My Top 10 Albums Of 2025

 
Metal Metal Metal. Its the hard and heavy dominating this years top five. Commentary on old habits or a lack of diversity? Probably the later but in general, It hasn't felt like that great of year in the realm of popular music. Not many big names with big or successful records, so my list easily gives way to my personal preference for niche Ambience adjacent pleasures. Big shout out to C418 for making a big return with Wanderstop. A massive soundtrack with lots his distinct magic to enjoy. Great stuff!

(10) Trevor Something "The Anima" (2025) link

Sneaking in with a late entry, I feel like Trevor managed to hit a superb vibe with these songs. Some obvious influences converging into an indulgent space. Boosted by a couple of infectious earworms, I've found myself returning to its best numbers often.


(9) Gelure "Inner Sanctum" (2025) link

Highly anticipated, this did not disappoint. One of the finer Dungeon Synth artists, this continuous expanse into Fantasy, Medieval and Atmosphere plays masterfully. A compliment to the existing catalog, whilst tip toeing into Black Metal with a grandiose conclusion to the record.

(8) Old Sorcery "The Escapist" (2025) link

A similar sentiment to our other Dungeon Synth adjacent entry above, another master of craft, Old Sorcery delivers another solid entry to a remarkable catalog of genius music. Diverse and adventurous, its runtime a transformation to another realm. Its nice to see them continue this glorious craft.


(7) Yagya "Vor" (2025) link

A banging return to form, Yagya delivers on their iconic icy Icelandic downtempo beats. Vor executes this unique approach to chilled out electronic music with a soothing calm and mystic energy to wrap one up in its melty magic. Its two halves may have some conceptuality behind them but the end result plays like one continuous spell of tranquility.

(6) Krusseldorf "Mushroom World" (2025) link

Our first new artist on the list, this chance discovery of Krusseldorf landed a fresh record in my lap. Mushroom World is as strange and bizarre as its cover suggests. Another spellbinding Downtempo adjacent exploration of curious electronics aesthetics with Jazzy melodies. An engrossing if often subdued other worldly atmosphere to immerse within.

(5) Soul Blind "Red Sky Mourning" (2025) link

The only other new discovery, a late entry that hit so hard and swiftly I'd be tempted to throw it higher up the list. Full of banging riffs, 90s Grunge and Groove, Soul Blind take nostalgic influences and express them through a voice they can call their own! On analysis, Red Sky Mourning is quite the moody affair, a balance where the effectiveness of its break out riffs masks the continual burdensome tone.


(4) Deftones "Private Music" (2025) link

Their best effort since Koi No Yokan, Deftones capitalize on a resurgence in popularity with this masterful production, a craft built of decades of experience. Armed by this stunning aesthetic, their typical set of ideas and motifs meld with brief moments of experimentation on a powerful record that has really stuck around compared to the momentary excitement of their last couple of albums.


(3) IGORRR "Amen" (2025) link

Having evolved from an eccentric musician melding an eclectic range of time spanning genres, IGORRR's evolution as a band continues to impress with another banger. Refining production and composing, its another step in the right direction yielding moments of intrigue among great songwriting and hard hitting groves of brutality.


(2) Turnstile "Never Enough" (2025) link

Never Enough's prominence in this list has been bolstered by an unforgettable show at Ally Pally. One of the best gigs I've ever been really cemented my connection to these songs. Turnstile dial up subtlety here, not hitting one over the head with its underlying power, the riffs rock steady and melodies charm. Padded out by dreamy synth interludes that offer a respite. It all clicks into place when you hear it live. That build up and suspense between songs works so well and made me appreciate this aspect of the record even more.


(1) Ghost "Skeletá" (2025) link

What can I say? This band just know how to craft songs I adore. A step off their peak, Skeletá almost feels like a greatest hits as its numbers run through many of their now classic motifs. Its all executed with a mastery a decade of song writing will offer. The touches of 80s Ballad and 70s Rock worm well into record. A familiar warmth I still can't get over. Despite being criticised by some, Ghost are yet to dull for me.

Krusseldorf "Laidback" (2017)

For now, our Krusseldorf venture concludes at a lower altitude. Distant are those charmed curiosities that drew me in. Laidback is certainly calm in demeanor, easy on the ears but much of its lengthy runtime circles over dulled ideas and bland aesthetics. It suggests the artist enjoyed the subtle details of its sound design much more than this listener. Lacking melody and groove, the focus seems to lay in the textural craft of these dreary downtempo drives. They Fall conjures a soothing mood with its dreamy warmth. The following Rebuilding Icarus flips the script for a lean cut, darkly intent with sharp brittle beat. From those distinctions, the record drifts into obscurity. Tracks drone on, seemingly fixated on strange Industrial like samples and breathy snippets. These ideas are scant, ruminated on endlessly, A tired slump I didn't enjoy much.

