If the biggest, hookiest songs of 2023 are united by anything, it’s the insurgents who made them. For one, English singer PinkPantheress made good on her underground fandom with a remix of “Boy’s a Liar,” featuring raspy-voiced female rapper of the moment Ice Spice, whose eye-rolling attitude ingeniously cuts against her own unguardedly emotional pop minimalism.
Others similarly subverted expectations of what makes a hit. Troye Sivan ditched his moody bedroom-pop roots for unashamedly horny bangers that confront our collective hang-ups about what a gay artist should deliver. The aggro sonic hijinks of hyperpop duo 100 gecs coalesced into something strangely beautiful and profound, especially on “Hollywood Baby,” a satire of Barbie-fied showbiz aspirations that’s at least partly aimed at themselves.
Rock noise of the less blaring kind flourished elsewhere, proving that the genre was never dead, just slyly mutating. Lana Del Rey, reigning queen of the extremely extended cut, delivered not one but two evolutions of her persona on “A&W,” its scuzzy self-questioning exploding into brash, avant-garde hip-hop declaration. Elsewhere, Sufjan Stevens reasserted his powers with characteristically devastating rumination.
In a crowded, fractured market, mischief makers gleefully exploited their moment. They also brought much-needed comfort in a world spinning in its own unsettling, heartbreaking directions. The chaos of our playlists, on the other hand, felt like liberation. Paul Schrodt
[Editor’s Note: Listen to the entire list on Spotify.]
50. Sofia Isella, “Hot Gum”
A self-proclaimed “slut for words,” Sofia Isella likens keeping a secret to chewing on flames on the 808 bass-driven “Hot Gum”: “You press your lips together, like you’re kissing yourself/To stop me from learning.” The 18-year-old singer, songwriter, and violinist has been compared to Billie Eilish, thanks in part to her vocal style—an airy mix of sing-talking and vocal fry—but tracks like “Hot Gum” prove that she’s honing a palette with a deeper bench of influences: “The flick of flames weaving through my teeth/If the hot gum were to slip out, where would we be?” she sings in dark, dulcet tones and wily metaphors reminiscent of a young Fiona Apple. Sal Cinquemani
49. Dua Lipa, “Houdini”
“Houdini” finds Dua Lipa daring a suiter to try to tame her: “If you’re good enough, you’ll find a way/Maybe you could cause a girl to change her ways,” she quips. The propulsive three-minute track, which was co-produced by Kevin Parker of Tame Impala, is about as fleeting as the singer’s patience. Punctuated by grinding, “Thriller”-esque synths, live drum fills, and ’80s-style pads a la the Weeknd’s “Blinding Lights,” the song builds toward a soaring instrumental outro featuring a wicked talkbox solo. It’s enough to make one wonder what other magic tricks Lipa has up her sleeve for her forthcoming third studio album. Cinquemani
48. That Mexican OT featuring Drodi and Paul Wall, “Johnny Dang”
“Johnny Dang” represents a meeting between two generations of rappers from Houston. The track is recognizably Texan, right down to the title’s tribute to a local jeweler. That Mexican OT’s flow is fast, as he extends syllables for several beats in a drawling accent, while veteran Paul Wall brags confidently, alluding to his verse on Mike Jones’s classic “Still Tippin’.“ Although Drodi, who gets the second verse, is the weak link here, the contrast between the three rappers’ styles is exciting, nodding to Houston’s long, prominent place in hip-hop and carrying it even further. Steve Erickson
47. The Hold Steady, “Sixers”
The big, crashing guitar chords that open “Sixers” seem to promise another of the Hold Steady’s sweaty beer-raising anthems, but singer Craig Finn manages to turn any assumptions on their head, sneaking an intimate, quietly sad mini-character arc about a lonely woman’s missed connection with her upstairs neighbor into a joyous rocker. “She’s planning her own party tonight/Crushing up pills at home, watching basketball highlights,” Finn sings somberly over Franz Nicolay’s solitary piano, his heroine winding up in the same place that she started but having come a long way. Jeremy Winograd
