A Few Of My Favorite Things 2025 Edition: The Albums

 By Henry Lipput

"The Lucky Thirteen."

That's what I'm calling my year-end list of my favorite albums of 2025, the ones I've most enjoyed listening to over the past twelve months. For each of them I've included a short description, my favorite song from the album, and a link to where you can find the album on Bandcamp (so that you can support these wonderful musicians and maybe bump into something else you can enjoy). 

David Mead, January, San Fernando (Bandcamp)

Since his debut album, The Luxury of Time, was released in 1999 David Mead has become one of the best American singer-songwriters we have. His new album, January, San Fernando, fits comfortably in his catalog especially next to albums like Indiana.

Favorite song: "Amelia"

Assistant, Certain Memories (Subjangle)

Certain Memories is a collection of sadly beautiful songs played by a band that makes a lovely, delicate jangly sound. The album is Assistant's first since 2022 and is a concept album of sorts dealing with the illness of a parent and how a family and friends get through it.

Favorite song: "Song for Jil"

Massage, Coaster (Bobo Integral Records)

Coaster is Massage's third album and the one where everything comes together. It's no coincidence that one of the members of this LA-based five piece was a co-founder of The Pains of Being Pure of Heart and you can hear this echoed in many of the songs on Coaster.

Favorite song: "When You Go"

The Bablers, Like the First Time (Big Stir Records)

Big Stir's release of Like the First Time was 25 years in the making as this album was only available in Japan and the band's native Finland in 2020. Full of power pop rave ups and ballads the album may have a different track listing but it's the way The Bablers want it heard now.

Favorite song: "You Are The One For Me"

Emma Swift, The Resurrection Game (Tiny Ghost Records)

If music has the power to heal, Swift has taken advantage of the opportunity to use the sounds of a swooning Nelson Riddle-like orchestra on her songs dealing with romance, desire, and a real-life nervous breakdown. And if the album is ever made into a musical the song "Catholic Girls Are Easy" would be a great Act 2 opener.

Favorite song: "Nothing and Forever"

Crossword Smiles, Consequences + Detours (Big Stir Records)

Consequences + Detours is the second album by the Michigan-based band led by Chip Saam, Tom Curless, and friends. The album is full of pop bliss and clever lyrics, a combination not usually found together but here found in spades.

Favorite song: "Millicent"

Tony Molina, On This Day (Slumberland Records)

Molina has been known for writing and recording songs that are less than two minutes long. None of these songs are throwaways or rough sketches.  Some like On This Day's "Faded Holiday" barely hit the one-minute mark but he puts everything in them which only makes you want to visit them again..

Favorite song: "Faded Holiday"

SUPER 8 featuring Lisa Mychols, UNFINISHED MONKEY BUSINESS (Bandcamp)

SUPER 8 and Lisa Mychols have been making music together from opposite sides of the world since their 2019 single "Timebomb." Their new collection consists of previous released singles and album tracks as well as songs that are new to me.

Favorite song: "Falling For You"

Sunny Intervals, Swept Away (Bandcamp)

 

The album is described on its Bandcamp page as a "late night whisper." Swept Away was written over the course of a decade and recorded by Andy Hudson mostly in his kitchen at night. The Janglepophub blog called it "pristine sunshine pop."

Favorite song: "Waiting For Sunshine" 

Shapes Like People, Ticking Haze (Jangleshop Records)

Ticking Haze is the debut album from the husband and wife team of Kat and Carl Mann. Following his work with The Shop Window it's not surprising that the songs are rich with melody as well as peopled with characters who yearn for love and a better life as well as an offering of hope and support to both lovers and friends.

Favorite song: "When The Radio Plays"

Tamar Berk, ocd, (Bandcamp)

Berk has described ocd, her fifth album in five years, as her most personal and intense.  She continues to add new musical ideas and instruments to her sound and she has found new ways to address both real and imagined conversations that can present roadblocks in relationships. 

Favorite song: "ocd"

Robert Forster, Strawberries (Tapete Records)

Since his time in The Go-Betweens and throughout his solo career Forster has mastered the writing of story songs. On Strawberries there are two: "Tell It Back To Me" and "Breakfast On The Train." "Train" is the one that has stuck with me because of its use of a novel storytelling device 

Favorite song: "Breakfast On The Train"

Brian Bilston and The Catenary Wires, Sounds Made By Humans (Skep Wax)

Brian Bilston is a poet and The Catenary Wires are a pop group and their unique collaboration  produced an album of "song-poems." Using Bilston's words, the band's Amelia Fletcher and Rob Pursey wrote the music for songs that are sung and performed by The Catenary Wires and others have Bilston fronting the band.

