Written by Ben Province

Making a list of the best alternative rock songs of the year up to this point seems like an incomplete exercise. Because it’s inevitable to leave something out, especially in the age of streaming with a seemingly infinite amount of music available.

So, this will be less conventional than a typical ranking. Listed alphabetically by artist, these standout alternative rock and indie songs were all released from January to April. 

Deep Sea Diver – “What Do I Know”

The excellent track blends a vocal timbre reminiscent of Sonic Youth’s Kim Gordon, a guitar build-up Sleater-Kinney would be proud of, and joyfully retro-yet-modern synths. The latter evokes similarities to certain tracks by Beck, an artist Deep Sea Diver frontwoman Jessica Dobson (pictured) once toured with as lead guitarist. 

The second song from the Seattle band’s latest album, “Billboard Heart,” has quickly become one of my favorite songs of the 2020s.

Djo – “Basic Being Basic”

Blending the retro with the modern has been the job description of Joe Keery (Djo) for as long as he’s been in the public eye. Playing Steve Harrington on “Stranger Things,” a show set in the ’80s that has captured the attention of Gen Z is a valid comparison to this particular song.

“Basic Being Basic” takes a Maroon 5-esque pop-rock chorus and blends it with a nearly spoken word, new wave-inspired verse. The Jack Antonoff style of production, which sounds both contemporary and ’80s-inspired, is credited to Keery and Adam Thein, the writers of the song. 

Horsegirl – “Switch Over” 

Lyrically minimalistic, the band does a lot with a little. Creating a calming, melancholy atmosphere, the track nearly dares the listener to tell the band to switch lines, as “Switch over (switch off)” is repeated 12 times to begin the song. 

The Beatles tried something similar on the 1970 B-side to “Let It Be” when they repeated the titular line in the song “You Know My Name (Look Up the Number).” “Switch Over,” however, is more effective. And when you can do something better than the greatest band of all time, it deserves a mention. 

Momma – “I Want You (Fever)”

Unmistakably reminiscent of Veruca Salt (who themselves were significantly influenced by The Breeders), Momma is a band that personifies a love letter to ’90s alternative. 

Even the breaks in “Fever” evoke instances of Foo Fighters’ 1997 classic “Everlong,” specifically Louise Post’s backing vocals. That song is famously about the Veruca Salt member, who recorded her part over the phone. 

OK Go – “Love”

The joyful track is the third song from the band’s first album in more than a decade, “And the Adjacent Possible.”

The track was inspired by Damian Kulash becoming a father, and it features a a music video that he told People was the band’s “most complicated.”

The band is famous for their visual components of their music, with the treadmill 2006 video “Here It Goes Again” accumulating more than 67 million views on YouTube. This is especially impressive when you consider that upload appeared on the site nearly three years after it premiered on MTV’s “TRL.”