It’s been a bit since Elijah & I have put together our annual Best Albums of the year list. We had a good run, starting back in 2008 and continually pretty faithfully up until a couple of years ago, when both of us must have been overwhelmed with work, life, and everything. I did find a note on my phone where I’d begun compiling a list of my Best Albums of 2023 (the usual suspects: Mitski, Tim Baker, Sufjan Stevens, Angelo de Augustine, The New Pornographers, along with some newer groups like boygenius, Caroline Rose, Nation of Language), but it never made it beyond my Notes app.
I suppose part of our reason for doing these lists was to share the joy of the listening experiences we had discovered with any readers out in the “interwebiverse” (just coined that term), as well as to somehow acknowledge and celebrate the great work that these artists had released in the year gone by. So hopefully, there are still a few folks out there who will stumble upon this & benefit from the the work put into sorting through some of the various musical endeavors that were released in 2025.
So this year I’m going solo in sharing my Best Albums, as Elijah is probably too busy providing for his dear family to pay much attention to new music (I tend to listen as I’m driving, doing dishes, and going to sleep). In the past, I typically put a lot of thought into the ranking process of 1-10, but this year, I just don’t have it in me to sort it out that carefully. Except for the NUMBER ONE album, which I will list first, then everything else will just be in alphabetical order.
Here is a link to a Spotify playlist of tracks from my 2025 Best Albums list, along with a few tracks from other works that didn’t quite make the cut (LINK)-you can use this playlist and click on the three dots to “Go to album” so that I don’t have to add links for each one on the list below. Hope that you may take up & listen, my friends! (from Greg)
- ROMANCE (DELUXE EDITION) – FONTAINES D.C.
Now, to the pedant, I will readily admit that the original release of this album from the Irish band Fontaines D.C. came out in 2024. But I did not hear of it that year. I just heard a song from this album a few months ago algorithmically playing on Spotify after the record I was listening to had finished, then when I looked up the album, it said it had come out in 2025.
Well, it turns out that what I was listening to was a “Deluxe Edition” that had been released, but I am counting it as a 2025 album because I want to sing the praises of this masterpiece.
The first track on Romance sounded like it could have been a track from Depeche Mode’s 1986 album Black Celebration. Lovely, but derivative. But when the next song (and every other song after that) began playing, I was entranced by all that I was hearing: the seething energy of youth, carving out their place in this modern world, along with the masterful songcraft, easily weaving through various genres and vocal styles. I was intrigued by the alternately thick and spare instrumentation, as well as singer Grian Chatten’s refusal to soften his distinctive Dublin accent into something more internationally palatable (such as when the word “hard” was delightfully pronounced as “haired”), and on and on I could sing its praises.
Song after song is a sonic and lyrical feast, engaging repeated listens with deeper appreciation and reward. I’ve since checked out this band’s back catalogue and found it to have the seeds of the genius that this album exemplifies, while the fullness of melodic and compositional dexterity displayed here had not yet been realised (though many of the track’s on Chatten’s 2023 solo album Chaos for the Fly do demonstrate a similar level of accomplishment). Truly, the only thing I do not like about this masterpiece is the cover art, which feels a bit AI-slop-ish. I anticipate great things from these lads in the days to come…I think people will still be listening to this record 100 years from now!
ALTOGTHER STRANGER – LAEL NEALE
I think it was at the beginning of 2025 that I discovered this gifted lo-fi, indie-folk singer-songwriter (an accurate but perhaps less alluring genre label for her music is “minimalist drone pop”) and I was immediately fascinated by the kind of homemade quality of her songs (many times created with the help of an “Omnichord,” which may seem a bit twee to some, but which I found particularly endearing). I was struck by her timeless lyrical prowess and the melodic purity of her vocals, particularly on her first album on the SubPop label, Acquainted with Night which I actually purchased on vinyl, an affectation I reserve for albums that I DEEPLY ADORE. Her work sounded like an amalgam of Emily Dickinson, Bob Dylan, and the band Low, and her lyrics became deeply embedded in my psyche.
Sadly, this new album did not reach the same heights as that 2021 opus, but it still rises above so much of the pap and pablum that exists in the sonicsphere these days. She is not only conveying her own experience of the world, but her lyrics seem to embody an earnestly contrarian worldview about contemporary existence, particular in an urban environment–she lived in LA for a while, so I can relate to her revulsion to the kind of life that we live in this “negatropolis”– for more of her trenchant observations on turning away from the wired-in, distraction-saturated, and additive-filled world, I’ve loved reading her Substack as well.
