Here we have the 5th full-length album from Athens, Attica, Greece singer/songwriter Σtella. Introducing herself with an eponymous debut, both it’s follow-ups Works for You & The Break would result in Sub Pop Records signing her and making the Redinho-produced Up & Away a decent debut for the Seattle, Washington indie label. 3 years later, she’s returning by putting out Adagio & the singles teased for it until this point seems like it could shape up to be better than Up & Away or even dethroning The Break for her strongest material.
The title track was a bedroom pop & samba intro asking why she’s being tormented likening herself to a spy with her 400 eyes taking her from A to B whereas “Ta Vimata” sings about the steps bringing her to the narrow path. “Omorfu Mou” finds her wanting her romantic interest when they leave & missing them while she stays just before “Baby Brazil” featuring Las Palabras suggests to let the feeling roll since the individual she has in mind likes control as much as they do.
“Can I Say” asks if she can tell her partner exactly how much she misses them while “80 Days” acoustically sings about going by the rules even if they don’t apply. “Too Poor” groovily explains the way she’s attracted to her lover & after the “Corfu” instrumental cut, the closing track “Caravan” officially wraps up her Sub Pop Records sophomore effort singing about her only real partner in crime at the moment being Father Time itself.
Inspired by an 11-minute boat ride to Anafi roughly 6 years ago, Σtella sounds more at ease & comfortable than she’s ever been on Adagio displaying new approaches to her songwriting. The end result turns out to be a pop LP that feels like a warm blanket due to the way it swaddles its listeners with nylon-string guitars, featherlight percussion, psychedelic keyboards & staccato drums offering a meditation on love, desire, rest & time.
Black Country, New Road is an experimental rock band from Cambridge, England, United Kingdom consisting of bassist/vocalist Tyler Hyde, saxophonist/flautist/vocalist, Lewis Evans a.k.a. Good With Parents, violinist/vocalist Georgia Ellery, keyboardist/vocalist May Kershaw, drummer Charlie Wayne & guitarist Luke Mark. Signing to Ninja Tune, the band’s debut For the 1st Time & the sophomore effort Ants From Up There have both quickly become the most important post-rock & art-rock albums of the current decade receiving universal acclaim. Taking 3 years off, they’re returning for their 3rd studio LP.
“Besties” blends progressive pop, chamber pop, baroque pop, sunshine pop & soft rock dealing with unrequited love for a best friend whereas “The Big Spin” dabbles with country singing about a restrictive domestic life unwillingly enforced on a person. “Socks” gives off progressive pop & art rock vibe explaining our lives hold a light no life has held before while “Salem Sisters” finds Tyler singing about happily being in a tree with a fire biting beneath him.
The country influences once again on “2 Horses” asking if Georgia found a man she can finally lean on leading into “Mary” heading for a minimal direction in terms of general sound taking the lyrics from diary entries followed by “Happy Birthday” crossing over progressive pop, baroque pop, art rock, folk rock, piano rock, chamber pop, indie rock & neo-canterbury teaching us privilege doesn’t bring happiness.
“For the Cold Country” carries over the progressive folk, art rock, chamber folk, progressive rock, choral, post-rock & neo-canterbury elements focusing on a journey of self-reflection while “Nancy Tries to Take the Night” tells a tragic tale ending in suicide. The title track returns to a minimalistic flare with a winding approach to the songwriting & “Goodbye (Don’t Tell Me)” finishes with an acoustic ballad admitting to Georgia falling in love with a feeling.
The modern day experimental rock trailblazers reemerge with a meticulously detailed album that includes everything from folk to prog via baroque pop & touches of alt-rock yet all the while retaining that unmistakably unique sound that only this combination of musicians can come up with. Although hugely varied & expansive, Forever Howlong also feels deeply cohesive & focused as it takes 3 distinct voices & styles & seamlessly intersperses them into a new collective sound.
Allegaeon is technical death metal band from Denver, Colorado consisting of lead guitarist Greg Burgess, rhythm guitarist Michael Stancel, bassist Brandon Michael, drummer Jeff Saltzman & frontman Ezra Haynes. These guys have been making themselves at home with Metal Blade Records for the past 15 years ago putting out 7 albums & the most notable being their last 4; Elements for the Infinite, Proponent for Sentience, Apoptosis & Damnum. Beginning the 2nd quarter of 2025 however, they’re coming back after 3 years to deliver their 8th studio LP.
After the “Refraction” instrumental intro, the first song “Chaos Theory” begins with a progressive technical death metal vibe explaining an abysmal dissolution causing chaos to be restored in life whereas “Driftwood” maintains the prog-tech-death approach talking about the shadows of your past taking you eventually. “Dies Irae” promises to spare no one while the technical death metal-tinged “The Swarm” asks to give ‘em falling skies to take their eyes.
