The 5 Best Songs of April 2023
All the tracks you should be listening to!
There are two, 100-per-cent certified hot takes I have about music:
- It’s good!
- There’s a lotttttt of it.
So it’s only natural that I’d want to highlight the first one and solve the second by creating this monthly music series, talking about the best songs of the past month.
You can check out all the songs I chat about today, as well as some additional picks in the expanded 50-song Spotify playlist here:
05 Begin Again
Jessie Ware
When you think of “music that tackles that feeling of aimlessly meandering through life”, you probably think of something moody and angsty.
A bossa nova inspired disco track is probably way off the shortlist but low and behold, that’s exactly what you get with Begin Again!
I went into Jessie Ware’s latest single with high expectations following her much-needed 2020 dopamine kick What’s Your Pleasure and boy, did she not disappoint. Equal parts lush and life affirming, Begin Again is the kind of pondering track you come out of with some pep to your step, rather than cries-from-your-eyes.
Best Bit: That pre-chorus — fine as hell!
04 and the colour red
Underworld
Similarly to what I said in my write up about Overmono’s Is U, discussing electronic music can feel counterproductive, or at least more difficult than any other genre to do well.
That’s not a cop-out, but rather a compliment to Underworld’s first single in four years that I’d even make an attempt to review and praise it in the first place. The magicians behind the iconic Born Slippy don’t show any signs of ageing with a song dense in atmosphere and dark ambience.
Clocking in at six minutes long, the fact and the colour red never loses its grip during its pulsating duration makes its existence all the more impressive. If you like your techno to be as tense as it is tantalising, Underworld have got you covered.
Best Bit: When he says “and the colour red”(!) But for real, that moment around the 2:34 mark where it sounds like a pager is joining in on this techno rave.
03 One That Got Away
MUNA
If you’re reading this then chances are you’re aware — begrudgingly or not — that I run a YouTube channel, on which I host an annual awards show called The Hydraties. It’s like the Grammy’s except it has less corruption and better takes!
And the award I always have the most fun picking is Best Bop, which MUNA are early favourites for snagging with One That Got Away.
That shouldn’t come as any surprise to anyone familiar with MUNA; their breakout hit Silk Chiffon is one of the rare good songs that rose to prominence thanks to TikTok.
While that song fits more in the 90s camp, the flavour of the day this time around is 80’s synth-pop and it goes down an absolute treat. “Petty” songs — especially break-up ones — can often feel too sour or saccharine but One That Got Away hits the sweet spot with hitman-like accuracy.
Best Bit: “If you never put it on the line / How am I gonna sign for it?” is both giggle-worthy and instantly anthemic.
02 Seaforth
King Krule
We’re not here to debate about discographies but whether you’re a ride or die for his decade old debut (yes, it has been that long), his more ambitious, jazzy affair with 2017’s The Ooz or its more refined follow up Man Alive, it’s impossible to argue that King Krule hasn’t remained incredibly consistent, as well as relevant.
And that continues to be the case with the dream-like Seaforth, the first tease for his upcoming record Space Heavy.
Names like Tom Waits and Morrissey are — often lazily — thrown around when describing Marshall’s vocals but his demeanour on here is the most delicate it’s ever been.
The lullaby nature of the vocals extends to how ethereal this song sounds. It takes on cloud like qualities, comfy enough to drift away on, but so soft it could disintegrate right beneath you.
Not just a confidence booster for established fans, Seaforth is the kind of track that could convert King Krule detractors.
Best Bit: Continuing the dream comparisons, the closing minute of lovely seaside ambience feels like your morning alarm slowly seeping into your deep sleep.
01 FaceTime
billy woods & Kenny Segal
Ever since I heard the second verse of a day in a week in a year, billy woods has been permanently on my radar. That goes for any solo release or collaborative work with Elucid via the Armand Hammer name, but anything with Kenny Segal’s name in lights is like the hip-hop equivalent of Scorsese making a return: you’re going to set aside serious time to sink your teeth into it.
My favourite tracks of Billy’s tend to be the lamenting and reflective sort; hence why a day in a week in a year instantly won me over. And the jazz-rap affair FaceTime is just as successful, its sultry production making for the perfect platform for Billy to yap about a recent tour.
Singers are often complimented for having such a nice voice that they could read names out of the phone book and still enchant you.
Similarly, Billy Woods can take such a minute event as attending an afterparty and spin it into an existential, philosophy-defining moment: is it really any wonder why a song where that happens for 4 minutes finds itself in this position?
Best Bit: Got to be that fantastic chorus, courtesy of Samuel T. Herring!
