All the albums I've listened to in 2025:

(11/06/2025)

(11/03/2025)

(10/30/2025)

(09/26/2025)

(09/14/2025)

(08/29/2025)

(08/17/2025)

(07/28/2025)

(07/25/2025)

(07/18/2025)

(07/11/2025) The other July club album, and man this album is so fascinating. I don't know if all of it totally works for me, but the context of it being TWELVE different musicians from different bands coming together to just totally riff and make something completely left field makes me respect it so much. I am so very here for an album that's uncompromisingly strange and abrasive, and this is very much that. Really enjoyed listening to it!

(07/01/2025) One of July's club albums, and god I loveeeee this album. I first listened to it properly during my huge cross-country move, and it was such a perfect, pretty accompaniment to a beautiful drive. And while I getting settled into my new home halfway across the United States, and dealing with all the emotional baggage that came with it, this was a huge comfort listen for me. Love it!

(06/08/2025) I actually first learned about McKinley Dixon through his featured verse on the Cheekface album from earlier this year, so when I saw this release I figured I'd give it a look. I'm so glad I did, because goddamn this album is great. Amazing verses, stellar jazzy instrumentals, all wrapped in the concept of three kids trying to bring a friend back from the dead - it's a deeply emotional and beautiful album. One of the biggest surprises of the year for me!

(05/25/2025) This (and Ants From Up There, but that was my nomination) was the first album I listened to for the album club I started hosting in June, and what an interesting first record to discuss! Moses Sumney is a stellar vocalist and lyricist (some of these songs are absolutely devastating, Two Dogs hurts), and the production is equal parts experimental and beautiful. Really enjoyed it (and the club discussion)!

(05/11/2025) I grew up listening to several of the popular singles from this album (On Melancholy Hill & Stylo specifically), but I never gave it a full listen until this year, and man I was missing OUT! Such a fun record - great features, awesome production that is both incredibly versatile and wholly cohesive, great flow between the tracks, it's just an amazing record. I get why it's so beloved now!

(05/05/2025) I dove into Car Seat Headrest's discography last year, and now I'm a freak for their music, so I was stoked to be around for the release cycle of The Scholars. This album is great - taking their sound and turning it into this abstract rock opera was such a perfect fit for them. The run from Gethsemane to Planet Desperation is insanely good!

(05/02/2025) PUP fuckin' rips, and this record is no exception to that rule. Angry, abrasive, and so much fun. Holy shit, what a concept!

(04/29/2025) Found this album on a whim during one of my library visits while sifting through their CD collection, and god this shit rules - Hayley Williams is such a charismatic vocalist, and I love all the bass heavy punchy ass songs on here. Just really fun!

(04/18/2025) This is the first Bon Iver record I've listened to, and man I gotta go check out the rest of his catalogue because this is absolutely stunning. The first disc of acoustic cuts is so emotionally cathartic (that Saxophone swell on Awards Season!!!), and the transition into the more playful second disc works so well as a full experience.

(04/12/2025) This level of groove should be illegal - amazing record!

(04/06/2025) After loving Ants From Up There, I was really excited for this new BC,NR album - and while it took a bit to grow on me (it's very different from their last record), I've come to absolutely adore it. It's playful, beautiful, while still pulling from the melancholy and heartbreak of the previous album (For the Cold Country still blows me away holy shit). I had the chance to see this album performed live with a close friend, and man it's even better live. Love this album!

(04/03/2025) The album art immediately caught my eye for this album, and the art is such a great encapsulation of it's sound - beautiful, a bit mysterious and occasionally abrasive, all with a folky slant that I loved.

(03/29/2025) This is one of J McClendon's (vocalist of my favorite band of all time, Glass Beach) little side projects, and it's fascinating. She has such an experimental edge to all of her works, and her solo stuff is where she flexes those muscles the most. Really cool project, even if I don't love everything about it.

(03/27/2025) I found this phenomenal EP in my pile of old CD's I got from my time at college - there was a huge box of free records, and I just casually grabbed a huge stupid handful, and this was one of them! Amazing, playful electronic record, and was part of the reason I got back into CD collecting this year.

(03/23/2025) A stunning prog rock record that just enveloped me in its heavy & dense soundstage. Equal parts haunting and gorgeous, I love it.

(03/21/2025) Picked up this CD on a day trip out to Kansas - was fun to listen to CSH's earlier discography right as they joined up with Matador Records!

(02/25/2025) A fantastic and hilarious talk-rock album that still manages to be sincere and sweet. Love Cheekface (also amazing live)! Brother, did you know that Tame Impala is just one guy?

(02/03/2025) A beautiful soundtrack to a beautiful game, that a close friend recommended to me, and the TWG game club propelled me to finish. It's an album I love throwing on in the background while working on stuff, but it's just as good for active listening - the mark of a stellar ambient record.

(01/24/2025) One of the most stunning albums I've ever heard - and was also the impetus for wanting to start an album club to share and experience more music with others!

(01/09/2025) An absolutely batshit insane metal album that lives up to its title - the blend of metal (those distorted, bending guitars, oh MAN) and orchestral elements is equal parts disgusting and gorgeous. Love it!

(01/01/2025) A close friend gifted the CD version of this album to me as a late Christmas gift, and it's such a fun, cathartic rock album.