Leagues O’Toole is a music promoter and label owner with Foggy Notions based in Dublin, and he puts on many of the acts he recommends here.
Best of 2025 | Albums | Guestlists | Irish Albums | Irish songs |
It is normalised now that music critics and pop culturists use language like “dominance” and “owning the year” in their EOTY music roundups. Yet perhaps it is more accurate to view a year in recorded music nowadays as being made up of a million small victories rather than one supreme influence.
No different to the 1950s, the music industry is mired in perennial cliches around success and formula. Important personalities who have the gumption to take chances on something “different” are now a diminishing minority. AI is a perfect example of the industry’s calculated obsession to replicate, commodify and optimise music into oblivion.
Therefore, it feels somewhat remarkable that so many artists were continuously able to release such excellent, original and challenging music in 2025. Despite the treacherous landscape that is the recording industry, dictated by morally compromised late-stage capitalist tech ghouls and parasitic celebrity junkies, the human spirit shines through with dogged resilience and often wild abandon. So much so, that every song you love in 2025 feels at the very least like a minor miracle, every album a major one. Here are some minor and major miracles I experienced this year.
They were happening almost daily, so these are just some of them.
As we endure this relentless daily rampaging carousel of social media, many of us find ourselves strapped into those songs that have the ability to freeze time and shut down everything else around you with a cold devastating contemplation.
mark william lewis – Tomorrow Is Perfect
from the album “Mark William Lewis” (A24 Music)
![mark william lewis - Tomorrow is Perfect [Official Video]](https://files.nialler9.com/wp-content/cache/flying-press/4b455ef62ef8e2775d35e35e53adbcbc.jpg)
‘Tomorrow is Perfect’ from the mark william lewis debut album is one of those songs. Abstract prose delivered with slow and incisive pace, a voice that sounds poetically defeated. The final refrain “And life moves so fast these days you never get to just be alone, to just be alone, to just be alone…” has motivated me to have one no-phone day a week resolution in 2026.
Proc Fiskal – uHazsh
from the EP “Canticle Hardposte” (Shleekit Doss)
There were some nice unexpected releases in 2025. Edinburgh’s Proc Fiskal dropped a surprise EP on his own imprint off the Hyperdub schedule and it was production excellence from start to finish. Not least of all, the infectious medieval bleep of uHazsh for which he made an insane music video featuring crazy vape filters and an iPad harpsichord no less! A unique and fearless producer, this is a go-to for urban cinematic headphone escape.
Lankum – Ghost Town
from the 12” Ghost Town (Rough Trade)
I love an off-grid classic. The ever-abundant Lankum reinvent The Specials’ 1980s spectral-pop classic, itself a startling damnation of Thatcher’s Britain, which simultaneously signalled the end of the original version of the band itself.
Hopefully not the case with Lankum, as we hear them here at the height of their powers honouring the original with a dramatically sectioned drone-folk cacophony. However, unlike the original epitaph to economic depression and urban decay, Lankum extend those sentiments with a rhapsodic swirling outro of confusion and perhaps even glimmers of optimism.
Rosalía – Berghain feat. Björk & Yves Tumor
from the album LUX (Song Music)
The real world is shitshow, but in the unreal world, 2025 was a year for mavericks and visionaries. Rosalía’s penchant for choreographed drama, multilingual songwriting, hyper-collaboration and deep hagiological research have conjured a fascinating fourth album in LUX. Accompanied by a spectacular bells & whistles multi-dimensional music video, Berghain is inspired by a lineage of female mystics including Benedictine polymath Hildegard of Bingen. You can’t help but be dazzled by this unfiltered explosion of romantic orchestral avant pop.
Sam Amidon – Big Sky
from the album Salt River (River Lea)
Sam Amidon’s music feels simultaneously so raw and naked and yet richly atmospheric. A reworking of Lou Reed’s ‘Big Sky’, a rock and roll cut from the 2000 album Ecstasy, included on Amidon’s wonderful Salt River album from this year is another fine example of his dream-folk alchemy… mantric, comforting, soulful and quietly adventurous.
Stereolab – Vermona F Transistor
from the album Instant Holograms on Metal Film (Warp)
Stereolab is the most consistently pure band of all-time, emotional, digital, intellectual. Some artists feel the need to reinvent themselves after long absences in recording music. Stereolab just activate their own deep longings and do what generations of failed copycats aspire to. Perhaps the most defined phases of Stereolab are drawn before and after the passing of the great Mary Hansen. ‘Vermona F Transistor ‘– one of many instant classics on this album – is notably poignant for the inclusion of her niece on backing vocals, Molly Hansen Read.
keiyaA – Stupid Prizes
from the album hooke’s law (XL Recordings)
In a different era keiyaA would be ubiquitously celebrated for her innovative deconstructions of R&B and her all-round virtuosity. However, pop music in 2025 isn’t all wine and roses. keiyaA applies a physics metaphor to represent the resilience required to overcome the real-life struggles behind the music. On ‘Stupid Prizes’ she utilizes lush Percy Faith samples to create this beautiful, beatless citation of poetic despair.
