zero vu

Every year, but moreso in 2025 than recently, I feel like I’m not going to be able to identify truly great albums. This is an ongoing neurosis, I guess, because it wasn’t hard to find a selection of really outstanding 2025 alternative albums.

That isn’t the same as saying 2025 was a great music year. For the first time in awhile, I thought, “this year was a bit off.” Normally I’m the You’re Just Not Listening Enough guy. Generally I think rock and roll improves every year. But it’s not a straight line and 2025 was definitely a strange year for alternative music.

These 25 records, and a dozen or so honorable mentions, were the exception. So let’s have a listen!

Criteria for my 2025 albums list

For some reason this morning, I tracked back to my 2009 Top 10 albums. I wrote something then that still feels applicable to my feelings about my rankings of 2025 alternative albums:

I am 100% an album guy, love the statement of a full-length release that is wholly conceived.  DIY recordings and downloaded singles have become more than ubiquitous.  Their sheer numbers are dizzying, just overwhelming. 

For those and other reasons, I find special pleasure in an album that is written, recorded, and produced as a single musical idea.  That doesn’t mean a concept album or manufactured conceit, just wholeness.

I concluded that thought this way: “So maybe more than (for) most people, an album’s internal consistency is among my qualifications for a Best Of list…” Rather than songs that feel “Capital I” Important, I prioritize music that I feel drawn to return to year after year.

Numbers 25-16 albums of 2025

For some reason, it is more difficult to choose the “last in” 2025 alternative albums. These are the records I desperately feel like should make the cut of top albums. As though it isn’t perfectly acceptable to be an honorable mention. Or like the weight of the world hangs in the balance, what am I even doing?!

25. CMAT (Euro-Country)

Ciara Mary-Alice Thompson, aka CMAT, with her modern beehive, is doing something different with 2025’s Euro-Country. A stew of influences from Kate Bush to Patsy Cline, CMAT’s dancy breakout “Euro-Country,” with Irish and English lyrics, only hinted at the country-inflected open to “When a Good Man Cries” that grows into a panoramic rock theater piece. CMAT incorporates all of it with lyrics by turn sharply political, humorously biographical and self-deprecating.

Let’s hope we get a CMAT visit to Salt Lake City in 2026. Until then order Euro-Country or a CMAT keychain at her website.

24. Jeanines (How Long Can It Last)

Jeanines combine twee guitar and 60’s folk rock harmonies on How Long Can It Last, one of the most delightful 2025 alternative albums. I try to feature tunes for my Best Songs list that aren’t part of my Top Records list. Here though, Jeanines make dual appearances.  Alicia Jeanine’s vocals have a melancholy quality in the 90- and 120-second long songs reminiscent at times of Veronica Falls and at others, The Ronettes.

Buy Jeanines’ How Long Can It Last at Bandcamp.

23. Wet Leg (Moisturizer)

Wet Leg are having their Franz Ferdinand moment on Moisturizer with its funny, ribald dance floor indie rock. Lyrics toggle between affecting love songs…and numbers that mock love like a medical emergency. Wet Leg leans hard into the beats but with menacing synth and percussion that give the second record from Rhian Teasdale and Hester Chambers a brazen added confidence.

The Isle of Wight’s most notable export, Wet Leg offers Moisturizer and the band’s debut at Bandcamp.

22. The Charlatans (We Are Love)

It’s hard to overstate the ubiquity of Some Friendly by The Charlatans on college radio in 1990. Rob Collins’ Hammond organ defined a unique sound in the short-lived Madchester scene. I’m an inherent skeptic of comeback records – I’m looking at you Pulp – and honestly bands from the 80’s or 90’s still playing today. It is hard to sustain or recapture that young creativity. We Are Love by The Charlatans is the real deal.

For We Are Love on vinyl or compact disc with signed art from The Charlatans, click into their web store.

21. Automatic (Is It Now?)

LA’s Automatic comes out of the gate on 2025’s Is It Now? with bongo sounding a bit like the “Magic” by baggy late 80’s/early 90’s cult favorite Cud. But where Cud were running ahead of Britpop, Automatic is post punk that wants all the kids on the dancefloor. Bongo aside, Lola Dompé is outstanding throughout. Is It Now? is non-stop disco-enfused synth and club bangers.

