- We have a 3-track Skrillex EP here and we have your classic Skrillex experimental glitchy sound bits here. These leads don't relaly hit and it's all over the place but you have to respect Skrillex's game and his longevity. Obveiously I prefer his more comprehensive tracks but I will never hesitate checking out his EPs like this just to check it out. The title track "Kora" has some nice samplings and groove

Rating = 6/10

Favorite Tracks = "Kora"

1/23 = Fox Stevenson - Sunk Cost Fallacy Deluxe

- Sunk Cost Fallacy was a huge success and fan favorite, so I expected a bit more from this Deluxe album. In general it doesnt really matter like it's not a big deal, but having just one VIP and some acoustic demos is a bit underwhelming. You really only get one new track but I guess this is a net positive. The "Tryhard VIP" is pretty sick I'm not gonna lie I didn't expect this bass spam in your face but it hits hard.

Rating = 3/10

Favorite Tracks = "Tryhard VIP"

1/23 = Tej - HEY ME, IT'S ME EP

- This up and coming artist Tej comes in with this 6-track EP of serious refreshing bass-house work. It completely leans into this modern era of EDM but with this garage tint and scratchy but not annoying scratchy, dirty sound design and repetitive progressions and this trap influence and its kinda all over the place. And then in the mix of all of this Tej also adds some trap elements. These tracks really deserve revisiting as just listening to "HEY ME, IT'S ME" for the 2nd time you start to notice some really subtle details in the progression like it's very intentional. And then in "YOU DON'T KNOW ME" the drop just goes haywire with the reptition and I love how unapolegetic it is and then that siren in that last drop is SO SICK. I really love when artists try new things and this is just a pure musical playground and canvas polished up and put to light for Tej.

Rating = 7/10

Favorite Tracks = "I NEED MORE", "HEY ME, IT'S ME", "YOU DON'T KNOW ME", "ALL I CAN DO (time)", "NOT ALONE"

1/30 = Said The Sky - Salt & Silence

- Said The Sky has another album here and there's not much to talk about here it's literally what you expect just copy paste drops over some song writing. This one has this ocean kinda theme and it is different with the slower pace and a lot of strings but honestly it's just sleepnig music.

Rating = 4/10

Favorite Tracks = "I'm No One"

2/9 = Moore Kismet - the unicorn who believed in love

- Moore kismet just continues his burst with this 3-track EP that holds more of these insanely colorful, whimsical, swirling sound design. All these 3 tracks have this core cohesiveness in the sound design but with different drop executions and leads. I especially like "Buzzing" with those vocal leads and vocal chops its SOOO PEAK like the predrop and drop progression is straight peak with the colorbass and then the stuttering. And then "ur such a JERK!" has a more groovy feel to it that feels more like the lead single outta this EP and it does a great job at doing that. Very deserving 8/10 rating here.

Rating = 8/10

Favorite Tracks = "ur such a JERK!", "Buzzing"

2/20 = Jack Shore - YA... NOT A PERFECT ALBUM

- Jack Shore has set this pure musical mood for this album where you can tell he's just clearly vibing. He loves music and he loves producing and he acknowledges that this is "not a perfect album" but in some sense that's what makes this album perfect to me, seeing him just purely dive into this music nerd and being so addicted to the craft.

- We have 12 tracks on the lenghtier side, commonly above 4 and a half minutes. There's many country artists featured and vocalists and then its clearly distincted with these synth breaks for the drops and it creates such a celebratory, musical vibe. Sure, there's some mid songs in here, but I really like the intention and when the tracks hit, they HIT, such as "DAYS GO" with such a moving vocal progression in the verse and then the synth break is such a nice contract and great climax to this song. I love the blockiness of it and also how repetitive the melody, its a standout track for sure. I also like "POINT OFVIEW" and "NEVER KNEWU"

Rating = 7/10

Favorite Tracks = "DAYS GO", "POINT OFVIEW", "NEVER KNEWU"

