Top 30 of Q2/25: Agony Aunt Edition

DJ Timmy is here to soothe your souls with the most efficient balm for a broken heart – a shimmering arpeggio at around 120 BPM.

“Dearest Auntie Timmy, is it ever acceptable to skip a track just because the intro takes too long to get going?”

– Impatient in Ipswich

Absolutely not. That’s called anticipation, darling – an essential part of the electronic pop experience. In a sense, this quarter's selection has an exceptionally long intro out of respect for two topics very close to my heart: Star Wars and human rights. I simply couldn't have a top list without a reference to a piece of art that left me speechless and all teary-eyed, i.e. Andor season 2. For me, Episode 8, "Who Are You?" is the best 47 minutes of Star Wars – and even television in general – ever to have graced our goggleboxes.

As featured in the wedding scene, Niamos! (Morlana Club Mix), is followed by Pet Shop Boys' new Dance Mix of a track originally released in February, paying tribute to the late Alexei Navalnyi. You could argue that the track itself is very "PSB-by-numbers" but that doesn't diminish the importance of its message.

So, to put it shortly, you just have to endure this lengthy introduction to get to the actual number one pop song on my list, I <3 You, my favourite track from MARINA's excellent new album Princess of Power, which gets altogether three entries on my list.

Desperation by Diamandis hairspray: Because sometimes love is just a strong hold and a light mist away.

“Dear SoundsInMyHead, My partner says all synthpop lyrics are either about driving at night, unrequited love, or robots having feelings. Is this true?”

– Perplexed in Plymouth

That's not entirely the case, sweetie, but they do have a point. This quarter's subjects are quite low on emotionally overwrought machine angst and nocturnal mobility, but rather high on love and happiness. Case in point, the other two tracks in my Top 3: Saint Etienne's uplifting Glad, all about finding joy in everyday things when life is difficult, and Sophie Ellis-Bextor's Vertigo, describing the intense, dizzying feeling of being swept away by love.

Nothing says ‘eternal indie icon’ like being immortalised on a cushion your nan made while watching Antiques Roadshow.

“Dear Timothy, I’m starting to think my obsession with obscure 1980s Italian synthwave demos might be getting out of hand. I recently paid £75 for a cassette of Lucid Laser Love by Neon Vespas and I don’t even own a tape player. Is this normal?”

– Bankrupt in Basingstoke

Darling, that’s not a problem – that’s commitment. True synth fans know the joy lies in having it, not playing it. Besides, you’ll find that one day the cassette will spiritually speak to you during a Mercury retrograde, and you’ll understand everything. In the meantime, might I suggest listening to some excellent new Italo-tinged tracks on this quarter's top list, including Confidence by Peter Wilson and Never Surrender by Italove featuring Fred Ventura.

It's a feline felony: Purrrder on the Dancefloor.

“Dear SoundsInMyHead, My boyfriend just doesn’t get my love of synth-pop and electronic music. He says all my top tracks sound like ‘Stranger Things background music’, or that they make him feel like he's trapped inside a ‘sad washing machine.’ Should I dump him?”

– Frazzled in Freiburg

Oh petal, you simply must. Anyone who doesn’t appreciate the cathartic ache of a vocoder-processed lament has no place in your retro-futurist utopia. Perhaps you can let this quarter's list portraying several subsections of our beloved musical genre soundtrack your dramatic break-up. I fear that in his case they will fall on deaf ears, but some of the tracks included here are so shimmering they could power the Upside Down itself.

And that's unfortunately all we have time for this quarter, dear readers. Please do keep on sending your electronic pop confessionals to Auntie Timmy, and I'll continue solving your burning synth-related dilemmas. Until next time!