Y’know what? We did this to ourselves. We’re not complaining at all. It’s just when we’re hours upon hours into this thing then we wanna know who exactly is to blame. And it’s us! But let’s backtrack for a sec, okay? We expanded our year end list a few years ago because we wanted to shine more light on local artists who might get swallowed up/overlooked if we just did one big list for a given year. Since we typically have WAY more artists than we should reasonably fit in a single end-of-the-year wrap-up, we took an informal poll this year about having more structure per usual and keeping the local side of things manageable or just go nuts and basically recap what we’ve reviewed this year. Guess what was the winner? So now we have this massive thing that you’re (hopefully) about to dive into which encapsulates just about everything local that RNRF covered plus quite a few others that have been on our “To do” list but didn’t get properly covered for one reason or another. We might go back to the regular way next year but we’ll see how you like this first. Deal?
Anyway! That brings us to a whopping 86 artists (Listed alphabetically by the first letter in here, so a lot of “The” titles to peruse) on here and a playlist at the end that amounts to almost 5 hours of music carefully curated to flow in a way that we think makes sense (Or you could just shuffle it if you’d like?) Buyer beware! There’s loud stuff followed by soft stuff. Metal into Americana. Noise into Nursery Rhymes. What we’re trying to say is, it’s diverse! Also, different from previous years is the fact that we’re not putting hyper links in the headers (We will in the National list, though) because there’s a LOT on here (If you do want bigger write-up’s then go here). There are links in here, though, and the thing is broken up by Bandcamp streams and video treatments. There’s award acknowledgements and a general summary of a given artists year. If we legitimately screwed up some info regarding someone who played on something or didn’t play on something or anything along those lines then let us know and we’ll gladly fix it/credit the proper party. That said, the rest of it is what it is and we hope you appreciate this celebration of 2025
Thanks in advance for reading! Congrats on getting through 2025, good luck getting through the Encyclopedia Britannica on local lists and see you at the end!
A Year In Black & White-PERCATORY: Welp, guess we’re starting off this list with one of the heaviest things possible??? Sorry??? Anywho, We went down an Alyce Smith rabbit hole late this year and seeing as how most of Smith’s releases dropped around the same time it’s no surprise they made such an impact. This one features Smith and Sam Haley Macaris on vocals, Stefan J Iglesias and Andrea Russi on vocals/guitar and Caleb Pels on bass/vocals. If you ever thought Boston didn’t have representation in the Grindcore/Deathcore realm then you obviously haven’t been listening to A Year In Black & White!
Adios Fatso”WTF”, “Gopro, Not Again!”: If you were looking for earworms in 2025, then Adios Fatso was most likely the outfit that had you covered with two new singles of pure Punk Pop joy with choruses that’d get stuck in our heads for days.
Alyce Smith-“30 ON ME”: We were very much considering making an “Alyce Smith section” somewhere in here with the amount of projects Smith is involved with that put out new material this year but decided to spread the love which brings us to blurb number two and the solo portion of her output and most recent single “30 ON ME” featuring dogxdays (Stefan Iglesias of Crippling Alcoholism, A Year In Black & White). You can also search out the Show You Why I Hate You and Alyce Smith EP’s that were released previously in 2025 which, in contrast to Smith’s heavier releases, focus on soundscapes and beats for an Indie/Ambient/Trip-Hop kind of feel.
ameokama-i will be clouds in the morning and rain in the evening: Unclear how we missed out on the glory that is ameokama until late in the year…but we did. The brainchild of Aki McCullough who also managed to drop some bars on the latest from Crippling Alcoholism (“Sweet Talk” on CAMGIRL) and remix Glacier (“distant violent” off More Distant/More Violent), ameokama released a banger of a record that’s like early Butthole Surfers or (the)melvins in terms of existential weirdness/Art Rawk put through an old school Industrial filter and mixed with Glaare. Check out the record below and definitely check out ameokama live as part of the newly signed to The Flenser Crippling Alcoholism who will be playing at 1st Church in Cambridge with Chainlacing, Deathless Forever and Tears From A Grieving Heart on January 31st (Deets here).
Apricity-The Tragedy Of Waking: As we’ve gone up in years we’ve somehow managed to let our tastes in the heavier side of things within the Metal realm get heavier and heavier which is probably why Napalm Death ended up being our top artist in 2025 according to Spotify. While the latest from Apricity is a different kind of Heavy than ND with elements of Grindcore and Black Metal woven into its’ fabric there’s no denying it’s definitely on a similar level as the legendary British outfit. There’s also no denying that if Alyce Smith is at the helm, the music created will probably make your ears bleed. In a good way.
Arrows Of Athena-“Abandoned Love”: It’s been a relatively quiet year for AOA but the duo of Jac-Lyn Gibson and Scott Lerner is gearing up for a return in a big way (Here’s our first “Stay tuned to our upcoming 2026 post” plug) next year with a new record on the way preceded by an effervescent first taste in the form of “Abandoned Love”.
