I always see my list of tracks as an opportunity to cast a wider snapshot of my year in music, as well as a chance to try and capture smaller musical moments in more abstract ways. These two halves combined make for a very fun writing experience, especially in a year with so many great musical surprises and highlights. I’ve tried my best to capture the beautiful, strange, and inspiring feelings of my year, and hope your curiosity pushes you to discover those feelings, and new ones, for yourself. For your convenience, links to these songs can be found below.
| Playlist on Apple Music: https://music.apple.com/us/playlist/top-tracks-2025/pl.u-vxy66AjC4vqgNY |
25. off to the ESSO – aya
With aya, it’s hard to know whether she’s inviting you into a fantasy or a nightmare. The album highlight from hexed! is par for the course, a clubby, industrial banger. Equal parts dizzying and exhilarating, “off to the ESSO” takes you by the hand to a dark, hazy room full of faces you can only see between flashes of strobe lights. The longer you’re here, the more you can feel the danger of this place, a cold sweat down your back. Whispering voices, a relentless rumble of bass, and aya’s cavalcade of frantic lyrics may find some running for the exit.
24. Sometimes, Papi Chulo (ft. Gabriela Bibiana) – Infinity Knives & Brian Ennals
Brian Ennals is not having a good day. In fact, he doesn’t seem to be getting any wins as of late. Against an infectious cumbia beat, he comes to grips with the feeling that sometimes, life seems to play a joke on you. Maybe you tried your best and still couldn’t make it work, maybe you’re seeing things happen you’re powerless to stop, maybe the drugs aren’t doing it anymore, and maybe all of this has left you angry with the world, your friends, and yourself. Sometimes, things just don’t seem right, and you just can’t help but feel pissed.
23. Striptease – FKA Twigs
In our current age of pop diva auteurs, FKA Twigs really fits right in. She’s been carrying that torch her whole career, but on her latest record, she seems filled with more confidence than ever and is ready to play the role. Nowhere is that more apparent than on “Striptease,” where she takes many shapes, demonstrating her stylistic and vocal range with ease. Whether she’s channeling Björk or The Cranberries’ Dolores O’Riordan, her commanding presence takes center stage.
22. House (ft. John Cale) – Charli XCX
Speaking of pop divas, the most recent champion in this field is riding her massive success with a soundtrack for the upcoming “Wuthering Heights” film. However, those hungry for BRAT 2.0 may be disappointed with this lead single, a terrifying spoken word piece brought to life by the legendary John Cale and a haunting cello screech that feels more unnerving with each echo. Swallowed up by industrial noise, Charli sings “I think I’m gonna die in this house” to the end, with desperation in every line. It’s a refreshing and bold challenge to her audience, but most of all, it’s just so sick.
21. Elderberry Wine – Wednesday
When I first wrote about Wednesday after Rat Saw God, I was blown away by their explosive energy and sometimes-crushing use of distortion. A couple of years later, it’s funny to think their best single plays more like a sweet southern jam, something you might hear in the backyard between beers and the occasional waft of smoked brisket. But things change, certainly for Wednesday, whose lead singer Karly Hartzman and guitarist MJ Lenderman went through a breakup, something delicately captured in Karly’s lyrics as she recalls tense silence on their way to an airport or now-distant conversations about children. They show perfect musical chemistry here, as Karly says, “everybody gets along just fine.”
20. Hawk Dreams – Nate Mercerau, Josh Johnson, Carlos Niño
When I listen to the aptly named “Hawk Dreams,” if I close my eyes, I can feel myself soaring, a rush of wind on my face, a vast landscape stretching below me. As the track grows, with each new flourish of saxophone, the sudden hit of drums, the rattle of chimes, I envision the freedom of aerial movement. To turn and dive through the sky must be a feeling of true liberation, an exhilarating thrill mixed with a deeply rooted peace. On this gorgeous ambient jazz epic, you can become lost in this feeling, a testament to the incredible performances of this musical trio. When I open my eyes, I may find myself firmly on the ground, but to dream of flying is a beautiful thing.
