My 26 Favorite Albums of 2025
- Alex Torres
- Jan 9
- 65 min read
Hi friends. Yes I still write. It’s been hard to do anything the last six months being a full time student and living in SF, although one thing I had a lot of time for was listening to music in the car. I’m cracked out on Vietnamese iced coffee right now and still braindead from two brutal weeks of school, so forgive me if my writing seems somewhat aimless. I’m trying my hardest. I probably could take a day before I get started on writing this, school literally ended yesterday. But I can’t tell you how excited I’ve been to write this. 2025 has been an INSANE year for music. Like criterion level. I thought last year was insane, and it was. But this year kinda blows it out of the water. Like these are all albums I will likely listen to for the rest of my life maybe. I’ve rearranged my list so many times because the albums at the bottom always feel like they don’t deserve to be so low. That’s how good all this music is. Last month I took a lot of time to listen to these albums again to reassess them, eliminate recency bias, and put them in an order that I think really matches how I feel about them. It was, and continues to be, very difficult to do, and this ranking will likely change in time in the years to come, but this is where this list stands now and I’m happy with it. OK let's rock.
26: billy woods - GOLLIWOG
Okay – first off I hope I’m allowed to say that word. I’ve seen some people censoring it when they talk about the album. I’ll just leave it in the title and censor it in the body of the text. I think it is important to see the word at least once because it kind of sets the tone of the whole album. This is the best horrorcore album I’ve heard in a while, maybe ever actually. It doesn’t use shock value or gratuitous depictions of violence to set the tone. Rather than do that, it makes you face the plight of a black man in America. He didn’t need to make any of it up. Not to say this is fully autobiographical, because how would I know that? What I’m saying is that the things billy woods raps about on G******G aren’t simply horror stories; they are reflections of the real ass world we are living in, and the real world does a good enough job being bleak on its own. This album does a great job translating that experience into songs, not only through the words but through the production as well. Some of these beats aren't even beats at all. They’re more like soundscapes that sound like horror movie scores. It’s so awesome. They’re so freaky and they match the eeriness of billy wood’s poetry so perfectly. Overall it makes for such a raw and unsettling listen. billy woods is continuing to make a name as one of the most talented rappers in the world right now with an album that’s so cohesive and poetry that is so incredibly evocative and moving. Sorry you didn’t crack the top 25 billy, I know it’s fucked up. And to my readers, if I’m cancelled now for the uncensored title someone just please let me know, thanks.
Fav songs:
"Jumpscare", "STAR87", "Misery", "BLK XMAS (feat. Bruiser Wolf)", "Waterproof Mascara", "Corinthians (feat. Despot)", "Pitchforks & Halos", "All These Worlds Are Yours (feat. E L U C I D)", "Maquiladoras (feat. Al.Divino)", "A Doll Fulla Pins (feat. Yolanda Watson)", "Golgotha", "Cold Sweat", "Make No Mistake", "Lead Paint Test (feat. E L U C I D and Cavalier)", "Dislocated (feat. E L U C I D)")
25: Tame Impala - Deadbeat
That’s right bitch. You read that right. No need to double take, this is real. Deadbeat is on the list, and it beat billy woods. Deal with it. I can understand the grievances that many of you are feeling right now; I too thought the singles sucked. I too was so unexcited for this album while it was being promoted. But Tame Impala, however they may have progressed since Currents, was a band that really changed my perspective on music when I was younger. No matter the circumstance, I feel I will always owe a new Tame Impala album a fair and honest listen, an attempt to appreciate it even if everything leading up to it has been less than exciting. Well, here is my first takeaway: Kevin Parker and company’s biggest mistake this album cycle was picking the wrong singles to release ahead of the album drop. Now, I have come around to “End of Summer” and “Loser,” (I still think the world would be a better place without “Dracula”); however, I think those songs did very little on their own to stimulate the Tame Impala fanbase ahead of Deadbeat. It’s frustrating because there are songs on the album that would have done such a great job as singles! I would have started with “My Old Ways,” dropped “Piece of Heaven” next, and maybe ended with “See You Monday (You’re Lost).” Now I’m not trying to complain here. What I’m trying to do is provide a roadmap for those who were unsatisfied, because I know I was one of them. These songs set the tone for the record much better in my opinion, and if you like these, you may be surprised how much more great stuff there is on this album. Even the actual singles hit better in the context of the album. Okay, my second takeaway: to me, this album is better than The Slow Rush. HOT TAKE! But I mean come on. That album just felt like a Tame Impala impersonation to me. Lesser versions of everything they did before. I don’t think Deadbeat has a song I dislike as much as “Borderline” on it. What Deadbeat does that The Slow Rush didn’t do is try something new, or attempt to reinvent the band a bit. That has always been a key thing about Tame Impala. Each album feels like a bold change in their sound occurs (excluding The Slow Rush). Deadbeat takes their dance influences and morphs them from funk/disco into straight up house music, and I think they do it really well. It may be less psychedelic than their previous albums, but in the end I’m just happy they are trying something new and that it sounds good. It’s great house and dance music with pretty fun melodies from Kevin Parker on vocals. Is it a perfect album? Certainly not. But is it a step up from The Slow Rush? I would say so.
Fav songs:
"My Old Ways", "No Reply", "Loser", "Oblivion", "Not My World", "Piece of Heaven", "Obsolete", "Ethereal Connection", "See You Monday (You're Lost)", "End of Summer"
24: JID - God Does Like Ugly
Okay, I have a theory about JID. I still feel like he is somewhat behind in getting the flowers he deserves. With every release I feel like he’s getting closer and closer to achieving the status he deserves as one of the most talented rappers making music right now. But I think there is one thing that has made people hesitant to listen: his affiliation with Dreamville. It’s a weak theory, based solely on my own experience. I never gave him a listen for a long while because I haven’t cared for anything I’ve heard from Dreamville, aside from J Cole when I was a wee lad. To me, JID feels severely more talented than any other of his label mates, and I don’t think I’m the only one that thinks that. If he were on TDE I bet he’d be much more successful. But I digress. JID returns in peak rapping condition on God Does Like Ugly. He does a really good job making heady complex fast-rap but actually making it thoughtful and engaging. Like if Tech N9ne or modern Eminem were more modest and gave more of a shit about their flow, delivery, and songwriting. He really is in the highest league of modern rap. My enjoyment of this album is really predicated on his rapping ability, if you haven’t noticed. It would likely have made it higher on my list if other aspects of the album matched the ambition of his rapping. While the production is good, it’s not really unique or exciting to me. It serves its purpose as a canvas for JID to lyrically erupt over, but doesn’t do much to assert itself to the songs in a more engaging kind of way. Definitely me being a little nit picky, but this year had some really steep competition in terms of hip-hop, and for me production is a big element of the competition. What holds the album back even more though are the more R&B focused songs. Again, they’re not awful, but I think JID’s chops as a singer and songwriter in the context of R&B are rather undeveloped in comparison to his skills as a rapper, making these moments feel like they break the momentum of the album. I don’t mean to complain, I just feel like I owe an explanation for putting God Does Like Ugly so low despite it having some of the best rap performances of the year on it. I think with a little more work in those areas, maybe with some help from a more eclectic roster of musicians, JID could make an album that would shake the world the same way Kendrick did with good kid, m.A.A.d city and To Pimp a Butterfly. This album isn’t quite there, unfortunately, but it’s also not fair for me to put JID on this pedestal. Whether he ever makes his monumental magnum opus or not, his music will always be worth checking out if he continues to rap like he does on this album.
Fav songs:
"YouUgly" (with Westside Gunn), "Glory", "WRK", "Community" (with Clipse), "Gz", "VCRs" (with Vince Staples), "Sk8" (with Ciara and EarthGang), "What We On" (with Don Toliver), "On McAfee" (with Baby Kia), "Of Blue" (with Mereba), "K-Word" (with Pastor Troy), "For Keeps"
23: PinkPanthress - Fancy That
Her name is Pink and I’m really glad to know her. I don’t know PinkPanthress. Well, I mean, I know of her. But I don’t know her. I mean, I guess you could say I know her, but it’s not like we’re buds or anything… “Illegal” was the first song I heard by PinkPanthress. I was immediately hooked, so cool. That was before I learned the song was built on an Underworld sample. Once I learned that, I was intrigued. That may sound like a step down from being hooked, but for me it’s not. It roped me in another level into the PinkPanthresphere. Who’s this chick making pop music in 2025 by sampling Underworld? I had to know more. Turns out, “Illegal” is just the tip of the iceberg that is Fancy That. The sound of this mixtape feels entirely Pink’s. There’s breakbeats, there’s house beats, so many layers of colorful synths, killer sampling, and really hooky melodies from Pink. It’s really bass heavy music too, like the kicks and bass synths are so well defined in the mix and it makes the music aggressive. In that sense, it’s some of the most aggressive pop music I’ve heard in a while. It’s really a retro-futuristic sounding project. It harkens back to progressive house and bigbeat music from the 90’s while also incorporating the personality of a modern rising pop star to ground it right here in the present. Overall, I think this mixtape really struck a nerve with me because lately I’ve been so obsessed with the era of music it is unmistakably influenced by. And on top of all that, it’s just great pop music. Pink has this really cool image that kinda blends bad-bitch energy with an element of class and sophistication, which makes for some pretty unique pop music. And most important of all when it comes to pop music, it’s all infectious as hell. Areas she could improve upon would include expanding her range a bit, in terms of her vocal style as well as the overall sound of the music. A lot of it kind of blends together after some time. That's my only criticism though. Overall it’s among the most exciting pop albums of the year in my opinion, and it’s not even a studio album.
