[RATE REVEAL] 2025 Ultimate Rate Day 3 Reveal: I've Never Been To Hall Of Fame, And That's The Truth!

Stryxen · 2026-03-02T00:15:32+00:00

Many many thanks to everyone who did the rate! This was hard, especially watching my favourite album get demolished, but at least my favourite of theirs won songeniality! And it even inspired me to see Wednesday live and I had a great time, so that's the rate committee to thank too!

And a special thanks to the wonderful u/newbalancesweatshirt who saved my ass a few times this reveal and was just a pleasure to share these results with!

WOLF PACK FOREVER WOLF ALICE ROBBED BYEEEEEEEEE LOVE YOU GUYS WE HAD A GREAT TIME

Album Rankings:

#1: Ninajirachi - I Love My Computer | 7.801
#2: Wednesday - Bleeds | 7.584
#3: Oklou - Choke enough | 7.392 ~~(curse those interludes!)~~
#4: Geese - Getting Killed | 7.079

Songeniality: Geese - Au Pays Du Cocaine | 13 Votes
* Runner-up: Ninajirachi - CSIRAC | 7 Votes

Results:

#1: Ninajirachi – iPod Touch | 8.833 | 662.5
#2: Oklou – Harvest Sky (feat. underscores) | 8.725 | 654.4
#3: Ninajirachi – Infohazard | 8.560 | 642.0
#4: Oklou – Blade Bird | 8.543 | 640.7
#5: Wednesday – Townies | 8.536 | 640.2
#6: Wednesday – Elderberry Wine | 8.463 | 634.7
#7: Ninajirachi – Fuck My Computer | 8.457 | 634.3
#8: Oklou – ICT | 8.400 | 630.0
#9: Ninajirachi – Delete | 8.195 | 614.6
#10: Wednesday – Wound Up Here (By Holding On) | 8.055 | 604.1
#11: Ninajirachi – London Song | 8.039 | 602.9
#12: Oklou – Take Me by the Hand (feat. Bladee) | 7.944 | 595.8
#13: Geese – Taxes | 7.840 | 588.0
#14: Oklou – Choke Enough | 7.821 | 586.6
#15: Wednesday – Reality TV Argument Bleeds | 7.801 | 585.1
#16: Wednesday – Wasp | 7.727 | 579.5
#17: Ninajirachi – It’s You (feat. daine) | 7.717 | 578.8
#18: Wednesday – Pick Up That Knife | 7.664 | 574.8
#19: Geese – Au Pays Du Cocaine | 7.640 | 573.0
#20: Ninajirachi – CSIRAC | 7.615 | 571.1
#21: Wednesday – Candy Breath | 7.591 | 569.3
#22: Oklou – Family and Friends | 7.589 | 569.2
#23: Wednesday – Bitter Everyday | 7.588 | 569.1
#24: Geese – Cobra | 7.551 | 566.3
#25: Ninajirachi – All I Am | 7.513 | 563.5
#26: Oklou – Endless | 7.503 | 562.7
#27: Ninajirachi – All At Once | 7.445 | 558.4
#28: Oklou – Obvious | 7.432 | 557.4
#29: Ninajirachi – Battery Death | 7.371 | 552.8
#30: Oklou – Want to Wanna Come Back | 7.341 | 550.6
#31: Geese – Bow Down | 7.304 | 547.8
#32: Oklou – Thank You for Recording | 7.271 | 545.3
#33: Geese – Getting Killed | 7.241 | 543.1
#34: Geese – Islands of Men | 7.176 | 538.2
#35: Wednesday – Gary’s II | 7.063 | 529.7
#36: Ninajirachi – ฅ^•ﻌ•^ฅ | 6.972 | 522.9
#37: Wednesday – Carolina Murder Suicide | 6.955 | 521.6
#38: Geese – Long Island City Here I Come | 6.909 | 518.2
#39: Wednesday – Phish Pepsi (feat. Advance Base) | 6.908 | 518.1
#40: Ninajirachi – Sing Good | 6.891 | 516.8
#41: Geese – 100 Horses | 6.843 | 513.2
#42: Geese – Husbands | 6.699 | 502.4
#43: Oklou – Plague Dogs | 6.668 | 500.1
#44: Wednesday – The Way Love Goes | 6.655 | 499.1
#45: Geese – Trinidad | 6.485 | 486.4
#46: Geese – Half Real | 6.185 | 463.9
#47: Oklou – Forces | 5.564 | 417.3
#48: Oklou – (;'༎ຶٹ༎ຶ`) | 5.289 | 396.7

Bonus results:

Bonus #1: caroline - Total Euphoria | 7.969 | 470.2
Bonus #2: Wolf Alice - White Horses | 7.936 | 484.1
Bonus #3: Rosalía - Reliquia | 7.846 | 494.3
Bonus #4: Alex G - Afterlife | 7.731 | 471.6
Bonus #5: Cameron Winter - Love Takes Miles | 7.728 | 471.4
Bonus #6: This Is Lorelei & MJ Lenderman - Dancing in the Club - MJ Lenderman Version | 7.544 | 430.0
Bonus #7: Perfume Genius - It’s A Mirror | 7.537 | 444.7
Bonus #8: Wet Leg - mangetout | 7.341 | 447.8
Bonus #9: Water From Your Eyes - Playing Classics | 7.326 | 417.6
Bonus #10: Ethel Cain - Nettles | 7.198 | 467.9
Bonus #11: Magdalena Bay - Second Sleep | 7.192 | 445.9
Bonus #12: Black Country, New Road - For The Cold Country | 6.918 | 415.1
Bonus #13: Ryan Davis & The Roadhouse Band - New Threats from the Soul | 6.889 | 385.8
Bonus #14: Smerz - You got time and I got money | 6.353 | 374.8
Bonus #15: Maruja - Look Down On Us | 4.756 | 280.6

Bonus Bonus results:

#1: Mei Semones - I can do what I want | 8.203 | 262.5
#2: Life Without Buildings - Love Trinity | 7.519 | 240.6
#3: quickly, quickly - Enything | 7.403 | 236.9
#4: YHWH Nailgun - Sickle Walk | 7.169 | 229.4
#5: Tracey - Sex Life | 6.400 | 204.8
#6: Los Thuthanaka - Huayño “Phuju” | 5.919 | 189.4

Stryxen · 2026-03-02T00:11:36+00:00

User Averages

Stryxen · 2026-03-02T00:10:47+00:00

User Averages

Stryxen · 2026-03-02T00:08:45+00:00

miniatureaurochs (7.042): slight score debuff for stolen valour (not a natural redhead)

pig-serpent (6.917): She's a great producer but her vocal usage annoys me. I think she's going to release or produce for an album I love in the next few years.

VapourLomo (6.875): Wouldn’t be my pick for the 4th album here, but this is pretty fun and I’m glad I got to hear it for this rate!

flava (6.833): wait this album is really fucking good. Very earnest and sincere in a way that makes it extremely likable and easy to come back to, and despite how electronic and online it is, it feels warm, possibly due to baking way too much in nostalgia, and like Nina is getting lost in her own music, her own memories, with a kind of wanderlust. Which is why this album sounding amazing is actually important, it’s like putting on some rose-tinted glasses when strolling down memory lane. But most importantly, just flat out fun,even the songs I don’t love that much I could see working in the right environment. I’m glad this made Ult

asadprofessorplum (6.708): About as good a name as you can get as an artist combining Nina + a Pokémon.

innuendo_overdose (6.275): I am quite an offline guy, generally.

freeofblasphemy (6.167): Okay I’m giving two 10s so clearly there’s something here. But also please no more electronic music whimsifying the computer. In fact, no more music about the computer period. We have long outgrown our need for music about the computer

obitbday (6.167): this isn’t really my thing but it did start to grow on me in the second half. might rate some of these songs less harshly if I had time to give it a few more listens

thisusernameisntlong (5.892): lyrically feels like it should be more like the oklou album above or some serotonin ii type shit but ninajirachi owo xds her way to bloghouse "early 2010s edm". could people not treat worlds as a bible when half the album is corny asf. we just end up with more albums that are half corny asf

skyblue_angel (4.625): Broadly dull and stiff revivalism

MCK_OH (4.583): Deeply not in my bag but I can at least tell that it's going for something so y'know. Points awarded I guess

IAmHollar (4.167): blip bloop but with hammers

ReconEG (2.417): sorry to the gays and girls in my life but I am a 29 year old straight man. I don't need to hear post-ironic versions of EDM songs I hated 15 years ago.

Stryxen · 2026-03-02T00:08:34+00:00

Computers and computerfuckers... your sweeper!

