An odd category this, but one I’ve included for a very long time. Being excluded from my thoughts for EPs or Albums of the year can be for a variety of reasons, most of which I will address in the individual entry.

While they may not feature in the ‘main’ lists that does not mean that they are not worthy of your attention. Nor, I should add, will I reveal where they would place in the main list(s).

They might still not feature in the top lists or they might be in the highest reaches. I shall never say. Rest assured I choose to highlight them because I value them highly and as such they’re ordered here A-Z.

I think you’ll get a sense of my affection from each write-up anyway.

Alberto Juscamaita Gastelú – Reminiscences of Raktako: Huayno Guitar from Cuzco and Ayacucho
Extraordinary home recordings from between 1930 and 1940 of the renown Huayno guitarist. These recordings, shared with archivists and labels in 2022 and made with the sparsest of equipment, had never been published before and represent an invaluable cultural treasure. The guitarist, who lived for over 100 years and passed away in 2023, had been largely forgotten until recently, when the Ministry of Culture of Peru officially recognised him as Meritorious Personality of Culture. His legacy, which includes a profound influence on Peruvian music, especially the Ayacucho guitar tradition, is finally being acknowledged.
LISTEN HERE

Ancient Lights – Reclamation
I released the records of Fall of Efrafa – Alex’s legendary band – via my own label, and I am friends from back in my university days with guitarist Mark, so here Ancient Lights are. Their debut album, a fierce blend of anarcho-punk and death-rock is blistering, announcing them as a major new force in the UK punx scene. Vinyl is out now!
LISTEN HERE

Bag People – Bag People
Bag People were from Chicago, outgrew their home city, and became a harrowing part of the daunting, eyeopening post-punk / no-wave scene of the 80s New York City scene. They weren’t around long, but their compulsive noise-rock sound, unearthed from tapes lost for 40 years, looms large and stands tall next to the efforts of better-known contemporaries like Sonic Youth and SWANS. Garganutuan.
LISTEN HERE

billy woods & August Fanon – golliwog (alternative version)
I love the new album from billy woods – spoiler alert – but this radically alternative version in collaboration with August Fanon pushes the original hard as to which is my favourite. A mixture of remixes, reimagining, and wholly original songs, this version of golliwog also features new guests ranging from Aesop Rock to Moor Mother and consistent other collaborator ELUCID.
LISTEN HERE

Blood Vulture – Die Close
Perhaps a bit unfair to find itself here, but the project from the host of the ever entertaining ‘Two Minutes to Late Night’, Gwarsenio Hall (aka Jordan Olds) and featuring underground luminaries as guests is a fantastic, adept slab of rock & metal. With influences spanning from the golden 90s era of grunge to traditional death metal, Blood Vulture’s record is quite the ride, but you’ll be happy to be taking it.
LISTEN HERE

Botch – 061524 (live)
The band are an all time favourite of mine and I am so, so happy I got to finally see them live, not once but twice! This record can’t do justice to the sheer intensity and strange euphoria that those final run of Botch shows provided, but it gets closer than most live albums.
LISTEN HERE

Chuquimamani-Condori – Edits
The odd-ball DJ recuts many of his best tracks as well as mixes of other work, back into a different whole. Hypnotic, challenging stuff that is well worth your time. So changed is the music many might choose to classify this as deserving as being in a main listing (and it has been for a few publications), but it wasn’t for me. That said, if you like weird and wonderful electronic music, you ought to wrap your ears around this.
LISTEN HERE

Comme Un Rat – The Ratio of Being Lost to Being Found (EP)
I helped release this on my record label, as a limited edition cassette. Bas Huissen, ex-guitarist of Netherlands post-rock favourites All Shall Be Well (and All Shall Be Well and All Manner of Things Shall Be Well) reinvents himself and his sound, finding a raw approximation of what Elliot Smith and Have a Nice Life might come up with together. Playing guitar, singing for the first time and using found objects, this is beguiling early material. A second EP is reportedly in development…
LISTEN HERE

Converge / Coalesce – Live at CBGBs
Another special live recording and this time for two more incredible genre-influencing bands. It is what it is, but damn is it special. Converge are admittedly a favourite of mine, but I will never understand why Coalesce aren’t respected far more than they are. Perhaps hearing their live delivery will change that for some, albeit recent allegations may put pay to that…
LISTEN HERE

Devoid of Thought – Necrotic Surface Discarded
The Italian blackened death doom band have had some line-up changes of late. ‘Necrotic Surface Discarded’ was one of the first songs the band ever wrote and is regularly still played live. Post line-up change they chose to re-record it and name this compilation LP after it. As well as the re-recording, the release features remastered tracks from their earlier demos and a live version of ‘Effigies Of A Distant Planet’ from their debut LP.
LISTEN HERE

Emma Ruth Rundle – Music from the Bella Vista
Unlike any of her previous releases, this record is a collage of largely improvised piano pieces and field recordings captured during the creation of her debut poetry book, The Bella Vista. Emma seems incapable of recording anything that doesn’t take the breath away, but as this is inextricably tied to a book and feels a bit “non-canon”, I chose to represent it here.
LISTEN HERE

FKA twigs – EUSEXUA (alternative version)
Spoiler alert again, but you won’t find the ‘original version’ of EUSEXUA in my Albums of the Year list. I’m almost as surprised as you might be, but as time went on, I felt like there were some tracks that really didn’t hit the right vibe and weren’t of sufficient quality. Alas! Because if this version was the OG, it would have featured. She swaps out those aforementioned low(er) points for songs that are as good, if not better than others, and there’s some tweaks to the mix across the board that please me greatly.
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Frail – No Industry
Without wanting to open the can of worms that is defining a genre or sub-genre, the purest focused “real emo” (to me) only really consists of very specific geographical locations for emotional hardcore (DC and environs) and screamo (Delaware Valley). Frail were at the epicentre of it all for a very, very short amount of time. This is their one and only compilation of material. Essential listening.
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Godflesh – A World Lit Only in Dub
Justin Broadrick and B.C. Green may be inextricably linked with having forged industrial metal with Godflesh, but they are also musicians with close ties to the heavy electronic scene (that have very obvious crossovers). The pair reinvent their 2014 album, A World Lit Only by Fire into a furious dub sound. Of course it’s great.
LISTEN HERE

