I don’t know what I’m doing here.
I mean it. As attention spans decrease by the day and people move to audio or visual media consumption, I find myself writing more than I ever have for these lists (ok, I actually just checked and it’s only a page more than last year). I’d like to think there’s some noble cause behind it, that this is my way of combatting media illiteracy and the neverending onslaught of information that is the digital era. I’d also like to think I’m doing this because I believe in the power of writing and that you, dear reader, will find some album that moves you in the way that these albums move me.
It could also just be a vanity project.
It definitely might be a vanity project.
Whatever the case, I’ve laid bare before you my annual list of albums that I enjoyed over the course of the year. They’re generally in ranked order, although I find that I tinker a lot with the placements, especially lower in the list. The top ten are heavily set in stone.
While I do this mostly for myself and my own sanity, I really do appreciate you reading this and sharing your thoughts on these albums with me. The engagement I receive is fuel for the next year, and every little bit helps keep the fire going. Thank you for taking the time to actually read these reviews and react to them. It means more to me than you can know.
Honorable Mentions:
Carpe Diem, Captain Moonbeam Psychedelic Porn Crumpets (Garage Rock) Psych rock that’s too much fun to miss.
Mercy Armand Hammer (Hip-hop) Another stellar project from billy woods and ELUCID.
Private music Deftones (Metal) The Deftones release a Deftones album.
Lotus Little Simz (Hip-hop) Little Simz processes trauma through a collection of relaxed, laidback beats.
Cabin in the Sky De La Soul (Hip-hop) A solid old-school hip-hop album that pays homage to the ones we lost and the ones we’ll meet again.
30. In the Earth Again Chat Pile/Hayden Pedigo (Americana/Noise)
If you’ve been following these yearly updates over the past five years, you should be fairly familiar with the band Chat Pile. Their 2022 release God’s Country was a shocking, disgusting, blood splattered mess, tackling political and social issues with a deranged anger that was so shocking it teetered between serious and meme worthy (see grimace_smoking_weed.jpeg). Only a year after 2024’s Cool World, the band has returned to strike while the iron is hot. This time, they share the space with americana artist Hayden Pedigo, blending his simple, slowcore guitar work with their uncomfortable, nu-metal tinged riffs and haunted storytelling.
Despite it being an album written in collaboration with another artist, this is hands down Chat Pile’s most vulnerable album. The content that singer Raygun Busch covers is devoid of his usual layered cynicism, opting instead for gutwrenching pieces about personal demons, feelings of despair, and lost friends (never thought I’d get teary-eyed because of a Chat Pile song, but I have “A Tear for Lucas” to thank for that). In the Earth Again is by no means a perfect album. It’s messy and at times it feels a little underbaked. But what lands this project on this list is the feeling that this project had to be made right in the moment when it was. There is an urgency to this project that I really respect. Its strength isn’t its polished nature, but rather it’s raw energy.
For fans of… nights the setting sun never rises from.
29. Wayhome Kauan (Doom Metal)
There’s an old adage that I return to every year as the holidays approach, as my family and I prepare to travel to visit relatives and friends: “home is where the heart is.” It’s a cliche, but in many ways it rings true. Your home is where you are loved, where you place your love, and where you feel most yourself. As someone who has moved around a few times in his life, I know this to be true. I have often found myself in strange places where I have not felt home, but I have made my home through new friends, new loves, and new experiences.
But in order to do this, one must unmake themselves in a way. One must find their way home, and one often finds they are no longer the same person they were when they left on this journey. Having moved from Russia to Finland in 2022, Anton and Alina Belov (Kauan’s main writers) undoubtedly found themselves in a similar position. This album lives in these liminal spaces, heavy at times, meditative at others. Meant to be consumed as one 50 minute song, this album evokes feelings of nostalgia, loss, grief, and acceptance, all within Kauan’s signature atmospheric doom metal. Should you choose to put on this album, do it in the quiet moments of your life. Put it on and watch the snow fall. Take a walk with your dog and find a quiet place to sit by a winter pond. You might find yourself lost, on a journey of your heart and mind. Be at peace. One day you too will find your way home.
For fans of… Sigur Ros.
28. Getting Killed Geese (Art Rock)
This little band has come a long way since we last talked, dear reader. From getting heaps of buzz on the internet thanks to the brilliance of 3D Country and singer Cameron Winter’s solo album, to opening for King Gizzard during their multi-night residency at Red Rocks, these guys have absolutely blown up since I glowingly (and lovingly) compared their previous album to a drunken night at a dive bar. If you haven’t checked that review yet, go ahead and hop over to my “Best of 2023” list, and go to the number two spot. I’ll wait.
You’re probably wondering what happened. Why is a band that I couldn’t shut the hell up about sitting so low on your list this year? The answer is simple, but it simultaneously comes across as an admonishment of this year’s release. No, this is not as good as 3D Country. But yes, it’s still really good.
It took me a while to come around to this one. Songs like “100 Horses” and “Getting Killed” met me where I wanted them to, grooving with the same maniacal, psychedelic energy that I’d come to expect from this band, while others like “Cobra” and “Husbands” fizzle without really lighting up. It’s a perplexing listen that doesn’t quite rise to the same heights as its predecessor, but it’s still really damn good. If this is a misstep in Geese’s career then, like this album, the highs will outweigh the lows.
For fans of… David Bowie.
27. Dragon’s Blood Martin Grech (Atmospheric Rock)
I had a strange moment while listening to this album. I finished it one day while at work, put it to the side, decided that it wasn’t going to make my end of the year list, and then promptly kept listening to it. It infected my mind. I kept looking for clues to help me understand it, and found a bunch of instagram pictures with very little text. There was no roll out. No pomp and circumstance. The album wasn’t even available for purchase on Bandcamp. It was as if this album didn’t exist, or wasn’t meant to exist. It weighed on my mind. Clearly, it still does.
In 2020, Martin Grech released Hush Mortal Core, one of my favorite progressive metal albums of the past decade. It was an album that was as grandiose as it was beautiful, and was complex and layered in a way that required multiple listens. Downloading this most recent album, I expected much of the same.
I was incredibly let down.
Dragon’s Blood is cold and sparse. It breathes and echoes, reverberating off the dark spaces where it was constructed. It’s moody and slow and missing many of the elements that made me love its predecessor. It feels like a confessional, each song a dark trip into the depths of Grech’s mind. Over cryptic, brilliantly poetic lyrics and minimalist instrumentation, Grech croons about the frailty of life, and the mystery of existence, leaving the listener with more questions than answers.