“Carried by Delusion” maintains the tech death flare talking about his ghost carrying the sword & standing in a shallow grave immortalized just before “Dark Matter Dynamics” featuring Adrian Bellue devours all light where questions roam with answers being kept tight-lipped. “Imperial” asks to what degree is our fate sealed & to what end do we allow while “Wake Circling Above” morbidly explains being on his way out & never finding himself again. “Scythe” ends by talking about Hell opening alongside fear dying a long time ago.
Ezra’s return after a decade represents several different viewpoints of death further touching on some classic Allegaeon science-related topics such as chaos theory & dark matter while also strumming the chords of more introspective topics such as alcoholism, relationships & perseverance embracing a new subgenre called melotech bringing melodic death metal & technical death metal together to display the band at their most cohesive.
Jane Remover is a 21 year old musician from Newark, New Jersey known for pioneering the Dariacore microgenre. They made their breakout debut in the fall of 2021 with Frailty under deadAir Records & it wasn’t until exactly 24 months later when former BROCKHAMPTON leader Kevin Abstract called Jane Remover’s sophomore effort Census Designated his favorite album of that year where I personally got introduced to their music. Continuing the bi-yearly release cycle, their 3rd album has finally arrived after high anticipation.
“Twice Removed” begins with this digicore intro explaining that 2022 feels like a million years ago to them by now & shit getting old to them so quickly whereas the EDM-driven “Psychoboost” featuring Danny Brown finds the 2 talking about both of them feeling as if they’re a part of each other. “Star People” blends hyperpop & trap so they can ask if you’re either their bestie or their enemy prior to the chaotically noisy “Experimental Skin” talking about seeing no evil.
Moving on from there, “angels in camo” returns for more of a digicore vibe trading names with demons & refusing to let the creeps win just before “Dreamflasher” takes the sound of the previous cut & meshing it with EDM asking God to save them since they’re so turnt at the current moment. “Turn Up or Die” brings a glitchier flare to the table giving this bitch a proper sendoff by blowing his head off while “Dancing with Your Eyes Closed” perfectly showcases fusing hyperpop, electropop, digicore, bass house, future bass, electro hop, electroclash, Dariacore & rage influences.
“Fadeoutz” talks about feeling the same affection the standard popstar receives & likening fast love to fast drugs while “Professional Vengeance” balances digicore & pop punk returning from California with a bag 10x the price of what they were sold. “Dark Night Castle” admits to feeling like they don’t deserve the business prior to the outstanding digicore, rage, experimental hip hop, industrial hip hop, dark plugg & emo rap closer “JRJRJR”.
There are artists in the digicore scene I’ve given props to like Bear1boss or che & Polo Perks no question, except Jane Remover reclaims the sound that made them popular on the occasion of presenting the most flawless listening experience I’ve had in 2025 as of right now & a landmark in that style. The glitchcore aesthetics get uniquely branched out to the likes of experimental hip hop, electronic dance music, rage, hyperpop, hard dance, bass house, industrial hip hop, hardcore EDM, dark plugg, emo rap, electropop, future bass, electro hop, electroclash & of course Dariacore seamlessly.
This is the sophomore effort & YSL Records debut from Atlanta, Georgia up-&-comer 9 Vicious. Breaking out last summer off his debut single “U Fancy”, he would go on to further introduce himself on B4SA & the debut album Studio Addict helped him gain more exposure to the point where Young Thug signed him to YSL after B4TM dropped. Couple months later, he’s joining 1300SAINT as 1 of the 2 newest signees for the label by putting out Tumblr Music ahead of the latter 1300’s upcoming project albeit his 2nd under the YSL banner Saint Season next month on the 25th.
The way “Why Can’t There Be Love?” by Dee Edwards gets sampled by 406ahmad on “Margiela Steppin’” talking about playing this shit like it’s a 2K game whereas “Makaveli” goes for more of an eerie trap direction instrumentally thanks to Patrick Garza further homaging 2Pac like he did with the album cover. “Clout Demons” easily sticks out as the worst track with the “I know I fucked up, I admit I was horny” line appallingly admitting that he slept with a minor prior to “SP5DER” representing his uncle’s clothing brand to the fullest.
“Twitter & Instagram” named after the social media apps owned by Tesla CEO, SpaceX founder, Neuralink founder & Nazi Elon Musk and Facebook founder & Meta Platforms CEO Mark Zuckerberg respectively cloudily boasts with Jwade to get on some new shit daily just before “Anti You” talks about growing up without guidance. “Mad Rappers” finds him pissing off his competition leading into “Hit ‘Em Up” clearly giving more flowers to Pac.
