Hello everyone. It’s that time of year again. Of course it is. These trips around the sun just get quicker and quicker. It’s a sobering thought that my Beatles birthday – when I’m sixty-four – is no longer “many years from now,” but only two weeks away.
And it’s now fifty years since I bought my first LP record (“Elton John: Greatest Hits”) in John Lewis’s, Welwyn Garden City. That’s a long time ago. If we go back the equivalent period before then, we come to the hazy black-and-white days of pre-history: the earliest recordings of Louis Armstrong and Duke Ellington in the mid-1920s. I know it’s unfashionable, but I still like the album as a format, and can’t imagine digesting or assessing music in any other way.
It’s been a fine year for new releases, I think, and maybe you’ll see something on this list that piques your interest. Sixty albums from fifty-eight different artists. Of course, not all sixty of the records are masterpieces. How could they be? But I hope there are plenty of bangers within the genres that normally crop up in my pre-Christmas lists. You won’t find too many albums by the world’s biggest-selling artists here, but if you like guitar- or keyboard-led instrumental or ambient music, you’re definitely in luck.
Where applicable, I’ve added a link to the album’s bandcamp page, and I dare say that most of these records are also available on Spotify. As ever, the chart is presented in reverse order, so that the excitement builds to a mighty crescendo as we count down. Ready? Here we go with the first batch…
Bubbling under: Cate Francesca Brooks – Lofoten, Rhiannon Giddens & Justin Robinson – What did the Blackbird Say to the Crow, William Tyler – Time Indefinite, The Waterboys – Life, Death and Dennis Hopper
60. Jim Ghedi – Wasteland
South Yorkshire drone-folk. Ghedi’s previous solo record, “In the Furrows of Common Place”, was my Album of the Year in 2021. I don’t know why I couldn’t get on with this follow-up effort, but I just couldn’t.
https://jimghedi.bandcamp.com/album/wasteland
59. Neil Young – Coastal
Recorded live on tour in 2023, so it counts as a ‘new’ rather than ‘archival’ album. A decent enough outing, but, goodness me, there are scores of NY live recordings that are more essential than this.
58. Rizwan-Muazzam Qawwali – At the Feet of the Beloved
This is a group led by two nephews of the great Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan. It’s an enjoyable slice of Qawwali but – without wishing to state the obvious – it ain’t Nusrat.
https://rizwanmuazzamqawwali.bandcamp.com/album/at-the-feet-of-the-beloved
57. Blue Lake – Weft
“Blue Lake” is the artist name of Jason Dungan, a Texan multi-instrumentalist living in Copenhagen. Dungen is one of two artists to have two albums in this year’s chart. The other one is better.
https://bluelake1.bandcamp.com/album/weft
56. Bridget Hayden and the Apparitions – Cold Blows the Rain
A raw, stark set of English folk tunes that sounds like it’s been recorded on some freezing, windblown plateau in the Peak District.
https://bridgethayden.bandcamp.com/album/cold-blows-the-rain
55. Nathan Salsburg – Ipsa Corpora
I’m a huge Nathan Salsburg fan, but this is not one of his best records. It’s supposed to consist of one long solo guitar track, but it keeps stopping. And starting again. And then there’s a long pause. And it re-starts. And then stops again. I began to wonder if there was something wrong with my CD-player. Very frustrating.
https://nathansalsburg.bandcamp.com/album/ipsa-corpora
54. Gwenifer Raymond – Last Night I Heard the Dog Star Bark
A decent enough set of solo acoustic guitar pieces from the Brighton-based Welsh musician.
https://gweniferraymond.bandcamp.com/album/last-night-i-heard-the-dog-star-bark
53. James Elkington – Pastel de Nada
James Elkington, from my own home county of Hertfordshire, has made telling guitar contributions to the records of so many American artists over the past 15 years. This is another double album of tiny acoustic vignettes. It’s fine as far as it goes, but his duet records with Nathan Salsburg are still his best work.
https://james-elkington.bandcamp.com/album/pastel-de-nada
52. Poor Creature – All Smiles Tonight
Irish drone-folk outfit Poor Creature famously consists of members of both Lankum and Landless, and fans of either of those bands will find material to enjoy here.
