Favorite albums of 2025

Alright, another year gone, and another year not quite ready to announce the final death of rock music. Cases in point:

BELAIR LIP BOMBS

Again

Melbourne, Australia's Belair Lip Bombs, the first Australian band to sign with Jack White's Third Man Records, combine a peppy mixture of punk, psych, new wave, and just plain catchy riff-rock. And singer has a pleasant but strong voice that can cut through the noisy guitars.If it weren't for the Beths latest release, this might be my favorite album of the year. Loving it. Looking forward to seeing them live at Polaris Hall in Portland next March.




THE BETHS

Straight Line Was A Lie

Just across the Tasman Sea from the Belair Lip Bombs, New Zealand's The Beths have released yet another total winner. Every track is great, with ever-insightful and personal lyrics, and consistently memorable tunes. Maintaining their position at the top of my list of Favorite Bands of the Last Ten Years, with ease. Great fun live, too, with magical moments like this one, where two of them launch recorders in the air and play a short solo. This music brings me joy, in spite of the subject matter here:




SLOAN

Based On The Best Seller

No, wait, THIS is my favorite album of 2025! Uh, it's a tie? Toronto's (formerly from Halifax) Sloan (no relation) has done it again; every track's a winner, and all four original members (34 years as a band!) contribute in their own style. And their sense of humor is still fully intact, as seen by these fun promo videos:






THE HIVES

The Hives Forever Forever The Hives

These rockin' Swedes have lasted way longer than I would've predicted, but I'm very glad they have. This is loud fun.




GRUFF RHYS

Dim Probs

Former Super Furry Animals singer releases yet another low-key solo album (title is Welsh for "No probs"). The tunes get quite mesmerizing but remain generally lighthearted. And Gruff's voice is still soothing to listen to.




ENVY OF NONE (featuring Alex Lifeson of Rush)

Stygian Waves

Second release from the band featuring Alex on guitars and sound textures, singer/songwriter Maiah Wynne, bassist Andy Curran, and keyboardist Alfio Annibalini. More melodic and stronger musically than their first effort. This "We used to be a project but now we are a band!" group is doing good stuff, and I'm digging it, in this post-Rush universe.




ALICE COOPER

The Revenge of Alice Cooper

Under normal circumstances, I would judge this a fairly average release, but these are NOT normal circumstances: After breaking up the band in 1975 to go solo, Alice Cooper (the man, nee Vincent Furnier) regrouped with his original surviving bandmates (Michael Bruce, Dennis Dunaway, and Neal Smith) after 51 years, to make a full album together. The fact that it even comes close to their classic sound and attitude from the 70's is near miraculous. And it's a lot of fun. Great to see them have at least one last hurrah together.




STEREOLAB

Instant Holograms On Metal Film

Formed in 1990 in London, then reunited in 2019, this new Stereolab album stands tall alongside their previous catalog of consistent melodic pop/synth/rock. A breezy, satisfying listen.




ANDY BELL

Pinball Wanderer

This shoegaze pioneer creates another spell-weaving solo album during downtime between Ride tours and albums, this one embracing a motorik Krautrock pace on several tracks, like this one. No sign of slippage in quality.




SPARKS

Mad!

This 26th studio album since 1972, by the now-legendary Mael brothers duo from Los Angeles, is getting somewhat mixed reviews by critics, but I listened to the album again while writing this blog, and frankly, it's all bangers. Their ever-present wry humor and clever social commentary are still there, and the songs grab you from the start. It's a keeper.




STEVEN WILSON

The Overview

More prog-adjacent music from the prolific Steven Wilson (solo, Porcupine Tree). The album title is about the phenomenon that astronauts experience when they look on the earth from outer space, and see that there are no borders and no countries, putting in perspective the folly of human tribalism. The album contains quiet/acoustic and louder rock sections, and on this song, electronica with proggish rhythmic complexity (but trust me, it goes down easy). Keeping concept albums alive!




ALISON GOLDFRAPP

Flux

In another corner of the electronica universe is Alison Goldfrapp's (now solo, without Will Gregory's masterful synthesizer touches), chill dancefloor 2025 effort. Her voice is still pure honey, and the album creates an easygoing vibe that is much needed in this anxiety-inducing world.




