Jet Black Heart – 5 Seconds of Summer

Year: 2015

Genre: Pop rock/Punk pop

Thoughts: So today happens to be Michael Clifford of 5sos’ birthday! To celebrate my guitar senpai’s birthday, I just had to add a song of his here. This song (which is mostly written and sung by Michael) is about being trapped by your own dark thoughts and desperately wanting to be free from them. The emotional lyrics and melodies in this song make this one of my top antidepressant anthems, which I would definitely recommend if you are feeling down, or if you’re in the 5sosfam and just feel like screaming and crying along to this song while eating a tub of ice cream (in which case, me too).

Rating: 7/7  (I am completely biased, as you’ve probably noticed)

Gravel To Tempo – Hayley Kiyoko

Year: 2016

Genre: Pop

Thoughts: Do you guys remember that sick guitarist with an attitude from Lemonade Mouth? Well, she’s back with a different sound, including some more chill and dancey beats. Gravel To Tempo is a very synth based song about feeling left out and looked down upon at some point in your life, then going “screw it, I’m amazing and I don’t care if anyone else thinks otherwise”. I listen to this song all the time, whether I’m doing homework or dancing around in my room.

Rating: 6/7

T-Shirt Weather – Circa Waves

Year: 2014

Genre: Indie Rock

Thoughts: T-Shirt weather is a very chill yet spirit lifting song, which happens to be the most popular song by Circa Waves’ (a very underrated band in my opinion). Every time I listen to it, I feel like I’m floating on a cloud of happiness. Basically all of Circa Waves songs make you feel like you’re in happyland, so I usually listen to this song while doing homework (because homework is depressing and we could all use a ray of sunshine while doing it), or when I’m on a road trip or at the beach.

Rating: 6/7

Billboard (If I’m Honest) – Jacob Whitesides

Year: 2015

Genre: Pop

Thoughts: I’ll admit, the first time I heard a Jacob Whitesides song (which was “You’re Perfect,” by the way), I didn’t like it at all. I thought he was your typical factory-made pop star who’s songs would forever consist of excessive amounts of autotune and lyrics describing a girl’s face. That was until I heard this song, where he finally put his guitar skills to use, along with his songwriting abilities and amazing voice. Typically I wouldn’t enjoy a song like this because (I like to think) I’m a pretty cynical person, but this song is just so darn cute with the little guitar doodling and the soft vocals. I would usually listen to this when I’m relaxing in bed or daydreaming about Calum Hood.

Rating 5/7