Picks for 2025

A round-up of my favourite releases of the year.

I believe 2025 was the best year for music that I can remember in a very long time. In fact, 2025 was so good that I’d say my top six albums all had a fighting chance to be #1. To give you a comparison, when I made my picks for 2024, there was only one album that felt worthy of the honour. But before I get to the lists, I thought I’d share a few brief observations about my music consumption this year.

• I actually predicted what my favourite album of 2025 would be back in January when I first received an advance of it. Somehow it never changed, 11 months later.

• The same can kinda be said for my favourite track of 2025. Once it dropped in April, I had it on repeat for the rest of the year.

• I still can’t believe Whirr came back and released Raw Blue on Christmas Day 2024. Because it came so late in the year I decided to include it on my list… especially since they “re-released” with two bonus tracks in March. Watching them come back, or even better, watching their ever-growing fan base watch them come back was a lot of fun.

• After scoring tickets for my daughter and I to see Deftones in September, I became obsessed with them in 2025. (Even at a pop-up stadium on a decomissioned airport runway that held 50,000 people it was still an awesome experience.) I couldn’t get enough of private music, which contributed to them being my most listened to band of the year - much to my wife’s disdain.

• I decided to skip a top concerts list this year, but here are a few notable ones I saw: Deftones/Wisp at Rogers Stadium, Oasis at Rogers Stadium, TAGABOW at The Garrison, Wednesday/9Million at The Concert Hall, and Whirr/Nothing at The Danforth Music Hall.

• My taste in music has essentially become 50% - shoegaze/dream pop, 20% - K-pop, 20% - music from the ‘90s, 5% - indie rock, and 5% - miscellaneous. I have left room for almost nothing else.

Albums

30. Wisp If Not Winter

I know the shoegaze community either loves Wisp or laughs at Wisp because she relies on others to co-write and produce the music, but I’ve never had a problem with that when it comes to commercial pop music. And that’s how I see Wisp, as a pop artist. Her debut album, If Not Winter, doesn’t quite top last year’s EP, Pandora, but Natalie R. Lu still makes beguilingly gauzy shoegaze-pop that can really fill a pair of headphones - especially a song like “Black swan,” which was co-written/co-produced by Kraus, one of the great, underrated shoegazers.

29. Sorry Girls Dreamwalker

I’m not sure if Sorry Girls would want to hear this, but I am such a huge fan of how they haven’t really changed much since 2016’s debut, Awesome Secrets Sure, Heather Foster Kirkpatrick and Dylan Konrad Obront made Dreamwalker sound like it cost a million bucks to produce, but they haven’t messed too much with their formula of making songs that resemble the greatest ‘80s pop ballads. While 2019’s Deborah might be an impossible album to top, Dreamwalker is another extraordinary set of yearning, retro pop songs. I’d be happy if they just keep making album after album of this stuff forever.

28. Horsegirl Phonetics On and On

Versions of Modern Performance by Chicago’s Horsegirl was one of 2022’s best albums, so I was definitely anticipating what they’d do next. Choosing Cate LeBon, one of the more exciting musicians and producers in the world, seemed like both a perfect and a curious fit for the trio. While I wasn’t fully expecting them to (mostly) abandon their throwback to noisy, ‘90s indie rock, I was pleasantly surprised to hear them pivot on Phonetics On and On to a more minimal set-up, recalling the likes of art-rock gods like Young Marble Giants and The Raincoats. It’s cool.

27. Glare Sunset Funeral

Just months before the release of Sunset Funeral, Glare vocalist/guitarist Christian “Rez” Resendez was abruptly dismissed from the band following allegations of abuse. Rez’s voice is all over the album, which picks up where their cult-following-building EPs left off. I don’t think anyone would ever argue that Glare make original music of any kind, but they excel at paying homage to obvious heroes like Whirr and Nothing with their combination of melody and punishingly loud riffs. Like its name implies, Sunset Funeral is a stunningly somber display of today’s shoegaze.

26. Bleary Eyed Easy

I wasn’t exactly anticipating the new Bleary Eyed album because their previous music leaned too much into - as they call it - “sample-heavy hazey computer pop.” But with their third album, Easy, the Philly-based four-piece committed to tightening up their sound to fit more into what I consider pure shoegaze. I hear a lot of MBV-isms, even as soon as the opener “Susan,” which features a drum loop and a wall of symphonic noise à la “Soon.” But then they shoehorn the alluring ballad “Everything Everything” into the closing portion, blending finger-picked acoustic guitars with ambient noise. And they don’t shy away from blowing the doors wide open with scorching guitar rock on “Smile.” There’s a little bit of everything on Easy, but never do they lose their sights on keeping it coherent.

