hel's 2025
I think I checked out less new music than ever this year... but here are some albums I enjoyed. Mostly ambient or ambient adjacent |
| 1 |  | Hayden Pedigo
I'll Be Waving As You Drive Away
instrumental folk / american primitive or whatever
This is my AOTY, I think it's pretty much perfect. It isn't a second too long, everything moves at a decent pace and nothing gets boring, it all flows beautifully. Sounds gorgeous, and the various accompaniments to the guitar are very well done, particularly the strings on Houndstooth *swoon*. Didn't really vibe with the Chat Pile collab sadly. |
| 2 |  | Djrum
Under Tangled Silence
techno(?)
Everything from here on is unranked. |
| 3 |  | William Tyler
Time Indefinite
instrumental folk / ambient ish
Tyler adds some weirder/harsher elements to his sublime fingerpicking folk music. Not as immediate as his other major works but I grew to like it a lot. |
| 4 |  | Chihei Hatakeyama
Lucid Dreams
ambient / drone
You can always count on Chihei for pretty, impressionistic minimal ambient music. Nothing here that changes up his long-standing formula but I am a sucker for this stuff. |
| 5 |  | Celestial (UK)
I Can Hear the Grass Grow
ambient / minimal
Lovely electro-acoustic ambient compositions |
| 6 |  | Park Jiha
All Living Things
minimal / jazz |
| 7 |  | Jonny Nash
Once Was Ours Forever
ambient / electronic |
| 8 |  | Les Halles
Original Spirit
ambient / new age
Great underrated project. Their last album Eight Fantasies is stellar. This one doesn't reach those heights but is another work that just sounds so so good. |
| 9 |  | Beirut
A Study of Losses
indie folk / minimalist classical a bit
Not as strong as Hadsel, but really solid. The instrumental tracks are the stand out here, and point to an exciting avenue for them to explore on future releases. |
| 10 |  | Malibu
Vanities
ambient
Not quite as good as her EPs imo but still very nice stuff |
| 11 |  | Kyle Bobby Dunn
Mixture of Frailties
ambient / drone |
| 12 |  | Oneohtrix Point Never
Tranquilizer
electronic |
| 13 |  | Blue Lake
Weft
ambient americana |
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