Fav songs:
"Illegal", "Girl Like Me", "Tonight", "Stars", "Noises", "Nice to Know You", "Stateside", "Romeo"
22: Ceephax Acid Crew - Slam Zone
I’ve been looking forward to writing about Ceephax Acid Crew. I just learned about Ceephax this year from my dear friends Jabe and Grabe, but he’s been making music for a long time now. Ceephax Acid Crew, despite the name, is not a crew at all. It is the moniker of electronic producer Andrew Jenkinson. You may have heard of his brother Tom, a.k.a. IDM legend Squarepusher. Yes, Ceephax Acid Crew is the brother of the almighty Squarepusher. Considering their lineage of IDM, you might then expect Ceephax to be somewhat of a glitch-freak like his brother. However, it's very interesting how much the two artists differ. Rather than experimental jazz-adjacent IDM, Ceephax is pretty much pure unadulterated acid house. Plain and simple. You can always count on a 4 on the floor kick pattern and an arpeggiated bass line from a Roland TB-303 with Ceephax Acid Crew. I haven’t listened to all of his albums, he has a lot of material. But from what I have heard, I can confidently say that Ceephax’s music is as fun as ever on Slam Zone. Every song is a bop. It’s dance music with tons of energy and character, at times reminding me of Daft Punk and their futuristic sci-fi appeal. It makes me feel like a video game character on a pixelated dance floor. To some, the formula might get old after a while (there is definitely a formula to the Ceephax sound), but I could listen to it for hours. To me it’s very impressive how much he can do within that formula without losing my interest. I’ve been thinking about him a lot and trying to understand what exactly it is that makes his music so appealing to me. A lot of the electronic artists I listen to are really technically proficient in some way or another. Maybe they are really good at sampling, or maybe their drum patterns are really complex, or maybe they have really detailed sound design. Ceephax in most respects keeps everything really simple. In that sense he is one of the least experimental electronic artists I listen to. But he doesn’t need complexity to enrich his music. It’s rich in passion and excitement without being a technical marvel. I respect this kind of modesty in music a lot. Slam Zone aims to be nothing more than an hour-long dance party, to which it succeeds majorly.
Fav songs:
"Dr Caboose", "Acid Cruise", "Camelot Interlude", "Waltzacid II", "Slamuel Bepys", "Phactory Reset", "Photonphunk", "What the Phax", "Lifeworld", "Slam Zone", "Court of Rave"
21: Bon Iver - SABLE, fABLE
Bon Iver was one of my most listened to artists this year. I think he was number 5 if I remember correctly. I’ve always known of him (how could you be my age and not?) but it really wasn’t until this year that I really started liking his music. I was too young to understand and appreciate the emotional gravity of his first three albums, a three run album that could easily be considered among the best album runs of the 21st century. The progression between each album somehow feels natural yet completely jarring at the same time as he becomes exponentially more influenced by electronic music and avant-garde. The resulting legacy of Bon Iver puts him at the center of modern music culture in the worlds of both indie-folk and art-pop. I know this is obvious to everyone, but I am only just understanding how special and singular it makes him as an artist. What is ironic about him being on this list, though, is that I spent more time this year listening to those aforementioned albums than I did listening to his brand new album, SABLE, fABLE. The reason for this is because SABLE, fABLE has a considerably different vibe than the rest of his albums. If I had to narrow the difference down to one thing, it’s that the album is more bright and hopeful than it is melancholy and brutally sad. Truth be told, I was really fuckin with the brutal sad stuff this year (listened to a lot of Radiohead also). But from the moment I first heard SABLE, fABLE, I knew it would grow on me with time. Also real quick, I should mention that the album is unevenly split in two parts. SABLE was released as a four track EP in 2024, consisting of simple acoustic folk compositions. These songs are a bit more sad and folky, akin to their earlier work. Then fABLE, the rest of the album, was released this year. Although fABLE feels like a stark difference for Bon Iver, it still has lots of qualities of theirs that I love. That hopefulness that I mentioned earlier that replaces the melancholy, it comes across so tender and pure. It pulls your heartstrings in a different way, but just as intensely. A lot of the songs feel somewhat gospel actually. That’s a great way to describe the sound of this album: gospel, but without the religious overtones. Justin Vernon seems less like a lost soul in mourning here and more like an enlightened man eager to spread his love to the world. Even with all this love and respect for the album, it’s still true that I’ve spent a lot more time with the first three albums. With that being said, I’m over the moon that Bon Iver continues to grow and develop their sound. And like many great albums, this one gets better and better with every listen.
Fav songs:
"THINGS BEHIND THINGS BEHIND THINGS", "S P E Y S I D E", "AWARD SEASON", "Short Story", "Walk Home", "Day One (feat. Dijon and Flock of Dimes)", "I'll Be There", "If Only I Could Wait (feat. Danielle Haim)", "There's a Rhythmn"
20: Kid Spatula - Joozy
We got some good ol’ IDM here for my number 20 spot. This one comes from a very classic creator of electronica, even though you may not even realize it. Kid Spatula sounds more like a Simpsons character than an electronic musician, and if he is one he’s certainly not a very famous one is he? Well, think again. Kid Spatula is one of the many aliases of the electronic pillar of excellence that is Mike Paradinas. He is well known for being half of Mike & Rich with Richard D. James and for his solo work as μ-Ziq; in fact, Mike also dropped a μ-Ziq album this year called 1979. I would normally combine the albums and discuss them together in this circumstance, but the μ-Ziq album didn’t really resonate with me quite as much as other albums on this list. It’s largely ambient, which I do like on occasion but in the case of 1979 the songs just felt a bit less engaging than lots of Mike’s past work. But alas, Joozy captivates me where 1979 didn’t quite as much. Mike is really, really good at sound design and mixing. His instruments are so fuzzy and crisp. The synths, the bass, the drums, all of it. And he uses ambience really well to make his compositions really dense but still really mellow. Honestly a lot of the time the drums are my favorite part. He uses lots of automation when mixing (or maybe he mixes live while recording, I don’t know) to add color to the drums at different times. Sometimes a delay will come in at small times, or maybe a slight saturation or distortion. He’ll fade it in and out real gradually to the point where you’ll hardly even notice it, but still it makes a big difference in the way the music feels. He does this with the drums a lot, but also does it with his synths and his samples pretty frequently as well. Everything’s always still yet always in motion, revolving but evolving. I’m using lots of technical jargon and metaphysical descriptors that people may not understand at all. The best way to describe this kind of music is futuristic chill-out music. Kinda eerie at times, maybe even a little aggressive sometimes, but really groovy and meditative more than anything. I feel like this kind of electronic music is hardly made anymore today. It’s a product of 90’s culture that modern EDM seems to have outgrown. I don’t think there is a modern equivalent. MAYBE Four Tet actually, but he’s kind of an anomaly at this point, and he’s also been doing his thing for hella long and belongs to an earlier culture of electronica as well. Thank god we still have older heavyweights like Mike Paradinas making music like this, because if it weren’t for him and others like him this kind of groovy chill electronica might be extinct. Joozy if anything gives this kind of music continued merit and shows that old cats like Mike still have so much more to contribute to the culture even if the masses seem to have forgotten it.
Fav songs:
"Spitalfield", "Nadsys", "On The Green", "Clubman", "Barb 1", "Lichtblau", "Casablanca", "Darth Vader"
19: Hayley Williams - Ego Death at a Bachelorette Party
We’re getting into some big discussions now! Not to dog on anything before, but this feels like somewhat of a turning point in the list. A line in the sand. Before Ego Death and after Ego Death. The reason I say this is because I listened to this album so fucking much. So many of these songs are burned into my brain after half a year of endless listening. “Love Me Different,” “Parachute,” “Brotherly Hate,” “Disappearing Man,” “Mirtazapine,” “I Won’t Quit On You.” All legit burned into my brain. Kinda low for an album that I played so much huh? Well, some music gets better and better the more you listen, but sometimes the opposite happens and the first listen is the most exciting. Little flaws begin to arise after repeat listens, details that didn’t clock to you sooner because certain immediate aspects caught most of your attention. I don’t think I’m an asshole. Am I an asshole? For example, I think “I Won’t Quit On You” would be SUCH a better song without the incessant outer space and astronaut references. Like still a pretty song, but it definitely lost me the more familiar with the lyrics I became. So yeah, when I first heard the album it was a lot higher. I’m sorry to the fans. Kinda weird for me to be so critical of an album I considered part of the top 26 albums of the year. Well, I feel somewhat resolved in being nitpicky because this album succeeds in ways where many other albums fail. Its range of influences and genres might be more diverse than any other album on this list. There are hard rock songs that are reminiscent of her early Paramore days, slower acoustic cuts, modern electro-pop anthems, classic Beatlesque pop-songs, indie-pop tunes, indie-rock tunes, and songs that incorporate multiple of these things at once. This album’s refusal to be identified or defined by a single genre label can be seen as a contributing factor to its peculiar release. It was initially released as a collection of singles with no particular order assigned to the songs. She decided to do this to include the fans in the creative process, giving them input into the order of the album before it was officially decided. What a fun way to drop an album, although I’m not so sure it would work so well with most other albums. I say this because these songs really all do feel like singles that work so well on their own. A compilation of bangers, per se. Even with its flaws, this album is radically compelling. You won’t be able to stop listening. I listened to it three times the first time I listened. The hooks are strong. The vocals are powerful. The production is immaculate. Overall, this album takes pop punk veteran Hayley Williams and puts her in a very very serious position in the conversation of modern pop music. All eyes are on her right now in a way they haven’t been before, and I think I speak for everyone when I say I can’t wait to see what she does next.