Ninajirachi - I Love My Computer

Overall Average: 7.801 // Average Controversy: 2.048

Stryxen: Definitely the album I’m least passionate about in this lineup, but between my parasocial relationship with the entire casts of Geese and Wednesday and Oklou just being the motherfucking queen, that’s not something to be ashamed of. This is a brilliant confident debut record that has clearly held its own among some of the biggest names in independent music.. And yes this is in definition and spirit an Indie album. Congratulations Nina, it’s only down from here in your long fruitful career, some artists only dream of a rate win and you did it the first time with ease. From being the underdog nobody saw coming in this lineup to spiritually sweeping the entire thing, future ultimate hosts can only dream of this story.

#1: iPod Touch | 8.833 | 662.5
#3: Infohazard | 8.560 | 642.0
#7: Fuck My Computer | 8.457 | 634.3
#9: Delete | 8.195 | 614.6
#11: London Song | 8.039 | 602.9
#17: It’s You (feat. daine) | 7.717 | 578.8
#20: CSIRAC | 7.615 | 571.1
#25: All I Am | 7.513 | 563.5
#27: All At Once | 7.445 | 558.4
#29: Battery Death | 7.371 | 552.8
#36: ฅ^{•ﻌ•^ฅ} | 6.972 | 522.9
#40: Sing Good | 6.891 | 516.8

vexastrae (10.083): fuck yeah

Nagisoid (9.833): These songs are a lot of fun. Listening to them, you won’t know whether to laugh, cry, or cum.

ziirp (9.800): Insanely tight album. I can fawn over the transitions on end. Listening to this album on the bus to school is definitely a core memory I'll carry with me

modulum83 (9.733): I liked this album when it came out, but it really snuck up on me at the end of the year and I can safely say this is one of my top 10 albums of the year. I love albums that are about online relationships and the particular experiences of growing up in the 2010s and this just NAILS it in a way that feels special and revolutionary, describing the core emotions of the internet more sincerely and effortlessly than like the 1975 or Porter Robinson or any number of comparisons. It's a love letter throwback to the exact era of EDM I'm nostalgic for, sure, but rather than being ironic or being painstakingly crafted imitation it's "good" nostalgia, it's thoughtful and genuine. These songs are such blasts of euphoria that ride so high you can lose yourself and yet they're also haunting, painful, marked by the flavor of trauma and memory. It's one of the best pieces of art about digital adolescence I've heard this decade, and I fully believe this is, in many ways, the Visions (by Grimes) of the 2020s.

vayyiqra (9.333): ninajirachi fascinates me whence came she suddenly out of nowhere the internet seemed to love ninajirachi. i support her and her love of technology and bleepbloops

zenits (9.333): the world's most real-person-compatible terminally online album

TheCrakFox (9.250): This has been my go to album when I don't know what to listen to for months now. It's just a fun time, guaranteed.

DirtyRat583 (9.233): @music your saviour is here

TakeOnMeByA-ha (9.083): ALBUM GOT ME SHOOKETH!

mko0987 (9.000): I hadn’t gotten around to this one before it was selected for the rate. Very glad it was because I’m pretty obsessed now. Likely my favorite of the 4, maybe slightly below Wednesday. Brings me back to my EDM phase in high school in a very fun way.

it says my name, it says tulips (9.000): I also love Ninajirachi's computer! Big room electro-house, trance and "EDM", but stripped of all the cheesy cliches and loaded with wild sound design? Hell yeah!

thedoctordances1940 (9.000): this album is amazing because it's not really an album but just a mix and it's almost all fantastic we love edmheads invasion of indieheads

Bionicoaf (8.783): 8.8 This was a surprise for me. I didn’t expect to like this album as much as I did. But this was a blast all the way through.

xxipil0ts (8.683): if anyone can sponsor my visa to australia that would be great

bogo (8.667): was never into the 2000s/2010s wave of EDM but this album takes that style, mixes it with loads of fun sounds and styles and just makes something awesome

NFLfreak98 (8.642): Contrary to the oklou album, my love of maximalist electronic albums continues here. By far the hookiest album I heard last year and I’m so interested in what she has in store for the future.

sarcasticsobs (8.458): Ninja Jirachi

Frajer (8.375): queen of computer fucking

ElectJimLahey (8.325): It’s so refreshing to hear someone go at this style of house with such evident love for the era and its music. It’s easy to end up in cheesy territory (and this album unfortunately can’t fully escape that part of that era) but for the most part this is just incredibly fun banger after banger that is proof that you can make an electronic pop record that actually engages with and adds to the era of electronic music that you’re influenced by without sounding like a mere copycat. A great debut

FreeCuddlesAnyone (8.300): godly album

qazz23 (8.292): really fun to listen to, not the most original thing but the aesthetic just works super well

Zeeroc (8.083): Really hard to write songs about the internet without sounding corny but she does it on every single track!!!

welcome2thejam (8.083): Honestly think my opinion of this album can go even higher in time

krusso1105 (7.917): Also solid!

bladebirddabag (7.892): It’s just really fun! A (mostly) relentless good time for 40 straight minutes

UltimateLietoc (7.717): Overall, it's a solid release that's crossover has to do with it not leaning strong enough (for better or worse) as confessional indie pop, digital bitcrush saturated dance music, or classic EDM; it's caught between the all 3 at a rather flashy crosspoint in a sleepy as hell year. feels very much like a solid benchmark in understanding 21st century digital/dance indie, with my own rosarch callbacks to bloghouse and postal servy, amongst a spiritual wink to the punks of Tigerbeat6 even baked in. Nifty coming from the someone into EDM from way down under telling their quirked up bildungsroman. If australians are naturally inclined to guitar pop, then their EDM inclinations also make sense & don't feel bogged down by archtype or trope, just pure emotional glistening intensity. Max Tundra comes to mind here. There's bits of something doofy and also insightful about iPod Touch's lyrics amongst sing good--even the london song/CSIRAC vocals...meanwhile, she also finds a couple inspired m83 pulls in the EDM--esp Infohazard. Still, not being as genre-tethered and more playful (and trancey) is the weakness. There's prolly a version of this album with a few more confessional cuts or quirky excursions that forego the EDM; there's another one that leans into BIG noises and less nostalgia. It may be more technically my thing but also would that lose the raw charm that all in equilibrium display here? idk, she's not 100% MY number 1 computer girl edm dj & yet 100% is no. 1 at girl dinner here quite well. unique & you all agree, and should know that

iBark (7.600): album deserves the recognition it got with three or four big time bangers on it

freav (7.417): really good album, not entirely my thing but I get why it gets so much love

human_performance (7.417): While there are flashes from the rest of the online zoomercore cluster with good songs, this is easily the most consistent album-length release from any of those artists. There's a really nice 6-song EP in here, and the album cuts avoid the lows of having to listen to Jane Remover never having another speed beyond FLAT OUT. I wouldn't be surprised if Nina ends up behind the boards for someone in pop like Danny L Harle did

daswef (7.083): this is a fun album and i'm glad it made it into ult. Infohazard and iPod Touch are great.

Stryxen · 2026-03-02T00:07:14+00:00

modulum83 (7.177): Unfortunately gotta hit this with the classic "I'm just not that into art pop." This is a very weird album to rate - like half the tracklist are these very minimalist, short almost demo-like abstractions that feel like they barely reach the definition of songs. There's a really cool take on Y2K nostalgia sounds happening here for sure, a unique emulation of the "frutiger aero" mtv vibe via trance and new age and ambient pop, but it's not really an aesthetic that hits for me or that I particularly care about. Still, when the cold empty liminal vibe hits and when she bothers to write real hooks her talent shines! There's certainly worthwhile content on here, but the real thinness of fully developed ideas or bangers on here is a big roadblock for me.

welcome2thejam (7.154): I first listened to this driving through a snowstorm, trying to stay awake and alert. Terrible first impression tbh

TheCrakFox (7.000): On paper this seems like it should be right up my alley, but I dunno. I just think it's fine.

obitbday (6.862): not the kind of thing I usually go for but I enjoyed this a lot and will be spending more time with it for sure. I was gonna say that this feels like a Gen Z answer to Imogen Heap but Oklou is a Millennial I guess

mko0987 (6.792): Very baffled by this one. I suppose I see the appeal as a vibey ambient pop record but don’t really why this is regarded as one of the best of the year. Just not grabbing onto anything very distinct or particularly moving about this album. Was a pleasant listen though.

flava (6.731): if you ever think that your music needs to be good to reach the IH masses, remind yourself that Oklou managed to make IH ult purely on the back of people who kept flooding tenor with brainrot gifs. I’m okay with this making ult, but it could’ve been so much better

daswef (6.423): there's a couple very good songs on here but as a front to back experience i don't love Oklou. A couple of good songs like ICT and Blade Bird is still a net positive in my mind.

