I think part of my anxiety about being late is how most places end up doing their year-end lists before the year itself even ends, which I maintain is just wrong; you might still find cool stuff in December! But I suppose it’s too much for me to change everyone else’s mind there. And I guess this isn’t really my “Year End” list anyway, since I kind of let each playlist stand on its own even when they share a year they’re covering. It’s just my “things I liked from the last four months of 2025” list, which is kind of a big difference, but whatever.
We of course have both the YouTube and Spotify playlists that correspond to this article. And just like usual, a lot of these artists are things that I found on Bandcamp; if you wind up liking their music as well and want to support them, that’s a great place to do so! And if you’d like your support to go even further, they even released the schedule for Bandcamp Fridays (where the site forgoes its usual cut in sales so it can all go to the artist) in 2026. I wasn’t quite ready in time for the one in February, but there’s one right around the corner at the start of March!
A quick note: 7mai isn’t on either platform; you can find their music on their Bandcamp page. And the Spotify Playlist is missing a few extra tracks on top of that; Alpha and Strawberry Station didn’t upload their tracks, while Powderpaint and June Jones have recently removed their catalogs from Spotify in protest of the CEO.
(And for a final reminder, I have an Out of Left Field mailing list separate from my baseball writing one. So if you’d like to know right when these articles come out, feel free to sign up here. I don’t use it for anything other than new article notifications too, so no worries about spam. Although if you are subscribed, make sure to check your spam filters.)
With all that out of the way, let’s start the actual list:
The Playlist, as an Article
Sydney Sprague: I’ve been trying to organize these lists roughly with a “best stuff at the top” mentality for a while now, and while it’s not always perfect (the exact order isn’t always 1-to-1, and I’ll sometimes group stuff based on the flow of the written blurbs in the middle), I do tend to really think about what goes at the top of the list. And while that’s easy sometimes, one album or artist will just stand out to me, this time was a little more difficult. I kept flipping between the top three choices here, and I might even change my mind the day after publication. But I’ve got to publish this list eventually (I’m already behind my loose schedule…), so this is where we’re landing for now.
‘Peak Experience’ is probably the album I listened to the most over the last four months of 2025. That would normally be a great indicator of placement at the top of the list, but there are some other factors here that made me hesitate. It’s only eight songs and just barely over twenty minutes, for one. I’m not sure I liked it more than her last album, ‘Somebody in Hell Loves You’ (the deluxe version of which wound up nearly twice as long as this, while still not even being close to overbearing). For more personal irks, almost half of the album was released early as part of the ‘Flat Circle’ EP, which I included on my last playlist (and which, per my usual rules, would mean that I won’t be picking them here).
And yet… I did still keep listening to it. I don’t know what else to say, Sydney Sprague is just really good at this! It sounds like this album was a more impromptu project to commemorate her going independent, and I think that comes through. Not just in the length, but in the content as well. Sprague has always done a beautiful job at conveying the feelings of various anxieties that plague her in a way that’s relatable, and a big transition in life is certainly rife for opportunities to explore that. You get personal dejection in songs like “All Covered In Snow” and “Your Favorite”, the tedious back-and-forth of things like “Dead’s In the Van”, or the sweet wallowing of “Long Island”. The lyrics are part of it of course, but the arrangements under each one feel just as important, to the point where the words feel almost like abstractions that could be interpreted in a few ways, and the music is what’s really driving the vibes home. It can be hard to put into words, I suppose, but this album is short enough that you can easily sample it for yourself and see.
But my favorites, though, are the twitchy, rip-roaring bangers that raise that nervous energy into an anthemic level; really, that probably describes the past songs of hers that I’ve loved the most, like “terrible places”. I included “As Scared As Can Be” and “Fair Field” last time… but they really are such a shot of energy, and I’d love to use them to kick off this playlist. I probably listened to them more over this cycle anyway, so they feel like a better representation of this list. I’ll throw in “Flat Circle” as well too, though, just for something new. Also, I recently learned that Sprague will be opening for fellow Arizonan rockers The Format on their comeback tour, which is exciting! I’d love to see more people getting into her music.
The Belair Lip Bombs: The other big contender for the title of Favorite Record of the playlist is ‘Again’, the second album by The Belair Lip Bombs. I totally missed their debut*, but saw a Bandcamp recommendation for this one right when it dropped and picked it up, and wow, was it just what I needed at that moment! It’s kind of funny in retrospect, because the first comparison I made when listening to them is The Beths, and that makes sense in a lot of ways. They’re both indie rock quartets with female singers from Oceania, both of them make catchy anthemic tunes, and both of them hit my brain sonically in a similar way that just floods it with good feelings.
But it’s one of those comparisons where once you make it, you start feeling all the ways your initial read was off. The Lip Bombs have this much more rollicking, garage rock feeling to their sound compared to The Beths’ tighter power pop. And their subject matter is just different, much less delving into twitchy anxiousness and other inner turmoils, and much more big interpersonal emotions and the stories and relations driving them.
And there’s something magnetic to their structure, drawing you in with all these catchy hooks and details and feelings, then building to a big climax where Maisie Everett will sing something that seems basic, like “Honey, I’ve never felt so free” (“Don’t Let Them Tell You (It’s Fair)”) or “Hey You” (from the song of the same name). But between the context of the lead-up, soaring instrumentals, and a perfect vocal delivery, it just feels like the most cathartic release imaginable. I kept browsing the lyrics, trying to decide how much of a snippet to include to really capture it all, and it’s hard to do it justice.
This is another artist that deserves more attention who might just be getting it soon, as Jack White signed them to his label shortly after ‘Again’ dropped. Hopefully this is the start of even bigger and better things for The Belair Lip Bombs (and if you want to say you got into them before they blew up, you might need to move fast!).
*Although like always, there’s a good chance that I look into it for the next playlist, so stay tuned…
Ninajirachi: And this would be the dark horse choice. Of the things I found perusing other people’s 2025 Year End lists, my favorite album so far is definitely Australian DJ Ninajirachi’s debut album, ‘I Love My Computer’. It’s not a perfect sonic fit, but weirdly one of the comparisons I kept coming back to was Porter Robinson’s 2024 album ‘Smile! :D’, another album I really liked. And it makes sense; both of them have a lot of overlap in themes and subject matter, among them looking back at growing up online, the digital world that was, and where you are now. Interestingly though, while Porter moved in a more pop direction for his sound, Nina’s album is working much more in the more traditional electronica sounds that he started in (or things like his Virtual Self side project).
