (albeit, one that was released in late September) shall provide the soundtrack of many warm days to come.

Daniel Avery achieved the highest placement in this countdown for a song that didn't make #1 in my weekly chart, with 'Going So Low'. However, he didn't have to wait much longer for a chart topper, as 'On & On (Again)' alongside Confidence Man did go all the way; now it kicks off the top 5 of my 2023 EOY list. This collaboration has come a long way in my affections, as I originally snubbed it in the relevant Electronic Track of the Week poll in favour of a Four Tet song that didn't even make it to my top 100 in the end. The power of a grower! I am a fan of both acts individually but didn't know how much I needed Confidence Man and Daniel Avery on a song together until now. The former bring their charismatic brand of electro-pop to the table with more of a club-ready feel than previous material that I am familiar with. Daniel Avery provides stomping progressive house beats to rave the night away to. There is a touch of unsettling ambience during the verses but such a fun, banging chorus - nicely complimenting real, multi-faceted lines such as "I don't know anything but the way I feel", a sentiment both anxiety-inducing but self-assured. Of course, the repetition of the titular lyric is ridiculously catchy. This is a perfect blend of styles that feels pretty timeless. There is a huge jump in points for #4 song 'Ring of Past' by Men I Trust, now into the 500s. This is another subtle song, like 'Nurse!' by bar italia, that initially crept into my top 40 but completely flourished in time and hit the top spot in the end. The band first came to my attention in 2017 when I was searching for the perfect entry to debut with in anonymous guitar-based competition Nuggets and found 'Lauren'. I sent this entry and the rest was history, I had indeed found just the right starting point and won the contest. 'Ring of Past' is definitely more electronic than I'm used to from them but it still retains a familiar groovy bassline, plus a bit of guitar and drum beats. The relaxing synths and soft delivery from lead singer Emmanuelle Proulx both feel like a warm hug. She is in a reflective, nostalgic mood - looking back on a past flame and wondering if they may ever reconnect, as shown through lines such as: "Solace in believing that we will repeat". The music video also feels nostalgic with its rollerskating themes that compliment the slight disco influences of the song nicely. Lana Del Rey is now nine albums into her discography yet she is still serving career highlights for me. I can recall my first listen of 'A&W', the second single to be taken from Did You Know That There's a Tunnel Under Ocean Blvd, so well. I went in completely blind on a walk during my lunch break and couldn't quite believe how this song progressed! It begins with tales of childhood innocence that slowly disintegrates, with the opening line: "I haven't done a cartwheel since I was nine" particularly painting a picture of this. She then walks us through adulthood, detailing traumatic subjects such as rape culture along the way. Her takes on society feel oh-so Lana, with the line: "Did you know a singer can still be looking like a sidepiece at thirty-three?" immediately jumping out at me as a quotable response to society's way of deeming women as over the hill so quickly. This song is a complex, experimental 7 minute journey that truly leaves no room to breathe. The lyric "Jimmy, you should switch it up" feels apt when this song switches up so boldly. It begins as an acoustically driven number but descends into dark trap beats, with the odd string break, so you can imagine how taken aback I was on that aforementioned first listen when I had no idea it was coming. This was an extremely easy #1 in my chart and Lana's most exciting song in a while. 'Cicada' by Temples is one of two songs to surpass 600 points and settles for this year's runner-up position. Temples are the only act who achieved more than one #1 single for me in 2023 and they also have the unique feat of registering two songs in my EOY top 10 this year. 'Cicada' was released as the second single from the Exotico album and was another track that was a bit of a slow burner. It achieved an impressive chart run which only grew stronger post-album release; 'Cicada' really put up a fight despite 'Meet Your Maker' stealing some of that first album listen spotlight. The band were literally influenced by the insects mentioned in the title when writing this song. They were inspired by the way the creatures emerge from underground after being suppressed for a while. They wanted to channel that uncontrollable energy into a dance beat and they achieved that very well, alongside psychedelic Arabian influences in the guitars and percussion. The chorus is such an earworm, with hindsight it's surprising that this song wasn't more instant for me as it's so obviously hooky. It was brought to my attention that the melody sounds like 'The Show' by Girls Aloud and now I cannot unhear that upon a relisten. I'd definitely say that in time this chorus was the one that was lodged into my brain the most in 2023. It does remain a mystery why Spotify Wrapped omitted this from both mine and Jim's lists, though! My 2022 EOY #1 ('Widow' by Working Men's Club) felt pretty clear cut as it had such a dominant chart run. This year seemed a little bit more unpredictable. However, Heartworms have still absolutely smashed it with almost 900 points for my favourite song of 2023, 'Retributions Of An Awful Life'. This single is incredibly unique sounding and stopped me dead in my tracks the first time I heard it. 'Retributions Of An Awful Life' adopts an unorthodox structure, beginning with a very long instrumental that has a metallic goth sound mixed with fierce post rock/punk guitars, cymbals and other dark rumblings in amongst all that texture. The unmistakable vocals of Heartworms are introduced after mentally equipping herself for words as dark as: "these aren't even men, just losses, hands of evil touch colossus, so much blood, the grass just glosses, ready flags with crooked crosses" </3 the black and white visuals are simple but effective, as she pushes herself out of her comfort zone, especially where the deep water is concerned. The "look at me, I can fly..." chorus is particularly addictive with the closest thing to a melody here. The structure is unpredictable right up until the end, with a bridge shifting Heartworms' style into less of a spoken delivery and more of a sung one, which then morphs into a towering instrumental break and finally one more chorus. Phew! This is the best song I've heard from her to date and I cannot wait for an album to eventually materialise.

