Best of 2025

"Scarecrow II" is a significant evolution for the band, featuring a blend of 80s jangle pop and 90s college rock with rich instrumentation and heartfelt lyrics. The album features standout tracks like "Be Right Down" and "Pulling Punchlines," demonstrating the band's growth in songwriting and arrangement while maintaining a warm, melodic charm.

This wonderful album showcases Dropkick's signature power pop sound, characterized by catchy melodies and jangly guitars. Fans of Teenage Fanclub will enjoy this record, as will any fan of melodic guitar pop. This is the album I listened to most in 2025.

A return to their sun-soaked roots, blending catchy pop-punk with a more polished sound. This album showcases a blend of power pop and surf rock, featuring catchy melodies while retaining the band's signature style.

Technically this is an album from 1981, but it wasn't released until 2025. Recorded in a single night, this album showcases the amazing raw power pop sound of The Sorrows. This album captures the band at their peak, blending punk energy with classic rock influences. "Out of My Head" is my favorite track from the record, but the whole thing is worth listening to, at a high volume.

Beautiful indie rock with touches of folk, alt country, and power pop. Chris's album has drawn comparisons to early R.E.M., Jason Isbell, Bryan Adams, and Counting Crows. Chris Church really should be a household name by now.

A vibrant mix of power pop that showcases catchy melodies, big hooks, and impressive harmonies, reminiscent of classic British Invasion sounds. My favorite track is the opener, "Getaway."

Yes, this is the same band that brought us "Turning Japanese" in 1980. This is only their fourth album in 45 years, but it's a good one. The album features a mix of catchy hooks and energetic rhythms, characteristic of The Vapors' earlier work. My favorite tracks are "The Human Race" and "Forever & Ever".

"A Still Life Revisited" showcases The Tisburys' evolution into modern power pop, featuring catchy choruses, stellar harmonies, and rich instrumentation, including horns and synths. Fans of Squeeze, Teenage Fanclub, and The Hold Steady should check this one out.

This record blends indie rock with power-pop elements, moving away from the fuzzier garage-rock tones of previous work by The Beths. The sound is cleaner and more polished, featuring vibrant guitar riffs, lively drums, and a mix of upbeat and melancholic tracks. A beautiful album.

The Honeydogs reunited their four original members—Adam Levy, Noah Levy, Trent Norton, and Tommy Borscheid—to record Algebra For Broken Hearts over five days with longtime collaborator John Fields. The album synthesizes the band's early rock sound with their later sophisticated songwriting. "Irish Goodbye" was the track that got me hooked.

A heartfelt tribute to the music of the 1960s, showcasing jangling guitars and a blend of rock and pop influences reminiscent of The Beatles and other British Invasion bands. This 19th release from the duo, featuring Billy Bob Thornton and J.D. Andrew, captures a nostalgic yet modern sound.