choke enough by Oklou #

I would challenge anyone not to find something unique and compelling here, and if your immediate reaction is "oh no, computer music" first of all how dare you - but second check out Oklou's NPR Tiny Desk concert, with some really creative acoustic/analog arrangements:

Favorite track has to be blade bird, it burrows in my brain for days at a time.

cut. turn. fade. back. by Hail The Sun #

Divine Inner Tension was easily in my top 5 of 2023 and brought me back to Hail The Sun after years. I didn't expect their next release to be even better somehow? Lyrics that don't hold back or mince words in their condemnation of evil are what we need right now. Thank you for the reminder that tolerance is not the answer to those who hurt and exploit others.

Don’t say that you’re only policing virtue / I see the faces of children torn apart from afar

Evangelic Girl is a Gun by yeule #

"yeule, the cyborg alchemist coalescing the soundscapes of glitch-pop electronica, alt rock, and trip-hop". I can't even pick a favorite song here, between the driving pace of the title track, the poppy build and release of Eko, to the sweet melancholy of Dudu.

See You In Heaven by Softcult #

Ok so listen, this is technically an LP re-release of two EPs that came out in 2023 & 2024 - is that against the rules? Probably, but I'm including it anyway so that I can mention Spoiled which has been literally on repeat for me, writing this sentence I have to put it on again.

I'm water, I'm oil, I'm rotten, I'm spoiled

K-Pop Demon Hunters Soundtrack by... various artists #

The movie slaps and the soundtrack is basically unassailable. Don't @ me (does anyone still say that?)

2000: In Search Of The Endless Sky by Fleshwater #

I stumbled onto this during a grunge/noise/shoegaze arc that I'm still riding. I can't describe the feeling that Last Escape evokes, but it's perfect to me.

is there somewhere else you would rather be but home?

Vaxis - Act III: The Father of Make Believe (New Entities Edition) by Coheed and Cambria #

This didn't initially hit me as hard as 2022's Vaxis II: A Window of the Waking Mind, but it has definitely grown on me - especially with the added New Entities tracks. Coheed and Cambria have been one of my favorite bands for well over a decade and I'm happy to see them continuing to evolve creatively.

Speaking of not mincing words:

Ghostholding by venturing #

Side project of Jane Remover who also released Revengeseekerz this year which probably deserves its own place on this list, I truly don't understand the prolific pace they've achieved here. Hearing Revengeseekerz first I was a little sad there wasn't more of what I loved from 2023's Census Designated, little did I know there was a whole album building off of it in new ways.

I've also just noticed that a riff in Sick / relapse that alludes to search party on Frailty (2021), I love a callback.

Willoughby Tucker, I'll Always Love You by Ethel Cain #

Golden Age (2019) and Preacher's Daughter (2022) were already haunting me and Willoughby Tucker continues the trend. I'm a sucker for:

• concept albums
• long, droning tracks
• lyrics that hit like a truck

so this was an obvious hit.

Dreams of Being Dust by The World is a Beautiful Place & I am No Longer Afraid to Die #

TWIABP&IANLATD had what was easily my AOTY 2021 with Illusory Walls, and now brings renewed rage. What happened to my emos?! Every song is (relatively, by comparison) short, energetic, and to the point - the album is almost unrelenting and I get it, I'm here for it. While Illusory Walls was naturally bleak, it ends with a 20-minute march toward (maybe?) a glimpse of hopefulness, for me one of the most emotionally moving tracks in recent memory. No such relief here - "on a planet without trust / we have only ever been / bugs that can think".

I'm starting to see a bit of a pattern in this list... what a year.