Music | 2025 Singles

An overview of genre & taste for 2025: Most of my listening habits this year fit into the “Country/Folk/Americana” realm of genres, but I’ve noted a lot more rock/punk/metal returning to me rotation. Pop and R&B have fallen off a lot and Hip Hop continued to be off my radar. The latter half of the year saw me listening to more and more electronic and experimental music. My jazz listening this year was mostly reacquainting myself with old favorites, but I did find myself frequently wondering where the line was between ‘jazz’ and a lot of the jazz and prog influenced music I’ve been into.

Across the year, I averaged nearly 2 new albums a week. That said, listening to full albums is a downward trend, as I spent a lot more time thinking about individual songs and building playlists.

Hillbilly Hymn (Okra & Cigarettes) – Nathan Evans Fox

The absolutely unexpected stand-out of the year. I’d encountered Fox’s music previously for his song Some Things are Coming Back Again. He struck me as a solid songwriter and performer in the 70’s era Nashville tradition (ex. Kristofferson, Clark, Jennings, etc.)—what we think of today as classic “outlaw” country. Hillbilly Hymn seems to throw out that traditional Nashville sound in favor of the gospel inflections of traditional “hillbilly music”.

The track’s production is sparse. Three main vocal lines, a few additional vocal harmonies fade in and out, only to break out into an atemporal, “revival”-style choir climax. For instrumentation, we have a few piano stings in the beginning, centering the pitch for the vocalists, and a couple of bowed fiddle parts spread wide in the stereo image. The instruments are used more for atmosphere, than directly contributing to the melody and harmony.

The lyrics are the exact thing I needed to hear this year. They fit the old hymn-song cadence and reverence in a way that highlights the true revolutionary heart of Christianity that has been lost. Despite leaving the religion behind, I’ve continued to study the teachings of the early church and contemporary readings of the gospel of Luke as the “social justice gospel”. This song brought me to tears a few times this year. Rather than go into all it means to me, here are the lyrics to my favorite part of the song:

When the Lord comes back the rich get scared
Ain’t gotta act mean to be treated fair
All the living’s honest and dying too
Our bodies return as heirlooms

Coulda already come a time or two
And they killed him like they tend to do
So I’m praying for the mighty fall
Else ain’t no use in prayer at all

Wheel of Fortune – DUG, feat. Joshua Burnside

DUG is the project of Irish folk musician Coner Lorkin O’Rielly & Californian banjo player Jonny Pickett; this track also features some backing vocals by Belfast folk singer Joshua Burnside. I was familiar with Burnside, but had never heard of O’Rielly or Pickett before their song Jubilee made waves late last year and showed up in the stories of multiple artists I follow on social media.

This track is sonically very different from Hillbilly Hymn—Guitar, banjo, bowed fiddle, double-bass, full string quartet, a euphonium/tuba quartet, and a chior of at least four male voices in parts. It opens feeling like it belongs with the previous track and ends in a complex, lush harmonic environment that far exceeds what you’d ordinarily expect for such a track. The impact of this building instrumentation gives the entire track the gravity the themes of the song call for.

Where Hillbilly Hymn takes after the Gospel traditions, Wheel of Fortune takes after takes after the “white settler” side of the “hillbilly music” tradition. In the track you’ll find allusions to old Irish lyrical patterns and bits of melodies first recorded in the hills of South West Virginia. The song itself is full of hope and acceptance, wrapped up in a kind of nostalgic melancholy that felt very appropriate this year.

Beeswing – Willi Carlisle

While Willi Carlisle is a masterful songwriter, he is at heart a traditional folk musician with the keen ability to spot the correct moment to deploy an old favorite or forgotten masterpiece.

For my birthday this past September, my wife bought us ticket to see him perform live in DC, a couple days following the killing of Charley Kirk. The crowd was charged with political anxiety and tension, as all the concert goers walked past multiple National Guard patrols to get to the venue, Jordan Smart (the opener) had just gone somewhat viral with his song praising the death of healthcare CEOs, and Carlisle had invited the Free DC Project to table at the event. Following the first couple songs, Carlisle paused the show and began to introduce a song he’d written the day before about everything happening in that moment, but stopped, looked around the room and said “this isn’t the time for that, so here is an old hymn from the 1800’s I’ve been thinking about a lot lately.” As he sang of ‘fighting for utopia on earth through the work of peace’, the room transformed.

Beeswing is a song written by English folk singer Richard Thompson in the 1970’s. Willi’s cover changes nothing—telling the story of pair of vagabonds with one of the most emotionally dynamic and tender vocal performances I’ve heard in years. Simple—guitar, concertina, accordion, and vocals. A grounding moment of reverence, warmth, and care.

