Round these parts, it’s normally an hour-long mix of all sorts to bring in a new month. This time, however, it’s a mix consisting almost exclusively of songs released in 2025 taken almost exclusively from my favourite 25 albums that had been released by the end of October, which was when I began pulling the piece together.
The ‘almost exclusively’ explanations? One of the songs was on an album originally given a digital release in 2024 before the vinyl appeared this year. Another is taken from an album which dates from in 1992 but that I only had on CD until it was given an update and a vinyl re-release more than thirty years later. I’ve also taken the liberty of calling a five-track EP while one song is lifted from a 7″ single. Oh, and one of the songs is from an album that I’m still undecided about, but in years to come I’ll loook back and probably conclude it was one of the best of the year.
I should point out that the mix isn’t full of what are necessarily my favourite songs from the albums, but has been curated in a way to make what I think works best as a something to listen to from start to end.
mp3: Various – 25 tracks from 2025
1. Jim Bob – A Song By Me (from Stick – Cherry Red Records) starts at 0:00 on the mix
Jim Bob released two new albums, Stick and Automatic, on the same day back in August. These were the 11th and 12th studio solo albums from the man who first came to fame via Carter USM. He’s still got it…….
2. Dancer – Baby Blue (from More Or Less – Meritorio Records) starts at 2:35
Glasgow-based band who I finally got to see when they supported The Bug Club back in February, and so enjoyed their performance that I went straight out to buy their 2024 debut 10 Songs I Hate About You and then eagerly picked up its follow-up when it was released in September.
3. The Bug Club – Twisting In The Middle (from Very Human Features – Sub Pop Records) starts at 05:23
The gig by The Bug Club mentioned above was part of a tour promoting the 2024 album On The Intricate Workings Of The System, which had been their fifth release since 2021 but their first for Sub Pop. It was The Robster who brought this lot to my attention, thanks to this ICA, during which he pointed out that the duo were very prolific and always seemingly on the road or in the studio. The latest album hit the shops in June and there was a further live gig in Glasgow in October.
4. Edwyn Collins – Knowledge (from Nation Shall Speak Unto Nation – AED Records) starts at 09:06
Edwyn‘s tenth studio album was preceded by this track as an advance single. If you haven’t already seen the video, then head over to YouTube or the likes. It’s an incredibly moving but uplifting piece of film.
5. Kendrick Lamar – Squabble Up (from GNX – Interscope Records) starts at 12:18
The sixth studio album from the LA rapper was very unexpectedly given a digital release on 22 November 2024 on the back of what had been a months-long feud with Canadian rapper Drake. If you’re not aware of what that was all about and what songs were released while it was all kicking off, then it’s best you use a search engine of your choice rather than me trying to offer a ham-fisted explanation. GNX eventually appeared on vinyl last February.
6. Wet Leg – Mangetout (from Moisturizer – Domino Records) starts at 14:55
In the TikTok world of instant gratification, three years is a dangerously long time to wait for the follow-up to a debut album which taken much of the world by storm. I really felt that the critics would have it in for Wet Leg and that the fan base would have largely moved on, but the fact that Mositurizer proved to be something which in many places gave nods to many of the best female-fronted 90s alt/indie rock bands (hello to Belly, The Breeders, Elastica and Throwing Muses), then I was always going to be a sucker for its tunes.
7. Warren McIntyre & James Kirk – Miss Green Tea (7″ single) starts at 18:19
Glas-Goes-Pop has, in just four years, established itself as one of the very best weekend events in my home city. An annual two-day festival of indie-pop magic that takes place indoors in early August at the Glasgow University Union. This year saw the release of the first ever single on the Glas-Goes-Pop label, consisting of a collabortion between two veterans of the local scene, albeit from different generations. This is one side of that single and features James’s dictinctive and charming vocals, as first enjoyed more than four decades ago when Orange Juice began making music.
8. The Secret Goldfish – Moscow (from Empty Holster – Creeping Bent Records/Last Night From Glasgow) starts at 23:15
Douglas MacIntyre‘s Creeping Bent Records is now winding down after 30 years. A number of releases and events have been held or are in place to mark the occasion, including a final album by The Secret Goldfish, issued in June, and which consists of 11 cover songs and 1 brand-new composition. And yes, this is a take on the b-side of the debut Orange Juice single, one on which the above mentioned James Kirk played back in 1980.
