The Best 51 Songs of 2021*

*** That I have heard ;) limited to one per artist also for variety's sake. Also not in any order except kind of grouped by genre, but not really!

Why 51 and not 50? Because I miscounted.... But hey whatever, more music the better I say.

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Porter Robinson - Look at the Sky

The singles for Porter Robinson's Nurture album are all uniformly strong, but the particularly life-affirming Look at the Sky is the one that feels like an instant classic. I can't help but smile along to this song. Its chorus is a beaming statement of contentment: "Look at the sky I'm still here, I'll be alive next year", it's an anthem for uncertain times. The booming production helps bolster the message of the song, it's festival ready but not dumb like a lot of electronic anthems. It's a really great track, well produced and Porter Robinson's singing is pretty appealing for somebody who is primarily a producer. This is just a wonderful, happy anthem, it rules.

Caroline Polachek - Bunny is a Rider

Apparently a lead single for an album that isn't out yet, Caroline Polachek continues her partnership with producer Danny L Harle to make one of her best songs yet. One of those pop songs that just feels impeccable. Super catchy with lots of fun production twists like the whistling and record scratches. One of those tracks that once you've heard it you'll likely run it back numerous times (I certainly did). It's hard to really disagree with this brand of pop music, empowering despite its simplicity and amazingly produced. To think there's more on the way next year? That's exciting!

Yves Tumor - Jackie

Yves Tumor really made something special with this leading single to their new EP. Continuing the lavish glam-rock aesthetics of their 2020 album, but reaching new heights. It's an absolutely massive tune and if you were to trace back Yves Tumor's discography to the experimental leaning tunes, this sort of pivot would seem unlikely to work as well as it does here. An amazing lovesick anthem, incredibly catchy, unashamedly gaudy in its guitar instrumentation and surely one of the year's very best songs.

Beach House - Through Me

Beach House already have an album of the year 2022 contender with half of their upcoming album Once Twice Melody already available. Eight very good songs, but I'll highlight the rousing Through Me which feels instantly like one of their finest works, even eight albums in. It has familiar motifs for a Beach House song but the combination of them all and way the song builds as well as having a fantastic chorus makes it feel special. The idea of exploring a blooming relationship as 'seeing through each other' is really nice. The song is as pleasant as ever and the synths at the end are the cherry on top to make for a wonderful track.

Baby Keem - range brothers (with Kendrick Lamar)

Baby Keem's first of two collaborations with Kendrick Lamar on his album The Melodic Blue is an absurd three part tale. Opening with a warped, bouncy trap beat in which Keem autotune croons about needing "a girlfrieeEeEendDddDd", before the warped part of the song makes way for a more regal sounding beat, Keem lays down some of his best bars and a fun hook. Kendrick Lamar comes in with a short verse before it gives way for Keem to interrupt. It feels like they're both fighting to get as much airtime on the beat in the studio, the energy is infectious as they trade bars. Finishing is one of the weirdest 'semi-mainstream' moments of the year as Kendrick deadpans "top 'o the morning 🤠' over and over while Baby Keem lays down an extra verse supplemented by ridiculous deadpan ad-libs from Kendrick. Bizarre and a lot of fun.

Trippie Redd - Miss the Rage (feat. Playboi Carti)

There's something instantly memorable about the beat to Miss the Rage. Despite the bass being blown out, it being mixed kinda shoddily and it only consisting of short loop, it's appealing right away in its simplicity. It catches your ear immediately and both Trippie Redd and Playboi Carti do their thing to make this a fun track. Trippie's hook is catchy and Carti is Carti, I doubt I'll ever complain about him making an appearance on a track. While a lot of trap music seems samey and stale these days, this high-profile collaboration really shines and is an absolute earworm.

Playboi Carti - talk 2 me (prod. racki)

This Playboi Carti track isn't even real, as the silly fan-made anime music video might imply. He didn't release any new music this year. This is made by a producer unaffiliated with Carti, combining a random leaked stem vocal with a pretty novel sample of a 1982 Makoto Matsushita song. The build-up is really cool, the producer tag interrupting the blooming instrumental before calmly morphing into a trap beat. These sort of "heavenly" or "ethereal" fan-made remixes of unreleased Playboi Carti tracks are kind of fascinating, you can create entire albums out of them and while Carti might inevitably choose a different direction to take his music next, it's cool to see stuff like this on the internet.