https://poorcreature.bandcamp.com/album/all-smiles-tonight
51. Gwen Sainte-Rose – Collines/Racines
This CD comes in a wooden box with a free feather. Exciting! Ms Sainte-Rose is a Belgian composer who processes cello music through various loops and electronic boxes of tricks. Not bad.
https://bythebluestofseas.bandcamp.com/album/collines-racines-2
50. Steve Gunn – Music for Writers
I’ve enjoyed Steve Gunn’s music since 2009, and he has two albums in this chart: one vocal and one instrumental. This is the instrumental one. It’s a decent effort, but if you want to hear the best of Steve Gunn, try “Time Off” (2013) or “The Unseen in Between” (2019).
https://stevegunn.bandcamp.com/album/music-for-writers
49. Laura Cannell – LyreLyreLyre
Laura Canell is an improvising violinist and recorder player from Norfolk. For this album she turns her hand to a (copy of a) 14th century lyre, with the sound being given a 21st century electronic treatment. Yeah … nice: I need to spend more time with this.
https://brawlrecords.bandcamp.com/album/lyrelyrelyre
48. Salif Keita – So Kono
This is the first of five West African albums in this year’s chart. Keita is a great artist who’s still putting out decent work in the twilight of his career. For me, Keita’s voice is too high in the mix here, dominating to such an extent that the instruments almost seem an afterthought.
https://salifkeita.bandcamp.com/album/so-kono
47. Rolf Lislevand – Libro Primo
Norwegian lutenist Lislevand has been doing sterling work for ECM and many other labels for over 30 years now. This is a nice mix of solo lute stuff from the 16th century to the present day.
46. Goldmund – Layers of Afternoon
Another solid piano-based ambient set from the reliable US composer Keith Kenniff
https://goldmund.bandcamp.com/album/layers-of-afternoon
45. John Foxx – Wherever You Are
At the age of 77, the former Ultravox! mainman delivered a thoroughly enjoyable suite of keyboardy instrumentals.
https://johnfoxx.bandcamp.com/album/wherever-you-are
44. Faten Kanaan – Diary of a Candle
Ms Kanaan made her major-league breakthrough in 2020 with the superb “Mythology of Circles”. Since then she’s been treading water a little. “Diary of a Candle” is fine as far as it goes, but its very short running time makes the vinyl poor value for money.
https://fatenkanaan.bandcamp.com/album/diary-of-a-candle
43. Mike Polizze – Around Sound
After a long hiatus, the Philadelphia singer-songwriter returned with a relaxed 10-song set that continued to grow on me as the year went on.
https://mikepolizze.bandcamp.com/album/around-sound
42. Robert Forster – Strawberries
I thought Forster’s two previous records (“Inferno” and “The Candle and the Flame”) were two of the best albums of his 47-year career. This collection doesn’t quite match those, but hey! it’s still the inimitable Robert Forster, the Great Bard of Brisbane.
https://robertforster.bandcamp.com/album/strawberries
41. Suzanne Vega – Flying with Angels
Ms Vega’s first album of new material for nine years is a bit of a curate’s egg. The closing track, “Galway” is wonderful – possibly her greatest ever song. But there are also real shockers, such as “Rats”, which has me running for the fast-forward button.
Back later with the next instalment
It’s heartening that Salif Keita is still going strong and is in such good voice.
Soro was released in 1987 so we’ve been listening to him for almost 40 years.
Suzanne Vega’ first album was released in 1985 and when she played Konserthuset in Stockholm there was a queue all the way round Hötorget. It was my lunch-break and I had no time to wait.
I’d happily go and see her or Salif any day in 2026.
Yes, the first time I, too, ever listened to Salif Keita was when “Soro” came out.
But nowadays, I must say that my favourite Salif Keita music is the early stuff he recorded in the 1970s, firstly with the Super Rail Band, and later with Les Ambassadeurs. The combination of Salif Keita and guitarist Kante Manfila was magical.
I am sure it was you @duco01, who suggested that I bought Soro, on a visit to the legendary MULTI KULTI record shop.
I remember dragging some friends down to Hornstull to a venue which is now a Friskis och Svettis gym to see one of his first gigs in Stockholm. It was a revelation.
And then there was another gig at MUNCHENBRYGGERIET where I was with a pal from Gambia. He explained how Salif was singing in several different African languages and what some of the songs were about.