What Do I Do – Josienne Clarke

I have no idea how this song found me. I do not know a single thing about the artist. The song itself feels incomplete. However it came to my attention, it hit me hard. More than any song on this list, this is what has been stuck in my head in 2025.

Another song about freedom. Only this time it is about the internal conflicts that arises when someone finds themself “freed” after spending their life defining themselves by the thing they have been freed from. For many personal reasons, this song hits me really hard. The fact that the song ends with neither an answer to the question nor sonic resolution feels deliberate and is a really affecting choice.

It is at this point in writing out my thoughts on the playlist that I begin thematically connecting the songs and have realizations about what is going on in the back of my head. … But it is probably nothing. Next song.

What to Make of Me – Olive Klug

A slight tone shift as we continue with the theme of unanswered and unanswerable questions concerning identity (nothing to see here)—this time about a relationship, maybe?. Olive Klug is an artist who had tracks on both of last year’s playlists and was my second most played artist (after Willi Carlisle) for 2025. Their latest album, Lost Dog, takes on a more country aesthetic that still has the energy and honesty of their previous albums.

What to make of me is much higher energy, reflecting the anxiety of the question of “who am I to you?”. There are some fun bouncy and upbeat guitar, fiddle, and banjo parts, legato/ethereal vocal sections, and a jazzy little horn bridge section. It is a really fun song that shifts tones sonically as the lyrics shift tones thematically. It is a basic trick, but really effective. The song ends with a conclusion of, “the love interest probably isn’t into me, but I’m not going to do anything to confirm that. And also, it is their loss because I’m pretty great (and secretly, I still really hope the person is actually into me).”

See, I can listen to fun music that isn’t all about struggle, which brings us to the next track.

(Alternate reading: Olive Klug is a nonbinary artist singing a song about loving a woman, who doesn’t know what to make of them, and thinks that it’ll never be because they believe that a woman wouldn’t be into them, for reasons that are implied.)

Suffer – Boy Golden

So, a song that has the chorus of simply “We all suffer”… I promise it isn’t a huge bummer. The song is really more about the universal experience and how it is something that connects us to one another.

Boy Golden is an artist I’ve followed for a couple years and was featured on last year’s playlists as well. His 2021 album Church of Better Daze got a fair bit of press, including shout outs from many celebs. He made additional headlines after an interview in which he described himself as queer, and when pressed for more information responded with, “I’m not really interested in any of that.” King Shit.

Suffer is a distinctly more straight-forward rock track than we’ve heard from previous releases. The songwriting is still tight, well structured, and dynamic, allowing for a great ebb and flow that doesn’t fatigue the listener. Two guitars, bass, and drums—you can’t really get more straight-ahead for rock.

Bitin’ List – Tyler Childers

Solidly out of the self-realization corner of the playlist, we encounter the absolute banger Tyler Childers snuck into Snipe Hunter. If you don’t know about Tyler Childers, he is the guy the won a Country Music Award for Best Americana Album and opened his acceptance speech with “I don’t know what the hell ‘Americana’ is, but we made a Country album I’m really proud of.” Seriously, King shit.

Keeping that same kind of attitude, he brings us a song with the premise, “If I ever get rabies, I’m going to make sure I take some of you fuckers out with me.” The distorted, over-driven, and out of tune Hammond organ in the background sets a discordant atmosphere over everything that somehow disappears into the background of the track. Aside from that, and a chorus of people screaming and barking toward the end of the track, the instrumentation is exactly what you’d expect. Lyrically, it is simple, funny as hell, and oddly delightful to have stuck in your head.

It’s the End of the World – Orville Peck

Gay cowboy Morrissey is back with another EP, but unlike Morrissey, I actually enjoy Peck’s music. I’ll admit that I need to be in the right mood to get into the theatrics of an Orville Peck album, but when I am in the mood, nothing beats an Orville Peck record.

It’s the End of the World is as dramatic a song as you can find in Peck’s oeuvre. As might be obvious given the title, this song is a grandiose fantasy. The lyrics meet the grandiose tone of the swelling reverb and belted vocals with lines like “kiss me to death”. Like many of Peck’s songs this track is saturated by the “California sound” developed by Brian Wilson and Phil Spectre—surf rock guitar tones, the plucky danelectro bass sounds, and the “wall of sound” effect during the choruses. Coming out of the year we lost Brian in, it is nice to hear his influence is still with us.

Shape I’m In – Palmyra

Palmyra is a band from the Shenandoah Valley. They started as a three piece contemporary bluegrass & folk group, but have since evolved to being a pretty solid indie rock outfit—or at least that is the case for a fair bit of their latest album Restless. The trio enlisted Jake Cochran, of local heroes Illiterate Light, to produce and play drums on the album (recorded at Blue Sprocket Sound in Harrisonburg, VA).