Ground Goblin Nautical – Wunderkammer (EP)
A new UK band have emerged to tell fantastical, off-kilter historical/mythological tales, with a goblin as mascot, member and guiding light. One of the members is a close friend, but that doesn’t stop GGN’s debut EP from being an impressive feat of progressive rock/metal wunder.
LISTEN HERE

Hemelbestormer – The Radiant Veil
This Belgian band still don’t get their flowers and I’m on a mission to change it. I originally started talking to them about releasing something on my label a million years ago, and we became pals (hence being here). This LP is their best yet and on Pelagic Records, no less. Not enough people are luxuriating in their monolithic doomy post-everything.
LISTEN HERE

IDLES – Caught Stealing (OST)
Despite being a band that I truly believe likely peaked creatively with their debut and sophomore LPs, IDLES have become a bigger entity upon each subsequent release. Such is their fame, they were asked to score an original soundtrack to the new film by Darren Aronofsky, Caught Stealing. I have been a big fan of Aronofsky in the past, but I can only assume the film is terrible, as it was relentlessly advertised even after release. The soundtrack is pretty good though, either way…
LISTEN HERE

Jessica Williams – Blue Abstraction: Prepared Piano Project 1985-1987
A pioneering trans jazz pianist and composer from Baltimore, Jessica Williams was respected by all her contemporaries, including greats like Dave Brubeck. Blue Abstraction compiles a selection of prepared piano recordings thought lost. These recordings document the beginning of a vital, solitary phase in her career: a period of intense sonic experimentation that began with physically altering a 6’4” grand piano—creating a new instrument, and from there, creating a new subtle melancholic music that errs deliciously into cacophony.
LISTEN HERE

JPEGMAFIA & Danny Brown – SCARING THE HOES: DIRECTOR’S CUT
This LP is here because it’s an extended edition, and not least due to it being an extended version of an album from before 2025. But what an odd release it is. Some tracks are great, others less so… but when released the original album was met with not only critical acclaim but so much intense focus from Peggy and Danny themselves and a usually excitable media. This just seemed to flop out with little to no fanfare. Strange.
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Kitsch – Something About You (EP)
A two track EP from another friend – a wild mix of dubstep and speed garage. There’s a woozy, dirty nostalgia to this, before some breaks hit you around the head like the hangover you’re sure to have the following day after dancing to these tracks.
LISTEN HERE

Kittie – Spit XXV (EP)
A re-recording of the famous and infamous debut EP from this institution of rock and metal, that increased female representation in the heavy music scene, this release felt like quite a moment. The new recordings hardly break new ground, but they’re not meant to. Instead they make sure that the new ground claimed all those years ago is still protected for current and future generations of women who love the heavy, too.
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Koenjihyakkei – Live at Club Goodman
Following the release of their album Dhorimviskha and during the height of the covid pandemic, Japan’s Koenjihyakkei played a rousing set to an empty Club Goodman and live-streamed their performance around the world. Drummer and vocalist Tatsuya Yoshida then returned to the original recordings a few years later and meticulously mixed & mastered them. Live at Club Goodman delivers a taser to the brain, blending progressive rock, jazz fusion, and neoclassicism with the energy of hardcore punk, the volume of metal and the attitude of rock in opposition.
LISTEN HERE

Lagrimas – Like When I Was a Kid (EP)
The Californian screamo punks released two EPs in September 2025. One was all original material and you’ll see that later on in my list season [more spoilers, soz…]. This EP is a re-recording of their original demo with all the tracks played a little faster than their earlier versions. Fantastic and an intriguing look at how older material can continue to be reinterpreted and evolve.
LISTEN HERE

Lástima – en vivo
Damn, this ‘Excluded’ list is replete with spoliers, but here again I have to say that Lástima will feature in my Albums of the Year list. This release is that album (A Pain Bloomed from My Lungs) played live on the roof of a building. Well worth listening to both, as they each have their own unique flavour.
LISTEN HERE

Local H – reFISTED
To celebrate the thirtieth anniversary of their seminal classic album Ham Fisted, Local H re-recorded the album. Not only is this a modern recording, but it’s a complete reimagining of those songs, treating the celebrated 1995 LP as a demo to guide, rather than a manual. Frontman Scott Lucas described his work on the new record as a “fistfight with my 24-year old self”. That sounds about right. Visceral punk-indebted garage rock of the highest order.
LISTEN HERE

Marshall Allen’s Ghost Horizons – Live in Philadelphia
Since the 1950s, Marshall Allen has been a vital member of the Sun Ra Arkestra and its leader since 1995. Founded in 2022, his Ghost Horizons ensemble features an all-star cast of rotating musicians including Immanuel Wilkins, Yo La Tengo’s James McNew, James Brandon Lewis, The War on Drugs’ Charlie Hall, Wolf Eyes, and many more. Lovingly culled, cut, and post-produced from nine live shows in Philadelphia, this record is quite the trip – all the way to the horizon and well beyond it.
LISTEN HERE

Masta Ace & Tom Caruana – Natural Forces
Hip-Hop legend Masta Ace gets the treatment by remix mastermind Tom Caruana (Wu-Tang vs The Beatles / Jimi Hendrix). As well as remixes from across Ace’s sprawling career the project gets a unique spin with the addition of two new tracks – ‘Freedom House’ & ‘Uncle Larry’ – both of which see the MC in a retrospective mood. The album flows like a live show with soundbites and skits from both Ace and Caruana.
LISTEN HERE

Mdou Moctar – Tears of Injustice
An acoustic version of 2024’s rapturously received LP Funeral for Justice, the Niger quartet bring new subtlety and perspective to the material. While I prefer the original versions, the 2025 edition does provide an intimacy the fully-mic’d record sometimes lacks, which makes this revisit well worth treasuring too.
LISTEN HERE

Miltown – Tales of Never Letting Go
Twenty-eight years is a long time to wait for a debut LP to finally be released, but that’s the case for Miltown’s Tales of Never Letting Go. Featuring Jonah Jenkins (Only Living Witness), Brian McTernan (Be Well, Battery, Ashes), Matt Squire (Ashes), Jay Cannava, and Rob Dulaney, these sessions were recorded at the legendary Long View Farm Studios (Bad Brains, Quicksand) in December ’97 and January ’98. The band broke up before the songs were mixed and the master tapes sat in a Southern California warehouse ever since. We can all be very grateful that Man Alive Records never did let go, finally securing a license to release it.
LISTEN HERE