And then there was the time at Roskilde when 80,000 Danish rock fans flocked to the Orange Stage and I went in the opposite direction to see the Man from Mali. He certainly set the tent on fire that evening.
His live shows could be quite magical.
Agree with your assessment of the Vega album as curate’s egg. I find some of it a bit ordinary but I like the songs which nod to Dylan and Lucinda Williams, and fair play to her for still being out there producing worthwhile new material.
I feel it’s time to move on up the chart with the next batch of ten albums …
40. Walt McClements – On a Painted Ocean
Is there such a thing as accordion-based ambient music? Los Angeles-based accordionist Walt McClements thinks there is, and he might even be right.
https://waltmcclements.bandcamp.com/album/on-a-painted-ocean
39. Jeremiah Chiu & Marta Sofia Honer – Different Rooms
Synthesizers, processed string sounds, and other bits of electronica making up a very listenable sound collage.
https://intlanthem.bandcamp.com/album/different-rooms
38. Joel Shearer – Listening
Somewhere in Topanga Canyon outside L.A., Joel Shearer tinkers away with his guitar-based ambient wash. Thumbs-up for the results.
https://joelshearer.bandcamp.com/album/listening
37. Jefre Cantu-Ledesma – Gift Songs
Yet more guitar-based ambient music from the United States! The 20-minute suite “The Milky Sea” which occupies the whole of side one of the vinyl, is particularly fine.
https://jefrecantu-ledesma.bandcamp.com/album/gift-songs
36. Michael Grigoni & Pan · American – New World, Lonely Ride
Guitarist Mark Nelson, under the pseudonym Pan · American, is a busy guy. It’s tricky to keep up with all the stuff he releases. Here he teams up with dobro/lap-steel player Michael Grigoni for a thoroughly entertaining set of instrumentals.
https://panamerican.bandcamp.com/album/new-world-lonely-ride
35. GoGo Penguin – Necessary Fictions
From Fallowfield in south Manchester come GoGo Penguin, one of the original jazz ensembles on Gondwana Records. A decent set, and nice to see Manchester’s “Toast Rack” building on the front cover. I lived next door to there during my student years a very long time ago.
34. Dylan Golden Aycock – No New Summers
Over the years, Mr Aycock has brought a lot of great American guitar music to the general public though artists on his fine label, Scissor Tail Records. This time, his own guitars take centre stage for an engaging collection.
https://feedingtuberecords.bandcamp.com/album/no-new-summers
33. Spafford Campbell – Tomorrow Held
Owen Spafford and Louis Campbell are a folky duo from London, signed to Peter Gabriel’s Real World Records. These are basically violin-guitar-bass pieces, with Alex Lyon’s bass clarinet occasionally chucked in. Nice.
https://spaffordcampbell.bandcamp.com/album/tomorrow-held
32. Blue Lake – The Animal
On “The Animal”, Jason Dungan stretches out with a bigger, more ambitious sound palette of string and wind instruments than on “Weft” at no.57 in my chart. He even does a bit of singing here and there.
https://bluelake1.bandcamp.com/album/the-animal
31. Mathias Eick – Lullaby
I was lucky enough to catch the Norwegian trumpeter Mathias Eick in concert twice this year. He embodies that cool ECM Nordic chamber jazz sensibility.
Back later on with numbers 30 to 21!
Agree with you re Salif Keita – very good but doesn’t match some of his previous work.
Robert Forster will be in my end of year list which I am currently compiling. I don’t know his other two albums that you mention so can’t compare. I might very well rectify that though.
If Norwegian jazzer Mathias Eick and his band play in your town, I very warmly recommend that you treat yourself to a ticket. You are in for a wonderful evening.
Sailif Keita, GoGo Penguin, Mathias Eick, Suzanne Vega, Gwenifer Raymond, Neil Young, Robert Forster..
There are a lot of fine artists who’ve released new albums this year. And I’ve seen several of them live. Yikes. I must be becoming a hipster.
