And so another year passes, I grow older and listen to more old favourites, more jazz. Less new stuff – but some. A few albums break through the tendency towards nostalgia, but even then most are by bands I’ve liked for a while. There are a few exceptions, bands I hadn’t heard until this year, and here I have to give a shout out to Louis, Jon G’s son, who occasionally makes an enthusiastic recommendation which captures my imagination. In the top ten he can take credit for Divorce and Geese; in the honourable mentions, Headache are another. By the way, why would any band called themselves Headache, unless they were very hardcore metal? Which Headache aren’t.
Spotify Wrapped told me that Radiohead were my most listened-to band, which was no surprise, as I have a playlist of the band as well as Thom Yorke’s solo work and the Smile, which I play a lot. It never fails to be interesting, as in, what’s this? But it also has a reassuring familiarity, so I can play it while I write. Think about it.
Bob Dylan was No3. The brilliant film, No Direction Home, was partly responsible for that. The other three in the top five did at least have albums in my top four. They were Samia, Turnstile and Wednesday. Which is a nice segue into the list.
My Top Ten albums of 2025
No1. Bloodless by Samia
Samia’s follow-up to the excellent Honey, from 2023. If anything, even better. Catchy songs, thoughtful lyrics, beautifully sung. What more do you need? Songs from this album took up most of my Spotify Wrapped top ten. It’s just so listenable. If I think about it, it reminds me a little of Kacey Musgraves’ Golden Hour in tone and Phoebe Bridgers’ Punisher in content. But it’s just a very good indie/country/pop album in its own right.
No2. Never Enough by Turnstile
How good to have a full-on rock album so high on the list. Turnstile’s recorded material is becoming more polished, not quite as raw hardcore as in their earlier days, but Never Enough doesn’t let up on the driving metal/punk riffs. The title track, which begins the album, is a bonafide anthem, made to be the opener of the live set – which it was at Ally Pally. I Care is probably their most commercial track to date – you could probably dance to it. And the rest is grade A pulsating rock’n’roll. An absolute joy to turn up loud and ROCK!
No3. Drive to Goldenhammer by Divorce
Another joyous album, packed with arresting melodies, peaks and troughs of emotion. File in indie, but it lifts itself beyond the confines of the genre. It’s a modern sound, but also takes me back to the likes of Prefab Sprout and mid-period Elvis Costello. I’d even say it has a bit of that celtic soul, which I love; but the band are from Nottingham.
No4. Bleeds by Wednesday
Bleeds had a lot to live up to, as its two predecessors, Twin Plagues (2021) and Rat Saw God (2023) were two of my favourite albums of recent years. That unlikely combination of country, Americana, grunge and shoegaze was captivating. This album doesn’t quite meet the mark of those two, but it is still a fine album, and I’d recommend it to anyone as an introduction to the band. The band are growing in popularity, just as MJ Lenderman, the lead guitarist, departs to focus on his solo career. Karly Hartzman sings and writes the songs, tells the stories of her youth and her troubles and her loves. Listen to this and channel your inner Nirvana and Kacey Musgraves at the same time!
No5. Honey from a Winter Stone by Ambrose Akinmusire
This is an extraordinary piece of jazz music, which touches on so many bases, from rap to avant-garde classical. Five pieces, stretching over more than an hour, and always engrossing. Akinmusire plays trumpet. The writer Richard Williams, whose article on WordPress in April alerted me to this album, describes his trumpet-playing as representing in its liquid grace and constant unpredictability a kind of celestial marriage of Booker Little and Don Cherry. That’s good enough for me!
No6. It’s a Beautiful Place by Water from Your Eyes
Water from Your Eyes play music which is quite hard to categorise. It goes all over the place. Their 2023 album Everyone’s Crushed was an intriguing effort, with the title track a quirky anthem for our times. This new one retains the adventurousness of that album, but beefs up the guitars and has a bit more melody. This is all good, and it means they rock out a lot live – they were great at Village Underground. It just occurred to me that sometimes they sound a bit like Pixies, but then they go leftfield and I’m left scratching my head again.