25. nabeel (نبيل) ghayoom - غيوم

One of the most exciting finds of 2025 was the work of Iraqi-born, Virginia-based Yasir Nabeel Razak. I can honestly count the amount of Arabic language musicians I listen to on one hand, but under the moniker of nabeel (نبيل), this high school teacher creates the most ecstatically fuzzed out indie rock I’ve heard in ages. He’s quite poetic about his love for distortion too, which is pretty charming. Touching on everything from slowcore and grunge to power pop and, yes, even shoegaze, ghayoom (غيوم) masks its emotion and vulnerability behind laidback vibes. Essentially, it’s just hits from top to bottom. Iraqi indie 4 all.

24. Ex-Vöid In Love Again

The first of two releases for Welsh singer-songwriter Owen Williams this year, Ex-Vöid’s second album proved to be their swan song as the band called it a day in October. It’s a damn shame too because Ex-Vöid kept alive the spirit of Joanna Gruesome, the beloved, scrappy noise-pop outfit Williams founded with bandmate Lan McArdle. On In Love Again, the two share stories of heartbreak through their duets, which complement the buoyantly buzzsawn and jangly indie-pop. They will be missed.

23. thistle. it’s nice to see you, stranger

The first of two compilations I have included as albums, thistle.’s it’s nice to see you, stranger was packaged with five earlier tracks for its physical release, so I’m gonna count it. These young noisemongers from Northampton, England do the ‘90s alt-rock x shoegaze thing better than just about any band that wasn’t alive for either of those movements. In our interview from back in July, they sure seemed to express love for Nirvana, and sure, I guess I can hear it in their tight, punchy rhythms, winding bass riffs and squealing distorted guitars. Whereas so many other bands are combining grunge and shoegaze influences, thistle. just seem to do it better by making everything sound big, fresh, and unbridled as hell.

22. Just Mustard We Were Just Here

I enjoyed Just Mustard’s second album, Heart Under, but I felt their dream pop was a bit too frigid with its near-industrial and post-punk leanings. So I can’t say I was anticipating We Were Just Here, but I really should have been. On their third album, the Irish band have dialled back the angular, spiky post-punk and gone almost fully shoegaze. At times, the ear-bleeding guitar experiments recall the abusive noise that Medicine’s Brad Laner assaulted ears with in the ‘90s (see “ENDLESS DEATHLESS”). The undulating title track, which sounds a bit like Chvrches to me, proves they can even tap into that harshness to make a convincing radio-friendly single. It’s no wonder this euphorically dour band have recently become tour-mates of The Cure.

21. Sharp Pins Radio DDR

I suppose it’s no secret that Sharp Pins (aka Kai Slater) is a lover of ‘60s psych and baroque pop music. And while that’s pretty obvious, it’s not how I choose to listen to his second album, Radio DDR. Personally, I prefer to think of Slater as a kid who grew up listening to lo-fi weirdos like Bob Pollard, Dan Treacy and Martin Newell, and trying to follow their DIY blueprints. It’s been a busy year for the 21-year-old, who also released a new album on Matador with his post-punk outfit Lifeguard, just months after he dropped Radio DDR. (He also publishes a “Chicago youth zine” called Hallogallo.) In November, he turned around and put out another Sharp Pins album called Balloon Balloon Balloon. But the best thing he did in 2025 was Radio DDR (an expanded edition issued by K Recs), a non-stop 4-track parade of delicious retro nuggets. I’m excited and curious to see just how long he can keep this King Gizzard-esque pace going.

20. Saint Etienne International

I never gave any thought to Saint Etienne ever calling it a day. You listen to a band for 30 years and you just assume if they’re all still alive they would just keep going until they croak. But I understand the decision. International thrilled me as soon as I heard the plucky, dance-floor filler “Glad.” The fact that it was co-written and produced with old friend Tom Rowlands of The Chemical Brothers made it even more of a thrill. But they didn’t stop there, also inviting Tim Powell (Xenomania), Erol Alkan, Paul Hartnoll (Orbital) and Vince Clarke (Erasure) for one emphatic farewell party. I always seem to enjoy Saint Etienne releases for the changes they make from one to the next, but I can honestly say that International is the most satisfying and emblematic record they’ve put out in years. And that’s saying something for an artist that never put out a legit dud in 35 years.

19. Winter Adult Romantix

Like I said in my feature on Samira Winter back in August, her fifth album, Adult Romantix, does shoegaze-pop better than just about any other out there. I’ve had dreams about an album this good at marrying such a strong ear for pretty melodies with heavy, swirling guitars. I might never hear an album that does it better, and that’s fine, because Winter came pretty damn close to perfecting it.