Moor Mother, Wooden Elephant & Beethoven Orchestra Bonn, Dirk Kaftan – Analog Fluids of Sonic Black Holes
Another ‘reinterpretation’ album – this time being Moor Mother’s incredible 2019 LP by the same name, reborn as an audacious orchestral collaboration with Wooden Elephant and Beethoven Orchestra Bonn, led by conductor Dirk Kaftan. I might even prefer it, you know… A close run thing, anyway.
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Nadja – cut
I previously released a collaborative record with Nadja (with New Zealand’s Black Boned Angel), so consider the duo friends. That said their new record makes for absolutely essential listening and is one of my favourite things from them in years. Much like with Coalesce, I remain bemused why Nadja don’t get far, far, far, FAR more plaudits than they do. That needs to change ASAP!
LISTEN HERE

Newanddyke – Audio Archives 2002-2005
Mathgrind madness from Connecticut, this collection of tracks documents the band’s radical evolution from crazed mania to full-blown musical psychosis. Don’t worry, their new EP, Consequential Madness – their first new material for twenty years – will make an appearance later!
LISTEN HERE

Nine Inch Nails – TRON: ARES (OST)
I’m still unconvinced this should have been released under the Nine Inch Nails moniker, but who am I to argue with Reznor, Ross, et al? A strong original soundtrack with one or two standout highlights. The only silver lining to a truly wretched film.
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Orchid – Skull Sessions
The Amherst, Massachusetts screamo legends pressed this unique skull-shaped one-sided and screen-printed vinyl compiling together two different recording sessions from 2000 (tracks 1-6) and 1998 (tracks 7-13). Recorded pretty much live, remastered in 2024, and brought into physical realisty in 2025. One of the best bands to ever do it.
LISTEN HERE

Oscillotron – Sniezna
More lore from times of yore (aka my record label’s past) – this time in the form of David Johansson, vocalist & guitarist for Kongh, who started Oscillotron in 2012, moving to focus on electronics, ambient doom and soundscapes. With Tim Bertilsson from Switchblade now having joined as drummer (and appearing on here), this project continues to be productive and evolve quickly, in real time. [Kongh are now recording Album #4!]
LISTEN HERE

Penelope Trappes – A Requiem: Æternum
An artist who blew my mind both on record and live in 2025, Penelope Trappes will certainly feature again in this list bonanza (ahem), but I couldn’t neglect from including her here, with this additional material. Worthy in and of itself, the extra songs continue to world build and haunt the mind.
LISTEN HERE

Perennial – “A” is for Abstract: The Complete Art History
I admit to having sort of missed Perennial’s 2024 LP Art History. I think I gave it a cursory listen, was impressed, noted it down, and then didn’t find the time to revisit. I came across it again early in 2025 and was reminded of my initial response, only to find that that year would see a vastly expanded edition, with almost an extra album’s worth of songs added to the tracklist, entirely re-contextualising the album itself. I’m usually one advocating for culling (see Worst Albums of the Year post!), but there’s always an exception to the rule, and here it is.
LISTEN HERE

Q Lazzarus – Goodbye Horses: The Many Lives of Q Lazzarus
What a fascinating and utterly tragic story Q Lazzarus’ (aka Diane Luckey) is. You will have heard her voice before. The track ‘Goodbye Horses’ became – and remains – iconic for its unheimlich inclusion in the 1991 film, The Silence of the Lambs. In conjunction with the release of Aridjis Fuentes’ documentary film on Luckey’s turbulent life, this compilation of material recorded largely between 1985 and 1995 is a portal into a singular, unique creative brain as well as a reminder that circumstance and bad luck can rob us of the geniuses that walk among us.
LISTEN HERE + WATCH TRAILER HERE

Red Fang – Deep Cuts
Celebrating twenty years as a formidable force in hard rock, Relapse and Red Fang have compiled together non-album tracks, stand-alone singles, B-sides, covers, and other rarities. Due to this and the fact the material comes from across their two decade career, the result is quite a choppy listen, despite a quality mix & master, but it’s a fun listen nonetheless.
LISTEN HERE

Salem 66 – SALT
Formed in Boston’s underground scene in 1981 by Judy Grunwald, Beth Kaplan, and Susan Merriam, and an unsung influence on later woman-led independent bands, Salem 66 created a trailblazing blend of post-punk, psychedelic pop, and experimental rock. From 1983 to 1988, the band recorded and toured relentlessly before disbanding. SALT collects ten songs chosen by the songwriters from across their cult discography.
LISTEN HERE

Shearling – OTHERS ONE
Early renditions, off-cuts, alternate versions, squalling noise, wild improvisation and more from the band, all of which was fashioned into their debut single-track album that I will write about some more later on. A fascinating dip into their unhinged yet also somehow studious creative process.
LISTEN HERE

Sigh – I Saw the World’s End (Hangman’s Hymn MMXXV Rerecorded)
I’ve seen this on a lot of year end lists and I can completely understand why. But as it’s a re-recording, I couldn’t quite bring myself to edge out other band’s purely original material. Still, it is magisterial in scope and execution by Sigh. Incredible.
LISTEN HERE

Steve Blanco – Imprints of Man
All the members of avant-garde 1920s and jazz-obsessed death metal band Imperial Triumphant are insanely talented, not least Steve Blanco, their bassist. Here the four string maestro swaps his bass for sitting at a piano, reinterpreting songs from the bands catalogue in a fluid, impressionistic way.
LISTEN HERE

Still in Love – Recovery Language
A huge breath of fresh air (albeit raging and somehow still released in a stuffy, sweaty dark room), this LP from Still in Love is an incredible record and cements them as in the upper echelons of the UK hardcore scene already. Featuring members from Dead Swans, Throats, Brutality Will Prevail, Last Witness, and Bring Me The Horizon, it’s perhaps unsurprising to hear maturity, know-how and a certain world-weariness in this debut. I’m friends with the bassist from our heady days working together in bookshops, but this is still not to be missed and very much recommended!
LISTEN HERE

