Every two months I make a playlist of twenty songs I discovered, rediscovered, or loved in general.

For April and May, I got heavy into punk and hardcore rock, but a few folk songs still shined through. I also tried to diversify my punk listening as much as possible. It's easy to just find American or British artists but I found some Portuguese and Brasilian ones I really liked! Portugal has a surprisingly big history of punk and alternative culture which this music represents.

1. Abandon Me- Kevin Abstract & Quadeca

Since I went to Quadeca's concert in May (so awesome btw), I was scouring playlists of his supposed setlist for the tour. This song did end up being performed and it was awesome since I had never actually heard it in full before! It became a new favourite for me. It's crazy how simple this feeling is, but when I heard it in concert, and saw how many people related to it, it might have been one of the most important moments of my life.

2. Otherside- Spyres

I don't remember where I found this song. But I love the themes of dissociation and disillusionment among many of their songs, even if their instrumentals are pretty run-of-the-mill indie pop-rock.

3. Sleep Forever- Spyres

I found this song after finding the one above, but this one I also really liked. It was also perfect timing because of the lyric 'last day of being nineteen', since I just turned twenty.

4. Eve- VENUS GRRRLS

This band is one of my favourites, and one of the first artists I discovered when I found out Leeds has really good bands. I had been following this song from its first teaser on Instagram up until its release. It is a new favourite! It doesn't been Eighteen Crows, still one of my favourite songs of all time, but it's up there. I just love gay people, what can I say?

5. Electrodoméstico- cacofonia

6. Good Boy- Saint Agnes

7. Judas Reborn- DeVita

I've been paying attention to DeVita since I heard the song EVITA!. Her modern jazzy pop style stuck out. But her newest album is not that. By kpop standards, it is a crazy experimental story of religious discovery. This song stood out the most but the whole album is worth a listen.

8. ana mia- donaranha

9. No Way Back- 8mm

After looking into different alt-rock/trip-hop bands to find music close to Shivaree, 8mm was the closest I could find (though I am yet to find someone that can match the magic of Shivaree). I already love many songs off this album, but this one I took a bit longer to come around to, which is why it wasn't on the last playlist.

10. Sleeping on Grassy Ground- The Heavy Heavy

11. She's not gone yet but she's leaving- The Fratellis

12. Frozen- bôa

13. Obsession- Thornhill

This song has been on repeat all the way into June. My love for shoegaze shall never truly die.

Note: For the youtube links, the version in the music video is subtly different to the one released as audio. Both are good, so both are here.

14. PEACE- ChRocktikal

I was a fan of Dreamcatcher for many years. Seeing the members stick with the rock style and really lean into it has made me so happy.

15. Flash- uju

You don't have to pretend that it isn't a little funny that a straight-up pop song is sandwiched in this incredibly diverse list of songs.

16. This song was stolen by pirates- Karma and the Killjoys

The song being in the style of a pirate shanty but being so subtly about AI is so incredible and I love how creative it is.

17. Better Believe it- Queen Cult

Stop Calling is their superior song, but this one is still quite good. I am excited to keep up with Queen Cult's new releases.

18. Girl God Gun- Gen and the Degenerates

19. RUNT- Eren Kahn

20. Can't Catch Me Now- The Hound + The Fox

I really like the Olivia Rodrigo song, but I just don't really like her version. I scoured Spotify for a few different covers but I just found this one leaned into the folk style that the original just couldn't capture.