19. Max Potential – Nourished by Time
At times, you’ve got to put it all on the line, trust your gut, and go for it. Believe in your truth, and the world will meet you with its own. Nourished by Time drives this home, asserting that a broken heart is destiny, and true love is worth losing your mind for. He sings this over and over with passionate self-assurance on a chorus that is pure ecstasy. Like his convictions, he puts full faith in this chorus, and the track finds its greatest strength because of it. Hearing him sing “if I’m gonna go insane” never gets old, and with each iteration this song truly finds its max potential.
18. Punish – Ethel Cain
Nobody, especially not her fans, expected Ethel Cain to release the dark, haunting ambient drone album Perverts. And I suspect few people, especially not me, expected it to be so good. But its most beautiful, dynamic, and song-y track exceeds expectations. In one breath, it calls to the liminal songwriting of Grouper, Hayden Anhedönia’s voice and piano notes hanging like drops of rain suspended in frozen air. And yet, even at its glacial pace, “Punish” builds dramatic tension like a slow-rolling wave, cresting with epic distortion that still sounds as delicate as its opening moments. It’s the closest you may get to feeling like a ghost, out of space and time.
17. Trinity – Carey
Over time, people always change. We live and life takes us on a journey that molds us into new shapes. One day you might wake up and see a divide with the childhood friend you used to be inseparable with, just two people on different paths. But still, there is something they will always understand about you, a sense of connection that is only possible through the complete trust of youth. On “Trinity,” the sweet, contemplative song by Hartford’s Carey, this is the way songwriter Peter Neagle speaks of his relationship with religion, looking back not with disdain, but with grace, understanding, and simply, “a different perspective.” Held together with a guitar riff that could melt in your mouth and supported by dynamic production throughout, “Trinity” is a shining moment for the band’s debut.
16. Unbelievable – DJ Koze & Ada
There is a hidden art in making the most of a musical collaboration. Few producers understand this quite as well as DJ Koze, who always seems able to find gold in the talents of his features. Some pairings, like his with labelmate Ada, prove to be particularly well-matched. Twelve years after recording the best song on his breakout album Amygdala, Ada returns to do the same with “Unbelievable,” a groovy, glitchy track that reimagines 50’s vocal pop as an acid trip at the nightclub. Alien synthesizers, rumbling bass, and chopped up beats swirl in a disorienting mix that is a true feast for the senses, a taste of Koze magic.
15. Love Takes Miles – Cameron Winter
Hearing Cameron Winter’s throaty voice, I can’t help but picture Kermit the frog, serenading upon his log. The unassuming front man of Geese seems like an unlikely candidate for indie folk hero of the year, especially considering that it’s often hard to know what the hell he’s talking about (“talk to the moon, flatten her down”?) But on this incredibly endearing track, Cameron drives his central message home with clarity: love will challenge you; love will arrive when you are not ready for it and still, you will have no choice but to make room for love. Love takes work, love takes time, “love takes miles.” It is a powerful yet simple truth that sounds so undeniable, it becomes easy to see why Cameron has quickly earned the goodwill granted to his felt green counterpart.
14. To be a rose – Jenny Hval
I’ve been told that olfactory memory, our memory tied to smell, is the most powerful humans possess. So, it follows that recognizing and recalling smells has been crucial to our survival. Perhaps this instinct can explain the profound rift in Jenny Hval as she recalls the overwhelming cigarette smoke her mother filled their home with, picturing a thousand mouths taking a drag in unison. For Jenny, the only escape to this threat is the dream of being a rose, to become the embodiment of a pleasant aroma, to trade smoke-stained walls for a flowerbed. This dream, delivered in beautiful layered vocals, is one of Jenny’s most evocative, a personal affirmation to live free from the past.
13. Sycophant – Sharp Pins
In his pursuit of capturing the old heart of rock music, Kai Slater of Sharp Pins also harnessed the true essence of the singer-songwriter tune. From the opening guitar notes that walk down to greet you, “Sycophant” sounds like a pure, timeless expression, a song you may have always been able to hear on the morning radio, if only you could tune in to the right station. It’s a bare recording, with Kai’s guitar and upper register voice confidently staring straight at you, captured with the crackle of a lo-fi microphone. Far from sounding empty though, this track is a refreshing reminder of the potential that still lies in music performed from the scribblings of a notepad.