SUTEKH HEXEN – Constellation Ritualistic Altars: Demo(n)s
Sutekh Hexen’s earliest tracks from their first three legendary demos (2010’s Constellation, Ritualistic and Altars), plus the ‘Order of Nine’ single, get finally mastered (courtesy of death industrial master Grant Richardson) together to form a somewhat cohesive whole. While I enjoyed 2025’s Primeval, the earlier material reminded me what initially drew me to the occult blackened audio nightmare group, which made the new LP somewhat pale in comparison unfortunately.
LISTEN HERE

The Grey – KODOK
It seems I largely only make friends with bassists, as it’s the case here, too. Andy has been (and is) in a lot of fantastic bands, The Grey now among them. This is album #3 for the band, but the first with Andy playing, and it’s a big step up compositionally, sonically, and emotionally. Charlie and Steve smash it out of the park too, with guest vocals from Grady Avenell of the legendary Will Haven as well as Ace Skunk Anansie and more. Devastating tracks, yet also beautiful behemoths, the band are also brilliant live.
LISTEN HERE

Various Artists – Music for Everyone Vol. 2
An amazing compilation, curated by John Nolan (Taking Back Sunday, Straylight Run) to support the efforts of the American Civil Liberties Union. The release features contributions from Sparta, L.S. Dunes, letlive., Jeff Rosenstock, Wax Jaw, and more!
LISTEN HERE

Various Artists – The Dogs of Hope
A powerful new compilation from Iodine Recordings and Tom Bejgrowicz, created to raise critical funds for the Randolph County Animal Shelter. The release features previously unreleased music from the likes of Killswitch Engage, Deadguy, Snapcase, Jeromes Dream, and more.
LISTEN HERE

Victor Jones – Zookeeper
This is the inclusion here that doesn’t make sense. I shouldn’t have excluded it, but I did, because I wanted to highlight it somehow, and it’s my list, so here we are. Victor Jones is a maverick who, like most of us, is depressed and likely going mad. This is gonzo no wave rock n roll nonsense – a concept album based on the escaped tigers from the zoos in Iraq during the illegal invasion by the USA and its allies.
LISTEN HERE
p.s. I love non-album song ‘I Get Hurt’ too, so listen to that HERE.

Waylon Jennings – Songbird
It was extremely uncanny to hear an unheard Waylon Jennings album in 2025 – not least previously unreleased songs that were written and recorded by Jennings and the Waylors at the very zenith of their powers, between 1973 and 1984. Gorgeous songs, obviously performed brilliantly and an incredibly sensitive digitisation, mix and master courtesy of his musician son, Shooter Jennings. Wow.
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Thankfully the last of the negative chapters on records released last year! And happily commentary on these will not be universally dour. There are some very good albums in this list. They just didn’t make my long EPs or Albums of the Year lists, but they still deserve some recognition.

As with all things in life and in music, nothing is black and white, and everything is on a spectrum. Some records here disappointed me massively, others less so, and a handful I didn’t have huge expectations of, but due to buzz or other’s recommendations, still found them underwhelming and therefore disappointing.

I imagine there will be some records featured here that are going to be ‘hot takes’ for some. There are a handful that scaled the upper heights of some lists I read at the end of 2025. Rather than argue, I would love to discuss and debate. Music taste need not be heated – it’s what makes music so endlessly entertaining and interesting.

Without further ado, here are a bunch of records that disappointed me in 2025, in A-Z order.

Alex G – Headlights
Can someone be a semi-fan? If so, I am that for Alex G. I’ve never been entirely convinced of a whole album, but have been enamoured with tracks and his approach to songwriting. I saw him play in 2025 and have to admit to being underwhelmed there (albeit a tough crowd, being bizarrely on a festival line-up that was predominantly hardcore focused). This major label debut has been celebrated as levelling up his sound, but I disagree. The polish – albeit not egregious – does nothing for me and some songs feel almost redundant. There are highlights, such as the title track, but overall it left me cold, frozen like a deer in the…
LISTEN HERE

Arcade Fire – Pink Elephant
In my Worst Albums of the Year post, a predominant feature was that many of the albums didn’t need to see the light of day, be it that the artist had dropped a project fairly recently or had enough cultural cache not to require a relentless release schedule. The latter is true of this iconic, influential indie band. Given the rupture that allegations caused, as well as the fact they’re without hitting a home run with an LP for quite some time, this entire record and painful roll-out felt forced rather than organic (or even wanted). Listless, directionless and completely pointless, the elephant is very much taking up the room, or isn’t pink or even an elephant at all – a white whale of a record.
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Between the Buried and Me – The Blue Nowhere
Once again, Between the Buried and Me drop an album dazzling in its musicianship and brave it its compositional audacity. And it does absolutely nothing for me. I was a big fan of BTBAM. Those early albums – The Silent Circus, Alaska, Colors – are sledgehammer heavy but with the grace and complexity of high-wire acrobatics. As the band delved deeper into melodicism and prog rock leanings my interest somewhat waned. This is not a bad album. It’s just a band having progressed to outside my own taste to such an extent that I largely feel disengaged. Colors II now feels almost like a ‘false flag’ operation, but knowing they can hit those heights does make The Blue Nowhere more difficult to stomach.
LISTEN HERE

BIG|BRAVE – OST
I love this band and they have been on an incredible run. When they announced that OST was going to be a record different from before, I thought it a good idea to change-up their sound for a one-off project. And it may still prove to be true. I quite like this LP, but it doesn’t immerse or excite me in the way I had hoped. I imagine it may come alive when played in front of a hushed audience, though. With a new record announced for 2026, there is a nagging question of whether they ought to slow down, but I recognise that I do seem to be in the minority.
LISTEN HERE

Cancer – Inverted World
I didn’t have huge expectations for this album, aside from the fact that they’re a classic band, and one that is often unduly forgotten when pieces are written about the trajectory of modern metal. Inverted World is an example of a band largely delivering what their fans want, which is still no mean feat this long into a storied career. With little surprises and a slightly dry production, it didn’t drag me along for the ride as one might have hoped. Decent, though.
LISTEN HERE