And so I am deeply troubled. Although this isn’t the album I wanted, it’s a brilliant piece of art by an artist who refuses to be pinned down. The more I listen to it, the more I find myself immersed in Grech’s world. Please… make no mistake, this is a very dark world. I am often able to differentiate between artist and art, and yet this album leaves me feeling deeply concerned for this brilliant artist (if you listen to the lyrics of “The Pact,” you’ll understand why). This is art that has made me feel at the deepest level, but man is it really heavy.
For fans of… Sting.
26. Only Dust Remains Backxwash (Underground Hip-hop)
Man, Backwash only gets better with time. Her conversational flow and her excellent sampling and production have only grown since she popped onto my radar four years ago. Back then, she rapped about liberation through self-destruction, using industrial and metal samples to create a terrifying backdrop for her inner thoughts. On Only Dust Remains, it’s not that she seems to be in a better place, but rather she seems to be seeking a better place. Her rhymes and beats suggest that she still has her addictions, her destructive habits, her demons, but she also seems to want to fight them instead of immersing herself in them. She discusses therapy, trauma, the cycles of addiction and despair from a place of someone who has growing stronger through her struggles. Even the samples have switched from the more metal infused ones from her past to ones infused with elements of electronic music, gospel, and art rock.
This is music for those who struggle with mental health, for those longing to be heard. This is music for those who seek better days but also know what it’s like to long for the darkness. Let this album hear you, help you, heal you. I promise, it will.
For fans of… $uicideBoy$
25. Pain to Power Maruja (Post Punk)
Imagine this for a second: You live in a country where a man rose to power using the division of and demonization of people in order to maintain systems of control. This man openly lied, despised the people he claimed to represent, and destroyed the perception of his country on the global stage. Imagine, if you will, that this man was finally outed from power DESPITE ATTEMPTING A COUP, and the world and country slowly began to heal.
Then, imagine that this man was elected back into power.
That’s the fury that Maruja channels in their latest album. While not American, their album addresses many of the issues that our country faces, specifically the way the rich use political and social issues to divide the lower classes. Maruja don’t pull their punches, using a blend of post rock, hardcore, and post punk to craft a frantic and chaotic soundscape. This album perfectly encapsulates the anxieties induced by the echo chambers we live in and the financial systems that oppress us. Maruja offers us an answer, turning each song into a rallying cry for us to embrace each other, to choose love over hatred, and to fight against corruption and the systems that trample the people that live in them.
For fans of… Rage Against the Machine.
24. Amen Igorrr (Avant Garde/ Baroque Metal)
Look, it’s really hard for me to not like Igorrr. They’re a band that uses their incredible talents to lean into the absurd. They take their music so seriously that they’re not afraid not to take it seriously (if that makes any sense). They lean heavily into experimentation (there is a video out there of all the different sounds that mastermind Gautier Serre uses to create his music including a vacuum and a cookie tin), and as their popularity grows, they are only afforded more resources with which to do so.
Amen is not a completely different experience than the group’s previous ones. You’re still going to get your yearly dosage of baroque music infused with thrash, metalcore, and industrial. You’re still going to get breakdowns led by absurd instruments like recorders (“Mustard Mucous”). You’re still going to get unintelligible screams accompanied by lush, operatic vocals. But you’re also going to get a product that feels more refined than some of his previous efforts. For better or for worse, this feels like Igorrr’s most… mature (?) work to date. There’s more atmosphere and space, especially on the back half of the album, which gives some of the weirder moments more space to shine.
If you’re trying to “get” this music, don’t be afraid to laugh. Don’t be afraid to be in awe of the sheer magnitude of how ridiculous it is. Don’t be afraid to have fun. There’s a lot of serious music on this list, but this isn’t it. This is an album for people who don’t mind music made by literal chickens. This is an album for people who wish Leslie Nielsen interviews had more fart machine jokes in them.
For fans of… Youtube Poops.
23. Let God Sort Em Out Clipse (Hip-hop)
I think the strength of Clipse’s latest project is how effortless they make being great sound. At a glance, this album is a strong collection of beats and rhymes. It’s easy to put this on and let it rattle the trunk. But the true genius of this album is the elements that exist just beyond the surface. Pusha T and Malice are in peak form here, rapping about fame, money, faith, and power with a sneer and an air of devil-may-care. They tapdance through bar after bar of intricate wordplay, layering double-entendres on top of each other like they’re tiramisu while Pharrell’s beats have enough punch to send the Logan brothers to their maker for an eternity. They invite some of the biggest names in the game (Tyler, the Creator, Kendrick, Nas) to go toe-to-toe with them in the arena and still come out on top. This isn’t an album so much as it is a masterclass in what makes hip-hop such a great genre.
If you’re looking for hip-hop that bangs and swaggers, this is for you. This is a comeback album that reminds the young bucks in the game that the ones who hold the crown aren’t necessarily the ones doing something “new,” but the ones doing hip-hop well.
For fans of… Biggie Smalls.
22. Pirouette Model/Actriz (Post Punk)
Damn, this album is sexy. It’s sweaty and intoxicating. It pulsates with a dark, edgy energy that one would come to expect from a night in a big city club. It whispers in your ear and draws you into the darkened corners of your mind to grind on you, to caress you, to take you away from reality even if only for an hour. It’s one that imprints itself on your mind, so that when you awaken the next morning, bleary-eyed and stumbling through the world with a blinding headache, you can’t shake the memory of it.
And yet, despite all this sexual, driving energy, the thing that makes this album so incredible is its storytelling. Buried within the onslaught of industrial and noise inspired dance beats are stories about desire, self-awakening, and liberation. Each one feels as intimate as the album itself, something shared with you personally ala vocalist Cole Haden’s delicate croon. It’s an album that is refined as it is raw, as diary-esq as it is universal. It’s one that will turn any room into a darkened rave where one is welcomed to explore themselves, their lovers, those closest with reckless abandon.
For fans of… Duran Duran
21. A Welcome to Weakness Runnner (Indie Rock)
I’ve always appreciated, in some horrible way, the beauty that comes from collapse. There’s something about humanity that emerges when things fall apart, be it the projection that comes from ourselves as we observe it, or the experience we have when it occurs close to us. A car that continues to work even as its parts fail. A sweater with holes in it. An abandoned schoolhouse from the early 1900’s. There’s something about each of these things that provides space for reflection and recognition, which in many ways is the core of what makes us human.