46. The Chemical Brothers, “No Reason”
Nearly three decades since their debut, the Chemical Brothers continue to spin crate-digging gold from the unlikeliest of sources. “No Reason,” a standout track from the big beat pioneers’ 10th studio album, For That Beautiful Feeling, is centered around a nihilistic verse from short-lived British post-punk band Second Layer’s “Courts or Wars”: “We have no reason to live…When will they kill us all?” Juxtaposed with a vocal sample from Janet Jackson’s “The Pleasure Principle” and a synth line that nods to Yazoo’s “Situation,” this iteration of the end of the world sounds more like a party. Cinquemani
45. Ladytron, “California”
This year the aughts-era electronic group re-emerged, unexpectedly and gloriously, as a pristinely produced shoegaze act. “California” evokes the titular state’s deceptive, illusory nature, a place endlessly promising renewal while playing backdrop to ruin. Singer Helen Marnie could stand in for any screwed-over starlet when she desperately pleads on the witchy, stretched-out chorus: “Make us happy.” If only California were so amenable. Schrodt
44. Greg Mendez, “Maria”
With help from its indelible guitar melody, whose phrase seems to begin just a hair too late with each repetition, Greg Mendez’s “Maria” captures twin cycles of anxiety and addiction. The running-in-circles nature of that riff, as well as the Philadelphia singer-songwriter’s run-on sentence of a verse taps into the temptations of chemical dependency and the pervasive nervousness that underrides it. Charles Lyons-Burt
43. Baby Keem and Kendrick Lamar, “The Hillbillies”
“Critics say I lost the plot,” croaks Baby Keem on “The Hillbillies.” To be frank, he didn’t really find it until this off-color collaboration with Kendrick Lamar, who ditches the moral handwringing of his Mr. Morale & the Big Steppers for a series of strange boasts and cheeky goofs about women. The two cousins mess around for three and a half minutes over a beat that makes sampling Bon Iver on a rap song feel like a fresh choice again. Unlike the duo’s past collaborations, where it seemed like Keem was straining before Kendrick hijacked the track entirely, here they have tangible chemistry, engaging in elaborate interplay that’s reminiscent of a familial open-mic night. Lyons-Burt
42. Sampha, “Spirit 2.0”
One of the most direct songs on Sampha’s thorny Lahai, “Spirit 2.0” sets the album’s tone with jittery, drum ‘n’ bass-influenced loops. Then, its stripped-down arrangement immediately challenges that mood. The track could be an answer to the fears Sampha expressed on 2016’s “Blood on Me,” searching for a solace that stops just short of explicit religiosity before finding a new hope: “I ain’t as scared as before.” Erickson
41. Olivia Rodrigo, “Get Him Back!”
On which Olivia Rodrigo can’t decide if she wants to get back together with her ex or do something drastic to repay him for his “ego and a temper and a wandering eye.” And like any drama-loving 20-year-old, she seems to think that doing the latter might just lead to the former. But if the lyrics betray some age-appropriate immaturity, the song’s ultra-hooky gang-shouted chorus boasts the kind of melodic firepower that much more seasoned songwriters would kill to capture. Winograd
40. Anohni and the Johnsons, “Sliver of Ice”
Like many of Anohni’s other songs, “Sliver of Ice” deals with mortality, using the image of ice melting into water on her tongue as a metaphor for her final breaths. While other mournful songs from the artist’s earlier albums underscored Anohni’s fatalistic spirituality with luxe string arrangements, here the largely guitar-and-voice production is starker and simpler, letting her soulful vocals speak for themselves. Eric Mason
39. Margo Price featuring Sharon Van Etten, “Radio”
The bright, wide-open heartland pop-rock vibes of Margo Price’s “Radio,” landing somewhere between the Judds and Tom Petty, evoke a time when this song could have, and likely would have, been a huge hit. But the lyrics, all about tuning out and being alone because “the whole world’s going crazy,” are pure 2023. “The only thing I have on is the radio,” Price belts joyfully, seeming to have found the transcendent solitude that she was seeking. Winograd