Tyler, the Creator. - CORSO

CORSO is a distinct return to hip-hop for Tyler, the Creator after his cool R&B leaning record IGOR from 2019. He's never sounded better rapping, and is charmingly assisted by DJ Drama's hypeman performance in the background. It's a great introduction to his album and a confidently produced song that captures the offbeat nature of Tyler's best work while still banging hard enough. It's for sure one of the most exciting ways to start your record off and transitions great into the nest set of songs. A very convicted and convincing return to rapping for Tyler.

Kanye West - Off the Grid

Kanye West's Donda was dense with tracks to choose from and to choose just one is tough, but I'm going with Off the Grid. The drill inspired production is a nice fit for all involved and Kanye's hook is instantly infectious. Hearing Playboi Carti open up the track with a trademark "WHAT?" is hype and his verse, while short is extremely fun with his delirious ad-libs ("bbAAaaaOOoowwwWWW"). Though the star of the track is neither Kanye nor Carti, but Fivio Foreign. Landing a guest spot on a Kanye West album is a good way to get yourself recognised if you can steal the show: see Nicki Minaj on Monster for example. Fivio nails this absolutely dominating the beat and going all out with a long verse filled with quotables and great worldplay. Kanye's verse doesn't quite follow-up the massive Fivio appearance, but also has some fun moments too like "they playing soccer in my backyard, I think I see Messi 😀".

Juice WRLD - Bad Boy (feat. Young Thug)

A loose post-humous release from the late Juice WRLD sees him trading bars with Young Thug for an absolute blast of a song. The beat from Pi'erre Bourne goes crazy, with its weird distorted vocal samples and synths. Both Juice WRLD and Young Thug ride so well on the beat, Young Thug's ridiculous "skkrt" ad-libs at the tail end of the song are hilarious and Juice WRLD once again proves he was amazing at crafting hooks with this great fun track.

Oliver Francis - All I Know

I'll always rep for Oliver Francis who's producing and rapping on all of his tracks and has established a cult following on the internet with his breezy brand of hip-hop. His Oli FM EP contains some of his strongest work, just effortlessly cool and impeccably produced cloud rap bangers. It's hard to pick, but I'd go with All I Know as my favourite with its fantastic melody, effortlessly cool chorus and typically a typically fantastic brand of cloud rap production.

Cochise - Sanji

Cochise's Benbow Crescent record is a front to back sugar high and individually the track Sanji captures most of what makes this rapper's music so addictive and fun. He's spitting bars at an excitable rate and his Playboi Carti esque high-pitched vocals are a blast. Lyrically it's nonsensical but in a joyous way, he's gonna kick you like Sanji and Jesus protects him just like an umbrella. It's ridiculous, kept buoyant with a great beat and the rapid fire delivery is impressive and infectious.

JPEGMAFIA - HAZARD DUTY PAY!

The fact that JPEGMAFIA is still managing to turn heads with his production and rapping is quite the feat. Just when you think he's run out of tricks he'll aggressively rap over a vaporwave-esque sample of a classic gospel track. It's a really fresh sounding song and one of the big highlights from his LP! released this year.

nothing,nowhere. - Fake Friend

Confidently stepping out of the "emo-rap" sub-genre with this album highlight, nothing,nowhere. gives us a pretty direct and fun pop-punk throwback anthem. Sometimes it's empowering to cut somebody off if they don't have your back, and that can hurt if you had theirs. It's suitably melodramatic and flourishing with genuine emotion to back itself up. Pop punk's resurgence in recent years has been a mixed bag, but nothing,nowhere. is finely balancing the line between advancing the genre and paying homage to the icons of the past.

Waterparks - Fuzzy

I have a soft spot for the (extremely) bratty and impeccably produced pop-punk that Waterparks are peddling on their Greatest Hits album, which is actually composed entirely of new songs (Remo Drive and probably somebody else did this joke first though!). Fuzzy is the first proper track on the album and wasn't a single, despite having the immediate appeal of one. Pop-punk doesn't come much poppier than Waterparks, but that's not necessarily a bad thing with its crunchy guitars, confident vocals and lots of "woos". So much energy and this operates as a intro to the album while having replayability and general appeal.

