10. FROM THE PRIVATE COLLECTION OF SABA AND NO I.D. – SABA & NO I.D.
There are advantages to creatively spanning generations. There may be a 23-year age gap between rapper Saba and producer No I.D., but the two Chicago talents fit together perfectly on this Midwest hip-hop showcase. It’s fitting that Saba has multiple bars about slight and subtle flexes, because From the Private Collection… feels like an elite, low-key musical hang where No I.D.’s beats that mix old school soul vinyl digging texture with modern flair and Saba’s melodic and tranquil flow can both shine without ever seeming showy. The duo’s chemistry has an off-the-charts ease that makes the whole collection feel like it could be a standout in any hip-hop era.
9. EVERYBODY SCREAM – FLORENCE + THE MACHINE
“It must be nice to be a man / and make boring music just because you can.” When Florence Welch spits this bar on “One of the Greats,” it’s a blunt release of venom that makes anyone listening overjoyed that she’s the antithesis of who she’s singing about. Everybody Scream is an exasperated baroque arena rock holler to the heavens — a cathartic expelling of all the rage Welch has stored up after personal medical emergencies and years of playing the game in the male-driven musical world. She and her band lean into the enchantingly witchy side throughout, giving even her moments of tender love sharply cutting edges. Burn it all down. Scream it all out.
8. PHONETICS ON AND ON – HORSEGIRL
Bands who hit the mark with their debut albums almost never dare take a truly huge stylistic swing on their sophomore LPs. But Horsegirl — unphased by history — made a dramatic choice by switching from the effortlessly cool shoegaze of 2022’s Versions of Modern Performance to jangly twee pop for Phonetics On and On. Somehow the young Chicago indie rockers don’t miss a beat in this entirely new sonic landscape, where singer Nora Cheng’s emotionality feels more like Kimya Dawson pastel coziness than My Bloody Valentine dark disaffected distance. It’s a bold swerve that makes the prospect of future Horsegirl releases that much more mysteriously exciting.
7. BILLBOARD HEART – DEEP SEA DIVER
Over the past 13 years, it’s hard to argue that any Washingtonian musical act can top Deep Sea Diver. The band’s core wife-and-husband duo of singer/guitarist Jessica Dobson and drummer Peter Mansen have continually displayed truly elite musicianship and made those skill sets the beating pulse of DSD’s shredding but melodically heartfelt rock. Billboard Heart delivers another finely honed collection of tunes that fully rock out in the service of the songs and dig deep into themes of insecurity. Even when Dobson is lyrically expressing crises of confidence, that uncertainty never seeps into Deep Sea Diver’s unstable instrumental confidence.
6. VIRGIN – LORDE
The reason Lorde often feels like the most relatable modern pop star is because she’s the only one who seems to fully understand and accurately musically express anxiety. Virgin is a return to form that splits the difference between the masterful twitchy, uncertain, nervous teen energy of Pure Heroine and the blown-out party pop hangover of Melodrama, while carving out its own unique spot in her oeuvre. Lorde manages to lyrically explore her past through a warm but not saccharinely nostalgic lens, tracing her path to her unlocking the feminine power within her soul while making track after track into danceable bangers that feel more like your own uncovered diary entries with each repeated listen.
5. PIROUETTE – MODEL/ACTRIZ
Deep vulnerability isn’t supposed to sound this dangerous. But Model/Actriz continues to push boundaries on its sophomore album, Pirouette. The queer art punk band’s enveloping barrage of harsh noise brings cacophonic chaos to singer Cole Haden’s often tender confessions of the pain and fear he experienced growing up gay in a world dominated by oppressive heteronormality. The moments of soft melodic underpinnings and spoken-word confessions only make the surrounding brash sonic havoc that much more exhilarating.
