DPL Staff picks and favorite albums of 2025. Did yours make the list?
Matt Berninger is the vocalist and lyricist for Grammy Award-winning band The National. His songwriting has long garnered praise for its poignant clarity, jagged-edged wit and intimately emotive melodies. His second solo album, Get Sunk, is not overtly autobiographical, but the narrator is processing how he became himself. Who is he compared to the kid on that sepia-toned farm? What is his idea of happiness? What are we all searching for? Get Sunk is an ode to the infinite. The others that make us who we are; the possibilities our paths can take and the abyss of both misery and bliss.
At roughly 45 minutes, the two compositions that make up Blood Incantation’s Absolute Elsewhere are as confounding as they are engaging in their scope, melding the 1970's prog leanings of Tangerine Dream (whose Thorsten Quaesching appears on "The Stargate [Tablet II]”) with the deathly intent of Morbid Angel. On Absolute Elsewhere, which takes its title from the mid-70's prog collective (best known as a celestial stopover for King Crimson drummer, Bill Bruford), Blood Incantation are leaving the notion of genre behind and writing a new language for extreme music itself.
Bon Iver's three-song collection Sable was a prologue mired in darkness, a controlled burn clearing the way for new possibilities. Fable is the book that follows. Where Sable was a work of solitude, Fable is an outstretched hand. Radiant, ornate pop music gleams around front man Justin Vernon's voice as he focuses on a new and beautiful era. On every song, his eyes are locked with one specific person. It's love, which means there's an intense clarity, focus, and honesty within Fable.
Cindy Lee is the performance and songwriting vehicle of Patrick Flegel (who previously fronted influential indie group Women). Over several albums, Flegel has combined delicate melodies and sheer beauty with moments of experimentation. With Diamond Jubilee, Flegel's undeniable songcraft comes to the foreground, embracing a more instant connection and accessibility. Timeless tales of love and longing, surrounded by sticky hooks, take the listener on an unforgettable journey.
Let God Sort Em Out is the fourth studio album by the American hip-hop duo Clipse. Self-released on July 11, 2025, it marks the duo's first album since Til the Casket Drops (2009). Longtime collaborator and mentor Pharrell Williams returns as the album's executive and only producer. He also appears as a guest, alongside Ab-Liva (of Clipse side-project Re-Up Gang), John Legend, Kendrick Lamar, Nas, Stove God Cooks, The-Dream, Tyler, the Creator, and the choir ensemble Voices of Fire. Additional contributors include Lenny Kravitz and Stevie Wonder.
Dollar A Day is the new album from Grammy Award-nominated artist Charley Crockett. Crockett takes elements of 1970s country and funk and fuses them into a sound that is distinctly his own. The second installment in The Sagebrush Trilogy, the album sees Crockett reunite with co-producer Shooter Jennings for 15 electrifying new recordings. In Charley's words, "With Lonesome Drifter, it felt like we opened the portal. With Dollar A Day, we stepped through and came out the other side.”
Following a career-defining run with boygenius that earned her three Grammy Awards, Lucy Dacus's fourth solo studio album explores falling in and out of love, the tumult of desire, and larger than life romance. Across 13 tracks that range from lush arrangements to simple declarations, Dacus makes a serious inquiry into what it looks like to dedicate one's life to true love, and a valiant attempt to capture the elusive, fleeting feeling of forever.
Award winning musician Olivia Dean unveils her long-awaited sophomore album; The Art Of Loving, produced with Zach Nahome; a record glimmering in the thoughtful exploration of love, in its many forms. Effortlessly blending warmth and honesty throughout her heartfelt depictions of romantic and platonic love, Dean elegantly displays her honed and mastered musical craft through her ever-resonant songwriting. With an undeniable aura of nostalgia and timelessness, each track offers an individual glimpse into the complex layers of love.
