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Favourite albums of 2025 - Part Three

December 18, 2025 Peter Kimpton

Match album artwork to the titles below from favourites of 2025 Part Three (in no particular order)

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

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Tags albums, new albums, new releases, favourites of the year, Rosalía, Dove Ellis, Haley Heynderickx, Max García Conover, Allie X, Celeste, anaiis, Sorry, Juana Molina, Hannah Frances, Geese, Cate Le Bon, Stealing Sheep, Gwenifer Raymond, Baxter Dury, Junior Brother, Big Thief, David Byrne, CMAT, Water From Your Eyes, Wolf Alice, Laufey, Cass McCombs, Marissa Nadler, Ethel Cain, Ada Lea, Columbia Records, Sony Records, Black Butter, AMF, Fat Possum, Polydor, Universal Music, 5dB Records, Domino Records, Sonamos, Fire Talk, Partisan Records, Play It Again Sam, Mexican Summer, Rough Trade, We Are Busy Bodies Records, Heavenly Recordings, Strap Originals, 4AD, Matador Records, CMATBaby, AWAL, RCA, Bella Union, Daughters of Cain Records, Saddle Creek Records
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Ada Lea: When I Paint My Masterpiece

August 13, 2025 Peter Kimpton

Ada Lea: When I Paint My Masterpiece

New album: Sharing its title with a Bob Dylan song, this third album of 16 tracks of experimental folk and Americana by the Montreal singer-songwriter aka Alexandra Levy comes with a free-flowing acoustic brush of the imagination, a rich seam of art and literary reference, and lyrics of the dream-like psychedelic with notes of optimism and plainspoken wisdom

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In alternative, albums, experimental, folk, indie, pop Tags Ada Lea, Alexandra Levy, Saddle Creek Records, albums, new albums, new releases
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Spirit of the Beehive: You'll Have To Lose Something

September 2, 2024 Peter Kimpton

Spirit of the Beehive: You'll Have To Lose Something

New album: Pennsylvania’s and Portugal’s Zack Schwartz, Corey Wichlin, and Rivka Ravede return with another bewildering collection of abstract, feverish dream weirdest deconstructionist experimental rock, with a collection of 12 songs that at times feel more like a hundred

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In alternative, albums, avant garde, experimental, indie, pop, prog-rock, psychedelia, rock Tags Spirit of the Beehive, Saddle Creek Records, albums, new albums, new releases
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Black Belt Eagle Scout: The Land, The Water, The Sky

February 16, 2023 Peter Kimpton

Black Belt Eagle Scout: The Land, The Water, The Sky

New album: A heartfelt, visceral, both powerful and gentle LP by the Swinomish/Iñupiaq singer-songwriter Katherine Paul inspired by her 2020 journey to her ancestral lands from Portland to the Skagit River on Puget Sound in Washington State

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In albums, Americana, folk, indie Tags Black Belt Eagle Scout, Saddle Creek Records, albums, new releases
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Tomberlin: I Don't Know Who Needs To Hear This …

May 4, 2022 Peter Kimpton

Sarah Beth Tomberlin

New album: Gentle, beautiful fragility and vulnerability abounds in this second album by the Brooklyn singer-songwriter, who sings about insecurity, isolation and relationships with great tenderness with minimal instrumentation

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In albums, Americana, folk, indie Tags Tomberlin, Saddle Creek Records, albums, new releases
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Hand Habits: Fun House

October 27, 2021 Peter Kimpton

Mysterious beauty: Fun House by Hand Habits

New album: New York-born Los Angeles-based artist Meg Duffy returns with her own distinctive form of electro-pop and Americana folk with very refined, dreamily sung songs that build on her excellent single Aquamarine

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In albums, Americana, electronica, experimental, folk Tags Hand Habits, Meg Duffy, Perfume Genius, Saddle Creek Records
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New albums: Cornershop, Riz Ahmed, Caroline Rose, U.S. Girls, Honey Harper, Disq, Paul Heaton, Jackie Abbott, Georgia Ruth, Brielle Ansems

