Top 50 songs by Michigan artists of 2024
A regionalized take on the best music of the year.
Having a chance to survey the landscape of Substack’s year end list culture for the first time as a regular to close out 2024, I have to say, it has felt like that one “Heaven or Iowa” scene from Field of Dreams for me.
I have been creating my own year-end lists for close to 20 years now, so it is comforting to know I am not the only one going to freakish lengths to chronicle my taste as the decades roll on.
Because this blog is dedicated to artists making music in Michigan, it made sense for me to draw more attention to the wide range of musical talent we have in this state and hopefully turn some people in the Substack world on to these artists. That’s the point of this blog and it was exciting to dig in and learn about so many new artists. My only rule: Only one song per artist. To those reading this via email, this post is long. Please check out the full version by clicking the button where you need to.
In lieu of my own personal, generic top albums of the year post, which comes next week, I present Radio Amor’s first Top 50 Songs of the Year by Michigan artists list.
50. Alton Miller - Chari - Original Mix
Smooth and melodic, veteran Detroit house DJ Alton Miller’s Chari reflects a sound that’s instantaneously modern while feeling a bit like a throwback. While Miller has never quite gotten his due among his influential Detroit techno contemporaries, Chari, a highlight of his Love Inside EP that includes cuts from a 2002 single, is another example of why he should.
49. The Accidentals - What a Waste
The first single from their upcoming album TIME OUT 3, What a Waste has The Accidentals fuming about all sorts of things, from changing brake pads to filling out stacks of journals that don’t reveal any significant meaning to feeling like the day to day is a big waste of time. It’s a privilege to forget all the beauty that’s at stake / like you don’t have a choice to make - oh what a waste, Sav Madigan sings on the song’s memorable breakdown. While the Traverse City trio are incapable of writing a song that’s not catchy, What a Waste has a bit more bite than you’d expect, seemingly taking a shot at various billionaires and other powers that be on an inspired song describing a lack of inspiration.
48. Chloe Drallos - Blue of the Morning
Spare and revealing, Detroit singer/songwriter and filmmaker Chloe Drallos presents a complete picture of her expressive talents and potential on Blue of the Morning, a hair-raising standout on her Three Seasons EP. Although Drallos announced her days of performing as the singer/songwriter of the grunge rock band Zilched are over, the songs from the Nashville-recorded EP hint at an encouraging new direction.
47. Fishfly - Cruisin’
A trio of Michigan film scene friends decided to take their art in a new direction with Fishfly, a cryptid-fighting band that has become the latest standout in Hamtramck’s blossoming punk music scene. Marrying elements of traditional '70s and ‘80s punk, Detroit garage and rockabilly, the band’s Boogieman EP melds the paranoia and fear surrounding these fabled creatures into a modern context, incorporating elements of dark humor and blue collar career disillusionment across five break-neck songs. Cruisin’ puts front and center the “playing through the pain” element of the whole work/life balance, with hitting the road and driving the only apparent respite and relief.
46. Mènage Dètroit - I’m a Fool
It’s hard to tell if I’m a Fool feels like an extension of the 1990s Detroit garage scene pioneered by The Gories or an homage to it. Let’s just call it a breakthrough for the garage rock duo Mènage Dètroit (who are still looking for a third member, as it turns out) as they stomp their way through the single with a promise that "you’re gonna pay, I’m a; you’re gonna pay, I’m a fool.” The rootsy riffs and brute force help drive home the duo’s message with an effective brevity.
45. Low Phase - Float
Rising Grand Rapids indie rock band Low Phase go back to the 90’s as Caleb Waldvogel digs deep to deliver the biggest chorus in the band’s catalog on Float, a single that brings to mind the effervescent pop of bands like Stereophonics and Travis.
44. Tammy Lakkis - Dinosaur of the Year
Tammy Lakkis continues to ascend as one of the most exciting electronic producers in the state with her bold style that caught traction on the seductive 2021 single Notice. Part of the second volume sampler for Rare Frequency Transmissions, Dinosaur of the Year finds the detroit DJ experimenting with new textures that evoke a ham-fisted approach, yielding a fascinating, sinister sound.
