April shot by so fast that we hardly had time to put together the Top 10 Songs for March playlist. So, since this Top 10 is late, we won’t delay anymore. These are the Top 10 Songs for March on IRC based on listeners plays, downloads and likes.
No. 1 – Ender & Valentine – “Howl”
Brooklyn, musical duo Ender & Valentine, scored the No.1 track for March with the single, “Howl,” a sparkling, upbeat, inspiring and irresistible bedroom dance pop track.
No. 2 – Chase Emery Davis – “Little Locked Up”
The London musician Chase Emery Davis is a British/American songwriter, vocalist and composer whose new album, Waiting For Her, offers the heartbreaking, genre-bending single, “Little Locked Up,” which listeners made the No. 2 track for March.
Chase blends indie rock, pop and soul genres into lush, emotive songs about love and hope, highlighting his accomplished, haunting and powerful baritone vocals.
No. 3 – The Gods Themselves – “Cool”
The Seattle genre-blending trio The Gods Themselves have been producing edgy tracks that incorporate swaggering, punk-influenced guitar riffs and wha-wha pedals, sexy grooves and disco-wave beats on tracks like the No. 3 song for March, “Cool.”
No. 4 – OFF ORBIT – “Lil B”
Founded by brothers Moises (vocals, bass, keys, harmonica) and Marcos Jimenez (lead guitar), Miami band OFF ORBIT craft bluesy psych, funk and rock mixed with hypnotizing percussions, key jams and blazing guitars on the uptempo, funky, groove-heavy track “Lil B,” the No. 4 song for March.
No. 5 – LAST GIANT – “Living in Photographs”
The Portland band LAST GIANT dropped its sophomore album recently, featuring what they describe as “an inwardly-drawn collection of 11 electrifying tracks.”
A fusion of deep and nuanced 1970’s rock arena verve and prog rock embellishments on notable tracks like, “Living In Photographs,” demonstrates a tighter, more uniformed sound on the No. 5 song for March.
No. 6 – Abby K – “Heart Shaped Rock”
Another Seattle artist, Abby K, who draws influences from her Kentucky roots, but she is not country, not folk nor pop, as she likes to point out. Most notably is Abby’s wonderful songwriting, vocals and instrumentation on her new release – her sophomore album, Heart-Shaped Rock, features standout songs like the title track, which Abby K explains is a song about a journey and “not merely a new path” while “having the courage to follow it and pursue it.”
No. 7 – Matt Hutson – “Pop Music of the Future”
With a love for bands like Big Star and early 1990’s alternative rock and pop, Columbus, Indiana songwriter musician Matt Hutson produces jangly and riff-heavy guitar-drive rock and songs like the mellow, more folksy track, “Pop Music From The Future,” from his sophomore album, TV Star, which scored at No. 7.
“I wrote it late at night, burning the midnight oil. I was thinking of how people seem to crave the next and greatest thing, and worship whomever delivers it,” he says. “I’m also kind of scorning social media and how consumed with it my generation seems to be. The song has a genuine emotion, but there are a few jabs hidden in there.”
No. 8 – Mac DeMarco – “This Old Dog”
During the past few years, the name of Brooklyn-via-Canada singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Mac DeMarco, keeps popping up as a musical influence for other artists and bands from around the world that we feature on IRC.
Mixing lo-fi sounds, out-of-tune acoustic guitars, rudimentary percussions, groovy, driving folk-rock like rhythms with Sonic Youth and Lou Reed influences on his new single, “This Old Dog” – the title track from DeMarco’s fifth release.
No. 9 – KINKY – “Te Vas”
The Monterrey, Mexico five-member alt. rock band, Kinky, which initially made a splash in the United States nearly two decades ago with their second single release, “Mas,” have released a pair a new singles in the past year, including the newest Latin-dance and electro-driven “Te Vas,” and the more experimental and world music-leaning, “Desaparecer.”
No. 10 – Jeff Beadle – “Gone Before Sunrise”
Canadian folk singer/songwriter Jeff Beadle is the every man’s basement recording artist. After a day of working on cleaning pools for the rich, Beadle shifts gears and writes deeply emotive songs with lyrics of love, loss and longing like the wonderful single, “Gone Before Sunset,” coming in at No. 10.