Here we are again with warofnature.com’s most bestest new albums/EPs of the year. Our ‘top 10’, with an accompanying playlist of around 90 of the finest tunes of 2025.
A quick summary.
Like last year’s ‘best of’, 2025 is also heavy on the heaviness. I got back into metal – black, thrash and otherwise – this year, thanks to Agriculture, Kanine, Deaf Heaven (don’t knock it until you try it!). And there were a slew of great post-rock, noise, and hardcore bands to enjoy including YHWH Nailgun, Chat Pile / Hayden Pedigo, Death Goals / The Hirs Collective, Maruja, Titanic, Taqbir and Ecca Vandal – the latter head and shoulders above the latest hyped up album from Turnstile.
Elsewhere there was the pick of the blissed-out shoegazey stuff that’s getting more and more traction these days as our kids are discovering their parents’ My Bloody Valentine records (DIIV, Amulets / Midwife). I enjoyed simple, loopy and folky releases from Raisa K / Coby Sey, Oklou / Casey MQ, Helena Deland, BRONCHO, Folk Bitch Trio, the small pipes player Brīghde Chaimbeul, and the mesmerising release from Steve Reich (a collaboration with guitarist Alvaro Herrán).
On the electronic front, trip-hop, believe it or not, re-re-emerged in the form of Saffron Bloom. There was quality trancey-techno from Surgeon, Rival Consoles and Clark. A dubtastic slice of class from Azu Tiwaline, this time with Canadian Bushwacka-esque Tim Karbon. Aya’s ‘Hexed’ album, and especially the track ‘I am the pipe I hit myself with’, gets an honorary mention for its Nervous Cop / Lightning Bolt vibe.
And if that’s all a bit too much and you’d like a nice simple slice of pop, you can’t go wrong with ‘Suddenly’ by Brian Eno / Beatie Wolf, which I must have played 100 times this year; the catchy, wonky cowpoke of ‘Talking to myself’ by Julian Cubillos; and ‘Curtain’ by Greg Freeman – a sweet pairing of saloon-bar piano, fuzzy guitar and a swooning vocal.
Oh, and I thought it would be cheating to include Cindy Lee’s awesome ‘Disney Girls’ again, though strictly speaking the UK release was in 2025, not 2024. It would be have been No.1 again, hands down, so if you haven’t already been obsessed, go and listen on Bandcamp now.
If you’d like stick the full 6 hour, 90 song playlist on over xmas and the new year, there’s a link at the bottom of the page. As ever, if you like this stuff, buy it or pay to download it. Making a living as a musician is harder than ever.
10. Anish Kumar / Hagop Tchaparian – Kino
I’m cheating with this one – it’s called an album on their Bandcamp, but it isn’t – however, the two tracks on this EP are exciting enough to make the Top 10. Both artists draw from different cultures, whilst remaining rooted in deft, diverse electronic music. Kumar is known for borrowing from his South Asian influences – Tchaparian for his massive album ‘Bolts’ in 2002. Making 3rd place in our Top 10 that year, ‘Bolts’ blended Armenian field recordings made over 15 years in his father’s land-of-exile, with spacey rhythms, dub and techno. Four Tet signed him – and Kumar was so blown away when we heard it that he got in touch. ‘Kino’ evolved from late night collaboration sessions, back-to-back festival appearances, and playing out at Drumsheds and other raves. The field ambience gently builds through Part I, whilst Part 2, brings basslines, textures and layers that together bear repeated listening.
9. Ecca Vandal – Molly
This South African’s alt-rock blend of Turnstile-esque pop metal has been getting rave reviews including from Louder, who claim her to be a ‘star in the making’. There are all the hooks and riffs of their Baltimore brothers (check out ‘Cruising to Self-Soothe’ and tell me it isn’t better than ‘Birds’), but tons more sass, punk energy and – let’s face it – an upfront female vocal that is refreshing in a world of testosterone. Rock on!
