Yes, I know. Maybe everything bitched about them is true; an eye-watering marketing push, cynically calculated, monied, etc. Maybe it is not. I’ve no real idea.
But, but, but, the second album by this London five-piece is my most listened-to of 2025 – and it only came out in October. In the end, all that will be left is the music, the rest history. Just think of The Monkees. The cool kids loathed this manufactured TV group in the 1960s, but who listens to “Daydream Believer” today and froths with the same indignation?
From the Pyre is a gem, start-to-finish, a perfect balance of Sparks-like pop, Bat For Lashes pretentiousness, virtuosic talent and untrammelled ambition, with the 24-carat single, “This is the Killer Speaking”, the cherry on top.
There are many other albums, of course, that deserve the spotlight (perhaps deserve it more, given all the hot air already generated by The Last Dinner Party!). My three main go-to’s are listed at the end of this piece. Other than those…
Jazz fusion is absolutely not my thing, but (and only when in a certain mood) singer Emily Saunders’ Moon Shifts Oceans heads for unusual places. Not as unusual as Beech by Danish jazz Saxophonist Cecilie Strange, a unique semi-ambient trip which places the listener in a rustic autumnal dream.
In terms of bands, Nottingham duo Rattle’s primitivist experiments with percussion and voice continue to fascinate on Encircle, while Is it Now? the latest from Los Angeles post-punkers Automatic is a grower, and I suspect, Bite Me, the noisy trash-rock debut mini-album by Milanese punks Manduria will be too. In the global music sphere, Sol, the second album of Afro-Caribbean grooving from Paris-based Venezuelan septet Raúl Monsalve Y Los Forajidos is a hip-wigglin’ joy.
I don’t ever really listen to the whole of US singer-songwriter Indigo de Souza’s Precipice album but the catchy, passionate, articulate “Be Like the Water”, “Heartthrob” and “Heartbreaker” are returned to regularly.
Finally, I was sent French synth-pop sensation Zaho de Sagazan’s 2025 orchestral recreation of her 2023 debut album La Symphonie des Éclairs: Le Dernier des Voyages. It wasn’t that interesting but took me back to the original which is completely captivating, so I shall cheat the timeline by mentioning.
Three More Essential Albums from 2025
Tropical Fuck Storm Fairyland Codex
Wet Leg Moisturizer
Moonchild Sanelly Full Moon
Musical Experience of the Year
My musical moment of the year was when the Red Arrows flew overhead as Pulp reached the climax of “Common People” at Glastonbury Festival, but the whole gig credit should really go to the spectacle of Lady Gaga’s stunning Mayhem Ball (also, micro-gig shout-outs to Jopy, Dog Race and Frank From Blue Velvet).
Track of the Year
Aside from The Last Dinner Party, the tracks I’ve listened to most are ALT BLK ERA’s throwaway punkin’ “My Drummer’s Girlfriend” and Marina’s bananas “Cuntissimo” but let’s give this one to Molly Tuttle’s ragin’ hoedown “Everything Burns” as, unfortunately, it sums up 2025.
Below: watch Molly Tuttle play "Everything Burns" live at the Green Mountain Bluegrass and Roots Festival 2025
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