Fav songs:
"Ice In Mu OJ", "Kill Me", "Whim", "Mirtazapine", "Disappearing Man", "Love Me Different", "Brotherly Hate", "Ego Death at a Bachelorette Party", "True Believer", "Zissou", "Dream Girl in Shibuya", "Blood Bros", "I Won't Quit On You", "Parachute"
18: Playboi Carti - MUSIC
Few albums this year were as heavily anticipated as I Am Music was. We’ve been expecting it for a long time. Well I wasn’t. I’ve only really been waiting for a year. Before then I couldn’t have given less of a fuck even if you put a gun to my head, cocked it, and demanded I give even less of a fuck than I already did. I wouldn’t have been able to achieve such a minor giving of a fuck cuz that degree of not giving a fuck doesn’t exist in human nature. The amount of fucks I gave matched that of the lowest metric unit of fucks given by men since the beginning of recorded history. Fucks cannot be quantifiable below this unit of measurement. That’s how much I didn’t give a fuck about I Am Music, that was until some point in the first half of 2024. But after that moment, I couldn’t have given MORE of a fuck. It was perhaps the quickest turnaround of fucks given in music history since OK Computer. Going from not understanding the hype to being a high ranking operant of the hype was quite the experience. I redownloaded twitter just to fully experience the hype when the album dropped. The album, alternatively titled MUSIC when it finally dropped (although the initial title still bestows the album art), absolutely shook the world upon its release. Expectations were high, patience was low, and opinions were vast and strong. I find myself among what I consider to be the minority of public opinion regarding the album; in other words, I enjoyed MUSIC thoroughly. Compared to other Carti albums, MUSIC is harder to define. Some songs are very straightforward and minimal, others have crazy weird production. Some show Carti in his trademark high register, others show him in a brand new low register that we haven’t heard before (aside from the early YouTube releases from 2024). Whereas on Die Lit and Whole Lotta Red there seems to be an overarching style and vision that Carti aimed for and achieved, this album feels much more like an experiment in presentation, both sonically and conceptually. The album was delayed until early morning hours because he and his team were still working on it. I presume that they spent much of the time shuffling the tracklist around until the last second (a transition between tracks 1 and 4 can be observed, look it up). While this pissed off lots of fans, it really doesn’t bother me. What we ended up getting on MUSIC feels like a fever dream from a living fairy tale artist whose privacy and strange, cryptic online behavior set the stage for his strangest album yet. Yes, I said it. This album is fucking weird. Listen to “OPM BABI” and tell me that this isn’t his weirdest album yet. It’s literally rap’s version of The Pod by Ween. It’s entirely overstimulating, full of poorly mixed adlibs and gunshot sounds, but underneath the chaos is an all-timer Carti song that will surely be remembered as a major highlight from the MUSIC era. It also serves as an effective example of what I choose to believe is the vision of this project. Maybe I’m wrong, but the disorienting, inconsistent, and jarring nature of MUSIC doesn’t feel like a coincidence. I always used to wonder whether Carti’s vision was ever a vision at all, or just a mere coincidence of brilliance. After spending a lot more time with his music, it’s clear I never gave him enough credit in those terms. And with every release getting progressively more and more crazy, I think it’s clear that Carti sees things in a way the rest of us don’t, and we have to learn to trust him on this journey. Of course, I’m referring to his music and not his character, which has proven to be utterly disgraceful and disgusting time and time again. I hope my admiration for MUSIC isn’t confused for indifference towards his violent and selfish behavior. If you wanna know my thoughts about all that, I wrote a piece this year talking about how I feel. Referring once again to his music, I’ll just end it by saying that this album will live a life much like the rest of his albums have: misunderstood initially, but bound to be beloved in time. Mark my words.
Fav songs:
"POP OUT", "CRUSH", "K POP", "EVIL J0RDAN", "RADAR", "RATHER LIE", "FINE SHIT", "TOXIC", "GOOD CREDIT", "I SEEEEEE YOU BABY BOI", "WAKE UP F1LTHY", "JUMPIN", "TRIM", "COCAINE NOSE", "OLYMPIAN", "OPM BABI", "LIKE WEEZY", "HBA", "OVERLY", "SOUTH ATLANTA BOY"
17: Ethel Cain - Perverts and Willoughby Tucker, I’ll Always Love You
At number 18 we have two albums. Some may consider Perverts an EP but to me that’s liar behavior. IT'S AN HOUR AND 29 MINUTES. Everyone’s a liar. Don’t be a liar. Still, even after eliminating all liar behaviors, it’s somewhat peculiar of me to link these albums together at the #18 spot. For further context, WTIALY is presented as a prequel to Ethel’s debut album Preacher’s Daughter in 2022 while Perverts is a standalone project. To my knowledge they aren’t related whatsoever. However, there is truly a dichotomy present in much of the work of Ethel Cain. You may end up with some gloomy folk music, a dream-pop influenced take on American roots music. Then, you may end up with some stuff that’s straight up goth/drone music. No pop, no folk, no gaze. Just doom. This dichotomy is on full display with these albums, but you gotta listen to them both to really get the full picture. Therefore, the two are now one. Perverts is the one that’s mostly drone music. It’s dark, eerie, and mostly white noises. The album cover looks like the cover of a black metal album, and the artwork matches the sound. It’s a haunting noise experiment that almost doesn’t even qualify as music at times. I mean that in a complementary sense truly, not to mention there are melodic songs present as well. That being said, even the melodic songs are pretty doomy with lots of dark ambience and evil sounds as well. This album, the first released this year, was my introduction to Ethel Cain. I’d heard of her before, but my image of her as an artist was very different before listening to Perverts. It made me respect the fuck out of her pretty much immediately. Then came WTIALY. As much as I really really enjoyed Perverts, it has very limited replay value. Lots of it is just long segments of noise, so it’s kind of by design. Fortunately for me, WTIALY provided me with tons of songs that I was compelled to listen to a lot. Songs from this album still tend to be long with really extended ambient parts, but the difference is that there’s melodies present much more consistently. Furthermore, these songs are really tender. The 15 minute final track “Waco, Texas” is a good example of what I mean. The overall sound of WTIALY feels like it was born out of a vacuum. It’s shoegaze, it’s folk, it’s dream pop, it’s Americana, and it’s ambient. I honestly don’t know who else in the world is making music like this, and before you suggest Lana Del Rey I suggest you clean out your ears and listen again. It feels like Ethel has discovered something that no one else has, a sound that feels like it should be decades old by now. And to be fair, “Fuck Me Eyes” sounds like a song straight out of the Black Lodge in Twin Peaks, so it’s safe to say certain aspects of her sound have existed for decades. But Ethel carries them to new heights by infusing these sonic worlds together in a way that feels so pure, emotionally raw, and powerful. I really don’t know which album I prefer, but what’s great is that I don’t have to pick. Although they aren’t related projects, they complement each other very nicely by showing Ethel’s dedication to subverting expectations and stretching her sound to the brightest and darkest corners of the great sonic landscape, places you would never expect her to go by listening to only one of the albums. She's someone else that we’re gonna have to keep a close eye on in the years to come.
Fav songs:
Perverts:
"Perverts", "Punish", "Houseofpsychoticwomn", "Vacillator", "Onanist", "Pulldrone", "Amber Waves"
Willoughby Tucker, I’ll Always Love You:
"Willoughby's Theme", "Fuck Me Eyes", "Nettles", "Willoughby's Interlude", "Dust Bowl", "Radio Towers", "Tempest", "Waco, Texas"
16: Cheekface - Middle Spoon
Oh yes we got some Cheekface on our horizon. If you are unfamiliar with Cheekface, then consider this an early birthday present to you. Your life has just improved. To me Cheekface represents an expired model of indie rock, a brand of music that hasn’t had true representation since the early 2000’s. This model of indie rock I’m referring to doesn’t quite have a name that I know of, but can be likened to artists like Cake, They Might Be Giants, Ween at times, early Beck, etc. All these artists are quite different from one another, but they all have a very goofy, upbeat, sardonic, relatively monotonal, and seriously unserious core that set them apart from contemporary 90’s acts. I don’t think there has been an act since the inception and heyday of these acts that has matched any of their freak. Let me just tell you straight up that Cheekface is that band. They have resurrected a whole subgenre of music, and they do it with so much style and charisma. Not to be mistaken with coolness, cuz this band is not cool. I don’t know if there has ever been a band less concerned with being cool than Cheekface. It’s pretty much the dorkiest music you’ve ever heard. But that’s the charm. It’s dorkiness, as well as its wittiness. Singer Greg Katz is one of the wittiest lyricists you’ve ever heard. Every song is as hilarious as it is clever. Plays on words, creative and silly, metaphors, humorous observations of modern culture, nonsensical statements, all with a clunky monotonal delivery that makes my girlfriend’s skin crawl. Sorry babe, but it’s fucking brilliant and perfect. It’s not all just goofy lyrics and singing though. These songs are all really hooky, catchy, and fun as hell. The band is a really strong three piece with tight ass instrumentals. Nothing hits better than a three-piece band with quality instrumentalists, where everyone in the band makes a real sizable imprint on the band’s sound. Cheekface is one of those bands. Katz is a modest guitar player, but it’s clear he has shredding abilities on songs like “Art House.” The bassist and drummer are all over the place too, providing a robust foundation for the whole album as a canvas to make fun of hipsters with. I don’t really know what else to say. It’s really straightforward rock music that’s just an absolute blast. Really well written and performed, and if you like goofy 90’s rock music then Middle Spoon will likely be your favorite album of the year. We owe Cheekface a lot for keeping this kind of music alive. I didn’t realize how much I missed it until I started listening to them. God bless them.
Fav songs:
"Living Lo-Fi", "Flies", "Wind is Gone", "Art House", "Growth Sux", "I Know What's Gonna Happen", "Content Baby"
15: Skrillex - FUCK U SKRILLEX YOU THINK UR ANDY WARHOL BUT UR NOT!! <3
I haven’t listened to Skrillex since middle school y'all. But over the last couple of years, I’ve been on a bit of an electronic odyssey, and no conversation about electronic music is complete without Skrillex. I’ve listened to and learned so much about electronic music since 2023, which allowed me to return to Skrillex with a fresh set of ears for the first time in a while. When discussing modern electronic artists, no one eclipses Skrillex. He’s the one. The guy. I’ve dismissed him for many years, the reason being I thought I hated dubstep. Well, to that point I’m not exactly sure how I feel anymore, but I can definitely tell you that I was wrong about Skrillex. I learned to appreciate him years and years after discovering him by listening to his music in a vacuum; what I mean is that I made a conscious effort to appreciate it apart from any surrounding dubstep culture that I have unfavorable opinions of. Turns out, his music is awesome and was actually always awesome. I think that many of the dubstep artists that followed in his footsteps failed to live up to the innovation found in his music, leading me to give up on dubstep as a whole for years. But that wasn’t fair to Skrillex. What I’ve come to deduce from getting into Skrillex is that in a lot of ways he’s kind of the modern Aphex Twin. His music is equally detailed, personified, and somewhat strange, and his influence and legacy on the future of electronic music is just as substantial if not even more so. To summarize everything thus far, Skrillex is legit. He’s 2 legit 2 quit. This was such a great time to get into him too, cuz this album may be his best release yet. The whole thing plays as a DJ mix, it never stops. This really captures the feeling of a live show pretty effectively, which is such a cool thing to do for a dubstep album because it’s music that’s often designed for live performances. This album is described as a return to his dubstep roots after years and years of experimenting with pop, hip-hop, and other subgenres of electronica. I wouldn’t describe it simply as a return, but more of a reintegration of dubstep while still continuing to incorporate all of those other genres as well. It’s honestly the perfect album to turn on if you’re looking to get into Skrillex. It’s undeniably awesome. Even if it’s not your thing, you’ll be impressed and surprised how cohesive and well produced this thing is. It’s also kind of a hilarious album. DJ Smokey shows up on almost every song saying the funniest shit ever with a really classic commercial voice. My favorite line is from “BIGGY BAP:” “This beat drop has been seized by Atlantic Records and has been replaced with silence,” followed by nothing but cricket noises. Chef’s kiss. Overall FUCK YOU SKRILLEX is an album that makes my case for Skrillex perfectly. You may not like dubstep, but Skrillex has kept electronic music innovative and relevant for the last 15 years. He is carrying the torch. He’s building the culture. He’s the gold standard of electronic music today, and I’d consider FUCK YOU SKRILLEX his magnum opus.