18. Pulp More

Pulp owed another album to their fans after bowing out in the early ‘00s and leaving us with the underwhelming We Love Life. While More doesn’t have the razzmatazz of His N Hers, Different Class or even This Is Hardcore, Pulp have given us more than what we could have asked for from these elderly pop misfits. Good old Jarvis sounds right at home documenting what life is like in his 60s. The wit, charm and provocative whispers are still as sharp as ever, while his bandmates still know how to light up a discotheque floor. If this ends up being their finale, well thank god they gave us More than We Love Life.

17. PinkPantheress Fancy That

I find the way PinkPantheress respects and repurposes retro UK club music to be fresh and inventive, while her ability to craft a hooky, commercial pop song is some real admirable shit. There weren’t many better songs in 2025 than “Girl Like Me” and “Illegal,” which straight up jacks Basement Jaxx’s “Romeo” and Underworld’s “Dark & Long (Dark Train),” respectively. And there are even more bangers to this 20-minute-long mixtape. Oh and then she didn’t stop there, putting together a double remix album filled with guest spots by Kylie, Oklou, SEVENTEEN, Groove Armada, Kaytranada, Sugababes, and even Basement Jaxx themselves.

16. High. Come Back Down

The worst interview I conducted this year was with the band that made my favourite EP of the year. Thankfully, the band’s label Kanine saw the sense in combining it with their 2023 self-titled EP to make Come Back Down album’s length. High. don’t exactly reinvent the wheel with their so-called noisegaze. But there’s something to this group of bored, pissed off Jersey kids that I find so damn endearing. I could describe them best as Glare disciples, but High. write better hooks, drown them in a layer of static hiss, and really allow singer Christian Castan’s impish whine to give the songs a menacing air to them. If shoegaze needs its bad apple, High. are ripe for the picking.

15. Prism Shores Out From Underneath

There were a lot of great discoveries in 2025, but none better than Montreal’s Prism Shores. I knew the name from their first album, but I nearly fell over after hearing their sophomore album, Out From Underneath. This fantastic band just hit all of the right spots for me with their delightful indie pop, bringing to mind so many old favourites of mine, namely Teenage Fanclub, The Pains of Being Pure at Heart, early Ride and a few different Captured Tracks bands of the 2010s vintage.

14. The Tubs Cotton Crown

I found myself going back and forth between Owen Williams’ two releases quite a bit this year with Ex-Vöid (see above) and his other band The Tubs. And while I’ll admit I struggled at first to fully embrace the folky, pub rock of Cotton Crown, once I “got it” I couldn’t stop listening to it. The discussion I had with Williams was one of my favourites this year; it gave more context to his black comedic lyrics, and answered any hang-ups I had about a possible Celtic influence. Seeing them open for The Wedding Present and play the majority of these songs was also a real gas.

13. 9Million 9Million

I caught Toronto’s 9Million opening up for Hotline TNT at the end of 2023 and was impressed, but it wasn’t until their self-titled album came out that I truly appreciated them as the city’s premier shoegazers. Part of what I like about 9Million is how it doesn’t just rest its laurels on ‘gazing. “Shine On,” for example, throws back to the parallel era of the baggy sound, with its springy rhythm, I couldn’t help wonder if live they invite their own Bez on stage to dance for it. And “When The Kissing Had To Stop” is just a whimsical tune, one that shows off just how formidable they are as a rock band. Seeing them open for Wednesday last month demonstrated just how much they’ve grown as a live band since the first time I caught them.

12. Sword II Electric Hour

Atlanta’s Sword II are a good example of a younger, newer band that’s been slapped with the “shoegaze” tag, despite not even using it themselves (or at least not on their Bandcamp page). But like their excellent debut album, 2023’s Spirit World Tour, Electric Hour is just the sort of creative pursuit I’d rather see associated than just loud rock bands. I respect the political angle they’ve taken with this album, because obviously fuck the Republicans and fuck ICE. But I can’t help but feel there is a rapturous glow to songs like “Sugarcane,” “Halogen” and one of the best songs I heard all year, “Even if it’s Just a Dream,” which just makes me melt whenever I hear it.

11. Mozart Estate Tower Block in a Jam Jar

I’m a total sucker for everything Lawrence puts out. The weirder, the better imo. He’s one of music’s greatest outsiders, and for decades now has believed that his music is for the charts, despite abject failure time and time again. I must have listened to Tower Block in a Jam Jar a dozen times before I learned it was a re-recording of Tearing Up the Album Chart, an album of demos he released on CD in 2005 under his previous moniker Go-Kart Mozart. Tower Block in a Jam Jar, which had the working title of Renovating The Album Charts, was designed as an entry point for newbies to Lawrence, to capitalize on last year’s best-selling biography, Street-Level Superstar. While one could argue that his songs - a mix of glam, synth-pop, punk and muzak - sound as if they were constructed with the cheapest of charity shop gear, the man has a singular vision that he consistently sticks with: catchy hooks with the funniest-saddest lyrics. Look no further than the obscenely repetitive “On a Building Site,” a wonderfully inane theme song that should have been pitched to Bob the Builder producers back in ‘05. But that’s Lawrence for you: he’s always missed his shot, but refuses to change. God bless him.

