Best of 2025: Josh

Making a list of good things that happened in 2025 may feel like a very short exercise…however despite the world being on fire, somehow, some way, great music is still getting produced every single day. Join us in celebrating our favorite albums, songs, and shows of the past year. Check out some national and MN albums, songs and concerts that Josh liked this year. 

Best National Albums (Top 20ish)

Los Thuthanka – Los Thuthanka (bonus: Chuquimamani-Condori- Edits)

How do you describe something as beautiful, confounding, challenging and mystical as the latest chapter of time-bending music from the siblings Chuquimamani-Condori and Joshua Chuquimia Crampton? Better writers than me have tried (some succeeding), but from the first time I heard this record the week it came out, it moved me in a way that felt unlike anything else this year. Seeing Chuquimamani-Condori this summer outside of Icehouse was a spiritual experience. Give it a listen…I recognize it won’t land for everyone, but if it hits you, you’ll know. 

Emily A Sprague – Cloud Time

One of my favorite modern ambient artists returns again with a collection of modular synth hymns she recorded while touring in Japan. In a year filled with stress, chaos and fear, it has proven an endless stream I can peacefully sit next to when I’m in need of some tranquility. 

Armand Hammer + The Alchemist  (bonus: billy woods – Golliwog)

It’s starting to get a bit ridiculous, the sustained greatness of billy woods, who graced us with not just one amazing album this year, but two. His solo joint was dark and even more unsettling than his music often is, a horror movie hosted by your favorite rapper, while his Armand Hammer project was another wave of kinetic rapping between him and Elucid, with the master The Alchemist on the decks. I thought the pairs We Buy Diabetic Test Strips from 2023 was solid, but this LP to me recreates the heights of their stunning 2021 LP Haram and 2021 Shrines LPs, which still are benchmarks. 

Orcutt Shelley Miller – s/t

If guitar savant Bill Orcutt’s name is on the spine, I’ll be buying it, but I particularly enjoyed this more rock focused album where he joined forces with Steve Shelley (Sonic Youth) and Ethan Miller (Howlin Rain, Comets On Fire) for a power trio for the ages. Orcutt’s late career guitar histrionics can stand on their own two feet (or with his amazing quartet), but driven forward by the 18-wheeler that is this rhythm section is something to behold. 

Ale Hop & Titi Bakorta – Mapambazuko

This blistering album from the essential label Nyege Nyege Tapes brings together Peruvian artist Ale Hop (aka Alejandra Cárdenas) with Congolese guitarist Titi Bakorta for a technicolor collection that is a melting pot of sounds overflowing from the caldron. A record that is both fun and serious, if this album doesn’t get you moving, it might be on you. 

Jefre Cantu-Ledesma – Gift Songs / September

I mentioned above one of my favorite modern ambient artists, and 2025 hit us with great music from another person on that list. Cantu-Ledesma dropped the lush Gift Songs, which he then spun off into the long, album length remix track “September” on his bandcamp page that might be the most soul-cleansing thing I’ve heard all year. 

Hayden Pedigo – I’ll Be Waving As You Drive Away

You’ll notice lots of instrumental/ambient music on this list, and as my musical tastes have ventured in this direction I’ve tried to have “no words” as the bedrock but be open, genre-wise, beyond that. I’ve always been a sucker for some dusty primitive americana, and Hayden Pedigo’s album from this year was one of the best from that genre I’ve heard in a long while.

Rod Modell – Northern Michigan Snowstorms

I think the description from the album’s bandcamp page covers this best. It is self described as an “auditory journey that captures the serene beauty and introspective magic of stormy winters nights in the countryside” while hoping to be “An immersive experience designed to transport you into the heart of nature’s winter wonderland.”

Tortoise – Touch

In a year of legends heading back to the studio that saw lots of successes (Stereolab, Pulp, etc), the Chicago post-rock legends Tortoise released for my money the best “how did they not lose a step” record from this illustrious group. Deep grooves tangled up in a way that is just complicated enough to challenge the listener without becoming overtly esoteric. 

SML – How You Been

Tortoise labelmates (International Anthem) SML are a side project of a bunch of the best experimental jazz scene in LA who have now twice captured lightning in a bottle, following their stunning debut LP a few years back. Twitchy, smart jazz that still has the strut of a bunch of players knowing that they can be funky while still showcasing their chops. 

Water Damage – Instrumentals (bonus: multiple live recordings on their bandcamp)

Maybe my favorite band right now, this big collective of freaks make face melting music that begs the question: how much can you handle? Their LP is a bit more restrained, with songs only reaching the low 20 minutes, but you get a sense of the wildly exciting tension they create with minimal moving parts, something they expand when they perform live. Lucky for us, they record many (all?) of their shows and will fairly frequently put high quality recordings of their sets, which usually feature just one long track, up on their bandcamp page as a “name your price,” an enticing invitation I never pass up on. 

Luke Schnider – For Dancing in Quiet Light/Jamie Lidell & Luke Schneider – A Companion For The Spaces Between Dreams

I purchased both of these albums from ambient pedal steel artist Luke Schiner before hearing one note because I know he never misses, and he proved me right on both of these albums. His solo album continues his work looping his own instrument into euphoria, while his collaborative effort with Jamie Lidell is even more dreamy and intoxicating. They both have been cassette’s I’ve found pleasure in letting ride as I get lost in the sound. 

