I am starting to feel like these “time to rank things” lists pop back up on me quicker and quicker each year. We are once again halfway through the year, and that means it’s time to reflect on the best albums of the year (so far). Below, you will find both our combined staff top 30, as well as individual lists from our contributors and moderators. We hope you’ll find something new to love.
Note: You can share your own list in our music forum.
Read More “The Best Albums of 2025 (So Far)”
Recently I was able to catch up with New Jersey-based indie rock band, The Spins, to discuss everything that went into their latest single and music video for “One More.” In this interview, I asked the band about their style of music, their upcoming touring plans and more. If you’re enjoying the interview and music video, you can pre-save their forthcoming album, Left Behind, that releases on July 25th, here.
Read More “The Spins”
There’s something great that happens to your brain when you wrap your ears around a fun, summer pop-punk album. Is it that feeling of endless possibilities as you cruise in your car with the AC on full blast to the beach? Maybe. Is it the burst of nostalgia that reminds of the early Vans Warped Tour routing that we all looked forward to. Could be that too. West Friends have offered a nice reminder of these feelings on their debut album called Junk Drawer. West Friends are the duo of vocalists/songwriters Jordan Renshaw and Isaiah Dominguez, while Jordan shared, “Junk Drawer represents the accumulation of life experiences, eras, and memories that shape who I am today. It’s also how I can best visualize and process growth and maturity—by carrying all these experiences with me, I’m able to integrate them into my current self while also making room for new ones to be added along the way.” By putting out the shimmering vibes as we all begin planning out our vacations, Junk Drawer offers to be the soundtrack to your summer.
Read More “West Friends – Junk Drawer”
Recently I was able to connect with the band called NAMAZU to discuss their latest music. Their new single, called “ICE 800” is a slick mix of big rock hooks paired with tight musicianship. In this interview, I asked the band about where they got their name from, the bands they’ve shared billings with, and what is coming next for NAMAZU. If you’re enjoying the new music video, please consider supporting the band here.
Read More “NAMAZU”
Saturday, May 30, 2009: that was the last night I ever performed on my high school stage. By that point, I’d set foot on that stage countless times: for musicals and choir concerts, for performances in front of school district administrators, for so many hours of rehearsals and practices. It got to be the kind of thing that you experience so many times you start to take it for granted. And then, suddenly, that story was over, and I was trying to wrap my head around how the place that had made me into a musician was about to be in my rearview.
“It’s a town full of losers, I’m pulling out of here to win.”
Those were the last words I ever sang on that stage by myself. There were other words that I shared, singing in harmony with fellow classmates. But that line, the iconic sign-off of Bruce Springsteen’s greatest song, became my sign-off, at least for my musical journey at that school and, really, for my entire high school experience.
On paper, it’s an appropriate line for a big coming-of-age moment. Sequenced at the very top of 1975’s Born to Run, “Thunder Road” is the Boss’s bold, brash invitation for a girl to run away with him. “My car’s out back if you’re ready to take that long walk/From your front porch to my front seat,” he sings at one point. Later, as the song barrels into its final verse, Springsteen ups the stakes: this town is crawling with ghosts, and if you stay here, the promise of your youth will be spent; “Your graduation gown lies in rags at their feet.” So get in the car, baby, and let’s drive. Let’s drive so fast and so far that they can’t possibly follow us. Let’s get out of this town and never, ever look back.
Read More “My Life In 35 Songs, Track 15: “Thunder Road” by Bruce Springsteen”
The music world can always use another metalcore band, right? Deadlands are from Long Island, New York and are comprised of Kasey Karlsen (vocals) and CJ Arey (guitarist/producer). Their sound is a blend of rock bands like From Ashes To New and Poison the Well, paired with Karlsen’s vocal range similar to Courtney LaPlante of Spiritbox, all put on blend with a style that feels fresh and exciting. Seven is their latest EP/effort via Spinefarm Records and it’s a hard-hitting collection of seven songs that are filled with great production, slick guitar work, and visceral vocals that have enough melody throughout for others to see the light at the end of the tunnel. Kasey Karlsen shared, “Our goal is to really bring listeners out of the present world. With all of the crazy crap going on in our everyday lives, we try to take you to different realms. Subconsciously, the music might help you reflect on yourself.” By taking the listener on quite the thrilling ride, Seven marks a new standout moment for not only metalcore, but Deadlands as well.
