2025 is almost to a close, and this year has been spectacular for music releases, as many artists across a multitude of genres and scenes have released projects this year. From big artists to relatively unknown ones, this year had something for everyone.
10-Another Day Has Passed in A World Without You, by t e l e p a t h テレパシー能力者
Ohio vaporwave producer t e l e p a t h テレパシー能力者 returned this year after a multi-year hiatus with a string of projects, the best being “Another Day Has Passed in A World Without You.” This hour-long vaporwave project leans into his older, slowed down soundscape, primarily using slowed down new-age samples, with intense delays and landmark vaporwave production techniques. The album is slow, relaxing, and overall an excellent return from t e l e p a t h テレパシー能力者. His other notable works from his run during the 2010’s include “Interstellar Intercourse,” “Mysterious Lover,” “Andromeda,” as well as “Another Night Together.”
The return of t e l e p a t h テレパシー能力者 was certainly not expected tis year, after a nearly six year hiatus. He has released three other albums this year.
Photo by Geometric Lullaby.
9-Son Of Spergy, Daniel Caesar
Daniel Caesar’s fourth studio album is by far his most personal, heartfelt and conscious effort yet, as the album is centered around the realization that he is exactly like his father. This record is soft, with the laid back soulful production accompanying Caesar’s vocals very well as he tells the story of his faith and battles with self image. Primary features from this record include Sampha, Blood Orange, Bon Iver as well as Caesar’s younger brother, 646tf4t. The album is strung together neatly with soft guitars, playfully calm percussion and beautiful mixing, making this album feel all the more genuine outside of the beautiful songwriting and vocal performances.
Photo by Republic.
8-Flash and Core, Yerin Baek
Korean artist Yerin Baek released her first record in five years, “Flash and Core,” early in October. The album was fully produced by producer PEEJAY, and features a lot of genre combinations as experimental instrumentals, which is a step in a new direction for Baek. Major highlights from this album include “MIRROR”, “Another season with you,” and “You broke my heart but..”. The production team did a very good job on this, combining many genres to serve as a background for Baek’s incredible vocals and interesting writing choices. Yerin Baek has released three albums before this, and they have all been full quality releases, cementing Baek as one of the most consistent artists from South Korea in recent memory.
Photo by PEOPLE LIKE PEOPLE.
7-Stardust, Danny Brown
As a total curveball this year, Danny Brown who primarily raps over boom-bap rap beats, released a surprisingly amazing hyperpop album, assembling the biggest names in the hyperpop underground scene to feature on this album, such as underscores, femtanyl, umru, 8485 and Frost Children.
“I really liked the song with femtanyl, as I am a pretty big fan of hers,” said Carter Parsons, a junior at Wadsworth High School. “ I wish she had a vocal performance though, but her production was really nice,”
The production on this album really shines, as it is the best quality you can get from a hyperpop release, The rapping and singing performances are smooth, fitting very well over the breakbeats, house drums, and digicore adjacent drums. The best songs off of this album are “Copycats,” “Lift You Up,” and “The End.” Brown really surprised everyone with this release, and he executed this genre almost perfectly.
Photo by Warp.
6-Luminescent Creatures, Ichiko Aoba
Japanese folk/chamber pop artist Ichiko Aoba released her highly anticipated “Luminescent Creatures” on February 28. The album is extremely beautiful and well textured, which is almost expected from a release from Aoba. Her smooth humming and soft singing over quiet guitars, lush strings and beautifully tuned and mixed pianos really bring out the beauty in her catalog. The production is less minimal than her earlier works, but still incredible nonetheless.
Aoba’s voice is really the highlight of this album, as in each song she finds a way to shine over the beautiful instruments, all mixed together into one of the most beautiful experiences this year had to offer.
Photo by hermine.
5-Perspective, Jinsang
Lo-Fi producer Jinsang released his 42 song masterclass in sampling and production during the summer. The album is nothing short of clean, as the tracks flow evenly in and out, which is one of the best things about Lo-Fi mixtapes. Some major highlights from this album include “And I Luv,” “All You Got (Yourself),” and “Kinto’un.” The softer approach to boom bap percussion and soul samples really make this album worth the listen, as it is seamless front to back.
Photo by Ben Tran.
4-Getting Killed, Geese
Cameron Winter and his bandmates released “Getting Killed” in September. This album combines the styles of their past releases into one, fully focused package with each component shining respectively. The main highlight here is Cameron Winter’s vocal performances, as they are so unique and fit the production very well. The best song here is undeniably “Au Pays Du Cocaine.”
Another major piece of this album that brings it home is the mixing as well as the instrumental performances. They accompany Winter’s vocals excellently, and bring the album together tightly.
Photo by Partisan.
3-If Nevermore, Sub Urban
Sub Urban’s sophomore record can only be described as an absolute masterpiece in terms of writing, as the cathartic, self loathing lyricism fits in with the dark, moody production. The album focuses primarily on self image, failures in relationships, and the journey Sub Urban has been on in his personal life. The album is incredibly dark, but overall a very fun listening experience as you can experience Sub Urban unraveling his deeper thoughts in song form, which is really different to hear in detail as most music today does not get this deep lyrically.
Photo by AWAL.
2-Magic, Alive! , McKinley Dixon
Jazz rapper McKinley Dixon released his magnum opus this year on June 6. The album is crisp, being mixed incredibly well and Dixon’s raps fitting incredibly well into the jazzy, upbeat production that brings crazy momentum. The album is a love letter to life itself, detailing personal struggles and Dixon’s love for life, music, and rap together as a whole. It culminates into a beautiful experience, sure to make anyone shed a tear and really value themselves, and life a whole lot more.
Photo by City Slang.
1-Revengeseekerz, Jane Remover
The third studio album by Jane Remover under her main alias, “Revengeseekerz” is a masterpiece in genre combination and fun production. The combination of electronic dance synths and smooth breakbeats along with electronic house elements really bring this album to the top of everything released this year.
“I would say what makes her different from other electronic based music is how her music is less centered on vocals and more on the actual music itself,” said Connor McNeill, a junior at Wadsworth High School. “I listen to a lot of artists like Daft Punk and Basement Jaxx, and what separates her from them is how the beat carries you rather than actual music. The major highlights from this record include “Psychoboost,” “Experimental Skin,” and the most popular song, “Dancing with your eyes closed.” Overall, the album is the pinnacle of hyperpop fun mixed with house and rage stylings.
Photo by deadAir.
