OOPS! Top 50 from 2025: #50-46: A Secret City, Experimental Electro and Dating

Now that the top 50 is over it is time for the OOPS! list. That’s right, 50 more tracks to check out this year. These are songs that I either missed, forgot about or thought I put on the top 50…but didn’t. Now you get 100 songs to check out this year…who said music was dead. Well, we have 50 more tracks to work through…so let’s get going.

50. Sombr: We Never Dated

Shane Booze, a.k.a. Sombr, dabbles both in being a musician and a producer. The track itself has a lo-fi Urge Overkill vibe with some cool Beach Boys hooks. A song about constantly being out of reach of the girl of his dreams is a modern exploration of early 2000’s lo-fi, modern pop and 60s era surfer hooks. On the surface this combination may seem like a mess, but Sombr is able to bring everything together in a lush sonic feast.

49. Jason Isabell: Good While it Lasted

Isabell is in the singer songwriter vain of a Bob Dylan, Joni Mitchell, Ani DiFranco, John Prine, Bruce Springsteen or Neil Young…which means he is a lyrical genius. His stripped back folky delivery is very reminiscent of Ani DiFranco, while his writing is some of the most personal and vulernable I have heard this year. Lines like “the last time I tried this sober I was 17” and “I wish I still smoked cigarettes and acted tough” are not just show stopping lines, but cut right to your soul. This song about trying to distract yourself through crippling lost is highly relatable in a beautiful gut punch of a song.

48. Kieran Hebden and William Tyler: Secret City

This song is like an experimental synth record ate an indie folk single. It is a very difficult track to define, but it’s sweeping synth chords and epic electro landscapes really compliment the acoustic guitar. It is a pairing that I wouldn’t have thought of, but it is so grand in scale that it just sweeps you off your feet. This almost 8 minute instrumental ebbs and flows as it takes a life of its own.

47. Silvana Estrada: Flores

This Spanish track about a relationship on the brink as love begins to wilt “no blooming flowers” is beautifully sung and executed. Lush strings, warm bass and flowing acoustic guitar act as the backdrop to Estrada’s deeply emotional and powerful vocal. No matter how tight the arrangement is, Estrada’s vocal is what really holds the track together and captures your attention. The emotional depth she reaches hits you and pulls you into her grief and urgency.

46. Beatrice Dillon: Basho

The OOPS! list is a great place to feature some non-traditional music I don’t get to on either the show or the site…like a 20 plus minute electronic performance art piece. The sonic kinetic energy behind Dillon’s work is what keeps you invested in its operatic run time. This is like an electro version of Miles Davis’ Bitches Brew. At times notes are playing against each other and beats/timing is rendered irrelevant. Much like Bitches Brew, this might not be for everyone, but you have to check out someone pushing the boundaries of music and form.

Join us next time for a band from the 90s, some jazz and a trip to the club.