At her peak, Ninajirachi can make absolute bangers that make you want to bounce around, like “iPod Touch” or “Fuck My Computer”. Their energy is infectious, and they just sound immense, like light shows in a clear night sky. But even those have a sense of earnest vulnerability at their core that I think really gets at the emotions that the album is going for, and it really primes you for the handful of stripped back numbers where she directly confronts those ideas.
Hemlocke Springs: This was a name that’s been on my “To Look Into” list for ages, and hearing about her upcoming debut album (set for this month!) finally spurred me to check out her previous 2023 EP, ‘Going…Going…Gone!’. Hoo boy, was I ever sleeping on that one! Springs is a pop wizard, fusing modern hyperpop elements seamlessly with ‘80s new wave and synth classics. Stuff like “girlfriend” or “heavun” is hooky melodies for days, embellished with glistening layers of synths and bloops that also feel perfectly jagged and angular, all feeling somehow feeling as much apiece with both SOPHIE and Talking Heads. Those seven songs and twenty minutes just fly by anytime I put it on, and it makes me thrilled to check out ‘The Apple Tree Under the Sea’ when it drops on the 13th (assuming I get this finished before then)... (ed: I did not.)
Peach Fuzz: I think this group wins my irregular “Newcomer of the Playlist” title. I found this Melbourne (man, this was a good cycle for Australian music, for some reason?) quartet’s new EP ‘Isn’t It Obvious?’, and almost instantly had to go back and check out their self-titled debut from the year before as well. The two releases total just a dozen songs and under 40 minutes, and I’m already eager for more, that just doesn’t feel like enough of their music yet. Definitely give them a listen yourself if you haven’t yet, but if you need a textual description… Good Kid might not be the worst comparison? Both very polished indie rock bands with sharp pop song writing instincts; you can hear some power pop/math rock/j-rock influences in both of their sounds too. A divergence would be that I think Peach Fuzz plays around with a little more varied styles and influences on top of that too; you can hear some things like jazz-pop influences in some of their tracks.
Their debut is a solid first take, but already, the growth from that one (released November 2024) to ‘Isn’t It Obvious’ under a year later (released September of last year) feels huge. The latter feels so much more confident and polished, despite still feeling like a new, fresh-faced act. It was one of my favorite things to just throw on and let the twenty minutes breeze by in the back-half of 2025. This is a group that’s really coming together and refining their sound, and it makes me even more excited to see where they go from here.
The Happy Fits: I don’t know that it holds together as well as an album as the other stuff that I’ve listed here, but The Happy Fits’ ‘Lovesick’ got a lot of spins from me in the final months of 2026. And a big part of that is that it’s just absolutely packed to the gills with anthemic pop-rock songs, each one of which in turn is loaded with hooks and big sing-along moments and riffs that get wedged into your brain. But they’re the best kind of example of that, never grating or feeling like they’re just a delivery mechanism for those catchy bits, just a natural formation of the song.
It’s a real talent to be able to combine those, I think, and especially with the frequency that they do. Even having burned two different pre-release singles (and arguably the best songs on the album?) on earlier playlists, I feel no need to bend the rules here; there’s a lot of fun stuff to show off here. And since I was re-listening to some of their older albums post-release, I can say it’s something that they’ve always excelled at, even if “Lovesick” also shows it’s a skill that they’ve developed and grown over time too.
But on top of their honed pop sensibilities, this also feels like a step forward to, into something grander. The Happy Fits have always had a unique sound despite their solid fundamentals (thanks, in part, to their unique instrumentation). But there’s been some personnel shuffling now, with the founding guitarist leaving and being replaced by two new guitarists. That gives them more layers to play around with, and they often go even bigger on top of that, with new vocals and more harmonies or extra strings (on top of their normal cello), leading to a grander feel. Also, Calvin Langman has taken up co-production duties in addition to their usual producer Ayad Al Adhamy. I’m not sure how much that specifically impacts the sound here; I’m mostly sharing it because I didn’t even realize Al Adhamy had been their producer until poking around after this record (he was a member of Passion Pit back during their ‘Manners’ era, and that record was a BIG DEAL to me back in high school).
If I have any gripe here, it’s mostly on getting it from “a lot of good songs” to the next level? Maybe it goes on a little long (15 songs, ~50 minutes), maybe it needs a little more thematic variety… I don’t know, I feel bad complaining about things in such a vague way, because it feels so close as is, but it did feel just a tick off the best of the best this time.
Magdalena Bay: There wasn’t an album release or anything from the duo… but there wasn’t not an album release, either? Instead, they surprise-dropped a new pair of songs… then did it three more times. And they aren’t an album… but if you’re buying physical media, they sell a collection of all four together as A-side/B-side singles. And I know I ended up dumping all eight songs into a playlist for my own convenience, because I was so often just listening to them back-to-back-to-back anyway.
It seems a little lean to be an album, and there was no real build-up to it… but then again, one of my best albums of this list was a 20-minute 8-track surprise release that surprised me by releasing so soon after an EP containing a few of the tracks. These 8 songs even have a ten-minute lead in run-time over ‘Peak Experience’! But I guess that’s the difference between Sydney Sprague’s efficient rock songwriter approach and Magdalena Bay’s lush pop extravagance. Wish is a good way to describe these tracks: really lush arrangements, with layers of horns, strings, synths, piano, guitars, and so on beneath Mica’s vocals. It’s an interesting atmosphere.
There aren’t a ton of obvious singles here, and kind of call to mind some of the soft rock of past eras, especially the stuff that focused on high-quality production. But Magdalena Bay does keep their modern off-kilter energy and sorta-sci-fi-ish(?) subject matter at the core of it all, so it still feels decidedly “them” rather than just throwback. If you lump them all together into one release, I’d probably put this eight-song set below their two albums… but it might register as my favorite EP of theirs?
