Our Favourite Non-Prog Albums of 2025
It’s time to start our Album of the Year proceedings, and before we get to our writers’ top tens of the year, we thought we’d give a shout out to the non-prog stuff we enjoyed over 2025. Every month, in our Albums of the Month posts, we include a quick nod to our “non-Subway picks”, the albums outside the scope of a progressive rock and metal review site which our writers are nonetheless enjoying because they’re allowed one hour a week to listen to other stuff. This year, we thought we’d put together an end of year deep dive into the releases outside of prog that impressed our staff most. Get ready for weird pop, experimental hip-hop, chamber folk, thrash metal, electronica and much more, as we run down twenty of our not-within-the-normal-scope-of-our-website favourites of this year.
Ali Sethi – Love Language
Genre: Art pop
Picked by: Andy
Our world is too full of hate, and I’m a pretty misanthropic guy. In the last week as of writing this, we had the shooting in Sydney and the Brown University school shooting (frighteningly, a university very similar to mine). We have several major conflicts going on across the world, both central to political narratives in the West (Russia/Ukraine, Israel/Palestine) and those largely uncovered (several bloody civil wars in Africa, May’s militant attacks at the border of India and Pakistan). The latter had a massive effect on Ali Sethi, a New York-based Pakistani, as India removed Pakistani music from streaming services in retaliation—Sethi lost the majority of his market. His debut album Love Language seeks to defy political borders and ideologies in an act of unification through art. And on Love Language, he succeeds as he syncretically, yet fluently, mixes genres from all over the South Asian subcontinent and world—flamenco meets ragas, hyperpop interacts with afrobeat and Americana, bossa nova collides with Sufi spiritual music. Somehow it all works and feels cohesive. The record is a poetic amalgamation of love songs about queer identity and loving other humans—it’s also deeply political and entwined with his identity because Pakistan has outlawed homosexuality—and it’s a message we all should take into 2026.
Recommended tracks: Hanera, Subho Shaam, Maya
Related links: Apple Music | Facebook | Instagram
clipping. – Dead Channel Sky
Genre: Experimental hip-hop, rap
Picked by: Claire
I once saw a post online claiming that clipping. is the closest rap will ever get to prog metal, and they might have been onto something. Dizzyingly experimental, often abrasively industrial, and infused with cyberpunk lore, Dead Channel Sky is the fifth album from the trio helmed by Broadway performer and rapper Daveed Diggs. For listeners inclined to dig deep, Dead Channel Sky’s twenty tracks offer near-inscrutable layers of codes, world-building, and hidden meaning. But it also works on a more immediate level, letting Diggs’ nimble, machine-gun bars and the album’s corrosive sonic wash simply overwhelm you. Storytelling is central to the project’s ethos—every lyric is written in the second or third person, with Diggs never once saying “I”. This brings an eerie omnipotence to the narration, particularly on standout tracks like the fascinating “Polaroids”. Whether you treat Dead Channel Sky as a puzzle box to be decoded or simply a rush of absorbing noise and words, it’s a gripping album just as structurally daring and immersive as any labyrinthine prog epic.
Recommended tracks: Run It, Polaroids, Welcome Home Warrior
Related links: Bandcamp | Facebook | Instagram
Dayseeker – Creature in the Black Night
Genre: Metalcore, post-hardcore
Picked by: Vince
Dayseeker’s Dark Sun was an addictive hit of electronica-infused, emotionally resonant metalcore that stood tall alongside my favorite listens of 2022. Creature in the Black Night continues the vibe while bringing in more angular, Silent Planet-coded chugs and an energetic flow that the introspective Dark Sun sometimes lacked. A punchier, synth-y soundtrack to heartache and loss, saturated in a hazy neon dreamstate. One spin and I was locked in; since then, I’ve listened to it almost daily, often on repeat. In these taxing times, Creature in the Black Night is a comfort, a velvety pillow of metalcore for me to rest my head when the noise outside (and in) gets to be too much.
