Musicwhore.org Music and memory

SYML, Nobody Lives Here

If I were honest, I don’t think Nobody Lives Here is as cohesive as the albums preceding it, but the first half of 2025 was scant on albums that provided a dopamine hit on each listen. And I fully expect the album to have a spot on the year-end list, if not on the strength of “White Light of the Morning” alone.

Parlando / Ian Niederhoffer, Censored Anthems

Mieczyslaw Weinberg and Edvard Mirzoyan take up most of the playing time on this album of composers working under the Soviet regime. Dmitri Shostakovich is on there too with an overture. These works are hidden gems that deserve programming by more orchestras.

Kendrick Lamar, GNX

My flimsy excuse for including a late-2024 album on a mid-2025 overview is the fact the physical release of the album didn’t happen till February. So I didn’t really start living with this album till I could make my own rip of the CD. I needn’t tell you how good this album is at this point.

Henki Skidu, Spring Water

A collaborator with comedian Matt Rogers, Henry Koperski goes in an indie-folk direction as Henki Skidu, and Spring Water offers a set of earnest songs that hint at a more ambitious orchestral sound lurking beneath. I also like album cover.

Cynthia Erivo, I Forgive You

I’m never going to finish watching Wicked because the score is just not appropriate to the darkness of the story. I Forgive You is a better showcase for Cynthia Erivo’s vocal skills anyway. But are there longer versions of the covers she hints at on the album?

Reissues

Robert Palmer, Live at the Apollo

This live show recorded in 1988 features Palmer at the height of his fame, but it also serves as a retrospective of his varied career, which included funk and new wave. Even the big hits of the era don’t feel out of place.

U2, How to Re-Assemble an Atomic Bomb

This alternate version of How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb was released as part of a massive boxed set, then separately as a Record Store Day Black Friday exclusive in 2024. I’m almost inclined to say it’s a better album than the one the band would eventually release.

Steve Reich, Collected Works

Nonesuch reached out to other labels to gather the most comprehensive collection of Steve Reich’s recorded works to date.

Catalog

Little Anthony and the Imperials, Goin’ Out of My Mind

If you grew up on Linda Ronstadt’s version of “Hurt So Bad,” you should give the original by Little Anthony and the Imperials a chance. Then listen to this album in its entirety.

These Trails, These Trails

This album serves as a blueprint for how experimental music can work within the context of Hawaiian music. Hawaiian music tend to play it safe when infusing Hawaiian music with other genres.

DO AS INFINITY, EIGHT

I liked this album when it was first release, but I never bought a physical copy. Hearing it again made me realize it needs a permanent spot in my collection.

Tags: cynthia erivo, do as infinity, henki skidu, ian niederhoffer, kendrick lamar, little anthony and the imperials, parlando, picks, purchase log, robert palmer, steve reich, syml, these trails, u2