Starting the final leg of Tumblr Music, the song “Beastmode” turns up the bass so he can break down the way he livin’ on Cleveland Avenue while “Again” promotes his set at Lyrical Lemonade’s upcoming 7th annual Summer Smash festival. The self-produced “Take Me Down” has possibly my favorite beat on the whole LP thinking about the craziness that he’s experienced in his life so far.
No denying from me that Studio Addict & B4TM both have their highlights like “The Truth” or “R.I.P Keed”, but I’d argue that Tumblr Music falls behind All Hail as a decent example of YSL bringing exciting new artists onto their roster now that Thug finally came home last Halloween. It’s the best he’s sounded production-wise & he holds it down by himself like he did 3 months ago other than some questionable lines occasionally coming up.
This is the 5th studio LP from Lafayette, Louisiana rapper, singer/songwriter & producer Autumn!. Gaining traction off all 22 of his previous EPs & a full-length debut on SoundCloud since 2018 prior to signing to Victor Victor Worldwide & Republic Records following the Not Much Left EP, he made his major label debut nearly 3 years ago with his sophomore effort Antagonist! as well as following it up with the last 2 installments of the Golden Child trilogy & Midnight Club. Wick delivered a sequel to Solitary last spring, You Never Was Mine in the summer & ##B4B2MR in the winter. To end the 1st quarter of 2025, it’s time for him to go Back 2 My Roots.
“Replica!” sets the tone of what’s to come excellently with the self-produced plugg instrumental talking about the only thing he copies is Margiela whereas “Brainrot!” named after a term I feel like out-of-touch people use to call dank memes rocks Balmain showing respect to the late Lil Keed. “Passenger Princess!” keeps the plugg vibes going for a love song about his glock leading into “Sunburn!” sampling “Plastic 100°C” by Sampha & shouting out Summrs only having Burberry material on his end.
As for both “Something New!” & “Laws of Power!”, we have Autumn! taking a couple ##B4B2MR highlights & placing them on the final version of the album just before “Upper Echelon!” maintains the plugg sound talking about seeing the limelight. “Louie V Everything!” featuring Summrs on the remix expresses their love for Louis Vuitton referencing the Rockstar Games-owned Grand Theft Auto V protagonist Trevor Philips, but then “1 Way 2!” throws it back to the Antagonist! sequel aesthetically.
“Still the Same 3!” continues a trilogy that began with his breakout single stuck in a place he wants to forget while “Both Ways!” talks about his hoes being bisexual. “Did It Again!” a lot like “Something New!” & “Laws of Power!” reappears after being on ##B4B2MR while “Count It Faster!” talks about stacking his racks up. “Free Promo!” flexes his brother moving in slow-mo because of the lean while “Stuck in a Loop!” admits to the way he feels at times. “When I Pray” finishes Back 2 My Roots waking up with money on his mind.
##B4B2MR promisingly had many including myself thinking that Back 2 My Roots would be a return to form for him considering the mixed reception of You Never Was Mine almost 9 months ago & I personally would tell you that it’s the most I’ve enjoyed his music since Golden Child 3! exactly 3 years to the day it dropped. It’s primarily self-produced other than a couple tracks delving back into the plugg sound that made him blow up & he’s more focused than some of his recent output.
Chicago, Illinois rapper & Only the Family Entertainment founder Lil Durk finally dropping his 5th studio LP ahead of his murder-for-hire case. Rising to prominence a little over a decade ago off his debut mixtape I’m a Hitta, he would go on to follow this up with Life Ain’t No Joke & the first 2 installments of the Signed to the Streets trilogy until signing to Def Jam Recordings for his full-length debut Remember My Name & the sophomore effort Lil Durk 2X. Since then, Durk has made himself home at Alamo Records by dropping 9 more mixtapes & bounced back from the mixed reception of 7220 in the form of Almost Healed to let off a collection of Deep Thoughts.
“Shaking When I Pray” is this decent cloudy trap intro that Isaiah Valmont of Internet Money Records whipped up talking about people doing anything to go viral these days whereas “Keep on Sippin’” addresses an individual he gave everything to & yet, they still continue to trip out. “They Wanna Be You” featuring Future finds the 2 talking about kids wanting to be exactly like the both of them prior to “Soul Bleed” admits to putting others ahead of his own team as of late.
