ILM's Top 77 Albums of 2025

'Ey up me ducks, it's only the blimmin' albums poll, innit?

I am going to be kicking off in about half an hour, and will be doing today's rollout from 77 to 61 - after that, we are expanding our poll team and welcoming Rob into the fold, who will be taking us all the way through to number one. Everyone be nice to him. Once again, big thanks to Moka and seandalai for the back-end work.

I'll add playlists to this post if/when they're offered up.

Youtube Music playlist

Spotify Playlist

Apple Music playlist

Let’s gooooooo!

Hoping to beat my 5/77 in the tracks poll.

woohoo!!

i voted in last year’s albums poll and yet somehow totally managed to miss the rollout for it, not making that mistake this time around!

Dan, me too - but that’s what usually happens for me for these polls!

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77. Avalon Emerson - Perpetual Emotion Machine 157 points - 6 votes

Bandcamp

Review link

Avalon’s return with the Perpetual Emotion Machine EP is an easy switch back to those addicting dance beats she cut her teeth on… It’s a welcome return from her performances on & The Charm, mixing her club past with her vocal present.

what do we think of the Moby tracka?

I liked the Emerson track that placed in the tracks poll better than her more dance/electronic DJ stuff that I've heard. I guess this EP is more in the latter style.

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76. Logic1000 - DJ-Kicks 158 points - 5 votes

Bandcamp

Review link

DJ-Kicks: Logic1000 is a patient, slow-building hour that seeks the feeling of peaceful mornings at home rather than late nights out. The project dips into a startlingly intimate headspace, tracing subtle kinships through a wide variety of downtempo, including exclusives from loved ones and friends.

Dunno this one at all. Listening rn, its very chilled

Can't wait to listen to this. Not familiar but that description is extremely appealing to me.

Awesome image design as always, btw -- Moka? What a treat.

I'm always a bit torn on compilations appearing in these polls - it strikes me as a bit unimaginative? But I'd never want to stop people from voting for what they want to vote for, and honestly I'm sure I'd probably vote for one or two if I thought they were good enough...

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75. Clipse - Let God Sort Em Out 158 points - 7 votes

Apple Music

Review link

The subject matter varies, but Clipse delivers every bar with frigid, biting clarity. The brothers are just as contemplative as they are comedic (“Yellow diamonds look like peepee!”). “MTBTTF” (short for “Mike Tyson Blow to the Face”) proves Clipse is capable of performing old tricks and new tricks, too. The grizzled a capella verse opening, performed by both brothers in separate instances, and Pharrell’s spacious production bring back the feeling of golden-era hip-hop.

It didnt live up to the hype for me

yay, thanks for hosting today emil.y!

I haven't heard the Clipse album but its release did prompt me to listen to their older stuff, which came out when I wasn't at all engaged with rap, so that was cool

I loved three of its tracks.

I've no problem with DJ mixes placing but might feel differently about just a straightforward compilation, I'd be open to arguments either way though (xposts to emil.y).

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74. Sabrina Carpenter - Man's Best Friend 159 points - 7 votes

Apple Music

Review link

One of the coolest parts of Man’s Best Friend is that you don’t have to be a sheets merchant to be in on the joke. The gist isn’t just that people suck and we need them dearly, but that it feels good to talk shit on them, too. “You used to love my ass, now, baby, you won’t see it again” and all of that. Surely you can relate? These songs are a lot of fun. Listening to them, you won’t know whether to laugh, cry, or cum.

Seems surprisingly low!

Voted for 77 and 76 (I don't usually vote for comps but DJ Kicks mixes can often function much like the DJ's mixtape). Do like what I heard of the Clipse but didn't yet get round to the whole thing.

listening to the logic1000 mix now and really enjoying it - not sure why i didn’t get around to it last year, very much limns a certain kind of mood/sound i was receptive to in 2025

i agree with alfred that there are 3/4 great tracks on the clipse album, tho we might not think they're the same ones haha.

pharrell's production was the weak point for me, didn't have the bite of the classic clipse records and laid on the sentimentality way too thick on "the birds don't cry," which should be a powerful moment, not a skippable track.

"so be it" and "fico" are great tho

oof my weighted top spots are gonna get crushed here if the minimum is 7 votes

pharrell's production was the weak point for me, didn't have the bite of the classic clipse records and laid on the sentimentality way too thick on "the birds don't cry,"

My problem too. Pharrell's relative lack of ideas and Pusha's at this point expected DO YOU SEE obviousness sometimes annoyed me.

yes sabrina being this low has made me far less confident for any placements this year lol

Agree with you on "Birds," VC.

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73. Kate NV - Room for the Moon Live 160 points - 5 votes

Bandcamp

Review link

Recorded at one of the only three shows the group ever performed, its story is bittersweet: On one hand, it’s the consummate live album, encapsulating both the precision of the original project and the interplay of a band in peak form, improvising in perfect synchrony through extended jams. On the other hand, it reflects a reality that no longer exists.

I voted for this one - I'd normally be a bit iffy about voting for a live version of an album (see also my remarks about compilations), but this felt pretty different to me. Plus it was my go-to kitchen music for several months, so it felt stupid not to vote for it, it was a big part of my year!

I would not be surprised to see the Kelela live album rank, either

enjoying this, always got a lot of time and love for kate nv but this skipped my radar

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72. Joanne Robertson - Blurrr 161 points - 7 votes

Bandcamp

Review link

The sound of Blurrr might best be likened to the Cocteau Twins calling from inside the house: a lo-fi rendering of the band’s beautiful slurry. Like Elizabeth Fraser, Robertson makes a voice feel much larger than the words it carries, though she isn’t singing with an alien tongue so much as blurring words into tonal brushstrokes.

this is a fantastic record

first of my votes to place. if i'd weighted my ballot this would have been in my top 3 probably, loved spending so much time with it in the autumn

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71. feeo - Goodness 162 points - 4 votes, 1 #1 vote

Bandcamp

Review link

Her songs have gotten still quieter and more minimalist, even as her lyrical and conceptual horizons have ballooned outward. And while her voice remains as stunning as ever, some of the surface-level prettiness of her previous work has burned off, leaving a whiff of charred metal and plastic.

i've enjoyed joanna robinson's work with dean blunt but that album didn't leave much of an impression on me

Quietus Corner

Tbf I enjoyed what I heard from the Micaverse last year (the Lol K record mainly) so I'll give this a go, but I am expecting extremely Cafe Oto things

Man's Best Friend is not anywhere as good as Short and Sweet but very surprised that it only got to number 74. In other words, it almost didn't even make it, that part is shocking.

feeo's my second to place! incredible album

i think my ballot had four ad 93 albums on it and i have a feeling at least one of the other two will place also lol

xp that lol k is very good too tho i didn't hear it til this year

i've enjoyed joanna robinson's work with dean blunt but that album didn't leave much of an impression on me

haven't got round to the joanne robertson record yet but yes, Fuckboy Anthem 4 life

Wait, what's Micaverse? I'm assuming something to do with Micachu but I don't know the connection...

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70. Agriculture - The Spiritual Sound 162 points - 5 votes

Bandcamp

Review link

The Spiritual Sound, while its roots are deeply established in black metal, also encompasses elements of post-hardcore, sludge, shoegaze, thrash, prog, and more. There are riffs of seismic proportions, yet there is also a delicacy to be found among the intensity—both vocally and instrumentally.

feeo was my no. 1, so yeah uh way too low

i did try and like the Agriculture album but the vocals were a hard no from me

well i am either fucked or a lot of stuff i voted for will be included later on

Really happy that Agriculture made it :) The opening track is especially amazing, but the rest of the album is good too.

literally listening to this right now, it's great

Yeah, I think even people who don't care at all for black metal will think the chorus on the first song is cool. It's one of the musical moments of the year for me, and a really cool sound.

they seem like pretty cool people too

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69. Ela Minus - DÍA 162 points - 7 votes

Bandcamp

Review link

In Ela Minus’ DIA, destruction is the heart of the record. The Colombian artist’s second album—a massive sonic expansion from her techno-meets-lofi 2020 debut acts of rebellion—transforms the nightclub into a battleground: a place where she can identify and overcome her own weaknesses to change the world around her.

final track of día, "combat," would've been my no. 1 track of the year had it been nominated. the album is pretty much just as good though

great album, though I had a weird relationship with it this year. initial swoon followed by a long period of second-guessing, then went back to it in December and swooned again

I gave Agriculture a go a little while ago and bounced off it.

Interesting they call themselves a black metal band as it sounds much closer to post-hardcore with some nu-metal and thrash influences. Even some emo/indie sections (which break the spell for me a bit.

Coming back to it now and I can see myself enjoying it - I just need to stop framing it in terms of "this is a bunch of crunchy hipsters getting by on black metal cachet" and more "this is 100% its own thing"

I'm always a bit torn on compilations appearing in these polls - it strikes me as a bit unimaginative?

dj mix =/= comp

and we don't run a best mixes poll

Fair!

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68. Ex Libris - 001/002 164 points - 6 votes, 1 #1 vote

Bandcamp

Review link

Stylistically, they are too unconventional to be called techno or anything else (though even more imperfect, the first word that sprang to mind for me was “illbient,” the short-lived genre tag applied to ambient hip-hop artists like DJ Spooky)… This is experimental music with an unusually physical charge.

The cover looks like somebody had an accident on it ;_;

Hell yeah my first vote to place

Curious who's number 1 this was. Amazing beats and super immersive soundscapes. Production is just razor sharp, but somehow still envelops you like a soft blanket.

oh yeah i liked this too

> i think my ballot had four ad 93 albums on it and i have a feeling at least one of the other two will place also lol

Didn't vote this year but if I had mine would have too. Easily a no-brainer Bandcamp subscription.

i also kind of blew past the ela minus album because it came out so early in the year. didn't wind up voting for it but it's great

for anyone interested, I am adding all of these to a youtube music playlist: https://music.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLblxCtzm7x4qKv7Os4e8Yi1_SfFSxBbMS

I'm still listening to this Logic1000 mix. It's pretty good.

The cover looks like somebody had an accident on it ;_;

― emil.y, Monday, February 2, 2026 6:20 PM (nine minutes ago) bookmarkflaglink

infinity shart

didn't vote for ex libris but it is really good

for anyone interested, I am adding all of these to a youtube music playlist: https://music.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLblxCtzm7x4qKv7Os4e8Yi1_SfFSxBbMS

― silverfish

Brilliant, thank you. I'll add it to the top post.

Agriculture was my first vote to place. I'm not always into hipster BM (I don't like Deafheaven much) but this absolutely brought the songs and the execution

Alright I liked it when Deafheaven did that one straight up shoegaze album, but last year's less so

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67. Neggy Gemmy - She Comes From Nowhere 165 points - 5 votes

Bandcamp

Review link

Her music blends shimmering, high-energy beats with raw, emotional depth, capturing the push and pull between vulnerability and strength… Her world is a handcrafted ecosystem of glitchy beauty, emotional maximalism, and pure sonic intuition that lies at the heart of her sound and her growing cult appeal.

