By Epigram Music writers and editors, curated by Sophie Scannell, Music Editor
We’ve seen resurgences from titans - Pulp, Wolf Alice, Lily Allen, Lorde - alongside new faces emerging from the Irish shadows in CMAT and Dove Ellis. Latin superstars, Bad Bunny and ROSALÍA, dominated on a global scale, and it wouldn’t be a Bristolian list without some electronic heat from Sudan Archives, KAYTRANADA, and FORWARD Festival’s very own Barry Can’t Swim.
All in all, 2025 has been a year of real variety in the charts: long-awaited returns from old favourites, genuine breakthroughs from new voices, and everything in between.
Whether you’re screaming ‘WHERE IS MY HUSBAND!’ going into the new year, or dreading paying those pesky January ‘Taxes’, put your ‘Headphones On’ for the next hour and ‘Count The Ways’ 2025 proved itself one of the best years for music in a long time.
So, without further ado, listen along to Epigram’s annual lengthy list of the best songs of the year:
100 | Lana Del Rey - Bluebird
Annabel Bienfait, Community Editor
Released alongside ‘Henry, come on’, Lana Del Rey’s 2025 single ‘Bluebird’ announced the beginning of a new era for the prolific singer-songwriter. The song combines poignant lyrics about freedom, power and fragility, with smooth country instrumentals.
99 | Sanctuary - Tamino, Mitski
Sofia Lambis, Deputy Editor
Partly recorded in a New Orleans church, ‘Sanctuary’ is a collaboration between Belgian-Egyptian singer Tamino and American artist Mitski. The pair toured together last year, and their vocals blend to create a melancholic song exploring longing and heartbreak, with a haunting final note. The only duet on Every Dawn’s a Mountain, Tamino’s third studio album, it was first released as a teaser in January.
98 | SAX-A-MA-PHONE VAR. XII – Frog
Sophie Scannell, Music Editor
After a rather successful 2019 album, Count Bateman, its namesake Daniel Bateman has released THE COUNT - a far more experimental, and possibly more rewarding, record. Built from largely in-studio improvisation, a smattering of Batman references, and a genuine reject for the soundtrack of a vampire movie, the album leans completely into the weird and wonderful.
A tinny grand piano opens ‘SAX-A-MA-PHONE’, soon joined by a humble scatter of distant drums, before echo-soaked vocals accent it all with lyrics that are more than suggestive. Bateman himself has concluded about the song: ‘I feel that there are really only two events in all art – sex, which is the creation act of life, and murder, which is the creation act of death’. He may be completely wrong, but he is undeniably interesting, and that is more than enough to keep me listening.
97 | Hiraeth - Anoushka Shankar
Ambar Madhok, Third Year, English
Accomplished sitarist and composer, Anoushka Shankar, sees longing and love fully encompassed within ‘Hiraeth’. An air of tranquilness is created through the fluid microtonal drone which sets the tone for the music. The beautiful melodies of the sitar ebb and flow throughout, adding to the soothing atmosphere of this composition.
Placed before the transition to more energetic pieces, ‘Hiraeth’ acts as a meditative reflection on the previous two ‘Chapters’, and embodies the spirit seen throughout Shankar’s ‘Chapters’; one not to be missed!
96 | Motherfucker, I am Both: "Amen" and "Hallelujah"... - Shearling
Benjamin Ladner, First Year, Geography
Weighing in at just over an hour, this post-rock/ noise opera delicately weaves heavy, transcendental, wall-of-guitar jams with gentle-yet-jarring avant-folk and crackly audio-collagé. The runtime may seem intimidating, but don’t be fooled – so many auditory territories are explored in that short hour.
Singer/guitarist visionary, Alexander Kent’s catholic upbringing - in Idaho, of all places - led to his lyrical deconstruction and reimagining of the biblical concept of original sin through the eyes of the mythical ‘Appaloosa’ horse. The lyrics are, on occasion, crude, (‘I’m going to pull down your gay little underwear’) but overall serve to recreate the hostile atmosphere permeated with militant Christian zealotry you would feel too if you grew up queer in a small Midwest town.
95 | David - Lorde
Ruby Bodle, Second Year, History
The perfect end to her much anticipated 2025 album, Virgin, ‘David’ is typical of Lorde’s trademark wistful, yearning style, with a building melody that strikes deep. Her use of negative space leaves room for reflection, as do the lyrics. The production feels intimate but slightly uneasy, with the build-up dropping at the end to ensure a focus on her moving, resounding question: ‘Am I ever gonna love again?’.
94 | Good Ol' Days - Hayley Williams
Tim Weber, Third Year, History & German
It’s been a year of side-quests for ‘Miss Paramore’, and in my personal favourite from her slightly bloated 20-track solo album, Williams showcases her versatility, bringing R&B inflected, heavily double-tracked vocals onto what could be a trip or hip-hop instrumental. A groovy, fluid track that wouldn’t feel out of place on SZA’s Ctrl.
Her flippant but crushing lyrics deliver a bombshell for Paramore fans, all but confirming her separation from Paramore lead-guitarist Taylor York. In this admission of her unrelenting feelings for him, she reminisces about the unproblematic ‘good ol’ days’, when their relationship was still secret.
93 | Loud - Olivia Dean
Hannah Roberts, First Year, English
Bold with Bond-like dramatics, Olivia Dean’s ballad ‘Loud’ rewrites the rules of confidence in heartbreak. It is a call-out to the moral injustice of a time thief: how someone entering your life and making promises they cannot keep can leave deep wounds. The track demands authority and self-control in her hardship, with the song’s soft build not to be mistaken for weakness, simply composure. There is a true blend of sound in its contemporary take on classic soul through clarity instead of confrontation. A showstopper that proves restraint can still command any room.
92 | House featuring John Cale - Charli xcx, John Cale
Eve Davies, Music Co-Deputy Editor
‘Brat summer’ may never truly die, but Charli xcx has always known when to burn the blueprint. Rather than chase the commercial and critical high of her recent LP, she follows it with something far stranger: an ominous, mostly spoken-word track for the new Wuthering Heights, featuring John Cale of The Velvet Underground.
It’s a willfully anti-radio move, and that’s precisely the point. Cale’s opening monologue is spectral and restrained, slowly unspooling into Charli’s scratchy, vocoder-distorted vocals, which pull the song into unsettling new terrain. It’s austere and quietly menacing, a reminder that Charli’s greatest strength lies in her refusal to repeat herself.
91 | Actor - Conan Gray
Hannah Roberts, First Year, English
The track acts as the male version of Chappell Roan’s hit song, and Epigram’s top song of 2024, ‘Good Luck, Babe!’. Gray shows his battle scars in an emotionally intensifying exposé of the modern dating scene. The weaponised theatricality in the song is potent in the sincere cynicism of the artist as he navigates the difficulties of queer relationships in a world in which judgement is still felt for loving who you love. Whereas many pop songs of the present-day land as overly manufactured, ‘Actor’ hits as an overwhelmingly intimate accusation of dishonesty, showing the resulting agony without restraint.
90 | Audrey Hepburn - Maisie Peters
Julia Mullins, Co Editor-in-Chief
For a heart that has long been a hellhound, Maisie Peters has finally given us a love song laid bare. ‘Audrey Hepburn’ is the first single released in anticipation of her next album, expected in 2026. It’s the perfect song for a winter’s walk home from uni, fantasising about getting out of the city.
‘Audrey Hepburn’ also marks the return of a more stripped back sound, reminiscent of her first EPs. If that’s any indication of what the rest of the album will sound like, Maisie Peters is likely to land herself a spot in this list again next year.
89 | Like a B-Film - Gary Numan
Hana Sakurai Wernham, Second Year, English
This song was meant to be included on Gary Numan’s seminal synth pop album of 1980, Telekon, but never made the cut – at his concert at Bristol Beacon celebrating the album’s 45th anniversary he tells us it was scrapped because it was ‘too shit’. Don’t take his word for it – released for Numanoids everywhere to celebrate the album’s birthday, the song is an addictive one: slow yet propelling with an aloof spoken melody and Numan’s signature pedalled synths that rattle from one ear to the other.