Favorite song: "Every Song On The Radio Reminds Me Of You"

Pop bliss

By Henry Lipput

Consequences + Detours (Big Stir Records) is the poptastic second album from the Michigan-based Crossword Smiles. And you would expect nothing less from Chip Saam (late of the much-loved and missed band The Hangabouts) and Tom Curliss (of Tom Curliss and The 46% -- of which Saam is a member).

The album kicks off with “Counting By Fives” and “Fall All Over Myself” a pair of pop rock gems. You can just imagine how cool it would be to hear these songs done live (as far as I know Crossword Smiles has only performed twice at the release concerts for their debut album and the new one).

Consequences + Detours is full of the kind of pop bliss and clever lyrics that aren’t often found together but this album has them in spades. For example, “Millicent” (one of my favorite songs on the album) is chock full of clever lyrics that are used to fully tell a story: “You bought a ticket on a plane/I’ll see you when you’re back from Spain/We can start a brand new deal/I don’t know where you went/but the money’s all spent/To what extent is it real?” The song also has a terrific arrangement with both mandolin and accordion up front in the mix.

For me, “Millicent” is in many ways a sequel to “Taking You To Leave Me” from The Hangabouts’ Kits & Cats and Saxon Wives album, a song about airports and leaving on a jet plane. 

“Navigator Heart” was co-written with Greg Addington (also of The Hangabouts and now recording as Suburban Hi Fi) and the vocals have an early Posies feel (before they went all grunge). “Looking for you/With my navigator heart/Still got a map/But I don’t know where to start.” Another favorite is “Girls Club” one of the many story songs on Consequences + Detours that recall the lyrical work of Ray Davies and Paul McCartney.

“Kismet” is a gorgeous straight-on love song about infatuation at first kiss and is the kind of pop classic written in the ‘60s. The essence of the song compares the feeling of a new love to the feeling that it was meant to be. “I know you go by something different/but for now I call you Kismet.”

A Few Of My Favorite Things, 2022 Edition – Part One: The Albums

By Henry Lipput

My favorite albums in 2022 were a great mix of old favorites, recent favorites, and brand-new favorites. In the following paragraphs I’ve spotlighted the releases that tickled my ears the most, added links to where you can find them, and chose my favorite tracks from each of them (where available I’ve included links to where you can hear the songs). As in the past this list of albums is only Part One of my 2022 year-end review; Part Two, with singles, EPs, live releases, compilations, and reissues, will hopefully be posted by the middle of February (since for some reason my blog doesn’t let folks subscribe if you follow me on Twitter or Mastodon you’ll see Part Two as soon as it’s posted).

Freedy Johnston, Back on the Road to You (Forty Below Records)

Although it’s been seven years since Freedy Johnston’s Neon Repairman, from the opening notes of his great new album Back on the Road to You it’s clear he hasn’t missed a beat. My favorite songs on Back on the Road to You recall the things I’ve liked in his past work like the glorious pop of “There Goes a Brooklyn Girl” made me think of Never Home’s “I’m Not Hypnotized” and the five-minute long instant classic “Somewhere Love” has the same melancholy vibe of his masterpiece Blue Days, Black Nights. The first song, “Back on the Road to You,” and the last, “The I Really Miss Ya Blues,” bookend the album and express the feelings of long-time Johnston fans who, for nearly a decade, have had the really miss him blues. Favorite track: “There Goes a BrooklynGirl”

Karen, Karen (Old Bad Habits Label)

Karen is a British supergroup made up of musicians who have worked with other bands: Davey Woodward on vocals and guitar (The Brilliant Corners, The Experimental Pop Band, Davey Woodward and the Winter Orphans), Hugo Morgan on bass (The Heads, Loop), and Tom Adams on drums (Beatnick Filmstars, Secret Shine, The Total Rejection). Karen released an EP, Filwood Broadway in 2018 and the self-titled release Karen is advertised as their first and only album. Woodward’s songs chronicle working class Brits (“Carrier Bag”) and rocky romances (“Too Late”). I’m a sucker for Woodward’s broken-hearted, yearning vocals as well as his lyrics whether it’s for a love song or a story song. Favorite track: “Estuary”

Lannie Flowers, Flavor of the Month (Spyderpop Records/BigStir Records)

One of my favorite discoveries of 2021 was the reissue of Lannie Flower’s album Home. In 2018 Flowers was working on the songs that would become Home but also coming up with some that didn’t fit his vision of the album. Rather than putting those tunes aside he decided to issue them as free monthly downloads as a March to Home series. Flavor of the Month contains theses songs (remixed by Flowers) but also the new single “Summer Blue” and is the first physical release of these songs (and if you buy the vinyl for Flavor you’ll get a CD containing the original March To Home tracks). The album is a masterful collection featuring straight-up rock and roll with some power pop thrown in for good measure. Favorite track: “What Did I Know”

