Half a year has flown by so it got me thinking what’s the favourite album I’ve heard in 2025.
Then I thought let’s not stick to new albums any album new or old you’ve discovered for the first time.
Then I thought again why just stick to music why not anything you consider is the best of the year so far.
Over to you while I go choose my faves of ‘25
Although released in 2024 I was only able to get the CD of this show this year and as Marty Stuart names his backing band it’s Superlative.
Thanks for the recommendation. I really enjoyed that. Would love to have seen it live.
You aren’t alone in that @gogsmunro
I was hoping it would be released on Bluray
I think it may be on YouTube
In fact it is via a compilation of fans videos all is explained at the beginning
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qEoreosmUMU
Thanks @Pyramid
Another event was the Knighthood of one of the greatest British Sportsmen Sir Billy Boston. The first person from a Rugby League background to be honoured in this way.
Well deserved and about time.
Favourite musical moment of 2025 would have to be the release of Tracks II, 7 albums which collectively redraw Bruce Springsteen’s career. So many highlights to enjoy and hardly a duff track to be found.
Possibly because it is so fresh in my mind, but the best music I have heard this year has to be the new Jah Wobble album, Dub, Volume 1. This is an entirely solo enterprise and is astonishing. Out on Friday, on Dimple Records, who have newly signed him.
Your release info is incorrect me old mucker. It was released on 4th July.
Available in all good and probably a lot of crap outlets now!
Vairy interlesting! Someone should have told his PR. I still like it.
Maybe they have a dub calendar.
Dardardardardar………
Boofboofboofboofboof………
I’d say it’s a tie between two audiobooks that I thoroughly enjoyed this year, moreso that anything musical or cinematic.
John Cooper Clarke’s auto biography as read by himself was really entertaining and I think I’ll listen again in the future.
In a different vein, Fintan O’Toole’s personal history of modern Ireland “We Don’t Know Ourselves” was also a brilliant listen that has genuinely increased my understanding of my country in my lifetime.
Some great TV. Dept. Q and The Pit stand out in my mind as excellent. Wet Leg continue to create tuneage of merit on their second album. It’s kind of joyfully wonky.
Poker Face season 2 was near-perfect, with a superb ending featuring Steve Earle!
Yes, a great ending. I was caught out by the big revelation – not entirely sure it stands up to exacting scrutiny, but still a lot of fun.
I love Charlie’s laid-back attitude to all the shenanigans around her, and I hope there’s a third season, preferably with more from Steve Buscemi.
CD(s): Sharks Box Set (Car Crash Supergroup – The Island Years).
Cheery Red continue to empty my wallet
Book: It’s puerile, it’s not big, it’s not clever, but it is very funny – Talking Bottom: A Guide to the Cult Sitcom
Meal of 2025: Lobster Mac n Cheese at The Big Easy in Canary Wharf
Very pleased too with my new Harrington Jacket
Which sort of Harrington did you go for? Eye wateringly expensive but gorgeous Baracuta or a sensible compromise?
Plain black, tartan lining, Lambretta.
None too pricy, but fits and looks flipping great.
Sounds great. Can’t go wrong with a Harrington, unless you have my stomach of course…
Without looking it up, do you guys know why Harrington jackets are called Harrington jackets?
I only found out while watching Pointless a couple of days back…
Likewise.
Something to do with the Army?
(most coats, boats, hats, and stuff have military connotations).
Failing that, a bloke with that name designed his own coat, wore it out, and a skinhead legend was born
Here’s a clue as to its actual origin
I’m confused now because that’s a different programme.
You’re right! I’m wrong. Pls disregard my clueless clue
I’ve read fifty seven books since January 1st. Some have been great, really enjoyable reads. One or two less so and one I loathed but none have been exactly life changing. So no books.
Over the course of the year I’ve watched some tv and a handful of films, again nothing earth-shattering. Poker Face has been a fun watch.
Not doing so well so far huh?
Music has been where the love has been. A new album from Stereolab released back in late May continues to bring me joy along with a couple of albums from The Danish String Quartet both released some time ago. I’d listened to the quartet’s classical releases on ECM New Series but I’d neglected to listen to the albums Last Leaf and Keel Road. Both are of the quartet playing traditional Northern European folk. They bring their elegant musicianship and classical sensibilities to bear and the results are magical.
