OG Brad's Best of 2025
The Top 30 + 40 More Worthy of Your Attention
2025. Good riddance. And yet, I think 2025 may be a year that lives with us for many years to come.
I wrote in my mid-year Best Of post that the music that resonated with me in the first half of the year was quieter than usual because the world just felt so loud. In the second half, I definitely found myself veering back to louder, or at least more discordant, music, partially because of changes in my own life but also because of the need to find a new path forward rather than stay more in retreat.
Overall, 2025 feels best summed up as a year of profound transition, especially in Washington DC, where the 6OGs have been based for many years (two of us have now fully or partly relocated). Tens of thousands of people lost their jobs, the core concept of what the government is for was shaken, National Guard forces showed up, and many people’s lives and/or life’s work felt under threat. The impact of these changes are still only settling in, but 2025 was one that shook the foundations.
Musically, as Indiecast, our now dearly-departed (hopefully not forever) favorite podcast, noted, foundations were also shaken and transitions feel underway. It was the year that saw hip-hop fall entirely off the Top 40 for the first time in 35 years, Taylor Swift finally fell down a few rungs, 2010s/early 2020s stalwarts (Japanese Breakfast, Lucy Dacus, Tame Impala, Car Seat Headrest, etc) became almost forgotten after lackluster new records, and alt-country truly came back all the way into the forefront of indie rock. And for me, it was the first year in a long time where the mainstays of indie rock - Geese, Turnstile, Nourished by Time, Water From Your Eyes/This is Lorelei, Wet Leg, and many others - are all bands I really dislike.
As such, my Best Of list, too, feels like one reflective of transition. My top albums of 2022 and 2024 were hip-hop records, and that was the genre that has dominated my listening over the last few years. 2025 less so. Partly because my own life transition of moving to Tucson meant I had less time to focus on dense lyrics (my preferred form of hip-hop) and instead needed instrumentation that would keep me going. I also ended up with a bunch more alt-country and acoustic (fully or partly) records than I have tended to of late. All in all, 2025 was solid, if not legendary, but I do expect some of these records to live with me for many years to come.
So as I have done in the last few years, I have short write-ups below on my Top 30 records, broken into pairs of albums that resonated with/reflected each other for me. Then a list of more (40 this year) at the end that I loved but didn’t quite make the main list.
Phonetics On and On - Horsegirl/The Cords - the Cords — You can see my discussions of Horsegirl here and here. No record stayed with me more throughout the year. And If Horsegirl was my favorite album of the first half (and most of the second) of 2025, The Cords made quite a run. The two records are cut from the same cloth. Jangle primitive power pop from Scotland on Slumberland Records? That is a recipe for me to love, but also a high bar to get over. This duo of sisters Grace (both bass and drums on the record) and Eva (guitars and vocals) Tedeschi more than soar over it. The record covers familiar themes - lost love, uncertain futures, heartbreak in relationships, and at times, unbridled joy. The album has a lovely range of tempos, from the plaintive (“Weird Feeling”) to the mid-tempo (“Doubt It’s Gonna Change”) to the more up-tempo (“Bo’s New Haircut”). On “October,” the chorus strikes on the sentiment that runs through many of the songs: “It’s not that it’s gone/It’s just not the same as it was.” The songs are, to a one, instantly catchy and will make you not just tap your feet but get up and move.
Big Ugly - Fust/Bleeds - Wednesday — We’ve covered both records extensively on 3A6OG, and we’ve been shilling for Wednesday for years. Hard to imagine a year when they put out a record, and it doesn’t end up here. As for Fust, they were a favorite new discovery for me, and “Spangled,” the opener on “Big Ugly” was far and away my favorite song of 2025. In both bands, the songwriting shines through: Karly Hartzman from Wednesday has been known for years for her songs that pull on the minor details, the Faulkner-esque notes and characters of Southern life; she’s matched song for song by Aaron Dowdy, who’s a PhD student in literature at Duke.