The denizens of the AW are always partial to some fine guitar playing …
Okay – here’s the last batch for today, namely albums 30 to 21…
30. Steve Gunn – Daylight Daylight
Gunn’s voice in these songs is quiet, withdrawn, neutral, low in the mix, as if he’d rather not be singing at all. I find it rather endearing.
https://stevegunn.bandcamp.com/album/daylight-daylight
29. Trio da Kali – Bagola
Trio da Kali are a Malian trio including balafon, ngoni, and the stunning voice of Hawa Kasse Mady Diabaté. If you’re a fan of, say, Nahawa Doumbia or Oumou Sangaré, you’ll love this.
https://oneworldrecords1.bandcamp.com/album/bagola
28. Vox Clamantis – And I Heard a Voice
As I’m sure you recall, the Estonian vocal ensemble Vox Clamantis recorded my Album of the Year in 2020 (“Cyrillus Kreek: the Suspended Harp of Babel”). This year they – and ECM Records – paid tribute to the greatest living Baltic composer, Arvo Pärt, on the occasion of his 90th birthday, by performing a varied selection of his choral pieces.
27. Big Thief – Double Infinity
In retrospect, it was always going to be tough for Big Thief to follow up the majestic “Dragon New Warm Mountain I Believe in You” from 2022 and Adrianne Lenker’s excellent solo effort “Bright Future” from last year. These new songs don’t quite have the same heft, but hey! it’s still Big Thief – one of America’s very finest groups.
https://bigthief.bandcamp.com/album/double-infinity
26. Cheikh Lô – Maame
This is the first album in a decade from the 70-year-old Burkina Faso/Senegalese musician and singer. It’s a sprightly, joyous affair, exhibiting a broad range of styles.
25. Michael Hurley – Broken Homes and Gardens
So, farewell then, Doc Snock. The great maverick American folkie Michael Hurley left us this year at the age of 83. Luckily, hidden away in his remote shack in the Oregon woods, he’d had time to record one final good-time record, with Nate Leonard’s tenor sax parping away lazily in the background.
https://michaelhurley.bandcamp.com/album/broken-homes-and-gardens
24. Stefano Pilia – Lacinia
Stefano Pilia is an Italian electro-acoustic composer. His Bandcamp page explains the album thus: “The compositions of Lacinia unfold as a series of sonic meditations that encourage active listening and evoke echoes of ancient liturgical and devotional music (Gesualdo da Venosa, Monteverdi, John Dowland) through a refined intersection of acoustic and electroacoustic processes, drone, and chamber music.”
https://stefanopilia.bandcamp.com/album/lacinia
23. Jan Lundgren, Paolo Fresu & Richard Galliano – Mare Nostrum IV
The Swedish-Italian-French chamber jazz trio (piano, trumpet and accordion) have delivered again. Sure, Volume IV sounds quite a lot like the first three volumes, but that’s no problem at all. They’re all good.
https://actrecords.bandcamp.com/album/mare-nostrum-iv
22. Jah Wobble – Dub Volume One
There’s always been a dub sensibility underlying the former PiL bassist’s work, and this time the diamond East London geezer musters up a dub album pure and simple. Extra marks for daubing the album’s front cover, too.
https://wardle.bandcamp.com/album/dub-volume-one
21 Clarice Jensen – In Holiday Clothing out of the Great Darkness
Jensen is a top cellist from the famous Juilliard School in New York. She recorded these pieces at Max Richter’s studio, and there’s certainly a Richtery vibe to them.
https://claricejensen.bandcamp.com/album/in-holiday-clothing-out-of-the-great-darkness
Right: that’s it for this evening. Join me again tomorrow morning as we reach the business end of the chart.
Note: I can exclusively reveal that 7 of my top 10 albums have not yet been mentioned or voted for by anyone in the main Afterword Album of the Year thread….
OK then, Afterworders – back to the chart rundown. We’ve had the also-rans. We’re now down to the twenty albums that will actually count toward the votes in the Afterward Albums of the Year poll. And we start, naturally with numbers 20 to 11….