Lil Baby joins Durk on “1,000 Times” talking about people they used to hang with in the hood leaving them drowning just before “Turn Up a Notch” has one of my favorite instrumentals from Southside & Smatt Sertified clapping back at everyone who counted him out a decade ago. “Vanish Mode” produced by Chopsquad DJ addresses a bitch lying to him about loving him leading into “Monitoring Me” getting in his Chicago drill bag.
“Untouchable” ends the 1st leg by hustling whenever he gets a chance & barely holding his stance as it already is while “Notebook” gives off a laidback trap direction talking about the industry putting him in beefs. “Can’t Hide It” was a decent pop rap single that benny blanco & Cashmere Cat laced together delving into relationships, but then “Wondering Again” ponders if an ex will ever love him once more.
Hunxho appears for the mediocre “Late Checkout” still in disbelief they found love while “Think You Glowed” shuts down a hoe lying to herself that he’s glowing up. The song “Opportunist” remembers his late brother & describes the way he copes with depression while “Alhamdulillah” talks about finally being healed. “Deep Depression” with Metro Boomin’, BoogzDaBeast & FNZ all behind the boards closes the album figuring out why he’s in love with the streets since shit gets ugly.
7220 & Almost Healed were both admirably personal with the latter kinda stepping it up in the production department, which led me hoping Deep Thoughts would expand on. Unfortunately for the most part, it turned out to become the same old melodic trap/pop rap that we’ve been getting from him in recent memory. Even with the introspection he brings to the table, the production is a step down from Almost Healed & it kinda feels repetitive.
Maya Delilah is a 24 year old R&B singer/songwriter from London, England, United Kingdom who introduced herself in the summer of 2020 with her debut EP Oh Boy & later It’s Not Me, It’s You the next fall. Both of which were welcomed to mixed reception, signing a joint deal with Blue Note Records & Capitol Records roughly 12 months later. 2 & a half years have passed since & she’s ready to take herself to new heights on her debut album.
“Begin Again” minimally begins her Blue Note debut hoping nothing changes whenever she rewinds to a certain point in her life whereas “Look At the State of Me Now” hooks up some mellow ass guitar work singing about everyone taking a look at how she’s doing currently. “Man of the House” experiments with country-pop reveling in the domestic potential of new love prior to “Maya, Maya, Maya” delving further down the introspection topically.
Meanwhile on “Jeffrey”, we have Maya taking a backseat vocally making way for an acoustic guitar & some organs to prominently take over the spotlight just before “Squeeze” brings a funkier vibe to the table telling her lover to never let her go. “Actress” samples the late Curtis Mayfield singing that she’s on the verge of losing control & getting lost, but then “Did I Dream It At All?” hops over these pianos to address the theme of despair.
“I’ll Be There in the Morning” starts the final leg of The Long Way Round by taking inspiration from an unpleasant experience she once had while the acoustic “My Balloon” apologizes to this individual for keep pulling them back to her. The western-tinged “Necklace” sings about feeling as if 2 worlds are intersecting & being a realist while “Never with You” ends by admitting her fear of growing old.
The Long Way Round compared to her early EPs feels like combination of so many parts of her since she’s so influenced by different genres, people, places & experiences that it’s always felt hard for me to fit my music into a consistent sound or mood. It took her a long time to realize that it’s a beautiful thing to have a body of work that explores so many different influences. It brings her intimacy, ability, inspiration depth & lightness into 1 striking debut.
Toronto, Ontario, Canada singer/songwriter Bria Salmena signing to Sub Pop Records for her official solo debut. Coming up as the guitarist/percussionist & co-vocalist for Dear Sister, they would put out 2 full-lengths until their disbandment & she would go on to become the frontwoman of FRIGS as well as forming the country duo Bria with FRIGS guitarist Duncan Jennings putting out a couple mediocre EPs full of covers. Looking to differentiate herself from her side projects, Sub Pop’s bringing her onto the label roster to cement her Big Dog status.
Drastic” begins with this pop rock intro finding herself at an impasse staring at the runway instead of getting on the plane whereas “Backs of Birds” focuses more on embracing the people in her life who lift her up. “Closer to You” takes a shot at post-punk telling her to either love her gently or leave prior to “Hammer” singing about leaving all her fears to be afraid & resilience in general.
As for “Radisson”, we have Bria exploring the raw energy of anger & the ability it has to transform just before “Twilight” goes for more of a stripped-back vibe kin to traditional country music tackling naivety & surrender. “On the Line” details her living her life taking risks for this specific person she has in mind, but then “Stretch the Struggle” assures you’ll never see her crying.
“Rags” tackles transgressive rage & the catharsis that is possible when it’s given permission to move freely through the body while “See’er” featuring former Sonic Youth guitarist Lee Ranaldo brings the acoustics back expressing a yearning for being seen. “Peanut” nears the end of her solo debut asking what kind of fool she is & the closer “Water Memory” recalls what it was like for her spending Christmas alone during the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic in mandatory travel quarantine.
