RECORD REWIND: PGTC Picks, 7/9 – 7/15/17

Sunday afternoon means it’s time for the Record Rewind, highlighting the top new tracks that you might’ve missed during the work week, all from my favorite independent acts out there. If it’s on the site, it’s something that you need to check out!

Across the PGTC SoundCloud page and my playlists on Spotify, these stuck out as my favorite independent songs of the week…

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AARON TAOS – “Not Over Yet” (iTunes) (Spotify)
Taos is certainly making his mark on the Rewind this year, having previously been featured with a pair of top tracks: “Off My Mind” in January and “These Days” in May. As the title says, his days of my enjoying his tunes are not over yet, as he releases another bop.

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JOHN SPLITHOFF featuring MADISON RYANN WARD – “Show Me” (iTunes) (Spotify)
It’s been over a year since Splithoff released his last new single, the smooth and delectable “Sing To You”, which has now achieved a super impressive 20 million streams on Spotify. This R&B-influenced pop collaboration steers him in a fresh, but lovable, direction.

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ZAYDE WØLF – “Brave” (iTunes) (Spotify)
This Nashville singer and songwriter last appeared on the Rewind about a year ago, but several tracks from 2016’s Golden Age were featured on PGTC’s Spotify playlists. The anthemic pop cut has a nice hook and some cool builds in production. It’s a winner to me!

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For more great new music, these songs are worth a listen…
ANDREW BELLE – “Honey And Milk” (SoundCloud)
TRENTON – “In The Summer Light” (SoundCloud)

Want to be featured on this weekly wrap-up? Submit your music to adamfsoybel@gmail.com and I’ll check our your tunes. Thanks!

RECORD REWIND: Thirty Top Tunes From 2016

Happy New Year from PGTC! It’s Sunday afternoon, which means it’s time for the Record Rewind, highlighting the top new tracks that you might’ve missed during the work week. If it’s on the site, it’s something that you need to check out!

This week, it’s a Record Rewind special, presenting thirty of the top tracks to make my Spotify playlists throughout 2016. So many great new artists put their music online this year, while those established in the blog world continued to create massive tunes. You will find a Spotify playlist below of all thirty songs, plus twelve highlighted throughout the post. By the way, several hundred songs made these lists during the year, so don’t feel bad if yours isn’t below. It was hard! 2017 is a new year, so give it your best shot.

Check out our Spotify profile page for the Indie Winter Mix (2015/2016), Indie Spring Mix, Indie Summer Mix and Indie Fall Mix for all the action from this year.

(Acts that have been signed since appearing on the lists have been noted below. Positions indicate chronological order, not rank.)

Listen:

Enjoy all the great music!

1. ADAM FRIEDMAN, “Pretty Things”
Added to Indie Winter Mix: January 29, 2016
Label: Gold Rush

2. MACKENZIE THOMS, “Do Me All Again”
Added to Indie Winter Mix: January 29, 2016
Label: Independent

Thoms could sing the phone book and I would probably stream it a few dozen times, but this R&B-flavored tune really hit the spot.

3. CAPE CUB – “Closer”
Added to Indie Winter Mix: February 9, 2016
Label: Independent

4. RUELLE, “I Get To Love You”
Added to Indie Winter Mix: February 12, 2016
Label: Independent

5. WYLDER, “Swells”
Added to Indie Winter Mix: February 16, 2016
Label: Independent

6. BRYCE FOX, “Burn Fast”
Added to Indie Winter Mix: February 21, 2016
Label: Independent

Fox has a super 2017 ahead, as “Horns” continues to react from airplay in the Denver area. “Burn” is still my favorite of his singles.

7. KYKO – “Native”
Added to Indie Winter Mix: February 28, 2016
Label: LAB (U.K.)

8. YOUNGR – “Out Of My System”
Added to Indie Spring Mix: April 23, 2016
Label: Independent (now signed to Island/Republic)

Dario Darnell’s father might be Kid Creole, but this kid has a major radio hit in the making with this absolute jam. It’s a killer track.