CANNIBAL OX – AIREPLANE
The experimental hip-hop legends, responsible for The Cold Vein and Blade of the Ronin, returned. AIREPLANE is a very solid addition to their discography, but it didn’t seem to be the cultural moment I expected. In fact, it felt like a prime example of an anticipated record that got swallowed in the tsunami that is album release dates in the 2020s. I’ll admit that I haven’t spent enough time with it to reveal layers that I don’t doubt are there. That said, it still lacks the immediacy to demand those closer listens. Perhaps this will be revisited by myself and others in years to come…
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Car Seat Headrest – The Scholars
Rather similarly to my position on Alex G, I am someone who has largely been ambivalent about Car Seat Headrest. I recognise their greatest achievements, but there are deeper cuts that do very little for me, and even those peaks don’t resonate in the way they clearly do for so many. That acknowledged, I was still excited to dive into this new record, billed as a return to their longer-form storytelling. And it does do it very well. But it’s not the revelation I had hoped for and, as such, The Scholars didn’t stay with me. I think I expected this to be the key in the lock for older records to click for me. Not yet, I’m afraid…
LISTEN HERE

clipping. – Dead Channel Sky
One of the biggest disappointments of 2025 came in the form of this album – and it’s still great! The horrorcore, experimental and noisy hip-hop trio returned with a record that leeched influence from the cyberpunk and hardcore dance scenes, and while that sounded great in theory, the results – for me – don’t always fly high. The original edition also stands at a hefty twenty tracks. Some trimming may have resulted in an even more impactful record. Ironically, the expanded edition – Dead Channel Sky Plus – includes four new tracks (as well as a rearrangement of the other tracks that I felt had little effect) and each of those are some of the best from this era. A frustrating release as somewhere in there was another classic.
LISTEN HERE

Conjurer – Unself
It’s always a pleasure to see a UK act such as Conjurer grow from a band that only half-filled the small Black Heart in Camden, London, to the respected and lauded name that they are today. Unself seems to have found the band levelling up again, with the record showered with praise. It’s subject matter – coming to terms of a diagnosis of ADHD and struggles with mental health issues – has been quite rightly celebrated and the focus of much needed discussion and introspection in the metal world. Unfortunately, the music itself and most of the clean vocals, have me keeping Unself at arm’s length.
LISTEN HERE

Dance Gavin Dance – Pantheon
I’m not sure what I was expecting from a new Dance Gavin Dance album in 2025, but this record failed to leave much of an impression at all. It’s greatest indignity is that as I type I cannot really remember a single notable moment.
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FKA twigs – EUSEXUA: Afterglow
After the huge critical acclaim and commercial success of EUSEXUA, it didn’t come as a surprise when Afterglow was announced. However, like pretty much everyone, I took twigs’ announcement that it was a companion album with a pinch of salt; marketing talk for perhaps an EP’s worth of tracks that basically constituted a glorified, hyped-up deluxe. We were wrong. We did, in fact, get an entirely new album and it is, for the most part, radically different from its sister record. Far more subdued, it lacks the subtle intricacies that its’ severe dip in bpm demanded.
LISTEN HERE

fleshwater – 2000: In Search of the Endless Sky
Disappointments in music often truly hurt for me, and this is one of those. Their debut LP, We’re Not Here to be Loved, was a huge personal highlight in 2022, and it clearly was for many, many others. It’s fair to say that fleshwater really blew up in the following years. Perhaps it all came a little too quickly, but due to the decent gap of time between full-lengths, I still had high hopes. Nothing felt rushed. And I truly don’t things were, but the resulting album can be added to the sophomore curse. It’s by no means a bad record – perhaps attempting to add subtlety in vain – but underwhelming it most definitely is.
LISTEN HERE

Ghost Bath – Rose Thorn Necklace
I remember when Ghost Bath’s second full-length, Moonlover, came out. It was a landmark in depressive post black metal that had cleaner production, a record easily remembered due to the album cover art being the iconic photograph ‘La Luna 1989’ by Guatemalan photographer Luis González Palma. I’ve always excitedly returned to their following records, but Rose Thorn Necklace makes it three for three in terms of disappointment. New ground has been forged, but it somehow still feels already well worn.
LISTEN HERE

Haim – I quit
The three sisters returned with their fourth album in 2025, following a five year gap between records – their longest break between releases yet. While five years in rock and metal is a bit long, but not all that worthy of a raised eyebrow, in the contemporary pop landscape, it’s the equivalent of a century. So, anticipation was high for fans, and although I am certainly not an obsessive, I would count myself as somehow who has respected what the trio has released before. Perhaps the break didn’t do them good, not only due to romantic relationship turmoil, but due to the fact that the sisters try to incorporate far too many different (and sometimes opposing) ideas within I quit‘s runtime. The result is an incohesive record that left me scratching my head.
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Harakiri for the Sky – Scorched Earth
Another band – or, rather duo – that I have had passing interest in before, but never lost my mind about. The closest I came was probably 2021’s previous LP, Maere. Due to that fact, I did have higher expectations for Scorched Earth, but listening to it felt like wading through mud, rather than standing atop burnt embers. It’s so bloody LONG, too…
LISTEN HERE

Heavy Heavy Low Low – Pain Olympics
Fifteen years is a very long time to wait for anything. The hype was huge for this as the band reformed and while I don’t dislike it as much as some fans surprisingly have done, it didn’t meet expectations. How could it, though? It’s a really fun release and well worth checking out. I had just hoped to be blown away and Pain Olympics doesn’t do that. Podium? A photo finish to grasp bronze…?
LISTEN HERE

Hotline TNT – Raspberry Moon
After 2023’s excellent Cartwheel, the bar had been set very high for Hotline TNT’s return. Raspberry Moon falls quite short of the heights reached by its predecessor, but is a very strong album, with one of the band’s best songs to date, a track that unfortunately eclipses the rest of the record, truth be told. So, if you do nothing else, make sure to check out ‘Break Right’. The rest is pleasant and some other tracks have grown on me.
LISTEN HERE

Igorrr – Amen
Some who know me may be surprised that this isn’t in the World Albums of 2025 list. So am I! Because I despise Igorrr. I do not get what everyone else sees in them. They are appallingly bad live. I find them cringe inducing. So, why a placement in ‘Disappointments’? Because I wanted to understand. I wanted to appreciate. And I wanted to trust and believe in people whose taste I truly respect, who were singing Amen‘s praises. But: NO.
LISTEN HERE (don’t)

