The best album of…
December: First Breath After Coma + Salvador Sobral – “A Residência”
First Breath After Coma are a post-rock band from Portugal who recorded all of “A Residência” with Salvador Sobral. From last month’s jazzy taster “Amor i temps” to the pulled back “Je Gálere” or properly upbeat closer “O quarto da Aïda”, there is a lot of good stuff to dig into here regardless of how you feel about Salvador’s usual musical output.
January: MARO & NASAYA – “LIFELINE”
It’s been a long year huh? It feels like a lifetime ago since this album, an excellent collaborative work between Maro and Nasaya, saw the light of day. The title track remains the best of the album for me, but every track is worth a listen and could end up being your favourite.
February: Carrousel – “Éclaircies”
“En Silence” was one of my favourite songs of 2024 and I was happy to report in February that the rest of Carrousel’s album didn’t disappoint. Fellow deceivingly upbeat “Vendredis Pluvieux” and the much more contemplative closer “Éclaircie III” are excellent slices of music on this very strong 15-track effort. And, if nothing else, please go listen to the perfection that is “En Silence”.
March: Kyla Vėjas! – “Niaukias Dangus”
It’s more Kyla Vėjas! Yes, their LP “Niaukias Dangus” managed to garner my album of the month award with its slowly building energy and sense of dread and doom.
April: Baltos Varnos – “Sidabru išlieta”
The ever-excellent (as long as they don’t sing in English) Baltos Varnos make it into the best of the year list with their album “Sidabru išlieta”. Frankly, this album could have made it here on the strength of the title track alone but the rest of the album is strong too such as the grand yet meditative “Rugiai” or the vocally mesmerizing throwback indie singer-songwriter track “Bus Dienų”.
May: Sudden Lights – “īsas vasaras garas ziemas”
And then suddenly, Sudden Lights. I am sure no one else has made that joke before. On a more serious note, this sound-expanding album sees the group at perhaps their strongest and most confident yet as they play around with what makes a Sudden Lights song.
June: Montaigne – “it’s hard to be a fish”
I was pretty excited for this album thanks to some of the pre-released tracks. Thankfully, that excitement was well worth it as “it’s hard to be a fish” proved to be a bit of a revelation. Montaigne has always been good, but this independent album saw the singer-songwriter really get to do what they wanted and engage with a broader range of sounds and influences. Album closer “it’s all about the money” in particular is a standout.
July: Márcia – “Ana Márcia”
This musical memoir perhaps felt a little sedate as it came out in July, but these were 13 tracks that just were really pleasant and just work together so well. I also just love a concept album so this got big points for being one and doing so successfully in the streaming-focused landscape.
August: LORD OF THE LOST – “OPVS NOIR Vol. 1”
Check out “Light Can Only Shine In The Darkness” and, if you liked that, check out the rest of this album. “OPVS NOIR Vol. 1” is a throwback to a more 00s kind of sound, as highlighted by the aforementioned track and the excellent album closer “Dreams Are Never Alone”.
September: Night Tapes – “portals//polarities”
“Storm” was a track of the month and not much later the album it is on was my pick of the bunch. Yes, Night Tapes really are that good. A great, atmospheric, dreamy album with highlights such as the trip hop “babygirl”, retro “Pacifico” and funky “wayfarer”, to just name some of the 13 excellent cuts that made it onto the album.
October: Jeangu Macrooy – “Young, Awkward & Lonely”
No one is surprised this is here, right? “Independent Girls & Nasty Evil Gays” was one of my favourites this summer. “Happier”, one of my faves of all of last year. The anthemic “Everybody Needs Somebody”, or the melancholic “Something Better”. In a just world Jeangu would be a big star, but instead here I am reminding you all of this absolute killer of an LP.
November: SAL – “A Viagem Vai a Meio”
It took a long time to get “Viver” on an album, but SAL made sure the wait was worth it. “A Viagem Vai a Meio” is full of excellent indie-rock and is more than worth the time for a proper sit and listen.
So, that was 2025
So these were all the recipients of my release of the month awards. Does that mean this was all there was to enjoy in the Eurovision-sphere? Of course not! Besides Shkodra Elektronike almost making it in this month with “Fosforon“, here are just a few of the excellent releases that missed the cut but still were standouts to me:
- Samira Manners – “house we built”
- Hydrogen – “ANTENA\\SRCE\\RADIO”
- SHWR x PETUNIJA – “Tarytu Bėjo”
- Meelik – “(Töopealkiri)”
- Zdob și Zdub – “Pas de cumpără noroc”
- Eefje de Visser – “Vlijmscherp”
- Randi Oline and Oscar Zia – “Venter du”
- Nemo – “Arthouse”
And that isn’t even listing all of the amazing music this year with absolutely no connection to the contest, such as new albums by La Dispute, Saint Motel, Matt Berninger, Michael Cera Palin and The Beths to tracks by City of the Sun, Teen Jesus and the Jean Teasers, M83, and Florence + the Machine. So, next time you go to your streaming service of choice or local record store, why not look a bit afield or ask a friend for a recommendation? You never know what you might find.
…and this will be 2026
As for the round-up, it remains to be seen if it returns in 2026. But, whether it does or not, thank you for reading and listening along. I hope you have a great year and that we discover more music together. The charts might feel stagnant and even bands we love might disappoint us, but new bands, old favourites, and surprising collabs are behind every corner.
News Source: That Eurovision Site
Photo Credit: Tautumeitas, Loreen, Petunija, Shkodra Elektronike. Collage by That Eurovision Site
Giwrgos Oiko