Hello again! It's time for another blog post! I listened to so much new music this year, maybe more than ever before. I always think I should limit myself but then I find another source of jams and in they come. This year I was a paid subscriber to see-saw.fun, a great punk newsletter that I highly recommend if you like some of the stuff on my list that wasn't covered in the more "mainstream" blogs/sites. It probably came from there, either directly or indirectly.
I limited my list to 25 albums to make it an even 25 for '25 but that meant I had a tough time cutting stuff down. So I have a huge list of honorable mentions that I really wanted to squeeze into that 20-25 range. But apparently you can't fit 53 albums into 5 slots.
Yeah, lots of music. Too much music. I worry people will tune me out here because it's too much. But it's what I gotta do. I put them in categories though so you can either scroll past these or just browse the general stuff you might be interested in. I talk about needing to blog more so I can give some of this stuff more attention but then I never get around to it. But maybe in 2026...
2025 Honorable Mentions!
Punk. Punk never died but for me it came screaming out of the coma of my "aging dad" indifference with stuff like the general state of the world and all the anxieties that come along with it. Nothing felt more vital so I devoured a ton of hardcore, bratty punk, chilly post punk, and noise rock. If you want some of this, start here: Destiny Bond (woohoo Denver hardcore that got some recognition this year!), Lambrini Girls, Chime Oblivion (great project from Osees' John Dwyer and an all-star lineup of folks), Alpha Hopper, Empereur, mclusky, Vangas, ada oda, FKA Smiley, Viagra Boys, Loins (Finnish band that sounds like if Ian MacKaye sang for Shellac), Lung, Dial Up, University (ripping solos and the energy of some of those Cloud Nothings tracks when they would just go for it), DITZ, Last Quokka (great Australian garage punk that sounds like if Amyl & The Sniffers had a dude singing; nice backbeat and great shouted vocals alternately funny and righteous), Garaventa (super synthy but a real punk feeling; I dunno, but Bandcamp talks about italodisco and krautrock so that's probably an accurate description), 96 Cougar (if you ever wished Modest Mouse was a punk band have I got something for you!), Dana, Cruelster, Knowso (featuring Cruelster's guitarist it's more of a new wave project because sometimes you gotta dance), Honnigbarna (inventive hardcore punk in the vein of Refused; this album gives me LIFE), Sprints (side one is really good, then side two comes on and it just lifts off), Pink Lady Monster (bookending with another Denver band, woo!)
There's also the slightly lighter mood of garage rock, psych rock, and power pop that lifted my spirits so I wasn't always wanting to destroy everything. Give yourself a break with: The Big Idea, Joel Cusumano (some of the catchiest power pop of the year right here, wormed itself into my brain all summer), Palmyra, Gonies, Bananahaus, Total Wife (shoegaze that feels unique in a crowded genre, plus that crazy freakout track), Long Fling (I'm unfamiliar with Pip Blom and Personal Trainer but this side project reminds me of Enon and I will take that any day), Cloakroom, TV Sundaze (so close to my list, it was on the original version; just great creative garage punk with an energy that reminds me of Hot Snakes).
I also listened to a decent amount of rap so here are some that just missed the list: pink siifu (album was brilliant, it just got to feel like a bit too much after a while), PremRock, doseone, Leikeli47 (just a ton of energy), Open Mike Eagle (something of a return to form with intimate/funny/relatable stories), clipping., Little Simz, Armand Hammer (really I just didn't give it enough time/listens since it came out late and these guys have pretty dense music).
Other stuff I don't know how to categorize but recommend: Chat Pile/Hayden Pedigo (great combo of a noise band and an experimental folky guitarist), Spiritworld (basically metal but my favorite moments were the folk punk parts!), Tunde Adebimpe (made me dance; will suffice while we wait indefinitely for the studio return of TV on the Radio), duendita (always love them), Eiko Ishibashi, Tim Barnes, Maruja, Ryan Davis & The Roadhouse Band, Cleo Reed, Heartworms, Jolie Laide (this Nina Nastasia project really came into its own as something different with some heavier rock and duet vocals with Clinton St. John; it's good to hear her let loose a bit and really wail at times).
Ok I don't know if you just scrolled past that but here is the actual list.
The Actual List of 25 albums for '25
25. Alley Girl - Peregrine Rambler (buy) - Super lo-fi but hooks for DAYS. This comes straight out of the 60s and straight into a bedroom studio.