TURNSTILE - BLACKOUT

What a headbanger! Turnstile delivered a non-stop blast of an album and on track two, the ride really ramps up with BLACKOUT. Such a fun track and proof that "more cowbell" actually is kinda a good idea? With a glorious "OHHHHHH YEAAHHHHH" into a fantastic hook and a short dreamy interlude into a breakdown to finish things off this song is definitely one of the best of the year and I yearn to hear it live 🥺

Deafheaven - Great Mass of Color

Deafheaven's pivot from "blackgaze" into "shoegaze" has been a dividing one, but when they do shoegaze as well as shown here while still retaining echoes of their black metal roots, it's a great sound. While indebted to the '90s as much as most other modern shoegaze acts, this is so nicely produced and the soft vocals are welcoming. It's a wonderful shoegaze track and the breakdown at the end accompanied by the band's previously trademark screams, though sinking to the background of the mix, is a great touch.

Hikaru Utada - One Last Kiss

J-pop queen Hikaru Utada achieves crossover appeal mainly due to certain songs appearing in popular Japanese media (for example: the opening to Kingdom Hearts 2 is crazy good). This track bookends the final Evangelion movie and it captures the sentiment of that film and the idea of closing a chapter of your life after achieving a sense of satisfaction in a nice way. It's a great track even taking away its context in as the credits music for Evangelion 3.0 + 1.0.

Magdalena Bay - Secrets (Your Fire)

The summery, poolside atmosphere of Magdalena Bay's breakout album Mercurial World is not captured much better than in Secrets (Your Fire). A crazy well produced pop song with invitingly soft vocals and an almost g-funk style synth-line. It's a pretty novel track and also retains the Y2K aesthetic and silly internet era approach to romance and friendship. This track combined with the sublime sequencing of the album, wherein the also fantastic Dawning of the Season so cleanly transitions into this, before this excellently slides into the chip-tune inspired You Lose! There's not really many better three track sequences this year than that so shout outs to Magdalena Bay for the imaginative through line connecting their excellent album together.

Wet Leg - Chaise Longue

This debut single from the young British upstarts just feels effortlessly cool. Usually I'd be cynical about a band getting so much hype with so little material but Chaise Longue really is a great track. Casual droll delivery of the lyrics and a fantastic riff. It's a great indie-pop/rock track. Easy to see the wide appeal, their album coming next year is sure to be of high interest.

SG Lewis - One More (feat. Nile Rodgers)

SG Lewis delivers one of the best dance-pop songs of the year with One More, a collaboration with Nile Rodgers. Musing on the idea of a potential relationship blooming on a night-out in a genuine way. Nile Rodgers lays down the funk as you'd expect and SG Lewis' lyrics are excitable in his eagerness to explore a potential "what if?" scenario. It's a celebratory track that comes at at time when COVID has us longing for parties, so the lovesick imaginatory nature of the song hits home. Also it technically came out last year but Impact with Robyn and Channel Tres also slaps so hard it's unbelievable, check it out!

Ethel Cain - Michelle Pfeifer (feat. lil aaron)

Ethel Cain's opening track to her invitingly named Inbred EP channels the softer Deftones tracks in a great way. A shoegazey rock track with a Lana Del Rey esque drawl and a howler of a chorus. It's an instant impression and the lovesick lyrics are genuine and heartfelt. Even the on paper bizarre inclusion of lil aaron, the novelty pop-punk rapper, comes off as a great decision as he delivers the mirror narrative of a love story. Blossoming into a duet, it's a fantastic track that alongside the rest of the EP, really shows that Ethel Cain is an exciting new voice in rock music.

Hippo Campus - Sex Tape

I'm very excited for Hippo Campus' album that's out next year, since their seemingly throwaway EP Good Dog, Bad Dream was impressive enough on its own. On the track Sex Tape we're treated to typically cheeky indie-pop with funny and honest lyrics. Frontman Jake Luppen's delivery on this track is so much fun, especially his drawn out "mmmmmmmmmMMMMMMMMMMM wwwwOWOooooOoooAaaaaHhhhHHHHHH" coming before the first chorus. A very charming track.

Aminé - Sh!t2Luz

Aminé's stop-gap project TWOPOINTFIVE is throwing a lot of ideas at the wall and embracing the rapper's pop sensibilities in a great way. Sh!t2Luz is a short, springy track that has a sparkling beat and typically catchy hook. Aminé's singing is improved greatly from some of his earlier records and his rapping is as good as ever even if lyrically he's not particularly flexing his muscles here, it just sounds so effortlessly cool.