-x-

So... that is it for 2023! It's a turn up for the books that I've completed this so quickly considering that I still wrote as much as I wanted to like last year. This has been great fun, I feel the most inspired I have in a while after not really feeling like writing much at all last year, so I'm thrilled about that. Thank you for all the comments along the way, have loved responding to them

I'll post the full top 100 list shortly and might as well throw together a playlist, even if only for my own benefit

EOY #1s hall of fame:
2022: Working Men's Club - Widow
2023: Heartworms - Retributions Of An Awful Life

Posted by: Jade 14th January 2024, 04:08 PM

Jade's EOY 2023
01-100 ● full list



01. Heartworms - Retributions Of An Awful Life | 896 points
02. Temples - Cicada | 633 points
03. Lana Del Rey - A&W | 578 points
04. Men I Trust - Ring of Past | 556 points
05. Confidence Man x Daniel Avery - On & On (Again) | 478 points
06. Peggy Gou - (It Goes Like) Nanana | 465 points (peak: #1, weeks on chart: 16)
07. Temples - Meet Your Maker | 465 points (peak: #1, weeks on chart: 15)
08. Billie Eilish - What Was I Made For? | 452 points
09. bar italia - Nurse! | 451 points
10. Vandal Moon - Satellite | 440 points

11. Cameo Blush - Out There (feat. yunè pinku) | 411 points
12. Troye Sivan - One Of Your Girls | 394 points
13. Daniel Avery - Going So Low | 387 points
14. Jessica Winter & Jonathan Snipes - All I Need | 383 points (peak: #1)
15. Vandal Moon - Heroine Dancer | 383 points (peak: #3)
16. Mitski - The Deal | 379 points
17. House of Harm - Roseglass | 377 points
18. Yves Tumor - Echolalia | 372 points
19. Overmono - Blow Out | 368 points
20. SWIM - U Were Mine | 345 points

21. Everything Everything - Cold Reactor | 341 points
22. Käärijä - Cha Cha Cha | 340 points
23. Caroline Polachek - Billions | 338 points
24. Overmono - Good Lies | 336 points
25. yunè pinku - Night Light | 325 points
26. bdrmm - Mud | 318 points
27. Headache - The Beginning of the End | 317 points
28. Avalon Emerson - Astrology Poisoning | 316 points
29. The Killers - Your Side of Town | 313 points
30. Odd Nosdam - Kill Tone | 311 points