Recommended tracks: Pale Moonlight, Creature in the Black Night, Crawl Back to My Coffin, Bloodlust
Related links: Apple Music | Facebook | Instagram
Hayley Williams – Ego Death at a Bachelorette Party
Genre: Alternative pop
Picked by: Christopher
It’s a tale as old as… well, the last fifty years: the popular girl bags the jock and loses her artistic inspiration, but the high school misfit never outgrows the pain that fuels her art. Paramore frontwoman Hayley Williams dropped a surprise release collecting eighteen works of millennial malaise. Swaggering across a range of sonic territory, Williams interpolates existing songs (notably a grungy acoustic twist on The Bloodhound Gang classic “Bad Touch”), experiments with a variety of vocal manipulations, and infuses trip-hop, synth pop, indie rock, folk, and shoegaze influences into her third solo album. While “True Believer” excoriates the right-wing corporatist takeover of American Christianity, and the title track baited Fox News when Williams revealed the identity of the “racist country singer”, other tracks get back to basics. “Whim” brims with hope and fear for a new relationship, while the rawness of biographical closer “Parachute” centres a figure on the periphery of Williams’ marriage—real or fictitious—who could’ve saved her. It’s a solid slab of alternative pop with something for everyone. Nostalgic but forward-thinking, confident but vulnerable, exploratory yet focused, Ego Death at a Bachelorette Party cements Williams’ enduring power as a sincere, committed, and continually evolving artist.
Recommended tracks: Whim, Parachute, Discovery Channel, True Believer, Kill Me
Related links: Apple Music | Facebook | Instagram
Kaki King – Tutto Passa
Genre: Post-rock, experimental
Picked by: Ishmael
Kaki King is a master singer-songwriter whose primary instrument is the acoustic guitar… which is what makes Tutto Passa such a satisfying surprise. There are elements of that guitar-driven composition throughout this EP, but Tutto Passa sees King exploring all varieties of synth-heavy, atmospheric indie rock (“Things We Do”), trip hop (“Wooly Bears Hidden Deep in Fallen Leaves”), new age (“This Too Shall Pass”), and punk rock (“Take This Lightly”). It’s damn near a miracle that King managed to release an EP where each track genuinely exhibits a unique, distinct style while at the same time contributing to the compositional whole. If you want a gentle tour of an impressive variety of genres, composed and performed by one of the world’s greatest modern acoustic guitarists, be sure to check out Tutto Passa.
Recommended tracks: At the End Time a Dog Asleep, Wooly Bears Hidden Deep in Fallen Leaves
Related links: Bandcamp | Facebook | Instagram
Lily Allen – West End Girl
Genre: Pop
Picked by: Claire
Musically, West End Girl is eminently digestible, a light meal of floaty, bite-sized pop songs served up by British singer Lily Allen. Thematically, it’s a messy, raw, possibly fictionalized account of Allen’s divorce from her unfaithful husband, Stranger Things star David Harbour. We’re miles away from the platitudinous lyrics that dominate much of modern pop music as Allen dishes on everything from the other woman’s sex toys to her own sojourns on Tinder and Hinge, all in her charming British accent. The gauzy, dreamy beats of “Pussy Palace” and “4chan Stan” lend a pensive haze to West End Girl, while more upbeat tracks like “Nonmonogamummy” inject bitter humour and danceable beats all in the same breath. These are not the anthems of cathartic boss babe empowerment, but rather a funny, caustic, and self-lacerating soundtrack to late-night overthinking and the death of a relationship.
Recommended tracks: Madeline, Pussy Palace, Nonmonogamummy
Related links: Apple Music | Facebook | Instagram
Lorien Testard – Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 (OST)
Genre: Video game music, cinematic classical, classical crossover
Picked by: Vince
It’s a rare thing for video game music to make a big impression on me. Often serviceable, but ultimately forgettable, most VGM can feel obligatory—something to fill space as opposed to making a statement. French composer Lorien Testard said “fuck that”, immediately skyrocketing into the ranks of a Michiru Yamane (Castlevania Bloodlines, Castlevania Symphony of the Night… lots of Castlevanias) or Mick Gordon (Doom 2016, Wolfenstein: The New Order, Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus) with his first work. The story of Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 is wrought with adventure, heartbreak, tragedy, and a quirk that feels uniquely defined by its French origins. Testard met the measure of the material with an equally huge, ambitious, and downright gob-smacking arrangement of tracks. Epic orchestrations side-by-side with neoclassical rock, dance-y ambient passages, and plenty of accordion. An absolutely beautiful performance by singer Alice Dupont-Percier highlights a score resonating with power and pain, fancy and ferocity, hurt and heart. Not since Netflix’s Arcane has a soundtrack so effortlessly connected me to the characters, so much that simply hearing the first bum-da-dums of “Lumière” is enough to bring an ache to my chest. Truly a work for those who come after.