Chronicling a story of transformation, Big Dog becomes this deeply personal exploration of resilience & a declaration of artistic independence forged through collaboration. It takes elements of hypnotic krautrock & shimmery shoegaze, opulent goth, & pulsing darkwave with a smearing of electronic textures for a sophisticated & often uncanny sound placing her potent lyrical imagery in the dead center of it all.
This is the 5th full-length album from Toronto, Ontario, Canada rapper, singer/songwriter & producer ΠΔV. Breaking out in 2016 after signing to The Weeknd’s very own Republic Records imprint X♥O Records & his verse/production on “beibs in the trap” off of Travis Scott’s sophomore effort Birds in the Trap Sing McKnight, I think that it’s been made pretty clear that I personally haven’t been the biggest fan of ΠΔV’s music up to this point. Primarily because of his robotic delivery, insipid lyrics & generic production choices (especially on Reckless & Bad Habits). However I did find the Wheezy-produced Emergency Tsunami to be ΠΔV’s best work to date, albeit not by much. Demons Protected by Angels wasn’t really much better & the singles building up On My Way 2 Rexdale made me want to give it a chance.
“Sinking” finds him opening up about his loneliness & inner emotions over a drumless guitar instrumental that he make himself whereas “You” feels more of a Don Toliver cut since ΠΔV has little to no presence on it whatsoever. “Stay Up” co-produced by Internet Money Records in-house producer Synthetic talks about being awake when no one else is while “Burbs” reunites with Wheezy behind the boards talking about making it out the hood.
Playboi Carti joins ΠΔV on “Unlimited” so both of them can rock out together for 3 & a half minutes just before “Back 2 Business” talks about having a lot of problems he deals with as it is getting back in his bag after 2 & a half years. “U.N.I.” goes for a sample-heavy trap direction showing a romantic side to him leading into “1 of None” asking a shawty if she’d be willing to hide out with him.
“Nxxd You” admits to his love that he gets excited around her for no reason comparing her presence to taking ecstasy while “Real Me” takes a cloudier route thanks to Metro Boomin’ showing his romantic interest his genuine self. “Red” brings a moody trap beat to the table drowning in his double cup only seeing the aptly mentioned color, but then “Keep Going” gives a finger to the money & fame continuing his music career in spite of doubters.
The song “Get 2 U” has interestingly chilled out trap flare instrumentally that really caught my attention right out the gate talking about the drugs runnin’ through his body & the closer “Pain Away” asks for his partner to relieve him of all pain he’s been feeling. “Get U Back” starts the deluxe run with a moody 2-parter wanting this woman back in his life while “1 Fan” talks about a hoe who says she dated ΠΔV & he begs to differ since he ain’t ever claimed her to begin with.
“Globe” switches it up by showing a plugg influence talking about being known all around the world while the woozy “Potholes” finds him actively dodging thots in the streets. “Lift Service” tells a chick to back it up & drop it low for him telling her he loves it when she shakes 1 leg while the extended version of the single “Rexdale” sincerely talks about staying strong & powering through during difficult times.
Was surprised regarding the original version of “Rari” called “Now It’s Over” seeing the light of day officially looking back on when he was broke & those days being done with while “Bag” from the Brown Boy 2 mixtape reappears for whatever reason. Lil Uzi Vert pops up for the remix of “Habits” off ΠΔV’s sophomore effort Bad Habits that I enjoy more than the original while the “Go to Hell” intro off his debut EP Brown Boy sampling “Enormous” by Gucci Mane gives his homie some Bathing Ape to celebrate his prison release.
“Highway” originally recorded in late 2016-early 2017 speaks of the lavish lifestyle he’s been living for the past decade living every day as if it’s gonna be his last while “She Worth It” featuring co-production from London on da Track talks about the woman he currently has on his mind. “Paranoid” cavernously tackles the problems brought about by his new-found fame while “Fast Life” questions loyalties whilst flexing his new-found wealth & success over a vocal sample & hi-hats. The final bonus track “Take a Seat” thanks God for him being wealthy now & suggesting to hop in the foreign whip pulled up driving in.
If you told me the same guy who made some of the worst trap albums of 2010s like Reckless & Bad Habits would make his best full-length nearly 5 years after the most consistent mixtape in his discography, I don’t think I would’ve believed you. He’s always been an enjoyable producer & to hear him primarily self-producing his music again is what he needed, taking it back to his origins by returning to his Toronto home town.
Legends Will Never Die 