BROCKHAMPTON - I'LL TAKE YOU ON (feat. Charlie Wilson)

BROCKHAMPTON's latest record has a lot of highlights but I'm going with this summery pop song as my favourite of the bunch. Feeling like a successful evolution of the hit SUGAR from their previous album. I really like the little production flourishes and the rotation of members on show keeps the song exciting to the end. I really love the melody on Joba's bridge and Bearface lays down a great verse. Ending with a Charlie Wilson cameo is nice too. It captures the summer vibe that BROCKHAMTON broke out with in 2017 but with an updated sheen that sounds amazing.

Aries - One Punch

Aries thrives in an era of Post Malone inspired pop music and One Punch is one of the best examples of his ability to write deft hooks and create modern pop production that is instantly appealing. Some fun wordplay in this one and a very catchy beat. I really like the way he rises out of his nonchalant delivery of the chorus to belt out his verses at certain points of the song. Aries' come-up as a YouTube beat producer to creating a track like this that wouldn't sound out of place in the top 40 is a fantastic development and he's still doing it all himself, which rules!

CHVRCHES - California

While it's not quite one of my favourite albums of the year, CHVRCHES really did return to form with their fourth album Screen Memories, of which California is a highlight. This a sunny song that is a break-up track with the state of California :( The insistence that there's grace in failure is a great sentiment, while the idea of a California break-up song was already notably tackled by Grimes (and many others) before, this one still feels novel and sincere.

Miguel - Funeral

Funeral might just be peak Miguel. It's probably not his best overall song, but the tongue in cheek lyrics are so good here. Miguel is implying that he's so good at sex, he's killed girl. "Send my regards to the mother and father, 'Cause somebody's daughter, I just fucking slayed". Fantastic. This is a great pop song, Miguel's in complete control of the bouncy beat and is effortlessly charming despite the absolutely absurd lengths he's going to in order to prove to us that he just fucking rules at fucking.

Silk Sonic - Smokin Out the Window

Silk Sonic's album was a pleasant surprise to me, though I do like Bruno Mars and Anderson .Paak, the intense throwback vibes of the lead single had me whelmed, but not blown away. Thankfully the album itself combines a bunch of tracks of differing tones to make for a great listen. My favourite is Smokin Out the Window which is a very funny, very catchy and very funky song. Both Mars and .Paak are nailing it here, the lyrics are tongue in cheek and they're bouncing off each other really well. So many great quotables like .Paak's "Not to be dramatic, but I wannna dieeeee", tackling romantic melodrama in such a cheesy and fun way. Also: "THIS. BITCH. got me paying her rent 😣"

Doja Cat - Kiss Me More (feat. SZA)

Dominating the top 40 this year was Doja Cat who followed up her breakout album from last year with another hugely successful pop-rap record. This is surely one of her best songs, combining her rapping and great singing, as well as a guest appearance from R&B superstar SZA that is very welcome. It's a very fun, empowering and cheekily romantic song. Just an ideal pop song, nothing to complain about here and feels fresh while still being accessible enough for retail stores and top 40 radio.

No Rome - Everything

I really like No Rome's closing track for his debut album. A nice ode to a psychedelic experience. Dreamy vocals exclaim that "we could do anything if we tried, my friend". I think he captures the intense, overwhelming happiness of a certain high in a great way. His sing-rap verse is excellent, "I could fall in love with anybody that could come around, and I've fallen for yoouuuuuu" I interpret it as he's talking about finding peace within himself, but it could be a love song to anyone else as well or even a love song to everything. Ending with a noisy instrumental that masks Rome's lyrics and feels incredibly cathartic. Love this one.

Sega Bodega - All Of Your Friends Think I'm Too Young For You

"All of My Friends Think I'm Too Young For You" is what Sega Bodega tells his girlfriend character on this album highlight. The distorted vocals and bizarre warbling vocal samples are a lot of fun, it sounds like he's singing underwater at points. It's a unique sounding track from a unique sounding project. The conversational and sassy nature of the track is light-hearted and fun, as he threatens to "take my toys and find someone else to play pretend with". The song ending with a heavenly outro and cries of "DJ! DJ! DJ!" is another off-kilter but much appreciated moment of oddness. Amazing track.

brakence- argyle

I hope brakence is doing better than his comeback single after a breakout 2020 seems to imply. This new track continues the excellent trajectory explored on his 2020 album punk2 with glitchy pop production and very strong vocals. A dark hook that wishes luck to his past lover and declares a lust for death. It's a slightly uncomfortably raw track lyrically, but it's so well produced and the eerie cliff-hanger ending leaves me simultaneously anxious and excited for the next brakence project, to see if he's going to go darker or if this is an outlier. His next project is sure to be a highlight of 2022.