I'm curious for a Brit to elaborate on the Cafe Oto scene, I've just gathered that it's friendly to experimental music and jazz, and that Mica Levi and feeo have both performed and done residencies there (and collaborated?).

feeo guested on the lol k which is members of Mica's band, they're all pretty tight

Cafe Oto is cool as fuck btw, don't listen to anti-experimental-noodling opinions from imago.

how does one pronounce Neggy Gemmy?

feeo guested on the lol k which is members of Mica's band, they're all pretty tight

― imago

Ahhhh, okay.

that whole Neggy Gemmy album is about as close as one can get to early Saint Etienne without being early Saint Etienne. Some of the tracks sound like they were unearthed from the StEt 1991-1994 archives.

how does one pronounce Neggy Gemmy?

― obvious old hat (rob)

Apparently it comes from 'Negative Gemini', so like that but more cutesy.

Cafe Oto is cool as fuck btw, don't listen to anti-experimental-noodling opinions from imago.

― emil.y, Monday, 2 February 2026 18:45 (two minutes ago) bookmarkflaglink

I've probably been there over 10 times in my life tbc :P

Listening to the feeo now, it's warming up nicely

lol thanks emil.y

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TIE 65. aya - hexed! 166 points - 6 votes

Bandcamp

Review link

Synthesizers vaporize and marble and liquify, as if being sculpted from raw materials in real time. Tempos shift without warning. Stray sonic ephemera enters the mix as quickly as it leaves. aya forces us to witness a grotesque metamorphosis, prying our eyes open and never allowing us to avert our gaze from the gristle. She’s here to ensure we have the best bad time imaginable.

worms ^__^

I didn't get around to this one, but I did like im hole so I imagine I probably would like this too. I shall listen to it at some point, I'm sure.

Full Quietus Achieved

there were so many Industrial Queer Pop albums from last year I massively preferred to this, it's a fix I tells ya #justice4salvia

This? Uhh. It's short at least

Had its moments but I fear the feeo has defeated me a bit. Not cut out for the quiet and serious life. Take this as all the recommendation you should, obv

File under: Good but headache

Do the others also have worms?

xxp

They all do

Aya's voice is so charming, enjoyed this a lot. Any opinion on her djing? I see a support for Yellow Swans coming up.

yes wuuuuuurms yes wriggle wriggle

I do apologise, I don't know what's come over me (hehe worm)

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TIE 65. Amaarae - Black Star 166 points - 6 votes

Apple Music

Review link

For an artist who has tapped into diaspora-hopping club styles since 2020’s ‘The Angel You Don’t Know’, ‘BLACK STAR’ is easily Amaarae’s most pointed exercise in high-octane dance music. Liquified momentum courses through a thirteen-track sustained mix of house, techno, baile funk, woven in with homegrown genres from her native Ghana: azonto, hiplife, asorkpor, and highlife.

I was going to say that this was surprisingly low, but I did note that a bunch of people on the tracks poll said they didn't gel with the album as a whole.

The aya cover grosses me out. I tried listening to the album a few weeks ago, but it was so viscerally unpleasant from the start, I filed it under "not for me."

Aya's an incredible dj, and a virtuoso of the DAW imo. Her early releases as LOFT and dance records on her YCO label are all-timers for me. I've only given this one a focused listen once, it's a great record but I just haven't been in the right place for it. It feels like she's increasingly making exactly the music she should be making though. And it gets the most worms award.

(full disclosure, there was a time when we were on the same label, I did a remix and she did album art for something of mine)

So glad to see the Ex Libris album which I discovered around New Years and so was too new for me when I sent in my ballot but is tremendous and deserves to be ranked. Kudos to the #1 voter.

that amaarae album cover is a pretty good visual pun, even without the title spelling it out. hope its not the only ghanaian content in the poll

tried the aya record when it came out and it is not for me.

Amaarae my first to place, 18 on my ballot

was hoping feeo would place higher, but glad to see it on the list--it was my #2. Also voted for Joanne Robertson. As I said in the singles thread, thought the Amaarae album was merely okay even thought "S.M.O." was my #1 single. "ms360" is dope though.

That is probably too low for Amaarae even though I probably view it as a disappointment relative to Fountain Baby. B2B prob my pick of its tracks

wow I think Amaarae and SC are the only ones out of all of these that I have even heard of

i.e. good job ILM

I didn't listen to this album at all, and I'm surprised it is this low

amaarae and sabrina carpenter are appropriately rated here, imo. not shocked that they're this low

they still beat taylor swift though i hope

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64. Kali Uchis - Sincerely, 174 points - 6 votes

Apple Music

Review link

Plush R&B vibes and a cool neo-soul atmosphere… occasionally, the experience mimics time travel, like Uchis is speaking to us from a studio in the 1970s.

When I was prepping this one to post, I thought this was a strange album cover for Kali Uchis... then I realised I was confusing her with Kali Malone.

lol

ILM has its dogged favourites eh

yes? obviously?

okay fine I guess I can give it a listen later lol

I liked this one, but it didn't quite make my ballot

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63. Ichiko Aoba - Luminescent Creatures 175 points - 8 votes

Bandcamp

Review link

The album feels less predictable, more fully-formed, yet somehow also more sublime and intangible than Aoba’s previous work. It seemingly explores every detail of its structures, often verging on becoming psychedelic, even at its most minimalist, without becoming overbearing or gluttonous.

This one just squeaked in at the bottom of my ballot - it is very very lovely, if perhaps not all that exciting.

was on my longlist, beautiful stuff

This one just squeaked in at the bottom of my ballot - it is very very lovely, if perhaps not all that exciting.

― emil.y, Monday, February 2, 2026 2:56 PM (three minutes ago)

I voted for this too thanks to a particularly nice memory of listening to it with a friend on a beautiful day, but otm

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62. Maria Somerville - Luster 177 points - 5 votes

Bandcamp

Review link

Her finely crafted pop-psychedelia conjures a sound that sits somewhere between shoegaze and ambience, where each song is a three-dimensional landscape touched by post-punk, slowcore, and astral-projected hypnagogia… Each song feels like an exploration in setting rather than technique, with motifs that circle back to the sky and its pathways.

I didn't even know she was a musician until this record came out, I only knew her NTS show.

Luminescent Creatures was no Windswept Adan, but still lovely.

TIL she has an NTS show

TIL what NTS is

pvmnic

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61. Men I Trust - Equus Caballus 177 points - 6 votes

Bandcamp

Review link

An undercurrent of wonkiness disguised by the beauty of '80s synth sparkle and Proulx's feather-soft coos, which cryptically allude to love and longing, giving enough lyrical information to heighten the mood without ever stealing the focus. The band are fully playing to their strengths — the guitars thrown subtly askew with pitch modulation, the electronics evoking the rosy nostalgia of a half-remembered John Hughes movie.

xpost Why would I know the nationality of a journalist for the Guardian? The premise of .xls jokes is that I know random info about ILXors, not that I know everything about everyone ever.

― jaymc, Wednesday, August 27, 2008 8:42 AM (seventeen years ago) bookmarkflaglink

That's all from me for today. Tomorrow we hand over to rob. Fortunately I have a terrible memory so I'm hoping I can forget all the placements I saw behind the scenes, and thus follow along with as much awe and surprise as the rest of you.

xpost

Ex Libris was my number 1, just an incredible record. I hadn't really noticed any of his earlier records (as A Made Up Sound or 2562) so this took me completely by surprise.

Great list so far, surprised to have had so many so things I voted for show up so far - Ela Minus (and she was even better live), Joanne Robertson and Logic1000,

Love that Men I Trust record, more than the other one, especially the back half where they hid all the uptempo songs.

That's all from me for today. Tomorrow we hand over to rob. Fortunately I have a terrible memory so I'm hoping I can forget all the placements I saw behind the scenes, and thus follow along with as much awe and surprise as the rest of you.

xpost

― emil.y, Monday, February 2, 2026 3:50 PM (nineteen minutes ago)

lol it is hard figuring out what to post about when you know everything!

a few albums i liked a lot today, none that i voted for

the 'somnolent art-piffle' quotient redoubling year on year lol. okay okay i'll check out some of this stuff

ngl i am mystified by some of the choices today— the Ex Libris record was simply not any better than his other work, which I like but which felt fresh circa 2008. i didn’t like the aya at all.

the feeo and logic1000 records i will have to check out.

any way we can get a rundown of those first 17, emil.y or rob?

a few albums i liked a lot today, none that i voted for

Yeah, I don't imagine you'll like the Ichiko Aoba much, but try it while lying on the floor thinking baout things.

xp to imago

any way we can get a rundown of those first 17, emil.y or rob?

oops I knew I was forgetting something! Hang on...

Actually despite my previous Aoba misgivings someone submitted Luciferine to the ILX Music League and I quite liked it, but it seems like that is a consensus better track

Recap!

61 Men I Trust - Equus Caballus
62 Maria Somerville - Luster
63 Ichiko Aoba - Luminescent Creatures
64 Kali Uchis - Sincerely,
65 Amaarae - Black Star
65 aya - hexed!
67 Neggy Gemmy - She Comes From Nowhere
68 Ex Libris - 001/002
69 Ela Minus - DÍA
70 Agriculture - The Spiritual Sound
71 feeo - Goodness
72 Joanne Robertson - Blurrr
73 Kate NV - Room for the Moon Live
74 Sabrina Carpenter - Man's Best Friend
75 Clipse - Let God Sort Em Out
76 Logic1000 - DJ-Kicks
77 Avalon Emerson - Perpetual Emotion Machine

I didn’t like the new record as much as Windswept Adan, made little impression on me tbh

thanks emil.y!!

"Flag" is my fave track on the Aoba album.

I like Kali Uchis and loved her Spanish album released in 2024 but this new one turned out too much of a vibe mood.

dia, aoba, and agriculture all too low imo. side 2 of agriculture is immense

imago, the Ela Minus isn't somnolent, though I have no idea if you'll like it. tempted to tell you to start with "I WANT TO BE BETTER" first, but jokes aside maybe try ONWARDS and then start at the beginning if you're intrigued

surprised there wasn't more love for the Clipse album. maybe i enjoyed it so much because I came into with somewhat lowered expectations.

Some of this Logic1000 DJ-Kicks reminds me a lot of the Mono No Aware compilation, e.g., "under the sun, beneath the rainfall."

I voted for Clipse, albeit low. I think it's solid with some real standouts, and having solid Clipse is solid! I know Pharrell's their guy, but if they make another album I'd love for them to work with a bunch of producers. Maria Somerville is really nice and could have made my ballot if I'd listened to it more. Joanne Robertson likewise, that one didn't quite stick for me even though I liked it.

That Kate NV album sounds cool, I need to listen it. Right after I get through this Ex Libris, which is also very nice.