9. Sydney Minsky Sargeant – I Don’t Wanna (from Lunga – Domino Records) starts at 25:15
The music to be found on the debut solo album from the frontman of Working Men’s Club must be the most surprising and unexpected of 2025. Melodies and acoutsic guitars abound, about as far away as can be imagined from the frantic upbeat post-punk electronica with which he has been associated these past few years.
10. Robert Forster – Tell It Back To Me (from Strawberries – Tapete Records) starts at 28:30
The opening track of Robert‘s 9th studio album, as our friend Chaval pointed out in a comment after I’d reviewed a live show, is Dylanesque, complete with the judicious use of a harmonica. Eight studio albums before now and no ICA? Hmmm……………..
11. Brian – Understand (from Understood – Needle Mythology Records) starts at 32:00
For those of you who don’t know, this is the label run by the wonderfully talented writer Pete Paphides. It specialises, but not exclusively, on reissuing albums which came out in that period in the 90s/00s when CD was king and which had either a very limited vinyl pressing or none at all. Brian is the recording name used by Dublin-born singer/songwriter Ken Sweeney, and his charning debut album Understand was released on Setanta Records in 1992. This reissue has slightly amended the title of the album and added on the four songs which formed the Planes EP in 1993 along with one previously unreleased track from the era.
12. Pearl Charles – Does This Song Sound Familiar? (from Desert Queen – Last Night From Glasgow Records) starts at 37:54
Pearl Charles been releasing music for a decade now, but 2025 marked my introduction to this Californian singer-songwriter courtesy of her third album being released by a label with which I have a subscription. There is something very appealling about her voice while the tunes kind of defy any easy definition, with all sorts of influences to the fore – rock, pop, country and soul among them. The album also contains a co-vocal with Tim Burgess…..
13. Half Man Half Biscuit – Record Store Day (from All Asimov And No Fresh Air – RM Qualtrough Records) starts at 42:42
40 years after the debut and I think it’s fair to say that Half Man Half Biscuit can truly be anointed as national treasures. The latest album, their 17th all told, has all the usual things we’ve come to expect – great tunes and lyrics that will very often out a smile on your face. Nigel Blackwell has, with this particular song, nailed exactly what so many of us feel about an event that has moved a long way from its original intentions, having been increasingly hijacked by major labels, their executives and their marketing gurus. The perfect way to mark the halfway point of this mix.
14. Bar Italia – Cowbella (from Some Like It Hot – Matador Records) starts at 46:00
There have been a number of horrifically scathing reviews written about the third Bar Italia studio album. They are all well wide of the mark. The critics who worship at the altar of the hipster scene simply get upset when one of their favourites have the nerve to make a record which has some mainstream sounding tunes.
15. The Sexual Objects – Here Come The Rubber Cops (from Orangutan – Creeping Bent Records) starts at 50:20
As mentioned earlier, Creeping Bent Records will cease operations in a few weeks time. One of the parting gifts is this compilation album, which brings together some hard-to-find singles and album tracks from a band that has been described as a Scottish T-Rex for the 21st Century, fronted by Davy Henderson whose work with Fire Engines, Win and Nectarine No.9 has long been highlighted on this blog.
16. Quad 90 – Le Blank (from Quad 90 – Last Night From Glasgow/Creeping Bent Records) starts at 55:39
The duo of Amelia Lironi and Naomi Mackay met a few years ago while attending a Glasgow college which offers courses in music production and performance. It was back in 2023 when they released Le Blank as a 12″ limited edition single, but I was too slow to pick up a copy. This was followed up by a number of digital releases at regular intervals before, at long last, the debut album was released in September, and I could finally play this wonderful piece of dance floor funk that makes me wish I was forty years younger.
17. Say Sue Me – Time Is Not Yours (from Time Is Not Yours – Damnably Records) starts at 60:31
This is the one from the five-track EP referred to in the introduction. It came out in April as a picture disc, and I picked up a copy a short while later when the band played their latest show in Glasgow (it’s long been one of thir favourite stopping places). It’s K-Pop, but not as the kids know it – and it’s a great example of how fine guitar-led songs with an indie bent will never truly go out of fashion.
