Blinded by the Floodlights albums of the year 2025

Matthew McLister
Dec 31, 2025
5 min read

From Deftones to Wet Leg, our top 20 albums of the year from the world of indie and alternative.

So, that's another year gone. And it's been another busy one. I became a father for the first time which has vastly reduced my new music listening. But fear not, I still managed to listen to as many new albums as possible before the sleepless nights began!

What has now become a yearly tradition since Blinded By The Floodlights launched in 2020, we've bashed our heads together and put forth a list of our favourite albums of the year. And boy has it been another good one.

Without further ado, here are 20 records we've been obsessing over.

20-11

Tame Impala - Deadbeat

Big Thief - Double Infinity

Brogeal - Tuesday Paper Club

Just Mustard - We Were Just Here

Franz Ferdinand - The Human Fear

Pastel - Souls in Motion

Doves - Constellations for the Lonely

Matt Berninger - Get Sunk

Viagra boys - viagr aboys

Deftones - Private Music

10-1

10. Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs – Death Hilarious

From their ridiculous name to exaggerated ‘70s heavy metal/doom reference points, Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs are, on paper at least, wildly absurd and unfashionable. Yet the Geordie stoner metal fivepiece offer a Sabbathian-inspired sound that continues to blow listeners away five albums in. As expected, latest outing Death Hilarious delivered another glorious sludge-fest experience. Thrashy opener ‘Blockage’ hits like a stomach punch, ‘The Wyrm’ is a 7-minute epic of infectious chaos, pummelling riffs and Matt Baty’s euphoric vocals, while ‘Glib Tongued’ grabs the headlines by featuring American rapper El-P. Another joyous racket that swaggers into new sonic ventures.

9. Djo – The Crux

Better known for portraying lovable jock Steve Harrington on Netflix’s Stranger Things, Joe Keery’s musical side project scaled new heights this year with the release of The Crux. The third album by Keery (aka Djo) was more eclectic than before: a gorgeous blend of psych-rock, synth-pop and 60s pop influences. For starters, ‘Basic Being Basic’ and ‘Delete Ya’ delivered two of the catchiest indie bops you’ll hear this year. And the rest wasn’t half bad either - vintage in nature while carrying Djo’s indistinguishable charm and charisma throughout. With music this good, we wouldn’t be against Keery making Djo his full-time occupation once the curtains fall on Stranger Things.

8. Wolf Alice – The Clearing

To say The Clearing has been divisive amongst Wolf Alice diehards would be something of an understatement. But to those not as married to the London fourpiece’s grungier sounds, their fourth album was arguably their best to date. It showcased the band’s developing craft as songwriters: from their anarchic origins towards the more nuanced world of ‘70s soft-rock. Gone are the distortion pedals and post-adolescent screaming. In come pianos, acoustic guitars and added focus on Ellie Rowsell’s exquisite vocal talents. And they are all the better for the change up. With The Clearing, Wolf Alice are calmer and more confident, producing the music they want to over what is expected of them.

7. The Hives – The Hives Forever, Forever the Hives

The Hives have been the antithesis of familiarity breeding contempt for over two and a half decades now. Their latest offering, The Hives Forever Forever The Hives served as further proof of that. It had the Swedish outfit at their exhilarating best once more – a 32-minute experience remarkably fresh, fun and energetic. Short, sharp punk bangers from start to finish. Produced in Stockholm with long-time producer Pelle Gunnerfeldt, these 13 songs fly in with the same unpretentious charm, breakneck speed and customary quirkiness as their ‘00s peak. As always, Howlin’ Pelle Almqvist is in top form. The exuberant frontman is elated and frustrated, roaring his lines like his very existence depends on it.

6. Antony Szmierek – Service Station at the end of the universe

I first came across Antony Szmierek a few years ago on BBC 6Music and was immediately fascinated by his style that channelled the spirit of Mike Skinner while sounding like a unique cross of rave, hip hop and spoken word poetry. The former high school English teacher from Manchester finally dropped his debut album in February and delivered an absolute blast well worth indulging in. These 12 tracks were euphoric in part as well as thoughtful and solemn.

5. Sharon Van Etten - Sharon Van Etten & the Attachment Theory

The seventh album by this New Jersey singer-songwriter was one of the most consistent records of 2025 and one I continually found myself getting lost in. The soundscapes here haunted and thrilled in equal measure. The choruses were big and explosive while leaving a lingering anxiety and sense of existentialism throughout. Still maintaining Van Etten ‘80s synth-pop reference points, there was something utterly captivating about the record’s dread and gloomy outlook.

4. Wet Leg – Moisturizer

Expectation was high for Wet Leg’s sophomore release and the indie pop five-piece blew all expectations out of the water on Moisturizer. Where the Isle of Wight outfit’s debut was perhaps a little too overfamiliar and repetitive, Moisturizer had Wet Leg fully expand their musical palette and show us why they weren’t the one trick pony we’d been let to believe. The tracks were punchier and even more infectious, while adding nuance and sonic progression – case and point being first single ‘Catch These Fists’ which wooed us all over in all its breathless indie punk glory.

3. Pulp – More

On More, the wit and theatrical flair that made Pulp household names remained intact. The album echoes their mid-‘90s charm, yet it also showcases artistic growth. This isn’t a nostalgia trip. It proved Pulp’s relevance, even 30 years after their prime. Opening track ‘Spike Island’ is as majestic a return as we could’ve expected. It’s everything you’d want from a Pulp comeback. “The universe shrugged, shrugged and moved on,” Jarvis sings, nodding to the apathy that greeted their 2002 split. But he sounds determined now: “It’s time I’ll get it right.” His classic frontman swagger returns too: “I was born to perform… I exist to do this.” The synths glitter, the chorus hits hard. More is a triumphant return, reminding us why this band mattered—and still does. The album itself is sharp, emotional, weird, and wonderful.

2. Geese – Get Killed

Geese were undoubtedly 2025’s defining indie rock band. The Brooklyn band’s fourth album was loose and chaotic throughout, frontman Cameron Winter’s baritone vocals rich, pained and beautifully strained. The accompanying instrumentation was infectious and gorgeous, wonderfully aiding the breathless riot presented before us. Granted this is a record that won’t be for everyone, but the response from the music press was to place Geese amongst the modern greats. An instant classic both nostalgic and forward-thinking.

1. Turnstile – Never Enough

It had to be Turnstile, right? Not really a band I knew too much about prior to this year, the Baltimore outfit’s fourth album completely blew me away upon release in June (the majority of the tracks appearing on my Spotify top 100 tracks of 2025). Never Enough completely redefined what we could expect from a hardcore punk band: a record cinematic in scope, bold and genre altering, bringing together elements of punk, 80’s pop, funk and dream into a unique and noisy listening experience. Both accessible and playfully experimental, Turnstile absolutely smashed it on their latest and are well worthy of our album of the year crown.