Two complete cycles of the fifteen symphonies of Shostakovich have and continue to bring me great pleasure, one from Mariss Jansons recorded with a number of orchestras from 1988 to 2005 and a second from The Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra under the baton of Vasily Petrenko. Both are excellent.
Lastly a single disc release of chamber music by Debussy. Recorded by the always reliable Nash Ensemble and released on Hyperion it’s a lovely disc.
That Petrenko Shostakovich cycle is superb.
If you need another one, as a contrast to the two you mention – Barshai’s cycle with the WDR Sinfonieorchester? Really good – he has a certain authority in Shostakovich and the cycle is often available at bargain price.
I was just looking at it. Are you spying on me? Seriously I have another complete cycle with Rostropovich waving the stick which is a little patchy but some of the individual performances are first rate. I also have a number of the symphonies on individual discs from various conductors and orchestras such as Paavo Berglund so I’m not sure I need anymore.*
*That’s just silly talk of course I do it’s Shosti for Christ’s sake.
I strongly recommend the Barshai set. Also any of the Neeme Järvi Shostakovich with the SNO on Chandos. I saw a few of those played live in the 1980s – they were a seriously good team!
I’ve bought the Barshai. I’ve been thinking about aquirring it for a while so I knew I would eventually. I probably damned with faint praise the Rostropovich cycle. It’s actually pretty fine with only a few misfires and his 14th is tremendous.
Is that the performance where his wife is the soprano?
Theres been a few albums that have been new to me this year – top most in my mind are:
* Jess Roden & “Seven Windows” … restored and reformatted after 40 years in the wilderness – some truly wonderful songs on here and its been very special to re-connect with Jess himself as a result. Favourite tracks “Light Brown Colour”, “Parachutes”, “NYC” & “Shakey Got The Blues” … CD is only available from the US at the moment, via the Sunnyside Records Bandcamp page – but it is streaming in high res at Qobuz … or on other streaming services … a wider physical release is in the planning.
* Nick Drake “The Making Of Five Leaves Left” – although its not on the shelves until July 25th the early release tracks from this amazing project are remarkable – hearing Nick chat in the studio with engineer/producer John Wood as if it were yesterday is something else – I’m going to need a good sit down when this arrives.
* Bruce Springsteen “Tracks II” – favourites from this exhaustive archive release vary each time I dip in but the album “Faithless” is the one I keep going back to – geez Bruce, why did you sit on this for so many years – truly inspirational stuff
New albums – Lukas Nelson American Romance has really grown on me and arguably my favourite 2025 album thus far.
Ben de La Cour – New Roses – more noir from a very underrated American singer songwriter.
Old: Les Ambassadeurs du Hotel de Bamako – Malian funk if the highest order.
Book:,Really loving Mike Campbell – Heartbreaker – fabulous insight into Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers. Happy to say I saw them on their first ever UK tour and their last ever UK gig at Hyde Park.
Neil Gaiman – The Ocean at the end of the lane
Film: The ballad of Wallis Island. Fabulous – feel good.
TV – Race across the World. Just love this series.
Another vote for Mike Campbell’s book, just about the best rock autobiography I’ve ever read.
👍👍
‘Ninety Degrees North’ by Fergus Fleming. Not new this year at all, but picked up in an Oxfam bookshop in February.
A history of the many attempts to be the first humans to reach the North Pole during the 19th and early 20th centuries. The mania, the cost, the stupidity, the arrogance, the lunacy, the bravery that factored into each and every attempt. Saga after unremitting saga of lack of suitable equipment and unsurprising death is told with a dry and weary wit that make it remarkably entertaining. Lonely, freezing agonising deaths notwithstanding.
I was struck by the repeat efforts made by some. Years spent trapped on drifting floes then miraculously making it back to a home port only to spend more years raising funds to do precisely the same bloody stupid thing again.
All joking aside: that sounds like my kind of book. I’ve got a polar exploration shelf!
Have at it, my friend. Track down a copy.
Just before this I read a biography of Tom Crean. A stalwart crewman and adventurer who was with Scott on his Antarctic expedition, and, get this, was with Shackleton. In the boat across to South Georgia and over the mountains. The man almost met his end on two occasions in remote fearful hell. But instead made it home, bought a pub and died in his sleep years later.
