2025 lists

Yeah, the last blog was in February. In fact this post started out as the March post but I've rewritten it to be my end-of-year post. Though diagnosed and medicated, I'm no less impulsive and got distracted by a bunch of other things this year:

I've learned this year that investing time in making something you enjoy easier to pick up - ensuring there's a clear path to it without obstacles, removing distractions from the space in which it takes place, blocking out time to dedicate to it - means you're more likely to do it. With that in mind, I'm going to investigate how to make this blog easier to edit (the Github Markdown editor leaves quite a lot to be desired).

In addition I've noticed that regularly setting time aside to write helps my memory, mood and makes it easier to pick up and maintain habits. I'm going to be more diligent in writing (publicly and privately) and so hopefully you'll see more posts in 2026.

As a result of not consistently writing this year, I've probably forgotten a lot of things I really liked. One more reason to be consistent next year!

Music

YT - OI!

I assumed from the album art that OI! would be a take on the current snap revival[^1]. In fact, OI! is a take on the current[^2] and increasingly popular[^3] jerk rap genre. YT sands down some edges, the result being (even) less heady and more immediate than others working in the genre. This is decidedly pop music (not a slight!) with sticky hooks and crowd pleasing production. Although I wouldn't describe OI! as snap, the beats are also clearly taking influence from that era of hip-hop and "ringtone rap". I'd recommend the entire tape as it's so short but if I had to pick a highlight it'd be the bordering-on-annoying (like so many snap classics) hook, jersey-tinged production and DS referencing music video of Panda (Nananana).

YHWH Nailgun - 45 Pounds

Sounds like someone clearing their throat while two of my favourite video games are being played simultaneously at full volume (this is a compliment).

Eiko Ishibashi - Antigone

I’ve written about Eiko Ishibashi before but it’s been about her instrumental albums or soundtracks. Similar to her Drag City labelmate Jim O'Rourke (who frequently appears on her recordings), Ishibashi also has a singer-songwriter mode. I've been drawn to her more experimental works but have enjoyed select songs from albums "Imitation of Life" and "The Dream My Bones Dream". "Antigone" is her first singer-songwriter album for several years, it incorporates the sounds of "For McCoy" and "Drive My Car" and the result is her best record in this vein yet.

Algernon Cadwallader - Trying Not To Have a Thought

The typical progression for an emo band, especially on their first record after a long hiatus, is to put away the toys (emo) and become adults (play post-rock). Algernon Cadwallader surprised us in 2025, not only by releasing a new album but also by releasing a new album that is an actual emo album. By juxtaposing the nostalgic sounds of their youth with more mature lyricism, "Trying Not To Have a Thought" makes the convincing case that "emo is for the adults".

The Clothes - La fabula del martell i les tres flors

Imagines what would happen if you travelled back in time and gave Gastr Del Sol a modern sampler.

M.I.C. - CURSED

Been enjoying M.I.C.'s work for years and "CURSED" is his best back-to-front project yet. For this tape instead of aiming his ire at specific people (which he is also very good at), he's targeting the institution of Christianity. I'm an enjoyer of black metal on similar subjects but those records never had a song that got the refrain of "burn that church down" stuck in my head for weeks-on-end. The 9-minute closing track "Human Life Does Not Have Some Grand Purpose" is an experimental deconstruction of grime which has to be heard to be believed. A real level-up from an already consistently great artist.

Friendship - Caveman Wakes Up

From "Caveman Wakes Up", I'm guessing Friendship's favourite Silver Jews' album is the same as mine. If it actually is, great choice (and I really like this record)!

Vacuous - In His Blood

Life After Death 2 was the second instalment of an annual weekend dedicated to heavy (and heavy-adjacent) music. It’s organised by record shop and label Crypt of the Wizard, who over the years have become trustworthy and well-connected curators of note in the "____-metal" world. If you’re slightly into this style of music, I’d recommend going next year. There was something for everyone (into this music). From serene dungeon synth to black metal, from pagan lo-fi beats to industrial black metal, from “frog concert” to black(-ened death) metal (not to mention harsh noise). One of the bands that played was Vacuous and I was so impressed by their set that I had to immediately cop their latest, "In His Blood", on vinyl. It's unusual for me to do this (especially a death metal record that I'm rarely able to play) but such was the power of their set! "In His Blood" is a worthy follow-up to "Dreams of Disphoria". It's a technical take on classic metal-core and a standout metal release of 2025.

Florry - Sounds Like...