43. Potionseller - One More Photo
Grand Rapids’ Potionseller are already romanticizing the DIY life on One More Photo, detailing living room shows they sold three CDs at while regretting they didn’t document it all a little better. One More Photo is all the posterity the band needs on its When They Get Old EP — a bittersweet pop punk reflection of the touring blues that’ll be fit for showing their kids someday.
42. Waajeed ft. Miles Bonny - Get Me In the Zone (Original Mix)
The Slum Village DJ and multi-talented producer Waajeed kicked off his latest EP with Get Me In the Zone, a soulful, rhythmic track blending his production with Miles Bonny's repetitious vocals and trumpet. The elements of smooth jazz and 90’s dance in Waajeed’s production are a lovely combination and have a way of bumping into your head.
41. Kevin Saunderson/E-Dancer - Melodica
Classic, hard-hitting Detroit techno from one of its progenitors - does it ever get old? Not when the legendary producer Kevin Saunderson delivers smooth, driving beats like he does on Melodica, a classic cut worthy of Saunderson’s legendary E-Dancer designation.
40. Shadow Show - Mystic Spiral
On Mystic Spiral, the ladies from Detroit psychedelic power trio Shadow Show combine everything they love into one big celebration of a song. It’s a perfect introduction to the band with trippy, washed out harmonies, a taught rhythm and a catchy pop punk spirit that distills the band’s talents into a signature sound.
39. Animal Box - Deadbeat Boy
The sun-fried strut of Animal Box’s Deadbeat Boy wouldn’t feel out of place as a Ty Segall outtake, but that doesn’t automatically equate to the song sounding tossed off or quickly thrown together. While details about the Detroit band are scarce, Animal Box have delivered a handful of high-level indie garage rock songs to date, with Deadbeat Boy’s killer riff standing out as the cream of the crop.
38. Hala - Oh Me, Oh My
The sonic world of Ian Ruhala continued to expand in 2024, with the Detroit indie bedroom pop artist releasing his most tighly produced single to date, Oh Me, Oh My. While its sound is more sophisticated than some of his more irreverent lo-fi material, Oh Me, Oh My is bursting with energy, hinting at a big 2025 for Ruhala.
37. House of Hits - Work That
House of Hits, the collaboration between Detroit DJs Waajeed and LADYMONIX, wastes no time transporting you back directly to the sounds of early 1990s R&B with their their club friendly mix Work That. If that’s your thing, then this duo’s Work That EP is very much going to be your thing, all hi-hat and pulsing synths pushing the momentum with its simple message for the dancefloor: Work that shit.
36. The Crane Wives - Scars
A devastating sequel to one of the band’s best songs, Never Love an Anchor, Scars revisits old wounds with a bold realization to kick off the latest album for Grand Rapids’ The Crane Wives: I’m not the person that I thought I was. The song’s spare message has Emilee Petersmark asking if she was born with a hole in her heart. Despite its dour message filled with doubt, there is a steel-eyed determination to overcome on Scars, a rocking song that kicks off the band’s latest album Beyond Beyond Beyond with force.
35. Isis Damil - Sista
The slick, soulful Sista finds Detroit singer Isis Damil displaying further range of her vocal talents, with plenty of experience as a highly-respected jazz and gospel crooner already on her resume. The daughter of a jazz fusion pianist and a retired music educator and multi-instrumentalist, Damil possesses an innate ability to put her ingrained musical background into her vocal performances. Sista is a song that gives flowers to the deserving and empowers those who stay true.
34. Brother Elsey - Silver Tongue
Country rockers Brother Elsey offer earnest observations of the good, the bad and the beautiful meaninglessness of it all on the weathered single Silver Tongue. Co-written with Susto’s Justin Osborne, the feel good nature of Silver Tongue shines through with its rollicking choruses, offering life lessons that assure you it’ll all come back around again. It’s sure to be an anchoring song on the Stablein brothers’ debut album, due in January 2025.
