20 dec 2025
2025 has showed itself to be an awesome year for music, as many people
holy shit, this album is really good. i wasn't very familiar with stomach book's work before this point, but listening to this album was an experience. the noisy guitar tones and drum samples are cachophonous and distorted but extremely well-mixed, and contrasted with vivian's screechy and frantic vocal performances, it makes for an awesome, sonically full, and emotion-steeped experience. "Nothing Special" is my favorite track on this album, encapsulating all the emotions that come with suffering in silence, on a track that is so noisy and maximalist that i consider to be the song representation of screaming out for help, and a voice crack-ridden performance that works so well with it. it's seriously good, give it a listen.
okay, i'll admit, there is a bit of bias with this one, because i was actually one of the first people to hear this album, before it was released on streaming services at a damag3 live show in fresno. however, that doesn't diminish the fact that this album is so well-made. damag3 and all her collaborators on this album sound so good together. this album is as introspective as it is militant, with critiques of capitalism and the systems that have persisted for years to our detriment being prominent throughout. i really like the song "HUNTR_SHAFR," a high-octane and bragadocious gender envy anthem, with a heavy dose of anti-government content throughout.
this one surprised me a lot, as i'm used to monty.pk's production and vocal style having a characteristically hyperpop flare to it. but monty.pk has done the most graceful genre shift that i have seen in a modern hyperpop artist, with the single "if a man falls" being his audience's first taste of this new country pop sound that he's going for in this album. while this album is still pretty short, it still manages to pack a punch and stick to the folk sound, it also adds a rock, country, and electronic flare to it, with monty's gut-wrenching performances providing a new twist to that old country/folk pop song we are all used to. it's almost as if you gave 2009 taylor swift an splice edm drum and synth bass pack. i am particularly fond of the track "aren't you proud?," probably the most emotional song performance on this album, but there is sincerely not a miss on this album.
this one felt almost obligatory at this point, as danny brown as worked with a sleugh of hyperpop producers and has always pumped out high quality bangers and bars, no matter the vibe. this album is really just a ton of fun, being upbeat most of the time and featuring explosive production from underscores, frost children, femtanyl, among others, but is also a kind of combined therapy session/party album. the song "Copycats" featuring underscores never gets old to me; underscores never misses when it comes to producing a good song and a catchy melody, and they have so much chemistry on this track as well.
well, she's done it, mother has released one of my favorite electronic albums of the year, a short-and-sweet collection of recession pop-era bangers that feature some of ayesha's best performances and production yet, while she is just as unhinged as ever on all these tracks. her auto-crooned horny lines and airy melodies paired with booming bass and drums throughout provide a sonically full and endlessly fun experience, great for a club or a long car ride with friends. while "MENLO PARK" is by far the most emotional song on this track, it also contains some of ayesha's most maximalist and blown-out production i've heard, along with some of the shoutiest performances from ayesha that i've heard; best listened to in a car at max volume.
passengerprincess, a new music duo from la blew me away with their assortment of singles for this album, releasing banger after banger, then coming out with an album that i can only describe as "an extremely gen-z electronic album dedicated to young furries." lizzy and neanderthal work so well together, both as producers and vocalists, and move across the electronic genres they emulate very gracefully, while putting their own spin on them. this album is an extremely promising album from this duo and i can't wait to hear what else they have in store. "CREDIT CARD" remains my absolute favorite track on this album, a dance track perfectly expressing so many young people's attitudes towards economic success amid the times we live in. seriously good stuff.
GLASS JAW marks aries' first album since 2021's BELIEVE IN ME, WHO BELIEVES IN YOU, an album that has remained a favorite of mine since it came out when i was in high school. aries is an artist i have been following for a very long time and it has been great seeing his development as an artist, as it's very clear in this album that he has improved more still in his production style, songwriting, and vocal performances. it seems as though he's taking things a bit more of a pop direction, rather than the more alternative hip-hop tracks of his former albums, but there are so many beautiful cuts on this track, and is well worth a listen. "SLEEPWALKER" and "DEAD MEN TELL NO TALES" are my favorite tracks on the album, with features from brakence and keshi respectively, both of which fit the vibe of the album extremely well.
i wasn't super familiar with machine girl's work before this album, but WOAH, is this a killer album. all of the drums and guitars sound so good throughout the tracks on this album, and i don't think that there is a skip on here. i love the punk elements on this, and mixed with the fragmented breakbeats and drum loops, it makes for a seriously awesome sonic experience. "Come On Baby, Scrape My Data" is my favorite track on this album, that frantic and infectious lead throughout the track has infected my brain and i can't stop listening to it.
i was familiar with a lot of saoirse dream's work through her work with webcage, with which she has made "TENSIONNN," one of my top singles of 2024. she did not disappoint with her latest album either, a set of awesome emo-influenced songs with a heavy dose of 8-bit leads and undertale sound effects scattered throughout. catherine also keeps up her awesome songwriting skills that she featured in so much of her previous work, with truly heart-wrenching lyrics and performances in the latter half of it, and upbeat high-quality emo bangers in the frontend. so fucking good and totally worth a listen. i genuinely can't pick a favorite track on this album, but "down in flames," "broad shoulders!! gold star!!," "catherine never broke again," and "god knows i could tear us apart" are all good listens.
i could seriously yap about this album forever, it has been my bread and butter throughout this year, so much so to the point where my song, artist, and albums of the year were all jane remover. this album is one of my favorite albums of all time. jane remover is such an insanely good producer, and the different combinations of electronic music genres drenched in so much distortion and video game sound effects make for an overstimulating but well-orchestrated wave of sounds that is unlike anything i have ever heard. the production is so well-mixed, while all of the elements featured do not sound flat and are all distinct from each other, despite how many sounds and effects are used. the songwriting is fantastic on this album as well, and jane's performances are consistently spectacular throughout. all of the tracks on this albums are excellent, but i highly recommend "Experimental Skin," "angels in camo," "Professional Vengeance," "JRJRJR," and "Dancing with your eyes closed."