Astral Bitch-“Seeds Of Hate/What Goes Around”: We’ve probably said this before but more Astral Bitch all the time, please and thank you! If you’re in need of just some wondrous, delightful sonic destruction that’s pitch perfect Alternative and modern Grunge then Astral Bitch is the band you need to know! And you can know them in person early in 2026 when they take the stage at O’Brien’s with The Collect Pond, Sailor Down and Joel Ronson on January 21st (With tickets already available here)!
bad//verb-s//t (Give Me A Peppermint Records): Boston’s bad//verb released one gnarly Punk-infused Grunge record in the year of our Lahd 2025. Fast and furious to start then lumbering and laborious. But noisy. And all in a good way.
Battlemode-“Game Over”: Let’s see there was the first ever Boston Bitdown Fest which was nominated for a “Music Festival Of The Year” Boston Music Award (Battlemode also got a “Dance/Electronic Artist Of The Year” nom, too) and is coming back in 2026, The Boston Calling gig, the “Hack The Planet” event celebrating the 30th Anniversary of Hackers and, oh yeah, lots of new music from Battlemode. We only covered “Game Over” over here but that doesn’t mean we didn’t love every bleep and boop that came out of the campions of chiptune!
blindspot-“Sleepwalker”, “Vienna”: blindspot bounced back in 2025 with not one, but TWO badass songs covering a nice range of what makes them great. Speaking of covering, first up the duo tackled Billy Joel’s “Vienna” with a more serene, subdued sense than what blindspot usually brings. But if you missed that Alternative bombast then new original “Sleepwalker” is a fitting follow-up to previous releases.
Bottom Surgery-Cold Summer: Oh look, it’s our 4th Alyce Smith-related project on here??? This one just dropped in time for the most recent Bandcamp Friday (Still a thing! Stay tuned for 8 new ones in 2026 starting in February) and we kept the pre-order tab open until it arrived. Cold Summer is a little more introspective but still just as noisy if you’re a fan of Smith’s work in something like Apricity or Coma Witch (More on the latter soon).
Cameron Keiber-Nurser (Midriff Records): Deeply personal and deeply inspiring just like a solo LP should be, the first release under Cameron Keiber was everything you’d want and more out of the prolific songwriter/multi-instrumentalist behind some of your favorite modern Alt anthems from The Beatings and, recently, Eldridge Rodriguez. And if you haven’t checked out Nurser yet but consider yourself a Keiber fan then what are ya waiting for???
Canyons and Locusts-The Goal Gigolo: Concept records! A kind of Alternative Americana and the sort of less glam, flip side of Eddie Japan’s last LP (2023’s Pop Fiction). Regardless, concept records when executed properly are great so when you have an artist as solid as Canyons and Locusts at the helm of one then the results are even greater.
Casket Rats-Rat City Rockers (Tee Pee Records): Holy jeebus does this record RIP! A modern take on the ’80’s Sunset Strip scene but made for a stadium, the down and dirty good ole Rawk and/or Roll made by Casket Rats in 2025 was heavenly! From the start of opener “Blood in the Water” straight through to the concluding chords of “Bad Times”, Rat City Rockers delivered memorable note after memorable note to awaiting earholes.
Chainlacing-Various Singles!: Another of the “We were looking for an excuse to cover but never had the timing right…” bands! Chainlacing rules, okay? Kind of a Boston/New Hampshire hybrid, Chainlacing is like Julee Cruise joining Shriekback then making their own version of Massive Attack’s 100th Window. Featuring Lauren Crosser (Also of Slow Quit, Veilhouse) and Rick Martel (Also of Tysk Tysk Task), and garnering a “New Artist Of The Year” nom from the Boston Music Awards, Chainlacing dropped a lot of new music in 2025 on their way to their debut full-length arriving on 2026 through These Hands Melt Records so get on board now! Also get on board so you can sing a long when Chainlacing come ’round with Crippling Alcoholism, Tears From A Grieving Heart and Deathless Forever to 1st Church in Cambridge on January 31st (Details on that here).
Cold Expectations-“Our Hearts Need Electricity” (The Sound Cove): Cold Expectations never fails to impress with the earworms the seemingly effortlessly create and “Our Hearts Need Electricity” is no different with an especially hypnotic chorus that’ll get stuck in your head long after the rumbling drums and gargantuan grooves close up for the night.
Coma Witch-The End Of Forgiveness: The thing we’re most impressed with regarding all these Alyce Smith projects is that, despite Smith being heavily involved with all, each has their own distinct sound. And CW is no different featuring a full on band with Stefan Iglesias (dogxdays, Crippling Alcoholism), Andrea Russi (A Year In Black & White) and Caleb Pels (A Year In Black & White, The Hate Campaign, Knives) with leanings in the Technical Death genre and reminding us of Cattle Decapitation just a tad. And if you dig what you hear, there are some SUPER cool vinyl editions up for purchase through Death By Decibels here.
Constellation Myths-The Cost Of Living: What a gorgeous album! That we didn’t cover! We did, however, review “Spare Room” earlier in the year and listened to the whole shebang it was a part of when that dropped in July experiencing the holy harmonious hum of modern Indie Alternative with strong Folk/Americana focus that emanated out of all the tracks involved.
