50. Shame - Cutthroat
Shame's fourth outing sees the South London five-piece sees the band explore more Pop-centric places all the while shooting the shit with their Post-Punk roots. It's a shedding of the flesh of sorts, but the skin underneath isn't too different to cause major upset. Shame move.
49. Buddie - Glass
Heya Buddie. Glass is the Vancouver-based Indie Pop outfits third album. A bitter shyness soaked up by a sweet and friendly etiquette renders it super-duper listenable, with a big-grinned bite.
'We left the shore looking for more than what our Grandparents wanted.'
Crafted Sounds? Yes please!
48. Black Rain
The grey skies above the North East can only be attributed to one thing: Black Rain. Split in two halves - studio and live recordings - The Black Rain's debut album sheds light on the fact that a band needs to be able to do both: capture the live essence in the studio, and blow your fucking socks off in the flesh.
47. CITIZENRY
Preoccupations drummer Mike Wallace goes solo under the alter ego of CITIZENRY: an electronically tinged, rhythmically heavy, groove-filled bonanza. Krautrockian in spirit and Industrial in aesthetic, CITIZENRY is bound to get your mind and body on the move.
46. Upchuck - I’m Nice Now
Atlanta's Upchuck singed a few fringes with the release of I'm Nice Now. The pace set; the riffs riffed; the high-octane energy turned seductive, deep-fat fried sonic frenzy makes it a fun and finely rewarding listen. It's the Garage Rock and Hardcore Punk thing done to a well-recorded standard; the grit still remains however.
45. Milkweed - Remscéla
Milkweed's Bandcamp in relation to Remscéla: 'All text and images are taken from of The Táin translated by Thomas Kinsella from the Irish epic Táin Bó Cuailnge.' Haunting in every conceivable way. Slacker Trad. Freak Folk. Past lives brought present. A seance of lost souls. An omnipresent fog which refuses to lift. Mind and soul engulfed by hand-me-down self-doubt and woe.
44. DARKSIDE - Nothing
Sonic urbanites DARKSIDE once again capture the smooth and ever-so-seedy side of the sonic spectrum with Nothing. The long second is over as the duo of Nicolas Jaar and David Harrington hone in on the beauty of sweltering city streets and the grit and grime that comes with it.
43. Yowie - Taking Umbrage
Instrumental madness; instrumental magic. Angular to no end. Endlessly inventive and on a mad one at all times, Taking Umbrage take Discipline era King Crimson and turns up the quirk-dials.
As soon as the strangeness ends, it all begins again.
Yowie Wowie.
42. Djrum - Tangled Under Silence
Infused with the energy of Drum and Bass amidst a Progressive Electronic heart, Djrum captures the here-and-now aswell as the more expansive side of life. There are moments within this project that remind me heavily of Floating Points collaboration with Pharoah Sanders. With gorgeous mood in abundance, Tangled Under Silence is a texturally rich experience. Get lost in the otherworldly active ambience of Djrum.
41. Tropical Fuck Storm - Fairyland Codex
Tropical Fuck Storm's fourth studio album Fairyland Codex continues the outlandish feats that the Aussie quartet have made a name for themselves with. Quirks in abundance and a knack for left-leaning output make TFS a fascinating outfit.
‘It's the golden age of arseholes; and the triumph of disgrace.'
40. Public Body - Finger Food
A crazy journey full of high-octane high roads and a speed limit which only gets faster and faster, Finger Food'll have your eyebrows singed, the hair on your head swished back and your brain fried. In usual Public Body fashion, the fun begins and it never ends.
39. Courting - Lust for Life, Or: ‘How To Thread The Needle And Come Out The Other Side To Tell The Story’
Courting released album number three Lust for Life, Or: 'How to Thread the Needle and Come Out the Other Side to Tell the Story' in March and it would see the Liverpool four-piece bridge the gap between their more Post-Punk fuelled debut and the more Art Rock inclined sophomore project.