24. Backxwash - Only Dust Remains (buy) - I loved her previous stuff that was a lot louder and more hardcore. Now she expands in lots of directions. It's just as intense as it always was, but more of an adventure.
23. No Sugar - Last Call (buy) - German Anarcho punks that owe at least a little to Sleater-Kinney, but still original enough that it doesn't feel like a ripoff. Just an expansion of that pocket of sound so it's interesting and fun and just has a great energy to ride along with.
22. Frankie and the Witch Fingers - Trash Classic (buy) - Synthy, garagey, quick on its feet, and supremely catchy. If you like Devo or King Gizzard give it a spin.
21. Lael Neale - Altogether Stranger (buy) - It's so delicate, like she's singing you a secret in the middle of the night. A secret that will help you get through the next day.
20. Sudan Archives - The BPM (buy) - I still don't think this quite matches Natural Brown Prom Queen but here it is on my list so it doesn't really matter. It's more straightforward, it's a dance record. Still inventive, super fun, really amazing.
19. Ben Kweller - Cover the Mirrors - Ben Kweller suffered something nobody should have to suffer. And he took that pain head on, and created an album that feels devastating at times but also a journey that feels right. If that makes any sense at all. I can't write about this stuff but Ben Kweller sure can.
18. ShrapKnel - Lincoln Continental Breakfast/Saisir Le Feu/Armature (buy) - One of my favorite finds of 2024, PremRock and Curly Castro followed up the great Nobody Planning to Leave with a triple drop over the summer. The three separate albums have their own producers, are pretty standalone, but I cheated and put them all here. They kind of remind me of People Under The Stairs with how they bounce off each other. Sometimes they rap over each other so you gotta make sure you have both sides of your headphones on. Just really good rap.
17. Case Oats - Last Missouri Exit (buy) - Very casual and conversational country tinged indie rock that just makes me feel happy to hear. I was always grateful when this album would come on. Also has some choice casual cursing, if you're into that.
16. Oneohtrix Point Never - Tranquilizer (buy) - I kind of stopped following OPN in recent years but the reviews brought me over to check this one out. I liked it a lot immediately, but what really sold it for me was after I visited Lower Antelope Canyon in Arizona I put it on that night while I tried to sleep, and let me tell you. It took me on a journey. I was flying. I don't do drugs but I imagine it's something kind of like that. Just the music and the memories of an incredible place.
15. McKinley Dixon - Magic, Alive! (buy) - For My Mama... was a great album that first got me into McKinley Dixon. Then I think Beloved! Paradise! Jazz!? was good but somehow didn't hit home for me. And then there's this one. It just goes. Very jazzy, very expressive, very funky.
14. Makin' Out - Living in a Glass House (buy) - Great twang punk, supremely catchy, kind of lo-fi stuff. The back story on this project is a tragic one I won't get into but it can be found online. The songs themselves though. The way she sings with her whole self, sometimes it's screaming, sometimes it's howling.
13. Jens Lekman - Songs for Other People's Weddings (buy) - He has a way with words that few can even approach. Funny that this was a companion album to a book that...was not nearly as good as the album. But that just makes me appreciate the songs that much more. The way it switches perspectives around and you experience the different characters' experiences, the great empathy it has for everyone is a beautiful thing.
12. Geese - Getting Killed (buy) - Really good. First description I got was that it was kind of a marrying of Radiohead and The Rolling Stones and that has stuck with me. There's a casual looseness to it while it's brimming with ideas and noise. Everyone is going a little overboard about this silly little big album so I was tempted to not include it but it is really good. Cameron Winter was even portrayed on SNL last night. That's how big this whole thing is getting. So I don't really have to say much of anything about it but if you're one of those people who haven't heard of them or whatever, give it a shot!
11. billy woods - Golliwog (buy) - I've read so much about this that I don't have anything to add, this is just a phenomenal record with such amazing vivid horrifying lyrics while the production just pulls you into this world.
10. Agender - Berserk (buy) - Disco post punk with topical lyrics, what else do you want? Oh, it's not that simple? Yeah, the first half is kind of like that with Gang of Four ish songs and funkier stuff but then it gets into Ramones style pogo punk and then it's just punk? This album is a blast. I'm just as surprised as you that it got this high on my list but it's worthy.