38. Black Country, New Road, “Turbines/Pigs”
After the departure of lead vocalist Isaac Wood in 2022, fans of Black Country, New Road were left to wonder whether the English art-rock band would retain its experimentalism and emotional potency. This 10-minute epic, helmed by May Kershaw, has all of the hallmarks of the band’s existing style, from climactic instrumental clamor to vividly raw lyrics, and proves that the band is still very much in great hands. Mason
37. Asake, “2:30”
While Asake’s “Amapiano” defines the titular subgenre that he mostly works in, “2:30” is a bop sung in a mix of Yoruba and English that captures the comedown after a night of partying. The persistent, consolatory shakers and the soothing violin bear out Asake’s mentions of “tranquility,” while the deep, seemingly haphazard bass synths (a hallmark of amapiano) that show up almost halfway through suggest the last pounding pulse of revelry. Lyons-Burt
36. Christine and the Queens featuring Madonna, “Angels Crying in My Bed”
One of three striking tracks from Christine and the Queens’s pop-rock opera Paranoïa, Angels, True Love on which Madonna plays a godly A.I. matriarch, the elegiac “Angels Crying in My Bed” finds the Queen of Pop in mid-’90s poetess mode, her ASMR-style delivery prickling the ears: “Perhaps lift my skirt, before he learns the greater horrors/I owe him the truth of me.” Amid a hypnotic arrangement of lumbering trap beats, deep bass, and synthetic crickets, Chris likewise peels off his proverbial skin—“Is it really love or is it blood dripping off my wrists?”—as an offering of vulnerability to a potential lover. Cinquemani
35. Miley Cyrus, “Flowers”
Miley Cyrus’s “Flowers” is a grower. The lead single from the pop singer’s eighth studio album, Endless Summer Vacation, is an easy-listening flip of Bruno Mars’s 2013 hit “When I Was Your Man,” featuring an Easter-egg hunt of details from DeuxMoi blind items and, of course, Cyrus’s inimitable voice. Mason
34. Joanna Sternberg, “People Are Toys to You”
Joanna Sternberg’s incisive “People Are Toys to You” juxtaposes its tale of an abusive relationship with an irresistibly cheery arrangement. It’s the kind of extreme dissonance that only the most skillful songwriters can successfully pull off—the kind that turns a simple-sounding ditty like this one into something you’ll be mulling over for days. Winograd
33. Cristale x Teezandos with Fumez the Engineer, “Plugged In”
On a track made up of one long verse, Cristale and TeeZandos prove to have terrific chemistry, even delivering ad libs on each other’s verses. A pitch-shifted vocal sample floating in the background sounds very contemporary, but the drill rappers’ back-and-forth exchange of bars looks to the earliest days of hip-hop. Their solo records are just as strong, but “Plugged In” makes you wonder what a full-length collaboration between the duo would sound like. Erickson
32. Doja Cat, “Attention”
Doja Cat’s hypnotic “Attention” opens with the sounds of a gentle harp and the distant, ominous howls of a wolf before a crisp breakbeat straight out of 1995 kicks in and the rapper-singer waxes sensual about how “it” is “hungry” and seeks “affection.” She’s nothing if not subtle. Throughout, Doja claps back at her critics over her appearance (“Lost a lil’ weight, but I ain’t never lost a tushy/Lookin’ good, but now my bald head match my [pussy]”) and social media lurkers (“Talk your shit about me, I can easily disprove it, it’s stupid/You follow me, but you don’t really care about the music”) in a flow that nods more to Lauryn than Nicki. Cinquemani
31. Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit, “Cast Iron Skillet”
A song about how the inherited wisdom some cling to can sometimes prove to be little more than inherited ignorance, “Cast Iron Skillet” rivals Jason Isbell’s “Elephant” and “If We Were Vampires” for heart-wrenching poignancy. The second half of the song is about a young woman whose family disowns her for taking up with a man “with smiling eyes and dark skin,” and as Isbell surmises, “It’s hard to go through life without your daddy by your side.” Isbell may have been thinking of his seven-year-old daughter and what a cruel act it would be to abandon her for such a foolish reason. He does all that with just a few simple words and a wisp of an arrangement that includes spare acoustic strums and accordion. Winograd
