It’s never easy to summarize Boston’s annual outpouring of homegrown music, but hey, someone’s gotta do it. Whether you’re seeking an earnest confidence boost or a funk-spiked sendoff for your ex, chances are a Boston artist penned exactly what you’re looking for in 2023. Check out our varied highlight reel from this year, ranging from apocalyptic indie-rock to bubblegum hip-hop.
Brandie Blaze featuring Miranda Rae, “So Free”
Brandie Blaze has unleashed a salvo of stage-scorchers over the years, yet the Boston rapper’s boldest moments often coincide with her most gentle ones. Released in April on Blaze’s record Broken Rainbows, “So Free” casts off years of aggressive misgynoir and fatphobia, undermining society’s animosity with a nurturing tone for her listeners. “All that self-love, yeah it is mine,” she emphasizes, her voice sparkling with levity as she encourages listeners to claim the confidence they deserve. While the cavalier exchange of sexploits on “Die Mad” offered some of Broken Rainbows’ most brilliant pops of color, the radiance of “So Free” is simply unrivaled. Shine on, Brandie.
Divine Sweater, “When the World is Ending”
When the ocean rises to consume us in the near-ish future, we’ll all look back at Divine Sweater’s record Down Deep (A Nautical Apocalypse) and wonder how we didn’t see the writing on the wall — especially when it sounded so sweet. The Boston band’s 2023 album compiles scenes from the end times, ameliorating environmental nightmares with trancelike dream-pop. As the album’s quasi-thesis, “When the World is Ending” prioritizes a chin-up attitude in the face of a personal or global catastrophe. “When the world is ending / Gotta have someone pretending with you / When the world is ending / Gotta keep the mood ascending right through,” coos vocalist Meghan Kelleher with sagacious calm. It’s a gentle reminder that you can be your own life raft with the right mindset (and some charming indie rock as life coach).
Felicity Estelle and Naughtyy, “whatchu wanna do?”
The answer to Felicity Estelle and Naughtyy’s query “whatchu wanna do?” is irrelevant. It doesn’t matter what you want do; what you’re going to do is listen to the pair’s bouncy summer collaboration, whether you’ve on the second spin or seventieth. The joint effort from the Lynn singer and Brockton rapper has replay value for days, as Estelle’s silvery vocals bookend appropriately risqué bars from Naughtyy (which include — but are not limited to — mentions of spitting, choking, and a metaphor about licking dishes clean). And while “whatchu wanna do?” is clearly a not-so-innocuous invitation, it might as well be illuminati-level mind control, considering how easily it wedges into the crevices of your brain like the sticky bubblegum hip-hop it is. Good luck prying this earworm from your noggin anytime soon.
Melissa Ferrick, “Black Dress”
“Hot under the collar” just got a lurid new meaning. Boston music vet Melissa Ferrick zips up a passionate tussle between lovers in the August single “Black Dress,” her first original music in eight years and first release with Kill Rock Stars. In the restless alt-rock stomp, a narrative of fury quickly turns to frenzy — then gets frisky and succumbs to… another f word. Whether you see it as dressing up Ferrick’s usual folk, or dressing down straight-ahead rock, Ferrick’s “Black Dress” fits just right.
Leopard Print Taser, “Esta Festa Me Molesta”
At long last, a band has crafted one perfect response to the following barrage of questions: Are you going to the party? Are you going to the show? Where have you been? Should I stay or should I go? We henceforth present the chorus of Leopard Print Taser’s anti-party anthem: “You think I like getting dragged and laid out?” As we wrote in June, the single from the Somerville band captures the sensation of patience wearing “as thin as [a] now-burst personal bubble” while “flailing idiots” ricochet off other guests at a party, performance, or other obnoxiously crowded event. “I don’t expect you to back me up” vocalist Leila Bower later repeats with growing intensity, ending the track on a cutting note for whichever friend(s) dragged her into this traumatic congregation. That’s gonna leave a mark.
MonaVeli, “Bad Guy”
Imagine Alice Cooper’s “No More Mr. Nice Guy” — except slathered with swagger and infinitely sexier. MonaVeli’s April single is less about villainy and more about how self-preservation and success will make your critics’ blood curdle. The rapper dons the projected hatred with pride, wearing the weight of her haters’ spiteful gaze like a fur stole. After a seductive jazz instrumental, MonaVeli bursts into the first verse like busting through double doors, introducing a woman who’s fully aware of the heat she’s about to unleash: “I’m about to turn into the bad guy.” You can practically hear her lips curling into a smirk.
Timi O, “THREAT”
When Timi O rapped that he’s a threat on his March single, he wasn’t talking about inter-artist competition — but he damn well could be. The Worcester-raised rapper brandishes blunt verses and A-Space-Odyssy-esque synths as an act of defiance on the standalone track, distancing himself from American stereotypes of “what is expected of you as a Black person,” as he told to Vanyaland. The result is a spacey, hard-hitting solo performance, the rap equivalent a pulsing red strobe light signaling the presence of a formidable force. In a mere 82 seconds, “THREAT” demands listeners to expect nothing but greatness.
TIFFY, “Social Sliding”
Even on a record entitled So Serious, TIFFY can sneak in a few weighty wisecracks. The fuzz-pop maven skewers the concept of social cred on this single from her November album, conveying a belabored eye roll as she surveys a scene buckling under the pressure to appear trendy. If dismissing perceived standing means falling to the bottom of that so-called hierarchy, “Social Sliding” presents TIFFY skating down the side of the pyramid, gleefully ripping a riff while everyone else rots in line for some “fire” photo opp. “I don’t want approval / I wanna be left out,” she decrees on her way down. Less tactful translation: “Later, losers!”
ToriTori featuring Notebook P, “Last Year (LAX)”
When life gives you a shitshow, make like ToriTori and craft some wordplay with the mess. After sharing her single “Places” in March, the Boston artist cut into the scene again with her May EP Pocket Knife, a tight collection of ToriTori’s resilient R&B. Clever closing track “Last Year (LAX)” darts through word associations to banish a tumultuous year, linking the abbreviation for Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) to the word laxative. Which, of course, deftly establishes ToriTori’s once-urgent need to expel all things toxic from her life. “Last year was a laxative / It left me with shiiiiiiiiiiit,” she sings on the chorus, drawing out the final word for emphasis. Nevertheless, “Last Year (LAX)” feels more cheeky than crude, a testament to ToriTori’s ability to flip bullshit into a banger.
Laura von Mari, “Forevermore”
We challenge you to find a song that can uses the phrase “self-aggrandizing” this pointedly (go on, get a dictionary and look that if you need to). The title track of Boston artist Laura von Mari’s September EP takes a scholarly approach to a romantic split, rhyming “apologizin’” with “self-aggrandizin’” and sprinkling in mentions of Hades and Dante Alighieri. Her bubbly funk-pop toasts the breakup, bass notes rippling like an uncorked bottle of champagne — or maybe that fizzy feeling is just the joy that comes from ordering an old flame to fuck off for eternity.