Lists

The Best Albums of 2025: Bubbling Under

These twenty albums may have narrowly missed our Top 50, but they're simply too good to go unrecognised. Our Bubbling Under feature gives them the spotlight they deserve.

Next Monday (8th December), we will be unveiling our Best 50 Albums of 2025 list.

As you can imagine, condensing an entire year of music into a list of just fifty picks is seriously hard work. Inevitably, there are excellent records that just don’t quite make the cut. Our Bubbling Under feature provides a space to celebrate some of these releases. Unlike the Top 50 itself, these picks are unranked.

There’s a playlist at the bottom and a comments section just waiting for No Ripcord members to weigh in. Keen to have your say? Then you’ll need to hit the button below.

Remember to check back next Monday for the main event. Until then, we hope you find something new here to enjoy.

The Weather Station
Humanhood
(Fat Possum)

Initial impressions of Dawson’s Creek background music fade quickly as Humanhood’s lyrical depth and subtle rhythmic complexities take hold. (DC)

Subsonic Eye
Singapore Dreaming
(Topshelf)

Singapore’s finest incorporate shoegaze and indie rock elements on their latest for venerable indie label Topshelf. (DC)

Far Caspian
Autofiction
(Tiny Library Records)

The Leeds group’s third LP, led by singer-songwriter Joel Johnston, almost didn’t come to be. Thankfully, he and his bandmates persevered, delivering a soft meld of prickly electronic touches and hooky strumming patterns that linger in your head for days. (JR)

Armand Hammer / The Alchemist
Mercy
(Backwoodz Studioz)

In-demand producer The Alchemist adds a touch of hazy elegance to some typically verbose rhymes from billy woods and E L U C I D. At this point, Armand Hammer can seemingly do no wrong. (DC)

Brian D’Addario
Till The Morning
(Headstack)

D’Addario’s exquisitely performed baroque pop evokes a distinct period, usually the 1960s, with Beatles flourishes and Beach Boys harmonies (see “Song of Everyone”) the order of the day. (DC)

Mindsone
Stages
(Fort Lowell)

Stages is a classic underground boom bap record that feels like a breath of fresh air in 2025. (DC)

Idlewild
Idlewild
(V2)

The Scottish indie rock veterans look back at their illustrous career with a better understanding of themselves in the present day. (JR)

Perfume Genius
Glory
(Matador)

Mike Hadreas is never one to repeat himself. And on his seventh LP—a thoughtful meditation on isolation—he reckons with the weight that brings over his usual distinct blend of sombre ballads and luminous electronic flourishes. (JR)

Just Mustard
WE WERE JUST HERE
(Partisan)

Led by Katie Bell’s spellbinding vocals, the Irish post-punk quintet maintains a tranquil core amid brusts of dissonance. (JR)

The Lemonheads
Love Chant
(Fire Records)

Evan Dando’s knack for a tuneful melody remains evident, delivering gravelly vocals—think Iggy Pop in the present time—as he flips wildly between jerky rockers (“Deep End”), glam boogie (“Cell Phone Blues”), and jangly Americana (“Togetherness Is All I’m After”). (JR)

The Expert
Vivid Visions
(Rucksack Records)

Indie rap connoisseurs will find a lot to love here, but dabblers in the genre may also be seduced by the record’s charming psychedelia. (DC)

Brown Spirits
Cosmic Seeds
(Soul Jazz)

Melbourne’s Brown Spirits fuse heavy psychedelic prog with motorik rhythms. Truly cosmic. (DC)

Open Mike Eagle
Neighborhood Gods Unlimited
(Auto Reverse)

Open Mike Eagle’s follow-up to last year’s excellent Previous Industries record—a collaboration with rappers Video Dave and STILL RIFT—is every bit its predecessor’s equal. (DC)

Navy Blue
The Sword & the Soaring
(Freedom Sounds)

Laced with beatific-sounding beats—mainly comprised of chamber instrumentation—The Sword & the Soaring shows Sage Elsesser cultivating inner strength through faith and reflection. (JR)

Ethel Cain
Perverts
(Daughters of Cain)

A bleak, uncompromising record of dark, ambient drone. A wonderfully abrupt left turn. (DC)

Bruiser and Bicycle
Deep Country
(self-released)

Equal parts approachable and impenetrable, the Albany, NY four-piece’s 75-minute psych-folk opus surprises at every turn. (JR)

Nära Döden
Villkorslöst
(Septembernatt)

Many bands have found success exploiting the interplay between contrasting hard and soft elements and Sweden’s Nära Döden are no different, with gritty post-punk jostling for space in the mix alongside sweeter, more wholesome indie. (DC)

The Tubs
Cotton Crown
(Trouble in Mind)

Continuing to build upon his previous project, Joanna Gruesome, Owen Williams processes grief head-on in the only way he can on The Tubs’ second LP: timeless jangle pop that feels positively alive. (JR)

Frankie Cosmos
Different Talking
(Sub Pop)

Six albums in, Greta Kline’s impassioned confessions lend depth to her otherwise compact and breezy indie pop. (JR)

Autocamper
What Do You Do All Day?
(Slumberland / Safe Suburban Home)

The Manchester quartet’s sublime debut contains some of the year’s finest jangly indie-pop. (DC)

The Bubbling Under Playlist

We’ve compiled our favourites from each of these Bubbling Under picks as a Spotify playlist. Other streaming platforms are available and there are a variety of programs that can help you convert Spotify playlists to your streaming platform of choice.