Say She She: I hadn’t heard of Say She She until seeing them featured on Bandcamp following the October release of their new album, ‘Cut & Rewind’, so I’m not sure how much room I have to complain here… but I feel like this record should have gotten a little more love on other Year End “Best Of” Lists? This really is a gorgeous album; I’ll confess that I’m not the most knowledgeable on music production on the whole, but this definitely feels so well done that even I can tell. And all of the songs are so tight, it’s just pitch-perfect throwbacks to classic disco and R&B Girl Groups, with the trio’s vocal harmonies building beautifully over these amazing funky instrumental grooves. I know it’s cliche to say “they don’t make ‘em like this anymore”, but like… yeah, this style is definitely harder to find these days, especially at this level. Definitely do yourself a favor if you missed it and check it out!
Jamie Paige: It wouldn’t be a Playlist here without some Jamie Paige representation. There was no big release this time, but there were a few smaller ones worth highlighting. Her group Flavor Foley released another new track, “Human”, which goes hard and continues with some of the themes of their recent releases. Paige also featured on electronic producer Tsundere Alley’s track “On the Wind”; I’m not really familiar with the latter, but this song is good enough that I’m willing to investigate more.
But the highlight here is definitely “Do Not Harm”, a collaboration with Marcy Nabors and internet comedian Penny “SnapCube” Parker that’s also a pitch-perfect homage to Hikaru Utada’s “Simple and Clean” from the Kingdom Hearts series. I kind of just figured the track was a fun one-off tribute to something the three of them grew up with, no further explanation necessary… until a few months later when I caught up on SnapCube’s ridiculous Kingdom Hearts “Real Time FanDub” series and learned that it was in fact the theme song of the whole thing. I had kind of forgotten about “Do No Harm” at that point, and I think I almost choked on my drink laughing when it suddenly came on and the original joke finally clicked into place.
The Beaches: This is one is hard to talk about for such mundane reasons. Did you like The Beaches’ previous record, ‘Blame My Ex’, because I sure did. In that case, try their newer release, ‘No Hard Feelings’! It’s the same sound they were working with last time, but refined and tightened up even further, and I think I prefer it on the whole. If you missed that one and need a frame of reference, The Beaches are that sort of vaguely dance-y, post-punk revival sound that I’ve come to associate with 2000s alternative rock, and I think a good example of it too. I thought they might be poised for a more mainstream breakthrough last time, but apparently that was mostly limited to just my circles and my local alt station; I kind of hoped their continued building on ‘No Hard Feelings’ would put them over the top this time, but we’re now a few months post-release it doesn’t seem like it so far, sadly. Ah well, at least their home (Canada) seems to appreciate them a little more.
Madison McFerrin: McFerrin’s sophomore album ‘SCORPIO’ is a sublime little neo-soul record, and it’s great to follow her continued growth since her debut. This is one that I feel like kept slipping my mind, probably in part because it’s… actually a little sad to sit through (the theme being processing a break-up with a partner right on the verge of the wedding day), feeling rather shaken and raw at times. But McFerrin’s writing keeps the sound smooth and velvety even as the lyrics reflect some serious inner turmoil, like something just holding themselves together in a quiet storm. If nothing else, it definitely sounds and feels like a mature record from an artist who’s been making some strong strides forwards; hopefully, a follow-up comes into the world on slightly happier terms.
Casey Dienel: The last time I covered Dienel was three years ago, in reference to their 2017 album ‘Imitation of a Woman to Love’. Dienel had accompanied that with an interesting article where they explained her burnout working in the industry and claimed that they’d be retiring from music for the foreseeable future, despite a longtime passion for it. It was sad but very understandable, and you could feel a very uneasy, almost haunted tension in that whole record.
But forever was maybe too long a time to stay away; eight years later, Casey is finally back with ‘My Heart Is An Outlaw’. And I think you can tell that Dienel is in a better headspace here, all these years later. ‘Imitation’ was full of these weird moments of discomfort, like sparse arrangements or off-kilter choices. ‘Outlaw’, meanwhile, feels much warmer and fuller in sound; the arrangement and production here is really good. And a lot of that anxious energy has transmuted into something else, much more a sense of wistfulness or weary reflection. I think they also do a great job showing off Dienel’s songwriting and storytelling, and their skill at setting a scene and a mood and then letting the arrangement carry it home. The second track on the album, ‘Seventeen’, is a highlight, eight minutes long and feeling like a goddamn odyssey, recounting a story of a jaded barfly slowly getting swept off her feet by a stranger as strings swell and Dienel sings them off into the night. It’s a fun showcase, and I’m glad they returned to share it all with us.
Frost Children: Back in September, the duo finally released their full-length follow-up to 2023’s double bill of ‘Speed Run’ and ‘Hearth Room’ (although it didn’t feel like that much of an absence, as they kept busy in the time since; it mostly just warps my sense of time). ‘Sister’ sees the pair going full EDM (with Porter Robinson even making an appearance, returning the favor for their feature on his record). Somehow, it feels both totally expected (of course they’re good at this, it’s not that far-afield from their hyperpop stuff) and like a bit of a swerve (the more natural predecessor, ‘Speed Run’, was so many releases ago). I’m not sure if it’s my favorite things of theirs since it is a little one-note, but it is wall-to-wall EDM bangers with strong pop sensibilities, so it’s easy to recommend. And really, I’ve found that it’s growing on me over re-listens, so maybe my ranking of it will continue to grow…
Fickle Friends: I feel like any time an artist that I follow releases an album about “settling down” (broadly speaking), I have a tendency to bounce off of it a little. Especially in cases where I really liked the previous record (like with ‘Are We Gonna Be Alright?’). I try to minimize it, I hate the tired cliches about the best art having to come from suffering or whatever… but that thought is still there.
But all that said… Fickle Friends’ self-titled third album is probably the best case version of that? I think the group has a knack for writing sharp, catchy pop songs filled with hooks, as well as a tight and clean sound; all of those are here. Songs like “Joe” and “Swoon” (not included on this list because it made the Start of 2025 Playlist as an early single) are exactly what I want out of them, and kept getting stuck in my head. And even the lyric content isn’t that far off from their past work, even with the added background of what seems like a stable relationship (which makes sense; a lot of their past lyrics were struggles with anxious thoughts and self-doubt rather than finding a relationship, and just finding a partner isn’t going to just magically end those feelings, just redirect them). After a number of re-listens, I was still having a good time with it; I just wound up concluding that the biggest change from then to now was mostly due to personal taste. ‘Fickle Friends’ is more than fine at what it sets out to do, I just miss the synths and dance song structures they were working with last time around. Ah well, it happens; still a good time!