Is It Now? and assorted Automatic gear is available at the Threefour merchandise website.

20. Allo Darlin’ (Bright Nights)

This positively delightful Anglo-Australian indie pop from Allo Darlin’, the first in more than ten years, is exactly the balm you may need for stressful doomscrolling. Bright Nights is a timeless collection of folk rock lead by the angelic voice of Elizabeth Morris Innset, nearly echoing Kirsty MacColl on “Tricky Questions.” And on “Cologne,” a singalong chorus for the ages. Bright Nights is embued with nautical themes, references to the Adriatic sea and the chiming, happy ease of perfectly executed pop.

Improve your spirits in 2026 with Bright Nights by Allo Darlin’.

19. The Hives (The Hives Forever Forever The Hives)

You know you’re in for it when Pelle Almqvist bellows at the start of Forever the Hives, “Everyone’s a little fucking bitch/And I’m getting sick and tired of this.” Is that The Hives captured in a single couplet or what? Their 2025 return is the reminder the world needed that rock and roll can be outlandish, loud, and simple dumb fun. Where did we lose that? Put on the closing, title track “The Hives Forever Forever the Hives” and play at ear-deafening levels for some top shelf RAWK.

Go The Hives’ website to buy their latest, and to watch band members adjust their imperial robes.

18. Nation of Language (A Dance Called Memory)

There is so much to love about pandemic darlings Nation of Language, especially the balance of electronic soundscapes with a palpable, emotional core. They share that aesthetic with soul mates Hot Chip. At the same time, tracks like “In Your Head” are very much old school Erasure electronica. As one of the truly outstanding 2025 alternative albums, A Dance Called Memory is a wonderful, melancholy listen but with moments of elation, as on “Can You Reach Me?”

For a copy of A Dance Called Memory or a Nation-branded scarf or beanie go to the band’s website.

17. Sunny Intervals (Swept Away)

This diminutive soft rock treasure, my first experience with Sunny Intervals, is hushed but not delicate, recorded “as lightly and naturally as possible at home…” Swept Away is an equally suitable accompaniment to a glass of red wine watching the snow fall or a summer sunset. Every brushed snare and electronic key is audible in the unrushed arrangements. Bandcamp downloads include a bonus EP, and Andy Hudson’s previously unreleased indie pop song about bowling you never knew you needed!

Buy Swept Away by Sunny Intevals from Bandcamp.

16. Fust (Big Ugly)

Emerging from the fabled Drop of Sun Studios, the propulsive alt country on Fust’s Big Ugly is sobered by Aaron Dowdy’s stories of the limited horizons and lost heritage of Appalachia. In fact, the album title and lyrics on “Doghole” guest star my home state of West Virginia. Dowdy’s sweet desultory vocals frequently remind me of Jay Farrer. Looking forward to Fust’s show at SLC’s Quarters this spring!

Order Big Ugly from Fust’s Bandcamp page.

Numbers 15-6 oustanding 2025 records

These are some serious faves. They’re both getting into the thick of my 25 favorite 2025 alternative albums and approaching my Top 5 records for the year. I have less last-minute switching here, as things become more concrete for me among these standouts.

15. Shapes Like People (Ticking Haze)

Ticking Haze by Shapes Like People is the first record I really ran through repeatedly in 2025. It features the impeccable husband-wife harmonies of Carl and Kat Mann. You can hear echoes of Mazzy Star on “Never Cut Asunder” and more than once on Ticking Haze, a bit of ABBA. The pastoral indie pop boasts swaying choruses on “A New Crown” and “The Ship Is Soon to Sail” and a whimsical refrain on “Head Spun.” More Shapes Like People coming in April 2026!

Buy Ticking Haze by Shapes Like People at Bandcamp.

