Signifying Sound and Fury: Peter’s favorite tracks of 2025…double playlist!

I’ve curated two different playlists for 2025, one with singing, and one without singing. Most of the time, my year-end playlist picks feature mostly songs (with lyrics), but this year there were a lot of instrumental tracks that I thought were worth sharing, so I made a second playlist. I thought about trying to find a theme, but besides “Almost Completely Women Vocalists,” I’m stumped. I welcome suggestions.

Peter's Favorite Tracks of 2025

You can also find this playlist on Apple Music.

Madison Cunningham: “Golden Gate (On and On)” from Ace – Let’s start out with bass clarinets, shall we? Beyond prominent use of one my favorite instruments, the texture building and the rush at the beginning of the chorus stood out.
Hope Tala: “Survival” from Hope Handwritten – A relatable message to the modern condition, set to a groove: several things can be true at once—we have real challenges and feelings in the present that are not negated by more difficult challenges of the past, and we can be successful and suffer at the same time.
Sarah Siskind: “Come on Heart” from Simplify – An earnest, simple, and onomatopoetic song.
Madi Diaz: “Fatal Optimist” from Fatal Optimist – Diaz made this list for the second year in row with this similar theme to The Beth’s “Future Me Hates Me”—this relationship is a bad idea, but I guess I’m doing it anyway.
Molly Tuttle: “Summer of Love” from So Long Little Miss Sunshine – Turning to real optimism, is this song about pining for a past moment in history, or a failed relationship? Probably both. Also, I love some good song call backs. Tuttle proves she doesn’t have anything to prove with this album—she’s doing what she wants.
Mishra: “Akhiyaan Udeek Diyann (feat. Deepa Shakti)” from Turn O Spinning Wheel – Maybe the most successful fusion of South Asian and Celtic music I’ve heard. Also, another bass clarinet!
Haley Heynderickx and Max Garcia Conover: “Flourescent Light” from What of Our Nature – Contemporary folk music about how we may have traded something vital to get our modern conveniences; fittingly, the production is live and sparse.
Rosalía: “Reliquia” from Lux – For many, Rosalía produced the best albums of the year as the Spanish artist brought up from a Flamenco tradition swings hard with emotion and maximalist production.
Phoebe Rings: “Fading Star” from Aseurai – I found out about this New Zealand retro band when they opened for The Beths. This one hits all the right notes (and timbres). Taking care of the elderly has never been so cool.
Hayley Williams: “True Believer” from Ego Death at a Bachelorette Party – This very specific, biting gothic song is about Williams’ hometown, Nashville. And is somehow (necromatically) optimistic
Oklou: “blade bird” from choke enough – The French electronically-assisted singer’s debut album made a lot of year-end lists. I, of course, love the bird theme, including the birdsong that is mixed in. The bridge section surprises with faster melodic movement than the verse/chorus.
Haim: “Spinning” from I Quit – Perhaps the song that inspired the most repeat listening on this playlist, it starts with some Prince-inspired synths and builds and layers right up to the end, making great use of the sisters' vocal harmonies.
Brighde Chaimbeul: “She Went Astray” from Sunwise – How about some loud bagpipes drones to wake you up? Interspersed with some rhythmic call and response in Scots-Gaelic? Actually, let’s make it a canon, too.
Momma: “I Want You (Fever)” from Welcome to My Blue Sky – Shoegazy, headbangy, guitar rock. Great use of an intro that is also a pre-chorus; pull it all back at the start of the chorus; and make up for a repetitive chorus by delaying its return.
Jenn Butterworth: “The Housewife’s Lament” from Her By Design – Butterworth performs an American song dating from the late 19th-century. When you put it that way, what a depressing life many women led, historically and still lead today; not to diminish their plight, I think most people can relate to monotonous, neverending chores. The arrangement is meticulous and beautiful, and the vocal performance is haunting. And the vacuum at the end is a nice touch.
Girlpuppy: “Windows” from Sweetness – Georgia artist’s debut album. Somehow, the one-word chorus gets me—and the way she riffs on it toward the end.
High Horse: “Discern (feat. Jacob Jolliff)” from High Horse – This band is taking the Newgrass innovations from The Punch Brothers and moving in their own direction. I love the close, tall vocal harmonies and the changing time signatures.
Allt: “Caim Chaluim Chille Chaoimh” from Allt, Vol. 2 – I’ve written before about Allt, formed from two power couples from Scotland and Ireland. Technically from late 2024, this album is their second, and this was the most enchanting and haunting selection, with Fowlis on beautiful vocals. It’s a prayer in Scots-Gaelic, Irish, and little Latin. And a surprise oboe.