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Match album artwork to the titles below from favourites of 2025 Part Three (in no particular order)
ROSALÍA: LUX
New album: Grandiose, dramatic, passionate, with extraordinary soaring vocals, melodies and string arrangements, multi-lingual lyrics, the London Symphony Orchestra and with guests including Björk, the Catalan superstar’s fourth LP is a fabulous extravaganza, broadly themed around female saints through history, religion, sex and violence
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Joy Crookes: Juniper
New album: With a style that’s sometimes stripped back, but always silky and smoky, the hugely talented, golden-voiced artist from Lambeth of a Bangladeshi and Irish heritage returns with her first LP since the acclaimed 2021 debut Skin, with smart, emotional, classy, beautiful soulful songs about heartbreak and other life struggles
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Tiberius B: NEVERYTHING
New album: After a series of striking singles and EPs, a debut LP of cleverly nuanced experimental pop exploring diametric forces of self and relationships by the London-based artist born as Frank Belcourt, from Cortes Island, BC, Canada, co-produced by Dan Carey and Jamie Neville
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Manic Street Preachers: Critical Thinking
New album: The veteran Welsh rockers’ 15th studio album delivers everything you’d expect - direct lyrics on big social and political themes, huge, surging melodies and powerful choruses, variously wistful, playful, angry, sincere, and even includes a slanted dedication to the Smiths with one of their strongest for years
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Cat Burns: Early Twenties
New album: A strong, sensitive, substantial 17-song debut LP by the 24-year-old south London singer-songwriter who combines a range of pop styles with gospel, R&B and indie with a very candid, personal lyrics
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Berwyn: Who Am I
New album: A candid, uncompromising, starkly personal and powerful rap-folk-R&B LP by the Trinidad-born 28-year-old east Londoner Berwyn Du Bois, who among other emotions, captures his experiences of Britain’s hostile environment immigration policy since arriving in the UK aged 9 in 2005
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Kasabian: Happenings
New album: This eighth LP from the Leicester rockers and second since guitarist Serge Pizzorno took over on vocals from the sacked Tom Meighan edges closer to pop, disco as much as the more distinct psychedelia, but is full of punchy, catchy tunes
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GoGo Penguin: Everything Is Going To Be OK
New album: An evocative, imaginative, cinematic ninth LP by the inventive Manchester experimental jazz trio this time with track ideas first utilising electronica turned into their vibrant acoustic playing of interweaving piano, drums and bass
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Biig Piig aka Jessica Smyth’s first full-length release, Bubblegum
Debut album: Slick, clever, catchy and quirky, this electro-pop mixtape by the Irish artist Jessica Smyth, who has also released songs in Spanish, brims with breathy pomp and superbly tight production
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Joy Crookes’ debut album - Skin
New album: After three EPs, the 23-year-old south Londoner of Irish-Bangladeshi descent launches her debut LP with songs of high quality and consummate performance, joining the likes of Celeste and Arlo Parks as as likely huge soul stars
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Bobby Gillespie and Jehnny Beth: Utopian Ashes
New album: The Primal Scream frontman and former Savages singer collaborate in an unusually mellow set of heartbreak numbers that recall the country rock duos between Gram Parsons and Emmylou Harris
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Michael Kiwanuka – timeless soul
This week’s album roundup includes timeless soul from Michael Kiwanuka, infinite invention from Underworld, catchy country rock from Miranda Lambert and a fine comeback and tribute by the remaining Gang Starr member
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Sudan Archives
This week’s release roundup includes Neil Young back with Crazy Horse, Kanye West plying his trade with gospel, brilliant genre mixes by Sudan Archives and Anna Meredith, and clever youthful pop from Rex Orange County and King Princess
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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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