Billboard Heart is the fourth studio album by indie rock band Deep Sea Diver. The rapturous title track is a stunning introduction to Deep Sea Diver’s universe. The song puts musician Jessica Dobson and her band in the company of St. Vincent, TV on the Radio, and Flock of Dimes, bands that have found ornate and magnetic ways to make indie rock by discarding notions of how it must sound or what it must say. Dobson punches through her past here with this new song and album. As she howls during “Billboard Heart” she is “welcoming the future by letting go of it. Dobson says Billboard Heart is both a longing for something that may not exist and a place where I can be free.”
DJ Koze's highly anticipated, Music Can Hear Us, is the latest record from the German electronic musician. A follow-up to his worldwide hit album Knock Knock (which included his global dance hit “Pick Up") is a 65-minute lasting trip into space and back. An album that races like a runaway rollercoaster in a zigzag through a parade of planets, and features guest appearances by Damon Albarn, Arnim Teutoburg-Weiß of Beatsteaks, Soap&Skin, Sofia Kourtesis, and long-time collaborator Sophia Kennedy, amongst others.
With her Grammy Award-winning mixtape, rapper, singer and visionary artist Doechii delivers nineteen tracks following the weekly "Swamp Session" installments that lit the internet on fire with eye-catching visuals and equally compelling bars. The Best Rap Album-winning project, featuring "Denial Is A River' and 'Nissan Altima," captures a rare talent in her rawest form yet giving listeners distinct windows into her one-of-a-kind artistry.
Golden Wolf is the seventh studio album by Australian musician Angus Stone, and his fifth under the name Dope Lemon. "Moving effortlessly between sun-soaked rock and shimmering nocturnal grooves, the album invites listeners to savor the journey rather than rush to the destination. Like a vast desert landscape, the album is both stark and stunning; a place where time slows, and you can lose yourself completely."
New York City’s Geese return with their highly anticipated 3rd studio album, Getting Killed. After being approached by Kenneth Blume at a music festival, Geese tracked the album in his LA studio over the course of ten fast-paced days. With scant time for overdubbing, the finished project emerges as something of a chaotic comedy, shambolic in structure but passionately performed, informed by an exacting vision. Garage riffs are layered upon Ukrainian choir samples; hissing drum machines pulse softly behind screeching guitars; strange, lullaby-esque songs are interspersed with furious, repetitive experiments. With Getting Killed, Geese balances a disarming new tenderness with an intensified anger, seemingly trading their love of classic rock for a disdain for music itself.
Like a Ribbon is the debut studio album by British rapper John Glacier. Like a Ribbon was executive produced by Kwes Darko. The album contains two guest appearances: musician Eartheater on the track "Money Shows," and singer Sampha on the track "Ocean Steppin'." The album's structure has been described as split into three parts, representing the different ways a ribbon moves as it unfurls.
S.G. Goodman returns from the Western Kentucky bottomland with her latest full-length album. Composed of songs inspired by love, loss, reconciliation, and the aforementioned ancient practice; how planting a garden, or weaning a baby, or getting a haircut are best timed in accordance with the cycle of the moon. A concept diametrically opposed to the tech-obsessed, profit margin-driven mania swirling around us.
I quit (stylized in sentence case) is the fourth studio album by the American rock band HAIM. The album is a raw, emotional exploration of breakups, personal liberation, and self-reinvention, serving as a "transitional phase" for the band both thematically and musically. The rock-influenced project is "the closest [they] have ever gotten to how [they] wanted to sound." As with the cover of their previous studio album, American filmmaker Paul Thomas Anderson once again shot the album artwork.
World-renowned pianist Hiromi releases her 13th studio album, OUT THERE (stylized in all caps), a vivid display of electrifying fusion jazz. Joined by her band Sonicwonder, the album features Adam O'Farrill (trumpet, w/pedals), Hadrien Feraud (bass), and Gene Coye (drums), following the release of Sonicwonderland (2023). Hiromi has performed at the world's finest jazz festivals and has been celebrated by the New York Times, NPR, the Washington Post, and beyond.