30. Shakira and Bizarrap, “Shakira: Bzrp Music Session, Vol. 53”
“Sorry, baby.” Rarely have two shrugged-off words hit with such impact. This unlikely collab is a triumph of both attitude and craft. Shakira delivers a devastating kiss-off to her ex-husband, Gerard Pique, singing, “A she-wolf like me isn’t for guys like you.” The song transcends bitterness thanks to Bizarrap’s production, which is crammed with miniature hooks like Shakira’s cooed intro, and feels both intimate and larger than life. Erickson
29. Aphex Twin, “Blackbox Life Recorder 21f”
“Blackbox Life Recorder 21f” abounds in the musical incongruences of Aphex Twin’s best work: humanoid-sounding synth melodies; fidgeting breakbeats; ambient textures; and an oddly danceable rhythm. Yet, leave it to the IDM pioneer to turn such seemingly conflicting elements into something strangely comforting, where he’s able to amalgamate the sum of these parts into a total Gregorian bop for the modern age. Paul Attard
28. Muna, “The One That Got Away”
Closer to Prince’s sexual taunting than Lilith Fair-style introspection, Muna’s “The One That Got Away” lets its shiny pop hooks rip here while cleverly needling an ex-crush: “The kiss you never tasted/Tell me that you hate it.” Revenge has never sounded sexier. Schrodt
27. Aluna and Chris Lake, “Beggin’”
Though both hailing from the U.K., Aluna’s and Chris Lake’s strains of house music are closer in vibe and scale to glossier American EDM. “Beggin’” is a weak-in-the-knees dance-pop rush with a fairy-tale quality. In the song, a seemingly “obedient” narrator turns the tables on her role-playing partner and reclaims her power. Aluna’s candied falsetto casts a spell, while Lake keeps things propulsive with squeaky-clean drum patterns and understated bass rubbing up against a fizzy, buzzing synth. Lyons-Burt
26. Wednesday, “Chosen to Deserve”
Wednesday’s “Chosen to Deserve” is a sterling account of a youth spent getting high, fucking up, and somehow living to tell about it. The song pays homage to “Let There Be Rock,” the seminal anthem by Southern storytellers and Wednesday tourmates Drive-By Truckers. You can recognize that band’s influence in the big, crashing guitar riff and hyper-specific references to tripping on Benadryl. But unlike on “Let There Be Rock,” there’s no synchronized guitar solo on “Chosen to Deserve” to signal that singer Karly Hartzman has emerged triumphant over her demons. Instead, she offers a resigned and open-ended conclusion: “Now all the drugs are getting’ kinda borin’ to me/Now everywhere is loneliness and it’s in everything.” Winograd
25. Jessie Ware, “Pearls”
With its mesmerizing “la, la, la” refrain and wobbly bassline, the swooning “Pearls” is pure disco camp. “Excuse me,” Jessie Ware whispers at the start of the track before vamping like early-’80s Tina Marie and gloriously reaching into her upper register during an ecstatic climax that will have you shakin’ it ’til your pearls fall off. Cinquemani
24. Lil Uzi Vert, “Suicide Doors”
Lil Uzi Vert has likened themselves to a rock star for some time now, but on the larger-than-life “Suicide Doors,” they finally became one. After kicking things off with a brief interview clip of Charleston White mocking Uzi and their perceived “sissified” mannerisms—and right as a chilling synth line courtesy of co-producer Arca creeps into the song’s mix—the Philly rapper spews a few braggadocious taunts aimed at the comedian. Uzi then proceeds to spend the remainder of the track clapping back against critics over a series of explosive guitar riffs and swishing scythe sound effects. Despite being essentially rage music by way of nü-metal, “Suicide Doors” goes so ridiculously hard that even the most adamant of rock purists would find it difficult not to headbang along. Attard
23. Janelle Monáe featuring Seun Kuti and Egypt 80, “Float”