NOVELTY ISLAND

Jigsaw Causeway

In quirkier territory, Novelty Island, mostly consisting of Liverpudlian songwriter, singer, player, producer Tom McConnell, creates his best effort yet. Tom created not only the cover artwork, but an actual large jigsaw, and a bunch of colorful sheep to float suspended (perhaps a tip of the hat to Pink Floyd's inflatable pig?) during concerts. I was tempted to spend $$ on the box set version (now sold out on Bandcamp) because it includes an actual jigsaw of the beautiful artwork with the vinyl edition, but ultimately the shipping from the UK was just too costly for me. If I see one in the States though, I'm going for it. Tom deserves to be more well-known, and it just feels like a matter of time until the world catches on.




ANTON BARBEAU

Glitch Wizard

Anton not only released this great record in 2025, but he released two others: Dig The Light, and Klaust, both of which are equally great. Like a triple-vinyl set back in the day...an indie psych-rock version of The Clash's Sandanista. I love this guy; he brims with positivity and humor, and creates one great tune after another.




Now go play some great music, and dance around the room like a fool. It'll help keep you sane!

Favorite albums of 2024

I think I'm slowing down; it feels like I didn't LOVE as many albums as in previous years. And I'm falling back more and more on new releases by old favorites, as opposed to spelunking to find new gems. But there have been a few. Note: As a reflection of just how off the map from the public I've wandered, I went through Rolling Stone magazine's "Best 100 Albums of 2024" and there are a grand total of five albums that I listened to this year (Sleater-Kinney's 'Little Rope,' Fontaine D.C.'s 'Romance,' John Cale's 'POPtical Illusion,' St. Vincent's ‘All Born Screaming,' and Jack White's ‘No Name’), and while all good (or very good), none those made my 'keepers' list. You're welcome to look up their list; I'm sure there are many great albums to be enjoyed. I make no claim that the albums below are "Best" of anything, I just liked them the most personally.


FRANK TURNER

Undefeated

Frank is new to me (thank you, Amy Englehardt and Alex Stein!) but wow this album grabs you and holds you passionately from start to finish. How has this guy slipped by me until now? This is sublime songwriting and performing. On the song below, Frank says this is a "conversation with my 15-year-old self." The opening verse is perfect, and it gets deeper from there:

Fifteen-year-old Francis
We need to have a word
I know 'cause I remember
That you cannot stand The Verve
But Richard Ashcroft had a point
Now I'm old enough to see
There's a million different people
You will be before you're me

And when his vocal soars - "Cease FIIIIIRE!" - it blows me to bits. If you only listen to one song on this blog post, make it this one:




KIM DEAL

Nobody Loves You

When Kim Deal left the Pixies, I loved her albums as leader of The Breeders as much as the Pixies. (The album Cannonball is a classic, but my favorite Breeders song is the title track off this EP.) Kim remains weird and wonderful on her first solo album. I didn't know it was arriving, but I'm sure glad it's here.




MAXIMO PARK

Stream Of Life

These Newcastle post-punk revivalists, going strong for almost 20 years now (an amazing feat in this ever-shifting-away-from-rock musical landscape), released another great album of songs with meaningful lyrics. The only other band on my radar doing this kind of music are Franz Ferdinand. "Tell me your favourite songs, and I'll tell you mine, and we'll sing along, and all of our troubles will fade away." (Okay VB?)




RIDE

Interplay

Intrepid pioneers of the shoegaze movement, but dedicated to musical growth, Ride's release was as good as any from their last two decades post-reunion. This song is probably not referring to my Portland (Oregon), more likely the Portland in Dorset County, England, or perhaps a reference to Portland cement, but the lyrics aren't giving it away, so I can choose to believe it is.




PEARL JAM

Dark Matter

I was gonna say that Pearl Jam hasn't rocked this hard since 1993, but Gigaton rocked pretty hard in 2020. I attended an album listening at my favorite local movie theater (Cinema 21), where they showed visualizations while listening to the songs over a good speaker system in an otherwise darkened theater. Subtitles helped too:




KULA SHAKER

Natural Magick

If there's an earworm in this list, this is it. Kula Shaker reached their commercial peak in the late 90's, but after a long hiatus, leader Crispian Mills and company have been making great albums consistently for years now. Keep it cool, uh, Shaker!




FIELD MUSIC

Limits Of Language

These lads from Sunderland continue to release delightful records. This falls in the "rock" category, but there is an artfulness, rhythmic subtlety, and emotion you don't come across very often. I love this music so much. And unlike people I've spoken to from Sunderland, I can really understand the sung lyrics. Hard to believe that this is a two-man band, brothers David and Peter Brewis.




