The Best Songs Released in March 2023

HAPPY APRIL! March brought us SO much good music, I hope you’re ready for a rundown below!

Noteworthy album & EP releases:

10,000 Gecs, 100 Gecs
With Love From, Aly & AJ
the record, boygenius
The Art of Forgetting, Caroline Rose
Better Luck In The Next Life, Chiiild
So Much (For) Stardust, Fall Out Boy
That’s Life, FIDLAR
Sheet Music, James Vickery
It’s Never Fair, Always True, Jawny
FORWARD, Jordan Ward
Head of The Love Club, Gretel Hanyln
Did you know there’s a tunnel…Lana Del Rey
How I’m Feeling Now, Lewis Capaldi
Red Moon in Venus, Kali Uchis
Masego, Masego
Bittersweet 16, Mckenna Grace
Past // Present // Future, Meet Me @ The Altar
Endless Summer Vacation, Miley Cyrus
Amelia, Mimi Webb
Fantasy, M83
V, Unknown Mortal Orchestra
i love you but this is goodbye, Princess Nokia
I Live In Patterns, Taylor Janzen
JUNGLE, The Blaze
Rivals EP, Tommy Lefroy
FEVER / SKY, Wilder Woods
Praise A Lord Who…, Yves Tumor

In chronological order:

“Museum” – Matt Maltese
Release date – March 3

Maltese has never been one of my top choices for a playlist, he is extremely talented and tender when it comes to making music, but he also makes me maybe too sad. And yet, as soon as I heard “Museum” I knew it was going to be one of my favorite songs for a while. On a track that is ten times more upbeat than what the British-Canadian is known for, Matt reminisces on growing up, first times, and things that never change, as he tells us about the “museums of our life.”

Although the lyrics bring up sad memories, thoughts of those who are no longer here, and just a general nostalgic feeling that crushes me a little bit, the hopeful and warm melody makes me remember that these are the things that made us who we are. I’ve never been the biggest fan of growing up; I like still feeling like a kid and knowing that I have more future than past behind me, but Maltese’s “Museum” makes me feel a little bit more okay with the idea of getting older and having a story to tell. – Javi

“Hickey King” – Skating Polly
Release date – March 6

The first time I saw Skating Polly was in 2013. The young band, whose members are now in their 20s, was a whole decade younger back then, and when they first took the stage I thought “Aw cute,” the stupid way that many people do when they see young people attempting something incredible, like take the stage in front of a sold-out crowd at The Metro in Chicago. Then they started playing and rocked harder than almost any band I’ve ever seen before. They haven’t lost it in the decade that has passed since that show, especially on one of their best songs yet, “Hickey King,” which was released earlier this month.

The grunge-infused and raucous song is the first single off the band’s upcoming album “Chaos Country Line,” which is due out in June, and I can’t wait to hear the rest of it. – Erin

“To be honest” – Christine & the Queens
Release date – March 8

The lead single from French alt-pop singer Christine & the Queens’ upcoming album PARANOÏA, ANGELS, TRUE LOVE takes cues from his critically acclaimed 2020 track “People, I’ve been sad,” which happened to be my favorite song of that year. His vocals dance over glistening synths, confessing the contradictions that occupy his mind: “I am trying to love/But I’m afraid to kill/And I never know when/When to search or stay still.” “To be honest,” a near-perfect pop ballad with incandescent production, sets Christine & the Queens up for a level of mainstream success he’s not yet achieved, especially in the United States. Here’s to hoping all twenty tracks on the upcoming album possess the same magic. 
-Emma

“Just a Girl” – Florence & the Machine
Release date – March 9

I’d generally never choose to highlight a cover as Best New Music, but Florence & the Machine’s rendition of No Doubt’s “Just a Girl” is one of those renditions that far exceeds the requirements for musical originality. Florence’s signature witchiness takes on an unusually eerie quality and transforms Gwen Stefani’s teen rebellion lyrics into something much more menacing (“Oh, I’ve had it up to here…”).