Janelle Monáe declares that she’s “not the same” and “done changed” throughout “Float.” But while she’s left behind her sci-fi conceptual frameworks behind, she can’t help being boisterously theatrical. This self-actualizing track saunters along, never reaching a BPM over about 80, and recruits the legendary Fela Kuti’s son, Seun, and his band Egypt 80 for some triumphant horns, fusing big band, reggae, trap, and a hint of jazz. As Monáe describes, even her bisexuality involves her “doing the most”—maintaining a woman in L.A. and a male lover in Atlanta. Indeed, while “Float” is maybe the most self-assured and relaxed we’ve heard her, it’s still the work of a supreme showperson. Lyons-Burt
22. Blur, “The Narcissist”
Compared to most of the songs on Blur’s The Ballad of Darren, “The Narcissist” grapples with recovery accompanied by a jovial beat, which infuses a sense of hope into an otherwise somber album: “Found my transcendence/It played in mono-painted blue/You were the Pierrot/I was the dark room.” Graham Coxon’s guitar work is perhaps more moving than the lyrics, starting as an understated melody that floods the outro with a catharsis of emotion and sound. Dana Poland
21. Carly Rae Jepsen, “Shy Boy”
Produced by Simian Mobile Disco’s James Ford, who helped Jessie Ware find her inner disco diva, “Shy Boy” transforms Carly Rae Jepsen from lonely to lovely, from “call me maybe” to “call me anytime.” With an assist from the rubbery bassline from Midnight Star’s 1986 R&B hit “Midas Touch,” the track is sonically even dirtier than its forbearer, with a come-hither pre-chorus and a sticky synth solo to boot. Cinquemani
20. YoungBoy Never Broke Again, “Black”
Combine trendy trap production with some of YB’s slickest wordplay to date (“We don’t fuck wit these n*ggas, they hoes/Why you think we be fuckin’ they hoes?”), as well as a punchy beat drop akin to a front door being kicked down, and you get a stadium-sized banger that practically drips with punky swagger. While the Baton Rouge native compares himself to WWE superstar Ric Flair throughout—and, considering how brashly confident his delivery is, there’s a bit of a parallel between them—“Black” finds YoungBoy embracing the sounds and styles of rage rap so naturally that he could instead be easily mistaken for one of Playboi Carti’s latest signees. Attard
19. DJ Sabrina the Teenage DJ, “Say What You Mean”
DJ Sabrina the Teenage DJ often skillfully crafts pop songs out of various brief samples, but she abandons that approach for more straightforward house music on “Say What You Mean.” Melodic verses contrast with a chorus of tense chords and filtered vocals. While the song feels upbeat, it’s coated in a layer of fuzz and distortion that mutes that quality slightly, bearing out its narrator’s frustration with her indecisive lover. Erickson
18. Caroline Polachek featuring Grimes and Dido, “Fly to You”
In service of its title, the production of this standout album cut is designed to give the impression of flying. Caroline Polachek’s inimitable soprano—flanked by Grimes’s lithe delivery and Dido’s contrastingly rich but equally recognizable vocals—casts a brilliant glow over the whole song, her voice levitating across a fluttering Spanish guitar and kinetic breakbeat. Mason
17. Indigo De Souza, “Younger and Dumber”
On the stirring “Younger and Dumber,” singer-songwriter Indigo De Souza assures her adolescent self that the many mistakes she’s soon to make in life are more due to her not knowing any “better” in the immediate moment. “Which way will I run when I want something new?” she asks herself with a slight quiver in her voice, suggesting that even with her accumulated experiences, she’s still not certain of what may come next. Attard
16. Wednesday, “Quarry”
Wednesday’s “Quarry” displays the band’s ability to blur their influences together as deftly as they can tempos and guitar tones. The track alternates between scraping dissonance and twangy string-bending, while singer Karly Hartzman remembers some unsavory neighbors who turned out to be “a front for a mob thing,” all set to a zippy “Waterloo Sunset”-style melody. Winograd
15. Troye Sivan, “Rush”
