Calvin Harris makes "The Rain" feel essential because it sounds like the first proper burst of color after a gray week. It lands with the confidence of a brand-new chart-topper, all swagger and forward motion.
Indie Rock
Black Kids and I'm Not Gonna Teach Your Boyfriend How To Dance With You land like the coolest thing on the internet this month. this feels freshly cracked open: sharp, shameless, and impossible to ignore.
Phoenix make “1901” feel like the month’s smartest late-breaking hit, all neon hooks and clean momentum. it sounds instantly undeniable, the kind of song that sneaks into every mix and somehow owns the room.
Metric and “Gold Guns Girls” feel like the kind of track that sneaks onto a playlist and suddenly owns the room. It sounds fresh, sharp, and a little dangerous, which is exactly what winter needs right now.
Fenech-Soler sound like they have stolen a warehouse full of neon and are racing the alarm. “Lies” is the cut you need right now : sharp, glossy, and already acting like it owns the dancefloor.
Paloma Faith drops Stone Cold Sober like it already owns . It sounds fresh, fearless, and impossible to ignore, which is exactly what a winter playlist needs right now.
Kid Cudi's "Up Up & Away" feels exactly right : bright, off-center, and weirdly hopeful when the year starts looking heavy. It plays like the fresh-cut single everybody claims they found first, and it already sounds like a small anthem for getting out of your own head.
Miike Snow’s “Black & Blue” lands like a fresh late-December thrill: icy, stylish, and too catchy to ignore. In a month stuffed with holiday noise, this track feels like the cool side street you actually want to walk down.
James Yuill and No Surprise feel like the kind of cut needs: sharp, intimate, and just odd enough to cut through the office-party fog. It sounds brand new, but it already has the polish of a track sneaking toward year-end essential status.
Generationals land "When They Fight, They Fight" like it already owns the month. this sounds less like a sleeper and more like the smart indie-pop single everyone should have caught by now.
The Temper Trap's Fader sounds like the track everyone is suddenly pretending they discovered first. It lands with the kind of icy urgency that makes year-end playlists feel overdue.
My favorite Indie Rock songs from the past year.
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The Very Best and “Warm Heart Of Africa” hit like a postcard from a brighter, stranger summer. this feels brand-new and impossible to ignore, with Ezra Koenig adding just enough indie polish to make it pop off the stereo.
Martin Solveig and Dragonette make Boys & Girls feel like the kind of single that lands everywhere at once: clubs, car radios, and the last good party of . It sounds brand-new, impossible to ignore, and exactly loud enough to rescue a weak week.
The Asteroids Galaxy Tour make “Around the Bend” feel like the summer single that sneaks up and wins the room. this sounds brand-new, bright, and impossible to ignore.
Frightened Rabbit and “The Twist” land like the record everybody is suddenly whispering about . It feels too sharp, too human, and too immediate to sit quietly on the shelf for long.
Passion Pit and “Moth’s Wings” land like a sugar-rush single you hear blasting from a parking lot . Manners is fresh off the presses, and this track feels built to jump a summer festival line right now.
La Roux and "Quicksand" hit like a neon panic button . It sounds freshly beamed in from a better, sharper club night, and it already feels too big to ignore.
Black Kids make Hurricane Jane feel like the kind of instant classic that sneaks onto every summer playlist before anyone admits they are obsessed. It arrives loud, bright, and just chaotic enough to sound like the season is already misbehaving.
The Tender Box and “Beautiful Sin” land like a fresh obsession: sleek, hooky, and already sounding bigger than the week’s usual noise. It feels essential right now because it hits that sweet spot between indie swagger and radio-ready bite.
The Juan MacLean and One Day feel like the smartest thing on the floor . It sounds brand-new, but it already has the kind of hooks that sneak into your head and refuse to leave.
Acid House Kings make Do What You Wanna Do feel like the sneaky summer single of the moment: breezy, immediate, and way too catchy to keep to yourself. It sounds like the kind of track that shows up once, then quietly takes over your afternoon.
Bombay Bicycle Club sound like they’ve cracked the code on summer and Always Like This lands with the kind of rush that makes every other indie single feel slightly underdressed. It is bright, urgent, and already sounding like the one everyone claims to have found first.
Marmaduke Duke and “Rubber Lover” land like a left-field single everybody suddenly pretends they knew first. it feels built for sticky-floored clubs, burned CDs, and the kind of radio show that still thinks volume fixes everything.
