Favourite albums of 2025 - Part Two

December 17, 2025 Peter Kimpton

Part Two favourite albums of 2025 collage

Welcome to the second part of Song Bar favourite albums of 2025. There is also a first part and a third part this week. There is no countdown nor describing these necessarily as “best” albums of the year, but they are chosen by their quality, originality and reader popularity

Favourite albums of 2025 - Part One

December 16, 2025 Peter Kimpton

First selection of 25 favourite albums in no particular order …

Welcome to the first part of Song Bar favourite albums of 2025. There will also be a second and third part this week. There is no countdown nor describing these necessarily as “best” albums of the year, but they are chosen by their quality, originality and reader popularity

Sorry: COSPLAY

November 8, 2025 Peter Kimpton

New album: Consistently excellent singles before and heralding this brilliantly odd, clever third album by the London indie band all cement their reputation for a truly original sound filled with a variety of styles, captured in the experimental title of their third LP following 2022’s Anywhere But Here

Witch Fever: FEVEREATEN

November 2, 2025 Peter Kimpton

New album: Halloween timing comes perfectly for the Manchester quartet in this second LP, following 2022’s Congregatio n, of scorching, explosive, dark, seething goth-grunge, post-punk, post-rock, metal and hardcore, capturing religious-themed trauma in a personal and allegorical context, fuelled by rage and defiance

Upchuck: I'm Nice Now

October 4, 2025 Peter Kimpton

New album: A blistering new release of razor-sharp rage fuelled by social injustice by the punk and psychedelic rockers from Atlanta, Georgia, spearheaded by the charismatic vocalist KT, with thunderous drums and scalding guitars, and recorded at Sonic Ranch Studio in Texas with producer Ty Segall with a pacy, raw, rasping sound

Wednesday: Bleeds

September 24, 2025 Peter Kimpton

New album: Quintessential, classy southern creek rock and shoegaze sound by the band from Asheville, North Carolina, fronted by singer and lyricist Karly Hartzman, in this sixth and possibly best yet LP packed with rich, meaty grungy guitar tones, and sharp, highly detailed, emotionally potent, narrative lyrics

Hotline TNT: Raspberry Moon

June 24, 2025 Peter Kimpton

New album: A third album by the New York indie-rock band fronted by Will Anderson, with rich, meaty, shoegaze fuzz guitars, subtly droll love songs and more of a live band guitar recorded sound rather than the previous studio-created layering of their first two LPs

Anika: Abyss

April 25, 2025 Peter Kimpton

New album: Moving away from the ambient, dreamy synths of her 2021 album Change, the British German singer-songwriter Anika Henderson’s third LP is wilder, grittier, more post-punk, grungey, and themed around frustration, anger, and confusion with the current world

Bria Salmena: Big Dog

April 3, 2025 Peter Kimpton

New album: A striking, stylish debut by the Toronto artist, also co-written and co-produced with Duncan Hay Jennings, the frontwoman of Canadian post-punk outfit FRIGS delivers a mix of dark, deep, smoky-voiced pop, crafted krautrock, shimmery shoegaze, and goth-electronica

Courting: Lust For Life, Or ‘How To Thread The Needle And Come Out The Other Side To Tell The Story'

March 19, 2025 Peter Kimpton

New album: A lengthy title for a short, snappy, cleverly interwoven eclectic indie-dancefloor-postpunk experimental third LP by the Liverpool band with a theme of duality, a cyclical intro and outro, and each song paired with a balanced counterpart, sharing specific sonic elements.

HotWax: Hot Shock

March 10, 2025 Peter Kimpton

New album: One of the hottest young bands around, a blisteringly entertaining debut by the Hastings rock/punk trio, with snarling vocals, stormy guitars, bass and explosive drumming by Tallulah Sim-Savage, Lola Sam and Alfie Sayers

Favourite Albums of 2024 - Part 2

December 30, 2024 Peter Kimpton

The second part of our favourite albums of 2024

Favourite albums of 2024: Welcome to The Song Bar’s favourite albums of 2024 Part 2. Part 1 can be found here. There’s no such thing as ‘best of’ and everything is subjective, but please dig into this rich seam of originality and quality, and even suggest more of your own

Favourite albums of 2024 - Part 1

December 30, 2024 Peter Kimpton

This year’s selections include some returning veterans at the top of their game as well as some fabulous newcomers

Favourite albums of 2024: Welcome to The Song Bar’s favourite albums of 2024 Part 1. There’s no such thing as ‘best of’ and everything is subjective, but rich seams of originality and quality are certainly here to be enjoyed. Peruse away …