10. Cate Le Bon Michelangelo Dying

When Cate Le Bon releases an album it’s an automatic lock to crack my top ten of the year. She is just that reliable. That she’s also become one of the most exciting producers in music over the past few years (Deerhunter! Horsegirl! Dry Cleaning!) speaks to her Midas touch. One thing I did not have on my bingo card this year, however, is the Welsh wonder channelling one of my all-time favourite bands for her seventh solo LP. But yup, I hear Cocteau Twins throughout Michelangelo Dying. It’s not parody or even homage, but everything: the twinkling, crystalline guitars, the fluttering arrangements and even at times, her falsetto bordering on Liz Fraser-like airy textures. I am in awe.

9. total wife come back down

One of the most common criticisms I have about current shoegaze is just how easy it is for a band to join the club. What was once just loud alt-rock is now somehow part of the canon. Well, Nashville’s total wife are at the other end of the spectrum, where one might argue they’re more “adjacent” because they’re trying so many different things, all at once. Their Bandcamp page lists eight genres descriptors to help explain their sound, and yet, it feels like there’s even more to it than that. But I’d say they’re not only shoegaze, but one of the best to currently do it. The duo’s latest album, come back down, starts off sounding like a Mogwai song, only to move on to Loveless worship, noise, techno and jungle experiments, something off Medicine’s Her Highness, and just some good straightforward ‘gazing.

8. Greet Death Die In Love

I don’t think it’s out of place to say that Greet Death have always been fairly extreme purveyors of doom and gloom. Die In Love, their third album and first full-length in six years, finds the Davisburg, MI band documenting significant losses and changes in their lives, like deaths in the family and just about all of the horrible shit happening in the world right now. But this time around, they’ve mastered the art of balancing deeply dark and personal lyrics with music that is both heavy and sublime. This album feels like a major step forward for Greet Death; never would I have expected a song influenced by The Sundays to actually resemble The Sundays (“Emptiness is Everywhere”) or a song so bluntly titled “Motherfucker” being so exquisitely sad and delicate.

7. Stereolab Instant Holograms on Metal Film

Even though Stereolab - one of my all-time favourite bands - continued to tour after reuniting in 2019, I wasn’t ever betting on them to put out another new record. But I couldn’t have been happier with Instant Holograms on Metal Film. It’s funny, for a band that hadn’t released new music in 15 years, and always seemed to evolve their music from release to release, Stereolab’s 11th studio album sounded pretty close to what I had imagined in my head. Even 35 years after forming, they’re still creating music that is fresh, innovative, and full of curious collaboration.

6. Wednesday Bleeds

Bleeds may or may not be a break-up album but who really cares? Karly Hartzman is a brilliant songwriter with the ability to move from lap and pedal steel guitars to roaring blasts of distortion whenever she wants and just own it. In doing so, she unknowingly helped usher in something called “countrygaze,” although I don’t exactly file Wednesday’s music under shoegaze. While I haven’t been listening to too much country these days, what I love so much about Bleeds though is the more country-leaning side of Hartzman’s songs. Sure, “Pick Up That Knife” offers the best of both worlds, but man, oh man, I’ll never get tired of those twangier tunes like “Elderberry Wine” and “Phish Pepsi,” which are what makes Bleeds and Wednesday really, unique and special.

5. They Are Gutting A Body of Water LOTTO

TAGABOW brought the heavy with them on LOTTO. And yet, with their first album in three years, the Philly band has gone and made a statement album, one without all of “the plugins, the pedals, the vocal effects,” according to TAGABOW’s founder Doug Dulgarian. Instead, he “just wanted to make a fucking record where the riffs really get stuck in your head.” I cannot tell a lie: that was music to my ears. While they may have ditched a lot of that “N64 stuff,” LOTTO is a massive record that demonstrates what this band can do when they just fucking play loud.

4. Hotline TNT Raspberry Moon

Hotline TNT’s second album, Cartwheel, was my favourite album of 2023. I’ve been a fan of Will Anderson since his days in Weed, but that album was transformative and hit me at the perfect time. Now he’s assembled a full-time, permanent band and I didn’t think they’d better Cartwheel. But to my surprise, Raspberry Moon succeeds in doing such a thing. I’m not sure if it has to do with Anderson having a supporting cast or what, but I find everything, from the less dingy production to the songwriting - shoutout to him for writing “Lawnmower,” the softest, quietest, prettiest TNT song to date - just makes this band sound fuller, bigger and better.