Crippling Alcoholism-Camgirl (Portrayal Of Guilt): Basically we love this album so much that, against our better judgement or in the cleverest way possible, we were looking for an excuse to get more CA tunes on our wrap-up playlists. Even if it meant more writing. And this seemed like an easy way. The newly signed to The Flenser outfit also picked up two BMA noms (“Song Of The Year” for “bedrot” and “Rock Act Of The Year”) and you can catch CA live at the end of January at 1st Church in Cambridge (Check out the Chainlacing or ameokama blurbs for more on that) but before that, check out track #17 on the big playlist below to hear the kind of Dark Pop you’ll be in for.
Day-Glow Foxes-Modern Eschatology: We almost missed out on covering this Electro masterpiece out of Worcester that arrived in April but made it with time to spare! And if this huge sounding new record wasn’t enough already, Day-Glow Foxes also unleashed “Premonitions” in October which is just as glorious as anything on ME encompassing a sound that’s like a hybrid of Shiny Toy Guns and Jimmy Eat World!
Death Rattle-The Moral Chokehold (M-Theory Audio): If we had a Metal-centric list then Death Rattle’s latest would be found high up the rankings on there for sure. This beastly record is modern Metal at its’ finest with powerhouse vocalist Trey Holton bombastically barking while backed up by Ryan VanderWolk’s sleek shredding and Chris Morin and Justin Brown’s respective drum/bass rhythmic onslaught. The band already has quite a few dates lined up in the New Year and you can find out more on those here.
dogxdays-“I’ll go on without you”: Another Crippling Alcoholism-adjacent project. But also involved with A Year in Black & White and Coma Witch among others, Stefan Iglesias released his own batch of tracks throughout 2025 with the latest, “I’ll go on without you”, laying bare and beautiful in a way that reminds us at times of DIIV. For similarly exquisite sonic offerings, check out earlier 2025 releases “Denature” and “Only Bitter Things”.
Dwelley-Loons: From Chris Johnson, one fifth of the coolest Post-Black Metal outfit Deafheaven and one fourth of hometown Desert Rawk legends Summoner, comes Dwelley with a whole ‘nother side of the sonic spectrum and a sound that’s more likely to see the band sharing the stage with Marcy Playground or Weezer over Slayer.
Dyr Faser-Various!: Do we have that right? Dyr Faser released THREE albums in 2025??? There’s only so much we can tackle in a given year so we didn’t give proper words on screen to either Faraway Sound or Touching Embers but we started our year praising Falling Stereos. If you dug those words then you probably dug what came after and will surely like what’s coming beyond that from the Indie Alternative Rawk duo (Read: Stay tuned to our less wordy but still informative 2026 preview post coming soooooon).
Escape Durgin-Escape Durgin: Boy, Lowell really does have it going on. Every time we turn around it seems there’s another outfit creating some kind of wonderful, brilliant noise from The Mill City. And Escape Durgin is no exception. Of the Emo circa mid aughts variety, their newest record is filled with glowing guitar-driven anthems with emotive, memorable lyrics that’ll bounce around your headspace long after the album is over.
Falsely Accused-Unbroken: Guh! There was so much to love when FA’s Unbroken arrived following some killer 2024 singles which included “A Drink Before The War” and “Witches”. The rest of the EP is filled with a kind of new school premier Rawk that fans have grown to love since Falsely Accused started on the scene.
Frankie Eris-killher: A late find for us (Peeps! Our contact form is your friend!) but such an impactful one! killher is kinda Folk, kinda Alternative and kinda awesome from start to finish. If you ever wondered what it would sound like if Ani Difranco and Shannon Hoon made a record together, then this one’s for you!
Ghost On TV-Mister Silence: One of our most favorite singles of last year, “Daily Laws”, arrived again in 2025 collected with a bunch more new music from Ghost On TV to make one of our most favorite all around releases of the year. Expanding on that single, “Drained” up the Groove factor while “Turn It Back Around” played with funky time signatures as funkier bass lines kept the pace on a record that, for us, is the sound of what Soul Coughing might’ve sounded like had they never stopped making music together initially.
Girl With A Hawk-Singles! (Rum Bar Records): SO much to mention in the GWAH recorded corner of the world for 2025! We included latest single, the saccharine-infused “I’m In Love With My Friends”, below and in our pretty big playlist below (Track #3!) because we didn’t get the chance to properly cover the newest instant classic from Linda Viens and the gang but we did tackle the Taylor Hawkins-inspired “No One Like You” when that released early in the new year. Also out are 2 versions of the epic “It’s The Way” which dropped on Independence Day and was recorded out in California at Panoramic House Studio but still retains a New England flair.
Glacier-Distant/More Violent: Never mind the new music to talk about, Glacier celebrated their 2024 full-length A Distant, Violent Shudder with an album playthrough at this year’s post.festival, opened for Pelican over the summer in town as well and played China for the first time ever! They also received a fancy Boston Music Awards nomination and while they didn’t win in their category (It’s okay, Glacier, we didn’t win ours either) their new addition, guitarist Liz Walshak, won one for “Graphic Designer of the Year”. And yeah, a new EP dropped featuring remixes of tracks (Including one from list-mate ameokama!) originally appearing on that aforementioned LP as well as a previously unreleased jam recorded during the ADVS sessions. Also in the books already, an opening slot with Knoll when Agriculture comes through The Sinclair on February 12th and you can get advance tix for that one here.
