Top singles artists
1. YelloPain: The rapper was serious about dropping material in 2023. There was a flurry of non-album singles in the early part of 2023, including “On A Leash” in February, “I’m Calling You” and “Fake” in March, “Mind of a Hater” in April and “Forgiveness” in May. YelloPain released his album, “Bloody Summer,” on Aug. 5. He returned to the single format later in the year with “Christians” in October, “Worked for It” in November and “That Ain’t Sexy” in December.
2. J Fletch: This Dayton DJ and producer of lo-fi beats has been ultra-prolific in the last several years. Beatmology released his track “Calling for You” in January. More than 40 other instrumental singles followed such as “Gem City,” “Dark Roast” and “Sunday Morning.”
Credit: CONTRIBUTED PHOTO
Credit: CONTRIBUTED PHOTO
3. Arianna Holiday: This Dayton singer displayed versatility with an eclectic batch of singles. “I Am the Storm,” a dub step-EDM track with the Lost Order, came out in May. “Time’s a Waistin’” is an acoustic duet with Noah Back that dropped in September. “Wet Laundry,” released in October, is a sultry R&B song. “Runaround Stu,” a takeoff of “Runaround Sue” featuring VIPeach, also hit streaming in October, followed by “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree” in early Dec. 6.
4. Tod Weidner: This musician lives in California but will always be a Daytonian thanks to his years fronting hometown faves Shrug. Weidner, who was also a member of local acts like Motel Beds, the 1984 Draft and Tim, has been releasing digital singles for the last two years. The latest, “Favorites,” hit streaming in August. Other singles are “Blues for Lanegan” and “Raising Pain” from February and “All That Trouble” from January.
5. TV Queens: The synth-pop project driven by Darryl Robbins dropped its third single of the year in December. “Mallory” is a mid-tempo dancefloor banger featuring solo lead vocals from Maria Dixon. “Gardens,” released in July, is a pensive, down-tempo number highlighted by the dual vocals of Dixon and Nathan Peters. Overthought Musik released TV Queens’ first single of 2023, “Show Me,” on Jan. 1. It’s an upbeat electro-pop number that also exploits the sweet dual vocal interplay of Dixon and Peters.
6. Lab Partners: There was a plethora of singles released digitally but there were some physical offerings. Dayton shoegaze legends Lab Partners dropped a pair of 7-inch singles in 2023. “Diving In” b/w “Nights Are Not for You” was out in April followed by “Bring Nothing” b/w “There It Goes” in November. The tracks were recorded in the band’s Glazer Studios and mastered at Abbey Road Studios in England. These tracks are not streaming.
7. The Raging Nathans: Josh Goldman is a huge proponent of physical media. He offered up a couple of 7-inch splits from his band the Raging Nathans on his Dayton-based Rad Girlfriend Records. The punk outfit released the tracks “Spring Cleaning” and “Mediochrist” on record with Mikey Erg in March. Another split, this one with Dayton’s own the Story Changes, was released in August.
8. Toxic Nobility: It was a busy year for this punk rock outfit with a handful of digital singles. “DWMO,” was released in March, followed by “Call to Rise” in May, “Reach” in July and “Brightside” in September.
9. Dreadful Rumor: This hard rock act placed a number of songs on streaming in 2023. “Miss Mistreater” and “Mr. Theater” hit listeners in May, followed by “Shove It” and “The Bank Ran Out of Money” in July and “Punch the Dragon in the Face” in October.
10: The Bruins: After Gabe Maas and the Bruins released a live album and an EP in the spring, the frontman dropped his own name from his group. The rebranded R&B-pop outfit released the infectious single, “Devil’s Reject,” on Aug. 24, followed by “Scary Flick” on October 5.
Best of the rest
Dayton-based R&B singer Yvnn is new on the scene but is making a name for herself with her debut single, “Gravity,” and the follow-ups “Swing My Way” and “Others.” David Payne, frontman for the New Old-Fashioned, released the countryfied solo song, “Best Intentions.” Tipp City-based pianist and singer Reyna Spears released the solo single, “Lies.” There were folk offerings like Brother Hill’s “Generation Repeat” and “The Walk” from Freya’s Felines, a trio with Kyleen Downes, Abigail Moone and Sisco Red.
Yellopain wasn’t the only rapper playing the singles game in 2023. Champagne937 released “Kissed By Fire,” C-Money Baby had “Not Good At Love” and “Glocktober,” SleekoGotBars dropped “Championship Run,” and Candy Barz unleashed “Angel Reese” and “YSL.”
In addition, there was a ton of output in the punk, indie and hard rock realm. Gardener, formerly Speaking Suns, released “100″ and “Talk 2 U.” There was “Bleach Daisy” from Bomb Bunny, Knavery’s “Cool,” “Sleep Like Hell” by Turboslacker, Pilot Strike’s “I Need It” and “Omen Wilson” by the Social Q. Rude Scholar dropped “Whispers in the Mist,” “Undercovers” and “Are You Ready,” while Motel Faces had “She Is Love” and “Another Shot Tonight.”
That is just a sampling of what Miami Valley acts had to offer in 2023.
Contact this contributing writer at 937-287-6139 or donthrasher100@gmail.com.
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