3. Whirr Raw Blue (Deluxe Edition)

Considering Whirr have become one of the biggest acts in shoegaze, returning from exile made a lot of sense. The countless new fans were constantly asking for it, but Raw Blue wasn’t just a return, it ended up being their best album imo. As much as I enjoy their back catalogue, those earlier albums didn’t quite have such devastating bangers like “Collect Sadness,” “Crush Tones” and “Days I Wanna Fade Away,” all of which acted as ear worms in my head on many occasions throughout this year. I only hope the insane demand to see them live and buy their merch convinced them to keep going.

2. Deftones private music

I’ve always had trouble trying to name what I think is Deftones’ best album (Diamond Eyes? White Pony? Koi No Yokan?), but once I heard private music, it didn’t take long for me to decide that it is now my favourite Deftones album. As someone who doesn’t prefer the band’s nü-metal-era, private music just feels like an album made for someone like me, who views them as a heavy, melodic rock band. I don’t know how much attention the band has paid to their involvement in the history of shoegaze, but this album sure feels like they were listening. I wouldn’t straight up classify it as shoegaze, but private music leans more into that “side” of their sound. Maybe it’s just a band full of dudes in their 50s taking it a bit easy, but there are so many huge anthems on this album, it’s pretty easy to argue that it could be their best.

1. Cloakroom Last Leg of the Human Table

Simply put, Cloakroom made the exact album I wanted from them: still heavy af in places, but a huge leap forward sonically, texturally and melodically. Last Leg of the Human Table expands on the template they built with 2022’s Dissolution Wave with songs that exhibit vulnerability and confusion, wrapped in the unlikeliest of pop hooks and scorching drones of fuzz-blasted noise. “Unbelonging,” “Bad Larry,” “Story of the Egg,” “Ester Wind” - there is no shortage of grade A shoe-doom-grunge-gaze belters. Whatever Cloakroom does next is automatically the album I wanna hear more than any other.

Reissues

5. Suede Sci-Fi Lullabies Vol. 2

I would argue that Suede are the best band of their generation when it comes to B-sides. At the very least, they are the best at making their B-sides available. Sci-Fi Lullabies Vol. 2 was very casually dropped as an exclusive vinyl release for Record Store Day 2025, followed by a streaming release. A sequel to the now classic 1997 comp Sci-Fi Lullabies, this 19-track companion collects the majority of their B-sides from 1999’s Head Music to 2022’s excellent Autofiction. Suede had a generous year, also putting out a new album, Antidepressants, but truth be told, this comp earned more of my attention.

4. Seefeel Quique / Pure, Impure (2025 Remaster)

I’m not sure I needed all of the extra remixes and dub versions that came with these Seefeel reissues, but is it ever nice having remasters of them, and a proper, expanded release of Pure, Impure - something I’ve wanted to own for a very long time. Quique, one of the greatest albums of the 1990s and a trailblazing moment from the original shoegaze scene, sounds as amazing as ever. But more importantly, this all felt like an opportunity to flash some bright lights on one of the most innovative and perhaps underrated electronic acts of their time.

3. The Hardship Post 1992 - 1994

Once again, Jay Ferguson and Chris Murphy of Sloan pulled out all the stops and opened the murderecords vault to give us a comprehensive collection of highly desired music from St. John’s, Newfoundland’s greatest band ever, (The) Hardship Post. The double vinyl set included the Mood Ring cassette, the Hack EP, all of the early 7” singles and some unreleased tracks on vinyl for the first time - basically everything but their one and only LP, Somebody Spoke. Unfortunately, none of this has yet to get a digital release, but all in good time I hope.

2. Unrest Perfect Teeth (30th Anniversary Edition)

One of the greatest indie pop albums of all time got a long overdue edition and remaster with a bonus LP called Extra Teeth featuring EP tracks, singles and rarities, including one of my favs “Isabel.” It’s always nice to have everything in one place, and this 30th Anniversary edition feels like Unrest definitely had their fans in mind.

1. lovesliescrushing bloweyelashwish. redux

Numero Group has been doing the lord’s work over the past few years, first bringing back Duster and Codeine from the dead, boxing up The American Analog Set catalogue, and giving us much-needed reissues for both Ozean and Majesty Crush. In giving us a reissue of lovesliescrushing’s ethereal noise masterpiece, bloweyelashwish, well, they’ve just outdone themselves. The expanded, redux version includes five bonus tracks, along with a bonus 7” to those who bought it early. I never expected to ever physically own this album in my lifetime, but their vinyl edition is simply godlike. We are not worthy.