The Ex Libris was a nice discovery today

side 2 of agriculture is immense

Co-sign this. I would suggest sampling a bit of both sides as there is a lot of stylistic variation.

Of today's stretch I only voted for feeo (an astonishing album - like Hannah Peel's Awake But Always Dreaming if it had a more pronounced R&B golden thread twining through it) but I either feel very fondly towards everything else (Logic1000, Avalon Emerson, Sabrina Carpenter, Kate NV, Men I Trust, Amaarae, Kali Uchis, Joanne Robertson, Ela Minus) or very curious to hear it. I enjoyed the Clipse album when I listened to it but enjoyed the Tiny Desk live set much more.

This one just squeaked in at the bottom of my ballot - it is very very lovely, if perhaps not all that exciting.

― emil.y, Monday, February 2, 2026 7:56 PM (two hours ago)

Ditto - I think the last one was better but last year's vibes were more Aoba-expedient (though I think I could have as easily voted for the Park Jiha or Mercury Fèng albums).

xpost

like Hannah Peel's Awake But Always Dreaming if it had a more pronounced R&B golden thread twining through it)

Hold up

Ok everything I’ve read about the feeo album is telling me I need to hear it now.

i voted for kate nv & ichiko aoba

room for the moon live is absolutely incredible. i was lukewarm on the original album but the live renditions are utterly transformative, her band are so good

i guess i have to listen to the feeo album again because i don't remember it reminding me of awake but always dreaming at all

I don't think I'd go so far as the Hannah Peel comp, but the feeo album is indeed amazing. My ballot was too stacked to include it.

I don't mean they literally sound alike - they're coming from quite different starting points stylistically - but their vibe reminds me of one another

Ok, on first listen this feeo album is somewhere in between minblowing and boring.

But yeah half of it is really doing it for me.

it also has a similar vibe to the Nearly God album imho

Nice start to the roll-out. Neggy Gemmy has been my most played album over the last month, so I ended up bumping it up my list at the very last minute. It's just about impossible for me to resist that blatant Saint Etienne influence. She does it so well.

I loved the Kali Uchis album and even though I can understand some people missing the variety of her last few, it became my favourite of hers since Isolation. I needed something comforting last year and that one delivered.

I was very late to Ichiko Aoba. This was the album that made me a fan so I do actually prefer it to Windswept Adan. I found it a bit more instant and again, like Kali Uchis it was a very comforting listen. I still need to go back and hear more of her previous work.

I need to spend more time with the Maria Somerville album. All the descriptions made me think I would love it, but nothing stuck.

The Amaarae album was one of the biggest disappointments of the year for me. I just couldn't get into it at all and I loved Fountain Baby. Surprised it was this low though.

I voted for these

62 Maria Somerville - Luster
64 Kali Uchis - Sincerely,
74 Sabrina Carpenter - Man's Best Friend

which is a good start compared to where I was in tracks.

I think the last one was better but last year's vibes were more Aoba-expedient (though I think I could have as easily voted for the Park Jiha or Mercury Fèng albums).

I voted for Park Jiha! Could work for lying on the floor too.

I haven't heard most of the rest but based on these quotes I also have some urgent research to do

Some of this Logic1000 DJ-Kicks reminds me a lot of the Mono No Aware compilation, e.g., "under the sun, beneath the rainfall."

like Hannah Peel's Awake But Always Dreaming if it had a more pronounced R&B golden thread twining through it

I like the Aoba, did not vote it tho

Maria Somerville was high on my ballot, didn't expect to see it here, great stuff. Poss vaguely backloaded in that initially it only fully clicked for me during the last three tracks, and then the rest followed - threaded with foreboding rather than 'merely' new age wafting.

Loads of things showing up so far which were late cuts from my list so glad to see them here. Did also vote for Logic1000 (incredibly comforting mid-90s vague Fila Brazillia vibes to the whole mix) and Aoba (twirlingly vespertine)

Didn't see a Spotify playlist above so here's one:

ILM Top 77 Albums of 2025

I was underwhelmed by the Uchis initially, but was gradually drawn in (over time, and also to an extent in each run-through).

At one point I opened her ILM thread to post a musing on whether it was just me, or if the melodies and counter-melodies on "Lose My Cool" weren't totally Liz Fraser. Then I dropped it, thinking it would be myopic to view everything in the light of my own 80s touchstones. And then I read in the same thread that the Cocteaus had indeed been a pattern for some stuff on the album. :)

just set a new rowing machine personal best to the ela minus

all really good but ONWARDS/AND/UPWARDS fantastic yeah

this Kali Uchis, which I've somehow gotten through about 2/3 of is however...hush my mouth but...

paris strother really REALLY needs to get her skates on and drop something if this is what we're tiding ourselves over with

This Men I Trust album is ok but the standout track is clearly the one that finished 19th in our 2022 poll

Maria Somerville album proving that a Pitchfork BNM truly can get you places, on here at least :P

Will get to those vaunted last three tracks though, just in case something beyond 'vaguely yearning pablum' erupts

Enjoying the Avalon Emerson EP right now and will check out their new album. It's a band I have not really known where to put so far. They're a hotpot of diverse influences I like but I can't quite put a finger on their identity, but right now I feel like it doesn't matter too much.

And my 26th vote of confidence for the delightful color matching Moka, cheers

I said band and they, but it's just her I see. Maybe that's the beginning of my misrepresentation.

Yeah, just in case you haven't been following her closely, the Avalon Emerson & The Charm stuff is an indie-leaning band project that she does in collaboration with Bullion and others, all her own stuff though is purely house and techno. she also has a pretty successful DJ career too

The new album (out in March) is the second as Avalon Emerson & the Charm which is her with an actual band (put together by producer - and ILM fave - Nathan 'Bullion' Jenkins)

The EP which placed yesterday is just her and is more club focused xp

Violet finally manages some decent music, but unfortunately rolls out some of the album's most vacuous lyrics yet. You invited me back, you demanded this

Avalon's had a few tracks in the ILM tracks poll before too, definitely 'The Frontier' (2016) and 'One More Flourescent Rush' (2017 - same year that her new bandmate Bullion made the list with 'Blue Pedro'), both of those tunes still stand up pretty well imo

Good morning! I'll be continuing with the roll-out of ILM's 77 favourite albums of somnolent art-piffle made by 21 year olds who are also djs in a few minutes.

In the meantime, big thanks to emil.y for getting us started yesterday!

:D let the new round of fun begin

definitely here for the art piffle, bring it on

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60. Brìghde Chaimbeul - Sunwise 178 points - 5 votes

Bandcamp

Review link

By uniting an elevated level of forcefulness with minimalism, Sunwise is -- manifestly -- noteworthy. While repeated listens don’t decrease the impact, it's not all about the intensity. There are contrasts, like that of day giving way to night, like that of entering a warm interior after being blasted by wind. This many layered album is the product of a deft creativity: a distinctive vision which marks out Brìghde Chaimbeul as a singular sonic auteur.

argh had a feeling I'd get something wrong, stay tuned for image....

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ok, catching up on yesterday's albums, but this ex_libris album is amazing

Men I Trust is some strangerthingscore alright but the execution is fairly convincing, not bad at all

Oh man this Sunwise is giving pristine piffle vibes, excited to get stuck in

wow, this one's a pretty unexpected trad-ish folk incursion

Sunwise was maybe the best album I discovered via ILM last year. Absolutely delighted to see it this high up.

My testament for this is: if you'd asked me the day before I heard this what my most bad and hated instrument was, I would likely have said "bagpipes." Chaimbeul is playing the small pipes, which have a somewhat different sound, but still this was a moment of deep religious conversion for me

If this is piffle, then I definitely don't know what that means!

unclear if Chaimbeul also DJs though I'd be a little surprised

Oh I was just judging on the writeup, all writeups are yappy nonsense tbf lol

jigs, reels, piffles and polkas

I had never heard of this one before, but I like folk, sounds good to me.

Also I like bagpipes! But then I do like annoying music a lot.

oh yeah this one is definitely annoying :)

Rob - sent you an email about the images, do you want me to use mod powers and add the image to your post? I am about to add in that spotify playlist to the OP so got my mod hat on right now.

ah I just saw that, yes please do edit the post! and many thanks for the advice, I figured out the problem but your solution sounds faster

sunwise is awesome and not at all annoying!!

that's just a running joke from the tracks rundown! but yes ftr Sunwise isn't annoying, and has been the perfect soundtrack for walking around in this particularly brutal Canadian winter

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59. keiyAa - hooke's law 180 points - 5 votes

Bandcamp

Qobuz

Review link

She's still creating avant-R&B infused with jazz, hip-hop, and experimental electronic music suited for both movement and brown study, but she's no longer concerned with impressing her inspirations, rendering this set even more unique. It's a pileup of ideas that somehow never resembles a mess.

lol i know, i just woke up and was feeling defensive :P very glad to see it place tho, my 3rd vote overall to do so. learned about it/her via a mention on the rolling best albums 2025 thread

keiyaa is my first vote to place. way too low, obviously

oh this is WAY too low. this was like my #5 or something. incredible album

the Men I Trust was really good in the end btw yeah

but yeah keiyaa. first half is fantastic, second half is cosmic

both of you liking this is pretty persuasive, I will have to save this one for later

it’s great i wish i had spent more time with it last year

anti-landlord songs are my favourite micro-genre, so I'm looking forward to hearing the rest

anti-landlord songs are my favourite micro-genre

Oh man, me & imago can recommend you a whole album of this...

omg please do

ok sorry got distracted by keiyAa, this is awesome

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58. Horsegirl - Phonetics On and On 180 points - 8 votes, 1 #1 vote

Bandcamp

Qobuz

Review link

Equal parts pensive and dreamy, minimal yet expansive, Phonetics On and On is the unapologetic sound of confident experimenting, the product of three musicians years ahead of their respective ages. Horsegirl rule, and so does this record.

well I hope the lack of Horsegirl posts wasn't because no one likes the production

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57. Cate Le Bon - Michelangelo Dying 181 points - 6 votes

Bandcamp

Review link

On Le Bon’s seventh album, murky synthesizers and sweeping saxophones landscape her neo-psychedelic, modernist universe, and her voice gets closer to the listener than ever before. . . . It might sound heavy, but there’s a cheeky quality to Le Bon’s abstractions that transform her untraditional lyrics into something more accessible. After all, what is truly more relatable or humbling than a break-up? It’s a lyrical signature that lands somewhere within the realms of Nico’s crypticism, Kevin Ayers’ morbid playfulness, and, faintly, the overall absurdism of Yoko Ono, minus the yodeling. But on Michelangelo Dying, Le Bon’s words are more tangible than ever.