Fav songs:
"SPITFIRE", "SLICKMAN", "TEARS LOST DROP", "ANDY", "SQUISHY CLIP", "MOMENTUM", "ANIMALS BEAT", "MIRCHI TEST", "HOLD ON", "SEE YOU AGAIN VIP", "MORJA KAIJU VIP", "REDLINE DASH", "ZEET NOISE", "FRICKY VIP", "DRUIDS", "BIGGY BAP", "SAY GOODBYE", "BABY ROYAL", "DNB TING", "SAN DIEGO VIP",
14: Earl Sweatshirt - Live Laugh Love
The GOAT is back!!! Earl Sweatshirt may just be the best lyricist in all of hip-hop history. He is constantly being compared to MF DOOM, and though DOOM has a greater lore and a wider net of creative influences, I think it’s fair to say that Earl has eclipsed DOOM as a rapper. I know that’s gonna piss a lotta people off, and understand that I love DOOM also. I’m just trying to express to you just how much I look up to Earl Sweatshirt as an artist. He is my DOOM. He is my GOAT. He is the best and most talented rapper making music today. His trajectory as an artist has been a really interesting one as well. Beginning as the young protege of Tyler, The Creator, he was considered one of the youngest talents in the world of rap when he hit the scene. Very stylistically driven by his Odd Future peers and by production often courtesy of Tyler. Lots of angst, lots of dark themes, but mostly from the lens of a troubled little kid trying to generate shock value in his music. It was great, but he certainly hadn’t reached his potential yet. Very soon, we started to see a more genuine Earl developing in future projects. Projects like I Don’t Like Shit, I Don’t Go Outside, Solace, and Some Rap Songs felt like Earl coming closer and closer to finding his truest inner voice and bringing it to life one album at a time. He did this by exploring his depression in the most intensely vulnerable way. I always considered his music to be the absolute best depiction of depression in the world of music. He really got to the core of how it feels and the thoughts that occur a lot when you’re depressed. Listening to his albums consecutively feels like checking in on a close friend who you have been worried about and seeing how he’s doing. The progression in his music has often mirrored his mental state. In recent years, he seems to be doing really well. It makes you wonder how that’s going to affect his music, considering how his music has always been tied to his depression. What does the light sound like? The answer to this is Live Laugh Love, which has proven to me to be one of the most pivotal albums in his catalog. This album feels like a companion to Some Rap Song, which I think is his best album. Very similar production, and both are short albums comprised mostly of verses and few hooks. The difference though, like I said earlier, is his current mental state. He sounds sharp, convicted, and proud of himself throughout the album as he raps about growth, his family, and embracing change. It’s the brightest and most affirming album Earl has ever made. Although it’s really just a collection of poetry, I feel like there’s lots of wisdom to be gained from listening to Live Laugh Love. It’s all present in his lightness, his attitude, and his understanding of what is important to him in his life. I’ve gone through major depression and come out on the other side as well, so I can really relate to Earl and his whole catalog so well. This album really feels like his happy ending. Although that makes the album very different from the rest, it still feels like very quintessential Earl Sweatshirt musically and sonically. It’s so amazing to see him in a better headspace and still making music that is so important, to both him and to his followers that are struggling in the same ways he has. I’m very grateful to Earl for sharing his story with us and I’ll always be excited for his next chapter, however it may look
Fav songs:
"gsw vs sac", "FORGE", "INFATUATION", "WELL DONE!", "Live", "Static", "CRISCO", "TOURMALINE", "Heavy metal aka ejecto seato!", "exhaust"
13: Alex G - Headlights
It took me a while to fully come around to this album. I never disliked it, but I wasn’t enamored by it. But in the time between starting this article and releasing it, it went from #26 to #13. I think it’s finally clicked. Some background regarding MY background with Mr. Alex G. I saw him last year at Stern Grove. The lead up to that concert was when I got into him. I would consider myself an average level fan. I haven’t done a deep dive but I like all I have heard. However, one album in particular has locked me up and beaten me repeatedly with a sock full of quarters more than the rest, and that album would be God Save the Animals. I’m not gonna talk about that album extensively. It’ll suffice to say that it’s an album that exists on its own terms on its very own plane of existence. Tremendously experimental, exceptionally beautiful. Most other Alex G albums are more subtle in their experimentation, and that’s no exception with Headlights. In some ways it feels like a return to form for Alex G, with lots of more straightforward acoustic indie-rock cuts. As much as I’ve always enjoyed this kind of music and much of Alex G’s old work, I was definitely hoping for something more adjacent to God Save the Animals moving forward. That being said, I’m learning with every listen that Headlights is a grower, not a shower. These songs unfold more and more with every listen. And while I’ve spent this entire time talking about how nonexperimental it is, there are actually lots of small nonconventional moments that are really spectacular throughout the album. For example, halfway through the title track when that super loud synth comes out of nowhere with a single note, then disappears for the rest of the song. Oh, and all of “Louisiana.” I was honestly hoping for an album full of Louisianas. That song is perfection. But even more straightforward songs have really interesting instrument choices on them, like the accordion in “June Guitar” or the dissonant mandolin in “Real Thing.” Reading back what I’ve read so far, I feel like this review of Headlights is really confusing (it’s experimental, it’s not experimental, which one is it??), so let me try and sum it up concisely. I really was hoping for one specific thing from Alex G, and when I didn’t get it I kinda gave up on the album. It wasn’t until recently that I returned to it and realized that having expectations with Alex G is a silly silly thing to do. Alex G just does what Alex G does, and that’s what makes him special. He’s not chasing a sound, or an image, or a status. He makes his music for the moment, seemingly as a form of therapy for his own well being. I think that aspect of his artistry is really special, and it serves as a reminder that expectations should never be put on an artist like him. With that in mind, Headlights is a particularly beautiful and unpredictable collection of songs that proves Alex G will always continue doing whatever the fuck he wants with his music, and we are all lucky to get to be a part of it in some way.
Fav songs:
"June Guitar", "Real Thing", "Afterlife", "Beam Me Up", "Louisiana", "Bounce Boy", "Oranges", "Headlights", "Logan Hotel (Live)"
12: Danny Brown: Stardust
You can honestly take a lot of the preamble from Earl’s section and apply it to Danny as well. I hold the two of them in a very similar regard. That’s not to say they are incredibly similar artists. I would consider Earl to be the superior rapper and lyricist overall, but on the other hand I’d consider Danny the better artist. With the dawning of Stardust imminent, I went back through Danny’s catalog to get excited for it. It’s absolutely insane how eclectic and full of personality his albums are! Easily one of the most eclectic and fearless hip-hop artists of all time. His discography is easily comparable to Kanye West’s or Tyler, The Creator’s as among the best of any rapper in the 21st century. He’s an absolute beast of an artist, not to mention a phenomenal rapper as well. I know I said he’s not as good at it as Earl Sweatshirt, but who is? Like nobody. Danny is still a really creative and competent rapper who has been able to adapt his style of rapping to so many different moods and styles of music. Stardust sees Danny not only continue to grow and explore new sonic territory, but playing to strengths of his that we haven’t heard from him in a long time. This is a high energy album. If you aren’t familiar with Danny Brown, he was known for a long time as a very high energy artist. Very intense, very wired, very appalling. A quick google search of early Danny Brown would help elaborate on this. He’s been releasing some more comparatively mellow music the last few years, some more straightforward hip-hop albums. But with the release of Stardust, Danny is tapping into something we haven’t heard out of him since Atrocity Exhibition. Well we may have heard a bit of it on Scaring the Hoes, Vol. 1 as well, but I digress. Danny has a skyscraper of a fire lit under his ass, and I think it’s fair to say we owe this enthusiasm to the producers on this album. The production is largely digicore and hyperpop. I typically don’t listen to much of this kind of music. In fact, I was kinda nervous I wouldn’t like this album because it was expected to be largely hyperpop and digicore. But what I didn’t realize was how well these styles of music lend themselves to Danny’s insanity. It’s kind of the perfect music for him to rap over. It definitely woke him up inside, like listening to Evanescence (my favorite line from the album). Even though I’m describing a really hectic and overstimulating album, there are some really mellow cuts on this album as well. Most significant of these is the album’s opener “Book of Daniel” featuring and produced by Quadeca. Maybe one of my favorite songs from Danny’s entire career. Such a beautiful and contemplative song reflecting on his career and struggles with addiction, ending with the realization that regrets are useless and that he is right where he belongs. Definitely the strongest opening track in his discography, and it also helps build a case for a growing demand for a full length collaborative album between Danny and Quad. Everything they touch together is magic. Anywho, this album isn’t without its flaws. Some of the guest slots are really not my cup of tea, specifically Frost Children, JOHNNASCUS, and 8485. As much as I love the hyperpop and digicore influences on the production, I knew its influences on the songwriting would be a challenge for me. Some of these songs would be much better without hooks or with better hooks. Overall though I was really surprised by how much of this album I enjoyed and how much it feels like a return to form for Danny. In lots of ways, it’s the most cohesive and cinematic version of Danny we’ve gotten since AE and it’s really great to see him in that lane again. I hope in the future he finds a way to mesh this kind of music in with some more traditional hip-hop, because I think that’d be really cool. But honestly whatever Danny decides to do next I’m sure it’s gonna be the right next step for him, because he hasn’t had a single misstep his entire career.