The Shop Window, A 4 Letter Word (Bandcamp/Spinout Nuggets)

Love is all over the new album, A 4 Letter Word from The Shop Window: there’s love in the lyrics and love in the playing of the songs. Band is also a four-letter word, and this love is best shown in the way the four members of the band (at the time of the album’s recording) love playing together. This is clear as soon as the needle hits the vinyl on the album’s first song, “Eyes Wide Shut,” it’s clear from Mann’s opening licks and jangles, the solid background provided by Martin Corder’s bass and Phil Esphee’s drums, Syd Oxlee’s keyboard washes, and then the intertwined vocals of Mann and Oxlee. Favorite track: “Lay of the Land”

Josh Rouse, Going Places (Yep Roc Records)

I’ve been a fan of Josh Rouse’s music since 2005’s splendid Nashville album. His latest, Going Places, is almost as good. Rouse spent the last few years his family in Spain, writing songs to be played in a small club; I had a ticket to see him in a small club here in Pittsburgh but wasn’t ready yet to be out in a group of people (my loss). With its tune-heavy songs (“Henry Miller’s Flat” and “Hollow Moon”), his gentle vocals (“Indian Summer”), and arrangements that feature the use of horns and some cool old-school organ fills (“Apple of my Eye”), Going Places is made to be heard live (but equally excellent on your stereo or headphones). Favorite track: “Apple of my Eye”

Tamar Berk, start at the end (Bandcamp)

Singer-songwriters can be a serious bunch and Tamar Berk is no exception. On her second solo album (a strong follow-up to 2021's the restless dreams of youth -- no sophomore slump for Berk), she once again writes honestly about adult relationships. Perhaps not intended as a concept album, the album opener, “Your Permission,” opens the door for her to put on various moods and attitudes in her songs: “Can I ask your permission/To be someone else today/To say what I want to say/In a different sort of way.” The songs range from rockers (“real bad day”) to piano-based confessionals (“you already knew”) and dancing-around-the-living-room pop (“alone tonight”). Favorite track: “tragic endings”

SUPER 8, Universal Journey (Bandcamp)

Universal Journey from SUPER 8 aka Trip aka Paul Ryan is an out-of-this-world delight. The album is the first since 2020’s collaboration on the Lisa Mychols and SUPER 8 album (Mychols provides guest vocals on many of Universal Journey’s songs).  The opening and closing tracks on Universal Journey (“Universe,” “Feel,” and “The World Is Happening”) make up a soundtrack to a viewing of the incredible Webb telescope photos. And “Galactic 9,” with vocals from Mychols, is the sexy sound of space travel with visions of a ship full of mile-high-and -a-half members. Favorite track: “Cracks in the Pavement”

The Jazz Butcher, Highest in the Land (Tapete Records)

I knew little to nothing about the band The Jazz Butcher when its leader Pat Fish died in 2021. But the people whose musical opinions I respect on Twitter had a lot to say about the importance of his music to their lives. As a result, I've been listening to, and enjoying, their final album and the first in nine years, The Highest in the Land. The album is full of wonderful tunes and there’s a block of gorgeous ones in the middle of the album: “Sea Madness,” “Don’t Give Up,” “Amalfi Coast May 1963.” It has certainly given me a good reason to take a deep dive into the band’s back catalog (founded in 1982 they had an 11- album run in the first 13 years of their career). Favorite track: “Never Give Up”

The Vague Ideas, New York Letters (Trouserphonic)

New York Letters is set during the period John Lennon lived in New York between 1971 and 1980 and this unique idea is the result of a collaboration between US-based musician and writer Mare Rozzelle and UK-based songwriter and musician Glenn Prangnell. The songs take the form of letters and messages both to and from Lennon. “Bread and Jam (Letter to Julian)” fittingly recalls Double Fantasy’s “I’m Losing You” as John writing to his young son and the amazing “Revolution 9”- inspired “Prelude to the Lost Weekend” is Prangnell’s look at Lennon’s state-of-mind as he leaves Yoko. The last two songs on the album are the saddest as well as the most beautiful. “When You Turn Five (Lullaby for Sean)” is the future that neither of them will see together. And “No More Crying (Message to Paul)” is a love song to McCartney; it’s his version of “Here Today” and even begins with the same chord.  Favorite track: “No MoreCrying (Message to Paul)”

Armstrong, Happy Graffiti (The Beautiful Music/Country Mile Records)