Onehotrix Point Never – Tranquillizer (bonus: Marty Supreme soundtrack)

While his last few years haven’t been bad, per se, Tranquillizer is definitely a return to greatness for sound collagist OPN. Sampling material into oblivion that he found on the Internet Archive, it is a record that feels strangely human despite the atomized parts used to form its final version. I’ve only had a chance to listen a few times to his latest collaboration with Josh Safdie for his soundtrack to Marty Supreme, but it seems again to be a match made in heaven for the movie and music producing pair.

Horse Lords & Arnold Dreyblatt – Extended Field (FRKWYS Vol. 18)

I’m a longtime partisan for the amazing FRKWYS series by the seminal label RVNG INTL, and I was doubly excited to see the Horse Lords crew jumping on for their take on their series with Arnold Dreyblatt. Horse Lords have historically been a frenetic, crazed band that always seem close to driving off the rails, so I was interested how they’d take on a more subdued album. The results are a collection that are maybe slightly less kinetic, but still just as exciting, with soundscapes blending with the polyrhymic krautrock freakouts for a record that continues the series’s long-running winning streak.  

Go Kurosawa – soft shakes

I was sad that Japanese krautrock band Kikagaku Moyo said they were breaking up, but like a modern day (and Japanese) Klaus Dinger, the band’s drummer/singer Go Kurosawa has worked to continue the spirit of the band with a debut solo album soft shakes. The music wanders and explores, at times locking into the infamous groove and at times letting the sounds float through the air. It’s a fitting continuation for a legendary, deeply missed band. 

Joe Harvey-Whyte & Paul Cousins – In a fugue state

I’ve been following Joe Harvey-Whyte for a few years as I’ve searched out artists who make ambient music via a pedal steel guitar (why? Who knows.), and his latest album with Paul Cousins may be his best, most soothing work yet. 

Bitchin Bajas – Inland See (bonus: their collab album Totality with Natural Information Society)

The kings return, and they bring a sparking resonance to their koschmie soundscapes that feels like a trip to Harmonia island after some more minimalistic outings. I love that they seem to work at their own pace, making music that is enriching and exciting, but decidedly “them” at each step of their journey. 

The Necks – Disquiet

Three hours of this ambient jazz trio stretching their musicals, letting us listen in as they dance, jump, wander and tease out the kind of introspective-yet-magical sounds they have made for nearly three decades. No resting on their laurels for this crew!

Oren Ambarchi, Johan Berthling and Andreas Werliin – Ghosted III

It’s hard to land a sequel, let alone making a volume III that doesn’t just feel like a money grab, but this trio somehow keeps upping the ante with each of their dark, zoned out jazz releases in the “Ghosted” series. Sometimes sinister, sometimes funky, often transcendent, it’s another win for this series that I hope continues on to Fast and Furious levels of volumes. 

KiF Productions – Still Out

An ambient, sound collage tribute to the infamous Chill Out LP by KLF that has been sued out of existence, this one got me looped in with intrigue/nostalgia, but kept me with its whimsical spirit and warm aesthetic, showcasing two artists who know how to reference their heroes without becoming a cover band. 

Honorable Mention: Clipse – Let God Sort Em Out; Dijon – Baby; Whatever the Weather – Whatever the Weather II; The Cosmic Tones Research Trio – All is Sound; Charif Magarbane – Hawalat; Jeremiah Chiu – Different Rooms; Bill Orcutt Guitar Quartet – HausLive 4; Matmos – Metallic Life Review

Songs (not on best albums)

Friends meeting – some fantastic proportion

• An album length track that, if I had decided it was an album/EP, would have been in my top 20, instead gets place of prominence as my favorite “song: of the year. A spiritual experience. 

Geese – Taxes / Cameron Winter – Love Takes Miles

• Overrated? Underrated? A hype machine that people are blindly jumping on? An underrated genius? I don’t know, probably some combination of all of them, and the full albums left me intrigued but not sold, but these songs are just plain good. 

NoName – Hundred Acres

• My favorite current rapper returns from her main gig of activism to drop her intricate rhymes over a slinky, soulful beat. Hoping for more!

Panda Bear – Defense

• The most straightforward album from both Panda Bear and probably the whole AC collective, this record was one I was ready to not like, but it’s proved itself to me. I especially loved this song with Cindy Lee that sounded as if these two artists had been part of the VU Warhol scene. 

Friendship – Resident Evil

• I don’t know that I’ve heard a song capture the anger, sadness and bewilderment of growing older and not recognizing the stranger in the mirror. I also really loved “Free Association” off this album, both songs really coming to life when I saw them live. Life is brittle…be kind to each other, folks. 

Marissa Nadler – New Radiations

• The haunted, pop-leaning folk singer-songwriter isn’t usually my scene, but Marissa Nadler has always seemed to me to do it in a way that is more compellingly haunted than others. “I was retracting the lines of a memory.” Spooky and beautiful. 

