(Last December as part of our LISTMANIA series, for the 10th year in a row, we shared an eclectic year-end music list from Canadian musician Seb Painchaud — whose band Tumbleweed Dealer also came out with a great new album last year. But that 2025 YE list turned out to be incomplete. Seb missed some shit, and now makes up for it with this supplemental collection of 18 titles.)
We are almost halfway through the year, and I’ve been sitting on this list for months. Let’s just blast through it real quick and get this off my to-do list.
Mansur – Pentatonic Ruins
https://mansur.bandcamp.com/album/pentatonic-ruins
One of the best neoclassical darkwave albums I’ve ever heard—coming from one of the unlikeliest of places: Bong-Ra. Being one of the forefathers of breakcore and a leading figure in dark jazz (see The Kilimanjaro Darkjazz Ensemble, The Mount Fuji Doomjazz Corporation, and The Lovecraft Sextet) wasn’t enough — dude also decided to conquer neoclassical darkwave by infusing it with Middle Eastern influences. Great album to fall asleep to.
Gerald Bailey – Gross Means
https://geraldbaileypotions.bandcamp.com/album/gross-means
Drum-forward, hip-hop-informed, stripped-down jazz that focuses on tight songwriting rather than musicianship flexing. The interplay between the minimal orchestrations is mind-blowing. Definitely try this one and see if it’s for you.
forever ☆ – Second Gen Dream
https://foreverstar.bandcamp.com/album/second-gen-dream
Shoegaze meets jungle. The soundtrack to a romanticized version of the early 2000s.
Pyrex – Body
https://pyrexnyc.bandcamp.com/album/body
You don’t always need to reinvent the wheel — sometimes you can just use that wheel to cave in someone’s skull. Hardcore punk AOTY.
Dispyt – Från Melankoli till Meningslöshet
https://dispyt.bandcamp.com/album/fr-n-melankoli-till-meningsl-shet
…and sometimes that wheel just happens to be crusty as fuck. D-beat AOTY.
Starforce – Beyond the Eternal Night
https://starforcemx.bandcamp.com/album/beyond-the-eternal-night-2
NWOTHM AOTY. Epicness. all around—catchiness, and riffs for days. You might doubt the vocals at first, but they won’t just grow on you — you’ll end up wondering why the hell you doubted them in the first place.
SCARAB – Burn After Listening
https://rebirthrecordsphl.bandcamp.com/album/scarab-burn-after-listening
Mean. Dirty. Brutal. Need I say more?
Bloodmouth – Carnicidal Necrotactics
https://bloodmouthapocalypse.bandcamp.com/album/carnicidal-necrotactics
Grindy metalcore. Reminds me of that Blood Howl album I had on my first list, but thinner and more digital — in a brutal kind of way.
Thing – Dreamcache Jungle
https://thingmusic.bandcamp.com/track/dreamcache-jungle
Dude won me over on social media by using terms like “PlayStation jungle,” which — while hard to explain — is something you can instantly picture.
Salin – Rammana
https://salinmusic.bandcamp.com/album/rammana
When they dropped their single “Current”, I remember loving the Fela Kuti vibes. But when the full album came out, I realized how much deeper and richer their influences actually are. Strongly suggest looking up a live video to really get a sense of their sound.
Haggus – Destination Extinction
https://tankcrimes.bandcamp.com/album/destination-extinction
Once again, I acted like a pretentious asshole and took this off the original list at the last second. It’s probably the release I jammed the most all year. Mincecore FTW.
Shmulikraut – Guts Voyage
https://shmulikraut.bandcamp.com/album/guts-voyage
A throwback to the duality of the R.I.O. scene of the ’70s. Avant-prog that can be dense and complex one second, then light and humorous the next. Feels like Caravan and Present collaborating in present times.
Vice Beats & Napoleon Da Legend – Promise
https://vicebeats.bandcamp.com/album/promise
Listen: the whole album is quality hip-hop with a mid-2000s vibe, but it’s here mostly on the strength of “Dreaming of Daylight” (feat. Nejma Nefertiti), which might be my favorite song released all year.
Old Sorcery – The Escapist
https://oldsorcery.bandcamp.com/album/the-escapist
My interest in dungeon synth has only peaked recently, but even with my limited knowledge, let me declare this the best dungeon synth album ever made. It’s way more layered than most of the genre, and the selective use of guitars makes certain tracks hit in a very Summoning-esque way.
PSYCHO-PASS – Salvation Laughs in the Face of a Grieving Mother
The fact that I missed this when it dropped just proves I’m running in way too snooty circles. This shit just fucking slaps.
Cherif Megarbane – Hawalat
https://habibifunkrecords.bandcamp.com/album/habibi-funk-030-hawalat
He describes his music as “Habibi Funk,” and that pretty much sums it up. The bass work on this album is what really pulled me in.
Hilary Woods – Night CRIÚ
https://hilarywoodsmusic.bandcamp.com/album/night-cri
I mentioned in the last list that I’ve been warming up to ambient music. This straddles the line between intimate singer-songwriter folk and ambient textures, never fully committing to either — and that’s what makes it special. Just a beautiful album.
Stereosity – New Life Will Grow
https://stereosity.bandcamp.com/album/new-life-will-grow
A few months into the year, I realized I hadn’t come across much math rock in 2025 — so I went digging through Reddit “best of” lists. This album topped almost all of them. When I finally hit play, I just went: “yeah, I get it.”
See you in 2027.