Porcelain Moon: This one was a fun find on Bandcamp, the self-titled debut record of indie synthpop duo Porcelain Moon. And it’s a solid effort! Full of hazy, dream-like pop songs, all of which sound gorgeously sweet. It’s a surprisingly long release too, sixteen songs before the bonus tracks, and more of them are hits than misses. If I have one gripe, it could maybe use a little more variety in its sounds (especially at that length), but it does make for a very cohesive listen at least. It wound up being one of my favorites to throw on at nights, to relax and reflect at the end of a day, and I’ll definitely check out whatever they do next. (Also, it gives me a chance to include a song that shares it’s name with both the album and the band, which I always find funny.)
Liquid Mike: Liquid Mike is back with their new album, ‘Hell Is an Airport’, and it’s exactly what you’d expect from them. More muscular power pop with a punk-ish edge, themed about the struggles and tedium about small-town Midwest life, with over a dozen songs that still comes in at comfortably under half an hour? Yep, all here, as per usual. It’s all as catchy as normal too, which is funny given how the shorter run times and lack of traditional pop song structures kind of work against it getting stuck in your head; I’ve almost come to think of them as sung-through mini-musicals in a weird way.
Martha: As I said after reviewing their most recent album last time, I started digging through their backlog. I didn’t love ‘Love Keeps Kicking’, the album immediately preceding ‘Please Don’t Take Me Back’ in their discography, quite as much, but that’s not a knock at all! A lot of the best qualities are still there in spades, I just think the new record takes it all a step further (although that might just be the personal bias of hearing the latter first). And there are still plenty of bops here too, like “Into This”, “Mini Was A Preteen Arsonist”, and title track “Love Keeps Kicking”. It’s just an infectious record, and I feel like there’s a chance it’ll continue to grow in my estimation upon further relistens. (Whether it’ll be enough to bring it even with its follow-up… well, we’ll see.)
TV Girl: After a long time on my “To Check Out Later” list, I finally got around to starting to dig into this cult classic indie band by picking up ‘Who Really Cares’ just ahead of its tenth anniversary. After a handful of false starts, something about it really just clicked into place this time, and it entered my more regular rotation of “something I can throw on when I need noise while I work or relax at night”. I don’t know, but something about their looping sample-based indie pop songs and the lyrics of nostalgic reflection and longing just felt like a good fit for dark winter evenings (although I think their more natural home still feels like the hazy evenings in the dog days of summer). It’s almost hypnotic, in a good way, and even kind of comforting in some ways pushing against the lyrical content. I’ll probably be continuing to delve into their discography in the future.
Little Image: A bit of a weird case, because I usually try to check out albums or EPs to get a fuller sense of artists. But I saw Dallas trio Little Image get a shout-out in Mic the Snares’ Best of 2025 video, specifically their song “NOVOCAINE”, and since it wasn’t part of a larger release, I just decided to check out a handful of their singles before the end of the year. And you know, that was a good call; I really enjoyed everything I listened to! They’re just a catchy alternative rock band with a good sense of hook writing and building moods in their sound, like the ominous “NOVOCAINE” or the sly, brooding “STRANGE FRIENDS”. I’m excited to check out more here, whether that’s a continued dive into their back catalog or (if we’re lucky??) a full record of some length.
I usually find it easier to write about longer releases than individual songs, so I’d like to take a moment now to shout out some specific singles that don’t have larger releases (yet) backing them up, but which still gave me things to say:
-Good Kid announced an album due this spring, and kicked off the cycle with “Wall”, a single that is perfectly them and one of their best songs yet. The chorus is just such a perfect wail for a lost time that can’t come back, and I love it.
-Speaking of groups releasing songs that could be their platonic ideal form, Milk Talk returned with “Medusa”, a smooth and slinky dance jam.
-Underscores returns with her new jam “Do It”; between this and last playlist’s feature “Music”, I’m getting more and more excited for a potential third album announcement.
-Indigo De Souza teamed up with Mothé to release “Serious”, which feels like it could serve as either a lost single or perfect coda to her fourth album, ‘Precipice’. I covered that one and enjoyed it a lot, so I’m pretty happy with more of that!
-And then, in contrast, we have Moe Shop’s “Hardcoded”; sonically, it isn’t that far off from the preceding album ‘EVO EVO, but it’s much more intense and upbeat, and I think it makes sense it was left off to be its own release.
-Ratboys announced a new upcoming album as well. It’s… technically already out, since I took too long to release this article, but since it’s still outside of the scope of this list, enjoy one of the pre-release singles, “Anywhere”.
-”Carry on” by DÉ DÉ MOUSE and Pa’s Lam System is a bop, that’s all I’ve got to say there.
-This period included Christmas, which means a lot of old standards. But for a new entry into the holiday canon, there’s Eggtan’s vocaloid synth jam “It Could Be Us” (starring Kasane Teto!). I suppose I could leave it off since we’re so far past Christmas, but I like it too much to ignore (and I think it’s mild enough to work as a more general winter yearning song, too).
-In case you missed it, we got a 10th Anniversary Special Edition of ‘Emotion’, including a few new tracks. They aren’t my favorite Carly Rae Jepsen songs, but I think they’re more than solid for being essentially, what, the D-Sides of the album at this point?
Psychedelic Porn Crumpets: This was another pull from other people’s “Best of 2025” lists, I think Mic the Snare in particular? I don’t know that I’m that much of a Psychedelic Rock guy on the whole, but it’s hard not to appreciate this album, ‘Pogo Rodeo’. It’s just a really tight rock group rattling off tight grooves and shredding riffs, and it all sounds gorgeous. Also, they’re yet another Australian act on this list.
Orla Gartland: We got a deluxe version of the indie pop singer’s last album, ‘Everybody Needs a Hero’, with four new songs added. I liked that release, and these new songs continue showing its influence from 1990s and 2000s alternative. Not sure any of them would rank among my favorites, but they’re still nice to have!