TEARS FOR FEARS

Songs For A Nervous Planet (live + EP)

I saw the tour last year, then I saw the movie of the tour this fall, and now I'm listening to this double album of the tour, recorded in Tennessee. I LOVE IT. Tears For Fears are revitalized and have put together an incredible document of their old hits combined with new songs from their recent full album, The Tipping Point. This isn't just a live album though: It starts off with four new songs which are all great, and tug at the heartstrings. They could've released it as a separate EP, but no problem: Through the magic of old-school iTunes, I split it off and listen to it separately (and added a fifth song, "Landlocked" which appeared on the Japanese-only release). Here's one of my favorites, which performs the classic Fears trick of combining very heavy themes with cheery hooks and melodies:




THE SOUTHERN RIVER BAND

D.I.Y.

Oh sure, you've heard this all before, especially in the mid-1970's, but I have a soft spot for this kind of good-time rockin' with a loud n' proud groove. Note: These guys aren't from the American South, they're from Australia.




TONY LEVIN

Bringing It Down To The Bass

Current King Crimson member, occasional Peter Gabriel side-man, and instigator of many, many other projects, master bass and stick man Tony Levin released his latest, an eclectic collection of original songs. Pretty proggy, and not one I'll listen to that often, but very musical, and often very fun, including this very jazzy a capella ode to all the amazing drummers he's worked with over the years. How many of these names do you know?




THE JESUS AND MARY CHAIN

Glasgow Eyes

Who would've thought so many years on that these brothers, often spotted fighting (with fists, even), would still be cranking out great skronky rock? Not me. But hey if the Gallagher brothers can do it, why not William and Jim Reid? This is the second video on this list to feature a "seizure warning." Guess it's a trend? Oh, and this song isn't pronounced "Jam Cod." Listen for it...




THE THE

Ensoulment

After a 20-year break, Matt Johnson is back with his smoky and seductive voice, to give us a state of the world in a catchy groove. File under Late Night Driving on Dark Back Roads Music.




THE FEELING

San Vito

Singer Dan Gillespie Sells has one of the sweetest voices, and great range. The music's good too, very tuneful, expansive and emotional, but with a light touch that comforts the soul.




HIFI SEAN AND DAVID MCALMONT

Daylight

Scotsman Sean Dickson, formerly of the much-loved (by me at least) Soup Dragons, finds new footing with heavenly-voiced singer David McAlmont in a modern, feel-good, dancable format. This kind of positivity is a rare find, and is just what I need right now.




GRUFF RHYS

Sadness Sets Me Free

Oh how I miss the Super Furry Animals, but at least if they're not an ongoing prospect anymore, we've been blessed with a large amount of side projects and solo albums from most of its members. Former SFA lead singer Gruff Rhys forges ahead with another tuneful, often country-tinged, beautifully melancholic album. I find his voice so soothing.




X

Smoke And Fiction

Legendary L.A. alt-punk rockabilly band X say this is their last album. If so, they're going out strong. Weatherbeaten but never beaten, these guys have earned their smiles:




THE RAVEONETTES

Sing...

The only rock band from Denmark that I've ever heard. This is a collection of cool cover songs, run through the Raveonettes reverb-saturated filter. Recommendation: Play this on a dark rainy winter night for full efffect (but remove all sharp objects from the room first).




HAWKWIND

Stories From Time And Space

Hawkwind formed in 1969 in London, and haven't stopped yet. Early releases were epic and noisy space-rock affairs. On their 36th(!) studio album, they remain intense, but have settled into sonically rich, hypnotic groove territory. Fifty-five years into it, this is amazing stuff:




THE PARANOID STYLE

The Interrigator

Washington, D.C.'s The Paranoid Style (named after American historian Richard Hofstadter's essay of the same name), led by husband-and-wife duo Elizabeth Nelson and Timothy Bracy, crank out peppy garage rock but with a very literate and often political edge. And often quite fun:




NICK PIUNTI AND THE COMPLICATED MEN

Up And Out Of It

Power Pop of the highest degree, Nick and band power through a delightful set of songs, including this stroll through a record shop in search of the right album:




EX-NORWEGIAN AND FRIENDS

Sing Wistle Tunes: Tribute to John Entwistle

A delightful collection of songs written by the Who's bassman (aka The Ox, aka Thunderfingers). These tunes aren't as recognizable as the Pete Townshend-penned famous Who songs, but these are some of the quirkier, more fun songs in their discography. Best way to find this album is on Bandcamp, where you can just listen, or buy.




