Hi there, and happy new year. I had the best of intentions for my 2025 music listening. This would be the year I’d rediscover my passion for connecting to new music. I committed to properly listening to a new album every week. But by mid-Jan, when I hadn’t yet got around to listening to that Lambrini Girls record, and I was turning to old favourites for comfort from the cold, I abandoned that dream. New year resolutions never work.
Anyway, let me talk you through the music I did connect to over the last 365 days…
Favourite album
I think you often get out of an album what you bring to it, and I was ready for my album of the year to come into my life as Rosalía announced Lux in October. As Sam and I discussed its prospect walking to a gig the week before its release, I began to get more excited. It’s split into four parts, you say? She’s been working with an orchestra? So, before I heard a note, I kind of knew this was going to be it. And Baxter, you know I don’t speak Spanish – but I love this record. There are few artists with Rosalía’s profile who pay such attention to detail when it comes to the album format. And even fewer who are so adept at melding genres together. This does it masterfully. ‘Reliquia’ sounds like a trap song made from violins. The sinister ‘Porcelana’ goes from dark electronic tones to what sounds like a choir of angels. ‘Berghain’ is what it would sound like if a German operatic song had snuck its way onto Yeezus (and Bjork was on it). And ‘Mio Cristo Piange Diamanti’, the album’s showstopping highlight, my introduction to the ‘aria’ form of music, gives me literal chills when it reaches its climax. It dips slightly in the middle, but Lux was easily the best thing I heard in 2025. Might just become an opera fan from here.
Best gig
A man on a stage lit in blood red, getting more and more worked up about the state of modern Ireland until, as the music swelling behind him reaches a crescendo, the pint glass in his hand explodes. That was the moment of my gig-going of 2025. I’d been waiting for ages to see David Balfe’s set as For Those I Love, since belatedly coming to the album in late 2021. But I wasn’t really up for the Sunday night gig. Trekking into town for a show I’d forgotten about – and I liked but didn’t love the new record. But man. When someone cares so much about what they do, and they put so much thought into the different parts of a relatively small show for a compact audience, it is exhilarating to witness it.
Favourite discovery
I uploaded Fran’s review of Geese’s 2021 album Projector up to this very website. I remember thinking at the time, huh, that’s a fun name for a band. And not listening to it. I thought they were British. ‘Geese’. ‘Squid’. ‘Shame’. They’re probably fine. Little did I know that 4 years later we would have the year of the Goose, or Cameron Winter as he’s otherwise known. Getting Killed got acclaim from everywhere; I even had a chat in James’ kitchen at his birthday about how absorbing it was. As Fran said way back in that review, there is something Casablancas-like about Winter’s laidback, drawly delivery – which I at least think is a good thing. He makes for an arresting frontman, using that attention-grabbing baritone to deliver surreal soundbites of dead husbands, islands of men, lobotomised humans and the willingness to take crucifixion over state-enforced taxes. I played it endlessly and am now a fully-paid up goose (that’s also what us members of the Geese fan club call ourselves).
Biggest disappointment
Spotify seemed like such a cool idea when it came out. So I can get all of this music, legally? I don’t know how that’s possible, but that is awesome! Oh, they don’t pay the artists muc- well that’s the way the world is going isn’t it? Probably won’t worry too much about that. 2025 became the year when I finally found it too hard to overlook their many transgressions. Your multibillion-pound company does not need to invest in arms, Daniel Ek. There are other ways that you can use your money. So I’m out. The problem is the lack of viable alternatives. I’m currently using Apple Music, which is, in my opinion, provides an unbelievably shit navigation experience. I tried Tidal for a bit, but the search functionality is terrible – and how hard is it to recognise that there may be multiple artists with the same name. How are you including every person who releases music under the mononym ‘Dave’ in the same profile? I’m not enjoying streaming music at the moment, but we’ve gone too far for me to go back to CDs, or maintaining an mp3 library. Someone provide an viable and ethical solution please, for the love of god.
Album(s) I’m looking forward to
Well, I was looking forward to the new Dry Cleaning album – but that’s already out before I’ve even written this article. There are artists that we haven’t heard from for a while who haven’t announced albums but are surely due a return. Weyes Blood released my favourite album of 2019 and my retrospective favourite of 2022, so her final album in this trilogy is surely due this year? If that’s true, that’s what I’m looking forward to most. Beyoncé is also due a trilogy-closer; I’m hoping the as yet untitled Act III will be a revival of her Destiny’s Child-era R&B sound rather than the hinted at rock album. The xx haven’t released an album for 9 years now, so maybe we’ll get something new from them, which would be a blessing. And Robyn has just announced her first for 8 years, Sexistential. If it’s anything like the last one we had to wait this long for, we’re in for a treat.
Words by Tom Burrows
Picky Bastards 