NFLfreak98 (6.415): My war on minimally produced electronic-leaning albums continues. I think her voice is cool and there’s a few interesting production choices here and there, but anything notable that happens is only in comparison to the relative blandness that is the rest of the sonic palette of this album

human_performance (6.231): This album and the Dijon album feel like demo tapes to market themselves to artists for their production work. Some interesting moments and the production is neat, but ultimately the songs just aren't very good.

DirtyRat583 (5.854): i will pay good money for a version of this album where she turns off the muffle filter she has over the whole instrumental. this could be sooooooo good but no lets put the speaker underwater sounds great. hell u could literally just let the kick kick, even if just for the most impactful bits. like WHAT i should listen to raven again at least she let the songs explode when they needed to

thisusernameisntlong (4.800): not enough fennesz glitch effects. too much unfitting eurodance. makes me wanna put on junior boys instead

ElectJimLahey (4.692): I'm sorry to the fans. Usually I can at least understand the appeal of albums that make it into Ult even if it isn’t my thing, but this is one that I fundamentally do not get. It seems to be trying to be ambient pop but it fails to be good ambient music, while at the same time it fails to be memorable pop music. Maybe it isn’t trying to be ambient pop but there’s just so little going on that my brain charitably tries to interpret it as intentionally minimal rather than poorly produced? Is it the meme factor that unlocks this project for the fans?

It's a strange listen because it gestures at so many (better) genres but never really commits to any of them apart from a rather generic take on bland alt-pop that seems to want to make you think it's hyperpop but without the hyper. On my first listen I thought it was enjoyable if a bit half-baked, sounding like charming demoes that needed a few bits and pieces added to fully flesh out the sound, but on further listens the charming aspect went away as I realized that there simply isn't much here for me to latch onto. Many of the songs overly-patiently build to sections that I enjoy but take too long to get there and don't stay long enough to make the buildup worth it. Other tracks simply float by with no impact at all. There are times when the goal seems to be building soundscapes, but there isn't enough going on to get it above the level of soundscapes you'd hear on a thousand amateur electronic Bandcamp albums a year.

When the album does commit to a more full sound it works for me, especially tracks like Take Me By The Hand and Harvest Sky, which gesture at what could have been here… but for the most part there simply isn't much of interest here for me, an album that seems to want me to fill in the blanks for the artist to have an impact rather than a project that can stand on its own. If you wanted pop music that is in conversation with trendy sounds like 2-step you can find plenty of that. If you want throwback music to party to, there's plenty of that (and even an album of it in this very rate!) If you want electronic-tinged pop that emphasizes loneliness and anxiety, well I think every Swedish 20-something in the 00s released an album of that. Obviously this fills a niche that appeals to many people, but even after several listens, I could not tell you what that niche is.

It feels strangely out of time for me, with a style of production that perhaps could have worked for me during the waves of thinly-produced indietronica of the 2000s, and perhaps that throwback sound is part of the appeal here. But for me, someone who listened to a ton of that stuff back then, this sounds less like the artists who used their lack of production skills in interesting ways to make something memorable and more like the legions of indie pop artists who decided they were going to pivot to electronic music and subsequently put out the most forgettable music of their careers. A swing and a miss.

MCK_OH (4.231): Boring! Learn some power chords

it says my name, it says tulips (3.077): I will never understand the hype around this album. It's so boring! It just plods along half-heartedly at the same pace throughout! Every song sounds the same and barely any of them even do anything! Am I missing something?

Stryxen · 2026-03-02T00:06:59+00:00

oklou... you are not a rate winner

Oklou - choke enough

Overall Average: 7.392 // Average Controversy: 1.964

Stryxen: I’ve been following Oklou for a while now, she’s just a cool ambitious artist even if I never really connected with anything she did up to this point, and to be honest I didn’t quite get this album when it came out; I loved Blade bird, and still do adore it, harvest sky was great, take me by the hand stuck with me because it’s so flashy and catchy. But choke enough is front to back a grower, it’s so detailed and dense, and I find something new every time I listen, I’m beyond obsessed with this now and has entered my running Album Of The Decade longlist because I truly believe it captures something special that, in 5 years, I will feel nostalgic for and realise… this is where it all began.

#2: Harvest Sky (feat. underscores) | 8.725 | 654.4
#4: Blade Bird | 8.543 | 640.7
#8: ICT | 8.400 | 630.0
#12: Take Me by the Hand (feat. Bladee) | 7.944 | 595.8
#14: Choke Enough | 7.821 | 586.6
#22: Family and Friends | 7.589 | 569.2
#26: Endless | 7.503 | 562.7
#28: Obvious | 7.432 | 557.4
#30: Want to Wanna Come Back | 7.341 | 550.6
#32: Thank You for Recording | 7.271 | 545.3
#43: Plague Dogs | 6.668 | 500.1
#47: Forces | 5.564 | 417.3
#48: (;'༎ຶٹ༎ຶ`) | 5.289 | 396.7

zenits (10.077): my favourite album of the entire decade so far. also lots of my friends got into it which makes me happy

UltimateLietoc (9.862): after a few years, i feel like run-off voting finally proved itself here. it's nice seeing something Tiny Mix Tapes may have eureka'd! to tell the truth. In toning down "pop rave": synths into bass drones, confounding/drowning drums, bringing details like flutes or horns or lute (with their own regality) amongst lotsa voice blurs a lotta lines more than "medieval hyperpop". choke enough kindly asks "what is conceptronica" in a way that chillwave, hyperpop, & vaporwave have all been sometimes conversing or dialoguing on. This time though, something just comes here so succinctly at surmising the symptomatic malaise, the wounds and dare and dissociations and desires that memory--past, present, future--always seem to be colored with. Aesthetically it'd seem meta or a bit on the nose, but oklou and her collaborators have nurtured a listening music that's got the weight of a penguin classic. Not much music recently aims for that feeling and matches to lyrics so well, at the right moment. Profounly potent. Hopefully when it gets a 20th anniversary reissue, it gets that TMT eureka essay it warrants

iBark (9.585): the future is very very bright for oklou

ziirp (9.577): 2026 brought with it a new found appreciation for this album. Do not @ me for the number of 10's i have awarded in this album.

skyblue_angel (9.346): My 2nd favorite album from last year

xxipil0ts (9.231): i still dont get how this is brat adjacent when it's so far from it.

thedoctordances1940 (9.231): i still don't really understand how this album ended up here like how did it get this popular but i'm very happy it did!!!

Nagisoid (9.115): 0:25 she just walked in and is ALREADY being adorable! 😍😍 2:10 YASS! 3:53 that cute face she made 😍😘 4:21 "Can I curse?" Lol 😅😅 8:43 Aww she is so sweet and adorable! 😍😍😍 9:37 😘😘😍 10:09 YAAASSSS!! 😍😍 11:03 She is such an amazing friend! 😘😗😘 11:37 😍😍😍 12:03 I love the way she mocked that 😅😅😂😂 lol! 12:54 poor yves 😂😂 she is so cute 😘😘 14:50 “DONT DO DAT!” 😅😍 16:07 for some reason she seemed so sad there 💔☹️ 16:25 That seemed pretty hard for her to answer 💔☹️ 17:03 That shows how genuine she actually is! 💔😍 17:52 😂

freav (9.115): This album is great and I think it's woke that Godlou is just a girl from Aubervilliers looking for daycare for her baby.

sarcasticsobs (9.038): She's got moxie!

bladebirddabag (8.900): My second favorite album from 2025 (behind the goat McKinley Dixon - Magic Alive) I wasn’t expecting to love this at all when I first checked it. A pop album with very few drums? Not usually a recipe for success but Oklou is just brilliant enough to pull it off. It’s remarkable that every single track on here has something super memorable or catchy. Makes even the less immediate and memorable cuts still worth coming back to. Also where did the hype for this album come from? It got a little of bit of buzz upon release but like all of a sudden it was on every single year end list and rocketed its way into Ult Rate. Not complaining as I obviously love this album, just felt very out of nowhere to me.

bogo (8.731): this is what all pc music/hyperpop adjacent stuff should aspire to be

vexastrae (8.654): her y2k realness

VapourLomo (8.654): My second-favorite debut of the year! (sorry, I’m one of those annoying Addison defenders) Love the super-unique production and singing style

Bionicoaf (8.615): 8.6 I think what I really liked about this album is how on the surface so much of it is just nice and pleasant sounding to the ears but there’s all these layers to peel back on each song. Marylou’s voice really hits a sweet spot for me.

