Another great year for music! In no particular order, these were the records that really moved me in 2025. Many standing favorites that upon announcement get my heart rate up, and a few new artists for me. Since Kikagaku Moyo ascended in a cloud of technicolor smoke in 2022, there have been a few solo efforts from members with pretty quiet releases. But drummer, Go Kurosawa released his solo effort on Gurugurubrain this year and it quickly was in regular rotation. A couple super groups gifted us some spectacular sounds: Yoo ii (Yoo Doo Right, Population ii, and Nolan Potter), and Primitive Ring (Meatbodies, Hoover III) bringing the tripped out fuzz you’d expect on 4 separate singles released each on 4 labels that have supported various projects of the members throughout the years. I found this to be an extremely cool way to release their music. New to me this year were Organic Pulse Ensemble and Glyders, both with exceptional albums I’ve been wearing the grooves off of. The rest of the artists have appeared in my previous years’ top 10s, with special emphasis on Ensenada, Mexico’s Lorelle Meets the Obsolete who dropped an absolutely perfect autumn album in October.
| Artist | Album | Label | |
| 1 | Go Kurosawa | Soft Shakes | Gurugurubrain |
| 2 | Lorelle Meets the Obsolete | Corporal | Sonic Cathedral |
| 3 | Mansalughter 777 | God’s World |
Thrill Jockey Records
|
| 4 | Yoo ii Avec Nolan Potter | S/T | Mothland |
| 5 | Glyders | Forever | Drag City Records |
| 6 | Lavender Flu | Tracing the Sand by the Pool | In the Red Records |
| 7 | Natural Information Society and Bitchin’ Bajas | Totality | Drag City Records |
| 8 | Primitive Ring | 4 x singles |
Greenway, Fuzz Club, In the Red, Reverberation Appreciation Society
|
| 9 | Phi-Psonics | Expanding to One | Gondwana Records |
| 10 | Organic Pulse Ensemble | Ad Hoc | Ultraaani |