The band followed-up the album with a deluxe edition which would feature a collaboration of "rollback freestyle" with RXKNephew - if this isn't the most unexpected team-ups in recent times, then I don't know what is.
‘Don't get carried away, this happens all the time.’
38. Junk Drawer - Days of Heaven
Belfast's Junk Drawer release their sophomore offering Days of Heaven. The album cover is surrealistically accurate at reflecting the sounds inside; the album revels in dreamy, jangly, warm, welcoming worlds. Days of Heaven shows two sides to Junk Drawer. It starts off as a jangly, post-punk piece and slowly pulls back to more spacious places as it goes along. "Pell Mell" - "Jamie": post-punk-y, jangly bits, albeit still smooth as silk. "Where Goes the Time" - "Ghosts of Leisure": winding, sweeping, ambient-y, arts-y, pieces.
Delightful stuff.
37. Lifeguard - Ripped and Torn
Chicago's Lifeguard made a name for themselves with their early EP's - Crowd Can Talk and Dressed in Trenches. Ripped and Torn sets out to follow-up the caustic aesthetic brought to life on said previous outings - and does to fine effect. From the get-go we're plunged into the glacial depths of Ripped and Torn. Sharp, dissonant guitars pierce the thick blanket of bass which sits at the back of the mix. The album feels like one long 30-minute aesthetical statement - Lifeguard are here to waste no time, and take no prisoners.
Robots with free reign. Life at a distance.
36. The Murder Capital - Blindness
A much more deranged and somewhat Grungy range of sonic spheres are traversed on The Murder Capital's third studio album. A twisted batch of soundscapes converge on a scrapheap of heartfelt beauty. The Murder Capital don't miss.
35. Jefre Cantu-Ledesma - Gift Songs
Infinity bounded by finite form; a limitless existence experienced through a limited lens. Jefre Cantu Ledesma has tapped into inner beauty with Gift Songs.
Drop-dead gorgeous; music for the Soul. In-and-out at the same time; coming and going; alive and dead.
The Milky Sea. Man.
34. Ichiko Aoba - Luminescent Creatures
Float downstream on the ethereal flurries of Ichiko Aboa's Luminescent Creatures. The serene waters slowly walked down into summon up a heartfelt spring - revitalising the deepest of emotions and memories. Wash those tears, fears and years away.
33. Bruiser & Bicycle - Deep Country
Bruiser & Bicycle, as we've come to somewhat expect, emanate a free and folky feel on their third outing Deep Country. The 74-minute journey is full of twee treats and outlandish feats. Bruiser & Bicycle calmly though quirkily explore the textures of their more acoustically eclectic side.
Oh, there's a sign; a feeling in my spine.
32. SENTRIES - Gem of the West
SENTRIES came to my attention with the release of Snow As A Metaphor for Death in early 2024. Just over a year later the Noise Rock connoisseur released album number two(three?) Gem of the West. According to SENTRIES' Bandcamp, Gem of the West is 'an album about the place where I grew up, among other things'. One of the best album closers of the year in "Nails" will be found here.
31. Deafheaven - Lonely People With Power
The Deafheaven crew found themselves on fine form with their sixth studio album Lonely People With Power. The sandstorms that the band whip up and throw around have become even more ear-piercingly sharp and soul-blisteringly hot. The musicianship on show is as stellar as ever.
30. Huremic - Seeking Darkness
Parannoul re-emerges with yet another musical alter ego/side project in Huremic. Seeking Darkness, the debut of said side project, is an expansive, soul-searching statement pieced together in 5 parts. In usual Parannoul fashion, the project features cascading soundscapes, heavy atmospheres and snip-snap-sharp-as-a-tac mind-melting drums. Excellent.