This is the epicenter of Runnner’s latest album. On the precipice of a tour for his last album, the beautiful Like Dying Stars, We’re Reaching Out, Noah Weinman tore his achilles tendon during a game of basketball. Bedridden and disappointed with the cancellation of his tour, Weinman found himself grappling with the relationship that had fallen apart prior to all of these changes. The result is a collection of indie rock songs about loss and pain that comes with collapse. It’s about taking in the things that broke you and finding the beauty in them: the doldrums of recovery, the quiet of an empty apartment, the opportunity to make yourself something new when the dust has settled.
For fans of… Snow Patrol.
20. From Nothing Benthos (Progressive Metalcore)
A decade and change ago, metalcore was at its height (I need you to envision that, after typing that sentence, I paused and sighed. Where does time go?). Labels like Sumerian were churning out acts like Periphery, Veil of Maya, and Monuments, and it seemed like every new act was some bastardized version of the next until, like every trend, the saturation of the market smothered the movement and created a collapse of sorts. It certainly bred a musical cynicism within me. Why would I listen to this new album when I have Juggernaut or Amanuensis at home?
All this is to say, you really have to impress me if you’re going to drop a metalcore album. Sure, the trends in the genre have shifted, focusing more on a Sleep Token and Deftones-esq sound, but I’m getting old and if I’ve heard it done once, I don’t need to hear it done again (the thirty-four year old said, shaking his fist at the sky). Enter Benthos, a progressive metal band from Italy that combines Dillinger Escape Plan zany-ness (“Fossil”, “Athletic Worms”) with massively catchy moments akin to Leprous (“Let Me Plunge”). In the year where we lost Destrage, one of metal’s wildest acts, Benthos stepped in as one of metal’s more exciting new bands. If their future output is anything like this album, I wouldn’t be surprised to see them on the global stage sooner rather than later.
For fans of… The Contortionist.
19. Achilles Kevin Atwater (Indie Rock)
Two years ago, Kevin Atwater released Downer’s Grove, an EP that felt like an artist actually taking the reins of their art and making a cohesive, mature statement. It left my hungry to see what he might accomplish on his next, full length release (the purpose of any good EP). Well, two years later we find ourselves at his first full album release, and it’s everything I hoped Atwater would achieve.
What I love about this project is the juxtaposition of love and violence throughout it. Yes, I recognize that’s not healthy, but the imagery is truly incredible. The two are heartbreakingly interchangeable in Atwater’s stories, where toxic relationships and nights of passion are always sprinkled with tinges of blood. These are articulated through his signature, abraded storytelling, a factor that has always driven his projects, and it listens not just like an indie rock album, but a collection of personal stories that reveal truths about Atwater and what has comprised his past year. The production also steps ahead of where it was previously. If my complaint with his last project was that there were a few moments where Atwater shifted moods or styles too jarringly, they’ve been completely adjusted on this. Achilles is a statement of maturity, an artist fine-tuning their voice to create an indie rock album that is as enjoyable and catchy as it is touching and poignant.
For fans of… Iron and Wine.
18. Mayhem Lady Gaga (Pop)
It will come as no surprise to anyone who reads these lists that I’m not really a pop listener. While there are probably many ways we could interpret why I don’t spend much of my time listening to the genre, I bring this up not to start a psychoanalysis of my music identity but rather to lead into the idea that, if you see a pop album on my list, it’s because I think it’s really damn good.
With this particular album, I’m sure it’s indicative of my age. My students certainly let me know how “old” I was to have Lady Gaga on my list. That being said, there are three ways aging pop stars can go. They can either continue to shit out the same embarrassing pop they’ve always made without any innovation or experimentation or can try to pathetically pander to the modern trends of the genre. OR, they can make an artistic statement that is representative of who they are as an artist and where they are at this current point in their career. I’m sure it’s very clear where this Lady Gaga album falls.
Mayhem is a gallery walk through Gaga’s era, a statement on her career and where she’s come from, while simultaneously allowing for experimentation into styles that have inspired her over the years (Gaga is nothing if not a chameleon). There are bangers (“Disease”, “Abracadabra”) that are reminiscent of her early domination of the 10’s club scene, as well as strange, artsy songs (“Killah”, “Zombieboy”) that put on full display her love for Prince, Bowie, and the Talking Heads. Gaga commands the attention of the listener throughout this entire project, and the result is a collection of earworms that will get you up and dancing like it’s 2011.
For fans of… Lady Gaga… duh?
17. Goyard Ibn Said Ghais Guevara (Hip-hop)
This album is nothing but ambitious. It’s apparent in the use of a Russian symphony sample in the opening track (“The Old Guard is Dead” the hip-hop track of the year, holy shit). It’s apparent in the heady nature of the album’s title, and its relation to Guevara’s experience in the music industry. It’s obvious in the choice of album artwork. Everything screams “this is a young man who is not only incredibly talented, he’s incredibly intelligent, artistically literate, and calculated.” This isn’t the type of album someone makes for a debut. This is an album that many young artists make years into their careers.
Using an art show as a metaphor for his feelings of being in the music industry, Guevara touches on fame and the struggles that black artists endure within a music industry dictated by white people in power, white fans (yes, me), and people who aren’t seeking deeper music.
The strength of this album comes not only from the beats, of which the first half of the album are dominated by trap style beats while the second leans into moodier, stranger waters, but from Guevara’s intricate lyricism. While this is something you could put on at a party, the reason you should listen to it is because of what he’s saying, not just how it sounds.
If you aren’t convinced to listen to it yet, know that Kendrick used one of the tracks as the song that introduced him at the Super Bowl. At 25, this kid is only on the way up. I’m truly excited to hear what he comes up with next.
For fans of… Dead Prez.
16. Cinder Lux Terminus (Instrumental Progressive Metal)
When I was trying to explain to my students the different types of metal (in an attempt to get them practicing description skills), I put a song from this album on next to a more “traditional” sounding metal song. One of my student’s responses was “were you just aura farming when you listened to this?” Another asked “did this just give you main character energy?” It elicited a chuckle from the class, but I think it painted an accurate picture in my mind of what it sounds like to listen to this album.