9. Clipse - Let God Sort Em Out - I was one of those hipsters in 2006 who read Pitchfork and therefore gave Hell Hath No Fury a lot of tries. But it did not work for me. I respected that other hipsters saw in this coke rap something special, but it just felt like mainstream rap to me. I just wasn't ready for it. So 19 years later, I gave them another shot with this new one. And it took no convincing this time. It's not that deep, it's just fun as hell (and heartbreaking as hell at times) and just really really good? And yes, I came back to Hell Hath No Fury this year as well and can confirm the hipsters were right then as well.
8. Pulp - More (buy) - "Spike Island" was a great lead single that everybody loves but I really preferred the second one, "Got to Have Love." And then when the album came out I really preferred some other deep cuts like "Partial Eclipse" and "A Sunset" and "Grown Ups" because this whole album is impossibly great and somehow a worthy addition to the Pulp catalog that has not missed.
7. Black Eyes - Hostile Design (buy) - Ok this is three in a row long-awaited reunion albums that were amazing. I promise it's the last one on the list. But Black Eyes, man! I made a rare midyear blog post for these guys when I was lucky enough to see them in concert! (actually I also saw Pulp and Clipse this year, what a year!) This is just as noisy and wild as Cough, one of my favorite albums of the century, but it feels a little bit more focused. It's a concise 6 tracks but there is not a wasted moment here. It goes in a lot of directions but it's purposeful and then it's over and you can listen to it again and again.
6. Home Front - Watch It Die (buy) - This album is addictive for my specific interests. Synthy post punk with oi! vocals. It's pure passion and it's unique and it hits my pleasure centers. The same place bands like Japandroids and Dropkick Murphys have hit in the past, but coming from a different angle that recalls Tears for Fears or The Cure. Play this all winter.
5. Blue Youth - Defeatist (buy) - Here we have some noisy post hardcore with some that doesn't let up but it doesn't feel exhausting. It energizes. Those drums are crucial. Vocals that recall some of the best screamers of the early '00s post hardcore scene. Bass and guitars? They've got that on lock as well.
4. Water Machine - God Park (buy) - I don't know how to categorize this band. Like a lot of my favorite bands, they don't quite fit. I guess "art punk" works because that's what bandcamp calls them but it moves around while being utterly charming. There are punk songs but it's a lot of bass that hooks you into an incredible groove, some prog stuff, some folky countryish detours, some twee pop, and mostly it's songs that skip across a few of these things, usually with that punk urgency pushing them along. I really can't pin them down but that's why I love this album.
3. Esther Rose - Want (buy) - I've been singing the praises of Esther Rose for a while now. She's one of my favorite songwriters and has been for several albums now. Even after all that, Want is unquestionably a step up in many ways. The album's structure, its lyrics, its singing, its instrumental arrangements, it's all improved. While everyone else is going country, she's incorporating 90s alt rock guitars without sacrificing her powerful/fragile country elements. And on the closing track...I'm a sucker for a good interpolation and it's a really good interpolation.
2. Heet Deth - Bad Reading (buy) - Where did this come from? It's a two piece and it sounds MASSIVE. Dynamic. A guitar that knows when to blast you and when to hold back, even though you can feel its impatience in those moments. Drums that drive it like a psychotic Meg White. Punk vocals that sing with an intensity about our intense times when they're wailing in tune or screaming or working their way up to either mode. This album was just what I needed in January and the rest of the year. All the time. I cannot recommend this enough.
1. Rosalía - LUX- Listen, I...do make the rules here on this blog. I didn't think a "pop" album from a highly successful singer would knock out that punk stuff that appears below it in this list. Not that LUX is really a pop album. It's art, it's an incredible thing to experience for many reasons that have probably been discussed in other parts of the web. Read what they said, they know what they're talking about. I'm just a guy that checked out the first single because it had Björk and Yves Tumor and then never looked back. It has the greatest vocals I've heard all year, it is very intense even though I don't know what she's singing most of the time, it hits me from all angles and I want to listen to this album all the time. So I dunno. It's incredible and I had no choice once I heard this thing.
Ok so that's it. I'm going to try to get a playlist put together to post somewhere but click on those "buy" links where applicable to see bandcamp pages where you can listen to stuff even if you don't buy it. But it's good to support artists that are human creating art that is really amazing and vital these days so I would encourage purchasing if they move you.