This is (just) good rock n roll, uh, music (that I want to see live next year)

Cloakroom - Last Leg Of The Human Table

In the recent shoegaze revival, Hum loom large. At one time they'd probably have been grouped into the - extremely broad net of - 90s alternative metal. They made music that combined the heaviness of drone metal with the conventional song structures of grunge. Nu-metal eventually took the sounds of alternative metal to make pop music but emphasised the aggressive sound of Helmet and Melvins. Cloakroom's latest record, "Last Leg Of The Human Table" takes sonic touchstones from the same era but unlike the aforementioned nu-metal bands they increase the ratio of Hum and Deftones in the mix. Expect to hear Stanier-like fills and Buzzo-like sludge with the excellent guitar tones of You Wish You Were An Astronaut. For guitar music enjoyers, it's one of the most enjoyable listens of the year.

Los Thuthanaka - Los Thuthanaka

Much like this album this website is also [unmastered] ([unedited]).

CHE - REST IN BASS

It might be my (extremely) catholic ancestry impressing upon my subconscious but I've felt there's been a lack of guilt to counteract the hedonism of the latest rage releases. I enjoy dunderheaded music espousing cheap thrills (like anyone else) but in my own opinion, a soupçon of remorse adds depth to this style of music. REST IN BASS is a 45-minute aural portrayal of the peak of a dopamine spike followed by one of best comedown songs released in recent memory (and it samples Beach House!). For me there's no contest versus the other rage releases of note this year, this is the one.

Knifeplay - Live in Seattle

Don't think anyone is making new slowcore as well as Knifeplay are and this live record is proof of that. I could easily listen to this on loop all day (and on some days I did). The previously unrecorded new tracks sound excellent and the version of "Nobody" here is more transcendent than the one found on "Animal Drowning" (a highlight of 2023 for me). Really hoping a UK tour (and a new album) is on the cards!

Dead Slow Hoot - Orbits Intervened

Excellently affecting cosmic indie rock that's tethered to earth by a strong emotional core.

MIKE - Showbiz!

He just doesn't miss! I hope MIKE releases an album every year for the foreseeable future (fantastic to finally see him live at Rally this year too). If you haven't already, peep the deluxe version that includes his (great) Tiny Desk Session!

caroline - caroline 2

caroline's S/T was a refreshing take on post-rock, a genre I usually use as a pejorative (with obvious exceptions). To me the subtle influence of emo is what set their debut apart from other post-rock works (a genre which "old" emo bands tend to "graduate" to[^4]). Their latest record is one of my favourites of the year, it expresses the heart-on-sleeve yearning of the best emo records via a novel combination of BIG post-rock compositions (think Broken Social Scene) and intimate alt-RnB textures (think Blonde). "caroline 2" is made by "an actual band" but it's also an "in-the-studio" record (seeing them live - which you should do if you have the chance - confirms this).

Geese - Getting Killed

Turns out if you combine two classic alternative records with the theatrical absurdity of Dan Bejar's lyricism then the resulting music is enjoyable and very replayable. Stick it out until the title track (I support gauntlet-thrower-Track-1s in principle but "Trinidad" is ass) and you'll be rewarded. They aren't Deerhunter but maybe they'll put out a Monomania one day.

Oneohtrix Point Never - Tranquiliser

It's best record he's made since Garden of Delete, believe the hype (I didn't before listening)!

Books

I read less books than last year but the ones that I read were ones that had been burning a hole in my to-read shelf for quite some time.

Blood Meridian took the longest to read, I eventually warmed to it despite its challenging (to me) prose and content. I dug Lapvona, Empusium and Biography of X quite a bit too.

I didn't finish Wilkie Collins' Armadale, as I thought that the level of investment required wasn't worth it (compared to the shorter and more immediately brilliant The Moonstone and The Woman in White).

As of writing I've yet to finish it but currently I'm enjoying Rejection by Tony Tulathimutte. I also read Things We Lost in the Fire by Mariana Enriquez and I'm looking forward to reading the rest of her short story collections next year.

Films

One Battle After Another obviously rules.

Weapons is great and has the best ending to a horror film since The Substance.

I was surprised by how much I liked Wake Up Dead Man. I really didn't like the previous Knives Out films or what I've seen of Poker Face, so I assumed that Rian Johnson would never make a murder-mystery that clicked with me. This latest entry however is more restrained than the previous films, has a fantastic central Josh O'Connor performance and is an effective rumination on how aging changes your relationship with religion (that resonated with my own feelings on the subject).

Watching Don't Let The Riverbeast Get You! on the big screen with an in-person Matt Farley Q&A is something I thought I'd never experience. Hearing first-hand from a compulsively creative person who won't let anything stop him from making art was a more inspirational experience than I anticipated.

[^1]: This sentence was written in February 2025 [^2]: This sentence was written in February 2025 [^3]: This sentence was written in February 2025 [^4]: This sentence was written in February 2025 (and before the announcement and release of Algernon Cadwallader's album)