31. HighSchool - Colt | 303 points
32. Eartheater - Pure Smile Snake Venom | 297 points
33. Taylor Swift - Say Don't Go (Taylor's Version) (From The Vault) | 295 points
34. Doja Cat - Attention | 284 points
35. Waterbaby - Strawberry Jam | 275 points | (peak: #1)
36. ROSALÍA & Rauw Alejandro - VAMPIROS | 275 points (peak: #3)
37. Slowdive - the slab | 266 points
38. Beyoncé - AMERICA HAS A PROBLEM (feat. Kendrick Lamar) | 265 points
39. ROSALÍA - LLYLM | 258 points
40. Dua Lipa - Houdini | 254 points

41. Daughter - Be On Your Way | 253 points
42. Zanias - Simulation | 252 points
43. KOMPROMAT - Niemand | 250 points
44. Mr. Sosa - Tamagotchi Fantasy | 249 points
45. Mitski - I'm Your Man | 246 points
46. Kap Bambino - Forever | 245 points
47. James Blake - Fall Back | 241 points
48. RAYE - Escapism (feat. 070 Shake) | 238 points
49. FLESH & PEAKi - Veiled | 236 points (peak: #5)
50. Sam Quealy - Seven Swords | 236 points (peak: #10)

51. Zach Bryan - I Remember Everything (feat. Kacey Musgraves) | 233 points
52. Austin Millz & Sabrina Claudio – Inhale / Exhale | 231 points
53. MRD & TDJ - Memories of You | 229 points (peak: #8)
54. Clark - Clutch Pearlers | 229 points (peak: #10)
55. ROSALÍA - TUYA | 225 points
56. Art School Girlfriend - Waves | 221 points
57. Sufjan Stevens - Shit Talk | 217 points
58. NNHMN - Nrl | 213 points
59. Drab Majesty - Vanity (feat. Rachel Goswell) | 212 points
60. Rosegarden Funeral Party - Gates of Heaven | 205 points

61. Everything Everything - The Mad Stone | 203 points
62. Romy - The Sea | 202 points
63. Shygirl & Cosha - ​​thicc | 201 points (peak: #2)
64. The Chemical Brothers - Skipping Like A Stone (feat. Beck) | 201 points (peak: #7)
65. Tara Lily - Double Time | 199 points
66. Yves Tumor - God Is a Circle | 196 points (peak: #1)
67. Fat Dog - King of the Slugs | 196 points (peak: #5)
68. Heartworms - May I Comply | 193 points
69. Luke Black - Samo mi se spava | 192 points
70. Overmono - Sugarushhh | 191 points (peak: #7)

71. Doja Cat - Demons | 191 points (peak: #10)
72. Joanie - Kerosene | 189 points
73. Geo22 - Alchemy | 184 points
74. Kesha - Eat The Acid | 183 points
75. Heartworms - 24 Hours | 182 points
76. Aphex Twin - in a room7 F760 | 180 points
77. DJ Koze - Wespennest (feat. Sophia Kennedy) | 178 points (peak: #7)
78. Clark - Vardo | 178 points (peak: #13)
79. Overmono - Is U | 177 points
80. Julien Bracht - Counting Days | 176 points (peak: #3)

81. VTSS - Make You Scream (yunè pinku Remix) | 176 points (peak: #5)
82. The Kills - 103 | 173 points
83. The Smile - Bending Hectic | 172 points
84. 1tbsp - Best of Me | 171 points
85. Lana Del Rey - Peppers (feat. Tommy Genesis) | 170 points (peak: #7)
86. Villager - Never Gonna Be | 170 points (peak: #9)
87. Radost Moja - Pej Solntse | 169 points
88. Depeche Mode - My Cosmos Is Mine | 166 points (peak: #10)
89. Overmono - Arla Fearn | 166 points (peak: #15)
90. Snow Strippers - Just A Hint | 162 points

91. Lana Del Rey - The Grants | 160 points
92. Caroline Polachek - Butterfly Net | 158 points (peak: #3)
93. Vitesse X - Right Now | 158 points (peak: #8)
94. Jasper Tygner - Limes | 158 points (peak: #10)
95. Yves Tumor - Lovely Sewer | 155 points
96. TETRICA - Brujería | 154 points (peak: #6)
97. Björk & ROSALÍA - Oral | 154 points (peak: #10)
98. The Beatles - Now And Then | 152 points
99. THUS LOVE - Repetitioner | 149 points
100. Chelsea Wolfe - Dusk | 147 points

xxx

Posted by: Sergej 14th January 2024, 08:34 PM

Happy to see "(It Goes Like) Nanana" and "What Was I Made For?" in the top 10 of the year for you!