After playing together for four years, Chicago's Horsegirl explores the limits of the trio configuration within Phonetics On and On; what if instead of filling out songs with distortion, they utilized the expanse that the three of them didn’t occupy? This question seems to be the motivating force behind the record, and the songs are a testament to experimenting with space and texture while maintaining a pop song at the core. New tools help bring this world to life; violins, synths, and gamelan tiles are all woven into the record with complete effect.
Recorded in two weeks in January 2024 on some of the coldest days in Chicago that year; with the heating off to avoid sound interference, the band was bundled in multiple sweaters and sitting on their hands between takes. Horsegirl found focus and intimacy in the studio that can only arise when it’s simply too cold to step outside.
London-based DJ and producer Steven Julien’s musical eclecticism is evident on this instalment in !K7’s iconic DJ-Kicks mix series. Featuring a broad spectrum of artists including Ryuichi Sakamoto, DāM-FunK, and Todd Edwards, alongside a selection of his own exclusive productions, Julien’s contribution to the series is a journey from day to night, guiding the listener from a bucolic afternoon in nature to heady domestic vibes before a big night out, eventually ending in the euphoric embrace of the dance floor itself.
A Matter of Time is the third studio album by Icelandic singer-songwriter Laufey and features singles, "Silver Lining," "Tough Luck," "Lover Girl," and "Snow White." The album represents a shift from her earlier focus on jazz preservation toward exploring a more vulnerable and emotionally expressive side. Laufey collaborated with longtime producer Spencer Stewart and Aaron Dessner of the National to develop a sound that balances emotional depth with broader musical influences. Thematically, the album addresses topics such as friendship breakups, apprehension about love, and personal introspection. Laufey described the project as an opportunity to explore more complex and imperfect aspects of herself.
Hell Is an Airport is the sixth studio album by American rock band Liquid Mike. The album's title ties into the album's overall theme, using the metaphor of an airport to express frontman Mike Maple's frustrations of feeling "stuck" in life. Critics have praised the high quality of the short-length songs, and the strong lyrics, noting that "witty empathy keeps Hell Is An Airport from feeling too bleak or misanthropic. Pitchfork praised its quality and stated that it stays with the band’s tried-and-true formula: compact songs with lyrics about boredom and burnout; muscular riffs; and overdubbed vocals that lend themselves to singalongs.
Lotus is a hip-hop album containing elements of jazz, punk and funk. It's the sixth studio album by English rapper Little Simz and features guest appearances from Obongjayar, Moonchild Sanelly, Lydia Kitto, Moses Sumney, Miraa May, Yukimi Nagano, Wretch 32, Cashh, Michael Kiwanuka, Yussef Dayes, and Sampha. It marks the rapper’s departure from working with longtime collaborator Inflo who produced and co-wrote her last three albums. The album reflects the rapper’s "evolving artistry" and showcases "life's intricate phases." The lotus as a metaphor symbolizes "transformation" which serves as a recurring theme throughout the album as well as its "overarching narrative."
Rushmere is the fifth studio album by British folk rock band Mumford & Sons and their first album in nearly seven years, it marks the longest gap between studio albums for the band. It also sees the band performing as a trio, following the departure of guitarist and banjoist Winston Marshall in 2021.
The album is named after the pond located on Wimbledon Common in London where Marcus Mumford, Ted Dwane, and Ben Lovett first got to know each other as friends and eventual creative collaborators. According to a press release, the intent was to take listeners back to where "it all" began while the trio itself felt "restless to get going, relieved and excited" to share new music.
Is, the tenth studio album of the American rock band My Morning Jacket, follows their 2021 self-produced eponymous record. The band worked with outside producer, Brendan O'Brien, with the writing process producing over 100 demo tracks. The album was preceded by three singles: "Time Waited," "Squid Ink," and "Half a Lifetime."
Is has received "generally favorable reviews" with critics praising the album's production by O'Brian, which resulted in "concise results" that helped to sharpen the band's sound.