9. SODY / MARTIN LUKE BROWN – “Wasted Youth”
Added to Indie Spring Mix: May 13, 2016
Label: Independent

I’ve enjoyed Brown’s music for some years now. Put him in a collaboration with a promising newcomer, and you’ve got one hot hit.

10. CAPPA, “I’m Good”
Added to Indie Spring Mix: May 14, 2016
Label: Independent

11. JOHN SPLITHOFF – “Sing To You”
Added to Indie Spring Mix: May 20, 2016
Label: Independent

Splithoff recently surpassed five million streams with his fabulous feel-good track, and you’ll feel good about his new material too.

12. TIPLING ROCK – “Low Tide Love”
Added to Indie Summer Mix: May 27, 2016
Label: Independent

Four Boston college kids mixed pop and psychedelic music to create one monster Spotify Viral anthem for those hot summer days.

13. BILLIE EILISH, “Six Feet Under”
Added to Indie Summer Mix: June 24, 2016
Label: Drup Music (now signed to Darkroom/Interscope)

14. OFELIA K, “I Love My Lawyer”
Added to Indie Summer Mix: June 26, 2016
Label: South By Sea

15. KID RUNNER – “Give Me Something To Love”
Added to Indie Summer Mix: July 2, 2016
Label: Independent

This Ohio group actually made me “Love” their EP from earlier this year. Also, Alternative radio gatekeepers, make this song a hit!

16. CODY FRY – “Go”
Added to Indie Summer Mix: July 22, 2016
Label: Independent

17. STEFAN ALEXANDER – “Skeleton”
Added to Indie Summer Mix: July 22, 2016
Label: Independent

18. SLOW SUGAR, “Hypnotic Love”
Added to Indie Summer Mix: August 6, 2016
Label: Independent

19. DAVIS, “Get Mine”
Added to Indie Summer Mix: August 7, 2016
Label: Proxy

20. EZA, “Alive”
Added to Indie Summer Mix: August 12, 2016
Label: Independent

Sensual and unconventional: it’s a small taste of the EP Dead Reckoning, and this glorious gem from Ellery Bonham is impressive.

21. PHANGS, “Cul De Sac”
Added to Indie Summer Mix: August 24, 2016
Label: Independent

22. GOLDEN COAST, “Recess”
Added to Indie Summer Mix: August 26, 2016
Label: Independent

23. BEN HOBBS, “Animals”
Added to Indie Summer Mix: August 31, 2016
Label: Independent

In a zoo full of musical madness, this song escaped from its cage and into my ears this summer. Hobbs has a great catalog of music.

24. JORDAN GABLE, “Didn’t Mean It”
Added to Indie Fall Mix: September 9, 2016
Label: Independent

25. WANDERER, “Call Me Crazy”
Added to Indie Fall Mix: September 9, 2016
Label: Independent

26. MULLALLY, “Wonderful”
Added to Indie Fall Mix: September 20, 2016
Label: Black Diamond Music

There’s an exciting buzz around singer Connor Mullally, and I’m sure 2017 will be more, well, wonderful for him in plenty of ways.

27. RAINSFORD, “Too Close”
Added to Indie Fall Mix: September 23, 2016
Label: Independent

28. WHISSELL, “Pain Of Love”
Added to Indie Fall Mix: September 29, 2016
Label: FourForty Artist Group

From her upcoming EP, Nashville singer Lauren Whistle delivered with this inspired cut. I’m excited for the release in a few weeks.

29. LAUV, “The Story Never Ends (Piano Version)”
Added to Indie Fall Mix: October 20, 2016
Label: Independent

30. MATT WOODS, “If You Forget Me”
Added to Indie Fall Mix: December 2, 2016
Label: Guernsey House

I’ve been a follower of Woods’s music for several years, and this ballad from his recent EP just has me feeling a lot. I love his voice.

Want to be featured on this weekly wrap-up? Submit your music to afsoybel@hotmail.com and I’ll check it out. Thanks!