Imperial Triumphant – Goldstar
Some inclusions on this list, as I have already written above, are painful. Adding Imperial Triumphant here certainly is. First things first, it’s a wonderful album. I’m not taking that away from the extraordinary trio. But I can’t shake the annoyance that each song’s running time – and the album overall – is concise and commuted, not due to artistic direction, but because the band decided to constrict themselves in order to be able to play more songs in short supporting sets on tours and at festivals. I totally understand the compulsion but it just doesn’t sit right with me. It may be a case of being too honest – they should have kept that to themselves. There’s still a LOT to sink your teeth into on Goldstar, but it does feel simplified and as though there was more that could (and should) have been explored.
LISTEN HERE

J.I.D. – God Does Like Ugly
Another album, like the one directly above, that is very, very, very good. But how is one ever to follow up a record like The Forever Story? Career defining (so far) and already massively influential, J.I.D.’s 2022 LP became instantly iconic. God Does Like Ugly may well follow suit for many – and over time, I hope to revisit and discover more – but for now, I struggled to instantly connect with it. Shout out to the short little EP – GDLU (Preluxe) – that was released beforehand and served as a quality introduction.
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Japanese Breakfast – For Melancholy Brunettes (& Sad Women)
I was (and am) so in love with Michelle Zauner & co.’s 2021 album Jubilee, that as this record was finally officially announced I was expecting it to be a shocking high inclusion in whatever kind of list I made for 2025. Well, shocking for those who might not know of how much I enjoy Zauner’s writing as well as music, anyway. But, eeesh, this album almost passed me by, despite my excitement. Not because I wasn’t waiting on its Friday release, but because it felt like it shrugged at me as I listened. There’s very little here that asks me to stay, or even less beckoning me to return.
LISTEN HERE

Joey Valence & Brae – HYPERYOUTH
I had hoped the run might extend for a little longer, but asking for three stunning albums in three years was asking a lot of the duo. Similarly to clipping., but in a very (!) different way, the joyous hip-hop pair decided to pay more attention to dance, as the concept of the record also focused on enjoying the time you have and, well, basically partying. It does have more depth than that, and JVB still have an ear for a tune, but there’s far fewer earworms here and – rather unexpectedly – I often felt that there was less energy on this record than on either Punk Tactics or No Hands.
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Killswitch Engage – This Consequence
The Massachusetts metalcore band are one of the defining bands on my journey as a music lover. I still remember them and Cult of Luna getting 5Ks in Kerrang! in the same issue (when a 5/5 was exceedingly rare and actually meant something in that publication). I excitedly bought Alive or Just Breathing? (and The Beyond) shortly afterwards. Over the years, they largely released records that I have found decent while on, but not albums I’ve been terribly excited by. That was until their last LP, 2019’s Atonement, that saw the band ramp up the heavy once more, and provide a genuinely thrilling ride. Six years on that perhaps proved to be the furious last swipe of the claw of a dying tiger. The consequence of expending that final mustering of energy is there’s nothing left. So dull and so uninspired, the LP limps to its uneventful close. Hopefully it doesn’t end up being their eulogy.
LISTEN HERE

Little Simz – Lotus
Lotus is a record where premier UK rapper Simbiatu “Simbi” Abisola Abiola Ajikawo – aka Little Simz – deals with the fallout of having been betrayed and lost her trust in the connection she had with her foremost musical collaborator. It is furious, direct, irreverent, and multitudes of different things. While the production isn’t – let’s be frank – as good as Grey Area, Sometimes I Might Be Introvert or NO THANK YOU, it is still wonderful. There are some really special tracks on this record (see ‘Thief’, ‘Flood’, ‘Free’ and ‘Peace’) and overall the record is silky smooth. But there is a song so bad that it drags the entire record down with it. ‘Young’ is supposed to be “fun” but it is abject. One of the worst songs of 2025 and it ruins the album.
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Lucy Dacus – Forever is a Feeling
With the critical acclaim and success of Boygenius, it appears that the members have so far struggled to peel away back to their solo careers to deliver great new material. This new Lucy Dacus album felt lukewarm, a bit of a let down; and Julien Baker’s collaboration with Torres seemed to not cause a ripple on the surface of the music scene. Phoebe Bridgers has even bigger expectations on her shoulders, given the majesty and ubiquity of 2020’s Punisher. Something seems to be stirring for the latter, with much rumour of a release in 2026. Let’s hope she doesn’t find herself on this list next year. Lucy’s most recent album is another example of an LP that isn’t bad – it just fails to leave a lasting impression. The songs amble by but don’t ask to be revisited.
LISTEN HERE

Madonna – Veronica Electronica
This album had, prior to its release, gained almost mythic status. Conceived by Madonna as a companion remix album to her seventh studio album Ray of Light (1998), Veronica Electronica was shelved at the time due to the ongoing outrageous commercial success of the album’s singles (and the LP’s sales performance overall). If it was only a remix album, there would only be mild disappointment, but in the years since the project was shelved, Madonna has repeatedly mentioned there were other amazing songs from the recording sessions that would be spliced within the record, to truly create a unique new ‘album’. We didn’t get that. No new songs. Just remixes that have been subsequently doctored to bring the audio fidelity up to contemporary style standardisation. The record cannot stand under the weight of expectation and – worse – all it serves to do is to request the listener to stop listening and put on Ray of Light instead.
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MARINA – PRINCESS OF POWER
A serially under-appreciated queen of pop, Marina Lambrini Diamandis – aka MARINA (formerly of Marina and the Diamonds) – once again releases another feminist-forward pop tour de force. Now on her own label [albeit under the exegesis of BMG], MARINA feels far more emboldened on this LP to spread her (butterfly) wings. The album errs towards Eurodisco more than ever before, which admittedly isn’t my favourite strain of pop. She also treads a fine line between powerful statement and it all being a bit to earnest or tongue in cheek for its own good – I still can’t quite make my mind up about ‘Cuntissimo’, for example – whereas songs as powerful as ‘Man’s World’ off previous LP, Ancient Dreams in a Modern Land, felt far more moving and impactful.
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Matmos – Metallic Life Review
The experimental electronic duo of Matmos (M.C. Schmidt and Drew Daniel) have been ploughing their own lane for a long time now, consistently wrong-footing, surprising and delighting listeners for years. They have become known for creating music from unlikely objects and materials, and while this may have been (and still is?) in danger of becoming a little kitsch, I was very intrigued to hear what they would create under the auspices of metalwork. There is much to admire here, but it’s a much less interesting record that I had hoped.
LISTEN HERE

