#acl 2025

Tired of hearing the same old Christmas songs from the same artists?  So are we.  Holiday offerings from Laura Cannell, Dave Clarkson, The Antiquarian and The Second Hand Orchestra, along with unique new compilations from Subexotic Records, Room in Heaven and Passed Recordings, guarantee that your Christmas Eve and Christmas Day festivities will have an original score. These new releases have…

This year’s top album was a revelation: one of the humblest records we’ve ever covered drew acclaim from our entire staff.  In a year of tumult, it comes as no surprise that we would be drawn to the quiet and unassuming pleasures of an ordinary day. Our overall list also conveys a concern with the state of the world as it is.  Two albums capture the sounds of street protests in different nations.…

The last of our genre lists brings the guitars, the energy, the aggression, but also the sweetness, as some of these albums include moments of surprising tenderness.  Their dynamic contrast highlights their emotional impact.  Catharsis is a word often used to describe post-rock, and one will encounter that here; but our list also encompasses Welsh Primitive, jazz and the blues.  As in other lists…

Elegance is the key word to describe our Modern Composition slate, whose orchestral timbres speak simultaneously to mind and soul.  Whether scoring the weather, remembering atrocities or challenging existing regimes, this music calls its listeners to a higher state of mind. It’s difficult to pick a single highlight moment in this year’s slate, although two spring to mind: the real-life explosions…

A remarkable year for field recordings was led by forms of minutiae’s incredible Ice Series, from which three albums made our top ten (and a fourth was just outside at #11!).  The series highlights the fact that the genre isn’t solely about the sharing of sounds, but the preservation of sound and source.  Other recordings find different ways to highlight climate change and its effects on species…

Some of the year’s most unique releases appear here, including the sounds of Middle Eastern street protests, traditional Crimean song, diamond on disputed mud and a seminal field recording series.  Some of these artists record in perfect freedom and peace; others operate amid airstrikes and blackouts.  Despite their different timbres, they are united by their love for experimentation and their…

This year’s best drone albums do more than offer steady, immersive tones; they also tackle weighty issues and serve as the voices of the voiceless.  The topics include the erasing of history, the removal of human rights, the specter of totalitarianism and the denial of climate change.  By delving into ancestry, nature and spirituality, these albums express a deep dissatisfaction with the world,…

Today our exciting journey kicks into high gear, as the staff votes are tallied and we present the first of seven genre lists, leading up to this year’s overall top twenty! The ambient category is our most competitive, as we receive an average of five ambient albums every day, which is only the tip of the ambient iceberg!  To make this year-end chart, one really has to stand out, which seems…