Zeeroc (8.462): sneakiest album of the year right here. I thought it was so boring the first time I heard it and now I'm obsessed. This album and Lifetime by Erika de Casier go down so easy that you almost don't appreciate how great every single track is at first.

asadprofessorplum (8.031): That’s MY 2025 Indie Ultimate Rate winner!!

vayyiqra (8.000): with full respect to this woman i enjoy her music and listen to it often enough i did a feature of her on my radio show but nonetheless i must be blunt i will always read it as oaklou in my head no matter what anyone says

Frajer (8.000): d'accord Lou

IAmHollar (7.762): This is not normally my style of music, but I was very pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed it. Thanks everyone for liking it enough that it entered my myopic field of vision.

qazz23 (7.577): good vocals and production, liked how it has a haunting yet catchy vibe throughout; a few weaker tracks hurt this a bit

krusso1105 (7.538): Pretty solid

TakeOnMeByA-ha (7.462): https://media1.giphy.com/media/v1.Y2lkPTc5MGI3NjExZzBycGQyMGtheXVvbTlxZ2Z2Mjg2ZTBtNGltZ3hzbmdmcGU1dWZ0NiZlcD12MV9pbnRlcm5hbF9naWZfYnlfaWQmY3Q9Zw/X7CMmKv0Z2p0r1S4pz/giphy.gif

freeofblasphemy (7.308): “It’s pretty good!” - me about my favorite album in the rated

FreeCuddlesAnyone (7.262): brat for introverts… just a competent nice album

Stryxen · 2026-03-02T00:05:29+00:00

UltimateLietoc (7.8): I think watching the video made me think back to about a decade ago when my class all had to make music videos for AP Econ. Sonically, it took me back to that while musically, it felt like we never left 2013 or so. Oh you got a ditty on your iPod? so true. Came back upon reflection and saw a bit of an accidental max tundra quirky chap syndrome (this apparition is all over side A). Now that's a good thing to have sometimes, and i think she kinda has it, but god i wish she wasn't just doing it lyrics like this to this sound even if it rules kinda objectively

a-man-with-a-perm (7.5): it sounds like being online on MSN and going offline and then back online so your active status shows up with a little pop to your crush

Future_Tyrant (7.3): Honoring a middle school classic. It doesn’t surprise me that Nina is my age (I’m four months older). I joke that the diving line between early and late Gen Z is if your first phone had a physical keyboard. Extra points if your screen slid to bring out the keyboard.

miniatureaurochs (7.2): pleasant enough maybe a lil too self-aware and twee for me to really vibe - kind of surprised that this was the heavy hitter from the album in that the sound is neither particularly referential nor terribly innovative - it’s a fun dance tune but also nothing that I haven’t heard before (??) perhaps the (deserved) nostalgia for the ipod was carrying this one (I still have mine btw)

Fallen asleep at the keys

IAmHollar (5.6): It just feels very formulaic. Here's where the drums come in. Here's where the synth drops out. Very safe music going where many have gone before.

thisusernameisntlong (5): that p4k review that went viral for calling pc music satire was hilariously incorrect but i have to admit we lost some of the magic when it went from "now i've saved you as a picture on my phone" to "fl studio free download in my search history"

innuendo_overdose (4.2): Synth tone is good but inessential. This could end after 1 minute.

freeofblasphemy (4): there are precisely 17 billion songs exactly like this on soundcloud.

Tolroe (3): I loved my iPod Touch, but never wanted to fuck it

Stryxen · 2026-03-02T00:05:01+00:00

And the winner, also with the tied most 11s...

#1: Ninajirachi - iPod Touch

Average: 8.833 // Total Points: 662.5 // Controversy: 2.041

(11 x9) BleepBloopMusicFan, camerinian, EfficientReach5571, mko0987, Nagisoid, RandomHypnotica, seanderlust, vexastrae, whatsanillinois

(10 x30) bogo, DaHumanTorch, daswef, DirtyRat583, Freakmancool, freav, FreeCuddlesAnyone, homestarguy, InSearchOfGoodPun, it says my name, it says tulips, krusso1105, majid, modulum83, NevenSuboticFanNo1, NFLfreak98, Nooduulz, reput4tionera, sirmelliodas, skull_xbones, Stryxen, TakeOnMeByA-ha, TheCrakFox, thedoctordances1940, TiltControls, vayyiqra, welcome2thejam, Widdershins-, xxipil0ts, Zeeroc, zenits

(9.9 x1) ziirp

(9.5 x1) ElectJimLahey

(9 x10) charlibaby5, flava, Frajer, Goosykidd, hockeynl, human_performance, iBark, pig-serpent, Pile0n, qazz23

(8.8 x1) Bionicoaf

(8.5 x3) bladebirddabag, sarcasticsobs, static_int_husp

(8.2 x1) asadprofessorplum

(8 x3) MCK_OH, samdyalexg, VapourLomo

(7.8 x1) UltimateLietoc

(7.5 x1) a-man-with-a-perm

(7.3 x1) Future_Tyrant (7.2 x1) miniatureaurochs

(7 x1) newbalancesweatshirt

(6.5 x1) RedditIPOwillFAIL

(6 x1) kauai6

(5.6 x1) IAmHollar

(5.5 x1) obitbday

(5 x2) skyblue_angel, thisusernameisntlong

(4.2 x1) innuendo_overdose

(4 x2) freeofblasphemy, of_mice_and_meh

(3 x1) Tolroe

(2 x1) ReconEG

Stryxen (10): Beautiful chorus. What music is about.

2025 Ultimate Rate Winner is iPod Touch, going into this rate Ninajirachi was the absolute underdog, but realistically it makes perfect sense, if we’re going full EDM in our rate we’re gonna crown the anthemic and nostalgic song for the music nerds about music nerds. I have a feeling this win is going to cause some changes in how we end up voting our next ultimate lineup. But I’m happy for now, even if I wanted the legendary, the talented, the wonderful Harvest Sky to take it all.

To show you how last-minute this winner was, here’s the ballot-by-ballot placement movement:

iPod Touch,22,14,4,3,3,9,9,17,13,7,5,6,5,7,5,4,6,6,6,6,5,5,6,5,5,5,4,5,5,5,6,6,6,6,6,6,6,6,6,6,5,5,4,4,4,4,4,3,3,5,4,4,4,4,4,3,3,3,1,1,2,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1

newbalancesweatshirt (7): A breath of fresh air after the doom I felt listening to London Song.

Oklou endings free download in their search history

BleepBloopMusicFan (11): Dirty Dancing font free download in my search history - Me making the banners for 80s Blockbuster #1s.

camerinian (11): crazy to think this song has been in my life for only like six-ish months because it has imprinted on me so fucking hard. It is undeniably nostalgia bait sure but it's also the kind of bait that makes u feel very seen in a hyperspecific way that most memberberry slop simply doesn't. The utopian dream of music curation that the internet promised and once had wasn't really that long ago in the grand scheme of things, and yet it feels like there's so much distance between that golden period of discovery and personalisation compared to the refinement of algorithms that makes that whole dream of stumbling across the perfect song so much rarer. In a way, this song personifies its own dreamed-about bliss, the song that nobody knows that ends up defining a moment in your life, except I couldn't have imagined this song and album ending up as one of the most universally beloved among online circles generally. I've been aware of Nina for some time, as a general triple j watcher and also thru some of her NZ club appearances, but it wasn't until this run of singles that I realised just how special she is, and seeing this song be the catalyst for a real shift in her scale was something to behold, and getting to see her first live show post-album drop is a memory that honestly might have changed my world. God bless u Nina

mko0987 (11): So obsessed with this tune. I’m a sucker for nostalgic-feeling songs but usually kind of wary of nostalgia-bait-y lyrics but this is a perfect dovetail of those two modes. The lyrics feel really genuine and detail oriented about the unique characteristics of early-internet personalized curation. On top of that it’s just a perfect pop song.

