Hello and welcome back to Iainsights! It has been a fair while since I’ve posted anything on my little corner of the internet where I bring to you my objectively correct recommendations of the best songs to drop each and every month.

I started a new full time job back in May this year, which threw me for a loop. It was my first real step back into the working world and I was simply overwhelmed. Fortunately, I seem to be coming to the end of that brutal learning curve and finding some time for the thing in my life that keeps me sane – the unending flow of incredible new music.

I will preface this post and all posts I send out in the next few weeks in which I’m playing catch up – I’ve not spent quite as much time with new music as I have done in recent years, so I’m certain there are a host of things I’ve missed out on, but I am fairly confident that everything I present to you in these little roundups are examples of the best that present day music has to offer. That said, if there’s anything you think I’ve missed then please do @ me over on Twitter or Instagram.

The last thing I wanted to note is that whilst I’ve slipped away from the weekly update at the risk of burning out completely, I have been keeping up with new music week in week out and creating playlists of the best new songs from each week which can be found here. I highly doubt any of you will be going through them, but I created them and it was very little effort for me to link them all up so if you’re looking for more than that which is included in these monthly roundups then please do give them a look!

Alright, shall we get into it? The one thing I found in being less engaged with music over the past five or so months is that I’ve had less time to really fall in love with songs, so rather than a set top 20 I’ve opted to include only those which felt to me like genuine no-skip tracks – which is why this month we’re sitting on a reduced but healthy 16-song countdown of the best new songs to have been released in April 2022. As ever, happy listening. I’m certain you’ll know a few of these, but I hope you find something new that you like too!

Iainsight’s Best songs from April 2022 playlist

16. Blindside by Alice Merton

There’s something about Alice Merton’s voice that always resonates with me, it’s a nice change from all the brilliant but often same-sounding pop vocalists that usually plug my ears. I’m not tuned in enough to talk about influences or styles, I just think that the opening line: “I sat down with a gun to my head/He told me not to move ’cause if I did I’d be dead” and its nonchalant delivery draws you in nicely to what is a perfect, summery song.

15. Release by 220 KID + ÁSDÍS

I’m a sucker for a little EDM, high-energy pop which this epitomises. That initial build into the first chorus is a masterpiece, even stronger when it comes to pass the second time. For a song that is literally called Release, it more than delivers on its promises.

14. The Season by Oli Fox

Oli Fox has that perfect indie pop voice which he really pins at the centre of The Season. Its bridge is a perfect sonic emulation of The Killer’s All These Things I Have Done which should be more than enough to convince you to check this out and that Fox is one to watch.

13. Take It or Leave It by Aleyna Tilki

Could be that I’m just a sucker for the perfect pop formula, but I really love this brand of guitar-driven, female-led pop that epitomised the 00s girlband ere that re-entred the musical landscape in recent years. Tilki nails it on this. That opener, that build, that vocal – I just fucking love pop music when it sounds this good.

12 Treat Me by Chlöe

It’s certainly been an interesting year for the Bailey sisters – once synonymous, their solo projects are really kicking off with Halle gearing up for what is undoubtedly to be Ariel in next year’s live action Little Mermaid. Not to be outdone, Chloe released the absolute banger that is Treat Me in April, which is just vocally phenomenal. Cannot wait to see what they do next.

11. Come Around Again by Armin Van Buuren, Billen Ted + JC Stewart

I must shout out all the top tier bangers from my workout mix, and Come Around Again has been a key fixture since it dropped in April. Instant hook from JC Stewart who really delivers vocally on this one. Think Medusza and Dermot Kennedy’s Paradise.

10. Apartment Complex on the East Side by Dyland Fraser

Fraser’s Nightmare proved to be one of my favourite songs of 2021 so I’ll always be checking for his new releases and whilst he is yet to outdo himself, Apartment Complec on the East Side is a close second. That build is great, the hook is that impeccable blend of moody-euphoria- a perfect indie-pop, drive-all-night kind of song.

9. Free by Florence + The Machine

I don’t think I’ve really, *properly* liked a Florence song since her How Big, How Blue, How Beautiful record back in 2015, but that all changed with Free: an excellent bit of folk-pop that showcases what Welch does best – sonically encapsulating that feeling of running through the woods on a sunny autumn afternoon.

8. Face The River by Gavin DeGraw

Having grown up on One Tree Hill and blue-eyed soul singers, DeGraw was the epicentre of the Venn diagram of my interests. His voice has always and will always be one of my favourites – that inbuilt rasp, that innate soulfulness, his impeccable upper range that I could only ever dream of. It’s a real gift to just listen to just sing on Face The River.

7. Colours of You by Baby Queen

To be that guy, I’ve been following Baby Queen back since her debut Internet Religion and I had the immense pleasure of seeing her at King Tuts in Glasgow earlier this year for what was one of the best gigs I’ve ever been to. It was intimate and Latham’s showmanship provoked every ounce of energy from the crowd as she played wall to wall bangers. Heartstopper had just come out on Netflix that week and being able to see her at the height of her power performing Colours of You it is a moment that will stay with me for a long time.

6. Crazy What Love Can Do by David Guetta, Becky Hill + Ella Henderson

If I were to give you a checklist of my perfect EDM song it would literally read Guetta + Henderson + Hill. The most accomplished banger since MNEK’s Head and Heart.

5. Memories by Conan Gray

Not to give him all the credit because I know that Gray is an accomplished songwriter, but I would like to give my thanks to Dan Nigro who, through Conan and Olivia Rodrigo, has been instrumental in delivering some of the finest pop music we’ve had in a long time. Everything about this song feels like a shimmering encore with confetti streaming from the ceiling, tears running down your face, so it’s unsurprising to learn it’s been the show closer on his current tour. Stunning.

4. Green Green Grass by George Ezra

I will always have time for an upbeat banger from George Ezra, and this is just that. A touch more pop than his usual stuff – having seen this live twice now you can tell someone was trying to make this radio-friendly with all the synthetic touches – but charming, fun and catchy as hell.

3. Bitches These Days by Olivia O’Brien

Anything that can give me high-energy pop punk from the first line is a winner to me. I’ll admit this song was a grower at first, but now that O’Brien’s hooks are in this has been a firm fixture on a lot of my playlists this year. It’s short, sharp, and that bridge is an absolute killer.

2. Quiet by Camilla Cabello

The thing about Cabello is that you know she is capable of delivering a fantastic pop song, it’s just unfortunate that you have to go digging through her album to find it – but still, when it’s as flawless as Quiet, the effort is justified. The lyrical delivery, the ‘it’s you boy‘, the way she slams into what has to be one of the best choruses of 2022 – this song still floors me every single time.

1. As It Was by Harry Styles

There’s nothing I can add to the discourse around Harry Styles and As It Was which is still on course to be the biggest song of 2022 other than to say: deserved.