Lux Terminus crafts a very specific type of cinematic, progressive metal. Each song feels like climbing a mountain, watching the sunrise bathe the land in a watercolor of warm colors. Songs like “Jupiter II: To Bend a Comet” feel like the end of a movie where, right before the credits roll, the main character demonstrates some feat of power or discovers some powerful inner truth. Some songs soar with sweeping, epic moments (“Catalyst”) while others groove and bounce with tinges of Weather Report jazz fusion (“P.L.O.N.K.”). There’s a joy and wonder imbued into each track that makes this album feel like an uplifting flight into the sky. This is an album that transforms every run down the ski slope into a desperate race against time, every walk to the grocery store as a quest to discover an ancient treasure, every dinner a mixing of dangerous chemicals that could save or destroy the world.
Using sonic palettes that are as modern as they are an homage to soundtracks from the 80’s, Vikram A. Shankar (keyboards), Brian Craft (bass), and Matthew Kerschner (drums) have created an album that feels both fresh and comfortingly nostalgic. If you’re looking for music as complex as Dream Theater, and as grandiose as Symphony X, this is the act for you.
For fans of… final boss fights.
15. Black Hole Supretta Aesop Rock (Underground Hip-hop)
This man literally cannot be stopped. Since 2020 he has released five albums, each as massive and dense as one might come to expect from the man who, in 2019, was crowned as the hip-hop artist with the highest number of unique words used in their lyrics. There isn’t too much I can say that I haven’t already said over the past few years. It’s funny, the write-up for the man with the highest word count might be one of the shortest on this list.
The reality is if you don’t like Aesop Rock, and you’ve been reading my lists over the past six years or have been in the hip-hop scene, there’s nothing that this album is going to convince you that you’re wrong. Aesop has his style. He has his beats. He doesn’t give a shit if you like him. He hasn’t been on tour since 2017. He doesn’t need your patronage. Aesop does this for the craft and, quite frankly, he’s one of the most legit people to ever do it. He doesn’t need to convince you he’s one of the best artists to ever do it. He just is.
For fans of… Del the Funkee Homosapien.
14. Soft Spot Honningbarna (Hardcore)
Man, I tried, I really did. I tried to challenge myself to sit still while I listened to this album and wrote this review but, dear reader, it was an impossible feat. Within seconds of the opening track “Schafer” I found myself banging my head and grooving to the music. It’s that infectious. You can’t fault me. Soft Spot is a raucous, pulse pounding, 39 minute assault of pure energy that charges through hardcore riffs, post punk grooves, and driving dance hall beats. This is one of those acts that I would love to see live, as each song is sure to get the crowd moving. It doesn’t matter that you probably don’t know what they’re saying. You’ll find yourself pumping your fist and screaming along just the same.
For fans of… Turnstile.
13. Fuck U Skrillex You THINK UR ANDY WARHOL BUT UR NOT!! Skrillex (EDM)
For the past couple years, Skrillex has been quietly attempting to reinvent himself as an artist. Two years ago he dropped Quest for Fire, an experimental and unique attempt to tackle different types of electronic music and Don’t Get Too Close, a slew of attempts to breach the top of the charts. It’s a noble endeavor, as Skrillex came into the international spotlight as one of the forerunners of the dubstep movement creating music so ridiculous it quickly became a meme. Especially as electronic music has sort of moved on from the sounds of the 2010’s, the task seems like one that most electronic artists inevitably face. Well here we are, fifteen years later, and Skrillex did something that I certainly wasn’t expecting. He dropped his latest album on April Fools Day and it is unironically one of the best things he’s ever done.
Fuck You… plays less like an album and more like a live set, seeing Skrillex bang his way through forty-six minutes of different genres and styles. Yes, there is still plenty of dubstep on this album (“SPITFIRE” through “ANDY” leans pretty heavily into it) but there’s also enough variety in this to demonstrate how skilled of a dj Skrillex really is (the DnB ending of this is fire). This project isn’t some mature statement like Quest for Fire, but it essentially serves the same purpose. So do what I did and put this on as your getting ready for your ski day. I guarantee you’ll find your zen.
For fans of… UFK Dubstep… the good ol’ days.
12. World Maker Psychonaut (Sludge Metal)
Fatherhood has been one of the single greatest things to happen to me. It has taught me more about this world than I ever thought I could know. It has taught me more about myself than I ever thought possible. The beauty of seeing my daughter grow and learn and become because of who my wife and I are is so breathtakingly powerful that sometimes I just find myself staring at my daughter and feeling a swell of emotions. If there is power in taking life, there is far more power and beauty in making it.
That is the focus of Psychonaut’s third album. Upon finding out he was going to be a father, vocalist and lyricist Stefan De Graef composed this album as a message to his son, articulating all his hopes, worries, and emotions leading up to his birth. If that name sounds familiar to you, it’s because De Graef is also the vocalist for Hippotraktor, one of the acts to completely surprise me with where it landed on my list. While the rhythm section is impressive in this band, it’s De Graef who once again steals the show with his vocal performance. He is quickly rising as one of my favorite vocalists in the metal scene, gently crooning one moment before wielding some of metal’s most monstrous harsh vocals. What makes his performance even more spectacular is that he does it all while performing some of the most impressive fretwork of the year.
If you still aren’t sold on this album, hit the trilogy of songs (“You Are the Sky…”, “…Everything Else is Just the Weather”, “And You Came With Searing Light”) that literally made me stop grading and sit in awed silence. They are, in my opinion, the defining moment of this album and a clear indication of how epic this project is. This is the kind of powerful art I hope to create for my daughters one day, a monument to my neverending love for them. This is the kind of project that defines what it means to be human, to experience, to create. Be in awe of this album. The world doesn’t make us. We make it.
For fans of… Mastodon
11. Willoughby Tucker, I’ll Always Love You Ethel Cain (Gothic, Folk)
There’s something different… more powerful about summer love. Everything feels more real. It’s hotter. It’s more urgent. It’s more romantic. It lingers in the shadow of fate and the realization that, when the summer ends, so too will this doomed love. There’s power in that, and it’s in these hazy, sepia tones that Ethel Cain’s latest project lingers.