Maria Somerville – Garden
from the album Luster (4AD)
Atmosphere is high on the agenda in 2025, that voyage into the half-spoken hinterland beyond the worn-out structure and motifs of classic rock where artists can honestly portray the confusion of their own lives and feelings. Many have noted that Maria Somerville’s mesmerizing 4AD debut Luster revives the mysterious hey-day of that very label. Inspired by the ancient landscapes of her native Connemara, Somerville achieves a body of work that is densely psychic without jettisoning the clarity of her own voice.
Smerz – You got time and I got money
from the album Big City Life (Escho)
On their infectious second album Norwegian duo Smerz deliver an intriguingly personal narrative around the politics of clubbing, utilizing downtempo post-punk bops and reflective comedown ballads. Not so much a celebration of something, rather a collection of implicit late-night confessionals.
james K – Days Go By
from the album Friend (AD 93)
![james K - Days Go By [visualizer]](https://files.nialler9.com/wp-content/cache/flying-press/8fd2bc6cb5de88aaf0889326743c6709.jpg)
Friend by james K signals a pristine benchmark for her own music. She has assuredly evolved from an experimental club creature into a constructor of this sophisticated album of art-pop, full of maximalist ambience and concise dream-pop, with echoes of Cocteau Twins, trip-hop, Aphex…
Poor Creature – The Whole Town Knows
from the album All Smiles Tonight (River Lea)
Back here in Ireland, hovering beneath a bulging outer crust of how-to-be-a-band bands and text-book singer-songwriters, lies a generation of maverick ne’er do wells making rivetingly weird music. Poor Creature’s debut digs deep into the dark of folk music, augmenting 18th and 19th century songs with big bruising rhythms, horror-synths and truly enrapturing voices. Ruth Clinton, no surprise from her work with Landless, has such a powerful voice and on songs like ‘Adieu Lovely Erin’, ‘All Smiles Tonight’ and the closer ‘Willie-O’ she haunts the listener into submission. Cormac MacDiarmada, on the other hand, who knew! He sings beautifully on the ‘Whole Town Knows’ (reworking of an old song by country & Irish duo Philomena Begley and Ray Lynam) and summons true pathos on the desperately sad ‘Lorene’.
Junior Brother – Week End
from the album The End (Strap Originals)
Long before the floodgates of new weird Irish music opened, Junior Brother was freaking us out with divisive vocals, confused lyrics and off-road folk-prog. His latest album The End, uncompromising and fascinating, is some sort of articulation of the friction between the real world and Ronan Kealy’s psychedelic imagination.
Rory Sweeney – Entrance Places (ft Saoirse Miller)
from the album Old Earth (BlankBar)
Rory Sweeney is loved in the Irish underground for his willingness to collaborate, tireless work ethic and artistic empathy for a wide spectrum of styles. His second album Old Earth is an impressively hefty collection of collabs, moods and concepts, ebbing and flowing from tightly programmed electronics to more expansive passages of music. Sweeney is constantly broadening his horizons and there is a sense that the best is yet to come from the Dublin producer.
Elaine Howley – Hold Me In a New Way
from the Hold Me In a New Way 7inch (Modern Love)
Cork resident Elaine Howley teased listeners with a one-off single on Modern Love, the sparse and intimately tense ‘Hold Me In a New Way’. It was unmistakably her, and a reminder she is one of the most crucial musicians in Ireland. I live in hope for a new full album.
Mary Halvorson – Carved From
from the album About Ghosts (Nonesuch)
New to me, but on further investigation guitarist Mary Halvorson is a big deal in the jazz world. Randomly attracted by the playful artwork of her 16th (!) recording About Ghosts, I discovered a magical listen. Halvorson’s uniquely flexible guitar chords accompanied by vibraphone, brass, synths and rhythms to create this exuberant wonderland that has soundtracked the transition into a frosty new year.
Keith Jarrett – The Köln Concert (Part One)
From the album The Köln Concert (ECM)
We could do a whole spiel on reissued music in 2025 (Unrest, Tsunami, Margo Guryan…). Recorded music is eternal of course and new music can be any era. So just a special mention for this delicious Keith Jarrett reissue of the 1975 Köln Concert from his solo improvised piano period on the global treasure that is ECM. Pure magic.
Felicity J Lord – Duet
from the album FJL (Stroom & Lise)
Keeping abreast of new music from the vast weekly release schedule is often an uphill struggle, but certain nuggets do shine in the rubble. Looking in on the outside, the mysterious Felicity J Lord feels like some sort of curated collective collage project pulling together conversations, phone calls, service announcements and radio broadcasts set to playful loops. Intriguing and rewarding.
Worldpeace DMT – Love Yourself
From the album The Velvet Underground & Rowan
The insufferable London underground often reveals nothing more than a shallow pool of bored trust fund hobbyists. But every now and again, you hear something like Worldpeace DMT’s chaotically melodic debut album drawing on millennial indietronics and Alex G signalling slacker rock and you think, “this makes sense.”
