Superthread of all 20.
Top 20 Songs of 2025
Wunderhorse
Top Five Songs of 2025
Last week, we started the countdown. You can see Songs 20-14 here.
Then, yesterday, we gave you 13 on down to 6.
Now, it’s time for the Top 5 Songs of 2025. Let’s dive in!
5. Daffo, “Dagger Song”
I first heard this song in August on my way back from dropping a kid off at college. BUT, I had to…I had to search to find it. Like I couldn’t quite catch who the artist was and then had to listen to back episodes of The Download 15 on Sirius XMU.
But, I found it. And it entered heavy rotation for Dave, at least.
Daffo is the stage name for Gabi Gamberg and this song just hit me.
(I have found, FWIW, that The Download 15 often delivers songs that disappear from the playlists rather quickly. Not sure why this one didn’t get the staying power.)
4. Wunderhorse, “Rain”
Wunderhorse has been well-documented — not just by me; I did that here on my Substack — and they’re definitely going places. A trip to Lollapalooza underscored there otherworldly status.
Note that I’ll share a couple versions of this song below because they appear to be incredible live.
BUT how bout a bonus track, first? Here’s “The Rope.”
Here’s “Rain,” first live on Jimmy Kimmel.
AND, here’s the band Live at The Dublin Castle; shout out to the audio team, this is impeccable.
And, finally, the official audio from the band.
The song stuck with me all year. If you rank it first, I ain’t arguing with you.
3. CMAT, “The Jamie Oliver Petrol Station”
This one is 100% on Canadian Steve. I can’t thank him enough for it, either.
I talked about CMAT on this page last week and she definitely has that certain something about her.
What’s beautiful about this song is not JUST that it doesn’t make a heck of a lot of sense at first, but that CMAT tells you that it’s not making too much sense.
But it makes total sense: Why do we hate certain people? Why are some things so triggering?
CMAT asks the question. And tries to answer it. Flipping glorious. I dig.
2. Bar Italia, “Rooster”
We thank the YouTube algorithm for this song. You’ll notice the Bar Italia song “Fundraiser” made the Top 20 list (yesterday, ranking 12th). YouTube decided to introduce another Bar Italia song a month ago — YES, THAT RECENTLY — and I absolutely cannot get enough of it.
The video is actually nuts: Get a load of the guitarist deciding to stop pretending he was singing into a live mic. (My buddy Ken said that moment was both “unsettling and very cool.”)
Kicking myself for missing this band when they were nearby. Will make it a point to see them live in 2026, God willing.
It’s the second-best song I heard this year.
1. Preoccupations, “Ill at Ease”
This shall be no surprise to anyone who has followed my work this year.
I telegraphed this decision in July, when I launched The Saturday List; in the very first edition of said list I made a declaration:
I was right. “Rooster,” above, Number 2, came close.
Impeccably crafted song. Lead singer Matt Flegel has a really amazing voice and the lyrics are top notch. For instance:
Let’s carve ourselves a tiny space to live in
And mutually assure our self destruction
Cause all the things I love are things that kill me
And all the things I dread aren’t really there
Funny enough, I heard this song AFTER my post of possible Song of the Decade candidates for the 2020s; It has since moved to the top of my list for the decade. It’s. That. Good.
Behold, Dave’s Song of the Year for 2025: Preoccupations, “Ill at Ease.”
Thanks for reading. Seriously, it means a ton to me.
We’ll have some Honorable Mentions to share later this month. And we’ll return to other programming tomorrow.
Cheers!
The Next Big Thing — Or, Three Musical Acts About to Explode
We’re back on Day Three of A Month of Content…Here’s a post that appeared on Dave’s Substack this past June; it has been lightly edited with some editor’s notes updating statistics.
It’s time to amaze your friends! Yes, thanks to yours truly listening to a lot of new music, a little sleuthing, and a chap called Canadian Steve, you are about to become The Tastemaker. The Influencer. The guy (or gal) who tells everybody six months from now that you told everybody about this artist six months ago.
Behold, The Next Big Thing, 2025 Edition. Here goes.
