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08. The Squirms – The Squirms (Rad City Records) The Squirms (The Sqirms) – In a year when I ended up with numerous extremely new and different names on my year end list, The Squirms and their self titled debut LP has to be right at the top of my “off the beaten path” surprises. …
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09. Who Will Look After The Dogs – PUP (Diminishing Returns Music) PUP’s 2019 release, Morbid Stuff was my favorite album of that year. To me, it was a quintisential pop punk album. Unfortunately 2022’s The Unraveling of PUP, The Band did not strike me the same way. Well, with this year’s Who Will Look…
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10. Primary Colours- Dropkick (Bobo Integral Records) AUTHORS NOTE: Let me preface this next offering by saying that the previous 15 albums were in no specific order. Albums 11 through 25 could have been mixed and matched and the finishing order could have changed (and certainly has) almost constantly. What follows is my top ten…
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Late Great- Laura Stevenson (Really Records) There’s no way around the fact that Laura Stevenson’s 2025 release on friend and collaborator Jeff Rosenstock’s Really Records is a breakup album. But in typical Stevenson fashion it isn’t the kind of breakup album filled with anger and venom. No, Late Great is an album about heart break,…
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Beliefs & Thieves- The Kilograms (Rad Girlfriends Records) I write this with a certain amount of sadness as it appears that Beliefs & Thieves will be the last full LP from The Kilograms. They did release an EP, Strike A Match earlier in the month which also ought to be checked out. It was probably…
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Sol Y Sombra- The Rose City Band (Thrill Jockey Records) I’ve said previously that I’m a sucker for cosmic country and quite honestly they don’t come any more cosmic and country than The Rose City Band. Their 2025 release, Sol Y Sombra which means sun and shade when translated to English is a laid back…
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Dreaming In Stereo- The Jellybricks (Wicked Cool Records) How does a band survive for almost 30 years in relative obscurity and still manage to sound alive, vibrant and F.U.N. after all of those years? Well The Jellybricks have found a way and with their 8th full length LP since their creation back in 1996, Dreaming…
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Send A Prayer My Way- Julien Baker & TORRES (Matador Records) I first heard this album live when Julien Baker & TORRES played a surprise pop up show at New York City’s tiny Mercury Lounge. This was back in December of last year, four months before Send A Prayer My Way would be released. They…
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Horses- Tobacco City (Scissor Tail Records) I’m a sucker for cosmic country going back to my days of following The New Riders of The Purple Sage and any kind of year end run down that didn’t include such a cosmicana kind of record just wouldn’t be complete. This year’s winner, by far, was from Tobacco…
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(Snocaps and Ryan Davis & The Roadhouse Gang @ Bowery Ballroom: 2025-12-08) Despite some teasing on their socials back in early October that something might be afoot, it came as fairly shocking news when sisters Crutchfeld (Allison & Katie) along with MJ Lenderman and Brad Cook dropped a new album on Halloween under the…
W.S. Walcott Medicine Show 