29. Horsegirl - Phonetics On and On
The subtle, sweet and ever deadpan sounds of Chicago's Horsegirl return for their sophomore outing Phonetics On and On. Simple yet sophisticated; playful yet supremely serious; heartfelt yet cold as ice; upset yet at peace with the changing moods. Unimpressed with what you suggest. Instinctual doubt that things will get better. Twee but not naive. Soft but stern, resilient. Calloused hands; velvet soul. Horsegirl remain among the best that the contemporary music scene has to offer. Their light-hearted-heaviness comes as a welcome respite for those looking for a dose of quiet confidence.
28. Artificial Go - Musical Chairs
Cincinatti's Artificial Go provided us with many a quirk-tastic moment with the release of their second full length album Musical Chairs. The three piece of Angie Willcutt, Cole Gilfilen and Micah Wu imbue a playful seriousness - business at the disco; whimsy and woe. Brighten up your day with Musical Chairs and its silver linings.
At 25-minutes, you just can't go wrong.
27. Squid - Cowards
Bristol based five-piece and contemporary art rock/punk powerhouse Squid see their third outing as grounds for a more explorative, progressive trip. The ever-so-seedy worlds that Cowards "an album about evil" dives into revel in squirmy, slow-moving molasses. Like watching lava rolling on down the hillside, the arrival of the red-hot molten sludge is inevitable. With little to be done about the inevitable, fates twisted tongue is sealed. The sense of unease that Squid hover in on feels like a natural state rather than a manifested existence. The band tap into the dark lanes in which the mind so often dares to traverse. We're only ever one step away from falling into the unforgivable groove of the wrong move.
Evil, it's a part of us all.
26. Oneohtrix Point Never - Tranquilizer
Tranquilizer is OPN doing what OPN does. His material is so individual and idiosyncratic that it needs to be studied. There aren't many that can make worlds unto themselves. If anyone can, OPN can. Tranquilizer is yet another project that dives into the dreamsphere and swims around as if there was no need to come up for air.
25. Agriculture - The Spiritual Sound
Heartfelt and freezing cold, Agriculture grabs your hand and pulls you through incredibly abrasive and throat-piercingly harsh environments along the 43-minute runtime of The Spiritual Sound. There's many a left-turn within said runtime, all to its benefit. Strap yourselves in.
The Flenser.....
24. pôt-pot - Warsaw 480km
Pôt-Pot set free their psychedelically-flecked debut Warsaw 480km on LA based label felte records. Lead by Mark Waldron-Hyden, the Irish/Portuguese quintet revel in moody textures and worlds of heavily reverberant rhythms.
Let the hypnotic spheres take hold.
23. Fib - Heavy Lifting
Philly's Fib and their signature sharp-shy sonics found a somewhat jubilant and somewhat melancholic conduit for its existence in Heavy Lifting. 26-minutes of refreshing Indie Rock, Heavy Lifting is an absolute delight to the senses.
'There's not much to say, so we'll wait for the world to end.'
22. Just Mustard - We Were Just Here
Just Mustard's third outing saw the potential for bludgeoning the listener taken a sonic step back, and the potential for an ethereality to step through come forth. The Dundalk five-piece have made a name for themselves as strongholds of the contemporary Shoegaze-akin sound, and rightly so. We Were Just Here showcases the bittersweet that the band emanate so well.
Is this falling out of Heaven?
21. Total Wife - Come Back Down
Total Wife's Come Back Down may be the most genre-fluid album on this list; you name it, it's more than likely here. The Nashville duo of Luna Kupper and Ash Richter tap into a hypnagogic state through sound and style - things take on a funny shape when your mindset is in-and-out of consciousness.
20. Billy Woods - GOLLIWOG
Billy Woods has become, depending on your tastes, the GOAT of the underground over the past 10 years. GOLLIWOG continues one of the greatest runs in recent times - both solo and as a part of Armand Hammer. A horror flick for your ears, GOLLIWOG catches Woods at his most visually stark.