33. Michigan Rattlers - Heaven
When Petoskey-based rockers Michigan Rattlers kick off their third studio album Waving From A Sea with Heaven, it brings to mind some of the biggest sounds in modern rock: War on Drugs synths with vocals that channel The Killers’ Brandon Flowers. Perhaps a slightly more rugged version of Roxy Music’s Avalon? You could do a lot worse on your “mature album.” Heaven sets the tone, finding the band stretching into new territory while maintaining the songwriting chops that have earned them a reputation as one of the most consistent and reliable bands making music in the Mitten State.
32. Carbon Decoy - Convice the Blind
Aspiring Detroit stoner rockers Carbon Decoy lead off their debut album Superstition Plagues the Purity of All with Convice the Blind. The song’s memorable riff and crashing drums are the baseball equivalent of a first-pitch taken by Happy Gilmore that’s belted into the stadium’s upper deck for a game-winning grand slam. Absurd baseball metaphor aside, Carbon Decoy set a high standard on Convice the Blind, an homage to all things fuzzy and heavy, bringing to mind the sound of bands like Witch and Acid King with drummer Casey Rowe supplying his best Matt Pike growl. With their second full length album expected in 2025, hopes are high for Carbon Decoy’s second at-bat.
31. Extra Arms - Everything Disappears
Fronted by former Thunderbirds Are Now! singer/guitarist Ryan Allen, Extra Arms’ latest album is a masterclass in power pop. Everything Disappears finds the band in peak Superchunk mode, with Allen letting folks know these types of tunes aren’t an accident. I’ve been doing this a long time and I know how it should sound, Allen shouts at one point during Everything Disappears. It’s a humorous and timely reminder in the song that we’re in good hands.
30. Billow Observatory - Conduit
Much of what you’ll hear on the latest trans-Atlantic collaboration between Denmark ambient artist Jonas Munk and Detroit producer Jason Kolb as Billow Observatory feels comfortingly familiar. A patient, desolate track situated in the middle of its Solution EP, Conduit echoes with cavernous synths that uniquely imprint the music with an air of mystery that feels endlessly listenable.
29. RENT STRIKE - Escape From Möbius Strip Mall, Pt. 2
Escape From Möbius Strip Mall, Pt. 2 opens burning with almost comical levels of armageddon. Released in early October, maybe the band was on to something, with frontman John Warmb singing into a hurricane, offering an emotional climax to his latest thematic album project, Möbius Strip Mall. Warmb’s conviction comes behind a message about releasing all of the world’s prisoners and canceling everyone’s debt. As soon as it is done the world begins to heal, Warmb sings with finality, delivering one of his most affecting and memorable songs yet.
28. Kash Doll feat. Shantel May, Ron E - Love Myself
For those leery of the diminishing returns from the self love movement in popular music, consider the catchy shuffle on the chorus of Kash Doll’s Love Myself. Her second full-length album The Last Doll puts front and center the personal growth and hard lessons learned by the Detroit rapper, who released the album independently in November on top of giving birth to her second child in June. As its title suggests, Love Myself is all about self-acceptance and self care behind a delicious, stuttering beat.
27. Delano Smith, sillygirlcarmen - Freak
A throwback in all of the best ways from one of Detroit’s finest techno artists, Freak is dancefloor-ready with its driving beat and swelling synths. It provides a perfect backdrop for Detroit DJ and singer sillygirlcarmen’s seductive command and simple message: I didn’t come here to play, just freak. The duo’s synergy is unmistakable, making Freak endlessly listenable.