14. Lùlù (Lùlù)

One of my favorite album covers of the year meets one my top debuts. Power pop phenoms Lùlù from Lyon, France sound like Hoodoo Gurus or The Replacements and front man Luc Simone belts away like Joe Strummer on “Coups Bas.” There may not be a better self-titled single in recent years than Lùlù’s leadoff and first single. If you listen to either of the tracks below and don’t instantly fall in love then we cannot be friends.

Support U.S. tour dates in 2026 by getting your copy of Lùlù from Bandcamp.

13. Horsegirl (Phonetics On and On)

Horsegirl present like a cross between Pavement and Television on Phonetics On and On. All of the eleven arrangements are spacious and clean. Cate Le Bon’s production gives the hooks nothing to compete with. There is no shortage of “da da da da’s” (too many?) and enough stylistic exploration on standout single “Julie” and on “Frontrunner” to hint at where the trio may head next.

You can order Phonetics On and On by Horsegirl from Bandcamp.

12. Wednesday (Bleeds)

Showing that Rat Saw God won’t be their peak, and that lead radio ready single “Elderberry Wine” wasn’t a preview of their future direction, Wednesday dropped another classic in Bleeds. The band once again veers between country road tunes and sludge, between acceptance and trepidation. Bleeds is driven tonally by the vignettes and story details of Karly Hartzman’s southern dystopia.

Get your copy of Bleeds or a Wednesday “Queen of Sad” tote bag at the band’s merch store.

11. Poor Creature (All Smiles Tonight)

The Celtic version of Dead Can Dance, Poor Creature are not just interpreting Irish traditionals on All Smiles Tonight. They are re-conceived as gothic maelstroms from an Anglo-Norman fever dream. And it isn’t all ancient revery. Single and album highlight “The Whole Town Knows” is a reimaging of a 1970’s Irish country number that rides a feverish indie rock backbeat. Before you sample All Smiles Tonight, grab your headphones for the full sonic effect.

Buy All Smiles Tonight by Poor Creature at Bandcamp.

10. The Beths (Straight Line Was a Lie)

How much is there left to say about The Beths? The perfect power pop band are evolving into indie pop on one of my favorite 2025 alternative albums. Charming on stage and with powerful and introspective lyrics by Elizabeth Stokes, “Mother, Say a Prayer For Me” may be the single of the year. Okay now I’m gushing. If there is a missing link, they should be selling Beths-branded recorders at their merch store!

Get The Beths’ Straight Line Was a Lie, or a Beths tote or coffee mug – but no recorders – at the band’s website.

9. Billie Marten (Dog Eared)

Isabella Tweddle, who is Billie Marten, on her fifth album Dog Eared, presents ten hushed indie folk snapshots not unlike Andy Shauf. The album boasts Marten’s inerrant vocals and a super collection of musicians, notably including the rhythm section lead by Joshua Crumbly. Dog Eared also benefits from Marten’s sense of arrangement, showcased on the 2.5 minute guitar solo on “Leap Year.”

BREAKING BILLIE MARTEN NEWS: Scheduled for Soundwell March 29!

Order your copy of Dog Eared from Billie Marten’s merch store.

8. Florry (Sounds Like…)

Florry know how to roll out a hella country fried rock opus. Third release Sounds Like… opens with “First It Was a Movie, Then It Was a Book” with the nimble harmonic guitars of an Allman Brothers classic. Sounds Like… generally traffics in more traditional song structures than 2023’s Holey Bible and fewer shambolic ragers. Mid-tempo arrangements like “Sexy,” pop numbers like “Big Something” and blowout “Truck Flipped Over ’19” all represent a huge step foward for Philadelphia’s alt country heroes.

Sounds Like… and Florry’s full discography are available at their Bandcamp page.

7. The Raveonettes (PE’AHI II)

Best played at ear-splitting levels, The Raveonettes’ Pea’hi II is a spectular, abrasive, blown-out masterpiece positioned as a follow to 2014’s original Pea’hi. Everything is pegged firmly in the red – if your Spotify app had red VU levels. It equally shows off Sune Rose Wagner and Sharin Foo’s harmonies, guitar hero bridge sequences and their marriage of surfy guitar and shoegaze production. I only wish as the blistering “ULRIKKE” fades that Pea’hi II were longer than the 31 minutes.