underscores - Loansharks (feat. gabby start)

Dubstep was always cool, and underscores is here to prove it by tastefully sampling it into a brilliantly fresh pop song. This features some very fun pop-punk esque vocals and a chorus that doesn't have the need to be as insanely catchy as it is. The dubstep production underneath the verses is a lot of fun and suit the silly, bratty delivery of lines such as "we all want to dieeeeeeeeeeee". And of course it ends by saying "fuck it" and having a ridiculous dubstep breakdown after its pop-punk esque breakdown. If this is the future of pop music, by taking advantage of blossoming nostalgia from the early 2010's already, then sign me up.

Glaive - i wanna slam my head into the wall

Massive, headbanging hyperpop production accompanies Glaive's tongue in cheek lyrics exploring the fact his crush "doesn't really like me, she likes alcohol". It's funny, short and well suited for replay. It's a funny and anthemic ode to teenage melodrama. Released when he was only 16 years old, songs like this really set him up to be a promising popstar of the future.

pinkpantheress - I must apologise

pinkpantheress has the 00's aesthetic on lock and deserves credit for the novelty of allowing UK garage to become a genre that zoomer's are getting excited about. While her TikTok length tracks and playbook of sampling mainly UK underground electronic songs might seem a bit one-dimensional, her 'heart on sleeve' lyrics and vulnerable soft vocals really position her as a breakout star. My favourite of hers so far is this track, which for me best captures that yearn for the feeling (illusion) of simplicity and innocence of the '00s that as a kid growing up during that period can empathise with a lot.

8485 - Hangar

This song is so genuine and heartfelt. A yearn for an escape. Despite the vocaloid style singing, this is brimming with emotion. The synth production sounds like something off of the Drive OST but it brought to new heights by how sweet the lyrics are, a sort of ode to 'right now'. "This place is suffocating, I'll still be here in five years" 8485 sings in the chorus, a sad sort of small town suburban love story. A great song for the 'coming of age' canon.

Small Black - Driftwood Fire

Bouncy synth-pop that seems designed to accompany a warm summer's night is not captured better than on Small Black's Driftwood Fire. While the Cheap Dreams album this is a part of has a uniformly hazy and subdued vibe, the seaside aesthetic of this song best captures that amazing atmosphere. Really a nice chillwave song that you can sink into. It might be direct in its intention, but the picture this song paints is one that I love and I think it perfectly captures the melancholy of a sunset dusk in a upbeat fashion.

DOSS - Puppy

All four of DOSS's 4 New Hit Songs are indeed hits, but I'll go with Puppy as my favourite. Surely one of the most pleasant dance tracks of the year, and there's tough competition given that we also got Porter Robinson's Nurture this year filled with tracks of this vein. It sounds like club music for the happiest club in existence. Maybe that club is your bedroom with some good headphones. It's danceable and cute, with a nostalgic feel as well as a modern and impeccably produced feel to itself.

CFCF - After the After

A very catchy and kinda low-key house track from CFCF's nostalgia fuelled album memoryland. This is a very upbeat song that still has a melancholic vibe, with contemplative lyrics on the passing of time. It's deceptively a thoughtful track that you could also lay down at casual parties no issue. If Daft Punk unfortunately are calling it quits, then at least we still have producers like CFCF carrying the torch for interesting electronic music.

Sewerslvt - light at the end of the tunnel

It was tough picking a highlight off of Sewerslvt's "final" record, as it's uniformly good and maybe the obvious pick would be to go for the 17 minute closer which is the most impressive. But the one I've been returning to the most is light at the end of the tunnel. Like much of the album there's a cathartic feeling to the loud drum and bass / techno styles. Just really well produced and a real head-banger that has palpable emotion behind it. A excellent track that captures the essence of what I enjoyed so much about Sewerslvt's music and this record in particular a lot.

MUST DIE! - DON'T EVEN BOTHER

MUST DIE! gives us this bouncy collaboration with bubble-gum electro-pop duo The Pom-Poms, which is a pure and simple banger. Sometimes you need nothing more, nothing less. This song's bubblegum chorus and goading cheeky, ominous warnings of apocalypse are accompanied by some fantastic EDM electro house production and a big drop of course. While EDM isn't really all that exciting as a genre as it moved into top 40 friendly tropical house and other boring sub-genres, stuff with a real bite like this is welcoming in 2021.