I thought the Horsegirl on the tracks poll was ok but nothing special so interested to see if the album is better xp

Sunwise turns out to be pretty compelling stuff. Reminding me a bit of like idk Ground Zero or something

It doesn't sound anything remotely like that writeup

This keiyAa is the good stuff though

It doesn't sound anything remotely like that writeup

― imago, Tuesday, February 3, 2026 10:29 AM (one minute ago)

I think I get what it's trying to say, but it doesn't tell you anything at all about how it actually sounds -- it's weirdly abstract for an album that is quite visceral

"bog an lochan" from the brigdhe album is a fucking banger

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56. Sofia Kourtesis - Volver 182 points - 6 votes

Bandcamp

Review link

Melodically mischievous and vibrantly produced, Volver transforms protest anthems by replacing angst with uplift, as its vivid colors radiate solidarity in this near-perfect tribute to the fearless spirit of the marginalized communities who inspired it.

Loved Volver and voted for it despite its relative slightness. A nice follow-up to Madres, looking forward to her next full-length.

Like their first album, I thought this Horsegirl album was good but it was mostly a few tracks I kept returning to. When they fall below a certain bpm my attention wanders.

I will definitely check out that keiyaA album, 'Take It' is great even though it took way too long to look up who played drums on it (Savanah Harris, if you believe genius.com). Seriously, if you don't even put your album credits on bandcamp or the record label site, what are we even doing.

I voted for two tracks off Volver so didn't have it on my albums ballot, but as Tim F said it really does work as an complete project

The Cate Le Bon was my #2; it seemed to get a bit lost compared to her two prev albums but is kind of densely rapturous, stoically knitting itself back together as it plays. It is SO great

I didn't vote for the Horsegirl album but it is very nice in that it does essentially sound like an earlier CLB album

ha maybe that's why i like the horsegirl album, i like cate le bon but couldn't get into the new album. it felt very samey and overly synthy

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55. Saint Etienne - International 183 points - 7 votes

Bandcamp

Review link

A fitting climax to their brilliant career, International reaffirms Saint Etienne’s propensity for crafting songs designed to stimulate our senses and illuminate our understanding of -- and appreciation for -- life and love. For thirty-five years, they have never wavered in their steadfast conviction that pop music possesses a unique power to enrich our souls, and few artists have manifested this passion as exquisitely and evocatively through their music as Saint Etienne have.

Opening track of the CLB might be the most convinced I've ever been by her. Hanging out with Dry Cleaning clearly having an effect ;)

ah yes the semiannual reminder that saint etienne is still making new albums

don't mind me, i'll just be listening to good humor for the 100th time

tbf it's supposedly their final album

The Nick Heyward duet is good!

St Et for life tho tbh I didn’t vote for this

Cate tho I did vote for. Going through her entire back catalog with fresh ears was one of my biggest musical pleasures of 2025

second half of good humor is one of the best side bs of the 90s imo

a st etienne album not making the ilm poll would be like u2 missing out on the rolling stone list

Oddly enough I'm very much looking forward to listening to that bagpipe album.

Nice to see Volver place. I wanted so much to like the keiyAa record but just couldn't connect with it for some reason

wtf this is CLB's best easily

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54. Juana Molina - DOGA 188 points - 7 votes

Bandcamp

Review link

It’s been eight long years since Juana Molina’s last full-length album; in that time the world has lurched through pandemics, political storms, climate chaos and an unnerving tech boom, yet Juana Molina’s sonic universe seems to exist solely to herself and has only become more refined since Halo. DOGA distils everything that makes Juana Molina’s work so distinctive, then pushes it further into her own private terrain. The record feels untraceable in its influences, built from drifting melodies, ghostly textures and small, intentional movements that unfold through repetition and restraint.

Drifting melodies? Ghostly textures? Repetition and restraint? Here we GO

damn, i totally forgot to listen to this one

I quite liked JM back in the 00s but hadn't checked this out until this morning. I thought it was pretty promising, more idiosyncratic than those adjectives make it sound maybe, though it did strike me as a very interior album

I never remember much after listening to a Juana Molina album but I sure do love listening to them.

Idg Saint Etienne, sorry.

That album art made me lol. Did not even know Molina put out a new record this year, so look forward to hearing this.

I'm 0/24 in this poll but am enjoying the many discoveries.

Yes incredible album cover, obv

Juana Molina strikes me as having both completely mastered her style and preserved its uniqueness, and this album ranks among her best works imo. Interior yes, ephemeral maybe, but very compelling.

sunwise is sounding awesome, good job ilm.

I voted for the Horsegirl album. My first to appear. I thought it was slight at first but it worked its charms on me. "Switch Over" on of my fave tunes of the year.

doga is her best album. just missed the weighted portion of my ballot

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53. Nourished By Time - The Passionate Ones 191 points - 7 votes

Bandcamp

Review link

On Marcus Brown’s second album, each movement is staggeringly inventive in its own right, even as it’s whizzing by you. His interrogations of art, relationships, and late-stage capitalism make it his most considered, elaborate expression yet.

shockingly low wtf

very quickly learning that Bandcamp and all current reviewers in general are very keen to describe any art pop to be some sort of nebulous delicate gruel, even when it has quite a few things going on (as I'm finding with the DOGA opening track)

The Passionate Ones was good, maybe even very good, but I feel like the expectation was for a towering masterpiece, and it clearly wasn't that (in most eyes), so it's a victim of the previous successes and those expectations imo

^^ kinda agree with this

Wait she's 63?! Holy shit, this is so fresh tho

her first album was released in 1996

wasn't that also following a reasonably successful career as a comedian?

she tried w/music at first, couldn't get traction, and turned to TV, but went back to music after realizing she needed to follow her true calling.

passionate ones was my #3

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52. Darkside - Nothing 193 points - 8 votes, 1 #1 vote

Bandcamp

Review link

Guided by the idea of wiping the slate clean, Nicolás Jaar and Dave Harrington’s third album is a raw, surprisingly funky, desperately hopeful response to the chaos of the 2020s.

oooh wow another too low one

the best darkside album by far imo

I thought it was one step down from Psychic and Spiral, still solid though. It's always a little disappointing when an album has one clear highlight.

I'm curious about this one. I liked Psychic a lot when it came out but found a little corny when I revisited it somewhat recently. The track that placed on the other poll was pretty interesting though

I haven't ever given Nourished by Time enough uh time, will try to rectify that soon

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51. Wednesday - Bleeds 196 points - 7 votes

Bandcamp

Review link

Recorded with long-time collaborator Alex Farrar in Wednesday’s home base of Asheville, Bleeds is both more self-contained and ambitious than its predecessor. It’s as though Hartzman has challenged herself to hang the same number of ideas and flashes of gnarly imagery on something with a slighter frame.

Wow, Darkside def too low, this is the first one of theirs I've truly loved.

Probably my AOTY

It's hard to identify why/whether one Juana Molina album might get more traction (here or elsewhere) than another but there's nothing inaccessible about Doga at all and it is a gorgeous spritz that I didn't think would place so kudos ILM

The first Wednesday album to disappoint me. That yarl and the Important Lyrics turned me off for once.

Juana Molina the only vote of mine to place today - was very pleasantly surprised by it, after having only a passing interest in her career ~15 years ago. I wrote somewhere else about 'Siestas ahi' that it was possibly the weirdest song on my entire tracks ballot, despite on the surface being very simple and chilled out and just nice.

I had to pause it for a bit but eager to return, those first few tracks were great. I knew you'd have been a fan!

anti-landlord songs are my favourite micro-genre

Oh man, me & imago can recommend you a whole album of this...

― emil.y, Tuesday, 3 February 2026 14:56 (two hours ago)

omg please do

― obvious old hat (rob), Tuesday, 3 February 2026 14:57 (two hours ago)

Sorry, had to do other stuff for a bit but I was referring here to Water Gun Water Gun Sky Attack's album from last year, entitled Six Tenants Killing One Home Owner Six Times Over. I don't even know if imago voted for it or if it was just me as a deeply lonely voter, so I'm not expecting to see it here (and I'm not going be naughty and check - I managed to avoid seeing too much of the middle of the results so I could have some surprises).

(it was my #3)

(and yeah, cosign. also it's a Montreal album haha)

hoo boy a few seconds into the darkside album and are those vocals all over it? yick.

i like nourished by time. i like wednesday. do not get juana molina at all. i've given up hope for an actual metal album placing. or kg&lw which is the only thing-not-placing that makes me want to scream "what is wrong with you people"

xp oh really? jfc my embarrassing streak of only hearing about local music on ILM continues

and thanks emily

Yess, high five! It was my #2, so at least it will have a high enthusiasm rating.

xxp

"elderberry wine" has a great chorus melody, the rest of the wednesday album left me cold

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50. Natural Information Society & Bitchin Bajas - Totality 196 points - 8 votes

Bandcamp

Qobuz

Review link (written by ilx's very own Whiney)

Another sublime slab from two bands seemingly incapable of making a bad record, Totality doesn’t really play to either bands’ strengths as of late. National Information Society mostly keep cool, instead of firing up a perpetual-motion machine for head-boggling grooves. Bitchin Bajas remain flame-keepers of the sphere where Teutonic poise meets new-age fuzzies, but here they act as patient collaborators instead of scene-stealing spacemen. Still, this seven-headed hydra of head music remains a great ambassador of vibes.

Poll-runner note: this was only credited to Bitchin Bajas on the nominations list; I've added Natural Information Society since this is definitely a dual album.

the root of that note: I voted for this thinking it was the Bitchin Bajas' Inland See lol. oh well, this is good too and I really love this whole Chicago scene

Too high ;)

lmao

Ha, I've done something similar, rob: in one film poll I voted for a film I'd never seen b/c I confused it with another one, the worst thing is the titles weren't even that close. Just a big old brain fart.

I like Bitchin Bajas a ton but didn't love this one.

good record

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49. Call Super - A Rhythm Protects One 202 points - 7 votes

Bandcamp

Review link

Disguised by a fistful of new aliases, the London DJ-producer pays homage to the classic mix CD as a cornerstone of dance-music culture—and a showcase for the artist’s individual style to flourish.

I didn't realize this *wasn't* a mix until I read that blurb

sunwise 🙏🏻

the root of that note: I voted for this thinking it was the Bitchin Bajas' Inland See lol. oh well, this is good too and I really love this whole Chicago scene

― obvious old hat (rob), 3. februar 2026 18:58 (twenty-two minutes ago) bookmarkflaglink

Yeah, I did too. Inland Sea wasn't even nominated?

I straight up cannot believe how good DOGA is

if you think about it, a 63 year old old ex-comedian is like three 21 year olds who are also djs, but funnier

ok the first track on Darkside sounding more like Pole than Pink Floyd is a good-ass portent

Inland Sea wasn't even nominated?

