With 2025 concluding the WUVT staff heads reflected and shared their thoughts on their favorite albums of the past year. From indie breakouts to Superbowl Halftime show headliners, we listened to it all! Click read more to see what our staff's picks.
FMPD Naiel Habtemichael's Favorite Album of 2025 Freddie Gibbs - Alfredo II
Label: ESGN Records Genre: Hip-Hop, Rap Naiel's Review: The thing that I love about Freddie Gibb's is that he can write songs that seem to have great surface-level spectacle to them. They sound like songs about trapping, robbing, doing/selling coke, and on some level they are. But, so many of his songs also have this layer of subtext to them about hip hop, masculinity, drug abuse, and growing up in poverty. I don't know if people realize how deeply bleak some of his songs are, but maybe that's the beauty of it. It's like this album is encased in resin, while you, the listener, watch it delicately spin in a museum display. As the light refracts off its shining case, you can finally see the intricate web that lies inside of it. "Cowards die a thousand deaths, nigga, I got a thousand lives".
Word on the street there's new music. I checked the words on those streets and they were right. Check out what's been added to the stacks!
Wednesday - Bleeds
Label: Dead Oceans Genre: Shoe Gaze, Alt-Country Reviewed by: Milo Craun
Bleeds effortlessly blends noisy shoegaze guitars with country twang. Seriously, there are killer pedal and lap steel parts throughout! Each track has a different mix of influences, but they all sound like Wednesday, in large part due to Karly Hartzman's vocals. The band has worked hard to build and refine their sound over the years, and it shows in this album. Stop reading and listen! Only then will you understand...
You know what rhymes with New Music!!! I'm not really sure, but I encourage you to try. Take a look at what's recently been added to the stacks.
Geese - Getting Killed
Label: Partisan Genre: Alt Rock Reviewed by: Hanya Hudgens
A masterful display of genre bending post punk wizardy with elements of free jazz and thought provoking lyrics. there are influences everywhere - from Tom Waits and Radiohead (most obvious) to Nick Cave, Van Morrison, Talking Heads, even Television and The Smiths occasionally... true genre-bending stuff.
New Music is making its triumphant return and there's no telling what will happen!!! See what's in the station's rotation as of late!
Blood Orange - Essex Honey
Label: RCA/Domino Genre: Atmospheric Alt-Pop Reviewed by: Hayden Swenson
Downtempo pop drawing influence from R&B and the smoother, jazzier side of 80s pop. Ethereal production and stripped-back instrumentation give the album a nocturnal, dream-like atmosphere. Many tracks feature at least one guest artist, including some big names like Lorde and Caroline Polachek. There is a nice diversity to the sound here; Track 4 features a DnB beat and 11 borders on Sarah Records-style jangle pop. Play this when you need to cool things down a little.
No time for pleasantries, New Music is here. Let's get this show on the road!
The Shootouts - Switchback
Label: TransOceanic Genre: Indie Alt Country Reviewed by: Len Comaratta
With previous albums strongly influenced by honky-tonk and Western swing or the Bakersfield Sound and roots rock, their latest claims its inspiration from their home of Akron, OH and the Rust Belt. The progression in sound is natural; it isn’t forced or contrived, but there is an intention behind incorporating taut arrangements and well-defined hooks. Something about Ryan Humbert’s voice and some of the vibe throughout kept me thinking of this album as a somewhat laid-back, slower, alt-country version of The Thermals.