18. The Cords – Fabulist (from The Cords – Skep Wax/Slumberland Records) starts at 64:20
This is from the album that, right now, I’m not too sure about. The duo of sisters Eva and Grace Tedeschi have been making a great deal of noise across the Glasgow scene these past couple of years. I should, by nature, love everything about them thanks to them channelling so much that is wonderful about 80s and 90s indiepop into their 13 songs on a debut that races by in just 31 minutes. But, for now at least, on a couple of initial listens, it feels a tad one-dimensional….but then again I came to it with high and probably unrealistic expectations.
19. Richard Norris – Brave Raver (from Sounds From The Flightpath Estate Volume 2 – Golden Lion Sounds) starts at 67:11
As found on a compilation lovingly compiled by a group of people dedicated to the works of Andrew Weatherall…..and, of course, our dear friend Adam from Bagging Area is very much involved. Thanks mate.
20. Sprints – Descartes (from All That Is Over – City Slang Records) starts at 73:36
The music of the Dublin post-punk band has moved a long way from the indie-style sounds of the early singles back in 2020/2021. The increasing move to a heavier and more explosively angry style really manifests itself on this their second album, and while I remain a big fan of all they are doing, the fact All That Is Over peaked at #50 where debut Letter To Self reached #20 perhaps indicates they are losing folk along the way. It’s a pity.
21. Emma Pollock – Future Tree (from Begging The Night To Take Hold – Chemikal Underground Records) starts at 76:48
An album that’s been a long time in the making and post-production process for all sorts of reasons. It is Emma‘s first since 2016 but has proven to be well worth the wait. It is a remarkable record which reflects on what has been a period of personal disruption for Emma in so many ways.
22. Brian Bilston & The Catenary Wires – Might Have. Might Not Have (from Sounds Made By Humans – Skep Wax Records) starts at 80:23
Released last May, this album is a wonderful collaboration between a rather wonderful poet and a rather wonderful indie-pop band in which the band came up with melodies and arrangements for thirteen poems to create, and I’m quoting the PR blurb as it’s not hyperbole, ‘a pop album where the poetry and the music are equal partners: sounds made by humans in perfect artistic alignment.’
23. The Loft – Feel Good Now (from Everything Changes Everything Stays The Same – Tapete Records) starts at 82:39
The Loft released just two singles and a compilation album on Creation Records back in the mid 80s before splintering into various pieces. It has taken an agonisingly long time for the debut album to be recorded and then released via the Hamburg-based Tapete Records. To quote an online review, it’s an old-fashioned sounding record made by grey-haired veterans.
24. F.O. Machete – Kids Of The Summer (from Mother Of A Thousand – Last Night From Glasgow) starts at 86:02
25. Davey Woodward – Don’t Phone Me (from Mumbo In The Jumbo – Last Night From Glasgow) starts at 90:16 ends at 92:33
Last Night From Glasgow has issued dozens of albums in 2025, and the subscription membership I have with the label means I get them all. I’m not going to claim that everything I’ve picked up from LNFG’s headquarters, which is located in an increasingly hipster part of the city between the centre and the west end, makes for essential listening but they do quite often hit the mark spectacularly.
Track 24 is courtesy of a Glasgow duo whose debut recordings go back to the early 2000s, but who went on a long hiatus from 2011 until 2024. I’ll hold my hands up and admit I knew nothing of them until being handed this album back in February. It’s since been on heavy rotation.
Track 25 is courtesy of a veteran of the indie-pop scene who first came to prominence with The Brilliant Corners. He’s continued to make music, on-and-off, throughout the years as a member of various other acts such as The Experimental Pop Band and Karen, while 2018 saw Tapete Records issue an album credited to Davey Woodward and The Winter Orphans, before that act signed to LNFG and released an album in 2023. Mumbo In The Jumbo is the first record credited solely as a solo performer and with Don’t Phone Me being its closing track, it made sense to end this mix with it.
I really hope there’s something today that has grabbed your attention and perhaps encouraged you to either buy the album now or add it to the wishlist you’ve prepared for Santa Claus.
JC
THE NEW VINYL VILLAIN 