Du Blonde: Sniff More Gritty

November 17, 2024 Peter Kimpton

New album: With a startling new look, the multi-talented British singer-songwriter and video artist Beth Jeans Houghton returns with her powerfully anthemic glam rock, grunge pop and fuzz guitar indie in this follow-up to 2021’s Homecoming

Been Stellar: Scream From New York, NY

June 25, 2024 Peter Kimpton

New album: A dynamic, stormy-guitar postpunk debut by the New York quintet in an LP filled with landmark references of that famous city, but also given a texture and edge under the production guidance of by London’s brilliant Dan Carey

Goat Girl: Below The Waste

June 7, 2024 Peter Kimpton

New album: A brilliantly bold, experimental, original third LP by the now south London indie-post-punk trio of Clottie Cream (Lottie Pendlebury), Rosy Bones and Holly Mullineaux, one that bubbles with unusual musical dynamics and lyrics

The Dandy Warhols - Rockmaker

March 20, 2024 Peter Kimpton

New album: Flamboyant yet droll, swaggering, fuzzy, sizzling, meaty, dark’n’ dirty rock in this 12th studio LP from the veteran Portland band fronted by Courtney Taylor-Taylor, here joined by guests including Pixies’ Frank Black, Slash and Debbie Harry

Kim Gordon: The Collective

March 9, 2024 Peter Kimpton

New album: Dark, crashing, whispering, abstract, deadpan internal monologues, dreamlike off-beat poetry, trip beats, crunchy electronica and industrial grunge-guitar noise, the ex-Sonic Youth frontwoman, bassist and visual artist’s new LP is a challenging, truly innovative release

Mannequin Pussy: I Got Heaven

March 6, 2024 Peter Kimpton

New album: Dynamically vaulting between fierce, explosive anger and beautiful tenderness, unabashed lust, sometimes soothing and seductive, at others biting, this is a powerful, passionate, new indie-rock LP by the band fronted by singer and guitarist Marisa Dabice

Lime Garden: One More Thing

February 21, 2024 Peter Kimpton

New album: A fresh squeeze of catchy, grungy indie-pop comes in this very tasty debut LP by the Brighton quartet, tackling the struggles of young creativity, heartbreak and self-doubt with wistful humour and a great ear for melody, all with no-nonsense sound and production

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black-eyed peas

New Albums …

Featured

Jan 28, 2026

Lucinda Williams: World's Gone Wrong

Jan 28, 2026

New album: The acclaimed veteran country, rock and Americana singer-songwriter and multi-Grammy winner’s latest LP has a title that speaks for itself, but is powerful, angry, defiant and uplifting, and, recorded in Nashville, features guest vocals from Norah Jones, Mavis Staples and Brittney Spencer

Jan 28, 2026

Jan 27, 2026

Clothesline From Hell: Slather On The Honey

Jan 27, 2026

New album: His moniker mischievously named after a wrestling move, a highly impressive, independently-created experimental, psychedelic rock debut the the Toronto-based multi-instrumentalist and singer-songwriter Adam LaFramboise

Jan 27, 2026

Jan 27, 2026

Dead Dads Club: Dead Dads Club

Jan 27, 2026

New album: Dynamic, passionate, heart-stirring indie rock in this project fronted by Chilli Jesson (formerly bassist of Palma Violets) with songs spurred by the trauma of losing his father 20 years ago, retelling a defiant and difficult aftermath, with sound boosted by producer Carlos O’Connell of Fontaines D.C.

Jan 27, 2026

Jan 25, 2026

The Paper Kites: If You Go There, I Hope You Find It

Jan 25, 2026

New album: Warm, tender, gently-paced, calmly reflective, beautifully soothing, poetic, melancholic alternative folk and Americana by the band from Melbourne in their seventh LP in 15 years

Jan 25, 2026

Jan 24, 2026

PVA: No More Like This

Jan 24, 2026

New album: Inventive, alluring, sensual, mysterious, minimalistic electronica, trip-hop and experimental pop by the London trio of Ella Harris, Joshua Baxter and Louis Satchell, in this second album following 2022’s Blush, boosted by the creativity of producer and instrumentalist Kwake Bass

Jan 24, 2026

Jan 20, 2026

Imarhan: Essam

Jan 20, 2026

New album: A mesmeric fourth LP in a decade by the band from Tamanrasset, Algeria, whose name means ‘the ones I care about’, their Tuareg music mixing guitar riffs, pop melodies and African rhythms, but this time also evolves slightly away from the desert blues rocky, bluesy influence of contemporaries Tinariwen with electronic elements

Jan 20, 2026

Courtney Marie Andrews: Valentine

Jan 20, 2026

New album: Emotional, beautiful, stirring, Americana, folk and indie-pop by singer-songwriter from Phoenix, Arizona, in this latest studio LP in of soaring voice, strong melodies, love, vulnerability and heartbreak, longing and bravery