Fav songs:
"Book of Daniel" (with Quadeca), "Stardust", "Copycats" (with underscores), "1999" (with JOHNNASCUS), "Lift You Up", "What You See" (with Quadeca), "Baby" (with underscores), "Whatever the Case" (with ISSBROKIE), "1l0v3myl1f3!" (with femtanyl), "The End" (with with Ta Ukraїnka, Zheani, and Cynthoni), "All4u" (with Jane Remover)
11: ROSALÍA - LUX
See how insane this list is becoming? How did we get all of these in 2025??? If you don’t know who ROSALÍA is by now, IT'S TIME TO WAKE UP. She is the best art-pop artist in the world right now. She dabbles in many different genres and has changed her sound up on pretty much every album. She started off making predominantly flamenco music before expanding that into a large-scale pop sound. Pretty soon she started incorporating reggaeton, electronica, and hip-hop into the mix as well. We were three albums into her career and we didn’t know how to categorize her, and now the fourth album is out and it’s even harder. I guess the best thing we can categorize her as is art-pop. She is an art-pop queen. She is mother. While we could have easily called her all of these things before, LUX puts ROSALÍA in this role in a very finite way. Just look at this partial list of collaborators on LUX: Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo (½ Daft Punk), Björk, Pharrell Williams, Venetian Snares, Nigel Godrich (mastermind producer of Radiohead), Yves Tumor (all he does is quote Mike Tyson, but still), Charlotte Gainsburg, and Noah Goldstein. Lots of heavy hitters right?? Well this album requires it. It may be the most impressive album of the year in terms of its nature of pure grandeur. This album has sparked a bit of an online debate as to whether or not it can be classified as classical music. Every song is mostly composed with classical instruments courtesy of the London Symphony Orchestra. So the sound of LUX certainly mirrors that of classical music in terms of its instrumentation, but it often still follows a very pop forward songwriting sensibility. Does that qualify as classical music? I have a better question. Who the fuck cares? It’s soooo good guys. The amount of detail in this album is ridiculous, and that doesn’t just apply to the instrumentation. ROSALÍA sings in fourteen different languages on this album. FOURTEEN. She began by writing the songs with the help of Google Translate before sending those lyrics off to translators to help refine them. Then she worked with phoneticians to make sure her pronunciation was on point. Whether or not it turned out that way I cannot confirm, because I only know one language. But that’s a hell of a lot of dedication and artistic drive. She did this in order to craft a story involving different saints from different religions, each language representing one of the different saints. So yes, it’s a concept album, but no, I haven’t taken the time to translate the lyrics and learn what it all means. I may never get around to it, who knows? But it doesn’t make the project any less admirable. On top of all of this boundless ambition, there’s ROSALÍA’s singing. We haven’t even talked about her singing yet. She has the most insane voice you’ve ever heard. I can’t even begin to describe it to you other than saying that she has such incredible precision when hitting notes. Her vocal range is phenomenal as well, matching the classical instrumentation with operatic inspired vocal performances. I’m speaking to the reader right now as if they don’t know who ROSALÍA is, which is kind of hilarious in retrospect because she’s a huge huge star at this point. She has dropped classic albums time and time again, and this feels to me like her magnum opus. Like her proving that she IS the best person making pop music right now. She’s that bitch. The person to beat. The artist that everyone wishes they could be. Her legacy is solidified and she will be remembered forever. Listen to this album with headphones and the lights off, it will blow your mind.
Fav songs:
"Sexo, Violencia y Llantas", "Reliquia", "Divinize", "Porcelana", "Mio Cristo Piange Diamanti", "Berghain" (with Björk and Yves Tumor), "La Perla" (with Yahritzia Y Su Esensia), "De Madrugá", "Dios es un Stalker", "La Yugular", "Sauvignon Blanc", "La Rumba Del Perdón" (with Estrella Morente and Silvia Pérez Cruz), "Memória" (with Carminho), "Magnolias"
10: Car Seat Headrest - The Scholars
That’s right bitches. The Scholars is top 10. Please excuse my aggression, but if you aren’t aware, this album was largely cast aside by fans online when it was released. People complained mostly about the narrative of the album. Last time I checked, we listen to music for the musical parts more than anything. Am I wrong for assuming this? Are we really gonna pick apart an indie rock band’s album for having a dicey narrative and not even use our ears and listen to the music itself? I'm sorry for the continued aggression, but I just can’t believe people sometimes. Sure, Car Seat Headrest is known for album narratives, so naturally fans are expecting that. But the narrative here kind of rocks…??? I just really don’t understand how the fans could be so dissatisfied. This is legitimately such an awesome album. Car Seat Headrest has always had a skill of building epic songs out of power pop and indie rock riffs, something that seemingly hasn’t really been done before (right?). I know Will Toledo, CSH mastermind, was really influenced by of Montreal, who did a version of that before. But what CSH does is different. It’s very much rooted in rock. It’s straightforward guitar music, but with very anthemic and cinematic song structures that seldom repeat themselves. Twin Fantasy is a great example of all of this. To be honest, I really kind of ghosted this album after it dropped because I ended up becoming infatuated with Twin Fantasy. It’s funny how I could favor the old stuff in such a natural way like that and still be so harsh to all the people who did that also. Yes, my aggression is partly in jest, but there are true sentiments there as well. This is because anytime I put The Scholars on I immediately remember how much I love this record too. It has strengths that the other albums don’t have, strengths that have been criminally overlooked! For example, this is by far the best a CSH record has sounded from a technical standpoint. Easily, hands down. Maybe that’s another pillar for a diehard fan, considering the band is well known for their lo-fi recordings. Even when they started blowing up and recording more traditionally it was on the lo-fi end of the sonic spectrum. This album sounds like a professional rock band recording in a professional studio mixed by professional engineers. To me that’s amazing. To you that’s a quick check with all disrespect le… oops excuse me. Don’t get me wrong, I’m all down with lo-fi recordings. But a band with so much to offer really deserves a shot at high fidelity at some point. CSH really took advantage of it on this record. Another thing about The Scholars is that it feels very eclectic and emotionally varied. You can say this about most of their albums, but this one does it just a smidge more in my opinion. It really feels like a rock opera with a larger than life scope. There are loud songs, quiet songs, acoustic songs, love songs, sad songs, angry songs, happy songs, and songs that do all of those things with seamless transitions all over the place. Each song really has its own identity and acts as its own movement as a part of a bigger picture. Every song feels like a highlight, with the exception being the 19 minute “Planet Desperation,” which could certainly afford to be less than 19 minutes. There’s probably a lot more I could say, but I suggest you just give it a listen. It’s a really impressive album with lots of songs that are bound to get stuck in your head after a single listen. It’s really just quality music. Quality songwriting. I love this band and I’m so happy they are continuing to grow and create phenomenal rock music in a time where forward thinking rock music is genuinely hard to find (or is it?? More to come later…).
Fav songs:
"CCF (I'm Gonna Stay With You)", "Devereaux", "The Catastrophe (Good Luck With That Man)", "Equals", "Gethsemane", "Reality", "True/False Lovers"
9: Joey Valence & Brae - HYPERYOUTH
I believe this is one of the few artists this year that also made my list last year. NO HANDS ended up at #13 last year I think (I just checked, I was right). Things seem to be moving at the speed of light for JVB. Little did I expect another album so soon after NO HANDS. What was even more unexpected was how much growth the group would undergo in such a small window of time. HYPERYOUTH is truly a level up in pretty much every sense for JVB. No hate on NO HANDS at all. I still love that album to death. That being said, HYPERYOUTH really goes in directions I was hoping the group would eventually go in, places that their older work only really hinted at. It was always clear that producer Joey Valence was into electronic music. He does such a great job finding ways to blend electronica into his old school hip-hop production. On HYPERYOUTH, it becomes hard to tell which style of music is in the driver’s seat and which is the sidekick. To me that’s amazing. To you that’s a quick check with all disr… dammit not again!! Anyways… this album clearly takes more from Daft Punk and Charli XCX than NO HANDS did. That’s not to say the boom-bap shit isn’t there anymore. It’s alive and well, thriving really. If you’re worried about that, just jump straight into “GIVE IT TO ME” and you’ll start to feel better. The beat is so fucking hard, and both Brae and Joey Valence rap quite well on this track. While we’re here, let’s talk about the rapping real quick. It’s obviously a bit corny. It’s goofy. It’s something both of them have admitted is a work in progress. But honestly I feel like both have improved quite a bit. It’s not perfect, but there's so many amazing qualities to their music that it’s really easy to overlook any imperfections. There’s plenty of spots where more seasoned rappers would have eaten them up, but those two goobers got tons of charisma and they’re really not terrible at all. “DISCO TOMORROW” has a wonderfully earnest verse from Brae about how quickly his life is changing and how grateful he is to be doing what he loves. It’s easily one of the best verses he has to date and in general a major spotlight moment for him that he bodies. There’s plenty of other fun and engaging verses from both of them, but the magic of this album, like I said earlier, is really in the production. I think Joey Valence will be one of the most sought out producers in the world of underground hip-hop and electronica in the next few years to come. It’s really some of the coolest production I’ve heard in a long time. He’s really helping put respect on the FL Studio name! It’s crazy how well he can blend hip-hop and dance music into something this cohesive. It really serves the album well, giving the track list a lot of variety to keep listeners engaged the whole time. The album will go from hard hitting hip-hop to softer sample-based beats to complete balls-to-the-wall dance tracks that sound like unreleased LMFAO music. It really keeps you on your toes, or as Joey says, makes you wonder what they’re gonna do next, bitch. Most importantly, it gives you songs with lots of individual strengths and charisma. As imperfect as the group may be, they are just oozing with vision and passion. They’re music is always such a fun time, no matter what lane they choose to be in. If you’re reading this JVB, bet you can’t drop another album next year!!