Read More “Deadlands – Seven”
Recently I was able to connect with rock band Cody Parks and the Dirty South that is self-described as “Country Metal.” The band has toured extensively, and is ready for their moment in the spotlight. In this interview with lead vocalist Cody Parks, I asked him about where the band draws their influence from, five records he couldn’t live without, and the best parts of playing in a band. If you’re curious about this band, please consider checking out their merch store here.
Read More “Cody Parks and the Dirty South”
I have to admit that I rolled my eyes a bit at the thought of remixing/remastering what I consider to be one of the most sonically dynamic records this scene has ever had the privilege of calling our own: My Chemical Romance’s Three Cheers For Sweet Revenge. How exactly do you make any improvements to a classic recording? The answer was found out quickly when I first put my ears around the 2025 remix/remaster of Three Cheers. Instead of just making it louder, the original mixer of the record (Rich Costey) used the original source files that were carefully stored away by veteran producer Howard Benson to fully revamp the overall sound that comes out of the speakers when you hit “play.” This article will not be so much of a review per se of the Three Cheers For Sweet Revenge record, as I originally did the retrospective review a few years back, as much as it is a deep dive into the overall package that is presented here in 2025.
Read More “Thank You For The (New) Venom: An Analysis of My Chemical Romance’s 2025 ‘Three Cheers’ Remix” It was the only time in my life that I wanted summer to end.
As a kid, you wish summers could last forever. You survey the horizon from the vantage point of mid-June and it feels like you’ve got an entire lifetime’s worth of school-free days ahead of you. Days to be lazy. Days to hang out with friends. Days to spend at the beach, or cruising around your neighborhood on bikes, refusing to waste even a second of daylight. And frankly, as a kid, summers kind of do last forever, simply because two and a half months is still such a significant amount of time in the grand scheme of how long you’ve been alive. Relative to everything else, summer is endless.
As a teenager, you still wish summers could last forever, but you also have enough perspective on time to know that they’ll end up passing you by so much faster than you think. You’ll blink twice and suddenly it will be mid-August, and you’ll be left wondering where all those weeks went. As the onslaught of September and the first day of school approaches, you cling to the remaining 80-degree days and the dwindling summer sunsets like they’re oxygen, because the thought of losing that freedom again and going back to the cloistered halls of your high school feels all wrong.
Growing up, I certainly never thought I’d find myself wishing for summer to hasten its demise, but that’s exactly where I found myself in late August of 2008. For one thing, I didn’t think I could stand one more second working my shitty summer job. But the bigger factor at play was her, the girl I’d spent the summer chasing. At so many moments throughout that season, amidst so many flirtations and longing glances and intoxicated evenings where we got a bit closer than we should have, I thought we were only a matter of time. She’d break up with her boyfriend and choose me, and we’d spend the summer together, making every moment count. But she didn’t break up with her boyfriend, and she didn’t choose me, and before I knew it, we’d run out of time.
Read More “My Life In 35 Songs, Track 14: “Crashin” by Jack’s Mannequin”
Recently I was able to connect with the band called Daniel Ellsworth & The Great Lakes to discuss what went into their cool new single called “After All (Strung Out Version)”. In this interview, I asked the band about their writing process, where they find inspiration that they put back into their music, and what to expect at one of their concerts. If you’re enjoying the interview, please consider staying connected with the band here.
Read More “Daniel Ellsworth and The Great Lakes”
Have you ever had the feeling that a little piece is missing from an album? It’s something that you have a hard time putting your finger on, but it’s an uneasy feeling that something is just…off. I got a little bit of that feeling when I listened to HAIM’s fourth studio album called I Quit, a record that is largely about giving up on relationships that aren’t worth our time and effort. Even as I kept coming back to I Quit over my weekend, I couldn’t shake the feeling that a bit of the magic that the band put into their stellar predecessor of Women In Music Pt. III wasn’t there. This current set was produced by Rostam Batmanglij (Ra Ra Riot, Vampire Weekend), lead vocalist/guitarist Danielle Haim, as well as some extra production from Buddy Ross (Frank Ocean), and the overall sheen that comes through the speakers on singles like “Relationships” and “All Over Me” are readily apparent. The music that surrounds the early standout moments just doesn’t seem to recapture that classic HAIM style, even if those “highs” found in the key songs are great.
