It’s been a great year for Other People’s Music. It was the feature’s first full calendar year (it officially started in April 2024) as a proper blog and newsletter after doing a limited version of something similar on social media for years. I covered 250 releases – 5 a week for 50 weeks! Mostly albums and EPs, with a few dozen individual tracks/singles mixed in – I probably listened to more than 1000 pieces of new music this year – maybe closer to 2000-2500!
And as a whole? That music has been incredible. Passionately conceived, well made and genuinely interesting stuff, across every genre and style. I truly believe we are living in an unsung golden age of independent music, and as a regular reader of Other People’s Music, you get a friendly guide to dipping into the endless stream of excellent indie music out there. Thank you for reading, and I hope you’ve found something to love in my coverage this year.
As for me? I find great stuff all the time, but I admit I don’t get to spend a lot of time with it. The demands of doing this every week, and the desire to occasionally listen to some music that wasn’t submitted to me for coverage – whether that’s more mainstream but still “indie” music on satellite radio, a dance music mix or streaming radio show, or even some old favorites – pretty much guarantee that even things I really appreciate while reviewing don’t get many repeat plays.
Still, some things do. It’s not even always because I am super in love with the music! Sometimes I am drawn back in by some weird concept, or because the album is perplexing in some way, or because they’re doing something sonically or musically that I want to learn to do. I thought as a wrap up this year, I would share a few of the things I found myself returning to, with maybe an additional thought about it (and a link to the OG review, of course). These aren’t “the best” and they’re not even my favorites (a seemingly straightforward concept that gets increasingly weird and useless the more you drill down) necessarily – they are just things that stuck with me and saw me returning from time to time. I do think they are all excellent in their own way, for what that is worth, but that describes a good 90% of what I cover!
Enough ado, here’s my list of things I returned to in 2025. Click the title/artist name at top to go to the original review.
DigitalDruid – “Stoner’s Delite”
My initial take: “A slinky and exotic sounding guitar-led instrumental that would sound right at home playing in a smoky tent somewhere in a moonlit desert.”
Why I kept coming back: I LOVE the sound and vibe of this and desperately want to capture something similar in my own music.
Walrus Promenade – Immune to Consequences
My initial take: A delightfully bizarre tribute (?) album to an even more bizarre videogame called Blaseball that delivers the love in varying shades of weird indie pop.
Why I kept coming back: Amazing concept, great pop hooks that stay weird and sheer originality. This is almost certainly the only blaseball-themed indie pop album you will EVER hear.
Satiricus Doomicus Americus – Satiricus Doomicus Americus
My initial take: A fascinating and surprising mix of fuzzed-out guitar riffs, unusual samples, oddball vocals and doomy folk.
Why I kept coming back: Punk and folk are not things I listen to much; same with overtly political songs. But somehow this wormed its way into my brain with some shockingly catchy hooks and a vague resemblance to my favorite Thermals album.
My initial take: Smart and sophisticated synth-driven art pop with a deep appreciation and understanding of the genre’s rich history.
Why I kept coming back: A deeply personal and unique aesthetic that encompasses a bunch of my art rock and art pop favorites! Every time I listened I found another potential influence or point of comparison, and they were all fucking cool as hell.
My initial take: A joyful collection of industrial and techno adjacent modular-synth-based compositions, plus an ambient closer.
Why I kept coming back: This one just felt good! Industrial tinted techno that’s joyful instead of harsh was something I didn’t know I needed until I had it.
Bleak Magician – How the Disappearance Appeared to Us
My initial take: Smart and imaginative post-punk noise rock with lo-fi sci-fi production and gothic sensibilities.
Why I kept coming back: The wild concept, eye-searing graphic design, weird influences and weirder results just pushed a lot of buttons that don’t get pushed for me very often. In terms of sheer number of times I listened, this was my top OPM album of the year (not an aesthetic judgment or ranking, just a statement of fact).
My initial take: A truly unique collaboration between a tap dancer and a computer musician to create fascinating soundscapes and abstract electronic improvisations.
Why I kept coming back: Well, I love unique music and “tap dancer + computer musician make crazy experimental electronica” is definitely unique! It doesn’t hurt at all that the results are fascinating and rewarding, either. I think pretty much everyone that checked this out was impressed (rightfully so) and mentioned it to me. I got more feedback on this than anything else I covered all year.
That’s enough for this one! Honestly, I’d love to know which Other People’s Music albums/singles YOU kept returning to in 2025, and why! Leave a comment if you have any you’d like to share. And hey, maybe spend some time next week, when there won’t be any OPM post at all, to browse the archives and see if you missed anything cool (you definitely did, unless you read every week and listen to every entry). Otherwise, see y’all in 2026 with lots more Other People’s Music!
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Thank you for sharing such a thorough and passionate look back—your dedication to discovering and highlighting independent music truly brings these hidden gems to life. Here’s to another year of great finds and inspiring listening!