Animaru - Mei Semones/Live in Toulon - Naima Bock. I covered Mei Semones in the mid-year list, and this continued to be the album I would go back to time and again when I needed to breathe, to be quiet, to appreciate intricacy in music. The interweaving of English and Japanese, the texture of the bossanova guitar, and the balance of volumes - it’s just sublime. I said in July that the album “flows together so smoothly that the album almost melts into your soul as a complete whole without warning.” I stand by that, if only to add in the new live record from Naima Bock. Her album “Below a Massive Dark Land” was my #3 album last year, and I returned to it throughout 2025. Bock also has bossanova influence in her music, but on the solo live album, it’s her voice that is the star and will also seep into your soul after a few listens.
Sortilege - Gabe ‘Nandez and Preservation/The News Ain’t News to Me - Old Grape God and Andrew — If you miss (or missed out on) MF DOOM, then “Sortilege” is the record for you. The sound, the flow, the feel, the production, the atmosphere. It’s dark and hazy, and the rhymes keep you off balance and uncertain about where it’s all glowing. Even the hazy album cover photo brings a mask to mind. By contrast, the record from Portland, OR producer Old Grape God and MC Andrew is bright, energetic, and infectious in the production. The rhymes are entertaining and surprising (how many rap records have a line about LinkedIn, for example?), and mostly, you’ll find yourself smiling as you listen to this one (likely on repeat).
Una Oportunidad más de triunfar en la vida -- Los Piranas/Yenbett - Noura Mint Seymali — I wrote about Los Piranas here as one of my early 2025 favorites, and it never stopped delivering. At the end of the year, an old favorite came back after many years away. Noura Mint Seymali is a Mauritanian griot and master of the ardin, a 9-string instrument that looks a bit like a metal detector. “Tzenni” was a favorite of 2014 and is a track I go back to often, so when she released a new album, on the great label Glitterbeat no less, I looked forward to another desert blues record. But this record is so much more than another desert blues album. It has a level of soul, of blues, and occasional funk that was surprising and exciting. The tempos are a little slower, and the mix a little muddier, but it makes for a captivating listen.
How to Get Away with Nothing - abel/God’s Gonna Give You a Million Dollars - Shallowater — One of my great discoveries of 2025 was the No Expectations substack by Josh Terry (thanks to a shout-out from Indiecast). In a mid-September post, Josh focused on Columbus, OH as “one of the Midwest’s more stellar music scenes.” That got me intrigued, as I’d also been loving one of his other Columbus recs (see below). And abel was even better. The opening track “Grass” was among my favorites of the year, and it sets a tone of noise and melody that drives the record forward. Josh Terry also turned me on to Shallowater. With a title like “God’s Gonna Give You a Million Dollars” and a band who describes its sound as “dirtgaze,” how can you not listen? There is a noise and grittiness rooted across the record that keeps you, well, in the dirt. The first track starts almost hypnotically and then explodes, like another great Texas band of old that I went back to a bunch in 2025, Bedhead; the second track sounds like a Bedhead B-side. This is a record you can dive into; maybe if you do enough, God really will give you a million dollars.
Heartache in Room 14 - The Altons/Tether - Annahstasia — Soul and R&B had a massive moment in 2025, with many Best Of lists dominated by these genres. For me, you can keep Dijon, Nourished by Time, et al - these were the two that stood out. I covered Annahstasia in the mid-year list, and no record surprised me more throughout the year. Her voice is otherworldly, and the instrumentation varies from spare and acoustic to big and bold, and honestly you can never quite tell why the choices were made, but they always work. The Altons came on my radar early in 2025, and the Oakland Latin Neo-soul band never left. Not sure any record I played for other folks got as many “who is that?” inquiries. It’s smooth, it’s lush, and it will transport you to another time and place.
Ripped and Torn - Lifeguard/The Big E - Editrix — If you miss Steve Albini’s band Shellac, Editrix is the record for you. Sharp, angled, powerful, and a punch in the face. The drums pound in that Albini way, and the bass propels the tracks in a way that calls to mind the best of Albini. And Lifeguard, a band of young guys from Chicago barely in their 20s, feel like a band that Albini would have taken under his wing. Like their alter ego Sharp Pins (see below), Guided by Voices runs through the record, but with an overlay of power and force that provides the distinction from the other band. Where Sharp Pins goes with melody and power pop, Lifeguard goes with just power. Like so many great Chicago indy noise bands, e.g. Melkbelly/Mandy and post office winter, Lifeguard is a rush.