Fav song:
"HYPERYOUTH", "BUST DOWN" (feat. TiaCorine), "GIVE IT TO ME", "IS THIS LOVE", "PARTY'S OVER", "WASSUP" (feat. JPEGMAFIA), "LIVE RIGHT", "BILLIE JEAN", "HAVE TO CRY", "THE PARTY SONG", "MYSELF", "GO HARD", "DISCO TOMORROW"
8: Quadeca - Vanisher, Horizon Scraper
#8 is the only other artist besides JVB that made my list last year. The only difference is that Quadeca actually moved lower this year… sorry Quad!! It’s not you, I promise. Competition was just really stiff this year. So it’s not to say Quadeca has downgraded from last year. In fact, he’s actually crafted something much bigger. Bigger than last year, and bigger than anything he’s done before. If you’re unfamiliar with Quadeca, I wrote an article about him and his artistic trajectory a couple of years ago. I’d give that a read if you’re interested because it’s not easy to describe the kind of music he makes in a quick excerpt. If there’s one quality his music has, though, it’s sheer originality. There really isn’t anyone else I can think of who makes music like Quadeca, past or present. He’s been refining this unique sound of his with every release since the turn of the decade, further developing his skills as a composer, producer, instrumentalist, singer, and songwriter on every release. His last project Scrapyard stunned audiences last year, and that project was just a collection of B-sides. Pretty impressive, I must say. That album was pretty eclectic. Lots of different styles of music, lots of variety in the track list. On Vanisher, the songs definitely blend together more than they did on Scrapyard. That’s not to say it isn’t eclectic as well, because it very much is. But these songs all feel like they come from the same source, not just the same person but the same vision. Before we get any further, I think it’s important to mention that this album, more than any other album on this list, requires an uninterrupted headphones listen. I know motherfuckers don’t have time to sit down and listen with headphones too much, but if you give Vanisher this treatment you will hear the vision much more clearly than you will if you listen with speakers. I was kind of indifferent towards the album at first, but that’s because so many of the small details were lost when I was listening in the car. The soundscapes Quadeca builds on these songs are truly remarkable. Absolutely stunning. He is becoming one of the great world-builders in music and to this point Vanisher is his greatest feat yet. I cannot stress the importance of headphones enough, you will not regret it. Vanisher is a very whimsical record, borrowing elements of folk, ambience, indie, hip-hop, emo, and electronica and fusing it with a nautical ambiance. This potion of genres and themes that Quadeca has concocted paints a picture of a very fluctuant odyssey in what feels like a gloomy coastal environment, one that reminds me a lot of Bodega Bay. I should also clarify that this album has a full video accompaniment directed by Quad himself. The exact environment I’m describing is the setting of this film, so I’m not exactly reaching for the stars when describing the nautical environment I envision with this music. But that being said, the music really nails this vibe on the head. Vanisher can most certainly be added to my collection of nautical albums I love (The Mollusk and Plastic Beach are the only others so far, but what good company those albums are). Vanisher, more than anything, proves that Quadeca is determined to always do more than is expected of him, even now that the expectations are really high. Every album feels like a major improvement upon his artistry in some way or another. Whether or not this is my favorite record of his, I would certainly consider it his most impressive in terms of out-of-the-box songwriting and utterly detailed production. Give “AT A TIME LIKE THIS” a listen at the very least, and you’ll see what I mean. What can you even call that? You can find elements of different kinds of music in it, but there isn’t really another song in the world that sounds like this. I don’t even know where he could go from here, but I’m sure he’ll level up again in some major way. Until then, I’ll be at the cold ass NorCal beaches in my long John’s listening to Vanisher.
Fav songs:
"NO QUESTIONS ASKED", "WAGING WAR", "RUIN MY LIFE", "GODSTAINED", "AT A TIME LIKE THIS", "MONDAY", "I DREAM ABOUT SINKING", "NATURAL CAUSES", "THUNDRRR", "THE GREAT BAKUNAWA" (feat. Danny Brown), "FORGONE", "CASPER" (feat. Maruja)
7: Deftones - private music
Anyone who knows me well — or not well at all — might be surprised to see Deftones as low as #7. It’s stiff competition!! I know it’s crazy. It feels all wrong, like a betrayal. But it’s the truth. What makes it feel so much worse is that this doesn't just feel like some new Deftones record. It’s hard to put my finger on what it is, but something about private music feels like the band reaching new heights and finding themselves in their prime 30 years into their career. Not many acts in the comprehensive history of modern music could really say this. Sure, there’s plenty of legacy acts that continue to headline festivals throughout the rest of their careers, maybe they’ll drop an album here or there that a fraction of their fans engage with. But very few bands can keep fans truly engaged with new releases for as long as Deftones have. They seem to only get stronger and stronger with every release. I’ve been a fan of Deftones since 2010 when Diamond Eyes dropped in 2010 — I was 12 at the time. In the past 16 years I’ve witnessed the release of every album that has followed Diamond Eyes, and I can attest that the band has never had as many eyes on them as they do now. Not by a long shot. It’s honestly so badass to see them succeeding so much. They were so underrated for such a long time, and now they’re one of the most successful rock bands in the entire world. Love to see it. Obviously we can attribute this growth in audience to younger audiences learning about them online, but more importantly I think their consistency from record to record is the key as to why they have remained in the conversation of the best modern rock and metal music for this long. They have had very few dull moments in their career, each album feeling like a further dissent into greatness in some way or another. Considering this, it should be no surprise that private music is this fucking good. But alas, even when the expectations are high, Deftones completely outdo themselves once again. Like I said earlier, it’s hard to put my finger on what’s so special about private music, but one thing I have noticed about it is that the mixes to these songs are a lot busier than normal. There’s a lot more synthesizers at the forefront of the mixes as well as way more vocal manipulations and double tracks from singer Chino Moreno. Historically these things have been present in their music but on a much smaller scale than they are on private music. On top of really creative mixing, the band sounds completely invigorated in terms of songwriting and performances. If the only good songs on this album were “infinite source” and “i think about you all the time,” it would still be a historic moment for them because these are some of the most wholesome songs they’ve ever released. These songs together put all my favorite qualities of Deftones on full blast. They’re both easily among my favorite Deftones songs. The rest of the album is great as well. In general everyone seems to be performing at the top of their game, particularly drummer Abe Cunningham and singer Chino Moreno. Abe is just on fire the whole time and Chino sings in his lower register a lot more often this album, something I have been craving from him for a long time. With all of these elements falling into place, and with the cherry on top being maybe the best album art of theirs to date, you have another absolute classic from a band that will likely never falter at any point in the remainder of their career. We should thank our lucky stars every single day that we get to share the world with these fucking geniuses. Congrats on another masterpiece, boys.
Fav songs:
"my mind is a mountain", "locked club", "ecdysis", "infinite source", "souvenir", "cXz", "i think about you all the time", "milk of the madonna", "cut hands", "departing the body"
6: FKA twigs - EUSEXUA, EUSEXUA (reissue), and EUSEXUA Afterglow
Who dare dethrone Deftones at the number 6 slot? Only the almighty queen freak herself, FKA twigs. I say this like I’m some kind of diehard fan of hers or something. The truth is I had never listened to FKA twigs until this year. EUSEXUA was my introduction to twigs. HOLY SHIT!! I’ve been missing out! I don’t even know where to begin honestly, this shit is just completely ridiculous. This is like art-pop, but the beats are straight up IDM. So kinda like Björk, but waaaay more aggressive and intense. I’ve gone back and listened to some of the pre-EUSEXUA stuff, and it really seems like this intensity is a EUSEXUA thing, not necessarily a FKA twigs thing. Am I right about that? I feel like I know so little about her and her stuff, so I have very little to share other than my impressions of her two and a half albums she dropped this year. What do I mean two and a half? Well, let’s do a little retrospective. On January 24, we got EUSEXUA; then on November 14, we got EUSEXUA Afterglow. However, we didn’t only get a second album on the 14th; we also got a reissue of the first album! This reissue basically replaced four EUSEXUA songs with new ones, plus they reworked the song “Striptease” a little bit. I must admit, I was skeptical of twigs on November 14. I felt overstimulated. It felt like she was trying to do too much. Still, I may have spaced out the releases of Afterglow and the reissue if I were her; however, I have definitely eaten my words complaining about getting more songs from twigs. It’s clear she had so much more to give to her EUSEXUA era and I’m really happy she decided to keep cooking while the stove was hot. Like I said earlier, the music found on EUSEXUA is a fluid blend of art-pop and IDM. You can hear elements of trip-hop, progressive house, techno, big beat, and drum n’ bass all throughout the album, but blended in with avant-garde pop. It’s like veeeery experimental club music. Like weird ass twisted late night freak club shit. It’s a really cool exploration of electronic music that covers so much ground. In terms of the reissue, most of the changes are improvements. All the new songs are great. The only thing that sucks is that “Girl Feels Good” is removed, and that’s such a fucking banger. In its place, though, is “Perfectly,” which just might be the best song from all of the projects combined. I don’t know, that’s kind of a big statement actually. But it’s definitely certified crack music. So yeah, both versions have their pros and cons. I’m a fan of both. Afterglow has a whole separate set of strengths than EUSEXUA. This album feels a tad bit more grounded in art-pop and experimental R&B, which reminds me of some of her earlier work (again, I’ve heard very little of it so far). Less of the major exploration of electronic subgenres that is EUSEXUA and a bit more of a focused effort towards what I would consider the main ethos of EUSEXUA. That being said, this more focused effort is still more eclectic than most artists could ever dream of being. Overall, the differences between albums are relatively minor. What’s constant throughout is absolute state of the art production. These albums have the best production you’ll hear all year. It’s masterful. The detail and creativity is just astounding. I’d inject this production into my veins and surrender my life to it if I could. I am also so majorly impressed by twigs’ voice. It’s so phenomenal. The range and passion she has is so powerful and moving. I had no clue she was such a talented vocalist. I walked away from these albums feeling so ridiculously fucking impressed, not only by the vision, but by the execution. One of these albums alone would’ve been massively impressive. Getting two from her was just fucking stupid. It’s historic. Definitely one of the most important artists of the year for me.
