Repeat Prescription #4: Not a Best of 2025 So Far

How about a playlist of songs from new under-the-radar releases instead?

I’ve seen and read a lot of ‘Best of 2025 So Far’ posts this year. Is the mid-year review a growing phenomenon? I have nothing against these — they provide a welcome opportunity to catch up on releases that have passed me by — but I won’t be doing one myself. In a little over four months, I’ll be publishing a round-up of the entire year — why would I drop an article full of spoilers?

Instead, you’ll have to make do with a playlist of recent under-the-radar songs, skewing heavily towards indie pop, jangle and power pop. The full playlist is linked at the bottom of the article, after a summary of the highlights.

FORCE MODEL
“How Can One Girl Be So Sad?”

Fans of early Teenage Fanclub, Fountains of Wayne, and 2nd Grade’s more polished moments will fall hard for this LA trio’s summery take on power pop. “How Can One Girl Be So Sad?” is an absolute delight and the rest of their recent Barricade EP (Bug Body) isn’t too shabby either.

COMMON HOLLY
“Aegean Blue”

Montreal’s Brigitte Naggar released a couple of pre-Covid records as Common Holly, but her third full-length Anything glass is a remarkable leap forward. The instrumentation is sparse, fragile even, but Naggar’s voice adds a sense of warmth, which underpins standouts like “Aegean Blue” and “Terrible Hands”.

WATER MACHINE
“Clouds”

Glasgow’s Water Machine are a difficult band to pin down. Their restless debut album God Park (FatCat Records) is a thrilling mash-up of arty punk, fractured pop, and warped country, but the spiky, frantic opener “Clouds” stands out — and who doesn’t love some cowbells!

JEANINES
“On And On”

Brooklyn’s Jeanines have delivered the goods again on How Long Can It Last, their latest collection of short but perfectly formed indie-pop songs for the wonderful Slumberland Records. 13 tracks in 21 minutes? If you like jangly guitars, sweet hooks, and perfect harmonies you’d be a fool not to check it out.

LIGHTHEADED
“Love Is Overrated”

It would be rude to ignore another recent Slumberland release. New Jersey’s Lightheaded provide a neat counterpoint to Jeanines with a more expansive take on the genre — and songs that pass the two-minute mark!

LOWMOON
“Won’t Change Your Mind”

Jangly guitars, moody synths, 80s drum machines, and reverb-drenched vocals lend LOWMOON’s Cathedrals a distinctly continental sound. It certainly doesn’t scream Yorkshire, but I’m happy to claim LOWMOON as one of our own. Safe Suburban Home Records (Stuart Pearce, Healees, Cowgirl) have struck gold again.

THE COMPLETE PLAYLIST

So here it is: 14 tracks and 42 minutes of under-the-radar bliss. I hope you find a new favourite (or two) from this selection.