Jan 20, 2026

Jan 18, 2026

Julianna Barwick & Mary Lattimore: Tragic Magic

Jan 18, 2026

New album: Delicate, beautiful, ethereal, meditative new work by the two American experimental composers in their first collaborative LP, with gentle understated vocals, classic synth sounds, and rare harps chosen from from the Paris Musée de la Musique Collection

Jan 18, 2026

Jan 16, 2026

Sleaford Mods: The Demise of Planet X

Jan 16, 2026

New album: The caustic wit of Nottingham’s Jason Williamson and Andrew Fearn return with a 13th LP of brilliantly abrasive, dark humoured hip-hop and catchy beats, addressing the rubbish state of the world, as well as local, personal and social irritations through slick nostalgic cultural reference, some expanded sounds, and an eclectic set of guests

Jan 16, 2026

Jan 14, 2026

SAULT: Chapter 1

Jan 14, 2026

New album: As ever, released suddenly without fanfare or any publicity, the prolific experimental soul, jazz, gospel, funk, psychedelia and disco collective of Cleo Sol, Info (aka Dean Josiah Cover) and co return with a stylish, mysterious LP

Jan 14, 2026

The Cribs: Selling A Vibe

Jan 14, 2026

New album: A first LP in five years by the likeable and solid guitar indie-rock Jarman brothers trio from Wakefield, now with their ninth - a catchy, but at times with rueful, bittersweet perspectives on their times in the music business

Jan 14, 2026

Jan 9, 2026

Dry Cleaning: Secret Love

Jan 9, 2026

New album: This third LP by the London experimental post-punk quartet with the distinctive, spoken, droll delivery of Florence Shaw, is packed with striking, vivid, often non seqitur lyrics capturing life’s surreal mundanities and neuroses with a sound coloured and polished by Cate Le Bon as producer

Jan 9, 2026

Dec 31, 2025

Various Artists: ICELOCK CONTINUUM

Dec 31, 2025

New album: An inspiring, evocative, sensual and sonically tactile experimental compilation from the fabulously named underground French label Camembert Électrique, with range of international electronic artists capturing cold winter weather’s many textures - cracking, delicate crunchy ice, snow, electric fog, and frost in many fierce and fragile forms across 98 adventurous tracks

Dec 31, 2025

Dec 18, 2025

Favourite albums of 2025 - Part Three

Dec 18, 2025

Welcome to the third and final part of Song Bar favourite albums of 2025. There is also Part One, and Part Two. There is no countdown nor describing these necessarily as “best” albums of the year, but they are chosen by their quality, originality and reader popularity

Dec 18, 2025

new songs …

Featured

Jan 28, 2026

Song of the Day: Nathan Fake - Slow Yamaha

Jan 28, 2026

Song of the Day: Hypnotic electronica with woozy layers of smooth resonance and a lattice of shifting analogue patterns by the British artist from Norfolk, taken from his forthcoming album, Evaporator, out on InFiné Music

Jan 28, 2026

Jan 27, 2026

Song of the Day: Charlotte Day Wilson - Lean (featuring Saya Gray)

Jan 27, 2026

Song of the Day: Stylish, striking, sensual experimental electro-pop and R&B in this fabulous collaboration between the two Canadian singer/ multi-instrumentalist from Toronto, out on Stone Woman Music/ XL Recordings

Jan 27, 2026

Jan 26, 2026

Song of the Day: Lime Garden - 23

Jan 26, 2026

Song of the Day: Wonderfully catchy, witty, quirky indie pop about age and adjustment by the Brighton-formed quartet fronted by Chloe Howard, heralding their upcoming album Maybe Not Tonight, out on So Young Records on 10 April

Jan 26, 2026

Madra Salach - It's A Hell Of An Age - EP.jpeg

Jan 25, 2026

Song of the Day: Madra Salach - The Man Who Seeks Pleasure

Jan 25, 2026

Song of the Day: A powerful, slow-simmering and gradually intensifying, drone-based original folk number about the the flipsides of love and hedonism by the young Irish traditional and alternative folk band, with comparisons to Lankum, from the recently released EP It's a Hell of an Age, out on Canvas Music

Jan 25, 2026

Jan 24, 2026

Song of the Day: Adult DVD - Real Tree Lee

Jan 24, 2026

Song of the Day: Catchy, witty, energised acid-dance-punk with echoes of Underworld and Snapped Ankles by the dynamic, innovative band from Leeds in a new number about a dodgy character of toxic masculinity and online ignorance, and their first release on signing to Fat Possum