I often find myself completely lost in the atmosphere of this album. Sure, there is a track or two that would find themselves cozied up with anything you might hear on the radio nowadays (“Fuck Me Eyes”), but the true power of this album is in the spaces where it breathes. Tracks like “Tempest” and “Nettles” feel like they belong on a post rock album instead of one of an artist whose previous work might have been comparable to that of Lana Del Ray. They meditate on mantras of love lost, desire, and the promises that come in between the kisses we steal under the setting summer sun. Some listeners who prefer listening to individual songs over entire albums might find this to be a bit of a turn-off, but for those seeking an actual album experience, the result is a product that grips from start to finish and leaves the listener drenched in a feeling of melancholy and bittersweet nostalgia.
So listen to this one as the sun goes down. Hold your love a little tighter. Feel the fleeting nature of this experience and love it entirely, despite the fact that, in the end, it’s all doomed to end.
For fans of… Sarah McLachlan.
10. “GOLLIWOG” Billy Woods (Underground Hip-hop)
There has always been an element of horror and anxiety woven in Billy Woods’ artistry. His dense, multilayered storytelling exudes a sense of unease, like he needs to speak lest he be silenced. The man blurs his face during photoshoots and interviews. His works often focus on the modern and ancestral horror of the black American experience. It only makes sense that, on his latest album, he fully embraces these elements.
The horror is multifaceted in this project, manifesting itself in the beats constructed by a slew of big name producers (El-P, Kenny Segal, The Alchemist to name a few) and in Wood’s stories about systemic violence and what it means to be black in America. Songs like “Jumpscare” and “Waterproof Mascara” expertly use sampling and production techniques to create a terrifying, unsettling soundscape for Woods to explore these topics, while other producers opt for darker but more straightforward trap beats to punctuate Wood’s poetry. While the list of producers and features on this might make the album come across as a smattering of too many cooks in the kitchen, it affords each song a unique sound that deftly connects back to Wood’s overarching themes and message, something that I’ve felt is lacking on some of Wood’s single producer projects.
At this point, there’s no question that Woods is one of the best hip-hop artists of our generation. His densely packed style isn’t for everyone, but his attention to artistry and craft are truly awe inspiring. He’s slowly become one of the most prolific artists out there, releasing at least one project a year over the past half decade, whether it’s through a solo project or one of his numerous groups. And while not all his projects resonate with me, this one has haunted my thoughts since I first listened to it. If you let it in, don’t be surprised if you wake in the middle of the night in a cold sweat, the presence of this album lingering in the corner of your room.
For fans of… The Roots.
9. The Overview Steven Wilson (Progressive Rock)
Steven Wilson is a strange artist for me to articulate my feelings about. I won’t mince my words… I think he’s one of the greatest progressive rock artists of all time. His work with Porcupine Tree, Blackfield, and his solo work pre-2020 is enough to demonstrate that. And then, something happened and he forgot how to write a song. I didn’t need Wilson to ascribe to your classic progressive rock tropes. Lord knows he took 80’s pop and made it his own on 2017’s To the Bone. But then Wilson lost his spark. And so, for the past five years, I have waited with baited breath for a Steven Wilson album to move me in the ways that The Raven that Refused to Sing and Hand. Cannot. Erase. Did.
Or, at the very least, I waited for an album that didn’t disappoint the hell out of me.
I have no interest in going to space. As someone who suffers from pretty severe claustrophobia, the thought of launching myself into the abyss with only a thin wall between me and oblivion doesn’t sound super fun (I have frequently told people that, should an asteroid come hurtling towards our planet and our government finds a way to get everyone off in time, I will still opt for destruction over a life floating through space). That being said, there are many who have ventured up into the great beyond and have come to experience something called “The Overview Effect.” It is an emotional and philosophical shift in thinking, a realization that there are no borders and that we as humans are more interconnected than we are different. It’s a beautiful sentiment, and one that all world leaders should be required to experience. It is in this concept that Wilson roots his latest album and, as you can tell from my placement of it on my list, he does so with great success.
The album is two songs, each about twenty minutes and change, that explores the aforementioned concept. While this might sound daunting, each song is brilliantly crafted in a way that gives them space to breathe while keeping them interesting. Wilson’s love for 70’s rock is on full display on this album, filled with incredibly memorable motifs that shift and swirl in and out of focus. The even bigger achievement is that neither song loses steam (the second half of “The Overview” is awe inspiring). As the length would insinuate, these songs require multiple listens, but each one is more fulfilling than the last.
While only time will tell where and how Wilson’s legacy will end, this album is a reminder to fans that he can still craft a well-constructed album that pays homage to the acts that have come before him, while also possessing the qualities that make his music uniquely his. If this is any indication of where he is creatively, I have no doubt the back half of the 2020’s are going to see him producing some of his best music yet.
For fans of… Pink Floyd.
8. Dead Channel Sky clipping. (Industrial/ Experimental Hip-hop)
If you want to understand this group, stop reading now and go watch their NPR Tiny Desk concert. It’s 24 minutes long, which is not a huge time commitment, but in that span you will grasp just how incredible this group is. It certainly might articulate it to you better than I’m about to.
It’s easy to label clipping. As the “Daveed Diggs project” and move on. Those with a pulse on Broadway for the past decade will certainly remember him as the tour-de-force who voiced Lafayette/Thomas Jefferson in the smash hit show Hamilton. It would also give you an idea of the level of talent we’re dealing with here with this group. It would also, perhaps, inadvertently diminish the importance of producers Jonathan Snipes and William Hutson, who mastermind the beats on every clipping. album like they’re creating a rube goldberg machine. What the three of them create when their forces combine is a hip-hop project unlike anything you’ve ever heard, a compilation of skittering, anxiety-inducing songs that at times feel less like songs and more like feelings.
Ditching the straight up horror aesthetic of their last two albums, clipping. Have created a new type of terror, one rooted in our digital world. Songs about losing your touch on reality, addiction to technology, and rebellion through online engagement are scattered across this album, each one hacking into your subconscious, slowly corrupting you with a sense of unease. Over glitching, sharp, electronic beats, Diggs demonstrates his versatility as an artists, at times portraying a sarcastic, bleak version of the future through his conversational if slightly monotone delivery, while at other times developing a sense of frantic urgency through his breakneck rapping. The effect is an album that, like a virus, corrupts your thoughts long after its over, replaying the hooks over and over in your mind like a pop-up advertisement.