Fav songs:
EUSEXUA:
"Eusexua", "Girl Feels Good", "Drums of Death" (with Koreless), "Room of Fools", "Sticky", "Keep it, Hold it", "Striptease", "24hr Dog"
EUSEXUA (reissue):
"Perfectly", "The Dare", "Got To Be", "Lonely But Exciting Road"
EUSEXUA Afterglow:
"Love Crimes", "Slushy", "Wild and Alone" (with PinkPanthress), "HARD", "Cheap Hotel", "Predictable Girl", "Sushi", "Lost All My Friends", "Stereo Boy"
5: Stereolab - Instant Holograms on Metal Film
Man we were so locked in in 2025. We were so fucking locked in we got a Stereolab album. That’s a level of locked in that no one could have possibly predicted. That’s huge. Like all the other awesome drops, coo. Big whoop. Whutevz. But we got a fucking Stereolab album!! God that is just so locked in!! If you don’t know who Stereolab is I’m coming to find you right now to beat you down with a Dots and Loops vinyl so you’ll never forget their name again. Stereolab is GOATed. One of the coolest alternative rock bands that has ever existed. Period. They are so one of a kind and charming and beautiful and whimsical and strange and political and joyous and retro and futuristic and… everything. They are everything. If you haven’t listened you are missing out so much, but the good news is there is a brand new album from them that is among the best work they have ever created. That’s right, read it again if you must: the best work they have created. Among it at the very least. The band has found a way to take their iconic sound and improve upon it with new ways of structuring songs. Instant Holograms on Metal Film is the name of the new album. A very Stereolab title indeed. This album sees the band right back in its standard unique lane of krautrock, synth-pop, and electronic inspired indie rock; however, this album sees them exploring their jazz-oriented influences more than anything in my opinion. There's lots of really unique chord progressions that take multiple listens to sink in. Also there’s lots of particular time signatures being used. These are all pretty standard in the world of Stereolab, but this album seems to gravitate towards these characteristics more than usual. The album may take a while to grow on you due to these qualities, but the band has a real strong knack for blending infectious pop elements into their music that makes the experimental stuff more palatable. Every song has something that’s going to hook you sooner or later, trust me. One thing that has been a relatively constant characteristic of Stereolab’s music for a long time is extended jams with little instrumental variation. Truth be told, I always considered it a minor flaw of the group. Well, on IHOMF the band has crafted songs with a lot more movement than usual. While this makes the songs somewhat less immediately gratifying, it simultaneously gives the music much more substance. Much more growing potential. That’s why this album went from #20 to #5 upon multiple revisits. My love for this album has grown exponentially with every listen. There are no skips. It honestly may be my favorite album they’ve dropped to date. These songs feel more cohesive and complete than anything else they've ever made. And I’m not hating on anything from the past, it’s all amazing. But these songs have so much to offer, so many different moving parts. It's very different from their more static jam-based music they’ve made in the past. It’s really such a robust offering from Stereolab. The production is still some of the best music has to offer. They have always been so good at blending analog electronic instruments, like synthesizers and drum machines, with acoustic and rock instrumentation. You can’t even tell them apart sometimes because the production is so crisp. This blend of rock and electronic instrumentation is as present as ever on IHOMF, and the mix on it is flawless. It’s such a great headphones album, a real doozy for audiophiles. There really isn’t anything that could be improved up here. It’s such a high work of art and I can’t believe it only came out this year. They clearly still have so much to offer. I hope the band continues to put out more music, cuz it’s genuinely some of the best music they’ve made their whole career.
Fav songs:
"Mystical Plosives", "Aerial Troubles", "Melodie is a Wound", "Immortal Hands", "Vermona F Transistor", "Electrified Teenybop!", "Transmuted Matter", "Esemplastic Creeping Eruption", "If You Remember I Forgot How To Dream Pt.1", "Flashes From Everywhere", "Colour Television"
4: Turnstile - NEVER ENOUGH
I can’t believe we’re finally talking about Turnstile. Home stretch y’all! It’s meaningful to finally be at NEVER ENOUGH’s section because this album is tied with another as the album I listened to the most this year. By far. We’re reeeeeeally getting into the nitty gritty now. I’ve been jonzing for a new Turnstile album since I discovered GLOW ON in 2022. The wait for album 4 sincerely felt like an eternity to me. I think the reason it felt so long is because there are no other bands for me to turn to that scratch the same itch. There’s only Turnstile. They are absolutely one of a kind. Still they are continuously discounted by so many people, such as fans of hardcore music and, more recently, fans of GLOW ON. Fortunately Turnstile’s skyrocketing success shows the power of their music despite the hoards of people trying their absolute hardest to minimize it however they can. The thing about them is this: they shouldn’t be considered a hardcore band, at least not anymore. Their music is certainly still inspired by hardcore music, a lot even; however, there’s so many other aspects to the band’s sound that are equally, if not even more, vital to the band’s appeal. In this sense, I think NEVER ENOUGH is the band in its truest form yet. It is very much their least aggressive album to date, something that has definitely driven old fans away a bit. Well, this is exactly the direction I was hoping they’d go in after GLOW ON. This album is dense. Turnstile is a very multifaceted band, and this easily feels like their most multifaceted piece of work yet. Every song really has its own identity, more so than any of their albums that came before. In addition to alternative rock, hardcore punk, and shoegaze, this album has elements of indie rock, funk, new wave, ska, alternative metal, house, and even neo soul. It’s astounding how much ground the band covers on this album. Even while expanding on their sound so much, they seem to be closer and closer to defining it as well. This band has always sucked me in with their synthesizers, all of which are performed by singer Brendan Yates from what I understand. I remember loving the synths on GLOW ON and hoping that their next album had even more. AND IT DOES! Brendan’s synth sound is sooo distinct. You know it’s a Turnstile song the second you hear a synthesizer. They always feel so dreamy and nostalgic in the same way lots of Boards of Canada music does. I’m so happy they included so many synths on this album because it is really becoming such a core element to their sound. While we’re on the topic of Brendan Yates and dreamy elements, how have I not mentioned the movie yet? This album was accompanied by a film directed by Brendan Yates and guitarist Pat McCrory. You can find like 5 or 6 music videos on YouTube, but you’d have to rent the movie on Apple TV+ to see the whole thing. I recommend that you do though, because it really really enhances the album a lot. Every video is so cool. If you recall, there were lots of cool ass videos for the GLOW ON songs; in fact, one was actually a short film called TURNSTILE LOVE CONNECTION which featured four songs in it. So this isn’t the first time the band has done something like this, but once again they really upped the ante on NEVER ENOUGH. Just like with the synths, this visual component is becoming very distinct and more and more important to the band’s vision. If Brendan’s astounding voice and stage presence weren’t enough of an imprint on the band, then surely these contributions make him one the most vital creative forces in the band. Not to discount anyone else though. This kind of music requires really keen dynamic sensibilities, which everyone in the band possesses. Special kudos to the rhythm section, Franz Lyons on bass and Daniel Fang on drums. They’re both so locked in and really make an impact on some of the album’s slower Police-esque cuts. Truly everyone is impressive on NEVER ENOUGH. I’ve listened to this album so many fucking times, the songs are all imprinted in my soul. They really made the most of this album cycle too. The rainbow backdrop from their movie and live concerts has become so fucking iconic to me. The perfect visual for the music of Turnstile. Overall, it’s not often such a forward thinking rock band emerges and finds such major success the way Turnstile has. It’s a true justice in the world seeing these guys fly so high, cuz they really fucking deserve it. And if you don’t like em then fuck you.
Fav songs:
"NEVER ENOUGH", "SOLE", "I CARE", "LIGHT DESIGN", "DULL", "SUNSHOWER", "LOOK OUT FOR ME", "CEILING", "SEEIN' STARS", "BIRDS", "SLOWDIVE", "MAGIC MAN"
3: Clipse - Let God Sort Em Out
At #3 I have the rest of the world’s #1. Well, maybe half the world. I think the other half’s #1 is my #1. Maybe there’s tons of more variety than that. Very likely. But there’s no doubt this album made waves this year that few other albums could match. This was some pretty locked in shit too. The last Clipse album before this was released in 2009. How the hell did we get so lucky this year with a new Stereolab album AND a new Clipse album? On top of all the other amazing releases we get two legacy acts rise from the dead and drop career defining work. To me that’s amazing. To you… just kidding, not this time. This is serious. We’re too locked in right now for jokes. I think everyone is probably equally as locked in as I am. Like I said, it's one of the most talked about albums of the year for sure. But in case you are trapped in severe isolation and your only exposure to the outside world is through this very article, I will explain Clipse to you. It is a hip-hop duo formed in the late 90’s composed of two brothers. One of those brothers is Pusha T. Yes, before he was president of GOOD Music and making hit solo records in the 2010’s, Pusha T was known as a member of Clipse. His brother goes by Malice. Malice never saw the same solo success his brother did, but that certainly isn’t due to a lack of talent. Also important to note is that most of their work was produced by the Neptunes, a.k.a. Pharrell Williams and Chad Hugo. The production of the Neptunes is very distinct and was equally as imperative on their sound as the duo’s rapping was. So imagine the feeling of over joyous excitement when learning that the duo was going to release their first album in 15 years and it was gonna be entirely produced by Pharrell Williams. Well, I have to imagine it too because I didn’t get into Clipse until this year after the album was announced. But I bet it was really exciting for all the old Clipse-heads out there. All I can attest to is the quality of the album, which with all the rave reviews and Grammy nominations is hardly necessary at all. Nevertheless, I have an obligation to be thorough. An obligation set upon me by… myself. So here it is: this album fucks. It’s the best rap album of the year. There were tons of great releases in hip-hop this year, too. 2025 may have been the best year for hip-hop in the 2020’s so far, and still Let God Sort Em Out beats out the competition without even trying. Light work, not even close. This is apex hip-hop. No flash, no flare, no antics. It’s just fucking quality. Impeccable rapping, robust production, memorable hooks, and ridiculous levels of consistency. There isn’t a single wasted moment on this album. Both rappers have so much to talk about. They speak of God a lot when they rap about breaking free from a life selling drugs. They also allude to God when singing about the passing of their parents on “The Birds Don’t Sing.” Then, even with all these songs that deal with their aging, maturing, and changing perspectives, they still have plenty of songs where they remind you how good they were on the stove and how no one hustled harder than them with distribution. It’s not always what you say, but how you say it. Clipse knows this. Their flow, their wordplay, their charisma, their character. That’s the key to what makes them so special. They’re not trying to blow anyone’s mind with fast, heady raps or anything like that. They are like assassins who choose their words like choosing a weapon. Each word is a dagger administered with careful deliberation. They possess expert levels of rapping demonstrated through their precision, modesty, and hostility. No one intimidates me on the mic more than Pusha T does, no one ever I don't think. And if he’s the darkness, which he certainly is, then Malice is unquestionably the light. Though he’s no less soft than Push, he balances Push’s nightmare fuel with a kind of level headedness and warmth akin to a father figure of some kind. Not quite ying and yang, but kind of. Either way, this valiant display of rap and love between brothers makes up what is perhaps the most consistent album of 2025. Every song fucking rules. The duo said that more music is to come, hopefully we won’t have to wait so long next time!