GUT HEALTH-GREATEST HITS: If ever you have a chance to catch GUT HEALTH in the wild and on stage, GO! The recorded versions here are some of those rare occasions that seem to really capture the stage presence but we still feel that you NEED to experience a GUT HEALTH show live to get the full package. Still, the new year brought a proper EP/7″ release featuring last year’s “RUNAWAY HIGH” and “CONVERSATION LOST” along with newcomer “WISH”.
Happy Little Clouds-Embers (The Sound Cove): If we were ranking things then this latest release from Happy Little Clouds would rank pretty far up the list. There were just so many flavors to experience across Embers in terms of moods and genres flexed so whether it was the New Wave Synth-y sounds of “The Emperor’s Song” or the modern Grunge feels on “I Don’t Suppose” juxtaposed with Jac Mestel’s Blues-fueled vocal style here through to the rallying cry of “Clear & Present Danger”, we feel there’s something for every music fan from all walks of life on HLC’s latest.
Hunting Accidents-Gifts|Choices|Poisons: As a little sidebar to our playlist below, in our belated review of the new one from Hunting Accidents we described their sound as a collection of all “the best opening tracks/instrumental intros from all the greatest Rawk albums ever” so we just HAD to open our local soundtrack to 2025 with one of theirs (“Fear & Trembling)! Anyway, the rest of Gifts|Choices|Poisons is just as fantabulous.
iwishyoucameback-Various!: This is the sixth (!!!) project on here featuring Alyce Smith?!?! Well, technically 7th since Smith also plays on Crippling Alcoholism’s latest… but regardless, this particular outfit also features Nicholas Perry Coughenour and a decidedly “softer” approach (Kind of???) throughout an EP, a split and most recent release called 3 Covers (Below!) with proceeds going toward The Trevor Project.
Jennifer Tefft & The Strange-“Salt and the Sea”: Following 2024’s Strange Beginnings full-length, JT & TS played out and about regularly in 2025 and released their version of The Lumineers’ “Salt and the Sea” recently which has been a live favorite for some time. They were also nominated for “Rock Act of the Year” from the New England Music Awards and, speaking of our area, dropped some killer merch guaranteed to keep you cozy during the upcoming New England winter (Check it out here). And that’s all in addition to what’s already in the works for 2026… which you can read more about in our upcoming less wordy preview post of the new year.
Joshua David Thayer-So Little, Close To Nothing: The latest from Joshua David Thayer is the kind of album that we’ll use any excuse to talk up/shine a spotlight on but it really is just that good and contains just the right amount of everything you’d want from a solid record of any genre. The Bandcamp bio has a variety of genre suggestions but we like “Basement noise” the best since multi-instrumentalist Thayer (Who tackled everything on here beyond the drums/percussion performed by Jason Smith) has stated it was in fact crafted in his basement! But So Little… sounds so much bigger than that as Alterna-Rawk infused with The Beatles’ brand of Pop yields anthem after anthem.
Kier Byrnes & The Kettle Burners-Various!: Boston Music Awards’ “Americana Artist Of The Year” had so much to talk about in 2025 beyond the accolades (Also nominated in the same category and “Act Of The Year” from the New England Music Awards) with performances galore (Appearing at the recent BMA’s as well as at the New England Americana Fest over the summer) as well as new music including both the Dances By Firelight and Before the Fall releases.
Layzi- “adeline/everything i have“(Born Losers Records): Thank Viruette (Head below for their entry) for opening our ears to Layzi following the collaboration on their track “PUNKTURED” (And a Tears For Fears cover). On the Layzi front there was the dreamy “adeline” with Coolhand Jax paired with “everything i have” which glistened with an ethereal sheen while soaked in modern Pop as well as a live set during this year’s Boston Calling Festival (And nominated for “Pop Act of the Year” from NEMA and both “Video Of The Year” for the Viruette collab and “Pop Artist Of The Year” via the BMA’s).
Leila Lamb-“He Belongs To Me”: Art Rawk is alive and well in the Bay State! “He Belongs To Me” (Which we reviewed) was a gnarly Dark Electro mix of Patriarchy and K3YP4RTY while “American Spirit” (Which we did not cover) was wholly the opposite, focusing on a more ethereal singer/songwriter aesthetic on this slightly more subdued yet still stunning track.
literally/nobody-Candle: Ah yes, another perpetuator of the ever favorite earwom! “In reverse” is THAT JAM that when it comes on, an inevitable smile should be automatically be forming on your faces. It’s a timeless Alt Rawk anthem on a release that has so many already while others like “Bones” ventures into Old School New Wave territory in the vein of Devo to give the record layers upon layers to explore and enjoy.
