#2: 6 big albums for me in 2025
big songs for a big year....
music listening for me has been a wild ride for the last 5 years. the level of daily music consumption i reached before college was astonishing. after 2020 in which 90 percent of my daily listening habits was just obsessively running deerhunter records everyday i sort of took a hiatus from my constant onslaught music for a bit. however i can say unequivocally that 2025 has been the biggest year for me listening to music in this post-collegiate life of mine. here's a few albums that have helped to define my year.
1. u.s. maple - talker
this is probably the most excited i have been about discovering a band since i was in high school. though it seems like u.s. maple is getting their flowers now more than ever (awesome vinyl represses this year from drag city), this is not a band you see talked about online nearly enough.
more and more the thing that gets me the most excited about bands is when they are able to create a voice so unique that they are unimitable even when influenced by familiar reference points. u.s. maple is certainly one of these bands; their microtonal-manic-guitar freakouts as singular as the modified instruments playing them, a "rhythm section" that maintains obsessively mechanical repitition of grooves that are continuously surprising and endlessly satisfying. though this is certainly complicated music, it never pats itself on the back for its cleverness, it feels these are such urgent and primal forces the band needs to get them out.
the emotionality behind these songs is really what does it for me, every song plays like a miniature film where the audience just *needs* to know what happens next, from the last-breath swagger of bumps and guys, to the unstable tenderness of running from kabob, to the pure fist-swinging venom of go to bruises, each song has such a distinctness that it feels they exist as separate worlds. their use of negative space on tracks like more horror or stupid deep indoors is exemplary of the chokehold they hold over the discerning listener. ending the album on a run of increasingly more dissociative tracks before the shockingly poignant and haunting final refrain of so long bonus, there's no mistaking this band as being a post-freak scene jammy homage, they're fully in control of their collective menace.
2025 i have been consumed with the power of the unknown rock band, the idea of pulling up to a show and seeing 4 guys get on stage with a set of the same 4 instruments you've heard your entire life, and yet until they strike their first chord, anything could come out of them. i refuse to believe u.s. maple ever faced an audience that was not truly astonished with what they were able to conjure from this form. (for better or worse!)
2. women - public strain
not a new one for me at all, and thankfully a record that seems to be growing rapidly in appreciation as time goes on. reasons for loving this album are very similar to why i love talker, it has that same lack of headiness re: the complexity, cinematic and surprising song structures, cold, dark, 3-D tape textures, but somehow married with a pop sensibility that is nearly unmatched in post punk.
pat flegel is one of my all time greats, and continuously climbs the ranks as a musical inspiration the more i familiarize myself with their work. i have never had an album really instill in me a desire to get better at guitar in the way that public strain does. so much of the "impressive" technical guitar music that was fed to me as a kid failed to resonate for me as it felt that the music existed only as a vehicle to flaunt the technicality of the player. women and further cindy lee subverts this in such an incredible way, where the technical prowess of the musicians only allows for their musical ideas to take a more exciting form. the beautiful arpeggios of locust valley, the freakish time signatures and syncopation of heat distraction and drag open, the seamless modulation of eyesore demonstrate this level of command over your instrument just opens the door to create even more enveloping and emotional songs.
all that being said im nowhere close to this level yet, probably will never. but damn if this record doesn't make me wanna try!
3. wiring - like a porcelain lamb
sort of cheating to talk about this because i produced this album and have probably listened to this more than any other human but it's my list!!!
connor is one of the most dedicated and inspiring musicians i have had the pleasure to meet and being able to make this record with him was such a privilege. hearing a diy artist that is so unafraid to buck trends, go beyond just being a fun live act and make something truly considered and artful is just what it's all about. it takes a truly confident creative to allow people into their process and add their own unique voice to create something that would only be achieved through a meeting of mind and this is the thing i most appreciate about wiring. though connor has a strong vision and is certainly the leading voice in the direction of the music, he allows his bandmates to take these songs to such incredible places. whether it's mikey's ripping drum crescendo on porcelain lamb, kevin's beautiful string arrangements, or moses's effortlessly creative bass lines, it's immensely clear that this is not just a glorified solo project but a tried and true band (a rare thing nowadays!)
this of course extended into the production. though we certainly went back and forth a *lot* on the mixes* connor really trusted me to do my thing and craft a sonic palette that suited these songs. i'm super proud of what we were able to achieve, especially with our very, very limited budget.
if you haven't heard this record do it now. well worth your time. certainly a defining achievement of my life thus far, feels like the first *real* record i got to work on. heres to 100 more!!
4. captain beefheart - trout mask replica
ok i won't spend too much time on this one because everyone who's anyone has written everything there is to say about this record but god. every time i listen to it it's just this unbelievable feeling of excitement, i just want to start punching the air. like yes, somebody figured it out, they made something this beautiful, this real, this dedicated and important, and they did it before the beatles broke up, it just feels too good to be true, like it's a fever dream and one day i'll wake up and it'll be gone.
the way these freaks realize these songs is just pure magic, i really don't think there's any music i've ever heard that is this deeply satisfying. it's a testament to human willpower that 5 people were able to get together and grind out these fucking songs. and even further, that beefheart could be such a compelling lyricist and vocalist to further justify the insanity of these compositions. from the most frantic and frenzied of frownland and dachau blues to the more traditionally beautiful songs like sweet sweet bulbs, sugar n' spikes, & steal softly thru snow, it's lightning in a bottle like no other. shockingly emotional moments throughout with my human gets me blues, big joan, & all the spoken words, these guys were just on some other shit.
i'd seriously pay a lot of money to hear this album again the way i heard it for the first time. to say i didn't get it would be such an understatement. but truly every time i listen through i just like it more and it's really exciting to add another album to my life that will grow along with me.