19. Richard Dawson - End of the Middle
Realism. A tangible taste of the world within, and without. An empty page which writes its own story. A connection to the land that you were born unto; a way with words which deepens the connection to said land. Richard Dawson paints pictures of the everyday through the eyes of humility's gaze. End of the Middle is a gorgeous experience through and through.
18. Swans - Birthing
The final chapter in the monolithic latter stages of Swans output Birthing continues and nicely closes the door on the saga. Slow-burning and brooding, as you'd expect, Birthing eerily emanates out of whatever system you may use, and often times obliterates the senses which tune in.
Will it end? Does it end?
17. They Are Gutting a Body of Water - Lotto
They Are Gutting a Body of Water (TAGABOW) once again display a stern grip on the alternative and noisy scene with Lotto. There are straight up bangers on here (sour diesel); more soundscape-y minutes and moments (chrises hair); as well as sublime instrumentals (slow crostic). It has it all - within a noisy spectrum - within its 27-minute runtime. Take a bow, TAGABOW.
16. Lord Snow - Have You Heard of the High Elves
Angst bottled-up and saved for a rainy day. Said rainy day being Have You Heard of the High Elves. With energy levels that refuse to be measurable and a technical astuteness to put watchmakers to shame, Lord Snow slice up the listener's soul like a Michelin star chef across Have you Heard of the High Elves' sub-30-minute runtime. Jump in, and let Lord Snow have their way with you.
15. Wiring - Like a Porcelain Lamb
Indifferent to the weather; indifferent to the times. Somewhat detached, but well aware. Emotionally passive, but not emotionless. Distance maintained at all times to protect and preserve energy. Wiring's Like a Porcelain Lamb hones in on that Slacker feel while simultaneously airing a sturdy, headstrong state of presence. Indie goodness.
14. Double Extra Large
Chicago's Double Extra Large (XXL) brought that clunky HEAT to 2025 with the release of their self-titled debut. So wrong it feels right, XXL house an untamed quality amidst their clear knack for organised chaos. Where the four-piece and self-proclaimed "Trog-rockers" go from here is bound to be of interest.
13. Amelia’s Best Friend
Austin, Texas' Amelia's Best Friend came straight out the gate with a heartfelt, soul-binding offering in their self-titled debut. A gorgeous blend of electric ease and acoustic breeze, ABF tie the ribbons on your ears and sweeten you up one track at a time. Melancholy sonically manifested. A stab at the beauty that we all see, but can never quite find the right words to capture.
Wrestling's pretty hard when you're 96 years old.
12. First Day Back - Forward
Santa Cruz five-piece First Day Back more than impressed on their first outing Forward. The project has the well-oiled energy of a band ten years deep; with, as you'd hope, the sprite of a band caught in the throes of the 'oh fuck, we can actually do this' epiphany. It's a gorgeous blend of fresh and feisty; swift but stern.
11. YHWH Nailgun - 45 Pounds
YHWH Nailgun's debut is like getting sucked up by a schizophrenic dog in slow motion. Caustic tones weave and whooze these manic webs as the future edges nearer. Unintelligible vocals. Batshit crazy instrumentals. Deranged minds and modes of being played out before your very ears. The what-the-fuckery is off the charts with this one.
10. Blawan - SickElixir
The "official debut" from Yorkshire's Blawan only furthers the shout for Blawan's music being a one-of-one. When it comes to the guttural throb of a sonic-infestation, the sick and twisted sonic spheres of Blawan know no bounds. Sonic asphyxiation. I hope Blawan is doing well.
Bellyaches fr yr ears.
9. Search Results - Go Mutant
Search Results' second album harbours a much more polished sound compared to Information Blip; however, the polish doesn’t hide the rugged charm that the band also harbour. The changing of band member/s from the first outing doesn't seemed to have slowed the flow or dampened the humour of the Dubliners - they're still as snappy and sharp as ever.
