As January already draws to a close, I’m still playing catch-up on last year. Here’s recommendations for 10 of the best 2025 projects that you may have missed. nofrillsreviews.com/2026/01/29/2...

2025 in Review: Hidden Gems

From electro ambience through to heavy noise-rock, via lo-fi underground rap; we recommend 10 of the best 2025 projects that you may have missed.

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The latest single from Merseyside’s @dreammachinehq.bsky.social sees them take on the wall of sound, with the bittersweet beauty of a 60’s girl group. Frontman, Zak McDonnell, tells us about his essential Phil Spector productions. Read here 👉 nofrillsreviews.com/2026/01/25/a...

Released OTD in 2024: Bruiser Wolf - My Story Got Stories A step forward from one of rap’s most unique voices. Revisit our review👇 🔗 nofrillsreviews.com/2024/01/23/a...

2025 in Review - Our top 50 albums, top 20 EPs, and most overrated picks. Plus 8 hours+ of the year’s best tunes selected in our Big 2025 playlist. 👇 nofrillsreviews.com/2026/01/02/2...

2025 in Review

Our top 50 albums, top 20 EPs, and most overrated picks. Plus 8 hours+ of the year’s best tunes selected in our Big 2025 playlist.

nofrillsreviews.com

No.26 in our top albums of 2025 was Let Me Out by hip-hop experimentalists Fatboi Sharif & Driveby. “A disconcerting but utterly compelling album” Read our full review 🔗 nofrillsreviews.com/2025/04/27/a...

No.34 in our albums of the year was the latest from The Walkmen frontman, Hamilton Leithauser. “An enjoyably ragged collection that compliments the untamed charm of one of this century’s great rock voices” Read our full review🔗 nofrillsreviews.com/2025/06/09/a...

Bon Iver’s latest album clocked in at no.24 in our top albums of 2025. SABLE, fABLE is both a paean to the transformative power of love, and a caution against such over-romanticised cliché. Read more in our full review👇 nofrillsreviews.com/2025/06/16/a...

Album Review: Bon Iver – SABLE, fABLE

Justin Vernon leans into the mythology of Bon Iver, while delivering his most straightforward songwriting yet on a trip through his darkest lows and brightest highs Justin Vernon’s latest had been …

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From breakout rap stars to the next big things in indie rock. Check out our top 20 EPs/short projects of 2025👇 nofrillsreviews.com/2025/12/05/2...

2025 in Review: Top 20 EPs

A countdown of our top 20 EPs of 2025.

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Surprised to see the latest Self Esteem album pop in a couple of EOY lists. Felt like a fairly obvious jumping the shark moment. Here was our take👇 nofrillsreviews.com/2025/04/29/a...

Album Review: Self Esteem – A Complicated Woman

There’s hints of pop greatnesss as Self Esteem makes her stadium-sized ambitions clear, but it slips into a caricature version of her best work. After the success of 2021’s Prioritise Pleasure, Reb…

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The big reunion of 2025 saw Oasis conveniently ignore their later catalogue. While unlikely to fuel the same nostalgia, there is the odd gem to uncover from that period. Revisit our look at a psychedelic oddity unlike anything else in their catalogue. 👇 nofrillsreviews.com/2025/07/31/t...

Track of the Day: Oasis – Falling Down (Amorphous Androgynous Remix)

As a Oasis fever grips the UK, our track of the day looks back at an oddity unlike anything else in their catalogue.

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One of 2025’s most slept on albums. Our no.3 for the year. Pale Black Negative by Rhys Langston. The genre-abolitionist delivers a boundary-blurring opus that is as accessible as it is inventive. Read our review to find out more: nofrillsreviews.com/2025/07/03/a...

Benjamin’s Booker’s LOWER was our top album of 2025. Revisit our review to find out why: nofrillsreviews.com/2025/04/04/a...

🎧 2025 gave us plenty of great music… and plenty of hype. Not all of it earned. 🔥 Time for some hot takes with our pick of 2025’s most overrated albums👇 nofrillsreviews.com/2025/11/30/2...

2025 in Review: The Most Overrated Albums

Kicking off list season, with our annual rundown of the year’s most overrated albums. Find out who made our unlucky thirteen.

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3 months too late, the vid for "Psychic Rhyming Like Kings Shining" feat. Andrew Mbaruk is out now no fake entelechy utilized in this handcrafted reel music movie: I frame-by-frame animated these lyric cut outs, and sorted through hours of archival footage to collage so youtu.be/OhzAxk3vm9c?...

Rhys Langston — Psychic Rhyming Like Kings Shining (feat. Andrew Mbaruk)

YouTube video by Rhys Langston

youtu.be

🎧Our Top 50 Albums of 2025🎧 Some obvious, some hidden gems. What did we miss? 👇

No Frills Reviews@nofrillsreviews.com · 10mo ago

No Frills Reviews Top 50 Albums of 2025 Out full top 50 countdown is up on the blog now. Check if your favourites made it and discover some hidden gems along the way. Read Here: nofrillsreviews.com/2025/12/21/2...

