We’re about to take a short summer break (back on Monday), but first, we’re excited to present our staff picks for the first half of 2025. We invited each writer to choose two albums or EPs released from January 1-June 30 and covered on our site. While there was no frontrunner (as only two releases received multiple votes), the consensus was that this has been an incredibly strong year for music to date.
One of the trends we’ve seen has been an increased number of topic-based albums, with artists tackling marginalization, deportation, war, genocide, climate change, natural disaster, screen addiction, fake news, A.I., and more. Often one has to read the liner notes (as many are instrumental releases), but the shift is obvious. The encouragement is that so many artists are turning their frustrations into fine art. We hope that you’ll enjoy our first half selections!
Andriana-Yaroslava Saienko ~ Atlantis (Original Theatre Soundtrack)
A heartfelt tribute to a town that no longer exists, this theatre production suggests that Bakhmut is the new Atlantis. Prayer and song emerge from the rubble, suggesting a spiritual residue. As the album closes with a pair of wedding songs, the next generation is imagined, if not affirmed.
BRUIT ≤ ~ The Age of Ephemerality (Pelagic)
The George Orwell quote at the end of the album seals its relevance. “Imagine a boot stamping on a human face – forever.” The French collective makes a mighty case against demagogues, double speak, technological slavery and supposed progress at the cost of human rights, channeling the spirit of GY!BE.
Concepción Huerta ~ El Sol de los Muertos (Umor Rex)
Using magma and lava as metaphors, the album channels mass anger against the lack of attention given to Mexico’s “disappeared.” Stories are squashed, texts are scrubbed, histories are rewritten, and the earth itself erupts in indignation.
Drum & Lace ~ tempora
An ode to the seasons, tempora contains tracks suitable for every time of year. The impression is one of peace, the cycles of nature offering solace, comfort and the feeling that all things, in time, shall pass.
HxH ~ STARK PHENOMENA (OFNOT)
What are the chances that two albums on our mid-year list would reference. volcanos? This set associates an Ethiopian volcano with ancestry, the ocean with the primordial sea, and the spirit with the breath of creation: a literal return to roots.
Human Pyramids ~ Thank You (Ricco)
By far the happiest album on our list, Thank You is steeped in gratitude and exudes ebullience. Not a single second is dour or dark. The album serves as a reminder that there are still good things in life and events worth celebrating.
Jake Muir ~ Compana Sonans (enmossed)
The ultimate album for those who love church bells, Compana Sonans collects recordings from across Europe and weaves them into a pair of longform soundscapes. Sometimes the bells are methodical, tolling the time of day; at other times they burst into beautiful metal melodies.
Jeremy Young ~ Cablcar (Halocline Trance)
Tape wobble and reel-to-reel, field recording and found sound, comment and conversation collide on Cablcar. The fact that the letter e has fallen out seems appropriate, as the set is spliced together, hanging on hinges, fraying at the seams.
Kronos Quartet & Mary Kouyoumdjian ~ WITNESS (Phenotypic)
Those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it. This masterful album addresses the Lebanese civil war and the Armenian genocide, with obvious contemporary parallels. The album peaks with the literal “Bombs of Beirut,” which end all conversation, producing a stunned silence.
Laura Cannell ~ A Compendium of Beasts Vol. 1 (Brawl)
The first in a series (two more are already out), this compendium collects creatures real, imaginary and in-between, connecting legend and lore, history and imagination. We look forward to seeing where this series heads next!
Ludwig Göransson ~ Sinners (Original Motion Picture Score) (Sony)
The score of the year from the film of the year to date (the soundtrack is great too!), Sinners is a tribute to the power of music that simultaneously pushes music beyond existing boundaries to territories exciting and new. If you haven’t seen it yet, HBO Max will start screening it July 4.
Lyra Pramuk ~ Hymnal (7K!)
An astonishing vocal range is demonstrated on this multifaceted release, which turns Pramuk’s voice like a prism, holding it up to the light then allowing it to refract, investigating its colorful properties. The album is best listened to as a whole to allow the rainbow to collect its hues.
Natalie Beridze ~ Street Life
Dedicated to David Lynch, Street Life takes the sounds of street protests in Tbilisi and manipulates them into unpredictable forms. While crowds and car horns become nearly unrecognizable, the anguish is amplified, reflecting the disrupted, distorted nature of life in upheaval.
Penelope Trappes ~ A Requiem (One Little Independent)
As a new gothic icon, Penelope Trappes revels in the dark and demonic, embracing darkness in an unflinching manner. And yet by the end of the album, the sun comes out, the dark spirits dissipate, and one is left with a residue of light.
Saapato ~ Decomposition: Fox on a Highway
An incredible array of collaborators, from Laraaji to KMRU, help to bring Saapato’s vision to life; ironically, the topic is decomposition. As a body decomposes, so does a note, a track, a memory. The album may begin with a fox, but it travels down the highway to destinations unknown.
Sara Persico ~ Sphaîra (Subtext)
Tripoli’s Experimental Theatre was designed as a showcase for the area’s revival; that is, until civil war halted construction and the edifice was left to crumble and decay. Persico receives permission to record at the site, and explores its sonic properties while highlighting its pathos.
Theresa Wong ~ Journey to the Cave of Guanyin (Room40)
On this album the cello becomes a pilgrim, transformed by an encounter with a famed bodhisattva. After emerging from the cave, the timbres flow into undulating drones, imitating ancient chant and becoming a form of worship all their own.
Valotihkuu ~ Drifting Between Seasons
Many albums honor specific seasons, but few stare into their seams. This album travels the tunnel between winter and spring, incorporating snow and rain, cold and warmth, reflecting the fact that no season is a single, unflinching entity.
Various Artists ~ Only Sounds That Tremble Through Us (Bilna’es)
The genesis predates the existing conflicts, which makes the project seem prescient. Beginning with recordings of “people singing and dancing in communal spaces in Iraq, Palestine, Syria, and Yemen,” the set expanded to an installation, an album, and a second LP of commissioned works.
William Tyler ~ Time Indefinite (Psychic Hotline)
Far more than just a guitar album, Time Indefinite incorporates choir, drone and horses’ hooves, traveling from emotional instability to relative peace. While there’s no predicting how long such peace might last, Tyler’s journey proves that such a thing is possible, even now.
a closer listen 
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