Q1/25 electropop slay: My ultimate, no-cap, high-key fire Top 30

The synths? "Wavy". The choruses? They "hit different". My ability to sound natural saying this? Absolutely nonexistent.

Hey besties! It's your friendly neighbourhood synthpop nerd here with another quarterly Top 30 list packed with immaculate vibes, crisp beats and etheral melodies. So etheral, in fact, they probably have a part-time job as a celestial being. Yes, you guessed it, it's confused suburban dad desperately attempting to stay hip, or as the kids say, "not get absolutely ratioed" by the algorithm overlords, even though my content cannot possibly be relevant in a world dominated by clips showing amusing near misses and breaches of health and safety regulations at construction sites and AI-generated cats cooking stir-fry dinners.

Even so, this Q1 list is "straight gas" and "absolutely goated", i.e. rather good. It's like "no skips, all hits", and possibly some mid takes. lt's got bangers that deserve a spot in your Spotify Wrapped 2025 pregame playlist, and have made me nod aggressively in my car while pretending to be in an 80s movie montage. It's got dreamy synth layers and choruses that make you feel like you’re running through neon-lit rain.

This time, however, the list is somewhat lighter on my preferred brand of bleepy-bloopy nostalgia, slightly less synthy and more poppy – as can be seen in the following top 5. I feel like I should apologise, but am unable to do so, because three of the most featured artists on the list simply released really good albums this quarter, and happen to be "mainstream". But don't worry, there are also deeper cuts that make me feel superior, tracks that only "real ones" know, those with great taste and turntables they barely use.

Olly Alexander: When We Kiss

An absolute "chef’s kiss" of a track, best of the season for me. A certified anthem. Perfect melody and production by Danny L Harle. The whole album, Polari, is near perfect, so I don't really understand the lukewarm reviews. Altogether four songs from it ended up on my Q1 list, among them "Make Me A Man", co-written and -produced by Vince Clarke.

Olly's re-enactment of the original olympics. Just a bunch of oiled-up dudes, pulling on their longbows, quivers swinging in the Mediterranean breeze.

The Weeknd: Open Hearts

This is a "unit" of a track, a real bop, as the youths used to say. It made me declare “Oh, this slaps,” before immediately questioning whether I should ever say that again. Probably considered the throwaway song by most serious reviewers because it's closest to the 80s vibe of some of Abel's earlier work, with Max Martin on production duties. But a highlight for me, almost making me want to buy a synth I don’t know how to use.

Hard to tell if Abel's sweaty brow is a result of pushing his abilities as a so-called "actor" to the limits, or simply being frustrated of tomorrow simply not hurrying up enough.

Lady Gaga: How Bad Do U Want Me

At first I wasn't sure about this one. Is the synth riff a much too obvious rip-off of Yazoo's Only You? Does it basically turn into a Taylor Swift song too, ahem, swiftly, and miss its potential? The answer is sort of a yes to both, but I still can't help playing this repeatedly. Which means it's a great pop song. It's simply the one that owns my soul right now. If I had to explain why, I'd just scream into the void. You get it. And the Mayhem album is simply one of Gaga's finest, if not the best. It gets as many entires on my quarterly list as Olly's.

We get it. A cracked mirror and distorted image. Congratulations, you’ve unlocked the “Intro to Art School” starter pack. Next up: blurry childhood photo and a song called "Reflections (Of My Broken Self)".

Sophie Ellis-Bextor: Relentless Love

This vibey disco ditty is simply unhinged in its greatness. It "served", or ate, and left no crumbs. Possibly both. The vibes are "giving"...something, but they are definitely giving. In all seriousness, there's an interestingly PSB-sounding intro to the track, before it goes full-on disco. I love how Sophie is enjoying a new-found success, and deservedly so.

And then there was only one disco diva left in Celebrity Squares.

Shelter: All at Once (Atoms Collide) – Extended Mix

And then we reach The One That Made Me Question My Life Choices: This song is so good it had me staring out a rain-covered window at night, pretending I was the main character. I was in my villain era, but, like, in a cool way. If I were 20 years younger, I would have already made a dramatic TikTok to it with too much eyeliner and a cryptic, lowercase caption like: "idk. just feels like this." No really, this is best of Q1's old-school, Erasure-ish tracks that I just can't get enough of. Shelter have delighted me along the years with many a brilliant synth tune, and deserve to be much bigger than they are. And Mark Bebb's angelic voice is one of my favourites in pop.

The Mega Hardcore Rave Anthems of the 90's compilation album called and wanted their cover art back.

And there you have it. If you made it this far, congrats – you are either extremely patient or also over 50 and fond of dad jokes. Either way, "we ride at dawn", whatever that means. Catch you next quarter – unless the algorithm cancels me first. Peace, love, and unnecessary synth arpeggios to all. Keep those vibes immaculate and beats punchy!