12. HIGHER! – Dijon
Everything that is great about Baby can be found in spades on this track. Dijon is bursting at the seams with energy, his vocal performance a bright beacon in the dense cloud of groovy instrumentation, ad-libbing with ease and belting with joy. He carries an infectious positivity, completely enthralled by “a love, higher,” oozing as he says “I love it when you tie my tie tight around my neck.” It’s obvious that his burning passion and love for life is channeled into this track, which sounds like a celebration from the moment you hit play.
11. Playing Classics – Water From Your Eyes
There are few acts in modern rock music that make me as excited as Water From Your Eyes. It isn’t so much that they are willing to take risks as much as they are making music constructed entirely out of risks. On the centerpiece of It’s A Beautiful Place, the weirdo duo takes another, albeit less jarring risk, cranking out an honest-to-God, irresistibly fun dance track. The opening hiss of hi-hats are a sort of hypnotism, leaving you unable to keep your feet from tapping or your head from bobbing. The song slowly comes to life, but when a piano rolls in straight out of the saloon, the mind control is complete: you are having a good time.
10. Au Pays du Cocaine – Geese
“You can stay with me and just pretend I’m not there.” Cameron Winter makes his second list appearance with Geese against the backdrop of a tender 60’s ballad, crooning with passionate dejection. He succinctly captures the contradictions of heartbreak, the fear of change, the fear of losing someone you love, even if you no longer fit in each other’s lives. His impossible plea is simple: Come back and we can have everything – you can ignore my flaws, you can change who you are, you can find freedom, and we can still hold onto happiness together, or at least the idea of it. It’s a level of delusion that hits you like a big, sad truck.
9. Afterlife – Alex G
Alex G has always known how to write a good song, he’s been doing it his whole career. But lately he’s been showing how far that talent can really go, tapping into the kind of catchy songwriting that hits are made of, and breaking through to a new young audience. “Afterlife” is a bona fide indie hit, its playful mandolins and marching snare hits evoking a kind of innocent charm that Alex harnesses with ease as he reflects on teenage memories. His unique, weird character is never lost though, with cartoonish keyboard flutes peppered in the background, and a quintessential Alex G yelp bookending the choruses. No matter how much career and personal growth he’s been through, Alex G stays true to himself.
8. Dopamine – Robyn
There is nothing like a thrill. It courses through your body, a mixture of fear and excitement, a chemical reaction that tells your brain you are still alive. “Dopamine” is all about chasing that thrill of finally making a move on your crush, of taking a risk, of making a mistake. But even in its euphoric rush, it questions whether these thrills are real, whether true desire or an empty quest for adrenaline fuels us. Fans of our contemporary “pop girlies” may not realize how much they owe to Robyn, the queen of electro-pop. Not just for her ever-phenomenal production that still ripples across pop, but for her effortless ability to seize on our most yearning desires alongside their messy complications with reality, all while making both sound like the blissful rush of a first kiss.
7. Total euphoria – caroline
To think about the universe is to lose your mind. Infinite atoms colliding in space in never ending chaos have created everything we will ever know, and yet we are here in what feels like a completely perfect balance. The very same is true on “Total euphoria,” a song whose existence defies logic, but arrives out of musical entropy with a sense of inevitability, the feeling that this song was always destined to be recorded. At first glance it almost feels like the members of caroline are simultaneously playing three different versions of the same song, but it works. Guitars wildly strum out of sync with the drums, a violin wails, and a wall of distortion interjects, a beautiful and inspiring chaos that falls into place like the molecules of a shooting star burning across the sky at the exact moment you look up to witness it.
6. Garden – Maria Somerville
It is nearly impossible to talk about dream pop without making obvious mentions of dreams. But “Garden,” like the best songs of the genre (and I do think it lands among them), demonstrates how dream pop came to be named. Listening to this heavy collage of reverb, you may just as easily see the headlight of a motorcycle emerging from a foggy alley as you may see the beautiful gleam of a sun shower, or the vibrant green of a mossy forest. Whatever moody, evocative imagery you choose, Maria Somerville’s angelic voice meets the moment, and casts you deeper into the ever-shifting shape of dreams. And just like waking up from a dream, as the song ends you may ask yourself, for just a second, “was any of that real?”