― Frederik B, Tuesday, February 3, 2026 1:23 PM (ten minutes ago)

yeah apparently not, oops

if you think about it, a 63 year old old ex-comedian is like three 21 year olds who are also djs, but funnier

― Reggaeton Sax (NickB), Tuesday, February 3, 2026 6:32 PM (three minutes ago) bookmarkflaglink

har har

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48. Adrianne Lenker - Live at Revolution Hall 204 points - 6 votes

Bandcamp

Qobuz

Review link

Live albums may be of another time, but ‘Live At Revolution Hall’ shows us that those primal instincts that are so often bound together by music still exist in all of us which, given the right circumstance and focus point, can be excavated time and time again.

no more "DJ/producer" entries plz ty

good luck with that

totality was the better bitchin bajas album anyways

At leat half of Inland Sea made the track poll. But still a bit sad :(

Live at Revolution Hall was very good as well, btw. Better than the Big Thief album.

Somehow never listened to this Adrianne Lenker live record despite seeing her a year ago and having a magical night. Will rectify this afternoon.

Wednesday record is the first of mine to place. I like its hot/cold track arrangement and energy.

At leat half of Inland Sea made the track poll. But still a bit sad :(

seemed weird at the time that people didn't just vote for the album instead

ha yeah I apologize for complaining about that since it wasn't actually possible

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47. Wolf Alice - The Clearing 205 points - 8 votes

Qobuz

Review link

Ending their longest musical drought to date with their fourth studio album, The Clearing, the London four-piece are undeniably at the most blazing and ferocious point they have ever been, with singer Ellie Rowsell most fiercely at the helm.

Good album. The whole '70s vibe doesn't feel like a gimmick; it totally works for them.

Live at Revolution Hall was very good as well, btw. Better than the Big Thief album.

― Frederik B, Tuesday, February 3, 2026 12:52 PM (fifteen minutes ago) bookmarkflaglink

agree with this, it got a huge amount of listen time from me this past year

or kg&lw which is the only thing-not-placing that makes me want to scream "what is wrong with you people"

i'm trying to figure out what this stands for and drawing a blank

this just barely missed my ballot (i think because i voted “white horses” for tracks… best rock song of the year not made by ratboys). at times effortful but mostly effortlessly lovely pivot into ‘70s soft rock. mattered so much to me this year

King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard, they've had various other albums hit the albums poll over the years, but I think they have to lean more into the hard rock side to get the board excited

oh right! lol i know map is a fan. i have only heard one album of theirs (from a few years back)

legit can’t believe i have only had two albums place so far, what a weird year.

never listened to WA - just always assumed they were landfill indie. will give this one a try

king gizzard continue to be mentally filed in my ‘will never listen, name is simply too bad’. prob my loss but we all have our prejudices

Good album. The whole '70s vibe doesn't feel like a gimmick; it totally works for them.

― Venus of Willendorf on Golf (jaymc), Tuesday, February 3, 2026 2:08 PM (eleven minutes ago)

A friend sent me a song off this to check out, and I sent him back a video of Heart doing "Barracuda" live. I have not actually heard this in full though

I went back to the Juana Molina and it really is fantastic, good job voters

no more "DJ/producer" entries plz ty

Does this just mean no electronic/dance music? Because the only way to make money after making the music is to DJ, unfortunately (or starting a band, in some cases).

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46. Titanic - HAGEN 208 points - 8 votes

Bandcamp

Review link

On the latter’s superb 2023 debut, Vidrio, they pioneered a genre-agnosticism that veered from squealing free-jazz saxophone to hammering drum grooves and aggressively processed cello, always anchored in Fratti’s soaring falsetto. It heralded the arrival of a group who embraced experimentation as much as earwormy melodies. On Hagen, the duo double down on their convictions, complementing their unusual arrangements with a newfound pop shimmer.

I only listened to the Call Super record once or twice (and was impressed!) but actually making all the music for your DJ mix under different aliases is very cool.

this was a good one, didn't think it made much of an impression here

love mabe f, cool that this placed. i think i cut this from my ballot last minute tho

wait - this is a mabe fratti thing?

Jordan I was being somewhat tongue-in-cheek about the DJ/producer thing but it def pushes my rockist buttons to see multiple artists here referred to that way

yeah, it's her and héctor tosta (aka i. la católica) xp

dang, i didn't hear about it at all

Voted for Wolf Alice -- phenomenal record; I hear more of a maturation than a pivot. Just love when she lets her hair down like on the chorus of "Bloom Baby Bloom": I'm so sick and tired of trying to play it hard.

Didn't have room for HAGEN but did vote for "Te tragaste el chicle" and really like how distinctive it is as a fan of Mabe Fratti's other work.

an idle thought while prepping future posts: at what point did putting text on album covers become so exceptional?

Was it around the time they stopped using VO for movie trailers?

voted for hagen, lots of incredible textures and some grand drama. especially on "la dueña" which is just stunning

can't lie, the cover art and title of Hagen is gving me incredibly strong 90s Steve Lamacq evening sessions vibes, very 4th tier tracksuit top and trainers band with a name that sounds like a knock-off cigarette brand. definitely going on the to-listen list though

When the covers became tiny icons on a phone, and the streaming app showed the artist/album anyway, I think.

xp maybe! though that seems more purely a way to not pay for voiceover actors

the obvious answer is that text size became a problem with itunes, streaming, phones. but still it's a striking change from the past...and confusing when you're worrying about posting the wrong image

yes exactly Jordan, though I feel like it took a little while for it to become this ubiquitous — but maybe I just haven't looked at a whole bunch of album covers at once in a long time

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45. Smerz - Big City Life 211 points - 7 votes

Bandcamp

Review link

‘Big city life’ captures the chaos and wonder of city living with precision and dynamism. Flitting between the glamorous and raw, the album thrives on contradiction, delighting in camp spectacle and coarse truths. Dancing amidst this ambiguity, Smerz’s allure, vulnerability, and dry humour makes this darkly dazzling record a potent reflection of cosmopolitan womanhood.

too low

you smerz you lerz

life life life life life life life life

Smerzbow

can't lie, the cover art and title of Hagen is gving me incredibly strong 90s Steve Lamacq evening sessions vibes, very 4th tier tracksuit top and trainers band with a name that sounds like a knock-off cigarette brand

Now you've said it I can't unsee it, but it's significantly not this! Voted Hagen high, this and the prev Titanic record are poss the most approachable and capering in the ace Mabe oeuvre

Call Super is in general also wildly consistent and too easy to take for granted; whenever the queasy clarinet lurches into view it is twinkling euphoria

You don't need text on an album cover when the name on the album is right next to the cover on every streaming service. So the smartest thing to do is to try and make the image as striking and recognizable as possible. It won't be a problem until someone is trying to vote for the album in some kind of poll, and votes for the wrong one, because they've always just thought of your album as 'the one with the black background and a multicolored glass statue'.

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44. Oneohtrix Point Never - Tranquilizer 216 points - 8 votes

Bandcamp

Review link

Drawing on a cache of commercial sample CDs, Daniel Lopatin assembles an impossibly dense and transportive electronic album that takes impermanence as its inspiration.

i liked tranquilizer but the steve hauschildt album is a much better electronic / ambient album in a similar vein imho

OPN 15th on my list. i was skeptical given how much i loathed his last record but this was lovely, particularly on late drives

titanic and 0pn another two cuts from the longlist, both still on repeat

Damn, too low! My #2, best thing he's done in like a decade.

haven't kept up with OPN in a while but listening to this now for the first time and really liking it

Didn't make my list but agree this is good stuff. I strongly prefer restrained ambient 0PN to his glitchier more experimental stuff.

high on my list, agree it's his best for a long time

high on my list, agree it's his best for a long time

duh

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43. Orcutt Shelley Miller - s/t 218 points - 7 votes

Bandcamp

Review link

Amid a monumental string of solo records, the guitarist forms a power trio that marches delightfully toward psychedelic oblivion.

oh cool!

yes, very good. Looking forward to seeing them live soon.

this didn’t make my cut only because i can only listen to it when i am in a very very particular mood, which is true for most Orcutt project, ime. i do like it quite a bit tho

(also my partner hates this stuff so can never listen to it in the car with him)

cool album

Surprised Wednesday wasn’t higher!

That and Clipse and Orcutt Shelley Miller (seeing ‘em live next month) are my votes to place so far.

bill orcutt is maybe my favorite guitarist but orcutt shelley miller was way too jammy for me

yayyy. excited to see orcutt shelley miller make it! very awesome. didnt realize how much I wanted an orcutt guitar driven album until I heard it. love his solo stuff but this was a lot of fun

I hear you like power trios

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42. Oren Ambarchi/Johan Berthling/Andreas Werliin - Ghosted III 219 points - 9 votes

Bandcamp

Qobuz

Review link

Like its predecessors, Ghosted III is a rolling affair, all circular grooves and spectral riffs, with Werliin and Berthling’s pulsing sway providing the motor that anchors, animates, and pulls along the broad palette of effervescent sounds that Ambarchi extracts from his guitar. The opening piece, ‘Yek’, is a case in point. Its lovely progressions invite the soft, barely-there patter of percussion and undulating bass lines to expand into a billowing bubble, while guitar licks grow and glow like jellyfish rising to the surface, then contract into sparse, pointillist shapes.

we have reached the Tangled Beard phase of proceedings

51 year old men who are also classically trained musos

Too low, I really thought Ghosted III would bring together different ILM interzones and be a consensus pick

I voted for this and think it's really beautiful. Difficult to defend against an imago attack though as it's undeniably groove-based, "minimalist" I guess, lushly detailed, pointillist

almost certainly not placing but should be is the great grandpa album, they put out an amazing music video today and i'm like damn, that album deserved more

51 year old men who are also classically trained musos

― imago, Tuesday, February 3, 2026 9:02 PM (two minutes ago) bookmarkflaglink

the hottest section of the poll

my sixth to place in the poll, and the best of the ghosteds so far imho

my favourite too

This Oren Ambarchi album sounds nice so far

Not heard of this (Ghosted) before but 5 minutes into the first track and sounding very much like my cup of tea

I'm still partial to the first Ghosted but I love them all, it really hits a sweet spot for me, and has incredible basslines that let everything else flutter around them.

makes sense, I actually cannot think of something more appropriate for a groovy panda

i think the mixing on this one was a step forward, the drums in particular sound great.

last one for today coming up

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41. caroline - caroline 2 220 points - 9 votes

Bandcamp

Review link

This feels like caroline’s ‘proper’ debut album. Since they emerged on the scene in 2017, they’ve stood out. Now they’re standing out again, but this time it’s because of the strength of 2 and not because there are eight of them.

Day 2 recap!