Posted by: Jade 14th January 2024, 10:01 PM

Yay! Happy to have connected with two top 10 smashes so much this year

thank you for commenting!

Posted by: Chez Wombat 14th January 2024, 10:09 PM

Oh my, you've put me to shame with your speed of posting Congrats on finishing and with some wonderful commentaries to boot x

Great number 1, that was one of my favourites too, so dark and intense and a wonderful build up. Confidence Man, Peggy Gou and Billie Eilish are my other favourites from the top 10, was wonderful seeing the latter two become chart hits and Daniel Avery continues to have a wonderful dance style.

Some other selected comments:

23. Caroline Polachek - Billions - this actually took a while to fully click with me too, but hearing the album, it really hit me. Strong Massive Attack vibes throughout and the conclusion is wonderful *.*
25. yunè pinku - Night Light - I prefer Fai Fighter but really enjoy this too, great soundscape.
34. Doja Cat - Attention - What a shame this didn't take off like her other songs, great to hear an established star take more of a trip-hop route
35. Waterbaby - Strawberry Jam - An 18 for me in BJSC and my favourite of yours this year <3 they've certainly been listening to a lot of Bjork and Kate Bush. The second best song this year to mention Strawberry Jam (don't know if you've heard denver luna but it's a tune x)
37. Slowdive - the slab - was lovely to hear from them again after only really discovering them last year with my BJSC entry, this is beautlful <3
41. Daughter - Be On Your Way - One of my favourites of the year too, hadn't really heard from them since the side project, Ex:Re, but this was rivalling Youth as the best thing I've heard from them.

Posted by: Jade 14th January 2024, 10:58 PM

I set myself the challenge of finishing it by the end of the week after I was at the half-way point, giving myself a break on the two days where I was either the most busy or sleep deprived I seem to thrive most with some kind of routine and am so happy I managed to follow it through, especially after being so slow last year :') guess I got into a good flow this time. Thank you anyway, that is so sweet, really enjoyed revisiting all of the songs and writing away.

was of course very happy to see 'Retributions Of An Awful Life' turning up in your countdown too, the build-up never gets any less thrilling. Intrigued to see where Billie will end up for you if I read into your Barbenheimer comment correctly... I don't think I've ever heard a Daniel Avery song that I didn't like, definitely one of the best producers around at the moment.

Okay it makes me feel much better that I wasn't the only one who didn't immediately love 'Billions' we both saw sense in the end, sorry Caroline. I did not expect Doja Cat to also go down the trip-hop route but was very much here for it, a #37 peak is criminal :'(

Oh yes, was very pleased to get your 18 that contest *.* plus that of others, was lovely to see such strong support for it. 'Strawberry Jam' immediately reminded me of Kate Bush as well which is pretty much the highest compliment you could get tbh. Oh I actually have heard 'denver luna' but just the once so will have to revisit it.

Your Slowdive entry was beautiful, gave it a silver medal, that was a great reminder of them before the new era arrived <3 glad you took to 'the slab' as well.

Forgot that Ex:Re was a Daughter side project! I only discovered 'I Can't Keep You' by them last year (after checking out one of Cillian Murphy's shows that he did for 6Music, the man has very good taste ) but love that now. 'Be On Your Way' is my favourite by Daughter overall for sure out of what I know but should really familiarise myself with more.