Jukebox the Ghost: The piano-based indie pop trio returns for their seventh album, ‘Phantasmagorical Vol. 1’. And I don’t know that it’s my favorite album of theirs –of course, that’s always going to be an uphill battle for any band this long into their careers (and in a way, it feels almost unfair to be making that comparison)– but I do appreciate it a lot! The whole thing is loosely themed around being excerpts of a radio broadcast from some sort of fantasy realm, although it’s rather loose in that theming; the tracks themselves are distinctly of-our-world, fairly standard for Jukebox the Ghost. They write a lot of catchy melodies and fun instrumentations out, just as they normally do.
But goodness, are there a lot of them! The total run time of the album is over an hour with thirty tracks, although a full third of them are skits in the form of radio interstitials. I’m still not sure what I make of the full experience. Part of me wishes that the songs themselves were a little more fantastical to match the rest of the concept, but the band definitely leans into their showmanship and more twee energy at least, so it also doesn’t feel mismatched. Over an hour can be an exhausting run time, but the looser theming and radio “format” makes it easy to just check in and out as needed. The non-song bits are unobtrusive and minimal, with the songs themselves making up a full hour of the run time; most are closer to small spoken-word bits or song snippets to introduce the next song, and the few outright sketches are actually not bad (and yeah, it’s kinda cliche, but the one where the radio show hosts “interview” the band’s bewildered drummer about the song he wrote for the album got a laugh out of me).
I kind of wonder if the concept was mostly a justification to take a ton of mostly-finished songs they had lying around from past albums, polish them up, and get them out in the world? If so, I think it generally worked! The chosen songs are all generally fun and energetic, and even if they aren’t the most cohesive on the whole (a lot of them seem to be more middle-aged reflections on life and relationships and such, but there are also a few that seem to be more from a younger perspective), I think they are all solid! Certainly catchy and lively enough to fit the ideal of a pop radio broadcast. And between the title and an interstitial (one framed as accidentally picking up a transmission “from the future”, which is cute), there’s the promise of more Jukebox the Ghost music coming up, so this hardly needs to serve as some sort of grand finale. It can just be another album from the group, with the extra dressing as something fun to set it apart a little.
I don’t know, maybe it’s not my favorite JtG album, maybe it could be doing more with the premise… but as a collection of solid pop songs from veterans at crafting those, it’s absolutely overflowing with them, and I do think the framing helps keep it from becoming too overwhelming and gives it some nice touches around the edges!
St. Lucia: Speaking of “veteran acts I’ve been a fan of for years releasing new albums”, we’ve also got ‘Fata Morgana: Dusk’ by St. Lucia! This is their sixth album, and notably second one in 2025 following the release of ‘Fata Morgana: Dawn’ back in March.
The idea behind the split was to explore different ideas, with the first one being more inspired by things like Soft Rock and Yacht Rock, and this one being more about Dance music (although both are filtered through St. Lucia’s usual sound too, I think). And I do think the group sticks to those ideas in a noticeable way; the songs here are much more built around bouncier, more intense hooks and loops, in a way that definitely feels distinct from the more laid-back sound of ‘Dawn’. There’s also a tendency to just let the instrumentals do their thing for extended periods, with minimal lyrics (and a few occasions where the lyrics are fine, but still clearly feel like stereotypical “Dance Music” lyrics, picked to be snappy and evocative and sound fine over the music, but not much more than that). It works, and I think I like the highs of ‘Dusk’ more, but there were a few times I found myself wishing that some of the songs had more of a traditional pop song structure, if only for a little bit more variety? And a few of the grooves and instrumentals are so good that they make me wish there were more lyrics or melodies to go with them… even if that would kind of miss the point a little.
I also wonder if the two could be mixed into one shorter, more traditional St. Lucia album… but that might have also defeated the point of the exercise and totally prevented it from happening, so maybe that idea’s not worth exploring too much. It definitely feels like them trying to explore two distinct styles of music that they appreciated from their younger days, and I think it does that. Listening to the two of them back-to-back can be a little much (combined, they’re 21 songs and nearly 85 minutes), but I’m also not really sure that’s the recommended way of listening to them. But it does kind of feel like two different halves of the band’s sound, in a lot of ways, and reminds me of their debut album ‘When the Night’ at times (especially songs like “We Got It Wrong” and “September”).
I don’t know, I suppose there’s a lot here between the two ‘Fata Morgana’ records, but still a lot to like too, even if it makes for a little shaggier experience than most of their other records. Neither one is going to wind up my favorite album of theirs, but they are interesting, and I’m glad they happened.
Florence + the Machine: Let’s keep going with this theme of “acts I’m a longtime fan of”, actually. I really liked the new Florence + the Machine album, ‘Everybody Scream’! I was a lot cooler on their last two albums for reasons I’ve never been fully able to put into words despite spending some time thinking about it. None of them ever felt like radical shifts away from those first three albums that I loved; Florence Welch is a pretty singular musical talent and all of those albums felt decidedly like her work.
But seeing how much ‘Everybody Screams’ feels like one of their classic records helps underscore that there always were a few more shifts going on there than I think I realized? This one has all those big sweeping numbers and cinematic grandeur to the sound that I think they do best (especially the titular opener), and which could be missing a lot of the time. I don’t know, you want the artists you love to continue exploring new sounds, but sometimes the direction they pick upsets what was a much more delicate balance than you ever realized. But it makes it very sweet when they return to that base years later and show they still really know how to do it well!
Franz Ferdiand: And yeah, let’s throw Franz Ferdinand in the pile too, while we’re at it! This was another act that was really big for me back in high school, but who I had kind of fallen away from over time. In retrospect, at least some of that was probably just that they slowed down themselves; from 2013 to 2024, they only released one album (2018’s ‘Always Ascending’, which I maybe need to revisit now?) plus a side project album. But that time away plus some other shake-ups (some lineup changes and their first independent record release) seem to have refreshed some things. I instantly sat up in my seat and said “Woah, is that new Franz Ferdinand” from the opening notes of “Hooked” the first time I heard it on the radio, and finally got around to the rest of the record before year’s end due to some sustained good buzz I heard.
