Key Years: 2025

Key Spins' Year End Playlist

As part of our Key Years series we present The Current Year 2025. We had no trouble compiling a playlist of our favorite songs from this year, in fact, we had trouble culling it down to 60 songs.

We have also each selected our top 3 songs from this playlist.

Robert:
Gorillaz’s “The Happy Dictator” is a strong, upbeat, catchy, synth-pop tune with deceptive depth, blending ironic, dystopian political commentary with a hopeful, escapist vibe, reminiscent of Plastic Beach. This has been a breath of fresh air upon every listen and the collaboration with Sparks is absolutely brilliant!

“Is It Now?” from Automatic is their best album yet. The track “Black Box” begins the album’s “deviant pop” that effectively blends post-punk, synth-pop, and dance-punk elements - with infectious driving basslines and stellar drumming laying a solid foundation for experimental synths.

“Sexy Clown” from Marie Davidson’s “City of Clowns” highlights her sharp, satirical electronic music that blends dark, industrial dance beats with deadpan, often hilarious lyrics critiquing club culture, technology, and modern life. She is a significant voice in electronic music and her energetic live shows showcase her production skills and stage presence.

Gregory:
HAKU, the j-rock four piece from Osaka, released their single “それしか言えない” in September of this year. The title それしか言えない (Sore Shika Ienai) translates to “That’s all I can say” and the song expresses a feeling of being at a loss for words in a complex relationship or situation. The powerful build up and satisfying, even cathartic, climax of それしか言えない mixes 90s-style shoegaze melodic guitar effects with 2000s indie pop sensibility and perhaps even Emo revival. I just can’t stop listening to it.

Wet Leg’s moisturiser is the sound of the band growing up in public, on their own terms. They’ve traded some of the minimalist post-punk spikiness for a warmer, fuzzier, and more emotionally complex alt-rock sound heavily indebted to the music they have obviously listened to, in depth. “CPR” is its explosive calling card, but the album reveals a band with greater depth, range, and ambition than their first record suggested. It’s a confident and compelling sophomore effort and my pick for best album of the year.

Stereolab is the only band to have two songs on our playlist. The first, “Aerial Troubles,” is from Instant Holograms On Metal Film, released in May 2025 and the band's first new album in 15 years. The second, "Constant And Uniform Movement Unknown," is the B-side from the September 2025 single "Fed Up With Your Job / Constant And Uniform Movement Unknown." They often release singles outside of the confines of an album and then later put them on compilations. "Constant" reaches back to one of my favorite Stereolab albums, Dots and Loops, in style and musicianship. This alone landed it in my top 3 from our playlist.

UPDATE: We actually have another artist that made it on the list twice — Kerala Dust. Here is their video as a gold star.

How to listen to this playlist?

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The Songs

1. Heart of Gold - Fiona Apple, Heart of Gold: The Songs of Neil Young, Vol. 1 (2025-04-25)

2. Southern Life (What It Must Be Like) - Sharon Van Etten, Sharon Van Etten & The Attachment Theory (2025-02-07)

3. Shovel - Deep Sea Diver, Billboard Heart (2025-02-28)

4. Defense - Panda Bear, Sinister Grift (2025-02-28)

5. It’s a Mirror - Perfume Genius, It’s a Mirror (2025-01-15)

6. Last of the Sellouts - Escape-ism, Charge of the Love Brigade (2025-03-07)

7. Cut & Rewind - Say She She, Cut & Rewind (2025-06-17)

8. Spike Island - Pulp, More (2025-06-06)

9. Inept Apollo - Nation of Language, Inept Apollo (2025-05-15)

10. Run Free - Soulwax, All Systems Are Lying / Run Free (2025-07-09)

11. Aerial Troubles - Stereolab, Instant Holograms On Metal Film (2025-05-23)

12. Seesaw Part 1 - Edit - Crooked Man, Seesaw (2025-02-06)

13. Sugar - NoSo, Sugar (2025-05-19)

14. i used to live in england - supermodel*, i used to live in england (2025-06-20)

15. Sugar On My Tongue - Tyler, The Creator, DON’T TAP THE GLASS (2025-07-21)

16. MY TYPE - Sudan Archives, MY TYPE / YEA YEA YEA (2025-07-16)

17. それしか言えない - Haku., それしか言えない (2025-09-10)