2/27 = Bruno Mars - The Romantic

- We have one of the biggest artists on the planet dropping an album called The Romantic and this one has 9 tracks which is on theme as his albums are typically so short in terms of track length. Anyway, the general audience feedback is basically what I have to say too. Like doesnt Bruno get tired of doing this ? Just all in all, it seems like such wasted potential to keep going for this raw, vocal-driven, soul disco funk whatever you wanna call it. It's objectively solid but its indisginguishable and it is kinda fascinating how when you spam this same genre it starts to feel like slop, even though the quality is admittedly very high-class. Like Bruno Mars can totally tap into EDM that would be so sick or just dance house in that aspect that he's done before. I understand this is his bread and butter and his specialty but man to me it feels like such wasted potential because none of these new songs hit. I know a lot of people disagree with mebut idc. Anyway, this album isn't worth more of my time to write about.

Rating = 5/10

Favorite Tracks = "I Just Might"

3/13 = dreamr. - running on empty.// EP

- dreamr. has a new EP here, of which many of the tracks were previous singles. I'm a huge fan of his work it's like Midnight Kids with the nostalgia and electrohouse but a bit more minamlist, especially in this era of his.

- This EP is quite hollistic in terms of sound and structure, vocal-led prechoruses and drops, synth pads here and there but honestly a lot of solo sections and acoustics. And then some great variation in production in the 2nd verses and bridges. Often no-dip 2nd verses aka straight transitions into the 2nd verses. My favorite track "PLAY PRETEND" is SUCH AN earworm with that prechorus it's so sick. I do think the electric guitar on the drop is a bit underwhelming but that 2nd verse entrance is so great and a really brilliant bridge execution and transition. I love the vocal processing on everything too and the prechorus is easily the highlight of the song. Now that I think about it this EP really reminds me of NOTD structure like it's quite simplistic in production with nothing flashy but the vocals are just so catchy and the synth pads do just enough.

- I also want to talk about the title track "RUNNING ON EMPTY" as I love that electric guitar finish and the synth pads in the drops it adds so much fullness to this track and I'd say it's easily the most euphoric of this EP. "SEVENTEEN" is also yet again super catchy as I'm a super big fan of the vocalist Jaime Deraz. I like the vocal chops on the drop and guitar on final drop, I do think it coudl be a lot more grand but this track is more than serviceable with a huge build-up on the bridge.

Rating = 8.5/10

Favorite Tracks = "PLAY PRETEND", "RUNNING ON EMPTY", "SEVENTEEN", "SINK OR SWIM", "YOUNG INSIDE",

3/13 = MitiS - Through The Dark EP

- MitiS has decided to drop an EP here and it's not as much melodic dubstep but more melodic bass, like that commercial Said The Sky and Gryffin and Illenium type stuff. There's some nice songwriting that poses some nice remix potential, however the drops are rather on thesafe side. Nonethless, I do like 'A Good Day" and a little bit of "Wilderness" vocals and the double time in "Throuogh The Dark" but like the rest of the songs r mid. There doesn't seem to be a progression through this EP like there's no storyline IMO and this just radiates like 2017 proximity label with the basicness lmao.

Rating = 6/10

Favorite Tracks = "A Good Day"

3/13 = Sharks - Ichor EP

- Sharks fully continues his watery, color/metallic bass riddim with this really intriguing EP. For the most part I don't follow the leads and I wish there was more cohesiveness or more of a melody or vocal lead, but I do like lead in "Paradigm". On the contrary I actually don't like "Spellcaster" like it's a cool approach with all the samplings but it's just so rough and there's absolutely zero melody like this one I feel has just a big gap to his standards.

Rating = 6/10

Favorite Tracks = "Sleepwalker", "Burn Under My Skin"

3/20 = Said The Sky - Icarus & I

- A pretty raw undertone in this album from Said The Sky but other than that it is really standard structures and progressions. I did really like the hook and chorus in "Stolen" the most as it has this nostalgic summertime feeling. "Ur So... (Beautiful)" also has this electrohouse slow groove to it and that's really all the standouts for me. Buncha mid.