March 10, 2020 Peter Kimpton
Cornershop’s new album, England Is A Garden

Cornershop’s new album, England Is A Garden

The latest roundup includes A sian perspectives on Britain in different forms by Cornershop and Riz Ahmed, plus clever collage pop from U.S. Girls, Caroline Rose and punchy indie from Disq

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In albums, ambient, country, dance music, electronica, experimental, folk, funk, hip hop, indie, pop, post-punk, psychedelia, punk, rock, reggae, soul, traditional, trip-hop Tags new releases, albums, Cornershop, Tjinder Singh, Riz Ahmed, Caroline Rose, U.S. Girls, Honey Harper, Disq, Paul Heaton, Jackie Abbott, The Beautiful South, Georgia Ruth, Brielle Ansems, Ample Play, Mongrel, New West Records, 4AD, ATO Records, Saddle Creek Records, EMI, Bubblewrap Collective, Mosaic Music
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New albums: Destroyer, Squarepusher, Drive-By Truckers, Sam Lee, Ben Watt, Smoke Fairies, J Hus, Frances Quinian

February 5, 2020 Peter Kimpton
Old folk made new: Sam Lee

Old folk made new: Sam Lee

Emotional intensity mostly in solo form, is the overriding theme of this week’s album roundup across a range of styles – folk, indie, alt-country and hip hop as well frenetic drum-n’bass and jazz

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In albums, ambient, country, dance music, dub, electronica, experimental, folk, funk, grime, hip hop, indie, jazz, pop, post-punk, rock, soul, psychedelia Tags Destroyer, Dan Bejar, Squarepusher, Drive-By Truckers, Sam Lee, Elizabeth Fraser, Bernard Butler, Ben Watt, Everything But The Girl, Smoke Fairies, J Hus, Frances Quinian, Dead Oceans, Warp Records, ATO Records, Cooking Vinyl, Unmade Road, Year Seven, Black Butter, Saddle Creek Records
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New albums: Lana Del Rey, The Futureheads, Sheryl Crow, !!! Chk Chk Chk, Joan Shelley, S.L.P, Kano, Gabriel Olafs, Mikey Young, Black Belt Eagle Scout, TaxiWars

September 7, 2019 Peter Kimpton
Lana Del Rey and her cover for Norman Fucking Rockwell

Lana Del Rey and her cover for Norman Fucking Rockwell

The latest selection includes a powerful comeback from The Futureheads, an eccentrically fabulous release from Lana Del Rey, and more perfect postpunk dance from Sacramento and New York’s !!! Chk Chk Chk

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In albums, ambient, blues, country, dance music, dub, electronica, experimental, folk, funk, garage, hip hop, indie, jazz, pop, post-punk, psychedelia, punk, rock, soul, traditional, grime Tags albums, new releases, The Futureheads, Lana Del Rey, Sheryl Crow, !!! Chk Chk Chk, Joan Shelley, The S.L.P., Serge Pizzorno, Kasabian, Gabriel Ólafs, Mikey Young, Black Belt Eagle Scout, TaxiWars, Kano, Nul Records, Polydor, Warp Records, Big Machine, No Quarter, Columbia Records, One Little Indian, Castle Face, Saddle Creek Records, Sdban Ultra, Parlophone
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New albums: Snapped Ankles, Royal Trux, Self Esteem, The Comet Is Coming, Alice Phoebe Lou, Our Native Daughters, Hand Habits, Hejira, Robert Forster, Teen, Durand Jones, Japanese House

March 6, 2019 Peter Kimpton
Snapped Ankles

Snapped Ankles

This week’s selection roundup includes a raucous return for Royal Trux after 19 years and Robert Forster’s second in a decade, plus a chorus of of beautiful vocalists from Self Esteem to Alice Phoebe Lou and a whole lot more

