Below are some thoughts on 25 of my favorite releases of 2025. This is actually the second 2025 retrospective I've put together, the first of which can be read over at RIYL. In order to keep from repeating myself, any records included on that list were not named here, but other than that anything goes! Let's get into it.
Algernon Cadwallader - Trying Not To Have A Thought
The only good band to come out of the late 2000s “emo revival” returns and is accordingly the only good emo band in 2025.
Andreas Werliin, Johan Berthling, and Oren Ambarchi - Ghosted III
The (ongoing?) Ghosted series from this trio of experimental music legends is a lot like the Halloween franchise: the first sets an incredibly high bar, the second is very good but a sometimes obvious extension of the first, and the third is a surprising shift away from much of what the previous entries were doing and is in many ways even cooler than what came before. This is an analogy for no one.
The (ongoing?) Ghosted series from this trio of experimental music legends is a lot like the Halloween franchise: the first sets an incredibly high bar, the second is very good but a sometimes obvious extension of the first, and the third is a surprising shift away from much of what the previous entries were doing and is in many ways even cooler than what came before. This is an analogy for no one.
A dozen devilishly short future pop gems, what if Sade got really into Guided by Voices?
Car Culture - Rest Here
Downtempo electronica full of idiosyncratic samples floating across dreamy soundscapes. For me, nobody does it quite like Car Culture.
Colin Miller - Losin’
MJ Lenderman/Wednesday extended universe linchpin Colin Miller’s had a spot reserved on this list since April or May, there are few records I’ve listened to more than Losin’ this year.
cootie catcher - Shy at first
Teenage indie rock outsiders are embracing twee like it’s 2005 and it’s not hard to understand why: we’ve once again been immersed in noxious culture full of performative hypermasculinity and economic despair narrated by an extremely vocal far right minority funded by a bottomless pit of dark money. The same forces that led to The Boy Least Likely To and I’m From Barcelona 20 years ago are back and worse than ever, you can't blame anyone for retreating into a self-created world full of childish naivety and gentle whimsy.
Danny Brown - Stardust
Weird uncles, rejoice! Danny Brown is making music that sounds like Atrocity Exhibition again!
Destroyer - Dan’s Boogie
There’s a case for Destroyer being my favorite band of all time so there’s no way Dan’s Boogie was getting left off this list. Dan’s Boogie: it’s good!
ear - The Most Dear and The Future
This is probably the only album I’ve listened to more than Colin Miller’s Losin’ this year. ear incorporates unfashionable influences like IDM, folktronica, and twee into an irresistible collection of weird, noisy synth pop nuggets. This list is unranked but if it wasn’t this would be my #1.
Earl Sweatshirt - Live Laugh Love
While I didn’t dislike recent efforts like Sick! or Voir Dire, Live Laugh Love still felt like something of a return to form for Earl Sweatshirt. The songs are tighter and more thoughtful, obscuring full hearted sincerity with oblique samples and esoteric wordplay.
Emily Hines - These Days
Every year I’m falling for at least one new lo-fi indie folk person and this year it’s Emily Hines. I love these songs!
fantasy of a broken heart - Chaos Practitioner
2025 was the year I went all in on fantasy of a broken heart, falling hard for their extremely modern take on sophisti-pop full of insane production flourishes and arcane, self-referential lyrics.
2025 was the year I went all in on fantasy of a broken heart, falling hard for their extremely modern take on sophisti-pop full of insane production flourishes and arcane, self-referential lyrics.
herbal tea - Hear as the Mirror Echoes
A cozy, lived-in dream pop album that treats melancholy and heartbreak with a forthrightness that most acts in the genre choose to obscure with layers of haze and effects.
Horsegirl - Phoenetics On and On
I cannot overstate how good this Horsegirl record is. Eleven perfectly crafted bits of Raincoats-core, it’s indie rock at it’s most elemental.
I cannot overstate how good this Horsegirl record is. Eleven perfectly crafted bits of Raincoats-core, it’s indie rock at it’s most elemental.
John Galm - River of Blood
A gorgeous heartbreaker of a record, River of Blood’s brutal intimacy can be almost too much to handle, but the songs are so well crafted that you can’t help but stick around.
M. Sage - Tender / Waiting
As a rule, if member of Fuubutsushi is involved in a record, I’ll probably like it. Nine little universes to get lost in, Tender / Waiting is a perfect piece of pastoral ambience.
Modern Nature - The Heat Warps
This is the first Modern Nature record that I truly connected with rather than just respected for what it was; a precise, immaculately produced album that draws from the last fifty years of art rock. It’s both academic and deeply felt.
Purelink - Faith
Loraine James’ vocals coming in midway through “Rookie” is one of the most breathtaking moments in music this year. Thank you, Purelink!
Resavoir & Matt Gold - Horizon
Summery (mostly) instrumental jams produced in collaboration with an abundance of Chicago music scene mainstays.
Spencer Radcliffe - Ohio Vision
It had been six and a half years since his album when Spencer Radcliffe surprise released Ohio Vision last month. Constructed on and off between 2019 and 2025, the album was worth the wait — Radcliffe’s referential, vivid songwriting is as singular as ever.
It had been six and a half years since his album when Spencer Radcliffe surprise released Ohio Vision last month. Constructed on and off between 2019 and 2025, the album was worth the wait — Radcliffe’s referential, vivid songwriting is as singular as ever.
This is Lorelei - Holo Boy
See this is why you wait until the end of December to publish your Best of 2025 list. Holo Boy came out like two weeks the race to identify the year’s canonical records ended and it’s better than most of the records on most of those lists.
Wednesday - Bleeds
Bleeds is maybe my favorite Wednesday record? It's insanely good. Congratulations Wednesday on continuing to be awesome.
Wishy - Planet Popstar
Wishy’s Triple 7 was one of my favorite records of 2024 and the companion EP/compilation/whatever they released this past Spring has been a perennial favorite in my home. Nobody’s doing it like Wishy!
That about covers it, here's a playlist featuring tracks from each of these albums for your convenience. Otherwise I'll talk to you in 2026!
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