88 | Perfume and Milk - Florence + The Machine
Rachel Shortall, Community Deputy Editor
Pieced together as a path through the emotional turmoil of an almost fatal ectopic pregnancy, Florence + The Machine’s fifth studio album, Everybody Scream, is a bold, bare, and beautiful return. Combining a toned-down version of her signature symphonic instrumental with a sustained, rolling vocal, no track better captures the Sisyphean effort of existence in the wake of devastation than ‘Perfume and Milk’.
Somehow condensing into a 4:08 minute track a sense of rolling a stone up a mountain which she aches to scream from but can never quite summit, the emotional pull of Florence’s composition must be experienced to be understood. Perfect for furnishing a walk through the woods with a feeling of heart-rending catharsis, it is a special piece of music borne of a rare talent.
87 | Idiot Box - Sharon Van Etten
Sylvie Stokes, Second Year, Politics & Philosophy
Sharon Van Etten has built a career on emotional honesty that never feels performative, and ‘Idiot Box’ is no exception. It has a distinctly post-punk feel, with a tight, insistent groove and slightly restless intensity. This rhythm feels almost claustrophobic - in good keeping with the song’s focus on technology and emotional disconnection.
The lyrics are sobering and incredibly topical. Van Etten holds up a mirror and forces us to pick apart our dystopian tendencies. But she places herself right there with us, giving the song an intimacy that is a rare commodity in our modern world.
86 | Tear Pusher - YHWH Nailgun
Benjamin Ladner, First Year, Geography
With the modern over-subgenre-fication of music, it’s hard to find something entirely uncategorisable. New York’s YHWH (pronounced ‘Yahweh’) Nailgun fill that void that music has been missing since the days of The Pop Group. Their music blends jazz rototom drumming with shoegaze guitars and hardcore punk.
Vocalist Zach Borzone mouths and gasps lyrics about being abducted by vultures, and Russian planes. Waxing lyrical incoherent concepts seems to be the main style of expression put to use on their LP, 45 Pounds. Most of their songs are short tirade-style punk songs, at three minutes, this is the longest on the record, and by far the most laden with anxiety – just listen to those mod synth patches in the intro…
85 | 2468 - Horsegirl
Audrey Wallis, Second Year, English
Taking its title from children’s counting songs, ‘2468’, from Horsegirl’s Phonetics On and On, uses its layered hypnotic pop beat to reflect on the ambiguities of adulthood for a band both literally and musically moving away from home. Produced by Cat Le Bon, Phonetics On and On, the band’s second album, mirrors their mentor’s minimalism, featuring songs with simple lyrics you can count on one hand, and phonetic sounds in place of words.
As a track, ‘2468’ sums up the ambiguity at the core of this album. ‘They walk in twos’, doesn't give us much to go on in trying to understand the song, yet confusion seems to be the goal. The song’s childlike counting explores ideas and expectations of adulthood, through the eyes of a teenage break-out band now having to navigate the confusing adult world. Overall, ‘2468’s playful folky experimentation marks a powerful creative leap for the young band, its intentional lyrical restraint gives way to sweet lyrical intimacy.
84 | Hurry Up Tomorrow - The Weeknd
Annabel Bienfait, Community Editor
The eponymous closing track from The Weeknd’s latest album marks the singer’s transition from his current stage persona into Abel Tesfaye. The song depicts his struggle to reconcile the past and to define his legacy, both personally and as a performer. The powerful lyrics are strengthened by atmospheric instrumentation.
83 | The Man Who Seeks Pleasure – Madra Salach
Sophie Scannell, Music Editor
Admittedly not officially released yet, the tease of this song in live performances and YouTube recordings have made it known that Madra Salach, a six-piece folk band from Dublin, are ones to watch for 2026. Making an explosive entrance in none other than the Emerald Isle at this summer’s Electric Picnic in Laois, the band leapt out of dormant bedroom craft and into relentless gig runs that are thankfully continuing into the new year, with a Bristol stop coming up in March at the Louisiana.
A sickly-sweet Irish proverb in song form, ‘The Man Who Seeks Pleasure’ is as leg-bouncing as it is tear-inducing. A gutting drone paves the way for lilting vocals, with perfectly-plucked guitar tying the track up in a homely bow. Returning to its core moment again and again, ‘the man who seeks pleasure is the man who seeks pain’, this song is the definition of bittersweet in both sound and sentiment.
82 | Backseat - Balu Brigada
Eden Chambers, President
Having stumbled across Balu Brigada for the first time this year, I was not disappointed by their most recent album. Bringing back the excitement of climax endings, reminiscent of Baba O’Riley or UNCLE ACE, this track combines indie-rock choruses with electronic bass lines to provide a listening journey that’s sure to keep you on your toes.
The transition into the final coda takes me out of Gossip Girl indie summer and straight onto the Grid (Tron reference, sorry), giving a final fanfare to separate this track from others of its kind. A real amuse bouche for the walk to uni.
81 | Talk of the Town - Fred again..., Sammy Virji, Reggie
Eden Chambers, President
Fred again... has had a pretty solid year, but this one really stood out amongst the rest. Turned out in record time, this track embodies the traditional DJ club experience by sticking to hard bass lines and catchy lyrics, avoiding the over-perfumed songs we’re plagued with now. Reggie’s smooth vocals mix perfectly with the oscillating bass line to create the ultimate tune for getting you in the mood for the club or the gym. Plus, I now know where Dundalk is! Informative and groovy, what’s not to love?
80 | Countryside - Blood Orange
Arianna Balsamo, Music Subeditor
This Blood Orange album carried my year (as well as my off-putting getting ready music) and is one that should not go unmentioned. Seeing Blood Orange performing this song live in Electric was nothing short of transcendental.
79 | Hampstead - Ariana Grande
Hannah Roberts, First Year, English
After the global megastar’s overwhelming success in the musical world of Wicked, Grande herself noted without the musical, she likely would not have returned to music so soon. However, we are so glad she did, with the deluxe version of her latest album Eternal Sunshine seeing her stepping away from the typical pop treadmill and instead withdrawing into a matured moment of reflection.
The lyrics of ‘Hampstead’, as well as the build of emotion sonically, are breathtaking with the words ‘I do, I do, I do’ uttered in sweet irony in this closing track of her divorce album. The location becomes a place of entrapment for her heart. Yet, the true defiance and stoic pride that the song exudes proved ‘Hampstead’ to be a true exhale for the artist.
78 | No Good Deed - Cynthia Erivo
Sofia Lambis, Deputy Editor
Wicked: For Good (2025) landed in cinemas this November, along with a slew of questionable merchandise. The eagerly awaited finale – and its cast – have earned their place in 2025 internet pop culture. As well as producing a very quotable Madame Morrible, the film revamped lots of fan-favourite songs from the original Broadway musical. Its standout song was ‘No Good Deed’, which was written by Stephen Schwartz. Sung by Cynthia Erivo, the powerful ballad acts as the emotional centre of the movie (and has so far escaped being turned into a meme).
77 | Red - Jesse Welles
Makam Temridiwong, Second Year, Economics
The song is probably a satire about Trump and the MAGA movement. It contains a lot of references to recent events in 2025.
76 | Professional Vengeance - Jane Remover
Arthur Chevalier, Third Year, English
Jane Remover’s summer release, Revengeseekerz, seeks to ‘stir the pot’ (in their own words), and the track ‘Professional Vengeance’ finds itself as the ‘spoon’ of this change, seamlessly blending the experimental sampling - symbolic of the album’s restructuring of the past - into the lyrical exploration of how to place yourself within a rapidly changing world. Jane explores the possibilities of finding a future no longer bound up in past constraints and expectations, providing a soundtrack filled with a hope for the world yet to come- uplifting as we head into 2026.
75 | Parachute - Hayley Williams
Hannah Roberts, First Year, English
Devastatingly, unapologetically raw, and unafraid to yearn openly, Hayley Williams’ ‘Parachute’ is the most streamed song from her four-time Grammy nominated album for a reason. Living inside the fall of her breakup with bandmate and lead guitarist, Taylor York, the artist refused to resort to the rock instinct of rage or resolve. Instead, the song shows her settle into despair and bittersweet disbelief in how the years of their ‘unrequited love’ pushed her into the unease of descent into a destination with no promise of a safe landing.