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In albums, ambient, blues, country, dance music, electronica, experimental, folk, funk, garage, hip hop, indie, jazz, metal, pop, post-punk, punk, rock, soul Tags Songs, albums, new releases, Royal Trux, Self Esteem, Rebecca Taylor, Slow Club, The Comet Is Coming, Alice Phoebe Lou, Our Native Daughters, Hand Habits, Hejira, Robert Forster, Teen, Durand Jones and the Indications, The Japanese House, Fiction Records, Impulse Records, Smithsonian Folkways, Fat Possum, Saddle Creek Records, Lima Limo Records, Tapete, Carpark Records, Dead Oceans, Dirty Hit, Snapped Ankles, Hawkwind
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New albums: Father John Misty, LUMP (Laura Marling / Mike Lindsay), Bodega, Neko Case, Warmduscher, Natalie Prass, Sam Evian, Morcheeba

June 1, 2018 Peter Kimpton
LUMP: Laura Marling and Mike Lindsay, inspired by the hairy one

LUMP: Laura Marling and Mike Lindsay, inspired by the hairy one

This week we lavish you with a bumper crop of top-quality LPs: ethereal beauty in a Laura Marling collaboration, Father John Misty parodying narcissism, brilliant Brooklyn punk band Bodega, blues funk from Warmduscher, and superb solo female work by Neko Case and Natalie Prass

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In albums, blues, country, dance music, electronica, folk, funk, garage, hip hop, indie, jazz, pop, post-punk, punk, rock, soul, trip-hop Tags Father John Misty, Josh Tillman, Laura Marling, Mike Lindsay, Tunng, new releases, albums, Bodega, Brooklyn, internet, Warmduscher, Saul Adamczewski, Lias Kaci Saoudi, The Moonlandingz, Insecure Men, Natalie Prass, Neko Case, Matthew E. White, Laura Veirs, Beth Ditto, Peter Bjorn and John, Sam Evian, Morcheeba, Root Manuva, Dead Oceans, Bella Union, What's Your Rupture?, The Leaf Label, ATO Records, ANTI Records, Saddle Creek Records, Fly Agaric Records
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New albums: EELS, Manic Street Preachers, Unknown Mortal Orchestra, Kylie Minogue, Goat Girl, Ultimate Painting, Hop Along

April 4, 2018 Peter Kimpton
Goat Girl

Goat Girl

This week's selection sees EELS at their best, Unknown Mortal Orchestra rocking out, Kylie going country pop, Goat Girl on London life, the Manics coming back strong, and gentle guitar folk from Ultimate Painting and Hop Along

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In albums, country, dance music, electronica, folk, funk, garage, indie, pop, post-punk, rock, soul Tags new releases, albums, EELS, Mark Oliver Everett, Unknown Mortal Orchestra, Ruban Nielson, E Works Records, Jagjaguwar, 4AD, Goat Girl, Rough Trade, Manic Street Preachers, Sony Records, Hop Along, Saddle Creek Records, Ultimate Painting, Bella Union, Kylie Minogue, BMG
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'DRINK' OF THE WEEK

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SNACK OF THE WEEK

Baker's Dozen (+) mini donuts


New Albums …

Featured
Kim Gordon - Play Me album.jpeg
Mar 13, 2026
Kim Gordon: Play Me
Mar 13, 2026

New album: Following 2024’s The Collective, the former Sonic Youth frontwoman’s fourth solo LP continues her extraordinary experimental, innovative journey, moving to more melodic beats shorter tracks, and motorik krautrock-style driven coloured by strange sounds, intense emotions and sharply angled and abstract social commentary

Mar 13, 2026
ELIZA - The Darkening Green.jpeg
Mar 11, 2026
ELIZA: The Darkening Green
Mar 11, 2026

New album: The London artist Eliza Caird (formerly under the mainstream pop moniker Eliza Doolittle) returns with more of the cool, slow, sensual, gentle, sophisticated experimental soul-funk style evolving from her 2022 album A Sky Without Stars, here with particularly polished, silky, stripped back grooves and vocals

