There were so many great new tracks every week this month that it was often difficult to pick just a handful every time! Singles arrived aplenty, and many of them knocked our socks off. From a haunted reflection by ANOHNI to a sensual backbreaker by Róisín Murphy, this summer is shaping up to wow us all. As July nears, let’s take a moment to recap the abundance of wonderful music released this past month. Here, in alphabetical order, are the 10 best songs of June 2023.
ANOHNI and the Johnsons: “Sliver of Ice”
The latest offering from ANOHNI and the Johnsons ahead of their anticipated next album My Back Was A Bridge For You To Cross, “Sliver of Ice” is a slow-burning affair shouldered along by a flowing, soulful guitar and patient snare drum. Inspired by some of the last words that Lou Reed said to ANOHNI before he passed away in 2013, she opted to capture his explanation of how, in the final months of his life, the “simplest sensations had begun to feel almost rapturous.” “A carer had placed a shard of ice on his tongue one day and it was such a sweet and unbelievable feeling that it caused him to weep with gratitude,” she said in a press statement. There’s something genuinely indescribable about what kind of power and emotions ANOHNI’s most recent offerings conjure, but I can safely say that—just like lead single “It Must Change”— “Sliver of Ice” is delicate, beautiful and meticulous. —Matt Mitchell
Chris Farren: “Bluish”
Bring forth all your splendors, the greatest artist of our time—Chris Farren—is back with another roaring single (maybe the only single that’s ever been released?) called “Bluish.” Farren’s blue period is one of masterful hooks and energetic, unrelenting melodies, in which he is excavating the questions of his world without being too concerned about wrapping the story up in a bow. “I don’t belong anywhere without / You on my arm,” he sings. A narrative that devotes itself to the light of love after a period of exhaustion, Farren is of our best romantic transators—offering such a grand and gentle generosity to whom he sings about that you will start to believe you’ve known and loved them for a long, long time, too. —Matt Mitchell
Girl Scout: “Boy in Blue”
A song with one of the most-entrancing choruses of the year so far (“I’m just the ghost of you / I do whatever you want me to / I can’t believe all the things I’ve been missing from your room,” done in perfect layers), “Boy in Blue” is where Girl Scout have perfected their pop sensibilities. Between Emma Jansson’s cosmic, ’90s alt-rock vocals, Viktor Spasov’s mountain-moving riffs, Evelina Arvidsson Eklind’s warm, throughline rhythm and Per Lindberg’s precise percussive backdrop, Girl Scout are a well-oiled machine, and “Boy in Blue” is one of the catchiest, most-enthralling tracks of 2023 so far. There’s even a gentle xylophone layered with a toy piano and synthesizer in there, someplace, that twinkles beautifully. If you haven’t fallen in love with this band yet, now’s your chance to catch up. —Matt Mitchell (Read our feature here.)