4. THE HIVES FOREVER FOREVER THE HIVES – THE HIVES
If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. The Hives are well aware of this idiom, and the band proves its veracity on its seventh studio album of braggadocious and no-nonsense garage rock. Even after over 30 years on the rock ’n’ roll grind, the Swedish stalwarts still radiate a relentless energy centered on the blissfully boastful Pelle Almqvist. Whether the guitar attack is more start-and-stop or blistering to the finish line, The Hives spread its lore (and anti-capitalist messaging) with delicious aplomb culminating in the title track self-celebration that feels less like marvel-gazing grandiosity and more like a factual declaration of praise for a band that deserves it.
3. MOISTURIZER – WET LEG
The No. 1 rule of being a disaffected Gen Z indie cool kid? Don’t fall in mushy gushy love! Wet Leg frontman Rhian Teasdale did not follow this rule, and we’re better off for it. Moisturizer sports some of the same sharp elbowed indie rock bite found on Wet Leg’s self-titled debut did, but in place of some of that snarling swagger there’s space for tender slowly swaying bits of queer amore. There will always be more battles to fight with caustic mirth, but their victories always feel a bit hollow without occasionally taking moments to feel the present power of love.
2. THROUGH THIS FIRE ACROSS FROM PETER BALKAN – THE MOUNTAIN GOATS
One of The Mountain Goats’ signature songs rings out with an anthemic chorus: “I am gonna make it through this year if it kills me.” Through the Fire Across From Peter Balkan tells the tale of three shipwrecked souls who will not. It’s an exercise in frontman John Darnielle’s poetic, tragic musical storytelling, as he follows the young narrator, the titular captain (who begins having prophetic visions), and a melancholy third trying to survive on an island after a nautical disaster sends a fishing boat and most of its crew to a watery grave. Matt Douglas’ stirring orchestral arrangements woven into the mature indie rock sound enhance the emotionality of Darnielle’s words, making each triumphant fire and doomed reflection pack an emotional punch. We survive, but praise the grace of those that did not.
1. ANIMARU – MEI SEMONES
It’s rare for an album to feel like a fresh breeze the way that Mei Semones’ brilliant debut album Animaru does. With a sound that’s an invigorating blend of jazz, J-pop, indie rock and bossa nova, the guitar whiz and bilingual singer feels like a math rock technician one moment and a sensitive little twee sweetheart the next. The feeling of hearing something truly unique for the first time is a cherished gift, and the way Animaru distinctly blends the familiar in a way that feels entirely fresh never wavers over the LP’s 38 minutes. There was plenty of great music to take in over 2025, but Animaru is the only one that felt like a distinctly new world of discovery every subsequent listen.
HONORABLE MENTION
Evangelic Girl Is a Gun – Yeule
For Melancholy Brunettes (& Sad Women) – Japanese Breakfast
Under Tangled Silence – Djrum
Picture of Health – Tommy Oeffling
Desert Queen – Pearl Charles
Love and Fortune – Stella Donnelly
Snocaps – Snocaps
Ghost World – Alison Wonderland
Metalhorse – Billy Nomates
Lotus – Little Simz
INLANDER WRITERS’ TOP 10 ALBUMS OF 2025
MADISON PEARSON
1. Man’s Best Friend – Sabrina Carpenter
2. Through This Fire Across From Peter Balkan – The Mountain Goats
3. Virgin – Lorde
4. Baby Man – Fruit Bats
5. The Light for Days – Jacob Collier
6. Glory – Perfume Genius
7. Precipice – Indigo De Souza
8. Who Wants to Talk About Love? – Jade Bird
9. Ace – Madison Cunningham
10. Bodies – Thornhill
COLTON RASANEN
1. It’s Not That Deep – Demi Lovato
2. Mayhem – Lady Gaga
3. Something Beautiful – Miley Cyrus
4. Princess of Power – Marina
5. Virgin – Lorde
6. Heartlands – Autoheart
7. . – Kesha
8. Everybody Scream – Florence + The Machine
9. Everybody’s a Star! – 5 Seconds of Summer
10. Willoughby Tucker, I’ll Always Love You – Ethel Cain