With the release of his radiant third album Happy Graffiti Armstrong (Julian Pitt) has made it clear, with his trademark DIY use of vocals, acoustic guitars, and synths, he doesn’t sound like anyone else because he has a sound all his own. One of the themes in Armstrong’s work is the idea of walking with a friend or partner and having a conversation to work out problems. In terms of musical themes “Keep on Walking,” for example, is one of Happy Graffiti’s songs in which upbeat arrangements bump up against melancholy lyrics. “Eyes Open Wide” and “In a Memory,” however, are straight-up gorgeous sad songs. Favorite track: “Songbird”

Caleb Nicols, Ramon (Kill Rock Stars)

Ramon is not only the album’s title but also the last name Paul McCartney took when The Beatles had their first real gig in 1960 as the backing band for Johnny Gentle on a tour of Scotland. On “Ramon,” Nichols borrows the line “Ram on, give your heart to somebody soon” from McCartney’s RAM. Nichol’s take is just as lovely and melancholy. The centerpiece of the album is the relationship between Mr. Mustard and Captain Custard. “Mustard’s Blues” recalls McCartney’s “Let Me Roll It” and the neatly six-minute “From a Hole in the Road” (or is it a hole in the heart?) with its repeated line “I’ve been dreaming you” and then “I still dream of you” becomes a mantra. The final song on Ramon (and my new favorite Christmas song) is “I Fell in Love on Xmas Day.” Favorite track: “Ramon”

Crossword Smiles, Pressed & Ironed (Big Stir Records)

Ringing guitars, short sharp bass lines, wonderful close harmonies, and tunes a-plenty, that’s what you get on Pressed & Ironed, the debut album from Crossword Smiles. The band is a brand-new collaboration between Detroit, Michigan, pop stalwarts Tom Curless (guitar, drums, and vocals) of Your Gracious Host and solo efforts and Chip Saam (bass and vocals) of The Hangabouts as well Curless’s backing band The 46% (and Neighborhood Weekly Radio’s Indie Pop Takeout).  Inspired by the sound of 80’s and 90’s college radio, Curless and Saam dip into their musical grab bags to create songs that both reflect and build on what they’ve grown up listening to. Favorite track: “Feet on the Ground”

This crossword is no puzzle

 By Henry Lipput

Ringing guitars, short sharp bass lines, wonderful close harmonies, and tunes a-plenty, that’s what you get on Pressed & Ironed, the debut album from Crossword Smiles (Big Stir Records).

The band is a brand-new collaboration between Detroit, Michigan, pop stalwarts Tom Curless (guitar, drums, and vocals) of Your Gracious Host and solo efforts and Chip Saam (bass and vocals) of The Hangabouts as well Curless’s backing band The 46% (and Neighborhood Weekly Radio’s Indie Pop Takeout).  Inspired by the sound of 80’s and 90’s college radio, Curless and Saam dip into their musical grab bags to create songs that both reflect and build on what they’ve grown up listening to.

“Feet on the Ground” is the blast that begins the album. It’s the sound of Big Star if Chris Bell was still in the band for the Radio City sessions (Pressed & Iron’s “Take It on the Chin” is the corresponding Alex Chilton track). Another nod to their influences is highlighted in “This Little Town.” With its Amanda Brown-sounding violin and Robert Forster-like rhythmic guitar jabs, it’s like the late, great Go-Betweens take on Simon & Garfunkel’s “My Little Town.” And what can I say about the sad and beautiful “October Leaves?” It’s a song about broken hearts that might break yours as well.

The album’s first single, “Parallel Lines,” is infused with that college radio vibe and the video would have been a staple on MTV’s 120 Minutes. The second single, “The Girl with a Penchant for Yellow,” is kicked off with an A Hard Day’s Night guitar crash and a dreamy musical phrase. It’s about a woman who wants to be noticed and packs her suitcase as if she’s leaving home; but she’s in a world of her own as she has her “ears on tight.” There’s also a man on the move with “his briefcase packed and ready to pick a fight” with the girl.

Although there’s no resolution, what is clear is the song brings along Saam’s bandmates from The Hangabouts, Greg Addington and John Lowry. Even cooler is, following the release of Pressed & Ironed, it was announced that Curless would be joining The Hangabouts and the band was working on new material for a forthcoming album. Curless and Saam will be joined by Addington and Lowry at a Record Release Party for Pressed & Ironed on January 6^th at Trinity House (opening the show is Pure Pop fav Chris Richards of The Legal Matters and Chris Richards and the Subtractions)! You can get tickets here.

“Second Guesser” is a delight with some fine backing vocals (something you might have heard on a Beatles record; are they referencing “Girl” in the middle eight?) and excellent lead guitar work. Like “The Girl with a Penchant for Yellow,” but more fleshed out, it’s a story song. It’s left up to the listener as to whether these two become Terry and Julie or they never meet up because they think too much about it.