41 caroline - caroline 2
42 Oren Ambarchi/Johan Berthling/Andreas Werliin - Ghosted III
43 Orcutt Shelley Miller - s/t
44 Oneohtrix Point Never - Tranquilizer
45 Smerz - Big City Life
46 Titanic - HAGEN
47 Wolf Alice - The Clearing
48 Adrianne Lenker - Live at Revolution Hall
49 Call Super - A Rhythm Protects One
50 Bitchin Bajas - Totality
51 Wednesday - Bleeds
52 Darkside - Nothing
53 Nourished By Time - The Passionate Ones
54 Juana Molina - DOGA
55 Saint Etienne - International
56 Sofia Kourtesis - Volver
57 Cate Le Bon - Michelangelo Dying
58 Horsegirl - Phonetics On and On
59 keiyAa - hooke's law
60 Brìghde Chaimbeul - Sunwise

Day 1

61 Men I Trust - Equus Caballus
62 Maria Somerville - Luster
63 Ichiko Aoba - Luminescent Creatures
64 Kali Uchis - Sincerely,
65 Amaarae - Black Star
65 aya - hexed!
67 Neggy Gemmy - She Comes From Nowhere
68 Ex Libris - 001/002
69 Ela Minus - DÍA
70 Agriculture - The Spiritual Sound
71 feeo - Goodness
72 Joanne Robertson - Blurrr
73 Kate NV - Room for the Moon Live
74 Sabrina Carpenter - Man's Best Friend
75 Clipse - Let God Sort Em Out
76 Logic1000 - DJ-Kicks
77 Avalon Emerson - Perpetual Emotion Machine

couldn't get into caroline. perhaps my heart is too cold

almost certainly not placing but should be is the great grandpa album, they put out an amazing music video today and i'm like damn, that album deserved more

― ivy., Tuesday, February 3, 2026 3:06 PM (twenty-six minutes ago) bookmarkflaglink

I voted for it -- and also nominated a song with the hope of introducing some more folks to them -- but assume there's no chance now.

I'm still partial to the first Ghosted but I love them all, it really hits a sweet spot for me, and has incredible basslines that let everything else flutter around them.

― Jordan s/t (Jordan), Tuesday, February 3, 2026 3:13 PM (twenty minutes ago) bookmarkflaglink

I > III > II, for me. I may be misremembering but think a lot of people discovered the first one through the ILM EOY Albums poll. If we repolled that year now, I suspect it'd do really well.

Xpost Caroline was Not 4 Me. I like stuff that leans toward something with either more drive, clearer emotion or stronger melodies.

4/37, but have a feeling a number of mine will show up in the next few days. (they better lol)

Caroline was my #4. something about it just got into my head, i find it to be a very emotional, moving album.

caroline album has an astonishing opener but the rest I wasn't so into, hoping they make the bold step into widescreen weird-pop next time around...

only thing i've voted for so far has been the bijou badgers one, but i have A LOT of catching up to do

Two of my picks appeared so far. Im expecting around 7 more to show

I was like ‘there’s a band called bijou badgers now?! put them on the gizzard pile’ then I realised

I haven't listened to any of the noodly beardos that placed today but tbh I feel like I might be in the mood for some noodly beardo music this month.

i expect 4-5 more of mine to appear.

I should probably try again with this year's Oneohtrix Point Never album, so far I am not hearing what most of you are hearing, it just goes right by me. This after "Again" got me back to liking him again, for me that one was the "best thing he's done in a decade" one.

I voted for the Orcutt Shelley Miller album, discovered it in nominations, have played it a couple of times since then. The only thing from my ballot to place so far though I expect probably 3 others to place.

If I had heard this Ghosted earlier I would have voted for it. Totally forgot it came out last year. Loved the first two. Super immersive music.

OPN, Darkside and Sofia Kourtesis too low! All three high on my ballot.

The whole '70s vibe doesn't feel like a gimmick; it totally works for them

Voted for Wolf Alice -- phenomenal record; I hear more of a maturation than a pivot

Yes, I keep expecting Wolf Alice to be not much of anything and then each time they place in an ILM poll I give their latest a listen and it is invariably wonderful and exactly what I want from them and then I forget again. This one is radiant

That caroline album is probably my discovery of the tracks/albums poll so far. Really cool stuff, that track with Polachek is stunning.

I really thought Ghosted III would bring together different ILM interzones and be a consensus pick

"Chahar" was one of my favorite discoveries from the tracks poll, but this album/artist was entirely off my radar before that.

Juana Molina is my big discovery so far from this, thanks voters!

(I'm also freaked out how the Men I Trust guitar sounds EXACTLY like it came off a Faith b-side, way more than your average "get a JC-120" type effort)

Chahar is really great - by far the closest thing that project has to a "single".

I have turned into a singles person. When I was in my car going from here to there I had time for albums. Now I work from home and hardly ever drive even being in Southern California. I feel out of touch even though I'm on ILM a lot. I placed one album yesterday and one album today though I didn't even fill in 25 spots on this side.

keiyAa is the only one I voted for that appeared today. 3 in total so far.

23wa taking the top spot?

if it made the top 10 it would be hilarious, like the Minor Science track in the tracks poll lol

Smerz my only vote to make it today I think. I did love "White Horses" off the Wolf Alice album. And the Wednesday album I actually liked more than previous ones, I've always been kind of meh on them and now it's upgraded to hey-not-bad. Going to see them next month, maybe the live show will seal it for me.

i voted for keiyaa, adrianne lenker, and titanic from today.

the nourished by time album was ultimately fairly disappointing. it wasn't terrible but that i didn't connect at all in the same way that i had with their previous stuff

the keiyaa album really should be ilm catnip so i regret not making a thread for it, it's the best

live at revolution hall is maybe the very best thing lenker's done, the atmosphere in those recordings is really something special

wolf alice album wasn't bad but was quite a disappointment after blue weekend, it didn't hold together anywhere near as well and didn't come close to my ballot

i've never listened to juana molina before but this is promising so far, "la paradoja" is great

Of today's clutch I only voted for Ghosted III, though I am a big fan of a whole bunch of these - Titanic, keiyAa, Call Super, Darkside, several others. I only heard Smerz after the tracks poll because i'm stupid

For some reason I cannot get into keiyAa :/

it is really dense but i really really love filtering that sort of jazzy neo-soul through 90s breakbeat electronica, it's immense

it's a world to get lost in, it's hard to take everything in at once

i think that i am just not… made for jazzy neo-soul.

i find a lot of stuff in that particular realm hard to take

that's fair, if you don't already have a taste for that sort of thing then keiyaa isn't going to be an easy entry point

I like and voted for the Titanic album, though I enjoy the music of Titanic duo member Mabe Fratti better on albums under her own name. The Titanic album brings in more of the prog aspects that her musical and romantic partner Hector Tosta likes. But Fratti still sounds great. As Tosta told Philip Sherburne for Pitchfork- “She plays cello like a devil and she sings like an angel,”

I hadn't heard keiyaA, but this is cool. (I do like jazzy neo-soul so...) It is objectively busy and buzzy, but it still feels pretty chill. Good stuff. I see she's playing in New York this weekend, which I were there.

wish I ...

Brìghde Chaimbeul's Sunwise

and a bunch of other stuff

jk i like Sabrina and Keiyaa and Agriculture and Horsegirl

but damn this is a lot of whatever this other stuff is

wolf alice album wasn't bad but was quite a disappointment after blue weekend, it didn't hold together anywhere near as well and didn't come close to my ballot[

I felt the same but then after seeing them live the album really clicked and it ended up fairly high on my ballot

i liked it when it came out and then just didn't really come back to it much at all, it didn't stick with me. if the sequencing worked better it'd probably have ended up on my ballot idk

Didn't know Mabe Fratti had a duo and a release out this year. Bold and free spirited as expected, it sounded a little hard and disorienting on my ears at first, with strange popish moments coming from nowhere, but I think I appreciate it being rhythmic and intense, and not too high-conceptual. Her last solo albums kept me completely at bay.

I didn't realise there was a 2025 Titanic release until the nominations thread. I voted for the one from a couple years ago and... by Jove, this one too, it turned out. Cate le Bon received some of my unweighted points as well, I believe, plus one or two things from yesterday too, IIRC.

Day 3 commencing shortly...

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40. The Tubs - Cotton Crown 224 points - 6 votes

Bandcamp

Review link

On his jangle-pop group’s second album, the former Joanna Gruesome singer finds unlikely inspiration in familial grief. Against his glum lyrics and cold, stricken voice, the music chugs along merrily.

And a great start to the day, yesss. J-Gru were absolutely more "my thing" than the Tubs are but Owen's such a good writer I'm totally on board the Tubs train now.

Loved this and the Ex-Void album that came out this year

I didn't manage to get around to Ex-Void and I was kicking myself come ballot time, really got to rectify that and listen to it.

Good album, didn't quite make my list because I just didn't listen to it that much. Saw them play in October, good show.

I think I tried this band last time it appeared in our poll and didn't get into it, but some jangle-pop sounds nice right now

i didn't vote for this but it's one of the rare jangle pop revival albums that's actually on par with what it's imitating

"Narcissist" is a top track.

I wasnt sure about The Tubs at first but this album won me over and I voted it high on my list.

Wait, this Orcutt Shelley Miller stuff bangs? Trust The Beard

Well, the opening track does anyway. Let's see if it's sustainable over a whole LP

the Tubs sounds really nice, but to ufo's point it mostly makes me think about how I don't know the original scene very well and would like to

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39. Rochelle Jordan - Through The Wall 229 points - 7 votes

Bandcamp

Review link

Through The Wall’s heavy pleasure borders on indulgence, like eating an entire box of rich chocolates, but its novelty, cheek, and brash commitment to fun buoys likely one of the most fun hours of music since RENAISSANCE. Rochelle Jordan’s second album in her house matriarch makeover is proof she’s found her artistic voice – an alluring vision of deep house superstardom.

wtf WAY too low

I really like how the image template worked out on that one Moka

This album is great, but I didn't listen to it enough to put it on my ballot. My lifestyle isn't house matriarchal enough I fear

wtf i thought this was a lock for top 10, maybe top 5

this feels like the kind of album the ILX I knew would have championed to the hilt. it's a comprehensive, career-defining exhibition of bangership, confidence and brilliant production. i accordingly made it my #8. what's your collective excuse lol

oh rob gave the excuse alright FINE

I don't know this one at all and the description sounds very not-for-me: is there a descriptive hook that might entice me to give it a go?

Like, is it just good house music or is there anything weird or annoying about it? I only like weird and/or annoying music.

consider who's gassing it rn

user ufo also a confirmed fan of things that are a bit hyper/enhanced/maximalist

Yeah, tbh you two are why I'm even asking!

OSM album has continued...quite amicably. wouldn't vote for it or anything but uh well done I guess. very strong opener

anyway, Rochelle Jordan album is absolutely stuffed with fun, subtle little production tricks and switch-ups, it's no rote house exercise, a lot of thought and effort went into it

wouldn't say 'annoying' but definitely 'sprightly'. perhaps even 'insistent'

this feels like the kind of album the ILX I knew would have championed to the hilt. it's a comprehensive, career-defining exhibition of bangership, confidence and brilliant production. i accordingly made it my #8. what's your collective excuse lol

― imago, Wednesday, February 4, 2026 9:50 AM (eight minutes ago) bookmarkflaglink

oh rob gave the excuse alright FINE

― imago, Wednesday, February 4, 2026 9:51 AM (eight minutes ago)

haha well I'm listening to it now and very much regretting not voting for it! also I 100% agree with your first post there

it is also not served very well by the RENAISSANCE comparison imo

while I'm on a tear, the OSM closing track is actually great too

Like, is it just good house music or is there anything weird or annoying about it? I only like weird and/or annoying music.