Matt Jencik & Midwife – Never Die
This is a case of two incredible artists – Matt Jencik (Imploders, Don Caballero, Slint [live]) and Madeline Johnston (Midwife) – coming together and surely being a dream pairing. Sadly, the results are not arresting at all, and – dare I say it [I’m sorry], dull.
LISTEN HERE

Modern Life is War – Life on the Moon
This was a faster than lightning pre-order. But what’s the saying? Try before you buy? Or, maybe in this case, I should have at least ‘read before I bought’ (doesn’t have the same ring, does it?). Modern Life is War returned to us, but with a radical change in sound. I do not like it. Buyer’s remorse, and needless to say, disappointed.
LISTEN HERE

Mogwai – The Bad Fire
I’m sad to say that the most dynamic thing about Mogwai’s eleventh studio album is the glorious artwork that it sports. After the huge return to form on 2021’s As the Love Continues, it felt rather crushing to find the band letting their soundtrack work once again infect the foundations of what did – and does – make them a legendary band.
LISTEN HERE

Pain Magazine – Violent God
A new band featuring all the members of Birds in Row? SIGN ME UP! But, err, why is it actually middling to bad? It’s not offensive, but it’s a huge disappointment. The line-up is rounded out by the duo Maelstrom & Louisahhh. I’m not sure they’re entirely to fault, but this concoction just doesn’t work for me. Occasionally a song will click for twenty to thirty seconds before coming apart at the seams again.
LISTEN HERE

Perfume Genius – Glory
Michael Alden Hadreas, the man behind the moniker of Perfume Genius, has produced an extraordinary body of work to date, with his previous two LPs, 2020’s Set My Heart on Fire Immediately and 2022’s Ugly Season, both being close to peerless in their field. Glory is another incredible addition to his catalogue, but up against the prior two records, it didn’t quite meet the high bar he himself had set for my expectations.
LISTEN HERE

Pupil Slicer – Fleshwork
Much like Conjurer, I’ve had the pleasure of not only tracking Pupil Slicer’s rise, but watching them do it in real life. Never the most devout fan of the band, I’ve been absolutely blown away by the reception to their new album. Incredibly well constructed and performed though it is, there’s some special sauce missing for me that others seem to have detected and finding suitably delicious. A fascinating case study in my own little head as to why some bands rise to the surface and others don’t – and the answer, truthfully, is hard work. Pupil Slicer have put in the hours and the miles. Fleshwork does little to inspire me, but they’ve certainly earned their time in the limelight.
LISTEN HERE

Rivers of Nihil – Rivers of Nihil
Never the biggest fan of these guys, but I still always looked forward to checking out their new material. With a new change of direction, and that awkward “let’s do a self-titled record even though it’s not out debut where it sort of makes sense”, that’s most definitely not going to continue. It’s a pass from me.
LISTEN HERE

Sabrina Carpenter – Man’s Best Friend
On her seventh – yes, seventh – album, but second since she exploded into the mainstream, Sabrina Carpenter’s greatest faux pas isn’t that record cover (which I think is great and find utterly hilarious how many have clutched their purse strings and drawn their children protectively close), but following up the smash hit of Short n’ Sweet a little too quickly for her own good. That is to say, too quickly for musical quality, not – as is obviously apparent – commercially. This record is getting far too much criticism, though, as it sports some absolute bops. I do hope 2026 can be a bit of a fallow year – a few guest appearances, touring, perhaps a standalone single or two – so that she can deliver a focused full-length in 2027 to hush the naysayers.
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Sanguisusabogg – Hideous Aftermath
I’m really not sure what people are hearing on this album that I’m not. Sanguisusabogg, who seem to have largely relied on their odd, difficult-but-not-impossible-to-pronounce name to gain them initial notoriety, have never struck me as the most dynamic death metal band. Yet, with this album, people have now started really celebrating the music. It’s well written; performed proficiently (if slightly stilted); and features a mixture of sympathetic raw production as well as a clarity in the mix to allow detail to be heard. Great! It’s just the songs themselves still don’t hit that hard for me.
LISTEN HERE

SCALER – Endlessly
This band were previously called SCALPING. Since becoming SCALER, some edge seems to have been lost. I can definitely imagine this material will prove effective live, but on record the traces of trip-hop and experimental electronic merging with flashes of metal and techno, doesn’t seem to produce the same alchemical result as previous recordings have done.
LISTEN HERE

Scowl – Are We All Angels
I truly wanted to like this more than I do. I’ve given it many, many spins. Like the vast majority on this list, it is a very good LP. But after the huge promise of their EP, Psychic Dance Routine, I thought this would be a defining record for the already beloved band. Unlike some on this list, however, I will most definitely still have high expectations for what comes next from Scowl. There’s a punk classic in them, I truly believe that, if they can find a way to let it out.
LISTEN HERE

Shame – Cutthroat
The South London post-punk five piece have had my attention from the very beginning. Their debut Songs of Praise was imperfect, but clearly showed the huge potential of the band. Their sophomore, Drunk Tank Pink, announced them to the wider punk rock scene and their third LP, 2023’s Food for Worms introduced them on the world stage. Cutthroat has quickly followed and is a solid if incoherent return. It lacks the vim and vigour of the other records, suggesting a band that might need to tour, then rest, and come together again to experiment and write for a longer period.
LISTEN HERE

Sharon Van Etten & The Attachment Theory – Sharon Van Etten & The Attachment Theory
A big fan of Sharon Van Etten for some time, I was excited to learn that she would have a full-band album out in 2025. Anticipation was high. The compositions that make up this ‘debut’ are bass-forward pop-rock, with arrangements that lovingly compliment Sharon’s wonderful vocals. I suppose I just expected the ineffable more. I am, however, utterly bemused by just how loved this record has become. I’m not hearing it.
LISTEN HERE