If you previously found clipping. to be hard to get into, this is definitely them at their most accessible. That isn’t to say there aren’t challenging moments on this album (the interludes are … difficult to digest at times), but one definitely leans into their EDM influences more. Who knows, you just might find yourself dancing to the apocalypse.
For fans of… Nine Inch Nails.
7. Reptilian Brain Alpha Male Tea Party (Math Rock)
If you want my thoughts, here’s the link to the review I wrote a few months ago on this album: https://kevinjasica.com/2025/11/12/reptilian-brain/
Ok, I’m half kidding. If you haven’t read my review on this album from late last year, you should. It opens up a nice conversation on the album as a whole and what makes it such a strong rock album, while providing some really great context on the conversation surrounding it. If you don’t have time to dig into that, I don’t blame you. In the year of 2026, the fact that you’re even reading these reviews is kind of a miracle. So, I’ll respect your time and condense my previous thoughts while redirecting the conversation towards why this album earned such a high spot on my list.
There’s a lot of rock music that dropped this year, but not much of it feels as authentic, as unique, as urgent as AMTP’s latest LP. This band has found a way to meld pop sensibility with jerky rhythmic changes and thundering riffs. It’s like Smashing Pumpkins and At the Drive-In had a love child. Yeah, it rocks that hard, and there’s enough variety to appease listeners from all walks of life.
As I mentioned in my review, the heart of this album is the emotion that comes from the addition of vocals. While this band write riffs that are massive enough to sing-a-long to, it’s the storytelling, the NEED to have vocals to do so, that makes this album so powerful. Don’t believe me? I’ll return once more to “A Terrible Day to Have Eyes” the song shared below this post. Capturing a particularly traumatic moment in vocalist Tom Peters’ life. In one piece, the band capture such a human experience, one that every listener can relate to. At some point we have seen something so horrific (the death of a loved one, a scenario where we should have stood up for what was right, a loss of innocence) that we were forever transformed afterward. That message, in a way, is the core of this album. When we see such moments, do we choose to look away, do we stand and stare, or do we act while we still can?
In a time where it’s easy to be passive, this album musically, lyrically, and emotionally is anything but.
For fans of… Thrice.
6. Magic, Alive! McKinley Dixon (Hip-hop)
There’s a lot of music that’s really heavy on this list. Especially as we approach the top of this list, I think many of my listeners will think, “damn dude, are you ok?” My answer is “yes,” but I also think a lot of “powerful” music that resonates with me resides in really heavy aspects of the human experience. But one can’t only reside in the heavy aspects of life. One must find the joy. The joy is where, from the ashes, we must return.
That is essentially where McKinley Dixon’s latest project resides. Magic, Alive! is a concept album about a group of young men who experience the tragic loss of a friend and, in their grief, discover that the way to keep our loved ones alive is through celebration, music, creation, and art. This album takes this really heavy concept and twists it into a celebration of hip-hop music and black culture in a way that… I’m about to make a really bold statement… hasn’t been done since Kendrick Lamar’s To Pimp a Butterfly.
Yeah, that’s how good this is.
Using live performances of local Chicago musicians as the backdrop for his rhymes, Dixon constructs an jazz rap album that is as light as it is thought provoking, as sorrowful as it is joyful, as playful as it is pressing. The energy on this project is truly the driving force, and it feels like a warm summer day in the city, catching an artist busking on the corner of the block, people dancing in the street. It’s warm and bright, and engages the listener from the soothing, scene setting intro track “Watch My Hands” to the pensive, shimmering conclusion “Could’ve Been Different.” The wisdom that Dixon pours across these tracks fills the soul with a sense of purpose, and it’s one that I can see myself returning to as it ages over the years as a reminder to stand up for what is right as well as appreciate the moments I have with my loved ones.
On a side note, I can’t emphasize how much the song “Run. Run. Run Pt. 2” caught me off guard. Let me be clear: I am an outsider when it comes to hip-hop music. I appreciate it, and some of my favorite albums are hip-hop albums, but the experiences I’ve had are very different from many of those who are staples of the genre. It’s not made for me. That being said, I was legitimately moved by the sequel to a track from Dixon’s previous album. If “Run. Run. Run” is a song about police violence and the shooting of young black men, “Run. Run. Run. Pt. 2” is the storm that comes after, the protests, the riots, the civil rights movements. There’s a moment where the trombones kick in halfway through the song that always causes a lump in my throat because you can feel the emotion in Dixon’s music. This project isn’t just for him. It’s for everyone who has lost a brother, sister, mother, father, cousin, and friend to injustice and systemic violence. So on top of everything else, this album is a reminder to keep fighting for what is right, to keep celebrating the ones lost, to find the magic that can bring the dead back to life.
For fans of… Kendrick Lamar and J. Cole.
5. LSD Cardiacs (Progressive Punk)
If I had to label one artist as my “Artist of the Year,” an act that I haven’t been able to shut up about, it would be the Cardiacs. For the past thirty four years of my life I have somehow avoided hearing any of the music from what I now consider to be one of the most important progressive acts of all time. Yeah, I’m making a lot of bold claims in this intro paragraph, but I genuinely mean them. It’s been years since I’ve come across a music group that has had such a profound impact on me. After listening to this album, I felt compelled to dive back into their discography, to consume every album I could by them, something I haven’t been driven to do since… Steven Wilson back when I discovered him around 2014.
To understand the exigence surrounding this album, one must dip at least a toe into the mythology surrounding its release. The Cardiacs have been around since the 80s, releasing music possessed by the manic energy of a carnival, the complexities of progressive rock, and the devil-may-care, tongue in cheek attitude of British punk. In 2007, they began work on this album, when the work was tossed to the side after frontman and mastermind, Tim Smith, suffered a heart attack and stroke, and developed dystonia (a neurological disorder impacting movement and speech).
It’s at this point that I could continue to go into the specific history of events that led up to this album, but there are plenty of other publications that do this (the liner notes of the CD are a tome recounting the exact recording and producing of all these songs) and you’ve come here to hear about why you should listen to it. So I’ll spare you the details and just say that while he was rehabilitating, Smith, with the help of guitarist Kauvis Torabi, sibling Jim, and a slew of former band mates, began using the notes, his demos, and Smith’s own verbalized ideas to record the album that sits in front of you. With Smith at the helm (as much as his disease would allow him), the collective recorded parts in a wild attempt to cover Smith’s densely complex playing style, unique melodic lines, and wildly cryptic lyrics (the crazy/heartwarming thing is that they pulled it off). This story has a bittersweet ending. In 2020, Tim Smith died, leaving behind a legacy any human would be proud to have, and a collection of half-finished songs. It is over the next five years that these songs would be finished using his notes, his friends, and their undying love for him and his music.