18. Maisie - Kilynn Lunsford, Promiscuous Genes (2025-05-16)

19. Black Box - Automatic, Is It Now? (2025-09-26)

20. All That’s Solid Melts Into Air - Devon Church, All That’s Solid Melts Into Air (2025-09-29)

21. Blurry Moon - Edit - Charlotte Gainsbourg, Blurry Moon (2025-09-19)

22. Constant And Uniform Movement Unknown - Stereolab, Fed Up With Your Job / Constant And Uniform Movement Unknown (2025-09-12)

23. CEO of Personal & Pleasure - Guerilla Toss, You’re Weird Now (2025-09-12)

24. My Old Ways - Tame Impala, Deadbeat (2025-10-17)

25. Solid - Cut Copy, Moments (2025-09-05)

26. Sexy Clown - Marie Davidson, City Of Clowns (2025-02-28)

27. I Believe in You - Ladytron, I Believe in You (2025-09-04)

28. Blue Left Hand - Oracle Sisters, Divinations (2025-02-14)

29. CPR - Wet Leg, moisturizer (2025-07-11)

30. Stardust - Anna von Hausswolff, Stardust / The Whole Woman (2025-08-21)

31. Rifle - The Last Dinner Party, From The Pyre (2025-10-17)

32. UP - Danger Mouse;Black Thought;Rag’n’Bone Man, UP (2025-10-08)

33. You’re Gonna Win - Lady Wray, Cover Girl (2025-09-26)

34. The Happy Dictator (feat. Sparks) - Gorillaz;Sparks, The Happy Dictator (feat. Sparks) (2025-09-11)

35. Into Dust (Still Falling) - Four Tet, Into Dust (Still Falling) (2025-06-17)

36. Lose It Again - Hatchie, Lose It Again (2025-09-03)

37. The Picture - Computer, Station On The Hill (2025-10-10)

38. Change My Mind - Self Improvement, Change My Mind (2025-06-04)

39. Wet Washing - Pigeon Dog, Wet Washing (2025-01-14)

40. Electronic Heart - NIVEK FFORHS, Electronic Heart (2025-07-25)

41. Wake Up Superman - James, Sit Down (7” Rough Trade Version) (2025-11-07)

42. Breathe, Break it - Dark Chisme, Breathe, Break it (2025-06-22)

43. PIRATE RADIO - Genesis Owusu, PIRATE RADIO (2025-09-11)

44. UPWARDS - Ela Minus, DÍA (2025-01-17)

45. Love In The Underground - Kerala Dust, An Echo Of Love (2025-08-22)

46. Hit My Head All Day - Dry Cleaning, Hit My Head All Day (2025-09-29)

47. Tell Me - Factory Floor, Tell Me (2025-07-22)

48. Someone Else is Calling - Hercules & Love Affair;Hips & Lips, Someone Else Is Calling (2025-11-14)

49. Bang Bien - Nightmares On Wax;Yasiin Bey;Mos Def, Bang Bien (2025-09-10)

50. The Orb, TX - Kerala Dust, The Orb, TX (2025-06-20)

51. Can’t Hold Us [Feat. Mwanjé] - Sampa the Great;Mwanje, Can’t Hold Us [Feat. Mwanjé] (2025-11-14)

52. LOSE YOUR HEAD - Kelly Lee Owens, KELLY (2025-11-21)

53. The Arcade Claw King - AAA Gripper, The Arcade Claw King (2025-04-24)

54. Fragments - National Playboys, Fragments (2025-04-23)

55. SEEIN’ STARS - Turnstile, NEVER ENOUGH (2025-06-06)

56. White Horses - Wolf Alice, The Clearing (2025-08-22)

57. Operator - Eprom, Operator (2025-11-27)

58. Words - Big Thief, Double Infinity (2025-09-05)

59. Straight Line Was A Lie - The Beths, Straight Line Was A Lie (2025-08-29)

60. Somebody New - Tunde Adebimpe, Thee Black Boltz (2025-04-18)

60 songs, 3 hours and 57 minutes