6 Months, 6 Records, 6 Tracks
We're halfway through
We’re so overwhelmed with information. Long lists of best records probably don’t help a great deal with brain overload coping mechanisms. It’s just more stuff to wade through and deal with.
6 months have passed by in 2025, so here are 6 records (albums/EPs) and 6 tracks that if you spend any time with, you may go on to spend a lot of time with. A highly edited list of cuts to check out and alleviate the overload.
Some are heavy and dark, some are light and summery. Overall, they’re on the left-field, experimental and electronic end of the spectrum > > >
6 RECORDS
Black Moth Super Rainbow - Soft New Magic Dream
This is the first record by BMSR in 7 years. Tom Fec (whose side project is Tobacco) has crafted the songs on this album over that entire period. Some being reworked for 7 years, some taking shape in days.
Sitting somewhere in the liminal and languid space between sleep and consciousness, the vocoder and psychedelic synths are otherworldly, but there’s a realism too. This lyric in “The Eyes In Season” is astounding:
“Ultraviolet, I apply it to my eyelids every morning”
At first it sounds like a declaration of love. But, after repeated listens it revealed itself (to me at least) as a metaphor for our 24/7 screen addiction. The song questions where aspiration comes from: bending reality with dreams.
If there’s one criticism, its that the tone of the tracks make them almost indistinct from one other. However, arguably, this adds to the hazy state. Repeat listens are rewarded; BMSR somehow balance a lot of layers of synth noise with melodic clarity, and its this that hooks in the brain.
These New Puritans - Crooked Wing
These New Puritans play live infrequently (although are in the midst of a tour). I’ve seen them a few times, including one unforgettable occasion with a full orchestra at The Barbican. A few weeks ago they played at Earth in Dalston which was a different, less formal vibe - captivating none the less.
Working closely for years with Graham Sutton of 80s/90s post-rock band Bark Psychosis, TNP are, in that vein, experimental and unusual. Glockenspiel is their trademark sound. Over the course of 5 albums they’ve moved across tribal rhythms and delicate mournful orchestration. On this record they’ve pulled from all of those sounds and fused them cohesively.
Caroline Polachek appears on a few tracks, adding tonal interest, contrasting with Jack Barnett’s subdued vocals.
In “Season’s In Hell”, we enter a spiral of organ, metal resonance and stocatto rhythms, then when the bass synth comes in at 1.55, a weight is lifted and it feels so good. Live they repeat this approach, and you see how beautifully constructed it is.
Quade - The Foel Tower
In May, Quade played at Stoke Newington Old Church. I had no preconceptions, other than my mate telling me that he was working with the singer’s girlfriend and that the band were “actually really good”.
I didn’t expect to be enthralled for the best part of an hour.
Washes of synth, drone and guitars paired with violin and beautiful, sorrowful vocals. They’re a captivating live act. Slow and intentional.
The album switches up, with crackles of static, field recordings, live almost jazz style drums and delicate piano. “Nannerth Ganol” is an epic centrepiece.
Real Lies - We Will Annihilate Our Enemies
Real Lies are criminally unknown and underrated. They become more known with each release, but somehow only marginally. One day they’re due a breakthrough - they’re adjacent successors to Orbital or Underworld. Maybe they need a film sync ala Born Slippy?
WWAOE is tight. It sounds fresh, and interesting - with lots of interludes and spoken word lists delivered in their trademark North London social commentary style. This record sounds unexpectedly positive and uplifting. Needed in dark times.
There are hooks which sound like they’re lifted straight from 90s dance tracks - but they’re quite difficult to place. This lends a nostalgic feel - something they often play with.
Beau Wanzer / Rezzett - Borez
Beau Wanzer’s approach is to set up a studio of analogue synths, pedals and old hardware and record in one take. Often he collaborates with other artists, creating a whole vibe and not polishing it away. That he can produce tracks that sound like this is a testament to the skill he posesses.
In their sessions, Wanzer and Rezzett navigate through intense samples, twisted and distorted noise, and harsh industrial pounding to conjure 5 brain-melting tracks over the course of 20 minutes.
ECHT! - Boilerism
Belgian 4 piece ECHT! straddle boundaries. They’re a live band that plays at dance festivals alongside DJs. There are elements of jazz, punk, electro and industrial.
Tracks like “Black Sablon” incorporate machine like sounds and club banger builds - dropping us into dirty bass lines. You’re transported to a club.
“Penguin Alfred” is live drum’n’bass with a warmth to it, whilst “Boilerbeek” immerses us in washes of synth before a dubstep style drop , “Klaas Rescue” ventures a bit too far into trance territory for me but that’s an anomoly.
Overall there’s something about this record where you can tell there are people involved - a live jam where they’re all pushing each other and working together to craft a moment of sound.
This record hangs together because of its dynamic range and its worth spending time with.
6 TRACKS
Sydney Minsky Sargeant - I Don’t Wanna
RIP Magic - Dox
Memotone - Time Is Away Theme
Safe Mind - Standing on Air
Hieroglyphic Being - U R Not Dying U R Just Waking Up
Ammar 808 - Ah Yallila