Albums of the Year 2025
Iris Silver Mist
by Jenny Hval
Released: May 2nd
An atmospheric record from the Norwegian musician that glides between tracks like pirouetting smoke in a dusty room. A delayed response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the album has an ethereal sense of loss, as if the moment has passed and can never be reclaimed. Such an approach creates a longing disassociation between now and then, which is exactly the point.
Whether or not the lockdowns were necessary, they created a disconnection, the lingering effects of which are still felt today, and are perfectly encapsulated by this longing late release.
The Mocking Stars
by LAUSSE THE CAT
Released: November 6th
A UK hip-hop concept album, featuring the misadventures of LAUSSE narrated over jazzy instrumentals by a rapper wearing a cat mask. It unfolds like a modern-day fairy tale. The remarkably coherent debut LP is best experienced in one sitting, as that's when the central dichotomy between "reality is a dream" and "the dream is reality" is realised.
To illustrate, the song above ('Keep on Walking') ends with a knock on the door that wakes the slumbering LAUSSE from a catnap in which he dreamt he was human. The irony is that the 'real' LAUSSE is human, though even that is a contradiction, as 'LAUSSE' himself is a stage persona. It's a masterful loop where the mask and the man are impossible to disentangle. Is the man dreaming the cat or is the cat dreaming the man?
private music
by Deftones
Released: August 22nd
In the midst of a popular resurgence, Deftones indulge their melodic and shoegazing elements to great effect. The album sounds similar to Chino Moreno's side projects, like Crosses, except with more teeth and extra bite.
The yin to Chino's yang, and balancing force within the band, Stephen Carpenter, suffered complications from type 2 diabetes while recording the album, resulting in Chino taking up his guitar duties and exerting more creative influence than usual.
Once Upon A Time Part 1
by Jay Worthy
Released: September 26th
The highly anticipated, debut studio album from the Compton resident finally dropped in 2025. As a love letter to G-Funk, the record brings together West Coast icons like DJ Quik with the best of the modern underground. Cruising down Rosecrans Avenue like a property tycoon on a spending spree; this is a victory lap for a rapper who released his first mixtape in 2013.
Owls, Omens, & Oracles
by Valerie June
Released: April 11th
Joyful country soul that took me a second listen to fully appreciate. Quieter moments are punctuated with effortlessly uplifting anthems, such as 'Trust the Path' and 'Endless Tree'. The latter features the hopeful lyrics: "Although we may not all agree,
still live together peacefully."
Following the murder of the polarising Charlie Kirk in September, such sentiments were dismissed by some. However, I would argue that they are now more vital than ever.
GRAY
by Saya Gray
Released: February 21st
Rich production. The Canadian singer's second album, she's also a virtuoso bassist, is a stubborn refusal to disentangle herself from heartbreak, charting her course through its shallow waters and tragic depths.
2
by Foxwarren
Released: May 30th
Live instruments and electronic production techniques combine on this exploration of 21st century indie folk. Hushed vocals accentuate the relaxed vibe. Five childhood friends follow the sound where it takes them.
Soul vs Math
by Napoleon Da Legend & Dub Sonata
Released: October 24th
Contrasts the artistic spirit with the cold calculations of a music industry obsessed with streams and likes. Contains insightful and impactful observations throughout.
Music Can Hear Us
by DJ Koze
Released: April 4th
A veritable feast of guest vocalists feature here, such as Blur's Damon Albarn, but the real standout is the luxurious textures of DJ Koze. Fluctuating between ambient, psychedelia, and house, the album never really takes off because it isn't meant to. Instead, its sound encompasses us all, becoming a soothing oasis, bringing people together in a dangerous world.
Michelangelo Dying
by Cate Le Bon
Released: September 26th
'80s infused art pop delivered with Le Bon's trademark detachment. The singer staggers through a waking dream, flitting between various memories of a relationship gone bad. Images fade in and out, she's wandering through the corridors of her mind in an attempt to exorcise the remnants of him.
At the end of the video for 'Heaven Is No Feeling' (shown above), the protagonist displays her resignation by absurdly using a banana as a phone. While we grieve, the stupid game of life continues around us.
