The Top 30 Montreal Songs of 2023

The Top 30 Montreal Songs of 2023

10. Crack Cowboy “Magnum .38”

The sound of heavy distortion, shouty drill-sergeant vocals, one-note bass riffs, and a whole lot of other great post-punky things.

9. NOBRO “Delete Delete Delete”

The sound of regret and embarrassment after bad days on the World Wide Web turned into an infectious garage punk anthem.

8. Chiiild feat. Lucky Daye “Good for Now”

The sound of that liminal, “what are we” phase in a relationship made into a swirling, guitar-driven, atmospheric R&B jam.

7. Gulfer “Clean”

The sound of Montreal’s finest emo band eschewing their usual guitar noodling for warm, ‘90s-evoking pop melodies over some incredibly dark lyrics.

6. Planet Giza feat. Kojey Radical “Elevator”

The sound of pianos, blues guitars, British guest verses and blissed-out vibes gelling together with the utmost precision.

5. Bibi Club “Le feu”

The sound of last year’s champions dropping another luminous, highly-danceable indie pop tune in a short career full of them.

4. La Sécurité “Anyway”

The sound of arguably Montreal’s breakthrough band of 2023 making one hell of an art-punk bop.

3. Kaytraminé “K&A”

The sound of the ideal closing track for a Montreal-Portland collab project that had been percolating for nearly a decade.

2. DVTR “DVTR”

The sound of a whooooooooole lot of firepower, energy and ferocious gusto for a two-person band.

1. Gayance feat. Raveen “Shore Apart”

The sound of a short-but-sweet electro-funk banger full of futuristic synths; crisp, punching rhythms; haunting and enigmatic James Blake-meets-Unknown Mortal Orchestra vocals from Raveen’s Eric Seguin; and the kind of funky, bass-driven grooves meant for sunsets and summer evenings alike. (Shoutout also to “Moon Rising (10 Years)”, which would’ve also ranked very high if I could choose more than one song per artist.)