COLLECTIVE SOUL

Here To Eternity

Collective Soul appeared on the scene in 1992, channeling the heavy guitars in fashion at the time with irrisistible radio friendly hooks. And they haven't lost the touch. The entire album is very strong:




NATHANIEL RATELIFF AND THE NIGHT SWEATS

South of Here

I was just recently turned on to this artist/band. Great rhymn n' blues rock, parts Springsteen, The Band, and...the Beatles? Check out the opening track below and tell me there isn't a hint of McCartney here. Love this guy's singing voice.

Well, that's it for 2024. Please let me know in the comments, or message me one way or another, to let me know if you found any of these a good listen, or maybe, just maybe you found something you want to explore further. I would be very pleased to know! Here's to 2025, and a new batch of great music. And to quote author Nick Hornby, remember that “Record stores can't save your life. But they can give you a better one.”

Favorite albums of 2023

Another year, another great batch of mostly under-the-radar releases! Thirty (a record!) albums made the list this year:


THE TOMS

Sunday Nite Fever

Fantastic, cut-above power pop along the lines of the Cars and XTC, and yet this is original and fresh.




THUMPASAURUS

Hard

Quirky, funny, and FUNKY as hell.




THOSE PRETTY WRONGS (featuring Jody Stephens, drummer for Big Star)

Holiday Camp

If you've been missing the short-lived but amazing Big Star for almost 50 years...well this is pretty great. Very Big Star-ish. Jody sings with an earnest, bit warbly but lovable voice. The songs are peppy (hey Jody's the drummer after all), but the lyrics can run pretty deep, like this one about a guy who puts up with a lot of crap so he won't be lonely (not so sure that's a winning strategy).




TEENAGE FANCLUB

Nothing Lasts Forever

One thing I love about these guys is that they totally embrace their age and don't waste time on rockstar poses or phony pumped up anthems. Instead, they stay true to their melodic muse, layer vocal harmonies over rhythmically strummed chords, and create beautiful tunes like this:




STEPHEN WILSON

The Harmony Codex

Mr. Wilson continues his growth as a solo artist, trying on subtle new styles while keeping one foot firmly in prog ground: Blips and beeps, ethereal sounscapes, challenging polyrhyms. This is haunting and beautiful:




SPARKS

The Girl Is Crying In Her Latte

Sparks are absolutely unique. That they've kept this up for over 50 years now is just incredible. And they don't show any sings of slowing down. This video is so funny you'll want to cry:




SEMISONIC

Little Bit Of Sun

Heaven-sent power pop! I didn't see this coming...it's been 22 years since their last amazing album, All About Chemistry. A hearty welcome back, Dan Wilson! This is perfect music that will add sunshine no matter what the weather:




ROBERT FORSTER (of the Go-Betweens)

The Candle And The Flame

Robert's lyrics are just on another level. A true poet:




THE POLYPHONIC SPREE

Salvage Enterprise

Ten years after their last full album (Yes, It's True), Tim DeLaughter and gang are back with a toned down, more stately, but very beautiful and inspirational album from start to finish. If you need some spiritual encouragement, sit with this for a while:




PETER GABRIEL

I/O (Bright-Side Mix)

Interesting ploy: They released two mixes: a Dark-Side Mix, which to my ears indeed feels muted, and my preferred Bright-Side Mix. Or as @AncientAudiophone commented, "This bright mix puts the text in front and the dark mix puts the melody and feelings in front. Both are brilliant." Even on my car stereo, this is three-dimensonal sound with fine aural details. Some of these songs are classic PG: Funky cool. And some, Gabriel gets quiet, deep and wise, as on "So Much."

The body stiffens, tires and aches
In its wrinkled, blotchy skin
With each decade, more camouflage
For the wild-eyed child within
Now close your eyes for a moment
Look down and look above
All the warmth inside of you
Comes from those you love





OSEES (formerly Thee Oh Sees)

Intercepted Message

Dark weird cool funky new wave keyboard rock! Yeah!!