Fav songs:
"The Birds Don't Sing" (with John Legend and Voices of Fire), "Chains & Whips" (with Kendrick Lamar), "P.O.V." (with Tyler, The Creator), "So Be It", "Ace Trumpets", "M.T.B.T.T.F.", "E.B.I.T.T.A." (with Pharrell Williams), "F.I.C.O." (with Stove God Cooks), "So Far Ahead (with Pharrell Williams)", "Let God Sort Em Out/Chandeliers" (with Nas), "By The Grace Of God" (with Pharrell Williams)
2: Deafheaven - Lonely People With Power
This was always for certain gonna be my #1 album of the year. It was non-negotiable. There would be nothing you could say to convince me otherwise, that something else would come in and steal the #1 slot from them. I woulda called you a stupid idiot. Now we’re here, and it’s #2. No one wants to be #2. I hope Deafheaven can forgive me for #2ing them. They are a top 5 favorite band/artist of mine (under Ween, Gorillaz, Deftones, and MGMT if you’re interested) so my loyalty to them is important. Yes, Deftones got shafted at #7, much less desirable than a #2 slot. The thing about Lonely People With Power though is that it just very well might be the best Deafheaven album to date. That’s a mighty statement, yes I know. But you guys, it really just might be. I think about it a lot, whether or not it tops Sunbather. I figure only time will tell, but it’s been almost a year now and I still can’t decide. It’s really really down to the smallest units of measurement here. But you know, that’s not really important. I choose to love the albums equally. The point of this is not to obsess over rankings of things, but to illustrate to you how seriously amazing Lonely People With Power is. The thing that makes the Sunbather comparison so difficult is that they are two very different kinds of albums. Sunbather, along with a lot of the band’s earlier work, finds its footing with a pretty specific sound or set of sounds and kind of rides with those for the duration of the album. Not to say these albums are boring or all the songs sound the same or anything like that, but they all feel very closely linked. On Lonely People With Power, it’s almost as if the band made an effort to make a comprehensive collection of songs that effectively touches on everything they’ve done in the past. The result is an album that is really dynamic, unpredictable, and grandiose. To me, this is a first time accomplishment for Deafheaven. Even Sunbather didn’t accomplish what LPWP did. Every song is its own odyssey. I suppose you could really say that about most of their albums, but on LPWP these journeys all feel like worlds apart. In that sense it’s their greatest expedition yet. They have songs here that are purely heavy and authentic black metal, very similar to lots of the music found on New Bermuda. Then they have songs that lean heavy into the pure indie-shoegaze material found on Infinite Granite. And of course there are tons of songs that fall somewhere in the middle like always. Like I mentioned earlier, every song feels like it harkens back to a different memory of Deafheaven. Another part of what makes the album feel so grand is the production. The band has never come across so clearly before. Well that’s not true. Infinite Granite had the same production value as LPWP, however that album doesn’t count. Don’t get me wrong, I’ve come around to that album a lot over the years. It just still doesn’t possess the Deafheaven sound I seek out the same way LPWP does. To hear them deeply in their element with top notch production is truly a treat. Everything sits so nicely in the mix and creates such a perfect wall of sound. The drums sound particularly phenomenal on this record, definitely the best they’ve sounded on any Deafheaven album. Also on point is singer George Clarke’s screams. He hasn’t sounded this unhinged since Sunbather. Yeah, I don’t know what else to say. Oh yeah, I saw them play most of the album live and that left a major impression on me. I’ve seen them 3 times before, but this time around with the LPWP songs they felt particularly alive and locked into their performance. It was such a thrill. This is easily the album I’ve listened to the most this year. “Winona” and “The Marvelous Orange Tree” are my two most listened to songs of the year on Apple Music. The album not being at #1 feels like a major betrayal for which I may never forgive myself, even though my ultimate #1 pick is truly undeniable. Either way, this is candidly among the best music released this year, and Deafheaven is, in my opinion, the greatest band ever to make shoegaze music. Not just blackgaze. Any shoegaze. Their music is consistently prettier than the music of any other artist in the history of music, and that’s a hill I’ll die on. If that is of interest to you and you can tolerate black metal screaming, this band might be your new Jesus Christ. They’re definitely mine.
Fav songs:
"Doberman", "Magnolia", "The Garden Route", "Heathen", "Amythest", "Incidental II", "Revelator", "Winona", "The Marvelous Orange Tree"
Okee. We’re almost to the motherland. Before we get there let’s slap on some honorable mentions. Sorry to the albums that didn’t quite make the cut. It’s not that you suck. You just aren’t very good. Lol just kidding I’m not that kinda guy. Here’s the honorable mentions:
Big Thief - Double Infinity
David Byrne & Ghost Train Orchestra - Who is the Sky?
Mac Miller - Balloonerism
The Mars Volta - Lucro sucio; Los ojos del vacío
Nine Inch Nails - TRON: Ares (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)
Oneohtrix Point Never - Tranquilizer
Panda Bear - Sinister Grift
Pulp - More
Yeat - DANGEROUS SUMMER
μ-Ziq - 1979
AAAAAND that’s it!
It is now time
for #1
which you probably have already guessed
if you don’t live in solitary confinement.
Anyways,
here goes nothing.
Heeeeeeeeere’s
Number
Oooooooonnneeeeee!!
.
.
.
1: Geese - Getting Killed
Let me just say first that this was and still is completely unexpected for me. I was familiar with Geese before this. The first thing I heard was their cover of “Baby” by Justin Bieber. It caught my attention because it was equally hilarious and actually moving as a song. I gave their album 3D Country a listen afterwards. Typically I never got into bands like Geese really, bands full of virtuoso players and weird singers that write really hectic music or super advanced compositions and whatnot. You know, your black midis, Black Country, New Roads, Squids, etc. Those kinds of artists never excited me because they always seemed to be more interested in writing music that reaches some high level of peculiarity than writing something that is emotionally moving or captivating in some way. Well, although 3D Country definitely falls somewhat into this category of music in my eyes, it also does have some really fun songs that have memorable hooks and performances from the band. Not just impressive performances, but creative and catchy ones as well. Even with these differentiating qualities, I still wasn’t fully sold on Geese by 3D Country. Frankly there seemed to be a lack of sincerity in the album, which to me feels somewhat like a satirical cowboy rock opera. Furthermore, while singer Cameron Winter certainly demonstrates an impressive vocal range and ability on the album, it seems to me he was trying to be strange for the sake of strangeness on it. It felt more like he was playing a character than singing in his own voice. Again, very impressive and creative in its own right, but I guess it kind of felt like the band was hiding behind a bit, or being overtly goofy and strange as to avoid vulnerability. I figured then if the band could overcome that hurdle and fully commit to themselves and their honest vision, they could be a really great band. Even then I was underestimating what Geese was capable of. Getting Killed. The #1 album of the year. Not just by my standards, but the standards of the universe. On Getting Killed the band ups their game in every single possible way. Most importantly, these songs are so incredibly rich with passion and emotion. They cut deep, whether it’s done with chaos and madness or with vulnerability and sensitivity. The music is very different from what you hear on 3D. It’s rooted mostly in indie rock and alternative rock, with elements of blues rock quite prevalent as well. It doesn’t just sound like some other indie rock music though. Remember, everyone in this band is a virtuosic musician. They take indie and alternative rock and create a whirlwind of sound with it. It’s never straightforward. It’s not something a normal band is capable of creating. They have this really fluid way of playing their instruments that makes the songs all feel somewhat improvisational, like a captured moment in the studio rather than a bunch of rehearsed parts. It’s rather unorthodox, but despite this these songs are really accessible and very easy to get into. They have really strong core melodies that creep into your brain pretty immediately. In a lot of ways this is what I feel like was missing in 3D. Another huge difference lies within the soul and spirit of Cameron Winter. It might not seem like his voice has changed a lot since 3D, but I think it really has. It sounds like he’s found a new sense of confidence in his voice, and that’s bringing out something in him that’s turning him into a generational talent. I think making his solo album Heavy Metal probably helped him a lot. That album is full of piano ballads that require a different level of finesse and vulnerability, and I think it forced him to put forward something more genuine to him. And now with this newfound sentimentality, we have ourselves one of the most talented and singular young rock singers in modern history. He’s kind of like the new Julian Casablancas. I know that’s hardly an original take, but that's probably because there’s some kind of truth to it. There aren’t any singers that sound like Cameron Winter, and there aren’t any bands that sound like Geese. They’re being looked at by many as one the zeitgeist bands of this generation, which is honestly so badass. They are part of what seems like a rock resurgence that may or may not be taking place right now. Turnstile, Deftones, Fontaines D.C., Olivia Rodrigo, and now Geese are among the many artists that have all recently found significant amounts of mainstream success while putting out predominantly rock-oriented music. It feels like somewhat of a miracle honestly. Of them all, Geese feels like the most strange and unexpected act to experience this level of mainstream exposure and acceptance. Then again, this really is a hell of a fucking album. It’s really really cool to see their rise to power happen so quickly. They really deserve all the attention and I can’t wait to see them grow more and more in the years to come. The sky is the limit for Geese, no pun intended.
Fav songs:
"Trinidad", "Cobra", "Husbands", "Getting Killed", "Islands of Men", "100 Horses", "Half Real", "Au Pays du Cocaine", "Taxes", "Long Island City Here I Come"
Aaaaaand that’s all folks. Once again a week late and a dollar short. But hopefully my tremendous insight will make up for the tardiness. I always go into it saying I’m gonna write less this time, but I always end up having so much to say. But I think my girlfriend misses me because I’ve been spending all my time writing. It’s totally consumed me, and as fun and exciting as it was to undertake this project, I’m ready to be done. Gotta go bye. See you never (just kidding. Or am I…?) [also I refuse to proofread this, the same way you all will probably not read most of it. It’s just not happening. Sorry if it's junk] {also… just kidding I just wanted to use the third parenthetical character since I already used the other two, peace}.
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