Thank you for commenting <3

Posted by: Brer 16th January 2024, 07:29 AM

Oop there were still 2 in the top 10 I'd not heard yet, all caught up now though! Final couple of belated first listens then were Confidence Man/Daniel Avery and Temples' 'Meet Your Maker', both of which were sounding great and super catchy on first listen so well deserved #1s for you, I've been mixed on Confidence Man's output to date but they brought their A-game for the Avery collab (sounds a little outside his usual wheelhouse for the most part but can still hear a bit of his influence), Temples have been pretty consistent in bringing the psychedelic bangers lately though, I don't think I paid attention to them at their commercial prime but a shame their stock has fallen with the last couple of albums, loved the unexpected acid house twist on this track *.* I did at least know 'Cicada' already though and that is a major tune too although yes can never unhear the comparison to 'The Show' haha, blame someone on PopJustice pointing that out when the song was sent to PJSC

Anyways, I suppose I should have been able to guess Heartworms would be #1, forgot just how dominant a run this song had on your chart It is excellent like everything else I've heard from her so far (had forgotten this was another song like 'May I Comply' that really gives the instrumental a lot of room to breathe before the vocals kick in!), particularly love the part in the second half that you highlighted in your recap clip, although I think I stand by that I love the other 2 songs from her in this countdown even more so it's kind of a second year in a row where I'm stanning the artist pick for your EOY #1 but just not necessarily the song I'd have picked, can totally see why this would be anyone's favourite though! (And I do like this a fair bit more than 'Widow', just a compliment to how fantastic her other songs are really).

Elsewhere 3 of the very best commercial hits of the year here, counting 'A&W' here despite it being cruelly denied a top 40 peak but absolutely agreed that is up there with Lana's career highlights, even just the first part of the song on its own would be great but of course it's made by the descent into unhinged madness after the beat switch Peggy Gou having a major commercial hit may well be a one off but she made it count with one of the most joyous and hook-dense dance tracks of the year which has resisted ever losing an ounce of its appeal to me no matter how many times I've heard it! And kind of on the opposite end of the joy spectrum lol but the Billie song is absolutely stunning, a much better representation of her catalogue's overall quality than her other UK #1 so was very pleased it eventually snuck 1 week there (and I helped by buying that cassette to donate to your music collection )

Men I Trust don't always hit for me, obviously loved your Nuggets entry from them and 'Billie Toppy' but a lot of their other stuff has bordered on a little boring, 'Ring Of Past' is another good one though although probably my least favourite of this top 10. I've still only heard this one song from bar italia iirc but they are another post-punk adjacent act making a strong first impression so need to keep an eye out for the future (although I've seen they released two full albums last year so I won't blame them if they take some time off now haha), a nice contrast of both vocal and instrumental styles throughout this song. And finally agreed on 'Satellite' being the best of Vandal Moon's handful of singles of the year, pulling off the more aggressive/raw punk style excellently *.* both this and 'Heroine Dancer' being slight departure from the style of 'Queen Of The Night' so interested to see where they go next!

Well done for managing to complete so many detailed writeups so quickly, has been a fun and informative read again + nice to finally force myself to catch up on hearing a lot of these songs

(Now ought to go catch up on everyone else's EOYs again oop, I was doing well at keeping up for a while but got a few days behind again )

Posted by: JosephChalamet 16th January 2024, 06:50 PM

Hiya Jade songs I know and like from your list!

06. Peggy Gou - (It Goes Like) Nanana | 465 points (peak: #1, weeks on chart: 16) bop!
08. Billie Eilish - What Was I Made For? | 452 points a beautiful moment in an amazing film
12. Troye Sivan - One Of Your Girls | 394 points
22. Käärijä - Cha Cha Cha | 340 points
23. Caroline Polachek - Billions | 338 points
33. Taylor Swift - Say Don't Go (Taylor's Version) (From The Vault) | 295 points
34. Doja Cat - Attention | 284 points
40. Dua Lipa - Houdini | 254 points yuuuuuge flop!
48. RAYE - Escapism (feat. 070 Shake) | 238 points
51. Zach Bryan - I Remember Everything (feat. Kacey Musgraves) | 233 points
67. Fat Dog - King of the Slugs | 196 points (peak: #5) what did you just call me? x
69. Luke Black - Samo mi se spava | 192 points
74. Kesha - Eat The Acid | 183 points The final minute or so of this is insanely good!
92. Caroline Polachek - Butterfly Net | 158 points (peak: #3)

Posted by: jimwatts 17th January 2024, 11:40 PM

Well done on finishing this so quickly!