Little Billy Lost-“Tonight”: What a throwback anthem! That kind of song where you close your eyes and just picture the members with backs to each other screaming the chorus while soloing wildly. Featuring Smitt E. Smitty of, you guessed it, Smitt E. Smitty & The Fezztones behind the kit gave Little Billy Lost a solid backbone to serve up an even more solid stadium-ready ditty.
Looking Glass War-Saints of the Lost and Found: Woot! LGW had some BANGERS in 2025… or a collection of (mostly) released BANGERS. Goddamn Glenn could be recorded reciting the phone book and we feel that we’d still be enthralled as the showman constantly oozes charisma even in recorded version. But anyway, the songs! “New” track “Seance by the RCA” holds up nicely alongside the rest of the new EP which features one of our all time favorite Looking Glass War tracks, “Adamantine Chain Gang”.
Lovina Falls-Would That It Were: If we were quicker this would’ve been up in time to promote the Boston Emissions toy drive/show with Count Zero that just happened but holy hell is this list turning out to be an undertaking! But you did read that header right, Lovina Falls had a new collection of music out in 2025 and it continued to explore textures of what Lovina Falls is all about with some tracks headed back to the past and singer/songwriter Valerie Forgione’s history with legendary Boston outfit Mistle Thrush while others invoked the spirit of Baroque Pop which was the foundation of LF to start.
Luxury Deathtrap-Singles!: LD was back with some transcendent modern Indie Alternative with “By A Thread” bringing Sunny Day Real Estate to mind while “Chariot Race” offered a tonal shift on a Grunge-inspired slow burn all of which was preceded by two versions of the “Spinning Our Wheels” with the standard version and Alex Allinson Mix offering different sides to the driving Rawk track.
Mission To Sleep-A Spark Or The End (Mind Over Matter Records): We had the privilege of hearing this one waaaayyyy in advance of its’ April release date and even turned us onto Aversed (Who were featured on “Carousel Teeth” as heard at track #37 in the big playlist way below) in the process! As for the album, we were already in love following early singles “No Anchor” and “Designer Graves” from the Post-Rawk outfit and the rest of A Spark… only added to the excitement.
Nate Perry & Ragged Company-Various!: Nominated for “Americana Artist Of The Year” and “Vocalist Of The Year” at this year’s BMA and “Act Of The Year” from the NEMA, Nate Perry & Ragged Company preceded that honor with lots of live outings, including spots on both the New England Americana Fest and Boston Calling stages, as well as a bunch of new music that lead into the Till The Well Runs Dry EP featuring singles “Tonight” and “Count On You” which served as great examples of Perry’s E. Street Band meets The Heartbreakers way of concocting new Rawk-fueled Americana timeless anthems.
Neverless.am-The Quiet Room: The 2025 BMA nominee for “Metal Artist Of The Year” dropped a few singles before 2024 let out that had us PSYCHED for what was to come and by the end of 2025 we got the pay off in the form of full-length The Quiet Room and a batch of Heavy haunting tracks including “Can’t Let Go” and “WIll I Ever?” which bookended our 2024 year end playlist along with 5 other sonic gems encapsulating a kind of cacophony that blurs the lines between Hole and Chelsea Wolfe.
Oh The Humanity-Ground To Dust (Sell The Heart Records): They don’t do Pop Punk like this anymore. Truly. Starting 2025 off with an album filled with Face To Face meets Bad Religion modern Punk ditties and shows galore led to a “Punk/Hardcore Artist Of The Year” nomination from the Boston Music Awards and there’s no signs of stopping from there with shows in 2026 already taking shape and you can find those and more on the band here.
ONE FALL- Cut & Run: 2023 Rock & Roll Rumble winners ONE FALL released an absolutely legendary EP this year… which we didn’t cover. There’s more than a few oopsies on here where it’s someone we’ve covered before who released something new and the timing or time just didn’t work out (For the record, if we’ve covered you previously we make EVERY effort we can to do so again with subsequent releases) and unfortunately, ONE FALL was a casualty of that. But we’re making up for it now! The Salem outfit (Nominated for “Punk/Hardcore Act Of The Year” at this year’s BMA’s) more than delivered with the follow-up to Spine First! and four brand new songs (And videos!) of blistering, bombastic bouts of melodic Punk Rawk spirit as only ONE FALL could do.
Other Brother Darryl-Roll Shine Roll: Absolutely not a band that is our cuppa in terms of every day leisure listening but the story and music is so gotDamn endearing that we can’t resist. Ending 2024 as the BMA “Country Artist Of The Year” (Nominated this year for “Americana Artist Of The Year” and “Video Of The Year”), OBD rolled into the new year with their debut full-length early on, played out and about (With an appearance at the New England Americana Fest), and then capped off 2025 with Rewatch The Trees, an Audio/Video mini-comp highlighting different facets of Roll Shine Roll stand out (Among an album of stand out’s) “Watch The Trees”.
Parts Per Million-Red, White, and Blue: We’ll go back to our original assessment of PPM’s new EP: Incendiary! Great in pieces but better as a whole, PPM’s newest is a direct response to the shitstorm going on in our country today. Never mind a rallying cry, Red, White and Blue is a visceral and intense sonic call to arms.
