Here in January 2026, it seems indulgent and a little selfish to spend time listening to and writing about music, but we're going to do it anyway. At worst, it's a distraction, but at best it might make us think, or bring us closer to the divine and/or to each other. Hopefully it will also help get us off our asses.
Top Ten Albums of 2025
10. Wednesday — Bleeds
One can almost smell the Carolina summer night, with the lake and the car and the weed and the moonlight. Fuzz bass and heavy dynamic shifts add to the wooziness. I'm not sure what Karly Hartzman has against Phish, but I’ll give her a pass this one time.
9. Juan Wauters — MVD LUV
Maybe Montevideo is the only civilized place left on this earth, where people like Juan Wauters – by far the most likable character on the list this year – will greet you and ask you what’s bothering you and promise to listen to you and invite you for coffee, like a Roke wizard, gently weaving spells to protect the last sane, good place on Earthsea from the warring kings from the other islands. (Someone has been reading a lot of LeGuin lately).
8. Great Grandpa — Patience, Moonbeam
Identifiable as folk-rock, or alt-country, and I think there may be some lyrical references to farms in there somewhere, but this is more than a genre exercise. The band appear to be nice, down-to-earth folks in the “Ladybug” video, in which the bass player also appears to be 8 months pregnant.
7. Telethon — Suburban Electric
Fun and lively dudes from Wisconsin, who are knd of like The Hold Steady, kind of like Weezer, kind of like Nirvana, kind of like Schoolhouse Rock, and not at all afraid to break into a polka.
6. Neko Case — Neon Grey Midnight Green
Everyone’s here to see the singer, but I'm fixated on John Convertino, barely visible behind the drum kit, brushes teasing and tapping and swishing and stuttering on the snare, evoking the rising snowdrifts outside the bar off I-94 and inviting you to order another round and wait out the blizzard in here, while listening more closely to what the grey-streaked redhead on the microphone has to say.
5. Haley Heynderickx & Max García Conover — What Of Our Nature
Acoustic guitar way down in the mix, like a cat skulking through the tall grass. There’s disapproval and some anger and generous serving of cleverness here, but over an undercurrent of hope and belief in eventual justice. Go ahead and draw comparisons to Dylan and Baez. Which reminds me: where the fuck are the protest singers in America right now?
4. Richard Dawson — End Of The Middle
In which, like Odysseus, our hero returns from the epic, millennia-spanning journey of his last three albums. I heard him say in an interview that he was going for “domestic” with this album, and there are plenty of northern English homey signifiers: community gardens and under-21 matches on the telly, and many stiff yet heartfelt (i.e. northern English) human exchanges which Dawson always captures so masterfully. Yet, by the time we reach the terrifying(ly gorgeous) middle 3:4-over-4:4 bit of “The Question," in which we learn the gruesome backstory behind the decapitated apparition haunting the track’s young female protagonist, you are reminded that this is Richard Dawson, and shit is going to get crazy in an awesome and delightful way. My wife cannot stand his voice, and I can understand why, but I can’t get enough of this guy.
3. Car Seat Headrest — The Scholars
A few years ago, I saw CSH at a small venue in Amsterdam, and I bumped into the guitar player on the stairwell and told him I was sorry they didn’t play “Cosmic Hero,” and he said (looking mildly annoyed as he turned from the young woman he was hitting on to answer me) that yeah, they don’t really like playing the, like, longer songs live. With that exchange in mind, I’m not sure how they’re planning on touring this release, which finds Will Toledo giving broad license to his more operatic tendencies, and which includes several tracks longer than 10 minutes. I find this more inscrutable and frankly less likable than when he used to sing about drugs being better with friends and vice versa, but I can't fault his ambition, and I could spend all day listening to him harmonize with himself.
2. Min Taka — I Think We Should Just Move In Together (EP)
The best act to come out of the Netherlands since… Golden Earring? Like Olivia Rodrigo without the performative anxiety, like Lily Allen without the defensive sarcasm, like (dare I say) Tay-Tay without the baggage of being Tay-Tay. Clocks in at 19 minutes and change, including a track which is a reprise of the opener, leaving me very hungry for more.
1. Black Country, New Road — Forever Howlong
A couple of years ago, Isaac Wood packed his rags and went down the hill, and the band was left a-lying still without a frontman and an essential part of their sound. Rather than calling it a day or going their separate ways, the rest of BCNR responded by turning toward one another, divvying up the vocal responsibilities among the three women, hitting the road, playing a ton of music, and releasing a live album. Nowadays what they might lack in drama and urgency they make up for with patient song evolution, voices like Sirens, and (always earning points from this listener) a surprisingly inventive and musical drummer.