Mar 11, 2026
Irreparable Parables by Andrew Wasylyk.jpeg
Mar 11, 2026
Andrew Wasylyk: Irreparable Parables
Mar 11, 2026

New album: The Scottish multi-instrumentalist and composer returns with a new selection of soothing, meditative mix of experimental classical and jazz, but this time joined with six different singers represented by the birds on the album artwork

Mar 11, 2026
waterbaby - Memory Be A Blade.jpeg
Mar 10, 2026
waterbaby: Memory Be A Blade
Mar 10, 2026

New album: A delicate, experimental, understated soulful chamber pop debut by the pure-voiced Stockholm-born singer-songwriter (aka Kendra Egerbladh) in 25-minute, eight-track release of lo-fi, lyrically semi-improvised numbers about heartbreak and self-renewal in a world of gorgeous musical sensations

Mar 10, 2026
Joshua Idehen - I Know You're Hurting ....jpeg
Mar 10, 2026
Joshua Idehen: I know you're hurting, everyone is hurting, everyone is trying, you have got to try
Mar 10, 2026

New album: With a strikingly long title, a euphoric and honest full debut LP by the British-born Nigerian poet, spoken word artist and musician based in Sweden, working with his musical partner Ludvig Parment’s sonic layers, packed pacy dance and hip-hop grooves, clever sampling, slower reflections, and articulate expressions of positivity through the ups and downs of grief and hope

Mar 10, 2026
Atlanta by Gnarls Barkley.jpeg
Mar 10, 2026
Gnarls Barkley: Atlanta
Mar 10, 2026

New album: Finally, after an 18-year gap since their last collaboration in the heady days of the hit Crazy, with the St Elsewhere and The Odd Couple LPs a third and supposedly final album from fabulous singer CeeLo Green and producer and musician aka Brian Burton with a mix of soaring soul, hip-hop, pop and RnB with songs filled with vivid lyrical memories and strong, emotive melodies

Mar 10, 2026
War Child - Help(2).jpeg
Mar 9, 2026
Various: HELP(2) - War Child Records
Mar 9, 2026

New album: Not only a timely and topical milestone charity record following the first in 1995 to help bring aid and wide variety of support to children in war zones around he world, but an impressive double-LP array of stellar British and international talent and powerful, poignant 23 songs from Arctic Monkeys to Young Fathers

Mar 9, 2026
Bonnie Prince Billy - We Are Together Again.jpeg
Mar 9, 2026
Bonnie “Prince” Billy: We Are Together Again
Mar 9, 2026

New album: Just over a year after 2025’s The Purple Bird, but from parallel recording sessions and familiar co-musicians, the veteran Louisville-Kentucky singer-songwriter Will Oldham returns with another collection of exquisite, intimate, gently defiant lo-fi folk to troubled times, an ode to community with a beautiful array of acoustic instruments and his poignant, insightful lyrics and delivery

Mar 9, 2026
deadletter-existence-is-bliss.jpeg
Mar 5, 2026
DEADLETTER: Existence Is Bliss
Mar 5, 2026

New album: This second LP by the South Yorkshire/London six-piece expands their post-punk sound palette with a collection of arresting, thrumming songs, often dark and challenging, with richly exploratory lyrics across dystopian and existential questions, yet despite a climate of difficult, shows how gasping for life’s oxygen is essential

Mar 5, 2026
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Mar 5, 2026
Lala Lala: Heaven 2
Mar 5, 2026

New album: Moving from Chicago to New Mexico, Reykjavík, then London and now Los Angeles, the UK-born artist Lillie West’s experimental indie dream pop is a fascinating release about restless escapism while trying to stay where she is

Mar 5, 2026
Hen's Teeth by Iron & Wine.jpeg
Mar 3, 2026
Iron & Wine: Hen's Teeth
Mar 3, 2026

New album: Timeless, poetic, gentle folk-rock in this eighth solo album by the North Carolina multi-instrumentalist and producer Sam Beam, in warm, tender album with a title that suggests the idea of the impossible yet real, and an earthier, darker, more more tactile companion to his Grammy-nominated 2024 album Light Verse

