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For one last time in 2025, I welcome you to The SubModern Report. This is our annual recap of the most played singles, albums, artists, and labels of the past twelve months on Alternative Specialty shows.
As it turns out, both charts were dominated by the same artist this year - Nation of Language were dual chart-toppers with their fourth album Dance Called Memory and its lead single "Inept Apollo". But that's not all for the Brooklyn synth-pop faves. They had another top five single, "I'm Not Ready For The Change", tied for #3. All that added up to also make the trio the most played artist of the year overall. Congratulations Nation of Language on the triple-play!
Practically all of the other artists in the top ten of either chart, were in the top ten of both, including The Beths, Bob Mould, The Bug Club, The Hives, Momma, and Sprints. We also had top ten entries from Kiwi Jr., The London Suede, and Weird Nightmare on the singles chart, while Circa Waves and Wet Leg made the top ten albums. The only other name to make the top ten artists of the year without a top ten single or album was Freak Slug, who received airplay from both a deluxe album and an EP on either end of the year. Those rundowns were all in alphabetical order if you didn't notice as I'll leave it to the charts themselves to tell the numerical story. You can find the the top fifty on each chart HERE.
The only other story left to tell is that of the record labels that bring us this bounty of musical goodness year-in and year-out. In case you haven't kept track for the last decade, Sub Pop Records is consistently the #1 label and they have that honor again in 2025, making it a nine-year streak! It's hard to beat with the top couple spots on both charts and a lineup of releases from the aformentioned Nation of Language, Sprints, Weird Nightmare, and The Bug Club, as well as Deep Sea Diver, Tunde Adebimpe, and Yuno. Congratulations to everyone at Sub Pop, especially Michelle Feghali and most especially Scott Perlewitz, to whom I wish a wonderful retirement! What a run and what a way to finish on top!
There were of course many other labels putting out great tunes this year and getting plenty of airplay. The rest of the top ten labels of 2025 are: PIAS (#2), Domino (#3), Matador (#4), BMG (#5), Partisan (#6), Dead Oceans (#7), Concord(#8), Polyvinyl (#9), and Transgressive (#10).
And finally, I will present you with my own top albums of 2025. Unfortunately I haven't had time to sift through and order my favorite songs yet, so I'll have to leave you hanging on that front until January.
Josh's Top Albums of 2025
- Deep Sea Diver - Billboard Heart
- Tunde Adebimpe - Thee Black Boltz
- Wet Leg - moisturizer
- Rocket - R Is for Rocket
- Petey USA - The Yips
- Momma - Welcome to My Blue Sky
- Franz Ferdinand - The Human Fear
- OK Go - And the Adjacent Possible
- Garbage - Let All That We Imagine Be The Light
- Teen Jesus and The Jean Teasers - Glory
- Guerilla Toss - You're Weird Now
Thank you as always to everyone who is involved in any way, shape, or form in this little corner of the music world that we occupy. It's been a strange year (aren't they all) and as always, the music helps us through. I look forward to all the new music that 2026 will bring and we'll be keeping track of it right here. Happy Holidays to you all and we'll catch up again in the new year, beginning on January 7th!
OK, here we are with the last regular SubModern Report of 2025! And for these last charts, Melody's Echo Chamber is pretty much reigning supreme with Unclouded as the undisputed #1 album and "The House That Doesn't Exist" at #1 on the singles chart, albeit in a tie. The other #1 single is the same as last week - "Barbed Wire" by Cardinals. Congrats to both on a strong finish to this year and I'm sure we'll see more of Cardinals on the charts in 2026 with their new record dropping early in the year.
Next on both charts are newcomers Sunday Mourners with their debut album A-Rhythm Absolute debuting at #2 and single "Careers In Acting" at #3.
Continuing down the singles chart, we have a three-way tie at #4 that includes two previous #1's, Kiwi Jr.'s "Hard Drive, Ontario" and Lime Garden's "Maybe Not Tonight", as well as Poolside's "Otherside". That brings it to #7, where there's a tie between "Power" by Death Lens and the cover of Johnny Cash's "The Man Comes Around" by Pulp. Finally, the top ten closes with another tie at #9, featuring Puma Blue with "Croak Dream" and TRAITRS with "I Was Ill, You Were Wrong".
TEED's just-released Always With Me picks things back up on the album chart at #3, followed by the aforementioned Puma Blue at #4 with the forthcoming Croak Dream. Tied at #5 are Blizzard from Dove Ellis and 7 Songs, Vol. 4 from Lonely Bunker. A three-way tie is next at #7, including Mariachi El Bronx IV from you guessed it, Mariachi El Bronx, Ratboys' upcoming Singin' To An Empty Chair, and Sword II's Electric Hour. Finally there are five albums tied at #10 from The Belair Lip Bombs, Bluhm, Hatchie, Kid Kapichi, and The Replacements. You can find the titles for all of those HERE, where you can also check out the full top twenty-five albums and singles.
You'll find just a smattering of new releases like new singles by J Mascis and Altin Gun, alongside some holiday offerings on a very truncated Available For Airplay list this week.
And with that we are just about done here at the SubModern Report for 2025, save for the Year-End charts that'll be coming this Friday. That's where we'll find out the top singles, albums, artists, and labels of 2025, plus I'll reveal my personal faves of the year. Catch you in a few days and then again on January 7th for the first charts of 2026.