Sasha takes the lead for both songwriting and vocals on the track Shape I’m In in which she shares her struggles with bipolar disorder. The song has a number of dramatic shifts. It starts with a section that feels vulnerable and confessional, which slowly builds are bowed strings gradually begin to swell, bringing in an entire string quartet, keys, and upright bass. Just as this section begins building, there is a gear shift (literal) and the section section of the song begins with a new key and new tempo. This section is focused on the combined and conflicting highs and lows and rapidly builds into an anxious fervor before collapsing, rising, and gradually slowing. The outro comes in with three part vocal harmony sung a cappella. The last line of the song is sung solo, with the same vulnerability the song began with.

This is the kind of song that almost feels like it wasn’t written or recorded to be heard by the public. It is brutally vulnerable and personal. At the same time. The band seems to be headed back toward the bluegrass/folk thing that they were doing prior, which just makes this song feel all the more personal and special.

Ankles – Lucy Ducas

I don’t have the playlist saved anywhere, but I distinctly remember Lucy Ducas last appearing on my year end playlists in 2016. I was obsessed with No Burden form the first listen in a way that nothing she’s released since has. 2016 is of note to me because it was also the year I accidentally became an official part of lesbian culture when my Spotify Wrapped was picked out by their editors as the basis of a playlist targeted to young sad lesbians. The meme this spawned would later be overwritten when Girl in Red started putting out music.

Anyway, Ankles. This song is a really tender (and somewhat horny) version of the love fantasy song. The narrator is fantasizing about both her and her love interest allowing themselves to be free to explore that feeling fully. The thing I really love about this take on the old trope is that Lucy treats “pull me by the ankles to the edge of the bed” with the same intimacy as “help me with the crossword in the morning.”

Sonically, I’ve found Lucy’s vocal performance to be increasingly monotone or neutral over the years—puhaps purposefully restrained (?)—and this song suffers a bit from that. That said, the backing track built around bowed cellos and an early 90’s synth-harpsichord like thing keep me interested enough to have the lyrics hit. And those lyrics hit really nicely.

Cold at Night – The Mountain Goats

I first encountered The Mountain Goats by listening to WXJM (local college radio), late at night when I was in high school. The vocal delivery and timbre are unmistakable. For the band’s 23rd album, John Danielle and co. set out to write a musical about the a group of shipwrecked men.

Track 3 on the album, Cold at Night, is the second song of the narrative taking place immediately following the sinking of the ship. While there is a narrative purpose behind the song, the song stands alone as an upbeat parable about finding your way in the world. When released as a single and without knowing the intent of the album, the song made me think about being thrust into the world after graduation. The uncertainty and finding your way, learning that you can’t control most of the situations you encounter, and learning lessons along the way.

People of Substance – Craig Finn

Craig Finn is better known as the lead singer of the band The Hold Steady. His solo work has landed on my year end playlists previously, so I was really excited when his latest album, Always Been, was announced. His solo work marries the narrative songwriting you’d hear on his band’s recordings, and pairs it with what I previously described as “Billy Joel does early Tom Waits”.

People of Substance reads like a letter or voicemail from a guy you used to know in a past life—a regrettable ex. The narrator is reaching out insisting that they have changed. Finn’s vocal delivery carries a lingering sense of aggression and slurring of speech that increases slightly as the song progresses.

No one can do the hope filled music contrasted with the down-and-out to pathetic narrative, quite like Craig Finn. There is the 90’s pop drum machine and piano, subtle 80’s country guitar tones, almost completely buried backing vocals. Sonically, this track sounds a bit like it belongs in the montage sequence in a 1999 made for TV movie [in a good way].

Lose You – Murder By Death

Murder by Death is another band that hasn’t appeared on my year end playlists in a long time (2015, I think?). In 2025, this country tinged indie rock band released their 12th and final album. (Egg & Dart) After a 25 year run the remaining members decided that they had had enough of touring and called it quits.

Egg & Dart is an album that knows it is a farewell album, but mercifully doesn’t dwell on it. Fitting with the album’s more nostalgic vibe, Lose You comes in quietly, featuring both of the remaining members that hve been with the band from the beginning—Adam Turla, with his distinctive baritone vocal timbre, and Sarah Balliet with the band’s other sonic signature, bowed cello. Once the song kicks in, you get some vibes that feel more like The Cure’s Kiss Me, Kiss Me, Kiss Me—80’s synth, fuzzed out electric bass doubled by another synth line, and the reverb laden “jangly” guitar. Overlaying this synth rock vibe are some percussive acoustic guitar, violin, cello, and piano that build into a lush soundscape that somehow never becomes muddy. The mixing engineer really pulled off a bit of magic on this one.