No7. Getting Killed by Geese
This band are getting a lot of rave notices at the moment. It’s partly because frontman Cameron Winter put out a solo album late last year called Heavy Metal (which it isn’t) which has become a cult favourite. But Getting Killed merits a bit of hype. It’s an album which exudes tension and angst, which musically takes me back to Nick Cave and even Tom Waits in the Swordfishtrombones era. Winter’s singing is extraordinary, at times overpowering. On the verge of breakdown. So, not an easy listen, but a fascinating one.
No8. Roulette by Alfa Mist/ Anthem by 44th Move
I’ve put these two together because Alfa Mist plays on the 44th Move album, and brings it close to his own distinctive style. The sound of late night London, the rain falling softly on the night bus window, the street lights refracting, lost in your own world. Music that soothes and takes you to wherever you want to go. A mellow delight.
No9. Inkyra by Emma Rawicz
Emma Rawicz is a young English saxophonist, with Polish heritage, who graduated from the Royal Academy of Music. She seems constantly to be composing new music and collaborating with new partners, enthusiastic for all the opportunities that present themselves. Inkyra is the outcome of a two or three year project, music that she’s been developing over that time. It recalls any number of jazz greats, ventures into jazz rock, Brazilian music, Weather Report. The influence of John Coltrane is clear too. I’ve seen her play a few times and bought this album in special edition purple vinyl after the latest show, at the Queen Elizabeth Hall. It’s cool!
No10. The Clearing by Wolf Alice
I’ve had a gripe with Wolf Alice. What’s happened to the guitars? Where is the rock? They’ve signed to Sony, and is this their bid for a worldwide market? Big tunes, orchestras, grandiosity… but no guitars. Oh, for a You’re a Germ! But that’s unfair – bands have to evolve. That song came out ten years ago. So, after writing this album off after the first listen, I decided to give it another go, and another. And the songs grew on me. If you judge it on its own merits, rather than what the band used to be, it’s a fine pop/rock album. Give it a go.
Honourable mentions – in no particular order
Spellbound by Shez Raja. Jazz, not available on streaming. I have a red vinyl album, which I bought after a gig. Goes with my Emma Rawicz!
Willoughby Tucker, I’ll Always Love You by Ethel Cain. Doesn’t have the verve of Preacher’s Daughter, but there’s a dark grandeur.
The Scholars by Car Seat Headrest. Good to have them back after a break. More indie that ranges from lo-fi to epic.
You Heartbreaker, You by Jehnny Beth. In yer face rocking. All a bit much at times – give me some melody! Brilliant live.
Trash Mountain by Lily Seabird. Country rock. More country than rock. More rock than country in her amazing live show at End of the Raod.
Get Sunk by Matt Berninger. The National’s frontman, so it sounds like the National, with a twist.
New Threats from the Soul by Ryan Davis and the Roundhouse Band. Storytelling in an Americana style.
Lifetime by Erika de Casier. A lovely, mellow jazz/soul groove.
Thank You for Almost Everything by Headache. Surreal spoken word pieces over jazz/funk/pop grooves. It’s different.
Forever Howlong by Black Country, New Road. In which BCNR go more prog than ever. Comes into its own live, through the sheer quality of the musicianship.
Two from 2024 which I missed at the time
30/108 by corto.alto. A great modern jazz band, led by multi-instrumentalist Liam Shortall. This album was the product of 108 pieces of music on his laptop which he honed down to thirty tunes, one recorded every day for a month. Tremendous variety and coherence.
Watch Me Drive Them Dogs Wild by Merce Lemon. First listened to this in the run up to End of the Road, but she pulled out, sadly. Engaging and powerful Americana, with the highlights Backyard Lover – an absolute epic – and Foolish and Fast.
Best EP of the year
I Like it Like That by Fcukers. Includes two previous singles, Play Me and Bon Bon. All brilliant. Add to them 2024’s Homie Don’t Shake and a few others. Irresistibly funky and fun. First saw them on TV at Glastonbury and they were good. Then saw them live at the Colour Factory in Hackney Wick in November and they were just a pure delight. Takes me back to Deee-Lite and before that the funky Talking Heads sounds. They’re from New York, so that makes sense to me. Alternatively, they are just a great dance/pop band.
Thoughtsfromwestfive 