Hey, you gotta take your wins where you get them! HUGE thank you to @nofrillsreviews.com for putting MY VERSION OF DESIRE as their #32 best records of 2025. Big fan of their work and it’s truly humbling to be included amongst such great company. ❤️ nofrillsreviews.com/2025/12/21/2...

2025 in Review: Albums of the year (50-31)

Counting down our top 50 albums of 2025. Here’s our picks from 50-31.

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No Frills Reviews Top 50 Albums of 2025 Out full top 50 countdown is up on the blog now. Check if your favourites made it and discover some hidden gems along the way. Read Here: nofrillsreviews.com/2025/12/21/2...

Watched the new Chapelle special. Not funny BTW, but also absolutely all over the place ideologically. Like he so badly wants to be an “important” voice, but it’s so messy that it ends up completely lacking in substance.

The debut from enigmatic scouse rapper, EsDeeKid (not Timothée Chalamet) features in our top EPs of 2025. Full top 20 here: nofrillsreviews.com/2025/12/05/2...

Part 2 of our albums of the year is up now, with numbers 30-11. Featuring some familiar names and some hidden gems. Check it out👇 nofrillsreviews.com/2025/12/19/2...

2025 in Review: Albums of the year (30-11)

Part 2 of our top 50 albums of 2025. Counting down numbers 30 to 11.

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No Frills Reviews’ Albums of the Year I’m still fleshing out a top 50, but because I’m disorganised let’s do a count-up rather than the logical count-down. Our top 10 is up now on the link👇 nofrillsreviews.com/2025/12/16/2...

2025 in Review: Albums of the year (10-1)

Counting down No Frills Reviews’ pick of the top 10 albums of 2025.

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My ninth annual Xmas song is up on my bandcamp now faithfuljohannes.bandcamp.com/track/when-i... It's called When It Snows. It's got lots of seventh chords. Video soon. Streams on Friday. Gateshead xmas songs set on the 20th

When It Snows, by Faithful Johannes

track by Faithful Johannes

faithfuljohannes.bandcamp.com

Wrote a bit on our top EPs/short projects of 2025. From breakout rap stars to the next big things in indie rock. Check out the full top 20👇 nofrillsreviews.com/2025/12/05/2...

2025 in Review: Top 20 EPs

A countdown of our top 20 EPs of 2025.

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Already sick of the end-of-year list hype. We have an antidote with … another list. It’s our most overrated albums of 2025. Did your favourite make it? nofrillsreviews.com/2025/11/30/2...

2025 in Review: The Most Overrated Albums

Kicking off list season, with our annual rundown of the year’s most overrated albums. Find out who made our unlucky thirteen.

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Highly entertaining spin on the imminent end of year list

No Frills Reviews@nofrillsreviews.com · 11mo ago

Been out of action on the blog for a while, but making a return for list season. Throwing this one out early partly as a prediction piece. Here’s our most overrated albums of 2025. Don’t believe the hype. nofrillsreviews.com/2025/11/30/2...

Been out of action on the blog for a while, but making a return for list season. Throwing this one out early partly as a prediction piece. Here’s our most overrated albums of 2025. Don’t believe the hype. nofrillsreviews.com/2025/11/30/2...

2025 in Review: The Most Overrated Albums

Kicking off list season, with our annual rundown of the year’s most overrated albums. Find out who made our unlucky thirteen.

nofrillsreviews.com

As Oasis fever spreads to the US, revisit our look at a psychedelic oddity unlike anything else in their catalogue. 👇 nofrillsreviews.com/2025/07/31/t...

Track of the Day: Oasis – Falling Down (Amorphous Androgynous Remix)

As a Oasis fever grips the UK, our track of the day looks back at an oddity unlike anything else in their catalogue.

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🌙 Moonchild Sanelly’s Full Moon is bold, cheeky & heartfelt - amapiano grooves, body-positive bravado, and raw vulnerability shape her future ghetto funk. Full Review👇 nofrillsreviews.com/2025/06/02/a...

Album Review: Moonchild Sanelly – Full Moon

A review of the latest from South African star, Moonchild Sanelly. An album full of heart, humour, and horniness.

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This Side of the Island finds The Walkmen frontman, Hamilton Leithauser, at his most ragged & radiant - shrill yet soulful, playful yet profound. Imperfectly perfect. Full Review👇 nofrillsreviews.com/2025/06/09/a...

Album Review: Hamilton Leithauser – This Side of the Island

A review of the latest solo effort from The Walkmen frontman.

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Photocomfort’s Patron Saint is a gorgeous debut - blending vintage jazz vibes, glitchy twists & moments of indie-pop gold. Full review 👇 nofrillsreviews.com/2024/08/15/a...

Album Review: Photocomfort – Patron Saint

A review of the debut album from Boston-based indie-pop artist, Justine Bowe aka Photocomfort.

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