Listening diary - 2025 roundup

My listening was all over the shop this year, with as much time (if not more) given to radio streams, online mixes and podcasts than full-length albums. I managed to log almost everything I listened to via Last.fm, meaning I’ve got a pretty accurate list of everything I hit play on. Filtering out the archival jazz LPs and deep dives into the Beach Boys and Warren Zevon back catalogues, here are five albums released in 2025 that are still striking a chord with me at the end of the year.

Spike - ST (Gob Nation). I came for the audacious synthpop Werewolves of London cover; I stayed for the originals, which more than match it. I caught Spike live twice this year, and she opened the second show with the old VHS anti-piracy jingle. No record brought me more joy this year.

Jefre-Cantu Ledesma - Gift Songs (Mexican Summer). “Ambient jazz” felt a bit played out to me this year, but this improvised, acoustic drift offered a balm that I returned to many times.

Postcards - Ripe (Ruptured). This dreampop album was my entry point into the fantastic Ruptured label from Beirut, a community making fantastic music in terrible circumstances and knocking it out of the park every single time.

Nico Georis - Music Belongs To The Universe (Leaving Records). Heat-friend ambient psychedelia that plays out like a West Coast version of Oxygene.

DJ Dadaman & Moscow Dollar - Ka Gaza (Nyege Nyege Tapes). Technically a reissue but new to me thanks to Nyege Nyege’s reissue - a collection of Bacardi / proto-amapiano that became my most-played album this year.