ORCHESTRAL MANOEUVRES IN THE DARK (OMD)

Bauhaus Staircase

I can't believe these guys are saying this will be their last album! They're totally on their game, with buckets of hooks and that classic OMD sound. And this is one of the most beautiful songs in their catalog:




NOVELTY ISLAND

Wallsend Weekend Television

Basically a solo project by Tom McConnell, a Liverpudlian who wears his hometown's Beatles influences proudly, along with a big helping of ELO. I love this sunny pop:




THE NEW PORNOGRAPHERS

Continue As A Guest

A darker-shaded, pensive album, and yet A.C. Newman can do no wrong. These songs grow on you and leave a strong impression. The addition of a saxaphone on several tracks adds a new dimension and emotional weight:




MUDHONEY

Plastic Eternity

One of the (or just THE) original grunge bands trudges on in convincing fashion! Whether Mark Arm is singing about his little doggie, or something cosmically heavy, it's great:




METALLICA

72 Seasons

Well damn, this album is way better than I'd hoped for. Kicks ass! Although they could sue themselves for plagiarism for this first track, lifting from "Master of Puppets," I don't mind, because this is what we've wanted all along since the 80's right?!?




MADNESS

Theatre Of The Absurd Presents C'est La Vie

This unexpected release by the 80's ska masters is very welcome! And a concept album no less!




IGGY POP

Every Loser

Seventy-five years is NOTHING to this motherfucker! For a guy who hinted that he might just retire and fade off into the sunset a while back, well this album is the EXACT OPPOSITE:




THE HIVES

The Death Of Randy Fitzsimmons

Those wacky Swedish neo-punks sure know how to bring the energy! Yeeeeaaah




GAZ COOMBES (of Supergrass)

Turn The Car Around

I will always miss Supergrass, who put out a string of amazing albums from 1995 to the mid-2000's, but Gaz, the primary songwriter and singer of that band soldiers on as a solo artist. This is as good as anything he's done yet:




FLYYING COLOURS

You Never Know

Another very good neo-shoegaze band, this one from Australia. For those rainy, dark winter days, staying home and reading a book about existentialism. Those churning ringing guitars will keep you warm.




DAS KOOLIES (Super Furry Animals minus Gruff Rhys)

DK.01

Das Koolies is four-fifths of the Super Furry Animals, minus lead singer Gruff Rhys. Gruff has a good and interesting singing voice and personality, so it was a big loss, but SFA-1 soldiers on as DK.01. Hooray! Love the boops, blips, synth washes, crazy rhythms and beats.




THE CORAL

Sea Of Mirrors

Twelve albums in 21 years, these winsome folksy (and slightly psychedelic) rockers haven't lost their knack for catchy melodies and hooks. I put them on when I need to relax or take a nice stroll through a park trail with headphones on.




BLUR

The Ballad Of Darren

It's been eight years since their last album (which had some great moments), which was another 12 years after Think Tank (which felt like a band running out of gas). But The Ballad of Darren is great. The band sounds revitalized and spunky. I guess momentum is overrated?




BLONDE REDHEAD

Sit Down For Dinner

This music is spellbinding if you give it your attention. Kazu Makino's voice has deepened slightly with age, which gives her an even more expressive range. I had to wait nine years for this new album, but it was worth the patience.




ANTON BARBEAU

Morgenmusik/Nachtschlager

Anton continues his career on Bandcamp with consistently good artistic results. Sure he's an acquired taste, but I love his psychedelic subtly humorous music.




ASH

Race The Night

Ash can still bash you over the head with power rockers (see below), but they can also toss off a Bic lighter-worthy duet ballad, too.




THE BACKLASH

Rise

This is VERY good shoegaze (with a hint of Oasis but I won't hold that against them), slow building but with fast tempos, and a driving wash of reverb and echoed guitars creating an enveloping drone. They're from Italy, which is unexpected, because I would've bet they were English; London or Manchester. Picture yourself in a dimly lit rock club, dancing, lost a sweaty haze to this:.




BEN FOLDS

What Matters Most

Best Ben Folds album in a long while, maybe even my second favorite (after Rockin' The Suburbs) since he went solo. This video is clever and fun, and vintage super-catchy Folds.
Favorite lyrics:
Don't know what came over me,
As I awkwardly dropped my room key.
I said I think that's yours...
and three hours later I was bangin' this verse out.




BLINKER THE STAR

Animal Math

My other favorite Bandcamp-based artist (who needs label distribution?), Jordon Zadorozny continues on his singular aural path as Blinker The Star. Songs are dreamy, catchy, and flow in and out of major/minor keys creating a nonstop sense of unease to accompany your dancing under twinkle lights.




HONORABLE MENTION:

THE ROLLING STONES

Hackney Diamonds

Very good and enjoyable. I may even play it several times eventually. Rock on, guys! I won't be angry.