2025: First Quarter Review | Albums

A rundown of some of the best albums of the year between January and March.

Apr 04, 2025

Hi Pal,

If you’re new here, welcome to this lovely corner of Substack. There’s a part of me that is wondering why I’m subjecting myself to this torture for the second year in a row. You seem to like it, so here we are.

For the newbies, this is not a ranked list, it’s just a fun rundown. Streaming links are embedded in titles.

I. Sudden Trauma — BeaconFire

Progressive Metalcore

Kicking the list off with a heavy album feels appropriate because we’ve had some fantastic metal albums drop already so early in the year. Eli and Stephen of BeaconFire dropped a debut LP that rivals established bands' production quality and musical standards in the progressive metalcore scene. When you add the expressions of the faith and the lyrical themes they explore on this album to the mix of considerations, what you have is one of the best offerings of 2025 in core music so far.

II. II: WAVES OF BEING HUMAN — Crafted Child

Alternative Pop

I’ve been listening to Crafted Child for a few years and can boldly say it is their best work. This third LP feels like a culmination of some of the best attributes of the first and second albums. An improvement in the synthpop sensibilities of their debut, Wild!, and a polishing of some of the experimental pop elements they began to introduce on their 2022 LP, I: BRIGHTER BELIEVER. All in all, it’s one of the most engaging and fun albums of the year.

III. …And The Word Was God — Diatheke

Progressive MDM (Melodic Death Metal)

Some moments feel like a landmark moment on the scene, and the release of Diatheke’s debut album feels like one of them. It’s been on my list of anticipated albums for a bit, and I figured it would be a good album. I wasn’t prepared for how incredible this listening experience was. Honestly, fans of this genre should put it at the top of their priority lists. Even if you’re just a fan of rock music, there are enough melodic elements on the record to give you something you can potentially fall in love with.

IV. Buried Memories — Valtune

Indie Rock

There’s not much I can say about Valtune’s new album that I have not already said in the review. I have a strong bias for concept albums in general, and this LP has strong storytelling elements that bring together a tapestry of loosely connected ideas. When you combine that with the strong post-punk revival and shoegaze infusions on the instrumental side, what you get is a special record indeed.

V. Cyclones & Silence — Pyramid Park

Indie Pop

Pete McAllen’s Pyramid Park is a personal favourite, but I’ve probably not mentioned the project much because the last album dropped in 2020. I’m usually very focused on recent releases, and glad to have a reason to speak about his work again. Honestly, this is the best indie pop album I’ve listened to in at least two years. If you’re a fan of this genre, you’ll be quick to identify some of the bands that inspired this album. Still, there’s enough originality vocally and sonically to make this one a clear highlight for the year.

VI. Much Better — Jess Debenham

Alternative, Worship

Every year, a few albums are released that soothe my ache for devotional worship music and still have enough originality and alternative music influences that make them stand out from CCM sounds that tend to sound repetitive. This year, this is the first album to deeply give me that feeling, and I’m more impressed with the fact that it was recorded live. Jess Debenham might be relatively new to the scene, but I suspect she will become a household name before very long.

VII. Silver Glass Stare — Plead The Widow’s Cause

Post-Hardcore

I must confess that I get nervous at the prospect of sophomore albums from bands that I love. It’s especially daunting when the debut album is particularly good and PTWC’s first LP, Pain Split, was one of my favourite core albums of 2022. So with bated breath, I finally got the chance to listen to the new album, and I was happy to find that they had even gotten much better. I’ve had a swell old time with the one since it dropped, and I suggest you do the same.

VIII. The Otherside — Grant Leslie

Indie/Alternative

My most frequent interaction with Grant Leslie is via his instrumental lo-fi project, Fresh Wind. In the last few months, via his two albums released in fairly quick succession between last year and this year, I’ve come to love and enjoy the music he creates under his name. This album is soothing, drawing influences from folk, lo-fi and dreampop. Lyrically, it is deep and reverent, and I have no doubt I will spend a lot of time with it this year.

IX. Into The Silent Land — We Dream of Eden

Ambient

In a year where, so far, most of my favourite albums have leaned into the heaviness, Kirk Smith’s We Dream of Eden has been a constant place of solace and peace. This album feels quite different from his previous full-lengths — Garden Heart and Garden Heart: Reworks — as it gives a lot of prominence to the soft pianos and the way they interplay with the strings. There are moments here that feel more akin to neo-classical than ambient while retaining serenity and bliss I’ve come to expect from his music.

X. ephemera & eternity — CHANGETHEWXRLD

Alternative Metal, Emocore, Shoegaze

I’ve had this on rotation for a couple of weeks. CHANGETHEWXRLD occupies so many sonic spaces that feel like they shouldn’t interact but finds a way to make it work. This album is undeniably emo in the feelings it evokes, borrows musical elements from shoegaze and rests on alternative metal/nu-metal composition and vocal choices as its foundation. It’s one of those albums I may spend a huge chunk of the year trying to understand fully. Still, the lyrics are undeniably reverent and unashamed of Christ as their central theme.

XI. I Felt Called — Fine China

Indie Rock

I said earlier that this is not a ranked list, but if I were thinking in that direction, this is my indie rock record of 2025 so far. Fine China is one of those deeply emotive bands that established themselves on the scene in the early 2000s, and somehow, in 2025, they are still quite underrated. If you love indie rock music, give this album a listen. It will leave an impression on you, for sure.

XII. Swing Thy Sickle And Reap — Eternal Gaze

Post Black Metal

It’s been fun to listen to Eternal Gaze across the years and hear his sound and production evolve. Three albums into this journey with him, and he still manages to surprise me at every turn. This new LP has surprisingly dense hardcore influence, especially in the instrumentation and composition. It’s an interesting infusion, and I love the ways he blends it with his already established black metal sound. Lyrically, he is as consistent as can be, drawing influences from scripture to breathe life into his writings.

Honourable Mentions

Unfortunately, not all albums can make the list, but I have to give some love to a few others that have kept me company these three months.

Love Me All The Same by Braden Drake (Psychedelic Pop)
Lofi Instrumentals by Tom Read (lofi)
Long Story Short by Young C (Hip-Hop)

That’s it for today.

Catch you soon!

Still Small Voice

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