Ethel Cain: Perverts

Drone, Dark Ambient

Beautiful in its simultaneous complexity of sound and simplicity of sentiment, Perverts vacillates between a confined darkness and a sort of bleak openness, all while barely speaking above a whisper. Ostensibly a departure from the singer-songwriter foundations of the era of Preacher’s Daughter, Cain’s newest project also represents a deeper exploration of the darkness that permeates even her more pop-oriented tracks. While Americana is embodied in sweeping plains, it is also in the haunted corners of the places we have abandoned, in the dark alleys and dank cellars of the American South.

Asian Glow: 1110011

Noise Pop, Indietronica, Shoegaze

The fifth album from Korean standout Asian Glow puts the listener on a collision course, soaring over noise-rock oriented guitar and drum patterns with introspective lyrics. The project’s diverse sonic textures intermesh to create a distinct and purposeful atmosphere, harnessing the typical meanderings of shoegaze into a simultaneously heavy and free-floating listening experience.

Mac Miller: Balloonerism

Jazz Rap, Abstract Hip Hop

Balloonerism, the seventh studio and second posthumous album from Mac Miller, is a cohesive and heart-wrenching project that explores the duality of childhood naivety and its inevitable loss of innocence. A brilliant addition to Miller’s artistic body of work, Balloonerism, in the manner it confronts these vital questions, offers a beautiful microcosm of the emotional and artistic transformations that Miller underwent throughout his heart-breakingly short life.

TULPA: Plum Pinball

Noise Rock, Post-Hardcore

TULPA, the experimental rock project fronted by Jacob Gustafson, comes out heavy on their fourth album, “Plum Pinball”. A series of mind-numbing oscillations between genres, its post-rock leanings are present in full force as Gustafson grunts and wails over banging guitar riffs. Possibly one of the most boundary-pushing projects of the past few months, Plum Pinball is interminable, earning every second of its 63 minute run-time.

Pink Siifu: BLACK’!ANTIQUE

Experimental Hip Hop, Jazz Rap

As much as BLACK’!ANTIQUE returns heavily to Pink Siifu’s standard fare, its expansiveness and ambition extends far beyond anything in his discography to date. Combining his overarchingly mellow tone with some of the more ramped-up production seen on his past projects, BLACK’!ANTIQUE is both a familiar presence and a new, intentional direction for the Cincinnati native.

Lambrini Girls: Who Let the Dogs Out

Garage Punk, Riot Grrrl

As infectious as it is aggressive, the debut album from the Brighton punk duo of Phoebe Lunny and Lilly Macieira is blisteringly paced, touching topics as diverse as queer trivialization and workplace harassment at breakneck speed. While it never lets go of its roots in traditional punk music, Who Let the Dogs Out provides something exceedingly fresh in its unbridled musical force.

Rose Gray: Louder, Please

Dance-Pop, House, Electropop

Louder, Please, the stunning debut from rising star Rose Gray, pushes the tempo and the volume, spinning catchy dance tunes over a 41-minute run-time. From love ballads to bouncing night-life tracks, this project truly has all of what you can hope for in an artist’s first thrust into the limelight.

Blue Lake: Weft

Ambient Americana, Chamber Folk

The fifth album from visual artist, multi-instrumentalist, and instrument-builder Jason Dungan, Weft represents the most advanced and exploratory project in his discography. Through beautiful and spacious string arrangements, Dungan experiments with sounds that, in many cases, come from instruments crafted by his own hands, bringing a layer of personal resonance that elevates even the most minute sound present on the album.

PATRIARKH: Prophet Ilja

Atmospheric Black Metal

A project of absolutely epic proportions, Patriarkh’s second album under that name tells the story of Eliasz Klimowicz, an illiterate peasant who, in the early 20th century, became the leader of the Polish Orthodox Grzybowska Sect. Incorporating the haunting melancholy of Orthodox hymns and chants, the album sets Eastern European instrumentation in harmony and conflict with the vast spacial forms customary to the genre as a whole.

Ghais Geuvara: Goyard Ibn Said

East Coast Hip Hop

The first studio album from the high-energy, politically-charged rapper Ghais Guevara, Goyard Ibn Said encapsulates all of the sharp wit and sonic edge that has populated his mixtapes and EPs. Featuring ELUCID and McKinley Dixon among others, 2025’s first entry into rap’s most interesting and dynamic niche is a promising foothold for a rising star.

Top 10 Albums: January 2025