Recommended tracks: Lumiere, World Map – Taking Down the Paintress, World Map – Until You’re Gone, Ancient Sanctuary – Megabot#33, Clea, Une Vie à Peindre
Related links: Bandcamp | Instagram
McKinley Dixon – Magic, Alive!
Genre: Jazz rap
Picked by: Andy
Jazz rap has been around for decades at this point, and five albums into his career, Richmond rapper McKinley Dixon stands with the greats like A Tribe Called Quest, To Pimp a Butterfly, and The Roots. On his new album Magic, Alive!, Dixon continues what Beloved! Paradise! Jazz!? started: a live jazz band underscores the record’s beats, laying the stage for Dixon’s lyrical, poetic rapping. Unlike so many other rap projects designed to maximize streams with a billion tracks, Magic, Alive! is prim at thirty-five minutes, and as a result, each song is full of attentive detail—from the interesting percussion underpinning the piano in the verse of “Sugar Water” to the flute and sax switching who carries the main melody in the title track. With a star-studded feature list of underground legends (Ghais Guevara, Quelle Chris, Teller Bank$, et al.) and excellent command of rhythm and rhyme from Dixon himself, Magic, Alive! is the essential hip-hop record from 2025, and among the best jazz rap records of all time.
Recommended tracks: Sugar Water; Crooked Stick; F.F.O.L.; Magic, Alive!
Related links: Bandcamp | Facebook | Instagram
Natalia Lafourcade – Cancionera
Genre: Chamber folk
Picked by: Andy
Of course Natalia Lafourcade makes a list like this for me as she continues her decade-plus-long streak of folk (pop) perfection. Cancionera continues in the vein of 2022’s instant classic De Todas las Flores: stately chamber instrumentation with Natalia’s warm, intimate vocals. On Cancionera, however, the record is a live-in-studio deal, with eighteen musicians performing together on analog tape; with this recording setup, the record is incredibly personal and nostalgic. The beautiful orchestration demonstrates Lafourcade’s increasing confidence as an excellent arranger and songwriter, in addition to her always lovely singing—with operatic, jazz, pop, and ranchera techniques all naturally melding into her mature style. Cancionera even drops its elevated seriousness for fun on occasion (“Cocos en la Playa”). The project is simply beautiful, and time seems to stop while listening to it.
Recommended tracks: Cancionera, El Palomo y la Negra, Cariñito de Acapulco
Related links: Apple Music | Facebook | Instagram
Ninajirachi – I Love My Computer
Genre: Electronica, hyperpop
Picked by: Ian
Calling someone “terminally online” is seldom a compliment – it calls to mind a person who has become so subsumed in the Internet’s facsimile of existence that they become fundamentally out of step with reality. Yet it’s hard to see I Love My Computer, the latest from rising Australian electropop star Ninajirachi, as anything other than terminally online in the best way possible. Through a combination of infectious, disarmingly sweet pop hooks and riotous, abrasive electronic textures that manage to scratch parts of my brain I didn’t even know existed, I Love My Computer decouples technology from its dystopian place in today’s headlines, instead serving as a heartfelt tribute to its foundational role in Ninajirachi‘s life. It’s a celebration of the ways in which, for a certain generation, tech can allow for connection, nostalgia (“iPod Touch”), sexuality (“Delete”), and artistic expression (“Sing Good”), one that is aware of its dangers (“Infohazard”) but resolutely optimistic nevertheless. Frequently wry and playful but never remotely irony-poisoned, this is an absolute joy of an album whose immaculate vibes, boundary-breaking sound, and genuine, radiant passion have managed to strike a potent emotional chord in even an outsider to electronic music like myself.