Late Great - Laura Stevenson/Strange Devotion - Maura Weaver — Laura Stevenson has been around the indie scene for awhile, largely alongside Jeff Rosenstock. But unlike Rosenstock’s big power/emo sound, Stevenson is straight up indie. This record goes from singer/songwriter to big indie rock, and it all works. “Not Us” is the track that kept me coming back over and over; heartbreaking and honest. Maura Weaver from Cincinnati was a new discovery for me, as I spent time exploring the catalogue of Feel It Records, which is a treasure of great music. Weaver’s sound ranges from alt-country to closer to pure pop. It’s a diverse ride of a record, and one I didn’t expect to enjoy nearly as much as I did.
Mad Dogs - Grace Rogers/It’s Summer, I Love You, and I’m Surrounded by Snow - Dead Gowns — I wrote about Dead Gowns here. Grace Rogers is a new country singer from Louisville, and her debut record is a great example of classic country sounds, with some smoky barroom notes thrown in. Indeed, the track “Smoke ‘Em” is the one that kept me coming back.
Monster of the Week - Tulpa/Jane from Preoccupied America - Added Dimensions (Bonus: Immune from Evil - Graphic Violets)— Tulpa was a late discovery for me, but it has dominated my end of year listening. Tulpa is a band from Leeds that sounds much more like a Slumberland/Bay Area or Chicago indie band than what we’ve come to expect from Leeds in the world of post-punk or harder indie sounds. It’s endlessly catching, and “Transfixed Gaze” is both an insanely catchy song and deeply cutting lyrically, a theme that carries across the album. Added Dimensions is a Richmond band that also makes super catchy lo-fi indie rock, and their new album also had a biting lyrical theme made it more than just an enjoyable listen, but something that felt timely. The drummer’s solo project, Graphic Violets, is also worth a spin.
Musical Chairs - Artificial Go/Magic of the Sale - Teethe — In the transition between two straightahead indie records in the last group to the next two couplets of shoegaze and emo, we hit these albums from Cincinnati’s Artificial Go and Texas’ Teethe. Artificial Go hits the quirky post-punk side of indie (more of the stuff we normally hear from Leeds, actually), and Teethe is the slowcore/noisy side.
Die in Love - Greet Death/Minor Slip - Shaki Tavi — My two favorite shoegaze records of the year. Both are loud, mysterious, and exciting.
Hunting season - Home is Where/Trying Not to Have a Thought - Algernon Cadwallader — I’m usually not an emo guy, but both of these records struck me with their unexpected lyrics and punch-in-the-face music that kept me wanting more.
Radio DDR - Sharp Pins/Balloon Balloon Balloon - Sharp Pins/Talulah’s Tape - good flying birds — Sharp Pins is the other project of Kai Slater from Lifeguard. Sharp Pins and good flying birds are two bands that are challenging Guided by Voices, so if you love their classic sound (they keep churning out records, so no reason to miss them yet), try all of these out. Read Brian’s excellent reviews of Sharp Pins (Balloon Balloon Balloon) here and good flying birds here.
The Illusion of Being - Yugen Blakrok — Rounding out the list is my favorite MC in the world of trip-hop. She’s mysterious, her voice is otherworldly, the music and beats are both haunting and enticing. This album didn’t hit me quite as strongly as her 2019 record, Anima Mysterium, which remains one of my favorites of the past 10 years, but it still filled a void.
Honorable Mention (each genre/section in rough order):
Rock
The Beat Goes On - Golomb — Another Josh Terry recommendation from Columbus.
Hip-Hop
Soul/R&B
Country
African (not a genre, I know, but for ease of organization)
Cumbia
Middle East
So much good music this year, which has certainly helped me get through it.
I haven't gotten to some of these like Shallowater and haven't given enough time to The Cords or Horsegirl. Hard to get to it all.
Really appreciate your list and the work done here all year!
And you, happy new year to come, I hope Tucson treats you right. CP is a twangy insightful singer/songwriter. Snooper is fast-hitting "egg punk". The last 2 are kinda art/experimental. They both played Songbyrd in the fall but I couldn't make either. Hope you find so.ething to like. I cued up The Cords this morning .... instant winner, even with my wife who finds my taste often dubious.