The Florence + the Machine record is an interesting comparison, in some ways; whereas ‘Everybody Screams’ feels like a throwback, ‘The Human Fear’ is recognizably Franz Ferdinand while still not feeling like any one of their earlier records. Their dark, anxious post-punk rock sound is here, but it feels much less jittery and angular, instead bringing a much more collected, mature, even suave energy? Which is probably befitting of a band that’s over two decades into their career, honestly. I’d hesitate to call any of their albums “upbeat”, but this is probably closer than they’ve come before. It’s a good listen on its own, but it also really gave me more appreciation for their whole career up to now.
The Midnight: Another regular fixture on these playlists, their sixth album ‘Syndicate’ dropped at the start of October. At 85 minutes, it feels a little much at times… but then, that’s kind of The Midnight’s deal. The majority of their albums are already an hour or more; this is a step up, but a few of the tracks here had been floating around for a while too, so the “new” stuff is probably not too far off. And let’s be honest, part of The Midnight’s appeal has always been luxuriating in the mood they set, of neon lights through misty night skies. They certainly do that here, with a few bangers to go with it. This maybe isn’t the album to introduce them to new listeners with, but if you’re already a fan, it’s got all their hallmarks.
Ripe: I’m a pretty big fan of funk-pop band Ripe; I’ve included them on playlists here in the past, and I still go back to their early stuff (especially their 2018 first full-length album ‘Joy in the Wild Unknown’) quite a bit. I was excited for their second album back when that finally dropped in 2023, but I can’t deny that it hasn’t held up as well as what came before it, for whatever reason. So what do I make of their third album ‘Play the Game’, which released back in September? I think it’s better than ‘Bright Blues’, at least for now. It’s also good that the turnaround was much quicker. But it’s still not as good as their debut, and I think being able to reference the two albums together have helped me crystalize my mounting issues.
At first, I thought the way the horns are being recorded and produced here was the main issue. Like, the fun thing about Ripe is that they are a funky group with their brass section built in, but those parts on more recent works sound… off? Almost artificial? Again, music production is not one of my specialties so I may be off, but that’s the feeling I get. And yeah, Ripe was always a pop act more than a proper jazz ensemble, but there are still levels here! I think at one point I thought “this doesn’t sound like a band with a horn section, it sounds like a basic pop song that just got some horn sounds added in.”
But thinking about it more just highlighted how relatively absent the brass section has been in their arrangements, really even dating back to their second album. It’s a little better this time, and I’m a bigger fan of some of the live arrangements that give their trumpet and trombone players more things to do. But too many times, the winds are just restricted to additional texture, or emphasizing/accenting other instruments’ parts, or backing up the chorus; it almost feels like busy work just to give them something to do at times. Those unique, dirty horn lines that were woven into their songs back in the day always felt like their secret sauce, and it’s just not as fun when they’re missing. Again, there are still some good songs here, I just think the album on the whole could use more of that energy they used to have.
KennyHoopla: Last playlist, I included a single from an upcoming EP by KennyHoopla, ‘conditions of an orphan//’, which was teased by mentioning that Zac Farro of Paramore was working on production. This was a case of being exactly what was promoted; it’s a new KennyHoopla EP that dips into some of that dance-y post-punk/new wave sound that Paramore was working with on ‘This Is Why’. It might be my favorite release of his on the whole now, and I wish it ran a little longer than just five songs.
Like Roses: I found Like Roses through the collaboration on the Gloomy June album (which I covered in the last playlist), and if you like that kind of pop punk, this Bay Area trio is another good place to look. Their EP ‘Stuck’ is a little angrier and more aggressive than Gloomy June’s melancholy, but if you like one, you’ll probably enjoy the other.
Bad Snacks: We’ve got another buttery-smooth EP from electronic producer Bad Snacks in the form of ‘MIDNIGHT’. Just like her last one, the songs are chill, dark, and lush in texture, perfect for a relaxed night of chilling and reflecting. And “show me how u do it!” takes it even further with a nice, smoky saxophone solo (courtesy of guest Nicole McCabe).
Don’t Get Lemon: An Austin synthpop trio that I found browsing on Bandcamp, specifically their most recent album, 2024’s ‘Have Some Shame’. It’s a good listen! And while I’d like a little more sonic variety over the full album, it’s definitely got some high points, and there’s more than enough there to get me to check in on where they go next. Their sound is definitely indebted to the New Wave and British New Romantics of the scene from the ‘80s, so if you’re at all interested in that sound too, give them a listen!
San Gabriel: ‘Nights and Weekends’ is the debut of San Gabriel, solo side project of Austin-native James Bookert, and while it wasn’t my favorite release of this cycle, it was one that I kept coming back to. The layers of hazy, dreamlike texture felt like it kept the songs at a distance initially, but I kept warming up to the strong indie pop cores as I kept relistening, often pulled along by a memory of a single hook or moment. It’s compelling.
After: In my last playlist, I highlighted After and their debut EP, ‘After EP’, after finding it on Bandcamp, and after that, After released their follow-up ‘After EP 2’. No, that was not the clearest way to phrase that idea, but I felt a compulsion to do so for comedic effect. Anyway, if you missed them last time, After is a duo who makes turn-of-the-millenium style, trip-hop influenced pop, and their second release follows up on that promise with another solid half a dozen tracks. Interestingly, I’ve actually seen them picking up buzz in music outlets and discussion forums, and this new EP was even their debut as a part of notable indie label Mom + Pop. It doesn’t guarantee anything, obviously… but maybe they’ll be the leading edge of a wave on 2000s nostalgia in a year or two. I guess we are far enough away in time for that to be plausible now, after all…
South Arcade: South Arcade is finally back with their new EP ‘Play’. I’ve included them on these lists before, but for those who’ve forgotten, they’re a newer rock band that takes a lot of influence from the rock of the turn of the millennium; as someone who wasn’t really the biggest fan of that sound even at the time, it’s kind of interesting how much more I prefer their take on it, for whatever reason. It’s also kind of funny, because about half of the EP had been released early as singles, and it hadn’t made the biggest impression on me. But somehow, the final EP release has stood out in a way that even boosted the singles that I had kind of forgotten about. Curious to see if a full album is in the cards for them next.
