We’re all supposed to think the most exciting music should be loud, energetic or at least algorithm-breaking. That’s what’s cool. That’s where music evolves from its influences into the next big thing.
So why is all of the 2025 music I listen to seem to be in soft-focus and, God forbid, “tasteful?” Tasteful translates to boring or NPR music, where restraint gets almost fetishized.
As card-carrying music aficionados listening to this stuff, we are supposed to be ashamed of ourselves. But I’m not ashamed. In a funny way, the almost-aggressively moderate music of this year has me excited.
I don’t think I can blame my taste this year on my rapid aging. I was the kid who thought punk and grunge were just annoying music made by people who really didn’t know how to play their instruments. I was never Mr. Energy.
But increasingly over the years, and particularly in this moment where social media and all attention seem to reward extremes, I’m finding that softness and “the middle of the road” is becoming radical. Or at least “exciting.” Isn’t it ironic?
I’ll show you what I mean by sharing five 2025 favorites. I’m not claiming these are the biggest hits of 2025. I actually have no idea what songs were hits this year, that’s how far removed a lot of us have gotten in our own curated playlist worlds.
There are some unifying elements here of production being sneaky great; these songs could pass for being really indie, low-fi or D.I.Y. because that’s what they want you to think. They’re all made by some talented pros.
The real common denominator here is that these are the 2025 songs I just can’t stop playing.
1) Mac DeMarco – “Holy”
DeMarco has seemed like a Canucky slacker type for years. I first ran into him performing on “Conan” back when Conan had a talk show, so it’s been a while.
But holy moley does “Holy” pack a quiet punch for me. It’s absolutely hypnotic. The words themselves are practically a haiku, not a ton of words there. Yet, it all works.
There are some really weird vibrations in this thing. At times the guitar sounds like it’s out of tune or there’s something off-kilter in the recording – like an LP not being centered on a turntable.
It’s simultaneously down-to-earth and otherworldly. I swear, I’m not high, despite what I sound like when I’m talking about this song.
2) Denison Witmer, Sufjan Stevens – “Focus Ring”
Denison Witmer has been around for years and is a frequent collaborator with Sufjan Stevens, which is all of the permission structure I need to respect the hell out of the guy.
My first observation about this song is that it’s just pretty. The word “pretty” could sound like a veiled insult, and in some other cases that’s how I would mean it. But this is just a jewel box of a song, like almost everything Sufjan Stevens has done.
Speaking of permission structures, that’s exactly what I think the lyrics are giving the listener. Whatever you think you need, don’t beat yourself up. “Anything at all you need” is always a good thing.
Another litmus test for whether I really feel like a song is great is that I get jealous of the songwriter and a little pissed that I didn’t write it. There’s nothing game-changing here. Maybe 5 chords and no words that would be on the SAT test. It’s just pretty AF.
3) Uwade – “Call It A Draw”
Here’s the sleeper from this list. It’s kind of the simplest and most earnest ones here. But just like the others here, this song doesn’t seem to be of its time. I really don’t think my ears have turned to mush and I’m no longer able to recognize or place genre. It’s retro and modern with a quiet little intensity.
And I’ll go one further with something I find charming: the guitars are just the tiniest bit out of tune. In the era of production perfection where everything sounds a little unreal, I love these guitars.
I’m relieved to find out that she is young. The other songs here I keep thinking of as being from “young” artists and when in reality, they’re all deep into their 30’s and their music careers.
But Uwade is a Nigerian folkie from Charlotte, NC; you know, that old cliche.
The song is so appealing that it took me a while to figure out that it’s about being scared of falling in love again with the wrong ex. You know, a bummer. But this pleasant trance never gets annoying to listen to. Even when you overplay it.
4) Panda Bear – “Ferry Lady”
I want to hate myself for being this into a Panda Bear song. I have nothing against him (aka Noah Lennox). But for years, I’ve had somewhat of an irrational annoyance with Animal Collective and similar bands, as great as they are. Since I’m a few years older, I’ve gotten to lamely dismiss dudes like them as “hipsters” which I know is ridiculous.
And I tended to think (unfairly) of this whole genre as low-stakes indie-folk psychedelia. Meanwhile, while I’ve had my nose turned up, Panda Bear and others have been making great music for years.
The cool vibrato guitars and organs are just that: cool. The repetition is playful and stony, like newbie stoners taking an aimless walk through the neighborhood.
I owe Panda Bear an amends. But I’m now a little mad at him for sending this song to burrow into my brain like it has.
5) Drugdealer, Weyes Blood – “Real Thing”
Finally, I’m letting this list get at least a little pop. This is a real song and keeps me optimistic about indie music having cool melodies and production flourishes.
I could say this feels retro, but I have no idea what year “Real Thing” feels like. 2004? 1991? 2013? I don’t know – it just doesn’t feel like now
That closing sax solo is so mellow it sounds like the horn player did it in the studio nextdoor and the mics just happened to pick it up.
I’ve been getting re-obsessed by Yacht Rock music lately, and it strikes me that this is what Yacht Rock would sound like made by a well-adjusted woman in her 30’s instead of insecure bearded guys from 1978.
Wrap-Up: What Connects Them?
I just stopped at five; I could have easily thrown Dean Johnson “Blue Mood,” Lucy Dacus “Ankles,” Wednesday “Townies,” Bon Iver “Everything Is Peaceful Love,” Hannah Cohen “Earthstar” or … oh god, make it stop. When did my taste start imposing a decibel meter on what I like?
One could be fooled into thinking that all of these songs mentioned could be background music. They aren’t. Somehow they’re quiet but all have an intensity. And without a circa-2010 bearded Portland post-irony irony. Just great timeless music being made right now.
Every one of these five songs feel like something a cool high schooler would play in the car and Mom or Dad would think: “Okay … maybe music IS going to be fine.”
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