Williams excels in her ability to convey emotional detonation, and ensures that the sting of the lyrics and emotion in her vocal delivery allows the moment to linger. This confession turns her vulnerability into a display of survival in its intense atmosphere and clear plea for salvation.
74 | Sabishikunai - Kaneko Ayano
Makam Temridiwong, Second Year, Economics
The song’s English name is ‘I'm not sad’. It’s in Kaneko Ayano’s new album, Thread of Stone. The song was released originally released in 2024 but the album it’s in was released in 2025.
73 | Garden Of Eden - Lady Gaga
Ambar Madhok, Third Year, English
‘Garden of Eden’ is a perfect representation of Gaga’s return to her dark disco era, which is seen throughout MAYHEM. A saucy song full of hypnotic electronic lines, and catchy articulated verse, alongside a captivating chorus line, one will be unable to not let loose! The self-quotes embedded throughout, such as fragments of ‘Bad Romance’s famous opening, fully encapsulate Gaga at her peak, further situating this as an exquisite track for a nostalgic club feeling!
72 | Little Ceaser - Seb Lowe
Sam Couriel, Comment Editor
Seb Lowe, Kate Couriel and Joel Goodwin have dominated the political music landscape in 2025, and this recent tune only reinforces their grip. As we enter the new year, ‘Little Ceaser’ acts as a timely warning against our collective sleepwalk toward political violence and cruelty. And the band shows no sign of stopping in 2026, with another headline UK tour confirmed (tickets here!), followed by a run of Europe alongside Sofia Isella. Think indie, rock and politics don't mix? Watch this space.
71 | Doctor - Auden
Eden Chambers, President
University of Bristol’s own Isaac Osborne dazzles on this stellar indie-rock track, providing 2025 with a dose of 90/00s angsty nostalgia. Perfect for rocking out on full volume, Auden’s single promises to provide a trifle of immersive melodies, giving a new life to the signature alternative sound of bands like The Killers.
Although contagiously catchy, the track features dark undertones through its inventive chord progressions and lyrics that excite any listener, including my parents! The cherry on top? The rest of their latest EP, Lacuna, is equally delicious.
70 | It’s a Mirror - Perfume Genius
Eve Davies, Music Co-Deputy Editor
Perfume Genius has long been one of the most daring and emotionally articulate voices in contemporary music, and Glory feels like the fullest expression of that vision yet. The record is sprawling and exposed, with a strong case for album cover of the year, too.
‘It’s A Mirror’ distils the record’s interiority into something deceptively simple. Built around questions that circle themes of self-isolation and self-recognition, the song seems to wind itself to a close before unexpectedly returning for a third verse, as if unable to let go. It’s a quiet structural gamble that deepens the song’s emotional weight, capturing Hadreas’s gift for making vulnerability feel both intimate and expansive.
69 | Fall in Fall Out - Tigercub
Anastasia Baker, Music Subeditor
Criminally underrated, the Brighton trio’s latest single from their upcoming 2026 release, Nets to Catch the Wind, does what Tigercub does best, better: it is all at once battering, with a gritty, explosive riff, and melodic, with a darkly expressive, lilting vocal melody. That chorus teetering in and out of the gloomy undergrowth of the minor and the major is just genius, embodying sonically the lyric ‘I’m caving in’ that seems the song’s perpetual fear.
‘Fall in Fall Out’ promises more of what 2023’s The Perfume of Decay satiated yet didn’t fully satisfy: haunting melodies and delicious riffs that’ll make you daydream about moshing.
68 | Agnus Dei - The Last Dinner Party
Hana Sakurai Wernham, Second Year, English
The Last Dinner Party faced the impossible task of one-upping their critically acclaimed debut, Prelude to Ecstasy. Seconds in to the opening track to their second album, they prove they are more than up to the challenge. ‘Agnus Dei’ is a triumph with an endless melody that just keeps unfolding like a infinitely blooming flower. A highlight is the delightfully glam, Sparks-esque pre-chorus featuring nonsensically erotic lyrics delivered with super-seventies staccato. Watchout Russell Mael, Abigail Morris is here!
67 | Die On This Hill - SIENNA SPIRO
Kimberley Goh, Third Year, Law
A work that blew up with nearly as much strength as the passion behind it, Spiro’s ‘Die on This Hill’ was a hit across social media. It’s an ode to the tragedies of power, manipulation, and seemingly ‘senseless’ perseverance. Reminding us that the human heart is just as important as the mind, this work brings reflection upon balancing desire, necessity, and the truth. An essential listen for a 2025 that revels in strength and honesty.
66 | Disintegrate - Suede
Aditi Hrisheekesh, Music Co-Deputy Editor
Suede heavily swerves from their Britpop origins towards a post-punk soundscape in this new album. ‘Disintegrate’, the opening single, announces that tone of existential unease and embodies this darker shift, evoking the likes of Joy Division and Siouxsie and the Banshees. Brett Anderson describes the record as representing paranoia and the struggle for connection in a world of disconnect. With jittery percussion, synth layers, and angular guitars, we are called to ‘come down and disintegrate with me’ – decay and disillusionment are packaged into forward-facing atmospheric motion, facing dissolution head-on as we enter the new year.
65 | Dream Woman - Suki Waterhouse
Julia Mullins, Co Editor-in-Chief
Earlier in the year, we got the first single from the deluxe version of Suki Waterhouse’s most recent album. This song does exactly what it says on the tin: it’s completely dreamy. An advertisement of herself that moves like silk on skin.
As the song continues, Suki’s tone becomes increasingly demanding. I played my parents the track. As the lyrics cry ‘I can be your dream woman’, my dad laughed: ‘Is that a threat?’ Threat or not, the allure of Suki’s voice is hard to resist, making this a solid entry into the year’s top songs.
64 | Obsolete - Tame Impala
Kimberley Goh, Third Year, Law
Obsolete, adj: ‘no longer produced or used; out of date’. This song’s heavy bass, mellow tones, and late-night disco tempo is reminiscent of the slurry of leadened steps towards noticing that something (or someone) isn’t quite what you need anymore. With the big ’25 bringing swathes of ‘situationship’ playlist graveyards and new heights to consumer trends, this song inspires taking a moment to reflect on the relationships and decisions we’ve made, and whether our once-effortless passions are now ‘obsolete’. Like every midnight hour, this song ends with a return to the scene to do it all again, leading you to wonder: would you?
63 | Spike Island - Pulp
Sophie Scannell, Music Editor
Oasis completing a world tour and Damon Albarn polishing off a new Gorillaz album can only mean one thing: Britpop is back. And in a big way. Pulp have heard the news too, it seems, and have whacked out a 2025 comeback of dreams with More: their eighth studio album after a whopping 24-year hiatus.
Its opening track, ‘Spike Island’, was released in April, just as summer was beginning to rear its head, which meant that it was the opening act of what turned out to be a wonderous festival season. Being inspired by The Stone Roses’ 1990 concert at Spike Island in Cheshire, the song is born out of the very essence of festival season, so it was only right that the song saw us all into what 2025’s summer had to offer 35 years later.
With a secret set slot devoted to them at this year’s Glastonbury, the band’s comeback was emblemed by ‘PULP SUMMER’ plastered on the screen of the infamous Pyramid Stage. Where many were shocked at Pulp getting back together after all this time, it was Jarvis Cocker as a BRAT aficionado that took the cake for me this year.
62 | Count the Ways - The Last Dinner Party
Anastasia Baker, Music Subeditor
Any song from their outstanding sophomore LP, From The Pyre, could feature here, really; it’s undoubtedly my album of the year.
I chose ‘Count the Ways’ because it seems to represent everything I love about them. It’s theatrical yet grounded with a bassy riff; it is floating, timeless, and emotionally devastating. Abigail Morris’s vocals, elastic as ever, leap and retract in the springy, playful verses (‘If you twist the knife right/I will twist the knife left’) and that group vocal that is so characteristic of this album in particular converges for duty. The outro positively soars, framed with strings that seem to swoon and weep, and the final line hangs poignantly even as the rest of the elements are severed: ‘Thinking of you.’
