7 *more* Great Albums of 2025

Last month, I released my list of my 25 favorite albums this year (check it out here!), which was probably the most difficult list I have made for WXVU so far. In limiting my list to 25 albums, I had to leave out so many incredible records that deserve to be highlighted. For this week’s post, I wanted to suggest seven more incredible records from this year that, I hope, you haven’t heard yet:

1. Hayley Willians – Ego Death At A Bachelorette Party

Capping off one of the most interesting album rollouts in recent memory, “Ego Death At A Bachelorette Party” just missed my top 25 list. Her third studio album is similar enough to Paramore’s discography that diehard fans will find plenty to love, but it also features elements that set her apart as the unique songwriter she is. The album’s standout “Parachute”, which is probably my song of the year for 2025, is one of many incredible examples of her powerful meditations on depression and reputation on this album. While some of the experimental choices on this album don’t always stick the landing for me, “Ego Death At A Bachelorette Party” is another fantastic addition to Hayley Williams’ catalog, cementing her as one of the all-time greats in the pop-rock realm.

Favorite track: “Parachute”

2. Ichiko Aoba – Luminescent Creatures

“Luminescent Creatures” was one of the first albums to get me excited about music in 2025. Ichiko Aoba is one of my favorite musicians of all time, with her 2013 album “0” being one of the most beautiful singer-songwriter albums I have ever heard. What I love so much about her music is the gentle ambience of her writing, which her most recent record builds upon beautifully. “Luminescent Creatures” is full of natural beauty, inspired by Aoba’s experiences diving in remote Japanese waters, and it comments on her relationship with nature. While sometimes tests the listener’s patience in immersing in this world Aoba created, “Luminescent Creatures” culminates in a lush adventure through watery soundscapes.

Favorite track: “COLORATURA”

3. TURQUOISEDEATH – Guardian

I actually enjoy “Guardian” for similar reasons as I love “Luminescent Creatures”. Like the previous record, “Guardian” is more or less an ambient experience, focusing less on lyrical content and more on building instrumentals. But, where “Luminescent Creatures” is tranquil and gentle, “Guardian” is very much in-your-face and instrumentally complex. I’ve yet to listen to much electronic ambient or drum and bass music, but TURQUOISEDEATH’s recent album blew me away. It definitely takes an openness to try new things to enjoy this album, but once it clicks, it really clicks. I listened to this album while playing one of my favorite video games (Destiny 2), and it couldn’t have been a better listening experience. It is a wildly entrancing, cosmic record that rewards those with the patience to give it a shot.

Favorite track: “Close Your Eyes”

4. Cameron Winter – Heavy Metal

(Disclaimer: “Heavy Metal” is one of my favorite albums of all time, and the only reason I didn’t include it in my top 25 list is that it technically came out in late 2024. However, I’ve seen other publications include it in their 2025 lists, so I wanted to include it here.)

When I first listened to “Heavy Metal”, I didn’t like it that much. I kid you not, the first time I listened to “The Rolling Stones,” I questioned what all the hype was about, and I couldn’t get past how strange Cameron Winter’s singing voice was. The turning point, however, was when I watched a live performance of his at First Unitarian Church in March of this year. I was blown away by how unique his approach to live performance was. What I first found awkward and clunky, I started to find raw and powerful.

Today, “Heavy Metal” is a personal near-perfect record. As someone who loves traditional folk artists like Bob Dylan and Leonard Cohen, Cameron Winter’s music offers me a similar comforting familiarity. “Heavy Metal” is a masterclass in storytelling, containing some of the most consistently beautiful songwriting on an album that I’ve heard in a while. I truly believe that “Love Takes Miles” will go down as one of the best songs ever written in the future, with both “Drinking Age” and “$0” having some of the best vocal performances of the year. Even though it technically released in 2024, “Heavy Metal” is a truly special album, and one that I desperately wanted to shout out in my year-end list.

Favorite track: “Cancer of the Skull”

5. Black Country, New Road – Forever Howlong

I’ll be honest: when BCNR’s former lead singer, Isaac Wood, announced his departure from the band last year, I was unsure whether they could replicate the magic of their 2022 masterpiece, “Ants From Up There”. Part of my love for this band was their combination of lush instrumentals and honest, deeply personal lyrical content, making their previous albums feel like emotional journeys. However, I am happy to say that their follow-up album, “Forever Howlong,” is a satisfying follow-up to the band’s discography. In many ways, “Forever Howlong” is even more whimsical than the band’s previous entries, mastering freeform song structures with beautiful folk arrangements. But more than anything, this album feels like a group of best friends enjoying making music together, which is always a deeply enduring feeling to observe.

Favorite track: “For The Cold Country”

6. Joanne Robertson – Blurrr

While I usually have trepidations with Pitchfork’s album rating system, their review of Joanne Robertson’s “Blurrr”, and subsequent inclusion as their 8th best album of 2025, is something I can definitely get behind. “Blurrr” is one of my favorite indie-folk records of the year, mastering a lack of extravagance in its instrumentals with more beautiful ambient folk soundscapes. Fans of Grouper and the more experimental works of Ethel Cain will find a lot to enjoy in this album, hopefully finding something to close your eyes to and let the solitude in this music move through you.

Favorite track: “Gown”

7. Ciśnienie – [angry noises]

For me, “[angry noises]” takes the cake for the most accurate album title of 2025. The YouTube description for this album writes: “This album is designed to be played loudly. Listen as loud as you can or as loud as you’re allowed.” If this doesn’t describe the essence of this album, I don’t know what will.

Ciśnienie is a Polish experimental rock band that I honestly would never have found, had it not been for a YouTube recommendation. I was in the mood to listen to the heaviest combination of experimental jazz and prog rock that I could find, and, in the moment, this album scratched that itch for me. This is by no means a perfect album: its long tracks drag on a bit at times and can be a little too chaotic for my liking. For these reasons, I cautiously recommend this album, as it definitely is an acquired taste. However, at its best, “[angry noises]” is a theatrical experience that masters the art of controlled chaos.

Favorite track: “Carthago Delenda Est”