Phantom Ocean-“Sorry Dude”: MA has a crazy abundance/amount of duos and a lot of them are on this list and somewhere along this crazy end of the year wrap up we may have had some thread tying all those acts together but we kind of lost the plot on that after we hit 2k words. Y’know who didn’t lose the plot, though? Phantom Ocean, who never lets us down with the music they create. Latest track “Sorry Dude” was no different and is a fitting entry into PO’s growing body of Grungy Brat-Punk classics.
Pleasure Wheel-The World Tour Is Ruined: Oh! This new EP from Pleasure Wheel was such a rollickin’ Rawk fest that combined elements of Heavy Alternative, Doom, Grunge and more over four tracks that are as fun as they are loud.
Proles-Inauguration: As HUGE fans of the genre, we were psyched to learn that the Gretchen Shae part of Gretchen Shae and the Middle Eight started a new project and utilized her songwriting talents and siren-esque pipes within the Electro/Darkwave realm. We were even more psyched when the resulting debut release, Inauguration, was even better than anticipated. They start their 2026 in Salem at Koto along with Big Time Kill and Endnation on January 17th (More info here) and we can’t think of a better way to spend a cold, wintry night inside than there.
Real Beaut-Politics: Discovering a band that already has some releases out ahead of something new on the way is the best. It also helps when all the members of said new band come together from across such a vibrant scene like Boston to bring about something else entirely. If you heard that members of Bird Language, Party Bois, Mellow Bravo and Motherboar got together in a group, what do you think they’d sound like? Maybe Real Beaut, maybe not Real Beaut. But at the end of the day, Real Beaut is the culmination of all those parts and we like it just fine.
Ruby Grove-Ripple Effect: The highly anticipated debut EP release from Ruby Grove saw the light of day in 2025 and it was well worth the wait as songs like “Maybe It’s Time” that have been floating around since 2023 meshed nicely with recent glowing jams like “Ocean Sun” and “Crystal Land”. And if that weren’t enough, RG’s own Melissa Nilles put together the first Dream A Better World Festival which happened in August and brought together activists, speakers and musicians to effect positive change through the arts and more featuring Why Try?, Linnea Herzog, and Evan Greer to name a few! Here’s hoping 2026 brings Round 2!
Sapling-Various!: Culminating with their recent cover of Cursive’s “Big Bang” for A Compilation to Benefit Science Club for Girls (Also featuring Chainlacing, Thrust Club and TIFFY among others which you should DEFINITELY check out below this blurb), Sapling had a fairly busy year that saw the release of the aptly titled ode to the movie of the same name with “Drop Dead Fred” which promises that “100% of proceeds from download sales of this track will indefinitely be given to food banks and/or pantries in southern New England” (So check that out here) as well as the arrival of the Full Moon EP earlier in 2025. Then there were gigs aplenty including a recent one OPENING FOR JIMMIE’S CHICKEN SHACK!!!! We’re definitely bummed we missed that one.
Slo-Anne-squints: We know that this is an older album but it got the remix/remaster treatment from Cade Earick in 2025 so it was new to us, okay? We’re not supposed to have favorites, right? But also we’re a blog so we definitely can? Whatever the right decision is, slo-anne is definitely a newer favorite since we’ve been covering them… and not because we loved that they used the term “boot-scootin'” previously in their Bandcamp bio. If, like us, you hadn’t previously heard the “slacker rock n’ roll waxing alt-country” duo then we think now is the perfect time especially with new stuff on the way (Which you can read ALL about in our upcoming 2026 preview post).
Smitt E. Smitty & The Fezztones-“#1 Most Likely”: Smitty & The Fezztones’ penchant for penning the soundtrack for those celebrating an Anti-Valentine’s continued with the fabulous “#1 Most Likely”, a hypnotic Pop anthem firmly ensconced in the ’80’s with airs of Kajagoogoo and Modern English floating about.
Sound Advice-Singles!: “I Will Wait For You” and “Nothing At All” is not our first foray into the world of horn-filled music but it’s easily one of the best with the kind of jazzy/bluesy/timeless music that this Boston-based outfit brings. Looking for the perfect tune to soundtrack that romantic night in with your partner? Out on the town and need just the right track to hit the dancefloor to? Sound Advice has GOT YOU!
Spirit Hotel- “Perfume”: We just reviewed this one recently and cannot WAIT for the rest of what’s to come when full-length Reve releases early in 2026 (And don’t worry, we’ll remind you of that fact in our ’26 preview coming soon). If you’d like a preview beyond what’s recorded, Spirit Hotel will be appearing at O’Brien’s on January 31st with Snowbeasts and Neponset Monastery and you can get early tickets to that by heading here.
Stop That Man-No Sir: “Good Girl” was our first exposure to Boston/North Shore outfit Stop That Man and it keeps getting stuck in our head! Which is a surefire way for something to make it onto one of our year end lists. We didn’t tackle the subsequent EP, No Sir, that followed and we’re pretty sad about that but you don’t have to be if you check it out now featuring 3 more tracks of punky/garagey/alternativey/indie goodness.