It’s The Last Dinner Party at their sublime best.
61 | Gallowine - Ugly (UK)
Arianna Balsamo, Music Subeditor
After listening to 2023’s Hands Of Man on repeat, the Cambridge-based band have made their way into more and more of my playlists, and ‘Gallowine’ has been a very recent favourite of mine through the god-awful essay period.
60 | Deadhead - Foxwarren
Margy Farmer-Kindell, Third Year, IBM & German
Seven (patiently awaited) years after their debut, Canadian folk rock band, Foxwarren, return with their sophomore album, fittingly titled 2. With each instrument crisp and performed to perfection and Andy Shauf’s mesmerising vocals at the forefront, ‘Deadhead’ captures Foxwarren at their very best: Simple yet ridiculously effective.
The song’s message of perseverance, reflected in its lyrical motif of ‘won’t stop dancing’, is mirrored in the music itself. Leaning slightly more into rock than folk, ‘Deadhead’ is driven by funky basslines and warm-toned catchy guitar riffs woven throughout that create a sense of momentum and carry the track from start to finish. A guaranteed earworm that showcases this five-piece’s prowess and polish.
59 | Quiet Life - shame
Alice James, Third Year, History & French
shame’s fourth album, Cutthroat, was met with critical acclaim upon its release this year. Each track is confident, brash and full of character, but ‘Quiet Life’ cuts deeper than the rest. It’s still full of the band’s characteristically bold energy, but behind Charlie Steen’s half-shouted vocals, the song has a regretful, almost nostalgic tone.
Written about being trapped in a bad relationship, the band’s raw energy becomes raw emotion, creating a captivating expression of vulnerability. Following the showboating of ‘Cowards Around’ in the track list, ‘Quiet Life’ is a self-conscious and sincere admission of their own cowardice. Brilliant as a standalone track and as part of the album as a whole, it shows how shame have mastered their style in Cutthroat.
58 | MAKKA - fakemink, Ecco2k, Mechatok
Federico Nanni, Third Year, English Literature
In ‘MAKKA’, burgeoning underground sensation Fakemink teams up with two big players in the cloud rap movement of the last ten years, Ecco2k and Mechatok, for a track which feels like a passing of the torch. Amidst Ecco2k’s ethereal vocals and Mechatok’s rhythmic synths and guitars, Fakemink’s boisterous lyrics and delivery stand out to make a hit song which propelled him into the forefront of 2025’s musical mainstream, opening the door for further cosigns from Drake and Timothée Chalamet and for a huge explosion in popularity.
57 | Elderberry Wine - Wednesday
Audrey Wallis, Second Year, English
‘Elderberry Wine’ melodically transports us into Wednesday's southern gothic, weirdo country world, earning the band’s album, Bleeds, a top spot in many publications’ musical rankings of 2025. While Bleeds itself is a genre-bending masterpiece of blown out, discordant distortion, and Hartzman’s sugary, hypnotic vocals, ‘Elderberry Wine’ ditches the former to lean into Hartzman’s vocals that draw us into the album’s uncomfortable small-town feeling.
Elderberries, having the ability to both heal and poison, are the song’s central metaphor, allowing Hartzman to write a love song that explores, ‘the potential for sweet things in life to become poison, if not prepared for’.
The song delicately explores the darkness behind picket fence relationships as well as the love, while showing its emotional core it haunts our ears. Bleeds, as an album, and ‘Elderberry Wine’ in particular, unfolds itself like poetry, in order to explore the uncanniness of a place associated with adolescent innocence. ‘Elderberry Wine’ deserves its praise, for its ability to transcend genre and create a poetic sonic masterpiece that reflects 2025’s anxieties and bittersweet charm.
56 | Chamomile - Kofi Stone
Eluned Darwin Goss, Third Year, Law & French
In his classically rhythmic style, Kofi Stone’s ‘Chamomile’, a single from his new album All The Flowers Have Bloomed, will have you grooving. A steady beat accompanied by his authentic lyrics admit to having very raw needs – to be wanted, needed, seen, craved, sought. Ady Suleiman’s bittersweet chorus pleads for this type of love to live and survive. Both artists complement each other’s attempts at persuading the girl in question that they are meant to be together. The low strum of a bass guitar maintains Stone’s self-assured tone, reminding us to always know what we want.
55 | The Explorer - Dora Jar
Marija Asmikovica, Third Year, Politics & International Relations
With lyrics which traverse the boundary of universal and intimate, you accompany Dora on a journey of introspection, with layers of experience bursting into a whole, soul-shaking crescendo. She lifts you up with her gorgeous vocals, only to be dropped by the aching bass and drums that feel like a punch to the gut. A truly cathartic listen.
54 | BABY BABY – Nourished by Time
Sophie Scannell, Music Editor
‘Low on money, quite high on passion’ might just be the definitive lyric of the year for both myself and I’m sure a lot of other final year students heading into their last term.
Nourished by Time, AKA Marcus Brown, has released a mammoth dance record in The Passionate Ones: an electric, pulsing, groove-machine that doesn’t wait around for applause. ‘BABY BABY’ is just one of the many peaks in this mountain-range of an album, packing in all the hallmarks of a great dance track: pacey drums, futuristic whirrings that seep deep into your brain, and vocals with huge shout-along potential when on the dancefloor.
Tackling rigid and doom-ridden political systems within its punching synths, the lyrics present paradoxes of existing in capitalist and military warfares with the urge to simply ‘turn your f*cking brain off’. This song perfectly encapsulates one of the many ways it feels to be young during political and personal crisis, a freezing moment induced by too many issues to count, and a mountain of passion for all of them.
53 | Jetplane - Sorry
Alice James, Third Year, History & French
Sorry’s latest album, Cosplay, is undoubtedly their greatest yet. ‘Jetplane’ is one of the many standout tracks on the record; full of frantic, unsettling energy, it’s hard to ignore. With complex layers of disorienting samples, constantly shifting guitar and synth hooks, and an unrelenting upbeat tempo, the track feels constantly on the brink of falling into chaos. However, Sorry walk this line perfectly, with each layer having been woven together with precision in order to create a powerful, addictive experience. This year, Sorry have proven they are one of the most exciting bands out there, continuing to develop their innovative sound and push it into stranger and darker corners.
52 | TV Dinner - Sam Fender
Felix Glanville, Film & TV Editor
Arguably the most underrated track on Sam Fender’s gritty indie rock album, People Watching, ‘TV Dinner’ captures Fender’s empathetic eye for celebrity as someone shaped by a working-class background. The song is fiercely honest, angrily dissecting what it means to exist within a rigid, elitist music industry populated by ‘the moths, the snakes, the tiny waist-coat tail riders’. It serves as a powerful metric for how growing up poor can be simultaneously celebrated and punished within the modern music industry.
51 | Bang Bang Bang - Sports Team
Alice James, Third Year, History & French
It wasn’t all bad that Sports Team got robbed by armed men when on their US tour in 2024, because they wrote a great track about it. Off their latest album, Boys These Days, ‘Bang Bang Bang’ is a frenzied caricature of American gun culture. The track is everything that Sports Team do best: a loud, energetic, larger-than-life performance full of their characteristic cynicism.
Motifs from classic westerns add to this theatricality, making ‘Bang Bang Bang’ Sports Team’s very own portrayal of the wild west. It may be dealing with the topics of aggression and frustration, but it’s playful and punchy and irresistibly fun; the perfect track to sweat out all you have at a low-ceilinged local venue.
50 | Dancing Shoes - The Cavemen.
Ambar Madhok, Third Year, English
‘Dancing Shoes’ does exactly what the name insinuates. This song fully embodies the joyous spirit the Nigerian duo create through their ‘highlife fusion’, full of jazz, soul and irresistible rhythms. This enigmatic sound world is fully encompassed through the groovy drum beats and the interjecting trumpet lines; moreover, the use of Igbo throughout enhances the unique quality of the band’s music. You will naturally feel drawn to dance the night away to this energetic track!
