5 SONGS I FEEL LIKE PROMOTING
1. JOHN GLACIER (FEAT. SAMPHA) - OCEAN STEPPIN’ (2024)
Released in 2024, this subdued yet dancey British anthem has become a recent favorite of mine. John Glacier, a London-based female MC, delivers a tune which is as melancholy as it is fun. Teaming up with acclaimed vocalist Sampha, the track builds to a beautiful climax around 2 minutes in which I find myself replaying over and over again. Their combined effort feels triumphant with a tinge of sadness, it feels like driving home after a breakup that was horribly depressing yet entirely necessary. It feels like a ray of hope in a dark time and it resonates with me greatly. Now, that sounds pretty dramatic and it felt pretty lame to write, but I just started writing and if you listen to the song I think you will agree. Also check out the album it comes from, ‘Like A Ribbon’, which is solid as well.
2. MO’KALAMITY - VISION (2007)
If you only listen to one song from this list, make it this one please. This 2007 reggae masterpiece is warm, welcoming, bouncy, and beautiful. Mo’Kalamity gracefully highlights the yearning for human connection in an opaque yet mystifying manner. “We all need human heat”, she repeats, as the song exemplifies the feeling of alienation felt amongst the modern world with even more relevance than it had in 2007. Mo’s poignant yet cryptic observations feel silky smooth overtop the bright instrumental, this is the type of track that rejuvenates your love for music and life itself.
3. VIAGRA BOYS - UNO II (2025)
I have just gotten hip to the Viagra Boys and I am a massive fan. The group’s tongue and cheek attitude juxtaposes its members virtuosic music skills to form a band quite unlike anything else. They’re juvenile and sophisticated, funny and depressing, nihilistic and optimistic. This juxtaposition acts almost as a philosophy for the band and this track is no different as the listener is taken on a paranoid journey led by a an unreliable narrator possibly suffering from schizophrenia. A hypnotic instrumental breaks up these paranoid ramblings to form an absolute gem of track. Schizophrenia has never been so catchy.
4. YT - POCKET FULL OF MONEY GOT MY TROUSERS FALLING DOWN (2023)
UK-based rapper YT has been on my radar for a little bit now. The 2024 release of Black & Tan with Lancey Faux garnered him some mainstream attention, but I still feel his best work lies in his 2023 track, Pocket Full of Money Got My Trousers Falling Down. YT leans into a Y2K aesthetic, as seen in his Black & Tan video, and this applies to his music as well which shares many similarities with the Jerk genre revival we’ve seen in the 2020s. The track highlights the best of this revival in my opinion, featuring a hypnotic fast-paced synth loop with a prominent snare pattern, and some dangerously fun lyrics. YT is constantly relishing in his “Englishness”, he brags of his Oxford education and Fortnite wins, and soon you will find yourself bobbing your head and feeling equally as proud of YT’s accomplishments and British heritage as he is.
5. ISSY WOOD - BOTH (2022)
This 2022 electronic pop track has resurfaced to me this summer as its punchy instrumental combines well with Wood’s dreamy vocals. The song tackles feelings of grief and loss while maintaining a rousing optimism sonically. The song really hones in on the moody anxieties which plague a person's mind after a breakup, from the denial, to the insecurities, to the fears of ending up alone, the song manages to capture a distinctly sad feeling and distill it down into a danceable, hard-hitting pop song. Interesting sound selection, amazing vocal performance, a wobbling bassline, it's a nice track that will stay in rotation