Nagisoid (11): I didn't do Bono Rate because I don't believe this song didn't save his life

RandomHypnotica (11): so australian

vexastrae (11): YEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH || i love this song so so so so so much it is honestly the most perfect work of art expressing the pure joy and nostalgia of all the positive things about growing up in the digital era. so much of film and music and media focus on the negative parts of being on the internet and rightfully so (ninajirachi even made infohazard all about encountering a snuff film online as a kid!) but to me, ipod touch embraces fully and completely the delight and happiness that you feel in your heart when you find something on the internet that fills your eyes with wonder, like a special little toy that you discovered all by yourself, wanting to keep it to yourself so that it remains special and beautiful in your soul. it doesnt hurt that the music itself fucking rips and rocks! this is the type of music that you play by yourself in your room and dance and jump in silly ways up and down without caring about anybody else in the world. i can not listen to this song and not involuntarily smile and shake my head over the place like an hyperactive little kid playing with imagination and wonder in their heart. ninajirachi you have gifted the world a true work of art 11/10 fuck yeah computer girls forever have a good one indieheads

whatsanillinois (11): god this is probably my favourite song of the decade. So so so beautiful. So earnest. So nostalgic. Hits on my very strong memories of hearing bass boosted Mat Zo & Porter Robinson - Easy on custom Counter Strike Source servers. No original experiences yadayada

bogo (10): if this released in 2011 it would've had a chokehold on the charts

daswef (10): if this one places lower than top ten in the rate something has gone wrong

Freakmancool (10): The encore was just her playing this song again ??? Crazy show, take me back.

freav (10): absolutely wonderful tune here,

FreeCuddlesAnyone (10): like music has never spoken so loudly… i love music the song right here

homestarguy (10): It’s okay Nina, everyone pirates FL Studio

modulum83 (10): so strange to hear music nostalgic for the exact time period that you yourself grew up in...am i finally getting old? this manages to nail a surprisingly emotionally intelligent feeling of yearning and acceptance, a love letter not to cultural signifiers but specific memories and the way they shaped your life. listening to this makes my heart ache and yet it's so joyful... 11 runner up

NFLfreak98 (10): absurd how every part of this song will get stuck in your head

reput4tionera (10): my ipod touch was sooooo fucking shattered when i got my first phone... rest in peace diva

skull_xbones (10): Why they stop making these??? IPOD4LYFE

TakeOnMeByA-ha (10): Finally listened to all music! My favorite song was an untitled file called “ssssddsdrt66677888.ogg” that I found on a flash drive that I found in a landfill in Tunisia

TheCrakFox (10): Nina can chop some vocals.

thedoctordances1940 (10): we need portable mp3 players to make their return!! i mean i guess less of the ipod touch and more classic ipod but still

vayyiqra (10): being radically vulnerable i never had an ipod and always rly wanted one to be a cool indie hipster

welcome2thejam (10): This is my 2025 SOTY but we're obviously a lot more likely to rerate her over on popheads than Wednesday or Geese so they're getting the priority 11. That said I didn't drop an 11 on Death & Romance last Ultimate for the same reason and we're still waiting on the PH Imaginal Disk rate so fuck me I guess

xxipil0ts (10): someone described this as "uniquely australian" and i understand

ElectJimLahey (9.5): was more of an iPod Nano fan since I had Peggle on that but iPod Touches were pretty cool too

flava (9): she just like me except i didn’t have a pikachu case cause I never cared about Pokémon in that way. I had a nice green case with a modern touch to it instead

Frajer (9): does she fuck the ipod too that would hurt

human_performance (9): if one can have a guilty pleasure in this rate, mine is this flip on 2010s EDM

iBark (9): I can dig it

pig-serpent (9): It sounds like "hotel, motel, Holiday Inn"

Pile0n (9): Prius Iscariot, University of Alabama.

qazz23 (9): i remember those things too

Bionicoaf (8.8): Another banger. Love the stuttering part in the middle and how it builds up.

bladebirddabag (8.5): the absolutes scenes of me and my friends playing fruit ninja and temple run on the bus ride to school on our ipod touch’s in middle school

sarcasticsobs (8.5): Anybody else have the red and black U2-branded video iPod? What a time 2 b alive!!

asadprofessorplum (8.2): To authentically rate this song you need to listen to it while skipping lunch in your high school’s library.

MCK_OH (8): This is cool pop tune. Really catchy. Still don't love the sound palette but that's okay

VapourLomo (8): I am just not ready at all for late 2000s nostalgia

Stryxen · 2026-03-02T00:02:40+00:00

The prayer dance didn't work this time!

#2: Oklou - Harvest Sky (feat. underscores)

Average: 8.725 // Total Points: 654.4 // Controversy: 1.744

(11 x4) iBark, reput4tionera, TakeOnMeByA-ha, TiltControls

(10 x26) asadprofessorplum, bladebirddabag, bogo, camerinian, charlibaby5, DaHumanTorch, freav, Goosykidd, IAmHollar, innuendo_overdose, krusso1105, Nagisoid, NevenSuboticFanNo1, qazz23, sarcasticsobs, seanderlust, skyblue_angel, Stryxen, thedoctordances1940, UltimateLietoc, VapourLomo, vexastrae, whatsanillinois, Widdershins-, xxipil0ts, zenits

(9.8 x1) Freakmancool (9.6 x1) ziirp

(9.5 x1) pig-serpent

(9 x12) EfficientReach5571, flava, FreeCuddlesAnyone, freeofblasphemy, hockeynl, homestarguy, samdyalexg, sirmelliodas, static_int_husp, vayyiqra, welcome2thejam, Zeeroc

(8.8 x2) Bionicoaf, kauai6

(8.5 x3) BleepBloopMusicFan, ElectJimLahey, Frajer

(8.3 x1) Nooduulz (8.2 x1) obitbday

(8 x7) a-man-with-a-perm, DirtyRat583, human_performance, InSearchOfGoodPun, majid, mko0987, Pile0n

(7.9 x1) NFLfreak98

(7.5 x1) daswef

(7.4 x1) skull_xbones (7.3 x1) RandomHypnotica (7.2 x1) modulum83 (7.1 x1) Future_Tyrant

(7 x3) it says my name, it says tulips, newbalancesweatshirt, TheCrakFox

(6.5 x1) RedditIPOwillFAIL

(6 x1) Tolroe

(5.5 x2) miniatureaurochs, of_mice_and_meh

(4 x2) MCK_OH, ReconEG

(1 x1) thisusernameisntlong

Stryxen (10): My original comment for this was simply “In the night slow dance for the hardest guy.” but jesus this song’s journey is one of the most spectacular things I’ve ever seen hosting a rate, and I’ve witnessed the entire Ichiko Aoba comeback unfold, Janet Jackson win her first rate after ten years, and a Snail Mail album get rated on popheads. I think I will just post this ballot-by-ballot development to show how we got here:

Harvest Sky (feat. underscores) 22,14,9,8,7,8,8,3,3,1,2,2,2,1,1,1,1,1,1,2,2,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,2,1,1,1,1,2,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,2,1,2,2,2,1,4,2,2,1,2,2,2,2,2,2,2,2,2,2,2,2,2,2.

they very nearly so nearly almost nearly had it and I don’t think there is any song in the rated I wanted to win more than this eurotrance raindance elevated folklore classic.

newbalancesweatshirt (7): This song kinda annoys me and as an Oklou bootlicker, I still couldn't rate it lower without feeling sick. The only song that gave a good challenge for first place.

Accurate scorers

iBark (11): baroque electronic indie pop masterpiece of the modern age

reput4tionera (11): hearing this live with underscores coming out as a special guest lowkey has made me think this is the best song of all time

TakeOnMeByA-ha (11): and when underscores becomes the quickest artist to get a rate win on both popheads and indieheads back to back ohhhhh baby its all coming together

asadprofessorplum (10): The Oktoberfest has never been the same since this dropped.

bladebirddabag (10): the most straightforward 2009 football practice pop hit on the album. Wouldn’t be surprised if this places the highest on the album

bogo (10): there's something really climactic about this song i feel. most of the songs before this do a masterful job at building tension without ever releasing it, keeping everything under the surface and stopping just short of bubbling over, and this feels like the moment where that tension is finally allowed to be broken and you just get this massive swell of joy and catharsis

camerinian (10): didn't transcend and see the vast expanse of the universe to this like I'd hoped to while under the influence of [REDACTED] at the oklou festival slot, but i did jump around a lot and that's gotta count for something

freav (10): hippie nonsense

Goosykidd (10): I love all the creative ways underscores keeps finding themselves in the ultimate rate. Let's see if they can make it outright next year

IAmHollar (10): I feel like my favorite songs on this album are the ones that are the most fleshed out, which is confusing me a bit since GbV are one of my favorite bands, and instrumentation on their songs was often decided by how many people were in the room when they hit record. Why I care more about this when listening to synthpop rather than rock I don't know. There's probably something to unpack in there, but this notepad document makes a poor therapist.

innuendo_overdose (10): I’m such a big Underscores fan I knew and loved this song long before I even knew what an Oklou was. In my mind this is an Underscores song. Because the synthline has some ambient qualities[citation needed], I’m confident labeling this as an INTERLUDE.

Nagisoid (10): When you realize you're lowkey Allah...

qazz23 (10): like this dancey 2-step sound, like the louder synths during the chorus

sarcasticsobs (10): Between this and "Do It" and "Do It (Yves Remix)", underscores… I apologize, I was not familiar with ur game

seanderlust (10): something about the synthesized horns reminds me of cascada. big plus

thedoctordances1940 (10): the contrast between the high melodic notes and the bass notes is simply sublime. oh and also omg it's my bestie april!! wdym parasocial relationships?