8. Psychedelic Porn Crumpets – Carpe Diem, Moonman
This probably isn’t really Top 10-worthy. But as I expect it hasn’t made any other ‘best of’ lists this year, and you probably haven’t heard of them, and because it’s so totally bonkers and brilliant and addictive, here we are. Meet a Perth sextet who are now over a decade into their psych-rock journey, but deserve to be as well known as fellow Aussies Tame Impala or King Gizzard. The Crumpets rock a lot harder, faster, tighter and freakier. And pack in more humour and damn good tunes than anyone else in the genre. Carpe Diem!
7. Blawan – SickElixir
Having discovered Jamie Roberts aka Blawan’s banging ‘Woke up right handed’ in 2021, I was excited to hear SickElixir, and see him in action in a packed tent at End of the Road. As a comment on BandCamp puts it, Blawan makes “fucked up noises, man” – not least the vocals, which are uncompromising, distorted screeches that make their own metallic instrument. And the techno – jarring, grinding, switching paces and taking corners too fast. This is dance music that keeps you on your toes in more ways that one.
This is the third release in a row featuring animals on the cover – this time freakish parrot/pigeon hybrids that look at first glance like they’ve been caught in the rainbow powder of a Holi festival. ’SickElixir’ makes you feel like one of those strange birds – somewhat mutated, whilst splashed with dazzling colour.
6. Model/Actriz – Pirouette
It’s hard when your first album is so good. Model/Actriz first album, ‘Dogsbody’ was so good, a blend of industrial noise, beats, no wave and raw, often violent, sexual introspection that sold out almost immediately on release. Part of a hard to pin down family that includes fellow industrial noise fans Mandy, Indiana, ‘Pirouette’ builds on previous work with greater clinical efficiency, a healthy dose of pop and more dang groove, . It’s both fun and unsettling simultaneously (“In your eyes I am naked, screaming like a tornado in the dark, I can see us laying face to face, as St Helens is under the stars.”) – even whilst you can’t help move to it.
5. Chat Pile / Hayden Pedigo – In the Earth Again
Occupying more or less the same chart position as last year, this time everyone’s favourite Okie hardcore band, Chat Pile, are collaborating with Texan fingerpickin’ guitarist Heyden Pedigo. Dang, it works. The Pile are complemented by Pedigo’s tranquility, the result being a fusion of seemingly disparate approaches into something much more than the sum of its parts. Slow, tense, layered, and euphoric – imagine having a fader you can sweep: from soft and acoustic at one end, to full-on sludgecore at the other. The ends are great on their own terms, but the blend in the middle is why this album makes our end of year list.
4. Agriculture – The Spiritual Sound
So…’ecstatic black metal’ turns out to be a thing. Who knew? I came across Agriculture a couple of years ago, and they featured in last year’s list with their incredible track: ‘Being Eaten by a Tiger’, which begins with Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billie alt-country before becoming slowly overtaken by sheets of guitar noise. Their second album, ‘The Spiritual Sound’, builds on these diverse skill sets, which have been augmented by tons of that ecstatic stuff. Layers of melodic noise, intricate guitar that never falls into the trap of being a ‘solo’ as such, and the diversity of two – or really three – incredible voices. Dan Meyer, singer and guitarist, does the Bonnie ‘Prince’ stuff – notably on the quiet and beautiful ‘Hallelujah’ (no, not that one), and also has a truly terrifying scream. Two for one, there. And Leah Levinson (bass) has what has to be one of the most impressive female voices in metal – it’s quite a surprise, live, to experience the otherworldliness of her vocal in person.
Their lyrical content is quite different too (when you can make it out): queer history, Zen Buddhism, a sense of standing up to the reality of a present moment in this dark and difficult world. On ‘Flea’, which switches from breakneck snares and cymbals, to a post-rock, bass-led groove, they sing ‘Men like ghosts attached to teeth, the words sting in passing more or less, what’s left to find for you anymore?’.