SPELLLING – Portrait of My Heart
I think I’m likely going to get a bit of heat from some close to me who adore this record, but I still can’t bring myself to love it. It was and is a disappointment to me. What Chrystia “Tia” Cabral – aka SPELLLING – does artistically is obviously very much within her own power, but it doesn’t stop me from longing for her to have remained in the rare weirdo alt pop liminal space that Kate Bush and vanishingly few others manage to excel in. Portrait of My Heart‘s simplified, rock-oriented approach is impressive but I can’t help hankering for The Turning Wheel, Pt. II. Recent ‘reimaginings’ of tracks from the new album that tend to err more towards her previous style – namely ‘Destiny Arrives’ with Natalie Laura Mering (Weyes Blood) and ‘Portrait of My Heart’ with Brandon Yates (TURNSTILE) – prove me correct. But I would say that.
LISTEN HERE

Squid – Cowards
The London band keep up their release schedule of an LP every other year with their third album, Cowards. While no doubt a strong record and one that may take me longer to appreciate, I still remain a little disappointed with it, at the moment. Squid‘s debut Bright Green Field was such an immediately wondrous affair. Their brooding sophomore, O Monolith, did take me longer to immerse myself in, and I wonder whether that will be the same here, despite Cowards being more direct musically. Another album on this list that is well worth your listening time, but if you haven’t been introduced to the band yet, I’d start with their first full-length.
LISTEN HERE

Tame Impala – Deadbeat
It wasn’t so much that I was expecting it to be great as I don’t worship Kevin Parker as some do. Currents is an extremely good record, but it’s not as era defining in my eyes as it clearly is for others. This, however, is not very good. At all. It’s over-hated. But it’s still not good. At all.
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Taylor Swift – The Life of a Showgirl
Oh, Tay-Tay, you are jolly lucky not to have found yourself on the Worst Albums of the Year list! The first three tracks save The Life of a Showgirl from that indignity. Talking of dignity, where did Ms Swift’s go on the rest of the record? I don’t need to recount at this point how toe-curling some of the songs are on this record, as people have discussed it in awe and disbelief far too much already. Taylor’s twelfth LP is on this list because I genuinely did expect her to bounce back after the previous year’s car crash The Tortured Poet’s Department (and it’s insane Anthology companion album released a day later). Instead we received a record that has, whether she or fans will admit to it or not, finally put a chink in her once unassailable armour. Is this the beginning of the end of her worldwide pop domination? Probably not commercially for a while [which seems to be the only thing the billionaire now thinks about] but as part of the cultural zeitgeist? Perhaps…?
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The Last Dinner Party – From the Pyre
Probably one of my most reluctant inclusions on this list comes in the form of The Last Dinner Party‘s sophomore LP, From the Pyre. The wildly talented group of young women once again deliver some incredible alt pop mixed with theatrical rock. Were it not for their incredible debut, Prelude to Ecstasy, I would possibly be singing this record’s praises. Like Sabrina Carpenter, I would suggest the desire to capitalise on their newfound attention has led to some of these songs not gestating long enough and, with more time, a few more tracks may have been written that would have superseded weaker ones that remain present on the tracklist. I’d personally like to see them tour hard in 2026, release maybe only a short EP in 2027 and hit us with a stunner in 2028, but such is the music industry, I can see another album sooner rather than later…
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The Weeknd – Hurry Up Tomorrow
If you read my write up about why Justin Bieber’s SWAG and SWAG II are some of the worst albums of 2025, you may remember that I say a decent short album was hiding within the tepid coral soup of the rest. An album of the length of the first two parts of a trilogy of records – namely After Hours (2020) and Dawn FM (2022) – was definitely possible for Hurry Up Tomorrow, and it would have matched the quality of those other records. Instead the disappointment of this record comes from how frustrating it is that it’s mired in a needlessly long tracklist. Unlike artists such as Drake, I personally doubt this is due to Abel Makkonen Tesfaye trying to game streaming, but rather that before the release of this LP, he informed the media and his legions of fans that he was retiring The Weeknd. As such, Hurry Up Tomorrow not only concludes an ambitious trilogy but also a phase of his career, and some songs that don’t quite fit feel as though they are present to just get them out into the world before he closes the door on the project. It’s understandable, but it doesn’t stop it affecting his final LP, and that’s a damn shame. A compilation of loosies and rarities years down the line could have still allowed the songs to have seen the light of day eventually.
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Thom Yorke & Mark Pritchard – Tall Tales
Thom Yorke needs little introduction, as vocalist/guitarist of Radiohead and now The Smile, as well as his own solo work. Mark Pritchard is lauded just as highly, albeit in slightly smaller circles, as a dazzling electronic musician, who is on the iconic record label, Warp. The two come together on Tall Tales, a curious record that, quite honestly, I don’t much like. It’s not very good!
LISTEN HERE

Tyler, The Creator – DON’T TAP THE GLASS
Tyler Gregory Okonma – i.e., Tyler, The Creator – surprised everyone by dropping a new album in 2025, little over a year since the much anticipated, long roll-out record, CHROMAKOPIA. Billed as a record that got away from conceptual LPs, it excited many. Early on I sensed disappointment’s bite. I like Tyler best when he leans as hard as he can into a concept. So it proved. And another record veering into dance that I didn’t like, so perhaps this (and the others) reflect more on me. That’s music, I guess!
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yeule – Evangelic Girl is a Gun
I remember Glitch Princess coming out and me telling anyone who would listen [very few] that Singaporean post-pop artist Nat Ćmiel was going to be the “next big thing”. I was wrong. She was – and remains – too weird to catapult quite high enough as to be introduced into the public consciousness. But after seeing her in tiny venues, she did end up supporting Charli XCX and many others on larger and larger stages. softscars followed in 2022. As the same suggests – it was deeper and more darkly intimate, softening the poppy and harshest elements of yeule’s sound. Sick title notwithstanding, there’s an increased transference towards shoegaze and grunge on this fourth LP, that do work, but I miss the wild abandon of earlier material. This album is where softscars was leading, so it didn’t come as a huge surprise. Still a great album, but also does feel like another transitional moment to my ear.
LISTEN HERE