Fontana Mercury’s 2025 in Review
By WTJU Rock
Top ten albums of the year:
- Polite Bureaux “Except Your Skint” / self-released Aug. 29
Think the gritty delivery of Sleaford Mods with the eclectic electronic musical prowess of Thom Yorke and add the poetic lyricism of Fontaines DC and you get a hint of Polite Bureaux’s second full length release. This album, by far, got the most play this year on my shows AND by me personally. To top it off, I got to meet and spend time with Joe Smith, the mastermind behind the band, and he could not have been a lovelier human. For all those reasons, I give this album the #1 spot for new releases in 2025. I recommend the singles “MiFT”, “Respectable Cul-de-sac”, and “Local Town”. - Sharon Van Etten “Sharon Van Etten & The Attachment Theory” / Jagjaguwar / Feb. 7
- Sprints “All That Is Over” / Sub Pop / Sep. 26
- Mhaol “Something Soft” / Merge / May 16
- Gurriers “Erasure” / No Filter / Sep. 9
- Kae Tempest “Self-Titled” / Island / Jul. 4
- Pulp “More” / Rough Trade / Jun. 6
- Ghostwoman “Welcome To The Civilized World” / Full Time Hobby / Sep. 5
- Baxter Dury “Allbarone” / Heavenly / Sep. 12
- Suede “Antidepressants” / BMG / Sep. 5
15 Honorable mentions (in no particular order):
- Croithe “A Brief Respite” (EP) / self-released Oct. 31
- Die Spitz “Something To Consume” / Third Man Sep. 12
- Gans “Good For The Soul” / Strap Originals Sep. 19
- Humour “Learning Greek” / So Young Aug. 8
- The Horrors “Nightlife” / Fiction Mar. 21
- Jadu Heart “Post Heaven” / VLF Records Apr. 11
- Tell me you love Aphex Twin without telling me — the track “lambs.exe” does; but “AUX” is the standout single for me
- Makeshift Art Bar “Lackluster Writing Makes Fundamental Reading” (EP) / self-released Jan. 3
- The Murder Capital “Blindness” / Human Season Feb. 21
- Check out the single “Love of Country”… it’s a “wait for it” kind of song; onomatopoeia-like instrumentation with the drums used to mimic a machine gun at the end… and the message in the lyrics, brilliant!
- Nightbus “Passenger”/ Melodic Records Oct. 10
- Scissorgun “Scream If You Wanna Go Faster” / Dimple Discs Oct. 17
- Shame “Cutthroat” / Dead Oceans Sept. 5
- Sold Kingdom “Distraction Portraiture” / self-released Oct. 18
- Sydney Minsky Sargeant “Lunga” / Domino Sept. 12
- Twen “Fate Euphoric” / self-released Nov. 4
Wet Leg “Moisturizer” / Domino Jul. 11
Best single of the year from my personal favorite band of the moment:
Fontaines D.C. “Romance Deluxe” (including this solely for the single “It’s Amazing To Be Young” not on the 2024 release) / XL Recordings/ Feb. 2
Fontana Mercury hosts Carry the Zero, Thursdays, 2 – 4 p.m.