The Next Big Thing, Solo Artist: CMAT
To become The Next Big Thing, you have to have both a vibe and a catchy single. Meet CMAT, who provides both right here. The song is called…”The Jamie Oliver Petrol Station.” Color me intrigued — or, more accurately, “colour me intrigued,” as CMAT is from Ireland.
We’re a scant three seconds into this video and I’m nonplussed. Do I tell everyone about this artist? Do I take a screenshot? Do I subscribe? Do I wonder what has happened to society when some mysterious artist — who appears to be named after a college admissions test or a part you’d find inside a Ford Thunderbird — has only 27,000 subscribers?
Editor’s Note: What a difference a few months and an album launch can make, CMAT now has 48,000 subscribers, and the video has been viewed 246,000 times and counting.
Mind you we haven’t even listened to the song yet. This is the impact of CMAT.
Quick internet scan tells us that the artist CMAT is a young woman whose real name is Ciara Mary-Alice Thompson. Gotta admit, while it’s a pretty name, Ciara Thompson doesn’t roll off the tongue like CMAT does.
And here’s the CERTIFIED BANGER(™) that will be your Song of the Summer.
She visited the States in September, 8 American shows (and one in Toronto, which is not yet part of America) in a two-week span. Funny enough, her new album, Euro-Country, dropped at the end of August.
Like I said: CERTIFIED BANGER.
My thanks to Canadian Steve, who introduced me to CMAT (and dozens of others) on his Substack.
Also check out this song:
She’s going places, kid.
The Next Big Thing, Duo: Mind Enterprises
To summarize where we’re going with this, it’s time for a screenshot of a tweet. From me, of course. I’m clever and modest.
I am simultaneously late to the party – this act has been around for years, it seems – and brand new to the courtyard wine-and-cheese-fest vibe known as “Italo Disco,” as it seems that the duo is tapping into the milieu of the modern Italian zeitgeist. Or they’re trending in my X bubble. Same diff.
In any event, it was thanks to a random repost of an Italian Fashion Party that I learned of the existence of Mind Enterprises.
And, after I gave her an immediate follow, this tweet about Mind Enterprises, also from Miss White.
I was quickly able to confirm that the music in the first tweet is from Mind Enterprises, the vibe matches; the second tweet sealed the deal.
And, it follows — like that one kind of cognitive bias where you buy a car and then everyone is driving that same car — Mind Enterprises owns Twitter. (Mind Enterprises is probably too cool to call it “X.”)
Here, then, 45 Minutes of Mind Enterprises. As they say in the business, “You’re Welcome.”
Only have 22 minutes to spare? Here’s a shorter video. Again, accept the awesomeness with my compliments. (I love what you’re doing with your hair.)
BTW, no article that even mentions Italo Disco would be complete without Giorgio Moroder’s classic, “Chase,” which was part of the soundtrack of my youth because the local NBC affiliate used it for Notre Dame football highlights; I can still see Vagas Ferguson cutting through the Purdue defense.
(Feel free to go down the Giorgio Moroder rabbit hole; and one-half of Mind Enterprises looks awfully similar to young Giorgio.)
The Next Big Thing, Rock Band: Wunderhorse
This band came around at the right time, it seems: they toured the US, then went back to their home in Britain and were just in time to fill what is a void in rock music. Like, rock music wasn’t…rocking…and now it’s back.
Wunderhorse is definitely a throwback to the days of guitar-heavy rock.
To wit, “Rain.” In the running for my Song of the Year, this ditty is outstanding.
Here’s a version recorded in Dublin:
And here’s “Rain” live on Kimmel:
And if you’re really interested in a breakdown from someone who has been there…here’s Justin Hawkins saying what I’ve been saying (but he said it 7 months ago).
There’s more from the band, too: “Leader of the Pack” is a clever little song:
And a three-song set in The Netherlands, which starts off with “Midas”:
You Are Now The Tastemaker
That’s right, friends. I may not have my finger directly on the pulse of what’s cool, but I’m somewhere in the Top Quintile. That’s good enough these days, so check out these acts, amaze your friends, and enjoy your December.
Editor’s Note: We’ll be releasing our Top Songs of 2025 next week on the blog.