5. tegan and sara - the con
if i'm being for real this was originally gonna be a 5 album list but then i realized i forgot about this one and it played such a huge part in my year that i had to add one more.
there's something to be said for the "band with one clear standout album"; i'm sure a band or artist pops into your head immediately when saying that. often it's a debut record that the band could never quite recapture the magic of, or a final pull-out-all-the-stops effort in which the band finally achieves the mission. most interesting to me is like that of the con, a mid-career record that is such a perfect storm and single handedly carries an artist as an all-time great in their roadhouse.
to say the con came out of complete nowhere is a bit disingenuous, tegan and sara's previous album so jealous is by far their strongest effort up to that point, the songs are starting to become more mature, the production is a big step up, but putting that album and the con side by side it is astonishing the level of growth between these two records. so jealous almost feels like a prototype, they've got the basic elements of a good tegan and sara song figured out, and when it lands its fucking awesome, but their hit rate is still a bit wishy-washy. on the con though, hit rate isn't even a part of the conversation, literally every track from front to back is incredible. it's honestly mind blowing, just when you think a song might be a weaker cut, it's like they will materialize a perfect hook out of complete nowhere that makes so much sense when you hear it but never would have occurred to us mere mortals.
take for example a track like burn your life down, possibly my favorite on the record (big question mark, it's constantly changing ). the song begins with a catchy enough verse melody that resolves into the descending repetition of the song title, almost serving as a fake out hook. you hear it and you're like "cool, nice, that's a good chorus" and then it's like BAM out of nowhere the real hook reveals itself and you realize we're not in amateur hour anymore. the variety of moods and sonic palettes on here are insane, from power pop banger hop a plane, the hypnotic call-and-response of are you ten years ago, and of course the platonic-ideal indie rock showstopper title track, they are able to tie in all of these sounds and ideas under their trademark dueling voices.
emotionally it's a heavy one, the turbulence in the sisters' personal lives is just under the surface through such a poignant, refined angst. lyrics dealing with current and past traumas, relationship troubles and unrequited love, delivered with such confidence, underscored with off-kilter grooves and frantic maximalist production. it's a record that really feels like a once in a lifetime chance, a perfect convergence of talent, personal circumstance, and aesthetic movement that just begs to be studied. seriously some of the smartest pop music i've heard, & has really been inspiring me to take chances and not be afraid to wear my heart proudly on my sleeve. the album they put out right after this one is also quite good but it really doesnt prepare and unfortunately their later work just does not scratch the same itch. oh well, can't be greedy!
p.s. when the fuck is this album gonna get reappraised??? seriously!!
6. smithsonian folkways anthology of american folk music
closing it out with my most recent obsession. there is such an undeniable power of the song, the real song, the song that requires no more than a voice and guitar (optional) to really shine. however it is easy to get in your head about this and really overcomplicate what it takes to make a great song, especially when the majority of your peer group are musicians!
learning the ins and outs of the anthology has been a much-needed reminder that this shit really isn't that deep. not every song needs to be a reinvention, great music isn't about how many section changes you can fit in or what time signatures you can groove on or, god forbid, your *tone*. great music is from your soul, it is when someone truly embeds themself in this beauty of taming sound. there are probably less than 4 key signatures on this whole compilation, most of the songs have the exact same chords and it should by all means get old quick. and sure at first it got me in that way. but the further you listen, the I-IV drones fall away, the twelve-bar blues is nothing but a loose decoration for these people to bear their hearts to the world.
the personality of these musicians is just overwhelming, each and every artist featured feels so distinct even when playing songs so old we don't even know who wrote them. it really isn't about what they're playing, it's how they're playing, what they have to say, the warble of the tape, haunting baritones almost unintelligable through surface noise, and a shared urgency, an unspoken, unconsidered connection threading all these songs together.
we listened to this whole record a lot on our last tour and it constantly pops into my mind. certainly one of the most powerful artistic experiences of my life. the sequencing is just masterful, it really takes you on a journey and by the time it ends you almost wish it kept going. choosing to end the album on fishing blues, a song so unconcerned with many of the darker topics found on this record is beyond brilliant. a bittersweet ending is something that will forever and ever get me right in the heart and i can't think of a better way this could have wrapped up. both optimistic and dwindling, it feels like a window shut to open the door for the last 80 years of popular music. i'm gonna catch me a catfish too
so many of these songs have become inside jokes among my friends. i guarantee there will be at least one song or lyric haunting your mind for a long while after you listen to this. the biggest takeaway for me is really don't overthink it. you don't have to reinvent music; it's already there waiting for you. it's your life every day. listen to yourself and listen to everyone but more importantly listen to yourself. you have a lot to say!
honorable mentions
these are records that were also big for me this year, but not as pressing for me to write about at this time
taxidermists - 20247
lucy - the music industry is poisonous
horsegirl - phonetics on and on
geto boys - we can't be stopped
iceage - plowing into the fields of love
michael jackson - HIStory
unwound - leaves turn inside you
attic abasement - dancing is depressing
guided by voices - alien lanes
playboi carti - MUSIC
liz phair - exile in guyville