Five of My Favorite Releases - 2025:

At The Beach, In Every Life - Gigi Perez: Gigi Perez became one of my very first favorites this year. When I first heard Sailor Song; I sobbed. Then I heard Fable and it was so moving to me, it inspired me to pick my acoustic back up and take a stab at another solo project. Such an inspiring and beautiful album from top to bottom.

NEVER ENOUGH - Turnstile: Never Enough is the first Turnstile album that I really really fucked with. Step 2 Rhythm is awesome, but it wasn’t really my thing when I heard it. Things were so different this time. There’s not much I can even say. Look around and you’ll see just how incredible this album is. Turnstile has taken over this year and I’m honestly here for it. My highlights would be: SOLE, BIRDS, DULL, and I CARE.

King EP - Dikembe: Not only was this the first time I got to cover an album pre release, it was one of the best fucking projects of 2025. One of my all time favorite Dikembe projects period. The dynamics, and the energy the guys brought to these recordings is top tier stuff. It was 1000% on my list this year.

One Night Left - University Drive: This was the first song I heard from what would come to be one of my favorite songwriters/vocalists: Ed Cuozzo. It’s so beautifully gut wrenching, and the vocals match the energy of the track so well. It’s simple just vocals and guitar, recorded at home. It’s raw and intimate. The song was written about the events happening in Gaza, and reflecting on that great sadness brought something incredibly powerful. I put it up there with Bon Iver, Dallas Greene or Ben Howard. It’s so fucking perfect.

Balloonerism - Mac Miller: Growing up a huuuuge Mac fan…I really didn’t know how to feel about this album coming out, but then it hit me like a truck. The album was great. I think it was a great reflection of Mac’s work, and the songs were amazing. Obviously there were leaked versions floating around, but nothing hit like the real thing. I remember driving for work at 4am, and hearing Funny Papers for the first time, it ruined my day lmao. I was a mess after that. I am a pretty emotional guy, and this album just had a real way of touching

that.

---

Thanks for checking in everyone! See you next year :)