2025 Quarter 4 Notable Albums

 And here we are, finally in 2026. The last couple months of this year were even harder to keep track of than the first nine, but we were certainly rewarded with some incredible music in spite of all the chaos spinning in the world around us. I’ll be back in a week or two with my write-ups for favorite music overall from 2025, though, if you’ve been reading along, by this point you should have a pretty good idea of how my lists are going to shake out. Regardless, there’s always more music to discover! Here’s to 2026 and more art by humans, for humans, forever and ever, amen!

Note: This is a long post folks so I've hidden the rest under the fold for easy scrolling. 

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Adult Leisure - The Things You Don’t Know Yet (Oct)

While no song quite matches the heights attained by standout “See Her” (which I wrote about before here), this record still features a delicious set of slick synth pop jam that makes this band one to watch. 

Recommended Song: “Borderline”

Kelly Moran - Don’t Trust Mirrors (Oct)

Mixing elegiac piano with precise, hypnotic modular synths and then just experimenting for forty minutes, Moran’s project is one that’s easy to get lost in but also easy to plumb for ever deepening meaning. (P.S. the short pitch is if you ever wanted Aphex Twin to keep iterating on “Avril 14th” then this is definitely for you). 

Recommended Song: “Sans sodalis”

The Besnard Lakes - The Besnard Lakes are the Ghost Nation (Oct)

I know it’s damning with faint praise to call a band “reliable” (which I also more or less did when I wrote about them earlier) but damned if I can’t say that for The Besnard Lakes, just always turning in stick-to-your-ribs, open-hearted, post-rock inflected rock and roll. It all takes a bit to get going (there’s that post-rock for you) but every minute invested in a song by this band pays off in their shattering crescendos. 

Recommended Song: “Pontiac Spirits” 

The Antlers - Blight (Oct)

The Antlers return after releasing one of my favorite records of the decade with 2021’s Green to Gold and the last four years have certainly taken their thematic toll on this already melancholic band. Blight grapples with themes of loss, climate change and seeming insurmountable odds of a person fighting back against any of it. There’s even a surreal, woozy funhouse air to some of the tracks here, emphasizing the dissociation that can come from such unhinged times. 

Recommended Song: “Something in the Air”

Goat and Human Language - The Human Language ‘Goat’ Tape (Oct)

If you’re a fan of Goat’s 2024 self-titled record, then this release from October is worth at least a couple of spins. Working as a full-length remix album, Human Language takes Goat’s unparalleled skill at hitting a psychedelic groove and somehow amps it up even further, incorporating time-honored turntablist techniques and a propensity for dub, the whole thing only runs 25 minutes, but feels like it takes over your entire day. 

Recommended Song: “The Buck Stops Here”

NYOS - Growl (Oct)

Remember BATTLES? If you have fond memories of nearly any era of that genre-defining/shattering group, then do yourself a favor and listen to Growl as math-rockers NYOS masterfully explore new sonic contours in extremely fertile terrain. 

Recommended Song: “Superstar”

They Are Gutting a Body of Water - LOTTO (Oct)

Nervy, energetic and surprisingly heartfelt shoegaze from a band that’s becoming one to increasingly watch. 

Recommended Song: “Trainers”

Maneater - Curb Your Appetite (Oct)

Some good old-fashioned, rough-around-the-edges indie garage rock. I wrote about standout song “The Prize” here and while I stand by those comments, the whole album is still very much worth your time.

Recommended Song: “Good Things”

Tuvaband - Seven Ways of Floating (Oct)

Tuvaband’s latest release is a spectacular selection of ethereal art-pop from one of the genre’s most exciting, earnest and talented musicians. I wrote more here. 

Recommended Song: “Futile Maze”

Late Aster - City Livin’ (Oct)

Jazzy electronic cuts that are sometimes relaxing, sometimes energetic but always compelling. I wrote more here. 

Recommended Song: “Yellow Orange Blue”

Just Mustard - WE WERE JUST HERE (Oct)

Just Mustard capitalize the album title and all the song names on their latest record and XXXXX

Recommended Song: “Silver”

µ-Ziq - 1979 (Oct)

µ-Ziq’s 1979 project finds the veteran electronic producer confining himself to a limited set of tools to extremely listenable effect. 

