(Some of) Jarred Up’s Favourite Albums of 2025
It’s that time of year. We have asked our lovely pool of writers for some of their favourite albums of 2025. Do you care? Probably not. Are we gonna tell you anyway? Of course. Disagree? We don’t care. This is literally the definitive list.
And no, Benson Boone is not making an appearance.
Getting Killed by Geese
It may be the favourite album of the most annoying and performative guy you know, but it’s his favourite for a reason. Geese have been on an upwards trajectory for the past five years or so, slowly shedding any semblance of what we have come to expect from a modern American guitar band, and have established themselves as a band firmly fixed on being strange, unique, and unpredictable. From screaming about there being a bomb in the car on ‘Trinidad’, to the more funky stylings of ‘100 Horses’, Getting Killed really cements Geese as one of the most exciting bands currently around, and is the perfect marrying of lead singer Cameron Winter’s more crooning, emotional ballads from his 2024 solo album Heavy Metal with Geese’s more frenetic, heavy rock stylings. The result? Something utterly incredible. The highlight track for me is ‘Au Pays du Cocaine’, one of the slower tracks from the album, that nevertheless captures the energy and emotion of the whole album. The music video for it also sees Winter singing the song to a baby, which you simply must watch.
Words: Charlie Sweeney
Playin’ Dumb by Tchotchke
An unreal album. Pure dreamy whimsical wonderland sugary goodness by the New York City trio. Produced by the Lemon Twigs so, of course, it just sounds perfect. Some lovely Ronettes influence in there but by no means a copycat sorta thing - it’s got that unmistakable Tchotchke sound which I urge everyone to listen to! An absolute treat of an album.
Words: James Lawson
Never Enough by Turnstile
There’s been a lot of debate between confused incel hardcore purists about whether Turnstile are still ‘hardcore’, which I find very dull. It’s these kind of debates that should be left to the cultural toilet seat of Reddit and not really written about in mainstream media but alas. Never Enough definitely feels like the AM of Turnstile’s discography in the sense that it’s their biggest record to date, and has skyrocketed them into the mainstream. For me, I love how well they have progressed sonically, while keeping the core of roots of what makes them a hardcore band. On both the album, and their live shows, they move effortlessly between songs, using soundscapes and interludes to transition between songs. I missed the opportunity to go and see the film they made alongside the album at the Vue, and I feel I will forever rue the day. I saw them for the first time at Primavera this year, and it was one of those shows that will never again be replicated, partly due to the 3am stage time and excessive drinking. It might have been shit to be fair, who knows.
Words: James Watkins
City of Clowns by Marie Davidson
City of Clowns, the sixth album from electronic musician Marie Davidson, is a cyberpunk tour de force, pulsing beats and futuristic synths soundtracking dystopian examinations of global tech. Working with long-time collaborators Soulwax and Pierre Guerineau, Davidson’s trademark combination of dancefloor electroclash and Québécois-accented witticisms has had me hitting the repeat button all year. The brilliantly titled ‘Push Me Fuckhead’ vents frustration with modern verification processes (“you are not a robot/we can certify!”) via sardonic humour and an irresistible hyperpop groove, while the relentless thud of ‘Demolition’ lends menace to its chilling examination of how the digital age has made us the product, whether we like it or not. “I don't want your cash/what I want is you/I want your data/data, baby”. It’s unnerving, hypnotic and hits just a little too close to home. Technological paranoia has never sounded so justified - or so good.
Words: David Cuthbertson
Drive to Goldenhammer by Divorce
It takes a certain skill to be able to place a lyric like “I was made to love you, but the living made me weak” on the same track list as one observing simply “…look at the state of that U-turn” and to not have either one sound out of place. But, on Divorce’s stellar debut album Drive to Goldenhammer, the Nottingham four-piece do exactly that. Across twelve tracks co-vocalists Tiger Cohen-Towell and Felix Mackenzie-Barrow, alongside guitarist Adam Peter Smith and drummer Kasper Sandstrøm (also of post-punk outfit Do Nothing), blend Wilco-esque Americana with a punchy take on classic indie-rock; throwing in some charmingly retro electronic elements for good measure. This is an album that can swing immediately from something like the sombre storytelling of ‘Parachuter’ to the synthy indie-pop of ‘All My Freaks’ and have none of it read as anything less than a natural progression. The result is a fun, albeit occasionally emotionally devastating, trip through genres and tones that sets out a clear roadmap for where the band could go in the future, should they decide not to tear up the rulebook all over again.