From your top 20, the 80s synth-laden 'Roseglass' and hectic acid house (with occasional Blondie) influences in 'All I Need' were fab discoveries from your chart. Neither of those Daniel Avery songs quite made my chart, but I knew both well - I always think the line after "going so low" sounds like "Lily Allen" 'Heroine Dancer' was an unexpected shift into dance from Vandal Moon that I was glad to hear in BJSC, I approve of it getting your 18 there! 'Satellite' from them opening your top 10 is pretty cool, that industrial sound was more immediate for me. 'Nurse!' and 'Ring Of Past' were also discoveries from your chart I went back to, the first as you'd given it such a long run at #1 and some of it reminds me of Radiohead, and the second I came around to after recalling that synth riff at random. Billie's second official #1 feels more in keeping with her creativity than her first, and '(It Goes Like) Nanana' feels like a #1 as it became such an essential for any summer playlisting!

Two of your top 3 made my top 100 - 'A&W' as you've seen, I may have slightly preferred 'The Grants' by the time the album came out as a representation of the NFR style, but have to agree that the most exciting track this era was already there. 'Cicada' may well make an appearance soon, a psychedelic trip that's riotously catchy (and until Bré commented I was wondering who mentioned it sounding like 'The Show' as I'd certainly thought that! ) and I enjoyed the whole album so it's great to see represented twice in your top 10. That just leaves your #1, which I didn't chart but have plenty to admire about it, especially Heartworms' delivery and turns of phrase over the crashing production.

Thanks Jade for sharing your commentaries, it's an absolute talent to be able to write like this and it's something that doesn't come naturally to me, but I can tell you've put a lot of time into deconstructing and researching the context behind the songs, and it's made for an excellent read!

Posted by: PeteFromLeeds 18th January 2024, 08:51 PM

Nice to see Peggy in the Top 5 - a great dance song that was a really welcome addition to the charts! Nice to see Cicada so high as well - should definitely have paid that more attention when it was out.

Thanks for posting Jade - I've really enjoyed following along!

Posted by: Roba. 18th January 2024, 09:48 PM

Hey Jade, from the rest of your year end then..

06. Peggy Gou - (It Goes Like) Nanana | 465 points (peak: #1, weeks on chart: 16) what an absolute bop
08. Billie Eilish - What Was I Made For? | 452 points
12. Troye Sivan - One Of Your Girls | 394 points
15. Vandal Moon - Heroine Dancer | 383 points (peak: #3)
22. Käärijä - Cha Cha Cha | 340 points
27. Headache - The Beginning of the End | 317 points
33. Taylor Swift - Say Don't Go (Taylor's Version) (From The Vault) | 295 points
35. Waterbaby - Strawberry Jam | 275 points | (peak: #1) well this came higher in mine
40. Dua Lipa - Houdini | 254 points
48. RAYE - Escapism (feat. 070 Shake) | 238 points
50. Sam Quealy - Seven Swords | 236 points (peak: #10)

grand stuff!

Posted by: Jade 19th January 2024, 10:38 PM

Very pleased that you enjoyed both 'Meet Your Maker' and 'On & On (Again)' so much on first listen *.* your own stanning of 'Gamma Rays' made me pay more attention to this Temples era than I otherwise would've done, turns out I'd like two more songs from the album even more than that one! The absolute taste of someone on PopJustice sending 'Cicada' to their contest.

I suppose the Heartworms run could've been easily forgotten when the song 'only' achieved a few weeks at #1, while something like 'Widow' last year had a lengthy run at the top. I'm happy that you enjoy her sound too even if our favourite song doesn't quite match I haven't heard a bad track by her though tbh, so any choice of favourite is valid.

'A&W' stalling at #41 was sooooo frustrating would've been epic to have something so left-field played on the chart show. At least she did get in the top 40, in fact top 10, in some capacity with 'Say Yes To Heaven', queen of TikTok. I agree that the first half of the song is wondrous in itself before the transition even happens, with that taking it even higher. What a moment for Peggy, any further success would just be a bonus, but yeah this one song will definitely cement itself as a modern dance essential! Thanks again for the Billie 99p casserole donation glad you love the song so much as well and you haven't even seen the Barbie scene as far as I'm aware.