Troye Sivan’s “Rush” was initially released in a two-and-a-half-minute edit that captures the sensation of a quick hit of poppers (the song’s title also happens to be the name of a popular brand of alkyl nitrite). The extended video version of the throbbing house track, however, is a full minute longer, with a breakdown that lets the Aussie singer breathe—and luxuriate in the afterglow. Cinquemani
14. 100 gecs, “Hollywood Baby”
Equally bombastic and melodious, hyperpop duo 100 gecs’s chunky guitar riff-blaring satire of corporate-co-opted pop culture run amok may not have been directed exactly at a certain Mattel-sponsored blockbuster that came out months later, but its swipes at vacuous show business aspirations turned out to be prescient: “Do you wanna party? Malibu Barbie/Are you gonna pack that shit up when it all comes tumbling down?” It’s a new high point for a genre that’s at its best when being playfully antagonistic. Well-played, punks. Schrodt
13. Lana Del Rey, “Say Yes to Heaven”
Lana Del Rey’s simple lyrics can speak volumes: “If you dance, I’ll dance/If you don’t, I’ll dance anyway.” Though the understated and elegant “Say Yes to Heaven” is framed as an optimistic love song, it carries undertones of both melancholy and longing as the singer promises herself to be perfect for her lover. She complements this yearning with breathy vocals, a gentle ambience, and finger-picked arpeggios that emulate the sound of a harp. These elements slightly intensify throughout the track—a mirror to her growing desperation that never loses its subtlety. Poland
12. Mitski, “Bug Like an Angel”
Mitski’s music aches with longing, and by leaning into a bleak vision of the heartland, she unlocks a gothic sense of dread. “Bug Like an Angel,” the first track from her album The Land Is Inhospitable and So Are We, opens with the gory image of a bug stuck to the bottom of a glass. Accompanied only by an acoustic guitar, Mitski sounds like a lonesome country balladeer, or the drinker on the other side of Elliott Smith’s “Between the Bars.” Continuing the singer-songwriter’s tradition of kicking off her albums with a moment of surprise, an unexpected and forceful chorus of voices joins her as she likens her drink to “family.” Mason
11. Sufjan Stevens, “Will Anybody Ever Love Me?”
Sufjan Stevens’s warm, enveloping voice—at times, it’s nothing more than a murmur—serves as a comforting guide as he weaves personal narratives into broader, slow-burning melodramas. On “Will Anybody Ever Love Me?,” his whispery vocals turn to desperation as he yearns for something more than physical desire: “Tie me to the final wooden stake/Burn my body, celebrate the afterglow.” For an artist known for his understated performances, such a slight shift in inflection feels like it carries the weight of the world. Poland
10. Boygenius, “Not Strong Enough”
Boygenius had one of 2023’s biggest breakouts thanks in part to this propulsive and lyrically candid folk-rock track, which revealed the trio’s sly pop acumen and natural chemistry. Julien Baker, Phoebe Bridgers, and Lucy Dacus trade places throughout the song, with Bridgers taking the apocalyptic first verse, Baker the gory second, and Dacus the bridge, their voices coalescing into impassioned harmonies as they chant, “Always an angel, never a god.” Mason
9. Doja Cat, “Paint the Town Red”
Don’t let the title fool you: “Paint the Town Red” is more than a celebration of hedonism. The track is about self-love and resilience in the face of controversy and hate (“Ugh, I look better with no hair” goes one telling line). But Doja Cat clearly has no qualms about embracing villainy. “Mmm, she the devil,” the rapper-singer moans on the beguiling, sensuous bridge, as the track’s indelible Dionne Warwick sample echoes behind her. Winograd
8. Jessie Ware, “Begin Again”
That! Feels Good! reflects Jessie Ware’s obvious elation at finally being able to bring her music to life in a club setting. “Why does all the purest love get filtered through machines?” she ponders on the horn-y “Begin Again,” a track originally born via Zoom during the height of the Covid-19 pandemic. The lyric feels like an acknowledgement of both the realities of modern life and the album’s throwback sound, which is amplified on Joe Goddard’s faithful but even more luxuriously immersive remix. Cinquemani