26. Danny Brown - Dark Sword Angel
Yeah, it’s a bit of a stretch to include this song on a list of 2024 songs, as its origins date back to 2021, in addition to its status as the first song written for his 2023 album Quaranta. Still, Brown’s modern go-to freestyle Dark Sword Angel was released as a single in September 2024, giving me the chance to skirt the rules and highlight just how great this track is. Behind the strength of Kracq’s Keep Control of What I Am, Brown goes off on everything from 90’s NBA to lewd descriptions of sexual encouters to making plans to buy a drill and some patio seats from Sears, putting at the forefront the silliness that we adore in the Detroit rapper’s bars.
25. PHABIES - Tell Her
Grand Rapids indie pop favorites PHABIES want it all on Tell Her, a song that brushes on everything from questions about eternal life to recapturing innocence to ultimately doing the thing and telling the person you love that you love them. It’s a hearfelt strummer that’s as memorable as anything in the band’s catalog and a promising teaser for the band’s next full length, due in 2025.
24. Boldy James - Evil Genius
It was another productive year for the always-prolific Boldy James, given the circumstances. A car accident that left him in critical condition in January 2023 inspired the legendary Detroit rapper’s reflective and sullen disposition on Penalty of Leadership, the first of FIVE full lengths or mixtapes Boldy is expected to release in 2024. On standout track Evil Genius, Boldy’s deadpan despondence carries the reflective mood created by producer Nicholas Craven, questioning what the cost of “thug livin’” has been. Boldy surmises it’s “shit that they gon’ hold against me when I’m Grammy-nominated,” before conceding “I just wish the bro was with me, look at all the time we wasted” with palpable vulnerability.
23. Cal in Red - She Won’t Say
Cal in Red’s debut album Low Low doesn’t finds the Grand Rapids band wasting no time making its elevator pitch to be your new favorite indie pop act. The brother duo of Connor and Kendall Wright slip into the chorus on opening track She Won’t Say like striking a match, bringing to mind the sleek pop stylings of bands like Phoenix and Porches. It’s not the only High High on Low Low — an album that includes guest vocals from indie star James Mercer on the song Kitchen — just the first one.
22. Ally Evenson - Anything, Anything
On Anything, Anything Ally Evenson is up for … anything, obviously. It’s a breezy traveling jam and standout of her debut album BLUE SUPER LOVE that has Evenson convincing herself she’s really going to leave behind whatever is holding her back this time. Equipped with a noisy rock crescendo, Evenson sends the song’s straightforward pop melody out with a well-earned tizzy worthy of rolling down the windows for.
21. Vespre - Things We Want to Know
The release of music curator Kayla Waterman’s debut record as the recording artist Vespre was a long time coming — about seven years — but worth the wait. The former folk-soul band singer with The Normandies’ Things We Want to Know EP finds Waterman moving in the direction of the seductive stylings of singers like Sade with elements of chillwave. The title track is her most fully-realized song, hinting at Vespre’s dexterity as a recording artist and singer.
20. Bruiser Wolf - Let the Young Boys Eat
Behind one of the most unique and unmistakable deliveries around, Bruiser Wolf continues to dazzle with some of the most punchline-packed songs in rap. Let the Young Boys Eat drops them with regularity, setting the tone for My Story Got Stories with a world weary song about the realities of the drug game. Combining Bruiser’s lyrics with an earworm Brief Encouter sample from producer Harry Fraud elevates Let the Young Boys Eat to new heights.
19. Hot Mulligan - Stickers of Brian
Lansing’s Hot Mulligan continue to churn out some of the best pop punk in this state or any other with the typical anger and worries about the future driving the immediacy of the sleek sounding single Stickers of Brian. Nathan "Tades" Sanville laments that working just to pay the rent and keep the lights on is not his cup of tea. Solutions aren’t easy to come by, though, with Sanville acknowledging his current reality as a touring musician has left him spending the best years of his life “alone most the time.” Only Hot Mulligan can make this despair and longing feel so comforting.
18. BabyFace Ray, Veeze - Wavy Navy University
Detroit rappers BabyFace Ray and Veeze don’t waste any time getting down to business on Wavy Navy University, a standout track on Ray’s latest album of the same name. Behind a wobbly, elastic beat, Ray and Veeze rip through two verses each in a matter of two minutes, touching on experiencing success in the rap game and the price that it comes with.