I don’t watch a lot of new films anymore – I don’t go to the cinema, don’t do streaming and when I occasionally buy a DVD of a new release it usually takes me a few years to actually watch it…
But I just watched Better Man, the Robbie Williams biopic-as-a-monkey, and holy moly; it was so much better than I expected. Genius way to do it, and great use of the music.
Highly recommend, whether you care for RW or not – bring a big box of tissues, because you will cry…rivers.
New albums: it’s actually a race between Billy Idol – Dream Into It, the remastered Pete Shelley albums and Haim – I Quit, with Foxwarren 2 as a contender (I’m slowly getting over the annoying film quotes – the actual songs are brilliant of course).
If all of this makes me seem like a hopeless pop-girlie (nothing wrong with that, I say; but I’m not), I’m also spending time with a few Taj Mahal albums that I’d missed (bc: wrong era, but still surprisingly good) and I loved Mdou Moctar’s Tears of Injustice (acoustic version of last year’s album).
Best books I read so far this year: Doris Lessing – The Fifth Child and Han Kang – We Do Not Part. One old, one new. Also finally read The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt and loved it. Very “Modern Dickensian”. Not as brilliant as The Little Friend but miles ahead of The Secret History, which IMO is one of the most overrated novels ever, and unfortunately spawned the dullest book genre in “Dark Academia”…yawn!
I really liked Better Man too. So much better than I’d expected. Having a CGI monkey play Williams was an absolutely brilliant choice. If it’d had an actor or Williams himself it would have been just another average biopic of someone who has never interested me much, but the monkey was excellent fun to watch and managed to make the telling of his life story interesting and enjoyable. (I didn’t cry though.)
As I stated on the “songs that made you cry” thread; everything makes me cry…so maybe just me then! But I thought the entire film was moving from start to finish – it even made me cry during the use of “Angels”, which is one of my least liked songs ever!
I’ve thoroughly enjoyed High Potential, the America redo of the French show, which I’ve also watched.
The lead character, as played by Kaitlyn Olson, is more likable than her French counterpart, which makes for an easier watch.
I think I’ve written before about Blue Sky TV, the golden era of the USA network in the States. This is a callback to that era, and is just kind of TV I need. Good plots, decent writing, decent acting, likeable characters, and not too challenging.
There’s some interesting ideas already for me to follow up
Sunday Driver’s latest, Silk and Filth. A companion album to Sun God, recorded at the same time, originally to be a double but the cost of 2LP vinyl was prohibitive during times of lockdown, so released as two single LPs nearly three years apart.
Still the best live act I have seen this decade.
I would not have 2025 pegged as a great year on this front, but adding a few items below was easy which is usually a good sign (particularly on the music front)
Film
The Ballad of Wallis Island – a really lovely watch & I am eager to see it again
TV
Shifty – the new Adam Curtis series is excellent
Book(s) – A few I have really enjoyed:
Every Man for Himself and God Against All: A Memoir by Werner Herzog – possibly the best autobiography I have ever read
On The Calculation Of Volume I & II by Solvej Balle – Counting down to volume III which is out in November
Headshot by Rita Bullwinkel – a bit of a marmite one based on goodreads reviews, but I enjoyed
Music – some albums I am taken with;
Big Special – National Average
Antony Szmierek – Service Station At The End Of The World
Half Man Half Biscuit – All Asimov And No Fresh Air
Maribou State – Hallucinating Love
University – McCartney, It’ll Be Ok
Yann Tiersen – The Liquid Hour
By a distance the best thing I’ve seen or heard this year is the oscar-nominated documentary Soundtrack to a Coup d’Etat. I knew little of the Congo in the 60s, and wasn’t that interested frankly, and honestly I know little of jazz. My partner had to convince me to watch this.
But this film is simply extraordinary. Two and a half hours simply fly by. A remarkable story brilliantly told. If you’re of a left-ish persuasion your hackles will rise and your jaw will drop. And the music will blow you away whichever way you swing. The trailer only hints at this.
If you’ve not done so already, you might want to give Barbara Kingsolver’s Poisonwood Bible a go as the story is set during the run up to the overthrow of Lumumba
Thanks. I had no idea. Just picked that up for a Euro on Kindle.
One of the best novels ever written!
There’s been a new Sparks album so competition is naturally stiff but that’s not my favourite so far. That accolade is a dead heat between
Southern Belle Raisin’ Hell by Willow Avalon and
More by Esther Rose.
I can’t work out whether I’m lucky to have seen Esther Rose this year or if I’m sad that I still don’t have it to look forward to.