20. Phi-Psonics – Expanding to One
Seth Ford-Young’s band Psi-Psonics are from California, but they fit right in with the Gondwana Records aesthetic of melodic, approachable jazz.
https://phi-psonics.bandcamp.com/album/expanding-to-one
19. Fergus McCreadie – The Shieling
This was recorded in some remote, windblown shack in the Outer Hebrides. And there are certainly echoes of Scottish traditional music in McCreadie’s fluent, beguiling piano jazz.
https://fergusmccreadie.bandcamp.com/album/the-shieling
18. Vega Trails – Sierra Tracks
Another Gondwana release, and the second album by a jazz ensemble made up of members from Portico Quartet and Mammal Hands. Even better than their 2022 debut, Tremors in the Static.
https://vegatrails.bandcamp.com/album/sierra-tracks
17. Divine Comedy – Rainy Sunday Afternoon
I hadn’t been following the Divine Comedy for a few years, so it was great to catch up with Neil Hannon and to find that his songs are as thoughtful and well-constructed as ever.
https://thedivinecomedy.bandcamp.com/album/rainy-sunday-afternoon
16. Ryan Davis & the Roadhouse Band – New Threats from the Soul
This is the second album by a group that should be much better known than they are. A seven-piece Indiana band with a rockin’ country groove and the left-field lyrical stylings of Davis himself. Give this lot a try. You’ll like ‘em.
https://sophomorelounge.bandcamp.com/album/ryan-davis-the-roadhouse-band-new-threats-from-the-soul
15. The Breadwinners – Hi Dynamic Instrumental & Dub
Alan “Breadwinner” Redfern has been beavering away in his all-analogue reggae studio in Stockport for about 15 years now, and this year we finally got a worthy follow-up to his “Dubs Unlimited” masterpiece from 2012.
https://thebreadwinners.bandcamp.com/album/hi-dynamic-instrumental-dub
14. Ablayé Cissoko & Cyrille Brotto – Djiyo
A kora player and singer from Senegal, and an accordionist from France. You can’t go wrong, can you?
https://ablayecissoko.bandcamp.com/album/djiyo
13. Anouar Brahem et al – After the Last Sky
The Tunisian oudist assembled a real dream team for this recording: Anja Lechner on cello, Dave Holland on bass and Django Bates on piano. Beautiful stuff. ECM Album of the Year.
12. Hayden Pedigo – I’ll be Waving as you Drive Away
Hayden Pedigo is from Amarillo, Texas, and he’s been making superlative solo acoustic guitar albums in the spirit of the great John Fahey for about 12 years now. Listen to anything he’s ever recorded. It’s all great.
https://haydenpedigo.bandcamp.com/album/ill-be-waving-as-you-drive-away
11. Sven Wunder – Daybreak
I don’t know why I hadn’t listened to this guy (real name: Joel Danell) until he released his fifth album. After all, he plays dreamy, slightly jazzy, piano-led instrumental music, and he comes from right here in swinging downtown Stockholm. This is a very relaxing and chilled-out 40 minutes indeed.
https://svenwunder.bandcamp.com/album/daybreak
Back later with the choicest gems at the top of the list!
Ah. Didn’t know Breadwinners have a new album. And I’m signed up on bandcamp for news! 🙁
I can’t believe I forgot to put Fergus McC in my list…… In fact, although it deserves a better place, @paul-hewston , please can you replace my number 19 with The Shieling/Fergus McCreadie.
Yes – I’ve only just received the Fergus McCreadie album and have only listened to it a couple of times, so it was difficult to rank. But I’ve a feeling that it’ll grow on me, and if I were to reconsider this list in a couple of months’ time, “The Shieling” might well be higher.
Me neither @tiggerlion. If only the lamestream media spent as much effort detailing exciting new releases noteworthy to the AW as they do reporting dynamic-pricing-fuelled cash grabs by creatively challenged Mancunian siblings – I have half a mind to sue the BBC for 50 billion dollars..
“Creatively challenged Mancunian siblings”? Yeah – we’ve all heard enough about Shaun and Paul Ryder out of Happy Mondays!
Very glad to see Anouar Brahem on your list. He’ s been a favourite of mine since 2002 and Le Pas du Chat Noir.
Lennart Wretlind played tracks from that album on his Klingan on Sveriges Radio and the rest is history.
Here’s the title track of the new album.
Some absolute winners there.
I am really looking forward to seeing Mr Hannon in 2026.
@duco01 We appear to have missed out on 30 to 21. Or is it just me? I only point this out because I’ve been enjoying the list…
Glad you’re enjoying the list, Guiri.
The 30 to 21 list is just above the 20 to 11 list.
It starts with “30. Steve Gunn – Daylight Daylight”
Can’t see it either!
Hmmm … that’s strange.
Admittedly that posting does open with the phrase “Your comment is awaiting moderation”, so perhaps the mods have slapped a ban on numbers 30 to 21?