Recommended tracks: iPod Touch, Fuck My Computer, Infohazard, Sing Good
Related links: Bandcamp | Facebook | Instagram
Olivia Dean – The Art of Loving
Genre: Pop, soul
Picked by: Akhila
This is my first writing appearance for the blog! Olivia Dean’s sophomore album The Art of Loving is poppy, jazzy, soulful, and instantly feels like a timeless classic. The album blends contemporary pop and soul with jazz influences, carried by Dean’s sultry yet playful vocals. From operatic moments to percussive bossa nova grooves, the record is effortlessly catchy and full of memorable, heady choruses. The production of this album is crisp and intentional, leaving room for every instrument to breathe without overpowering Dean’s voice. Her raspy, vulnerable delivery remains beautifully grounded—floating over layered percussion—inviting stunning harmonies. It’s so easy to fall in love with you, Olivia, and The Art of Loving makes a strong case for her winning New Artist of the Year.
Recommended tracks: Let Alone The One You Love, A Couple Minutes, Man I Need, So Easy (To Fall In Love)
Related links: Apple Music | Facebook | Instagram
Oneohtrix Point Never – Tranquilizer
Genre: Ambient, vaporwave, progressive electronic, glitch
Picked by: Dave
A central conceit of vaporwave is the invocation of nostalgia in an ephemeral and often disposable form. Oneohtrix Point Never‘s Tranquilizer pushes the genre to its logical conclusion, transcending a concrete nostalgia for something that yearns for places and things one can’t even remember. The record is archetypical of the fragmented memories of our past, coalesced by self-contained ambient pieces that flicker with semblances of melody and rhythm. “Bumpy” and “Lifeworld” are hazy and inscrutable, and yet carry significant emotional weight despite their fuzzy imagery; “Modern Lust” fumbles through blips and bleeps before approaching clarity through sultry synth leads and transient saxophone; “Cherry Blue” and “Rodl Glide” feature lo-fi beats that are dashed through like a broken record; and “Vestigel” evokes childhood fears as the center of the track folds in on itself to the sound of a disembodied maw opening wide. The ruins of memory that Oneohtrix Point Never explores are wholly worn down to the point of unrecognizability; all that is left are the latent emotions underneath. Despite its intractable and surreal exterior, Tranquilizer is wholly evocative and universally relatable.
Recommended tracks: Rodl Glide, Bumpy, Modern Lust, For Residue
Related links: Bandcamp | Facebook | Instagram
Purity Ring – Purity Ring
Genre: Futurepop, synth-pop, dream pop, witch house
Picked by: Vince
Truth be told, I’d fallen away from Purity Ring for a long while. Early albums Shrines (2012) and Another Eternity (2015) were addictive introductions, their off-beat compositions and pop electronica coupled with vocalist Megan James’ fairy tale tones offering an esoteric alternative to pop’s more mainstream designs. Purity Ring marks their first independent release, inspired by video games like Nier Automata and Final Fantasy, and it’s every bit as strange, whimsical, and compelling as their previous works. The Ghost in the Shell-esque chants highlight the ecstatic drum-and-bass flow of “Many Lives” and had me locked into Purity Ring’s quest. Two travelers seeking to build a kinder world is a story I can get behind, and the whimsy and wonder of such an optimistic adventure is stamped firmly on the DNA of the album. Whether that’s the woodwinds and twinkling guitars of “Red the Sunrise” and “Memory Ruins”, cascading glacial keyboards of “Mistral”, or the building anticipation of “The Long Night”, Purity Ring delivers another effort powered by that delightful, strange sort of biomechanical heart that’s powered them since the very beginning—and thankfully, shows no signs of stopping.
Recommended tracks: Many Lives, Red the Sunrise, Memory Ruins, The Long Night, Imanocean
Related links: Bandcamp | Facebook | Instagram
Rosalía – LUX
Genre: Contemporary classical, art pop
Picked by: Ian
Describing albums as a “religious experience” isn’t something I do lightly, but that is genuinely what Rosalía‘s massively ambitious, lavishly orchestrated LUX manages to encapsulate. From angelically gorgeous early tracks like “Reliquia” and “Divinize” that evoke the beauty of soaring, stained-glass cathedrals, to the unsettling, fight-or-flight darkness of “Porcelana” and “Berghain”, LUX blends a full orchestra, avant-garde electronics, and Rosalía‘s shockingly virtuosic soprano vocals (in 14 languages, no less!) to create a dizzying tour of Heaven, Hell, and everywhere in between. And yet, for all the larger-than-life divinity of the album’s first half, its second half is equally striking in its breakdown of the humanity that underlies it. Playful, flamenco-driven acoustics underscore its creator’s Barcelona roots (with “La Rumba Del Perdón” in particular being an absolute bop) while its ballads spin the album’s grandiosity into something far more vulnerable, culminating in the heartwrenching meditation on mortality that is “Magnolias”. For such a well-known artist to release an album this unapologetically complex, artsy, and gloriously unique – it’s something truly special.
