Nite Songs Top 75 Albums of 2025 - Part 1 (75-61)

 


Okay, here we go, the Top 75 Albums of 2025 for Nite Songs starts here. This was originally going to be a Top 70 the same as last year until I realised I could fit fifteen labels into the box and, given there were a few that I thought were very unlucky to miss out on the list, I decided what the heck. So let's get this show on the road.

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75.    THE LONG DECLINE - "Moribundiing"

I think if there's one thing you wouldn't have put down for 2025, it was a revival of Television Personalities indebted DIY indie and the Long Decline definitely fall into that category with their endearingly shambolic take on '80s alternative. This is, however, an experienced band with three decades under their belt and links to post-punk originals Subway Sect and Alternative TV. Maybe a bit of an acquired taste but there's something fun about this album and I'd say it's definitely worth a listen.

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74.    THE WYTCHES - "Talking Machine"


The obvious template for Brighton natives the Wytches is the early noughties fuzzed up vein of garage rock that gave us the likes of Black Rebel Motorcycle Club et al and Talking Machine, their fifth album, veers between scuzzy pedal-to-the-metal defiance and more mid-paced introspective moments. If there's a fault here, it's that it is a bit front-loaded with the latter tracks kind of losing fire a bit but at their best, the Wytches have got that sort of effortless low-slung cool about them that many aspire to but few can truly reach.

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In this day and age, it's always heartening to see a group still dedicated to keeping the spirit of classic '80s goth alive and Aussies Golem Dance Cult are very much this year's representatives. The touchstones here aren't really anything you won't have heard before (Bauhaus and the Sisters of Mercy principally) but at least these guys do it with a suitably menacing energy that'll leave you more than ready to cue this one up again for another listen.

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This then will be the token album every year that nearly everyone seemed to think I should listen to and then I did and, possibly because I'd hyped it up so much in my brain, it inevitably ended up being a disappointment. However, on revisiting it a few times since, I won't deny that it's starting to grow on me and there's every chance that if I revisit this year's list come the end of 2026 (as I may just have done with 2024's list the other week natch) then it'll be a bit higher up. There's a disarming mix of honesty and playfulness in the adult-pop-country which is CMAT's stock in trade and there's enough here to show that her meteoric rise this year is definitely no fluke.

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71. GHOST - "Skeleta"


Skeleta is, as you would expect from Ghost, a brilliantly ridiculous album. Cheesier than a fondue warehouse, it sees the ghoulish rockers coming on like some sort of bizarre cross between Whitesnake and My Chemical Romance on the likes of Satanized and Marks of the Evil One. So why, you may well ask, isn't it a bit higher up this list? Well, the truth is that there's been a couple of other albums this year which have kind of done the same thing but better and we'll be coming to them in due course. But certainly, Ghost's army of ghouls won't be disappointed by this offering.

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70.    IDLEWILD - "Idlewild"


Put it down to this writer's vintage but I still have trouble sometimes coming to terms with Idlewild in their more mid-paced middle-aged guise. But this self-titled effort might just be Roddy Woomble and co's best effort for a while. It's reminiscent of Waterfront era Simple Minds but in a good way with the chiming guitars and skyscraping choruses showing that although they're almost unrecognisable from the group some of us fell in love with a quarter of a century ago (jeez, that makes me feel old), they still have plenty to say.

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Someone order a grunge revival? No? Well tough, you're getting one anyway. Owing a definite nod to L7 and Mudhoney with a slight post-punk influence in there as well, the likes of Over Again and Are You Okay? You're Happy mark this out as a strong debut from these Wolverhampton natives and shows that there's no reason to suggest they can't go from strength to strength as they grow.

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There's something about this debut album from Mancunian indie types Autocamper that reminds me a lot of the Wedding Present with its jangly but abrasive guitars and have-a-go attitude. There's a hint of the Vaselines in here with the boy/girl vocal harmonising on tracks like Again. A genuinely charming album which could, all being well, be the start of something big for this group.
Hailing from Wiltshire, Ticking Haze is an assured debut from Shapes Like People. Reminiscnt of Mazzy Star with its haunting vocals and chiming guitars, there's also an Everything But The Girl ('80s era) style poppiness in there on several tracks to make this a good accessible album with the likes of Never Cut Asunder and Don't Hear Your Footsteps being particular high points.

Sure Look Like It is a streetpunk album with panache. Sure, song titles like Dry Shite and Mountain Of Rubbish very much mark this one out but An Slua have a way with AC/DC style riffs and a surprising amount of dexterity which recalls Leatherface in places. With a bit of luck and judgment, these guys could well be one of the most exciting prospects in the current punk scene.

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65.    SCOTT LAVENE - "Cars, Buses, Bedsits and Shops"

Similar to fellow Essex native Billy Bragg, there's something enjoyably down to earth about Scott Lavene's style of songwriting. Tales of everyday life with a self-deprecating streak, the likes of Pound Shop Al Pacino and Bus In July mark the guy out as a definite talent and even if it doesn't quite hit the mark every time, this is still a commendable effort from him.

Wet Leg are one of those bands where you suspect it would have been very easy for them to fall into the trap of lazy second album syndrome but thankfully Moisturizer is barrelled along by the same sense of mischievous humour that helped them to break through so convincingly with their debut and the likes of Catch These Fists and Pokemon show that there's still plenty there to suggest that the Isle of Wight's finest are anything but a flash in the pan.

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63.    THE WILDHEARTS - "Satanic Rites of the Wildhearts"


Sigh...okay, here goes, so you may well be asking why perennial Nite Songs favourites the Wildhearts, are so far down the list this year. First up, it's not a bad reflection on the new members - in fact I'd actually say the musicianship on Satanic Rites... is pretty damn sound. Pretty much a straight continuation of the experimental vein of the Wildhearts' previous effort 21st Century Love Songs, although there are times where it meanders a bit, there's still a few belters which are well worth a listen (let's be honest, we wouldn't expect anything less from Ginger) and Troubadour Moon, I'll Be Your Monster and especially the ripping Kunce are proof that the songwriting fire most definitely hasn't gone out. This new line-up definitely has it in them to produce a quality Wildhearts album, it's just that Satanic Rites... isn't quite it. But the good bits are still well worth a listen.

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62.    BUSTER SHUFFLE - "Together"


Still valiantly plugging away nearly twenty years into their career, Together is another strong effort from East London's answer to Madness and the likes of Shows How Little You Know and If I Were Wise are definitely the sign of a band with plenty of fire left in the tank. It's nothing you won't have heard before but quite simply Buster Shuffle are very good at what they do and long may it continue.

Yup, the Turning Japanese lot. I didn't have huge expectations for this but fair play to the Vapors, it's not often you'll come across bands from their era who are not only still going strong but putting material out that's arguably better than the stuff from their commercial heyday. Wasp In A Jar takes the classic power-pop formula and puts a 21st century sheen on it to good effect and mark this out as one of the more impressive comebacks of the year.

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And there we go, Part 1 done. Tune back in later today for the next ten on the list.

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