We’re at that point in 2025 when it’s time to say “what a year, huh?” To which you respond, “it’s July.” But whether the months have zipped by or moved like molasses, the homegrown tunes released over the last six months have provided a soundtrack for powering through whatever nonsense 2025 and its hellions hurls at us. From Western Massachusetts alt-county to pops of punk and shoegaze from Providence, here are 10 of Vanyaland’s favorite homegrown songs of the year (so far).
Cut The Kids In Half, ‘Song of Two Humans’
When Cut The Kids In Half vocalist Jack Silver sings “I ain’t worth the sleep you’re losin'” on “Song of Two Humans,” it’s not as self-deprecating as it sounds. If anything, it’s a generous offer to cut the cord — and he’s hoping the other party takes him up on it. “Song of Two Humans” is about as catchy as a dirge can get, layering acerbic alt-rock and a matter-of-fact delivery to hammer the final nail into a relationship’s coffin. The tune and its needling message wound up on the Boston-via-New Jersey band’s album What We Became this past January.
“I wrote the first lines after a strained conversation with an old friend, and somewhere along the way it became about a relationship,” explains Silver. “It’s about what it’s like when you discover everything about someone, and one day you realize you don’t like what you’ve found. One day you’re together, the next you’re in each other’s way.”
Evan Greer and Ryan Ryan Cassata, ‘Protect Trans Kids (WTFIWWY)’
It’s a beautiful thing, standing up for trans youth and asking a bigot what the hell their problem is, all in one fell swoop. And Evan Greer and Ryan Cassata’s song “Protect Trans Kids (WTFIWWY)” — released in March on Transgender Day of Visibility — is an exemplary model of such efficiency. The pair’s song rallies for the safety of transgender youth with simple-stated common sense; “Let ’em play sports / Let ’em have fun / Let ’em go to school,” the punk tune proclaims. Is letting kids be kids — and themselves — really such an ordeal? Moreover, can anyone object to those demands without cranking out a mini thesis paper? Probably not. Because explaining love is simple, and explaining hate is a chore.
“I really just want this to be a song that trans youth can scream along to in the car or sneak into the office and blast over the PA at their high school,” Greer told Vanyaland. “Transphobes have gotten more sophisticated in their hateful messaging, and we’ve seen alarming backsliding from allegedly progressive politicians who are happy to throw trans people under the bus in exchange for political capital. They like to say things like ‘it’s complicated’ or ‘I support trans people but…’ The goal of this song is to remind people that it’s actually pretty fucking simple: Let kids be kids. Stop bullying them. Just leave them alone.”
Gymshorts, ‘PMDD’
Look, we understand that discussing any topic with the word “menstrual” involved might make some people uncomfortable. Do you know what’s also uncomfortable? Living with years of fatigue, body dysmorphia, “debilitating” lower back pain, and mood swings, all because of a misdiagnosis. So maybe take one for the team and turn up “PMDD,” Gymshorts’ punk ripper about enduring life with premenstrual dysphoric disorder. Written from the vantage point of Sarah Greenwell — the Providence band’s singer and guitarist — “PMDD” is a balm for other people living with the disorder, and a wake-up call about the realities of PMDD for everyone else.
“It’s always kinda scary to write something so personal and vulnerable but I’ve always found comfort in making light of dark stuff,” notes Greenwell. “It’s been empowering to own something that disrupts my life… It makes me feel good to imagine that a song I wrote could help someone who is going through something similar. When I see girls going nuts at these shows, I’m like ‘fuck yeah!’ This is a movement!”
Lewis M., ‘KENNY OMEGA’
There’s nothing wrong with an artist assuaging self-doubt in the privacy of their own studio. But tackling that uncertainty publicly — and with a hard-hitting battle cry, at that — is one hell of a flex. To reclaim his potential, Lewis M. channels his favorite wrestler on “KENNY OMEGA,” a fresh start after an era of life that the Boston rapper described as “poisoned.” It’s a champion’s anthem — and while wrestling’s bold moments can be staged, the moxie behind “KENNY OMEGA” is very real.
“When I watch him wrestle, I feel like I’m watching an artist that makes everything they do in the ring feel incredibly intentional and specific,” Lewis told Vanyaland. “His matches always tell complex stories. I view him among my very favorite storytellers in any artistic medium.”
