Paste Magazine 50 Best Songs of 2023 (So Far): Ratboys #2
Don’t miss the best tracks from the first half of the year.
By Paste Staff
Every June, we poll the Paste music writers and editors about the best songs of the year so far. Banding our unique voices together, we’ve assembled a dynamic, wide-ranging snapshot of what these last six months have offered us. That landscape includes an exuberant amount of synth-pop and disco, standouts on artist debuts and blistering rock ‘n’ roll gemstones from bands both new and eternal. It’s likely that our year-end list will look much different when December rolls around, but we are thrilled to have spent time with all of these tracks. So, without further ado, here are the 50 Best Songs of 2023 (so far). —Matt Mitchell, Assistant Music Editor
2. Ratboys: “Black Earth, Wi”
Chicago quartet Ratboys are putting out a new album—The Window—in August, and their first single “Black Earth, Wi” is an electric and ambitious eight-minute cut of heartland rock ‘n’ roll. With an explosive solo from Dave Sagan, a saucy bassline from Sean Neumann and vocalist Julia Steiner’s perfect twang, Ratboys couldn’t have picked a cooler way to re-emerge. It’s not a stretch to call it the band’s best song yet; what Steiner and company have assembled here is hypnotizing. When the band collapses into a sing-along harmony with the guitars around the six-minute mark, it’s ecstasy. “And if that mockingbird don’t sing / Watch her do the twist again / Does that Black Earth freak you out? / And if she’s twisted up too tight / Let the dawn cut through the night / Taken back, don’t leave me out,” Steiner croons, taking us all home. —Matt Mitchell