Health wise, i achieved a new normal of mobility, so i was able to see several concerts. And there was some great music happening in 2025.

1. Phonetics On and On by Horsegirl. I pre-ordered this record, and my girlfriend (a known Deadhead) was over to the PostLibyanCave to visit when the pre-order arrived. I played it for us, and I just sat there amazed that someone could write so many insanely catchy songs. Her response, "It sounds like a lot of the things you listen to." LOL. So I suppose your mileage may vary, but I think this record is pretty much perfect.
   
   
2. Come Back Down by High. High. (damn them for the period in their name!) are sort of an uber fusion shoegazey pop band. Another perfect record.
   
   
3. In the Dawn of November by Goya. Goya make depressing doom metal. That's it. That's the schtick. This is heavy metal with a Sabbathy twinge and lyrics about depression, necrophilia, and suicide. It won't appeal to a lot of people, but I think that Goya are one of the best bands out there doing this kind of thing right now.
   
   
4. Bestiary by Castle Rat. Speaking of heavy metal, this is the second album by fantasy-themed metal band Castle Rat. And by god they just continue to get better.
   
   
5. Tell Me Secrets by Flatwaves. Flatwaves are a post-punk group from Philly who make an interesting album that drives along mercilessly. And all of the songs are catchy too.
   
   
6. Tendrils by Landing. This is the latest landing subscriber comp, released as their 12th full length album. I have been following these guys for a long time, and this record continues to push the boundaries of what they are doing.
   
   
7. Dance Called Memory by Nation of Language. The foutth album from this band that pushes synth pop into the modern world. Sometimes, you need a dance record.
   
   
8. Lake Fire by Loscil. Loscil is another artist that I have been listening to for a long time, and each record continues to push this dub music forward. Loscil continues to fascinate.
   
   
9. Bliss by Alice Does Computer Music. Alice Gerlach is up to interesting things, and her second album takes a hundred ideas and mixes them up, but still manages to sound coherent.
   
   
10. Stygian Bough, Volume 2 by Bell Witch and Aerial Ruin . Second collaboration from 2 Pac NW funeral doom metal bands. This is painfully slow, but soars as they manage to find the space between the darkness.
    
    
11. Something Soft by M(h)aol. This Irish band continues to make interesting, rhythm-heavy, post-punk.

1. Tiny Empire by Chatterton. This is a fun little EP of lo-fi pop that takes what AmAnSet were doing in the mid 1990s and just meanders with that. Happy, fun, catchy as all hell.
   
   
2. Wa Kei Sei Jaku by Leon Todd Johnson. This is an EP of light jazz set to a series of samples of a Japanese woman explaining the principles behind a Japanese Tea Ceremony. It is a light listen, but very pleasant and relaxing.
   
   
3. Quiet Pleasures by Glixen. Second EP from this Arizona quartet continues to impress. This is noisy shoegaze with great melodies, the halfway point between My Bloody Valentine and Alison's Halo.
   
   
4. Chrysalis by She's Green. Second EP from this Minneapolis dreampop act show that they can make some really pretty songs.
   
   
5. Shadows Grow Fangs by Ecce Schneck. The music is aggressively weird and moves in bizarre starts and stops, but they have a song called, Jeremy, Utilitarian Sadboy, which is about everyone's favorite taxidermied Utilitarian Philosophy, Jeremy Bentham. Any band that sings about Bentham is cool in my book.

1. I'm a Ghost b/w Portrait of a Cat Lady by Shilpa Ray. One of the best voices in all of music continues to make interesting songs. Hoping for a new Shilpa record this next year!
   
   
2. Ida's Stain b/w Time in the Dark by Kid Fears. Kid Fears have slowly become one of my favorite local bands. They make lovely dreampop, and these two songs are both excellent.
   