Meech BOLD, ‘BROCKTON BOXER’
There’s repping your city the fun way — wearing themed merch, name-dropping local celebs — and there’s doing it the serious way, and placing your neighborhood’s conflicts the forefront of your art. That’s exactly what Meech BOLD did with his January song “BROCKRON BOXER,” an ode to his hometown bearing the weight of “heavy circumstances… both fiscally and spiritually,” as he explained on Instagram. Through the solo track, the Brockton rapper and Van Buren Records member effectively enters the ring on behalf of his city, using nimble bars to ignite difficult conversations and praise the area’s impact on his life.
“As an adult, being a daily figure within the socioeconomic construct of Brockton, I can truly express the needs of a city I believe to be one of a kind — prosperous beyond measure,” he wrote in the since-deleted Instagram post about the song. “The various trials I’ve encountered within the last three years alone in the city have only built up a champion spirit.”
Oompa and Connie Diamond, ‘HO3 SH!T’
Oompa gives us wisdom. She gives us hope, wrapped in an infectious groove. She gives us a model of unflappable grace. And she gives us ass-shakers, a la “H03 SH!T,” her April collab with Connie Diiamond. That’s not to say that the Roxbury rapper’s saucy single lacks depth. If anything, “H03 SH!T” demonstrates a thorough understanding of what it takes to make a crowd drop their money and/or body on the floor. Either way, you’re going to be feeling it in the morning, when the electric bounce of “H03 SH!T” is still ringing in your nears.
Paper Lady, ‘Joe Modern’
These are divided times, but rest assured that we can always reunite against a common enemy: Slimy real estate associates. Paper Lady’s unique choice of topic for their song “Joe Modern” isn’t why we love the April single — we chalk that up to how its post-punk advances in precarious leaps and bounds — but the subject matter certainly cements it as one of Boston’s most memorable releases of the year.
“One of [the songs] is about our realtor that we were working with when we were looking at houses and he’s just like, the worst, so we wrote this song about him,” said Paper Lady vocalist Alli Raina, describing the song at Boston Calling last year before their performance on the Orange Stage. “I feel like our Boston people will understand that — the frustration of working with a realtor.”
ShellzWithAZ and Brandie Blaze, ‘VOWELS’
Class is in session, and ShellzWithAZ and Brandie Blaze have the floor. The two area emcees — from Brockton and Boston, respectively — teach a lesson in declarative statements with their January tune “VOWELS.” Their prime example? The line “A E I O U / I make this shit look good.” ShellzWithAZ and Blaze lob various versions of the lyric back and forth, building hype as they vault off each other’s momentum. “VOWELS” shines for its streamlined self-confidence, but also its seamless flow between the two artists. ShellzWithAZ and Blaze don’t just make collaborating look good — they make it look easy.
Silvie’s Okay, ‘Butterfly a Moth’
Take “thank u, next” by Ariana Grande, but swap the pop sass for serene alt-country. With his February single “Butterfly a Moth”, Western Massachusetts artist Silvie’s Okay emerges from a breakup with mindfulness and grace, not unlike sloughing off a chrysalis. It’s a rare, refreshing perspective that positions a relationship’s end as a welcome and necessary rebirth.
“‘Butterfly a Moth’ was such a gift to receive as a song, kind of this full circle moment,” Silvie’s Okay — a.k.a. Vince Thompson — told Vanyaland. “It was late spring after a breakup and I was truly the happiest I had ever been in my life. I hadn’t wanted the relationship to end while it was happening — I was holding onto something that was actually hurting me and causing me to regress and act out younger versions of myself, a pattern I had witnessed before when I couldn’t let go of things. As soon as the relationship ended, I turned around and saw the life I had been neglecting.”
Wooll, ‘LIC’
Shoegaze is often an all-consuming sound: A shroud of hazy rock that descends upon the listener and fogs up their mind and surroundings. But “LIC,” the March single from Wooll, is more akin to a pattering drizzle — which is probably why the Providence band describes it as “shoegaze-adjacent.” Now the closer of their May album Thistle, the song’s swirls of melancholy sound deceivingly cozy, wrapping smoky tendrils of electric guitar around whomever’s tuned in. It’s a remarkable balancing act.