Oh yes 'Billie Toppy' was an absolute tune from them too! I need to revisit that. I can't believe I missed the memo about bar italia releasing two albums last year, need to belatedly check out the one I haven't heard yet. I can't wait to see where Vandal Moon go next too. I feel like Blake Voss could sell anything! Well, perhaps not throat singing.

Thanks so much!! I'm thrilled that you've been such an engaged participant, your detailed thoughts have been much appreciated *.*

I have fallen behind myself a bit but slowly catching up too.


Hey Joseph

Happy to see the Caroline appreciation after she was played to you IRL last year *.*

Agreed that both the Billie song and the accompanying film were great. Going to see Barbie may have been my most fun cinema experience to date with everyone dressed in pink!

Flopini or Flopiana - choose your fighter x

thank you for commenting!! <3


Thanks Jim it makes a change from me dragging things on for ages (I really want to get back to my top 40 hits thread, just need a bit of a break, but definitely feeling inspired to write again)

Ooh yes I can hear the Blondie influences in 'All I Need' now you mention it! Funnily enough, Lex also said he could hear Blondie in 'Gates of Heaven' when I sent it to BJSC, so their sound is clearly en vogue right now, alongside that U2 song that sounded like 'Atomic' and BJSC winner 'Midnight Rapture' omg I'm going to have to listen out for "Lily Allen" next time I put on 'Going So Low'! It always cracks me up when people come up with random lyric suggestions during BJSC sessions when we get loopy dance songs with unclear words. Yeah Vandal Moon's sound shift this year was surprising but very much welcome <3 I'm glad you were still into their stuff this year (especially 'Satellite') after making a good discovery in 'Sweet Disaster' last year! No wonder I was so drawn to 'Nurse!' with Radiohead comparisons, always an excellent moodboard. Speaking of which... bring on The Smile's new album next week *.*

'A&W' feels like Lana's most experimental song in years in terms of both sound and length, the buzz around it was incredible when it dropped hahaha my mind is well and truly blown by the comparison to 'The Show', I'm off to see Girls Aloud in June so perhaps 'Cicada' will run through my brain when they perform that song now happy you enjoyed the accompanying album, I remember being pleased when you mentioned it in a 'best albums of the year so far' style thread in The Lounge however many months ago. At the time I think it was just outside my top 5 of the year but I went back to it so much in 2023 that it only feels right to bump it up higher now. Heartworms' style feels so refreshing, obsessed with her!

Oh wow, thank you so much, that is incredibly kind to say <3 I love being able to present random facts as well as thoughts - especially when such a big fan of electronic music, just have to find out what certain samples are if I don't already know them am enjoying your own countdown a lot too!


I'm glad you're a fan of Peggy's song too really happy that it caught on in such a way. I was expecting my top two to be Heartworms and Lana before number crunching so was shocked that 'Cicada' actually beat the latter, forgot how much I loved it but my strong appreciation for it came flooding back when revisiting <3

Aww I'm really pleased that you enjoyed following along! Thank you for your comments throughout


Hey Roba

Great to see all the love for Peggy in here and in other people's EOYs *.*

Omg at 'Strawberry Jam' placing higher in yours I'm a flop Jadakissnia stan, with both Headache and Vandal Moon placing higher than my own entries.

Thank youuuuu <3 x

Posted by: Popchartfreak 13th February 2024, 09:37 AM

Not so much overlap as per usual these days with my more mainstream personal charts, but even so, I bought 8 of them and 2 of them topped my personal charts


06. Peggy Gou - (It Goes Like) Nanana | 465 points (peak: #1, weeks on chart: 16)
08. Billie Eilish - What Was I Made For? | 452 points top 10 for me
29. The Killers - Your Side of Town | 313 points number one for moi
40. Dua Lipa - Houdini | 254 points top 10 for me
51. Zach Bryan - I Remember Everything (feat. Kacey Musgraves) | 233 points still climbing, a bit late on this, me
64. The Chemical Brothers - Skipping Like A Stone (feat. Beck) | 201 points (peak: #7)
91. Lana Del Rey - The Grants | 160 points
98. The Beatles - Now And Then | 152 points number one oc for me

Insightful as always in the analysis'