Editor’s Note: Anyone who says there isn’t good music coming out these days — and quite literally, every day — simply isn’t paying attention. Vanyaland’s compilation feature The V List highlights the best in new music, both homegrown and national, over the past month, pulling together the sounds that have soundtracked the website in recent weeks. It’s all the stuff we’re bumping here at Vanyaland HQ, one new bop at a time.
Charlotte OC, ‘God, We Tried’
Around these parts, we simply love a good O’Connor comeback story. So we’re excited and intrigued by the return of Charlotte OC, the English singer-songwriter who not only resurfaces with an elegantly dramatic new single in “God, We Tried,” which already feels like one of 2025’s best, but also reveals some personal setbacks that allow proper view to this enchanting new release. “God, We Tried” is described as a poignant and raw reflection on love, loss, and grief, and we’ll let the artist take it from here: “This song is deeply personal to me, I started writing it after my dad passed away. In my grief, I ended up in a relationship that probably wasn’t the healthiest choice for me, and I wasn’t truly allowing myself to heal. If I think about it, all I wanted was a male figure in my life, to fill a void… ‘God, We Tried’ reflects the end of that relationship and the emotional complexity of trying to make something work when it really wasn’t right. It’s about love, loss, and the struggle to move forward while still processing deep grief.” The visual gives us maybe the most enticing bit of music video bike-riding since Bat For Lashes asked what’s a girl to do, nearly 20 years ago. Given the “God, We Tried” lyrical content, it seems that question remains.
MØ, ‘Keep Møving’
A famous 20th-century Englishman once said something to the effect of “When you’re going through hell, keep going.” And that’s the vibe of MØ’s emphatic and euphoric new single “Keep Møving,” where the Danish alt-pop artist drops a crunchy electro-punk beat on all the stresses of modern life. Instantly alluring, Keep Møving” has a bit of a throwback mood to Gwen Stefani’s “What You Waiting For?” and “Two of Hearts” by Stacey Q, and it’s a certified banger. “’Keep Møving’ is an ironic take on my endless to-do list,” says MØ. “It’s about the feeling of unraveling under the weight of everybody’s expectations (including my own) whilst also secretly dreaming of being set free from this constantly shifting, absolutely mental Western world. …I have never enjoyed recording ad-libs as much as I did screaming ‘BUAH!’ in the chorus – definitely my favorite ad-libs ever. The lyrics come from a place of real frustration, but writing and performing this one heals me too.”
Sea Lemon, ‘Stay’
The world is a cruel and miserable place, consistently finding new ways to accelerate those concerns, and sometimes all we wanna do is crawl up inside a song and hide. Providing sonic shelter this week is “Stay,” a gauzy everything-‘gaze tune from Seattle’s Sea Lemon. The warm dream-pop track arrives complete with a video that takes us for a calming walk by the water alongside the project’s Natalie Lew. It’s a divine experience that has us mentally dropping out, at least for an exquisite three minutes and 24 seconds. “‘Stay’ was the first track I actively wrote for my record, and is a little vignette of a man I saw in a local thrift store,” says Lew. “This older guy, probably in his 70s or 80s, was acting as a security guard at this thrift store near my house, but he was basically asleep on the couch the entire time I was there. I couldn’t stop thinking about him after I left, and wrote ‘Stay’ as a reaction to seeing this guy who I felt deserved to take a break. The song became a short story about him, and about how important I feel it can be to have someone in your life willing to tell you to take a step back and just relax.” Most days, we are all that security guard asleep on the thrift store couch of life. And today, tomorrow, and into the scary beyond, Sea Lemon supplies the lullaby.
Wisp, ‘Sword’
San Francisco nu-gaze comet Wisp has a massive year ahead, with festival appearances set for Coachella, Bonnaroo, and Kilby Block Party, as well as an opening slot on System of a Down’s summer stadium tour. It’s all heady stuff, so it makes sense that Wisp comes armed with a “Sword.” The expansive and icy new single aligns her sweeping sound with a cinematic video directed by Rudy Grazziani and Valeriya Dyatko that draws us deeper into Wisp’s vivid sonic and visual landscape. “Sword” is a haunting cascade of emotion, and Wisp has proven able to sling such heaviness with relative ease, as she knows that through the shadowy corridors of darkness awaits light. “‘Sword’ represents the shame and confusion people feel when loved ones hide them from the world,” Wisp says. “It’s about not having a chance to shine because your partner keeps you in the dark.”
Sunflower Bean, ‘Nothing Romantic’
When Sunflower Bean roll into our town, and they do just that on May 17 when the alt-rock band plays Deep Cuts in Medford, they’ll have been in Philly for a show the night before and upstate New York just prior to that. It’s only the start of a 25-date spring tour in support of April’s new album Mortal Primetine. So as American highways deliver the ‘Bean to venues across the country, the trio have a soaring new reflection on that rock and roll life in “Nothing Romantic,” a supercharged ’70-kissed glam anthem that sounds electric out of the speakers. “‘Nothing Romantic’ is about rejecting the myth of the tortured artist — realizing that the joys of creativity don’t have to come from the lows of misery,” declare Sunflower Bean. “The video mirrors this journey, capturing our lives as touring musicians in between nightmarish performances. From green rooms to lost highways, we travel from town to town, feeling alive only in the escape of our show. There’s tension between the connection and solitude; on stage, we’re together, sharing our music with others but later isolation and the price of our sacrifices creep in.” Put this right on the Best of 2025 list — what a fucking tune.