49 | Djo - Egg
Anastasia Baker, Music Subeditor
Joe Keery’s project, ‘Djo’, is on its third album now, and well into formulating a very unique sense of character. The 2025 album, The Crux, is glossed with the nostalgic sheen of the 80s (especially the ‘Every Breath You Take’-esque single ‘Delete Ya’) and many of its tracks feel sun-drenched and airy.
‘Egg’, then, is probably one of the most introspective: it is a mastery of rising and deflating tension and lyrics invested in historical self-observation (‘Can one be great? Can one be kind?/ When history shows, they’re not intertwined’).
Its peak is undeniably one of Djo’s most satisfying crescendos yet. We linger in the quiet verses with the sense of holding a breath: the synth that then stabs the silence is unexpected and divisive, and we build to a triumphant release with a question that prompts an equally triumphant, defiant answer: ‘You just gonna let fear take that?’ What a question; what a song.
48 | Taxes - Geese
Sylvie Stokes, Second Year, Politics & Philosophy
Geese’s lead single, ‘Taxes’, is one of those songs that leaves a residue you can’t quite shake. It feels absurd, all-consuming and strangely alive, the musical equivalent of walking through the rain with no umbrella and realising you just don’t care. It’s unpolished feel is refreshingly human, with a lyrical stream of consciousness that seems anxious, but is punctuated by moments of staggering clarity. For those who are seeking catharsis, look no further. ‘Nobody deserves this’ sings Cameron Winter. He is right, of course - what did we do to deserve music this good?
47 | 27a Pitfield St - bassvictim
Dabrowka Nowak, Third Year, English
Bassvictim’s ‘27a Pitfield St’ hits a magically specific nostalgia. The ‘basspunk’ duo came from Poland to Berlin to London to take over the electric scene with their energy of messy drama and constant fun.
‘27a Pitfield St’ from Forever is a 2025 highlight due to the raw honesty of the image it evokes. You recall being dazed and euphoric, walking through the city you’ve chosen to call home. You stumble into your ‘trashy’ apartment, finding it full of people you don’t know but you can laugh with, a chaotic night ahead of you and the overwhelming sense that this is right where you’re meant to be. It is a song about letting go, clinging on and being young.
46 | Incomprehensible - Big Thief
Marija Asmikovica, Third Year, Politics & International Relations
With instruments and lyrics which take you on a bustling journey through space and time, Lenker crafts a beautiful protest to the pervasive fear of ageing. In the retinol-infused obsession around anti-ageing in 2025, ‘Incomprehensible’ highlights the utter beauty of growing saggy and grey. Fearing the inevitable is exhausting, and through Lenker’s poignant lyricism, society’s hyper-focus on individualism and aesthetics is surrendered into the vastness and beauty of nature inherent within us all.
45 | Human Happens - Magdalena Bay
Aditi Hrisheekesh, Music Co-Deputy Editor
Magdalena Bay’s ‘Human Happens’ arrived as part of a paired single release and combines pop songwriting with imaginative metaphor. Sleek synth work and bold rhythms sit beneath the ethereal opening chords and familiar otherworldly vocals, with mythological images zoomed out and grounded in the ordinary. The refrain ‘human happens / stupid havoc’ encapsulates what many people call the butterfly effect, showing how we can make choices that have disproportionate effects: outcomes can arise from the banality of basic human impulse. Sometimes those consequences can seem a bit far away – and we are only human.
44 | Townies - Wednesday
Meg Pantry, Second Year, Law
From Wednesday’s 2025 album, Bleeds, comes ‘Townies’: a nostalgic retrospective of small-town gossip. The song is unabashedly melodramatic in its time signature changes and soaring guitar riffs, perfectly emulating the angsty, adolescent art of making mountains from molehills that the lyrics comment on.
Karly Hartzman sings about leaked nudes, teenage rumours and parties in fields as if the world was ending, and it is hard not to revel in this larger-than-life angst while listening to the song. Hartzman’s lilting, country-inspired vocals add a unique spin to the song’s slacker-rock sound, and guitarist MJ Lenderman - coming off the success of his 2024 solo album, Manning Fireworks - makes the song undeniably catchy with his melodic, distorted riffs.
43 | Cruise Ship Designer - Dry Cleaning
Benjamin Ladner, First Year, Geography
Dry Cleaning hail from that era of London post-punk where everybody was trying to sound like The Fall - this classic influence was readily visible on their debut, but they’ve begun to shake that now on their upcoming third record, Secret Love. Singer Florence Shaw still channels the monotone, cut-up ramblings of Mark E. Smith in this snappy pop tune. The chiming staccato guitar riff that continues through most of the track is reminiscent of early British post-punk bands, think Gang Of Four, if they’d sprung up in the jangle era instead. Lyrically, the song alludes to the mundanity of work in the 21st century – the protagonist is the titular ship designer who has no ambition left for creativity.
42 | Home Sweet Home - The Favors, FINNEAS, Ashe
Julia Mullins, Co Editor-in-Chief
FINNEAS and Ashe have been collaborators since 2019, but this year welcomed their latest project, a new band called The Favours. Their delightful debut album, The Dream, sounds anything but new; it’s both timeless and cohesive. Even their portrait and the typography on the album cover look straight out of the ’70s.
Cinematic and nostalgic, ‘Home Sweet Home’ is the perfect conclusion to a desperately romantic record. The song surrenders to the inevitability of revisiting past loves. Intimate, grand, and with endless harmonies, this is a highlight of both the album and the year.
41 | Berghain - ROSALÍA
Eve Davies, Music Co-Deputy Editor
It’s not easy to single out one track from ROSALÍA’s latest album, LUX, a record that refuses containment at every turn. But ‘Berghain’ ultimately earns its place here through sheer audacity. Released as a lead single, it’s a piece that feels almost antagonistic in its ambition: orchestral flourishes collide with German operatic passages. Then a Björk feature drifts in, singing of divine intervention with an almost liturgical gravity, before the song is violently re-routed by Yves Tumor’s jarring and grotesque outro.
Crude, discordant lyrics grind against some of the most ravishing string arrangements on the album. It’s confrontational and breathtaking, an announcement of intent that frames the record as one of the year’s most complex and compelling bodies of work.
40 | Rooboosh - NewDad
Aditi Hrisheekesh, Music Co-Deputy Editor
From the new album Altar – a shoegaze-tinged work of art formed by dislocation and transition – ‘Rooboosh’ is steeped with the emotional depth of such an upheaval. It stands out alongside the rest of the album with a deployment of forceful vocals and sharper dynamics, drawing a contrast with other tracks that seem to dilate into more languid and atmospheric passages, wholly embracing a viscerality. It showcases one’s breaking point: a release when frustration and disenchantment become enough to bolster self-awareness and self-respect.
39 | 5 - Dean Blunt, Elias Rønnenfelt
Arianna Balsamo, Music Subeditor
Blunt’s melodies are so nostalgic and versatile, though most suited to the autumn time in my humble opinion. ‘5’ is for staring out of train or coach windows on your way back to uni. For the dark days of winter, with 100% chance of rain.
38 | NUEVAYoL - Bad Bunny
Hanno Sie, Fourth Year, Italian & Spanish
‘NUEVAYoL’ is the first track we hear on Bad Bunny’s latest album DeBÍ TiRAR MáS FOToS, and it certainly sets the tone for the rest of the album. Beginning with a flourish of trumpets and drums inspired by Puerto Rican salsa music of the 1970s, it morphs into an infectious club-ready banger reminiscent of many hits from his last album Un Verano Sin Ti.
‘NUEVAYoL’ speaks to the feeling of Puerto Rican identity, independence and pride through its bold lyrics and earworm instrumental that fuses a traditional Puerto Rican sample with an electronic reggaeton beat. It’s a salute to Puerto Ricans living in New York, and it feels especially important given the troubled situation for immigrants living in America in 2025.
37 | Pussy Palace - Lily Allen
Julia Mullins, Co Editor-in-Chief
Seven years since No Shame, 2025 marked the return of Lily Allen with the release of West End Girl – and ‘Pussy Palace’ is indisputably its star anthem. The song tracks the discovery of her husband’s shag pad, or as Allen more elegantly puts it: the ‘Pussy Palace’.