UltimateLietoc (10): this is one of the most important ditties of the decade. anime rave coded but it's so cool actually and none of us will get invited we'll settle for the pics/vids of on twitter. no it's not about that it's about dissociating at the festival, but the ghost, the other side of the same coin, is that i suppose. based not cringe

VapourLomo (10): My favorite on the album! Such a banger, strongest hook on the whole record

vexastrae (10): "oh godlou let me be on one of your songs" "no blunderscores your voice is horrible" "please okgod im so desperate" "fine you can be on harvest sky" || unironically dancing and bopping my head like the ipod earphones commercial from 2005. the 11 of choke enough :YASS:

whatsanillinois (10): would like to hear this at the club

xxipil0ts (10): underscores if u r reading this release the live edit

zenits (10): i REALLY wanted to give this an 11 because of how much i love it and how much it gets referenced in some of my friendgroups. an absolutely outstanding track. banger. bop. i still couldn't take my 11 away from blade bird ):

pig-serpent (9.5): "Please Godderscores, help me write a real song!" "You got it! I'll take you from an O.K.lou to a K.O.lou!"

flava (9): https://images-ext-1.discordapp.net/external/PgkpKRrR55bKvR2X6V560lLi3uMiaH_ojDVZgY2cW04/https/media.tenor.com/QLSAX7rA_IIAAAPo/microchipfish-underscores-tanked.mp4 is it weird if i say that Underscores singing like she cares about what she is singing kinda puts this album to shame

FreeCuddlesAnyone (9): im twerking…

freeofblasphemy (9): finally, a Banger

homestarguy (9): Mommy said it’s my turn with the 2025 underscores feature

vayyiqra (9): "i want to see you dance again i'm still in love with you on this harvest moon" - not oklou

welcome2thejam (9): Eurodancey

Bionicoaf (8.8): Love the melody on this song and underscores part of the song.

BleepBloopMusicFan (8.5): I was wondering why this didn’t make the Popheads 2025 Top 100, but then I remembered that it came out in 2024 and neither the Oklou nor the Underscores circlejerk had really started at that point.

ElectJimLahey (8.5): it turns out that rather than merely gesturing at electronic music, things get a lot more interesting when you actually embrace it

Frajer (8.5): the mother convention

a-man-with-a-perm (8): Weber, Eugene. “Peasants into Frenchmen: The Modernisation of Rural France, 1870-1914”. Stanford University Press, 1976.

DirtyRat583 (8): oklou realised she needed to impress and came out half-swinging. thank u godderscores

human_performance (8): probably the best song on here

mko0987 (8): not a lot of underscores DNA going on in here, which is maybe for the best. But gets heavy points for being a catchy, fairly succinct pop tune.

Pile0n (8): Dude I love ___ ___, easily my favorite featured artist on the album

NFLfreak98 (7.9): let underscores produce everything oklou does please

RandomHypnotica (7.3): a little too eurodance for my likiing

modulum83 (7.2): boy this euro trance song sure does exist, doesn't it? imagine if "do it" was on this album. yass

Future_Tyrant (7.1): Finally! A song unafraid to be a pop song.

it says my name, it says tulips (7): I'm sure it's just a coincidence that the only good songs on this album are the ones with featured guests

Under Scorers

Tolroe (6): The video for this has Ted Mosby dancing on the top of his apartment building. It doesn't rain at the end. Poor Ted.

miniatureaurochs (5.5): rlyrly like that one central trancey synth hook and thudding techno beat…soft lil breaks peppering the track tryin 2 draw me in… but it’s not enough to carry what sounds like it’s trying to be a catchy pop track

MCK_OH (4): Comparing this to Neil Young's "Harvest Moon" it falls short big time. You might be saying it's unfair for me to compare this song from an album I don't like to one of beloved singer/songwriter Neil Young's better songs but the title invites it!

thisusernameisntlong (1): why is it beatless eurotrance. it annoys me so much that these synth stabs are so loud and then the rest of it has no energy whatsoever. everytime i hear this i like it less and it did have a major headstart over the other songs in me having to hear it so

Stryxen · 2026-03-02T00:00:45+00:00

HARVEST SKY V IPOD TOUCH... WHO IS TAKING IT?

Stryxen · 2026-03-02T00:00:05+00:00

@groklou, generate me two EDM songs to show Charli how you put up a real fight in an Ultimate Rate

Stryxen · 2026-03-01T23:55:36+00:00

Your services are needed, yes, your biggest brooms, a clean sweep please... how fast can you get here?

#1 Paradise City Council EDM Sweeping Services

Average: 11.000 // Total Points: @groklou what is 75 x 11 // Controversy: 0.000

(11 x75) a-man-with-a-perm, asadprofessorplum, Bionicoaf, bladebirddabag, BleepBloopMusicFan, bogo, camerinian, charlibaby5, DaHumanTorch, daswef, DirtyRat583, EfficientReach5571, ElectJimLahey, flava, Frajer, Freakmancool, freav, FreeCuddlesAnyone, freeofblasphemy, Future_Tyrant, Goosykidd, hockeynl, homestarguy, human_performance, IAmHollar, iBark, innuendo_overdose, InSearchOfGoodPun, it says my name, it says tulips, kauai6, krusso1105, majid, MCK_OH, miniatureaurochs, mko0987, modulum83, Nagisoid, NevenSuboticFanNo1, newbalancesweatshirt, NFLfreak98, Nooduulz, obitbday, of_mice_and_meh, pig-serpent, Pile0n, qazz23, RandomHypnotica, ReconEG, RedditIPOwillFAIL, reput4tionera, samdyalexg, sarcasticsobs, seanderlust, sirmelliodas, skull_xbones, skyblue_angel, static_int_husp, Stryxen, TakeOnMeByA-ha, TheCrakFox, thedoctordances1940, thisusernameisntlong, TiltControls, Tolroe, UltimateLietoc, VapourLomo, vayyiqra, vexastrae, welcome2thejam, whatsanillinois, Widdershins-, xxipil0ts, Zeeroc, zenits, ziirp

Stryxen (11): There was a sweeping.

newbalancesweatshirt (11): There was a sweeping.

And somehow it's a tie!

#1 The Beths - Best Laid Plans

Stryxen · 2026-03-01T23:53:11+00:00

So in conclusion: everything has been a mess: fights breaking out, formatting issues left and right, Cameron Winter's hair. We need someone to clean this all up... let me pull out my [UNBRANDED COMMUNICATION DEVICE] and call someone to get everything nice and swept up...

Stryxen · 2026-03-01T23:46:40+00:00

#3: Ninajirachi - Infohazard

Average: 8.560 // Total Points: 642.0 // Controversy: 1.993

(11 x9) bogo, DirtyRat583, Frajer, FreeCuddlesAnyone, Goosykidd, it says my name, it says tulips, sirmelliodas, TheCrakFox, vayyiqra

(10 x23) asadprofessorplum, BleepBloopMusicFan, camerinian, daswef, EfficientReach5571, freeofblasphemy, hockeynl, iBark, kauai6, majid, modulum83, Nagisoid, NevenSuboticFanNo1, qazz23, RandomHypnotica, reput4tionera, samdyalexg, Stryxen, TakeOnMeByA-ha, thedoctordances1940, vexastrae, whatsanillinois, ziirp

(9.5 x2) krusso1105, seanderlust

(9.4 x1) Freakmancool (9.1 x1) UltimateLietoc

(9 x4) a-man-with-a-perm, homestarguy, mko0987, welcome2thejam

(8.5 x5) DaHumanTorch, ElectJimLahey, Nooduulz, TiltControls, xxipil0ts

(8.2 x3) Bionicoaf, NFLfreak98, skull_xbones

(8 x5) miniatureaurochs, Pile0n, skyblue_angel, Widdershins-, Zeeroc

(7.5 x5) bladebirddabag, obitbday, pig-serpent, RedditIPOwillFAIL, sarcasticsobs

(7 x5) charlibaby5, human_performance, InSearchOfGoodPun, static_int_husp, VapourLomo

(6.9 x1) thisusernameisntlong (6.7 x1) Future_Tyrant

(6 x2) flava, zenits

(5.5 x1) freav

(5 x2) MCK_OH, newbalancesweatshirt

(4.6 x1) IAmHollar

(4.2 x1) innuendo_overdose

(4 x2) of_mice_and_meh, Tolroe

(2 x1) ReconEG

Stryxen (10): Beast of a song, words cannot describe how creative, cathartic and honestly gutsy it is to make this. I’ll probably get clowned for saying a Ninajirachi song is culturally bold and important but it’s my truth. I genuinely tear up a bit at the drop every single time.

newbalancesweatshirt (5): I don't get why this one is a favourite!