I think I’d better repost it…
WordPress automatically holds posts which contain too many links to other sites. Sometimes us Mods are too tied up in pleasure seeking to get to these very quickly to release them.
No comment intended on your musical tastes, honest
OK – thanks for that explanation, mod team.
Maybe next year I’ll release the rundown in smaller batches or something.
OK – thank you Guiri and dai for alerting me to the fact that nos 30 to 21 in my chart – posted yesterday evening – had somehow been blocked by the moderators.
I hope you can see them this time …
30. Steve Gunn – Daylight Daylight
Gunn’s voice in these songs is quiet, withdrawn, neutral, low in the mix, as if he’d rather not be singing at all. I find it rather endearing.
https://stevegunn.bandcamp.com/album/daylight-daylight
29. Trio da Kali – Bagola
Trio da Kali are a Malian trio including balafon, ngoni, and the stunning voice of Hawa Kasse Mady Diabaté. If you’re a fan of, say, Nahawa Doumbia or Oumou Sangaré, you’ll love this.
https://oneworldrecords1.bandcamp.com/album/bagola
28. Vox Clamantis – And I Heard a Voice
As I’m sure you recall, the Estonian vocal ensemble Vox Clamantis recorded my Album of the Year in 2020 (“Cyrillus Kreek: the Suspended Harp of Babel”). This year they – and ECM Records – paid tribute to the greatest living Baltic composer, Arvo Pärt, on the occasion of his 90th birthday, by performing a varied selection of his choral pieces.
27. Big Thief – Double Infinity
In retrospect, it was always going to be tough for Big Thief to follow up the majestic “Dragon New Warm Mountain I Believe in You” from 2022 and Adrianne Lenker’s excellent solo effort “Bright Future” from last year. These new songs don’t quite have the same heft, but hey! it’s still Big Thief – one of America’s very finest groups.
https://bigthief.bandcamp.com/album/double-infinity
26. Cheikh Lô – Maame
This is the first album in a decade from the 70-year-old Burkina Faso/Senegalese musician and singer. It’s a sprightly, joyous affair, exhibiting a broad range of styles.
25. Michael Hurley – Broken Homes and Gardens
So, farewell then, Doc Snock. The great maverick American folkie Michael Hurley left us this year at the age of 83. Luckily, hidden away in his remote shack in the Oregon woods, he’d had time to record one final good-time record, with Nate Leonard’s tenor sax parping away lazily in the background.
https://michaelhurley.bandcamp.com/album/broken-homes-and-gardens
24. Stefano Pilia – Lacinia
Stefano Pilia is an Italian electro-acoustic composer. His Bandcamp page explains the album thus: “The compositions of Lacinia unfold as a series of sonic meditations that encourage active listening and evoke echoes of ancient liturgical and devotional music (Gesualdo da Venosa, Monteverdi, John Dowland) through a refined intersection of acoustic and electroacoustic processes, drone, and chamber music.”
https://stefanopilia.bandcamp.com/album/lacinia
23. Jan Lundgren, Paolo Fresu & Richard Galliano – Mare Nostrum IV
The Swedish-Italian-French chamber jazz trio (piano, trumpet and accordion) have delivered again. Sure, Volume IV sounds quite a lot like the first three volumes, but that’s no problem at all. They’re all good.
https://actrecords.bandcamp.com/album/mare-nostrum-iv
22. Jah Wobble – Dub Volume One
There’s always been a dub sensibility underlying the former PiL bassist’s work, and this time the diamond East London geezer musters up a dub album pure and simple. Extra marks for daubing the album’s front cover, too.
https://wardle.bandcamp.com/album/dub-volume-one
21 Clarice Jensen – In Holiday Clothing out of the Great Darkness
Jensen is a top cellist from the famous Juilliard School in New York. She recorded these pieces at Max Richter’s studio, and there’s certainly a Richtery vibe to them.
https://claricejensen.bandcamp.com/album/in-holiday-clothing-out-of-the-great-darkness
The horror I feel is secondary to your comments on Big Thief. Was it really three years ago? Seems like yesterday, for sure.
Cheikh Lô. Now there’s an old favourite who has been out of the limelight for a while.
He sounds in good form.
I was very glad to see local hero, pianist Jan Lundgren, and the magnificent Mare Nostrum trio on your list.