Get your copy of The Raveonettes’ Pea’hi II from Wagner and Foo’s Beat Dies Records at the Discogs website.

6. Doves (Constellations for the Lonely)

What would the world be without Doves? Releasing just their second album in the last 17 years, Constellations For the Lonely still finds Doves at the top of their rock game. As cinematic in scope as ever, I have always thought the band a fitting companion to Elbow. But with Constellations, particularly on “Last Year’s Man” and “Southern Bell,” Doves hearken to 00’s-era The Dears.

Constellations For the Lonely by Doves is available at Discogs.

Top 5 albums of 2025

These five albums really locked into place for me on this list, although any of them could and should be top-ranked albums on any other list. I love all of them, and hope as with all of the artists on this list that you support them by buying their music and seeing them play live.

5. Sandra’s Wedding (Arturus Rex)

I was first introduced to Sandra’s Wedding on 2023’s Another Rugby Team Town EP. Still, the organic compositions on their 2025 full length Arturus Rex dramatically exceeded my expectations. Jangly guitars are complemented by chamber pop flourishes of strings, violin — and trumpet! Of “Good Morning, England” the band writes, “the sun shimmers on the water, ….and the world wakes up to another day on planet earth.” An exquisitely impactful album.

Buy Arturus Rex at the Bandcamp page for Sandra’s Wedding.

4. Turnstile (NEVER ENOUGH)

On the unapologetically proggy NEVER ENOUGH, Turnstile has officially turned the corner from melodic hardcore to hard rock, which I fully support. As on breakout GLOW ON, Police-style guitars and vocal runs appear all over NEVER ENOUGH (cf. “I CARE”) along with hints of Jane’s Addiction. And I can’t get over the wacky feeling that portions of NEVER ENOUGH are inspired by 80’s pop rock band Asia. I can’t stop hearing it, and now neither will you. Turnstile creates an effortless mélange that is 100% their own.

You can get a Turnstile teddy bear and blue bird plushie at their website but for current stock on NEVER ENOUGH you’ll need to visit Discogs.

3. The Bug Club (Very Human Features)

I’ve sampled and downloaded several Bug Club releases. With this one, they finally have me. Very Human Features is their hookiest record yet but still in the overmodulated, idiosyncratic garage rock style you’ve come to love. We even have a twisted love song, “Appropriate Emotions.” Songs chug and just plain rock like never before. This is The Bug Club record you’ve been waiting for, and Very Human Features is a lock for one of the best 2025 alternative albums.

Copies of Very Human Features by The Bug Club are available on Bandcamp.

2. The Besnard Lakes (The Besnard Lakes are the Ghost Nation)

It took not a small amount of restraint not to rank The Besnard Lakes are the Ghost Nation as my top album this year, so much do I love them. The Besnard Lakes transport you not just to a time but a swirling, unembodied place of being. Jace Lasek and Olga Goreas’ harmonies aren’t satisfied with ambience but rise to a melodic power. The Besnard Lakes miniature epics on Ghost Nation ride more of Flaming Lips vibe than before. Although the keys on “Battle Lines” are pure Rick Wright.

More than any other record this year, I keep returning to this sumptuous, engrossing masterpiece.

Buy Ghost Nation on vinyl or a handsome Besnard Lakes hat suitable for Father’s Day (hint, hint) from Big Cartel. Added media are available at Bandcamp.

1. Jeff Tweedy (Twilight Override)

Jeff Tweedy’s Twilight Override is a story of the (giant, long) little train that could… returning to my musical conscience in 2025 again and again. I listened to Twilight Override, all 30 songs worth, three times in a row on a trip to Logan, Utah. Since then, the compositions – including two partly or entirely spoken word arrangements – continued to embed themselves in my mind.

As one of the top 2025 alternative albums, Twilight Override is a grower in a way Diamond Jubilee never was. Do I still think a half dozen songs would be better served as B-sides? Yes I do. But the range of styles, musical ideas and latent hooks that rise at the two minute mark of these songs is remarkable. I’ll never question a 110 minutes-long album again, unless it is Cindy Lee.

