Musicwhore.org Music and memory

Clipse, Let God Sort ‘Em Out

I’m not going to dissect what brought me back to this album again and again. I just don’t have the vocabulary to analyze hip-hop the way I do with rock or classical music. But I know there was an emotional core to Let God Sort ‘Em Out that transcended the swagger intrinsic to hip-hop. Also, I just like hearing, “This is culturally inappropriate.”

Kendrick Lamar, GNX

Why is this album showing up on a 2025 list when it was released in late 2024? Because I had already locked up my 2024 list, and the physical release of the album happened in 2025. The bona fides of this album have already been well-established, and I have little to add to what’s already been said.

Amanda Shires, Nobody’s Girl

We heard both sides of the split between Amanda Shires and Jason Isbell this year, and as far as a listening experience is concerned, I throw my hat in with Shires. “The Details” is uncomfortably honest, and the determination that comes through these songs leaves an impression long after the album ends.

Tyler Childers, Snipe Hunter

I just love the range of subject matter Childers tackles on this album.

Parlando / Ian Niederhoffer, Censored Anthems

Dmitri Shostakovich is the marquee composer in this collection, but he takes the least amount of running time. Rather, the focus centers on Mieczyslaw Weinberg’s Concertino for Violin and Edvard Mirzoyan’s Symphony for Strings. Paired with Shostakvoich’s Adagio from Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk, Censored Anthems would make for a fine evening at the concert hall.

SYML, Nobody Lives Here

“The White Light of the Morning” is magical realism rendered in song, and it pretty much epitomizes the album’s ethos.

Turnstile, NEVER ENOUGH

Yeah, I’m still a sucker for a good new wave beat, but I wouldn’t call this hardcore.

Dijon, Baby

I don’t think my teen-aged self would believe you if you told him one day, R&B artists would sound skronkier and noiser than your favorite downtown New York jazz artist.

Kathleen Edwards, Billionaire

Jason Isbell and Gena Johnson produced this album, and Isbell contributes some beefy guitar solos. Edwards descends from a line of singer-songwriters originated by Lucinda Williams, and Johnson and Isbell coaxed out some of Edwards’ strongest writing and singing to date.

Henki Skidu, Spring Water

Henki Skidu is the alias of Henry Koperski, a frequent collaborator of Las Culturistas’ Matt Rogers. He takes on the mic on this set of rustic folk-pop tunes. Like GNX, it was release a week before the end of 2024, so it was just easier to put this album on the 2025 list.

Honorable Mention

• Miguel, CAOS
• Ringdown, Lady on a Bike
• Patty Griffin, Crown of Roses
• Meredith Monk, Cellular Songs
• Nation of Language, Dance Called Memory
• Gesse, Getting Killed
• Rosalía, LUX
• Black Country, New Road, Forever Howlong

Tags: amanda shires, black country new road, clipse, favorite edition, geese, haim, henki skidu, ian niederhoffer, kathleen edwards, kendrick lamar, meredith monk, miguel, nation of language, parlando, patty griffin, ringdown, rosalia, syml, turnstile, tyler childers