7. Mitski, “My Love Mine All Mine”
“My Love Mine All Mine” is a cathartic reflection on life’s brevity, as Mitski, acknowledging her insignificance in the grand scheme of things, pleads for the moon to symbolize the enduring nature of her love long past her death: “So when I die, which I must do/Could it shine down here with you?” Punctuated by understated piano, heavenly pedal steel, and Mitski’s tranquil vocals, the song is a slow, strikingly beautiful meditation that intersects some of the most fundamental human experiences, love and death, with a kind of divinity. Poland
6. Troye Sivan, “One of Your Girls”
Troye Sivan’s wily “One of Your Girls” unabashedly co-opts the age-old trope of queer people pining after their straight counterparts. Accompanied by a seductive, tropical groove, acoustic guitars, and kettledrums, the singer audaciously puts words to the unspoken, albeit masked by Vocorder: “Give me a call if you ever get lonely/I’ll be like one of your girls or your homies/Say what you want and I’ll keep it a secret.” Cinquemani
5. Sufjan Stevens, “Shit Talk”
Since as early as 2003’s Michigan, Sufjan Stevens has been a master of songs that reserve ample space for grandiose, difficult-to-contain sentiments and their afterglow. “Shit Talk” is no exception. The singer-songwriter’s latest experiment with pop-song structures and heart-wrenching lyrical impressionism offers some of the most moving sentiments on the brilliant Javelin. Mason
4. Billie Eilish, “What Was I Made For?”
“What Was I Made For?” places Billie Eilish’s signature whispery vocals atop a hauntingly simple piano backdrop. While soft on the ears, it’s quite hard on the heart: Lyrics like the repeated refrain “I don’t know how to feel” paint a picture of a young woman struggling with her loss of innocence and purpose in life. Though her gloominess and bother Finneas’s spacious production style still feel Eilish-esque, the track introduces a new level of rawness and vulnerability into her songwriting. Poland
3. Big Thief, “Vampire Empire”
The frustration in singer Adrianne Lenker’s vocals ebbs and flows throughout Big Thief’s “Vampire Empire.” Her tone sweetens briefly as she recalls fond memories, only to become tense again as she cleverly drops a Prince reference: “I wanted to be your woman, I wanted to be your man/I wanted to be the one that you could understand.” The track builds to a climax during the third verse, where Lenker literally growls, “You say you want to be alone, and you want children/You wanna be with me, you wanna be with him,” in what is one of the most bone-chilling, emotionally rich vocal performances of the year. Poland
2. Lana Del Rey, “A&W”
“It’s not about havin’ someone to love me anymorе/This is the experience of bein’ an American whore,” Lana Del Rey pensively observes on the galaxy-brained “A&W” after she and a lover have “fuck[ed] on the hotel floor.” A little later she recognizes that she’s “over my head” in this current relationship, as the despondent tone in her voice grows wearier as the seven-minute track progresses. She ends up getting the last laugh during the song’s explosive second half, which, after a few plodding minutes of reverb-soaked bass, shifts into high gear: “Your mom called, I told her you’re fucking up big time” she repeatedly taunts. Attard
1. PinkPantheress featuring Ice Spice, “Boy’s a Liar Pt. 2”
PinkPantheress’s “Boy’s a Liar Pt. 2” perfectly encapsulates pop music circa 2023: early-2000s nostalgia, relatable subject matter revolving around a man who’s done you wrong, and, of course, Ice Spice. The words “good enough” are cleverly dotted throughout the song, first to ask “Was I ever good enough?” and effectively shifting the blame for the man’s bad behavior onto PinkPantheress, until the chorus confidently concludes that “the boy’s a liar.” Ice Spice injects self-assurance and humor into the track with lines like “Bet he blowin’ her back/Thinkin’ ‘bout me ‘cause he knows that it’s fat.” But it’s the repetition of “Good eno-o-ough” throughout the post-chorus that ultimately transforms these words from a question to a statement. Poland
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