P.S. (* = recommended):
*Lily Allen — West End Girl
Adds to the canon of post-breakup albums with merciless autobiographical detail, while showing off her prodigious acting chops (the album title is not incidental). One wonders if fiction would have been more interesting, but I won’t deny her her catharsis. As an aside, if you’re looking for a thrilling couple of hours, pick up a copy of “2:22,” the play she was in. No spoilers here.
Allo Darlin’ — Bright Nights
Friendly and folksy, like a warm quilt. Nature metaphors abound.
Basia Bulat — Basia’s Palace
Benign pop/folk, and refreshing to hear a female vocalist eschew the typical pyrotechnics one hears on contemporary radio, because Basia Bulat sings as though she has moderate to severe asthma.
*BC Camplight — A Sober Conversation
Piano, musical-ish, but smarter and less campy. Merits a few more listens.
*The Beths — Straight Line Was A Lie
I love this band, and I won’t deny Elizabeth Stokes her blue period, but this release made me long for some of their former energy and joy. I admit that in early 2026 I also long for some of my own former energy and joy.
Big Thief — Double Infinity
I should probably like this band more than I do. Sometimes the timbre of the lead singer’s voice makes all the difference.
*Rodney Crowell — Airline Highway
A first-ballot songwriting hall-of-famer shows us what aging gracefully looks like. The fact that I’m less familiar with his songbook than I am with, say, Steven Malkmus’s, is my fault, not his.
De La Soul — Cabin In The Sky
Always nice when old friends drop by. As I get older, I talk healthier too. RIP Trugoy the Dove.
Drake & Partynextdoor — Some Sexy Songs 4U
Another year, another quality Drake release, but at this point we should concede that he hasn’t really progressed from high-school-level relationship psychology. “Pussy so good I should stay inside, but I had to step out with the guys” is not a line I need to hear from a soon-to-be-40-year-old.
Earl Sweatshirt — Live Laugh Love
Confusing and sometimes enjoyable, like middle age.
*Robert Forster — Strawberries
Sometimes you don’t need to be so clever, sometimes you don’t need to smother your vocals in layers of reverb and echo, sometimes simple rhymes (floor/door, stay/day, ten/men, town/town!) and basic instrumentation work just fine. See also Rodney Crowell.
*Foxwarren — 2
I thought the singer’s marble-mouthed diction sounded familiar, and sure enough it’s Andy Shauf, who had an appearance on my top ten list a few years ago. Andy is not looking for any trouble, just some gentle cooing over a top-notch rhythm section and samples from old movies. There may be a theme in there worth unpacking.
Ezra Furman — Goodbye Small Head
I held my breath as I pressed play, hoping this would not be a concept album about bottom surgery. I think it wasn’t?
Geese — Getting Killed
Top-notch drummer and grooves tastier than a sloppy joe, undermined by a frontman who channels a caterwauling Thom Yorke. I don’t understand what the fuss is all about.
Gloomy June — Gloomy June
If a management consultant were to plot Gloomy June on one of those 2x2 grids that management consultants are fond of, where the y-axis represented “energy” and the x-axis represented “engaging,” this would go in the upper left quadrant.
Cory Hanson — I Love People
The dude from Wand does a credible imitation of Dewey Bunnell from America.
Home Is Where — Hunting Season
Just as this band is missing a relative clause in its name, so it is also missing a competent vocalist to complement the nifty guitar playing.
Hot Mulligan — The Sound A Body Makes When It’s Still
Generically likable emo. I realize that I say pretty much the same thing about every emo act on this list.
Jane Remover — Revengeseekerz
Yikes. Makes Danny Brown seem laid-back by comparison.
Jeanines — How Long Can It Last
As if Jane Wickline from SNL started a Guided By Voices tribute band. That’s too harsh: there’s nothing wrong with some jangle and some harmonies, and I imagine this crushes on the east side of the East River.
*Sophia Kennedy — Squeeze Me
Wilkommen, bienvenue, welcome. I had no idea who this artist was, and for some reason my first listen through what kept coming to mind was The Berlin Stories. Androgynous, affirmative, club-friendly. And what do you know: this woman grew up in Germany. I would make a wry reference to Weimar here, but my wife (also German, with a keen sense of history) reminds me that we’ve already reached 1933.
Kerosene Heights — Blame It On The Weather
Serviceable emo. I would have loved this when I was 19-22.
Lady Gaga — Mayhem
At her best, she reminds us that no one does gay club anthems better. At her worst, she’s almost embarassingly derivative: a Wham! Guitar part here, a Depeche Mode synth there, and a Taylor Swift knock-off that’s so convincing you reach for the liner notes to see who wrote it.
Maddie Jay — I Can Change Your Mind
Pretty. Chill.
Mamalarky — Hex Key
Starts encouragingly, with late-Blur woozy guitar, before pivoting to synth-heavy mushrock. May also be an anagram for the current FDA commissioner.
*McKinley Dixon — Magic, Alive!