Favorite Tracks = "Stolen", "Ur So... (Beautiful")

Rating = 5/10

3/20 = Underscores - U

- Underscore has a new 9-track LP and this one is confusing because other than "Do It" we just have a bunch of minimal lackluster. I do think some of these tracks have some potential on repeated listens but "Do It" connected upon the first listen, with a really solid melodic progression and such a BRILLIANT bridge like I love all those embellishments in the bridge it's honestly the peak of album. Other than that though I don't htink i have the energy to relisten to this album

Favorite Tracks = "Do It", "Wish U Well"

Rating = 5/10

3/27 = EJEAN - Meant Love

- I know of EJEAN as that regular appearing vocalist on Niko Rain, but recently she's had some solo projects and tracks that have some really intriguing melodies, like "Head Home" and "forever &" and these tracks actually also exploded and put her on the scene which is honestly really satisfying to see, it's like so perfectly measured the feedback its getting.

- So with this solo 6-track EP of just straight EJEAN, I was again very intrigued. And I left this EP very amazed because this normally isn't my type of music, these somber, more lyrical, r&b type tracks. However, something about the vocal progression just isn't boring and forgetful like most other of these genre tracks. And the songwriting is seriously magnificent and so captivating. I was trying to multitask while listening to this album and I couldn't, I just had to pull out and stare at the lyrics flashing by, it's some really brilliant and unique songwriting and that's the main standout for me. It feels so authentic like old-school Taylor Swift songwriting like you can feel a human behind this telling stories and the way some of these phrases are worded like literally the opening of 2nd track "As Mine" just setting the scene with "March 9 it was late at night" and then later "You know when the mind catastrophizes" or "I'm the mist on the ground can you make this out". Or the whole storytelling of being a "Masochist" for her partner and how unbalanced it is. The EP as a whole is also so cohesive sonically, and something I noticed is that a lot of these tracks very intentionally don't have a resolution. Most tracks end on a downbeat on tonic because that's just the formula of music and what makes a song complete. However, you first notice it in the lead single "forever &" very intentionally. I've seen this musical technique used before during some band songs and I remember my band teacher describing it as breathing in and then not breathing out. Like holding in your breathe and when there's no downbeat to release, you just continue holding your breathe and there's a poetic side to that

Rating = 8.5/10

Favorite Tracks = "As Mine", "Head Home - Extended", "GROW UP", "Masochist"

3/27 = Nostalgix - Inferno

- Nostalgix has really taken that leap and established herself as a formidable producer on the bass house scene. This 10-track LP in Inferno has some super gritty and hardhitting drops. Though there still is a gap with many of these tracks being rather sporadic and lacking a sense of wholeness, there's standout tracks such as "Dancing Through It All", "Holy" and "Shine" that have some SUPER elaborate bass-house drops with so many moving parts and sections. Some great, innovative bass house work here. Especially "Dancing Through It All" featuring Kiesza like holy cow the vocals absolutely SHINE and the drop is SO whole with an absolute TEAR in that final drop like its just straight RIPPING my speakers, I love this variation and this song is just TIERS above the rest in this album like what a BANGER TRACK!!!! Easily best of the year Monstercat contention. All in all there's still a ton of gaps through the progressoins like in the verses but these drops have REALLY caught my attention and I'll be sure to tune into future Nostalgix relases.

Rating = 6/10

Favorite Tracks = "Dancing Through It All", "Holy", "On My Own", "Shine"

Conclusion

2026 standouts - spotify playlist

January

We kick of January with some steady tunes, that first Kpop song i got from instagram reels and it has such a catchy chorus and some really solid verses.
Domino is a super versatile track and one of Jaron's best works which is high praise given his discography. I love how much he's able to pack within a 3:30 song, how much tension and space and breath there is to this track. It just feels so emotional, euphoric, well-balanced, and a bit nostalgic. The vocals are so amazing and guide the progressions so well and everything culminates into this final FIREWORKS grand chorus and it's just so intimate and so beautiful. Seriously such a beautiful, intentional track. It's September as I'm writing this post and still 9 months later this track just doesn't grow old. Now, I really do attribute some memories to this song of times I listened to it and it just always gives me chills. Some serious brilliant work here from Jaron Steele.
And "SEVENTEEN" I talk about earlier in the album.