Sunday Junkie-ST: EASILY one of our most anticipated releases of 2025 and another that would’ve been pretty far up the rankings if we were numbering this thing, Sunday Junkie emerged form the Not Bad Not Well pause with a gargantuan modern Alternative banger that any music fan would be pressed not to find something to love off of.
TELL-Singles!: Following 2024’s Life In Reverse, TELL peppered 2025 with a trio of new songs starting in March with “Sweet Proximity” followed by “Boiling The Ocean” which touched on navigating today’s overcrowded music landscape thanks to the interwebs while “Things To Do When It’s Dark” was a direct response to the corrupt leaders at the top and a sonic stand against ICE.
Temptress-Mother: Electro Metal mavens Temptress unleashed Mother early in the year and it was another bombastic bout of Electro and Industrial-infused Heavy music. If Fear Factory did Digimortal right and properly mixed Pop with their brand of Metal then they might sound like Temptress does today.
TENSION SCALE-IT’S NOT THEM: Again, how can you not love a band devoted to the brilliance of the Joe Dante/Tom Hanks classic The ‘Burbs??? Well, if you don’t like the movie (WHAT???) or have never seen it (AGAIN, WHAT?!?!?) then we can see how that brilliance might be overlooked. However, the great thing about TENSION SCALE is that the music kicks so much ass even if you don’t get the nuanced way with which they weave tales of Ray Peterson and friends into their Heavy Punk-infused sound led by The Dowhauls’ drummer Lauren Recchia. On lead vox! They’re already in the process of recording more music regaling you of tales about those wacky Klopek’s and maybe Ricky Butler, too, so there’s still time to watch or rewatch before TENSION SCALE round 2 begins!
Tequila Sirens-Imposters: We compare this to the newest from PYRAMIDS over in our other, more organized/less Thunderdome-y list in that it’s a cornucopia of sounds that shouldn’t work together but does. Really, REALLY well. A gig with one of our faves, Cameron Keiber, opened our earholes (And hearts???) to the smooth sounds that Tequila Sirens lay down and in lieu of attempting to describe TS again, we’ll refer to our review of their latest here or to Track #7 of the playlist below.
The Chelsea Curve-Various!: The Chelsea Curve was ON FIRE in 2025 with quite a few incendiary singles (At least 5 plus an updated version of their debut album) that added to the lore of the proprietors of Modcore (Is that a thing?) in the Boston area! But that wasn’t enough! Oh no! In addition to the recorded output and playing all over town, The Chelsea Curve even buggered off across the pond for a slew of successful UK shows over the summer. For now, you can catch them back in town with 2026 dates already starting to be booked (Head here for the latest).
The Downhauls-“Crosshairs”: We love us a good bundle! Especially if it comes with a kickass single like “Crosshairs” which saw the quartet taking a stand against the shit being slung on all of us from up high and calling for a revolution with their new Punk Rawk anthem (Of note, the bundles in question were a limited run when the single was released earlier in the year. Sorry if you missed it!)
The Far Out-Greetings from The Far Out: Winnin’ awards and winnin’ hearts with a delightful sound that’s guaranteed to put a smile on your face, The Far Out took home both “Live Act of the Year” and “Video of the Year” at this year’s 2025 New England Music Awards (And were nominated for “Album/EP Of The Year” and “New Artist Of The Year” from the Boston Music Awards) following a steady stream of Funky Blues Pop singles which lead into the release of their new full-length!
The Fool’s Agenda-Fool’s Gold: What a rad record this is! We were hooked after hearing “Dumb (Take Me Out)” and especially Rhiannon Raine’s debonair delivery of the vocal cadence at the center of this thing. The record, on the other hand, offers so much more with a multi-genre-ational aural arsenal across the album’s 10 tracks.
The Freqs-“Tag Maggot”: Rowdy, raucous and… reflective of what’s to come perhaps?? The Freqs played out a bunch in 2025 but only dropped “Tag Maggot” which is a doozy AND features some BEDTIMEMAGIC collaboratin’ in there as well ahead of the release of their debut LP in 2026 (More on that in the 2026 preview which, we promise, is on the way). If you maybe want a preview of what’s in store on the upcoming record, maybe showing up to O’Brien’s on January 3rd for their show with Fat Randy with Crab Lord and Dirtpile along for the ride would be a good idea (Ticket link here).
The Ghouls-Handle With Care: Lowell’s own The Ghouls followed up a banner year in 2024 that included big Boston Music Awards and Rock & Roll Rumble wins with the release of their anxiously awaited new full-length featuring the blistering modern Pop Punk classic “Hellbound” in addition to many gigs in and around town (Including opening for The Del Fuego’s in September), several fresh noms at this year’s Boston Music Awards (“Album/EP Of The Year”, “Rock Artist Of The Year”) as well as a recent collaboration with ONE Condoms to promote safe sex at their shows (Check out the post on that here).
The Journals Kept-Strike The Match: The Journals Kept planted a flag for the Easthampton music scene in 2025 with their delectable new EP featuring three tracks that ran the gamut of what the band is all about by treading a fine line between Barenaked Ladies-style arena Rawk, ’80’s inspired New Wave and just some good ole down home modern Folk and Americana.