Wolf Alice - Delicious Things

Delicious Things has a very glamorous feel to its production and the sultry delivery from frontwoman Ellie Rowsell seem believably curious in the album's storyline of a transformative and slightly unnerving arrival in Los Angeles. The stream of consciousness lyrics are great, the chorus is rousing and the instrumental is the right mix of glamorous, a bit dark and at times appropriately quiet. It's fantastic, one of Wolf Alice's best songs for sure.

Iceage - Shelter Song

Iceage are currently on a seemingly unstoppable streak of great albums, with their fifth arriving in 2021. Each one seems grander than the last, and no song on Seek Shelter empathises that more than the anthemic Shelter Song. A pretty uplifting song and fitting for a tough couple years, vocalist Elias Ronnenfelt acknowledges the bumps along the way but that the journey is worth it in end. A choir joining in with the chorus is a wonderful touch and the instrumentation on this track is fantastic. A proper feel-good track, which may be surprising to those who haven't followed Iceage's progression since their dark punk debut ten years ago.

The Armed - AN ITERATION

Noisy and to the point, AN ITERATION captures the essence of The Armed's ULTRAPOP record in the best way. Sultry pop-esque lyrical delivery accompanied with blown out production and cries of "AN ITERATION" for the chorus make this a particular highlight and one of the more accessible tracks by the band. Despite its pop leaning nature the loudness and punk lyrics make this a unique track and an excellent gateway into The Armed's fantastic discography.

SeeYouSpaceCowboy & If I Die First- bloodstainedeyes

The two post-hardcore / emo bands combine to create a distinctly mid 2000's feeling heavy track that just works as an ideal meshing of all the genres that the two bands occupy. Big choruses, lots of screaming, guitars being shred and huge drumming. Of course it ends with an absolutely brutal breakdown, unrelenting stuff that's great front to back over 5 minutes!

HEALTH x Tyler Bates - ANTI-LIFE (feat. Chino Moreno)

Somehow a dream collab for me actually came true this year, not entirely surprising given that one of my favourite bands, HEALTH seem to be on a mission to collaborate with everyone in the world. This year including another notable release with Nine Inch Nails. But I have to hand it to another dream metal crossover with the Chino Moreno of Deftones fame featuring ANTI-LIFE by HEALTH and Tyler Bates. This song rocks! If I was being greedy I would want a bit more from this combo but it's hard to complain about the end result, which released as a weird throwaway for a DC comics record. It's very well produced and the combination of vocalists just works so well.

ERRA - Gungrave

Metalcore has not sounded much more confident this year than with ERRA's self-titled record, and the second track Gungrave doesn't slow things down from the thriving opener Snowblood at all (which was one of the best tracks of last year). So this belated follow-up to that songs lives up to its hype by going even harder, immediately showing that ERRA isn't messing around this time and it leads to a fantastic and brutal metalcore track. Great drumming particularly here, convincingly angry screaming and clean vocals break through for a powerful chorus. This is the ideal mould for a metalcore song, maybe.

Erika de Casier- Someone to Chill With

Floaty guitars and soft synths accompany Erika de Casier's search for "Someone to Chill With". A really cool mix of throwback R&B and modern production sheen. It's an album highlight for sure and captures the ideal smoothness of a R&B track. It's very comfy and the lyrics are charming & heartfelt. This is a confident expression of a 'friends with benefits' relationship with an element of independence and freedom to affection.

Kero Kero Bonito - Well Rested

Kero Kero Bonito returned this year with an EP containing three new tracks and ending that EP was the seven minute long Well Rested. This has a very pleasant beat and probably some of the best and more serious leaning Kero Kero Bonito lyrics. While previously making novelty, cute songs, this track's pivot into tackling humanity's eternal walk forward has a cosmic scope to itself. It's fantastic. The idea of a 7 minute disco song about preserving the Earth and loving each other as part of humanity is awesome, and this lives up to its hype. A highlight in their discography for sure.

Injury Reserve - Knees

Arguably the centre point of Injury Reserve's experimental leaning new album, Knees hits hard. Really great delivery from Ritchie on this track, the production from Parker is dense with detail and experimental flourishes but remains catchy at the core of things. A verse from Groggs, who passed away before the completion of this album hits extra hard given his absence. It's really an interesting track, one of the most proudly odd hip-hop leaning songs of many, many years. Really unlike anything else I've heard before and that deserves praise in of itself.