This year, indie music has once again delivered a stunning mix of innovation, emotion, and boundary-pushing artistry. From introspective ballads to genre-defying experiments, these standout albums showcase the best of independent music’s creativity and depth. Here are our favourites!
Fontaines DC – Romance
Romance is a bold and transformative step forward for the Irish band Fontaines D.C., blending their post-punk roots with experimental and emotional soundscapes. The album explores love in its many forms—beautiful, messy, and chaotic. Songs like "Starburster" and "Death Kink" capture emotional intensity, with raw lyrics and powerful instrumentation, while tracks like "Favourite" bring a dreamy, melodic close, offering a moment of introspection and serenity amidst the chaos. Drawing from both their Irish identity and more global influences, Romance showcases the band's evolution as they push boundaries both lyrically and sonically. This captivating journey through love and identity solidifies Fontaines D.C. as one of the most dynamic bands in the modern rock scene, blending heartfelt emotion with a distinct edge that continues to resonate with fans worldwide.
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The Smile - Wall Of Eyes / Cutouts
Lightning isn't supposed to strike twice, clearly no one told The Smile. Assisted by the dynamic drumming of Sons Of Kemet's Tom Skinner, the two Radiohead powerhouses Thom Yorke and Johnny Greenwood have quietly entered their most fertile creative streak since Kid A and Amnesiac. After welcoming the year with the rapturously acclaimed Wall Of Eyes, here comes the prestige, The Smile pulls the rabbit out of the hat and takes a bow. The self assured Cutouts, reveals its hand slowly. Unfurling to revealing more layers of inspired instrumentation as the album progresses. From the subdued opening ballad Foreign Spies to the incendiary guitars and frenetic pace of Zero Sum, to the majestically delicate orchestration of Tiptoe that manages to be Pyramid Song-esque without retreading old ground. The Smile surprise at every turn. It’s distinctly warmer album in contrast than Wall Of Eyes. Where the former delved into a deliciously dark jazzy prog, Cutouts favours ascendant synths, propulsive motortik rhythms and soaring strings. Yorke’s lyricism may be as maudlin as ever, but Cutouts is a curiously uplifting album nonetheless. With Wall Of Eyes and Cutouts, The Smile prove without a shadow of a doubt that The Smile are much more than just a Radiohead side project – but a vital creative force in their own right with an enviable track record to prove it.
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