Musically, 2025 was just another year. Mid, as kids today would say. Which does not mean, of course, that any of these ten albums are anything less than excellent.
10. Cold Specks - Light For The Midnight
It saddens me that nobody noticed this album. In all fairness, I did not notice this album either, and only heard it two months after its very low-key release. While Light Of Midnight does not reach the artistic heights of Neuroplasticity, it is definitely an improvement on the somewhat middling Fool's Paradise. She is a very special talent with a knack for a soulful melody and a real personality to back it up. Fantastic voice, too.
Best song: "How It Feels"
9. Luke Haines & Peter Buck - Going Down To The River... To Blow My Mind
They keep churning them out, Luke Haines and Peter Buck. Looks like they enjoy each other's company, and if this results in albums as good as this, then so be it. Going Down To The River is my least favourite of the three collaborations, but this is still full of Haines' sinister melodic wit and Peter Buck's tasteful guitar freakouts. Excellent rock album.
Best song: "56 Nervous Breakdowns"
8. Black Country, New Road - Forever Howlong
I was at their show back in October 2023 where they presented a few of these songs. During the concert, they sounded like the best thing in the world. In their final studio form, however, the songs feel a little too self-conscious and clever for their own good. Still, the talent (vocal, songwriting, instrumental) involved here is incredible. Really, other than the faceless title song, this is great: twisted, inventive, and extremely rewarding.
Best song: "Two Horses"
7. Patrick Wolf - Crying The Neck
This was Patrick's first album in 14 years, and aside from the glowing review in Quietus, I did not see much love for it. A shame. There is actually a part of me that thinks Crying The Neck is his most consistent album ever. Perhaps it does not have the fantastic peaks of "Paris" or "The Magic Position", but each one of these 13 songs has something to offer. Charismatic chamber pop, steeped in folk music, mystical lyricism and the man's unfading melodic sensibilities.
Best song: "Jupiter"
6. Neko Case - Neon Grey Midnight Green
Again, I'm shocked to see that so few reputable publications included Neon Grey Midnight Green in their end-of-year lists. Because if not for a couple of somewhat uneventful songs in the middle (sometimes she taps into country music a little too much for my liking), this could easily be in my top 5. Side one is some of her best music ever, and she goes so effortlessly from the Laurie Anderson-inspired "Tomboy Gold" to the intense, driving second half of the title song. One of the best singer-songwriters in business.
Best song: "Winchester Mansion Of Sound"
5. The Delines - Mr. Luck & Ms. Doom
This is such an accomplished, immaculate album that you almost take it for granted. The Delines found that sweet spot back in 2014 with the classic debut album and have been doing the same thing for more than ten years now. And it just works. Mr. Luck & Ms. Doom is soulful, classy Americana that is equally charming and heart-breaking. Their best music since the aforementioned Colfax.
Best song: "Maureen's Gone Missing"
4. Stereolab - Instant Holograms On Metal Film
I will have to admit that Stereolab had always been a band I respected rather than loved, but this latest album, their first after a 15-year hiatus, is pure aural joy. It's hard to pin them down in terms of genre (krautrock, indie-pop, post-rock, chamber pop - it's all in here), but does it even matter? What matters is that these songs are full of hooks, personality, style and sometimes the French language.
Best song: "Aerial Troubles"
3. Geese - Getting Killed
The amount of sheer euphoria on this album is truly staggering. I used to be an ardent agnostic when it comes to Geese (their first albums did not impress me, and neither did the acclaimed solo record by Cameron Winter), but Getting Killed finally won me over. Adventurous, hook-filled rock music that works even when it shouldn't ("Half Real") and simply blows me away with that final two-song punch. I can't wait to hear what they do next.
Best song: "Taxes"
2. Rober Forster - Strawberries
Robert Forster is one of the best songwriters around, still. I was underwhelmed by the leading single (title song), which seemed a little too cutesy and Lovin' Spoonful-lite to me, but the moment "Tell It Back To Me" started playing, I got my album of the year (almost). So much personality in these melodies, so much class in these lyrics.
Best song: "Tell It Back To Me"
1. Pulp - More
Pulp came back in style, but how else? You couldn't really expect that Jarvis Cocker would not bring the songs. More is playful, infectious and full of nostalgia that doesn't grate. I do not yet know how it compares to their classic three (let's wait and see), but this definitely met my expectations and had, in "Tina" and especially "Grown-Ups", some of their greatest songs ever.
Best song: "Grown-Ups"
