Today it’s the fourth in our series of 2025 recaps, looking back at some of the highlights and lowlights of the previous 12 months.
Matt Paul takes us on a quick tour of the music that got him foot-tapping or head-banging in 2025.
Best Album of 2025: Lux – Rosalía
Well, if you listened to the AOTY podcast you will know that I have flip-flopped since. A lot can happen in 6 weeks. The Heartworms album is still a raucously good time for anybody still clinging on to their 00s skinny jeans like me. But I have spent most of most of December and January (and November to be fair) obsessing over Rosalía’s album, Lux. It’s bold and dramatic, and you’re probably sick to death of hearing people fawn over it, so I’ll try to keep this brief. She remains one of the most daring and provocative artists right now. Just casually switching from Motomami’s hooky reggaeton pop record to the avant-garde and operatic Lux. And in the process, she’s filling stadiums (at such an annoyingly fast pace that I missed getting tickets for when she plays Madison Square Garden). What she will do next will be impossible to guess. No doubt it will be exciting.
Best Gig of 2025: Wolf Alice, Brooklyn Paramount
Wolf Alice was the first show my spouse and I went to together back in 2015. Back then, on that small stage, they bounced around with chaotic energy. Seeing them again 11 years later on a big stage it’s clear they have harnessed that electricity, becoming bigger and bolder without losing that visceral danger and cool they had in the small rooms. Wolf Alice ripped through the big hits, the oldies, the loud ones, the quiet ones and even the glossy new tracks with ease, giving the tracks a whole new life on stage. I haven’t always been sold on their albums, but live this band is a whole different beast. I would struggle to name a better live band playing right now.
A special mention also goes to Little Simz, who I saw for the first time, and I was unsurprisingly stunned. Simz also took to the crowd and had a little boogie with Mario (it was Halloween), which was something I did not know I needed.
Best New Discovery of 2025 – The Brighton music scene
I am cheating. My hometown is ~10 miles out from Brighton. I know Brighton. When I was a teenager, we would regularly migrate into the city to see local favorites like The Maccabees, Blood Red Shoes, The Kooks, The Go! Team, Bat for Lashes, etc. Maybe it’s just that I live in the US now, but it felt like the local music scene dipped off the national radar. Occasionally, someone would break out (Royal Blood, Arlo Parks, Porridge Radio), but it was far from the glut of the 00s. This year, though, it’s been back in a big way! 3 of my favorite musical discoveries have all been from Brighton: DITZ, Lambrini Girls, and Architects. They are making very different flavours of guitar-fueled music, but they are all loud. All of their albums have got me hooked to the point I am compulsively relistening and driving my spouse crazy. With more acts like Opus Kink and PROJECTOR with recent/upcoming albums, things are looking good.
Picky Bastards 