Here’s a concert from September 2025 where they played several tracks from the new album. Just sit back and enjoy these superb musicians.
OK, Afterworders. We’ve now reached the rarified heights of this year’s Top Ten.
Let’s bite off the first half of that Top Ten first. From 10 down to 6…
10. Joan Shelley – Real Warmth
I keep expecting Joan Shelley to come up with a sub-par album, but somehow, in eleven years, that’s never happened. Here, she has her husband Nathan Salsburg on guitar and the Weather Station’s Tamara Lindeman on piano and backing vocals. The songs and arrangements are as strong as ever; try “New Anthem” as a taster.
https://joanshelley.bandcamp.com/album/real-warmth
9. Okonski – Entrance Music
The US pianist Steve Okonski leads his trio through “nine original compositions for piano that explore the transitions between anticipation, contemplation and calm”, as he puts it. And who am I to argue?
https://okonski.bandcamp.com/album/entrance-music
8. Jason Isbell – Foxes in the Snow
Jason Isbell. He sounds great with a band. And he sounds great on his own, too. The material here looks back on his 2023/4 divorce from Amanda Shires and then focuses on his new relationship. I don’t need to tell you that these are high-quality songs; it is, after all, a Jason Isbell album. [A couple of weeks ago, Jason released the download-only set “Live at the Beacon Theatre – New York, NY – February 21 & 22, 2025”. I haven’t heard it. Have any Isbell fans here investigated it? ]
https://jasonisbell.bandcamp.com/album/foxes-in-the-snow
7. Cameron Knowler – CRK
Roasting away in the USA’s hottest city, Yuma, Arizona, is Cameron Knowler. And he plays splendid solo acoustic guitar tunes that dip their toes into a whole range of traditional American roots musics (note: skip the opening track with the spoken-word vocal, “Christmas in Yuma”, which isn’t too great).
https://cameronknowler.bandcamp.com/album/crk
6. Piers Faccini & Ballaké Sissoko – Our Calling
Piers Faccini is an Anglo-Italian songwriter and guitarist domiciled in France. Ballaké Sissoko is a Malian kora player. And what a winning combination they make. The opening track here, “One Half of a Dream” may be my favourite song of 2025.
https://piersfacciniballaksissoko.bandcamp.com/album/our-calling
Tune in for the fantabulous Top Five tomorrow morning!
Piers and Ballaké are really something special.
Ballaké of course has a very impressive back catalogue
New Ancient Strings with Toumani Diabate
Chamber Music with Vincent Segal
Basle with Derek Gripper
3MA with Rajery and Driss El Maloumi.
We saw 3ma at Stallet and vey good they were too.
Flipping heck. I like that. New fan made.
Juke Box @guiri! You should start your own podcast..
When John Prine played Stockholm a few years back, Amanda Shires was in his band and very good she was too, And even Jason Isbell made a brief appearance. They seemed like Nashville royalty, a golden couple.
So I was very sad to read now on the Duke’s thread that after ten years of marrriage and the birth of their daughter, everything had ended so very badly.
She had an album out too this year.. Not too many happy tunes…..
I shouldn’t say anything. What do I know about the pressures and stress of being a working musician in 2025?
Hello again Afterworders,
Welcome to the Big Reveal of my Top Five New Albums of 2025. Two albums of songs. Three albums of instrumentals. And what a global spread there is: records from Europe, North America, Africa and Australia. Let’s dive in …
5. James Yorkston and Friends – Songs for Nina and Johanna
James Yorkston’s previous recordings with Nina Persson (of the Cardigans) had basically been Nina singing a bit of back-up on his songs. But this time, JY wrote proper duets for two equal vocal contributions, and the songs really blossomed, including four numbers with Johanna Söderberg of First Aid Kit. Yorkston and Persson’s performance on the BBC’s “Later” programme is an ideal taster for the album.
https://jamesyorkston.bandcamp.com/album/songs-for-nina-and-johanna
4. Guitari Baro – Guitari Baro
A trio from Guinea and Mali: two guitarists (Gaoussou Kouyate and Kerfala Diabate) and one balafon player (Lassana Diabate). Some virtuoso playing here. “Guitari Baro” means guitar conversations, and these are very eloquent indeed. West African acoustic instrumental music from the absolute top drawer.