Tracks

30. RESCENE “GLOW UP”

I know absolutely zilch about RESCENE other than that they made their debut just last year. But in 2025 they dropped a couple of EPs this year that really filled the void I’ve felt since NewJeans were banned from doing anything by their label. “Glow Up” - a favourite term of the genre - is an effervescent bop that has a lot of fun with its chorus. It’s just the kind of bubblegum K-pop I can’t get enough of.

29. Maria Somerville “Garden”

I quite liked Maria Somerville’s Luster and it’s drone-y, expansive blend of ambient and dream pop. It’s what I would call good focus or background music. In fact, I put it on a few times to tranquilize myself while dozing on the subway. “Garden” is the pulsing heart of the album, a divinely gothic take on dream pop that summons the spirits of Grouper’s Liz Harris and Faith-era The Cure.

28. no na “the one”

I’m as new to I-pop as no na is to the world, but this one song has convinced me that I’m gonna have to dive deep into Indonesia’s music scene to learn more about it. This all-Indonesian girl group only have a few songs to their name, but with some help from 88rising, they’re really sparking an unabashedly, pure throwback pop sound. Their most recent single “the one” is so deliciously and meticulously ‘80s: breathy, yearning vocals, skittering drum pad rhythms, sensual saxophone, and lush synths. It’s glittery, sparkling and seductive.

27. Dry Cleaning “Hit My Head All Day”

Dry Cleaning’s debut album New Long Leg was my favourite album of 2021, and its follow-up Stumpwork was excellent too. With “Hit My Head All Day” these Brits continue to impress me by teaming up with the awesome Cate Le Bon as producer. The slow, steady rhythm, the galvanizing electric guitar, Florence Shaw’s anesthetized vocals - it sounds so 1980s, so experimental, yet not too far out to imagine on the radio.

26. 9Million “When The Kissing Had To Stop”

9Million’s self-titled album had plenty of highlights but for me it was this dizzying storm of shoegaze that gets a real boost from the female/male duetting. Where the guitars experience riff rage at the two-minute mark just goes to show that there is room for soloing in this genre. It’s a great example of the beautiful chaos this band can conjure: a breakneck blizzard of whirling guitar noise, tempo shifts and celestial duetting.

25. Luster “Sunday”

L.A.’s Luster are one of the best shoegaze bands around at the moment - that few people talk about, mind you - trying to preserve the original sound. One of two singles out this year, the awe-inspiring “Sunday” pays equal homage to both Kevin Shields and Justin K. Broadrick with its punishingly heavy, pounding noise riding the glider hard.

24. IVE “DARE ME”

IVE were definitely a new find for me in 2025, but I quickly got hooked on their bubblegummy K-pop. “DARE ME” didn’t appear to be a single, but I have no idea what their label was thinking. “DARE ME” is a sugary-sweet, cutesy earworm that really channels the ‘90s with its verse structure and all the pop-rock guitar riffs that really give it some punch.

23. Nothing “cannibal world”

It was beginning to feel like Nothing might never follow-up 2020’s The Great Dismal. “cannibal world,'‘ the first single from next year’s a short history of decay, finds Nicky and the gang joining in on the fun by blending their trusted heavy shoegaze sound with the drum & bass rhythms that have become more frequently used. I dig it and hope there’s more to come on the LP.

22. Asian Glow “Camel8strike”

I haven’t yet found the perfect union of K-pop and shoegaze yet, but South Korea has a pretty healthy shoegaze scene, so maybe at some point I will. One shoe gazer making a name for themselves is Shin Gyeongwon, aka Asian Glow, who has collaborated with the scene’s biggest star, Parannoul, and makes what The Fader calls “post-shoegaze.” Asian Glow kicked off January with the album 11100011, a well-rounded album that featured a secret weapon called “Camel8strike,” a frolicsome blast of shoegaze harmonics and big beat electronica.

21. The Lemonheads “Deep End”

I was kinda shocked at how much I enjoyed the new Lemonheads album, Love Chant. Evan Dando has been a bit of a hero to me since my high school years, but I had given up hope of him ever putting out another record I’d care about. And while the album can’t quite recapture the glory of his ‘90s heyday, “Deep End” sure came close. Featuring the likes of Dando’s pals and past collaborators J Mascis, Juliana Hatfield, and Tom Morgan, “Deep End” is a whimsical rock song with a peppy, hard-hitting drumbeat, a classic Mascis solo and one of the better melodies the one true Lemonhead has come up with in donkey’s years.