Okay, a spare Manhattan apartment might not be relatable to most, but it’s the perfect roleplay for the betrayal of your first-year North Village fling getting with their flatmate. With verses full of brutal specificity, the Duane Reade bag is neatly tied together by a chorus of softly layered vocals. Never before has publicly shaming your cheating husband sounded so delicious.
36 | Long Island City Here I Come - Geese
Meg Pantry, Second Year, Law
What is there left to say about Geese? Since the release of 2025’s Getting Killed, questions about the band’s status as the ‘first great Gen Z rock band’ have been on everybody’s lips. Interestingly, this has been accompanied by a need to compare the band to other artists; whether it’s fans lauding them as a modern Radiohead or critics deriding them as a knock-off of The Strokes, discourse about ‘the greats’ is never far from discourse about Geese.
I think that this derives from the fact that their music feels classic in a way that much modern music fails to, and this is most evident in the album-ending epic ‘Long Island City Here I Come’. Cameron Winter’s songwriting prowess is on full display as he croons esoteric references to the Roman Empire, the Bible and Buddy Holly over his trademark frenetic piano-thumping, and the band shines as it creates a cacophony of controlled chaos, fuelled by Max Bassin’s generational drumming skills.
35 | Your New Place – Racing Mount Pleasant
Sophie Scannell, Music Editor
With the slightly intimidating runtime of over seven minutes, accompanied with its first lyrics ‘it’s a mess’, the song may seem unnerving as an opening gambit in Racing Mount Pleasant’s second record by the same name. Hopefully in following through, you’ll find that so much is happening in this song to love: watertight yet sprawling strings in one place, scuttling drum patterns in another, and gut-wrenchingly great writing throughout it all.
If that wasn’t enough, the group released a live recording of the track that is just as decadent and well done as the original (if not better than!). Their panoramic sense of sound, moving steadily from one mode of music to the next, in tandem with their impeccable live capabilities, has me keeping one eye on Racing Mount Pleasant for the upcoming years.
34 | COME AND FIND YOU - Sudan Archives
Tim Harris, Third Year, Law
Sudan Archive’s THE BPM is one of the most sonically interesting dance albums released in a long time, and no track exemplifies this more than ‘COME AND FIND YOU’. In some ways the song is quite simple: it features a catchy melody over some classic afrobeat drums. But scattered throughout the entire track is an assortment of contrasting sounds and rhythms, constantly pulling the song into different directions to create a truly unique record.
‘COME AND FIND YOU’ is a masterclass of digital music creation; Sudan Archives commandeers the technology to create an eclectic and complex track where each piece somehow manages to play their part in creating a single harmonious work.
33 | everyone, outside - Cassia
Ella Offord, First Year, History
Just in time for summer, Indie band Cassia released their third studio album in April of this year. Their title song, ‘everyone, outside’ evokes a vibrant, tropical energy from the very first line. With it’s bouncing, jazzy beat and repetitive, warm chorus, Cassia have succeeded in creating the perfect sunny tune. Paired with lyrics promoting the importance of going ‘outside’ for your mental well-being, this song is certainly one we can all relate to.
32 | Running/Planning - CMAT
Daisy Yates, Senior Digital Editor
Filled with her usual heart-on-sleeve honesty, CMAT’s ‘Running/Planning’ perfectly captures the dizzying and all too familiar feeling of chasing your own tail to be good enough to exist. I must admit, I am physically incapable of listening to this song without bawling my eyes out in an ‘angry-cry’.
As the track unfolds, CMAT’s haunting vocals grow increasingly passionate, leaving me screaming it alongside her in pure frustration by the end of the track. Few songs have ever made me feel so much and CMAT has absolutely nailed it with this one.
31 | Buses Replace Trains - Matt Maltese
Alannah Mylechreest, Community Subeditor
Only a lyrical genius like Matt Maltese could transform the mundanity of a rail replacement bus into one of this year’s most beautiful love songs. Much like the remainder of his sixth album which dropped this May, the chamber pop ballad has a full, almost cinematic sound with a catchy guitar riff that sings over a gorgeous string accompaniment in between verses. ‘Buses replace trains... / But there's no replacing you and I’ sings Matt in the chorus of the perfect song for the hopeless romantic who is able to spot love everywhere and anywhere.
30 | The Big Spin - Black Country, New Road
Aditi Hrisheekesh, Music Co-Deputy Editor
Possibly my favourite on Forever Howlong, ‘The Big Spin’ was one of the earliest pieces keyboardist May Kershaw brought to the group, and its presence on the album shows how the band have redistributed creative duties since Isaac Wood’s departure, signifying the shift of the band’s ever-evolving magnetic songcraft.
The piano and percussion twist between briskness and sudden pauses, and Kershaw’s voice has the perfect amount of whimsy for this playfully oblique rumination on growth and decay. It is packed to the brim with kaleidoscopic images of seasonal renewal – perfect for anyone wanting to shake off any shackles and miseries of the past year and have a fresh start to 2026.
29 | Victory Lap - Fred again..., Skepta, PlaqueBoyMax
Daisy Yates, Senior Digital Editor
Fred again…, Skepta, and PlaqueboyMax is an all star link-up for me. Throw in a Doechii sample and I am absolutely sold. This track has fuelled my gruelling daily walk up St Michael’s Hill, hyping me up as I arrive red faced and out of breath to my lectures. Fred’s punchy bassline combined with Skepta’s catchy grime verses are a match made in heaven - undoubtedly one of this year’s best releases.
28 | Toyota Camry - Radio Free Alice
Carly Synnøve, Third Year, Law
One of up-and-coming Radio Free Alice’s 15 released songs, ‘Toyota Camry’ (from their EP, Empty Words) features a catchy riff, sophisticated angsty lyrics, and backing vocals which deliver melancholy with flair. This song in particular was produced excellently by Grammy Award-winning Peter Katis who has worked with the likes of Bloc Party and Interpol.
They played this song throughout their sold-out UK summer/autumn tour this year to energetic crowds. The Smiths meets Wunderhorse meets Red Hot Chilli Peppers: modern Australian post-punk destined to make it big time. I, for one, cannot wait to see what Radio Free Alice come out with in the future.
27 | Feisty - Smerz
Eve Davies, Music Co-deputy Editor
Norwegian duo Smerz’s Big City Life has carried me through the term, a perfect companion to long barista shifts and half-present days. It’s music that mirrors the soft dissociation of urban routine, like you’re moving through a city on autopilot. ‘Feisty’ is one of the album’s standout moments. Built on clipped electronic pulses and strings, the track unfolds like an internal monologue from a night out. ‘It’s crowded in the toilet, I check my makeup and my bum’, Catharina Stoltenberg relatably delivers in a lifeless monotone.
Like much of the album, ‘Feisty’ gestures toward the club without ever committing to it, avoiding the drop or obvious crescendo of your typical club music. It feels less like a soundtrack for dancing and more like one for observing yourself not quite having fun. It’s a strangely intimate portrait of modern city living.
26 | My Old Ways - Tame Impala
Charlie Harrison, Third Year, French & German
Detailing Kevin Parker’s post-fame internal conflicts and personal transformation, ‘My Old Ways’ may just be the most vulnerable and honest we have seen the Tame Impala artist yet. With its strikingly echoey opening piano chord and looping twinkling piano figure, the song’s raw opening sound hooks the listener from the start. Oscillating synths and thumping beats then establish the song’s speed and rhythm.
Deeply influenced by bush doof culture, centred around large outdoor electronic music festivals in remote bushland and the Western Australian rave scene, ‘My Old Ways’ tells the story of how newfound success does not necessarily fix inner demons. The opening track of Tame Impala’s fifth studio album Deadbeat’s catchy melody and raw introspective lyrics have further established Tame Impala as a mainstay in indie music.
25 | Kimpton - Barry Can’t Swim
Eluned Darwin Goss, Third Year, Law & French
This is one of those tracks that play in your head when you’re reflecting on 2025: the awakening of festival season, being on the beach at sunset, swotting for exams, the good nights and the rough nights at the club. This single appears on the newly released EP, About To Begin / Cars Pass By Like Childhood Sweethearts, and is a collaboration with O’Flynn which takes listeners on a nostalgic journey. We start off with a dream-like synth, before being urged into rhythmic vocals, building us up to a warm beat drop, before returning to a cut in the bass.