17. Huey Mnemonic - Ankhobih
As Detroit “afroteknologist” Huey Mnemonic describes it, Ankhobih, the lead track from his Brainscraatch EP, is like the opening ceremony of a drum circle in the year 3000. I’ll buy that, as the Flint-raised Detroit DJ has made a habit of crafting complex Afriko Tekno by drawing inspiration from afrofuturism and cyberpunk, as Ankhobih barrels in with the intention of blurring the lines between ritual and rave.
16. Clinic Stars - Only Hinting
Giovanna Lenski and Christian Molik stepped confidently into their debut LP as Clinic Stars, Only Hinting, to produce a classic slowcore/90’s shoegaze atmosphere. The title track is its most serene offering, as the band’s fuzzed out guitars comes into focus, immediately bringing to mind the cascading, patient beauty spun by shoegaze bands like Slowdive. As the track’s title suggest, the duo appear to just be scratching the surface of their immense potential.
15. CoffeeBlack, WTM Scoob - Perfect Opposites
Abstractly weaving elements of rap, soul and jazz into spacey, warped out production, this insane collaboration between CoffeeBlack and WTM Scoob accomplishes what Lil Yachty’s Let Start Here. aspired to on the shoulders of songs like Perfect Opposites. This hilarious love song about complimentary partners starts with a request to run away before a vocal sample from the movie Tommy Boy segues the song into Scoob realizing he’s found the Lilo to my Stitch/the blood to my crip. Like nearly every track on the pair’s Love at First Sight? album, absurd Easter eggs await with every punchline.
14. The Armed - Martyr Song
We find The Armed picking things up right where they left off on Martyr Song - completely unhinged and in the red. The centerpiece of the mysterious Detroit band’s Everlasting Gaze EP, Martyr Song enters the arena as a tossed off pop punk tune. That’s before things come unglued behind a wall of screaming, double bass and a Fun House-esque saxophone solo. Martyr Song is a worthy heir apparent to the still-mind-blowing material of 2021’s ULTRAPOP and I can’t really think of a better compliment to pay it than that.
13. Shigeto feat. KESSWA - The Punch!
Zach Saginaw’s first album since 2017 as Shigeto finds him taking on the role of producer and composer on the insanely fun and deeply personal Cherry Blossom Baby. On a tracklist chock full of standout guest instrumentalists and vocalists, none elevate Cherry Blossom Baby like KESSWA on album standout The Punch! With a punchy 80’s pop swing and stuttering beat that immediately puts you in a good mood, KESSWA delivers seductive lines in a carefree drawl, just waiting on her significant other to make the call. Saginaw’s production eventually spirals out with elastic synths, sending off one of the most impressive cuts in his extensive catalog.
12. Rabbitology - The Bog Bodies (Dorm Demo)
Nat Timmerman continues to kick out some of the most exciting sounding indie rock straight from her University of Michigan dorm room, where she wrote and recorded The Bog Bodies (Dorm Demo). It’s easy to see why the song went viral online, with its light as a feather melody and savvy production that pays homage to early 2000s indie artists like Iron and Wine, M. Ward and Bat for Lashes. Timmerman has a clear fascination with drawing from nature in her songwriting to explore complex topics like devotion, loyalty and sacrifice, articulating it all with conviction on The Bog Bodies.
11. J.U.S. feat. Fat Ray - NASCAR
Bruiser Brigade producer and engineer J.U.S. showcased his skills and braggadocio at the mic in a perfect partnership with Oakland producer Squadda B on their breakthrough album 3rd Shift. The pair bring together two sounds and philosophies on 3rd Shift, where you’ll find J.U.S. spitting with supreme confidence and finding his comfort zone with a Squadda B behind the boards, J.U.S. is at his most confident on NASCAR, offering some abusurd shit talking he and Fat Ray back up with ease behind one of the the best sing-along choruses of the year.