LSD is to avant garde, progressive punk what Blackstar was to art rock. It’s a zany celebration of life, an epic meditation on death, a middle finger to the way life eventually cripples us all. This album, oddly enough, is a great starting point for understanding the band because it has a little bit of every album on it. There are symphonic and epic flourishes, a la “Men in Bed,” “Busty Beez,” and “Pet Fezant.” There’s manic punk rock energy on rippers like “Woodeneye,” “Lovely Eyes,” and “Downup.” There are fist pumping rock anthems like “By Numbers” and “Ditzy Scene.” All of these different songs are played in a way wholly unique to Smith’s unique writing style and sound, which is made all the more impressive by the fact that Smith was not able to sing or play on the album. It’s hard for me to truly describe this album because it sounds entirely unique. If you haven’t heard a Cardiacs album, you have no idea what you’re in for, but I can promise you that it will be an experience you won’t forget.
That is my selling point to you. Very rarely do I get this excited about artists. Sure, I have artists that I love and artists that blow my mind in a given calendar year, but it’s been a long time since I’ve found myself raving about a group in this way. This is the group that inspired so many of my favorite musical groups, from Mr. Bungle to The Dillinger Escape Plan. For godsakes, they were going to have Devin Townsend produce this album but there was a scheduling conflict. Yes, there are other albums that are ranked higher on this list, but none of them shifted my literal taste in music in this way. If you are looking for an album that will surprise you and touch you, this is the one for you. Who knows, you might find yourself joining me on my musical journey to love even more Cardiacs over the next year.
For fans of… music expressed in a way you’ve never heard done before.
4. Pachinko Moron Police (Progressive Rock)
Scrolling through this list, it’s pretty apparent that loss is a powerful human emotion that inspires some of the greatest music ever put to wax. It causes us to reflect. It forces us to change. It challenges our perception of self. It’s in this space that Moron Police found themselves following the death of their drummer and childhood friend, Thore Omland Petterson.
Their previous album, 2019’s A Boat on the Sea, was a goofy collection of socially conscious songs about false kings and the meaning of life that sounded like a mix between your favorite musicals and anime theme songs. In many ways, it was a test drive for all the qualities that make this album so damn strong. Because while A Boat… was a collection of songs with similar production and thematic material, this is a full-blown balls to the wall concept album. Themes are introduced in early songs only to be revisited, reshaped, and strengthened as the album progresses. Songs twist and turn with reckless abandon. It is truly a masterclass in modern progressive rock, and I say that as someone who has listened to hundreds of progressive rock albums over the decades. This is a band recognizing its final form, and it is truly awe-inspiring to reach the end of this album, tears in your eyes, and realize: “Holy shit, they actually pulled this off.”
That’s right, I had literal tears in my eyes. I’m someone who is easily moved by music, but this is an album that achieves this on so many fronts. For starters, the sheer scope of this project and the final realization of all those efforts is truly beautiful to behold. I love a good underdog story, and seeing a band reach their full potential never fails to move me.
But more importantly, it is the musical-esq concept album at the core of this project that breaks my heart and rebuilds it over the course of its hour run time. Inspired by their dear friend’s passing, they wrote an album in which a man dies, is given an afterlife in the form of a pachinko machine, and is… and I’m just speculating here because they haven’t released an official story… attached to a nuke and launched into space to blow up God. Yeah, it sounds ridiculous on paper, but it’s the heart of the story that hits so damn hard. It touches on fears of death, and how in order to lessen that fear we must find the beauty in all human experiences. It touches on capitalism, for it is the character’s greed that is twisted into a sick punishment, turning him into a literal gambling machine. It addresses spiritual rebellion and the existential crisis that comes when one comes to realize that, if there’s a God, he might not care about his creations.
It’s a lot on paper, I get that, but Moron Police somehow make it so manageable for their audience. With soaring, almost operatic vocals, multi-instrumentalist front man Sondre Skollevoll lays out some of the catchiest melodies and choruses you’ll hear on any project, metal, rock, pop, or otherwise, this year. The majority of the songs sit around the 3-4 minute mark and yet feel so jam packed with ideas (that work) that each is a journey of its own through Moron Police’s zany, colorful style of theatrical rock. Songs like “Pachinko Pt.1” are the anchor for this entire album, reestablishing plot points and thematic material, while closing one-two punch “The Sentient Dreamer” and “Giving Up the Ghost” reveal said themes in their final form. The songcrafting of this band brings closure to the themes (even ones from their previous album) and plots in a way that will leave you with a strong desire to call your friends just to tell them you love them so damn much.
Because, at its core, this is a band processing its grief and honoring its friend the only way they know how: by blasting him up into space as a glorified pinball machine to meet his maker. And when the last notes, a prerecorded drum solo by Petterson, lead the song to its final crescendo, you’ll find yourself elated, emotional, and fully realizing that Moron Police have cemented themselves as one of the most engaging, most interesting, and most daring progressive acts of the 2020s.
For fans of… Haken.
3. Dreams of Being Dust The World Is a Beautiful Place & I Am No Longer Afraid To Die (Post Hardcore)
It’s hard for me to write this without bringing up politics. Sitting here now, as civil unrest has exploded in the past week and as we approach the one year mark of Donald Trump’s second presidency, I feel this disgust, loathing, and hatred for where we’ve found ourselves as a country. I’m sure to many of you, this is the point where I start to lose you. Stay with me. There’s a point.
I’m fairly new to The World is a Beautiful Place… but from my limited scope they’ve always been a fairly political band. Their last album Illusory Walls was a dystopian progressive rock album about our current, capitalist hellscape and the daily grind to work yourself into an early grave. It was dreary, but ended with hope, as songs “Infinite Josh” and “Fewer Afraid” being monolith end caps that served as a reminder to love your life and find joy in this experience.