The Last Dinner Party: I liked ‘From The Pyre’ enough, but it didn’t do as much for me as their debut record, ‘Prelude to Ecstacy’. And after a few listens… I’m still not really sure why? It seems good in a lot of the same ways as the last one, but also doesn’t feel like they’ve over-mined that sound. I can’t pinpoint anything “wrong”, and it seems like it reviewed well enough, so I don’t think it was any wrong choices on their end (although I did feel like I saw it discussed less than the debut, at least in American music circles). I don’t know, maybe it was just personal taste, but it wasn’t sticking with me as well. Maybe I’ll revisit it in a few months and finally have it click though; that’s happened before.
Geese: I feel kinda dumb not having more to say about ‘Getting Killed’, given the level of attention that it’s gotten in music discussion spaces. It’s good! I like how audacious it can be, and I’m glad other people like it. I think I prefer ‘3D Country’ a little more, but to each their own.
Nation of Language: I’m a sucker for synth bands, but I had somehow missed out on Nation of Language until I heard “Inept Apollo”, the lead single for their new album, and started seeing some buzz about them online. At that point, I checked out both their prior record (‘Strange Desire’) and the new one once it was released in September (‘Dance Called Memory’), and… I haven’t fully latched onto them quite like I hoped, given my initial thought was to compare them to early Passion Pit, their songs are a little chillier and sparser than my usual ideal. But I do still like them, and I also keep coming back to them; they feel like they’re the type of thing that will one day suddenly click with me.
Futurecop!: ‘Wind, Town & Flowers’ continues exploring their direction from ‘Between the Moon and Stars’, painting these grand, sparkling synthwave instrumental soundscapes. I think I prefer its predecessor, but this one is good enough to measure up, so if you’d like more of that sound definitely check it out.
7mai: Japanese electronic producer 7mai is another recurring feature on these playlists for their ‘Colorful Palette’ series of EPs. But after a bit of a break (relatively speaking), they’re back with something different: ‘Fruit Basket: Apple’, an EP that I assume heralds the start of its own line of releases? It’s not that far removed from their normal kawaii future bass music, but I do think it’s slightly toned down (relatively, at least; it’s like dropping from 100 miles an hour to 85). I’m curious to see how this series develops from here, and if it develops in different ways. It also makes me consider lining up all the ‘Colorful Palette’ releases to see if I can track and meaningfully determine their trajectory over the years (maybe someday, but that’s a lot of music and I need to finish this article, so not now).
Origami Button: Another fun random find on a Bandcamp dig was Origami Button’s ‘No Parking’ from 2021. Just a fun little album that feels like the intersection of a lot of different ideas, like math rock, emo, dance rock, pop-punk... It’s not often that a band writes songs that are this full of complex instrumental noodling while also still feeling this smooth and danceable.
Durry: Another case of “I liked their new album last time, so I went back to check out their older stuff”. ‘Suburban Legend’ is a little less polished than its follow-up ‘This Movie Sucks’, but all of the pieces on their second album are here on their debut and it’s a strong start. If you liked the latter one and want more of that sound, this is an easy recommendation.
Maggie Miles: Another random small find from browsing the new releases on Bandcamp, I enjoyed Nashville-based singer-songwriter Maggie Miles’s ‘A Humble Extension. It’s a fun, seven-song album that feels like her taking a bit of a tour through different styles of alternative rock songwriting. I’m not really sure if it’s a debut release or not, but it is the only thing on her page; maybe I’ll have to investigate more?
Ryan Leahan: It’s sort of a vague theme than anything more specific, but I’ll always have a soft spot for albums by young artists that are loosely about a night out that also serve as a sort of coming-of-age story. Which was probably why I decided to give ‘Forevermore I’ll Always Exist’ a try when I saw it browsing the new releases in BandCamp. It’s a fun little electronic dance-pop record that leans pretty hard into those themes, with a couple solid bangers along the way. I’ll definitely keep an eye here in the future.
I’ll include the full contents of the Playlist as a table below for anyone interested, right after one more email signup box. Like I said at the top, if you’d like to know when these go up right away, you can always sign up there!
| Artist | Song | Release |
|---|---|---|
| Sydney Sprague | Scared As Can Be | Peak Experience |
| Sydney Sprague | Fair Field | Peak Experience |
| Sydney Sprague | Flat Circle | Peak Experience |
| The Belair Lip Bombs | Don't Let Them Tell You (It's Fair) | Again |
| The Belair Lip Bombs | Another World | Again |
| The Belair Lip Bombs | Hey You | Again |
| Ninajirachi | iPod Touch | I Love My Computer |
| Ninajirachi | Fuck My Computer | I Love My Computer |
| Ninajirachi | Delete | I Love My Computer |
| hemlocke springs | girlfriend | going…going…GONE! |
| hemlocke springs | heavun | going…going…GONE! |
| hemlocke springs | enknee1 | going…going…GONE! |
| hemlocke springs | the beginning of the end | pre-release |
| Peach Fuzz | Fall Right Back to You | Isn't It Obvious?-EP |
| Peach Fuzz | Whole World Fooled | Isn't It Obvious?-EP |
| Peach Fuzz | What Do You Want From This? | Peach Fuzz-EP |