February

Starting off Feb, we have EJEAN track which I talk about in the albums and 2/3 tracks from that Moore Kismet EP.
Then "Best of Me" which I'll NEVER forget listening to the first time and the drop HIT LIKE CRACK I was like OMG NOSTALGIC VIRTUAL RIOT IS BACK and i just started doing slam dunks on my minihoop and i just kept replaying this song. Virtual Riot continues his tear of singles and I just love seeing him so active. This is so some QUINTESSENTIAL NOSTALGIC MELODIC DUBSTEP. VOCAL CHOPS. GENERIC FEMALE VOCALIST. TRIUMPHANT MELODIES. TAKE ME BACK AND NEVER LET ME GOOOOOOOOOO
Unfortunately, my sister somehow showed me a song that landed but THIS SONG IS SO FIRE. "aftrr!" is officially on my radar and this isn't his only insane song. It's this super hyperpop-like so many hard saws and synths going on. The drops itself don't really take it away for me, it's the vocals among the chaos really bringing everything together and all the melodies concurring at the same time. And in this track specifically that outro with the Jessie J "domino" full sample splashdown with that hyperpop atmosphere is ABSOLUTE peak like just takes this song from FIRE to EVEN MORE FIRE. I love this approach for sampling and this is a true breath of fresh air and I'm starting to really cling on to a lot of hyperpop artists this year.
Then we have this vietnamese track as you see which is all over instagram reels "low cortisol" trend and the drop is just so catchy and also has this really bittersweet feeling apparently the lyrics are bittersweet but anyway this song is just so catchy and it has a nice DJ house beat underlying it. I did listen to the slower original and it's solid too, but this remix does take it to the next level. The synth break segways really add like 0 value to me like they're serviceable at best but that just show u how peak the drop is for me.
Then we have a track from that dreamr. LP
And then Teminite and Nokae with "Burn It Down" and MAN that prechorus hits at 20 seconds and its easily the peak of the track. U know that melody in the prechorus is AWFULLY similar to this song by Jay Chou but I listened to this chinese show: https://youtu.be/nqgU2Hl6ebI?list=PLB1QNWPq_d6TbPCsnhea4BJxtpFKhp84B&t=242, with the high notes. Very similar melody. Anyway the drops are well-constructed, it's not a rather flashy song but it's definitely a super unique and worthy track to make the standouts, especially with that classic Teminite saxaphone finish.

March

And here's March. The only 2 tracks not talked about is "Home" and "Gumraah". I really like honestly everything about "Home", especially Utada's feature. The chorus has this very lengthy lead and the final bridge and chorus just does the perfect amount.
"Gumraah" is also a track I didn't expect on this list. It's your typical d&b but with some super elaborate breaks and sections. There's that arabic-sounding instrument and vocals but man the drop hits super hard and the switches and that stutter vocal near the end keep this track super lively.

Rankings

Let's start off our 2026 rankings now! Tracks:

Jaron - domino [Jan]
dreamr., REIDØ - RUNNING ON EMPTY [Mar]
Virtual Riot, Blanke, Dia Frampton - Best of Me [Feb]
aftrr! - All or Nothing [Feb]
Moore Kismet - BUZZING! [Feb]
Nostalgix, Kiesza - Dancing Through It All [Mar]
EJEAN - As Mine [Feb]
Teminite, Nokae - BURN IT DOWN [Feb]
Ai Đưa Em Về (Cukak Remix) [Feb]
Charlie Puth, Hikaru Utada - Home (feat. Hikaru Utada) [March]

This ranking was PAINFUL to make 😭😭 like I had to put that viet tiktok song and charlie puth song which are solid tracks but seeing them on a TOP 10 RANKING OF THE YEAR playlist is absolute criminal but thats just how it is for Q1 sometimes. We just had an especially bad Q1 this year, only 16 standout entries and some were in the same EPs/LPs which I don't do for these rankings. Can't wait to toss some of these tracks out for the next quarter.

