Elli’s 2025 Music Roundup
2025 has been a great year for music. I was planning on writing this month’s post about “Elli’s album of the year”, but when I sat down to think about my favorite, I couldn’t choose one. When it comes to music, I think it’s nearly impossible to measure true favorites. Different music finds its way into different aspects of our lives: different experiences, different emotions, different people. It’s completely subjective. Because of that, choosing just one album felt wrong. So instead, I chose to write an article about several projects from 2025 that were important to me.
Massive Shoe. The first thing that came to mind for this article was Massive Shoe by Way Dynamic. This is Way Dynamic’s (Dylan Young’s) third album, released in August, and it’s really good. Usually, it takes me a few listens to connect to an album in a meaningful way, but with Massive Shoe, that connection happened almost instantly upon my first listen.
The song I’ve gravitated towards the most is probably “Miffed It”. The guitar work is the most compelling element of this song for me; it’s very centralized and includes a really pretty, almost rambly-sounding progression that’s just absolutely absorbing as a listener. That rambly feeling it has, I think, ties nicely into the lyrical themes of the song. The lyrics dive into relationship complications: loving someone, the struggles, mistakes, and sadness that come with that, and ultimately the impending end to that relationship. This song contains some of my favorite lyrics on the album. And while the lyrics are sad, the music itself is contemplative and sweet-sounding, creating a nice contrast. It’s just an incredible track.
Another standout song for me is “Ibizia”. It has a funky, psychedelic sound that bears a strong resemblance to David Byrne (which is a huge compliment in my opinion); it works as a nice contrast to the rest of the songs on the album. In fact, contrast is one of Massive Shoe’s biggest strengths; Young balances playful, upbeat songs with more introspective, tender ones in a way that keeps the album engaging from start to finish.
There is a simplicity to this album that’s worth noting, one that kind of makes the songs almost blend. However, it never makes the album feel boring. In fact, I think it just makes the album more inviting and easy to connect with. Even in the restraint of simplicity, there’s still enough ambition; varied instrumentation, moods, and lyricism to keep it interesting. I would consider this a no-skip album, so I definitely recommend checking it out if you haven’t heard it yet.
The next album I want to talk about is Bleeds by Wednesday. This one is GOOD! Another no-skipper in my opinion. I think that Wednesday absolutely dominates that Midwest/country-infused rock sound that’s becoming so popular. You’ll find a lot of noise in this album, but without missing out on the more polished, softer songs, which give an outlet for you to connect with the album in multiple different ways.
Every song on this album is a favorite. I find myself replaying different individual songs on different days. That’s how you know an album’s good– when your “favorites” kinda jump around, and that’s exactly how Bleeds works for me. Narrowing it down was hard, but for the sake of your attention span, here are a few of my standouts.
The album starts incredibly strong with “Reality TV Argument Bleeds”. You click play on this album, this song starts, and you basically know within 30 seconds that the record is awesome. This song brings volume and energy. It’s an incredible start to an incredible album, definitely one of the best opening tracks I heard this year.
“Elderberry Wine” is one of those that I consistently find myself hitting the replay button on. I’ve always specifically loved Wednesday for their noise, and this song is almost the opposite of that, which I think makes me appreciate it more. It’s one of the slower, quieter songs on the album, and the lyrics explore how even the sweet things in life can be bitter. I love Hartzman’s vocal style across her entire discography; her vocal delivery in this song, in particular, is extra grabbing to me. It’s a really beautiful song. Great lyrics. Great instrumentals. Great vocals. Just a great, well-rounded, solid song.
The last song I want to talk about is “Phish Pepsi”. This song embodies that Midwest-infused rock sound I mentioned earlier. The first time I listened to this, I was like “wow, this sounds like it’s straight from an MJ Lenderman album”, which made sense once I remembered MJ’s history with Wednesday. Their 2021 EP Guttering, contains a more “gutted” (no pun intended) version of this song, but I prefer this iteration. It stood out immediately during my first few listens and remains a highlight for me.
One of my favorite EPs that came out this year is Bone In by Sam Cooper. Cooper’s a musician from Austin, who I think deserves a lot more recognition. This EP, and honestly the entirety of his discography, is incredibly good. Bone In stands out to me as especially creative. The songwriting displayed in these four songs is just impeccable.
The title track, “Bone In”, is the first of the four, and it’s also the first Sam Cooper song I ever heard. The first time I heard this song was actually when I was in Austin, driving around with my mom and brother– all three of us sharing the music queue. Within the first thirty seconds of hearing the song, I was writing his name down in my “music to ponder” note in my phone and asking my brother about who it was. I started with just this song in my rotation, which I think worked as a great introduction to Cooper.
“Bone In” is minimalistic in structure, which I think makes its best elements really stand out. For one, his vocal delivery. He has a kind of “imperfect” perfection to his voice that I love. I think that vocal identity is something that’s often underappreciated. Artists take a lot of time to craft themselves as a vocalist, delivering their voices in a way that’s very specific to them. Sam Cooper does a great job of doing that. The guitar work also stands out, opening with a riff that starts out high and then kind of staircases down into a lower note. That’s how this song opens, and it creates a super fun and danceable vibe. I love listening to this song when I’m getting ready. It puts me in a good mood to start the day.
Slugged Out Shortcuts to Heaven is the next Sam Cooper song that found its way to my replay button. This one’s more upbeat and airy, which is my usual go-to. This song is so happy. It starts slow and soft, and builds its way up to a faster, more belty melody. It’s got claps in it. I love it when I can clap to a song. This song is probably the one I’ve listened to most on the EP. The other two, Behind Glass and Second Spring Again, are also really incredible. I give this EP five stars, so again, check it out if you haven’t.
Hickey, Royel Otis. It’s funny because when I was trying to pick out my favorites for this post, I debated putting this one on here because it’s one of those albums that I feel kind of embarrassed to say was one of my favorites for the year. This album is simple, it doesn’t push major creative boundaries, and it feels kind of scrappy of better established “indie pop” artists.
And yet, it still earns its place amongst my favorites of the year. Despite all of the negative things I just said about it, I genuinely love this album, and honestly, it’s hard to fully explain why. There’s something about the way its simplicity makes it irresistible. I’m a sucker for indie pop. This is a classic, simple indie pop record. It doesn’t try to be something it’s not, and I think they do a good job at sticking to what they’re good at: making pop music.
I attribute a lot of my connection with Royel Otis to their set at Lollapalooza. They were probably my favorite set of the entire weekend, and Lolla’s lineup was absolutely loaded this year. Then I saw them again a few months ago in KC, and yet again, had an amazing time. They’re just fun– great energy, engaged crowds, incredible atmosphere, and on top of all of that– I’m completely obsessed with Otis’s voice. Royel Otis may not be reinventing indie pop, but they don’t need to. Hickey keeps it simple, and sometimes that’s enough. I love Royel Otis, and I will die on that hill.
2025 brought a lot of important music to me. There’s so much more that came out this year that deserves recognition, and narrowing it down to just a few projects while also keeping it a quick read already feels pretty impossible. Music doesn’t need definitive rankings to matter; it just needs to connect with you. These albums did exactly that for me, each in its own way, and I know they’ll continue to stick with me long after this year ends.