Words: Sam Wilkinson
black british music by Jim Legxacy
Okay, so this one is technically not an album, but a mixtape, However, despite outward appearance we are not pedantic or pretentious enough here at Jarred Up to let daft definitions get in the way of talking about a record. And what a record it is. Jim Legxacy’s third mixtape, his first on XL, is probably most accurately described as a musical moodboard, a tightly-produced mix of tracks spanning an ungodly amount of genres and influences, where Grime-meets-Indie-meets-Emo-meets-Funk-meets-Afrobeat-meets-Electronic. However, the clear influence of contemporary British artists like Dave and Jai Paul, Jim Legxacy manages to weave together these varied sounds into something new. Songs like ‘06 wayne rooney’ (which, song aside, just appeals to my innate Barclaysman nostalgia) and ‘new david bowie’ are unlike anything I have heard this year. Legxacy is just clearly so talented, and I can’t wait to see what else he does.
Words: Charlie Sweeney
Euro-Country by CMAT
Euro-Country is as much of an album as it is a diary entry, a love letter, or a series of affirmations you repeat to yourself while crying in the mirror. There are very few people who could get away with creating a record that combines scathing political commentary with a formal apology to TV chefs but CMAT does it beautifully. Euro-Country stays true to the country and folk influences of her previous work but carries a pop-forward sound indicative of a greater confidence. It is littered with classic CMAT humour and pop-culture references across even its most emotional tracks. This familiarity in her lyricism is possibly what makes it so poignant. Because yeah you’re right Ciara, I do need to be nice and wear less foundation. This album has cemented CMAT as a modern pop icon, and it has been incredible to see her finally receive her flowers.
Words: Amy Burgin
Autumn Automaton by Rose IO
This album came out the day after we had Rose IO play a Jarred Up show in October. Despite that only being two months ago it is easily one of my most played albums of the year. Again, another super whimsical album but heavily in the folk world this time. Rose’s songwriting is beautifully raw and honest, and she sings the songs angelically. I’ve not heard many debut albums recently as amazing as this one!
Words: James Lawson
FEVEREATEN by Witchfever
The Manchester-based punk quartet deliver 44 minutes of interrupted theatricality and fury in their sophomore album. Doom punk drones and sludgy riffs are underscored by bassist Alex Thompson’s cello, lending the whole album a dark, orchestral flair. Anger burns at the baseline of each track, with opening song ‘DEAD TO ME!’ exploding in a sea of screams and 180 seconds of ‘SEE YA NEXT TUESDAY’ ending exactly as you’d expect it to. The themes of religious trauma which ran through Witchfever’s debut album Congregation are still very present, as vocalist Amy Walpole works through the stifling oppression and resulting paranoia of her childhood in the Charismatic Church. ‘FINAL GIRL’ concludes with her screaming a cathartic refrain: “You can't bury me, you can't bury me/I part the red sea, I got what I need.” Never one to die out with a whimper, final track ‘I SEE IT’ builds to a violent zenith, leaving the listener gasping for air and desperate to hear what Witchfever will come up with next.
Words: Lauren Archer
Micrographia by Bug Teeth
Taking its title from a seventeenth-century work which first turned microscopes toward nature’s smaller things, Micrographia considers grief as something embedded in the smallest textures of living. Ethereal ‘90s dream-pop mixes with hauntological indie and experimental electronic music – turning human tragedy into something otherworldly (and even danceable!).
Words: Ollie Haggart
Blizzard by Dove Ellis
I was lucky enough to see Dove Ellis at Sidney&Matilda this year, courtesy of a Music Culture Society gig, and it was incredible. It felt like one of the gigs where you are catching an artist who is about to become huge. Well, if Blizzard has done anything, it proves that may well be correct. Dove Ellis’s debut album is gorgeous. Delicate and heart-wrenching, Dove Ellis has that innate ability to weave between cathartic relief and intense feelings of fragility and sadness. Whilst his voice may be the stand-out, it would be remiss to not highlight the gorgeous instrumentation as well, with tracks like ‘When You Tie Your Hair Up’ moving towards these brilliant, crashing crescendos, which pair well with Ellis’ softer, more low-key vocals. For me, however, the best track is ‘Jaundice’, where Galway-born Ellis really leans into sone of the more Trad influences he has, to great effect. It is a difficult thing for an album to manage to be emotionally-devastating and fun within a couple of songs of each other, yet Blizzard does just that. It’s very likely that one of 2025’s best albums came out at the very end of the year, and I just hope it get’s the attention it so clearly deserves.
Words: Charlie Sweeney
Balloon Balloon Balloon by Sharp Pins
This album speaks to my heart AND my head. Win win! Kai Slater’s band, he’s bloody twenty years old and he’s already put out three mad albums, two of em this year! This new one is ridiculous though. The first two tracks, ‘I Don’t Have The Heart’ and ‘Popafangout’, are just an absolute jangly, garage, Beatles-y paradise in your ears. This dude is saving rock n roll!
Words: James Lawson