It took me a while, and many further listens, to slip into this stream; but slip I did. Go Mutant, just fucking GO.
8. baan - neumann
Busan's baan shook the foundations of 2025 with the release of their sophomore record neumann. neumann is up there with the best of the decade so far. It shows a band that are confident where they are, while also teasing the fact that there's a lot more where it came from. The sound isn't necessarily revolutionary, but it's noise rock/alt-metal done so, so right!
'Our hearts belong to
damn loud amps,
greyscale DIY emo history,
our cramped rooms and bursting dreams.'
7. Codex - Avert Chroma
Codex is as idiosyncratic an artist as you'll find. A Russian doll of rhythm, you won't discover a more creatively engaging piece this year; Avert Chroma brims, brews and overflows with ideas. 'A glitch hop odyssey in a world of machinery' according to Codex, Nick Felaris, Avert Chroma takes the tangible world and turns it intangible.
Codex's Instagram on 12/3/25 reads: 'Hype and commerce doesn't make me happy. Sharing beats with my friends does.' An ethos to fulfil life's purpose if there ever was one.
If Avert Chroma doesn't capture your imagination and inspire you to breathe more deeply, then I'm not sure what will.
6. Moreish Idols - All in the Game
The debut album from Moreish Idols has been a long time coming. Dripping with lush detail and choc-a-bloc with a keen sense of studio trickery, All in the Game revels in warm, soul-soothing sonics. It's a cosy, toasty affair; get settled in.
All in the Game is yet another Speedy Wunder/Dan Carey gem.
5. caroline - caroline 2
It's hard to pin down what exactly makes caroline so incredibly great. There are moments of complete madness, emotional destitution, blissed-out euphoria and avant-garde antics throughout, yet the material escapes any sort of tangible description; it's straight from the unfiltered source itself. You can feel it, but understanding it is yet another set of steps ahead. caroline's 2022 debut also had said indescribable magic, but their second outing feels like a major forward step quality-wise. "Total Euphoria" is the best track of 2025.
May the wind be forever at caroline's back.
4. Adrianne Lenker - Live at Revolution Hall
While it's not necessarily an album in the studio sense, this list, year, decade, would not be complete without it's presence. A "sonic documentary" of Lenker's 2024 Bright Future tour, the album feels like a truly personal peak behind the scenes and through the spotlight. A defining piece in Lenker's career, Live at Revolution Hall will go down as one of the greatest artistic statements in music, and most certainly further afield.
Who knew beauty could be so.... fucking beautiful.
'Counting time as time counts me.'
3. Maruja - Pain to Power
Pain to Power, for those in the know, was undoubtedly one of the most anticipated debut albums of the decade thus far. Maruja garnered a tonne of attention through a number of EP's, projects and live prowess leading up to Pain to Power. The attention was worthy; the question was whether the band could capture the lightning. In simple words: Yes. Yes they fucking could.
Have no fear. Faith in Love.
2. Shearling - Motherfucker, I am Both: "Amen" and "Hallelujah"..
The disbanding of Sprain left a seismic-sized hole in the fabric of reality. The only thing that could have stitched-up said fabric was another seismic-sized act - in roll Shearling. Motherfucker I am Both: "Amen" and "Hallelujah" is as ambitious an album that 2025 has to offer.
Many a list will leave this out for being all arts-y-farts-y and self-indulgent, while being arts-y-farts-y and self-indulgent in the process.
THE ASS WILL MELT THE MAKER
1. Geese - Getting Killed
Gen-Z zeitgeist's Geese followed-up their relative breakthrough 3D Country with their certain breakthrough Getting Killed. Honing in on that strangely intimate air that Geese travel on, Getting Killed balances that homely-unease unlike any other. Loved by music fans and music critics alike, Getting Killed captures the schizo-mind as well as the more musically-aligned. It's a basic bitch pick, but once in a blue moon basic bitches be right.
THERE'S A BOMB IN MY CAR.