   
3. I Don’t Want to Get Over You b/w I Don’t Want You Anyway by Superchunk. Superchunk put out a lot of 7"s, bless them. This is a cover of a Magentic Fields song followed by a cover a song by someone called Look Blue Go Purple. Both are perfectly fun.

1. Across the Horizon. Last year I read a press release about a thing Northern Spy Records was doing where the guys in Suss put together a curated collection of songs by artists that are doing a similar sort of mellow post rock with a country/folk feel. It sounded excellent, and I subscribed to it. Every other month three songs were released, and they were all fascinating and different, from dub to pop to jazz to an almost spoken-word piece to ambient synths to field recordings to one song that sounds like a bagpipe or similar rasping droning instrument. The songs were very diverse and all were very interesting. And then in November I was mailed a record that collected the songs onto two plates of vinyl! I had forgotten a physical product was the end result. But the thing is, this was masterfully done and very interesting. They are starting a new one, and you can subscirble now. I highly recommend it.
   
   
2. Landing. Starting during the pandemic Landing have run a subscription service. For a modest monthly fee, every other month you get a demo track they have been working on, and occasionally they will release a live recording, or some other demos, or something fun. And then at the end of the year they compile what they did and release it in some form, such as this years excellent Tendrils release, which was the compilation of the 2024 tracks. This is really fun, and as a Landing fan i find it fascinating to hear the raw songs and then the finished product.
   

1. CASTLE RAT w/ Dayglo Mourning and Leafblower at The Drunken Unicorn on Mon.17.Mar. This show was a blast and I wrote a long review of it.
   
   
2. MINT FIELD w/ Proof and Original Boyfriend at The Drunken Unicorn on Thu.11.Sep. I don't remember much about either opening act, but Mint Field are incredible live. I have all of their records and love them, but watching the three of them on stage is magical. One of the best bands out there right now.
   
   
3. GOYA w. Big Oaf and Squadron at Bogg's Social on Fri.27.Jun. I have been listening to Goya for a few years, and this was my first time seeing them live. Unfortunately for them is was super stormy this evening, so they played to a mostly empty club. But they threw it down, loud and heavy, head banging to themselves. A hell of a show. I really liked Big Oaf too, who had two bassists and really complex, interesting songs.
   
   
4. GLIXEN w/ Suzy Clue and She's Green at Altar at Masquerade on Fri.21.Mar. Glixen were exactly what I thought they would be in concert: a drummer pounding the living hell out of his kit; guitars a loud whirring, disorienting haze; a bass riff that rolled it all along; and strange vocals lost in the mix. Hell yeah. She's Green were also fun, although a lot lighter.
   
   
5. SOUL COUGHING at The Eastern on Sat.12.Apr. This was my third time seeing Soul Coughing. I think. At any rate, they played most of Ruby Vroom and a few songs of off their other two records, and it was a fucking blast. They are amazing musicians, and the songs still sound great after all these years.
   
   
6. NATION OF LANGUAGE w/ Deeper at The Variety Playhouse on Sat.25.Oct Nation of Language were fun in concert, the vocalist bouncing around and dancing or playing guitar, the bassist standing like a post but laying down great riffs, and the keyboards driving it all along. FUN.
   
   
7. ALISON'S HALO w/ Mallbangs and BAUMS on Sun 25 May. I had to g look up the openers for this show, because they left no impression with me. Alison's Halo were great. I have been listening to them since the early 2000s, and it was great to finally see them perform those songs I know so well. And the band still sounds tight and good.
   
   
8. YES at The Roxy on Fri.24.Oct. On this show Yes were performing their 1971 album Fragile in its entirety. And by "Yes" I mean Steve Howe (the only original member left), Geoff Downes (who was in the band after Fragile), and some younger guys. I was not familiar with this record, but it is my partner's favorite record of all time, so I took her to this show for her birthday. And, by god, those old British prog rockers put on a great show. I actually recognized a few of the songs, and she gushed effusively about how great it was to hear them live. This was fun.