10. Michigander - Giving Up
Behind a groove reminiscent of Billy Joel’s It’s Still Rock and Roll to Me or Spoon’s Let Me Be Mine for our younger readers, Jason Singer, aka Michigander finds himself ready to give up on trying to make someone happy. Maybe himself, as well? Regardless of who the song’s massive hook is aimed at, it’s probably the best one Singer has written to date, gaining traction on rock radio and upping the expectations for his long-awaited self-titled debut album due in Februrary 2025. Singer has never shied away from writing about his desire to become a better version of himself and Giving Up is no exception to that storyline. It’s an alternative pop anthem and another example of Michigander’s prowess as one of the best songwriters in the state.
9. May Erlewine - To Say Goodbye
May Erlewine in her Angel Olsen phase? Yes please. The soulful singer/songwriter proved her versatility once again on 2024 single To Say Goodbye, one of the most arresting songs in her deep catalog. Written in collaboration with Woody Goss, the song also stands out as one of the best recordings in Erlewine’s career, hinting at, as she describes, “deeper knowings of the subconscious” and the “subtle ways we find endings in life.” Mostly, it’s just a really beautiful, contemplative song.
8. Windy & Carl - Heavy Early
The loss of a pair of close friends, a major surgery and the closing of their Dearborn record store serve as a heavy emotional backdrop to ambient music duo Windy & Carl’s latest release Heavy Early & The Creation Of Venus. Heavy Early is the first of two nearly hour-long compositions the couple produced in 2018 but let languish until recently, after the loss ambient composer Brian McBride of Stars of the Lid caused Windy Weber and Carl Hultgren to ruminate on what time means and how life can be cut short. The result is two markedly different ambient works, with Heavy Early serving as a more joyous tribute to the jangly guitar stylings of The Smiths’ Johnny Marr. “Something about it sat with me in a very good place and there was so much about this riff that was new and different and exciting to me,” Weber said of Hultgren’s playing. While the second composition is a more serene meditation on loss (and a fitting sonic tribute to McBride), Heavy Early is more indebted to the classic Windy & Carl sound, with each serving as massive bookend emotions.
7. BabyTron - A2Z
Is rapping wunderkind BabyTron casually ripping through the alphabet really his musical statement of 2024? I suppose you could counter that question with a question: Do you actually care? Of course there are a dozen songs I could choose to label as the “best” from the always prolific Ypsilanti native, but none bring the sharpness of his development as a rapper into focus while maintaining the core elements of what make his music so fun like the nimble A2Z. Few rappers possess the playful wordplay BabyTron displays on A2Z, turning the entire letter-centric rhyme fest into one big hook of a song.
6. Greet Death - Same But Different Now
The highly-anticipated return of Flint-ish post rockers Greet Death was worth the wait with the release of Same But Different Now, a relentless genre exercise that feels like it shoulders the weight of the world. Describing a recollection of getting high as a kid with a friend the songwriter now no longer has any connection with, Same But Different Now finds itself grappling with change in all of its forms. Same But Different Now is a builder that requires patience despite constantly chugging in motion; paying off richly with an explosive wall of noise that has the band’s sound feeling more dense and shimmering than ever.
5. Jack White - Old Scratch Blues
Creeping in with sinister intentions, it takes about one minute of Old Scratch Blues for you to realize you’re in for Jack White’s best rock album since his days with the Stripes. In a year where it felt like White set out to prove he’s still about that true rock and roll spirit by putting together last-minute shows at cozier DIY-ish venues, his music backed that sentiment up with some of the most inspired guitar playing of the Detroit legend’s solo career. It feels unfair to highlight just one track on No Name, so just hit play and experience the sound of potential once again being fulfilled behind one of the liveliest guitars remaining in rock and roll.