I’ve also been listening to (and enjoying)
Homecoming by The Castellos
Question: Why do best of the first 6 months ‘polls’ come out in July, when best of the year ‘polls’ come out in December (or even November!)
Was a bit non-plussed by Sparks album.
maybe I need to listen to it more (I’m on 8 listens so far) but not thinking it one of their best
Go see them live on the current tour if you can.,..absolutely magnificent.
It’s not one of their best but even their worst is a high bar! Live in London in June they were majestic.
Yep. Transcendentally magnificent in Manchester a few weeks ago. Such a lovely connection between band and audience
My favourite album of the year so far: Yunchan Lim, Fortworth Symphony Orchestra – Rachmaninoff ‘s 3rd Piano Concerto.
Best historical: Kenny Burrell, Art Blakey – Live At The Five Spot.
TV – Dept. Q
I’m rubbish at reading. I started Orbital, one of the shortest Booked Prize winners ever, and I haven’t got anywhere. An old book on Steely Dan and I’ve devoured it in a day.
It’s not been a good year. Yet.
I’ve yet to get around to Yunchan Lim’s Rach 3rd Piano Concerto. I’ll make a point of it. My preference is for Argerich and Chially so it will be interesting to hear what he does with it. He’s technically excellent and I enjoy his Chopin, not anywhere as much as I like Ivan Moravec playing Chopin but it’s heartening to hear talented youngsters play.
I’m sure you’ll love it.
I forgot to mention I saw Mission Impossible at the cinema. Disappointing.
“I’m rubbish at reading”.
I say good job, really. You’re excellent at countless comprehensive reviews of albums. Somewhere there may be an ur-AWer who can read as many books as Locust, review as many albums as you, attend as many concerts as Mikeh, research as many obscure musical genres as KFD, etc etc – but I doubt it. Everyone has their own strengths.
Thank you for that sal. I appreciate it
Books – any of Rejection by Tony Tulathimutte, Headshot by Rita Bullwinkel, Orbital by Samantha Harvey or Knife by Salman Rushdie.
Movies – probably one of A Real Pain or I’m Still Here, although A Complete Unknown was a truly great night out as well. Sure I’m forgetting something here. Oh yeah – finally, the Superman movie I’ve been waiting for all these years.
Music – the Deafheaven album is a real return to form, and I’ve also loved the new stuff from Turnstile, DJ Koze, Bon Iver, Bad Bunny, Sleep Token and Clipse. The track that really seems to have stayed with me though is The The’s reworking of Slow Emotion Replay; a mate sent it to me a few months back and that refrain of “Everybody knows/what’s going wrong/with the world/but I don’t even know what’s going on in myself” has really stayed with me. It’s much better than the original.
The main thing that’s grabbing me at the moment though is a game. Is anyone else playing Clair Obscur: Expedition 33? It’s exactly the kind of thing I normally bounce off – a very pretty, narrative lead game. But it’s so well executed and the story is so good that I’ve been absolutely hooked. The back story to development is pretty great too. Strong recommend.
Yep I’ve played it. It’s a beautiful take on classic Japanese RPGs. I’ve not completed it yet as I don’t want to rush through it. I heartily second your recommendation Bingo.
❤️
Another fighting game. Not for me I’m afraid
It’s an RPG!
That said, if you’re after something without fighting, Thank Goodness You’re Here is an absolute comic masterpiece that literally everyone should play.
The video for Clair Obscur was mostly fights. I can only play what’s in front of me 😊
I forgot Sault’s 10. Excellent.
After a few very lean years, 2025 has been a good ‘un for those of us who like a bit of rapping: Backxwash, Wretch 32, Kae Tempest, Paris Texas, Saba & No ID, McKinley Dixon and – yes Bingo! – Clipse. And for us old skoolers, the Phil Most Chill/Djar One record is like a shot of youth serum.
Economically, my combined tv and musical highlight was LG @ CC (a lot of booze helped, but, blimey, what a show). Of course those meanies won’t even let us have a clip, but it was a lot like this:
Gigs – The Dawn Chorus at the Wedgewood Rooms, Portsmouth last night.
Honestly, one of the best, if not the best, gig I’ve ever seen. Definitely the best atmosphere at a gig I’ve ever been at. As a one-off reunion, I’m slightly sad that I won’t see them again.