Anyway tho we have "domino" taking the #1 spot deservedly, and that dreamr. track "RUNNING ON EMPTY" actually is #2. I just love that synth post-drop in the 1st drop it's so euphoric and I love the bridge and buildup and the vocals. This track gives me SO MUCH NOTD vibes and the fact that this isn't even my favorite of the LP ("Play Pretend" narrowly beats it for me for now). It's just such a versatile track and so well balanced. "Best of Me" is #3 and it's tentative because that aftrr! track coudl legimittely be better, but ill leave it like this for now. Basically the top 5 tracks and maybe top 6 tracks are all SUPER VALID and then after that the quality kinda decreases and i start to cringe while making the list.

Top 5 albums as of end of March (Q1):

3/13 = dreamr. - running on empty.// EP
3/27 = EJEAN - Meant Love
2/9 = Moore Kismet - the unicorn who believed in love
2/20 = Jack Shore - YA... NOT A PERFECT ALBUM
1/23 = Tej - HEY ME, IT'S ME EP

Honestly another painful ranking here. Like the #4 and #5 slot is literally 7/10s which is just good. It was indeed a mid quarter of EDM.

So with that comes final thoughts. Im 6 months late to this post and currently working full-time at amazon. I have basically ~2 hrs every day doing flash cards and when im not doing that then im working on editing videos for inked.beats. So it's super hard to prioritize this. I will say I am consistently following release radar while at work and writing entries on blogger on my work laptop so yeah just gotta play a bit of catchuph with listening to albums and monstercat releases. Right now im in a phase of my life where i am CONSUMED by these flash cards and i feel like its eating away at my life at this point. If i didnt have these flashcards, some weekdays I would definitely be heading out to play basketball so im gonna recalibrate my habits a bit because it's definitely important to play basketball. I will say flashcards keep me busy tho. Like I'm never really slacking or doomscrolling because I always have something to do or multitask in my free time. And if you're wondering what flashcards I'm doing its like hindi, indonesia, subdivisions, memorizing rivers, random stuff. So basically langauges + geography.

Anyway tho yea while we're on this topic, i just turned 21 years, and the day before i turned 21 yrs, i posted a reel basically hobbydumping: https://www.instagram.com/reel/DdZsCDVRQDT/ and it got 11k views in the first day. I went to sleep, woke up to 20k views. AND THEN IT JUST KEPT GROWING. SUPER LINEAR AND SUPER SLOWLY. It's been like 4 days now and it's finally slwoing down a bit. ITS AT 80 THOUSAND VIEWS. 80 THOUSAND VIEWS. IVE NEVER BEEN VIRAL LIKE THIS. I'm nothing but happy. Seriously nothing but happy. Got like 200 followers from this reel and a lot of love and glaze in the comments. Got my first hate comment too which means I made it. Hope I can keep making viral videos. So yeah thats what i mean im like hard at work on the video editing when I'm not flashcarding.

Thank you guys for reading and tuning in !! This year definitely gets better in terms of EDM, so ill see you for Q2 !!

Lyric(s) of the Post:
"we miss you

down here there's no way that it's fair that i'm alive and you're not here

only 21

way too young

i'll hold onto a memory of us"

Jaron - domino

Find something on my blog

My story

2026 Q1 new EDM

January 1 - March 31 NEW EDM: Underscores, Moore Kismet, Said The Sky, SKrillex

Singles

🗑 TRASH 🗑

MID

GREAT

🔥 FIRE 🔥

Albums/EPs

Conclusion

Rankings

Comments

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