Mar 3, 2026
Buck Meek - The Mirror 2.jpeg
Mar 3, 2026
Buck Meek: The Mirror
Mar 3, 2026

New album: The Brooklyn-based Texan guitarist of Big Thief returns with his fourth solo LP filled with tender, thoughtful, beautiful folk-country-rock, a tiny splash of analogue synths, joined by bandmate James Krivchenia as producer, Adrianne Lenker on backing vocals, plus guitarist Adam Brisbin and harp player Mary Lattimore

Mar 3, 2026
Nothing's About to Happen to Me by Mitski.jpeg
Mar 1, 2026
Mitski: Nothing’s About To Happen To Me
Mar 1, 2026

New album: Following 2023’s acclaimed The Land Is Inhospitable and So Are We, now an eighth LP of sublime beauty, wit and melancholy and silken vocal tones from the American singer-songwriter, mixing pop, rock, echoes of Laurel Canyon era, and stories and metaphors of love and loss, insecurity, independence and solitude all set at home – and no shortage of cats

Mar 1, 2026
Gorillaz - The Mountain.jpeg
Mar 1, 2026
Gorillaz: The Mountain
Mar 1, 2026

New album: Released with an art book, new games, and extended videos, a multicultural, multifarious and multilingual return for the collective cartoon pop-hip-hop project led by Damon Albarn and Jamie Hewlett, with many intercontinental guest appearances, and a particular Indian musical and visual flavour centred on fictional Himalayan peak as metaphor for life’s journey and illusionary truths

Mar 1, 2026

new songs …

Featured
Hannah Lew album.jpeg
Mar 15, 2026
Song of the Day: Hannah Lew - Sunday
Mar 15, 2026

Song of the Day: An appropriate day to highlight this classy latest single of shimmering 80s-style synth-pop with echoes of OMD, with themes about pain, love and grief from the upcoming debut album by the Richmond, California artist, out on 10 April via Night School Records

Mar 15, 2026
Mei Semones.jpeg
Mar 14, 2026
Song of the Day: Mei Semones - Tooth Fairy (featuring John Roseboro)
Mar 14, 2026

Song of the Day: A charming cross-genre fusion of bossa nova, jazz, folk and chamber pop sung in English and Japanese by the Brooklyn-based American musician with a tale of losing a tooth on the subway and friendship, from the upcoming album Kurage, out 10 April on Bayonet Records

Mar 14, 2026
Robyn - Blow My Mind.jpeg
Mar 13, 2026
Song of the Day: Robyn - Blow My Mind
Mar 13, 2026

Song of the Day: Quirky, sensual electro-pop with a dash of Kraftwerk by the acclaimed Swedish singer, songwriter and producer Robin Miriam Carlsson, in this latest from the upcoming album Sexistential out on 27 March via Konichiwa / Young Records

Mar 13, 2026
Lava La Rue 2 new.jpeg
Mar 12, 2026
Song of the Day: Lava La Rue - Scratches
Mar 12, 2026

Song of the Day: The latest single by the London singer-songwriter is punchy, powerful psychedelic rock number with tearing riffs and lyrics about damage from troubled relationship, abuse and self-harm, from the forthcoming EP Do You Know Everything?, out on BMG

Mar 12, 2026
Alewya - City of Symbols.jpeg
Mar 11, 2026
Song of the Day: Alewya - City of Symbols (featuring eejebee)
Mar 11, 2026

Song of the Day: A stylish fusion of electronica, soul, hip hop and Ethiopian rhythmic influences centring on themes of heritage, family by London singer, songwriter, producer and multidisciplinary artist, with drums from eejebee and guitar from Vraell, heralding from the forthcoming new debut Zero out 22 June via LDN Records / Because Music

Mar 11, 2026
Huarinami - Carried Away.jpeg
Mar 10, 2026
Song of the Day: Huarinami - Carried Away
Mar 10, 2026