Standout ‘Bodidharma’ starts with a riff of riffs – something even Sabbath would have been proud to call their own. The lyric deals with Dazu Huike, patriarch of Chan Buddhism, who cut off his arm to prove his worth as Bodidharma’s student. Harnessing gentle reflections, and bursts of melodic noise, the track builds and builds through layers of melodic speed guitar and rhythmic suspense into something truly immense. Transcendent. Ecstatic indeed.
3. YHWH Nailgun – 45 Pounds
45 Pounds is the latest in a string of releases from this New York-based experimental rock lot in the last few years. YHWH Nailgun blew the roof off the tiny basement we saw them at earlier this year – the kind of drum attack that forces you to physically step back from the impact of the very first bar, after which the crowd recovers enough to mosh and stage dive throughout. Singer Zack Borzone could double for Jim Morrison in the next biopic – which, as I can’t stand the leather trousered idiot, was a downside – but the drums (Sam Pickard) are what Nailgun is really about. Tack-sharp polyrhythmic rototoms lead each track, with synth stabs (Jack Tobias), slabs of guitar textures (Saguiv Rosenstock – please let it be Jeff’s son!), and the grunts, growls and screams of Borzone fill the spaces. Try ‘Sickle Walk’, or ‘Castrato Raw (Fullback)’ for starters. You will go back for seconds.
2. Wednesday – Bleeds
North Carolina, Bitch! Their words – and the confident attitude speaks for itself, having hit the indie big time two years ago on ‘Rat Saw God’. Well deserved., following a 7-year career that saw singer and songwriter Karly Hartzman produce four previous records with a range of personnel including guitarist/backup singer MJ Lenderman.
Take the loud/quiet of Throwing Muses and Pixies, Bettie Serveert-esque vocals, MBV glissando, country picking and musically, we’re winning here. Lyrically, there is something even more special – due at least in part to Hartzman being in the midst of a breakup with Lenderman. Apparently the couple didn’t reveal their difficulties to the band during recording, which is bound to have contributed to the obvious tension throughout. A record that, indeed, bleeds. Quick sample: ‘Did you think we’d make it? Can’t budge the water down the broken drain. Firing the wedding band. One day I’ll kill the bitch inside my brain.’ ‘Bleeds’ got an incredible 8.7 score on Pitchfork. Go get it now.
1. Perfume Genius – Glory
According to Spotify ‘roundup’, this was my most played record of the year, and ‘It’s a Mirror’ my most played track. I guess I was surprised at first – I don’t remember going back to it so often. But on reflection, it says something about how much this record grows. How it creeps up on you. The depth and complexity, richness and variety that bears repeated and almost obsessive levels of listening.
We can look at just one track as an example of this: ‘No Front Teeth’. Here, Mike Hadreas’ quavering voice recalls a memory: ‘No front teeth where they all used to go, broken apart and shining, No front teeth but a feeling I know, back where the starting line is.’ A simple hook and a gentle, intriguing, Sufjan-esque start, followed up with the angelic voice of Aldous Harding (yes!) doubled with another several octaves down – ‘Better days, let them touch me, let it take everything that I know.’ Cathedral-sized, reverb-drenched drums crash in with a sliding bassline…and, around four minutes on…fresh, sharp guitars cut in alongside crashing cymbals, and the whole thing lifts into yet another dimension. WOW.
Track after track is exceptional, aided by a masterful production by Blake Mills – a man who has worked with such luminaries as Bob Dylan, Faust and Weyes Blood, and played with groups including Band of Horses and Rufus Wainwright.
‘Dion’ has tympani, echoing organ and guitar feedback complementing the lyric ‘Let the curtain close on Dion, Through a bitter cold, Sang a holy note’. ‘Me and Angel’ is a looping piano-led ballad that could have been penned by McCartney, and has a vulnerability, hope and ‘RIGHT THERE-NESS’ in the production that is spellbinding. Little ‘ums’ and clicks of the tongue are left in to conjure the singer even closer into your headphones.
This album is an altogether religious experience. Glory be.
warofnature 