Jan 24, 2026

Arctic Monkeys - Opening Night - War Child - HELP 2.jpeg

Jan 23, 2026

Song of the Day: Arctic Monkeys - Opening Night (for War Child HELP 2 charity album)

Jan 23, 2026

Song of the Day: A simmering, potent, contemplative new track by acclaimed Sheffield band, their first song since 2022’s album The Car, with proceeds benefiting the charity War Child, heralding the upcoming HELP (2) compilation out on 6 March with various contributors

Jan 23, 2026

Jan 22, 2026

Song of the Day: White Denim - (God Created) Lock and Key

Jan 22, 2026

Song of the Day: The Austin, Texas-formed LA-based rockers return with an infectiously catchy groove fusing rock, funk, dub, soul, and down-dirty blues with some playful self-mythologising and darker themes, heralding 13th album, 13, out on 24 April via Bella Union

Jan 22, 2026

Jan 21, 2026

Song of the Day: Holy Fuck - Evie

Jan 21, 2026

Song of the Day: The Canadian experimental indie rock and electronica quartet from Toronto return with a pulsating new track of thrumming bass and shimmering keyboards, heralding their forthcoming new album Event Beat, out on 27 March via Satellite Services

Jan 21, 2026

Jan 20, 2026

Song of the Day: KAVARI - IRON VEINS

Jan 20, 2026

Song of the Day: Exciting, cutting-edge electronica and hardcore dance music by innovative the Birkenhead-born, Glasgow-based artist Cameron Winters (she), with a stylish, striking video, heralding the forthcoming EP, PLAGUE MUSIC, out digitally and on 12-inch vinyl on 6 February via XL Recordings

Jan 20, 2026

Jan 19, 2026

Song of the Day: A$AP Rocky - Punk Rocky

Jan 19, 2026

Song of the Day: The standout catchy hip-pop/soul/pop track from the New York rapper aka Rakim Athelston Mayers’ (also the husband of Rihanna) recently released album, Don’t Be Dumb, featuring also the voice of Cristoforo Donadi, and out on A$AP Rocky Recordings

Jan 19, 2026

Jan 18, 2026

Song of the Day: Buck Meek - Gasoline

Jan 18, 2026

Song of the Day: The Texas-born Big Thief guitarist returns with an beautifully stirring, evocative, poetic love-enthralled indie-folk single of free association made-up words and quantum leap feelings, rolling drums and strums, heralding his upcoming fourth solo album, The Mirror, out on 27 February via 4AD

Jan 18, 2026

Alexis Taylor - Paris In The Spring.jpeg

Jan 17, 2026

Song of the Day: Alexis Taylor - Out Of Phase (featuring Lola Kirke)

Jan 17, 2026

Song of the Day: A crisp, catchy fusion of synth-pop, cosmic country and some NYC-garage odyssey with references to two films by David Lynch from the Hot Chip frontman, heralding his upcoming sixth solo album, Paris In The Spring, out on 13 March via Night Time Stories

Jan 17, 2026

Word of the week

Featured

Zumbador dorado - mango bumblebee Puerto Rico.jpeg

Jan 22, 2026

Word of the week: zumbador

Jan 22, 2026

Word of the week: A wonderfully evocative noun from the Spanish for word buzz, and meaning both a South American hummingbird, a door buzzer, and symbolic of resurrection of the soul in ancient Mexican culture, while also serving as the logo for a tequila brand

Jan 22, 2026

Jan 8, 2026

Word of the week: aspectabund

Jan 8, 2026

Word of the week: This rare adjective describes a highly expressive face or countenance, where emotions and reactions are readily shown through the eyes or mouth

Jan 8, 2026

Dec 24, 2025

Word of the week: bellonion (or belloneon)

Dec 24, 2025

Word of the week: It sounds like a bulbous, multi-layered peeling vegetable, but this obscure mechanical musical instrument invented in 1812 in Dresden consisted of 24 trumpets and two kettle drums and, designed to mimic the sound of a marching band, might also make your eyes water

Dec 24, 2025

Dec 4, 2025

Word of the week: crapulence

Dec 4, 2025

Word of the week: A term that may apply regularly during Xmas party season, from the from the Latin crapula, in turn from the Greek kraipálē meaning "drunkenness" or "headache" pertains to sickness symptoms caused by excess in eating or drinking, or general intemperance and overindulgence

Dec 4, 2025

Nov 20, 2025

Word of the week: discalceate

Nov 20, 2025

Word of the week: A rarely used, but often practised verb, especially when arriving home, it means to take off your shoes, but is also a slightly more common adjective meaning barefoot or unshod, particularly for certain religious orders that wear sandals instead of shoes. But in what context does this come up in song?

Nov 20, 2025