Song of the Day: Explosive, stylish, gritty, restless indie-psychedelic punk with angular, angry guitars, driving bass and wonderfully arresting vocals by Pauline Janier (aka Cody Pepper) fronting the French London-based four-piece in this single fuelled by the frustration of big-city life, and heralding their sophomore EP Nothing Happens, due for release on 6 June

Mar 10, 2026
Avalon Emerson - Written Into Changes album.jpeg
Mar 9, 2026
Song of the Day: Avalon Emerson & The Charm - Written into Changes
Mar 9, 2026

Song of the Day: Following the singles Eden and Jupiter and Mars, another stylish, experimental indie synth-pop release by the New York artist with the title track of upcoming second Charm moniker album, out on 20 March via Dead Oceans

Mar 9, 2026
Aldous Harding - One Stop.jpeg
Mar 8, 2026
Song of the Day: Aldous Harding - One Stop
Mar 8, 2026

Song of the Day: An enigmatic, oddly stylish, stripped back, piano-based new experimental folk single by the New Zealand singer-songwriter, namechecking John Cale, and from her upcoming album Train on the Island out May 8 via 4AD

Mar 8, 2026
Max Winter - Candlelight.jpeg
Mar 7, 2026
Song of the Day: Max Winter, Asha Lorenz & Rael - Candlelight
Mar 7, 2026

Song of the Day: A dark, stylish, striking fusion of hip-hop, trip-hop, spoken word, and jazz by the London-based rapper and friends, and the the first single from the collaborative mixtape Like the season!, out on Secret Friend

Mar 7, 2026
SPRINTS - Trickle Down.jpeg
Mar 6, 2026
Song of the Day: SPRINTS - Trickle Down
Mar 6, 2026

Song of the Day: The feisty, ferociously fun Dublin post-punk band return with a punchy, on-point angry new number about the flawed economic term, watching systems fail in slow motion, housing crisis, rising costs, culture wars, climate collapse, and frustratingly being told to stay patient while everything burns

Mar 6, 2026
Jordan Rakei - Easy To Love.jpg
Mar 5, 2026
Song of the Day: Jordan Rakei & Tom McFarland - Easy to Love
Mar 5, 2026

Song of the Day: Elevating, soaring soul with the high vocals of the New Zealand-Australian singer and songwriter joined by one half the British band Jungle, heralding the collaborative EP Between Us, out on 24 April on Fontana Records / Universal Music

Mar 5, 2026
Against the Dying of the Light by José González.jpeg
Mar 4, 2026
Song of the Day: José González - A Perfect Storm
Mar 4, 2026

Song of the Day: A beautiful, delicate, evocative and profound new single about impending Earth disaster by the Swedish indie folk singer-songwriter and acoustic guitarist from Gothenburg, heralding his fifth album Against the Dying of the Light out on 27 March via Imperial Recordings / City Slang

Mar 4, 2026

Word of the week

Featured
Snail on a wall.jpeg
Mar 12, 2026
Word of the week: wallfish
Mar 12, 2026

Word of the week: It sounds like the singing finned picture ornament Big Mouth Billy Bass that became popular in the late 1990s, but this is a much older noun, derived in Somerset, England, pertains to the climbing gastropod that can slowly climb up any surface

Mar 12, 2026
Swordfish.jpg
Feb 25, 2026
Word of the week: xiphias
Feb 25, 2026

Word of the week: Get the point? This is the scientific name for the swordfish, in full Xiphias gladius (from the Greek and Latin for sword), that extraordinary sea creature with the long, pointy bill. But what of it in song?

Feb 25, 2026
Korean musicians in 1971.jpeg
Feb 12, 2026
Word of the week: yanggeum
Feb 12, 2026

Word of the week: A form or hammered dulcimer, this traditional Korean instrument, with a flat and trapezoidal shape, has seven sets of four metal strings hit by thin bamboo stick

Feb 12, 2026
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
Hamlet ad - Gregor Fisher.jpg
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

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