― emil.y, Wednesday, February 4, 2026 9:52 AM (seven minutes ago)

not sure this will pass the annoying bar — it's very polished chrome and neon — but it's not at all faceless, which I think the house house house description might elide, and imago is right, the mix is dense not airy

xp I didn't mind that comparison because I didn't at all like that album and think this is better. that said, yeah she's not trying to do anything like Beyonce imo

they're calling this the Who's Next of beardo improv mini-albums

yeah I don't like the comparison cos RENAISSANCE is nowhere near as good as this as well as nothing like it lmao

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38. Steve Hauschildt - Aeropsia 230 points - 8 votes, 1 #1 vote

Bandcamp

Reddit AMA

Review link

This is the first new release from Emeralds’ former synth wizard in six years and marks a return to his DIY past with the unveiling of his new imprint Simul. . . . Obviously, a hell of a lot has happened globally since Hauschildt last surfaced, but it seems like a hell of a lot has happened personally for him as well, as he left Chicago to live on the other side of the world in Tbilisi, Georgia. In keeping with that theme of transformation and disorientation, the album borrows its title from a perception disorder that roughly translates as “seeing air.” It is often triggered by hallucinogen use and apparently makes it seem like the objective material world is veiled in static or television snow. That makes an appropriate title for this release, as these eight sensuous and meditative synth pieces evoke a sense of solitary grandeur and longing fitfully frayed by distortion and sizzle.

i liked tranquilizer but the steve hauschildt album is a much better electronic / ambient album in a similar vein imho

― map, Tuesday, February 3, 2026 3:11 PM (yesterday)

proven otm by ilm scientists

through the wall isn't as out there as the keiyaa album but it's got a similar sense of ambition and covers a ton of ground

it's way better than renaissance, yeah

I was sure I'd become more familiar with the artists in this poll the higher we got but nope...though I listened to the last Tubs album, all three of these are new to me. This one sounds particularly enticing.

I want to check out the Hauschildt but unfortunately for it there are 10 more tracks on this Jordan album

i have no idea what hauschildt has been up to since emeralds but skimming through this quickly it all sounds quite nice, i'll have to give it a proper listen

Tubs are a bit too Springsteen for me, or something, but I guess it's nice a band like that can develop a diehard following on here

springsteen?

the energy of it, idk. always ignore me

Oh this guy was in Emeralds??

Just reread the album description..

Yeah, it doesn't sound that much like Springsteen to my ears BUT I know a large number of that crew are Springsteen fans so I don't think they would be insulted. I think imago is more just indicating that it's quite, er, I dunno, "normal guitar music"? Which it is! It just happens to be good.

xxp

the tubs are mostly just doing a smiths pastiche but they're really good at that, unlike most bands who try to sound like the smiths. "narcissist" is a song marr could be proud of

Harmonically I think they're more triumphant and straightforward than The Smiths, but I'd need to actually study some chord charts to prove this and can't be bothered lol

I think I've said "Sugar fronted by Richard Thompson" before.

the next one also has something in common with Bruce Springsteen

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37. Tortoise - Touch 235 points - 7 votes, 1 #1 vote

Bandcamp

Review link

Though Tortoise's music remains as complex as ever, Touch is often notably more compact: The explosive highlight "Rated OG" clocks in at just under two minutes. Here and on several of the album's other standout tracks, like "Oganesson"'s loping, metallic funk, Tortoise still get remarkable mileage out of their signature juxtaposition of knotty rhythms and chiming clarity.

I love Tortoise but really didn't connect with this. that #1 vote is making me wonder if I gave it a real chance

yeah uh. wow. i mean i thought this was pretty good but surprised it got this high

came a bit late in the year for me to give it proper attention

Same, I think it's a solid & respectable Tortoise album, but I only listened to it a handful of times.

As a long-time Tortoise head, I was disappointed by this, but there were a couple of good jams.

god, i have a feeling some incredible albums are gonna be crowded out by garbage now.

I love the new Tortoise, dig the Tubs but it's a step down from Dead Meat

part of it is my friend pointed out that the first song "The Thing Is" kind of sounds like Blues Traveller and I can't unhear it

I agree w/everyone above on the Tortoise. Nowhere near the incredible run they had from the self-titled to Standards but solid and a step up from the last couple.

This Hauschildt album otoh is delivering for me this morning. My favorite discovery so far.

I found the Hauschildt totally unremarkable

Said it before, and I'm not a fanboy so my knowledge of their work is very spotty, but the band The Tubs most specifically remind me of is 80s janglers The Stars of Heaven

more disgusting garbage incoming

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36. Blawan - SickElixir 236 points - 7 votes

Bandcamp

Review link

Gnarled grooves and unintelligible vocals intersect at uncanny angles on the British producer’s new album, which amplifies his pugnacious style into a brutish, unhinged gestalt.

way too low

my #3

pleasantly surprised to see Hauschildt made the cut!

Hauschildt has for sure eaten his khachapuri while making this *arm flex emoji* it's quite good idk

Oh everything I've heard from this Blawan has been Sick, perhaps it is all Elixir to me, will be finding out

I didn't catch the whole album but as a 'WTF' voter I heartily endorse this Blawan placement.

Someone put Weirdos United in the last Music League round and it went tf off

I like the Hauschildt album but I gotta say, I'm surprised so many people are into it -- I have a hard time hearing what sets it apart from the sea of ambient synth records.

somehow i missed that there was a new Hauschildt album! should've listened to that instead of Blawan (not a fan).

the whole record is incredible imho, there’s a reason it made many of the better publications’ top 20, if not top 10

re: Blawan

I played my kids Blawan's "NOS" recently, and then we were all doing the intoxicating whisper vocal the rest of the night.

:-)

Blawan is my #4 and honestly I feel like if I did my ballot now, it would be my #1. I've been listening to it more and more lately

It's quite weird. I'm not sure I'd say I like it, but I'm happy it exists. Seems like a massive step up from the last Blawan I was aware of, that one with the Fugees sample

maybe more of a step out than up

lol just noticed the track I'm on is called Weirdos United

I had forgotten about the delightful 2021 Blawan track "Under Belly" and was happy to rediscover it when skimming his Spotify page. Any of his other work worth checking out?

Seems like a massive step up from the last Blawan I was aware of, that one with the Fugees sample

Tbf he's done a lot of things in 13 years since

Blawan made me realize that there really isn't enough weirdness in most of the music I listen to. Makes me remember how much joy I used to have just hearing sounds I've never heard before in music, something that happened a lot more when I was younger obviously, but there are still infinite sounds out there not yet made into music.

I did have to introduce my bf to 'Why They Hide Their Bodies Under My Garage' this week, apparently he'd never heard it before. I maintain that it's a good track, though obv not as good or interesting as his more recent stuff.

Tbf he's done a lot of things in 13 years since

― Jordan s/t (Jordan), Wednesday, February 4, 2026 11:08 AM (three minutes ago)

oh god

Blawan made me realize that there really isn't enough weirdness in most of the music I listen to. Makes me remember how much joy I used to have just hearing sounds I've never heard before in music, something that happened a lot more when I was younger obviously, but there are still infinite sounds out there not yet made into music.

― silverfish

Yesss. New sounds are basically at the top of the pyramid when it comes to what I like about music. Obviously I have appreciation for things like melody, rhythm etc, but give me a funny noise and I'm in heaven.

I liked "Under Belly" but couldn't find anything on the new album that I liked nearly as much.

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35. Bad Bunny - Debí Tirar Más Fotos 238 points - 9 votes, 1 #1 vote

Qobuz

Review link

“How’s Bad Bunny gonna be the king of pop?” Bad Bunny asks in Spanish in the genre-bending opener ‘Nuevayol’ from his new album Debí Tirar Más Fotos (which translates to ‘I Should Have Taken More Photos’). “With reggaeton and dembow!” he asserts. The song’s title is a phonetic representation of how a Puerto Rican person would say ‘New York’, a proud reflection of his roots, evident throughout the global phenom’s most daring LP yet. As the superstar extends his Spanish-language reign over pop, he’s pushing back on the colonisation of his homeland by bringing its folk music to the forefront.

I did have to introduce my bf to 'Why They Hide Their Bodies Under My Garage' this week, apparently he'd never heard it before. I maintain that it's a good track, though obv not as good or interesting as his more recent stuff.

― emil.y, Wednesday, February 4, 2026 10:11 AM (five minutes ago) bookmarkflaglink

Oh dang, that's Blawan, too? Amazing track.

I assume no one has anything to say about this one

big grammy has us in their palm

interesting (?) fact: this is only the second album on the list, after Wolf Alice, to not be on Bandcamp. ILX has gone full fuxxor

(thus far, I'm not spoilering)

think music in general has gone a bit fuxxor due to the industry like, dying and stuff. and selling its soul to the baddest bunny in town

There were a couple not on bandcamp on the first day too (Sabrina Carpenter, Amaarae, maybe something else).

I never actively choose to listen to Bad Bunny but the stuff I've come across in the wild seems okay to me. Decent pop.

to be serious I liked that one album of his and will check this out too

xp oh right lol I didn't do the first batch

yeah I also liked Un Verano though I didn't listen to it very much. I'm very curious about the political angle here, though not being fluent in Spanish I expect that won't penetrate much

aeropsia is so good. didn't quite make my ballot but that was a good spot for it place

i like un verano marginally more than dtmf, but i appreciated how local the latter album is, with lots of very puerto rican sounds ("cafe con ron" mixing in traditional plena music with el conejo's usual sound is the classic example, but there are plenty more)

Good run of distinctive, no-text album art today.

next we have one of the stranger things to be released by a pop star last year

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34. Lily Allen - West End Girl 240 points - 8 votes

Qobuz

Review link

To try and encapsulate the punishing pain of being subject to adultery and coercive control is, in itself, a staggering feat - let alone, to try and process it over the course of just ten days, the time that it took Lily to write the record. But to do so in a way that also feels so deft and perfectly plotted - all while imbuing the songs with the kind of wit and dry humour that have always been so resolutely her - is really quite extraordinary. Breathtaking and heartbreaking in so many different ways, West End Girl may have begun by telling the tale of one of her life’s most bitter chapters, but now it’s become one of her most triumphant.

i have no idea what hauschildt has been up to since emeralds

Stands, and especially Dissolvi are classics. The latter was my #2 on whatever ballot that was. There's an almost spiritual quality to his music that I connect with. But nearly everything he's done since is well with listening to.

