Elijah’s Top 5:

Goh-Ka, Sigh (Peaceville). One of the (maybe even the second) longest standing extreme metal bands from Japan, Sigh has pushed their musical boundaries since day one and never stopped. Their trademark layers of synthesizers and electronics clash delightfully against this release’s dense arrangements for a plethora of Japanese folk instruments, creating an extreme feudal-futurist sound that is all its own.

No One is Coming to Save Us, Burner (Church Road). Top-notch songwriting takes the lead on the sophomore album from the English death metal upstarts. A deft combination of hardcore punk brutality and death metal virtuosity, I promise this isn’t here just because the band ended their 2025 ArcTangent Festival set with a playback of the theme song from Wallace & Gromit.

Scour Order, Krallice (self-released). The all-stars of the New York City avant-metal scene continue to exemplify the lush textures and primal melodies of black metal music on their eighth full release of the decade thus far. The compositions here could easily be adapted for a chamber orchestra and be just as intensely moving, and maybe even should.

Solaris, The Ocean Collective (Pelagic). Post-metal institution The Ocean [Collective] are revitalized with an almost wholly new lineup, including eclectic performance artist Lane Oshi, drummer-on-the-move Jordi Farré, and guitarist Emmanuel Jessua of the criminally underrated band Hypno5e. The addition of several highly qualified songwriters/musicians and two vocalists, each with an incredible emotional range, elevates Solaris beyond its preceding releases, making for The Ocean’s most gripping release in 13 years and a standout from their 25+ years of material.

These Killing Times, Emma Ruth Rundle (Errant Child). This is huge music. Even when it’s quiet or soft, it is huge in emotion and power. Rundle’s first release on her own label, her fortes of acoustic music and crushing metal music are fused here as expertly as could possibly be. Any expectations set by her history of high-quality output are here met and soundly surpassed.

Adriane’s Top 5:

Chopping Mountain, Ibibio Sound Machine (Merge). London’s Ibibio Sound Machine continues a career-long streak of excellent music with Chopping Mountain. As always, they draw on Afrobeat, disco, and drum and bass in making compelling music; this, though, might be their most emotionally and aesthetically nuanced album to date, reflecting on unsolvable times while still celebrating life.

Cloch ‘s Claí, Trá Pháidín (World of Echo). Ever-shifting collective Trá Pháidín presents a flow of sound both cosmic and grounded on Cloch ‘s Claí, bringing together improvisation traditions from folk and jazz realms on massive prog rock scales. It’s an utterly engrossing work with a lot to say about the Gaeltacht.

OurHome, Rodrigo y Gabriela (ATO Records). Rodrigo Sánchez and Gabriela Quintero ponder the nature of mobility on their newest work, inspired by a lifetime of travels and encounters and largely written while living in Japan. Joining them are jazz piano virtuoso Hiromi, guitarist and composer Yukihiro Atsumi, and former Megadeth guitarist Marty Friedman, who add to the multitude of textures here. Another surprise: R&G’s first piece with lyrics!

The Gem, Julia Jacklin (4AD). I don’t spend a lot of time in the sprawling indie singer-songwriter sphere that seems so prominent today, but I’ll always hear out Julia Jacklin. The Gem is just as its title suggests, each song laced with a sincere pathos and emotional depth (and solid pop hooks) that makes this yet another standout in her catalog.

The Sky Was Out of Tune, Anushka Chkheidze and Robert Lippok (Morr Music). I’m such a fan of the ongoing collaboration between Tbilisi-based wunderkind-turned-Netherlands-based composer Anushka Chkheidze and Berlin-rooted sound artist Robert Lippok that I don’t have the time to tell you about it here, but I do have time to extol the brilliance of The Sky Was Out of Tune, the duo’s second album of space-conscious electronic sounds. Formatted as a continuous mix, it moves through fuzz and clarity alike with melodic agility and technical prowess. Midway through, Chkheidze’s gorgeous 2020 piece “Halfie” makes an appearance, which is an Easter egg for me specifically, thank you very much.