Read More “HAIM – I Quit” Fast cars, loud music, and summertime: These are a few of my favorite things.
I have long been obsessed with the way a windows-down summer car ride can turn a song transcendent. Hearing the right song when you’re cruising down the road without a care in the world? In my opinion, there’s not much in the world that can make you feel more boundless. It’s something about the volume of the music in the car, the way it surrounds you, the reverberations you can feel coursing through the seats, the armrests, the steering wheel, your entire body. It’s something about the wind in your hair, and the sunshine, and the way the summer air smells. It’s definitely something about the freedom summertime brings, especially when you’re young, and especially when you’ve got wheels. Combine all these things with the right song, and it will sound as good as anything you have ever heard.
That’s what I learned at the outset of summer 2008, the first time I listened to the SafetySuit album Life Left to Go in the car. I’d gotten my driver’s license the previous summer, but this would be my first summer with my own car, and it wasn’t lost on me what that meant. That old cliché about wheels giving you wings might be overused, but it’s also accurate, because having a car unlocks so much when you’re a teenager. I didn’t know what the summer was going to bring, but I’d already made up my mind that I was going to make it count, and the freedom of having my own means of transportation was absolutely at the center of that pledge. All I needed was the right song to consecrate my vow. Enter SafetySuit.
Read More “My Life In 35 Songs, Track 13: “Someone Like You” by SafetySuit”
The latest album from Shayfer James, called Summoning, is a sonic wall-of-sound that showcases this talented singer-songwriter’s wit, charm, and crisp songwriting. Shayfer shares on the creation of Summoning, “I decided to sequester myself away on the frozen oceanside of New Brunswick, Canada, because I knew I had a new album in me. I didn’t know what it would sound like or what it would be about, but I knew it was in there and that I wanted to be alone and somewhere beautifully cold when I wrote it. The four weeks I spent writing Summoning were lush with gorgeous sunrises, flocking crows, and self-acceptance. It felt like a spell. A summoning of self. I felt tapped into the ether, and there’s really no better word to describe my time on Cape Tormentine other than ‘magic.'” You can tell that Shayfer James put his whole self into this record that invites the listener in closer to his world, if you’re brave enough to step into the dimly lit hallways of Summoning.
Read More “Shayfer James – Summoning”
Recently I was able to connect with talented songwriter, Shayfer James, and his management to discuss everything that went into his excellent new record, Summoning. Learn about each song through these deep dives in this exclusive track-by-track, and you can stream the new record here.
Read More “Shayfer James – Summoning (Track-By-Track)” “I’ll believe it exists when I’m holding it in my hands.”
For six months, I repeated those words to myself like they were a self-help mantra. I was talking about the supposedly brand-new album from Counting Crows, which was set to drop on March 25, 2008 after a long, long hiatus. The band had teased the LP the previous fall with the release of “Cowboys,” a loud, bitter, rip-roaring rocker that sounded like the reincarnated version of their 1996 cult classic Recovering the Satellites. I loved that sound and how energized it felt, but then again, I probably would have loved anything coming out of the Counting Crows camp at that point. In the moment, the band’s newest song was “Accidentally in Love,” the Oscar-nominated hit from 2004’s Shrek 2, and their newest album was 2002’s Hard Candy. They had, in other words, been away for a while.
I was convinced that I’d somehow cursed the Crows. As a kid, “Mr. Jones” was the first rock song I’d ever loved, and the band’s moody, melodic roots rock, for me, became synonymous with growing up. But I’d fallen head over heels in love with their music with the 2003 best-of collection Films About Ghosts, which recontextualized those ‘90s hits in exciting ways and unearthed a series of rich, remarkably written deep cuts – songs like the searching title track from Recovering the Satellites, the epic “Mrs. Potter’s Lullaby” from 1999’s This Desert Life, or the simultaneously sad and funny “Holiday in Spain” from Hard Candy – that made me realize there was probably a lot more to this band than what got played on the radio.
Read More “My Life In 35 Songs, Track 12: “Come Around” by Counting Crows”