20. Young Fathers “Lowly”

28 Years Later proved to be a much more divisive film than I expected, but I totally loved it. (With the exception of Bring Her Back, it was the most intense horror flick I saw in 2025.) The cherry on top for me was Danny Boyle asking Young Fathers to write the music for the film. It seems like an odd fit, but the Scottish trio managed to add so much dread and terror with their score. “Lowly” is panic-stricken sure, but it also has a jubilant, sort of Motown bustle to it that’s as much cause for celebration as it is concern.

19 j-hope feat. Miguel “Sweet Dreams”

Last year out of nowhere, my family became obsessed with BTS after consuming a number of their TV shows (shout out to Jimin and Jung Kook for pulling us in with Are You Sure?!). To my surprise, the obsession is still going strong 18 months later. So I was pretty psyched to see j-hope make his comeback with this chill bop that gets a huge assist from a dope falsetto hook by Miguel. I was never really feeling most of Hobi’s rap-oriented solo stuff, but I love how he’s pivoted to this Pharrell-influenced mix of hip-hop, neo-soul and pop. And it wasn’t even his best song of the year.

18. Ash “Which One Do You Want?”

In the 30+ years that I have been an Ash fan I never once asked myself, “What would it sound like if Ash impersonated The Smiths?” Turns out, the answer is “very awesome.” The standout track from their ninth album, Ad Astra, “Which One Do You Want?” finds Tim Wheeler not only perfectly copying Marr’s iconic jangle, but yes, also nailing a Morrissey-esque falsetto when he sings, “I want both.” I love that they’re still writing songs like this in their fourth decade.

17. ILLIT “Topping”

“Topping” was only a single in Japan and I’d argue ILLIT’s “NOT CUTE ANYMORE” is a better single. But after the drama with New Jeans, this reasonably-sized Seoul fivesome have become my go-to K-pop girl group. I love the carbonated bounce to “Topping” and its delicious “sugar coating” hooks. Update: I’ve learned that the song was used for the group’s collab with Lacoste, which came with a charmingly sweet promotional spot.

16. Prism Shores “Tourniquet”

Teenage Fanclub were one of the greatest bands of the ‘90s, but I haven’t felt that strongly about their music in the following decades. Prism Shores, however, scratched that itch for me with their track “Tourniquet,” which radiates the kind of fuzzy power pop vibes I felt from an album like Grand Prix. It’s pensive, dreamy and overflowing with gorgeous harmonies.

15. HUNTR/X “Golden”

I didn’t care for KPop Demon Hunters, the movie. But the music was something else. And I fucking love this song.

14. Whirr “Collect Sadness”

I honestly could have picked half of Whirr’s Raw Blue to put in this spot. “Collect Sadness” is a perfect, heavy shoegaze cut, bolstered by the reverb-heavy drums, howling guitars, dead stops, and hoodwinking fade out. Even its title encapsulates the mood, the tone, the magnitude of it.

13. Deftones “milk of the madonna”

No need to write anything when this tweet sums up the song perfectly.

12. Cloakroom “Story of the Egg”

Cloakroom’s Last Leg of the Human Table had no shortage of killer tunes that showed off their range. They’re no longer those dudes who lock in and simply take you away on an epic space jam. They can also write snappy four-minute rock songs that ride the distortion pedal and feed you subtle pop melodies. “Story of the Egg” is a perfect example of this. With its hasty motorik beat, a swamp-soaked sludge low end and celestial reverbed guitars, Doyle Murray’s melodic whisper addresses anxieties while name-dropping unlike-minded contemporaries like The Lemonheads and Godspeed You! Black Emperor.

11. Hotline TNT “Break Right”

In promoting the release of “Break Right,” Will Anderson said, “You’ve never heard a Hotline song quite like this before.” I agree with him. But for different reasons. While he is referring to how it was more of a collective effort than anything before it, ever since I first heard it I thought it just hit differently than all their other songs. It’s that subtle touch of the piano, his vocals coming through clearly for the first time ever (I’m half kidding), and the band never breaking stride - I get kind of wistful listening to it.

10. Greet Death “Country Girl”

Harper Boyhtari’s “Country Girl” feels like an intensely private song, and for me it was the without-a-doubt highlight of Greet Death’s Die in Love. She’s described it as dealing with “identity, alienation, and detachment. It’s like trying to solve a murder mystery and finding out you were the killer the whole time.” Lyrically, it’s the coolest fucking song of the year, name-dropping a few John Carpenter-isms and for no reason at all, A Nightmare On Elm Street. More brooding songs about horror movies, please!