ANIMARU – MEI SEMONES
I feel very Gen Z with the addition of this Indie-pop/jazz album, as I discovered the artist via an Instagram reel and she looks like she is barely out of her teens, but her debut album is astonishingly great! If I had continued ranking albums on this list, Animaru would have been near the top…
To begin with, Semones is an incredible guitarist, of both a jazzy Bossa Nova sort as well as a 90’s alternative grungy ilk, and she writes her songs in complex symphonic arrangements & time signatures, sometimes reminiscent of a light South American style I associate with Brazil in the 1960’s, but she’s singing in both English and Japanese, with vocals that swing from high and sweet airy falsettos to deep and powerful alto resonances. She is obviously a prodigy of confounding levels of genius and disciplined musicianship, and yet, she also feels disarmingly tender and pensive. I can only anticipate amazing things for this artist in the future.
BLIGHT – THE ANTLERS
I’ve followed The Antlers since the release of their 2009 concept album Hopsice, which followed a doomed romance in a cancer ward (it sounds depressing, but it is actually so powerfully evocative and intimately alluring). My appreciation for their subsequent works has varied, but this new album is a return to the heights of their talent. It’s incredibly fragile at times and explosively agitated at others, as the songs seem to focus on ecological and societal ills of the modern world. Honestly, these are not themes that typically draw my attention, but this is so masterfully created, I felt the agony of what our industry and technology have done to earth and its inhabitants to a heartbreaking extent. If you’re like me and would rather ignore the effects of our mismanagement of God’s creation, I suggest you open yourselves to at least one listen of this record, to help you “consider the source” of much of our woes…
I HEARD THAT NOISE – quickly quickly
The first song I heard from this one-man band from Portland, OR was “Enything,” which immediately hooked me with it’s propulsive poppy charm and smooth double-tracked vocals, but when I purchased the full record, it was quite different from what I’d expected. A bit more on the “noise pop” end of the indie-rock genre, but I grew to enjoy the blasts of fuzz or dissonance that would disrupt the melodic guitar finger-picking or piano strokes. For those of you who know the music taste-maker Josh McBride, he gave this group his hearty approval after I put a song on his 40th birthday playlist, and that’s something.
IN LIMERANCE – JACOB ALON
This is another astonishing debut album from a younger artist (though on a major record label), this time from a “non-binary” Scottish indie-folk singer-songwriter. The sadness of this singer’s experience of confusion and violence on the basis of their identity and sexuality is made exquisitely lovely through such a delicately yearning voice (sometimes almost yelping and yodeling) and controlled instrumentation. Even if you can’t relate to the queer experience, this is a stunning work of art that deserves to be heard and appreciated. I can’t wait to hear more from them…
LIFE IS BEAUTIFUL LIFE IS BEAUTIFUL LIFE IS BEAUTIFUL – THE DEARS
I’ve been following The Dears, a Canadian indie-rock mainstay since the mid-2000’s (when I heard lead man Murray Lightburn had been called the “black Morrissey” I knew I had to check them out!) and while they’ve fallen off of the mainstream radar of late, I’ve always followed any of their new releases with great interest and appreciation. I’m happy to say that this new album is among their best! The band sounds just like they did at the height of their sonic powers (which I take to be their 2006 masterwork Gang of Losers, which is among my favorite albums EVER!).
Song after song is filled with such engaging tunefulness and Lightburn’s earnest lyricism, it is a joy to follow him opening his heart up and sharing all of its triumphs and sorrows with the world. His song “Dead Contacts” hit me particularly hard, thinking of folks who’ve passed away this past year and how I’ve come across their name in my phone address book recently (particularly my wife’s Aunt Eileen, who was so dearly loved by all of our family!).
patching – runo plum
Yet ANOTHER debut album from a Gen-Z indie-folk singer-songwriter! I’ve been following this artist for the last couple of years as she’s released EPs or singles, and I was particularly impressed with her collaboration with Philip Brooks on “mountain songs,” a collection which contains some tracks that I’ve listened to so many times and have put on various playlists.
Well, her debut album didn’t quite reach the level of perfection I was hoping for or anticipating, but it is still awfully good. Her voice reminds me at times of Harriet Wheeler from The Sundays (another of my all-time favorite groups), so I probably projected my desire for a more jangly acoustic sound from her (which she often hits quite nicely), but I’m just happy that she’s continuing to release her gifts into the world that needs her kind of beautiful melancholy.
The Scholars – Car Seat Headrest
I got really into these indie-rockers back in the mid-2010’s with the back-to-back releases of Teens of Style and Teens of Denial, the later of which I played on repeat for some time. I didn’t get as into some of their subsequent albums, but this new release feels (similarly to The Dears) like a return to form, though there is another sense that I’m getting which I hadn’t quite seen in them before.