4. Fred Thomas - Wasn’t
On Wasn’t, it feels like Ypsilanti indie lifer Fred Thomas is finally getting to the bottom of some things. About music? Relationships? Life? Probably! It’s best to just let Thomas’ masterful lyrics do the talking during the first six minutes of this behemoth that scoots in with an adrenaline rush bass line and proto-Pixies riff and exits with nine minutes of feedback and a harp section, sending Wasn’t out angelically and on Thomas’ terms. The veteran of dozens of bands in Southeast Michigan, Thomas described his latest album, the career-defining Window in the Rhythm, as one that grabs at the best aspects of a lot of things he’s been trying to do for a long time. On Wasn’t, he distills that entire mission statement into one carefully crafted, 15-minute epic.
3. Billy Strings - Gild the Lily
Multiple nights of sold out shows streamed live nightly on Nugs. Sitting in with Phish, Primus and Tool. A guest song on Post Malone’s country album. His own album becoming the first bluegrass record to reach Billboard’s top album sales chart in more than 20 years. While he’s long been big in Michigan, 2024 is the year Billy Strings became everyone’s favorite picker. It was also his biggest year as a recording artist, kicking the year off with the release of his best collection of live jams on Live Vol. 1, before showing he was serious about making a statement in the studio, offering up his first Album with a capital A — the Jon Brion-produced Highway Prayers. It’s a collection of tunes that pay homage to bluegrass, outlaw country, talking blues and stoner jams, all while remaining unmistakably true to his roots.
And then there’s Gild the Lily, a breezy, crossover pop song that reveals yet another side to Strings, all while ensuring his head remains in the clouds. That’s where you find him wishing for nothing more than to sing along with the birds, if he only knew the words. I’ll admit the turn of phrase came off a tad corny to me initially, but the song wins you over with its sincerity and Strings’ economic lyrical choices that say more with less. Don’t waste your wishes on perfection, he sings in a tone that warns against looking back. It might be a tempting for Strings to do just that after an unforgettable year, but Gild the Lily lays bare that he wishes for nothing more than to capture the beauty of the moment.
2. HiTech - SPANK!
It’s easy to get caught up in the smut the trio of King Milo, Milf Melly and DJ 47Chops are selling on any given track as the Detroit DJ trio HiTech, particularly a hot new song called SPANK!, which is about exactly what you think. Where the Detroit Ghettotech pioneers separate themselves, though, is in the sophistication of the production and ear for melody behind this hornball anthem. Arriving in a haze of video game sounding distortion, SPANK! is all polyrthyms, hand claps and sexual motivation behind guest artist GDMRW, as laser synths and twinkling keys work together to straddle the line between headphone masterpiece and club classic. Nobody else in the state is making music this absurd or raunchy or fun.
1. Liquid Mike - Mouse Trap
Given what you know, the American dream is a Michigan hoax/ You can see it from your window/ Rust on the frame from the salt on the road, Mike Maple sings to open Mouse Trap, the emotional centerpiece of the band’s breakthrough fifth album Paul Bunyan’s Slingshot. Quickly, you’re transported into Maple’s world, which is seen through the route he walks with the United States Postal Service. Maple’s profession and knack for creating insanely catchy pop songs launched plenty of think pieces from journalists romanticizing the blue collar job he balances with his blossoming pop punk band.
While the backstory for the Upper Penninsula band has generated its own folklore, it’s a much better story when you consider they made a pop punk classic, propelling the band to tour the country with some of their heroes like Joyce Manor. You could prop up several of the songs on Paul Bunyan’s Slingshot as the No. 1 song on this list and it wouldn’t feel out of place, but none encapsulate Maple’s big swing at distilling the evolving experience of rural, small town life like Mouse Trap. While technically released as a single in October 2023, the song anchors the album’s themes of isolation and questioning what all the work has been about. Maple told me the album was his contribution to the long-standing tradition in pop punk music of focusing on describing his hometown, from enduring the harsh winters to seeking out cheap thrills. Paul Bunyan’s Slingshot lives up to that billing as a shining example and Mouse Trap is a prime example why, cementing the status of both as Michigan classics.