24 | Black Train - Truman Sinclair
Anna Dodd, Features Editor
Truman Sinclair’s debut album, American Recordings, unites folk and emo influences with elements of a hearty and classic Americana sound that made it a permanent fixture in my listening rotation this year. It's nearly impossible to pick a standout, but ‘Black Train’ really stirs me emotionally and captures some of my favourite elements of his knack for production and storytelling through songwriting.
The title plays homage to Woody Guthrie and ruminates on climate change, underlaid by a gentle melody and soft instrumentation reminiscent of Pinegrove and Neil Young. The drawing from American history and culture is striking, but his music also reaches further as a call for more shared optimism, compassion, and love amid political chaos; it is a promising indicator of where folk is headed.
23 | White Horses - Wolf Alice
Olivia Hunt, Second Year, English
In exploring his familial connections to ‘the island’ (Saint Helena), Wolf Alice’s drummer and co-songwriter Joel Amey uncovers what it means to have an awareness of his cultural heritage, something he has only recently discovered as revealed in a Guardian interview this year.
My favourite lyric from this song has to be from the chorus (sang by Ellie Rowsell): ‘Know who I am, that's important to me / Let the branches wrap their arms around me’ as it considers the ‘roots’ of family heritage and culture. This song was one of the singles released before The Clearing came out in August and gave me great expectations for the album, expectations that were definitely fulfilled.
22 | Uno II - Viagra Boys
Carly Synnøve, Third Year, Law
Wacky, whimsical, and wonderful: this song explores life from the perspective of an anxious convalescent dog who’s missing teeth and missing time. The oddness of these lyrics is amplified by melodically building up to include a flute and an eerie vocal echo. A punchy third addition to the Viagra Boys’ very strange self-titled album; give it a listen (if you haven’t already!) if you’re into playful nonsense. All of the songs on it are surreal and absurd.
21 | Besties - Black Country, New Road
Aditi Hrisheekesh, Music Co-Deputy Editor
The lead single and opener from Forever Howlong arrived in early 2025 as Black Country, New Road’s first major statement after the departure of Isaac Wood. Written and sung by Georgia Ellory, the song opens with a harpsichord line threaded through a sprightly arrangement, harbouring a buoyant melody that, underneath, showcases unreciprocated queer yearning for one’s best friend.
On the surface, it is an ode to friendship yet lyrically reveals that familiar confusion between the platonic and the romantic and the complexities that can arise within a close female friendship. ‘Besties’ becomes a sort of coping mechanism - something true and repeated to keep feelings in their place. Wielding saxophone and a baroque-pop whimsy, this song is a bold yet bright opening to a new era for the band.
20 | So Easy (To Fall In Love) - Olivia Dean
Annabel Bienfait, Community Editor
Olivia Dean’s 2025 album The Art of Loving could be the soundtrack to the contemporary female experience, tackling love, joy, loss and heartbreak amongst playful lyrics and warm vocals. It’s hard not to sing along to ‘So Easy (To Fall In Love)’. The song’s cheerful beat is exactly what you need on a sunny morning.
19 | Geezer - Kevin Abstract, Dominic Fike, Geezer
Olivia Hunt, Second Year, English
Featured as the lead single of Kevin Abstract’s album, Blush, a newfound collective found in 2024, ‘Geezer’ launches a further sub-group with Dominic Fike. This side-project combines the pair’s styles alongside lyrics of a comedic twist that has fans reminded of Abstract’s work on BROCKHAMPTON.
Abstract comes in with coming-of-age lyrics on a sonic landscape infused with hip-hop and pop-rock. His lyrics are fairly comedic, in embracing crass innuendo. Fike comes in softer in the choruses and describes the ‘Geezer’, a signifier of failed potential. The song is summery and chaotic; it includes the best elements from both artists’ discographies and never fails to cheer me up!
18 | Cross Your Mind - Shelly
Tim Weber, Third Year, History & German
An unexpected comeback, by what seemed like a one-off side project by a group of friends that includes the performative-male idol. Clairo, bringing us Shelly’s first release since their 2020 two-track debut EP.
Their return has the group sounding more refined, yet still retaining that nostalgic, dreamy quality that drew fans to their debut. Jangly guitars (reminiscent of The Sundays or Alvvays) and Clairo and Claud’s soft-spoken vocals lament past relationships and the yearning that follows. A song about what once was, and that which remains. It’s fun and undeniably catchy; the hook: ‘I crossed your mind’ is simple, yet so hard to shake.
17 | Rein Me In (with Olivia Dean) - Sam Fender, Olivia Dean
Hanno Sie, Fourth Year, Italian & Spanish
Originally one of the biggest hits from Sam Fender’s album, People Watching, Olivia Dean brings a woman’s perspective to ‘Rein Me In’. With its twinkling guitar melody, heart wrenching saxophone solo, Fender’s classic Geordie-infused delivery and Dean’s smooth and longing harmonies, ‘Rein Me In’ really shows what these two brilliant British musicians are capable of.
Both have had a stellar 2025 and this collaboration shows us why. Heavily drawing from Fender’s ‘heartland rock’ musical aesthetic, ‘Rein Me In’ isn't necessarily a departure from his signature style but instead a showcase of his growing maturity as a songwriter and singer. It feels warm and honest yet also regretful and raw all at the same time, and it’s the perfect soundtrack to the chillier days of Autumn and Winter.
16 | Playing Classics - Water From Your Eyes
Meg Pantry, Second Year, Law
‘Playing Classics’ is a masterclass in juxtaposition. The track sees an upbeat, disco-informed instrumental contrasted with Rachel Brown’s distinctly nonchalant talk-singing, as she switches between lamenting the struggles of modern life and celebrating the freedom of partying.
In an interview with The Line of Best Fit, the band stated that the song was inspired by ‘the idea of dancing in a club despite the world falling apart outside’, and it perfectly encapsulates this conflict between existential dread and the desire to be oblivious to all issues and resign oneself to hedonistic ignorance. Overall, the song feels panicked yet detached, pessimistic yet hopeful, and distinctly 2025.
15 | Heartthrob - Indigo de Souza
Lauren Matthews, Fourth Year, Physics & Philosophy
More polished and pop-leaning than previous work, Indigo De Souza’s ‘Heartthrob’ is an infectious single that doesn't compromise on lyricism. The heart of the song processes difficult experiences with abuse while setting it’s sights on growth and love, resulting in a cathartic balance of anger and joy.
The lyrics counter vulnerability with playful moments and are set to a dreamy, summery pop-rock backing. With a chorus that’ll have you on your feet, this track is a raw, honest redirection of anger into something truly powerful.
14 | SPACE INVADER - KAYTRANADA
Daisy Yates, Senior Digital Editor
Built around an infectious beat, this track is peak KAYTRANADA: smooth, playful, and irresistibly fun. It’s music made to move to – what my Dad would affectionately call ‘groovy as fuck’. Effortlessly cool and endlessly replayable, ‘SPACE INVADER’ captures the joy of the dancefloor and cements itself as one of 2025’s standout feel-good tracks.
13 | Grandmother - Big Thief
Dabrowka Nowak, Third Year, English
Big Thief ft. Laraaji’s ‘Grandmother’, whilst not the most popular on Double Infinity, is the most beautiful. Lenker goes beyond acceptance and breaks down fear of aging, the changing planet, simple arguments between lovers into an all-encompassing feeling of gratefulness. You can hear her smiling as she sings. Through lyricism and musical gentleness, laziness, curiosity, and guilt crescendo into the landscape before us; the setting sun. Big Thief ‘turn it all into rock and roll’, reminding us that music unites.
The song’s sublimity hinges on the word ‘all’; there is no song from this year which captures a whole spectrum of human experience and forms a landscape and soundscape of interconnection quite like this one.