Recommended tracks: Divinize, Porcelana, La Rumba Del Perdón, Magnolias
Related links: Apple Music | Facebook | Instagram
Silvana Estrada – Vendrán Suaves Lluvias
Genre: Chamber folk
Picked by: Andy
The singer-songwriter genre lives and dies on the talents of the singer, and Veracruz’s Silvana Estrada has a unique voice perfectly suited for the job, as she injects emotional power, clarity, vulnerability, and perfect control of tone into her storytelling. Estrada frequently shifts between head and chest voice, often mid-word, with strong emphasis on rhythmic agility. Her technical brilliance is matched with a delicate tone like a budding flower, and by spanning her range from breathiness to rich, full-bodied singing, Estrada can manipulate your heartstrings as convincingly as she can her voice. On the songwriting facet of Estrada’s sound, she curates wonderfully intimate minimalist folk motifs and orchestral swells into an understated, yet luxurious, album full of tension and release. Her Spanish lyrics are poetic and beautiful, and although the themes are as old as storytelling itself—heartbreak, grief, and death—her ability with the pen means that even with the trite topics, Vendrán Suaves Lluvias is still a meaningful contribution to the canon of Spanish language music and poetry.
Recommended tracks: Dime, Flores, Como un Pájaro, Un Rayo de Luz
Related links: Apple Music | Facebook | Instagram
Sofia Isella – I’m camera .
Genre: Alternative pop
Picked by: Cooper
With I’m camera ., the ever-prolific Sofia Isella continues her horror-infused flirtations with the repugnant and the vulgar that have made her alt-pop cuts so addicting. Like a mutilated corpse lying on a train track, the EP revolts at first sight—Isella’s brash lyrics and dreary industrial soundscapes presenting obvious sharp edges to be wary of—but glances are inevitably stolen; blessedly, Isella knows how to appease the curious. From the buzzing flies that open “Muse” to the distorted, mechanical beats of “Josephine” and “Orchestrated, Wet, Verboten,” and the luscious vocal harmonies of “Crowd Caffeine” and “Dog’s Dinner,” I’m camera . thrives on the tensile energy of the taboo. Whether through overt sexual references or darker lyrical connotations, the EP invites the listener to interrogate their place within the audience–artist relationship, all while Isella bares her heart through her signature deep whispers and soaring whistle tones.
Recommended tracks: Muse, Dog’s Dinner, Crowd Caffeine
Related links: Apple Music | Facebook | Instagram
Sun City – Forever
Genre: Retrowave, 80s synthpop
Picked by: Francesco
‘80s movies, retro synths, neon aesthetics, and themes of love won and lost come alive like a nostalgic memory of a time I’ve never lived on Sun City’s debut album Forever. The Danish synthwave trio perfectly capture the sound of an era, wholly encapsulating a late summer’s vibe with their narrative songwriting, synth bass, and gated drums. The record is incredibly hook-driven, with saxophone melodies that linger in minor-key nostalgia, while the analog warmth of the synth pads provide a VHS-hazed backdrop for the bouncy bass lines and reverberant snares. The vocals are breathy and intimate, while the lyrics focus on romanticism without becoming overly saccharine, walking a line between wistful and warmly sentimental. The mood here is firmly rooted in an earnest homage to a retro atmosphere; think FM-84 rather than Carpenter Brut. It’s got elements of Giorgio Moroder all over it, maybe even a little bit of Phil Collins’ No Jacket Required. It doesn’t try to reinvent synthwave, it just brings it a little closer to the 80s-pop sensibilities the genre took inspiration from to begin with. Picture this: it’s the end of August ‘86 and you just split up with your lady. You put your leather jacket on, start up your motorcycle and drive it up behind the Hollywood sign. You light up a cigarette and put on your Walkman as you gaze silently out over the city lights. You take in a slow, pensive drag, and you think: “At least we’ll always have that summer.” This is the ethos of Sun City’s Forever.