That is, this feels like they’re creating a kind of “neo-Classic Rock” with the album being called a “rock opera” as if the band is picking up cues from The Who or Pink Floyd, with a number of songs exceeding the 10 minute mark, containing some of the dynamics and flourishes of a genre lost to past ages. To be honest, I didn’t quite follow the storyline of The Scholars, but I don’t think it really matters, as the songs stand quite well on their own, at least to my ears! I did pick up the CD at the new Fingerprints location in Bixby Knolls when I was there with two of my brothers, as it promised a “38-page booklet” (I think), but then when I opened the booklet up, the font size was like 2-3 point and could only be read through zooming in on my phone camera. Maybe I’m just getting old…but what the heck, CSH!
VALERIAN TEA – Magic Fig
This album is kind of the wild card on this list, but I felt like it was consistently more interesting to me than any of the albums below. Again, another debut album–no idea how old the members are, but it sounds like it was made in 1967 by some prog/psychedelic synthesis with an ethereal female lead singer singing about goblins and “Riders at Dawn.” This is not my typical fare, but something in this record just clicked with me: maybe it was the feeling of authentic musicality and creativity in an age of overproduced pop and AI. I would understand if this is not for everyone, but except for the title track, song after song, I totally dug it! Turn on, tune in, and drop out, man!
Before I transition to the albums that DIDN’T make the 10 BEST list, I did want to give a shout out to a 2002 self-titled album from Long Beach indie-rock heroes, The SeaMonsters, which was just put up on Spotify this year. I love this album so much & it takes me back to when I was playing drums (barely competently) with the genius lead singer, guitarist, & songwriter Matt Clatterbuck and demigod-level bassist Victor Orlando Nieto (who was one of my groomsmen) in the band Pal in the mid-1990’s. Some of the songs on this record began back when we were in Pal, but The SeaMonsters took them to the next level with the heap of talent that is Erick Nieto on drums (he was the one who actually taught me to play!) and they added new songs that I also cherish so dearly. I know I will listen to their music often with great joy for the rest of my life. So immeasurably talented, these guys!
OTHER 2025 ALBUMS OF MENTION
- As Long As I Am in the Tent of This Body I Will Make a Joyful Noise – John VanDeusen: This is another worship-esque album from the incomparably talented JVD, whose 2018 album (I Am) Origami Pt. 2 – Every Power Wide Awake is among my favorites of all time (thanks to JVD fan Peter Peringer, we even sang some of those songs in our church services!). So of course I was hoping that this would live up to the stature of that work, but, sadly, I think this record fell so far short of that goal. I was actually somewhat depressed after my first listen. Some may disagree & I’d be happy to be wrong, but to my ears, this is not his finest hour. I know I will still check out anything he releases–he is indeed a wonderful person, whom I got to have a meal with when he was playing a concert at our church. But that can’t change my opinion of this album.
- Balloon Balloon Balloon – Sharp Pins: I figured I could only have one album where the title was repeated thrice (see The Dears), but srsly, this was an amazing record. It sounded like some early Byrds or other comparable 1960’s rock bands demo tracks (along with a healthy Guided By Voices vibe), pretty much created by one guy, but when I received my order of the CD (late for Christmas!), the lyrics seemed so inane that I couldn’t bring myself to include it in the top 10. Still worthwhile to listen though–just don’t try to hard to make out the words!
- Belong – Jay Som: In the past, I thought of this one-woman act as having a much more indie rock/alternative sound, but this new album is a bit over-produced mainstream pop for my taste. But there are still some really exceptional songs on here–I think anyone could enjoy the songcraftsmanship of this record!
- Dance Called Memory – Nation of Language: I also picked this CD up at the new Fingerprints store, but when I played it on the way home, it fell far short of the retro 80’s New Order-esque sound that I’d loved so much on their 2023 album Strange Disciple. But still some solid cuts herein.
- Deadbeat – Tame Impala: If you’ve read past Best Albums lists on this blog, you know that each Tame Impala album has made our top 10 each year they came out, but when I heard the first singles from this record (“Loser” and “Dracula”) I wasn’t feeling it. But I actually went back and listened to the whole record a few times and it grew on me, just not to the point where it would kick off one of the albums above. Definitely always a Kevin Parker fan though! Wunderkind, this guy!!
- Sinister Grift – Panda Bear: I wanted to like this so much, being a huge fan of Animal Collective (singer-songwriter Noah Lennox’s main band) and his previous solo work, but this was more of a miss than a hit for me. Sorry Noah!
- Straight Line Was a Lie – The Beths: This band has put out THREE solid indie-pop albums since 2018, but this one did not connect with me. So bummed. Their lyrics are among the cleverest and the tunes are so melodic, but it just didn’t land this time around. Check out their past albums though, especially Future Me Hates Me.
I’d love to hear where you disagree or what I might have missed below! Thanks for reading, friends!
Lost in the Cloud 