Planting By the Signs
by S.G. Goodman
Released: June 20th
Authentic storytelling album from the US South. Planting By the Signs is a slice of rural Americana with a deep emotional resonance. Its songs lack varnish, but have candour aplenty and quality songwriting to boot.
'Snapping Turtle' (shown above) is my favourite song of the year. The singer observes a bunch of kids beating a turtle and beats them in return, invoking a universal truth, that what goes around comes around, as a doomed way of providing justice for her childhood friend LeAnne. Her futile ability as a saviour is tragically limited to her rescue of an animal: "God could have thought up a better way,
to teach me just how small I am."
The song highlights how our childhood scars can stay with us through adulthood, despite our attempts to overcome them.
Infinite
by Mobb Deep
Released: October 10th
Returning for one last hurrah from beyond the grave, Mobb Deep indulge their fans with a final taste of quality Cognac. As a part of Mass Appeal's Legend Has It series, the album is built around archive Prodigy verses that give the record a sense of nostalgia complemented by snapping drums and unapologetic street bars from millionaires who have long since left the ghetto behind.
Havoc acknowledges this contradiction in his lyrics for 'Taj Mahal': Outran poverty, but shit like this?
Opposite of progress, and put your life at risk.
All Smiles Tonight
by Poor Creature
Released: July 11th
Members of the Irish folk band Lankum joined forces with the vocalist from Landless, Ruth Clinton, to reimagine traditional ditties as atmospheric portents of doom.
The darker edges of the originals are thrust into focus as cautionary tales, imparted by the wounded and the wretched. Haunting, elegiac, and humorous in parts, the album is a requiem to a decaying Ireland, that also serves as a reinvigorating reminder of the country's core identity.
SABLE fABLE
by Bon Iver
Released: April 11th
The fifth album from the indie-folk musician responds to his despondent SABLE, EP (2024) with jubilant songs of hope. The aforementioned EPs title noticeably ends with a comma, indicating more to come, and is reproduced in full at the beginning of this album. The unexpected contrast that starts with track 4 is a light at the end of the tunnel, indicating the singer's decision to let go of his troubled past.
Lifetime
by Erika de Casier
Released: April 16th
Entirely written and produced by the Portuguese. Listening to Lifetime is like spending a relaxing day snug in a comfortable bed. The trip hop and R&B elements caress with warm familiarity, creating a sense of effortless ease.
Speak Daggers
by Elias Rønnenfelt
Released: October 17th
The Dane provides indie-rock vocals over trip-hop instrumentals, sounding like Richard Ashcroft or Ian Brown singing over DJ Shadow beats. While not revolutionary in its own right, Rønnenfelt has revived several guitar genres throughout his career, from his post-punk work with Iceage to his solo records, infusing each with his pitch-black Nordic existentialism.
We Were Just Here
by Just Mustard
Released: October 24th
I marvelled at the sublime noise coming from the guitars at several points. Katie Ball's subdued vocals glide overhead, creating a sense of drift, of serene calm during turmoil, reflecting ordinary life lived while the world burns around you. In the above performance, notice how the vocalist is still while the band moves around. In previous generations, the vocalist would strut the stage as the primary mover of the environment, whereas there is a trend in contemporary performance towards a more muted approach.
Scram!
by Domo Genesis & Graymatter
Released: November 7th
Luxurious production by Mutant Academy's Graymatter allows a reflective Domo Genesis to continue his maturation from chaotic Odd Future member into a technically proficient, contemplative rapper.
The album's title is usually an admonishment directed towards kids, chastising their youthful behaviour to invite growth, but is used by the rapper here to indicate his desire for maturity.
Bless You and Be Well
by Chartreuse
Released: August 29th
Second album by the British indie-rock group from the midlands. The record is mellow and lush, building with time into richly layered songs that reveal artistic tendencies not immediately apparent.
'Fold' begins with the impossible promise: "I'll give you what you need. I'll fold myself in three." Singer Harriet Wilson is chasing her partner to an impossible place; the audience knows that the endeavour is doomed from the start.
Big City Life
by Smerz
Released: May 23rd
Horses
by Tobacco City
Released: March 7th
Something to Consume
by Die Spitz
Released: September 12th
