I just published a post about my cover version of 2025 and it became very obvious that if I wanted to do a post for each subsection of my highlights I should have started weeks ago. So this is the quick version…

My favourite songs that reminded me of something else
A weird highlight but there are a couple of them this year that I enjoyed.

Mr Fantasy is 2025’s Chevy Mustang for me. Person famous for something has some sort of episode and invents a character to let them make music independent of whatever baggage they have. Swap KJ Apa’s Riverdale for Max Collins’ Eve 6 and Mr Fantasy’s British backstory for Chevy Mustang’s Euro Californian life coach aesthetic.

I feel like 2025’s Uno II by Viagra Boys should be on the 2010 album Forget by Twin Shadow but I’m not fully sure of myself there. It feels correct but also very wrong, like two opposite vibes that have run into each other in the dark.

Catalonia Dreams by The Terrys is 2025’s Closing Time by Semisonic. Bonus points for “My best friend’s mum got me hooked on cocaine” as one of my favourite lyrics of the year.

Speaking of which…

My favourite lyric of 2025 was:
“I’m dancing with a phantom
Oh my god, you’re very handsome”
From Milky Chance’s Passion. More bonus points to dish out here, because I thought Milky Chance was one Australian man, first name Milky, second name Chance, but instead they are a couple of German men. On reflection these might be points deducted because if it’s not one person’s name and instead a description of a chance that is milky in quality, that sounds awful. In any case. I like the lyrics because they’re nonsense and they make me happy.

My favourite piece of musical commentary of 2025 was from my wife, Shóna, who feels that Tame Impala’s Dracula is the best Halloween song since the Monster Mash, which, she insists, slaps.

My favourite song from 2025 that I’m not allowed listen to in the house anymore was JJ Bull’s Willie Miller is God. A demented earworm about 1980s football which almost ended my marriage because I love it so much.

My favourite live performance of 2025 was Parcels’ appearance on Tiny Desk. Very fun. Pure love of the game from these guys. I enjoy that the drummer isn’t allowed do harmonies.

My favourite bands that I heard for the first time in 2025 were
The Destruction of the Cult of the Sun – a band who made me really appreciate good head phones this year. Very full and atmospheric sounds. Very funky and danceable.
Balu Brigada – a band who Spotify kept suggesting and I kept liking every song that came along.

My favourite return of 2025 was Falqo who put out Feel Your Love 10. Feel Your Love came out in 2014 and is one of my favourite songs of all time. It’s been a few years since he’s put anything out so it was very nice to get some new tracks this year.

Look that’s it. All a bit thrown together but there are some important thoughts that I needed to get written down. I’ve got a playlist of my highlights of the year. It’s on Spotify – I know Spotify is evil, that’s a job for 2026. See you next year, or maybe not who knows