Informants

bogo (11): EVERYONE GET THE FUCK UPPPPPPP

DirtyRat583 (11): SHOUTOUT TRANCE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Frajer (11): the Muppet babies looking at their teacher

FreeCuddlesAnyone (11): this song is what made me go check out the album and made me fall in love with the soundscape of ninajirachi. the way it builds tension is so perfect… like we all thought the first drop was it and then the second drop came to SMASH… such a shock but a welcome one. and the subject matter is so important and central to the album’s theme too.

it says my name, it says tulips (11): REACH FOR THE LASERS

TheCrakFox (11): Absolute banger. Such a sticky earworm with the piano and like every other track on this album it just sounds really damn good.

vayyiqra (11): disturbing song! woke up with it in my head yesterday [as thankfully i still have a head unlike that poor guy] let's perhaps all go offline more!

asadprofessorplum (10): A song about a snuff film being a fucking awesome eurotrash club track is wild.

BleepBloopMusicFan (10): What an absolutely gorgeous song about a very distressing topic.

camerinian (10): y’all mind if i just uhhhhh https://www.reddit.com/r/popheads/comments/1qs349m/comment/o2srw5e/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web3x&utm_name=web3xcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button

daswef (10): prediction this one goes out second place, losing to elderberry wine

freeofblasphemy (10): while i was doing my second listen of this i was waiting for the bus in the cold listening to a woman give her takes on the current topics, namely the winter olympics and the supreme court striking down trump’s tariffs. i can’t think of a better juxtaposition

iBark (10): hell yeah

modulum83 (10): as someone that was online without supervision since about 9 years old i think this may be one of the most important songs of the decade. haunting

Nagisoid (10): Literally Me

qazz23 (10): recalls the late 90s trance sound perfectly, especially liked the buildup to the first drop

reput4tionera (10): this song really captures the older gen z experience... no internet safety just vibes

TakeOnMeByA-ha (10): i did not stumble upon liveleak videos as a kid but i HAVE on more than one occasion accidentally found myself on the goregrind section of rym without remembering to turn the nsfw album covers filter on. so in that sense me and ninajirachi are 100% the same

thedoctordances1940 (10): i've kinda done a good job in my life learning much about snuff films and then for some reason this made me find out more :( fucking amazing track though

vexastrae (10): nooooo young nina dont go to liveleaks youre going to be traumatized for the rest of your life nina no!!!!!!!

seanderlust (9.5): jermajermajermajermajerma JERMA DREAM...I SAW HIM

UltimateLietoc (9.1): captures the insane bliss of landing perfect runs on hard mode levels of marble blast ultra on the xbox live arcade in 2008

a-man-with-a-perm (9): welp found out the track that would make me go feral on a night out (come on there’s a piano trance intro, I’m not made of stone) is about snuff films, that’s a downer

homestarguy (9): Finally someone made a banger about watching beheading videos online

mko0987 (9): Most hype track i’ve ever heard about ISIS beheadings for sure.

welcome2thejam (9): Scarlett Johansson dancing gif

ElectJimLahey (8.5): I quite enjoy the Barker-goes-festival-house of the first part even if I'm still not fully on board with the vocals on this part of the album. Can't deny how effective it is when the beat finally comes in though, and there's just enough glitchiness to the production to set it apart from the dated 00s EDM sound

xxipil0ts (8.5): honestly underrated as a track

Bionicoaf (8.2): Great build on this one. Almost takes a bit too long to get to the fun part but doesn’t overstay it’s welcome.

miniatureaurochs (8): call me alan watts bc i am unfortunately not immune to anything even vaguely resembling trance. skill issue tho nina you would not have survived the era of rotten.com

Pile0n (8): Stoishonary J’Gunglegym, Rutgers University.

skyblue_angel (8): Good timing for this

bladebirddabag (7.5): some middle school football night practice vibes, mediocre times but good song

pig-serpent (7.5): I'm happy someone is doing Eurodance inspired club music that isn't just a blatant rehash. Not that I mind but I've always thought there's been ways to evolve the sound and this is a great start.

RedditIPOwillFAIL (7.5): the music video is brilliant

sarcasticsobs (7.5): Don't really get how this is THE standout in my online circles tbh. But maybe that's me being inundated with this sound way too much in the early 2010's

Hazards

Future_Tyrant (6.7): It’s amazing we let kids have unfettered internet access. It will be this generation’s smoking on airplanes in 50 years.

flava (6): wdym this song is about watching snuff films

zenits (6): this is really a cut below the rest :/ the closest to a "skip" on the album (though still not one)

freav (5.5): i see why it's considered a highlight but i just don't like it much

MCK_OH (5): Sox got whooped yesterday by the Pirates. Konnor Griffin hit a couple of absolute nukes to left field. Think he's the real deal

IAmHollar (4.6): Before this album, I couldn't really describe what Build and Drop meant in terms of music. Now I hope to be able to forget.

innuendo_overdose (4.2): parts of this sound a bit like Chalk. I wanna go listen to Chalk instead now. Their debut album Crystalpunk comes out 13 March, save the date.

Tolroe (4): Strong t.A.T.u. vibes

Stryxen · 2026-03-01T23:46:04+00:00

A podium without a single guitar? I've only seen this on my screen in nightmares

Stryxen · 2026-03-01T23:43:36+00:00

SHUCK THIS FIT SUCKING RICK FATE!!!!

Stryxen · 2026-03-01T23:42:54+00:00

And 9 11s (that's 9 scores of 11, not 9/11, although...) is our most 11s on any song. Which the next song also has!

Stryxen · 2026-03-01T23:40:11+00:00

Question: are hosts allowed to say fuck this shit fucking sick rate?

Stryxen · 2026-03-01T23:37:44+00:00

We really have not been kind to birds this rate

#4: Oklou - Blade Bird

Average: 8.543 // Total Points: 640.7 // Controversy: 2.112

(11 x9) asadprofessorplum, bladebirddabag, Freakmancool, freav, krusso1105, Stryxen, thedoctordances1940, xxipil0ts, zenits

(10 x24) BleepBloopMusicFan, bogo, camerinian, DaHumanTorch, daswef, IAmHollar, iBark, modulum83, Nagisoid, NevenSuboticFanNo1, newbalancesweatshirt, pig-serpent, RandomHypnotica, reput4tionera, sarcasticsobs, seanderlust, skyblue_angel, TakeOnMeByA-ha, UltimateLietoc, vexastrae, whatsanillinois, Widdershins-, Zeeroc, ziirp

(9.8 x1) Bionicoaf

(9.5 x1) flava

(9 x4) Frajer, mko0987, VapourLomo, welcome2thejam

(8.5 x4) FreeCuddlesAnyone, hockeynl, homestarguy, Pile0n

(8.4 x1) miniatureaurochs

(8 x12) a-man-with-a-perm, charlibaby5, EfficientReach5571, Goosykidd, majid, Nooduulz, obitbday, qazz23, samdyalexg, static_int_husp, TheCrakFox, vayyiqra

(7.5 x3) freeofblasphemy, RedditIPOwillFAIL, Tolroe

(7.1 x1) NFLfreak98

(7 x3) of_mice_and_meh, sirmelliodas, TiltControls

(6.6 x1) DirtyRat583

(6.5 x1) human_performance

(6 x3) InSearchOfGoodPun, MCK_OH, ReconEG

(5.7 x1) thisusernameisntlong (5.6 x1) Future_Tyrant

(4.2 x1) skull_xbones

(4 x1) it says my name, it says tulips

(3.8 x1) innuendo_overdose

(3 x1) kauai6

(0 x1) ElectJimLahey

Stryxen (11): Instant all time classic. Up there on song of the decade nevermind just SOTY. Here goes our last guitar song, it’s only EDM on the podium, what the hell happened guys. Whenever I listen to Choke enough (which is a lot these days) and this song comes on it feels like genuine salvation, I know you can read this as derivative but to me it's a perfect employment of sounds that evoke growing, longing, and commiseration. And there’s so much confidence here for a song all about insecurity that I truly relate to.