Critics and fans have described the work of Nation of Language as synthpop, minimal wave, post-punk, goth, and new romantic; but if you can’t precisely define the band, that’s the point. Frontman Ian Richard Devaney has become prodigious in expanding what synthesizer-driven music can evoke, such that his output is as much an extrasensory journey as it is an all-too-human destination. Devaney says of the album, “...this thing should be as unvarnished and warm as possible. In this era quickly being defined by the rise of AI supplanting human creators I’m focusing more on the human condition, and I need the underlying music to support that.” Ultimately, the hope was to weave raw vulnerability and humanity into a synth-heavy album.
Hard Headed Woman marks the first album that country singer-songwriter, Margo Price has made in Nashville, a town she has called home for more than 20 years, and vitally helped to transform, creating a lane where independent and insurgent country music can exist and thrive alongside the mainstream. Performed in the same room where late friends like John Prine and Loretta Lynn have all cut records, Hard Headed Woman looks forward and back, as it places her amongst her heroes as part of a new legacy. But this is country music as only Price can make it: free of rules, cherishing tradition, hard-headed with a delicate heart.
Luster is the second studio album by Irish musician Maria Somerville. Succeeding Somerville's 2019 debut project, All My People, Luster consists of twelve songs with a total runtime of thirty-eight minutes and twenty seconds. The album incorporates elements of shoegaze, post-punk, and ambient music, and centers on the theme of homecoming. Somerville wrote and recorded the album in Connemara, her birthplace; "harps twinkle like broken glass and baggy breakbeats reverberate widely, seemingly recorded through a bedroom wall." Singles include "Projections," "Garden," and "Spring."
Instant Holograms on Metal Film is the eleventh studio album by English-French rock band Stereolab. On their first studio album in nearly 15 years they don't pretend that time stood still after 2010's Not Music. Instead, Instant Holograms on Metal Film presents a Stereolab fit for the era to which they returned. More importantly, the band's energy is dynamic in a way that it hasn't been in some time; a product of their steady touring that also recalls the charged atmosphere of their earliest singles. On each of Instant Holograms on Metal Film's billowing, exploratory songs, they rise to action, even if they don't do it in obvious ways. Featuring musical guests like Cooper Crain of their frequent tourmates Bitchin Bajas and members of Monade, Cavern of Anti-Matter, and Laetitia Sadier Source Ensemble. Capturing the inspiring spark in bygone visions of what the future could be is one of Stereolab's greatest strengths, and the brilliant ways they do this on Instant Holograms on Metal Film don't just live up to their legacy; they push it forward.
NEVER ENOUGH (stylized in all caps) is the fourth studio album by American rock band Turnstile. It serves as a follow-up to the band's previous studio album Glow On. It is their first album without founding member Brady Ebert following his 2022 departure and first to feature guitarist Meg Mills. Released to critical acclaim, NEVER ENOUGH has become the band's highest-charting album to date in several countries. Singles include "Never Enough" and “Seein’ Stars,” and “Birds.” NEVER ENOUGH is accompanied by a visual album, which premiered at the 2025 Tribeca Film Festival and in theaters June 5th.
On NEVER ENOUGH "Turnstile effectively balances bold innovation with conciseness, reflecting their hardcore heritage while expanding their musical footprint." The band seamlessly integrates diverse elements, from flute solos by Shabaka Hutchings to collaborations with artists like Dev Hynes and Hayley Williams. While tracks like "Light Design" merge Turnstile's rhythms with "The Police's pedal boards and cool-toned synths," while "I Care" features drum rolls and gated reverb reminiscent of Stewart Copeland.
Breach is the eighth studio album by American musical duo Twenty One Pilots. It is a follow-up to the duo's previous album Clancy (2024), and concludes a conceptual series also consisting of Blurryface (2015), Trench (2018), and Scaled and Icy (2021). The duo stated that the album would serve as the final installment in their decade-long "lore."
