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Yumi Zouma: No Love Lost To Kindness
New album: A bolder, more strident, indie-rock urgency of style by the New Zealand quartet previously known more for dream pop, particularly front-loading this fifth LP with a pacier, spikier material in their decade-long career
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Courtney Marie Andrews: Valentine
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
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The Cribs: Selling A Vibe
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
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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
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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
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Dove Ellis: Blizzard
New album: An extraordinarily mature, passionate, poetic, and outstandingly powerful debut by the Manchester-based Galway-born singer-songwriter, whose soaring delivery has instant echoes of Jeff Buckley and lyrics that go above and beyond
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Melody's Echo Chamber: Unclouded
New album: A fourth album, here full of delicious uplifting, dreamily chic, psychedelic soul pop by the French musician Melody Prochet, with bright, upbeat, optimistic numbers and a title lifted from a quote by the acclaimed Japanese animator Hayao Miyazaki, about achieving equilibrium
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Devotion & The Black Divine by anaiis
New album: Following a summer Song of the Day - Deus Deus, a review of the autumn release and third LP by the London-based French-Senegalese singer-songwriter of resonantly beautiful, dynamic, sensual soul, gospel, R&B and experimental and chamber pop, with themes of new motherhood, uncertainty, religion, self-love and acceptance
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The Mountain Goats: Through This Fire Across From Peter Balkan
New album: An evocative musical journey of a concept album by the indie-folk band from Claremont, California, fronted by singer-songwriter John Darnielle, based on a dream of his in 2023 about a voyage to a fictional island by the titular captain, charting adventure, wonder and tragedy
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Allie X - Happiness Is Going To Get You
New album: A hugely entertaining, witty, droll, inventive, chamber and synth-pop fourth LP with a goth twist by the charismatic and theatrical Canadian artist Alexandra Hughes, who brings paradox and dark themes through sounds that include string quartet, harpsichord, classical and pure pop piano with killer lyrics
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Painfully uplifting: Austra’s Chin Up Buttercup
New album: This fifth studio LP as Austra by the Canadian classically trained vocalist and composer Katie Stelmanis brings beautiful electronica-pop and dance music, and has a bittersweet ironic title – a caustically witty reference to societal pressure to keep smiling despite a devastating breakup
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Mavis Staples: Sad and Beautiful World
New album: A timelessly classy release by the veteran soul, blues and gospel singer and social activist from the Staples Singers, in a release of wonderfully moving and poignant cover versions, beautifully interpreting works by artists including Tom Waits, Curtis Mayfield, Leonard Cohen, and Gillian Welch
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Stella Donnelly: Love and Fortune
New album: Finely crafted, stripped back musical simplicity combined with complex melancholic emotions mark out this beautiful, poetic, and deeply personal third folk-pop LP by the Australian singer-songwriter reflecting on the past and present
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Picture Parlour: The Parlour
New album: Following last year’s EP Face in the Picture, a fabulously stylish, smart, swaggering glam-rock-pop debut LP by the Manchester-formed, London-based band fronted by the impressively raspy, gritty, vibratro delivery of Liverpudlian vocalist and guitarist Katherine Parlour and distinctive riffs from North Yorkshire-born guitar Ella Risi
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FKA Twigs: EUSEXUA Afterglow
New album: Springing from her much lauded third LP Eusexua, out in January this year, and following a hugely successful and spectacular tour, the innovative British experimental pop artist, dancer and producer extends her palette of ethereal, otherworldly and sensual creations in this new, more carnal, harder, beat-filled parallel release
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Celeste: Woman of Faces
New album: The outstanding British singer returns, a long four years after her acclaimed debut Not Your Muse, with a classy, passionate set of nine, simmering, smoky, rippling dramatic, timeless numbers in which her vocal prowess is magnificently on show on songs playing on the theme of self and identity
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Hatchie: Liquorice
New album: With distinct echoes of Cocteau Twins and The Sundays, the third album from Australian indie pop singer-songwriter Harriette Pilbeam is beautifully awash with dream pop guitar effects and her high, sensual breathy vocals, largely co-written with her partner Joe Agius and produced by Jay Som
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Sorry: COSPLAY
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
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Juana Molina: DOGA
New album: A wondrously mesmeric, clever and quirky eighth album of experimental pop by the Argentinian singer, musician and comedian composed largely of analogue synths, originally from improvisations and recorded over several years in her home studio surrounded by her pets
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The Charlatans: We Are Love
New album: Returning with a first first studio LP since 2017's Different Days, and their 14th overall across 35 years, veterans Tim Burgess, Martin Blunt and co’s latest has that signature sound with Hammond organ, euphoric, engaging melodies, indie syncopations and co-production by Dev Hynes, Fred Macpherson and Stephen Street
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