9. Saint Etienne “Glad”

I wasn’t prepared for Saint Etienne to drop a banger as powerful as “Glad.” I think it’s my favourite song of theirs since 2012’s “Tonight.” Teaming up with Tom Rowlands of The Chemical Brothers was such a boss move. The beats are big, the melody is timeless and I even get a bit of Tiger Bay nostalgia whenever I hear it. There’s a lot of history in that partnership, and they totally nailed it. I’d go so far as to say that “Glad” is an all-time top ten track for Bob, Pete and Sarah. Sure, it’s sad to see them leave us, but if this is the result, they went out on top.

8. Sword II “Even if it’s Just a Dream”

The closest thing to perfect dream pop I found all year was this beautiful gem buried at the tail end of Sword II’s album, Electric Hour. It’s all a sweet reverie with the arpeggiating synths until you either A) read the lyrics or B) watch the video. Then it becomes a nightmare. Stereogum hit the nail on the head: it does sound like “if Beach House collaborated with David Cronenberg.” It feels disorienting, intoxicating, menacing and strangely poignant all at once.

7. Alex G “Afterlife”

I would consider myself a part-time Alex G fan. There is a lot of his music I really like, and a lot of it that just isn’t for me. Headlights was the first album in a while that I enjoyed front to back, largely because he toned down the heavily treated vocals and just fucked around less. “Afterlife,” to me, goes to show just how amazing he can be as a singer-songwriter. Everything from the walloping beat to the scene-stealing mandolin, makes it seem as though Alex G is just ready to open himself to a whole new audience. It’s a little bit “The Galway Girl,” a little “Maggie May” and a lot more Celtic-influenced that I ever thought I wanted from something by Alex G. But now I demand even more of it from him.

6. j-hope “MONA LISA”

I really don’t know what BTS will sound like when they re-emerge in 2026 as a whole group following their release from the South Korean military. And while both j-hope and Jin have been doing their own very different things, I sincerely hope it’s the former who influences the group’s new music. “MONA LISA” packs such a fun vibe that really resonated with me for the better part of 2025. With it, Hobi established himself as a true solo artist - imo - and seems to be prospering with this “smooth, laid-back charm” he’s been illustrating all year long.

5. Ariana Grande “twilight zone”

I have almost completely sheltered my Ariana Grande fandom from all that is Wicked, and still found it easy to obsess over the music she continues to release outside of the films. And while it was completely forgivable for her to tack on some outtakes or B-grade stuff to the brighter days ahead deluxe edition of eternal sunshine, the Max Martin-ized “twilight zone” proved to be one of the overall best songs of the whole project. Like a heartsick companion to “we can’t be friends (wait for your love),” the quixotic production dresses up a nightmare as a dream, as she tries to forget about an ex that likely wasn’t a good guy. This could have easily been the first single from the original album release.

4. PinkPantheress “Illegal”

When my kid first played me this track I had to do a triple take: Is PinkPantheress sampling Underworld? One sample check, and yep, she nicked their epic tune “Dark & Long (Dark Train)” alright. It brought such a huge smile to my face. Her mixtape proved she knew how to raid a sample box, but this 24-year-old prodigy continues to blow my mind in how she recontextualizes her source material. I’d love to hear what she could do with “Dirty Epic” and “Pearl’s Girl.”

3. Wednesday “Elderberry Wine”

Wednesday is such a good, loud rock band, but as I wrote above, Karly Hartzman’s best moments on Bleeds were the quieter ones. “Elderberry Wine” is her finest song to date, and apparently it was written as her relationship was falling apart. But like her ex, Hartzman just has a knack for writing oddly personal lyrics that feel relatable no matter where you come from. This peculiar little country song packs a mighty punch, with the lap steel spinning a starry-eyed effect as she drops lyrical bombs like, “Said I wanna have your baby / because I freckle and you tan.” Bottle that up and give it a score of 100!

2. Deftones “infinite source”

I actually didn’t think there would be a song on private music I’d like more than “milk of the madonna.” I’d say “infinite source” is arguably the most accessible song Deftones have ever released. I’m sure that thought might make some fans cringe (though maybe not), but I love when this band writes songs that end up sounding commercial. I can’t help but hear a Hum influence on the guitars, and there’s almost nothing I like more than when Deftones are influenced by Hum.

1. Turnstile “Never Enough”

I listened to Turnstile’s “Never Enough” more than any other track this year and it never lost its cachet. I doubt it ever will. There literally was never enough of “Never Enough” for me. As someone who didn’t really take notice until 2021’s GLOW ON, I feel they are at their best when they write huge, anthemic rock songs. And there was no bigger anthemic rock song this year than “Never Enough” (though Deftones had a few contenders). My only disappointment is that they never came to Toronto in 2025, so I wasn’t able to experience it live. Now, if only they could make an entire album of songs like this. I’m sure some people would rage hard over the suggestion, but damn, are they ever good at it.

FYI - I’ve added a few more that missed the cut to this playlist. See you in 2026???