| Peach Fuzz | I Don't Like Roses | Peach Fuzz-EP |
| The Happy Fits | The Nerve | Lovesick |
| The Happy Fits | Miss You | Lovesick |
| The Happy Fits | Shake Me | Lovesick |
| Magdalena Bay | Human Happens | single |
| Magdalena Bay | This Is The World (I Made It For You) | single |
| Say She She | Cut & Rewind | Cut & Rewind |
| Say She She | Disco Life | Cut & Rewind |
| Say She She | Do All Things With Love | Cut & Rewind |
| Flavor Foley | Human | single |
| Jamie Paige, Marcy Nabors, & Penny Parker | Do No Harm | single |
| Tsundere Alley (feat. Jamie Paige) | On The Wind | single |
| The Beaches | Can I Call You in the Morning? | No Hard Feelings |
| The Beaches | Did I Say Too Much | No Hard Feelings |
| Madison McFerrin | Fighting for Our Love | SCORPIO |
| Madison McFerrin | Over > Forever | SCORPIO |
| Casey Dienel | Seventeen | My Heart Is An Outlaw |
| Casey Dienel | The Butcher Is My Friend | My Heart Is An Outlaw |
| Frost Children | Falling | SISTER |
| Frost Children ft. Kim Petras | RADIO | SISTER |
| Fickle Friends | Happier | Fickle Friends |
| Fickle Friends | Joe | Fickle Friends |
| Porcelain Moon | Porcelain Moon | Porcelain Moon |
| Porcelain Moon | Wishbone | Porcelain Moon |
| Porcelain Moon | Midnight Drive | Porcelain Moon |
| Liquid Mike | Double Dutch | Hell is an Airport |
| Liquid Mike | Meteor Hammer | Hell is an Airport |
| Martha | Into This | Love Keeps Kicking |
| Martha | Mini Was A Preteen Arsonist | Love Keeps Kicking |
| Martha | Love Keeps Kicking | Love Keeps Kicking |
| TV Girl | Taking What's Not Yours | Who Really Cares |
| TV Girl | (Do The) Act Like You Never Met Me | Who Really Cares |
| little image | NOVOCAINE | single |
| little image | STRANGE FRIENDS | single |
| Good Kid | Wall | pre-release |
| Milk Talk | Medusa | single |
| underscores | Do It | single |
| Indigo De Souza & Mothé | Serious | single |
| Moe Shop | HARDCODED | single |
| Ratboys | Anywhere | pre-release |
| DE DE MOUSE x Pa's Lam System | Carry on | single |
| Eggtan | It Could Be Us | single |
| Carly Rae Jepsen | More | Emotion (10th Anniversary) |
| Psychedelic Porn Crumpets | Born In The A.D's | Pogo Rodeo |
| Psychedelic Porn Crumpets | Looniversal | Pogo Rodeo |
| Orla Gartland | Now What? | Everybody Needs A Hero (Extended Edition) |
| Jukebox the Ghost | End of the Show | Phantasmagorical Vol. 1 |
| Jukebox the Ghost | Stranger | Phantasmagorical Vol. 1 |
| St. Lucia | Giving It Up | Fata Morgana: Dusk |
| St. Lucia | Summer Nights | Fata Morgana: Dusk |
| Florence + the Machine | Everybody Scream | Everybody Scream |
| Florence + the Machine | Sympathy Magic | Everybody Scream |
| Franz Ferdinand | Hooked | The Human Fear |
| Franz Ferdinand | Bar Lonely | The Human Fear |
| The Midnight (feat. Bonnie McKee) | Runaways | Syndicate |
| The Midnight (feat. Jupiter Winter) | Fatal Obsession | Syndicate |
| Ripe (feat. Lawrence) | Letting Go | Play the Game |
| Ripe | Cheap Seats | Play the Game |
| KennyHoopla | too many jocks turned rockstar// | conditions of an orphan//-EP |
| KennyHoopla | naysayers// | conditions of an orphan//-EP |
| Like Roses | Easy | Stuck-EP |
| Like Roses | Splenetic | Stuck-EP |
| bad snacks (feat. Nicole McCabe) | show me how u do it! | MIDNIGHT |
| bad snacks | say it like u mean it!!! | MIDNIGHT |
| don't get lemon | Blow-Up | Have Some Shame |
| don't get lemon | Highway 59 | Have Some Shame |
| San Gabriel | Tape Machine | Nights and Weekends |
| San Gabriel | Close 2 U | Nights and Weekends |
| After | Deep Diving | After EP 2 |
| After | Outbound | After EP 2 |
| South Arcade | Bleed Out | PLAY!-EP |
| The Last Dinner Party | Second Best | From the Pyre |
| The Last Dinner Party | This is the Killer Speaking | From the Pyre |
| Geese | Trinidad | Getting Killed |
| Geese | Bow Down | Getting Killed |
| Nation of Language | Weak In Your Light | Strange Disciple |
| Nation of Language | Sole Obsession | Strange Disciple |
| Nation of Language | I'm Not Ready for the Change | Dance Called Memory |
| Nation of Language | Inept Apollo | Dance Called Memory |
| Futurecop! | Hurricane | Wind, Town & Flowers |
| Futurecop! | Over the Hills | Wind, Town & Flowers |
| 7mai | Patchwork Lab | Fruit Basket : Apple |
| 7mai | Bunny Slices | Fruit Basket : Apple |
| Origami Button | Rot | No Parking |
| Origami Button | Transient | No Parking |
| Durry | Who's Laughing Now | Suburban Legend |
| Durry | Trauma Queen | Suburban Legend |
| Maggie Miles | Shove Down; Move On! | A Humble Extension |
| Maggie Miles | Skin | A Humble Extension |
| Ryan Leahan | Heaven | Forevermore I'll Always Exist |
| Ryan Leahan | Light | Forevermore I'll Always Exist |
| AXOLOTES MEXICANOS (Feat. detunedfreq) | Que Me Beses !!! | single |
| Betty Who | Sweat | singles |
| MGNA Crrrrta | BFF | singles |
| Lucky Iris | play me like a speaker | singles |
| LONG ISLAND | all or nothing | single |
| Candy Apple Blue ft. Nick Bramlett & Ariella da Vil | Hot as Hell | single |
| Sacred Skin | This Pressure | single |
| Megan McDuffee | Leviathan | singles |
| Mass Minor | Dark Skies | single |
| Blake Harley | Hold Me Closer | Blake Harley-EP |
| Chayla Hope | Keep You | single |
| Powderpaint | Wait | single |
| June Jones | Bachelorette | Would that it were a fortress-EP |
| Glitch Cat (feat. Kyureta) | Fashino | single |
| alpha | mira | single |
| Strawberry Station | Gimme Your Heartbeat! | single |
| Cheem | Pivot | Power Move |
| Cheem | Nano | Power Move |
| The K's | Helen, Oh I | Pretty On The Internet |
| The K's | Gravestone | Pretty On The Internet |
| CATBEAR | Darkness | Darkness-EP |
| Hoity-Toity | Ballroom Blitz (Live) | Live in Las Vegas |
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