Darkside – S.N.C

• Darkside returned with another great electro funk LP, but no song bangs as hard as this track, which absolutely rattles through the speakers. 

M.geddes Gengras – QUIK-MELT 

• Another album-length track, this time from the legend M.geddes Gengras. Hit play and let your mind float. 

Hard Quartet – Lies (Something You Can Do)

• Getting old doesn’t have to mean you turn into a lame loser! Just look at these Gen X legends just casually getting a band together to jam and laying down an amazing album. This song was a highlight of their show earlier this year at First Ave. 

Jlin – B12

• A twitchy footwork track from the always-great DJ Jlin for the Planet Mu 30th anniversary album is as scratchy and agitated as you’d expect, showcasing an artist who never disappoints. 

Honorable Mention: Stereolab – Ariel Troubles; Chicago Underground Duo – Click Song; L’Eclair – Nova Umbra; Sofia Kourtesis – Unidos; Wednesday – Elderberry Wine; Basic – Changes, Changing; The Budos Band – Lair of 1,000 Serpents; Destroyer – Hydroplaning Off the Edge of the World

Best Reissues

Habibi Funk 031: A Selection Of Music From Libyan Tapes

Repetition Repetition – Fit for Consequences: Original Recordings, 1984-1984

Emahoy Tsege Mariam Gebru – Church of Kidane Mehret

Hiroshi Yoshimura- Flora

Aphex Twin (Polygon Window) – Surfing on Sine Waves

Sister Irene O’Connor – Fire of God’s Love

Kelan Phil Cohran & Legacy – African Skies

Best Minnesota Albums 

Crescent Moon/Andrew Broder – Eulogy

• Anytime legendary MC Crescent Moon jumps on the mic I’m in, and for his 2025 LP

Cole Pulice – Land’s End Eternal

• Yes, they have moved out west, but for one last year I’m still counting them as a MN artist. A spellbinding, heaven-bound odyssey centered around Pulice’s beauteous songs. 

IE – Reverse Earth

• One of the best local bands of the last few years continue their pop expansion with their most song-based album yet. 

Room3 – Bill’s Garden

• The jazz fusion band our city needed, tearing up stages across the metro. The album is great, but if you see them on a local bill, make sure to check them out, as things really pop off live. 

Under Violet – Orchard

• I was so excited to see Sara Bischoff’s autumnal pop project back after a multi-year hiatus, and their release show at the Turf this fall was one of my favorite local shows of the year. 

Falcon Arrow – 6-3-94

• The longtime local post-rock duo recorded a soundtrack to a Japanese wrestling match between Mitsuharu Misawa and Toshiaki Kawada. I saw them perform this album live with the match on the big screen at Cloudland earlier this year, and was excited to see them release the outstanding soundtrack, which is cool with the match but stands easily on its own two feet.

Liz Draper – Meno

• Longtime scene stalwart Liz Draper released her debut solo LP, a four song suite of ambient-leaning, Arthur Russel referencing songs centered around her bass that highlight her body’s journey. It is a transcended album and the packed release show at the Ivy Building was a testament to her prominence in and love from the scene. 

The Nunnery – Ascending

• An artist I’ve seen many times over the year (I looked back and saw she was on my 2019 best of list) continues her evolution as she digs into the ethereal, sample based songwriting that she does so well. 

The Daily Norm – Sometime, Elsewhere

• A meditative, peaceful take on primitive americana from a new artist I really dug this year. 

Muja – Godna

• Start and end the MN list with legend-level local MCs, closing it out with the artist I consider the Ghostface Killah of the MN rap scene. 

Top Album Length Song: Pat Keen – Pneuma 

• A 22 minute jazz/ambient duo track that is as meandering and studios as you would expect, packing what could be multiple songs worth of ideas into one easily-repeatable journey. 

Honorable Mention/Next 10: May & the Ladies – Inheritance; Field Hospitals – Ethel Green; Andrew Broder – Dignity; IOSIS – Owámniyomni; Alan Sparhawk with Trampled By Turtles – s/t; astrid hubbard flynn & aros e-v – all aflutter / soft gnaw; Ant – Collection of Sounds Vol. 4; Guitar Band – Guitar Band; Choir Bells – Intervals, Vibraphones

Best Concerts 

1/24-1/25 – Drone Not Drones at Cedar Cultural Center

4/5 – Hard Quartet at First Ave

5/20 – TAKAAT (¾ of Modu Moctar) at Minneapolis Warehouse Space

5/30 – Totally Gross National Party at Icehouse (esp the amazing set by Chuquimamani-Condor)

6/28 – IE release show at Cloudland

7/10 – Los Bitchos at 7th St Entry

7/17 – Digable Planets – Millenium Park (Chicago)

8/22 – Arrested Development – MN State Fair

9/20 – Pulp – The Armory

10/17 – Paul McCartney – US Bank Stadium

10/24 – Under Violet Release Show – Turf Club

12/7 – Bitchin Bajas/Power-Rollins Duo – Beachland Ballroom (Clevland) 

12/14 – Liz Draper Release Show – Ivy Building Art Space