The Northern Line-“Throw A Fist”: Modern Brit Pop enthusiasts by way of Bean Town, The Northern Line were relatively quiet in 2025 besides this lone single but we can’t complain when the track is as good as “Throw A Fist” is!
The Peppermint Kicks-Pop Rocks In My Chewing Gum (Rum Bar Records): We were hooked when The Peppermint Kicks released lead single “Radio Wam Bam Boom” earlier in 2025 but missed full coverage on the equally awesome full-length that followed.
The Welcoming Committee-The Welcoming Committee: Still indescribable even after having listened a bunch, The Welcoming Committee is the best kind of Art Rawk with a sound that’s a little like the early, more unhinged works of Nick Cave (The Birthday Party especially) and The Crazy World of Arthur Brown. But updated. If our descriptin’ don’t work then maybe check out the band when they headline O’Brien’s on December 27th with Jules and list-mates Pleasure Wheel (Tix here).
Travels With Brindle- No. 1 In Heaven Starring Travels With Brindle: Constantly carrying the torch for modern ukulele music, Travels With Brindle (AKA Chelsea Spear) greatly expanded their sound tackling the Sparks classic No. 1 in Heaven following another successful Kickstarter campaign.
Type 66-“Medieval Knievel”: A band that we need more of, Type 66 continued to expand the musical legacy of frontperson Keith Smith (Cobalt 60!) with the rambunctious Rawk fervor of “Medieval Knievel” featuring Smith’s uncanny vocal delivery, shred-tastic riffage and slamming drums courtesy of Jose Morales (Who also takes part in the Wrought Iron Hex ruckus which you can check out a little further below).
Tysk Tysk Task- Various Singles/Releases: Lowell’s Triple T reconfigured a tad, adding Joe Milia on drums and GUT HEALTH’s Keith Dusoe on Bass, and reconvened with that fresh lineup for “Toadstool” following “Shrine” and “City Lights” earlier in the year featuring the band’s style of crafting effervescent Rawk anthems that exquisitely mesh Grunge and Alternative but with a distinct flair that only Samantha Hartsel could pull off. They played out a LOT in 2025 and got themselves a “Rock Artist Of The Year” BMA nom but if you missed them then you might be waiting a bit for their next performance according to Tysk Tysk Task’s year end wrap up post here.
Viruette-PUNKTURED EP: Viruette made our lives a little easier by deciding to late release a collection of what’s happened in 2025 which included the amazing title track and cover of their version of the Tears For Fears classic “Everybody Wants To Rule The World” (Both featuring the aforementioned Layzi!) plus the gnarly “Deadtooth”. If you buy the Bandcamp version here then you’ll also get demo versions of “PUNKTURED” and “Eyesore Symphonette” with any funds collected helping out with the recording of the highly anticipated LP #2!
Vivid Bloom-“Under The Sound”– Another band on here featuring BMA “Graphic Designer Of The Year” Liz Walshak on guitar (Dan Parlin has since taken over guitar duties alongside VB regulars Erika Hansen, Alison Murray and Tracy Putnam) who together played BMA “Music Festival Of The Year” Boston Calling over Memorial Day Weekend, Vivid Bloom unleashed this haunting modern Shoegaze classic that sounds like the result of Lush and Red Sparowes throwing down in the studio as a collaborative unit. They recently dropped a new track at their Deep Cuts set supporting Besnard Lakes so keep your ears peeled for more from Vivid Bloom in 2026!
Wayward Vine-The Fall: If Other Brother Darryl was the RNRF Country Act of the Year (Not a thing) then Wayward Vine would be our Americana Act of the Year (Again, not a thing…. but should it be???) with an album that’s been teased out over months with single drop after the single drop until the full Folk/Americana weight of The Fall could finally be felt. And it felt (And still feels) really good. More on the way in 2026 from WV… but you can read more on that in our upcoming preview post (Sorry! Had to).
Why Try?-In Time: We completely missed out on the newest from Why Try? when it released which bummed us the eff out as the previous releases we reviewed (2024’s Honeymoon, 2020’s Just Fine) were STELLAR! On In Time, the band expand their sonic palette with a collection of tracks that really get to the nitty gritty of who Why Try? are melding and blending styles to form a kind of timeless Rawk sound that’s a little bit jam band (Think the looser moments from classic Fleetwood Mac or Santana albums), a little bit modern Alternative and a whole lotta awesome.
Wrought Iron Hex-Hexes & Haloes: It’s been some time since Wrought Iron Hex dropped some new music, almost four years in fact, but the raucous Boston Heavy Rawk outfit blasted back with 5 new songs on their third EP that sounded like they never left.
Yes Nanny-The Klub Kent Sessions: The two tracks that Yes Nanny debuted in 2025 were infectious and flowing with a Bluesy Garage Rawk feel which has become the relatively newer band’s signature sound since exploding on the scene… and we’re here for all of it! They’re closing out their 2025 with a show on December 27th at Middle East Upstairs supporting Hammered Saint alongside Jackie and The Idiots and The Farewell Drugs if you need a night out during the holidaze (Direct ticket link for that one here).