Album of the year 2025
December 30, 2025
Last year, I was already lauding the quality of new music, but 2025 went a step further! Certainly the three albums leading the list have landed high among my all time favourites. And going down the list, there are several records that have the capacity to grow.
FKA Twigs was undoubtedly my favourite of this year, reaching close to my all time favourite 10 or 20. The thing that really sets this album apart is a unique, clear and pervasive artistic vision. Though it contains many familiar elements, EUSEXUA sounds like nothing I've ever heard before. Many songs on the record pay tribute to existing genres, like house, techno, modern R&B and even trip hop, but reach new heights through the mastery of production, lyricism and the way the two support each other. One of the least talked about songs on the album, Sticky, perhaps does this the best. Starting out with a moment of deepest vulnerability, the song gradually evolves to display how beautiful that vulnerability can be, but also the risk we take showing it.
Completely different, Turnstile made a record I don't have much to say about, except that it made me genuinely excited about hardcore and punk again.
And then to make it seem like I'm all into R&B now, I also gave the latest The Weeknd album a ridiculously high score. It also is kind of a ridiculous album, being one hour and 24 minutes long, but somehow the consistently high song quality, cinematic feel and top notch production carry it all the way through.
The last two places had some stiff competition, some of which may bubble up in the future. These include a couple of extremely fun records from Skinner, Gelli Haha and Rose Gray, all of which have some individual songs I'll be playing for years to come.
This all is knowing that there were many, many albums that I didn't have the time to give the proper attention. Among them Florence + The Machine, ROSALIA, Geese and many more. Perhaps you'll see these popping up in a future list.
- FKA Twigs - EUSEXUA
- Turnstile - Never Enough
- The Weeknd - Hurry Up Tomorrow
- Maruja - Pain to Power
- Heartworms - Glutton for Punishment
- Saya Gray - SAYA
- Maruja - Tír na nÓg
- Ela Minus - DÍA
- Domenique Dumont - Deux Paradis
- DARKSIDE - Nothing