THE TWELVE GROOVES OF CHRISTMAS: Albums (BEST NEW MUSIC OF 2025)
The Twelve Grooves of Christmas.
2025 brought us some fantastic new music from all sorts of genres and artists.
Welcome to the Twelve Grooves of Christmas, which is where we look back on the best music releases of the year, beginning with brand new albums that have graced our ears in the year 2025.
Let’s get straight into it, counting down from 12 below.
12. celeste - Woman Of Faces
It was only last month that we reviewed Celeste’s new album, but sometimes all it takes is one listen. ‘Woman Of Faces’ is a careful treading through the murky waters of identity change, romantic loss, and the tightrope dance of putting on a brave face through it all. Delicate, dazzling, and dramatic, Celeste employs the help of Hollywood-style strings and orchestra to tell her story, though her spellbinding vocal remains the album’s crucial character. We’ll say it again: next Bond voice?
11. MARTIN LUKE BROWN - MAN OH MAN
Martin Luke Brown’s solo project spent 2025 exploring masculinity, whether it can be anything other than ‘toxic’, and navigating goodbye with love. ‘man oh man’ is a comfort album, a soft hug that processes life’s most complex emotions before looking to the horizon. A hybrid of genres, MLB’s lyrical rawness and slick, soulful production has you crying and dancing from track to track. The album ends with the grandeur bells of ‘good god you’ve gotta try !’ – a mantra to move into 2026 with.
10. florence and the machine - everybody scream
Released on Halloween, ‘Everybody Scream’, is a refreshed study on morality from someone who has been explicitly reminded of their own. In the realm of folklore and gothic rock, Florence & The Machine unleashes her voice between shaky synths, pounding drums and twinkling harp, masterfully moving from eerie to ecstatic so the album never falls at risk of being disregarded for its fantasy influences. Her lyrics invite humour into this witchcraft world, met with equal amounts of brutally honest confession and wonderfully expanded metaphor.
9. LIVE from THE ROYAL ALBERT HALL - JORDAN RAKEI
At 21 songs, this epic album plays for 1 hour 44 minutes. Recorded in one night, Jordan Rakei showcases the full breadth of his talents, influences, and fluid sound. Each instrumentalist is given their moment to shine, and the Kiwi-born Brit has teamed up with some extremely talented performers. Standout moments from ‘Live From The Royal Albert Hall’ include the cryptic closing lines of ‘Cages’, the captivating acapella harmonies in ‘Dieus Sal la Terra’ sung by the Idrîsî Ensemble, and guitarist Imraan Paleker’s electrified solo in ‘Friend or Foe’.
8. idols — yungblud
It seemed clear that Yungblud was chasing a different sort of trajectory after the release of nine minute single ‘Hello Heaven, Hello’; the first output from June album, ‘Idols’. Moving towards classic rock, Dominic Harrison’s year has ended with three GRAMMY nominations and two No. 1 albums – the second being his recent collaboration with Aerosmith. With stadium-ready hits ‘Zombie’ and ‘Ghosts’, featuring wonderfully layered instrumental arrangements, Yungblud has shown he’s ready to take up the throne for the next generation of rock.
7. the art of loving — olivia dean
Olivia Dean’s year was irrevocably changed with the release of ‘Man I Need’ – undoubtedly the star single of her second studio album’. London’s ultimate girl’s girl, Dean writes catchy hooks, candid lyrics, and an empowered message of self-love. ‘The Art Of Loving’ is a tender portrayal of life and love in your twenties, and it glimmers with the promise that Olivia Dean has far from reached her peak. In August we hailed her Britain’s next music icon, so watch this space.
6. LOTUS — LITTLE SIMZ
‘Lotus’ is the art produced from the ashes of ultimate betrayal, fuelled by an underbelly of rage that gives the album pace and purpose, without resorting to snide or bitter remarks. Little Simz uses her anger as her driving force, transforming it into what she does best: razorsharp lyrics, addictively groovy beats, and a celebration of her own power. Featuring collaborations with Obongjayar and Michael Kiwanuka amongst many others, ‘Lotus’ is Simz’s excellently crafted promise to come back stronger, in MP3 format.
5. chasing the chimera — del water gap
This is an album that wanders across literature, mythology, religious symbolism and the shadows in our mind we tend to avoid, all whilst retaining the authentic feelings of its creator. ‘Chasing The Chimera’ is a beautiful work of art born from the most uncomfortable thoughts, scattered with moments of intimacy and tenderness. Del Water Gap brings his characters to life in ‘Ghost In The Uniform’ and ‘Small Town Joan of Arc’, but he equally succeeds at the moody and insular in ‘Please Follow’ and ‘Eastside Girls.’
4. WEST END GIRL — LILY ALLEN
This album came out of nowhere and completely ripped up the discourse on what married women should and shouldn’t be able to say. Scrunching up the idea of moving on with ‘silent grace’, Lily Allen walks listeners through a play by play of her failed relationship, in a journey that’s as damning as it is vulnerable. ‘West End Girl’ resonates with a generation of women who grew up prioritising others, and proves Lily Allen is just as relevant in pop culture as she was 20 years ago.
3. PEOPLE WATCHING (DELUXE) — SAM FENDER
Two albums rolled into one, we’ve included the deluxe edition of ‘People Watching’ for its flipped take on the title. Sam Fender’s award-winning February album identified the troubles facing modern Britain, while his own often took a backseat. In the deluxe release, Fender finds himself the subject of the people watching, adding a collection of heartbreakingly personal songs. From stadium choruses to delicately worded verses, Fender’s album pours with struggles and emotion that speak to a nation, making this album a definitive reflection of contemporary culture.
2. GOLDIE BOUTILIER PRESENTS… GOLDIE MONTANA — Goldie Boutilier
Quite the title… but well worth diving into. This album is exactly what albums should be – a plunge into the artist’s world; or in this case, their slightly fantasised version of it. Boutilier’s alias Goldie Montana is glamorous, reckless and calculating, but she’s ultimately a protective shield; a defence mechanism. Goldie Boutilier takes the listener into ‘golddust town’, Canada, and walks them round the debauchery, corruption and exploitation she’s been caught up in – but make no mistake, she is not the victim. Start to finish, this album is a gem.
1. THE CLEARING — WOLF ALICE
The crowning title is gifted to Wolf Alice with their Mercury Prize nominated album, reviewed by The Groove in August as ‘a perfect harmony of identity and performance’. ‘The Clearing’ is the work of a band finding ‘scattered light’ after substantial change, and embracing their flaws, talents and potential as they confidently step into it. Bold, blooming, and brilliant, Wolf Alice have harnessed their powers by accepting their imperfections, and produced an album that will sound as great in ten years as it does in 2025.