The release boasts some of Tweedy’s best lyrics, and enough indie rockers rise above the bounding Americana to vary the texture, like “No One’s Moving On” and closer “Enough.” Twilight Override also includes the hypnotic “New Orleans” and an all-time campfire hootenany in “Betrayed.” How Tweedy conjures this kind of creativity 45 years into his career is a marvel, one of many reasons that make it an album to treasure.

Here is the Wilco Store, where you can order Twilight Override, or a Jeff Tweedy frisbee.

So many honorable mentions for 2025 best albums list!

Another baker’s dozen here that could have been in my Top 25 on a different day. Even as I go through adding them, I feel like — “ooo, these should be recognized for posterity.” I’m still linking one song from each record so that you can sample because all of them are absolutely worth your investment.

Matt Berry (Heard Noises)

Funky head music that features the actor’s mother on several tracks as part of the Club 60s Choir!

Buy Heard Noises from Bandcamp.

Dropkick (Primary Colours)

From Andrew Taylor, the same artist who brought us The Boys With the Perpetual Nervousness.

Like what you hear? Of course you do! So order Primary Colours by Dropkick at Bandcamp.

Florist (Jellywish)

With a voice like Adrianne Lenker, Emily Sprague offers this terrific folk release as Florist.

Buy Jellywish by Florist from Bandcamp.

Valerie June (Owls, Omens, and Oracles)

Nothing sounds quite like the electric blues of Valerie June, a sure bet for Mountain Stage.

Valerie June offers Owls, Omens, and Oracles, plus her poetry and an interactive journal all at her artist store.

Le Pain (Dirge Technique)

The twee indie pop number “Troisième Groupe” was in my head all year long. It appears on Dirge Technique, although originally released in 2021. The whole record is super!

Go to Bandcamp to order a copy of Dirge Technique.

Little Simz (Lotus)

Lotus is a Top 25 record by any measure, I just don’t think I have any kind of cred to evaluate hip hop. Loved this album front to back!

At Little Simz’s website you can buy Lotus on vinyl. Go to Discogs for CD, cassette and digital downloads.

Benjamin Booker (LOWER)

LOWER is a gorgeous headphone record. Psychedelic soul (is that a thing?), like a Lenny Kravitz demo on acid.

LOWER vinyl, along with T-shirts with LOWER lyrics, are available at Benjamin Booker’s website. The only legit way I saw to buy the digital download was at the big streaming services. It’s a tough find.

Billy Nomates (Metal Horse)

A smooth mashup of styles from blues to hints of new wave and disco. Joan Armatrading’s The Key is a pretty good comp. Tor Maries’ third album as Billy Nomates was an unexpected delight for me.

Order Metal Horse by Billy Nomates here. Do not under any circumstance be fooled and go here.

Panchiko (Ginkgo)

Panchiko’s entire narrative is a terrific redemption story. I found parts of Ginkgo very Radiohead, in the best possible way.

Ginkgo is available at Bandcamp.

Anna B. Savage

Classically trained Anna B. Savage trains her lovely vibrato on her bae at the English seaside. In an overstimulated age, there is a welcome quiet to the delicate arrangements on You & i Are Earth.

Add You & i Are Earth to your collection at Savage’s Bandcamp page.

The Slow Summits (Every Intention)

There are moments on this super jangle pop record where I hear Anders Nyberg’s voice and I hear Pat Fish, rest his soul.

I highly recommend Every Intention for jangle fans everywhere. Get a copy from The Slow Summits Bandcamp page.

Water From Your Eyes (It’s a Beautiful Place)

I love this intersection of noise, guitar rock, oddball beats and shoegaze. I only wish It’s a Beautiful Place were a little longer.

It’s a Beautiful Place vinyl is at WFYE’s store. The CD and digital downloads are at Bandcamp.

Sunbathe (Myself To You)

Superior power pop harmonies from Portland. Think Alvvays. Come to SLC Sunbathe!

Order Myself To You from the Bandcamp page for Sunbathe.