The time between the Winter Solstice and the Spring Equinox was unusually busy for me this go-round. I started a new position as a weekend radio DJ for Psyched! Radio in San Francisco, so a lot of my music listening habits revolved around the setlists I was building for each of my shows, rather than just being a habit based on joyous consumption. That said, I did have many songs that stayed as my regular rotations for the season – mostly enjoyed on train trips, car rides, and time spent doing menial household tasks.

Tectonic – Insect Ark

I saw Swans twice last year and I really, really enjoyed watching Dana Schecter shred onstage with her lap bass and electric bass, and I was inspired to check out some of her previous work. Her project duo, Insect Ark, was a really fun discovery – while building a 50s diner set this past winter, I listened through the album The Vanishing. This song off The Vanishing begins with a thundering bass riff and a discordant guitar melody. It’s slightly unsettling, but a fantastic composition.

7 Dana – Ekatarina Velika

Since my discovery of this incredible New Wave group, I have had them on repeat pretty consistently. This season, the song was “7 Dana”, which means “seven days”. I love the bass riff and the keyboard melodies on this song, but really Milan Mladenović’s vocals take center stage on this song; the emotion and raw rasp in his voice is a really interesting texture on an otherwise pretty smoothly textured song.

Sleeping Song – The Beauty of Gemina

While searching for new music, I stumbled across It’s Black Friday’s 100 Days of Goth Bands series. One of her recommendations was The Beauty of Gemina, and this song off of their 2024 album, Songs of Homecoming, really stuck with me. I love the gentle sadness that creeps through the entire song, accented by Michael Sele’s vocals. The sharp contrast of the little keyboard ditty after the chorus is a really interesting choice, since it sonically breaks you out of the more gentle tone of everything else.

Relay – Snõõper

Fuzzy, distorted, percussive vocals, deliberate discordance, and feminine rage – what’s not to love? “Relay” is really catchy and I often found myself hitting replay while on my morning commute to work. It’s a bit of a shorter entry than some of the other songs on this season’s Shae-List, but it fits into the repeat’s themes pretty well.

Pedestrian at Best – Courtney Barnett

Super Aussie with a side of feminine rage and wit, “Pedestrian at Best” feels like what you’d hear playing at a queer coffeeshop on an unassuming Thursday morning. I love how we can really hear Barnett’s accent through the entire song and I really love the lyrics in the chorus. They’re abrasive and brash, but they’re clever – “Put me on a pedestal and I’ll only disappoint you / Tell me I’m exceptional, I promise to exploit you / Give me all your money, and I’ll make some origami, honey / I think you’re a joke, but I don’t find you very funny”.

True Killer – Sneaks

This is another song rooted in lyricism, yet simplistic and minimalist in structure. The bass is the main musical star, supported by a simple drum pattern underneath it. Sneak’s vocals feel understated in comparison to the bass, but I feel like it makes you pay more attention to them. I’ve often found myself humming the song to myself while I’m at work – it really is a good earworm song!

Imaginary – Evanescence

I cannot begin to tell you how much Evanescence colored my winter – I got tickets to see them live this coming summer, and I’ve been going through their discography yet again. I love Amy Lee and her incredible artistic vision. It still blows my mind that Fallen is Evanescence’s debut studio album; it really feels like the work of a fully realized artist, and not the work of someone beginning their artistic journey.

O Danima – Darkwood Dub

This group was a recommendation to me by an online mutual of mine from Serbia. I love the jazziness in the bass riffs and I love the vocal harmonies in the chorus – I always find myself singing along. The complex drums and the keys/synths melodies create interesting layers on top of the vocals, making for a really interesting composition that closes out their 2004 album of the same name.

Okay Okay – Pino D’Angiò

Italo-Disco is relatively unknown in the States – it’s actually a genre that came up out of the decline of Disco in the 1970s, gaining popularity through the 1980s in Italy and Germany. “Okay Okay” is actually off of D’Angiò’s debut album, …Balla!, and it’s regarded as one of the best Italo-Disco albums. “Okay Okay” is funky, filled with bells, a melodic bass, and synth melodics.

Maljčiki – Idoli

This ska-like post-punk track off of their solo self-titled debut EP, VIS Idoli. It’s a satire of the Soviet idealism of the working class. You hear a bit of Russian in the beginning (Raz, dva tri – one, two, three) and in the interlude as well. I really enjoy the ska-punkness of the song. It’s lively and it builds tension, aiming for a final release at the very end, spinning out into this cathartic burst of energy. I’ve included the music video here; the audio quality isn’t as good as the studio recording, but the story they’re telling comes across really well in the video!

Nisene – Chainlacing

Haunting, ethereal, lush, and melancholic, this single from New Hampshire-based duo Chainlacing is absolutely incredible. I feel like vocalist Lauren Crosser has sat us in dense, foggy woods to listen to a ghost serenade us with “Nisene”. There’s a guitar that feels like it’s been run through murky water, the synth that graces through like gossamer is gentle and light, and the vocals carry a sense of sadness that holds like frost on grass. The composition of this track is absolutely beautiful.

Hajde luj qyqek (Live) – Yllka Kuqi, Ylli Demaj

In cultivating setlists for Psyched! Radio, I was looking for high-energy Balkan tracks. Lucky for me, those really aren’t hard to find, as those from the Balkans love to dance. “Hajde luj qyqek” is an Albanian-language song from Albanian and Kosovar artists, and is an invitation to dance the qyqek/čoček, a Balkan folk dance. It’s got everything the essential Balkan song needs: a good brass section, a good beat, and vocal trill.

B2b – Charli xcx

I’ll admit – I was really not a fan of BRAT when it came out back in 2024. I will also admit that it took me hearing “B2b” at work every day for a month on end to actually enjoy it. We can say it grew on me rather than held me hostage, but I will concede that it’s a rather catchy tune. The softer vocals atop a pounding synth-bass pattern is a really interesting choice, and I really like how Charli xcx can show off her vocal abilities on this track.

Na zadnjem sjedištu moga auta – Bijelo Dugme

Think it needs more cowbell? Funky guitar and synths, a brass section, and a good groove – this track has it all. I really enjoy the contrast of Željko Bebek’s rhythmic vocals and the breathy “ne, ne” from background vocalist Maja Odžaklijevska – the “ne, ne” is a fun insert in between the lines of the verses.

The Winter of 2025-2026 was a super busy time for me, highlighted by working on a couple film projects and beginning work at Psyched! Radio, which meant that a lot of my sonic choices this month were influenced by building setlists for radio. I’m looking forward to what I’ll keep on rotation in the coming spring!