Well if Illusory Walls was a dystopian, or rather post-dystopian album where one hobbles through the wreckage, finding hope in the ruins of society, then Dreams of Being Dust is the prequel, a grim, bleak, furious collection of songs that perfectly articulate all the dread and anger I’ve bottled inside me this last year. The group completely abandons the shimmering post-hardcore and midwest emo of previous works in favor of a sound that leans heavily on hardcore and metalcore riffs, harsh vocals, and brutal breakdowns. It’s an artistic decision that alienated plenty of their fanbase, but for this music reviewer it was the direction shift I was craving from the group. Not only does the heavier sound work for vocalist Josh Cyr’s cynical, flat delivery, but it fixes many of the pacing issues that its predecessor had. Sure, there are plenty of moments where the album breathes (“Oubliette” is a haunting, bitter rebuke of our current political system), but there’s enough violent energy to keep this album moving.
Coming into this album, I expected a lot of the same of what I got on their previous effort. What I received was an album that sank its teeth into me and didn’t let go. Like the slowburn, breathtakingly powerful build during the second half of closer “For Those Who Will Outlive Us,” this album stares you down and forces you to face it. It spares none of its fury, establishing itself as one of the best hardcore albums of the year, which is ironic given that it comes from a non-hardcore band. Yeah, it’s aggressive (opener “Dimmed Sun” is a mosh from start to finish) and yeah, it’s political, but this is the kind of art we need artists making in this time. Something needs to be left behind when we’re gone.
For fans of…Every Time I Die.
2. The Age of Ephemerality Bruit (Post Metal)
I’ve really struggled these past few years as a teacher. It isn’t the fault of my students, or my training, or my peers, or the school I work at, or even this dark, dystopian world we find ourselves in. It’s the fact that we’re losing sight of what it means to be human. We’re losing sight of meaning.
When social media was new, it was such an exciting thing. For someone who had just been moved across the country, it was a bridge between worlds, a way to stay attached to my old friends and keep up with my new ones. It was a way to get exposure to new music artists (that’s how I discovered Coheed and Cambria!), and gain new experiences. But as time has gone on, it has morphed into a conveyer belt of media. Posts from friends are replaced by pictures and advertisements. Dozens of albums drop each Friday of each week, and are constructed to play with an algorithm that drops you into obscurity when you take a moment to breathe. Artists chase moments over true, lasting creation. News outlets treat reactions and soundbites as news. It is within this onslaught of media and consumption, that one finds themselves gasping for air and drowning in a lack of meaning.
The Age of Ephemerality is a violent rebellion against that, an album that is challenging and rewarding, a piece of art that commands your attention and requires disconnection from all distraction and fleeting reaction. Composed of four members (Theophile Antolinos, Julien Aoufi Luc Blanchot, Clément Libes, each multi-instrumentalists in their own respect) Bruit are a group capable of producing astonishingly immense walls of sound. Together they create a blend of post rock, symphonic music, and electronic that is a monumental tome of sound. At times this album flirts with the edges of what your ears can physically take in. It’s overwhelming, all-encompassing, bombastic, and the perfect metaphor for this cacophony that is media consumption in the 2020s. Bruit have taken the reins from bands like Godspeed You! Black Emperor and Russians Circles, and have created an album that perfectly disrupts our need to swipe through sounds and images.
For fans of… Isis.
- Vaxis III: The Father of Make Believe Coheed and Cambria (Progressive Rock)
At the final spot, I want to acknowledge my own bias. Yes, I have unapologetically been a pretty huge Coheed and Cambria fan my entire life. They were one of the first bands I discovered in high school that connected to my identity and are one that I have continually found comfort in as I’ve entered the various stages of my life. I will also acknowledge that, in recent years, I have found myself growing slightly detached from their recent releases. Sure, Vaxis I was a solid return to form, if not slightly bloated.Vaxis II, however, was an absolute misstep and probably the most disconnected I’ve been from the band since The Color Before the Sun (it’s their only release I never return to). That being said, I regularly return to the albums of theirs that made me, broke me, and healed me. So all of this serves as a preface to say that yes, I am a really huge fan of their music, and yes, this year’s final spot might lean hard into that.
But dammit, they really hit it out of the park on this one.
Dismissing conversations about the story for a second (because every Coheed and Cambria album except one is part of a larger, science fiction saga), the music on this album is Coheed at their heaviest, most emotional, and most energetic in a decade. Their versatility is on full display here, from the pop-y opener “Goodbye Sunshine,” to the hardcore leanings of “Blind Side Sonny” and “Play the Poet,” to the epic and emotive closing multi-suite track “The Continuum.” It truly is a smorgasbord of everything that Coheed does really well. This could, of course, be a detriment to people who haven’t previously enjoyed their music, but for even casual fans there’s a little something from each of their eras to keep them engaged.
The heart of this album, however, is the story. And no… I don’t think you need to know the actual science fiction story going on beneath this to appreciate the sheer emotional power that resonates from every damn track of this album. Intro track “Yesterday’s Lost” is a goosebump inducing lullaby about the fears of losing those you love most in this world. Ballads “Meri of Mercy” and “Corner My Confidence” are genuinely heartbreaking songs about love lost and sought, highlighting the story of one of our characters as he searches tirelessly for his wife in the afterlife (and the neighboring dimension he’s sucked into). Closer “The Continuum I-IV” is the closest to awe and terror I’ve felt since “Gravity’s Union.”
Fueled by the loss of Claudio Sanchez’ grandfather during COVID (who was also the inspiration for the character Sirus Amory), this album is about saying goodbye to him as much as it is a statement on the state of the band. Sanchez, the mastermind behind the project, has hinted that the future of the band is uncertain after Vaxis V, the final chapter in the entire Amory Wars(?). That’s still presumably about half a decade away (if you take into account that each album takes about three years to write and record), but it seems to be fueling Claudio’s creativity. Having to say goodbye to these characters and, potentially, this universe, has given him the inspiration to write their darkest and most hard-hitting project since The Afterman back in 2013.
So yes, I’m a huge Coheed fan (I hesitate to call myself a “super fan” because trust me… there are people that love this band waaaaay more than I do), but regardless of that fact, this is an incredibly fun, smartly created progressive rock album that highlights a band operating at their top levels. The choruses are massive and catchy. The story is emotional. The album pacing is beautifully constructed. And on top of it all, Claudio Sanchez, Travis Stever, Zach Cooper, and Josh Eppard have established why they are still one of the best progressive rock acts out there. And for the first time in a LOOOOOOOONG while, I’m really excited to see where they go next.
For fans of… Rush.
The Word and The Song 