How this works: I pretty much only use the blog for this yearly post. I've got a bunch of music I liked this year with pithy comments that may or may not make sense to outside readers, interspersed with some songs I liked. Then I've got beer. You like beer, don't you?
This year there's a pretty clear top two for me; both of these are excellent. After that I'm less sure, but tried to settle on an order because ranking things is fun.
1) Deafheaven - Lonely People With Power: One of my favorite metal albums in recently memory, the gaze in blackgaze is still there, but so are nods to 1980s and 1990s thrash. My favorite musical moment of 2025 is at the 3:45 mark of Doberman when George Clarke lets out a wussy sub-Hetfieldesque “Oooh,” it echos, and the rest of the band immediately steals a riff from a 1992 Testament album.
2) Neko Case - Neon Grey Midnight Green: A series of songs recorded live with a chamber orchestra is a profoundly human, and probably political, statement. Their take on the chamber pop of Van Dyke Parks and Brian Wilson make for my favorite album of theirs.
Verity Den - wet glass: Sometimes it's slowcore, sometimes cinematic post-rock, sometimes jangle, sometimes shoegaze. This band is one of my favorite finds of 2025.
Suede - Antidepressants: Twenty-plus years after Britpop faded, Suede are back with an album that could have been released in 1995 (complimentary). Brett Anderson and the rest of the band sound great.
Wisp - If Not Winter: The knock on this is that it's derivative, but at one point there's at least a synth that sounds like a theremin, if not the real thing, and the guitars are heavier than one might expect from a classical shoegaze album. Neo-classical shoegaze? Sure.
Remble - Juco: His schtick is that he shit talks and boasts over beats. Literally talks. I'm delighted by it, but it's not for everyone.
Wet Leg - Moisturizer: Now a full band as opposed to a two-person art project with backing music, and everyone sounds happier, less cynical and weary. Still very good.
Teethe - Magic of the Sale: A little alt-country, a little slowcore, a little indie rock, all gorgeous.
Rosalia - Lux: One of the most ambitious albums of the year mostly pulls it off. She's got a great voice and knows that pop music is more interesting if it's arty.
Prostitute - Martyr: Arab-American noise rock and hardcore from Dearborn.
Wednesday - Bleeds: "We watched a Phish concert and Human Centipede / Two things I now wish I had never seen." See, now that's a lyric. Really good stuff from Karly Hartzman and company, blending alt-country, indie rock, shoegaze, and a little hardcore-style yelling.
Ho99o9 - Tomorrow We Escape: A fun genre of rap that went away is a bunch of knuckleheads yelling at you while handing out beat downs. Well, it's back, with a few nu-metal flourishes. Really. And it works.
Vulture Feather - It Will Be Like Now?: Singer Colin McCann bellows out early-1980s-indebted post-punk.
Deftones - Private Music: I've always respected this group from a distance, this is their first album that's spoken to me.
Forever Star - Second Gen Dream: There's a precedent for marrying shoegaze with breakbeats. If you're into Curve and Third Eye Foundation you'll probably be into this, too.
Dijon - Baby!: Recommend if you like Prince, D'Angleo (RIP), Frank Ocean,...
Danny Brown - Stardust: The biggest weirdo in hip hop raps over hyperpop/digicore/whatever and... it largely works.
Annahestia - Tether: RIYL Tracy Chapman, Joan Armtrading. It's a very slow burn with a great finish.
The Armed - The Future is Here and Everything Needs to Be Destroyed: Having played around with a sound that was "festival-ready" (that's both a compliment and an insult) this band is back to hardcore.
Imaginary People - Alibi: This would have been comparatively huge in 2005. Think French Kicks meets late 80s Talking Heads.
I also liked: Anna Von Hausswolf, Amulets/Dan Meyer, Infinity Knives, Osees, Clipse, Sharon Van Etten and the Attachment Theory, Circuit des Yeux, Jim Legxacy, Krazen.
Singles: Pulp- Spike Island; Sex Weekend - Moneyman; AVTT/PTTN - Heaven's Breath; Cut Copy - When This is Over; Clipse - P.O.V.; Maria Somerville - Garden; Tate McRae - Sports Car; Smerz - You've Got Time and I've Got Money; Just Mustard - Endless Deathless.
I don't quite know what to do with these albums, which fall into jazz, classical, and/or ambient, so I'll just put them here. All of them are immersive experiences if you'd like to zone out.
Ambrose Akinmusire - Honey From a Winter Stone; Disniblud - s/t; Olga Anna Markowska - ISKRA; Heinali & Andriana-Yaroslava Saienko - Hildegard.
BEER
There's never been a better time to drink beer in terms of quality and variety and yet... everyone is miserable because fewer people are drinking it and even fewer are reading what's written about it. This will have implications for my side hustle at DC Beer as well. 2026 is going to be veeeeeery interesting, probably not in a good way. Locally there are a lot of breweries with 10-year leases coming up, and a few that are already year-to-year, waiting for potential mergers or acquisitions. If those M&As don't show up, it's going to get ugly out there.
In the meantime, what a great year for the humble Vienna lager. Everyone knows Devils Backbone's version, but DC Brau now makes an excellent one year-round--see below--and Sojourn's Dreherhouse and Sapwood Cellars' Albura Negra are also very good. Below you'll find a few beers that really stood out to me, organized alphabetically by brewery, beer name, and style.
DC Brau, Dueling Grounds, Vienna Lager: I thought only Atlas sent beer from DC to the Great American Beer Festival, but Brau sent cans of this and it did very well. DC's next GABF medal, mayhaps?
Denizens, Czexican, Lager: It's a little Czech, a little Mexican, and all delicious.
Henceforth, Lime Hibiscus Gose and Coal Miner's Daughter Grodziskie: Here's two for you from DC's newest brewery, both a little off the beaten path as far as beer styles go. They're also both under 5% alcohol by volume.
Lost Generation, Meridian of Time, West Coast Pilsner: Each year Lost Gen dials up the hops in a pilsner and each year I keep coming back for more.
Other Half, Big Manilita Vibes, Hazy IPA: A new-to-me candy sweet southern hemisphere hop, well presented here. Think strawberry or cherry gummy bears, with a bit of grapefruit bitterness.
Silver Branch, Ferdinand, Weizenbock: Not my preferred style, but this was liquid banana bread in all the best ways.
Waradaca and Mayan Monkey, La Lumbre, Smoked Helles: Mayan Monkey just ran out of bottles of this, but I hear they're going to make more. A must if you like smoked beer and you're in the area.
Wheatland Spring, Consequent, Czech-style Pale Lager: They just canned another batch of this, probably my favorite beer from them.
Elsewhere, OEC out of CT had an excellent stout on cask at Shelter, which routinely has my favorite beer menu in the city, and someone brought one of their beers aged in a barrel that held absinthe to a DC Beer bottle share that was very interesting. More, please! I'd also like to try more cider from Maine's Rocky Ground Cider. A late contender since I just had it this month, Bon Entonnement saison from Brasserie Thiriez and Rochester's Strangebird, which should be available at Hop, Cask, & Barrel in Georgetown/Glover Park.
Let's go out with a song. Cheers!
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