This one was beautiful and another amazing album, and made my ballot but not super high up. I particularly love the digital only 20 minute closer, Amongst Automata. Just want to live in that soundscape

xp oh dang, Black Star *was* on bandcamp for a while

Oh huh Lily Allen released an album last year? Missed that entirely

Honestly can't tell if octobeard's post is sarcasm

haha same

in case it's not: this is genuinely worth a listen, though I only did so once. my tortured stranger things pun wasn't entirely in service of the "joek"

It's not. Chalk it up to listening to a few of his albums back in the day on mushrooms. But I really dig Steve's stuff

Feel like a lot of people who never previously listened to Lily Allen's music got into West End Girl just because of the tabloid aspect. She was even a musical guest on SNL, which I wouldn't have predicted based on where her career was a few years ago.

xp I meant the Lily Allen post

I think they meant the Lily Allen one lol

can anyone explain to me why the lily allen album is worth listening to

it's an incredibly brave and important record that draws attention to the everyday struggles of a minted 00s popstar

My wife and I have very different listening habits. I listen to a large amount of new albums each year, but most of them I only listen to once or twice. By contrast, she'll obsess over one album at a time for like an entire month. One of those last year was West End Girl. If not for her, I probably would've given it a listen out of curiosity, but I did end up hearing it a lot at home and it grew on me. I don't care too much about the tabloid stuff, but there are some pretty catchy tunes on it in a range of styles, which is enough to keep me interested.

(just wanted to give these sarcasm fiends their fix)

I checked out two tracks and they were fine but not my thing. if anyone is into that then fair enough.

Loll uh yeah I was taking the piss with Lily. Man I need some coffee stat

a cafe con ron, no less!!

for me the tabloid aspect was overdetermining, but fwiw that made it much more odder and more uncomfortable than if it was just a collection of pop songs. but like I said I never listened a second time, so it was essentially a morbid curiosity for me

Yeah, that's a good point. I did like how the lyrics were mostly written in a matter-of-fact diaristic style, with specific details, rather than an attempt at universalizing the experience through banal poetry.

can anyone explain to me why the lily allen album is worth listening to

It's not my lane atm, but I've heard about it from people who aren't fans of her in general and are still into it, I think the raw/diaristic lyrics paired with surprisingly good/adventurous production?

I don’t think you have to know who her partner was or much of the detail to be drawn into the story, and the music is consistently lovely (Leon Vynehall involved in a lot of it apparently) so you can even just tune out of the story if you want.

It’s kind of like a 2026 ‘A Grand Don’t Come For For Free’.

whoa did not know that Vynehall worked on it!

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33. YHWH Nailgun - 45 Pounds 240 points - 10 votes

Bandcamp

Review link

45 Pounds is the kind of record that will leave a mark—on your eardrums, on your nerves, on your ability to process sound in a rational manner. Some bands are content to exist within the confines of a scene, to make their mark in a way that’s easily categorized and understood. YHWH Nailgun aren’t one of those bands.

I assume this album is about the outrageous cost of new vinyl

the YHWH Nailgun record is one that I didn’t listen to much but made an immense impression, and their live show is astonishing

OTM it was a very memorable album I played once... Need to revisit this again

HORSE BREATHIN IN THUH HEAT

fkn love this album

as i wrote elsewhere, i’m just not always in the mood for postpunk psychedelic carnival music. when i am, tho, this record nails it

this next one is too low. all those other ones you called too low were fine actually

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32. Jim Legxacy - Black British Music 245 points - 8 votes, 1 #1 vote

Bandcamp

Review link

The rapper and producer doubles down on his vaulting style, lurching from alt-rock to distortion and chipmunk soul on an astonishingly coherent and melodic third record.

just missed my ballot, but it's really good. feel like he hasn't come close to making his best album yet

great album. I was just putting "Father" on a playlist for someone as was astonished to see it's only 1:46 long

xp hm yeah I can kind of see that tbh. also I mentally added "nothings changed" to this

Had this as my #10. "Coherent and melodic" is a good description. Feels like the culmination of the last decade of British hip hop.

Loved this, didn't quite vote for it. Lewisham represent

I need to check this one out

still 0/25 but good to see the hauschildt and tortoise records place

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31. Pulp - More 249 points - 8 votes

Qobuz

Review link

A tender, funny and gloriously overstuffed return from pop’s greatest misfits, reckoning with time, tenderness and the strange thrill of still being here.

zzzzz

4/25 for me so far, Hauschildt/Horsegirl/Orcutt/BB Totality

I love Pulp, I went to one of their reunion shows in 2024 (and had a blast!) and the classic 90s albums have a lot of personal significance for me...and in spite of all that, I still haven't listened to this album

pretty solid album, but not on the level of original issue pulp, come on

I liked and voted for Tina off the Pulp album but there was so much great music by younger artists it felt wrong to put this on my ballot

That said it's quite a fun listen

this was nowhere near as good as everyone a) wanted it to be and b) pretended it was, imo

grown ups is good, give it that

i have a big bias against artists that i love reuniting after long periods. like dr, i cannot bring myself to listen to this.

part of this comes from experience— every reunion show i have ever been to has been objectively terrible.

Voted for Pulp, 31 seems right. Some publications putting it in their top 5 or higher was nonsense.

Yay Pulp! They couldn't be shut out on both the tracks and albums poll. I gave it some points in the unweighed part of my ballot.

So much negativity here over the Pulp album! It was my #5 pick and I would say its up there with their best. "Farmers Market", one of the sweetest songs theyve ever made. I was pleasantly surprised by how good it was. There isnt an dud moment anywhere and felt like a true follow-up to We Love Life.

I will never get Pulp

I was not disappointed by More, and that's a high bar.

still feeling optimistic about KGLW and The Necks placing

Hopefully my Pulp book will one day help people Get Pulp.

Pulp reminds me of sic, they will know what I mean.

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30. Ethel Cain - Willoughby Tucker, I'll Always Love You 256 points - 8 votes, 1 #1 vote

Qobuz

Review link

This long-awaited Ethel Cain “B-sides” record feels not only like a fully formed album in its own right but also stands as testament to the artist’s talent for world building, film score-ready soundscapes, and the unashamed conveyance of sheer emotional weight.

i have a big bias against artists that i love reuniting after long periods.

― a tv star not a dirty computer man (the table is the table)

I always think I'm like this, and tbf I frequently am, but then... Prolapse reformed! And all my "this is tedious I want new bands" discourse flies out of the window.

Couldn't be fucked with checking out the Pulp, though.

I've seen some really good reunion shows - Throbbing Gristle and Mission Of Burma stand out

in general I am a skeptic as well tho

there's an album coming later that puts the lie to all this a bit lol

afghan whigs reunion show was the best show i've ever seen. doesn't seem to be something you can make all-or-nothing proclamations about

the Pulp show I went to in Birmingham last year was one of my favourite times I've seen them, and the previous time in 2023 was v much more of a reunion show and therefore my least favourite. They played 2/3 of More and several obscurities and generally mixed things up to distance themselves from the nostalgia thing.

in other words, table, name names xp

like I absolutely understand the nostalgia reunion = bad thing, but this is not an example of that.

i'm mostly in the no camp but i am still super gutted that Unwound's brighton show got cancelled last year

oh god yeah, unwound, what an incredible live band still

I'm not strongly pro- or anti- bands reuniting for shows after a long period of inactivity (maybe it depends on the artist?) but agree the end results can be mixed. my friend saw Archers of Loaf a year or two ago and said it was super phoned-in. It's a testament to Pulp's strengths as a live act that they played at a venue here that I don't really like and I still had an amazing time. tho, I imagine some reunion acts do it out of financial necessity more than anything, which is kinda depressing tbh

Archers for me, too. Every punk band I ever saw reunite. The Pixies.

(just some examples)

I expected to love this Ethel Cain album after being a fan of the last one ("American Teenager" was my SOTY in 2022) and initially falling in love with "Nettles," but my first few listens left me cold. And then for some reason I grew extremely tired of "Nettles." I think their lyrics can be quite bad and they lean to heavily on the same atmospheric tricks.

I kinda wish Archers would have just stayed quiet and left their perfect legacy, the latest album was pretty ho-hum too. Pixies very first reunion tour was a blast, they still seemed to be enjoying each other and I was appreciative, having been too young to see them originally.

I saw Pixies on their first reunion tour (also in a bad venue) and was really surprised by how good they were. They seemed to really be having a good time and were really into it. I've heard it's not always been good since then though.

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29. Yasmine Hamdan - I Remember I Forget 267 points - 8 votes, 1 #1 vote

Bandcamp

Review link

Yasmine Hamdan is finally back, right when we need her most. After an eight-year break, Hamdan has released her newest record, I remember I forget. The regional musical and political landscape has radically shifted since her previous release, and Hamdan reflects this fractured political reality with painful clarity. Yet, she anchors us in her familiar and signature sonic identity, with haunting vocals, trip-hop echoes, and a sound rooted in authenticity and experimentation.

way way way way way too low

loved this

banger album

ooooh yes, wonderful album

I'm not interested in seeing bands reunite to play the greatest hits they tired of playing 30 years ago, I only want to hear new songs or reinterpreted old songs.

Yasmine also great and also on my list

last year i saw the reunited rilo kiley just play a bunch of songs from twenty years ago and i wept throughout, not because of nostalgia i think (though i did get to reflect on where i was as a teenager vs. where i am now, how much progress i've made from being a scared and wounded kid to being a... beautiful, confident, loving woman, and that was a major part of the weeping), but because the songs hit me more immediately live than they did on record. also they were significantly tighter as a band than when i saw them in 2008

Hamdan album another one where I voted for a track b/c I didn't actually get around to the album... I have a feeling I will bloody love this.

I wish I'd read more about Hamdan when I was checking out the album. I didn't realize what a veteran she is until fairly recently

last year i saw the reunited rilo kiley just play a bunch of songs from twenty years ago and i wept throughout, not because of nostalgia i think (though i did get to reflect on where i was as a teenager vs. where i am now, how much progress i've made from being a scared and wounded kid to being a... beautiful, confident, loving woman, and that was a major part of the weeping), but because the songs hit me more immediately live than they did on record. also they were significantly tighter as a band than when i saw them in 2008

― ivy., Wednesday, 4 February 2026 18:46 (eight minutes ago) bookmarkflaglink

sometimes when you're on, then you're really fuckin on

i saw Liz Phair play all of EiG and it was incredible, but that’s because I have been listening to that album for so long that each song transported me to a time in my life— though she was also quite good as a performer

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28. Los Thuthanaka - Los Thuthanaka 279 points - 8 votes

Bandcamp

Review link

In siblings Chuquimamani-Condori and Joshua Chuquimia Crampton’s dense, elaborate thicket of sound, traditional genres and ancestral wisdom coexist with digital ephemera and rapturous noise.

eh, in my experience, seeing reunited bands vs seeing bands that have been going forever is pretty much the same. It can go two ways, either they don't really care anymore and are just phoning it in or they still enjoy playing live and inevitably become really good/tight and often just keep getting better over time.

Though I guess this is just a longer way of saying it can be good or bad