With May in the rearview mirror, it’s time to look back at the best songs it brought us. Ranging from shape-shifting disco to glorious emo-inspired power pop to surf rock-influenced post-punk, here are the 10 tracks that stuck with us. Listen to the full Best Songs of May 2023 playlists on Spotify.
ANOHNI and the Johnsons: “It Must Change”
On the heels of announcing that her first album—My Back Was a Bridge For You To Cross—with the Johnsons in over a decade will arrive in July, ANOHNI has returned with “It Must Change,” a beautiful, soulful movement that plays a key part in a project that responds to, according to the singer/songwriter, “global and environmental concerns first voiced in popular music over 50 years ago.” “The city in your head / Collapsing walls and lead, it must change / The fire is cleaning / The oil from the stones / Your God is falling you, things must change / Giving you hell / The truth is that our love / Will ricochet through eternity,” ANOHNI sings atop a vibrant, dreamy guitar strum and atmospheric harmonies paired with mid-century rhythm, pulling influence from the emotional and sonic ethos of Marvin Gaye’s What’s Going On while making it wholly her own. —Matt Mitchell
Being Dead: “Daydream”
One of our most-anticipated debuts of 2023 is Being Dead’s When Horses Would Run, and second single “Daydream” builds upon the momentum established earlier this spring on lead track “Muriel’s Big Day Off.” The Texas-based old souls make music that exudes energy that is almost impossible to pin down, and that’s what makes Being Dead one of the best new acts around! Under the leadership of Falcon Bitch, Gumball and Ricky Moto, “Daydream” is a smooth, irresistible and cosmic offering that outmuscles any bedroom pop label. “Heaven’s not alone / Heaven’s got a best friend / Heaven is a home / Home is anywhere,” Falcon Bitch sings. There are hints of post-punk and surf-rock within, as Being Dead tumble into a wake of dreaminess as vast as the horizon before us. —Matt Mitchell
Chris Farren: “Cosmic Leash”
The lead single from Chris Farren’s forthcoming album Doom Singer is a volcano of hardcore and singer/songwriter that erupts into a delicious pop-punk-gleaning tempest. It’s heavy, catchy bubblegum emo that positions distorted, hooky guitars around Farren’s unique vocal set. “The cosmic leash / The lava flow / My body bursting like a volcano / It’s rushing back, back to me / The time release, the afterglow / I wanna glitch out of the world I know,” he sings. Produced, engineered and mixed by Jay Som’s Melina Duterte, “Cosmic Leash” is the stunner you’d expect from a multi-hyphenate like Farren. —Matt Mitchell
Crooks & Nannies: “Temper”
Philly duo Crooks & Nannies have Real Life, their proper label debut on the way. Lead single “Temper” is a brilliant display of technique, as Max Rafter’s perfect twang pairs with a searing guitar, some twinkling digital bloops and a hook that’ll sink into you deep. “I don’t even know what I’m angry for / Some bullshit about not feeling powerful,” they sing. No album has kicked off quite like this, and, like every Crooks & Nannies song I hear, it’s the best song ever made! Seeing Real Life unfold across the summer is set to be a delight. —Matt Mitchell
Ezra Williams feat. Sammy Copley: “Until I’m Home”
Irish singer/songwriter Ezra Williams’ debut LP Supernumeraries arrives next month via AWAL, and brand new single “Until I’m Home” is one of the sweetest synth-folk songs you’ll hear all year. Williams writes songs that chronicle romance, isolation and catharsis in refreshing ways, paired with instrumentals that are lush, inviting and endearing. “Everyone cannot be right / That’s how I know that there’s more for me to fight / And this big list of burdens I pass onto you / Are only easy ‘til you’re home / But then it’s late and you’re alone,” they sing. At just 20 years old, Williams is quickly establishing themselves as a creative powerhouse with a deft language for how the world orbits beyond them. —Matt Mitchell
feeble little horse: “Pocket”
Despite presenting themselves in all lower case, Pittsburgh quartet feeble little horse make music in capital letters. “Pocket” is, in no short terms, a revelation. Through the noise of their industrial, avant leaning comes hints of dream pop and even glints of synthst that wouldn’t feel out of place in a techno world. Vocalist Lydia Slocum gives a career-defining performance and, as she cascades into a full-throated scream during the song’s breakdown, the band has never sounded more mythical. “Pocket” is a gravitational tune that will swallow you up quickly. —Matt Mitchell
Fust: “Trouble”
Featuring the handiwork of fellow Tar Heels Jake Lenderman and Xandy Chelmis of Wednesday and MJ Lenderman, Durham-based country rockers Fust pack the sweet, soulful alt-rock emblem “Trouble” with Crazy Horse-style riffs and a limitless pedal steel. Where previous single “Violent Jubilee” was a brilliant, piano-facing ballad that spun itself into a distorted, gothic bedrock of Americana inflections and Southern rock architecture, “Trouble,” though much more handsome and steadfast in its North Carolina twang (which Fust brought to life at Drop of Sun Studios in Asheville), is a perfect encapsulation of the compositional brilliance of Fust’s forthcoming album Genevieve altogether. —Matt Mitchell
Geese: “Mysterious Love”
“Mysterious Love” is violent in the most euphoric way, with heavy, monstrous guitars and piercing vocals. “Your familiar eyes, I know what they cost / Born into the sea, swimming on your own / Between giant fires, singing for the long gone / Some people are alone forever, some people are alone forever,” bandleader Cameron Winter sings. You’d be hard-pressed to find a definitive way to describe what goes on across any particular Geese track, as the Brooklyn band conjures everything from the Rolling Stones to Alex Cameron to Led Zeppelin to Squid, and, as is evidenced on “Mysterious Love,” they do it in the hardest, punkest ways imaginable. —Matt Mitchell
Marci: “Kity”
One of my favorite albums of 2022 was Marci’s self-titled debut, a glorious project that paid homage to the greatest pop and disco figures while also maintaining enough space for the singer/songwriter to forge her own uniqueness. I return to it so often that it’s still a new album to me, but I am deftly thrilled to have “Kity” in my rotation now, too, which is the hippest dance cut of 2023 thus far. Electronic music is having such a rewarding moment right now that almost no attempt at harnessing the greatness of Carter-era club soundscapes goes unsuccessful. With her passionate vocals glazed atop a groovy guitar riff coiled into a piano-driven backbeat, “Kity” (an acronym for “Keep it to Yourself”) is a showstopper that cements Marci’s place in the echelons of modern dance-pop; the epitome of what makes a best new songs list so rewarding to compile. —Matt Mitchell
Roísín Murphy: “The Universe”
An early front-runner for my personal favorite song of the year, Róisín Murphy’s latest single—“The Universe”—comes with the announcement of Hit Parade, the Irish disco legend’s first album since 2020’s Róisín Machine. Earlier this year, Murphy released “CooCool,” which we also adored. “The Universe,” however, continues to build upon her immense, rich and poised vision of how to perfectly blend disco, R&B, soul and glam rock. The cover of the forthcoming album uses AI-generated art, and “The Universe” even touches on finding joy in the multiverse: “Giving yourself to me, how could it ever be wrong? / Giving yourself for free, it only shows that you’re strong / Giving yourself to me, how could it ever be wrong?” Murphy sings. Later, the track segues into a monologue sporting a vocal distortion reminiscent of Prince’s Camille on Sign O’ The Times. Hit Parade is set to blow us all away. —Matt Mitchell