L’Rain: “New Year’s UnResolution”
L’Rain’s first new release since her terrific 2021 LP Fatigue, “New Year’s UnResolution” explores her poppier side, as she dances through the aftermath of a breakup. Her compositional skills come through in thoughtful additions to the backing track, as sparkling electronic textures arise. The song is a gorgeous run-through of the turmoil of what uncertainty comes after a period of fierce intimacy; a rich sonic landscape that rings with a sense of devotional, self-assured hope. —Miranda Wollen
Madeline Kenney: “I Drew A Line”
The second single from her forthcoming LP A New Reality Mind, “I Drew a Line” weaves deftly between swinging saxophone riffs, bouncy electronic arcs and trippy, self-harmonizing vocals. It’s a swift celebration of the forward-motion Kenny has taken personally and professionally since her last EP, 2021’s Summer Quarter. Her energy is palpable, and the creative propulsion of a breakup and subsequent self-reckoning glide Kenney into a new musical era. —Miranda Wollen
Julie Byrne: “Moonless”
The third single from The Greater Wings, Julie Byrne’s first LP in six years, is a solemn, orchestral piano ballad that fixtures her haunted, compelling voice front and center. Written while at an artist residency in Portugal, Byrne found inspiration in soundscapes of creaking docks and tidal flats. Though “Moonless” is a breakup song at its core, it’s also a coastal proclamation of queerness and autonomy. “I’d been learning you by heart / Voices rising through the smoke / Tables caving in / I found it there in the room with you / Whatever eternity is,” she sings, deftly and beautifully. —Matt Mitchell
Ratboys: “It’s Alive”
With their fourth (or fifth, depending on how you categorize Happy Birthday, Ratboy) album, The Window, on the way, Chicago quartet Ratboys have unveiled “It’s Alive,” the tight, catchy successor to the haunted, roaring, nine-minute stunner “Black Earth, Wi.” With frontwoman Julia Steiner’s mountain-moving vocals front-and-center, guitarist Dave Sagan flaunts a brief, perfect and coiling guitar solo amid a top-drawer rhythmic, percussive combo from drummer Marcus Nuccio and bassist Sean Neumann. A dossier on isolation, Steiner croons: “So I pass the time, look to the side / I feel it all, frozen in my house / All around, it’s in the stars / It’s speeding toward the sign.” If “Black Earth, Wi” was Ratboys’ opus, then “It’s Alive” is proof they are at their undisputabe best. —Matt Mitchell (Read our feature here.)
Róisín Murphy: “Fader”
Roísín Murphy’s upcoming, DJ Koze-produced record Hit Parade is at the very top of our most-anticipated summer list—and for good reason! Every single the Irish pop legend has released so far is charming and irresistible, as she transcends even the richest disco-revival attempts. “Fader,” the follow-up to “CooCool” and “The Universe,” is unbelievably soulful and magical, as Murphy croons atop a looping vocal sample and smooth, brass and string arrangements that flirt with a slick, subtle guitar riff. “Take your hands off, hater / Of my baby’s fader,” she sings across the song’s hook. It’s not often that a press cycle for an album rolls out three immaculate singles in a row, but Hit Parade is batting 1.000% right now—and more than living up to the promise of its title. “Fader” now, “Fader” tomorrow,” “Fader” forever. —Matt Mitchell
Slowdive: “kisses”
The lead single from everything is alive, Slowdive’s first album in six years, “kisses” is pulsing and liquid-smooth, distorted and rhythmic. Rachel Goswell and Neil Halstead’s recognizable melodies, soft as a whisper, float and sway above an ethereal synth track. It’s reflective and rich, as multi-layered thematically as it is sonically. “kisses” is a rumination of the Earth-shifting changes that Slowdive’s members have seen as they’ve entered their 50s, a continued exploration of the ethereal, spacey sound they have perfected for 30 years. —Miranda Wollen
Vagabon: “Can I Talk My Shit?”
The latest Vagabon single, “Can I Talk My Shit?,” follows previous release “Carpenter” and promises a further sonic metamorphosis for the New York indie maven, as sparkly electronic arpeggios and cheerful synths anchor her weightless melodies, intertwining into a song that feels like sunshine. With a reputation and sound that is chameleonic, “Can I Talk My Shit?” is vibrant dance-pop that taps into the conversational and open-hearted everyday ethos that makes up her forthcoming LP, Sorry I Haven’t Called. —Miranda Wollen
Other Notable June Songs We Loved: Being Dead, “Last Living Buffalo”; Buck Meek, “Paradise”; Charly Bliss, “You Don’t Even Know Me Anymore”; Cut Worms, “Don’t Fade Out”; Diners, “Domino”; Field Medic, “everything’s been going so well”; Julia Jacklin, “Shivers”; Nick Shoulders, “Whooped If You Will”; Speedy Ortiz, “You S02”; Worriers, “Trust Your Gut”
Listen to a playlist of these 10 tracks below.