The song itself is about that feeling of anxiety or dread around losing someone from your life—whether through distance, illness, time, or death. The song is exploring the grief of loss, and does it in a way that reminds the listener that this is a universal experience, and that you are not alone in it. “Like a fever breaking, Like a spirit leaving a room, Violently shaking out of a cocoon”, you will survive and grow past it, turning the loss into something/someone you can look back upon fondly.

Backseat Banton – Bartees Strange

Bartees Strange is an artist I first encountered on the I Saw the TV Glow soundtrack. After I encountered him again on the TRANSA compilation, put out last year in support of trans youth, I went digging and fell in love with his ‘entire thing’. By that I mean, his indie rock aesthetic that has zero respect for any genre boundaries.

His 2025 album Horror was my most listened to album of 2025. At heart it is an indie rock album that explores some really interesting production techniques and fuses hip hop, funk, synth rock, post-hardcore, post-rock, and soul/R&B moments. Backseat Banton closes out the album with a bang. The Jack Antonoff is on full display, leaning full maximalist, making this track a full-on alt pop explosion. The 90’s pop influence is obvious from the piano for four hands opening and “woo’s” that appear throughout the track. The funk/hiphop drum beat gives the track momentum and combines with the piano to form the baseline sonic character of the track. Weaving in and out throughout the song, you’ll encounter synth, electric guitars oscillating between Tom Petty and Grunge tones, a closet full of various pieces of auxiliary percussion, multiple bass guitar tones, and just about everything someone could throw at a pop song.

“Banton” is a Caribbean term meaning ‘storyteller’. The track opens with the realization that the narrator’s story is being written for him, as he is in the Backseat. While that has gotten the narrator to a place he is proud of, this realization brings up a conflict in him—does he try to step forward and take the wheel or does he just go along for the ride. His exploration of this finds that just because he hasn’t been in control of the wheel doesn’t mean that no one has been driving. He acknowledges his need for those who have supported him and ultimately concludes that it is his responsibility to step forward and do more of the driving.

Stanley – Camille Schmidt

I came to Camille Schmidt during a quest to build a queer alt country playlist last year. Camille Schmidt is very much not a country artist, but there was a lot of country influence on her first single. Late last year the first single (XOXO) for her 2025 album Nude #9 came out and immediately had me hooked. XOXO exhibited a really unique robotic alt-pop vibe that showcased influences of hyperpop and the 70’s singer-songwriter aesthetic.

The second single for the album was Stanley, a track with some really unique production, that on its surface sounds like it would be more irritating than catchy. The constant fake metronome beat that sits over the entire track could quickly becoming grating, but instead lends momentum and an apt sense of anxiety. A frenetic bass and drum machine beat come in giving the track even more energy as spacey synth pads and dreamy guitars and vocals fill out the background. Sitting atop this is a brittlely dry lead guitar cuts through everything and acts as a foil to the breathy, almost timid vocals.

The song is a kind of anxious, art-pop ode to uncertainty and existential loneliness, presenting the listener with snapshots of everyday life—going to the bank, drinking too much caffeine, over hearing conversations—showing the universal in specific experience.

Sinner – The Last Dinner Party

The Last Dinner Party is a theatrical 5-piece all-female rock band from the UK. I forget where I encountered them, but it was almost certainly through their viral hit single Nothing Matters. While Sinner is off their first album, 2024’s Prelude to Ecstacy, rather than their 2025 release From the Pyre, I’m counting it here because I missed out on it last year.

Sinner is the baroque-pop/art-rock queer yearning love song I didn’t know I needed in my life and can’t stop listening to. Piano, doubled up bass, synth, electric guitars, 4-part vocal harmonies, pulsing drums create a huge stereo soundscape that hits, fades, and rebuilds to a really satisfying ending featuring organ and horns.

The song itself is about how the singer wishes they got to know their love interest before society/the church taught them that loving each other was a sin. Moving further into the song they override this sense of “sin” on the “alter of lust”. The bridge of the song follows with the line “stay through the night, I’d spend the mornings by your side”, as the backing vocals slowly build, repeating “Pray for me, on your knees” in conflict to this tender moment. This gains volume is protest, but succumbs with the line “Hold me, we can’t go back”, as they commit to what feels right.

Big Butt Billy – Will Carlisle

Willi Carlisle has become my favorite active music artist. He is incredibly well-versed in early American popular music, as well as hymn-tunes and folk-song traditions. He has written breathtakingly poetic pieces exploring the troubled love of broken families, the shame and acceptance of forbidden love, abandoned ambition, and existential grief. He has also written works examining class-divide, labor struggles, and the political and economic pressures that plague contemporary society. He has also written a song about an enby waiter with an ass that don’t quit. “Well Good-God almighty, Hail Satan, I’ve never seen a finer they/them, than Big Butt Billy.”