THE A LIST (1.26.24)

After a brief hiatus, we are back with your favorite Top 10 on the interwebs. Welcome to this week's A List - where we dive into the top 10 most-played tracks from this past week.

Make sure to stay up to date with the latest and greatest songs carefully curated by your fellow music aficionados and delivered to you directly by our very own music director, Nils Illokken. Join Nils every Friday from 3 - 7p EST to hear this list and so much more.

Get in sync here at Inhailer.com, or conveniently from our new iPhone and Android apps, anytime!

 10. "Peace Sign" - RIDE

We are kicking off our A List right with Ride's "Peace Sign," a culmination of reverberating, buzzy guitar melodies and layered vocals that make for great driving music. RIDE formed in Oxford, UK in 1988. It is the first single off the 90's shoegaze pioneers' upcoming album "Interplay," out March 29th on Wichita/PIAS.

 #9   "Everybody Dies" - Superchunk

Another 90's veteran, Superchunk releases "Everybody Dies" in anticipation of their upcoming west coast tour beginning on Feb. 1st. Frontman Mac McCaughan explains in a recent Rolling Stone interview how the song is an abode to all rock legends lost, and that mortality is a part of the deal - but it still hurts every time when we lose a rock god. However, it is their music that lives on for the rest of time, inspiring tracks just like this one.

  #8 "Heading For The Door" - Royel Otis

If you've been on Tiktok the last week, you've no doubt heard Royel Otis' cover of Sophie Ellis-Bextor's 2001 UK hit "Murder on the Dancefloor" which has gained new life thanks to it's use in the movie Saltburn. Royel Otis' recent viral moment comes thanks to their Triple J "Like a Version" performance of the tune. But if you follow Inhailer Radio, you know we've been fans for a while.

From their recent Playful synth melodies and Yoke Lore-like vocals make for Royel Otis' new release feel like a smooth sailing bid farewell to yearning and regret. Sydney based, they carefully and forgivingly combine effective melodies and driving cymbals for a story worth hearing.

 #7  "Take Me For A Ride" (Jerry Paper Remix) - Jennifer Vanilla

TMFAR is like a nice smooth house music ride, sprinkled with some en vogue vibed sampled airy vocals that give Madonna a run for her money. It's pretty impossible to not want to dance to this one. Try listening to it without bobbing your head, for real. Great Friday amp up tune!

#6  "Heavy" - SPRINTS

"Do you ever feel like the room is heavy?" That is the question asked and sung by SPRINTS lead singer Karla Chubb. In another universe, SPRINTS would be opening up for Letters to Cleo in an asbestos filled basement in the 90s.

Their vocals slide like butter across a scape of perfectly distorted and compressed guitars and drums. "Heavy" is the kind of tune we like for the reason that it feels like a healthy rage against "the machine." We've already created the mosh pit in our minds.

 #5  "Untidy Creature" - Sleater-Kinney

All hail Sleater Kinney and the ground Carrie Brownstein walks on with their new single, "Untidy Creature". It's their timeless sonic identity and most dedicated fanbase that glides them along in their lane where other bands fail to possess the endurance.

And of course, who doesn't love a piano and vocals only breakdown for the bridge (2:08). It's like we never left Dawson's Creek, man. But really - it's the vocals. Desperation suits them in way we could only hope for ourselves.

 #4  "Train Full of Gasoline" - Ducks Ltd.

Straight from Toronto is the all-too-talented Ducks Ltd! This song has a warm sound juxtaposed with some existential and thought-provoking lyrics. According to lead singer Tom McGreevy, "it’s about living with decline. About the feeling that the horizon of possibility in the world is forever being drawn in to align with the edges of the imaginations of a small group of careless rich people."

Their newest record, Harm's Way, is due on February 9th via Carpark.

 #3  "Petroleum" – Yard Act

Yard Act is definitely channeling some serious Beck vibes, and we don't have any problem with that whatsoever. Leeks UK based band assigns playful a delivery of the tune with jumpy bass lines and fuzzy warm casual vibes. Wait for it around 3:44 for an unexpected "Downward Spiral" Nine Inch Nails-like breakdown. Here for it

 #2  "Wendy" - Bad Veins

Vocoders and drum machines... you had us there. A mournful modern lament, "Wendy" recounts the tale of a love lost. We love the horns in the second verse and the killer driving bass line. Makes you want to cruise down the Pacific Coast Highway, hoping for a new life.

#1 "Just Another Rainbow" - Liam Gallagher & John Squire

The Men, the myths, the legends. Need we say more?

Same time next week? Thanks for joining us for this A List!

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