3. Toby Hay – New Music for the Six-String Guitar
From the Black Mountains of Wales comes Toby Hay. Six years ago, he gave us “New Music for the 12-String guitar”, and this year he turned his attention to the humble six-string. Ten original compositions and a couple of traditional folky tunes, recorded in the famous Wood Room at Real World Studios. All mesmerising.
https://tobyhay.bandcamp.com/album/new-music-for-the-6-string-guitar
2. Sean Pratt – Prairie Whistle Call
Sean Pratt was a new name to me this year. He’s a singer-songwriter with a three-piece band from Nebraska. The songs aren’t brash or attention-craving. They’re muted, melancholic, minor-key, strewn with tumbleweed, redolent of the dust-blown plains of the great Midwest. Dobro, cello, mandolin, harmonium, violin, piano, banjo, bass and vocals. Pratt should be very proud of what he’s achieved here. Absolutely top-class Americana.
https://seanpratt.bandcamp.com/album/prairie-whistle-call-2
1. The Necks – Disquiet
Three unassuming Australian men in their mid-60s. Three instruments: piano (or organ), double bass and drums. And a huge bank of improvisational experience, telepathy and craft. Four tracks with a combined duration of three-and-a-half hours. Disc Two, “Ghost Net” is the absolute peach here, thrumming and rumbling along for 74 minutes like a train crossing the vast Nullabor Plain. For almost forty years now, the Necks have been making uncategorisable music that has probed, hinted, nudged and searched. Somehow, their masterpiece was always elusive, just around the bend. But now here it is. Chris, Tony, Lloyd: we salute you. “Disquiet” is colossal.
https://thenecksau.bandcamp.com/album/disquiet
Hope you enjoyed this rundown of my favourite new music of this year. Join me sometime in the next 12 days for my favourite Archival Recordings released in 2025. In the meantime, enjoy the holiday season.
//duco
I bought Disquiet on the day of release. I mainly listen in the car. Most journeys are the equivalent of one side of vinyl. I might get to 30 minutes of track one. Come the next journey, it starts back at the beginning. To date, I’ve heard about half an hour of Disquiet’s three hour plus.
🙃
I am fascinated by the thought of you driving around your home town in England listening to the very other-worldly, hypnotic sounds of The Necks, @tiggerlion. That must be quite a contrast,
But imagine driving along that lonely highway from Perth to Darwin with Disquiet as your soundtrack. That would be quite something.
Has their music ever been used in any film soundtracks? A great choice I’d say.
Funnily enough, the last time an Afterworder was in my car, The Necks’ Rapid Eye Movement was halfway through. As you are aware, in contrast to its title, it is very slow and long and in danger of inducing stupor in an inexperienced listener/driver.
They were just warming up. 😉
That Ghost Train piece is stunning – completely hypnotic
This playlist is perfect for doing the housework.
Today’s new discovery is Vega Trails,
Some interesting new name on the ducolist this year,
Ryan Davis writes wonderful songs with superb lyrics and has a band to die for. They make me think of superb western swing bands like ASLEEP AT THE WHEEL and COMMANDER CODY. They must be wonderful live.
Yes, Ryan Davis and the Roadhouse Band are supposed to be a kick-ass live act.
They actually played in Stockholm this autumn: 19 September at Debaser Bar Brooklyn. I didn’t go. As you know, I’ve become less and less fond of stand-up gigs. My back and legs start to hurt. I just get too knackered. sigh …
That’s one disadvantage of liking bands/artists that aren’t huge – that only have a limited following. If they ever actually make it to Stockholm to play live, they’ll be playing a small venue. And a small venue is almost inevitably a standing venue, as a tiny seated venue wouldn’t be economically viable for the promotor or the artist. A great pity.
Very true @duco01.
There’s little middle ground between those small, moderately-priced venues and the
big comfortable theatres which are wonderful but twice as expensive.
Shame we missed Ryan.
Some other singer-songwriters who were new to me but ae rather moreish
Michael Hurleu hit the spot at once.
As did Sean Pratt
And finally Mike Pollizze
Well I never. Michael Hurley was quite a character.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Hurley_(musician)
Quite a few Michael Hurley albums can be downloaded from ArchiveDOTorg in MP3 format, by the way, including the Armchair Boogie one above, for anyone keen to investigate further.