Breach is primarily an alternative rock, pop rock, electro-pop, and alternative hip-hop album with elements of nu metal, emo, hip-hop, and hyper-pop. The album was co-produced with longtime collaborator Paul Meany, and incorporates callbacks to the duo's previous albums, both lyrically and sonically. Breach also experiments with electronic textures, major and minor scales, key changes, tempo changes, and subdued, piano-based arrangements.
KPop Demon Hunters is the soundtrack album to the 2025 animated musical fantasy film KPop Demon Hunters. The album consists of nine original songs written by Danny Chung, Ido, Vince, Kush, Ejae, Jenna Andrews, Stephen Kirk, Lindgren, Mark Sonnenblick, and Daniel Rojas, and produced by Teddy Park, 24, Ido, Dominsuk, Andrews, Kirk, Lindgren, and Ian Eisendrath, with Marcelo Zarvos composing the score. The performers were credited under the names of Huntrix and the Saja Boys, as the characters' respective groups. The album was certified Platinum by the RIAA on October 8, 2025, with sales exceeding 1 million units.
Water from Your Eyes is an American indie pop band formed in Chicago, Illinois and currently based out of Brooklyn, New York. The group was formed by vocalist Rachel Brown and multi-instrumentalist Nate Amos, who together have recorded all of the band's albums. It's a Beautiful Place is their seventh studio album. It is an alternative pop and rock album that explores themes of cosmic insignificance versus human importance, the nature of meaning, and the challenges of optimism in a difficult world. Upon release, the album would receive critical acclaim from multiple publications.
Bleeds is the sixth studio album by narrative-heavy Southern rock band Wednesday. Like many of the most arresting passages from the North Carolina band’s highlight reel so far, Bleeds thoughtfully explores the vivid link between curiosity and confession. Featuring the singles, "Elderberry Wine," "Wound Up Here (By Holdin On)," "Pick Up That Knife," and "Bitter Everyday."
moisturizer (stylized in all lowercase) is the bold, second album from Wet Leg, the Isle of Wight five-piece founded by Rhian Teasdale and Hester Chambers. Joined by Ellis Durand, Henry Holmes, and Joshua Mobaraki, Wet Leg has spent the past few years on the road, evolving into a feral, electrifying live force. This new record captures that energy, delivering a sound that’s tighter, bolder, and more self-assured, yet still brimming with the same quick wit and raw, unrefined energy.
Isolated in a remote house in the countryside, moisturizer was written in a creative frenzy, diving into themes of obsession and all-consuming love. While their 2022 debut earned Grammy wins and chart-topping success, moisturizer brings the bite: brash guitars, heavy beats, and a fearless devotion to feeling everything; all at once.
Following their remarkable global rediscovery and subsequent critical acclaim around 2023’s reunion album Zango, WITCH (an acronym for We Intend to Cause Havoc) return with an even more ambitious creative statement, SOGOLO.
Its name is derived from the word in Zambian dialect for “future,” the album is a sonic victory lap for a band who once seemed lost to history. SOGOLO takes strains of the garage-infused psych, funk, and Zamrock that the band quite literally helped invent back in their 1970s heyday and reflects the experimental spirit of the moment, driven as always by the magnetic energy of frontman Emmanuel "Jagari" Chanda.
The Clearing is the fourth studio album by English rock band Wolf Alice. The album was written in London and recorded in Los Angeles with American producer Greg Kurstin. In a statement by the band, The Clearing was described as "a classic pop/rock album", drawing influence from the 1970s while remaining "rooted firmly in the present.". The announcement compared the project to "something close to if Fleetwood Mac wrote an album today in North London". It was further characterized as "both playful and serious, ironic and straight-talking", representing a deliberate step forward for the band that conveys "the freeing feeling of finding a moment of peace and clarity".
The first single "Bloom Baby Bloom," was noted for its experimental approach, blending atmospheric soundscapes with the band's signature indie rock style. Lead singer Ellie Rowsell described it as a "rock song" inspired by Axl Rose but from a woman's perspective. Other singles include "The Sofa," "White Horses," and "Just Two Girls."