Crucial Track for January 2, 2026

"Hard Drive" by Cassandra Jenkins

#365songs (2 / 365)

My beginning-of-the-year song used to be "The Ice of Boston" by The Dismemberment Plan but now it's this more mature, sedate track. It's the standout from An Overview on Phenomenal Nature and somehow every bit as good as everyone says it is, and I really don't understand why it's so much more than the sum of its parts. Some low-key spoken word and a sung chorus connected by little more than a pun on the title. Instrumentals that are basically soft rock. But it all just gels, and something about the way she says "Oh, dear, I can see you've had a rough few months. But this year, it's gonna be a good one." is just so warm and tender.