Marina
I went down a deep polnalyubvi rabbit hole this year, listening to her songs for hours on end, which was pushed even further over the edge by her fantastic new album. Though the first song of hers I discovered was Песня последней встречи (Song of the last meeting) based on the eponymous Anna Akhmatova poem, the one I've listened to the most this year was Твои глаза (Your eyes). Polnalyubvi has an unmistakable, soulful voice and one-of-a-kind style that blends indie pop, baroque rock, and ethereal – and she indeed sounds ethereal and heart-wrenchingly beautiful. My two other favorites of ‘23 are Faithless by The Airborne Toxic Event and All My Life by The Lathums, which has unsurprisingly been featured in our songs pieces earlier this year.
Elizaveta
The soundtrack to my 2023 was definitely written by Mitski. I've happened to mention her more than once in our articles (and it probably will happen again) as her songs, old and new, always hit home to me. Not being able to resist her gentle, melancholic charm, I’ve chosen I Bet on Losing Dogs as my favorite one.
The other great discovery of mine was Вектора by OZORA. Their cosmic energy and thoughtful lyrics shaped my mood for the entire summer.
And finally, reinventing my childhood music aka my parents’ playlist, I accidentally played Boney M – Rasputin so many times that other more conventional tracks of mine couldn't make it into the top three.
Catherine
According to Spotify, my top song this year was Caves by CLANN. It’s actually part of my concentrating-inner-power playlist, so that’s no surprise. Though just over a minute-long, this song somehow evokes a lot of emotions and a strong image of… adventure? I guess it will still be going strong for me in 2024, too.
In the aforementioned playlist, Caves was followed by Borders by Kalandra – now, the impact of this one I cannot begin to describe. Time and time again, this song helped me find my strength, something to lean on that’s more permanent than anything external and yet ever-flowing and changing. On the borders of safety, that’s where I find peace – these lyrics work like a spell on my worried mind.
The third favorite is hard to pick, but I want it to be A Concert Six Months From Now by FINNEAS. No matter what, whenever it started playing in my headphones, I immediately stopped whatever I was doing to listen to this love story sung so sensitively one more time.
Subhrajit
2023 was a special year for me as I got introduced to a whole new country and culture. And you cannot deny that music is an integral part of that process. In the beginning, I had no idea what the words meant, but I found the music really catchy. Later, as I started learning the language, I began comprehending the meaning of the songs and they captured my heart and soul. Here are my top 3:
This is the best romantic song that I have listened to in a while. It’s meaningful and groovy. The scenes shown in the music video are also my personal favorites. A dream wedding, right?
The other two songs that I listened to the most in 2023 are also Vietnamese. I got introduced to the first one when a friend of mine sang it at a get-together. The second one was aired on a TV show where a guy expressed his feelings for a girl through the lyrics of his original song. Both of them are truly meaningful and portray a deep sense of love, faith, and commitment.