Recommended Song: “Floatation”

Hyperviolets - VANITAS (Oct)

Sparkling indie-pop that goes down smooth and reminds me of the pleasant days of breezy early 2010’s electronic rock. 

Recommended Song: “Writing on the Wall”

Wolfmen of Mars - The Obsolete Illusion EP (Oct)

I wrote more about this absolute blast of a 13 minute listen here. 

Recommended Song: “Combat Chops”

Exzald - Iridesc (Oct)

Experimental and earnest, this gorgeous record takes elements of ambient, classical, noise and blends them together with a mercurial sensibility that makes for a head-spinning listen. 

Recommended Song: “Iridesc”

Weakened Friends - Feels Like Hell (Oct)

Muscular indie rock that doesn’t pull any punches. I wrote more here. 

Recommended Song: “Tough Luck (Bleed Me Out)”

CV Vision - Release The Beast (Oct)

I was completely unprepared for the rush of creative flourishes and impressive ability to toggle between multiple micro-genres and melt together any remaining seams with a winning sense of psychedelia. I wrote more here. 

Recommended Song: “The Rhythm”

Ørbita - Gravity (Oct)

Tasty synthwave you can dig your teeth into or just let wash over you, your call, but both are equally valid ways to interact with such tactile electronic sounds. I wrote more here. 

Recommended Song: “Dusk”

Vindu - Dreamscapes EP (Oct)

On the cover to this 12 minute, 5 track EP is a cute little sheet ghost surrounded by a cloud, moon and hourglass, if that can tell you anything about the mood here. It’s dreamy without being gauzy and each tune spins up a delicate little theme on piano or guitar only to quickly and gently tuck them back into bed. 

Recommended Song: “Cloud Pillow”

Sorry - COSPLAY (Nov)

Art-rockers Sorry always seem to carve out a space in popular music that only they can fit. I wrote more here. 

Recommended Song: “JIVE”

Rosalia - LUX (Nov)

I’ve listened to this stunning record more times than I can count. I’ll have more to say in my year-end wrap up, where, spoiler alert, it’s going to place very high, but for now, please, just stop what you’re doing and go listen to it! (This applies if you’ve heard it before or not, by the way)

Recommended Song: “Dios Es Un Stalker”

Bruise Blood - You Run Through the World Like an Open Razor (Nov)

Relentless forward motion is what you’re signing up for with Bruise Blood. There are a number of different shades of electronic production modes that are cycled through but the whole listen is as exhilarating as that revving engine in the pace-setting opening track. I wrote more here. 

Recommended Song: “The Pressure”

The Hellp - Riviera (Nov)

Long live synth rock!

Recommended Song: “Country Road”

Demsky - Jugaad (Nov)

Just immaculate bleeps and bloops that straddle 90’s/2000’s “IDM” to “laptronica” divide in a high-wire act that’s as impressive as it is effortless. 

Recommended Song: “Patterns That Shimmer”

Bicep - CHROMA 000 (Nov)

The final form for the long-running singles project from producers Bicep, it’s not only great to have everything in one place, but it’s a good reminder for what a powerhouse this duo really is. 

Recommended Song: “Rola”

Voices from The Lake - II (Dec)

I hadn’t been aware of this mini supergroup of electronic producers Neel and Donato Dozzy before the release of this "sequel" to their now 13-year old debut (and only other prior release). They do what they do best to create extremely meditative, repetitive, but still compelling tracks that slowly crack open your mind the longer you listen. 

Recommended Song: “Blue Noa”

36 - A Warm Static Sphere (Dec)

English electronic/active ambient producer 36 drops a stellar record filled with fuzzy loops and crystalline synths that sometimes drift close to one of my favorite undersung 36 projects, 2023’s Bandcamp-only release, Full Spectrum Submission. 

Recommended Song: “Part V”

Hadal Sherpa - Memoria (Dec)

Psychedelic post-rock that occasionally drifts into dreamy territory before compressing into little mini-novas of sound, exploding out in all directions with a grandiose, bright white heat. 

Recommended Song: “Memoria”