Gin Wigmore
New Rush
Gin Wigmore's 2015 comeback single, co-written with Charlie Andrew, hits like a jolt of adrenaline: pounding drums and a chant-along chorus pushing her husky voice towards a fresh start after a stifling relationship.
Feeling
empowering
13 tracks.
Avicii
Feeling Good
Avicii wraps the standard Nina Simone made famous in soft, swelling synths and lets Audra Mae's smoky, soaring voice carry a song about new dawns, recorded for a 2015 film about his own recovery from years of touring.
Louisahhh
Like A Vice
A dark and pulsating techno track that closes Louisahhh's intentionally brutal 2017 EP A Trap I've Built, delving into desire, control and liberation.
IDLES
The Wheel
IDLES' song about the cycle of alcoholism passed from mother to son, from their 2021 album Crawler: a menacing one-note riff, heavy chords and Joe Talbot howling a gospel-preacher call, here in a live KEXP session.
Indiana
Solo Dancing
A hypnotic, synth-driven song about dancing alone, the 2014 single that took the Nottingham singer Indiana to number 14 in the UK and became the centre of her debut album No Romeo.
Fort Minor
Remember The Name
'Remember The Name' by Fort Minor is an anthem of perseverance: Mike Shinoda and Styles of Beyond trade verses over a cello loop and a chorus that breaks success down into percentages, a song that became the soundtrack of sport.
Cardi B
WAP (feat. Megan Thee Stallion)
'WAP' is a bold and provocative hip-hop track by Cardi B featuring Megan Thee Stallion: a minimal beat, a looped Baltimore club chant and two rappers trading explicit, joyfully unapologetic verses about desire.
K.Flay
High Enough
K.Flay's breakthrough answers a decade of songs about getting high with a question, what if I'm already high enough: breezy rhythm, bubbly guitar lines and a sing-song flow produced by Mike Elizondo.
Mount Sims
How We Do
A dark, pulsing piece of electroclash from Mount Sims's 2002 debut UltraSex, released on Gigolo in Europe and Emperor Norton in the US: gritty machine beats, minor-key synth melodies and a cool, defiant vocal.
Bronski Beat
Small Town Boy
Bronski Beat's 1984 debut single turns a gay teenager's escape from home into a falsetto-led synth-pop anthem, built on a sequenced octave pattern and remembered for Bernard Rose's stark video.
Chris Lorenzo & The Streets
Take Me as I Am
Birmingham bass producer Chris Lorenzo and The Streets' Mike Skinner meet on a fast, ferocious slice of drum and bass: tight drums, tearing bass synths and Skinner's dry, conversational vocal.