Silver Gore – All the Good Men
From the EP Dogs In Heaven
Best of luck to Silver Gore swimming in the dangerous currents of major label hype. In another era, ‘All The Good Men’ would be an instant local indie-disco propelled hit. In an online world it’ll be up to FC 2026 to get it to the kids. Either way, it’s a brilliant defiant two-minute anthem from a lovably unlikely pop duo.
Lana Del Rey – Henry, Come On (Interscope)
Cate Le Bon – Heaven Is No Feeling
From the album Michelangelo Dying (Mexican Summer)
We live in an era of great artists. We just don’t have the perspective or kindness of heart to acknowledge it yet. Great pop artists are a genre unto themselves. Take Lana Del Rey or Cate Le Bon, for example. One is never quite sure what Lana’s plan is, but 2025 saw a smattering of brilliant new songs/singles, including this twangy cowboy song, heavenly, romantic, humorous, full of brilliant lines. Just great.
Similarly, Cate Le Bon always sounds like Cate Le Bon. On Michelangelo Dying, an album seemingly laced with heartbreak and upheaval there is a longingness to her voice. On ‘Heaven Is No Feeling’ she’s almost a lovelorn 1980s balladeer, the trademark chorus pedal guitar like a comforting pillow on which to rest the sadness. I wish Cate happiness and peace. She has given us so much.
Alex G – Afterlife
From the album Headlights (RCA)
Ryan Davis & the Roadhouse Band – New Threats From the Soul
From the album New Threats from the Soul (Tough Love)
Alex G isn’t far behind these legends. He has a gift that’s hard to define, an ability to spark unplaceable memories. The first single of a new album campaign should be a big event, and Afterlife was full of optimism with a dancing mandolin at the heart of the sound to herald in another brilliant album.
Ryan Davis played a memorable show in Dublin this year, and Kilkenny too from all accounts. In reality he has history but it felt like Ryan came out of nowhere with this epic nine-minute journey, incredible lyric-writing, unpredictable transitions. Honestly, it’s no surprise he has been compared to great American songwriters like Bill Callahan, David Berman and Lou Reed.
Bren Berry – Turn Your Radio On
From the album In Hope Our Stars Align (Mercenary)
The spirit of independent music isn’t just about rebellious cool kids inventing new sub-genres, it has the potential to produce genuinely heart-warming stories. Bren Berry, a much-loved local promoter here in Ireland with a secret history as a rock and roller went against the grain of the industry and made a debut album in his 60s. He did this self-funded, with little or no industry support and a handful of media champions. He studiously found his voice, unlocked his songwriting abilities and learned how to record. Drawing upon classic guitar-pop styles he made an album of twelve big hearted and hopeful singles about love, climate crisis, family and Dublin City.
They Are Gutting a Body of Water – The Chase
From the album Lotto (ATO)
Turnstile – Birds
From the album Never Enough (Roadrunner)
Although I didn’t listen to a lot of heavy music in 2025 there were some standouts mostly from that generation of bands unafraid to swerve off the beaten track with beats or ambience or sometimes just silence. ‘On The Chase’, from their fourth album Lotto, Philly’s TAGABOW reimagines Slint as a shoegaze band. On Birds, Turnstile reimagine Jane’s Addiction as a hardcore band.
Although they seem to get way more love for their wild live shows, Agriculture’s second album The Spiritual Sound is underrated. They bring new levels to the whole stop-start approach. On ‘Bodhidharma’ they switch from ferocious metal to silent reflection with pinpoint precision.
Agriculture – Bodhidharma
From the album The Spiritual Sound (The Flenser)
I’m not sure why I’ve lumped Water From Your Eyes in this section. Maybe because they have their arty hardcore moments. In reality though they jump from one style to another to construct this album of big songs and ambient segues. Playing Classics though is a banger from any era.
Water From Your Eyes – Playing Classics
From the album It’s a Beautiful Place (Matador)
Klein – rich dad poor dad
From the mixtape sleep with a cane (Parkwuud Entertainment)
claire rousay – somewhat burdensome
From the album A Little Death (Thrill Jockey)
John Maus – Pick It Up
From the album Later Than You Think (Young)
Blood Orange – The Field (feat Durutti Column, Tariq Al-Sabir, Caroline Polachek)
From the album Essex Honey (Domino)
Nourished By Time – When the War Is Over
From the album The Passionate Ones (XL)
A final group of wonderful free spirits includes London experimental queen Klein and a brilliantly woozy number from the sleep with a cane mixtape, maligned maverick John Maus with a cinematic tearjerker from the brilliant comeback album Later Than You Think, and found-sound maestro claire rousay, who shares an unrivalled intimacy with brittle guitar melodies such as somewhat burdensome on the album a little death.
Special mention also to Blood Orange’s gorgeous ‘The Field’, reimagining The Durutti Column’s magical ‘Sing Me’ as a Brooklyn summer bop with Caroline Polachek. Finally, just as further proof that new music, a new sound, and new way of looking at music is always around the corner, we can’t forget Baltimore artist Nourished By Time’s second album The Passionate Ones, which we can chalk down now as a timeless classic from the year 2025.
Best of 2025 | Albums | Guestlists | Irish Albums | Irish songs |
