This is my full, year-long list of all the new albums I have listened to this year! Every one of these albums came out in 2025, and they will be ordered by release month. We’ll change things up this time: song highlights at the end of each month!
Review:
Posthumous albums are often received poorly since they are poorly constructed or finalized. This is not the case for Balloonerism. The theme of drugs and fame is common in Mac’s work, but it felt very personal in this one. His questions regarding the afterlife in this album fascinate me. 5 Dollar Pony Rides, Funny Papers, and Rick’s Piano will be on repeat for me.
Review:
Flipturn’s direction on this album started with songwriting in the mountains, and then it shifted to a very production-focused strategy according to the band. The idea of being on the road for so long and burning out is applicable to just about anything, and I believed the band captured it well by describing being okay with struggling relationships and tough expectations. I think that this is Flipturn’s best production yet, but a small detail I would have liked more of is layered harmonies on top of the wonderful voice of the lead singer Dillon.
Review:
I am not typically someone who likes to dance, go to clubs, or listen to dance/electronic music, but I may have a new perspective now. While I doubt I will start dancing more, EUSEXUA is a beautifully produced work of art. The idea of feeling comfortable with expressing yourself when it comes to music and dancing is well pictured by FKA twigs here. Considering how well constructed this album is, this could go down as one of the greatest dance/electronic albums of all time.
Review: When The Weeknd released Timeless and São Paulo, I did not expect much from this album. Hurry Up Tomorrow is clearly a message from the artist that he may be hanging up the cleats soon, a message I did not get from the early singles. I really enjoyed the vulnerability of this project because for some reason The Weeknd seemed like a villain, which he referenced as people making him out to be one. I wonder how much the industry hurt him, and what happened behind the scenes to make him want to quit…
Mac Miller - 5 Dollar Pony Rides
Mac Miller - Rick’s Piano
FKA twigs - Striptease
The Weeknd - Give Me Mercy
Mac Miller - Funny Papers
Flipturn - Swim Between Trees
The Weeknd - I Can’t Wait To Get There
The Weeknd - Hurry Up Tomorrow
Review: After my Discover Weekly on Spotify recommended “Your House” to me, I decided I wanted to check out Inhaler. This album is the definition of “had me in the first half, not gonna lie.” The first five songs of this album are fun, not amazing, but fun. After “Even Though,” it seems like the album fell off a cliff in terms of production quality and overall vibe. I have seen some reviews mention this is their best work yet, but I sure hope not. I’ll keep the first part of this project in my rotation and forget about the rest.
