Tuesday Tunes Wally's Favorite Albums of 2025 Edition

Most people come out with their best of lists in December, but I'm not like most people. Here's my countdown from 8 to 1 of my favorite albums of 2025. 

8. Snocaps - Snocaps Katie Crutchfield has a musical reunion with her twin sister Allison with M.J. Lenderman and Brad Cook along for the ride. If you were a fan of Katie and Allison's old band P.S. Eliot this album is a must for you. I'm still waiting for the actual physical LP release which doesn't happen until April, but it was issued to streaming services on Halloween last year. What a surprise treat!

Snocaps - "Cherry Hard Candy"

7. Jeff Tweedy - Twilight Override A sprawling 3 LP's or CD's worth of solo material Jeff has been making over the last several years. Much of it is mediative, but never morose. It could have been cut down to a single LP, but I dig the vibe of extra one gets from this album that is a grower and not a shower. 

Jeff Tweedy - "Lou Reed Was My Babysitter"

6. Phoebe Rings - Aseurai It may be because I am a product of the Seventies, but while my first big love was of metal and punk (Kiss and Ramones were so formative for me) I'm still a massive mark for well crafted pop and New Zealander's Phoebe Rings is a delight. I got to see them open for The Beths in November and then was lucky enough to meet them and purchase their first full length record Aseurai which they autographed to me. Wish I had bought one of their lazy disco caps when I had the chance. 

Phoebe Rings - "Get Up"

5. Wednesday - Bleeds You might have thought Wednesday was taking a full fledged turn into country with the initial singe "Elderberry Wine" but Bleeds turned out to be perhaps the most eclectic of the band's career. Karly Hartzman follows her muse wherever it leads. Hardcore screaming punk...you got it. Countrygaze hum and throb...sure thing. Completely strange and weird "Phish Pepsi"...let's go. I'm down for all of it. 

Wednesday - "Townies"

4. Lemonheads - Love Chant 2025 went down as the year of Evan Dando's big comeback. First there was the excellent memoir Rumors of My Demise ghost written by Jim Ruland. It was quite an exhilarating read. The first new album of original Lemonheads material in 19 years came out in October. Love Chant was better than expected, a thrilling return to form for Evan. A successful U.S. tour happened in the fall and winter which was capped off with an appearance on the nationwide The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon. Then word came that a planed European tour was off. Then the news arrived that Evan was heading into rehab after sending lewd videos to a fan via Twitter/X direct message. It seems like Mr. Dando is really into self sabotage. I hope he finally gets free of the drugs and other demons. 

Lemonheads - "The Key of Victory"

3. Horsegirl - Phonetics On and On Chicago band Horsegirl's first album Versions of Modern Performance  from 2022 was a noisy classic paying homage to Sonic Youth that made me wonder how these young ladies had been exposed to such great music growing up. If you expected more of the same with the new record you might have been disappointed. They flipped the script on the new album. The noise was gone and we get an early Wire type minimalism on what I feel is an even better record. 

Horsegirl - "Switch Over"

1. The Beths - Straight Line Was A Lie Oh, how I love The Beths let me count the ways. You might notice that I skipped number 2. That's because I'm only including my Top 8 and since the 2 albums at the top of my list are in a dead heat they both get number 1. The Beths just keep on putting out great records even with front woman Liz Stokes having some health issues and writer's block. Once again, I got to see them play live and meet with after the show. They are one of the greatest groups ever. 

The Beths - "Metal"

1. Liquid Mike - Hell Is An Airport My old pal D.D. Blank got me into Liquid Mike. Feels like the old days when we would always be sharing the gospel of music amongst ourselves. Liquid Mike hail from the Upper Peninsula of Michigan and they are pure rock 'n roll! Short sweet songs with astute creative lyrics with raging guitars. If you are seeking some throwback Nineties crunch updated to today you need this album post haste. 

Liquid Mike - "Groucho Marx"