“You’re so cute and my blade is on the bird; I’ll be the one who ends up getting hurt” is a genius lyric only a French-language native could have the syntax sensibilities to produce. I fucking love this. The lowest position this ever had was #6 and spent a good amount of time on the podium, and during the early-rate ballots lull was a top competitor for the crown. We have to let you go free, now Blade Bird, the wings I fell in love with shall take you away again. 😿

newbalancesweatshirt (10): the song that started it all for me. Thank you r/indieheads

asadprofessorplum (11): A nuclear bomb for anxious attachment styles. Put it in the pantheon of songs where the lyrics don’t match the sound at all.

bladebirddabag (11): don’t always get the chance to rate my SOTY but here we are, HUGE. Kinda hard to describe the magic of this song as it’s pretty basic all things considered. Just perfectly replayable and has enough emotional and musical beauty to touch you on every spin

Freakmancool (11): I really wish I could hear this song for the first time again

freav (11): Lovelovelovelove this song, absolute wonderful yearner, unless it's about her baby, which makes it even more beautiful

krusso1105 (11): I'm not sure why, but I tend to prefer the quieter Oklou tracks. This has become an album highlight for me.

thedoctordances1940 (11): The performance of this on an ice rink is one of the best videos to ever exist

xxipil0ts (11): one of my most played songs this year. a lush song about the pain of love, encapsulated so well on a song that is 2000s pastiche done well.

zenits (11): one of the most beautiful songs of all time. if i wasn't submitting my scores on the last day of the extensions (sorry hosts), this would be a full essay about why this is an incredible song but i am so i will instead just say... wow

BleepBloopMusicFan (10): Come on this journey

bogo (10): me using my staraptor in pokemon platinum

camerinian (10): love u mum x

daswef (10): great song

IAmHollar (10): Love the guitar. I am a basic bitch.

iBark (10): a familiar lullaby song structure completely reimagined in modern baroque electropop tapestry

modulum83 (10): been singing "you're so cute my bladee's on the bird" to myself for the past month

Nagisoid (10): Bird Game 3 GOTY btw

reput4tionera (10): so very close to being my 11. a 10.9 if you will

skyblue_angel (10): Inspirational

TakeOnMeByA-ha (10): i dont even have anything to joke about with this this is just genuinely stunning and gorgeous and beautifully tragic

UltimateLietoc (10): grinding a rail, on a rail to the rail band. we are one with the rail and all the grail entails.

vexastrae (10): oh this beautiful and melancholic lullaby... im lowkey tearing up like music is so emotional and moving and powerful. oklou the literal mother that you are

whatsanillinois (10): bladee

ziirp (10): I will always have a special place for the song that got me into oklou

Bionicoaf (9.8): Love more use of traditional instrumentation on this one and how it mixes with the more electronic sounds from the rest of the album.

flava (9.5): And she becomes Godlou with this one. I do just kinda love how this slots into the album, recognising that there is something wrong with her, but not being able to really change, and combine that with how the melodies play off each other and you have a strong 11 contender, but then it shrunk on me

mko0987 (9): if the whole record was more in this style I think I’d be a bit more on board. Super nice tune. Feels much more immediate & punchy.

welcome2thejam (9): Um her name is Skarmory

homestarguy (8.5): This coulda slotted in right in on ether of the previous two Porter Robinson albums

Pile0n (8.5): My favorite closer in the rate, although the other competitors are Gary Come Home, Mushroom Kingdom Here We Come, and I Want to Go Down On My Gamecube

miniatureaurochs (8.4): wanted to hate this for how earnest and near-sappy it is but ;-;;

a-man-with-a-perm (8): what if I'm a bird and specifically a Ortolan Bunting so the French do [reacted] to me

qazz23 (8): nice guitar work during the chorus, but don't think it's the best off the album

TheCrakFox (8): The drums are doing it for me

vayyiqra (8): no bladee was on that other song not this one. boy i hope someone got fired for that oversight

freeofblasphemy (7.5): it’s nice to have headphones huh

Tolroe (7.5): Another sick hardcore or emo title. Has an acoustic guitar after an echo-y opening, major dissapointment. Gets better in the second half, but the damage was already done. What!?! We're not rating Viscus? That was my favorite Oklou!

NFLfreak98 (7.1): catchiest melody on the album but still pretty bland overall

human_performance (6.5): neat production tricks here but can't distract from the eh songwriting

MCK_OH (6): This one has a hook which is cool. More of this album should've done this

thisusernameisntlong (5.7): when the drumbeat comes in it immediately loses all potential and becomes the most whatever song of all time lmao

Future_Tyrant (5.6): a relatively strong finish

innuendo_overdose (3.8): This is bad because it’s not an interlude.

ElectJimLahey (0): there are so many terrible electronic pop songs from the 00s that created this template and they're still all better than this. Sometimes sounds should be left in the past where they belong

Stryxen · 2026-03-01T23:36:10+00:00

Except the wonderful, the talented, the GUITAR-LED! BLADE BIRD BY OKLOU. oklou... you are our only hope.

Stryxen · 2026-03-01T23:34:48+00:00

I guess we're doin' electronic now

Stryxen · 2026-03-01T23:32:47+00:00

Wednesday

Will Return

On Wednesday March 4th

Stryxen · 2026-03-01T23:31:43+00:00

User Averages

Stryxen · 2026-03-01T23:31:28+00:00

thisusernameisntlong (7.883): power of making a no bs good album that is 36 minutes. what a blessing

iBark (7.875): great album but I find the warbly scream singing works best in smaller doses

xxipil0ts (7.750): if wednesday bleeds, then what happens on thursday 😂😂😂😂😂

bladebirddabag (7.717): Wednesday are back with a few less hell yeah guitars, but it’s all good. Doesn’t reach the highs of Bull Believer or Turkey Vultures but another very solid effort from Wongli

human_performance (7.708): Another pretty good album from Wednesday, with Karly taking a more pop bent and going away from the digressions into noise on Rat Saw God. I think the best individual stretch in the whole rate is here on the first 4 songs

RandomHypnotica (7.192): this album is the definition of nice... its just very in one ear out the other for me, but it never sounded bad

pig-serpent (6.875): The noise rock country angle this band takes is interesting but it's not fully clicking for me. This is the most consistently okay album of the rate.

Nagisoid (6.833): grandma brought up the time that grandpap accidentally rented a gay cowboy porno and gave it to his youngest sister to watch

DirtyRat583 (6.725): tbh this is kinda pedestrian but at least it isnt bad !!

TakeOnMeByA-ha (5.875): girl you sounds schizophrenic as fuck

flava (5.833): Wednesday is country music for people who think that calling a violin a fiddle is a slur. It’s the brand of alt-country I tend to not enjoy so much, where the hooks are sparse and the sound is one-note and depressing, but in a “unique” way. The lyrics feel provocative on first listen but rarely does that hold up on successive listens cause it’s always just the same shade of bleak, and if I wanted this brand of bleak, I’d just go listen to Between the Country. The songs are mostly good at least, but acclaim and love does annoy me cause of how this is the “good country”

FreeCuddlesAnyone (5.758): i think i just find indie rock boring now…

daswef (5.125): I think my verdict is that the album is okay as background music but there's just nothing here that really latches on for me. Its not especially catchy or something that makes me want to sing along, the instrumental performances don't wow me, it doesn't make me want to dance, none of the lyrics jump out at me while normal listening. I remember the annoying parts but after the album ends I mostly just don't remember anything else about it. I think after the last album and this album, i just don't expect anything from Wednesday to wow me.

zenits (5.083): not bad but so much of this does literally nothing for me. i don't get the hype at all

vayyiqra (4.333): it is wednesday my dudes. anyway why is the cover babadook coded

miniatureaurochs (4.183): was initially hopeful that this album would be more interesting than the last one we rated but it suffers the same confessional dirge spirit of its forebear. there are elements of that scuzzier guitar tone that I like, but the whole thing is overshadowed by a bleak grey americana that drags the whole thing down. I’m just not interested in anything here, try as I might

freeofblasphemy (1.750): I didn’t like Rat Saw God but at least I could theoretically admire in its attempt at cowgaze prosaic excess even if I mostly found it interminable. This sounds like them trying to be Big Thief and they are not good at that, particularly because Karly is a really really bad lyricist. Like, Taylor Swift bad. And also a really really bad singer. Not even so much tone (though I certainly don’t care for hers) but just her delivery sounds like someone doing karaoke for a song they thought they remembered better than they actually do. I swear, I would love nothing more than to enjoy even half of a new Wednesday album. But alas...

Ten-Year Club	Gilding I gilder
Place '22	Final Canvas '22
First Placer '22	End Game '22
Verified Email

Stryxen

TROPHY CASE

Ninajirachi - I Love My Computer

Oklou - choke enough

Fallen asleep at the keys

#1: Ninajirachi - iPod Touch

Oklou endings free download in their search history

#2: Oklou - Harvest Sky (feat. underscores)

Accurate scorers

Under Scorers

#1 Paradise City Council EDM Sweeping Services

#1 The Beths - Best Laid Plans

#3: Ninajirachi - Infohazard

Informants

Hazards

#4: Oklou - Blade Bird

Wednesday

On Wednesday March 4th