Euphoric, mile-a-minute rapping integrates well the Mahavishnu Orchestra-style backing band. We’re outside, rejoice, indeed.
*McLusky — The World Is Still Here And So Are We
Welsh kings of the dynamic shift make an emphatic return
Jensen McRae — I Don’t Know How But They Found Me
Kind of the whole package here: great set of pipes, well-written songs with bridges as sturdy and elegant as the Zakim, flawless backing band. I wish she wouldn’t affect one of those à la mode speech impediments, but the fact that I don’t want to listen to it is my fault, not hers.
Melody’s Echo Chamber — Unclouded
I listened to this at the gym one morning in Orlando, and I don’t recall much other than the super-dry drums. Still waiting for her to show up in a Louis Vuitton ad campaign.
Parcels — Loved
As if Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons came back as a Praise act.
Hayden Pedigo — I’ll Be Waving As You Drive Away
Pretty, skillful acoustic (meaning no singing) modern folk. I will have to keep this in mind if I ever start a YouTube channel about hiking.
Rosalía — Lux
Cool strings and synths and hints of percussion, Spanish vocals that channel something divine and terrifying. Inscrutable guest performances. Not something I’ll put on when I’m setting out a plate of cookies for company, but it’s impressive.
Ruby Haunt — Blinking In The Wind
Fleet Foxy, with a lead vocalist so laid back, you fear the entire operation may grind to a halt any second.
Saint Etienne — International
Bouncy and happy and sounding like they’re misreading the geopolitical room here in 2026. Possibly angling for a retirement gig on a cruise ship.
Samia — Bloodless
Sheryl Crow-esque, relatively inconsequential.
Saturdays At Your Place — These Things Happen
Likable emo act, not so bound to the genre that they will miss an opportunity for a shuffle beat or a handclap break.
Serengeti — Universe
“This is Mr. Floyd calling for Mrs. Floyd, are we reaching?…He keeps hanging up…There must be somebody else there besides your wife, sir.”
*Skrillex — Fuck U Skrillex You Think Ur Andy Warhol But Yr Not!!
The musical equivalent of scrolling TikTok, perhaps while taking amphetamines. The listener is encouraged to play the album in its entirety, which feels appropriate, as each “song” hurtles into the next with frantic, ADHD-like speed. The music itself approximates the sounds of those chariot-things in Star Wars Episode 1, and guest artists appear, evidently for the primary purpose of saying their own names into the microphone. Despite all that, there’s a self-mockery, from the album title on down, that makes this oddly likable and super-fun.
Sombr — I Barely Know Her
Boy chases girl, boy loses girl, boy misses girl. All the right moves are here - vox are distorted just so, middle 8’s are sturdy – yet I can’t help but get the impression that we’re dealing with a narcissistic jerk here. Maybe it’s that line about not wanting the kid of another man to have his ex’s eyes, a line I can’t imagine, say, Juan Wauters delivering.
Smerz — Big City Life
Like a dance party on tranquilizers on a cruise ship on rolling seas. Girl seeks boy, but stakes are low and ambivalence reigns. “Talk to me if you want to.” Perhaps this is what the dating scene is Copenhagen is like, and why the Danes are so happy.
Stereolab — Instant Holograms On Metal Film
Madame Sadier’s vox are a little too high in the mix, which makes this effort feel more like a PoliSci lecture than a night out at the club, but then again Stereolab has always been a pretty didactic project. Pairs well with the Zesinger Fitness Center at MIT.
*Tame Impala — Deadbeat
Has there ever been a situation where an artist leaning into parenthood has made their art better? This is nice to have on in the background, but is that where Kevin Parker really wants to be?
Taylor Swift — The Life Of A Showgirl
I can’t add anything useful to the conversation here.
Tops — Bury The Key
Breathy lead singer, 80s pop sounds. May induce mild to moderate head bobbing.
Tyler, The Creator — Don’t Tap The Glass
Apart from the opening track, on which Pharrell reminds us of his chromatic mastery, nothing to see here. Liked him in Marty Supreme.
Weatherday — Hornet Disaster
The band you are looking for, and I believe they are looking for, is The Hives.
The Weather Station — Humanhood
Tasteful and adept, evoking Tori Amos. Unlike Tori, nothing here to grab you by the loins.
Wet Leg — Moisturizer
Something about this band creeps me out. The band name and the word “moist” in the album title is not helping matters.
*Steven Wilson — The Overview
This is ground control to Stanley Kubrick, backed by his usual band of studio wizards. RIYL: Greg Egan
The World Is A Beautiful Place And I Am No Longer Afraid To Die — Dreams Of Being Dust
This year’s model is lighter on the tension and heavier on the release. The screamy stuff isn’t my cup of tea, and the nihilism is turned up to 11, but they have a point that we humans are royally fucking things up, and they do what they do very very well.
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