12 | hopefully - Loyle Carner
Olivia Hunt, Second Year, English
When seeing Carner in concert this year, I was saddened to not hear this song live as it was my favourite on the album but in reflection, this song is so personal, and after seeing him tear up over ‘lyin’, I understood completely. This song captures, funnily enough, hope for a better future, his children’s futures and changes in the UK’s political system. It takes the energy of social commentary, fuelled by a Channel 4 excerpt of Benjamin Zephaniah that translates to a euphoric blend of keys and Carner’s son’s babble. The ending of this song is the most important as the band builds with Zephaniah to almost cacophony but leaves you overwhelmed that is simultaneously cathartic.
11 | Sugar On My Tongue - Tyler, The Creator
Tim Weber, Third Year, History & German
Tyler, The Creator breaks his usual album cycle emphatically with two releases in nine months, with DON’T TAP THE GLASS marking a stark departure from 2024’s CHROMAKOPIA, which saw Tyler dive into anxieties, paranoia, and the prospects of fatherhood.
‘Sugar On My Tongue’ could hardly be more divergent, yet is still quintessentially Tyler; a tongue-in-cheek track about eating box, with his signature flourishing synths, stuttering drums, call-and-response ad-libs, and crude lyrics that evoke his early work. Sounds like a 2000s Timbaland production with what could be an interpolation of ‘My Humps’ - a munch anthem sure to fulfil Tyler’s rationale of getting people dancing again.
10 | The Subway - Chappell Roan
Carly Synnøve, Third Year, Law
Although technically this beautiful ballad has been floating around on the interweb since last year (don’t ask us anything about illegal streamings!), it was only released in August; a worthy follow up to Roan’s hit album, The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess.
Compared to her country release ‘The Giver’ (which I think lacks depth yet somehow ended up on my Wrapped?), ‘The Subway’ is more melancholic, dealing with the pain of heartbreak and loss after a breakup. Combined with a quirky music video with hair as a symbol for memory, poetic lyrics, and gorgeous emotional range, Miss Chappell really delivered something special with ‘The Subway’.
9 | Au Pays du Cocaine – Geese
Sophie Scannell, Music Editor
A soft intermission in the second half of potential album of the year, Getting Killed, this song is deceptively sweet-sounding. The nursery-style twinkling being the underbelly of this track unassumingly harbours an acidic sting when met with frontman Cameron Winter’s desperate vocals. A perfect visual companion is the song’s music video, where Winter sings to a baby across a dining table before himself curling up into a crib as the crescendo of the ballad washes over him.
The success of the band and of Winter as a poet lies, in my opinion, in their ability to convey big meanings in simple words. ‘Baby you can change and still choose me’ or ‘you can be free and still come home’ are just some examples on ‘Au Pays’ of lyrics that hold your focus just before they stab you in the gut.
8 | Keep On Walking - LAUSSE THE CAT
Eluned Darwin Goss, Third Year, Law & French
Upon his return after seven years, the mysterious LAUSSE THE CAT brings us the beauty of ‘Keep On Walking’: an existential reflection after drinking too much. Described by some as an ‘enigma’, there’s no doubt that Lausse has had some time for reflection until the release of the new album, The Mocking Stars. His jazzy, poetic style morphs into an upbeat rap describing an absence of stability and belonging.
The last minute of the song is centred around a more electronic, otherworldly beat and a bass which heightens distorted lyrics describing a newfound comfortability with a ‘lady’. A story-telling female voice appears on almost all of Lausse’s tracks; she reappears at the end of this one shouting at ‘cat’ to wake up. Was any of it real?
7 | Second Sleep - Magdalena Bay
Rachel Shortall, Community Deputy Editor
The first of a number of double singles released by the duo in late 2025, ‘Second Sleep / Star Eyes’ picks up where Magdalena Bay’s renowned 2024 album, Imaginal Disk, left off, and gives fans much to celebrate. Equal parts magical and riotous, ‘Second Sleep’ combines groovy composition, glorious drums, and ethereal vocals in a way which not only meets but arguably soars far beyond the high expectations placed on the breakthrough duo. It’s a story, a spectacle, and a song which will not let you listen to it and stay standing still.
6 | Nice To Each Other - Olivia Dean
Ruby Bodle, Second Year, History
The smooth soul-pop framework of Olivia Dean’s lead single for her sophomore album, The Art of Loving, gives it a timeless quality. The song urges authenticity over cliches, and its soft rhythmic feel mimics the empathy and mutual care of its lyrics. ‘Nice To Each Other’ became a central sound of this summer, and its unique sound and success helped to secure Dean’s breakthrough into the mainstream.
5 | To The Sandals - Dove Ellis
Eve Davies, Music Co-Deputy Editor
Dove Ellis is my pick for one to watch in 2026. His debut album Blizzard — from which ‘To The Sandals’ emerged as the lead single — is my album of the year, a remarkably assured first statement from an artist already moving with intent. Having cut his teeth in the now-mythologised Windmill scene (the breeding ground of Black Country, New Road, black midi, and Wunderhorse), and already opening for Geese, Ellis arrives with a sound that feels folk-adjacent but harder to pin down than that label suggests.
‘To The Sandals’ is a beautiful introduction: unshowy, emotionally precise, and quietly confident. If the trajectory holds, Ellis feels primed for a Cameron Winter-esque breakout moment that turns cult admiration into something much larger.
4 | Headphones On - Addison Rae
Anna Dodd, Features Editor
‘Headphones On’ encapsulates everything that makes Addison Rae’s musical canon exquisite: lyrics imbued with vulnerability, snappy production that is seamless down to every beat, and all glossed over with a sprinkling of positive affirmations that have genuinely put a stride in my step on rough days. The song is a beautiful ode to the unavoidable low moments of life, that as Addison reminds us, ‘are what make the highs higher’.
She calls us to be at peace with the broken things we can’t fix, and to ride out the necessary waves of pain and darkness that pursue us, to live a life still imbued with meaning and positivity. This Buddhist-esque philosophy is complemented by the need for a ‘cigarette to make me feel better’, and a desire to use music as a means of escape, which feels very quintessentially Gen-Z to me. With the sonic feel of a 90s trip-hop track to tie it all together, this pop song is hard to beat.
3 | Take A Sexy Picture of Me - CMAT
Ruby Bodle, Second Year, History
CMAT’s ‘Take A Sexy Picture Of Me’ provides a tongue-in-cheek commentary on society’s perverse but normalised fascination with the sexualisation of young women. In response to a slew of online hate towards her body, CMAT juxtaposes bright, major-key harmonies with poignant, almost haunting lyrics alluding to how beauty standards are imposed on girls from a young age and how these become internalised.
Instruments are blended to ensure that CMAT’s vocals, and her iconic Dublin accent, remain central, which creates a confessional and intimate feeling. Her voice shifts from conversational to belting, supplementing the emotional shifts in the track and solidifying CMAT’s place as a unique, fresh voice in pop.
2 | Just Two Girls - Wolf Alice
Aditi Hrisheekesh, Music Co-Deputy Editor
The ultimate ode to female friendship, this song from The Clearing grounds itself in those small moments of platonic intimacy. The connection born from these everyday exchanges is so specific but somehow so universal. Embracing a broader musical palette that leans into pop, those breezy, warm synths make me think of the little things I love in my own friendships: the freedom to turn each other inside out without judgment, a call to ‘undress our every thought’.
This song makes me feel grateful that I’ll be entering the new year with some of the best people I know and love. It celebrates the kind of platonic love that subtly changes your life – where you can be entirely unguarded and talk about everything and nothing all at once.
1 | WHERE IS MY HUSBAND! - RAYE
Margy Farmer-Kindell, Third Year, IBM & German
‘WHERE IS MY HUSBAND!’ might just be the new ‘Single Ladies’, but written by someone who is actually single, balancing humor and sass with the genuine longing for a partner. Witty, relatable lyrics sit within a brilliant structure, driven by tight harmonies and a bold, big-band-inspired sound. The borderline over-the-top, vintage jazz feel production leaves you speechless, and breathless trying to keep up with RAYE’s rap-like lyric delivery. Blending jazz, pop and rap, this seriously danceable anthem reflects themes of self-love and searching for the one, providing a light-hearted contrast to heavier themes of RAYE’s previous work.
Featured image: Curated by Sophie ScannellWhat was your favourite song of 2025?!