Rating: 3/10

Krusseldorf "Cloud Songs" (2020)

 

Still charmed by Krusseldorf's curious demeanor, we venture further down the rabbit hole. Cloud Songs' titling nods to its lofty ambiguous nature. Quirky compositions, delving into a haze of softness, lazy, relaxed and inviting. These cozy tracks meander through inconsequential landscapes of melting melody and circling rhythms that evoke Pysbient suggestions when percussion hones in on Downtempo templates.

Despite getting off to a strong start, establishing soothing vibes and cruising through chilled melodies, the tides turn in its second act. Dub For Slouchers hits a high as the records best track, cohering the classic Dub baseline to its whimsical follies, ushering in dazzling arpeggios near its conclusion. After this, the mood shifts, dramatic, subtly sorrowful, with a sense of abandon, proceeded by chemistries brewing unease.

Between them, Dance Of The Sleeper revels in that winning Dub formulae again but otherwise the record fizzles out as emotional narratives fail to resonate within the soft obscurities electronic music can offer. This is oddly punctuated by the arrival of dreamy, Ethereal effeminate singing, which had previously done the music wonders. This outing they played into the diminishing flow. Cloud Songs had immense promise but simply drifts out of focus after a strong start.

Rating: 5/10

Krusseldorf "Fractal World" (2014)

Winding back a decade from a recent curiosity Mushroom World, this record plays out in its imaginative shadow. Resting on mellow laurels, these harmless ambient soundscapes exchange sleepy, murmuring lethargic melodies against busied yet often aimless glitchy drum grooves. This percussive aesthetic finds itself in vogue with similar trends of the time. The ten tracks that make up Fractal World, mostly shuffle through subdued instrumental chemistries, painting soft welcoming atmospheres.

 

Devoid of human emotions, songs jostling soothing oddities and ambiguous expressions through its synthetic instruments. The result is soothing, indulgent yet misses a power to make deeper impressions. Lacking definition, music passes by in a pleasant, disconnecting haze, pierced only by the occasional human voice. South Of The Sky Temple is a shining example. An effeminate, Ethereal voicing drops in to contextualize the curious atmosphere with humanity. A magic that could have been.

 

What will proceed finds depth in yielding these strange instrumental textures to a higher purpose but in their infancy, Krusseldorf has only aesthetic charm, missing on purpose beyond the slightly psychedelic mellow hallucinations this chilled out record provides. A fair listen, sorely lacking a magnetism to pull one back for more.

 

Rating: 5/10

 

Krusseldorf "Mushroom World" (2025)

By forces of coincidence, this intriguing album cover crossed my path. What lay in wait has captivated my curiosity consistently. With its many elements coming onto focus, I can unwind details of this spellbinding listen. Reminiscent of Dusted's Downtempo classic, Swedish composer Krusseldorf's electronics collide with that breezy chilled out realm, infusing soft touches of psychedelic charm into its design. Aptly named Mushroom World, is certainly a realm of ideas to loose ones self in. This overt hint could take its hallucinogenic temperament far, such is the power of suggestion.

 

 What I felt was the percussive persuasions of mellowed out beats, driving the music along with an understated power. Classic Downtempo, yet dialed back to let other instruments take focus. From the deep murmuring Dub baselines of Recliner Song to Chromatic Vapors bustle of playful melodies, these mid-tempo grooves lock one in as an mixed bag of oddities take over. Peculiar, disjointed melodies dance. Synths buzz and whirl in bursts of strange color. Ambiguous sounds flash in and out of focus. And densely reverberated audio snippets inject weighty suggestions of "tripping out".

 

 The record starts tame, its ambient leaning songs play wedged between flimsy melodic stints. Textures shine as these zany meddling aesthetics establish themselves. With the arrival of The Midnight Factory, a nightly noir charm begins to linger, a sense of theme builds, crooning as the record stretches into its second half. Unease gives way to kaleidoscopic wonder, with lively synth melodies playing up its mysterious inspirations into a bizarre, intoxicating indulgence. As suggested, its like drinking Tea With The Cosmos in its better strides. Krusseldorf seems to be a freshly unearthed treasure! No doubts I will be digging for more in their back catalog.

 

 Rating: 7/10