5. Reliquia – Rosalía
There’s really no other song this year that quite made me go “holy shit” like this one. The definitive standout from LUX is a heavyweight champion in every way. It’s gorgeous, unpredictable, innovative, and moving, a worthy contender for Rosalía’s best track yet. It’s a compositional marvel, Rosalía’s voice soaring over the frantic orchestra that weaves effortlessly with modern, contrasting production, parting with an even bolder electronic conclusion. Under this overwhelming odyssey is a poignant meditation on love and passion, that to love is to give a piece of yourself away, a relic for others to feel your presence. When enough of these pieces are scattered across the world, it can both feel beautiful, like roots spreading far and wide, and terrifying, a fear that there is not enough love left for your own heart.
4. La dueña – Titanic
Drama gets a bad rap. We relegate the term to our bickering friends of friends, we consider “being dramatic” an overreaction, a tantrum of sorts. But drama is expression, actors bearing their souls, asking an audience to consider what it means to be human, what it means to feel powerful emotions. “La dueña” is pure drama, a tragedy that takes seconds to be consumed by. Mabe Fratti’s cello, elevated by equally epic production from I. la Católica, is full of twists and turns; the music alone is enough to make you hold your breath. From this stage, Mabe delivers her soliloquy, a poetic cry of heartbreak. Just as two lovers find themselves passionately embraced, “transforming into swans,” she is betrayed, left alone and shattered, haunted by memories of a lost love. It is a beautiful performance, worthy of roses and ovations.
3. Every Time I Hear – Sharp Pins
There are almost no wrong choices for favorite song on the incredible Radio DDR, but there is definitely an easy choice. The opening track serves as a thesis for the whole project, a jangly throwback that cuts to the heart of 60s rock and roll, a song so invested in paying homage to the past, you would roll your eyes at it if not for the fact that it is so damned good. Yes, it’s lo-fi, but you can tell its sound was put together with an incredible amount of care. Everything, from the fuzzy guitar distortion, to the light vocal reverb, to the first two taps of the snare drum, feel calculated and measured to transport you to a time of flared jeans and flowy hair. But “Every Time I Hear” is far from clamoring nostalgia for a bygone era, it’s an assertion that while sounds evolve over the decades, a well written song never goes out of style.
2. Venom’s In – Panda Bear
Fans of Panda Bear’s Noah Lennox have been hearing comparisons to The Beach Boys for so long, to mention it again can feel like beating a dead horse. But here we are, on a song with harmonies so rich, so perfectly interlocked and intuitive, that they will make you feel like a genius just for hearing them. “Venom’s In” is so melodically cohesive that it feels like you could sing anything over it and still fit within the confines of its composition. It’s a talent that few others than the late, great Brian Wilson could claim, but Noah tries and succeeds without making the song feel like anything more than a sweet tune you can hum in the shower. Noah reflects on the slow, painful inevitability of change, the invisible bullet that strikes us from a mile away. By his estimation, the only option is forward, to accept the venom is in, to step into the fire and hope we’re “cleaned by the flame.” Our heroes and idols will die, so will we. All we can do is honor their legacy by carrying their lessons into the future for a new generation.
1. BAILE INoLVIDABLE – Bad Bunny
“Mientras uno está vivo, uno debe amar lo más que pueda.” (In life, one must love the most they can.) The elderly voice on the phone line says this without hesitation, a lifelong lesson that serves as the perfect intro to the most joyous and celebratory song of the year, even if it is shrouded in heartbreak. One of the biggest hits from the global reggaeton sensation’s latest album is, surprisingly, not reggaeton at all, but a passionate and jaw-dropping salsa number, complete with a full supporting band. Bongos will have you livening your step, horns blare with a sense of showmanship, a group chorus invites you to join in whether you can sing in key or not, there’s even a jazzy piano solo in the mix. It sounds like the anthem for a night at a tropical bar, dancing poorly with the locals after one too many coquitos. Yet the song’s fun, upbeat tone seems to come from the past, the memory of an old flame, someone who taught Bad Bunny to love and to dance, someone he seemingly can’t ever get back. The song is a dedication to her, his “unforgettable dance,” and though it may seem somewhat sentimental, there are few pairings as classic as cocktails and yearning. It’s a song good enough to make anyone interested in salsa and Latin jazz, or to make skeptics reconsider the merits of the reggaeton superstar. Certainly, by my 50th listen of this track I had to admit “maybe I was wrong about this guy.”
Listening Now 