Recommended tracks: Could It Be Love, Forever, Just Like A Stranger
Related links: Bandcamp | Facebook | Instagram
Thrice – Horizons/West
Genre: Alternative rock, post-hardcore, art rock
Picked by: Christopher
Few noughties rock acts have matured as gracefully as the Irvine outfit Thrice. While some bands of the post-hardcore scene simply repeated themselves into irrelevancy, Thrice have aged as finely as the husky timbre of frontman, Dustin Kensrue. From the nigh prog metal heaviness of Vheissu to the artistic experimentation of four EP collection The Alchemy Index to the grungy To Be Everywhere is To Be Nowhere, Thrice have always dared to explore and have become arguably one of the most accomplished groups in their scene. Horizons/West, the sister to 2021’s Horizons/East, collects a range of strong tracks that run the gamut of their sound: post-hardcore (“Gnash”, “Holding On”), anthemic rock (“Albatross”, “Holding On”), proggy (“Vesper Light”), indie (“Undertow”), grunge (“The Dark Glow”). I’ve spun it an unexpected amount because at the end of the day, Thrice know how to write tight songs, and they stay true to their artistic instincts. It’s a philosophy that’s sustained them for the best part of thirty years—may it last them many more.
Recommended tracks: Blackout, Albatross, The Dark Glow, Vesper Light
Related links: Bandcamp | Facebook | Instagram
Thornhill – Bodies
Genre: Alternative metal, nu metal, shoegaze, post-hardcore
Picked by: Vince
Before Sleep Token waltzed in and abducted all my listening time, there was perhaps no album I was listening to more in the early swing of 2025 than Thornhill’s latest, Bodies. A continuation of the Deftones-coded turn taken on 2022’s Heroine, the Australian four-piece unleashed a seething, sweaty alt metal banger that wouldn’t feel out of place in some seedy underground club circa 2000. Tracks like “DIESEL”, “Silver Swarm”, and “TONGUES” grind against the ears with a sensuous violence. “CRUSH” leans into hazy trip-hop grooves that channel all those late nights after the party has ended, and we’re left with nothing but our thoughts. Bodies is toothy, abrasive, full of late night yearning and early morning regrets, and just a kick-ass record from cover charge to curtain call.
Recommended tracks: Silver Swarm, TONGUES, CRUSH, DIESEL, nerv
Related links: Bandcamp | Facebook | Instagram
Warbringer – Wrath and Ruin
Genre: Thrash metal
Picked by: Cory
Now and then, I go on a kick where I just want some fast, heavy, straight-up metal battering my eardrums. Warbringer absolutely deliver on this and much more, unleashing a barrage of heavy thrash with the pacing and compositional variety to make Wrath and Ruin a holistic ass-kicker. There’s plenty of neck-breaking, uptempo riffing from the Demolition Hammer school of thrash, and Warbringer keep packing in their signature mid-tempo breakdowns—“The Sword And The Cross,” “The Jackhammer,” and “Strike From The Sky” are primed for the pit. As ever, John Kevill’s vocals fit the style so perfectly you’d think his vocal cords were forged from melted-down assault rifles, cooled off with tepid PBR, and wrapped in acid-washed denim. And still, the band continue to expand their sonic arsenal: “Through A Glass, Darkly” treads in an overtly dark, atmospheric haze, while “Cage Of Air” journeys through blackened thrash passages before settling into a lovely classical guitar bridge, only to break out with a massive riff behind some of Kevill’s most visceral shouts. For me, though, closer “The Last Of My Kind” is where Warbringer’s sound is perfected, bringing all the elements of Wrath and Ruin together in a concise yet epic six minutes. This is modern thrash, elevated—but don’t worry, it’ll still leave your neck sore and ears thrumming.
Recommended tracks: The Sword And The Cross, The Jackhammer, The Last Of My Kind
Related links: Bandcamp | Facebook | Instagram
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