The track, impeccably produced by IDLES guitarist Mark Bowen, is towering, cinematic, and unabashedly dark. It’s only a bonus that the song itself fits particularly well in the universe of the show it was recorded for—Showtime’s Yellowjackets. No Doubt’s original “Just a Girl” would have been one of the last hit songs the titular girls soccer team danced to in 1995 before a plane crash forced them into dark isolation in 1996. This track is my new standard for songs recorded for TV and film—in spite of it being a cover track. – Emma

“Crashland” – MARIS
Release date – March 10

Do you ever find yourself in the middle of being totally aware that you’re about to make a really bad decision, but decide to do it anyway? Like, falling for someone that you know is going to just end up hurting you? That’s the sentiment I feel when I listen to pop artist Maris’ newest single, “Crashland.” Described as a “sweet and sour ode to New York,” Maris struggles with understanding the decisions she makes “sometimes I wonder if I fall cause I deserve it.”

I haven’t heard a ton of music from MARIS yet, just a couple songs, but I’m looking forward to seeing where this much Missoula born artist goes next. – Kristin

“River” – Miley Cyrus
Release date – March 10

The release of Miley Cyrus‘s 2023 album Endless Summer Vacation was certainly hyped up, to say the least. The lead single for the album, “Flowers,” did astronomically well on the charts, and got people incredibly excited for the rest of the music that was to come. “River” is certainly a song that stands up to expectations of the album, in my opinion. I’m not fully set on the project being great from start to finish, and as of right now, I prefer Plastic Hearts.

But that’s besides the point because I think “River” is a perfect pop songs from start to finish, and I really hope that Miley considers dropping it as the next single off the project. I really appreciated Cyrus’ ability of balancing how powerful her vocals are with a more lighthearted song—something I don’t consider being easy to pull off. – Kristin

“On Drugs” – FIDLAR
Release date – March 17

FIDLAR isn’t the first band to sing about drugs. They’re probably not even the 500th. But what sets the band apart is their honesty about it. There’s no long-winding proclaimed visions of genius that drugs have brought them. There’s no preaching. FIDLAR’s music has always been about how drugs can be super fun, how getting clean from them can be super hard and how your loved one’s expectations of you can be super annoying. The band has developed a devoted following partly because of their relatability. Who can’t connect on some level to letting down loved ones?

“I’ll never change, so, stop asking me,” the band’s vocalist and guitar player Zac Carper sings on “On Drugs,” one of the songs on the band’s latest EP That’s Life. The song is energetic and destined to result in a wild live crowd. I can’t wait to see it live. – Erin

“Dreamland” – Rebounder
Release date – March 29

Do we need more band eras themed and titled Dreamland? No! But we do need more Rebounder music and they deserve the attention and hype they’ve been trying to build in the past couple of years. Introducing chord progressions that make me think of Tame Impala, but instrumentals that get closer to the Arctic Monkeys’ essence, the Chenfeld brothers’ alt-pop feels perfectly balanced and like the pinnacle of a sound they’ve been trying to build since starting the band.

Ever since they released their Subway Songs EP in 2020, they’ve had a couple new songs here and there (including a collaboration with The Neighbourhood’s Jesse Rutherford,) but nothing had seemed like a solid project until this single. Dreamland is nicely and well written, fun in a laid-back way, and includes that old school sound that can’t help but be present in alternative tracks. -Javi

i loved a boy – Thomas Headon
Release date – March 29

It might seem a little forced at first to see a straight boy sing from the perspective of a girl, but it actually felt a little reassuring to hear Thomas Headon sing about how men tend to (drumroll please) waste a girl’s time. And although the chances of him also being just one of those men are still very high, I will give my boy a pass this time and say that I appreciate the approach and willingness to admit that most times doing everything right only pushes guys away (because that makes so much sense, right?)

The main takeaway and lyric from the song is how we sometimes find ourselves wondering why the boy we give our everything to doesn’t even give us the time of day, and that is unfortunately we can all relate to way too well. The song is also just a perfect song to dance around the room like the quirky, not-like-other-girls main character of a movie, as most of the Aussie’s latest releases have been, and that will always be welcomed in my life. – Javi

“SORRY NOT SORRY” – Tyler The Creator
Release date – March 31

Including a Tyler song in this feels a little bit like cheating. He’s after all one of the founding fathers of today’s music, but that doesn’t mean he doesn’t surprise us anymore. On the Deluxe edition of his 2021 album CALL ME IF YOU GET LOST, he recounts experiences that he is not proud of, by half apologizing and half just accepting that things happened the only way they were supposed to happen, hence the title of the single. The new tracks off the album that had been originally cut from the final product, maintain that vintage sound and free spirit that Tyler’s best work has. He has finally embraced who he is and the way things work, and he is letting the world know that he is okay with it. – Javi

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